“Threats and fists have been flying in Work and Income offices across New Zealand, with 54 people physically assaulted at work last year, new figures reveal.
Work and Income staff reported 3757 incidents of abusive client behaviour in 2012, including 448 classified as “serious abuse” – 54 cases of physical abuse and 394 verbal.
Minister for Social Development Paula Bennett said the numbers, obtained by Fairfax Media under the Official Information Act, were unacceptable.
“We should never accept this behaviour as just ‘part of the job’ – there is no justification for it whatsoever.”
But the union representing staff said recent government welfare reforms that tightened up on benefits could cause even more friction.”
Quoted from ‘Stuff.co’ and the ‘Manawatu Standard’ as part of Fairfax Media, here is a link to the online story:
So here we have the tip of the iceberg figures on how the increasingly stringent, draconian and punitive welfare regime under the National led government and Paula Bennett is affecting clients and staff at Work and Income. It seems like some cannot handle the pressures, expectations, demands and in some cases also arrogant, insensitive treatment by some WINZ case managers any more.
Naturally this also reflects badly again on beneficiaries, and the media just love such reports and statistics, to reinforce the prejudicial views of WINZ clients too often being seen as nasty, abusive and prone to criminal behaviour.
While I am not usually listening to talk back on 1ZB, this morning I was made aware of many WINZ clients and others that had experience with WINZ calling in to their midnight to 06 am talk-back with Garry Denvir. He mentioned this news as one of the topics he was open to talk about.
He may have anticipated some different reactions, but a lot of the callers had quite some stories to tell. Here are some audios that can be downloaded and listened to:
[audio src="http://content.radionetwork.co.nz/weekondemand/auckland/10230.mp3" /]
(a caller calling in at about 06 minutes and 40 seconds into the track, with a story of unreasonable expectations and him getting his benefit cut off)
[audio src="http://content.radionetwork.co.nz/weekondemand/auckland/10315.mp3" /]
(one audio track where about 8 minutes into it Gary reads out an email from a listener, about pressures WINZ case managers now put on clients, and how Dr Bratt and designated doctors are used to put pressures on sick and disabled to get jobs)
[audio src="http://content.radionetwork.co.nz/weekondemand/auckland/10330.mp3" /]
(another audio with another caller calling in about 5 minutes into this track, on WINZ and Dr David Bratt as Principal Health Advisor, talking about his insight in what is happening at WINZ, ACC and so forth)
[audio src="http://content.radionetwork.co.nz/weekondemand/auckland/10345.mp3" /]
(the same caller from the track before still carrying on…)
[audio src="http://content.radionetwork.co.nz/weekondemand/auckland/10515.mp3" /]
(another audio with a disgruntled older client of WINZ calling in at about 06 minutes and 20 seconds into the track, sharing his experiences)
So a usually somewhat “conservative” host with insufficient insight into the WINZ workings and present benefit categories had to listen to some stories by those affected, not having much good to say about the welfare system and how it is being administered.
P.S.: If there is some problem with the audios, try to download the tracks from about 02:15 am onwards, and especially listen to times from about 03.25 am and close to 03.36 am at least.
Thanks for that X, I read the story in Stuff and thought it presented staff as victims. Most people who are subjected to our benefit system have a vastly different take on things.
That being said, a small proportion of the clients ARE crazy and violent for no specific reason – but that is what remote client units are for and for those staff threats are part of the job.
FFS. Whatever the circumstances, an assault on a WINZ staffer is NEVER, EVER acceptable. If it was a corner dairy the in-house camera footage would be on National television immediately and the police would be in pursuit.
FFS If you are refering to my comment re threats being part of the job in the Remote Client Unit, the clients who are there are dealt with remotely (different from being tresspassed – I’ve no idea why but it is) because they pose a physical risk to staff, hence the “remote” component, the fake staff names, and secret location. This risk is the same for prison staff, police, mental health workers dealing with violence and the risk involved is part of the job (although it is possibly higher due to the fact they have to have direct contact).
Make no mistake this story is part of the ongoing public relations campaign to turn the public against beneficiaries. Work and Income can and do call the police on occassion if they deem it necessary, as would the corner dairy. And Work and Income have in house cameras which cover all parts of their office.
Yep, most WINZ front line offices are set up as secure, locked down areas. For instance you cannot move from one space to the next without swipe cards, key pad access, etc.
“Whatever the circumstances, an assault on a WINZ staffer is NEVER, EVER acceptable.”
Not as simple as that. If you subject people to regular humiliation, strip them of their power, in a situation where their survival is at stake, then it’s likely you will get some violence. I doubt that many people understand quite how institutionally violent WINZ is to its clients. Eventually something has to break. I feel sorry for many WINZ frontline staff, but there is a massive problem with the system. Maybe someone could report on that.
Definitely ‘not as simple as that’, take the case of the wheelchair bound beneficiary in Northland,( can’t remember if it was earlier this year or late last year),
Refused his legal entitlement on the basis of God knows what this beneficiary finally snapped and resorted to taking a hammer to the local WINZ office where He smashed a number of windows,
Lo and behold, the media attention which resulted from this ‘madness’ had WINZ reviewing His case again and He suddenly became the recipient of what were His full entitlements all along,
His treatment, or should i say mistreatment at the hands of WINZ staff isn’t an isolated incident, such mistreatment happens on a daily basis in WINZ offices and the abhorrent Bennett driven changes to the system which puts into the hands of ‘case workers’ even more ‘power’ to effectively destroy what little livelihood beneficiaries have will only worsen an already dire situation…
His treatment, or should i say mistreatment at the hands of WINZ staff isn’t an isolated incident, such mistreatment happens on a daily basis in WINZ offices…
Yep and the only real way to stop that abuse is to go to a Universal Income that pays more than enough to live on (at least 20k). That way the only time you’d go to the MSD was when you’re really, really desperate.
I doubt 20k is affordable but 12-15 probably is. Then there would be no welfare, no WINZ no work tests, no nothing. Everyone gets a cheque for $300 per week. Have a nice life.
You’re killing me man (in a good way), the UBI in some form is an absolute must if we are going to cut through the complex mess that the benefits/taxation system has become.
Well, meds maybe, special assistance, special equipment, well – tough for them, there’s no WINZ to help them out. We can lock ’em up when they finally go overboard, problem sorted.
Nope. The UBI looks good because there are no details. You saw what spy wrote – an arbitrary base figure, no winz, nothing else from them. Fucked if you need dental work, or a social worker.
The devil is in the details. Basically, the tory looks at the UBI and goes “oh, here’s something we can set to average needs (and forget those who need more), forget to link it to inflation, and still blame people for their imagined shortcomings if they need more than that”.
I know people who could live like kings on $300/w.
I know others who, for a variety of reasons, would need more.
So we set it to $500/w, and tories bitch about the ones who live like kings (and ignore those who might need more).
Or we set it to $200pw, and when the morbidity/mortality stats start to rise the tories would point out that the same group of perople are scraping by.
I like the idea of a UBI from far off, but something nags at me about it. I think what might be nagging is that applying one value (whatever it might be) to a diverse population as never had a single instance of good outcomes in the past.
“but I think that some of the detail can be worked out over time.”
Why not work some of it out now?
Srylands says $300/wk. But how many people can live on that and be ok? There are reasons that welfare payments and entitlements are complicated. Part of it is historical. Part of it is the abatement issue. Part of it is ideological (neoliberalism says stick not carrot, therefore you cannot pay welfare at a livable rate, therefore you have to have a system of supplementary benefits). And a big part of it is simply that different people have different needs in regards to income. How do we make this fair? How do we make this affordable? How do we make this workable? I can’t see a UBI progressing if we can’t even figure out some basic concepts.
Well I’m saying let’s have that discussion, and it will be one which takes months, but don’t toss away the concept of a UBI just because we haven’t had that discussion yet.
“But how many people can live on that and be ok? ”
A sign of success would be that over the next 30 years the proportion of people making more than the guaranteed minimum rises. That is because you divert enforcement and abatement testers into useful work helping people to upskill.
There are many pitfalls with a universal income, but they can be worked through – no system is perfect but it offers a better solution than the current one because it gets rid of the fear (work testing) and high EMTRs (abatement) from the system.
“Well, meds maybe, special assistance, special equipment, well – tough for them, there’s no WINZ to help them out. We can lock ‘em up when they finally go overboard, problem sorted.”
No there would be no WINZ. There would be a specialised crown entiity to deal with disability issues and a massive investment in dealing with mental health problems, especially in youth.
I didn’t say there was nothing except a minimum income, just that a universal income would replace the nightmare of work and means testing. You would shut down the crazy state aparatus dealing with work testing and overpayments and redepoy them to do useful things – i.e helping people.
I would also have a massivew investment to prevent reoffending and abolish all prison sentences of less than 5 years – prison as a last resort, and only for serious offences or where the public are threatened.
Of course to pay for all this, we need a vibrant market economy, which is where I suspect we part company.
Quite frankly, I’d want to double check any social policy suggested by someone who thinks that the first step involves kowtowing even more to the market economy.
I reckon the only reason worktesting is crazy is because tories have been running it for thirty years, and turned it into a tool of harassment rather than assistance.
I would also have a massivew investment to prevent reoffending and abolish all prison sentences of less than 5 years – prison as a last resort, and only for serious offences or where the public are threatened.
You’re continuing to stun me with progressive ideas
wrylands
What’s happened to you. You are noting ideas that sound practical, effective and good-outcome oriented. They sound as if based on George’s Seinfeld principle that if all the time what has been done has turned out wrong, then turning right round to a different approach must be right. Of course what you hear in a comedy show can’t be taken as serious steps to a better society, but then many a true word has been spoken in jest they say.
Of course to pay for all this, we need a vibrant market economy, which is where I suspect we part company.
A market economy fails to produce any more wealth due to the simple fact that the amount of wealth that can be generated is dependent upon the actual resources available.
20k is affordable. Wages averaged across the entire adult population is about 40k so that would leave another 20k that everyone could earn by working. Of course, that does mean that CEO salaries and similar will have to come down.
Also, the reason why I think it should be that high is that it should be enough to allow people to be entrepreneurial rather than the slightly less than subsistence existence that the present welfare provides which really only wastes a huge amount of talent.
Our present system is, quite literally, rewarding the wrong people.
Exactly. I had an encounter with a WINZ lackey a while back that showed that their job is now to prevent the poor from getting benefits and off the lists. She was rude, ignorant and her only sparks of intelligence were aimed at blocking any claims. She tried to conceal her identity from me, but I found out that her name is Carmila. She works at Wellington’s Willis St office. Note that and record any conversation you have with her. She’s one of many.
I’m not brave – just a bloody stubborn Scottish bastard. Underestimating that quality has got some presumptuous arseholes (hello Massey “university”!) in trouble and out of pocket before though…
Well Carmila poor girl did not know what she was dealing with …is all I can say …I almost feel sorry for her …smile
….except that begging for a life support benefit is no joking matter!….it is humiliating to good NZers and it should NOT happen in a caring society !!!!
….This is why the real Labour Party must get back into being a voice for all the people, especially those vulnerable at the bottom of the economic heap…and be a viable force for those 800,000+ disaffected Labour who did not vote last time.
This is why the real Labour Party must get back into being a voice for all the people
Yeah, Labour isn’t the party of the bloated middle class ageing yuppies like Goff and Mallard. We poor aren’t all roof-painting bludgers and that’s why I don’t feel at all sad about the hypocrite Mumblefuck’s resignation.
Hopefully that arsehole didn’t go too late and hopefully his cronies won’t have too much influence after.
“I reckon the only reason worktesting is crazy is because tories have been running it for thirty years, and turned it into a tool of harassment rather than assistance.”
The state should assist people to find work. But it should not be a “test” i.e linked to threats to reduce someone’s income. You can’t control that system.
“The state should run the economy so there are enough jobs.”
When you have 20% of students not graduating from high school, that is impossible. What are they going to do? Who would employ them? To do what, exactly in a modern society?
Here’s a hint – when you ask a rhetorical question, you’d better have an answer ready right away, otherwise people will come up with their own, and they won’t be the answers you want.
You don’t need to graduate from high school in order to be able to work. Or learn a trade or skill. So that’s not really a useful measure of anything.
There is plenty of work needing doing, so that’s not an issue either.
That leaves how to pay them. And we have plenty of options there if we really wanted to take them – fairly distributing wealth, and relocalising economies. If the effort that WINZ and the MSD put into punishing benes instead went to supporting people wanting to be self-employed or set up businesses that fed the local economy*, the picture would change immensely.
*rather than the global economy.
Plus there are going to be a percentage of people who can live on the $300/wk UBI (although I tend to think the UBI should be tied to some expectation of contribution to society).
I’m guessing the reason none of that is obvious to you is because you can’t see past neoliberal economic ideology and theory.
“You don’t need to graduate from high school in order to be able to work. Or learn a trade or skill. So that’s not really a useful measure of anything.”
Yes you do. Without NCEA L2 you can forget about a trade in NZ. Simple as that.
“If the effort that WINZ and the MSD put into punishing benes instead went to supporting people wanting to be self-employed or set up businesses that fed the local economy*, the picture would change immensely.
So get rid of WINZ and work tests and income tests so there is no dreaded WINZ debt.
*rather than the global economy.”
No our future is exactly the opposite of what you are proposing – the future is in serving the global economy. All our efforts should be devoted to playing a leading role in APEC integration and the WTO. Otherwise we will end up looking a bit like a temperate Samoa, with a similar GDP per capita.
One of the (few) good aspects of the 5th Labour government is that Clark/Cullen/Goff realised this objective and pursued it. Nothing will change with the 6th Labour Government.
There’s a lesson: “should” is not the same as “is” and it never will be.
What “is” is globalisation. It will be pursued full steam ahead by the Labour/Green government after the 2014 election, which they are likely to win.
No our future is exactly the opposite of what you are proposing – the future is in serving the global economy.
Nope, the future will be a a primarily local economy with minimal international trade.
All our efforts should be devoted to playing a leading role in APEC integration and the WTO. Otherwise we will end up looking a bit like a temperate Samoa, with a similar GDP per capita.
Nope. Continue that route and we’ll end up looking like Palestine. They were owned by foreigners as well and look what happened to them. Nearly a century since the fall of the Turkish Empire and they still don’t have control of their land or their lives.
Ah yes, naive libertarians… you’re almost amusing. “Should” is your favourite word isn’t it?
