The Welfare Expert Advisory Group has recommended 42 changes to the welfare system – the Government has delivered on just three. Stating, they could not deliver on every recommendation at once, hence change would take years.
And yes, it would be interesting to know what impact NZF played in Labour's response. Nevertheless, this seems to be one Labour and the Greens are fronting, hence I strongly feel for the Minister having to defend this piss poor effort.
Indeed it is. And what a poor initial response it is. Hence, being dissed should have been well foreseen and expected. Especially coming off the complete dumping of a CGT. If they didn't expected disappointment from this, they are are out of touch.
They better up their game in the Budget or supporters will be further disappointed.
The Chairman's just annoyed that the overwhelming mandate for radical left-wing reform delivered by the nation's voters isn't being implemented. Or, The Chairman's a disingenuous bullshitter, take your pick depending on how delusional you are about this government's electoral mandate.
Meanwhile, people go cold and hungry filling our hospitals, resort to crime creating social harm and filling our jails or end up in further debt. And some just give up, adding to our growing suicide list.
This is a problem that requires urgent action now.
The trouble is that without the BRR labgrn would have had "tax& spend! Bad with money! Will destroy the economy!" throughout the campaign, rather than "holes" everyone said were imaginary. So even a couple of percent there would give us a nat govt.
Also, without NZ1, the coalition government wouldn't exist.
So those are what stops us having a radical government. Try for labgrn next time, and bate thy manly concern in the meantime.
Labour have fiscal scope to do more without breaking the BRR. Moreover, spending on the poor now would create wider health and social savings going forward.
And from what I can gather, NZF was/is supportive of the report. Additionally, I've yet to see Labour blame NZF for this latest shortfall and failure to deliver.
whatever. I count two pre-budget announcements (statsnz and welfare) and you're talking about how the govt has "fiscal scope to do more". Duh: that's the rest of the budget.
The willingness of Rip Van Winkles to believe falsehoods which connect them and maintain them in the style to which they have been accustomed, means that Gnats will continually mass on the sidelines, and even invade the pitch, looking for any excuse to unseat Labour Coalition. They are like a mafia group, our people who owe allegiance only to themselves. I suggest that our integrity as a society is failing and falling.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia# They have built up their group successfully. Do we have a nascent group in NZ? Is there something that ordinary citizens can learn and adapt to for honest, thriving living conditions.
Cosa nostra – our thing – Mafia have also been known as The Honoured Society. We have criminals who have operated under false credentials, people who steal and commit violence, and can get away with it because of their standing in the community, almost the start of an honoured society.
And if they were spending more you and soimon would be decrying their financial mismanagement.
Maybe the coalition can do better. Maybe they can negotiate better to satisfy individual part priorities and run closer to the BRR that helped them snatch victory. Maybe they can even take more of a risk against economic forecasts.
But I do not believe your concern to be offered in good faith.
A big part of the problem is parts of the left defending the government despite its behaviour. The constant litany of excuses for Labour's inaction on welfare is astounding. A commenter on here, for example, defended criticism of Labour's refusal to lift basic benefit rates by referring to the annual 1 April CPI increases – for two years running! – and despite it being pointed out both times that these increases are required by legislation.
That's a point SPC. Inflation is a basket of expenditure on defined items. A drop in air transport costs may bring down the annual figure, but as at one time, a large rise in price of green vegetables put it up for the people whose need for food is bigger than their want for air transport.
The media don't seem to put up useful information for the people as much as they used to. Otago University has done a price movement comparison since 1972 for a set number of food items that a household would be likely to buy.
The estimated weekly food cost for a Dunedin family of four included an adult male ($68.36), an adult female ($57.99), adolescent boy ($71.39) and 10-year-old ($49.83) was $247.57 a week.
Dr Mainvil, who is a senior lecturer and a registered dietitian, said most of the Dunedin costs came from fruits and vegetables (29%), meats/proteins (29%), and dairy (15%).
If there could be a move to everyone having at least a wide bucket growing a few vegs micro-managed I think we would get better health. Groups meeting regularly and making bread with each other from bulk purchased flour and also biscuits for the treats, would help with the filling up, and being able to buy pieces of bulk cheese and plain yoghurt that each person flavoured with jam would mean good dairy and lower sugar. The lower income people need to be able to access ‘living groups’ where you get awhi and come away feeling happy and hopeful.
The present economic-driven society would try to put a price on the above feelings, perhaps so they would fit into a well-being measure, but they are priceless.
There is an old pop song, Little things mean a lot. And when you are struggling, knowing that there are helps out there for you if you can just get to them, gives a lift up, one step at a time.
Note how decisions made in the 1990's were deliberate to obscure the fact that the rate at which benefits were adjusted was less than the rising costs faced, so that they fell in real value, even after the cuts made earlier in that decade.
