Labour’s two tier welfare plans
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- Date published:
11:17 am, September 5th, 2020 - 74 comments
Categories: ACC, benefits, Economy, grant robertson, poverty, welfare -
Tags: GMI, weag, welfare action plan
Could Labour’s first major policy announcement be a permanent unemployment insurance scheme similar to that advocated for by ACT?
Ouch. That’s the headline from a piece at interest.co.nz looking at Grant Robertson’s idea of a two tier welfare system.
The proposal is to have an ACC-like insurance scheme for newly unemployed people. It’s a time limited payment “which gives people security and keeps them connected to the labour market”.
The scheme could payout the same to everyone, or be related to the income they had been earning. Funding would come from government, employer and employee contributions.
He denied it was middle class welfare, in that people who lose higher paid jobs could get paid more than those who lose lower paid jobs or are longer-term welfare dependents, unable to work.
“There are two different debates here. I don’t think it’s useful to draw them together. One is about the adequacy of the welfare system, the other is about what we do in situations when people lose their jobs and how we keep them in the labour market,” Robertson said.
Yeah, thanks Grant. We get it. You are developing separate policy that will help the working and middle classes, while continuing your intentional neglect of the underclass. We fully understand where your priorities are at.
This is entirely consistent with Labour’s approach to social security. They see welfare as a necessary evil, not to be encouraged, and that all problems can be solved by work. Except those that can’t, but that’s ok, because Labour’s plan is to a) stop people falling in a hole, b) pull up the people from the hole that they can, and c) leave the rest in the hole but hidden behind a nice curtain of kindness rhetoric.
Too harsh? Labour have sat on their hands for three years with regards to welfare, almost completely ignoring the WEAG report. They didn’t even have a go at the low hanging fruit, this isn’t real politik it’s ideology.
Maybe welfare is a second term project, but here they are signalling that they want to attend to people who are doing ok and the sound of silence around the underclass is deafening.
Meanwhile, Carmel Sepuloni is talking about how to get people on a benefit to do voluntary work. Not so they can have better lives, but to get them ready for the jobs that Labour believe will heal all ills.
The ironic cruelty here is that the biggest barriers to beneficiaries doing voluntary work come from Work and Income punitive policies that Sepuloni oversees. Some of that is cultural (if you do voluntary work you’re not serious about looking for a job), some of it is bureaucratic (if an interview at WINZ to keep prodding you to look for work clashes with your voluntary job you will be penalised if you priorities the voluntary commitment).
Sepuloni appears to have done nothing about those barriers. Typically, while WEAG advised making volunteering more accessible because it helped beneficiaries be part of their community, Labour want volunteering to be part of their work-ready programme. A programme which has often worked against the wellbeing of beneficiaries and their community.
Thirty years on from Marilyn Waring’s Counting for Nothing and we are still stuck in ideology that paid work is the be all and end all. Yet unpaid work holds up our society. Were we to value that we might put wellbeing at the centre of the economy isn’t of it being a superficial overlay. Helping out at the marae or raising a child on a benefit might not be the big bucks export earner that so many extol, but we are lost without them. Why do we value them so poorly?
For Labour the point of volunteering is to prepare for jobs, but those are jobs that are rapidly disappearing, and many of which were poorly paid with poor employment conditions. Hard to see how the people moving in and out of low paid work are going to be helped by an insurance scheme they don’t earn enough to pay into, but hey, at least they can do unpaid work to keep their hand in.
I believe the kindness stuff is real. I think that Labour has good people in it and many of them value compassion and want the best for people. Unfortunately that’s not enough and it shows in the policies that Labour produce (or don’t produce).
It’s not that I object to Labour making plans around support for people who lose their job. Obviously we are in a major crisis with covid, and this has to be done. What I don’t understand is why Labour haven’t been addressing the equally serious crises around welfare in the past three years and still won’t go there.
And before anyone says ‘oh but the winter energy payment’,
Pre-COVID, core benefit entitlements were well under legally-mandated child poverty measures; COVID made things worse and the Government acknowledged that by doubling the Winter Energy Payment for the "vulnerable", ie those on benefits and NZ Super. But this COVID WEP ends 1 Oct.
— Child Poverty Action Group CPAG (@childpovertynz) September 1, 2020
As core incomes are below primary poverty lines, CPAG & @_AAAP_ urgently call for the COVID WEP to continue, and for children on benefits to receive all family support tax credits (a min of $72.50pw extra – blue bar on graph) pic.twitter.com/EEjND1zxH6
— Child Poverty Action Group CPAG (@childpovertynz) September 1, 2020
There are real alternatives. From the Interest piece,
It’s questionable whether the Green Party would support such a regime, should it form a government with Labour after the election.
It wants the country’s welfare system boosted in line with recommendations made by the Government’s Welfare Expert Advisory Group.
The Green Party also wants to ensure that everyone who isn’t in paid full-time work, including students and part-timers, receives a ‘Guaranteed Minimum Income’ payment of at least $325 a week after tax. Single, childless people on Jobseeker Support currently receive $251.
The Greens’ GMI is part of a whole package designed to address all the interlocking issues that make up the massive poverty elephant in the New Zealand living room: housing, welfare rates, WINZ culture, barriers to work, racism, sexism.
Now that we’re in a covid world, I fully expect many of the middle classes, even those on the left, to support Labour’s vision of solutions rather than the Greens. Of course they will want to protect their own. But if mainstream NZ votes on that self interest we can no longer pretend we are willing to do much about poverty other than say we want it to end.
If 2017 was the election of a major cultural shift around values, where New Zealand said we want kindness now, then 2020 is the election of putting our money were our mouth is. The left is looking set to win the election, so the choice now is about what kind of left government do we want?
front page photo via Medium.
