WANTED: new ideas on child poverty
Written By:
- Date published:
1:00 pm, September 24th, 2014 - 88 comments
Categories: bill english, child welfare, john key, national, paula bennett, poverty, welfare -
Tags: benefits, bill english, centre ground, child poverty, Food in Schools, john key, paula bennett, spin, tax credits
It’s great to see John Key taking a sudden interest in addressing child poverty in New Zealand.
In Parliament in 2012, when Metiria Turei produced a graph showing how fast inequality was growing, his response was:
That graph looks like the National Party’s poll ratings while in Government, so I appreciate the member showing it to the House.
In 2013 he refused to set any target to reduce child poverty, because:
I think the view is that there are many ways you can actually define and measure poverty, so the Government would rather have a series of programmes.
(I’ve always assumed it was best practice to have clear goals and measurements so you can figure out if your programmes are actually working, but I’m just a comms nerd.)
In fact, child poverty has been such a low priority for our government that the Minister of Social Development thought the very notion of measuring child poverty in order to address it was hilarious.
But let’s be fair. When you’re dealing with an issue as serious as child poverty, of course you want fresh ideas – and Key says he’s interested in things like:
Breakfasts in schools, free doctors’ visits for young children and tax credits for low and middle income families
The only problem is, every one of these ideas is contained in the final report of the Expert Advisory Group on Solutions to Child Poverty – recommendations 60, 52 and 5, to be precise.
That report was published in December 2012. It made five recommendations about ways to measure child poverty – which Key refused to take up. It recommended a universal child payment – which Key rejected. It recommended all homes be properly insulated – which Key dodged, while claiming credit for a policy concession the Greens negotiated. It found that there was overwhelming evidence to support investing in the early years of a child’s life – which Bill English rejected.
I’m sure there’s excuses already lined up – oh, we needed more information; oh, the fiscal situation’s improved so we can do more – but the fact is that time and time again, National have refused to take onboard even the most independent, well-researched, expert suggestions on how to address child poverty. They dodged the issue for the entire election campaign, only releasing a welfare policy (focused on finding new and interesting ways to “incentivise” people off benefits) three days before Election Day.
Yet inequality and poverty are issues which New Zealanders take very, very seriously. So why the sudden change of heart? Because the spin for the next three years is “centre ground”. And when you compare Key’s comments with his government’s record on child poverty? Spin is all it is.
In the post-Dirty Politics era, I feel it’s only ethical to reveal my sources. All links in this post were provided by a very well-informed source:
88 comments on “WANTED: new ideas on child poverty ”
- Comments are now closed
- Comments are now closed
Recent Comments
- Surely it won't happen
I have prepared a bad news sandwich. That is to say, I'm going to try and make this more agreeable by placing on the top and underneath some cheering things.So let's start with a daughter update, the one who is now half a world away but also never farther out ...7 hours ago - Let Them Eat Sausage Rolls: Hipkins Tries to Kill Labour Again
Sometimes you despair. You really do. Fresh off leading Labour to its ugliest election result since 1990,* Chris Hipkins has decided to misdiagnose matters, because the Government he led cannot possibly have been wrong about anything. *In 2011 and 2014, people were willing to save Labour’s electorate ...16 hours ago - Clued Up: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
22 hours ago - JERRY COYNE: A powerful University dean in New Zealand touts merging higher education with indigeno...
Jerry Coyne writes – This article from New Zealand’s Newsroom site was written by Julie Rowland, the deputy dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Auckland as well as a geologist and the Director of the Ngā Ara Whetū | Centre for Climate, Biodiversity & Society. In other ...1 day ago - Ain't nobody gonna steal this heart away.
Ain't nobody gonna steal this heart away.For the last couple of weeks its felt as though all the good things in our beautiful land are under attack.These isles in the southern Pacific. The home of the Māori people. A land of easy going friendliness, openness, and she’ll be right. A ...1 day ago - Speaking for the future
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.MondayYou cannot be seriousOne might think, god, people who are seeing all this must be regretting their vote.But one might be mistaken.There are people whose chief priority is not wanting to be ...1 day ago - How Should We Organise a Modern Economy?
Alan Bollard, formerly Treasury Secretary, Reserve Bank Governor and Chairman of APEC, has written an insightful book exploring command vs demand approaches to the economy. The Cold War included a conflict about ideas; many were economic. Alan Bollard’s latest book Economists in the Cold War focuses on the contribution of ...2 days ago - Willis fails a taxing app-titude test but govt supporters will cheer moves on Te Pukenga and the Hum...
Buzz from the Beehive The Minister of Defence has returned from Noumea to announce New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting and (wearing another ministerial hat) to condemn malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government. A bigger cheer from people who voted for the Luxon ...2 days ago - ELIZABETH RATA: In defence of the liberal university and against indigenisationThe suppression of individual thought in our universities spills over into society, threatening free speech everywhere. Elizabeth Rata writes – Indigenising New Zealand’s universities is well underway, presumably with the agreement of University Councils and despite the absence of public discussion. Indigenising, under the broader umbrella of decolonisation, ...2 days ago
- Gordon Campbell on the skewed media coverage of Gaza
Now that he’s back as Foreign Minister, maybe Winston Peters should start reading the MFAT website. If he did, Peters would find MFAT celebrating the 25th anniversary of how New Zealand alerted the rest of the world to the genocide developing in Rwanda. Quote: New Zealand played an important role ...2 days ago - “Your Circus, Your Clowns.”
It must have been a hard first couple of weeks for National voters, since the coalition was announced. Seeing their party make so many concessions to New Zealand First and ACT that there seems little remains of their own policies, other than the dwindling dream of tax cuts and the ...2 days ago - Weekly Roundup 8-December-2023
It’s Friday again and Christmas is fast approaching. Here’s some of the stories that caught our attention. This week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt covered some of the recent talk around the costs, benefits and challenges with the City Rail Link. On Thursday Matt looked at how ...2 days ago - End-of-week escapism
Amsterdam to Hong Kong William McCartney16,000 kilometres41 days18 trains13 countries11 currencies6 long-distance taxis4 taxi apps4 buses3 sim cards2 ferries1 tram0 medical events (surprisingly)Episode 4Whether the Sofia-Istanbul Express really qualifies to be called an express is debatable, but it’s another one of those likeably old and slow trains tha… ...2 days ago - The Hoon around the week to Dec 8Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro arrives for the State Opening of Parliament (Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)TL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:New Finance Minister Nicola Willis set herself a ...2 days ago
- New Zealand’s Witchcraft Laws: 1840/1858-1961/1962
Sometimes one gets morbidly curious about the oddities of one’s own legal system. Sometimes one writes entire essays on New Zealand’s experience with Blasphemous Libel: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2017/05/09/blasphemous-libel-new-zealand-politics/ And sometimes one follows up the exact historical status of witchcraft law in New Zealand. As one does, of course. ...2 days ago - No surprisesDon’t expect any fiscal shocks or surprises when the books are opened on December 20 with the unveiling of the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU). That was the message yesterday from Westpac in an economic commentary. But the bank’s analysis did not include any changes to capital ...2 days ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #49 2023
113 articles in 48 journals by 674 contributing authors Physical science of climate change, effects Diversity of Lagged Relationships in Global Means of Surface Temperatures and Radiative Budgets for CMIP6 piControl Simulations, Tsuchida et al., Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli-d-23-0045.1 Do abrupt cryosphere events in High Mountain Asia indicate earlier tipping ...3 days ago - Phone calls at Kia Kaha primary
It is quiet reading time in Room 13! It is so quiet you can hear the Tui outside. It is so quiet you can hear the Fulton Hogan crew.It is so quiet you can hear old Mr Grant and old Mr Bradbury standing by the roadworks and counting the conesand going on ...3 days ago - A question of confidence is raised by the Minister of Police, but he had to be questioned by RNZ to ...It looks like the new ministerial press secretaries have quickly learned the art of camouflaging exactly what their ministers are saying – or, at least, of keeping the hard news out of the headlines and/or the opening sentences of the statements they post on the home page of the governments ...3 days ago
- Xmas good cheer for the dairy industry as Fonterra lifts its forecastThe big dairy co-op Fonterra had some Christmas cheer to offer its farmers this week, increasing its forecast farmgate milk price and earnings guidance for the year after what it calls a strong start to the year. The forecast midpoint for the 2023/24 season is up 25cs to $7.50 per ...3 days ago
- MICHAEL BASSETT: Modern Maori mythsMichael Bassett writes – Many of the comments about the Coalition’s determination to wind back the dramatic Maorification of New Zealand of the last three years would have you believe the new government is engaged in a full-scale attack on Maori. In reality, all that is happening ...3 days ago
- Dreams of eternal sunshine at a spotless COP28Mary Robinson asked Al Jaber a series of very simple, direct and highly pertinent questions and he responded with a high-octane public meltdown. Photos: Getty Images / montage: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR The hygiene effects of direct sunshine are making some inroads, perhaps for the very first time, on the normalised ‘deficit ...3 days ago
- LINDSAY MITCHELL: Oh, the ironyLindsay Mitchell writes – Appointed by new Labour PM Jacinda Ardern in 2018, Cindy Kiro headed the Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG) tasked with reviewing and recommending reforms to the welfare system. Kiro had been Children’s Commissioner during Helen Clark’s Labour government but returned to academia subsequently. ...3 days ago
- Transport Agencies don’t want Harbour TunnelsIt seems even our transport agencies don’t want Labour’s harbour crossing plans. In August the previous government and Waka Kotahi announced their absurd preferred option the new harbour crossing that at the time was estimated to cost $35-45 billion. It included both road tunnels and a wiggly light rail tunnel ...3 days ago
- Webworm Presents: Jurassic Park on 35mm
Hi,Paying Webworm members such as yourself keep this thing running, so as 2023 draws to close, I wanted to do two things to say a giant, loud “THANKS”. Firstly — I’m giving away 10 Mister Organ blu-rays in New Zealand, and another 10 in America. More details down below.Secondly — ...3 days ago - The Prime Minister's Dream.
