Don’t often do so, but listened to Brian Edwards and Michelle Boag on the afternoon panel session today. The main topic discussed was Metiria Turei’s confession. Michelle Boag’s responses served to confirm that the faux rage being expressed by all the usual media suspects is a further example of the ‘Right Wing’s Dirty Political’ machine. They are all saying exactly the same things and feeding off each other.
None of them mention the root cause of this sudden upsurge in this petty benefit fraud. It was the cutting of the benefit by Ruth Richardson in the early 1990s. I was one of those affected and the benefit went from around $150 per week to $130 per week. No-one could survive on $130 even in the 90s so hence the need to seek a source of income elsewhere. In my case it was doing housework for an elderly family friend. She was a Christian lady who would never have broken a law in her life. But she was happy to pay me cash under the table because she knew how desperate my financial situation was at that time.
So, here they are… screaming foul play when it was one of their own kind who forced people into having to “break the law” in the first place!
Can’t speak for Mickey but for myself its her total and utter cavalier attitude that rubs me up the wrong way, like shes not sorry nor repentant and it just smacks of a political stunt
She could have used her maiden speech and then paid whatever money she owes back, could have done it when she become co-leader but nope she waits until a couple of months out from the election
Well shes made a gamble so it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out. Personally I think this is going to backfire on the Greens and it won’t help Labour either
And for me I don’t see that attitude – I see a woman with a child, studying to make life better for herself and her child. There is a sincere, honest and composed compassion around this leader that cannot be sullied by the right. Her bringing it to the public consciousness and her handling of it since then have been exemplary. All of the combined nastiness against her is petty bullshit and the tactics of some very scared little boys and girls. They should be scared too, very scared, because change is going to happen.
You are misinterpreting Metiria’s attitude chris73. It is not cavalier. Do you honestly think the vast bulk of beneficiaries enjoyed ‘breaking the rules’? It is pathetic calling it law-breaking because what I, Metiria and thousands of others did was hardly a criminal act. If you had found yourself in the same circumstance in the 90s you would have done exactly the same thing. It’s called survival.
Agreed Anne
And the absolute terror and stress at having to break the rules like that to survive, knowing that the full force of the state would come down hard.
The dob in a beneficiary scheme bred fear and distrust all round
If I recall correctly, an analysis done not long after the Clark govt. came to power found that some 72 to 75% of those anonymous dob-ins proved to be false and motivated by malice.
Er, yes. Is anyone in National sorry or repentant for slashing benefits in 1991, which is what led to this widespread practice of lying to WINZ? No, not even slightly – so why should Turei be sorry or repentant?
I know right-wingers struggle to imagine that anyone feels empathy for the poor, but that’s because you’re right-wingers. Among Turei’s and the left’s target market, the fact that Turei’s also struggled to make ends meet on the receiving end of National’s “brighter future” isn’t a drawback.
Psych nuse
don.t think so. Any female benny would have done. Male might have had some sympathy because he didn’t go and get pregnant which is a sin and a shame on females.
I also don’t think it’s cavalier, and anyone listening to her talk about how terrifying it was and who knows what it’s like being on a benefit and dealing with WINZ understands very well that Turei is taking this very seriously. She just put her career on the line, and she did this for her constituents.
Interestingly, it seemed to me that right at the end of that interview Brian Edwards’ patience with bellicose Boag was running out, and Jim Mora (wanting to keep things nicy-nicy) rapidly shut down the conversation.
A pity – for far too long to my mind has Edwards kindly agreed to so much slanted stuff that Boag has uttered.
Heard it. I quite enjoyed the thought of that tiny extra bit of Michelle Boag’s taxes that Metiria managed to obtain to feed her child baked beans or some other cheap staple. Perhaps they named each baked bean after some filthy rich National party grandee as they went down the hatch. The scabrous, judgmental old Boag was entirely repulsive.
chris73’s comment is of great value to most commenters here, though it may not seem so at first reading. His comment that Metiria’s attitude “rubs him up the wrong way” is genuine and visceral and indicative of his “sort”; what Metiria has done and her follow-up comments on that have sorted the wheat from the chaff. It’s now blatantly obvious which side of the fence chris73, James, red et al sit on and there’s no point at all in trying to haul them over to the other side; they ain’t for haulin’. Let’s save our collective breath. Metiria has proved the Great Revealer, and those sizzling under the heat of her spotlight are those we have to dismiss as lost, not entertain as potential allies, so I say, come on wheat, blow off that chaff and let’s rally behind our flag-bearers; we’ll gain so much by combining our talents and keeping our eyes on the main prize and if you don’t know what that is, stay tuned to Metiria and her kind for further guidance.
I do enjoy reading your contributions so believe me when I say that I am genuinely sorry that you’re going to get a big surprise on election day (and not the kind you’re hoping for)
That’s very kind of you, Chris73, however, I’m pretty confident that you’re as hopeless at accurately predicting the future as I am, and face the possibility of a similar fate to that you’ve predicted for me, so why don’t we just enjoy the ride and while we’re doing that, spread a little more love than we have been, around. God knows, we could all use it. I’m giving Metiria all I can, across the etheric divide, on the airwaves, from my far-flung aerie; you could pitch in too and make someone’s burden just that little lighter, should you choose to express some of the milk of human kindness that doubtless swells your metaphoric breast.
Not only were the benefits reduced but Housing NZ house rents jumped to market rates. Shipley and Richardson will probably never know the damage they did to many families.