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New Zealand First Policy Announcement: Law and Order New Zealand First believes that keeping society safe should be the priority of law-and-order policies. Every New Zealander deserves to feel safe, secure, and have their person and property respected. That is why New Zealand First continues to fix the flaws in ...5 days ago - Labour's Dirt Campaign Exposed With Media HelpIn last night’s leaders debate Labour Leader Chris Hipkins referred to a quote without giving any explanation of its content, which was about the ‘disease of co-governance’ that is perpetuated by the Māori elite, and he said it was racist. Then, without even examining the content, National leader Christopher Luxon agreed with ...5 days ago
- Labour's Dirt Campaign Exposed With Media HelpIn last night’s leaders debate Labour Leader Chris Hipkins referred to a quote without giving any explanation of its content, which was about the ‘disease of co-governance’ that is perpetuated by the Māori elite, and he said it was racist. Then, without even examining the content, National leader Christopher Luxon agreed with ...5 days ago
- Chris Hipkins: Speech Progressing TogetherToday, Chris Hipkins delivered a speech about Labour’s relationship with and ongoing commitment to Māori. ...5 days ago
- Release: National out of ideas on law and order, copies Labour’s policies and costingsAfter years of criticising the Government on law and order, National have embarrassed themselves by conceding they have no new ideas and instead copied Labour’s Police policy announced three weeks ago, Labour Police spokesperson Ginny Andersen says. ...6 days ago
- Release: Labour releases balanced, costed and credible fiscal planLabour’s fiscal plan will continue its focus on carefully managing the books while protecting critical public services like health and education and investing to deliver high wage jobs and a low carbon economy. ...7 days ago
- Policy Announcement: Capped Time-Period For Job Seeker BeneficiariesNew Zealand First today is announcing a policy on adjusting the rules and restrictions around access to the Job Seeker Benefit. New Zealand First’s policy is to introduce a capped time-period for any person to access the Job Seeker Benefit during their lifetime. Any individual will have the ability to access the Job Seeker ...1 week ago
- Policy Announcement: Capped Time-Period For Job Seeker BeneficiariesNew Zealand First today is announcing a policy on adjusting the rules and restrictions around access to the Job Seeker Benefit. New Zealand First’s policy is to introduce a capped time-period for any person to access the Job Seeker Benefit during their lifetime. Any individual will have the ability to access the Job Seeker ...1 week ago
- Release: National’s traffic light system has child poverty reduction stallingNational’s cuts to funding for beneficiaries will once again leave children and their parents with less, Spokesperson for Social Development and Employment Carmel Sepuloni said. ...1 week ago
- Green Party will end child poverty
The Green Party will double the Best Start payment and make it available for every child under three years of age - and it will be paid for with a fair tax system. ...1 week ago - Release: Labour pledges billion-dollar medicines boostLabour will fund more medicines for more New Zealanders by investing over $1 billion of new funding into Pharmac if re-elected, Chris Hipkins announced today. ...1 week ago
- National's welfare policy is cruelThe National Party’s job seeker policy announced today is heartless. ...1 week ago
- Labour's PHARMAC Policy A PlaceboLabour has just announced a policy to increase Pharmac funding by $1billion over four years to fund additional medicines. With the current Pharmac budget of $1.2billion per year and needing a further $213million, by Minister Verrall’s own admission, just to keep up with current costs - then this is nothing ...1 week ago
- Labour's PHARMAC Policy A PlaceboLabour has just announced a policy to increase Pharmac funding by $1billion over four years to fund additional medicines. With the current Pharmac budget of $1.2billion per year and needing a further $213million, by Minister Verrall’s own admission, just to keep up with current costs - then this is nothing ...1 week ago
- Re: The Call For Corporate Manslaughter LegislationThis matter begins with the Pike River investigation being inadequate, inexplicably lengthy, and after millions of dollars, the evidence that should have been placed before the public still has not been. We have always believed that Pike River is a crime scene, and that a proper investigation would have come to that conclusion. Blue ...1 week ago
- Re: The Call For Corporate Manslaughter LegislationThis matter begins with the Pike River investigation being inadequate, inexplicably lengthy, and after millions of dollars, the evidence that should have been placed before the public still has not been. We have always believed that Pike River is a crime scene, and that a proper investigation would have come to that conclusion. Blue ...1 week ago
- Release: Labour releases New Zealand’s first climate manifestoNew Zealand faces a stark choice this election – vote for Labour to continue to confront the climate emergency with eyes wide open or bury your head in the sand alongside Christopher Luxon. ...1 week ago
- Green voice crucial for climate actionThe Green Party is today welcoming Labour’s climate manifesto, but is clear that much more will need to be done to tackle the climate crisis. ...1 week ago
- Speech: Chris Hipkins – Wellington Rally, 24 September...1 week ago
- People need a government that will build many more homesLabour’s plan to build more homes is a welcome step forward, but it lacks ambition. ...1 week ago
- Release: Supercharging public housingLabour is supercharging its plan to solve the public housing shortfall created by National, promising another 6,000 homes on top of what has already been committed says Labour Housing spokesperson Dr Megan Woods. ...1 week ago
- Release: New Super Visa for migrants’ parents and rights for Dawn Raid victimsLabour will back migrant working families by introducing a 10-year multiple-entry parents’ and grandparents’ Super Visa, and make good on the Dawn Raids apology by providing a one-off visa for overstayers who have been in the country ten years or more, Labour’s Immigration Spokesperson Andrew Little says. ...1 week ago
- Only the Greens will deliver a fair amnesty for overstayersThe Green Party is today welcoming Labour coming to the table to ensure an amnesty for overstayers, but only the Greens will ensure immigration settings actually reflect the reality of people who have been failed by our immigration system. ...1 week ago
- Climate future of communities on the line this electionGreen Party co leader James Shaw attended a South Dunedin Future street meeting today to discuss local responses to climate change. ...1 week ago
- Green Party calls for stronger action by Auckland Council to protect urban trees and native forestThe Green Party is calling on Auckland Council to do more to protect urban trees and housing developer Aedifice Property Group to restore and replant the native forest it cleared, and protect all the remaining trees on Ngahere Road in Pukekohe after a significant number of native trees were cut ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Ram Raids drop to two-year lowLatest Police data shows monthly ram raids have hit a two-year low, laying waste to Christopher Luxon’s false claim that there are two ram raids a day says Labour’s Police Spokesperson Ginny Andersen. ...2 weeks ago
- Every party needs to step up on school lunchesLabour has finally said it would continue free school lunches - and the Green Party is calling on every party to step up. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: School lunches on the line this electionFree and healthy school lunches will be here to stay if Labour is re-elected, guaranteeing food for our kids who need it most and significant cost saving for parents. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour commits to a new hospital for the people of Hawke’s BayThe next Labour Government will build a new hospital in Hawke’s Bay, Labour leader Chris Hipkins and Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall announced. ...2 weeks ago
- Govt changes fall short of what’s needed for migrant protectionThe Green Party will keep up the fight to support exploited migrant workers, including pushing to end single employer visas, after the government picked up Green recommendations to improve immigration settings. ...2 weeks ago
- Clean Power Payment the smartest way forward to reduce emissions and billsGreen Party co leader James Shaw visited a home in Auckland today that has been upgraded with a wide range of energy improvements, similar to those that would be supported through the Green Party’s Clean Power Payment. ...2 weeks ago
- Foreign Minister's Action – A Contempt For “Caretaker Government” ConventionThe Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta’s presence in New York today at the United Nations General Assembly is a contempt of New Zealand’s “caretaker government” convention. Despite the long-standing caretaker convention, Minister Mahuta is today at the UN to sign a highly contentious “Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement”, delivering a ...2 weeks ago