Yesterday saw the State Opening of Parliament, the Speech from the Throne, and then Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s dream for Aotearoa in his first address. But first the pomp and ceremony, the arrival of the Governor General.Dame Cindy Kiro arrived on the forecourt outside of parliament to a Māori welcome. ...3 days ago - National’s new MP; the proud part-Maori boy raised in a state houseProbably not since 1975 have we seen a government take office up against such a wall of protest and complaint. That was highlighted yesterday, the day that the new Parliament was sworn in, with news that King Tuheitia has called a national hui for late January to develop a ...3 days ago
- Climate Adam: Battlefield Earth – How War Fuels Climate CatastropheThis video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). War, conflict and climate change are tearing apart lives across the world. But these aren't separate harms - they're intricately connected. ...4 days ago
- They do not speak for us, and they do not speak for the future
These dire woeful and intolerant people have been so determinedly going about their small and petulant business, it’s hard to keep up. At the end of the new government’s first woeful week, Audrey Young took the time to count off its various acts of denigration of Te Ao Māori:Review the ...4 days ago - Another attack on te reo
The new white supremacist government made attacking te reo a key part of its platform, promising to rename government agencies and force them to "communicate primarily in English" (which they already do). But today they've gone further, by trying to cut the pay of public servants who speak te reo: ...4 days ago - For the record, the Beehive buzz can now be regarded as “official”Buzz from the Beehive The biggest buzz we bring you from the Beehive today is that the government’s official website is up and going after being out of action for more than a week. The latest press statement came from Education Minister Eric Stanford, who seized on the 2022 PISA ...4 days ago
- Climate Change: Failed againThere was another ETS auction this morning. and like all the other ones this year, it failed to clear - meaning that 23 million tons of carbon (15 million ordinary units plus 8 million in the cost containment reserve) went up in smoke. Or rather, they didn't. Being unsold at ...4 days ago
- Gordon Campbell On The Government’s Assault On MaoriThis isn’t news, but the National-led coalition is mounting a sustained assault on Treaty rights and obligations. Even so, Christopher Luxon has described yesterday’s nationwide protests by Maori as “pretty unfair.” Poor thing. In the NZ Herald, Audrey Young has compiled a useful list of the many, many ways that ...4 days ago
- Rising costs hit farmers hard, but there’s more positive news for them this week
New Zealand’s dairy industry, the mainstay of the country’s export trade, has been under pressure from rising costs. Down on the farm, this has been hitting hard. But there was more positive news this week, first from the latest Fonterra GDT auction where prices rose, and then from a report ...4 days ago - ROB MacCULLOCH: Newshub and NZ Herald report misleading garbage about ACT’s van Veldon not follo...Rob MacCulloch writes – In their rush to discredit the new government (which our MainStream Media regard as illegitimate and having no right to enact the democratic will of voters) the NZ Herald and Newshub are arguing ACT’s Deputy Leader Brooke van Veldon is not following Treasury advice ...4 days ago
- Top 10 for Wednesday, December 6
Even many young people who smoke support smokefree policies, fitting in with previous research showing the large majority of people who smoke regret starting and most want to quit. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Wednesday, December ...4 days ago - Eleven years of work.
Well it didn’t take six months, but the leaks have begun. Yes the good ship Coalition has inadvertently released a confidential cabinet paper into the public domain, discussing their axing of Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs).Oops.Just when you were admiring how smoothly things were going for the new government, they’ve had ...4 days ago - Why we're missing out on sharply lower inflation
4 days ago - How Did We Get Here?
Hi,Kiwis — keep the evening of December 22nd free. I have a meetup planned, and will send out an invite over the next day or so. This sounds sort of crazy to write, but today will be Tony Stamp’s final Totally Normal column of 2023. Somehow we’ve made it to ...4 days ago - At a glance – Has the greenhouse effect been falsified?On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...5 days ago
- New Zealaders have high expectations of new government: now let’s see if it can deliver?The electorate has high expectations of the new government. The question is: can it deliver? Some might say the signs are not promising. Protestors are already marching in the streets. The new Prime Minister has had little experience of managing very diverse politicians in coalition. The economy he ...5 days ago
- You won't believe some of the numbers you have to pull when you're a Finance Minister
Nicola of Marsden:Yo, normies! We will fix your cost of living worries by giving you a tax cut of 150 dollars. 150! Cash money! Vote National.Various people who can read and count:Actually that's 150 over a fortnight. Not a week, which is how you usually express these things.And actually, it looks ...5 days ago - PushbackWhen this government came to power, it did so on an explicitly white supremacist platform. Undermining the Waitangi Tribunal, removing Māori representation in local government, over-riding the courts which had tried to make their foreshore and seabed legislation work, eradicating te reo from public life, and ultimately trying to repudiate ...5 days ago
- Defence ministerial meeting meant Collins missed the Maori Party’s mischief-making capers in Parli...Buzz from the Beehive Maybe this is not the best time for our Minister of Defence to have gone overseas. Not when the Maori Party is inviting (or should that be inciting?) its followers to join a revolution in a post which promoted its protest plans with a picture of ...5 days ago
- Threats of war have been followed by an invitation to join the revolution – now let’s see how th...A Maori Party post on Instagram invited party followers to …. Tangata Whenua, Tangata Tiriti, Join the REVOLUTION! & make a stand! Nationwide Action Day, All details in tiles swipe to see locations. • This is our 1st hit out and tomorrow Tuesday the 5th is the opening ...5 days ago
- Top 10 for Tuesday, December 4
The RBNZ governor is citing high net migration and profit-led inflation as factors in the bank’s hawkish stance. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Tuesday, December 5, including:Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr says high net migration and ...5 days ago - Nicola Willis' 'show me the money' momentWillis has accused labour of “economic vandalism’, while Robertson described her comments as a “desperate diversion from somebody who can't make their tax package add up”. There will now be an intense focus on December 20 to see whether her hyperbole is backed up by true surprises. Photo montage: Lynn ...5 days ago
- CRL costs money but also provides huge benefitsThe City Rail Link has been in the headlines a bit recently so I thought I’d look at some of them. First up, yesterday the NZ Herald ran this piece about the ongoing costs of the CRL. Auckland ratepayers will be saddled with an estimated bill of $220 million each ...5 days ago
- And I don't want the world to see us.
Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...5 days ago - Cooking the booksFinance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...5 days ago
- Most people don’t realize how much progress we’ve made on climate changeThis is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The year was 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars was at the top of the music charts. Jurassic World was the most popular new movie in theaters. And decades of futility in international climate negotiations was about to come to an end in ...6 days ago
- Of Parliamentary Oaths and Clive Boonham
As a heads-up, I am not one of those people who stay awake at night thinking about weird Culture War nonsense. At least so far as the current Maori/Constitutional arrangements go. In fact, I actually consider it the least important issue facing the day to day lives of New ...6 days ago - Bearing True Allegiance?6 days ago
- You cannot be serious
Some days it feels like the only thing to say is: Seriously? No, really. Seriously?OneSomeone has used their health department access to share data about vaccinations and patients, and inform the world that New Zealanders have been dying in their hundreds of thousands from the evil vaccine. This of course is pure ...6 days ago - A promise kept: govt pulls the plug on Lake Onslow scheme – but this saving of $16bn is denounced...Buzz from the Beehive After $21.8 million was spent on investigations, the plug has been pulled on the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro electricity scheme, The scheme – that technically could have solved New Zealand’s looming energy shortage, according to its champions – was a key part of the defeated Labour government’s ...6 days ago
- CHRIS TROTTER: The Maori Party and Oath of AllegianceIf those elected to the Māori Seats refuse to take them, then what possible reason could the country have for retaining them? Chris Trotter writes – Christmas is fast approaching, which, as it does every year, means gearing up for an abstruse general knowledge question. “Who was ...6 days ago
- BRIAN EASTON: Forward to 2017The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies. Brian Easton writes – The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. ...6 days ago
- Climate Change: FossilsWhen the new government promised to allow new offshore oil and gas exploration, they were warned that there would be international criticism and reputational damage. Naturally, they arrogantly denied any possibility that that would happen. And then they finally turned up at COP, to criticism from Palau, and a "fossil ...6 days ago
- GEOFFREY MILLER: NZ’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and UkraineGeoffrey Miller writes – New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he ...6 days ago
- Gordon Campbell on the government’s smokefree laws debacleThe most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...6 days ago
- Top 10 links at 10 am for Monday, December 4
6 days ago - Be Honest.
Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...6 days ago - Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...6 days ago - Auckland rail tunnel the world’s most expensive6 days ago
- First big test comingThe first big test of the new Government’s approach to Treaty matters is likely to be seen in the return of the Resource Management Act. RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal Labour’s recently passed Natural and Built Environments Act and its ...6 days ago
- The Song of Saqua: Volume III
Time to revisit something I haven’t covered in a while: the D&D campaign, with Saqua the aquatic half-vampire. Last seen in July: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/07/27/the-song-of-saqua-volume-ii/ The delay is understandable, once one realises that the interim saw our DM come down with a life-threatening medical situation. They have since survived to make ...6 days ago - Chris Bishop: Smokin’
Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...1 week ago - 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate change Daily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...1 week ago
- Affirmative Action.
Affirmative Action was a key theme at this election, although I don’t recall anyone using those particular words during the campaign.They’re positive words, and the way the topic was talked about was anything but. It certainly wasn’t a campaign of saying that Affirmative Action was a good thing, but that, ...1 week ago - 100 days of something
It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...1 week ago - Look who’s stepped up to champion WinstonThere’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...1 week ago
- What's The Story?
Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...1 week ago - The longest of weeks
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...1 week ago - Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts toLike earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...1 week ago
- Under New Management
1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...1 week ago
- Teanau Tuiono first Green MP appointed Assistant Speaker
The Green Party is pleased to announce today that MP Teanau Tuiono will be an Assistant Speaker for the 54th Parliament. ...3 days ago - Release: Labour calls on Government to give visas to Kiwis’ families stuck in Gaza
Labour’s immigration spokesperson Phil Twyford is calling on the Government to follow the example of Australia and help New Zealanders’ close family members stuck in Gaza to escape and take shelter here. ...5 days ago - Now, more than ever, we must whakamana Te Tiriti o WaitangiThe Green Party is urging the Government to recognise its commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi so our tamariki and mokopuna can grow up in an Aotearoa where their language is celebrated, their health is prioritised, and their whenua is protected. ...5 days ago
- Release: Labour team ready to take on the coalition of chaosLabour’s strong line-up for the 54th Parliament brings experience and energy to the job of Opposition. ...1 week ago
- The future of Aotearoa is at stakeThe next 100 days will be a fight for our future. ...2 weeks ago
- Māori will die to fund tax cutsBy scrapping Aotearoa’s world-leading smokefree laws, this government is sacrificing Māori lives to fund tax cuts for the wealthy. Not only is this plan revolting, but it doesn’t add up. Treasury has estimated that the reversal of smokefree laws to pay for tax cuts will cost our health system $5.25bn, ...2 weeks ago
- Release: National’s fiscal plans dealt another blowFigures showing National needs to find another $900 million for landlords highlights the mess this coalition Government is in less than a week into the job. ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party unveils portfolio spokespeople for the 54th ParliamentThe Green Party is pleased to announce the allocation of portfolios across its largest caucus ever. ...2 weeks ago
- The Time is Now for Oceans ProtectionCommunity organisations, mana whenua and the Greens have written to the incoming Minister of Oceans and Fisheries to call for the progression without delay of the Hauraki Gulf/Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- Greenpeace nitrates research proves need for strong freshwater regulationThe Green Party is welcoming the release of an interactive map which enables people to monitor nitrate levels in their drinking water. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Chris Hipkins congratulates Christopher Luxon"On behalf of the Labour Party I would like to congratulate Christopher Luxon on his appointment as Prime Minister,” Labour Party Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...2 weeks ago
- Greens launch petition to save oil and gas banThe Green Party has launched a petition to save the ban on oil and gas exploration. ...2 weeks ago
- Luxon’s Government will whitewash AotearoaNZ First has gotten their wish to ‘take our country back’ to the 1800s with a policy program that will white-wash Aotearoa and erase tangata whenua rights. By disestablishing the Māori Health Authority this Government has condemned Māori to die seven years earlier than Pākehā. By removing Treaty obligations from ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party a strong opposition to divisive governmentThe Green Party will keep up the fight for an Aotearoa that works for everyone. ...2 weeks ago
- Te Pāti Māori call for Foreign Affairs CEO to be sackedTe Pāti Māori have called for the resignation of the Ministry of Foreign and Trade chief executive Chris Seed following his decision to erase te reo Māori from government communications. While the country still waits for a new government to be formed, Mr Seed took it upon himself to undermine ...3 weeks ago
- Ministers visit Hawke’s Bay to grasp recovery needs
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon joined Cyclone Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell and Transport and Local Government Minister Simeon Brown, to meet leaders of cyclone and flood-affected regions in the Hawke’s Bay. The visit reinforced the coalition Government’s commitment to support the region and better understand its ongoing requirements, Mr Mitchell says. ...2 days ago - New Zealand condemns malicious cyber activityNew Zealand has joined the UK and other partners in condemning malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government, Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau Judith Collins says. The statement follows the UK’s attribution today of malicious cyber activity impacting its domestic democratic institutions and processes, as well ...2 days ago
- Disestablishment of Te Pūkenga beginsThe Government has begun the process of disestablishing Te Pūkenga as part of its 100-day plan, Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills Penny Simmonds says. “I have started putting that plan into action and have met with the chair and chief Executive of Te Pūkenga to advise them of my ...3 days ago
- Climate Change Minister to attend COP28 in DubaiClimate Change Minister Simon Watts will be leaving for Dubai today to attend COP28, the 28th annual UN climate summit, this week. Simon Watts says he will push for accelerated action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, deliver New Zealand’s national statement and connect with partner countries, private sector leaders ...3 days ago