Gravity should be less, so I don’t get sore feet, cancer shouldn’t exist so my friends don’t die, the market should be fair so everyone gets what their labour is worth, fairies should exist so everyone has their wishes granted. “Should” is such a wonderful word isn’t it?
Here’s a lesson: “should” is not the same as “is” and it never will be. Try to think about that.
Xtasy
+1 Thankyou for the good work 🙂 My impression they’re trying to bring in the fascist punitive sanctions regime already going in the U$K. It’s scary while you’re appealing with a review you’re expected to live on nothing. If you have a bastard landlord you could end up on the street, once homeless you’re not entitled to a benefit until you get an address. (Correct me if I’m wrong) This is not the Kiwi way, we are not fascist bastards though Europe has a sad history of that cruel disease.
The 800,000 who didn’t vote last election allowed Yankey john to get in with his extremist ideology, they must get off their rears and vote the coming election.
key’s Mum was a Jewish person who left Austria due to its fascist persecution of her people. It’s sad her son is now a fascist too persecuting the new Jews right here in NZ. 🙁
Not condoning violence, but if confronted with the fact that I have no way of meeting the weeks living costs, I would be lashing out as well.
Sometimes violence is the last resort of those who have been completely robbed off all power. And that is what the right is about — giving the powerful more power over the powerless.
Those on a benefit need to get off their butts and…..ORGANIZE!!!
Millsy
+1 What beneficiaries are up against is institutional violence at the touch of a computer key. OOPS! that’s your living gone ’cause we sanctioned you. If you commit suicide that’s not our fault- You had to apply for 24 jobs in 24 days but only applied for 17.
7.30 this morning the first comment on Open Mike was from Xtasy and included audio links to Talkback ZB I think, wherein beneficiaries described their various experiences at the hands of WINZ.
When I came back after double right clicking my comment in Open Mike yesterday in general support of Xtasy’s important contribution – /open-mike-24082013/#comment-684411 – it was no longer there.
Which is a pity. Hopefully it will reappear, allowing everyone the chance to walk in the mocassins perhaps.
For your ears Xtasy I repeat – your contributions on this topic are important and for me, welcome. Keep it up, along with your spirits !
North – thanks, I see the comment awaiting moderation, possibly for someone to double check the audio links. I hope it will appear again soon. Maybe it will take a while, given it is early Sunday morning.
IB – I understand, and try not to put too many links into posts, just this one necessitated it somehow, as 1ZB have this piecemeal kind of download option. Thanks!
Xtasy – I listened to all the audios linked to your comment.
The following general conclusions seem apposite –
1. In the drive to deal with those Paula Bennett/50 million dollar 170,000 new jobs man John Key chooses to identify as unworthy, the government has created an out-of-control bureaucratic monster which even its administrators cannot leash.
2. Treating unemployed people like rubbish, as well the ill, the physically disabled, the mentally impaired, the illiterate and innumerate, does happen on a significant scale in the execution.
3. Stand downs for three months and more understandably induces terror. Some people in terror act badly. Of course.
4. It is unintelligent, facile, indeed cruel for people not in the grips of such terror to “tut tut tut” when deliberately conceived and applied terror measures have ill consequences. Worse to then cite those consequences as further proof of unworthiness.
Those are my conclusions. Now for some hard facts –
5. To my sadness I recognised a voice on the audios as a man I have known for nearly 30 years. Very, very, very talented, decent, caring of others. Has formal training. Has addiction. I know his shame and his reaction to the terror of a 3 month standown. Variously, anger, verbal abusiveness, resort to addictive acting out, petty crime. Surprise surprise. Be honest people – just imagine out-of-the-blue being rendered destitute, penniless, for 3 months.
6. The 70% disabled man who smashed two windows at a WINZ office late 2012 had gone to WINZ with all his bank statements and a professionally prepared budget to apply for a food grant. Incredibly he was repeatedly told, loudly and roughly in front of numerous other waiting “clients”, to go away and get a new budget – there being a 3 week waiting list to see the budgeter. The WINZ person knew that.
7. No matter – “Go to the budgeter !” Repeatedly, in front of people. Callously, viciously, humiliated.
8. At court he was convicted and discharged without further penalty. I was there and I am satisfied that in a heart of heart sense this man was identified by everyone present as a person inhumanly pushed to the end of his tether. That on a broad appreciation this was a justifiable act.
There will be more of this. Key and Bennett, and the tea partiers seated behind them are the social criminals here.
As for those budget advisors, those services are now “financed” at a shoestring budget approach by MSD, and the rules to follow, i.e. to abide by the expectations of the Ministry and WINZ have been substantially “tightened” under NatACT, so that there is no room anymore for too much true independence and even “dared” advocacy work for them to be allowed to do. Do NOT bite the hand that feeds is the domineering approach by MSD and Bennett and her government.
I met people on benefits, whatever types, who unfortunately only have temporary additional support available, as the more lenient, former “special benefit” has largely been phased out. They were confronted with astronomical rent increases here in Auckland, but only entitled to a capped TAS top up, which left them in situations nobody could survive under. So some had been sent to the WINZ suggested “budget advisor”, and one here in Central Auckland even clearly stated for one client I know, that no way could he survive on the benefit he was getting.
He went to WINZ with the report, showing a clear shortfall between income and totally basic essential outgoings, and they just told him: “You will not get any more, as that is all you are entitled to!!!” So he had to lose his flat, rented for 9 years on a private market, and ended up in a cockroach infested, damp, unhealthy and overcrowded boarding house, even run illegally.
He was fobbed off endlessly by Housing NZ, saying he had “suitable accommodation”, and in the end I and him went to the very top, and also the Herald on Sunday by the way, to raise issues, and within a week or two, he suddenly was offered at least a humbly suitable Housing NZ home, which they repeatedly claimed before he had not entitlement to.
That is how damned rotten the system is, and sadly most do not get what they need, as they have no knowledge and strength to see it through as we did in that case. That is just one story by the way, and do not start me on many other ones, I will be here all night. WINZ and Bennett now heading the Ministry are the worst abusers and liars out there, and this must be exposed!
National ACT party dictatorship, and you are a benfactor, due to supporting it, we are the enemies, we get surveilled, and persecuted, so you fascist cunts run the show and deal to us, that is my message.. [deleted]
[lprent: Ok – I missed that. You are now on notice of a rather long banning if I see this happen again. And my toleration level just dropped. ]
srylands – my angry comment was not to be meant literally, of course, but it disturbs and dismays me what this government is dishing out to sick, disabled and some sole parents on benefits now. As I am affected, I am furious about what I see and hear. NatACT is the combination of the villains behind it, and some of their thinking resembles a soft form of fascism. That is where I am coming from.
So why do you think I am an apologist for the Government’s benefits policies? I have posted repeatedly that I support dismantling the punitve apparatus that seeks to punish beneficiaries.
“Of course to pay for all this, we need a vibrant market economy, which is where I suspect we part company.”
While some of your ideas may sound ok and sensible, others are just ideologically coloured, and more of what this government is already doing or planning to do.
The market economy will never allow for social fairness for disabled and longer term sick with incapacities, as they will never be able to compete in a “vibrant market economy”, except perhaps very few.
Competing with fit and healthy for jobs will continue to be a problem. A universal income of $ 300 is not going to allow for most to survive reasonably and humanely, certainly not in Auckland, and I feel you are not having the real answers to solve existing issues effectively and fairly.
“The market economy will never allow for social fairness for disabled and longer term sick with incapacities.”
Well I would be surprised if the incoming Labour Government actually dismantles the market economy.
In fact I predict the incoming Left Government will institute less ambitious changes to the benefits system than I am proposing. Under Labour you will still have the general WINZ apparatus that punishes beneficaries – you know the one I am sugegsting should be dismantled, and for which you suggested that I should be hung from a lampost?
You may want the market economy overturned and for NZ to withdraw from the WTO and on and on, but it is not going to happen. A guaranteed minimum income and an end to beneficary bashing on the other hand, is a realistic objective. Advocating it does not warrant my hanging.
I did not state that the total abolition of a market economy was necessary, only that disabled and sick with incapacities would not be able to compete and would thus not be treated fairly and socially equally. So there will always be special needs such people have and that must be met.
As for WINZ and abolishing it, whatever would replace it will inevitably have to cater for normal unemployed and others unable to work, on a case by case basis. Letting an agency like IRD look after them, or privatising it all, that will lead to even worse outcomes.
I am not taking this further, as I made my point and am mindful of presence here being screened by other agencies, that this government has empowered to do more, for “security” and whatever else. It pays to be very careful now.
“As for WINZ and abolishing it, whatever would replace it will inevitably have to cater for normal unemployed and others unable to work, on a case by case basis. Letting an agency like IRD look after them, or privatising it all, that will lead to even worse outcomes.”
Just a final word to clarify my views –
WINZ would be replaced with nothing. Because there would be no social welfare system to administer. Everyone would receive a guaranteed income.
Unemployed people would be given employment assistance by a new agency with a focus on assisting people to fins work or training.
I also advocate a massive increase in assistance for the disabled and sick. mental health care in NZ is a disgrace (for example).
IRD would be out of the picture and there would be no privatisation of such services. (IRD is there to collect tax.)
I am convinced that a government cannot provide such services if it is also maintaining the current WINZ machine that focus on administering income and work tests (and inevitably pursuing “overpayments”).
I am convinced that a government cannot provide such services if it is also maintaining the current WINZ machine that focus on administering income and work tests (and inevitably pursuing “overpayments”).
I agree, but the govt would still need a department to administer income. And supplementary benefits. How else are you going to take into account individual circumstances?
Both Fitzsimons and Locke seemed sad to see former leader David Shearer depart.
Fitzsimons said it was “a shame that being a good and principled and honest and caring person is not enough to be prime minister because I think David Shearer was all of those things . . . I think it’s sad that in politics, really good people often don’t make it”.
Archetypal feral Michael Laws. Imagine taking the tragic example of two people, that’s right, two people to brand much, much wider ? And this vicious, narcissistic polemicist fancies he’s fit to resume a mayoralty ?
Ae, Lhaws. The vicious, demented stoat of politics taking yet another lunge at the neck of the weakest. Toxic filth personified, an evil spectre lurking round poor old Whanganui, the pervading stench of shit dooming its proud heritage until the day this mutant mustelid is eliminated.
And well done Xtacy – keep on exposing the truths they try to bury in the wee hours, much appreciated.
Get in contact with him, North. I did in February last year, as you will see if you click on the link. Just a warning, my friend: Laws is not a serious or thoughtful correspondent, so don’t take it personally when he calls you a sickness beneficiary or a loon. That’s just his way of engaging with people.
It a nasty word that Laws uses to dehumanise those he despises.
We should be thankful that the guy ended up leaving parliament. The thought of him in cabinet leaves me cold. Its people like him that end up dressing in unfiforms and making stiff armed salutes, and having undesireables exterminated.
“Feral” is an apt description for the same group of people. It is used widely in the UK and in Australia, including by the Left. Interesting essay by Mark Latham covered the growing problem of a feral underclass in Australia.
“According to Latham, poverty isn’t about a lack of money. The dole is generous enough to cover people’s basic needs, he says. It isn’t about a lack of opportunity either. He says our thriving post-Keating economy has plenty of jobs for those with the ambition to pursue them.
“According to Latham, the real problem is an underclass mired in a culture of poverty. It’s a group of people trapped by shared sense of hopelessness and a pervasive lack of aspiration. Instead of taking responsibility, these people have gone feral “leading lives of welfare dependency, substance abuse and street crime.”
“You want the poor to live on the street dont you.
And you want to take money off people as well.”
No on the contrary. I would very much like to see a universal income of $15,000 per year for everyone over 18, and a guaranteed State house (or flat) for everyone who wants one. Nothing flash, but basically the state guarantees a basic income and a basic house.
The subtext of Matt McCarten’s, HoS article is pushing for Robertson over Cunliffe. I get the impression that McCarten has always been afraid of Cunliffe, I suspect he feels that Cunliffe will cannibalize voters from Mana, more so than Robertson.
Anyway, I liked his second last paragraph…I think he has a good point here:
“Personal support for National and Key is a mile wide – but only an inch thick. In any event, the possibility of National sleepwalking to victory at the next election evaporated this week.”
Agree they rely heavily on key and a fawning MSM cheering his every move.
If DC gets the gig and he places hard working focused shadow ministers across the main areas the house of cards will crumble.
I mean who are labours spokespeople on education, justice, welfare, industrial relations, resources and environment under DS as they should be all over crusher, benefit, bridges to nowhere, nickless smith etc.
One of them at least, Fran O’Sullivan apparently got ‘a slap’ for Her piece of ‘Jonolism’ in yesterday’s Herald,
i didn’t see the retraction, but, it was reported in yesterdays Open Mike that O’Sullivans ‘opinion piece’ of that day had to be pulled and replaced with the retraction after O’Sullivan had claimed Council of Trade Unions Prez Helen Kelly had said that the Union Affiliates to the Labour Party would be ‘block voting’ in the contest to decide the next leader of Labour and Prime Minister after 2014,
A total crock of course, Helen Kelly made no such statement and it is virtually impossible, from what i understand, for the Union Affiliates to ‘block vote’ on this issue,
My view is that the Herald should get some ‘decent’ opinion writers that show some balance of opinion equally across the political spectrum on a daily basis, and i know that’s a forlorn thing to call for, i will ‘see God’ befor i ever get to see the mass media in this country exercise that political balance on a daily basis across the spectrum,
For Her abysmal efforts at ‘Jonolism’ the Herald’s Fran O’sullivan is the recipient of a much coveted ‘Golden Turd Award’ for dis-services to truthful and unbiased journalism in New Zealand…
I’m pleased the self-proclaimed “newcomer” Andrew Little has the nous to admit that the job of leader is one he is far from being ready for. If only Shearer had done the same thing 20 months ago!
LIARS OF OUR TIME No. 27
Lyse Doucet: “I am there for those without a voice.”
Radio NZ National Mediawatch, Sunday 25 August 2013
I don’t know which was more depressing: hearing Lyse Doucet pretend to be a respectful and serious journalist, or the supremely ignorant comment by Colin Peacock at the end of this cozy little interview.
Lyse Doucet has recently been appointed as the Chief International Correspondent for BBC World News. She made a flying visit to New Zealand and was interviewed by her old friend and colleague Colin Peacock….