Richardson worked closely with Minister of Social Welfare Jenny Shipley and proudly announced her fiscal outlay as the ‘mother of all budgets’
The budget essentially dismantled much of what remained of the welfare state institutions established in the 1930s by the First Labour Government. The unemployment benefit was cut by $14.00 a week, sickness benefit by $27.04, families benefit by $25.00 to $27.00 and universal payments for family benefits were completely abolished.
Richardson also introduced many user pays requirements in hospitals and schools, services previously free to the populace and paid for by the government.[3] Public services such as state housing were devolved essentially into companies under government contract in all but name.
I have absolutely NO respect for Ruth Richardson and Jenny Shipley. They were happy to shaft people who needed the safety net of the social welfare system. They lacked the quality of compassion that makes Metiria Turia the courageous woman that she is. We need women of her caliber to change the mean spirited culture perpetuated by this (outgoing) government.
Too complicated and precious. You did her housework and she gave you cash and now you’re claiming you did it for the money. Is that how your “elderly family friend and Christian lady” saw it ? You and she might not have “broken the law” after all and now she can’t speak for herself.
For your health, I recommend avoiding the Boag/Edwards pairing.
Listening to the comfortably off from Herne Bay lecturing the poor is bad for one’s digestion.
Actually it was only a stones throw from an out and out shouting match today. Edwards wasn’t going to have a bar of Boag’s distorted diatribes – especially over the Turei saga. Quite entertaining.
Michelle Boag does not have such a squeaky clean history herself. Remember the big fine over the Wine Box inquiry.
I can’t understand why all those rich people who have accountants to work out how to get out of paying as much tax as they can every year are making such a fuss about a few hundred dollars used to feed a baby two decades ago.
‘……But, talk of ”record labour force participation” and a ”significant increase” in jobs is only telling part of the story.
Just below the surface, another darker picture emerges.
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…..
…During the past nine years, the percentage increase in unemployment, underemployment and underutilisation has been two to three times higher than the increase in employment.
Let’s take those one at a time.
For the whole of New Zealand, over that period, the number of people unemployed has increased 49 per cent.
Then there are the underemployed. Those are the people who are employed for fewer than 30 hours a week and would like to be working more hours. Their number has increased 61 per cent.
And there are the underutilised. This is the grouping of people who are unemployed, underemployed and in the potential labour force. They have grown by 38 per cent.
Welcome to the precarious proletariat, aka, the precariat; the growing group of second-class citizens who struggle to get a decent job, a decent wage, a decent life.
In New Zealand today, there are 139,000 people unemployed and trying to find work. That includes 5500 unemployed people in Otago. But remember, ”unemployed” is not the whole picture. There are also 80,000 Kiwis wanting to work but who have given up looking, including 3600 in Otago. On top of that, there are 110,000 individuals in part-time work who need more hours, including 5400 in Otago. There are now 329,000 New Zealanders, including almost 15,000 in Otago, who cannot get any or enough work. That is one person for every eight people in the total work force.’
And more…
‘Not only is underemployment increasing, but the length of time people are unemployed is also growing.Compared with 2008, the percentage of those unemployed who remain without work for more than a year has tripled. Now, more than 30 per cent of those looking for work remain ”between jobs” for more than 52 weeks.
On the underemployment front, Rosenberg says people are being forced off benefits when there are no suitable jobs for them. He points to recent research for the Ministry of Social Development that shows only a third of those who came off welfare benefits during the year to June, 2011, were in employment two years later.
”They find themselves having to take up insecure, part-time or short-term jobs and many end up unemployed again or underemployed.”
Even after the Government has backed away from zero-hour contracts, its employment laws still make it too easy for employers to hire people on low pay and bad conditions, he says, citing a recent OECD report, Back to Work: New Zealand.The report looks at ways to improve unemployed New Zealanders’ chances of getting work.
The summary states that ”in New Zealand most displaced workers find a new job again, largely due to a strong economy and a highly flexible labour market”.
”But,” says the report, ”many of them face large losses in terms of job quality and especially wages.”
New Zealand has the weakest job protection legislation of any job protection legislation of any OECD country, Rosenberg says.’
…’Work and Income New Zealand is an organisation he tries to avoid. Dealing with the government agency is too much hassle, he says. So, as often as possible, Jefferies finds other ways to get by, even when things are tough.
The idea that he pays taxes and obeys the law, so the State has an obligation to protect and promote his wellbeing, is alien to his experience and his worldview.
Jefferies is a success because he is a survivor. He is a member of the precariat; one of hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders living on an economic knife-edge, who have been doing so for so long they think it is normal‘
I just don’t understand why there isn’t a revolution in this country.
Well, fucking educate yourself then. Information about what it was like in countries that did have revolutions is in plentiful supply and should clear up this mystery for you fairly quickly if you trouble yourself to locate and read it.
Psycho Milt
You don’t have to rip apart every off the cuff comment that Ed says in an emotional moment. When Ed wrote “I just don’t understand why there isn’t a revolution in this country.”, it was really a rhetorical question.
And this also begs the question that neither of you have noted that the change to neo liberalism amounted to a long-running, acid-drip revolution in NZ engineered by The Smugs of Labour 1984. Motto “We do it because we can”. That was a virtually silent revolution. But it turned us upside down so whether you look up or down it was a revolution all right.
But it turned us upside down so whether you look up or down it was a revolution all right.
Well, if we’re classing “elected government passes laws through Parliament” as a “revolution,” Ed’s wish has already come true – every parliamentary session sees a new revolution.
The countries in the western world that have had “revolutions” are Greece, Spain, Italy and France (did France actually have a revolution?). Their rates of unemployment and underemployment are typically double, or in the case of Greece and Spain, quadruple the rate of New Zealand.