- New Zealand to host 2024 Pacific defence meetingDefence Minister Judith Collins yesterday announced New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting (SPDMM). “Having just returned from this year’s meeting in Nouméa, I witnessed first-hand the value of meeting with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security and defence matters. I welcome the opportunity to ...3 days ago
- Study shows need to remove distractions in classThe Government is committed to lifting school achievement in the basics and that starts with removing distractions so young people can focus on their learning, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. The 2022 PISA results released this week found that Kiwi kids ranked 5th in the world for being distracted ...3 days ago
- Minister sets expectations of CommissionerToday I met with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to set out my expectations, which he has agreed to, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. Under section 16(1) of the Policing Act 2008, the Minister can expect the Police Commissioner to deliver on the Government’s direction and priorities, as now outlined in ...4 days ago
- New Zealand needs a strong and stable ETSNew Zealand needs a strong and stable Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that is well placed for the future, after emission units failed to sell for the fourth and final auction of the year, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. At today’s auction, 15 million New Zealand units (NZUs) – each ...4 days ago
- PISA results show urgent need to teach the basicsWith 2022 PISA results showing a decline in achievement, Education Minister Erica Stanford is confident that the Coalition Government’s 100-day plan for education will improve outcomes for Kiwi kids. The 2022 PISA results show a significant decline in the performance of 15-year-old students in maths compared to 2018 and confirms ...5 days ago
- Collins leaves for Pacific defence meetingDefence Minister Judith Collins today departed for New Caledonia to attend the 8th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM). “This meeting is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security matters and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Pacific,” Judith Collins says. ...6 days ago
- Working for Families gets cost of living boostPutting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...6 days ago
- Post-Cabinet press conferenceMost weeks, following Cabinet, the Prime Minister holds a press conference for members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. This page contains the transcripts from those press conferences, which are supplied by Hansard to the Office of the Prime Minister. It is important to note that the transcripts have not been edited ...6 days ago
- Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme scrappedThe Government has axed the $16 billion Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme championed by the previous government, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says. “This hugely wasteful project was pouring money down the drain at a time when we need to be reining in spending and focussing on rebuilding the economy and ...1 week ago
- NZ welcomes further pause in fighting in GazaNew Zealand welcomes the further one-day extension of the pause in fighting, which will allow the delivery of more urgently-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of more hostages, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. “The human cost of the conflict is horrific, and New Zealand wants to see the violence ...1 week ago
- Condolences on passing of Henry KissingerForeign Minister Winston Peters today expressed on behalf of the New Zealand Government his condolences to the family of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has passed away at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut. “While opinions on his legacy are varied, Secretary Kissinger was ...1 week ago
- Backing our kids to learn the basicsEvery child deserves a world-leading education, and the Coalition Government is making that a priority as part of its 100-day plan. Education Minister Erica Stanford says that will start with banning cellphone use at school and ensuring all primary students spend one hour on reading, writing, and maths each day. ...1 week ago
- US Business Summit Speech – Regional stability through tradeI would like to begin by echoing the Prime Minister’s thanks to the organisers of this Summit, Fran O’Sullivan and the Auckland Business Chamber. I want to also acknowledge the many leading exporters, sector representatives, diplomats, and other leaders we have joining us in the room. In particular, I would like ...1 week ago
- Keynote Address to the United States Business Summit, AucklandGood morning. Thank you, Rosemary, for your warm introduction, and to Fran and Simon for this opportunity to make some brief comments about New Zealand’s relationship with the United States. This is also a chance to acknowledge my colleague, Minister for Trade Todd McClay, Ambassador Tom Udall, Secretary of Foreign ...1 week ago
- India New Zealand Business Council Speech, India as a Strategic PriorityGood morning, tēnā koutou and namaskar. Many thanks, Michael, for your warm welcome. I would like to acknowledge the work of the India New Zealand Business Council in facilitating today’s event and for the Council’s broader work in supporting a coordinated approach for lifting New Zealand-India relations. I want to also ...2 weeks ago
- Coalition Government unveils 100-day planPrime Minister Christopher Luxon has laid out the Coalition Government’s plan for its first 100 days from today. “The last few years have been incredibly tough for so many New Zealanders. People have put their trust in National, ACT and NZ First to steer them towards a better, more prosperous ...2 weeks ago
- New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade AgreementA significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...2 weeks ago
- Tobacco researcher: New Zealand's reputation 'now pretty tarnished' amongst scientist...
A public health academic says New Zealand's rowback on smokefree legislation is "very embarrassing" and has tarnished our reputation. ...47 mins ago - Why does some popcorn not pop?
Popcorn has one job. So what happens when it fails? Charlotte Muru-Lanning reports from the stovetop. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. There’s nothing quite like the lively ceremony of making stovetop popcorn. First there’s the clattering of those amber-coloured kernels into the pot. Hopefully within minutes, there’s the first hollow pop. Then, ...4 hours ago - In-between kids: The volunteering experience that inspired Before GeorgeDeborah Robertson on what inspired her to write her new novel, and to set it in 1953 – the year of the Tangiwai disaster. A group of six girls in purple T-shirts are sitting on a log. Well, not really a log. It’s an equestrian hurdle that has been carved ...5 hours ago
- Coaster calls for Government to plug stopbanks
A Harihari dairy farmer whose land was flooded when a stopbank failed this year says river protection on the West Coast has become unaffordable and the Government should urgently restore subsidies for the work. Andy Campbell lost the use of 100ha when the Wanganui River breached a stopbank last ...6 hours ago - We’re going on a bat huntIn rural South Auckland, a team of conservationists head out on a nocturnal mission to track down Aotearoa’s only native land mammal. Asia Martusia King tags along. The bat hunt begins as usual: with Vengaboys. A group of scientists sits somberly around a table in a rural South Auckland paddock, ...8 hours ago
- The Sunday Essay: Is there an age when you can no longer dance?How I faced the limitations of dancing into the ‘sunset years’ of my life. The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Illustrations by kūkū. “To choose to be a dancer is a lovely act of defiance” – Daniel Nagrin, How to Dance Forever ...9 hours ago
- Ngāpuhi hapū gather to receive Tribunal report on Treaty grievancesA landmark Waitangi Tribunal report into injustices suffered by Ngāpuhi will strengthen the iwi's case as it looks to restart its stalled Treaty settlement negotiations, a hapū leader says. ...17 hours ago
- ‘We’re legit filmmakers’: The story behind Viva La Dirt League’s epic new studioIn just 18 months, the Auckland-based YouTube channel has gone from working from home and out of cafes to a brand new multi-million dollar studio. Sam Brooks asks the trio how they pulled it off, and what they’re planning to do with it. On December 4, a video called “The ...1 day ago
- Focus on Politics: Māori dissent sets the scene as Parliament returnsThe resumption of Parliament this week has been underlined by outcry from Māori, soon matched by fury within the debating chamber. ...1 day ago
- ‘Childish, immature, disgusting’: Why TV viewers are mad at Anika Moa this timeThe Anika Moa Unleashed host unleashes her thoughts on After the Party, Paul Holmes, The Walking Dead, stalking celebrities and more. Anika Moa has a proud history of angering strangers online, whether it’s due to her tattoos, her love life, or something else entirely. When she sits down with The ...1 day ago
- Rod Oram: Words, crowds and Kiwis at global climate summitSearching widely for ways to overcome deep opposition by fossil fuel nations to a phase-out of their products, the President of COP28 enlisted an ally while negotiators sought subtler language yesterday. “We have been asked by the UAE presidency to help find common language that will be acceptable ...1 day ago
- Food writing isn’t really about foodWith a topic so universal, it’s almost always about something bigger. Consider the contents of your fridge. What kinds of fruits and vegetables are in your crisper drawer? How much did that block of cheese set you back? Where did you source most of this kai from? Are there ingredients ...1 day ago
- Long Read: The grief birdYou can read the full story, plus see photographs from Craig McKenzie, in the November-December issue of New Zealand Geographic magazine, or on their website. The bittern’s eerie, booming call sounds like a lament, a tangi ringing across the marshes. Now, the birds themselves are in trouble. ...1 day ago