- Back To Black ResponsiblyThe Pre-Election Fiscal Update Changes Everything Within an hour of this speech there is going to be a debate between the political parties that the media, under MMP, still think are the only parties that matter in this campaign. Both of those parties are riddled with inexperience, as evidenced by ...2 weeks ago
- Stop the cuts before they start – Labour launches new TV adNational and ACT's tax plans don't add up, and that means deep cuts to the public services New Zealanders rely on, says Labour Campaign Chair Megan Woods. ...2 weeks ago
- Youth justice programme expands to break cycle of offending
The successful ‘Circuit Breaker’ fast track programme designed to stop repeat youth offending was launched in two new locations today by Children’s Minister Kelvin Davis. The programme, first piloted in West and South Auckland in December last year, is aimed at children aged 10-13 who commit serious offending or continue ...9 hours ago - Major milestone with 20,000 employers using Apprenticeship BoostThe Government’s Apprenticeship Boost initiative has now supported 20,000 employers to help keep on and train up apprentices, Minister for Social Development and Employment Carmel Sepuloni announced in Christchurch today. Almost 62,000 apprentices have been supported to start and keep training for a trade since the initiative was introduced in ...11 hours ago
- Government supporting wood processing jobs and more diverse industryThe Government is supporting non-pine tree sawmilling and backing further job creation in sawmills in Rotorua and Whangarei, Forestry Minister Peeni Henare said. “The Forestry and Wood Processing Industry Transformation Plan identified the need to add more diversity to our productions forests, wood products and markets,” Peeni Henare said. ...12 hours ago
- Government backing Canterbury’s future in aerospace industryThe Government is helping Canterbury’s aerospace industry take off with further infrastructure support for the Tāwhaki Aerospace Centre at Kaitorete, Infrastructure Minister Dr Megan Woods has announced. “Today I can confirm we will provide a $5.4 million grant to the Tāwhaki Joint Venture to fund a sealed runway and hangar ...12 hours ago
- Updated forestry regulations increase council controls and require large slash removalLocal councils will have more power to decide where new commercial forests – including carbon forests – are located, to reduce impacts on communities and the environment, Environment Minister David Parker said today. “New national standards give councils greater control over commercial forestry, including clear rules on harvesting practices and ...14 hours ago
- New Zealand resumes peacekeeping force leadershipNew Zealand will again contribute to the leadership of the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt, with a senior New Zealand Defence Force officer returning as Interim Force Commander. Defence Minister Andrew Little and Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta have announced the deployment of New Zealand ...1 day ago
- New national direction provides clarity for development and the environmentThe Government has taken an important step in implementing the new resource management system, by issuing a draft National Planning Framework (NPF) document under the new legislation, Environment Minister David Parker said today. “The NPF consolidates existing national direction, bringing together around 20 existing instruments including policy statements, standards, and ...1 day ago
- Government shows further commitment to pay equity for healthcare workersThe Government welcomes the proposed pay equity settlement that will see significant pay increases for around 18,000 Te Whatu Ora Allied, Scientific, and Technical employees, if accepted said Health Minister Ayesha Verrall. The proposal reached between Te Whatu Ora, the New Zealand Public Service Association Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi ...1 day ago
- 100 new public EV chargers to be added to national networkThe public EV charging network has received a significant boost with government co-funding announced today for over 100 EV chargers – with over 200 charging ports altogether – across New Zealand, and many planned to be up and running on key holiday routes by Christmas this year. Minister of Energy ...2 days ago
- Safeguarding Tuvalu language and identityTuvalu is in the spotlight this week as communities across New Zealand celebrate Vaiaso o te Gagana Tuvalu – Tuvalu Language Week. “The Government has a proven record of supporting Pacific communities and ensuring more of our languages are spoken, heard and celebrated,” Pacific Peoples Minister Barbara Edmonds said. “Many ...3 days ago
- New community-level energy projects to support more than 800 Māori householdsSeven more innovative community-scale energy projects will receive government funding through the Māori and Public Housing Renewable Energy Fund to bring more affordable, locally generated clean energy to more than 800 Māori households, Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods says. “We’ve already funded 42 small-scale clean energy projects that ...6 days ago
- Huge boost to Te Tai Tokerau flood resilienceThe Government has approved new funding that will boost resilience and greatly reduce the risk of major flood damage across Te Tai Tokerau. Significant weather events this year caused severe flooding and damage across the region. The $8.9m will be used to provide some of the smaller communities and maraes ...6 days ago
- Napier’s largest public housing development comes with solarThe largest public housing development in Napier for many years has been recently completed and has the added benefit of innovative solar technology, thanks to Government programmes, says Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods. The 24 warm, dry homes are in Seddon Crescent, Marewa and Megan Woods says the whanau living ...7 days ago
- Te Whānau a Apanui and the Crown initial Deed of Settlement I Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me...Māori: Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna te Whakaaetanga Whakataunga Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna i tētahi Whakaaetanga Whakataunga hei whakamihi i ō rātou tāhuhu kerēme Tiriti o Waitangi. E tekau mā rua ngā hapū o roto mai o Te Whānau ...1 week ago
- Plan for 3,000 more public homes by 2025 – regions set to benefitRegions around the country will get significant boosts of public housing in the next two years, as outlined in the latest public housing plan update, released by the Housing Minister, Dr Megan Woods. “We’re delivering the most public homes each year since the Nash government of the 1950s with one ...1 week ago
- Immigration settings updatesJudicial warrant process for out-of-hours compliance visits 2023/24 Recognised Seasonal Employer cap increased by 500 Additional roles for Construction and Infrastructure Sector Agreement More roles added to Green List Three-month extension for onshore Recovery Visa holders The Government has confirmed a number of updates to immigration settings as part of ...2 weeks ago
- Poroporoaki: Tā Patrick (Patu) Wahanga HohepaTangi ngunguru ana ngā tai ki te wahapū o Hokianga Whakapau Karakia. Tārehu ana ngā pae maunga ki Te Puna o te Ao Marama. Korihi tangi ana ngā manu, kua hinga he kauri nui ki te Wao Nui o Tāne. He Toa. He Pou. He Ahorangi. E papaki tū ana ...2 weeks ago
- Renewable energy fund to support community resilience40 solar energy systems on community buildings in regions affected by Cyclone Gabrielle and other severe weather events Virtual capability-building hub to support community organisations get projects off the ground Boost for community-level renewable energy projects across the country At least 40 community buildings used to support the emergency response ...2 weeks ago
- COVID-19 funding returned to GovernmentThe lifting of COVID-19 isolation and mask mandates in August has resulted in a return of almost $50m in savings and recovered contingencies, Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Following the revocation of mandates and isolation, specialised COVID-19 telehealth and alternative isolation accommodation are among the operational elements ...2 weeks ago
- Appointment of District Court JudgeSusie Houghton of Auckland has been appointed as a new District Court Judge, to serve on the Family Court, Attorney-General David Parker said today. Judge Houghton has acted as a lawyer for child for more than 20 years. She has acted on matters relating to the Hague Convention, an international ...2 weeks ago
- Government invests further in Central Hawke’s Bay resilienceThe Government has today confirmed $2.5 million to fund a replace and upgrade a stopbank to protect the Waipawa Drinking Water Treatment Plant. “As a result of Cyclone Gabrielle, the original stopbank protecting the Waipawa Drinking Water Treatment Plant was destroyed. The plant was operational within 6 weeks of the ...2 weeks ago
- Govt boost for Hawke’s Bay cyclone waste clean-upAnother $2.1 million to boost capacity to deal with waste left in Cyclone Gabrielle’s wake. Funds for Hastings District Council, Phoenix Contracting and Hog Fuel NZ to increase local waste-processing infrastructure. The Government is beefing up Hawke’s Bay’s Cyclone Gabrielle clean-up capacity with more support dealing with the massive amount ...2 weeks ago
- Taupō Supercars revs up with Government supportThe future of Supercars events in New Zealand has been secured with new Government support. The Government is getting engines started through the Major Events Fund, a special fund to support high profile events in New Zealand that provide long-term economic, social and cultural benefits. “The Repco Supercars Championship is ...2 weeks ago