There is simply no way that New Zealand can be compared to these European countries. Their economies (excepting France) have actually shrunk in the last decade.
In contrast New Zealand’s growth rate is near the top of the OECD. Our employment rate, even with very high immigration, is among the highest in the OECD. The conditions for “revolution”are simply not present.
Even the Greens and Labour have bought into the broad economic settings of the last few years with their MOU and Budget Rules.
So even if there is a change a govt, it is not going to herald a radical departure from the past. The Greens are the most radical of the alternative (Labour, NZF, and the Greens), but they will also have the smallest say in the alternative govt.
Wayne, you were part of the neoliberal revolution that turned New Zealand from a socialist country into the deregulated capitalist nirvana for billionaires it is today.
Proud of that?
Revolutions are everywhere the result of pitiful corrupt governments.
NZ now leads the world in suicide and homelessness, the prospects for revolution are as high as they have ever been here.
Combine that with the blatant incompetence, corruption and vindictive attacks on the poor that characterize this government, and the only reason the incumbents aren’t tiger food is unprecedented generosity of spirit on the part of most New Zealanders.
We should be not so generous to the treacherous scum who steal our assets, it only encourages them.
Rt Hon Winston Peters: Can he confirm the contents of a requested presentation by UBS AG, a Swiss investment bank giant, which details options to sell our national grid, worth billions of dollars—this document, marked confidential.
Well there you go, I didn’t know they were still operating until now as I thought they closed up or were brought out after the Thames branch line closed.
Another proud and great engineering firm gone what a blood shame!
In the early 90s when Metiria was going through these “issues” I too had a young family.
I worked around 50hrs a week plus travelled about an hour a day.
If I was on the benefit at that time our families income would have been similar to my wage, without travel and costs associated with working we would have been better off.
If we had pretended to seperate and my wife got the dpb we would have been much better off
(No WFF back then)
We didn’t do either of those, though we considered it, we didn’t want to break the law.
This is not about bene bashing, this not about woman or Maori bashing.
There are always tough times, some worse than others.
But while my family, and Matiria, worked hard and changed our families story… she did it by cheating and I don’t think that is acceptable.
She has bought daylight to inadequate behaviour by WINZ, and payment levels, but to me she has done so in the wrong way. She simply should have paid back the money first and apologised.
Many people are very very angry, tbh I’m one, not because I don’t think we need a safety net, because I don’t like cheats.
Some are literally incoherent with anger that a successful female Maori MP cheated ‘the system’ while a new solo mum a couple of decades ago. The fact that she has voluntarily admitted her wrong doing and committed to repaying what she owes seems to make it that much worse.
Either the level and direction of their anger is disproportionate and biased, or they must be in a constant lather over those perpetrating more substantial rip-offs.
The BIG cheats, now as in the past, excel at concealing their behaviour, but occasionally they do get caught out…
I hadn’t read awww properly at 9. This is from a male who had a wife and family that he had to work hard for. And he is comparing himself to one person trying to do the work of two, plus do training so she could get a job in the first place.
It shows the complete and wilful ignorance that bennie-bashers revel in. They build themselves up as heroes who stand proud above the hoi-polloi struggling at their feet. It’s just a form of self-gratification. Instead of thinking, this is hard-times for us all, good on her for getting training and a job and be a working mother, supporting herself, he just goes for the cheap sneer and superiority.
awww g-me a break – your claims haven’t the ring of truth about them, but giving you the benefit of the doubt, I wonder how it could be that someone like you who shared the same misfortune as Metiria (note spelling) even to the point of giving consideration to “cheating”, are so damning now in your comments, of someone who found themselves in a position so similar to your own. It seems very unlikely that someone who has given thought to cheating due to pressures such as both you (you say) and Metiria (note spelling) experienced, would bother to go to the trouble of going to a Metiria-friendly blogsite to condemn her for something you yourself were, you say, very close to doing yourself. Pretty unkind and lacking in empathy, I’d say, if I was believing your story (which, I don’t – my apologies if I’m wrong).
Why come here and share, because I want to understand the support she is getting.
If I live in my bubble and never get challenged I can’t learn.
Yes, my spelling is shite, always has been. No offence intended.
Your disbelief doesn’t offend, and you can take my word that it’s an honest account (or not)
BTW, I think looking at temptation and making a choice is the making (or undoing) of everyone.
aww
Your pseudo implies that you don’t believe anything you hear or read.
We come here to try and get an understanding about what’s going on.
You say you have already experienced something and still don’t understand it – what can we say?
The main point is that it takes a great effort to study and learn and pass a university degree, plus be a good parent, and put regular good meals on the table, and pay the bills, and spend time with your child, be there when they are sick, get the washing dry and study,study. And the government doesn’t really get behind you. Back some decades ago they did try though the rules could be contradictory.
I tend to think “there, but for the grace of god, go I”. Or would if I were religious.
If someone’s genuinely lying to get money they don’t need to buy luxuries, then fair enough I’d be pissed.
But people shouldn’t have to work 50 hours a week to get the same as a benefit, and people on a benefit shouldn’t have to struggle just to live. The law is one thing, but people being cheated by the system can’t cheat the system if they’re just getting their dues. Hell, a mate tonight said he was going through a review process because msd was fucking him out of cash.
As for paying back the cash, I doubt Turei knows specifically how much is at issue – I’m damned sure I played fast and loose with declarations once or twice back in the day, but am stuffed if I remember the details. There’s a even slim chance I actually did everything legitimately but by accident, lol.
