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Paula Bennett – Out Of Touch
Written By: - Date published: 4:04 pm, April 27th, 2011 - 21 comments
“Make The Politician Work” is a new “reality” series from TVNZ, with its first episode on Easter Sunday. I don’t particularly like the premise, as the vast majority of our politicians work very hard. But despite that, and the shonky reality stylings, the first episode with Paula Bennett was most enlightening. Bennett, about to help […]
Three Wise Men of Kurow
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 pm, March 18th, 2011 - 16 comments
Well-known Wellington artist Bob Kerr has produced a series of paintings on “The Three Wise Men of Kurow”, Davidson the teacher, McMillan the doctor and Nordmeyer the clergyman; three friends whose conversations in the small South Island town in the 1930’s laid the foundations for New Zealand’s welfare state. They are on brief show at […]
Tapu Misa: Right On
Written By: - Date published: 1:12 pm, February 28th, 2011 - 129 comments
Tapu Misa’s latest piece in the Herald is just so right I can’t really add anything to it. She nicely sums up the Welfare Working Group’s message: “We’re not saying it’s your fault you can’t get a job. We’re just saying you’re a malingering freeloader who’s not trying hard enough.”
Welfare reforms will drive wages down
Written By: - Date published: 3:58 pm, February 27th, 2011 - 28 comments
The coming welfare reform is less a welfare policy and more another industrial relations policy in drag.
That’s because it won’t just be beneficiaries that suffer under this new regime but the majority of Kiwi workers too.
Everything is a lie
Written By: - Date published: 7:16 am, February 24th, 2011 - 158 comments
There’s a hard truth to NZ politics at the moment. It’s not one people like to think about.
But it helps to be reminded every now and then: everything is a lie.
Welfare Working Group promotes eugenics
Written By: - Date published: 10:55 am, February 23rd, 2011 - 183 comments
The Welfare Working Group wants to get poor women to breed less by giving them free long-term contraception. Sure, this is all an ‘Overton window‘ exercise but eugenics? Seriously? Trying to stop one ‘undesirable’ strata of society from breeding is one step from forced sterilisations. Has the Right reverted 80 years?
Protest @ WINZ today!
Written By: - Date published: 10:19 am, February 22nd, 2011 - 89 comments
Aucklanders – the fight back against the worst recommendations in the Rebstock report starts now. Join us – Auckland Against Poverty – in a picket, 2pm today outside Work & Income, Sel Peacock Dr, Henderson.
Salvation Army: welfare proposals ‘defining moment’
Written By: - Date published: 10:41 am, February 21st, 2011 - 26 comments
The Salvation Army has a Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit that comes out with some very well researched material. Their State of the Nation is compelling reading and their fear of the government’s welfare proposals coming out tomorrow speaks volumes.
National Attacks Vulnerable Children
Written By: - Date published: 7:25 am, December 14th, 2010 - 22 comments
National are consistently attacking the vulnerable in society – those who cannot fight back and complain. This is where a lot of their cuts are aimed at – those who need it most. Be it in health, education or welfare.
And in several recent health and education National cuts have hurt the most vulnerable – our children. Not just the massive ECE cuts of Tolley, but cuts hurting those at the bottom even more.
Key on welfare
Written By: - Date published: 7:45 pm, December 13th, 2010 - 68 comments
Interesting piece by Sue Bradford over at Pundit. If the quote attributed to John Key is for real, it’s a shocker: “If we cancelled welfare to 330,000 people currently on welfare, how many would starve to death? Bugger all.”
Fraud vs incompetence
Written By: - Date published: 7:10 pm, December 7th, 2010 - 28 comments
The Nats like to talk tough about “benefit fraud”. But ONE News reports that simple incompetence in the Ministry of Social Development costs three times as much. Perhaps cutting more public sector jobs, and putting the remaining workers under even more stress, will help fix the problem, do you think?
The other welfare report
Written By: - Date published: 9:33 am, December 2nd, 2010 - 12 comments
The recommendations of the Nats’ welfare working group are, predictably, good old fashioned Tory welfare bashing. In contrast a report released last week by the Anglican Social Justice Commission shows just how misguided the ideology underlying this attack on welfare is.
Caption Contest
Written By: - Date published: 7:39 am, October 28th, 2010 - 25 comments
There was some expenditure that didn’t qualify under the old scheme…We’ve looked to broaden that out. John Key on Warner Brothers, 27 Oct 2010
Treasury’s Welfare Proposals
Written By: - Date published: 1:30 pm, October 13th, 2010 - 61 comments
Treasury have made their submission to the Welfare Working Group. Amongst the usual beneficiary-bashing and demands for privatisation, there are a couple of rare admissions that workers’ rights need strengthening. Which do we think will make it through…
Solo parent bashing
Written By: - Date published: 8:34 am, September 28th, 2010 - 101 comments
Life isn’t hard enough already for solo parents, according to the Nats. So they’re going to make it harder.
NZ’s biggest welfare beneficiary revealed in shock horror Herald exclusive expose’
Written By: - Date published: 11:45 am, September 2nd, 2010 - 22 comments
To find out who it is, click here.
