Jacinda Ardern. Photo / Natalie Slade

Experts believe the Government’s decision to tie welfare benefits to children’s preschool attendance may be unprecedented in the world.

University of Auckland sociologist Maureen Baker and retired Massey University professor Mike O’Brien, who have both written books on international welfare reform, said they were not aware of any other country that had tried the idea.

The new policy, which will halve parents’ benefits if their children don’t attend preschool for at least 15 hours a week from the age of 3, has come under attack across the spectrum from Labour on the left to the Christian-based Maxim Institute on the right…

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