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She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8. The universe was ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
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. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
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. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
Rongotai MP Julie Anne Genter has apologised in Parliament after National accused her of intimidating and attacking one of its ministers in the House. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Prime Minister and state and territory leaders met on Wednesday as the national cabinet to discuss a crisis gripping Australia – the horrific number of women murdered this year. The killings have shocked ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Radhika Raghav, Teaching Fellow, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Otago Netflix Indian director Sanjay Leela Bhansali is known for his big-budget Bollywood production, featuring grand sets, star casts, meticulously choreographed dance sequences and lavish costumes, jewellery and furnishings. ...
Sir Robert devoted his life to disability rights after living in institutions in his younger years, says Kaihautū Tika Hauātanga | Disability Rights Commissioner Prudence Walker. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University Violence against women is not a women’s problem to solve, it is a whole of society problem to solve; and men in particular have to take responsibility. Those were the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Allen, Senior Lecturer in Chemical and Renewable Energy Engineering, University of Newcastle Snapshot freddy/ShutterstockPlans to revive an old coal-fired power station using bioenergy are being considered in the Hunter region of New South Wales. Similar plans for the station ...
Responding to the long-awaited release of judges’ special allowances, including free air travel and hotels for spouses, generous sabbaticals, and access to limousines, Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Alex Murphy said: “In what world does your employer ...
Analysis - The United States has unveiled plans to boost the weapons trade with Australia and the UK, on the same day that Winston Peters is expected to sketch NZ's position on AUKUS. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrea Carson, Professor of Political Communication, Department of Politics, Media and Philosophy, La Trobe University Since Australia’s First Nations Voice to Parliament referendum in October 2023, diverse commentaries have sought to explain why it failed. But what does an analysis of media ...
Lawyers representing two iwi as well as the Māori Women’s Welfare League on Wednesday asked the Court of Appeal to overturn last week’s High Court decision on the Waitangi Tribunal’s decision to summons Children’s Minister Karen Chhour. The Tribunal is currently investigating the Government’s decision to repeal section 7AA of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will introduce legislation to ban deepfake pornography and provide more funding for the eSafety Commission to pilot age-assurance technologies. The contribution of internet sites to gender-based violence was one major issue ...
Average ordinary time hourly earnings, as measured by the Quarterly Employment Survey (QES), increased 5.2 percent in the year to the March 2024 quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. Annual wage cost inflation, as measured by the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dimitrios Salampasis, FinTech Capability Lead | Senior Lecturer, Emerging Technologies and FinTech, Swinburne University of Technology Clem Onojeghuo/Unsplash In the digital era, the job market is increasingly becoming a minefield – demanding and difficult to navigate. According to the Australian Bureau ...
As of the March 2024 quarter, we can now look back on 20 years of data related to youth not in employment, education, or training (NEET), as collected by the Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS), according to figures released by Stats NZ today. "The ...
Thousands of workers attended public events in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch today to celebrate International Workers’ Day (May Day), but union representatives are urging caution and vigilance over the Government’s blatantly "anti-worker" ...
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 4.3 percent in the March 2024 quarter, compared with 4.0 percent in the previous quarter, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. ...
The PSA is warning the Government that the sensitive information of New Zealanders held by various agencies will fall into the wrong hands if the latest round of proposed cuts goes ahead. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Talitha Best, Professor of Psychology, CQUniversity Australia Victoria Rodriguez/Unsplash How do sugar rushes work? – W.H, age nine, from Canberra What a terrific question W.H! Let’s explore this, starting with some of the basics. What is sugar? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karinna Saxby, Research Fellow, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne MART PRODUCTION/Pexels Increasing income support could help keep women and children safe according to new work demonstrating strong links between financial insecurity and domestic violence. ...
ANALYSIS:By Olli Hellmann, University of Waikato When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day today on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also to mark a defining event for national identity. The battle of Gallipoli against ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark A Gregory, Associate Professor, School of Engineering, RMIT University The telecommunications industry faces a major shakeup following the release of the post-incident report on last November’s 12-hour Optus outage. Telecommunications companies will have to share more information with customers during future ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Bookseller Confessional, in which we get to know Aotearoa’s booksellers. This week: Eden Denyer, bookseller at Unity Books Auckland.Weirdest question/request you’ve had on the shop floorA mother came in looking for anything we might have on Alaskan bison as that was her little boy’s ...
NZCTU Economist Craig Renney said new data released by Statistics New Zealand shows the need for Government to act now, with unemployment rising from 3.4% to 4.3%. ...
The outpouring of anger over Maiki Sherman’s hyperbolic presentation of this week’s ‘nightmare’ poll is itself an overreaction, argues Stewart Sowman-Lund. Politicians love nothing more than to pretend they don’t care about polls. This week, deputy prime minister Winston Peters said he didn’t give a “rat’s derriere” about a TVNZ ...
Asia Pacific Report Ngāti Kahungunu in Aotearoa New Zealand’s Hawkes Bay region has become the first indigenous Māori iwi (tribe) to sign a resolution calling for a “ceasefire in Palestine”, reports Te Ao Māori News. Reporter Te Aniwaniwa Paterson talked to Te Otāne Huata, who has been organising peace rallies ...
By Dale Luma in Port Moresby “We want grants and not concessional loans,” is the crisp message from Papua New Guinea businesses directly affected by the Black Wednesday looting four months ago. The businesses, which lost millions after the January 10 rioting and looting, say they need grants as part ...