- Theatrical performance: does music work for surgery?Opinion: You may have been there, waiting your turn, wearing an ill-fitting hospital gown, surrounded by a flurry of staff, the smell of disinfectant in the air. If you’ve ever undergone surgery, you probably know the nervous, stress-laden pre-op feeling. What may come as a surprise is that ...1 day ago
- Short story: Beautiful Isolation, by Catherine Chidgey1. In the evening and in the night, I sit on the balcony and think of you. I can’t see the water but I know it’s there, soft and slow. We bathed in it that last day, you and I, when the dusk hung heavy as cloth of gold ...1 day ago
- Togs, togs, undies: The story behind NZ’s most iconic summer adAlex Casey unearths the origin story of an New Zealand icon – featuring a surprise cameo from an international comedy megastar. At first glance, the Facebook post from a Waipu cafe reads like any other heartfelt change in ownership announcement. “George and Amber have reflected on their involvement in our ...1 day ago
- Their house, my garden: What to do when your plant is boltingThis week on Their house, my garden, why my spinach plant has grown suspiciously tall, and how to deal with your own over-eager plants. Beginner gardeners would be forgiven for thinking a plant growing tall is reason to celebrate. We are, after all, the kind of species who mark door ...1 day ago
- Government rocked by second leak in five days, ministers suspend analysis of repeal proposalsThe new government has been rocked by the leaking of another confidential paper to the New Zealand Herald - the second to spill in just five days. ...2 days ago
- 'He gets it' – Christopher Luxon impresses locals on first visit to cyclone-battered...Luxon drove the crumbling SH2 with a handful of MPs on Friday morning to reach the small town, gauge progress of its recovery, and learn what it needs from the new government. ...2 days ago
- Israel’s AI can produce 100 bombing targets a day in Gaza. Is this the future of war?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bianca Baggiarini, Lecturer, Australian National University Last week, reports emerged that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are using an artificial intelligence (AI) system called Habsora (Hebrew for “The Gospel”) to select targets in the war on Hamas in Gaza. The system has ...2 days ago - Frank and far-reaching: Senate report recommends shake-up of the way freedom of information is handl...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Johan Lidberg, Associate Professor, School of Media, Film and Journalism, Monash University The most significant recommendation in the Senate inquiry report on the functionality of the Commonwealth FOI system is this: move the federal Freedom of Information (FOI) function from the Office ...2 days ago
- Week in Politics: New government survives first Question TimeAnalysis: The government was under attack on multiple fronts during a week of relentless criticism and then faced its first Question Time in Parliament, Peter Wilson writes. ...2 days ago
- This is the endWell, it’s 4.30pm on a Friday which feels as appropriate time as ever to say goodbye. The Spinoff’s live updates have come to an end, almost four years after they were first switched on. If you missed my explainer this morning of what’s going on, here it is. In short: ...2 days ago
- Taken together, the NDIS review and the royal commission recommendations could transform disability ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Di Winkler, Adjunct Associate Professor, La Trobe University Shutterstock A home – in the physical and emotional sense – is foundational to living an ordinary life with a feeling of inclusion. National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants with the highest ...2 days ago
- Fire ants are on the march. Here’s what happens when they stingSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Darren Roberts, Conjoint Associate Professor in clinical pharmacology and toxicology, St Vincent’s Healthcare Clinical Campus, UNSW Sydney Veronika Kunitsyna/Shutterstock Red imported fire ants are a particularly nasty type of ant because they are aggressive, and inflict painful stings that may ...2 days ago
- Watch: Luxon on Hawke's Bay cyclone recovery: 'We don't want to turn all that upside ...Christopher Luxon says the new government is going to continue everything that the previous one put into place to help with the recovery from Cyclone Gabrielle. ...2 days ago
- Waka Kotahi to use its English name first after pressure from governmentWaka Kotahi will begin referring to itself using its English name first after pressure from parties in the coalition government. ...2 days ago
- Investigation into alleged vaccine data breach ongoingTe Whatu Ora is continuing to investigate after a data breach that saw vaccine-related information shared online last week. The agency is liaising with the Privacy Commissioner and said it will make “any appropriate notifications” if individuals were impacted by the breach. “Alongside the work to identify the material allegedly ...2 days ago
- Watch – Christopher Luxon visits Hawke's Bay to see cyclone recovery progressLive - Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has been in Wairoa this morning to gauge progress of the town's recovery from Cyclone Gabrielle. Watch a media conference with him here. ...2 days ago
- XYZZY is a buzzy good time at the StardomeSam Brooks reviews a new immersive film experience at Auckland’s planetarium. Journalists get invited to review things all the time. Books, films, shows, exhibitions, all of it. I say yes to a lot of them and “no, sorry” to a bit more. Very rarely do I go, “Absolutely I need ...2 days ago
- Waka Kotahi back to being NZTA, board members quitWaka Kotahi has begun the process of re-adopting its former name, the New Zealand Transport Agency (or NZTA). It follows a directive from the new government that public agencies should have their primary name in English and not te reo. This came as part of the coalition deal between National ...2 days ago
- Yes, landlords gain from the repeal of interest deductibility rules – but it was a flawed law from...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Pavlovich, Senior lecturer in the School of Accounting and Commercial Law, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington The new coalition government has announced a suite of tax reforms, including reintroducing the ability for property investors to deduct the interest ...2 days ago
- The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending December 8The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 The Bee Sting by Paul Murray (Hamish Hamilton, $37) The runner-up for the 2023 Booker Prize ...2 days ago
- The Friday Poem: ‘a retreat’ by Jasmine O M TaylorA new poem by Ōtepoti poet Jasmine O M Taylor. a retreat if you find a chance before they’ve all melted into the air find time to get on a glacier and find a cave in the glacier and go inside the cave inside the glacier it will speak to ...2 days ago
- Gone By Lunchtime: Do Te Pāti Māori-led protests set the tone for the term ahead?Our award-winning podcast assesses the opening stanza of the Luxon-led government. After the long, serene political gap as coalition talks went on, politics has roared back with plenty of shouting and not so much rizz. Toby Manhire, Ben Thomas and Annabelle Lee-Mather assess the early exchanges, including Winston Peters’ ...2 days ago
- The Amalgamated Workers Union Calls On The Government To Give Fair Pay Agreements A Fair Go
“The new government has a clear choice to make before Christmas. Do they live up to their stated intention of governing for all New Zealanders, or do they dash the hopes of tens of thousands of kiwi workers by unilaterally abolishing Fair Pay ...2 days ago - What does El Niño do to the weather in your state?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kimberley Reid, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Atmospheric Sciences, Monash University titoOnz, Shutterstock You’ve probably heard El Niño brings hot and dry weather to the eastern states, but what about the rest of Australia? Are we all in for a scorcher ...2 days ago
- Australia’s first mobile cooling hub is ready for searing heat this summer – and people who are ...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Currie, Professor of Nursing, Queensland University of Technology Shutterstock Heatwaves are a major public health hazard. Socially disadvantaged people are especially exposed to extreme heat and other impacts of climate change. Many people experiencing homelessness – more than 120,000 ...2 days ago
- Free Speech Union Releases Briefing To Incoming Government, Outlining Key Areas Of Policy To Protect...The Free Speech Union has sent 14 Cabinet Ministers a comprehensive Briefing to the Incoming Government, outlining five key areas of policy that the Government must address in order to protect and expand Kiwis’ speech rights. We look forward to ...2 days ago
- Interislander ferry upgrade: Finance Minister warns of cost blowoutFinance Minister Nicola Willis says she has already met twice with KiwiRail bosses over a "major cost blowout" in the project to replace the Interislander ferries. ...2 days ago
- A rangatahi Māori perspective on Cop28With the new government gaining international infamy for its climate policy, for rangatahi Māori like Kaeden Watts, attending climate conferences is more important than ever. Every year world leaders meet for the annual Conference of the Parties (Cop), the world’s most powerful climate crisis conference. Despite Cop being criticised for ...2 days ago
- BBC host denies she was ‘flipping the bird’ after live faux pasAccidental Partridge is one of my favourite Twitter (I am never going to call it X) accounts, and given today is the last day of live updates I think it’s absolutely fair I include a video from it. If you don’t know why it’s called Accidental Partridge, go watch all ...2 days ago
- National Trying To Rewrite History By Removing App Tax Website And Press ReleaseThe Taxpayers’ Union is calling on the National Party to front up to consumers who will face 15% higher prices for some services from the likes of Uber, Airbnb and food delivery apps after their app tax U-turn rather than trying to erase all ...2 days ago
- Netballers may have a new pay deal, but the sport remains in a precarious positionSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hunter Fujak, Lecturer in Sport Management, Deakin University While 2023 was a watershed year for Australian women’s sport due to the Matildas’ stirring run at the Women’s World Cup, netball is going through its worst period ever. Netball Australia and the ...2 days ago