Despite us knowing this, we still adjust benefits by an average rate designed to minimise the annual adjustment to benefits. Last year necessities went up 1.8% and the average CPI 1.4% was the measure used to increase the benefits – thus another real cut in value.
There have been similar discrepancies over the years. One was something like a 1% CPI versus a 4% cost of living increase. Basic benefit rates used to be tagged to the cost of living which stopped in the 1970s – completely illogical unless the intention is to cut benefits in real terms.
The lower the CPI increase the greater likelihood the resulting basic benefit rate increase brings absurd outcomes, like a reduction in accommodation supplement greater than the increase to the basic rate.
If Frank’s were a serious debater he’d point out that lazt media are at fault when they cast labour as the govt, lab only got in the mid 30s. But it’s just lazy journalist on naff radio who make the story about lab, not about how all parties need to agree.
The Chairman @ 1, Unfortunately they have had to deal with myrtle rust and mico plasma bovis, the discovery of under funding in the health system, helping the homeless and recognising the hidden unemployed, starting traing and apprentice schemes and a first year free for any tertiary education.
They are putting two billion a year back into the super fund trying to expand the Housing NZ build and increase State Housing.
They are trying to do their best for the Muslim community after Christchurch, while finding the threats in society.
Along the way they have limited Loan Sharking and wheel clamping fees.
They have worked with the mining families, replaced roads and bridges washed away by storms.
They have provided more for those in poverty, but it has to be agreed to by New Zealand First so is less than Labour and the Greens hoped for. This is the difficulty of Coalitions where the major party in Government can not win a vote in the house. PM Ardern has commented "Consensus is my job". CGT was a case in point where agreement didn't happen.
This is quite a change from National's "What housing crisis?" :They need to make better choices" :The youth of NZ are useless" etc.
This Government is not perfect, but boy it is a huge improvement on the last lot!! It has been 2 action packed years, with more to come. I see the big money is coming out to fight for their "rightful place". So I hope the left get their funding ready.
I see the big money is coming out to fight for their "rightful place". So I hope the left get their funding ready.
Yes, they do stump up with more enthusiasm than 'lefties' in support of the Parties of the Worthy and Deserving, probably because their Parties deliver on election promises.
In days gone by even the strugglers would chip in a bob or two to support a local candidate because sometimes they would actually deliver for the poor.
Not now though. One promises to be tough on the idle poor, and delivers.
The other pretends loving kindness for the poor and delivers more money to get tougher on the idle poor.
Arbeit mach frei.
Sweet naff all for those who can see no end to the punitive treatment of those who simply cannot commit to paid work due to health and disability.
Rosemary, to compare this Government with the Nazis is unfair and untrue. There is a directive from the top and new training aimed at assisting those who visit Winz.
A friend's daughter who works for Winz says there are people 50+ looking for work, At Winz there was talk they were considering taking on some older people with work experience to assist others get ready to apply for positions, especially as some had not had to apply for a job for twenty years, and needed skills updated.
Perhaps this is part of that new thinking. I did not hear them say it was aimed at those who could not work.
Perhaps some of what we are hoping for may be in the budget. I say we, as I am a disabled person aged 77.
Considering those on the Supported Living Payment make up 53% of those on the Main benefit it is surprising that this group are last to be discussed in the Executive Summary…they limp in on page 18.
Now, by any measure page 18 makes pretty grim reading.
Unfortunately even the Working Group could not focus for more than a nanosecond on those on the SLP who will most likely never be able to commit to work, even part time.
Even this section of the Report emphasizes how it is through getting into paid work that a beneficiaries lot will improve.
Work will make you free.
I will be convinced that this government is less like the last when they actually step up and start treating this particular group of beneficiaries with greater compassion and at least a modicum of respect.
Arbeit macht frei. "Mach" isn't a word. If you're going to misuse other people's languages in a wildly, gratuitously inappropriate comparison of the NZ government with the Nazis, at least trouble yourself to get the words right.
Oops. Running on very little sleep at the moment. Ambulances and A&E in the wee hours of the morning and I shall never make good on the time or the lost sleep. I shall go away and beat myself up over a spelling mistake.
Now…'gratuitously inappropriate comparison with the Nazis'…if you're going to go all Godwin.
Shall we have a discussion about the lives of Kiwis forced to live at the mercy of the State?
Of course you too will have read the Report?
You will know from the report that the dire circumstances, the insecurity that especially those on the (un) Supported Living Payment have to endure has not just developed under this particular government. Nor can the Previous Mob take the blame/credit entire.
Oh, no, siree. This has been a cross- party long term plan. There has been subtle and not so subtle messaging from all political parties that Work is the answer to most of the ills of the underclasses. And while most of us can agree to that idea to a certain point…none of the parties have ever specifically addressed the circumstances of the person who experiences the catastrophic decline in fortunes when ill-health or permanent disability (not supported by ACC) affects them and their family.
No government has done anything to ease this particular brand of discrimination in over forty years.