LYSE DOUCET: We really do want Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security side by side. …. The great moral leaders of our age say that if you don’t take a side, you are siding with the oppressor. I have always found that there are stories on both sides of a conflict. … I do take a side—on the side of people. I do speak out when I see injury, suffering, abuse and impunity. I do take a side. I am there for those without a voice.
COLIN PEACOCK: How do you deal with criticism of your journalism?
LYSE DOUCET: I welcome criticism—as long as it’s not done to score a point or because someone has an agenda. When I get negative Twitter messages, unless I think there is an agenda and I have no control over that, I respond with kindness. Some people are on a certain campaign… I always say journalism is story-telling. I listen to our competitors. I listen to Al Jazeera, and Russia Today.
COLIN PEACOCK:[snorting] But some of those are backed by the state, aren’t they, in a way that is different to the BBC obviously….
Thanks for the heads-up, my friend. Lanthanide is an old buddy of mine, in the cyber sense of the word of course. When one sees one’s oeuvre described as “strident raving”, even if it is by a buddy, it’s not nice, of course, but I’ve been served up much worse on this forum.
Lanthanide remains a good friend, even if we disagree occasionally. For instance, I would not support the siting of a nuclear power station in Christchurch.
On Q&A
Anger management problem boy Hipkins trying to avoid a contest.
Like all ABCs he beleives that matters should be sorted behind closed doors.
His is a caucus centric view of the party that has to be removed.
How refreshing to see Russell Norman refusing to comment on the Labour leadership, saying “That’s Labour’s business”.
Very refreshing against all the rest, each attempting to demonstrate their omnipresence. Prebble for example. Why the hell would anyone take seriously that mad dog of a scab, about anything ?
People who have been financial members of the Labour Party
sometime between January 1 2011 and August 22 2013
but have not yet paid their membership for 2013
can renew their membership and vote,
so long as they do so before 12.00am on Friday 6 September.
Amusing how the feed from Brian Edwards’ latest post ‘On the extremely rare danger of overestimating Labour Party stupidity!’ starts off with: Normal 0 false false false. LOL!
Lolz, amusing, i have been refraining from taking the piss in any way as far as Dave goes, good little kid i am showing a little respect for His feelings which i cannot say He fully earned with the ‘Bene on the roof speech’…
From the Paris Design Week self-portraits, it looks like the great and continuing quest for Tory Art might have have some slim joy in the next generation…..maybe even the mythological Tory Humour and Tory Compassion might be based on a distant reality, who knows? (so very glad she ordered chips with that…) http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/arts/9084573/John-Keys-daughter-strips-off-for-art
This is ridiculous. What parent would not celebrate a chance for a child to attend the Paris Art School rather than Weltech in Petone? In fact we should all celebrate it.
In spy lingo “SIGINT” is “signals intelligence”. So what is “LOVEINT”?
National Security Agency officers on several occasions have channeled their agency’s enormous eavesdropping power to spy on love interests, U.S. officials said.
And I bet that is just the start. Making money on stocks and bonds suddenly becomes a hell of a lot easier when you have access to the emails of Apple senior management.
Hmm. Used to have some regard for Ames. But that piece, fairly packed with innuendo as well as fact, alongside an interview he recently did where he dissed Snowdon – being more concerned with wanking on about his own time in Russia, how terrible the Russian state is and how Snowdon will become a lackey, are kind of shifting my perceptions quite fast.
Grant Robinson was just provided with 6 minutes of TV3 news by Paddy. mmm I wonder if he has been Paddy’s “inside leaker”. I thought the contestants were going to be announced tomorrow.
I’ve been away and have just caught up with the scurrilous little NACT badmouth piece on the Shearer stepdown on National Radio. They interviewed seemingly, every one of the NACT cabinet and they all put their poisoned daggers in to Labour. With a lot of specious nonsense implying that Labour were awful and they by contrast were good and wise. A very, little comment from the Greens and Winston.
Finlayson’s remark on the Labour caucus being feral was spiteful and Poorer Benefit commenting was laughable right wing populist stuff which she excels in. A number of speakers gave Shearer the faint praise of being a nice person, as if that was the difference between him and the other Labour contenders.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport
Opponents say Shearer couldn’t handle a feral caucus ( 3′ 31″ ) Friday 23/8/13
06:38 Just 20 months after David Shearer beat David Cunliffe in a battle to replace
Phil Goff as leader of the Labour Party, the party is now beginning the process of selecting a new leader.
Hi LPrent,
The Standard has been going back in time, for me at least. Three times I returned to the site and each time there were less comments on the Robertson post. And a different picture. Last time this sort of thing happened there were serious problems. Hope it’s okay this time.
This is all a bit over boisterous, by the socialist leaders of Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua and so forth, but it may be good for the spirit.
AND to worry –
SORRY guys, this is maybe my final message here! There are highly suspicious things happening to my browser and other things, and I cannot exclude the fact this site and traffic to and from it are now being surveilled 24/7. Some unexplained and very strange things are happening.
I am fearful and frightened, and I will advise everybody to no longer communicate via internet and blogs in NZ, and resort to letters and physical means of tradition.
We are BEING WATCHED and SURVEILLED here, 24/7, and I have NO doubt about it, and I now realise what RedLogix mentioned last night!!!
This country is under threat, real threat, we are being surveilled and there is NO MORE real freedom here, you would have to be brainwashed and ignorant to not understand.
xtasy …
26 August 2013 at 2:28 am
National ACT party dictatorship, and you are a benfactor, due to supporting it, we are the enemies, we get surveilled, and persecuted, so you fascist cunts run the show and deal to us, that is my message.. [deleted]”
_____
This seems OTT behaviour.
[lprent: It is. Usually a moderator would give a rather stern warning/banning over any suggestion or encouragement of violence towards groups or individuals (and X has already had a warning so it’d likely have been banning).
However I was asleep for most of the last couple of days after doing an over-nighter working on this site last week. I prefer to ban within hours of the offense to maximize the effect on others. So X gets a pass this time
But I’ll warn X again with an escalation. Thanks for highlighting it ]
Just responded to your earlier post at the top, it is over the top, apologies, but was not meant literally of course. I have seen similar stuff on sites like Whaleoil’s and even hints of it on Kiwiblog. As one affected by soft forms of fascism by this government, I have been through hell, so I have little sympathy for anyone supporting NatACT style government (National – ACT Party aligned policies).
[lprent: Doesn’t matter if it is on Whaleoil or the Kiwiblog. What matters to me is if it is written here. In this case I didn’t see it within a reasonable timeframe and obviously no other moderator did either.
However I’ve now marked you down for a double up ban next time. I seem to remember that you’re already been banned for this previously. If so, then you’d be looking at about 4 weeks ban. I’d suggest that you proceed very cautiously because I will be looking for it. ]
Thanks to a report from the Acting Inspector General of Intelligence and Security following a complaint by Nicky Hager, we have come to find out that the SIS illegally spied on Mr. Hager on behalf of the NZDF after publication of Hager’s 2011 book, Other People’s Wars. The NZDF justified ...
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The Best Way: Missing from the on-line voting debate is any reference to the voting system that produces turn-out figures ranging from 77 to 93 percent of registered voters. The voting system used to collect and count the votes cast in our parliamentary elections. The system that involves citizens making ...
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by Don Franks The Auckland City Mission is struggling with a 40 percent increase in demand for food parcels this year. A total of 23,020 were needed by June. Last month Missioner Chris Farrelly told the Herald the “cupboards are bare” and without an emergency food drive, he can’t see ...
by The Council of Disobedient Women Massey Wellington Student Association had a sit-in today. Imagine a sit-in. On a campus. Against a women’s rights meeting. Did the ’60s really happen or did we fucking dream it? They gathered in the student square, an echo chamber. Sitting on soft pillows ...
For some reasons, my post about the mystery message from inside the Downing Street bunker seemed to catch people's attention. Quite a lot of hits from NZ (unsurprisingly) and the USA (a bit more puzzlingly, but hi there, USAians!!) and 76 views from the Ukraine.I've celebrated my Ukrainian readers in ...
First, almost a score of Labour MPs seem to have sent a letter to the EU basically begging them to accept a deal - any deal - just so Britain can get the Heck on with Brexiting instead of being trapped in limbo:
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The following was released yesterday (Tues, October 8) by the women’s liberation organisation Speak Up for Women. On 23 September Speak Up For Women announced that we would be holding an event at the Massey University Theaterette in Wellington. The event is called Feminism 2020. The intention of the event ...
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The Workshop is a charitable trust for public good. The Workshop undertake research to find ways of communicating that will build support for the solutions that work to solve complex social and environmental problems. See their Report on Talking about Poverty and Welfare Reform below. ...
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by The Spark On September 14, a total of 22 drones and cruise missiles struck two oil installations in Saudi Arabia, the Abqaiq processing facility and the Khurais oil field. Abqaiq is the largest oil production facility in the world. For a few days afterwards, Saudi Aramco, the Saudi national ...
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Its the usual story: a police officer beats a handcuffed suspect so hard they break one of their own fingers. The IPCA investigates and concludes that the use of force was unlawful. And the police refuse to do anything about it:A man punched repeatedly in the face by a police ...
From time to time we add links to our blogroll. The latest blog we have added is Freer Lives. This is a Marxist gender-critical blog, based in Melbourne, Australia. On it you will find a bunch of excellent articles which use the tools of Marxist analysis to critique the rise ...
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Labour is a rather middle of the road capitalist party and earlier this year we discussed how far from being ‘transformative’, Ardern’s government is. An article published this week in the Guardian, by Bryce Edwards (political scientist and commentator at Victoria University), looks at Ardern’s business as usual performance. Where ...
In the hours since my last interminable wittering about the possibility of a Government of National Unity (GNU) in Britain, there has been a slight maybe development:A Corbyn-led caretaker government could then sit for several months while it enacted and delivered a referendum with the support of smaller parties and ...
Jeremy Clarkson says much like Greta Thunberg, Anne Frank “didn’t like what was going on”, but “she didn’t have a tantrum about it.” Former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson has offered praise to historical figure Anne Frank, comparing her favourably to 16-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg, who he attacked in ...
Press release by Speak Up For Women Lesbians from women’s rights group Speak Up For Women are furious at reports that Rainbow Tick are threatening Massey University with the removal of their ‘tick’ if they let the group’s event go ahead. The group has been under attack from trans ...
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Local government elections are upon us again. It is a fair bet that, when they are over, we will have all the usual complaints that, despite their undoubted importance, the turnout was depressingly low. So, why do local elections attract so little attention and involvement from the general public? I ...
We want every New Zealander to be happy, safe, and healthy. To do this, we need to support strong, safe communities, and a robust and efficient health system. ...
Defence Minister Ron Mark has used his powers to overrule a noise complaint ruling against Whenuapai airbase on the grounds of "national security". The Environment Court last month released a ruling in favour of a private developer, declaring the Auckland airbase had to comply with noise restrictions when it performs ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has opened fire against "unreconstructed morons" after NZ First MP Shane Jones was photographed on holiday holding an AR-15 rifle. Mr Peters is defending Mr Jones, telling Magic Talk host Peter Williams that his MP was just having fun "like most people do". "The ...
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Forestry Minister Shane Jones is considering reining in on conversions of farmland to forestry, and also issued a warning to foreign-owned forestry companies that make up nearly 75 per cent of the industry. He said too many foreign companies had not provided enough access for domestic processors to get timber. ...
Speaking to Radio NZ, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters said the tightening of the parental category visa is a direct result of the Party’s coalition negotiations with the Labour Party. He said the new changes switch the financial onus from the parent moving to New Zealand to the child ...
The Coalition Government is set to cut red tape in the building and construction sector in an effort to allow more houses to be built, including prefabricated houses. The changes will enable the mass factory production of "high quality" buildings, slash the likely number of building inspections for factory produced ...
Since coming into Government, we’ve worked hard to tackle homelessness and make sure everyone has a warm, dry home. And today, on World Homeless Day, we want to report back and update you on our progress so far. ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has hit back at National Party leader Simon Bridges who criticized the Coalition Government’s approach to crime, and said that the latter isn't credible in his attack on the Government over gang recruitment. "We've got as massive drug problem in this country. It is ...
New Zealand Mānuka honey exporters have welcomed an initiative by the Coalition Government to help secure the term “mānuka honey” to be used exclusively by Kiwi exporters, ensuring that our multimillion-dollar industry is protected. Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones had recently announced that a Provincial Growth Funding of $5.7 ...
Political commentator Mike Hosking has labelled New Zealand First leader Winston Peters as “the voice of reason in a government soft on drugs”, for the Party’s stance on drug testing at music festivals. “If common sense is worth a vote, Winston Peters is quids in,” Mr Hosking said. The Labour ...
Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau has announced Provincial Growth Funding to ensure work opportunities in Turangi and Whanganui, through its skills and employment programme, Te Ara Mahi. A fund of $500,000 will go to Rafting NZ in Turangi for a 16-week river guide training course to train ...
Treasury has shown that the Coalition Government has a $7.5 billion surplus, which is $4 billion higher than what was expected in the 2019 Budget unveiled last May. It is also $2 billion higher than the actual surplus unveiled this time last year, and at a size that has not ...
Official Information Act figures released to NZME show there were 350 assaults on officers in the year to the end of June, 79 more than the year before. The increase in attacks have sparked calls for more legal protection for first responders to be enacted. The assaults included officers being ...
“Nobody wants to see babies uplifted”, this was the pronouncement of Minister for Children Hon. Tracey Martin as her department, Oranga Tamariki, faces multiple inquiries into the number of babies being taken from their families. “But a baby can die with a single punch, “the Minister continued. “So sometimes, Oranga ...
We're making progress on tackling the long-term challenges: from homelessness, to strengthening border security, to bringing banking back New Zealand's small towns. ...
Associate Transport Minister Shane Jones has backed the ambitious plan to move Auckland’s port to Northport, at Whangarei harbour, which he says will be the “King Kong of infrastructure”. The plan is part of the recommendations of a six-person independent working group, which has recommended the Ports of Auckland be ...
A six-member independent working group selected the option of moving Auckland’s port to Northport, in Whangarei, ahead of other options. In what could be New Zealand’s most ambitious infrastructure project yet, a major expansion of the Marsden Point port could happen within 15 years. The project, officially called the “Upper ...