Happy May Day. Join a union. Q: What’s worse than a staff break room where the only place to sit and have a cup of tea is on a teetering stack of old pornography magazines? A: Your boss replacing the magazine stacks with chairs that are “heartily encrusted with ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor Former opposition leader Matthew Wale has been announced as the second prime ministerial candidate ahead of the election in Solomon Islands tomorrow. He will face off against former foreign affairs minister Jeremiah Manele, who was announced by the Coalition for National Unity and Transformation ...
We get but one birthday a year – why not make it last as long as possible by scheduling as many meals with friends and family as you can? This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. How do you celebrate your birthday? Do you celebrate at ...
A Koi Tū discussion paper released today proposes sweeping changes to New Zealand’s media industry. The principal’s key author, Gavin Ellis, explains how journalists have a key role to play in making others value their role in society. This is an abridged version of a piece first published on knightlyviews.com ...
The Government’s spending cuts are again targeting support for Māori with proposed reform of the agency charged with advising on Māori wellbeing and development. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Douglas, Honorary Senior Lecturer, UNSW Aviation., UNSW Sydney The history of budget jet airlines in Australia is a long road littered with broken dreams. New entrants have consistently struggled to get a foothold. Low-cost carrier Bonza has just become the industry’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rosalind Dixon, Director, Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law, UNSW Sydney Australia is finally having a sustained conversation about violence against women and what we can do about it. It is more than time. Australian women and girls continue to experience ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne stockfour/Shutterstock Preliminary bulk billing data released this week shows a 2.1% rise in bulk billing up to March. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samantha Schulz, Senior Lecturer, University of Adelaide Australia is once again grappling with how we can stop gendered violence in our country. Protests over the weekend show there is enormous community anger over the number of women who are dying and National ...
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Looks like TOP has just shifted its first policy debate.
And yep, it was the one about cats:
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/dcc-cat-management-proposal-passes-vote
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win!!
Cull must have done such a good, cheap job of flood alleviation that there’s money left over for this. Or maybe he plans on drowning them.
Don’t often do so, but listened to Brian Edwards and Michelle Boag on the afternoon panel session today. The main topic discussed was Metiria Turei’s confession. Michelle Boag’s responses served to confirm that the faux rage being expressed by all the usual media suspects is a further example of the ‘Right Wing’s Dirty Political’ machine. They are all saying exactly the same things and feeding off each other.
None of them mention the root cause of this sudden upsurge in this petty benefit fraud. It was the cutting of the benefit by Ruth Richardson in the early 1990s. I was one of those affected and the benefit went from around $150 per week to $130 per week. No-one could survive on $130 even in the 90s so hence the need to seek a source of income elsewhere. In my case it was doing housework for an elderly family friend. She was a Christian lady who would never have broken a law in her life. But she was happy to pay me cash under the table because she knew how desperate my financial situation was at that time.
So, here they are… screaming foul play when it was one of their own kind who forced people into having to “break the law” in the first place!
Can’t speak for Mickey but for myself its her total and utter cavalier attitude that rubs me up the wrong way, like shes not sorry nor repentant and it just smacks of a political stunt
She could have used her maiden speech and then paid whatever money she owes back, could have done it when she become co-leader but nope she waits until a couple of months out from the election
Well shes made a gamble so it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out. Personally I think this is going to backfire on the Greens and it won’t help Labour either
And for me I don’t see that attitude – I see a woman with a child, studying to make life better for herself and her child. There is a sincere, honest and composed compassion around this leader that cannot be sullied by the right. Her bringing it to the public consciousness and her handling of it since then have been exemplary. All of the combined nastiness against her is petty bullshit and the tactics of some very scared little boys and girls. They should be scared too, very scared, because change is going to happen.
You are misinterpreting Metiria’s attitude chris73. It is not cavalier. Do you honestly think the vast bulk of beneficiaries enjoyed ‘breaking the rules’? It is pathetic calling it law-breaking because what I, Metiria and thousands of others did was hardly a criminal act. If you had found yourself in the same circumstance in the 90s you would have done exactly the same thing. It’s called survival.
Ruth Richardson has a great deal to answer for!
Ruth Richardson has a great deal to answer for!
True, just a shame theres never been a left government to restore benefits in power since it happened
Agreed Anne
And the absolute terror and stress at having to break the rules like that to survive, knowing that the full force of the state would come down hard.
The dob in a beneficiary scheme bred fear and distrust all round
If I recall correctly, an analysis done not long after the Clark govt. came to power found that some 72 to 75% of those anonymous dob-ins proved to be false and motivated by malice.
…like shes not sorry nor repentant…
Er, yes. Is anyone in National sorry or repentant for slashing benefits in 1991, which is what led to this widespread practice of lying to WINZ? No, not even slightly – so why should Turei be sorry or repentant?
Because it would have somewhat mitigated the coming damage thats going to happen to the Greens and the left in general?
I know right-wingers struggle to imagine that anyone feels empathy for the poor, but that’s because you’re right-wingers. Among Turei’s and the left’s target market, the fact that Turei’s also struggled to make ends meet on the receiving end of National’s “brighter future” isn’t a drawback.
Isn’t it all about an uppity Maori woman who has risen above her station and middle class anger that she dosn’t knowher place.
Psych nuse
don.t think so. Any female benny would have done. Male might have had some sympathy because he didn’t go and get pregnant which is a sin and a shame on females.
I’m sure that plays a part.
I also don’t think it’s cavalier, and anyone listening to her talk about how terrifying it was and who knows what it’s like being on a benefit and dealing with WINZ understands very well that Turei is taking this very seriously. She just put her career on the line, and she did this for her constituents.
Interestingly, it seemed to me that right at the end of that interview Brian Edwards’ patience with bellicose Boag was running out, and Jim Mora (wanting to keep things nicy-nicy) rapidly shut down the conversation.