The people for whom work is an impossibility are criminally neglected by our welfare system, and are thrown on the scrap heap of utter hopelessness.
This working group belabours the 'supported into work' narrative and skims over those who most likely will never work again. They failed to convince this Government in the two months since handing the report over that the needs of this group demand prompt attention.
Today's announcement will have offered no hope for those for who no amount of carrot or stick will enable them to be liberated from dire poverty by securing employment.
The low mortality rate suggests you're being a bit over the top. /sarc
I'll be reading the report over the next few weeks. I suspect a number of NGOs will be aligning their campaigning with the report, identifying which recommendations are achievable with suitable direct pressure on the government and which recommendations need to be lobbied to the public first.
If it were that simple it wouldn't have taken so long to even get enough voters to accept child poverty existed as a problem (rather than bad individual parents).
Left wing movies have been produced since the neoliberal experiment started. They only preach to the choir.
Mycoplasma bovis? Grant Robertson publicly committed to throwing as much money as it takes at the problem. A problem the country could cope with.
Therefore, it's shameful Labour aren't as committed to addressing poverty, which will also go a long way in addressing health and other social problems.
Not much evidence of "expand the Housing NZ build and increase State Housing".
So far this is the area of biggest fail by the government. In fact I would be surprised if they build as many houses this financial year (July 2018 to June 2019) as National did in their last year.
a question for you Wayne…if as you suggest there is so little difference between Labour and National why is it so critical to you (and your party) that Labour are not in control of treasury?…is it perhaps the perks of office?…surely nothing so base as that?
So as part of their coalition deal, Labour and the Greens commission this report. They get the transformational advice most of them would have wanted. How do they respond? Welfare Minister Carmel Sepuloni agrees the welfare system is not working. Marama Davidson agrees the welfare system is not working. And then they commit to ignore the report's big recommendations.
This report certainly explains why they dropped the story about getting married into the news cycle. They want something, anything, that will keep this Welfare Report out of the headlines tomorrow. What will they do next week when the news is just as bad for the idiots who comprise our Government?
Then there’s the Greens. National would not support even these few reforms promised, so they have the power to demand more their coalition partners. They have the power to get the wins New Zealand First has achieved on labour reform, three strikes and the CGT. Yet they are backing Labour’s cautious approach and promising to back these changes. That’s a very odd political calculation.
Very, very odd. I'm simply not understanding the Green's game plan. If they actually have one. After Metiria, and the near groundswell of support her message received, I expected them to do more, or at least something, in the social just sphere.
IfLabour is genuine in it's aim to be transformational and address the rank inequality and the Greens had a smidgen of spine, then combined they'd surely be able subdue Winston on a few issues?
If they really cared.
Maybe completely off base here but I suspect there is a lack of cohesion in the Green ranks, especially with the younger ones. Jan Logie has done well, and…?
They really seem to have lost their comms ability and Labour is not selling their vision well enough either. Both better lift their game a whole lot around the Budget.
"Very, very odd. I'm simply not understanding the Green's game plan. "
You've been around a long time Rosemary, I'm sure you've learnt that for all politicians their own interests trump those of their party and the public.
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Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vanita Yadav, Senior Research Fellow, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University Brett Boardman/Belvoir The complex and grappling issue of violence against women takes centre stage in the soul-stirring solo dance drama Nayika: A Dancing Girl. During a dinner conversation ...
Disruption to patient care from a nationwide junior doctors strike is bordering on unsafe, a senior doctor claims, despite what health officials say. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Diepstraten, Senior Research Officer, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Ground Picture/Shutterstock The anti-cancer drug abemaciclib (also known as Vernezio) has this month been added to the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to treat certain ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominic McAfee, Postdoctoral researcher, marine ecology, University of Adelaide Robbie Porter, OzFish Unlimited Around Australia, hundreds of people are coming together to help a once-prized, but decimated and largely forgotten marine ecosystem. They’re busy restoring Australia’s native oyster and mussel reefs. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Webb, Lecturer, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology Austin Human/Unsplash How does Earth stop meteors from hitting Earth and hurting people? –Asher, 6 years 11 months, New South Wales Alright, let’s embark on a meteor ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rory Mulcahy, Associate Professor of Marketing, University of the Sunshine Coast Professional sports organisations regularly promote and develop initiatives to support diversity, equity and inclusion. While sport has the power to change attitudes by sparking conversations about political issues and social ...
Comment: The weekly Monday post-Cabinet press conference is a useful forum for observing Christopher Luxon and how he is developing into the job of Prime Minister. He attempts to convey the impression of a man of action, speaking fast, delivering memorised National Party strategies in a connect-the-slogans kind of way, ...
Double votes, missing ballot boxes, tired tech and stressed staff: how tick-tallying went astray at last year’s election. Cast your mind back to November 2023, that bleary-eyed post-election period duringwhichwewaited, andwaited, for a coalition deal to be hammered out. A distraction from the hotel-hopping of our ...