The final Electricity Price Review recommended prohibiting prompt payment discounts but allowing “reasonable” late fees. The findings of this review was welcomed by the Coalition Government, but they hope companies will follow through with its recommendations without regulations needed to be passed. Meridian Energy had already stopped prompt payment discounts, ...
Fletcher Tabuteau, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF)through its skills and employment programme, Te Ara Mahi,will invest nearly $600,000 to ensure work opportunities for locals in Turangia and Whanganui, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. “I’m pleased to announce the PGF ...
An export-led economy is one of New Zealand First’s key principles, and our commitment to achieving this is shown by the continuing skyrocketing demand for our beef and sheep meat exports. Beef + Lamb New Zealand's New Season Outlook 2019-20 report forecasts beef, lamb and mutton prices to lift from ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today in Gisborne an investment of $17.27m into bringing “world-leading” food-growing technology and the creation of more than 100 new jobs in the East Coast city. The funding comes from the Provincial Growth Fund, and included a $15 million loan to LeaderBrand, a ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development More than 100 people in Tairāwhiti’s Tolaga Bay will benefit from two employment initiatives supported by the Provincial Growth Fund, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Employment Minister Willie Jackson announced today. “Tolaga Bay is an incredibly tight-knit community, but one in ...
Hon Shane Jones, Minister for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) is supporting Gisborne business Leaderbrand to produce salad vegetables year round and create more jobs in the Tairāwhiti region, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. “Our support for Leaderbrand will help them build large greenhouses ...
“Nobody wants to see babies uplifted”, this was the pronouncement of Minister for Children Hon. Tracey Martin as her department, Oranga Tamariki, faces multiple inquiries into the number of babies being taken from their families. “But a baby can die with a single punch, “the Minister continued. “So sometimes, Oranga ...
Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has praised the promise by New Zealand’s biggest banks not to close any provincial branches while the Coalition Government trials regional banking hubs across the country. The Minister said the announce was the “first sign of hope for regional communities”, many of which have ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First Leader New Zealand First is proud to have delivered an upgrade of the SuperGold Card website and a new smartphone app, which will help unlock the full benefits of the SuperGold Card for 750,000 New Zealand seniors.Party Leader Rt Hon Winston Peters, ...
Delivering a key election campaign promise, New Zealand First is proud to have accomplished a long overdue upgrade of the SuperGold Card today. At an event in Auckland, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters joined Minister for Seniors Hon. Tracey Martin in unveiling the new website and smartphone app which ...
Another busy week, from speaking with world leaders on the world stage about climate change, to equipping our school leavers with everything they need to get ahead in life. ...
New Zealand First MP Shane Jones says Air New Zealand has "an obligation to look after Kiwis", and urged the national carrier not to hike up their prices after Jetstar airline announced their withdrawal from regional flights this week. The Provincial Champion also expressed his disappointment at Jetstar’s decision on ...
Fletcher Tabuteau, Under Secretary for Regional Economic Development The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) will help fund a new dredge for the Port of Greymouth to ensure the regional fishing fleet have a reliable and productive harbour, Parliamentary Undersecretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today “Last year the movements of ...
Ladies and gentlemen, NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff, members of respective unions – thank you for the invitation to speak to you today. This might be preaching to the choir, but the importance of trade unions in New Zealand’s historical arch is difficult to understate. And it is my belief that ...
"Let’s start by acknowledging that it has been a huge year. " Police Association Annual Conference James Cook Grand Chancellor Hotel Wellington Nau mai, haere mai. Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, ka nui te mihi, ki a koutou katoa. President of the Police Association, Chris Cahill; Members of the Association and ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters and Minister of Defence Ron Mark have announced the New Zealand Government’s decision to again deploy a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 (P-3) maritime patrol aircraft to support the implementation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions imposing sanctions against North Korea. New ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says New Zealand continues to have serious concerns for peace and stability in north-east Syria. “Recent reports that hundreds of ISIS-affiliated families have fled from a camp are deeply concerning from a humanitarian and security perspective”, Mr Peters says. “While we acknowledge Turkey’s domestic security ...
Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor is warning travelling Kiwis to be vigilant as the high-season for the crop-eating brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) is under way. “We’re on high alert to stop BMSB arriving in NZ. The high season runs until April 30 and we’ve strengthened our measures to stop stink ...
The Government is moving swiftly to change the law to improve the welfare and pastoral care of students living in university halls of residence and other tertiary hostels. Cabinet has agreed to several changes, including creating a new mandatory Code of Practice that sets out the duty of pastoral care ...
The Minister for Conservation Eugenie Sage has launched a new comprehensive trapping guide for community trappers to help them protect our native birds, plants and other wildlife, at Zealandia in Wellington today. ‘A practical guide to trapping’, has been developed by the Department of Conservation (DOC), and was launched during ...
Associate Health Minister Julie Anne Genter welcomes PHARMAC’s move to improve access to long-acting reversible contraception (LARCs). PHARMAC has today announced it will fund the full cost of Mirena and Jaydess for anyone seeking long term contraception, lifting previous restrictions on access to Mirena. “I welcome women having greater choices ...
The Government has approved the next stage of a major redevelopment of Taranaki Base Hospital, which will deliver new and improved facilities for patients. Health Minister Dr David Clark has announced details of a $300 million dollar project to build a new East Wing at the New Plymouth hospital. It ...
Extra funding will allow Rural Support Trusts to help farming families, says Minister for Rural Communities and Agriculture Damien O’Connor. “I know that rural families are worried about some of the challenges facing them, including the ongoing uncertainty created by the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak. “Those concerns sit alongside ongoing worries ...
Thank you for the opportunity to be here to present certificates to the 16 graduates who have completed a beekeeping course delivered by the Howard League. Let us start by acknowledging Auckland Prison’s Deputy Prison Director Tom Sherlock, and Acting Assistant Regional Commissioner of Corrections Northern Region Scott Walker - ...
Finance Minister Grant Robertson leaves this weekend to attend the APEC Finance Ministers meeting in Santiago, Chile. Discussions between APEC Finance Ministers at the meeting will include the effects of the current global economic uncertainty, risks for APEC economies and sustainable development of the region. While at APEC Grant Robertson ...
The Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio says for Pacific people, language can be a source of strength. It can help ground us and give us confidence. When we speak them, our languages provide us with an immediate and intimate access to our identity and our story - and ...
The Coalition Government has announced an action plan to improve the wellbeing of disabled New Zealanders by addressing inequalities in play, active recreation and sport. The initiative includes training to develop a workforce that understands the needs of children and young people with a range of impairments, advocacy for fit ...
The construction sector is being freed up to allow more homes to be built more quickly as the Government cuts through some of the red tape of the Building Act. “Every New Zealander deserves a warm, dry, safe home and old inefficiencies in the Building Act make building slow and ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has welcomed further details on the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall’s visit to New Zealand next month. Their Royal Highnesses will visit New Zealand from 17-23 November – their third joint visit to New Zealand and first in four years. They arrive in Auckland ...
Minister of State for Trade and Export Growth and Minister of Agriculture, Damien O’Connor, heads to Thailand today to attend the final Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Ministerial meeting, as negotiations enter their final stages. “The RCEP Agreement would anchor New Zealand in a regional agreement that covers 16 countries, ...
Pacific young people living in the Hawke’s Bay, Southland and Otago regions will have access to support services that have proved successful in helping young people find new earning and learning opportunities. “Tupu Aotearoa is about changing Pacific young peoples’ lives. Our young people are talented, they are smart, they ...
Introduction As the Minister for ACC I thank you all for the work that you do supporting New Zealanders in their literally most vulnerable moments. From those who hold people’s lives in their hands, to the people who research technique, technology and trends, your work is highly valued. A special ...
Notes prepared for speeches in Christchurch – Wednesday 9 October 2019 Today’s topic, “trends and opportunities for the New Zealand economy,” is certainly one getting a great deal of commentary at the moment. Looking across the media landscape lately you’ll notice we aren’t the only ones having this discussion. There ...
Minister of Health Dr David Clark and Associate Minister of Health Peeni Henare say this year’s World Mental Health Day theme is a reminder of why the Government’s work on mental health is so important. “This year the World Federation for Mental Health has made suicide prevention the main theme ...
Associate Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni will represent the government at Australia’s Meeting of Cultural Ministers in Adelaide this week. “This year’s meeting is special because New Zealand is expected to become an International Member of the Meeting of Cultural Ministers at this Australian forum,” Carmel Sepuloni said. “The meeting is an opportunity to ...
The Greater Christchurch Claims Resolution Service has resolved 608 insurance and EQC claims in its first year in operation, Minister Megan Woods has announced. The government service, which celebrates its first birthday today, provides a one stop shop to help Cantabrians still battling to get their homes repaired or rebuilt ...
Today’s topic, “trends and opportunities for the New Zealand economy,” is certainly one getting a great deal of commentary at the moment. Looking across the media landscape lately you’ll notice we aren’t the only ones having this discussion. There has been an increasing amount of attention paid to the outlook ...
The Government is acting swiftly to strengthen NZTA’s regulatory role following a review into the Transport Agency, and Ministry of Transport’s performance as its monitor, Transport Minister Phil Twyford said today. An independent review by Martin Jenkins has found NZTA failed to properly regulate the transport sector under the previous ...
The Netherlands and New Zealand have a long-standing and close relationship based on many shared interests and values. We value the rule of law, our democracies, and multilateralism. And we value our environment – at home and globally. Right now there are major global challenges in all of these areas – ...
The Government is putting right a decade’s worth of underpayment to nurses, doctors and other health workers, says Health Minister Dr David Clark. Initial sampling of District Health Boards payroll records has found that around $550-$650 million is owed to DHB staff to comply with the Holidays Act. It’s expected ...
A strong surplus and low debt show the economy is performing well, and means the Government is in a good position to meet the challenges of global economic uncertainty. “The surplus and low levels of debt show the economy is in good shape. This allows the Government to spend more ...
New applications from mining company OceanaGold to purchase land in Waihi for new tailings ponds associated with its gold mines have been approved. Minister of Finance Grant Robertson and Associate Minister of Finance David Parker considered the applications under the Overseas Investment Act. Earlier this year, applications from OceanaGold to ...
New Zealanders in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa / Poverty Bay will witness Māori, Pākehā and Pacific voyaging traditions come together today as the Tuia 250 Voyage flotilla assembles for the first time, Māori Crown Relations: Te Arawhiti Minister Kelvin Davis says. “Tuia 250 is a national commemoration and an opportunity for honest conversations ...
Minister for Trade and Export Growth David Parker leaves tomorrow for Dubai, London and Berlin for a series of meetings to advance New Zealand’s trade interests. In Dubai he will visit New Zealand’s Pavilion at Expo 2020 where construction is underway. There he will meet Minister of State for International Cooperation, Her ...
Confirmation that PHARMAC will fund two new cancer drugs is further evidence of the good progress the Government is making to improve the treatment of New Zealand’s leading cause of death, Health Minister David Clark says. From 1 December PHARMAC will fund alectinib (Alecensa) for ALK positive advanced non-small cell ...
An additional $2.7 million has been announced for the Government Strategy for Women and Girls in Sport and Active Recreation on the first anniversary of the strategy’s launch. Sport and Recreation Minister Grant Robertson gave the opening address to the first Sport NZ Women + Girls Summit in Wellington today, ...
As part of its work to ensure businesses can get the skilled workers they need, the Coalition Government is re-opening and re-setting the Parent Category visa programme, Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says. The move will: support skilled migrants who help fill New Zealand’s skills gaps by providing a pathway for ...
Minister of Defence Ron Mark has today announced Major General Evan Williams of the New Zealand Defence Force has been selected as the commander of a significant, longstanding peacekeeping mission in the Middle East. In December, Major General Williams takes over as Force Commander for the Multinational Force and Observers ...
A record number of nurses are now working to deliver health services to New Zealanders as the Government’s increased funding and new initiatives rebuild key workforces start to show results, Health Minister Dr David Clark says. • 1458 more DHB nurses since the Government took office • 106 more midwives ...
Farmer and former Nuffield scholar Mel Poulton has been appointed New Zealand’s Special Agricultural Trade Envoy, Minister for Trade and Export Growth, David Parker, and Minister of Agriculture, Damien O’Connor, announced today. The position supports key Government objectives, including raising the value of New Zealand agricultural goods and services. Mel is ...
New Zealand’s Pacific and Māori voyaging heritage is acknowledged and celebrated today as waka of the Tuia 250 voyage flotilla arrive in Tūranga / Gisborne. “Today we celebrate Tangata Whenua, the first people of Aotearoa, and the triumphs of the voyaging tradition that brought our ancestors here from Polynesia 1000 ...
“Fijian Language Week starts on Sunday and the theme reminds us how important it is that we each have something to anchor ourselves to, something that can help us pause and feel in control in a rapidly changing world,” says Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio. “Family, culture, faith, ...
The Government is establishing an Airspace Integration Trials Programme to support the safe testing and development of advanced unmanned aircraft and accelerate their integration into the aviation system, Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods announced today. The Government will work with leading, innovative aviation industry partners to test and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The last PM shock jock Alan Jones slapped down was Jacinda Ardern. His language was particularly offensive, advertisers deserted his program and he apologised to New Zealand’s leader. But at least Ardern didn’t have to ...
By Michael Andrew and Sri Krishnamurthi The true story of one of the Pacific’s great waka builders and sailor has been captured in a stirring and visually gripping documentary. Loimata: The Sweetest Tears follows the final years of Ema Siope, a Samoan born kiwi who endured a tumultuous past ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin Cowie, Director, WHO Collaborating Centre for Viral Hepatitis, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity Around one-third of Australians living with hepatitis C have been cured in the last four years. Hepatitis means inflammation of the liver. Hepatitis C is ...
New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern. Image AsiaPacificReport.nz/RNZ.Commentators across the political spectrum seem to agree – the Labour-led Government’s popularity is being damaged by its failure to deliver in Jacinda Ardern’s self-proclaimed “Year of Delivery”. Instead, the delivery of bad news to Labour and the Government has come in ...
Internet Service Providers have cautiously greeted the news that the Government is exploring an internet filter for violent extremist and terrorist content. ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Polls Richard Harman (Politik): Ardern now dependent on Peters Sam Sachdeva (Newsroom): Ardern still standing, but ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Greg Austin, Professor UNSW Canberra Cyber, UNSW This is part of a new series looking at the national security challenges facing Australia, how our leaders are responding to them and how these measures are impacting society. Read other stories in the series ...