A pity – for far too long to my mind has Edwards kindly agreed to so much slanted stuff that Boag has uttered.
didn’t hear it but sounds like classic Mora.
Heard it. I quite enjoyed the thought of that tiny extra bit of Michelle Boag’s taxes that Metiria managed to obtain to feed her child baked beans or some other cheap staple. Perhaps they named each baked bean after some filthy rich National party grandee as they went down the hatch. The scabrous, judgmental old Boag was entirely repulsive.
Bit of a Boag-an then?
I’m not sure the Gnats understand her effect on the public – she was doing Bill’s PR when he led them to their worst defeat in living memory.
chris73’s comment is of great value to most commenters here, though it may not seem so at first reading. His comment that Metiria’s attitude “rubs him up the wrong way” is genuine and visceral and indicative of his “sort”; what Metiria has done and her follow-up comments on that have sorted the wheat from the chaff. It’s now blatantly obvious which side of the fence chris73, James, red et al sit on and there’s no point at all in trying to haul them over to the other side; they ain’t for haulin’. Let’s save our collective breath. Metiria has proved the Great Revealer, and those sizzling under the heat of her spotlight are those we have to dismiss as lost, not entertain as potential allies, so I say, come on wheat, blow off that chaff and let’s rally behind our flag-bearers; we’ll gain so much by combining our talents and keeping our eyes on the main prize and if you don’t know what that is, stay tuned to Metiria and her kind for further guidance.
+1
+2
I do enjoy reading your contributions so believe me when I say that I am genuinely sorry that you’re going to get a big surprise on election day (and not the kind you’re hoping for)
That’s very kind of you, Chris73, however, I’m pretty confident that you’re as hopeless at accurately predicting the future as I am, and face the possibility of a similar fate to that you’ve predicted for me, so why don’t we just enjoy the ride and while we’re doing that, spread a little more love than we have been, around. God knows, we could all use it. I’m giving Metiria all I can, across the etheric divide, on the airwaves, from my far-flung aerie; you could pitch in too and make someone’s burden just that little lighter, should you choose to express some of the milk of human kindness that doubtless swells your metaphoric breast.
Good point, I think Todd Barclay could use some love at the moment
I’m giving him heaps 🙂
At least she’s telling the truth which is more than some seem capable of!
Not only were the benefits reduced but Housing NZ house rents jumped to market rates. Shipley and Richardson will probably never know the damage they did to many families.
Doubt they cared.
Yep, and beneficiaries were treated like flotsam in the gutter by the WINZ staff even when our circumstances were NOT of our own making.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_of_all_Budgets
I have absolutely NO respect for Ruth Richardson and Jenny Shipley. They were happy to shaft people who needed the safety net of the social welfare system. They lacked the quality of compassion that makes Metiria Turia the courageous woman that she is. We need women of her caliber to change the mean spirited culture perpetuated by this (outgoing) government.
Putting the slipper into single mothers has long been a national sport so I expected the reaction to Metiria’s admission would be more of the same.
But wow, we’ve plumbed new depths with the disgusting levels of venom, spite and outright misogyny directed toward Meteria.
Too complicated and precious. You did her housework and she gave you cash and now you’re claiming you did it for the money. Is that how your “elderly family friend and Christian lady” saw it ? You and she might not have “broken the law” after all and now she can’t speak for herself.
An intellectually challenged rwnj but?
Ooops… GG has deleted the’ but!’ at the end of his dubious comment. Go back to school and learn ya grammar mate.
For your health, I recommend avoiding the Boag/Edwards pairing.
Listening to the comfortably off from Herne Bay lecturing the poor is bad for one’s digestion.
Actually it was only a stones throw from an out and out shouting match today. Edwards wasn’t going to have a bar of Boag’s distorted diatribes – especially over the Turei saga. Quite entertaining.
Michelle Boag does not have such a squeaky clean history herself. Remember the big fine over the Wine Box inquiry.
I can’t understand why all those rich people who have accountants to work out how to get out of paying as much tax as they can every year are making such a fuss about a few hundred dollars used to feed a baby two decades ago.
Some excerpts from an excellent article dispelling a few myths about this country’s healthy environment.
Struggling for a decent job, decent wage, decent life
‘……But, talk of ”record labour force participation” and a ”significant increase” in jobs is only telling part of the story.
Just below the surface, another darker picture emerges.
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…..
…During the past nine years, the percentage increase in unemployment, underemployment and underutilisation has been two to three times higher than the increase in employment.
Let’s take those one at a time.
For the whole of New Zealand, over that period, the number of people unemployed has increased 49 per cent.
Then there are the underemployed. Those are the people who are employed for fewer than 30 hours a week and would like to be working more hours. Their number has increased 61 per cent.
And there are the underutilised. This is the grouping of people who are unemployed, underemployed and in the potential labour force. They have grown by 38 per cent.
Welcome to the precarious proletariat, aka, the precariat; the growing group of second-class citizens who struggle to get a decent job, a decent wage, a decent life.
In New Zealand today, there are 139,000 people unemployed and trying to find work. That includes 5500 unemployed people in Otago. But remember, ”unemployed” is not the whole picture. There are also 80,000 Kiwis wanting to work but who have given up looking, including 3600 in Otago. On top of that, there are 110,000 individuals in part-time work who need more hours, including 5400 in Otago. There are now 329,000 New Zealanders, including almost 15,000 in Otago, who cannot get any or enough work. That is one person for every eight people in the total work force.’
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11895299
There are so many stories of misery in 2017 neo-liberal state of New Zealand.