International audiences are starting to discover what New Zealand already knew about After the Party.When After the Party aired in New Zealand last year, the response was fast and furious. In his preview for Rec Room, Duncan Greive said it was a “gritty, wrenching and highly confronting” series. By ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shahram Akbarzadeh, Convenor of the Middle East Studies Forum (MESF), and Acting Director the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University Iran’s leadership has been a direct beneficiary of the months-long war in Gaza. With every missile that Israel fires ...
Claire Mabey reviews the haunting and sexy debut novel from Sinéad Gleeson, who is about to touch down in Aotearoa for a string of live events.When Irish writer Sinéad Gleeson was in Aotearoa in 2018 with her spectacular collection of essays, Constellations, she told me she was working on ...
PNG Post-Courier Bougainville Affairs Minister Manasseh Makiba has described the Post-Courier’s front page story yesterday regarding a meeting between Bougainville and national government leaders as “sensationalised” and without substance. The Autonomous Bougainville Government (AGB) had warned it might use “other avenues to gain its independence” should the PNG government “continue ...
Where some saw the worst press conference given by the government to date, Anna Rawhiti-Connell recognised girl maths game.Nicola Willis, recently exasperated by comparisons to Ruth Richardson, said she was “a bit sick of being compared with every female finance minister that’s ever been out there.”Some think that’s ...
The March results are reported against forecasts based on the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update 2023 (HYEFU 2023), published on 20 December 2023 and the results for the same period for the previous year. ...
Jamie Arbuckle, the district councillor who became an MP but decided to keep getting paid for both roles, will instead donate one salary to charity. ...
Adding gender to the Human Rights Act would simply make the implicit explicit. So why is it so controversial? Paul Thistoll explain. At present, Aotearoa’s 1993 Human Rights Act (HRA) includes sex, marital status, religious belief, ethical belief (meaning a lack of religious belief), colour, race, ethnicity or national origin, ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, an 18-year-old who’s studying and working in hospo shares their approach to spending and saving. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Transmasc Age: 18 Ethnicity: Pākehā/Māori Role: Student, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Kelsey, Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Resources Minister Shane Jones has reportedly asked officials for advice on whether oil and gas companies could be offered “bonds” as compensation if drilling rights offered by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Gleeson, Associate Professor of Law, Macquarie University Shutterstock The Albanese government is weighing up the costs of delivering an election promise to protect religious people from discrimination in Commonwealth law. Such protections were relatively uncontroversial when included in state anti-discrimination ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yen Ying Lim, Associate Professor, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University Pexels/Andrea Piacquadio Dementia is often described as “the long goodbye”. Although the person is still alive, dementia slowly and irreversibly chips away at their memories and the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Judy Bush, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, The University of Melbourne Adam Calaitzis/Shutterstock I met with a friend for a walk beside Merri Creek, in inner Melbourne. She had lived in the area for a few years, and as we walked ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Throsby, Distinguished Professor of Economics, Macquarie University Arts companies and individual artists in Australia are supported by government arts agencies, philanthropists, industry bodies, private donors and patrons. However, it is frequently overlooked that a major source of support for the arts ...
Harm Reduction Coalition Aotearoa, a new incorporated society dedicated to ending harmful drug policies, officially launched today, seeks a new fit-for-purpose drug law for Aotearoa New Zealand, rooted in science, experience and evidence. ...
The Corrections Minister admits he "muddied the water" after he and the Prime Minister repeatedly provided incorrect information about a $1.9 billion prison spend-up. ...
It took a post-post-cabinet statement to confirm that 810 new beds will be built at Waikeria, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Lili Tokaduadua was only 15 when she left her family in Fiji to pursue her netball dream in New Zealand. She’d been playing the sport for 10 years and was offered a netball scholarship at Auckland’s Howick College. Now, in her first year out of high school, the 19-year-old defender ...
The beloved local grocers lost a legal challenge to stop a new cycleway outside their store. Joel MacManus reports. In the annals of New Zealand legal history, there are a few brave people who have dared to stand up to the powers that be, no matter how bleak the odds ...
How what we produce and what we eat connects us to the world beyond our shores, visualised. Walking around a supermarket or vege shop, it might be obvious that everything on the shelves came from somewhere. But you might ...
Professor Jemma Geoghegan, of the University of Otago, Otakou Whakaihu Waka, co-leads a Te Niwha project aimed at understanding how and where avian influenza could affect Aotearoa New Zealand, as the highly infectious H5N1 virus spreads globally. The virus has now spread to all continents except Oceania and was recently ...
Thirty years on from Rwanda’s genocide, is guilt over the atrocities is blinding the world to the true nature of its current leadership? The post The repressive underside of Rwanda’s regime appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Opinion: Last week, important recommendations for our criminal justice system were made by the international community. Every five years, each member of the United Nations has its human rights practices reviewed. This rolling event – the Universal Periodic Review – is the culmination of a government reporting on its human ...