Researchers from Lincoln University are investigating how to use nanotechnology in agriculture to increase productivity and reduce environmental impact. ...
The increased presence of anti-trans and white supremacist stickers around the University of Auckland campus is proof that inaction is enabling hate groups, write Anisha Sankar and Max Whitehurst.Anisha Sankar is a Chennai-born, Te Awakairangi-raised, South Indian Tamil studying at the University of Auckland. Max Whitehurst is a transgender Pākehā ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law, University of Waikato Following the Christchurch mosque shootings, the New Zealand government’s first response was to ban the firearms the alleged gunman had used to murder 51 people. Seven months later, the second tranche of this process ...
The nine members for the next three year term of the Independent Māori Statutory Board (IMSB) for Auckland have been appointed by the statutory Selection Body. Their appointments begin on 1 November 2019 and continue to 31 October 2022. Mana Whenua ...
“If we are truly to solve the challenge of poverty within the Te Ao Maori world we must lift our people from the low wage and low skills growth side of the economy. At the same time we must continue to ensure our people, no matter where they are, ...
Alex Casey asks Rose Stewart from Family Planning every single question she can think of about New Zealand’s new free IUDs. Listen up, womb-owners who love free shit and long-term contraceptive options: Pharmac announced that they will be fully funding two new long-lasting, reversible contraceptives in New Zealand from November 1, ...
Patients are increasingly being turned away for treatment and there can be no more excuses from the Government over properly funding district health boards to boost specialist numbers in public hospitals, says Ian Powell, Executive Director of the ...
Today’s Council of Trade Unions’ report, Fair Pay Agreements: A Framework for Fairness , provides a much-needed pathway to fair wages and conditions across several major industries, and the Government must deliver on its promise to introduce FPAs ...
The Speaker has limited the number of questions Simon Bridges can ask in the House as a punishment for the National Party defying Trevor Mallard by not pulling down their attack ads. ...
Sunshine capital? Check. Rich artisan tradition? Check. Incredible sausages? That’s a big check. We’ve put together a list of all you need to know before you explore the truly gorgeous Nelson region this summer. If you’ve got friends or relatives visiting Aotearoa, top of their list should be sorting out their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frank Jotzo, Director, Centre for Climate and Energy Policy, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University In the four years since the Paris climate agreement was adopted, countries have debated the fine print of how emissions reduction should be tracked and ...
The flight drink company 1Above, partly-owned by the high profile, venture capital fund Movac and businessman Gareth Morgan, is in liquidation owing almost $10 million. ...
In recent weeks Responsible Campers Association Incorporated (RCAi) has become involved in some high level discussions about our right to camp. This began out of discussion about the disabled who which to participate in Sport and Recreation activities. ...
In their quest for a cashless society the Japanese have beaten New Zealand to its own next-gen shopping experience.New Zealanders are missing out to the Japanese on a Kiwi technology that is set to eliminate supermarket queues.The first store to implement the SmartCart cashierless shopping system will be in Osaka, ...
If you don’t like Shortland Street, or you’re unconvinced that Michael Galvin actually is a doctor, does that mean all New Zealand television is rubbish? Some say yes. Tara Ward says an emphatic no. The world is our TV oyster, but lately it seems not everyone in Godzone is feeling the ...
The National Party is accusing the Immigration Minister of a "Sroubek 2.0" after revelations he granted residence to a man with multiple drink-driving convictions. ...
Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu urges the Crown to ensure that the Establishment Board of the newly formed Institute of Skills and Technology meets its Treaty obligations and addresses the statutory role of iwi as Treaty partners in redesigning the education ...
The top-selling food magazine in New Zealand is closing its print operation. Niki Bezzant, Healthy Food Guide‘s former editor, reflects on the challenges the title faced.The news that after 14 years and 176 issues Healthy Food Guide magazine is closing its print operation came as a shock to some. It ...
A unique deal saw Sky buy the rugby rights and sell some of itself to NZ Rugby. Trevor McKewen breaks down what it all means.The news came thick and fast over a remarkable five-day corporate slugfest, starting last Thursday. First, Spark Sport struck, gobbling up New Zealand Cricket’s domestic broadcasting ...
In what’s thought to be the last piece of writing Peter Wells completed before he died, he wonders about his great-grandfather, and the locket he wore all his life. ‘The Story of a Locket’ is published in part here, and features in the extraordinary collection of essays Queer Objects, released this ...
Relationship expert Holly Dixon explains why the entire Married at First Sight franchise is based on bunk science.As the third MAFS NZ season has come to an end, I thought it relevant to answer the question upon which the entire MAFS enterprise is built: Is it possible to predict attraction and ...
SkyCity Casino workers will be on strike and picketing today as Rob Campbell, the Chair of SkyCity Casino talks to other employers about making pay fair at a “Wellbeing at Work” conference today. ...
He was the prototypical high school nerd, hanging on Don Brash’s every word. Then the financial world turned upside down. This is the story of how Kiwibank’s Jarrod Kerr became a most unconventional economist.In 2008, Jarrod Kerr was working at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia when the global financial crisis ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gabriela D’Souza, Affiliate, Monash department of business statistics and econometrics, Monash University For most people the second week in October probably doesn’t hold much promise. Longer days for some, perhaps. But for those is us in the economics profession, come the second ...
One of the important parameters of the agreement’s aims was to ensure there was no threat to food production from the ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change. ...
A monument to Winston Peters and Think Big projects would both boost the economy, but Argentina learned the hard way they can also impoverish a nation, writes Tony Burton.Everyone who loves New Zealand should visit Argentina. There are more similarities than you might think – large areas of wild natural ...
The Salvation Army foodbank in Waitakere ran out of food last week; an indication of the strain many New Zealand whanau are under as they struggle to afford the cost of living. Wednesday, October 16 is World Food Day, and as demand for services offered ...
Phil Goff was re-elected by a huge margin on Saturday. How will he put that mandate to use this term? Hayden Donnell asks the questions.Phil Goff is once again Auckland’s mayor. Preliminary local election results show him with a lead of nearly 100,000 votes over his nearest challenger, John Tamihere. ...
Catherine Bindon from Ban the Boom has created these colourful and positive posters for you to use to show you don't support the use of fireworks in your neighbourhood over the next few weeks distressing our animals and birds. ...
On Tuesday morning the Operation Burnham inquiry hearing resumed after it was suspended three weeks ago. The hearing is being held at Royal Society of New Zealand, 11 Turnbull St, Thorndon, Wellington on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Ellerton, Lecturer in Critical Thinking; Curriculum Director, UQ Critical Thinking Project, The University of Queensland It’s not uncommon for science and religion to be framed as two opposing forces. The Catholic church has famously struggled to accommodate scientific research in its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cat Pausé, Senior Lecturer in Human Development, Massey University The British Psychological Society is calling for changes for how we talk about fatness, suggesting we should no longer use the phrase “obese people”, but instead, “people with obesity” or “people living with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bruce Mountain, Director, Victoria Energy Policy Centre, Victoria University The federal government’s much-vaunted Snowy Hydro expansion is supposed to smooth out the bumps in electricity supply as Australia transitions to renewables. But not only is the project a bad deal for taxpayers, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By María Yanotti, Lecturer of Economics and Finance Tasmanian School of Business & Economics, University of Tasmania The housing market is moving again. In the past month, national prices have climbed 0.9%. What matters most to buyers (and especially to investors), along with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joanna Mendelssohn, Principal Fellow (Hon), Victorian College of the Arts, University of Melbourne. Editor in Chief, Design and Art of Australia Online, University of Melbourne It seems appropriate that a painting titled Feng Shui dominates the new exhibition of Guan Wei’s work ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Justin Matthews, Lecturer in Digital Media and Popular Culture Researcher, Auckland University of Technology According to a recent study, the sixth leading cause of death for young men in the United States is the warranted and unwarranted use of police force. With ...
The Council of Trade Unions has today released its report - Fair Pay Agreements: A Framework for Fairness . The report details the six key principles needed for Fair Pay Agreements to deliver real change for working people, and democratic agreements ...
Too many New Zealanders endure poor working conditions in jobs that don’t pay enough and offer few opportunities for career progression, and the union movement is calling for change. ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the latest polls which show a drop in support for Labour are not a concern when it comes to forming a government. ...
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: A pair of polls put pressure on the Labour Party, a wild night of weather in the North Island, and Shane Jones snapped brandishing a semi-automatic.Parliament resumes today after a fortnight recess, and MPs were given a welcome-back present in ...
Mandy Hager, the newly elected head of the New Zealand Society of Authors, is lobbying the government to improve the lot of writers - to no avail, despite the Prime Minister's championing of the arts. ...
Given the vast impacts that poor diet have had on global health, a deficit in nutrition education in medicine represents a big problem, writes Dr Jennifer Crowley. ...
Any time Olympian Luuka Jones needs advice or encouragement in her pursuit of more canoe slalom success, she doesn’t have to look far. Jones’ coach, Campbell Walsh, is also her partner. ...
Competition for the rights to broadcast sports matches involving NZ’s top teams has produced a bonanza for the sporting bodies, forcing media companies to be a lot more innovative. ...
The Wellington suburb’s successful opposition to a proposed Bottle-O shows how the system is biased towards communities with the organisation, capacity and resources to protest effectively, says Jenesa Jeram.For those unfamiliar with Wellington geography, Khandallah is a Very Nice place to live (Aucklanders: think Remuera). So when it was reported ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Humphery-Jenner, Associate Professor of Finance, UNSW The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission conducted an inquiry into mortgage pricing as recently as last year. Now Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has asked it to do another, broader one, in order to ensure the banks’ ...
Dr Bryce EdwardsThe results of the local government elections appear to show that New Zealanders are generally supportive of a more diverse range of representatives, having voted in greater numbers for candidates from traditionally under-represented groups. The elections have therefore modernised our councils in a small but very significant ...
The Inquiry has today published Minute No 21. This Minute sets out how the Inquiry intends to proceed given that the Attorney-General the Hon David Parker has agreed to extend the Inquiry’s reporting date by three months to 31 March 2020. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Grace Skrzypiec, Senior Lecturer, Flinders University Many Australian students don’t know the difference between banter and bullying, with some saying they joke about wishing their friend would “drown” or “die in a car crash”. More than 800 Australian students aged 11-16 took ...
But he did play a crucial role in helping journeyman Andy Foster knock over Justin Lester. Team Gone By Lunchtime size up the local elections, gaze plaintively at the dramas in the NZ First Party, and ask how bad the new poll is for Jacinda Ardern.Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and ...
In the fifth episode of Actually Interesting, The Spinoff’s monthly podcast exploring the effect Artificial Intelligence has on our lives, Russell Brown speaks to Ben Reid, executive director of the AI Forum, about the role of government in embracing and regulating AI.Subscribe to Actually Interesting via iTunes or listen on the player below.To ...
Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Local government Henry Cooke (Stuff): How to lose an election: Over-promise or under-deliver Simon Collins ...
By RNZ Pacific A Solomon Islands province has agreed to lease a large island to a Chinese developer to develop into a special economic zone, weeks after the country opened diplomatic ties with China. But already cracks abound; there has been no official announcement and the provincial premier says the ...
Open mike 25/08/2013 
Thanks to a report from the Acting Inspector General of Intelligence and Security following a complaint by Nicky Hager, we have come to find out that the SIS illegally spied on Mr. Hager on behalf of the NZDF after publication of Hager’s 2011 book, Other People’s Wars. The NZDF justified ...8 hours ago
COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING MYTH 1: Global temperatures are rising at a rapid, unprecedented rate. FACT: The HadCRUT3 surface temperature index, produced by the Hadley Centre of the UK Met Office and the Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia, shows warming to 1878, cooling to 1911, ...10 hours ago
For the past week, Extinction Rebellion has been peacefully protesting in London to demand action on climate change. The British government's response? Ban their protests:Police have banned Extinction Rebellion protests from continuing anywhere in London, as they moved in almost without warning to clear protesters who remained at the movement’s ...10 hours ago
The Royal Commission on abuse in care is very significant for the disability community. For many decades last century, thousands of disabled children, and adults who managed to survive, were locked away from families and communities. This was not for anything they had done, but for the perceived threat their ...15 hours ago
More than double the number of people who will vote in this year’s local body elections have tried marijuana or urinated somewhere they shouldn’t have. As local elections look set for the lowest turnout in decades, with many regions falling well short of 40%, the Government is exploring a number ...4 days ago
“There can be no such thing as kaupapa Māori political parties or politics in Aotearoa” (Willie Jackson, Labour Party (2017). Māori TV, General/List Election Special) I begin with that claim because at the time, I was confounded at first that it fell out of Willie Jackson’s mouth, and then ...5 days ago
https://mailchi.mp/7d9133add053/closing-the-gap-october-2019-newsletter ...5 days ago
For some reasons, my post about the mystery message from inside the Downing Street bunker seemed to catch people's attention. Quite a lot of hits from NZ (unsurprisingly) and the USA (a bit more puzzlingly, but hi there, USAians!!) and 76 views from the Ukraine.I've celebrated my Ukrainian readers in ...6 days ago
Local government elections are upon us again. It is a fair bet that, when they are over, we will have all the usual complaints that, despite their undoubted importance, the turnout was depressingly low. So, why do local elections attract so little attention and involvement from the general public? I ...2 weeks ago
We want every New Zealander to be happy, safe, and healthy. To do this, we need to support strong, safe communities, and a robust and efficient health system. ...10 hours ago
Defence Minister Ron Mark has used his powers to overrule a noise complaint ruling against Whenuapai airbase on the grounds of "national security". The Environment Court last month released a ruling in favour of a private developer, declaring the Auckland airbase had to comply with noise restrictions when it performs ...11 hours ago
Ladies and gentlemen, NZCTU President Richard Wagstaff, members of respective unions – thank you for the invitation to speak to you today. This might be preaching to the choir, but the importance of trade unions in New Zealand’s historical arch is difficult to understate. And it is my belief that ...12 hours ago
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The last PM shock jock Alan Jones slapped down was Jacinda Ardern. His language was particularly offensive, advertisers deserted his program and he apologised to New Zealand’s leader. But at least Ardern didn’t have to ...3 hours ago
Internet Service Providers have cautiously greeted the news that the Government is exploring an internet filter for violent extremist and terrorist content. ...6 hours ago
The proceeds from the sale of Trump-style "Make Ardern Go Away" hats are being used to promote far right Facebook pages. ...8 hours ago
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“Welfare staff hit, abused”
“Threats and fists have been flying in Work and Income offices across New Zealand, with 54 people physically assaulted at work last year, new figures reveal.