I just don’t understand why there isn’t a revolution in this country.
“I just don’t understand why there isn’t a revolution in this country.”
Well you’ve managed to make me feel bad for you that you really can’t get your head around this
‘There are now 329,000 New Zealanders, including almost 15,000 in Otago, who cannot get any or enough work. ‘
Isn’t that enough people to demand change?
And more…
‘Not only is underemployment increasing, but the length of time people are unemployed is also growing.Compared with 2008, the percentage of those unemployed who remain without work for more than a year has tripled. Now, more than 30 per cent of those looking for work remain ”between jobs” for more than 52 weeks.
On the underemployment front, Rosenberg says people are being forced off benefits when there are no suitable jobs for them. He points to recent research for the Ministry of Social Development that shows only a third of those who came off welfare benefits during the year to June, 2011, were in employment two years later.
”They find themselves having to take up insecure, part-time or short-term jobs and many end up unemployed again or underemployed.”
Even after the Government has backed away from zero-hour contracts, its employment laws still make it too easy for employers to hire people on low pay and bad conditions, he says, citing a recent OECD report, Back to Work: New Zealand.The report looks at ways to improve unemployed New Zealanders’ chances of getting work.
The summary states that ”in New Zealand most displaced workers find a new job again, largely due to a strong economy and a highly flexible labour market”.
”But,” says the report, ”many of them face large losses in terms of job quality and especially wages.”
New Zealand has the weakest job protection legislation of any job protection legislation of any OECD country, Rosenberg says.’
and more still.
…’Work and Income New Zealand is an organisation he tries to avoid. Dealing with the government agency is too much hassle, he says. So, as often as possible, Jefferies finds other ways to get by, even when things are tough.
The idea that he pays taxes and obeys the law, so the State has an obligation to protect and promote his wellbeing, is alien to his experience and his worldview.
Jefferies is a success because he is a survivor. He is a member of the precariat; one of hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders living on an economic knife-edge, who have been doing so for so long they think it is normal‘
Change maybe but revolution?
Revolutionary change.
I wasn’t meaning a violent revolution – just the sort of grassroots uprising that’s occurring in the UK.
I just don’t understand why there isn’t a revolution in this country.
Well, fucking educate yourself then. Information about what it was like in countries that did have revolutions is in plentiful supply and should clear up this mystery for you fairly quickly if you trouble yourself to locate and read it.
Psycho Milt
You don’t have to rip apart every off the cuff comment that Ed says in an emotional moment. When Ed wrote “I just don’t understand why there isn’t a revolution in this country.”, it was really a rhetorical question.
And this also begs the question that neither of you have noted that the change to neo liberalism amounted to a long-running, acid-drip revolution in NZ engineered by The Smugs of Labour 1984. Motto “We do it because we can”. That was a virtually silent revolution. But it turned us upside down so whether you look up or down it was a revolution all right.
That’s what I mean when I use the word revolution.
The Neoliberal changes were effectively a coup d’état.
And I don’t know why pm is so hostile.
But it turned us upside down so whether you look up or down it was a revolution all right.
Well, if we’re classing “elected government passes laws through Parliament” as a “revolution,” Ed’s wish has already come true – every parliamentary session sees a new revolution.
The countries in the western world that have had “revolutions” are Greece, Spain, Italy and France (did France actually have a revolution?). Their rates of unemployment and underemployment are typically double, or in the case of Greece and Spain, quadruple the rate of New Zealand.
There is simply no way that New Zealand can be compared to these European countries. Their economies (excepting France) have actually shrunk in the last decade.
In contrast New Zealand’s growth rate is near the top of the OECD. Our employment rate, even with very high immigration, is among the highest in the OECD. The conditions for “revolution”are simply not present.
Even the Greens and Labour have bought into the broad economic settings of the last few years with their MOU and Budget Rules.
So even if there is a change a govt, it is not going to herald a radical departure from the past. The Greens are the most radical of the alternative (Labour, NZF, and the Greens), but they will also have the smallest say in the alternative govt.
Wayne, you were part of the neoliberal revolution that turned New Zealand from a socialist country into the deregulated capitalist nirvana for billionaires it is today.
Proud of that?
ed – wayne doesn’t give a fuck – he just doesn’t care, never has, never will.
Revolutions are everywhere the result of pitiful corrupt governments.
NZ now leads the world in suicide and homelessness, the prospects for revolution are as high as they have ever been here.
Combine that with the blatant incompetence, corruption and vindictive attacks on the poor that characterize this government, and the only reason the incumbents aren’t tiger food is unprecedented generosity of spirit on the part of most New Zealanders.
We should be not so generous to the treacherous scum who steal our assets, it only encourages them.
You say all that like its a god thing Wayne.
Life in NZ is like a game of Monopoly. It gets increasingly more frustrating the more you are exploited by those who own the most property.
The great divergence
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DFiwK_KWsAIrvYN.jpg:large
Apparently there are WINZ investigators to investigate the doings of Metiria Turei.
Have they got enough investigators to check out the torture of grandparents by WINZ staff?
http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/CvU74EGsp8p4dNaDv4XE/full
“Experiences of grandparents raising grandchildren in getting income support from work and income offices in New Zealand.”
It is clear where their priorities lie.
q&A QUESTION 6
Rt Hon Winston Peters: Can he confirm the contents of a requested presentation by UBS AG, a Swiss investment bank giant, which details options to sell our national grid, worth billions of dollars—this document, marked confidential.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1707/S00401/questions-and-answers-july-26.htm
NZ engineering firm goes under after 150 years
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/95146763/a-hundred-jobs-lost-as-thames-ag-price-goes-into-liquidation
Well there you go, I didn’t know they were still operating until now as I thought they closed up or were brought out after the Thames branch line closed.