Highly pathogenic avian influenza – H5N1, or bird flu – has been flying around the world since the late 1990s. New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands are so far free of it, but now it’s been discovered in mainland Antarctica and scientists say it’s only a matter of time ...
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The following interview with auto electrician and former caver Stu Berendt, 68, of Charleston on the West Coast, came about because he was part of the caving team that found the rare and amazing fossil remains of the giant Haast eagle, the subject of one of the year’s best books, ...
A $1.8b funding boost for Pharmac still won’t enable it to buy more drugs, raising questions about the Government’s approach to the agency The post Can Pharmac do more with the same pot of money? appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Eric Stokan, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Maryland, Baltimore County If you live in one of the most economically deprived neighborhoods in your city, you might think the government is directing a smaller share of public funds to your community. ...
Wansolwara The news media’s crucial role in climate change and environment journalism was the focus of The University of the South Pacific’s Journalism Programme 2024 World Press Freedom Day celebrations. The European Union Ambassador to the Pacific, Barbara Plinkert, and Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Henry Puna were the chief ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Adams, Professor of Corporate Law & Academic Director of UNE Sydney campus, University of New England Last August, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched legal proceedings against Qantas. The consumer watchdog accused the airline of selling thousands of tickets ...
This episode of A View From Afar was recorded LIVE on May 6, 2024 (NZST) which is Sunday evening, May 5, 2024 at 8:30pm (USEST). In an analytical essay titled ‘A moment of friction’ political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan wrote how we are living within a decisive moment ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Taylor, Assistant Professor, Bond University Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures At the crux of the critical response to Luca Guadagnino’s new movie Challengers is one word: “sexy”. The film charts a love triangle between three up-and-coming tennis players: Tashi (Zendaya), ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jenny Stewart, Professor of Public Policy, ADFA Canberra, UNSW Sydney For years, First Nations people have been telling governments they want to be listened to. In particular, they want more ownership of the programs and services that are supposed to help them. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Why do trees have bark? Julien, age 6, Melbourne. This is a great question, Julien. We are so familiar with bark on trees, that most of us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anthony Nasser, Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy, University of Technology Sydney PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is an important ligament in the knee. It runs from the thigh bone (femur) to the shin bone (tibia) and helps stabilise ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne I covered the May 2 United Kingdom local government elections for The Poll Bludger. The Blackpool South parliamentary byelection was also held, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deanna Grant-Smith, Professor of Management, University of the Sunshine Coast The federal government has announced a “Commonwealth Prac Payment” to support selected groups of students doing mandatory work placements. Those who are studying to be a teacher, nurse, midwife or social ...
We round up everything coming to streaming services this week, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, ThreeNow, Neon and TVNZ+. If you love a dark comedy: Bodkin (Netflix, May 9)An English podcaster, an Irish podcaster and American podcaster walk into a pub and…make a TV show? ...
By Eleisha Foon, RNZ Pacific senior journalist A Pacific regionalism academic has called out New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS and says the security deal “raises serious questions for the Pacific region”. Auckland University of Technology academic Dr Marco de Jong ...
How worried should we be about the cloud? This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. I currently have a few thousand unread emails languishing in my inbox, mostly old marketing newsletters and piles of unread science journal press releases. I have a similar number ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nuurrianti Jalli, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies College of Arts and Sciences Department of Languages, Literature, and Communication Studies, Northern State University Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Southeast Asian governments not only have to deal with the virus but also with the false ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Murakami Wood, Professor of Critical Surveillance and Securities Studies, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa The skyline of Riyadh, the capital and largest city of the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia.(Shutterstock) There is a long history of planned city building by both governments ...
Labour falls short once again.
The Welfare Expert Advisory Group has recommended 42 changes to the welfare system – the Government has delivered on just three. Stating, they could not deliver on every recommendation at once, hence change would take years.
What the Greens have to say about Labour's shortfall:
https://www.greens.org.nz/news/press-release/milestone-green-party-campaign-overhaul-welfare-system
Rare for me to have to defend Labour, but you seem to have left NZF out of your analysis! Replace Labour with coalition in both comments works for me…
Feel free to add their response if you wish.
And yes, it would be interesting to know what impact NZF played in Labour's response. Nevertheless, this seems to be one Labour and the Greens are fronting, hence I strongly feel for the Minister having to defend this piss poor effort.
Um this is the initial response. It does not mean that nothing else will happen.
Why is it that the left and the right use the same tactics to diss the government?
Indeed it is. And what a poor initial response it is. Hence, being dissed should have been well foreseen and expected. Especially coming off the complete dumping of a CGT. If they didn't expected disappointment from this, they are are out of touch.
They better up their game in the Budget or supporters will be further disappointed.
Ever heard about the medium term?
Yes, but Labour's been promising on welfare for almost 30 years.