- There is no recession in NZ, economy grows nearly 1 percent in June quarterThe economy has turned a corner with confirmation today New Zealand never was in recession and stronger than expected growth in the June quarter, Finance Minister Grant Robertson said. “The New Zealand economy is doing better than expected,” Grant Robertson said. “It’s continuing to grow, with the latest figures showing ...2 weeks ago
- Highest legal protection for New Zealand’s largest freshwater springsThe Government has accepted the Environment Court’s recommendation to give special legal protection to New Zealand’s largest freshwater springs, Te Waikoropupū Springs (also known as Pupū Springs), Environment Minister David Parker announced today. “Te Waikoropupū Springs, near Takaka in Golden Bay, have the second clearest water in New Zealand after ...2 weeks ago
- More support for victims of migrant exploitationTemporary package of funding for accommodation and essential living support for victims of migrant exploitation Exploited migrant workers able to apply for a further Migrant Exploitation Protection Visa (MEPV), giving people more time to find a job Free job search assistance to get people back into work Use of 90-day ...2 weeks ago
- Strong export boost as NZ economy turns cornerAn export boost is supporting New Zealand’s economy to grow, adding to signs that the economy has turned a corner and is on a stronger footing as we rebuild from Cyclone Gabrielle and lock in the benefits of multiple new trade deals, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. “The economy is ...2 weeks ago
- Funding approved for flood resilience work in Te KarakaThe Government has approved $15 million to raise about 200 homes at risk of future flooding. More than half of this is expected to be spent in the Tairāwhiti settlement of Te Karaka, lifting about 100 homes there. “Te Karaka was badly hit during Cyclone Gabrielle when the Waipāoa River ...2 weeks ago
- Further business support for cyclone-affected regionsThe Government is helping businesses recover from Cyclone Gabrielle and attract more people back into their regions. “Cyclone Gabrielle has caused considerable damage across North Island regions with impacts continuing to be felt by businesses and communities,” Economic Development Minister Barbara Edmonds said. “Building on our earlier business support, this ...2 weeks ago
- New maintenance facility at Burnham Military Camp underwayDefence Minister Andrew Little has turned the first sod to start construction of a new Maintenance Support Facility (MSF) at Burnham Military Camp today. “This new state-of-art facility replaces Second World War-era buildings and will enable our Defence Force to better maintain and repair equipment,” Andrew Little said. “This Government ...2 weeks ago
- Foreign Minister to attend United Nations General AssemblyForeign Minister Nanaia Mahuta will represent New Zealand at the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York this week, before visiting Washington DC for further Pacific focussed meetings. Nanaia Mahuta will be in New York from Wednesday 20 September, and will participate in UNGA leaders ...2 weeks ago
- Midwives’ pay equity offer reachedAround 1,700 Te Whatu Ora employed midwives and maternity care assistants will soon vote on a proposed pay equity settlement agreed by Te Whatu Ora, the Midwifery Employee Representation and Advisory Service (MERAS) and New Zealand Nurses Association (NZNO), Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. “Addressing historical pay ...3 weeks ago
- New Zealand provides support to MoroccoAotearoa New Zealand will provide humanitarian support to those affected by last week’s earthquake in Morocco, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. “We are making a contribution of $1 million to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to help meet humanitarian needs,” Nanaia Mahuta said. ...3 weeks ago
- Government invests in West Coast’s roading resilienceThe Government is investing over $22 million across 18 projects to improve the resilience of roads in the West Coast that have been affected by recent extreme weather, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today. A dedicated Transport Resilience Fund has been established for early preventative works to protect the state ...3 weeks ago
- France to host Pacific defence ministers in New Caledonia ‘hub’ meeting
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ French Pacific correspondent Defence ministers from several Asian and Pacific states are scheduled to meet in New Caledonia for two days during the first week of December, French Armed Forces in New Caledonia (FANC) commander General Yann Latil announced at the weekend. He added that French ...46 mins ago - NEW POLL: Statistical Tie Between National And ACT In Race For Tāmaki
A new Taxpayers Union – Curia poll in the Tāmaki electorate shows ACT’s Brooke van Velden mounting a strong challenge to incumbent National MP, Simon O’Connor. The two major candidates for the seat are locked in a statistical tie with 35% of ...1 hour ago - Labour-friendly turf Christchurch throws up some testy exchanges for Carmel Sepuloni
The Cabinet Minister was challenged on her party's record on crime, the cost of living, veterans and beneficiaries during a visit to territory normally considered a Labour heartland. ...2 hours ago - Australia’s emissions must decline more steeply to reach climate commitment: OECDSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Australia’s emissions need to decline “on a much steeper trajectory” if it is to meet its declared commitment of a 43% reduction by 2030 and net zero by 2050, the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and ...2 hours ago
- Tāmaki Is Ready For A Fresh New Voice“Tonight at the Taxpayer’s Union Tāmaki debate I put forward to voters why I should be the next advocate for their community in Parliament,” says ACT Deputy Leader and Tāmaki candidate Brooke van Velden. “After 63 years being represented ...2 hours ago
- Against All Odds In Hauraki-WaikatoThe youngest candidate in this year’s election is closing in on the Labour stronghold of Hauraki-Waikato. A Whakaata Māori exclusive poll has revealed that Te Pāti Māori newcomer, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, is just four percentage points behind Labour’s ...2 hours ago
- General election 2023: Nanaia Mahuta facing serious challenge in Hauraki-Waikato, poll showsThe incumbent MP is just four points ahead of one of the youngest candidates in this year's general election, a poll conducted for Whakaata Māori is revealing. ...3 hours ago
- ACT's Brooke van Velden turns up heat on Simon O'Connor in new pollThe ACT party candidate is locked in a statistical tie with the incumbent in the previously safe National seat of Tāmaki, a new Taxpayers' Union-Curia poll reveals. ...4 hours ago
- Simon O’Connor vs Brooke van Velden will go to wire in Tāmaki – new poll
Following a poll last week which depicted Chlöe Swarbrick in a battle to hold on to Auckland Central, another seat in the city has been confirmed as balanced on a knife edge. In a battle among the parties of the right in Tāmaki, sitting MP Simon O’Connor leads Brooke van ...4 hours ago - No rate hike yet, but will it rise on Melbourne Cup Day? It all depends on petrol pricesSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University If the Reserve Bank does push up interest rates again, the most likely next date is its next board meeting, on Melbourne Cup Tuesday. The November 7 meeting is especially ...5 hours ago
- The disability royal commission heard horrific stories of harm – now we must move towards repairSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jack Francis Kelly, Honorary Research Fellow, School of the Built Environment, University of Technology Sydney The Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability has shared its final report. In this series, we unpack what the commission’s 222 ...5 hours ago
- My Sister Jill: Patricia Cornelius’ new play is a blistering post-war social and cultural commenta...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Austin, Lecturer in Theatre, The University of Melbourne Sarah Walker/MTC Emerging from one of Australia’s most enduring and significant theatrical partnerships between director Susie Dee and playwright Patricia Cornelius, My Sister Jill is a contemporary homage to George Johnston’s ...5 hours ago
- ‘I voted’ stickers not offered this election due to lack of demand – ECThere’s been a strong outpouring on social media after it emerged that polling booths wouldn’t be handing out the orange man “I voted” stickers during this year’s election. And while many have claimed this to be a new decision, the Electoral Commission told The Spinoff the stickers weren’t actually given ...6 hours ago
- Politicians Need To Break R&D Funding Election Cycle For Science To ThriveBioTechNZ has called on the next Government to leverage the use of biotechnology to transform the economy, lift the performance of New Zealand industries, and create high-value jobs. The organisation, whose members all share a desire to maximise the ...6 hours ago
- National Party Statement On Prostate Cancer WelcomedMore than 4000 men are diagnosed and over 700 die from prostate cancer every year. That’s more than twice the road toll. Men’s lives matter too. The Prostate Cancer Foundation today welcomed statements by the National Party relating to prostate cancer ...7 hours ago