Work and Income staff reported 3757 incidents of abusive client behaviour in 2012, including 448 classified as “serious abuse” – 54 cases of physical abuse and 394 verbal.
Minister for Social Development Paula Bennett said the numbers, obtained by Fairfax Media under the Official Information Act, were unacceptable.
“We should never accept this behaviour as just ‘part of the job’ – there is no justification for it whatsoever.”
But the union representing staff said recent government welfare reforms that tightened up on benefits could cause even more friction.”
Quoted from ‘Stuff.co’ and the ‘Manawatu Standard’ as part of Fairfax Media, here is a link to the online story:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/9083093/Welfare-staff-hit-abused
So here we have the tip of the iceberg figures on how the increasingly stringent, draconian and punitive welfare regime under the National led government and Paula Bennett is affecting clients and staff at Work and Income. It seems like some cannot handle the pressures, expectations, demands and in some cases also arrogant, insensitive treatment by some WINZ case managers any more.
Naturally this also reflects badly again on beneficiaries, and the media just love such reports and statistics, to reinforce the prejudicial views of WINZ clients too often being seen as nasty, abusive and prone to criminal behaviour.
While I am not usually listening to talk back on 1ZB, this morning I was made aware of many WINZ clients and others that had experience with WINZ calling in to their midnight to 06 am talk-back with Garry Denvir. He mentioned this news as one of the topics he was open to talk about.
He may have anticipated some different reactions, but a lot of the callers had quite some stories to tell. Here are some audios that can be downloaded and listened to:
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/auckland/listen-on-demand/weekondemand/
(this is the download overview for Sunday midnight to 06 am this morning, which allows tracks at 15 minutes a go to be downloaded from the night time talkback show)
[audio src="http://content.radionetwork.co.nz/weekondemand/auckland/10230.mp3" /]
(a caller calling in at about 06 minutes and 40 seconds into the track, with a story of unreasonable expectations and him getting his benefit cut off)
[audio src="http://content.radionetwork.co.nz/weekondemand/auckland/10315.mp3" /]
(one audio track where about 8 minutes into it Gary reads out an email from a listener, about pressures WINZ case managers now put on clients, and how Dr Bratt and designated doctors are used to put pressures on sick and disabled to get jobs)
[audio src="http://content.radionetwork.co.nz/weekondemand/auckland/10330.mp3" /]
(another audio with another caller calling in about 5 minutes into this track, on WINZ and Dr David Bratt as Principal Health Advisor, talking about his insight in what is happening at WINZ, ACC and so forth)
[audio src="http://content.radionetwork.co.nz/weekondemand/auckland/10345.mp3" /]
(the same caller from the track before still carrying on…)
[audio src="http://content.radionetwork.co.nz/weekondemand/auckland/10400.mp3" /]
[audio src="http://content.radionetwork.co.nz/weekondemand/auckland/10415.mp3" /]
[audio src="http://content.radionetwork.co.nz/weekondemand/auckland/10430.mp3" /]
[audio src="http://content.radionetwork.co.nz/weekondemand/auckland/10515.mp3" /]
(another audio with a disgruntled older client of WINZ calling in at about 06 minutes and 20 seconds into the track, sharing his experiences)
So a usually somewhat “conservative” host with insufficient insight into the WINZ workings and present benefit categories had to listen to some stories by those affected, not having much good to say about the welfare system and how it is being administered.
P.S.: If there is some problem with the audios, try to download the tracks from about 02:15 am onwards, and especially listen to times from about 03.25 am and close to 03.36 am at least.
Thanks for that X, I read the story in Stuff and thought it presented staff as victims. Most people who are subjected to our benefit system have a vastly different take on things.
That being said, a small proportion of the clients ARE crazy and violent for no specific reason – but that is what remote client units are for and for those staff threats are part of the job.
FFS. Whatever the circumstances, an assault on a WINZ staffer is NEVER, EVER acceptable. If it was a corner dairy the in-house camera footage would be on National television immediately and the police would be in pursuit.
FFS If you are refering to my comment re threats being part of the job in the Remote Client Unit, the clients who are there are dealt with remotely (different from being tresspassed – I’ve no idea why but it is) because they pose a physical risk to staff, hence the “remote” component, the fake staff names, and secret location. This risk is the same for prison staff, police, mental health workers dealing with violence and the risk involved is part of the job (although it is possibly higher due to the fact they have to have direct contact).
Make no mistake this story is part of the ongoing public relations campaign to turn the public against beneficiaries. Work and Income can and do call the police on occassion if they deem it necessary, as would the corner dairy. And Work and Income have in house cameras which cover all parts of their office.
Yep, most WINZ front line offices are set up as secure, locked down areas. For instance you cannot move from one space to the next without swipe cards, key pad access, etc.
“Whatever the circumstances, an assault on a WINZ staffer is NEVER, EVER acceptable.”
Not as simple as that. If you subject people to regular humiliation, strip them of their power, in a situation where their survival is at stake, then it’s likely you will get some violence. I doubt that many people understand quite how institutionally violent WINZ is to its clients. Eventually something has to break. I feel sorry for many WINZ frontline staff, but there is a massive problem with the system. Maybe someone could report on that.
Definitely ‘not as simple as that’, take the case of the wheelchair bound beneficiary in Northland,( can’t remember if it was earlier this year or late last year),
Refused his legal entitlement on the basis of God knows what this beneficiary finally snapped and resorted to taking a hammer to the local WINZ office where He smashed a number of windows,
Lo and behold, the media attention which resulted from this ‘madness’ had WINZ reviewing His case again and He suddenly became the recipient of what were His full entitlements all along,
His treatment, or should i say mistreatment at the hands of WINZ staff isn’t an isolated incident, such mistreatment happens on a daily basis in WINZ offices and the abhorrent Bennett driven changes to the system which puts into the hands of ‘case workers’ even more ‘power’ to effectively destroy what little livelihood beneficiaries have will only worsen an already dire situation…
Yep and the only real way to stop that abuse is to go to a Universal Income that pays more than enough to live on (at least 20k). That way the only time you’d go to the MSD was when you’re really, really desperate.
I doubt 20k is affordable but 12-15 probably is. Then there would be no welfare, no WINZ no work tests, no nothing. Everyone gets a cheque for $300 per week. Have a nice life.
You’re killing me man (in a good way), the UBI in some form is an absolute must if we are going to cut through the complex mess that the benefits/taxation system has become.
because everyone needs no more than that, right?
Well, meds maybe, special assistance, special equipment, well – tough for them, there’s no WINZ to help them out. We can lock ’em up when they finally go overboard, problem sorted.
Far be it for me to defend srylands, but I think that some of the detail can be worked out over time.
Nope. The UBI looks good because there are no details. You saw what spy wrote – an arbitrary base figure, no winz, nothing else from them. Fucked if you need dental work, or a social worker.
The devil is in the details. Basically, the tory looks at the UBI and goes “oh, here’s something we can set to average needs (and forget those who need more), forget to link it to inflation, and still blame people for their imagined shortcomings if they need more than that”.
I know people who could live like kings on $300/w.
I know others who, for a variety of reasons, would need more.
So we set it to $500/w, and tories bitch about the ones who live like kings (and ignore those who might need more).
Or we set it to $200pw, and when the morbidity/mortality stats start to rise the tories would point out that the same group of perople are scraping by.
I like the idea of a UBI from far off, but something nags at me about it. I think what might be nagging is that applying one value (whatever it might be) to a diverse population as never had a single instance of good outcomes in the past.
“but I think that some of the detail can be worked out over time.”
Why not work some of it out now?
Srylands says $300/wk. But how many people can live on that and be ok? There are reasons that welfare payments and entitlements are complicated. Part of it is historical. Part of it is the abatement issue. Part of it is ideological (neoliberalism says stick not carrot, therefore you cannot pay welfare at a livable rate, therefore you have to have a system of supplementary benefits). And a big part of it is simply that different people have different needs in regards to income. How do we make this fair? How do we make this affordable? How do we make this workable? I can’t see a UBI progressing if we can’t even figure out some basic concepts.
snap with McFlock
Well I’m saying let’s have that discussion, and it will be one which takes months, but don’t toss away the concept of a UBI just because we haven’t had that discussion yet.
“But how many people can live on that and be ok? ”
A sign of success would be that over the next 30 years the proportion of people making more than the guaranteed minimum rises. That is because you divert enforcement and abatement testers into useful work helping people to upskill.
There are many pitfalls with a universal income, but they can be worked through – no system is perfect but it offers a better solution than the current one because it gets rid of the fear (work testing) and high EMTRs (abatement) from the system.
“Well, meds maybe, special assistance, special equipment, well – tough for them, there’s no WINZ to help them out. We can lock ‘em up when they finally go overboard, problem sorted.”
No there would be no WINZ. There would be a specialised crown entiity to deal with disability issues and a massive investment in dealing with mental health problems, especially in youth.
I didn’t say there was nothing except a minimum income, just that a universal income would replace the nightmare of work and means testing. You would shut down the crazy state aparatus dealing with work testing and overpayments and redepoy them to do useful things – i.e helping people.
I would also have a massivew investment to prevent reoffending and abolish all prison sentences of less than 5 years – prison as a last resort, and only for serious offences or where the public are threatened.
Of course to pay for all this, we need a vibrant market economy, which is where I suspect we part company.
Quite frankly, I’d want to double check any social policy suggested by someone who thinks that the first step involves kowtowing even more to the market economy.
I reckon the only reason worktesting is crazy is because tories have been running it for thirty years, and turned it into a tool of harassment rather than assistance.
You’re continuing to stun me with progressive ideas
wrylands
What’s happened to you. You are noting ideas that sound practical, effective and good-outcome oriented. They sound as if based on George’s Seinfeld principle that if all the time what has been done has turned out wrong, then turning right round to a different approach must be right. Of course what you hear in a comedy show can’t be taken as serious steps to a better society, but then many a true word has been spoken in jest they say.
A market economy fails to produce any more wealth due to the simple fact that the amount of wealth that can be generated is dependent upon the actual resources available.
20k is affordable. Wages averaged across the entire adult population is about 40k so that would leave another 20k that everyone could earn by working. Of course, that does mean that CEO salaries and similar will have to come down.
Also, the reason why I think it should be that high is that it should be enough to allow people to be entrepreneurial rather than the slightly less than subsistence existence that the present welfare provides which really only wastes a huge amount of talent.
Our present system is, quite literally, rewarding the wrong people.
Exactly. I had an encounter with a WINZ lackey a while back that showed that their job is now to prevent the poor from getting benefits and off the lists. She was rude, ignorant and her only sparks of intelligence were aimed at blocking any claims. She tried to conceal her identity from me, but I found out that her name is Carmila. She works at Wellington’s Willis St office. Note that and record any conversation you have with her. She’s one of many.
Name and shame them.
Going back a good 11 years now, when I was on the dole, the chick told me, they get bonuses for getting people off the benefit.
Also, last time I was in one of these places, it was all opened planned.
Hi RhinoCrates
You’re brave, many would be dismayed and disheartened dealing with this darkness, keep the light shining mate. 🙂
I’m not brave – just a bloody stubborn Scottish bastard. Underestimating that quality has got some presumptuous arseholes (hello Massey “university”!) in trouble and out of pocket before though…
@ Rhinocrates
Well Carmila poor girl did not know what she was dealing with …is all I can say …I almost feel sorry for her …smile
….except that begging for a life support benefit is no joking matter!….it is humiliating to good NZers and it should NOT happen in a caring society !!!!
….This is why the real Labour Party must get back into being a voice for all the people, especially those vulnerable at the bottom of the economic heap…and be a viable force for those 800,000+ disaffected Labour who did not vote last time.
This is why the real Labour Party must get back into being a voice for all the people
Yeah, Labour isn’t the party of the bloated middle class ageing yuppies like Goff and Mallard. We poor aren’t all roof-painting bludgers and that’s why I don’t feel at all sad about the hypocrite Mumblefuck’s resignation.
Hopefully that arsehole didn’t go too late and hopefully his cronies won’t have too much influence after.
That’s a lot to hope for, I know…
Well Carmila poor girl did not know what she was dealing with
They take their money and they stamp on us for their coins. Never pity them. Name them and expose them.
“I reckon the only reason worktesting is crazy is because tories have been running it for thirty years, and turned it into a tool of harassment rather than assistance.”
The state should assist people to find work. But it should not be a “test” i.e linked to threats to reduce someone’s income. You can’t control that system.
“The state should assist people to find work.”
The state should run the economy so there are enough jobs.
“The state should run the economy so there are enough jobs.”
When you have 20% of students not graduating from high school, that is impossible. What are they going to do? Who would employ them? To do what, exactly in a modern society?
Here’s a hint – when you ask a rhetorical question, you’d better have an answer ready right away, otherwise people will come up with their own, and they won’t be the answers you want.
NZers don’t “graduate” from High School.
And your 20% number is made up.
Further it doesn’t matter if you have a uni education, you’re just as likely to be unemployed in the USA now.
We are creating a financialised economy which does not need workers.
You don’t need to graduate from high school in order to be able to work. Or learn a trade or skill. So that’s not really a useful measure of anything.
There is plenty of work needing doing, so that’s not an issue either.
That leaves how to pay them. And we have plenty of options there if we really wanted to take them – fairly distributing wealth, and relocalising economies. If the effort that WINZ and the MSD put into punishing benes instead went to supporting people wanting to be self-employed or set up businesses that fed the local economy*, the picture would change immensely.
*rather than the global economy.
Plus there are going to be a percentage of people who can live on the $300/wk UBI (although I tend to think the UBI should be tied to some expectation of contribution to society).
I’m guessing the reason none of that is obvious to you is because you can’t see past neoliberal economic ideology and theory.
“You don’t need to graduate from high school in order to be able to work. Or learn a trade or skill. So that’s not really a useful measure of anything.”
Yes you do. Without NCEA L2 you can forget about a trade in NZ. Simple as that.
“If the effort that WINZ and the MSD put into punishing benes instead went to supporting people wanting to be self-employed or set up businesses that fed the local economy*, the picture would change immensely.