The Chairman's just annoyed that the overwhelming mandate for radical left-wing reform delivered by the nation's voters isn't being implemented. Or, The Chairman's a disingenuous bullshitter, take your pick depending on how delusional you are about this government's electoral mandate.
The latter's my pick. The Chairman's an intentional underminer.
Meanwhile, people go cold and hungry filling our hospitals, resort to crime creating social harm and filling our jails or end up in further debt. And some just give up, adding to our growing suicide list.
This is a problem that requires urgent action now.
I agree entirely.
The trouble is that without the BRR labgrn would have had "tax& spend! Bad with money! Will destroy the economy!" throughout the campaign, rather than "holes" everyone said were imaginary. So even a couple of percent there would give us a nat govt.
Also, without NZ1, the coalition government wouldn't exist.
So those are what stops us having a radical government. Try for labgrn next time, and bate thy manly concern in the meantime.
Labour have fiscal scope to do more without breaking the BRR. Moreover, spending on the poor now would create wider health and social savings going forward.
And from what I can gather, NZF was/is supportive of the report. Additionally, I've yet to see Labour blame NZF for this latest shortfall and failure to deliver.
whatever. I count two pre-budget announcements (statsnz and welfare) and you're talking about how the govt has "fiscal scope to do more". Duh: that's the rest of the budget.
The willingness of Rip Van Winkles to believe falsehoods which connect them and maintain them in the style to which they have been accustomed, means that Gnats will continually mass on the sidelines, and even invade the pitch, looking for any excuse to unseat Labour Coalition. They are like a mafia group, our people who owe allegiance only to themselves. I suggest that our integrity as a society is failing and falling.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia# They have built up their group successfully. Do we have a nascent group in NZ? Is there something that ordinary citizens can learn and adapt to for honest, thriving living conditions.
Cosa nostra – our thing – Mafia have also been known as The Honoured Society. We have criminals who have operated under false credentials, people who steal and commit violence, and can get away with it because of their standing in the community, almost the start of an honoured society.
?
The Government has been spending less than its self imposed BRR therefore has fiscal scope to do more than this piss poor effort.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/388087/government-books-show-2-point-5-billion-surplus
And if they were spending more you and soimon would be decrying their financial mismanagement.
Maybe the coalition can do better. Maybe they can negotiate better to satisfy individual part priorities and run closer to the BRR that helped them snatch victory. Maybe they can even take more of a risk against economic forecasts.
But I do not believe your concern to be offered in good faith.
Can't speak for "soimon". But as far as I'm concerned it all depends on how much more is being spent and what it is being spent on.
For example, spending more on reducing poverty now is astute spending as the savings it produced going forward would outweigh the cost of doing so.
Therefore, failing to address this now is financial mismanagement.
I stand corrected. You managed to be concerned both ways: the coalition government is simultaneously spending not enough and too much.
A big part of the problem is parts of the left defending the government despite its behaviour. The constant litany of excuses for Labour's inaction on welfare is astounding. A commenter on here, for example, defended criticism of Labour's refusal to lift basic benefit rates by referring to the annual 1 April CPI increases – for two years running! – and despite it being pointed out both times that these increases are required by legislation.
Today's best comment. Thank you Chris. (although there is little to smile about)
The government has even failed to move the CPI increase from the average to the CPI on necessities (the actual costs faced by those on low incomes).
That's a point SPC. Inflation is a basket of expenditure on defined items. A drop in air transport costs may bring down the annual figure, but as at one time, a large rise in price of green vegetables put it up for the people whose need for food is bigger than their want for air transport.
The media don't seem to put up useful information for the people as much as they used to. Otago University has done a price movement comparison since 1972 for a set number of food items that a household would be likely to buy.
https://www.otago.ac.nz/humannutrition/research/food-cost-survey/otago057919.html
Perhaps we should start regularly reading the Otago Daily Times, one of the independent city papers of New Zealand. https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/healthy-food-costs-still-rise
The 2018 survey showed:
The estimated weekly food cost for a Dunedin family of four included an adult male ($68.36), an adult female ($57.99), adolescent boy ($71.39) and 10-year-old ($49.83) was $247.57 a week.
Dr Mainvil, who is a senior lecturer and a registered dietitian, said most of the Dunedin costs came from fruits and vegetables (29%), meats/proteins (29%), and dairy (15%).
If there could be a move to everyone having at least a wide bucket growing a few vegs micro-managed I think we would get better health. Groups meeting regularly and making bread with each other from bulk purchased flour and also biscuits for the treats, would help with the filling up, and being able to buy pieces of bulk cheese and plain yoghurt that each person flavoured with jam would mean good dairy and lower sugar. The lower income people need to be able to access ‘living groups’ where you get awhi and come away feeling happy and hopeful.
The present economic-driven society would try to put a price on the above feelings, perhaps so they would fit into a well-being measure, but they are priceless.