- We started a service for people worried about their sexual thoughts about children. Here’s what we...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gemma McKibbin, Senior Research Fellow, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock In its 2017 final report, the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse identified that there was no large-scale national early intervention service in Australia for people worried ...7 hours ago
- Large slash must now be removed after harvesting, new forestry regulations sayCyclone Gabrielle highlighted the need for better regulations on forestry, after woody debris was washed into waterways and caused widespread damage and flooding. ...7 hours ago
- Voice support up in Essential poll, but it is still behindSource: 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 The referendum on the Indigenous Voice to parliament will be held on October 14. A national Essential poll, conducted September 27 to ...7 hours ago
- Election 2023: National 'mischief making' over claims Ingrid Leary backs wealth tax –...The Labour leader is downplaying comments by his MP, Ingrid Leary, who has spoken in favour of a wealth tax. ...7 hours ago
- Time For Aotearoa NZ To Stop Investing In Infrastructure For YesterdayTime to invest in infrastructure for a modern, flourishing, resilient tomorrow. The New Zealand Federation of Multicultural Councils hosted its 34th AGM and Community Awards Dinner on the weekend of the 16th – 17th September 2023 in Wellington. Twenty-four ...7 hours ago
- More than 50,000 people cast ballot on first day of advance votingThe first day of advance voting yesterday saw 56,557 people cast their ballots, according to the Electoral Commission. That’s a big drop on day one of advance voting in 2020, when 92,434 people took part. Given the exceptional, Covid-impacted circumstances of the last election, however, a more instructive comparison may ...8 hours ago
- Climate debate puts parties' emissions policies under scrutinyWith New Zealand on track to fall 114 million tonnes short of the 2030 emissions reduction target, and billions of dollars likely needed to pay for it, political parties have debated their climate policies. ...8 hours ago
- Climate debate puts parties' emissions policies under scrutinyWith New Zealand on track to fall 114 million tonnes short of the 2030 emissions reduction target, and billions of dollars likely needed to pay for it, political parties have debated their climate policies. ...8 hours ago
- ACT unveils medicines policy including one-week approvalsACT is promising to require one-week Medsafe approvals for drugs and medical devices approved by at least two similar countries. ...8 hours ago
- Gambling with Covid: Repeat infections are damaging usThe science is clear, the effects are profound and the toll of Long Covid and reinfections can’t be ignored, writes Freya Sawbridge. On August 15, mandates ceased for masks in healthcare settings along with isolation for positive cases. That marked the end of the final two pandemic restrictions. Anyone wanting to ...9 hours ago
- West Papua’s human rights issues under spotlight for Jubi film launchJubi News in Jayapura Director Latifah Anum Siregar of the Democracy Alliance for Papua (ALDP) has emphasised the importance of raising awareness about human rights violations in Papua during a discussion at the launch of five Jubi Documentary films. The event took place at the St. Nicholaus Ambassador of Peace ...9 hours ago
- New Zealand First Policy Announcement: Parliamentary Conscience Votes· New Zealand First will put an end to the use of conscience votes in parliament and return democracy to the people. · New Zealand First has always believed that important decisions that change the social fabric of our country forever should not ...10 hours ago
- Holes in baby dinosaur bones show how football-sized hatchlings grew to 3-tonne teensSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Roger S. Seymour, Professor Emeritus of Physiology, University of Adelaide Shutterstock Despite their public image as torpid, lumbering creatures, many dinosaurs were evidently warm-blooded, highly active animals, capable of prolonged and strenuous aerobic exercise. In new research, my colleagues ...10 hours ago
- Israel Adesanya is still fighting past demonsMike Minogue watched the new documentary on Israel Adesanya and recognised how hard it is to leave bullies behind. It would have been an entirely satisfactory piece of work. Imagine a documentary that unfolds with behind the scenes footage of the once unknown subject’s journey from utter obscurity, all the ...10 hours ago
- Corporate Welfare For Wood Processing Leaves Taxpayers’ Union StumpedThe Taxpayers’ Union is questioning the Government’s decision to provide corporate welfare to the wood processing sector, both in the form of direct hand-outs and the Government playing bank manager by providing loans when this could easily be left ...10 hours ago
- Humpback whales hold lore for Traditional Custodians. But laws don’t protect species for their cul...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jack Pascoe, Research fellow, The University of Melbourne Back to Country, CC BY-NC-ND For saltwater people of Australia’s east and west coasts, humpback whales hold important lore in the form of stories. For the Yuin people of the east ...11 hours ago
- Wellington Town Hall repairs could cost as much as $330mThe cost of repairing Wellington’s Town Hall has blown out again, with projections now forecast at $250-$330 million, up from a previous estimated completion cost of $182m. The Town Hall has been closed since it was damaged in the 2013 Seddon earthquake. The first cost estimates for repairs were $43 ...11 hours ago
- Lowlights from a media debate where half the parties didn’t even show upIn 2020 the pandemic briefly made the media central to our politics. A debate three years on shows how much that has changed. If you want to know just how far media has fallen as an area of interest for our political class, here are some realities to consider. Act’s ...11 hours ago
- Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Ten reasons Labour’s support has halved11 hours ago
- Luxon maintains he can’t reschedule debate, offers alternatives for HipkinsNational’s Christopher Luxon has defended his decision not to move his schedule around in order to attend a leaders’ debate in Christchurch. With Chris Hipkins testing positive for Covid-19, tonight’s Press debate can’t go ahead. Hipkins had made himself available after he leaves isolation, but Luxon said his schedule was ...11 hours ago
- The debate over the debateIt’s Tuesday, October 3 and welcome along to The Spinoff’s election live updates. We’re now just 11 days out from polling day. I’m Stewart Sowman-Lund. Get in touch with me on [email protected] Learn more about the political parties and what they stand for at Policy.nz The agenda The ...12 hours ago
- National promises post-natal hospital stays, diabetes monitors, mental health training boostNational is promising longer after-birth hospital stays for mothers, free glucose monitors for children with type-1 diabetes and more psychiatrist and psychologist training places. ...12 hours ago
- Government pledges $5.4m to build runway and hangar facilities at KaitoreteThe government is pledging $5.4m to help build runway and hangar facilities at Kaitorete on Banks Peninsula to support the aerospace industry. ...12 hours ago
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that two tier system was started with the Covid unemployment benefits. Everything else is just par for the course.
btw, what happened to Bill?
Looking at it from the point of view of the employed it looks more like nationalising, and making universal and more secure, the redundancy provisions enjoyed by some people with strong union representation.
Hopefully the scheme will also extend to the self-employed who find income protection insurance pretty expensive, and very restricted in coverage.
I'm sure there will be many that like the plan. Wouldn't nationalising be if they took over the private schemes?
My main issue here is that Labour understand the necessity to do something given covid, but only for some people. Too bad the others.
If it's done as well as ACC was it will effectively collapse the private redundancy and income protection schemes because they won't be able to compete on price and coverage.
If you are insured you won't have any coverage if your income loss can be linked in any way to the pandemic, and that will be everyone as the economic downturn has been caused by the pandemic. Since most, if not all, redundancy schemes are funded by insurance there could be some sorry tales coming up if there's a major tits up with lots of redundancies.
Redundancy payments are very two tier as well, some industries and employers, really good, others, nothing.
the pandemic isn't covered by private insurers? Why not?
Standard exclusion on any commercial policy for pandemic. It's included in the definition of 'emergency' in the current ADLS commercial lease which caused all the kerfuffle with leases through lockdown because landlords couldn't claim the loss through insurance.
Yes, this is true, the private sector simply cannot compete with the efficiency of a government department run well.
Probably explains why the governments of the last four decades have gutted and fucked over government departments.