So get rid of WINZ and work tests and income tests so there is no dreaded WINZ debt.
*rather than the global economy.”
No our future is exactly the opposite of what you are proposing – the future is in serving the global economy. All our efforts should be devoted to playing a leading role in APEC integration and the WTO. Otherwise we will end up looking a bit like a temperate Samoa, with a similar GDP per capita.
One of the (few) good aspects of the 5th Labour government is that Clark/Cullen/Goff realised this objective and pursued it. Nothing will change with the 6th Labour Government.
There’s a lesson: “should” is not the same as “is” and it never will be.
What “is” is globalisation. It will be pursued full steam ahead by the Labour/Green government after the 2014 election, which they are likely to win.
Try to think about that.
“We are creating a financialised economy which does not need workers.”
We will always need workers. We will need bartenders to serve all the tourists for a start.
We need dairy workers.
Why do we import Samoans to pick crops?
I pay a cleaner $70 to clean my house every week. He looks like a worker to me – albeit running a v successful cleaning business.
Good to have the shitlands we know back in force. How rya mate?
Nope, the future will be a a primarily local economy with minimal international trade.
Nope. Continue that route and we’ll end up looking like Palestine. They were owned by foreigners as well and look what happened to them. Nearly a century since the fall of the Turkish Empire and they still don’t have control of their land or their lives.
Ah yes, naive libertarians… you’re almost amusing. “Should” is your favourite word isn’t it?
Gravity should be less, so I don’t get sore feet, cancer shouldn’t exist so my friends don’t die, the market should be fair so everyone gets what their labour is worth, fairies should exist so everyone has their wishes granted. “Should” is such a wonderful word isn’t it?
Here’s a lesson: “should” is not the same as “is” and it never will be. Try to think about that.
“Nope, the future will be a a primarily local economy with minimal international trade.”
Nope, the future will be a a primarily global economy with massive international trade.
Doubtful. The process of deglobalisation and deterioration in western incomes is well underway and will continue.
Xtasy
+1 Thankyou for the good work 🙂 My impression they’re trying to bring in the fascist punitive sanctions regime already going in the U$K. It’s scary while you’re appealing with a review you’re expected to live on nothing. If you have a bastard landlord you could end up on the street, once homeless you’re not entitled to a benefit until you get an address. (Correct me if I’m wrong) This is not the Kiwi way, we are not fascist bastards though Europe has a sad history of that cruel disease.
The 800,000 who didn’t vote last election allowed Yankey john to get in with his extremist ideology, they must get off their rears and vote the coming election.
key’s Mum was a Jewish person who left Austria due to its fascist persecution of her people. It’s sad her son is now a fascist too persecuting the new Jews right here in NZ. 🙁
Not condoning violence, but if confronted with the fact that I have no way of meeting the weeks living costs, I would be lashing out as well.
Sometimes violence is the last resort of those who have been completely robbed off all power. And that is what the right is about — giving the powerful more power over the powerless.
Those on a benefit need to get off their butts and…..ORGANIZE!!!
Millsy
+1 What beneficiaries are up against is institutional violence at the touch of a computer key. OOPS! that’s your living gone ’cause we sanctioned you. If you commit suicide that’s not our fault- You had to apply for 24 jobs in 24 days but only applied for 17.
7.30 this morning the first comment on Open Mike was from Xtasy and included audio links to Talkback ZB I think, wherein beneficiaries described their various experiences at the hands of WINZ.
When I came back after double right clicking my comment in Open Mike yesterday in general support of Xtasy’s important contribution – /open-mike-24082013/#comment-684411 – it was no longer there.
Which is a pity. Hopefully it will reappear, allowing everyone the chance to walk in the mocassins perhaps.
For your ears Xtasy I repeat – your contributions on this topic are important and for me, welcome. Keep it up, along with your spirits !
North – thanks, I see the comment awaiting moderation, possibly for someone to double check the audio links. I hope it will appear again soon. Maybe it will take a while, given it is early Sunday morning.
If you put too many links in a comment the auto-moderation will treat it as potential spam and throw it into moderation.
IB – I understand, and try not to put too many links into posts, just this one necessitated it somehow, as 1ZB have this piecemeal kind of download option. Thanks!
Xtasy – I listened to all the audios linked to your comment.
The following general conclusions seem apposite –
1. In the drive to deal with those Paula Bennett/50 million dollar 170,000 new jobs man John Key chooses to identify as unworthy, the government has created an out-of-control bureaucratic monster which even its administrators cannot leash.
2. Treating unemployed people like rubbish, as well the ill, the physically disabled, the mentally impaired, the illiterate and innumerate, does happen on a significant scale in the execution.
3. Stand downs for three months and more understandably induces terror. Some people in terror act badly. Of course.
4. It is unintelligent, facile, indeed cruel for people not in the grips of such terror to “tut tut tut” when deliberately conceived and applied terror measures have ill consequences. Worse to then cite those consequences as further proof of unworthiness.
Those are my conclusions. Now for some hard facts –
5. To my sadness I recognised a voice on the audios as a man I have known for nearly 30 years. Very, very, very talented, decent, caring of others. Has formal training. Has addiction. I know his shame and his reaction to the terror of a 3 month standown. Variously, anger, verbal abusiveness, resort to addictive acting out, petty crime. Surprise surprise. Be honest people – just imagine out-of-the-blue being rendered destitute, penniless, for 3 months.
6. The 70% disabled man who smashed two windows at a WINZ office late 2012 had gone to WINZ with all his bank statements and a professionally prepared budget to apply for a food grant. Incredibly he was repeatedly told, loudly and roughly in front of numerous other waiting “clients”, to go away and get a new budget – there being a 3 week waiting list to see the budgeter. The WINZ person knew that.
7. No matter – “Go to the budgeter !” Repeatedly, in front of people. Callously, viciously, humiliated.
8. At court he was convicted and discharged without further penalty. I was there and I am satisfied that in a heart of heart sense this man was identified by everyone present as a person inhumanly pushed to the end of his tether. That on a broad appreciation this was a justifiable act.
There will be more of this. Key and Bennett, and the tea partiers seated behind them are the social criminals here.
” Key and Bennett, and the tea partiers seated behind them are the social criminals here.”
Well said North.
“There will be more of this”
Sad but so very true.
North – you got it!
As for those budget advisors, those services are now “financed” at a shoestring budget approach by MSD, and the rules to follow, i.e. to abide by the expectations of the Ministry and WINZ have been substantially “tightened” under NatACT, so that there is no room anymore for too much true independence and even “dared” advocacy work for them to be allowed to do. Do NOT bite the hand that feeds is the domineering approach by MSD and Bennett and her government.
I met people on benefits, whatever types, who unfortunately only have temporary additional support available, as the more lenient, former “special benefit” has largely been phased out. They were confronted with astronomical rent increases here in Auckland, but only entitled to a capped TAS top up, which left them in situations nobody could survive under. So some had been sent to the WINZ suggested “budget advisor”, and one here in Central Auckland even clearly stated for one client I know, that no way could he survive on the benefit he was getting.
He went to WINZ with the report, showing a clear shortfall between income and totally basic essential outgoings, and they just told him: “You will not get any more, as that is all you are entitled to!!!” So he had to lose his flat, rented for 9 years on a private market, and ended up in a cockroach infested, damp, unhealthy and overcrowded boarding house, even run illegally.
He was fobbed off endlessly by Housing NZ, saying he had “suitable accommodation”, and in the end I and him went to the very top, and also the Herald on Sunday by the way, to raise issues, and within a week or two, he suddenly was offered at least a humbly suitable Housing NZ home, which they repeatedly claimed before he had not entitlement to.
That is how damned rotten the system is, and sadly most do not get what they need, as they have no knowledge and strength to see it through as we did in that case. That is just one story by the way, and do not start me on many other ones, I will be here all night. WINZ and Bennett now heading the Ministry are the worst abusers and liars out there, and this must be exposed!
“NatACT”
What is NatACT?
National ACT party dictatorship, and you are a benfactor, due to supporting it, we are the enemies, we get surveilled, and persecuted, so you fascist cunts run the show and deal to us, that is my message.. [deleted]
[lprent: Ok – I missed that. You are now on notice of a rather long banning if I see this happen again. And my toleration level just dropped. ]
srylands – my angry comment was not to be meant literally, of course, but it disturbs and dismays me what this government is dishing out to sick, disabled and some sole parents on benefits now. As I am affected, I am furious about what I see and hear. NatACT is the combination of the villains behind it, and some of their thinking resembles a soft form of fascism. That is where I am coming from.
So why do you think I am an apologist for the Government’s benefits policies? I have posted repeatedly that I support dismantling the punitve apparatus that seeks to punish beneficiaries.
“Of course to pay for all this, we need a vibrant market economy, which is where I suspect we part company.”
While some of your ideas may sound ok and sensible, others are just ideologically coloured, and more of what this government is already doing or planning to do.
The market economy will never allow for social fairness for disabled and longer term sick with incapacities, as they will never be able to compete in a “vibrant market economy”, except perhaps very few.
Competing with fit and healthy for jobs will continue to be a problem. A universal income of $ 300 is not going to allow for most to survive reasonably and humanely, certainly not in Auckland, and I feel you are not having the real answers to solve existing issues effectively and fairly.
“The market economy will never allow for social fairness for disabled and longer term sick with incapacities.”
Well I would be surprised if the incoming Labour Government actually dismantles the market economy.
In fact I predict the incoming Left Government will institute less ambitious changes to the benefits system than I am proposing. Under Labour you will still have the general WINZ apparatus that punishes beneficaries – you know the one I am sugegsting should be dismantled, and for which you suggested that I should be hung from a lampost?
You may want the market economy overturned and for NZ to withdraw from the WTO and on and on, but it is not going to happen. A guaranteed minimum income and an end to beneficary bashing on the other hand, is a realistic objective. Advocating it does not warrant my hanging.
I did not state that the total abolition of a market economy was necessary, only that disabled and sick with incapacities would not be able to compete and would thus not be treated fairly and socially equally. So there will always be special needs such people have and that must be met.
As for WINZ and abolishing it, whatever would replace it will inevitably have to cater for normal unemployed and others unable to work, on a case by case basis. Letting an agency like IRD look after them, or privatising it all, that will lead to even worse outcomes.
I am not taking this further, as I made my point and am mindful of presence here being screened by other agencies, that this government has empowered to do more, for “security” and whatever else. It pays to be very careful now.
“As for WINZ and abolishing it, whatever would replace it will inevitably have to cater for normal unemployed and others unable to work, on a case by case basis. Letting an agency like IRD look after them, or privatising it all, that will lead to even worse outcomes.”
Just a final word to clarify my views –
WINZ would be replaced with nothing. Because there would be no social welfare system to administer. Everyone would receive a guaranteed income.
Unemployed people would be given employment assistance by a new agency with a focus on assisting people to fins work or training.
I also advocate a massive increase in assistance for the disabled and sick. mental health care in NZ is a disgrace (for example).
IRD would be out of the picture and there would be no privatisation of such services. (IRD is there to collect tax.)
I am convinced that a government cannot provide such services if it is also maintaining the current WINZ machine that focus on administering income and work tests (and inevitably pursuing “overpayments”).
I am convinced that a government cannot provide such services if it is also maintaining the current WINZ machine that focus on administering income and work tests (and inevitably pursuing “overpayments”).
I agree, but the govt would still need a department to administer income. And supplementary benefits. How else are you going to take into account individual circumstances?
Georgina Beyer on stuff re: NZ not ready for gayness
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9083770/Gay-prime-minister-may-be-a-step-too-far
From the same link
Both Fitzsimons and Locke seemed sad to see former leader David Shearer depart.
Fitzsimons said it was “a shame that being a good and principled and honest and caring person is not enough to be prime minister because I think David Shearer was all of those things . . . I think it’s sad that in politics, really good people often don’t make it”.
Archetypal feral Michael Laws. Imagine taking the tragic example of two people, that’s right, two people to brand much, much wider ? And this vicious, narcissistic polemicist fancies he’s fit to resume a mayoralty ?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/blogs/opinion/9083148/Laws-Love-among-ferals-its-a-weird-world
Ae, Lhaws. The vicious, demented stoat of politics taking yet another lunge at the neck of the weakest. Toxic filth personified, an evil spectre lurking round poor old Whanganui, the pervading stench of shit dooming its proud heritage until the day this mutant mustelid is eliminated.
And well done Xtacy – keep on exposing the truths they try to bury in the wee hours, much appreciated.
Get in contact with him, North. I did in February last year, as you will see if you click on the link. Just a warning, my friend: Laws is not a serious or thoughtful correspondent, so don’t take it personally when he calls you a sickness beneficiary or a loon. That’s just his way of engaging with people.
Here’s that correspondence I was talking about….
Thanks Morrissey but I won’t bother writing to Laws……..narcissistic feral is narcissistic feral after all.
“Feral”
It a nasty word that Laws uses to dehumanise those he despises.
We should be thankful that the guy ended up leaving parliament. The thought of him in cabinet leaves me cold. Its people like him that end up dressing in unfiforms and making stiff armed salutes, and having undesireables exterminated.
Annnd Godwins law strikes again…
“Feral” is an apt description for the same group of people. It is used widely in the UK and in Australia, including by the Left. Interesting essay by Mark Latham covered the growing problem of a feral underclass in Australia.
http://clubtroppo.com.au/2013/03/11/mark-latham-and-the-return-of-the-underclass/
“According to Latham, poverty isn’t about a lack of money. The dole is generous enough to cover people’s basic needs, he says. It isn’t about a lack of opportunity either. He says our thriving post-Keating economy has plenty of jobs for those with the ambition to pursue them.
“According to Latham, the real problem is an underclass mired in a culture of poverty. It’s a group of people trapped by shared sense of hopelessness and a pervasive lack of aspiration. Instead of taking responsibility, these people have gone feral “leading lives of welfare dependency, substance abuse and street crime.”
You could say much the same about New Zealand.
You want the poor to live on the street dont you.
And you want to take money off people as well.
“You want the poor to live on the street dont you.
And you want to take money off people as well.”
No on the contrary. I would very much like to see a universal income of $15,000 per year for everyone over 18, and a guaranteed State house (or flat) for everyone who wants one. Nothing flash, but basically the state guarantees a basic income and a basic house.