There is an old pop song, Little things mean a lot. And when you are struggling, knowing that there are helps out there for you if you can just get to them, gives a lift up, one step at a time.
Note how decisions made in the 1990's were deliberate to obscure the fact that the rate at which benefits were adjusted was less than the rising costs faced, so that they fell in real value, even after the cuts made earlier in that decade.
http://archive.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/economic_indicators/prices_indexes/hlpi-backgrd-paper-oct-16/appendix-1.aspx
Despite us knowing this, we still adjust benefits by an average rate designed to minimise the annual adjustment to benefits. Last year necessities went up 1.8% and the average CPI 1.4% was the measure used to increase the benefits – thus another real cut in value.
There have been similar discrepancies over the years. One was something like a 1% CPI versus a 4% cost of living increase. Basic benefit rates used to be tagged to the cost of living which stopped in the 1970s – completely illogical unless the intention is to cut benefits in real terms.
The lower the CPI increase the greater likelihood the resulting basic benefit rate increase brings absurd outcomes, like a reduction in accommodation supplement greater than the increase to the basic rate.
oh… this new applet doesn’t like me.
If Frank’s were a serious debater he’d point out that lazt media are at fault when they cast labour as the govt, lab only got in the mid 30s. But it’s just lazy journalist on naff radio who make the story about lab, not about how all parties need to agree.
Looks like somewhat of a popular uprising in the UK local body political scene: https://www.bbc.com/news/topics/ceeqy0e9894t/england-local-elections-2019
Tories lost 442 seats so far, Labour lost 79. Greens up 42, from 6 last time. LibDems up 304. Independents up 215, UKIP down 54.
The Chairman @ 1, Unfortunately they have had to deal with myrtle rust and mico plasma bovis, the discovery of under funding in the health system, helping the homeless and recognising the hidden unemployed, starting traing and apprentice schemes and a first year free for any tertiary education.
They are putting two billion a year back into the super fund trying to expand the Housing NZ build and increase State Housing.
They are trying to do their best for the Muslim community after Christchurch, while finding the threats in society.
Along the way they have limited Loan Sharking and wheel clamping fees.
They have worked with the mining families, replaced roads and bridges washed away by storms.
They have provided more for those in poverty, but it has to be agreed to by New Zealand First so is less than Labour and the Greens hoped for. This is the difficulty of Coalitions where the major party in Government can not win a vote in the house. PM Ardern has commented "Consensus is my job". CGT was a case in point where agreement didn't happen.
This is quite a change from National's "What housing crisis?" :They need to make better choices" :The youth of NZ are useless" etc.
This Government is not perfect, but boy it is a huge improvement on the last lot!! It has been 2 action packed years, with more to come. I see the big money is coming out to fight for their "rightful place". So I hope the left get their funding ready.
I see the big money is coming out to fight for their "rightful place". So I hope the left get their funding ready.
Yes, they do stump up with more enthusiasm than 'lefties' in support of the Parties of the Worthy and Deserving, probably because their Parties deliver on election promises.
In days gone by even the strugglers would chip in a bob or two to support a local candidate because sometimes they would actually deliver for the poor.
Not now though. One promises to be tough on the idle poor, and delivers.
The other pretends loving kindness for the poor and delivers more money to get tougher on the idle poor.
Arbeit mach frei.
Sweet naff all for those who can see no end to the punitive treatment of those who simply cannot commit to paid work due to health and disability.
The invalids. The incurables.
Pretty much more of the same.
Rosemary, to compare this Government with the Nazis is unfair and untrue. There is a directive from the top and new training aimed at assisting those who visit Winz.
A friend's daughter who works for Winz says there are people 50+ looking for work, At Winz there was talk they were considering taking on some older people with work experience to assist others get ready to apply for positions, especially as some had not had to apply for a job for twenty years, and needed skills updated.
Perhaps this is part of that new thinking. I did not hear them say it was aimed at those who could not work.
Perhaps some of what we are hoping for may be in the budget. I say we, as I am a disabled person aged 77.
You will have read the Report, Patricia?
http://www.weag.govt.nz/assets/documents/WEAG-report/aed960c3ce/WEAG-Report.pdf
Considering those on the Supported Living Payment make up 53% of those on the Main benefit it is surprising that this group are last to be discussed in the Executive Summary…they limp in on page 18.
Now, by any measure page 18 makes pretty grim reading.
Unfortunately even the Working Group could not focus for more than a nanosecond on those on the SLP who will most likely never be able to commit to work, even part time.
Even this section of the Report emphasizes how it is through getting into paid work that a beneficiaries lot will improve.
Work will make you free.
I will be convinced that this government is less like the last when they actually step up and start treating this particular group of beneficiaries with greater compassion and at least a modicum of respect.
The history of Labour's position on welfare since reneging on their promise to reverse the 1991 benefit cuts tells a different story.
