Posts Tagged ‘paula bennett’

Tolley’s road tour

Written By: - Date published: 12:54 pm, March 2nd, 2010 - 22 comments

A guest contributor reports that if you want your chance to quiz Anne Tolley and you live in West Auckland your chance is on Thursday but it sounds like the Nats would rather you didn’t come. Another guest contributor pans Tolley’s meeting last night.

Unemployment even more widespread than numbers suggest

Written By: - Date published: 10:20 am, March 2nd, 2010 - 12 comments

276,000 jobless, of which 168,000 officially unemployed. 115,000 more underemployed.

Big numbers, but remember that the unemployed aren’t a static group being added to every day as the Key Government sits on its hands. In fact there’s a continual churn of people into unemployment and into work much larger than the net increase.

Punishing unemployed won’t help

Written By: - Date published: 9:11 am, February 25th, 2010 - 22 comments

Another day, another anti-beneficiary story beaten up by Paula Bennett to justify her bennie-bashing policies. Punitive measures against people who genuinely want to find work will not help them. All it does is waste WINZ’s resources re-approving genuinely unemployed workers leaving fewer resources for helping people into work.

Signs of a more confident Labour

Written By: - Date published: 9:28 am, February 22nd, 2010 - 61 comments

Labour is a pretty risk-adverse organisation. Making those two unorthodox attacks on those two ministers, and pulling it off both times, shows that Labour has got the measure of Key’s drop-kick ministers and is feeling more confident in itself.

Pansy Wong bids for worst minister award

Written By: - Date published: 11:22 am, February 19th, 2010 - 11 comments

When you’ve got a Finance Minister who can’t get stats right, a Social Welfare Minister who can’t define her flagship policy, and an Education Minister who can’t explain her flagship policy, it’s easy for an incompetent Women’s Affairs Minister to slip through.

Labour pins clueless Nat ministers

Written By: - Date published: 11:23 pm, February 17th, 2010 - 13 comments

It’s hard to decide which is worst: Do Nothing John Key flouncing around the country while thousands of Kiwis lose their jobs, the Joyce cabal pushing their hard-right economic agenda, or the rest of them who don’t have two brain cells to rub together.

Our innumerate finance minister & friends

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 pm, February 16th, 2010 - 20 comments

Bill English claimed in the House today that the economy only grew by 0.9% a year in Labour’s last three years in power. Unfortunately for him the problem was his maths, not Labour’s economic policy. English can’t get simple percentages right, can we trust him with the nation’s finances?

Paula, John, seriously, put away the champagne

Written By: - Date published: 12:53 pm, February 6th, 2010 - 2 comments

Paula Bennett and John Key have been, once again, prematurely popping the bottle of champagne to celebrate the end of rising unemployment.   In the face of the shocking 7.3% unemployment rate announced on Thursday, the pair responded by saying ‘ah, but that was December quarter things are better now.’ They pointed to the number […]

Massive jump in dole numbers – minister washes her hands

Written By: - Date published: 3:32 pm, January 22nd, 2010 - 18 comments

You may remember that late last year John Key, Bill English and Paula Bennett could hardly find the words to praise themselves for the falling numbers on the dole. That was until I pointed out that it was a seasonal dip that always occurs between September and November, and, actually, the seasonally dip over the […]

Dumb and dumber on the dole

Written By: - Date published: 1:49 pm, January 15th, 2010 - 13 comments

So, Tariana Turia has (eventually) come out against Paula Bennett’s pointless policy of making people on the unemployment benefit reapply after a year. Of course, Turia is for work-for-the-dole, which is just as stupid. Looks like there will be a show-down, a fight between the two dumbest welfare policies. I predict that Turia will meekly back down, […]

