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The Dinner Party

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 12:29 pm, July 30th, 2017 - 4 comments

An entirely relevant piece of prop from overseas.

Reactions to Metiria – the political and the personal

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:04 am, July 29th, 2017 - 181 comments

There are basically two kinds of reaction to Metiria’s bombshell, the practiced “outrage’ of the usual political operatives, and the support of the ordinary people. I think that the louder the operatives shout, the more that people are going to side with the under-dog.

Raging at Metiria is not about the fraud – it’s that she sided with the lepers

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 7:01 am, July 27th, 2017 - 324 comments

Graham Cameron cuts through the obsession over fraud to the cultural values of the last 30 years and the fear beneath.

Beneficiary reduction targets, homelessness and suicide

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:01 am, July 26th, 2017 - 41 comments

Most people would be shocked to learn that each WINZ case manager is assigned the target of getting a certain number of people off the benefit every month. This is one of the reasons why we have such a punitive and aggressive welfare system. Fewer than half of those removed from the benefit go to jobs. The Nats neither know nor care what happens to the rest, but links to the rising number of homeless and our shocking suicide statistics should be investigated.

The truth behind job numbers

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:04 am, July 25th, 2017 - 25 comments

Bruce Munro’s excellent piece in the ODT, looks in to the truth behind the Nats’ job numbers: “It does not take much digging in Statistics New Zealand’s latest Household Labour Force Survey to uncover a growing world of low-paid work, insufficient working hours, financial struggles and unfulfilled lives”.

Nat U-turn on immigration must include protection from exploitation

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:02 am, July 24th, 2017 - 24 comments

The Nats have U-turned on their immigration restrictions. It must come with better protection for migrant workers. The way we exploit them in NZ is shameful.

Nats won’t follow Australia and UK in crackdown on multinational tax avoidance

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:30 am, July 23rd, 2017 - 14 comments

Collins’ excuse is just waffle. Why won’t the Nats follow Australia and UK in a crackdown on multinational tax avoidance?

New Zealand is number 1! *

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 7:21 am, July 22nd, 2017 - 127 comments

* in a list of developed nations for homelessness.

Government admits it has “no idea” on homeless

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:54 am, July 21st, 2017 - 61 comments

Today in news that makes you want to scream: “Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett has admitted “in hindsight” the Government’s response to the housing crisis has been too slow.”

National reckon public health and education are a waste of money?

Written By: Natwatch - Date published: 9:11 am, July 20th, 2017 - 27 comments

According to Morning Report the Nats are calling Labour’s budget for more spending on health and education “a plan to waste more money”. Tell it to the people who can’t afford private alternatives and depend on the public systems.

#IamMetiria

Written By: Bill - Date published: 7:00 am, July 20th, 2017 - 35 comments

If you know that feeling of dread when you get a WINZ letter, or if you’ve had roiling anxiety from being ‘called in’ for a WINZ interview, or sighed with relief when the letter from WINZ turns out to be a replacement community services card, then follow #IamMetiria. And if you just don’t recognise those, then you might want to follow #IamMetiria to find out why others do…

I am Metiria

Written By: weka - Date published: 9:12 am, July 19th, 2017 - 75 comments

If you’ve ever left a WINZ office crying because you asked for help and were humiliated instead #IamMetiria

Flavell has “no idea” how homelessness got so bad

Written By: Natwatch - Date published: 8:00 am, July 19th, 2017 - 173 comments

Could it have anything to do with the government of the last nine years, and the policies that you and your party have been supporting?

Benefit fraud vs white collar crime

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:02 am, July 18th, 2017 - 39 comments

The political hills are echoing with the aftermath of Meteri Turei’s confession of lying to WINZ, and Paula Bennett’s conciliatory and very precisely worded claim of not having done so “deliberately”. A good time to revisit the topic of benefit fraud vs white collar crime / tax evasion.