Nationalising my arse…its a privatised scheme to provide an income stream to the insurance industry…there is no advantage to anyone except those who will clip the ticket and the politicians who will be able to disown control
And how's this privatisation? Would you prefer accident insurance to be private too?
"And how's this privatisation?"
A couple of points…first off the scheme has been floated without detail so we cannot say whether it is or not, but in the absence of detail I will assume the worst until such time as they front up. And I further note ACC has been 'reformed' numerous times and prepared for sale by previous administrations and as stated earlier it is not time limited (yet). The fact that the self employed may find income insurance expensive and restricted is neither here nor there, those policies are discretionary and not a requirement of doing business but more importantly the self employed are entitled to the unemployment benefit should the circumstance arise the same as everyone else. its not as if they dont have 'cover' now. Redundancy discrepancies are also moot, the fact some employers offer (and honour) redundancy clauses in contracts is disconnected from unemployment benefits, and I suspect most employers prefer it that way.
This is simply one more step away from Government responsibilities….the bathtub awaits.
Sorry, I see this as the exact opposite. I see this as the government stepping in to provide where the private sector is going to fail, and fail big time. Government has the ability to handle much more risk than private, and do it more efficiently by socialising that risk over the whole population. Just like ACC does with accidents.
Just as ACC allows us to enjoy many high risk recreational activities, tramping skiing fishing hunting are examples, without it costing us an arm or leg in premiums or risk of getting sued if there's an accident, having a comprehensive state income insurance scheme will allow employees and employers to handle a bit more financial risk as our economy transforms because of this pandemic, changes in work, climate change and all the other upheavals we seem headed toward.
I'll concede that details are pretty light but from what's been given, comprehensive, shared state employer employee funding and sheer scale it's looking pretty similar to the ACC model.
"Just as ACC allows us to enjoy many high risk recreational activities, tramping skiing fishing hunting are examples, without it costing us an arm or leg in premiums or risk of getting sued if there's an accident, having a comprehensive state income insurance scheme will allow employees and employers to handle a bit more financial risk as our economy transforms because of this pandemic, changes in work, climate change and all the other upheavals we seem headed toward"
As I commented to KJT yesterday….its a win win for business/politicians, all at the expense of the workers/unemployed.
And my original question remains unaddressed….what are the unemployed expected to do after the (max) 6 months?
Once insurance runs out, you would still be able to apply for the regular unemployment benefit.
My feelings on unemployment insurance are mixed. On the one hand, the rate suggested by Robertson and the Council of Trade Unions (80% of your average salary for the past six months) is extremely generous and would put New Zealand in the same level of generosity as Scandinavia. As Jonathan Boston wrote in Transforming the Welfare State, welfare is far more accepted when it is insurance-based, because of the illusion that it is your own money (ACC and Kiwisaver are examples). In this system, short-term unemployed would have far better lives and beneficary-bashing would be eliminated. Welfare cuts would be far more difficult to either execute or justify.
On the other hand, if you barely surviving to begin with, 80% still might not be enough, and in an especially poor economy, you may not be able to find a decent job within six months of redundancy, and end up at the mercy of WINZ anyway. For this reason, I think that while the insurance option should be explored, it should be paired with the Green Party's Guaranteed Miminum Income for those whose insurance expires.
Perhaps, if they weren't cooking the books so much, they'd get the coverage that they need.
Well in our case we would have a huge loading because my partner has had MH issues requiring admission, and we have variable / cyclic turnover and profit. So cover is fucking expensive and based on the bottom of the cycle. And we'd get nothing right now because of pandemic exclusions.
I know someone who had income and business insurance for communicable disease (childcare industry, so identifiable risk), had been buying it for years only to have the company cancel the policy on 20 March. She wasn't very happy.
ACC Cover Plus is the best, and a pretty good, option for accident, but doesn't give an help for medical or redundancy / tits up because your industry's gone ta ta for the foreseeable. Standard ACC doesn't do much for self employed because of how tax laws work.
So, the company realised that they couldn't afford to payout on the policy without going bankrupt and that it was no longer going to be profitable to offer such a policy (because they realised that they'd have to pay out rather than getting what amounted to free money) and so cancelled it.
That is capitalism, why are you surprised?
Thing is, I know small business people who boasted of paying very little in tax and ACC and then who had the gall of complaining that they were only getting 80% of their reported income from ACC. Their actual income was, of course, much higher but they weren't paying the proper amount of taxes on it.
That's all reasons why this isn't 'two tier welfare' but vital protections of workers' welfare.
Under / no insurance is rife in business, and not just small. Same people who minimise their ACC premiums will have minimised other insurance as well. All good until something goes wrong when it rapidly turns pear shaped for all involved. Add into that the standard commercial exclusion for pandemics and the pandemic related redundancies are likely to get very messy when employers discover they don't have insurance cover for the redundancy payments because the insurance co. is arguing is't due to pandemic.
Much better to have a comprehensive universal state system that's there when it's needed.
Yes, we could call it the unemployment benefit and make it available to everyone.
And we could even do it without creating a two tier citizenship as this policy from Labour seems set to do.
So we get rid of redundancy payments and just stick people on the dole?
Did I say anything about redundancy payments?
We're talking about Labour's policy that will make NZ a two tier citizenship society.
Meanwhile, nats and act and nzfirst must be laughing their way through this one. Who needs enemies when you've got 'friends'?
Divide and conquer has always been a very focussed strategy always employed by one side to reduce the other. When will Labour and the Greens ever learn?
That's ironic given the post is about dividing welfare into two classes.
Don't hold back Weka!
probably not harsh enough…
It's a fine line to walk sometimes 😉
The clues in the name , The LABOUR party .
Although they ain't that good at looking after labourers either the.
Kind of fluff isn't it?
Putting aside it shows Robertson might as well be in National, the Greens would never vote for it.
However he's not & that's because there's "more than one way to skin a cat" sometimes you need to take the long way round to get it done but at least it will have a chance of happening
I don't agree with it happening, as much as Robertson and ACT suggest it might.
I actually can’t believe Labour supporters would seriously justify a 2 tier benefit system depending on hierarchy of status
The closest to "purest" from National or Act are the usual vague "promises" that aren't what they seem like Collins "baby bonus" which will suit the hardliners. What was necessary now to shore up the listing ship in the face of the virus is not a long term two-tier system that will remain in place. Post election, with more everyday NZers having become "beneficiaries" it will be far easier to implement a fairer system long term perhaps I should have said "a means to an ends" than "skin a cat" and again "at least it will have a chance of happening"
This makes me sick. So clearly labours not releasing it's policies because it's gonna be next level neoliberal.
The winter energy payment and rent freeze ends two weeks before the election, the most vulnerable people in NZ many who vote labour are gonna lose $40 and $60 and have a rent increase right before an election and many of my unemployed friends will stay home instead of voting green, they simply don't understand the electoral system and how it works my friends and many people I come across like them anyway.
The family package does nothing for solo beneficiaries. Nothing.
The two tier welfare system is a disgrace and anyone who thinks their covid benifit will last long after the election when labour doesn't have to worry about the newly unemployeds votes is lying to themselves, you'll be chucked in a regular benifit.