😯
😀
““Feral” is an apt description for the same group of people”
There’s already a subculture of people in Australia called ‘ferals’.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feral_%28subculture%29
The subtext of Matt McCarten’s, HoS article is pushing for Robertson over Cunliffe. I get the impression that McCarten has always been afraid of Cunliffe, I suspect he feels that Cunliffe will cannibalize voters from Mana, more so than Robertson.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11113881
Anyway, I liked his second last paragraph…I think he has a good point here:
“Personal support for National and Key is a mile wide – but only an inch thick. In any event, the possibility of National sleepwalking to victory at the next election evaporated this week.”
i would have said that personal support for National and Slippery the PM was miles thick but a mere inch wide…
Agree they rely heavily on key and a fawning MSM cheering his every move.
If DC gets the gig and he places hard working focused shadow ministers across the main areas the house of cards will crumble.
I mean who are labours spokespeople on education, justice, welfare, industrial relations, resources and environment under DS as they should be all over crusher, benefit, bridges to nowhere, nickless smith etc.
One of them at least, Fran O’Sullivan apparently got ‘a slap’ for Her piece of ‘Jonolism’ in yesterday’s Herald,
i didn’t see the retraction, but, it was reported in yesterdays Open Mike that O’Sullivans ‘opinion piece’ of that day had to be pulled and replaced with the retraction after O’Sullivan had claimed Council of Trade Unions Prez Helen Kelly had said that the Union Affiliates to the Labour Party would be ‘block voting’ in the contest to decide the next leader of Labour and Prime Minister after 2014,
A total crock of course, Helen Kelly made no such statement and it is virtually impossible, from what i understand, for the Union Affiliates to ‘block vote’ on this issue,
My view is that the Herald should get some ‘decent’ opinion writers that show some balance of opinion equally across the political spectrum on a daily basis, and i know that’s a forlorn thing to call for, i will ‘see God’ befor i ever get to see the mass media in this country exercise that political balance on a daily basis across the spectrum,
For Her abysmal efforts at ‘Jonolism’ the Herald’s Fran O’sullivan is the recipient of a much coveted ‘Golden Turd Award’ for dis-services to truthful and unbiased journalism in New Zealand…
Wow……..useless Old Boardroom Trout Fran ! Who said attendance at Parnell BBQs was not an educative exercise in Political Slime Tricks 101 ?
The Herald is well known for itsvery Right -Wing columnists whom are the majority of the
The Herald is well known for itsvery Right -Wing columnists whom are the majority of the
(a review of ‘the nation’..)
http://whoar.co.nz/2013/the-nation-a-review-a-program-where-everyone-looks-back/
(excerpt..)
“….williams then talks utter shite..by saying he wants shane jones to run..(!) (‘can i do a shout out to my best friend shane..?..rachel..?.’.)
(and funny story..!..williams relates how labour (under his presidency) received its’ lowest vote ever..
..and he seems to be puzzled by this/looking around for someone to blame..(!)..
..get thee to a mirror..!..mike..!..)..”
phillip ure..
Andrew Little is not contesting for the Labour leadership.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/217822/little-rules-himself-out-of-labour-leadership
I’m pleased the self-proclaimed “newcomer” Andrew Little has the nous to admit that the job of leader is one he is far from being ready for. If only Shearer had done the same thing 20 months ago!
Heads up – the TPP has little to do with Free Trade and even less to do with Fair Trade:
http://www.hightowerlowdown.org/node/3402#
LIARS OF OUR TIME No. 27
Lyse Doucet: “I am there for those without a voice.”
Radio NZ National Mediawatch, Sunday 25 August 2013
I don’t know which was more depressing: hearing Lyse Doucet pretend to be a respectful and serious journalist, or the supremely ignorant comment by Colin Peacock at the end of this cozy little interview.
Lyse Doucet has recently been appointed as the Chief International Correspondent for BBC World News. She made a flying visit to New Zealand and was interviewed by her old friend and colleague Colin Peacock….
LYSE DOUCET: We really do want Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security side by side. …. The great moral leaders of our age say that if you don’t take a side, you are siding with the oppressor. I have always found that there are stories on both sides of a conflict. … I do take a side—on the side of people. I do speak out when I see injury, suffering, abuse and impunity. I do take a side. I am there for those without a voice.
COLIN PEACOCK: How do you deal with criticism of your journalism?
LYSE DOUCET: I welcome criticism—as long as it’s not done to score a point or because someone has an agenda. When I get negative Twitter messages, unless I think there is an agenda and I have no control over that, I respond with kindness. Some people are on a certain campaign… I always say journalism is story-telling. I listen to our competitors. I listen to Al Jazeera, and Russia Today.
COLIN PEACOCK: [snorting] But some of those are backed by the state, aren’t they, in a way that is different to the BBC obviously….
Nine years ago, Glasgow writer and blogger John Hilley, one of those point-scorers with an agenda, was trying to get Lyse Doucet to explain her fawning coverage of a glamorous U.S. general….
http://medialens.org/23_fg_75_lc/viewtopic.php?t=3096&sid=eaccb0620a0d5537261aa7f5d8aaa3be
Hey Morrissey……. Lanthanide thinks you’re dumb –
Then Mr Smith says to Lanthanide – “No…….you’re dumb
“/open-mike-24082013/#comment-684550
Further down, Lanthanide unrepentant.
Cha !
Sorry Morrissey………messed up those links. Check out Open Mike 24/8/13 @ 22, 22.1 and 22.1.1
Good fun. Await your response.
Thanks for the heads-up, my friend. Lanthanide is an old buddy of mine, in the cyber sense of the word of course. When one sees one’s oeuvre described as “strident raving”, even if it is by a buddy, it’s not nice, of course, but I’ve been served up much worse on this forum.
Lanthanide remains a good friend, even if we disagree occasionally. For instance, I would not support the siting of a nuclear power station in Christchurch.
On Q&A
Anger management problem boy Hipkins trying to avoid a contest.
Like all ABCs he beleives that matters should be sorted behind closed doors.
His is a caucus centric view of the party that has to be removed.
A future ambassador to Nuie.
What have Niueans ever done to you that makes you want to wish Hipkins on them?
How refreshing to see Russell Norman refusing to comment on the Labour leadership, saying “That’s Labour’s business”.
Very refreshing against all the rest, each attempting to demonstrate their omnipresence. Prebble for example. Why the hell would anyone take seriously that mad dog of a scab, about anything ?
People who have been financial members of the Labour Party
sometime between January 1 2011 and August 22 2013
but have not yet paid their membership for 2013
can renew their membership and vote,
so long as they do so before 12.00am on Friday 6 September.
This can be done by opening this link:
http://www.labour.org.nz/renew-labour-membership
Amusing how the feed from Brian Edwards’ latest post ‘On the extremely rare danger of overestimating Labour Party stupidity!’ starts off with: Normal 0 false false false. LOL!
helen clark has endorsed cunnliffe for the top-job..
http://whoar.co.nz/2013/q-a-a-review-night-n-day-from-dann-a-tale-of-two-interviews-and-helen-clark-thinks-cunnliffe-is-the-man-for-the-job/
(excerpt..)
“….with the only revelation being williams saying that helen clark thinks that cunnliffe is the best man for the job….”
phillip ure..
Another “The Secret Diary”…this time of David Shearer
http://www.stuff.co.nz/blogs/opinion/9079283/The-secret-diary-of-David-Shearer
Lolz, amusing, i have been refraining from taking the piss in any way as far as Dave goes, good little kid i am showing a little respect for His feelings which i cannot say He fully earned with the ‘Bene on the roof speech’…
I hope Shearer stands again in Mt Albert. He would make an excellent Cabinet Minister and I look forwards to seeing him in action in Government.
If he thinks beneficiaries and teachers are useful public sacrifices, then the bastard can go to Hell.
From the Paris Design Week self-portraits, it looks like the great and continuing quest for Tory Art might have have some slim joy in the next generation…..maybe even the mythological Tory Humour and Tory Compassion might be based on a distant reality, who knows? (so very glad she ordered chips with that…)
http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/arts/9084573/John-Keys-daughter-strips-off-for-art
That will go down well with the Old Nats in the Otago Electorate. Let them eat Macs.
1) What the PM’s daughter does is no one elses business and..
2) I hope one day we get a PM’s offspring who go to the local co-ed/uni/polytech.
“2) I hope one day we get a PM’s offspring who go to the local co-ed/uni/polytech.”
Why? What difference does it make where there PM’s daughter/son go to be educated?
None whatsoever.
Just like it makes no difference where the PM takes holidays.
Just like it makes no difference where the PM has chosen to spend most of his life.
These are all isolated, unrelated questions and none on its own says anything about the PM’s connection to our country.
“Just like it makes no difference where the PM takes holidays.” Not the PM’s son
“Just like it makes no difference where the PM has chosen to spend most of his life.” Not the PM’s son
“These are all isolated, unrelated questions and none on its own says anything about the PM’s connection to our country.” Not the PM’s son.
So any comment on why it matters where the PM’s child is educated?
It doesn’t. Did you not read a single word of what you quoted?
EDIT
“Not the PM’s son” should read “Not the PM’s children”
“2) I hope one day we get a PM’s offspring who go to the local co-ed/uni/polytech.”
Why?
Some of us prefer representatives to uberlords.
This is ridiculous. What parent would not celebrate a chance for a child to attend the Paris Art School rather than Weltech in Petone? In fact we should all celebrate it.
That’s education on the right side of the train tracks for yer
“What parent would not celebrate a chance for a child to attend the Paris Art School ”
So what srylands? Doesn’t make Key any more representative of the people than any of the other trappings of his international jet-set lifestyle.
In spy lingo “SIGINT” is “signals intelligence”. So what is “LOVEINT”?
And I bet that is just the start. Making money on stocks and bonds suddenly becomes a hell of a lot easier when you have access to the emails of Apple senior management.
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2013/08/23/nsa-officers-sometimes-spy-on-love-interests/?mod=e2tw
Weirder and weirder.
https://www.nsfwcorp.com/scribble/5699/c2d2ec58365dffdd3ad9de31e9c75b7d356db3c4/
Hmm. Used to have some regard for Ames. But that piece, fairly packed with innuendo as well as fact, alongside an interview he recently did where he dissed Snowdon – being more concerned with wanking on about his own time in Russia, how terrible the Russian state is and how Snowdon will become a lackey, are kind of shifting my perceptions quite fast.
http://www.frontpage.co.nz/stories.php?storyid=308
Is anyone surprised..?
And Grant Robertson is the first to throw his hat in the ring:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11114182
Grant Robinson was just provided with 6 minutes of TV3 news by Paddy. mmm I wonder if he has been Paddy’s “inside leaker”. I thought the contestants were going to be announced tomorrow.
Not sure. I know they have until 10.00pm tomorrow evening to declare their intentions to run. Stuck at work until 8.00pm so missed the news…bugger.
Fingers crossed, eventual failure will teach the overstuffed bastard some much-needed humility.
I’ve been away and have just caught up with the scurrilous little NACT badmouth piece on the Shearer stepdown on National Radio. They interviewed seemingly, every one of the NACT cabinet and they all put their poisoned daggers in to Labour. With a lot of specious nonsense implying that Labour were awful and they by contrast were good and wise. A very, little comment from the Greens and Winston.
Finlayson’s remark on the Labour caucus being feral was spiteful and Poorer Benefit commenting was laughable right wing populist stuff which she excels in. A number of speakers gave Shearer the faint praise of being a nice person, as if that was the difference between him and the other Labour contenders.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport
Opponents say Shearer couldn’t handle a feral caucus ( 3′ 31″ ) Friday 23/8/13
06:38 Just 20 months after David Shearer beat David Cunliffe in a battle to replace
Phil Goff as leader of the Labour Party, the party is now beginning the process of selecting a new leader.
Hi LPrent,
The Standard has been going back in time, for me at least. Three times I returned to the site and each time there were less comments on the Robertson post. And a different picture. Last time this sort of thing happened there were serious problems. Hope it’s okay this time.
Just downloaded this, BUT …
This is all a bit over boisterous, by the socialist leaders of Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua and so forth, but it may be good for the spirit.
AND to worry –
SORRY guys, this is maybe my final message here! There are highly suspicious things happening to my browser and other things, and I cannot exclude the fact this site and traffic to and from it are now being surveilled 24/7. Some unexplained and very strange things are happening.
I am fearful and frightened, and I will advise everybody to no longer communicate via internet and blogs in NZ, and resort to letters and physical means of tradition.
We are BEING WATCHED and SURVEILLED here, 24/7, and I have NO doubt about it, and I now realise what RedLogix mentioned last night!!!
This country is under threat, real threat, we are being surveilled and there is NO MORE real freedom here, you would have to be brainwashed and ignorant to not understand.
I am signing off, sorry, maybe for good.
X
Be safe friend
“srylands …
25 August 2013 at 10:52 pm
“NatACT”
What is NatACT?
xtasy …
26 August 2013 at 2:28 am
National ACT party dictatorship, and you are a benfactor, due to supporting it, we are the enemies, we get surveilled, and persecuted, so you fascist cunts run the show and deal to us, that is my message.. [deleted]”
_____
This seems OTT behaviour.
[lprent: It is. Usually a moderator would give a rather stern warning/banning over any suggestion or encouragement of violence towards groups or individuals (and X has already had a warning so it’d likely have been banning).
However I was asleep for most of the last couple of days after doing an over-nighter working on this site last week. I prefer to ban within hours of the offense to maximize the effect on others. So X gets a pass this time
But I’ll warn X again with an escalation. Thanks for highlighting it ]
[deleted]
[lprent: are you really looking for a ban? ]
I dunno. The guy’s a dick, but I reckon the wording’s getting a bit much for my taste.
Sorry Srylands, sorry Lprent 😳
Just responded to your earlier post at the top, it is over the top, apologies, but was not meant literally of course. I have seen similar stuff on sites like Whaleoil’s and even hints of it on Kiwiblog. As one affected by soft forms of fascism by this government, I have been through hell, so I have little sympathy for anyone supporting NatACT style government (National – ACT Party aligned policies).
[lprent: Doesn’t matter if it is on Whaleoil or the Kiwiblog. What matters to me is if it is written here. In this case I didn’t see it within a reasonable timeframe and obviously no other moderator did either.
However I’ve now marked you down for a double up ban next time. I seem to remember that you’re already been banned for this previously. If so, then you’d be looking at about 4 weeks ban. I’d suggest that you proceed very cautiously because I will be looking for it. ]