- PM Luxon visits cyclone-hit parts of Hawke’s BayThe prime minister is spending the day out of Wellington, touring parts of cyclone-damaged Hawke’s Bay and meeting with senior leaders in the community. Christopher Luxon began the day in Wairoa, where he met with mayor Craig Little. Later, he’ll head to Napier for a meeting with regional council members. ...2 days ago
- The dark shadow over the NZ TV AwardsHow will the new government look at our television? Duncan Greive reflects on this year’s awards ceremony. This is an excerpt from The Spinoff’s weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. The NZ TV Awards took place in downtown Auckland on Tuesday, which coincided with Te Pāti Māori’s National Māori ...2 days ago
- Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau’s Platitudes Ring HollowResponding to news that Wellington City Councillors have voted down a proposal to reduce business rates in the capital, Taxpayers’ Union Policy Adviser, James Ross, said: “When Mayor Tory Whanau comes out with a line like ‘I couldn’t in good ...2 days ago
- Te Pūkenga to be replaced with 8-10 institutions – ministerThe new tertiary education minister says Te Pūkenga will be replaced with eight to 10 individual institutions, and hopes legislation will be in place within eight months. ...2 days ago
- Commission Presents Urgent Human Rights ‘must-do’ ListTe Kāhui Tika Tangata Human Rights Commission has today launched a short film calling for the public and government to champion and protect human rights ahead of the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. “Seventy-five years on, ...2 days ago
- A Cowardly, Anti-Palestinian Parliamentary MotionThe parliamentary motion passed today , a full two months after Israel’s slaughter of Palestinian civilians began, says: "Express grave concern at the ongoing violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian Territories, unequivocally condemn ...2 days ago
- Political editors panel: Māori make voices heard as Parliament resumesMorning Report - RNZ and 1News deputy political editors Craig McCulloch and Maiki Sherman dissect a fractious week in the halls of power. ...2 days ago
- Listen: The real cost of the smoking excise taxTo replace $700 million a year of revenues lost from a foreign buyers tax, the new coalition government is dumping the previous government’s smokefree 2025 goal. This relaxing of policies will keep more people smoking for longer, costing thousands of lives per year and at least $10 billion is extra ...2 days ago
- Is the London OE still worth it?London has always been a hard place to live, but in 2023, it’s almost impossible. Charlotte Doyle, a New Zealander currently living in London, explores why we keep heading there. “You’re dreaming,” the letting agent tells me impatiently over the phone. “A one-bedroom for £1,500 per month is a needle ...2 days ago
- GCSB Minister Judith Collins condemns Russian cyber attacksNew Zealand is joining other nations, including Britain, in condemning Russian government malicious cyber-attacks. ...2 days ago
- GCSB Minister Judith Collins condemns Russian cyber attacksNew Zealand is joining other nations, including Britain, in condemning Russian government malicious cyber-attacks. ...2 days ago
- Ryan Bridge to host Three’s new 7pm showWith The Project wrapping up last week (you can read Duncan Greive’s excellent reflections on that here), Warner Bros Discovery has announced broadcaster Ryan Bridge will host a brand new current affairs show for Three. The currently unnamed show will focus on live news and interviews and is a return ...2 days ago
- We thought we’d find 200 species living in our house and yard. We were very wrongSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew H. Holden, Lecturer, School of Mathematics and Physics, The University of Queensland Dot-underwing moth (_Eudocima materna_) found in the researchers’ yard. Matthew Holden, CC BY-NC We are biodiversity researchers – an ecologist, a mathematician and a taxonomist – who were locked ...2 days ago
- What’s the difference between ‘reasonable and necessary’ and ‘foundational’ supports? Here...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Bennett, Disability Program Director, Grattan Institute The long-awaited NDIS review has looked far beyond the National Disability Insurance Scheme, taking a bird’s eye view of disability services in Australia. Critical to the future of the NDIS are services for people with ...2 days ago
- Harnessing the oceans to ‘bury’ carbon has huge potential – and risk – so NZ needs to move w...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca J McLeod, Senior Research Fellow in Marine Ecology, University of Otago Climate change might not be high on its immediate agenda, but New Zealand’s new government does have one potentially significant and innovative policy. Recognising the marine environment’s ability to remove ...2 days ago
- Councils are opening the door to tiny houses as a quick, affordable and green solutionSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hing-Wah Chau, Course Chair in Building Design & Senior Lecturer in Built Environment, Victoria University Soaring rents and home prices, increasing mortgage stress, record immigration and a growing population are fuelling a housing crisis and increasing homelessness. In the face of this ...2 days ago
- I’m an expert in diplomatic gift giving. Here are my 5 top tips for the best Christmas present exc...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samantha Happé, Graduate researcher in art history and material culture studies, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock As we get closer to Christmas, your family will probably have some kind of gathering. You will reunite with people who you might not ...2 days ago
- The Bulletin: Covid data leaker was largely unknown in conspiracy circlesTe Whatu Ora IT worker Barry Young had a “relatively muted” digital presence prior to his arrest last week over a massive Covid data breach, Stuff reports. Young has since become something of a cause celebre among vacccine sceptics, appearing on online shows hosted by local conspiracy theorist Liz Gunn and ...2 days ago
- Home Brew back with first album in over a decade and slot at LanewayAfter an 11 year hiatus, legendary Aotearoa hip-hop group Home Brew are back today with their first new album in over a decade, Run it Back, and will continue that reunion at Laneway Festival in February. Breaking their indefinite hiatus, Run it Back comes off the back off the 2023 ...2 days ago
- MPs settle into new roles as parliament cranks back into actionThere may be less than a fortnight left in the political year, but politicians seem determined to make the final days count, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Question time is ...2 days ago
- Literacy, numeracy tests as NCEA requirement 'detrimental' to learnersA leading education researcher warns new high-stakes NCEA literacy and maths tests could do more harm than good. ...2 days ago
- Labour's Damien O'Connor goes against party policy in calling Israel's actions in Gaz...Labour's leader says O'Connor is "incredibly passionate" about the issue but party policy is that relevant international bodies will determine whether Israel's actions are lawful. ...2 days ago
- Farewell, live updates: Why we’re shifting our approach to daily newsThe Spinoff’s live updates editor reflects on three-and-a-half years in the role, and looks forward to what’s next. Today marks the final day of live updates on The Spinoff. It’s a big day for me given I have been editing the live updates since mid-2020, but it’s also a big ...2 days ago
- Chris Hipkins opens up on what went wrong at the 2023 electionOn a quiet morning before the first parliamentary question time of the new term, Chris Hipkins and Christopher Luxon took a moment to analyse and reflect on their election campaigns. When Chris Hipkins was sworn in as prime minister on January 21, 2023, he had a feeling of optimism and ...2 days ago
- Hipkins: ‘We were swimming upstream the whole way through the year’Labour winning required a lot of things to go right, and Chris Hipkins says they didn't The post Hipkins: ‘We were swimming upstream the whole way through the year’ appeared first on Newsroom. ...2 days ago
- McGoverne returns in search of the FernLiv McGoverne has just returned from an enjoyable season playing rugby in England, but playing there in a Black Ferns jersey, on the sport’s biggest stage, remains the ultimate goal. McGoverne, 26, played the 2022-23 campaign for Exeter Chiefs in the Premier 15s competition. Coached by former England half-back ...2 days ago
- This week’s bestselling NZ booksFICTION 1 The Girl from London by Olivia Spooner (Hachette, $37.99) An ideal Xmas present for the commercial fiction reader who would relish a wartime story of a shipboard romance. 2 The Axeman’s Carnival by Catherine Chidgey (Te Herenga Waka University Press, $35) An ideal Xmas present for the ...2 days ago
- Wayne Brown: ‘Govt has underfunded road renewals in Auckland for years’After most of a billion dollars and six years’ work, the Puhoi to Warkworth section of State Highway 1 has been warmly received by long-distance motorists no longer slowed down by small town traffic lights. Where once cars would back bumper to bumper on a Sunday evening, now the ...2 days ago
- School’s back in session at ParliamentThe first regular sitting day of the new Parliament took place on Thursday and the country got a peek at what Question Time will look like over the next three years. The sitting started with a rare moment of cross-party unity, when the Government adopted Labour MP Phil Twyford’s ...2 days ago
- City deals can drive Auckland to international levelsThe generational infrastructure deficit has a massive impact on cities The post City deals can drive Auckland to international levels appeared first on Newsroom. ...2 days ago
- COP28’s chaotic talkfest on climate changeIt could be the most consequential international climate change conference yet, but it’s being held in the United Arab Emirates, one of the world’s major oil producers and led by one of the country’s top oil bosses. Newsroom journalist Rod Oram is attending COP28 and joins The Detail from ...2 days ago
Well said.