Will this individual’s personal file be read out in Parliament by Paula Bennett?
Will this beneficiary’s sex life be investigated by WINZ as grounds for disqualification?
Welfare Working Group Survey
Written By: - Date published: 7:35 am, August 26th, 2010 - 67 comments
National know the first rule of government: never have an enquiry unless you know what it will say. The latest “Working Group” is the one on Welfare. Paula Rebstock’s team include a couple of medical professionals who specialise in brain injuries, a couple of private sector providers of welfare-to-work programs with a vested interest in […]
Britain’s Sickness Benefit Injustice
Written By: - Date published: 12:03 pm, August 14th, 2010 - 21 comments
Britain’s turfing 75% of people off their long-term sickness benefit on an arbitrary test. Let’s hope the Welfare Working Group doesn’t get ideas.
Tory welfare bashing
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, August 10th, 2010 - 100 comments
If the political world can be split into Left and Right, is there any issue which is better at dividing us than welfare? Inevitably, the Tory attack on welfare has begun. The Rebstock report “dutifully deliver[s] the findings the government wants to hear”.
Welfare debate already ugly
Written By: - Date published: 6:15 am, June 10th, 2010 - 74 comments
According to Social Development Minister Paula Bennett, the welfare debate could get nasty: “we may even see an ugly side of New Zealand”. Well here’s a newsflash – the welfare debate is already ugly. The Nats have worked long and hard to make it ugly. Paula Bennett the ugly side of New Zealand is you.
Helping people into work good but jobs needed first
Written By: - Date published: 11:50 am, June 9th, 2010 - 30 comments
The best form of welfare is a decent job. During it’s nine years in power, the fifth Labour government cut the number of beneficiaries by 150,000 by getting people into work. So assisting more sickness and invalid’s beneficiaries into work is a good idea. But you can’t help people into jobs that don’t exist. The danger is that the government will simply make it harder for people to get the help they need.
Whanau Ora fizzer
Written By: - Date published: 1:36 pm, May 6th, 2010 - 25 comments
The budget for Whanau Ora, which has been billed as a magical, ineffable revolution in social welfare will be just $33 million a year. What a joke. Whanau Ora’s budget will be less than twice that of that other great fizzer, the John Key Memorial Cycleway. I predict it will have about twice the effect as well.
Pickled Paula picked a pair of Peters
Written By: - Date published: 12:13 am, May 6th, 2010 - 56 comments
But which Peter did pickled Paula pick?
Bennett floundering over Saunders
Written By: - Date published: 5:34 pm, May 5th, 2010 - 42 comments
Apparently Paula Bennet is not aware quite who she has appointed to advise the Welfare Working Group…
Corrupt
Written By: - Date published: 9:33 pm, April 29th, 2010 - 148 comments
It looks like Paula Bennett is getting desperate as the Privacy Commissioner’s report looms.
Perhaps it’s time someone explained to her that “personal responsibility” is more than just an attack line to use on beneficiaries.
Weeding out low quality
Written By: - Date published: 8:02 am, April 24th, 2010 - 58 comments
The Nats are looking to cut $1.8 billion in spending over four years. Where from? What and who will be deemed to be “low quality” in need of “weeding out”? The answers are going to tell us a lot about the National Party’s values…
Whanau Ora report unacceptably poor
Written By: - Date published: 6:42 pm, April 8th, 2010 - 41 comments
The Whanau Ora Taskforce report is out and it fails to even attempt to answer simple questions like ‘why is Whanau Ora the best way to help families’. It provides no evidence it will work. Check out the graphic to the right – what does it even mean? All we do know is Whanau Ora will put public money in unaccountable private hands and be privatisation by stealth.
Sticking it to the underclass
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, April 7th, 2010 - 39 comments
Remember “the underclass”? They were briefly fashionable in National circles in 2007. Now that they are the government National’s policies for the underclass seem to involve a good deal of beneficiary bashing. Invalids are being thrown off their benefit before the new legislation is even in effect. Election promises are being broken to remove the carrot and wield the stick. How will this help the underclass?
Maori Party ambushed
Written By: - Date published: 2:02 pm, March 30th, 2010 - 29 comments
The Maori Party says it was ambushed on National’s welfare reform policy, which Tariana Turia opposes. The Minister and the Associate Minister are at odds on the issue. Does this mean that the Maori Party will be making a stand? Don’t hold your breath…
Glorified holiday for Bennett
Written By: - Date published: 10:23 am, March 9th, 2010 - 45 comments
There are 276,000 jobless Kiwis. The seasonally-adjusted trend on dole numbers is still on the rise. Many other people fall through the gaps and are unable to get public assistance in their time of need.
What better time for the Minister for Social Development to bugger off for five weeks?
Whanau Ora defined-ish
Written By: - Date published: 10:31 am, February 18th, 2010 - 18 comments
BLiP gives the best definition of the Key Government’s billion dollar Whanau Ora plan to date: “Whanau Ora = privatisation of social services.â€
Yeah, it does. But I’m still struggling to understand what social services. Will Whanau Ora providers be running hospitals and clinics? Will they be running schools? Will they be making dole and super payments?
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