The idea of an employment insurance being touted by the labour party is the biggest example of we know welfare is unlivable but bugger them they'll vote Labour and if they don't they'll vote green (no they'll stay home) ugh labour is a disgrace if this is where they are going
Why can't disabled and mentally unwell people get covid benifit rates atleast? Labour and nz in generals attitude to mental health "we care about mental health our suicide rates are horrible" but privately "get off the couch stop crying and get a job you bum"
Labour absolutely in no uncertain terms cannot achieve a sole majority and the greens including Marama now, need to be in cabinet to stop this crap. I have been furious with the greens and alienated by them for a while but hell no. If this is the direction labour intends to go, two ticks green and I'll never vote for a labour electorate candidate again. Ever and I live in a swing seat. Bugger this bugger labour.
Release your policies labour so we can see where you plan on taking this country. No more hiding behind kindness. I talk a lot of crap about labour but I am labour to my bones… Not after this and never again IF this is where they are going they need to change their name to the liberal party, immediately.
"Why can't disabled and mentally unwell people get covid benifit rates atleast?"
This is why I believe it's ideological. If it weren't there would have been changes made in this area at least.
I share your frustration. I still hold some hope that a L/G govt without NZF and with more Green MPs could do some good things with welfare. But the Greens need enough negotiating power post-election.
Pray tell us who are going to vote for then C H ? Jude ?
read the comment again, it's all there.
Well you said it Corey H (my bold) so how about you get with these abnormal times.
We're in the middle of a pandemic which has the potential to decimate the human race and destroy the economic well-being of the world. Who is going to be the worst hit if that happens? The so-called under-class. So, it is in their interest for the Labour-led government to concentrate their efforts on avoiding the worst of the effects. That might mean a few nice to have policies have to go on the back burner for a wee while longer. Maybe not – we will soon know.
I think some of you are getting ahead of yourselves. The official campaign begins on Sunday 13th of September – a week away. Be prepared for the unveiling of their policy planks around that time. No political party releases the details too early to avoid their opponents stealing them. National has a history of doing so.
Only then will we be able to pass informed judgement on whether their polices are neoliberal ideology inspired or – far more likely – taking into account what can and what can't be achieved in the current very shaky times we live in.
"That might mean a few nice to have policies have to go on the back burner for a wee while longer."
Did you just describe policies that help beneficiaries not live in poverty as 'nice to haves'?
No weka. Policies to help beneficiaries was not on my mind.
I've been there. I know what it is like. I've been on the receiving end of it – not the least from Winz itself back in the 1990s. Being treated like a loser as a result of circumstances over which I had no control.
They even put me under surveillance at one point, but unfortunately for them they targeted a wrong person – someone able to write them a ‘very sharp and educational letter’. They ran for cover!
I think that paragraph was unfortunately phrased, because it read like Labour should focus on the pandemic rather than welfare policy.
Yes. I should have made it clearer I was commenting in a general sense and not about welfare policy. My bad.
thanks Anne. Looking forward to the campaign proper.
Consider please that the only reason we are not in early election now is because it got pushed out. the original date was 8 th September if i am not mistaken.
So by now Labour could/should have already unveiled some policies. Last i spoke to the contender here in middle nz she too was not 'going to speak about policies'.
The question really is why would anyone consider voting for someone who does not want to talk about the future. And yes, i hope that the green school gets dumped in favor of a few pennies for the poor. And for that matter any other project like that – should not be funded currently by government.
You are mistaken. The original date was 19th September.
ah, thanks for that. I was not sure about that at all.
" Labour absolutely in no uncertain terms cannot achieve a sole majority "
I wouldn't be so sure. If NZF and the Greeens vote dips below 5%, the Labour could well have a majority over the centre right parties.
If Labour keep launching policy like this then we can expect to see their vote declining and the Greens going up.
You could be right. I was reflecting on the backlash to the private school funding. This may well push any wayward green voters back into their corner.
I feel the loss of the Alliance. Can you imagine their howls and growls about this. Versus the Greens.
The Alliance still exists – somewhere.
Can't hear them.
Schrodinger's cat situation:
Earlier this century I was a member but it became obvious that the party was in decline and that it wasn't coming back and so I left. There appears to still be some die-hards there.
It is a pity that the time that the Alliance was the most successful was also the time that it was least effective. With 27% of the vote and only two seats in parliament.
I spoke in favour of the Greens entering the Alliance. Under FPP, the multiparty leverage was sensible. Thus this result: Alliance 38.25%, Labour 12.20%.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Tamaki_by-election
The underlying issue is that since the 1984 election the government has abandoned its commitment to create full employment. The fairly regular result of this policy is for there to be insufficient jobs to employ everybody who wants to work.
As the voluntary work changes imply people who are in work do find it easier to get other (more rewarding) work. The cost of the country maintaining a pool of unemployed (for economic policy purposes) is not only the direct loss of their contribution but also the lack of career development which impacts later (on their productivity) even after they do find work.
The is something very vulgar about the constant work ready testing regime applied to beneficiaries which doesn't even acknowledge the simultaneous govt policy of unemployment being at least x%. Its certainly obvious to all that not everyone is going to be able to find work regardless of how hard they are incentivised to try.
do you know what Robertson means by "the other is about what we do in situations when people lose their jobs and how we keep them in the labour market"
How does giving more money to a selection of wealthier recently unemployed people mean they are more likely to get another job? Is it as simple as having the resources to look for work and have nice clothes for interviews? Although most people aren't going ot lose their nice clothes in the first 6 months. So what is it?
The volunteering thing makes sense in the abstract (looks good on the CV), but if there aren't enough jobs all this means is that the people with the better CVs get the limited jobs, not that more people get jobs.
I think full time work for everyone is gone now and we should be looking at other models. We didn't have all adults in full time *paid work until relatively recently in history and then we lost it again quite quickly, so I'm not convinced it's a sustainable way to run things.
It looks as if Grant believes the middle class unemployed are entitled to be comfy and the poor can pay for that. Unless he sees the recently unemployed getting no more back than they have paid in?
I wondered about Robertson's 'keep them in the labour market' claim too.
It suggests that those already unemployed are by definition not worthy of being kept 'the labour market'. What ever the fuck that means.
It's just bullshit talk to justify bullshit.
[Fixed typo in user name]
Yep.
It's not designed to fix the problem that is a system that has high unemployment as normal. He's trying to keep the failed neo-liberal paradigm in place and so things are going to keep getting worse under Labour.
Could just reclassify full time from 40 hours (Well, 30 actually) down to, say, 24, and ensure that pay rates adjust to cover the decrease. Minimum wage increases from $22 (IIRC, present liveable) to $29 @ and $36 @ 24.
Of course, that's not going to help those who have been working 50+ hours.
I checked out doing volunteer while unemployed work a decade or so back. Did the sums and realised that I couldn't actually afford to do it. The cost of the bus fares was too much especially if I wanted to ensure that I had enough to go to an interview as well.
I doubt if anything has changed since.
When the government runs high unemployment policies, which they've been doing since the 1980s, then its inevitable that there will be long term unemployed which is fully not the result of the desires of the unemployed. High unemployment, and thus also long term unemployed, is a direct result of government policies.
Thing is, even many on the Left seem to have accepted high unemployment as normal, seemingly forgetting that one of the reasons why we had Penal Rates was to encourage full employment. The other, of course, was to encourage development of machinery to do the work but that's been forgotten as well as the lack of Penal Rates has turned us into a low wage nation that imports even lower waged workers to do stuff that should be done by machine.
@Graeme.
I agree.
However it should be noted that the reason why so many self employed get minimal ACC payments, is because they are not paying the levies on the income, they hide from the tax man.
Incidently the reason why National wants to subsidise businesses on a per business basis, rather than on the number of employees/sole traders, paying tax. Too many of their tax dodging mates are missing out.