Metiria Turei and Paula Bennett on benefit fraud

Written By: Natwatch - Date published: 10:46 am, July 17th, 2017 - 241 comments

Turei’s admission that she lied to WINZ back in the day was a political gamble. It could resonate with a big chunk of non-voters – here’s a politician that’s just like us – has been through what we’re going through. On the other hand it gives the usual mean-spirited righties a club to beat her with. Interesting that Paula Bennett is treading so lightly round the issue.

This is not an image of a Low Flying Penguin.

Written By: Bill - Date published: 1:40 pm, July 16th, 2017 - 62 comments

It’s also is not a picture of a person claiming entitlements who has not felt compelled to bend the truth when dealing with WINZ. Both images would be equally difficult to find.

The Greens’ new welfare policy

Written By: weka - Date published: 12:24 pm, July 16th, 2017 - 312 comments

“Green co-leader Metiria Turei described it as one of the most important Green policies in her 15 years in Parliament.”

Who are the real enemies of the centre left?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 11:22 am, July 15th, 2017 - 80 comments

Simon Wilson recently claimed that left wingers and party members are problems for and enemies of Labour and the Greens. This is why I think he is wrong.

Nats panic over climbing prison population – I have some advice

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:22 am, July 15th, 2017 - 70 comments

The government is “seeking advice” over the skyrocketing prison population. I’m happy to oblige – but they aren’t going to like it…

A clear choice for voters

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:10 am, July 14th, 2017 - 62 comments

Herald editorial: “Credit where it is due. It takes courage to say that if elected, you will cancel a tax cut. … In doing so it has presented the voters with a clear choice which, for those without young families or earning above the income limits, will mean deciding whether to take the tax cut or give the benefit to children of the less well off.”

Nat / ACT don’t think poor people should have kids

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:01 am, July 13th, 2017 - 129 comments

ACT’s David Seymour thinks that poor people shouldn’t be allowed to have kids. If that sounds familiar it should – the Nats have said more or less the same thing over the years.

Does the left do more of the same or does it get radical this election?

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 11:12 am, July 7th, 2017 - 252 comments

Andrew Dean has written an opinion piece for Stuff where he suggests that to win this election Labour and the Greens have to become more radical.

The cost of the surplus

Written By: Natwatch - Date published: 12:39 pm, July 6th, 2017 - 9 comments

Where are our priorities?

Labour and National government spending

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 9:27 am, July 6th, 2017 - 3 comments

The great Auckland housing crash of 2017

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 7:02 am, July 6th, 2017 - 79 comments

Two indicators both agree that the Auckland property market has started trending downwards. Over leveraged buyers are going to get burned, and first time buyers are still shut out. Perfect.

Citizenship – one law for the rich

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:01 am, July 3rd, 2017 - 185 comments

As other citizenship cases are compared to Peter Thiel, it starkly highlights our “one law for the rich” approach.

About that pay equity deal

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 10:26 am, July 1st, 2017 - 15 comments

More excellent reporting from Newsroom: “Long overdue pay rate increases affecting 55,000 New Zealand care and support workers kick in on July 1. But the Government’s failure to fully fund the changes is threatening to derail service providers”

Spare a thought for the homeless tonight

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:49 am, July 1st, 2017 - 20 comments

Not just because it’s winter, and the weather is lousy, but also because of this…

Employers don’t like Labour’s new employment relations package

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 11:45 am, June 30th, 2017 - 43 comments

In shocking news, it turns out that employers don’t like Labour’s new employment relations package. They (and the usual suspects) are running lines about a return to the 1970s. A time when workers’ share of the wealth was higher, poverty was lower, inequality was lower, and workers had more rights. Sounds awful.

Brighter Future Delivering the Cusp of Something Special for New Zealanders

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 11:41 am, June 28th, 2017 - 8 comments

That’s a mish-mash of Nat soundbites past and present. For the reality underlying it all, check out the excellent RNZ series “Is this the Brighter Future?”