Excellent question

Written By: - Date published: 8:57 am, December 9th, 2009 - 9 comments

An excellent question from Labour yesterday, using some familiar numbers: Hon Annette King: When he was reusing ‘unreliable, highly volatile, and potentially misleading’ [Paula Bennett’s words] figures yesterday, was he aware that unemployment drops around this time every year and that this year we are experiencing a smaller than usual seasonal drop of just 2.6 percent, […]

Employers ripping off job ops money

Written By: - Date published: 10:02 am, November 25th, 2009 - 3 comments

National has only come up with one employment policy to counter the recession. No, not the cycleway – ‘job ops‘. It works like this: employers get given $5,000 for employing a young person in an entry-level role. To qualify, the must be new and would not exist if the Job Ops subsidy was not available, […]

Where’s Paula?

Written By: - Date published: 12:39 pm, November 3rd, 2009 - 23 comments

The Herald’s creepy lovefest with the National Party continues today with Simon Collins’ profile of Paula Bennett, who is apparently “one of us”* Unlike Danyl over at the Dim Post who seems to have finally realised that *gasp* the Herald might be a little pro-National, I’ve not really been troubled by this “first year of […]

Paula, honestly, put away the champagne

Written By: - Date published: 1:20 pm, October 12th, 2009 - 2 comments

So, in the week to October 2, 1950 people signed up to the dole and 2040 went off it. Time to celebrate according to Paula Bennett – unemployment’s going down! But one thing we know about Bennett is she doesn’t have a good grasp of detail – in fact, she has to have everything reduced […]

Put away the champagne, Paula

Written By: - Date published: 3:42 pm, October 5th, 2009 - 40 comments

Paula Bennett: “The number of people needing an Unemployment Benefit has slowed significantly over the last month, says the Minister for Social Development and Employment.” Here, let me correct that for you: “The growth in the number of people needing an Unemployment Benefit has slowed over the last month but still increased by 1,500 or […]

Holding Bennett to account

Written By: - Date published: 2:18 pm, August 11th, 2009 - 59 comments

NZPA reports: Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff has confirmed she will investigate Social Development Minister Paula Bennett after the release of details of two mothers’ income. Good. John Key has made it clear he won’t hold his ministers to account for abusing their power, now it’s up to the Privacy Commisioner to do his job for […]

Of witch hunts and solo mums

Written By: - Date published: 11:42 am, August 8th, 2009 - 62 comments

Frank Macskasy The recent witch-hunt against solo-mums would have done the old Salem village-elders proud. The fires, though, could have been stoked just a bit harder and higher. But as a first attempt at demonising a minority in our community, it wasn’t a bad effort for Minister of Social Services, Paula Bennett. When Bennett ordered […]

Stand up for free speech, stand against Bully State

Written By: - Date published: 11:32 am, August 7th, 2009 - 21 comments

As you know, when Natasha Fuller and Jennifer Johnston spoke up against the Key government’s cancelling of the Training Incentive Allowance, Paula Bennett tried to silence them by releasing their private information to the media. That was a flagrant breach of her fiduciary duties as minister and the Privacy Act, and a threat to free […]

Unemployment back to English’s ‘realistic’ level

Written By: - Date published: 5:11 am, August 7th, 2009 - 33 comments

Who said this? “if we continue with National’s policies over the next three years we will be able to create another 115,000 jobs and bring unemployment under 6%. These are realistic targets…Labour’s claim that it can bring the unemployment rate down to 3% is also a hoax” It was Bill English in 1999. Of course, […]

What goes around…

Written By: - Date published: 5:10 am, August 3rd, 2009 - 53 comments

Paula Bennett appears to have broken the law in releasing private information on members of the public who were critical of National’s “ambitious” cutting of the Training Incentive Allowance. Bennett says she did this to “round out the story”. John Key is “comfortable” with this abuse of power, so presumably now the law doesn’t matter, […]

Double standards

Written By: - Date published: 1:52 pm, August 2nd, 2009 - 45 comments

Paula Bennett has claimed nearly $22,000 in six months for her Wellington accommodation. That’s more, just for a second home Bennett uses maybe half the time, than Natahsa Fuller whose personal details she illegally released in a effort to embarrass her into silence gets in total to raise her three daughters – two of whom have chronic medical conditions. […]