And Key’s “new” approach, will be part of a variation on the two track strategy:
bright shiny, left looking policies as the public image of the government
meanwhile, all sorts of right wing nasties will be slipped in under the radar.
Yep. An increase in crumbs and lip service is forecast.
It’s more smoke and mirrors. Make it look like they’re doing something meaningful. Something will roll out but for it fit within their narrow neo-liberal mindset, it will be descoped so much it will only scratch the surface of the problem. And it will probably involve some public-private partnership, so yet another front for the further transfer of wealth to the few.
Meanwhile, their corporate agenda for the education system is getting ready to steamroll any opposition. And then, there’s the RMA…
what would you rather discuss on Campbell live? TPPA or Child Poverty?
Prison Labour or Child Poverty?
Welfare Reform or Child Poverty?
Slum Development or Child Poverty?
TPPA or Child Poverty?
Bread and Circus….Bread and Circus.
as to ‘why?’..’cos key is poll-driven..
..and poverty is now a centre/mainstream-concern..
..and i will hold my verdict on this call for focus on this by key..
..until i see what key/he comes up with..
..he mentions tax-credits..which cd work..
..’cos the fact of the matter is..that the party with one of the most effective salves for the poor/working-poor..was the conservative party..
..with their first twenty-grand tax-free policy..
..add on to that irony…that for the (non-working) poorest ..(arguably doing it hardest of all..)..labour was promising to do absolutely nothing..
..yep..!..nuthin’/zero/nada…
..”cos ‘a financial surplus is more important for labour’..said cunnliffe..
..so we had a far-right party..offering to do more for the poorest..than labour were..
..and labour are still wondering why the disposessed continued to ignore/not vote for them..?
..really..?
..and are saying it’s all cunnliffes’ fault..?
..double-really..?
“..add on to that irony…that for the (non-working) poorest ..(arguably doing it hardest of all..)..labour was promising to do absolutely nothing..”
$60 a week for 3 years for Best Start for all families earning under $50PA IIRC. That’s hardly “absolutely nothing”.
They were also going to increase the benefit abatement threshold from $80 to $150, which was a big difference. Yes, that only matters if you’ve got a job, but that does make quite a large difference if it’s only a part-time one. Similarly the minimum wage increase will mean those who do have a job will be quite a bit better off.
The more general policies like NZPower would also help.
I totally agree. The benefit abatement rate would have made a big difference to my life. I’m on the Carers benefit (Supported Living Payment) so I don’t need incentives to go to work, in fact I’m only allowed to work a certain number of hours to qualify for assistance so this policy is completely wrong and also the rate hasn’t kept up with inflation.
“..add on to that irony…that for the (non-working) poorest ..(arguably doing it hardest of all..)..labour was promising to do absolutely nothing..”
$60 a week for 3 years for Best Start for all families earning under $50kPA IIRC. That’s hardly “absolutely nothing”.
They were also going to increase the benefit abatement threshold from $80 to $150, which was a big difference. Yes, that only matters if you’ve got a job, but that does make quite a large difference if it’s only a part-time one. Similarly the minimum wage increase will mean those who do have a job will be quite a bit better off.
The more general policies like NZPower would also help.
i meant childless poor..
..and aside from abatement increase..
..for them..nuthin’..
I agree, it’s great the government are looking for ways to do more about this issue, this can only be good for under privileged kids. Most will agree that the motivations for doing so are irrelevant, making a difference in these kids lives, regardless of their numbers is by far the most important thing. This is fantastic news.
“Most will agree that the motivations for doing so are irrelevant,”
thats really foolish – of course motivations matter – if were going to trust someone to choose from a pool of ways to tackle an issue – then what motivates them is going to influence their choice – and what we end up with
are you utterly blind to history?
Do you no nothing of the history of national party policy and underlying ideology?
so framu..in that context..
..plse explain how the conservative party had the best poverty-busting policy..
..and for the childless non-working poor..labour had nothing…
..what should we make of that..?
..and i don’t really care if key is just centreist positioning himself..
..if some relief for the poorest eventuates..
..they don’t really have the time to wait for labour to get their shit together..
..and hey ..!..labour offered nothing for those childless-poor anyway..
..once again..what should we make of that..?
what does any of that have to do with the question of motivations mattering or not?
seems pretty irrelevant to me.
Jay is saying that it doesnt matter where the idea comes from AND the “why exactly?” doesnt matter
now – i agree that where the idea comes from doesnt matter –
but if your not going to ask why a party is proposing a policy – and what their real intentions might be, then your not really going to be able to evaluate if whats being proposed is indeed a good idea once it comes out the other end
its like all of nat policy re: education – why the packaging and reasoning sound nice and all – but its national proposing it – and what does their track record and ideology have to say about what the actual aims are?
“..and what does their track record and ideology have to say about what the actual aims are?..”
..at least in part..keys’ motives for moving on poverty cd be to cement in a fourth term..
..(because he knows that widespread concern about this issue will not go away..and it may blight his whole third term..and guarantee a denial of a fourth term…)
..and to be like holyoake..and to move even further into the centre..
..to suck up as much labour/green oxygen as he can..
..if he offers some meaningful-poverty-relief..
..and makes some serious efforts to clean up the rivers..
..he cd well be halfway there…
Motivations matter… it’s the difference between service to others and service to self.
If you’re sincere, you missed the sarcasm of the post. I do not actually believe National has any intention of seriously addressing child poverty – or they might have done so in the two years they’ve had since the expert advisory group’s report came out.
“Motivation” is actually everything when it’s “look like we care when we intend to do nothing”.
School dinners !
This should be the FIRST step & It should be universal
The ‘interest’ is in order to dodge and/or defuse any questioning. Anyone brings up child poverty and he can say “We’re looking at the options” or some such. Also, The Greens have just lost one of the weapons in their opposition armoury.
Meanwhile, he’ll do nothing.