Another proud and great engineering firm gone what a blood shame!
In the early 90s when Metiria was going through these “issues” I too had a young family.
I worked around 50hrs a week plus travelled about an hour a day.
If I was on the benefit at that time our families income would have been similar to my wage, without travel and costs associated with working we would have been better off.
If we had pretended to seperate and my wife got the dpb we would have been much better off
(No WFF back then)
We didn’t do either of those, though we considered it, we didn’t want to break the law.
This is not about bene bashing, this not about woman or Maori bashing.
There are always tough times, some worse than others.
But while my family, and Matiria, worked hard and changed our families story… she did it by cheating and I don’t think that is acceptable.
She has bought daylight to inadequate behaviour by WINZ, and payment levels, but to me she has done so in the wrong way. She simply should have paid back the money first and apologised.
Many people are very very angry, tbh I’m one, not because I don’t think we need a safety net, because I don’t like cheats.
Thanks for the chance to post.
Lesson No.1
You don’t buy daylight, you bring it.
Buy/bought
Bring/brought.
Some are literally incoherent with anger that a successful female Maori MP cheated ‘the system’ while a new solo mum a couple of decades ago. The fact that she has voluntarily admitted her wrong doing and committed to repaying what she owes seems to make it that much worse.
Either the level and direction of their anger is disproportionate and biased, or they must be in a constant lather over those perpetrating more substantial rip-offs.
The BIG cheats, now as in the past, excel at concealing their behaviour, but occasionally they do get caught out…
http://www.ird.govt.nz/tax-crime/stop-tax-crime/
https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/white-collar-crime
Agreed, the ‘crime’ here I don’t mean to call significant in that respect.
I think the messaging here is the larger discussion
I hadn’t read awww properly at 9. This is from a male who had a wife and family that he had to work hard for. And he is comparing himself to one person trying to do the work of two, plus do training so she could get a job in the first place.
It shows the complete and wilful ignorance that bennie-bashers revel in. They build themselves up as heroes who stand proud above the hoi-polloi struggling at their feet. It’s just a form of self-gratification. Instead of thinking, this is hard-times for us all, good on her for getting training and a job and be a working mother, supporting herself, he just goes for the cheap sneer and superiority.
And probably it is very similar to the attitudes of those that voted for Trump and against Obamacare, which seems to be help to get cheaper Health Insurance. They haven’t got much themselves but they have their pride, not like those others they feel contempt for with their hand out to government. It’s white share-croppers in the USA looking down on blacks so they could feel superior even though they were known as ‘poor whites’ or ‘poor white trash’ – then they went along with the KKK.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poor_White
and
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/09/the-original-underclass/492731/
and
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/01/white-working-class-poverty/424341/
awww g-me a break – your claims haven’t the ring of truth about them, but giving you the benefit of the doubt, I wonder how it could be that someone like you who shared the same misfortune as Metiria (note spelling) even to the point of giving consideration to “cheating”, are so damning now in your comments, of someone who found themselves in a position so similar to your own. It seems very unlikely that someone who has given thought to cheating due to pressures such as both you (you say) and Metiria (note spelling) experienced, would bother to go to the trouble of going to a Metiria-friendly blogsite to condemn her for something you yourself were, you say, very close to doing yourself. Pretty unkind and lacking in empathy, I’d say, if I was believing your story (which, I don’t – my apologies if I’m wrong).
Why come here and share, because I want to understand the support she is getting.
If I live in my bubble and never get challenged I can’t learn.
Yes, my spelling is shite, always has been. No offence intended.
Your disbelief doesn’t offend, and you can take my word that it’s an honest account (or not)
BTW, I think looking at temptation and making a choice is the making (or undoing) of everyone.
so you’ve never paid a cashie or taken money under the table or anything like that?
Are you for real?
No I’m wasting an evening on morons named after a horse…
Thanks Robert for at least being good enough to respond, even if that was pretty fucking rude.
Anne and Ed, go fuck yourselves.
aww
Your pseudo implies that you don’t believe anything you hear or read.
We come here to try and get an understanding about what’s going on.
You say you have already experienced something and still don’t understand it – what can we say?
The main point is that it takes a great effort to study and learn and pass a university degree, plus be a good parent, and put regular good meals on the table, and pay the bills, and spend time with your child, be there when they are sick, get the washing dry and study,study. And the government doesn’t really get behind you. Back some decades ago they did try though the rules could be contradictory.
Oh dear oh dear… Awww didn’t last long. 🙁
And there I was… trying to kindly teach him something. 🙂
Anne
You’re a saint. 😀
I tend to think “there, but for the grace of god, go I”. Or would if I were religious.
If someone’s genuinely lying to get money they don’t need to buy luxuries, then fair enough I’d be pissed.
But people shouldn’t have to work 50 hours a week to get the same as a benefit, and people on a benefit shouldn’t have to struggle just to live. The law is one thing, but people being cheated by the system can’t cheat the system if they’re just getting their dues. Hell, a mate tonight said he was going through a review process because msd was fucking him out of cash.
As for paying back the cash, I doubt Turei knows specifically how much is at issue – I’m damned sure I played fast and loose with declarations once or twice back in the day, but am stuffed if I remember the details. There’s a even slim chance I actually did everything legitimately but by accident, lol.
Vandals throw in the towel.
http://globalnews.ca/news/3623401/36-billion-pacific-northwest-lng-project-dead/