Written By: - Date published: 8:55 am, August 3rd, 2016 - 129 comments
Housing NZ has admitted that it is evicting tenants when only tiny trace amounts of meth are found on the property. It further admits that the testing regime is not fit for purpose. But, hey, they have the power to make people homeless and they’re not going to let fairness or common sense get in the way of their moral panic.
When did the War on Drugs become the War on the Poor?
Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, August 2nd, 2016 - 104 comments
NZ under National is being used internationally as an example of a bad welfare system.
Do we care? Are we going to fix it?
Written By: - Date published: 8:38 am, July 16th, 2016 - 72 comments
Anne Tolley has conceeded that the Nats will not meet their objective of getting 65,000 people off the benefit in the next two years. Good. It is the wrong goal.
Written By: - Date published: 9:42 am, July 10th, 2016 - 62 comments
Temuera Morrison has made a powerful video for the Women’s Refuge annual appeal. He’s making a difference. You can do something the Key Government won’t do. You can make a difference. You can stop keeping mum about domestic violence and you can help fund your local refuge.
Written By: - Date published: 11:47 am, June 7th, 2016 - 13 comments
Some context for the debate.
Written By: - Date published: 10:28 am, June 3rd, 2016 - 51 comments
Practical trials of an Unconditional Basic Income (UBI) are taking place or are under consideration across Europe. Given the increasing automation of work it’s difficult to see a practical alternative to a UBI in the medium to long term.
Written By: - Date published: 8:52 am, May 31st, 2016 - 38 comments
News broke this morning about a major mistake discovered in September 2014 during the height of an election campaign. But it was hidden from view until now. It makes you wonder how the news could have been hidden for so long.
Written By: - Date published: 10:29 am, May 25th, 2016 - 121 comments
The Government is planning to change funding for budgeting services and to require providers to become “financial mentors” rather than “budgeting advisers” as if this will improve things.
Written By: - Date published: 9:31 am, May 20th, 2016 - 49 comments
John Campbell is covering the homeless crisis with stories that highlight the personal tragedies that are occurring and the complete indifference of the Government to their plight.
Written By: - Date published: 9:42 am, May 18th, 2016 - 54 comments
The Government’s promised funding for 3,000 new beds for the homeless will not create any but will make sure that existing beds are kept available.
Written By: - Date published: 9:08 am, May 18th, 2016 - 54 comments
Prime Minister John Key has today announced a radical plan to solve the housing crisis. The homeless are now welcome to go flatting with him in his Parnell bach. The plan includes draining the swimming pool and subdividing it into flats, putting hammocks in the palm trees and making soup in the pool cabana’s kitchen. Max Key may have to move out to make way for the homeless, but the PM described that as a painful sacrifice he was now willing to make in the light of his son’s most recent social media posting.
Written By: - Date published: 11:13 am, May 15th, 2016 - 43 comments
TV3’s excellent current affairs show, The Hui (Mihingarangi Forbes) just screened a special report on poverty. What happens to people who are kicked off a benefit?
Written By: - Date published: 7:40 am, April 8th, 2016 - 43 comments
Why does it take a volunteer organisation like Auckland Action Against Poverty to help people get the benefits that they are entitled to?
Written By: - Date published: 8:45 am, March 29th, 2016 - 231 comments
“More than 2400 benefits suspended since 2013”. I have a quick question…
Written By: - Date published: 3:01 pm, March 22nd, 2016 - 32 comments
If ‘home is where the heart is’ then what’s the story when everything’s heartless?
Written By: - Date published: 9:41 pm, March 21st, 2016 - 47 comments
The thing about not having great sight is that sometimes you don’t really see things coming.
Written By: - Date published: 12:43 pm, March 14th, 2016 - 361 comments
As with capital gains tax, the political left is kicking off a very important discussion for NZ.
Written By: - Date published: 3:23 pm, February 1st, 2016 - 84 comments
A Kiwi Kids allowance for all under fives, with totally fee free public primary and secondary schools.
Written By: - Date published: 11:04 am, January 26th, 2016 - 163 comments
National is the master of micro changes to policies which give it the appearance that it is being hard on beneficiaries. But in extreme cases the policies produce ridiculous results. Such as the 89 year old war veteran who lost his superannuation and was forced to beg after had an arrest warrant issued for trespass.
Written By: - Date published: 1:39 pm, January 22nd, 2016 - 38 comments
Bennet’s proposal to incentivise / coerce state housing applicants to leave Auckland for housing elsewhere seems to have hit a snag…
Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, January 8th, 2016 - 81 comments
Jamie Whyte yesterday wrote an article for the Herald claiming that child poverty does not exist in New Zealand. But he wrote essentially the same article in 2005 about child poverty in Great Britain.
Written By: - Date published: 10:39 am, January 2nd, 2016 - 306 comments
New research from Morgan Foundation suggests that poverty can be alleviated by increasing incomes and that the beneficiaries will be children of poor families not vendors of alcohol and cigarettes.
Written By: - Date published: 7:05 am, December 18th, 2015 - 104 comments
A guest post from McFlock on what we might do about poverty when the talking’s done.
Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, December 16th, 2015 - 206 comments
John Key has tried to deflect from his government’s appalling record on child poverty with some throw-away nonsense about drugs. There are just three teeny tiny problems with that line…
Written By: - Date published: 1:45 pm, December 12th, 2015 - 195 comments
It is that time of year when poor people realise just how poor they really are – the season for giving, the season to be jolly. Well that may be so for some of us, but some people will be working on Christmas day instead of spending time with loved ones. These will probably be […]
Written By: - Date published: 9:45 am, November 20th, 2015 - 12 comments
Saturday in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
Written By: - Date published: 11:49 am, November 17th, 2015 - 309 comments
There is a suggestion that the Government may move to retrospectively take away the rights of beneficiaries and former beneficiaries to claim for benefits properly owing to them.
Written By: - Date published: 2:59 pm, November 9th, 2015 - 9 comments
Isn’t it amazing how many Ministers can’t wait to front up to the media when they are selling. But when it comes to after sale service they just don’t want to front?
Written By: - Date published: 4:45 pm, October 30th, 2015 - 97 comments
Guest post from Kōrero Pono on the politics and ethics of food banks.
Written By: - Date published: 10:45 am, October 14th, 2015 - 73 comments
We need a welfare system that acknowledges the realities of cancer and other major medical conditions. That isn’t “special treatment”, it is basic human decency.
Written By: - Date published: 12:07 pm, October 5th, 2015 - 22 comments
I guess it’s not exactly news that WINZ is dysfunctional, but its interesting to have some actual data on one of the symptoms. Bonus feature – one of the Nats’ worst excuses ever.
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