Arbeit macht frei. "Mach" isn't a word. If you're going to misuse other people's languages in a wildly, gratuitously inappropriate comparison of the NZ government with the Nazis, at least trouble yourself to get the words right.
Oops. Running on very little sleep at the moment. Ambulances and A&E in the wee hours of the morning and I shall never make good on the time or the lost sleep. I shall go away and beat myself up over a spelling mistake.
Now…'gratuitously inappropriate comparison with the Nazis'…if you're going to go all Godwin.
Shall we have a discussion about the lives of Kiwis forced to live at the mercy of the State?
Of course you too will have read the Report?
You will know from the report that the dire circumstances, the insecurity that especially those on the (un) Supported Living Payment have to endure has not just developed under this particular government. Nor can the Previous Mob take the blame/credit entire.
Oh, no, siree. This has been a cross- party long term plan. There has been subtle and not so subtle messaging from all political parties that Work is the answer to most of the ills of the underclasses. And while most of us can agree to that idea to a certain point…none of the parties have ever specifically addressed the circumstances of the person who experiences the catastrophic decline in fortunes when ill-health or permanent disability (not supported by ACC) affects them and their family.
No government has done anything to ease this particular brand of discrimination in over forty years.
The people for whom work is an impossibility are criminally neglected by our welfare system, and are thrown on the scrap heap of utter hopelessness.
This working group belabours the 'supported into work' narrative and skims over those who most likely will never work again. They failed to convince this Government in the two months since handing the report over that the needs of this group demand prompt attention.
Today's announcement will have offered no hope for those for who no amount of carrot or stick will enable them to be liberated from dire poverty by securing employment.
The low mortality rate suggests you're being a bit over the top. /sarc
I'll be reading the report over the next few weeks. I suspect a number of NGOs will be aligning their campaigning with the report, identifying which recommendations are achievable with suitable direct pressure on the government and which recommendations need to be lobbied to the public first.
Take them to the movies…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8jbVGKICso
If it were that simple it wouldn't have taken so long to even get enough voters to accept child poverty existed as a problem (rather than bad individual parents).
Left wing movies have been produced since the neoliberal experiment started. They only preach to the choir.
All of that list is Business As Usual for any NZ government.
Ad, why did the previous Government not do that then?
…why did the previous Government not do that then?
Because it was easy, and in their nature, to continue the work of the Previous Incumbents.
@patricia bremner
Mycoplasma bovis? Grant Robertson publicly committed to throwing as much money as it takes at the problem. A problem the country could cope with.
Therefore, it's shameful Labour aren't as committed to addressing poverty, which will also go a long way in addressing health and other social problems.
To not have a govt. that doesn't like NZ and it's general citizenry was an achievement but it's turned out quite abit better than that.
Patricia
Not much evidence of "expand the Housing NZ build and increase State Housing".
So far this is the area of biggest fail by the government. In fact I would be surprised if they build as many houses this financial year (July 2018 to June 2019) as National did in their last year.
… or indeed sold, or emptied during its term in office.
Utterly disingenuous as usual.
a question for you Wayne…if as you suggest there is so little difference between Labour and National why is it so critical to you (and your party) that Labour are not in control of treasury?…is it perhaps the perks of office?…surely nothing so base as that?
Tax report.
Justice overview.
Reserve Bank reform.
Welfare review.
Transport safety review.
Greenhouse gas advice.
Less a government, more a toilet paper manufacturing plant.
Congratulations Jacinda Ardern & Clarke Gayford, a very good representative couple for NZ
On this govt being timid: https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/on-the-inside/388435/tim-watkin-government-is-running-out-of-chances-to-be-transformational
Great article you linked to, Sacha. It hit the nail on the head.
This report certainly explains why they dropped the story about getting married into the news cycle. They want something, anything, that will keep this Welfare Report out of the headlines tomorrow. What will they do next week when the news is just as bad for the idiots who comprise our Government?
Then there’s the Greens. National would not support even these few reforms promised, so they have the power to demand more their coalition partners. They have the power to get the wins New Zealand First has achieved on labour reform, three strikes and the CGT. Yet they are backing Labour’s cautious approach and promising to back these changes. That’s a very odd political calculation.
Very, very odd. I'm simply not understanding the Green's game plan. If they actually have one. After Metiria, and the near groundswell of support her message received, I expected them to do more, or at least something, in the social just sphere.
If Labour is genuine in it's aim to be transformational and address the rank inequality and the Greens had a smidgen of spine, then combined they'd surely be able subdue Winston on a few issues?
If they really cared.
Maybe completely off base here but I suspect there is a lack of cohesion in the Green ranks, especially with the younger ones. Jan Logie has done well, and…?
They really seem to have lost their comms ability and Labour is not selling their vision well enough either. Both better lift their game a whole lot around the Budget.
"Very, very odd. I'm simply not understanding the Green's game plan. "
You've been around a long time Rosemary, I'm sure you've learnt that for all politicians their own interests trump those of their party and the public.