The Herald soils its pulpit

Written By: - Date published: 9:16 am, July 31st, 2009 - 52 comments

Thundering from the pulpit is a fine old editorial tradition, and The Herald has often held forth on the rule of law. Starting with the basics: The law must be upheld… The law matters, as The Herald feels perfectly comfortable pointing out to those it feels need the advice: If the law is enforced impartially […]

Wee gripes: doublethink

Written By: - Date published: 11:32 pm, July 30th, 2009 - 31 comments

If you read Kiwiblog or listen to talkback radio (basically the same thing – smart guy baiting reactionaries for his political ends) then you’ll have noticed the latest line on Bennett. It boils down to ‘remember how Labour did similar things to Bennett? Like Dalziel and that Sri Lankan girl. They were bad and evil […]

Comfortable with bullying

Written By: - Date published: 10:55 am, July 30th, 2009 - 96 comments

John Key is “comfortable” with his Minister Paul Bennett releasing private information (in breach of the Cabinet Manual, Privacy Commission guidelines, and the Privacy Act). This was a move designed solely to harass and bully two individuals that Bennett wanted to silence. How could that Nice Mr Key be comfortable with such a gross abuse […]

Horrific and ugly

Written By: - Date published: 5:50 am, July 30th, 2009 - 19 comments

That’s what Bennett is calling the Right’s attacks on the women she released confidential information about. As if she didn’t know that would happen. As if she didn’t know that releasing this information on what seems like large amounts of money when you don’t have the facts would send every knuckle-dragging redneck, reactionary in the […]

Change to policy – Privacy Consent

Written By: - Date published: 3:41 pm, July 29th, 2009 - 26 comments

This has been added to the policy because as Lew points out there appear to be morons in government, blogs, and in journalism who appear to think that by speaking out on a blog about politics implies that you lose all expectation of protections on privacy. I’d suggest that all blogs insert this or something […]

Bully State

Written By: - Date published: 3:23 pm, July 29th, 2009 - 42 comments

NZPA reports: An MP from government confidence and supply party ACT today told prison officers who spoke out against private prisons that they had hurt their future job prospects. David Garrett’s remark came hot on the heals of accusations yesterday that the Government attempted to intimidate and silence people. Those claims were sparked by Social […]

Apologists

Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, July 29th, 2009 - 58 comments

Picture this: Anchor “and now we go live to whatsherface outside the High Court in Christchurch to tell us the latest in the Weatherston trial” Whatsherface “the prosecution is saying that Weatherston committed a grave breach of the Crimes Act but, look, I know of this other guy who killed someone and he was never […]

Memo to the Herald

Written By: - Date published: 1:40 pm, July 29th, 2009 - 25 comments

Dear nzherald.co.nz, The opinions expressed in the Your Views section of your website are not an accurate reflection of public opinion in New Zealand. If anything, they are a reflection of a self-selected minority of opinionated internet users who have access to a computer during work hours and a level of proficiency in the English […]

Coverage round-up: Bully Bennett

Written By: - Date published: 10:22 am, July 29th, 2009 - 71 comments

Sean Plunkett: Being vocal in a democracy shouldn’t mean you lose your rights and protections under the law. Tracey Watkins: “The Privacy Commissioner advises that ministers can release information about an individual who has criticised a department but only that which is “relevant to the issues raised by the individual”. I would take that to […]

Beware of unbridled government

Written By: - Date published: 6:53 am, July 29th, 2009 - 33 comments

‘Beware’ that was Mary Wilson’s conclusion to her interview with Paula Bennett yesterday. The audio is here: Beware of Bully Bennett – Beware that if you voice any opposition to a government policy and the minister decides it has been going on too long or it’s too damaging, they will release confidental information on you. – […]