As a PAYE earner more recently I've been fine at the prompt and comprehensive help from ACC with injuries.
However the avoidance of ACC paying cover, applied to people I know with mental health or gradual process injuries from work, has been disgusting.
This of course is a result of the profit making imperative that has taken over ACC culture, to fatten it for future privatisation.
Certainly ACC should be extended to illness. At present Ill people are subject to a two tier system which leaves them, mostly, much worse off than those with ACC cover. That would be a popular policy with almost everyone. Except for the aformentioned tax dodgers, of course
But. It should be under the initial model, not the way it works now.
Nah I 'm sure it's just a cunning ploy by Robertson to help the Greens get over 5%.
haha.
@Nic. 9.
Employers who benefit by the implicit subsidy of a set level of unemployment, should be contributing to paying unemployment benefits.
Of course low paying employers are also subsidised by welfare topups their employees have to have so they can live. And the infrastructure the rest of us have to provide for their cheap labour.
Maybe an ACC type employer levy that goes up the lower the wages paid, compared to company profits?
Where is the "tax payers union" when we need them?
Helping the people you suggest should be paying more taxes because of their poor practices not pay any taxes.
The reason why ACC has been to a large extent "Tory proof" is that everyone, including the corporates who buy our Governments, benefit from it.
National’s attempts to privatise it have been quietly, buried. You can be sure it was at the request of their bribers/sorry, funders, not because of public outcry.
They know a privatised version, or a return to the US version will cost them much more.
@Weka, If I read that charitably the Robertson means people in that situation will keep looking for work in line with the job they lost for longer, before lowering their expectations.
But this policy isn't going to work. Its ridiculus to ask the economy to save so much that it can cover the shift in govt spending when a recession occurs. Basically the GFC and Covid recessions occur because of a shift towards the citizens saving (e.g when your locked down but still getting income you are going to be saving more because discretionary spending falls almost automatically). To the extent this saving isn't replaced by additional govt spending (I'm ignoring shifts in foreign sector trade for a moment) then you get a recession (fall in GDP). In NZ this was not too great because the wage subsidy kept paying people who lost out due to the fall in discretionary spending. But the idea that the private sector has enough saved to buy its way out of the savings shift is clearly pretty silly. At best it will be like disaster insurance, easy insurance profits during good times and insurance bankruptcy when the payouts are most needed.
Finally, think about full employment on an individual level. This means for that individual they are able to have enough work to keep themselves and their family satisfied. This exists even if the work week was shorter (say 25 hours), for some it will be part time. But there are only two reasons this would not be available,
1) because there is literally nothing for them to do.
2) because nobody is willing to pay them to do that.
Until around 1984 the govt ensured that 2 was loosely in effect by hireing anybody at least somewhere. But I believe your saying returning to a political regime which resolves 2 no longer works. So it must be true that there really not enough to do? I simply don't agree.
We have a prime example of how private insurance fails in the Christchurch earthquakes. The private insurers simply didn't have enough money to cover all the damage that came under the policies that they had offered and so the government had to step in and let them off the hook.
This proved, quite conclusively, that private insurance is a scam with the sole purpose of getting high profits from doing as little as possible.
There's enough to do but it doesn't involve the bludgers getting a high profit and so the government avoids it.
We've tried the so-called service economy over the last few decades but all that's brought about is higher poverty and a decreasing rate of development in the economy.
What we need now is an R&D economy where everyone is encouraged to get a degree or three with the government ensuring that they will be hired in R&D that will get our manufacturing back but in a form suitable for the 21st century. That manufacturing will be set to provide NZ with what it needs and very little will be for export as it will be expected that other nations will have their own manufacturing.
As I say, in a free-market with productivity as high as ours is, there is no international trade.
Only one Insurance Company went bust through incompetence management AMI Insurance.
A local Mutual.
[I fixed the typo in your e-mail address. Please stick to one user name here from now on, thanks – Incognito]
There were numerous points about the Christchurch payouts and not just that only one insurer went bust. Quite often, the insured weren't getting what they were insured for. People were having to go to extraordinary lengths to get what they were insured for which many simply couldn't afford which all means that the insurers didn't pay out what they were supposed to.
Consider, almost a decade later according to this article, many still hadn't been paid out.
I'm not seeing anywhere that the insurance industry worked well in Christchurch. Completely the opposite, in fact. I figure that there were two main reasons for the tardiness and low payouts:
And the government came in to help the insurers.
There is, of course, one other major issue which, even if the insurance companies could and would have paid out immediately, they couldn't have done anything about and that which would have needed government support for:
To get Christchurch back on its feet quickly required that the rest of the NZ economy had to be put on hold and that didn't happen.
The pandemic has brought forth the need for that government support again and, again, we know that the private insurance business can't, and won't, pay. Thankfully, this time we have a government that's stepped up but they're still trying to do as little as possible rather than what's actually needed as this policy shows.
The NZF is campaigning with the message that they were a handbrake on Labour on welfare policy.
They probably got agreement for the increase in baseline benefit by $25 by doubling of the power cost income supplement income (which those on super as well as beneficiaries get).
It's good politics, people will now be feeling less secure in their employment – so its an optimum time to bring in compulsory insurance to cover them in the between employment period..
It's also good for budget management – as it means there is provision made for periods of higher unemployment.
Meh, it's about having the earnings to continue to pay the rent power bills etc.
Looks to me that Labor wants to find a way to privatize some of the benefit payments (Unemployment/ACC) but tries to put leavers in to still look like that they support the unemployed. How, would be anyone's guess. Looks like a monetary exercise as we now have to pay back the billions spend. The day of reckoning has arrived.
What is needed is a different approach to work per se and leaving the concept of that slave mentality behind. I am actually disappointed that when the chips are down, this government proves to be no better than any other.
Can we see some costings when an UI is being implemented verses all these corporate welfare payments that seem to surface all the time?
This pandemic has proved that capitalism doesn't work (and so did the GFC and every other recession) and so we should be getting rid of it.
That's because they're trying to avoid having to do what's necessary so as to keep capitalism in place.
Jum 3
5 September 2020 at 4:02 pm
Meanwhile, nats and act and nzfirst must be laughing their way through this one. Who needs enemies when you've got 'friends'?
Divide and conquer has always been a very focussed strategy always employed by one side to reduce the other. When will Labour and the Greens ever learn?
Reply
5 September 2020 at 4:33 pm
That's ironic given the post is about dividing welfare into two classes.'
Well, Weka, that's pretty much what I expected; a stupid joke at my expense.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WxdaU9AsnU Why don't you watch 'The Newsroom' rant early in part one which contains a speech made by 'Will McAvoy' in which he explains about how NOT great america is. He mentions liberals which is our Labour Greens and why they lose. i.e. everyone I think is worth knowing on here is wasting their intelligence by just and I say a very worthy just, as it's LPrent's blog, they should ALSO be taking the battle to the printed word, reducing the influence herald has, or the perfectly good people (nats I'm sorry to say) that think hosking on newstalk zb is actually worth listening to. I know!
My apologies and grateful thanks to those that are.
But, if it makes others happy to pick apart what good has been done and in your naivety believing that Labour has the election in the bag, and isn't under threat, then you obviously don't know how insidious and evil greed really is in reaching self-interested voters' weaknesses.
PS I wish all left leaners the very best in the coming weeks. I won't be posting again, but everyone should know that this is simply the best blog.
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=utube+simply+the+best