So nothing for those on entitlements and no increase in wages. Maybe a little bit more in the way of judicious starvation will solve the problem then? Now, there’s a new old idea.
edit – everyone does know that this will be used as an excuse to roll out those fucking payment cards onto beneficiaries, yes?
single mothers on the benefit already have the payment cards. young ones on the benefit have payment cards. it will now be the unemployed that will get payment cards.
a friend of mine, single mother of an 8 year old, working 20 hour per week is pushed to find a 40 hour per week job by her “case manager” at winz. winz is not helping her to resolve the issue of childcare after school.
but surely if we press all the single parents into full time work and make all the kids latch key kids that will reduce childhood poverty? No?
Bill Clinton did it. Result was, you had 5 year olds looking after themselves after school and putting themselves to bed. An absolute disgrace.
Reduce child poverty while paying less than minimum wages and reducing the amount of welfare by 25%.
Sick joke.
Some people may be taken in though. With the right advertising. Enough to get him back in power by 2017.
So English can reach his goal of the “State” share of the economy below 25%.
Something only third world countries have achieved.
Germany from the late 70’s onward. 8 year olds making themselves lunch.
the other side is france, were most women work, school goes from 8 – 17 and breakfast lunch and afternoon tea is served in school, and Marternelle aka kindergarten/preschool is compulsory.
choices we have to make.
You mean people on the old DPB are on payment cards and there was nothing in the media? WTF? I knew they were “supervising ” the young ones , under 18 or 20 but now they are supervising women who are more than capable of caring for children by themselves, taking them away from violent males but somehow are too stupid to budget?
Forget it, they are far too arrogant to do anything about child poverty. They could make sure parents have decent wages and benefits which would get rid of most of it – instead we go down the patronising school lunches track. time to get the vampires off our society
the weird thing is – reducing the choices a beneficiary can make with their money makes them more benefit dependant as they dont know how to budget
which is a bloody obvious line of questioning – but did we see a single journo make this leap of logic and bother to ask?
It’s rationing by stealth…
Just as violence is linked to child abuse, poverty is linked to limiting a child.
Has the government finally woken up to poverty not being caused by children?
The view of the Commissioner for Children, (Russell Wills) can no longer be ignored.
A decade down the track, children who experienced a childhood of poverty are going to be voters. I think this is embeded in me.
Key is interested in child poverty.
He’s in favour of it.
Gotta get the prison labourers and fired-at-will minimum wage workers somehow.
another point i would like to raise is simply that we should stop looking at childhood poverty as if it is only the children that are poor.
The parents (single/both/or raised by grandparents) are poor, and that is why the child is poor. Poor minimum wagers, poor part timers, poor casual hour workers…= poor children.
To diminish or eradicate childhood poverty one must raise the parents above the poverty level and decidedly so.
But no one is talking about that? The 20.000 $ Tax threshold proposed by the Conservatives would have helped greatly and would have probably been the easiest to push through as everyone who pays tax benefits of it. But alas, neither Labour nor the Green promoted that idea.
However, John Key is scheduled to appear on Campbell Live and quite frankly no matter what he says now three days after the election really has any impact. What he will do long term will show his true colours. And childhood poverty is not on his agenda, reducing the welfare right by 25 % is. That was a campaign promise, Child hood poverty is something to talk about with John Campbell.
I would like to see some action on trying to reduce the availability of alcohol.
Watched Nigel Latta on his series a while back, it is a huge problem.
And it impacts the most on the people already struggling with life.
Lift the age back to 20.
Take it out of supermarkets.
Health messages, similar to tobacco warnings.
Tax it more, to raise the cost.
Restrict advertising.
I hope they do that – it could get the youth vote out again.
JeffRo,
Why dont you also add, restricted shower head roses, no trucks in the fast lane and all men must apologise.
You are living in the wrong country (& era)
Mike, actually JeffRo has a good point. You need to look up those reports of children born with FAS caused by the drinking of the child’s father. Unfortunately, FASD is catching up in the statistics (drinking mothers). Either way, the child will have to live with cognitive, psychological and physical disability and has not asked to be condemned to be a statistic. It is preventable but the culture of drinking to excess is en vogue and nothing seem to be able to stop it. It is only justified that the producers, distributors and sellers of alcohol should be paying towards the upkeep of those who will never be able to look after themselves because its cool to be drunk.
Cheers.
I don’t want to ban alcohol, but would like to see it treated with far more caution.
Successive governments have rolled over in front of the powerful international alcohol companies.
I don’t want to ban alcohol either but it seems that it needs to be a lot more controlled. I do agree that Supermarkets should not offer alcohol as it will be the first buy before food for those who are dependent. The real problem is that alcoholics, even when they stop, will stay dependent for the rest of their lives. It is tragic really and something needs to happen reduce the harm.
I think completely the opposite. Freedom, know what it means?. It’s all about do whatever you want. No one born on the planet is any more special than anyone else. So what makes others think they have the right to tell anyone else what to do? Cheek I say.
However.
Their are always social taboo’s that shall be punished. You still have the freedom to act and receive that punishment.
Removing something is a removal of my ability to make an informed choice myself.
I should be allowed to see and examine everything the universe has in it as a right to examine the creators wonder. I would also require the appropriate information on a something, to ascertain it’s effects. Without such I might harm myself. But I should still have the choice of steering my own fate, whatever fate had for me, before someone like you, came along and had a hatred for something so much, they wanted no one else to like it so removed it.
I find the perpetrators of acting on my safe behalf, condescending.
Don’t remove the choice to purchase or drink the stuff, just regulate it in proportion to the risks it presents.
With freedom comes responsibility. Enough said.
Didn’t Key say he would “close the gaps” even before he became PM? It’s all PR and no substance. If he does anything it will be something that costs nothing, does nothing but is a nice thing symbolically. I’m thinking along the lines of Whanau Ora. The left parties must start playing this PR game better, or we’ll be consigned to oblivion for the next decade.
And where is Aroha now?
Aroha has been living in Brisbane for 5 years. recently got married bought a house with her partner nearly two years ago. Worries about how her mum is still struggling in mcgehan close. Desperately wants her mum with her in Aussie now she is planning a family. was in the Herald during the election campaign. Aroha has no intention of returning to NZ. Like my offspring she is working towards her Aussie citizenship.
She earns slightly less than I do, in Australia dollars, working in a warehouse for a supermarket…
yes but she actually has a job that pays a living wage. And a future. None of which she had in nz . Oh and Key has had 6 years to do something that would have changed that . He has done nothing.
What a cop out to ask his officials to look at it, ( finding ways to avoid narrowing the gap between wages and benefit incomes). Problem is, when you are finding ways to drive wages down, this will always be an issue.
Put the children at the centre of it. The Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) have made excellent recommendations in their many reports on this issue. Key has refused to even acknowledge these reports exist. He has also repeatedly used his personal ‘poverty’ story to advance his own political career in a hypocritical way.
He needs to find some moral fortitude. Find his ethical base. He has never been more powerful to do something effective to eliminate child poverty than now.
ms nikki kaye said last week you can have brekkie for just 55 cents a day. I assume that is what key is excited about. cheaper than subsidies for warner… scf or rio tinto.
Jenny Craig style? A child needs a bit more nutrition then a diet brekkie.
This is smart politics, Nationals major weakness during the election was so-called child poverty so if he can neutralise it look they managed to do with Health and employment its one less thing the left can go on about
wonder why he only mentioned it today? in case the poverty deniers didnt vote for him… or is going to have another review. I wonder if he will read this one.
Hes trying to turn his (politically speaking) his biggest weakness into a strength or at least neutralize it and do it while Labours in disarray and the Greens are off licking their wounds so he gets maximum publicity for it
Its not rocket science but you lefties just always seem to have the hand brake on
except the greens made a press statement about child poverty yesterday or this morning so no hand brake on there…. just you with your eyes and ears closed
why comment on something you don’t give a fuck about PR? your concern trolling is clunky amateurish and offensive. you don’t give a sh** about poor children and neither does thqat assh**le Key. All the useless NAtz have to do is fund Kids CAn fully and then Fu*k off and leave them to it. they will do a a far better job than any outsourced privatised Natz organisation will do. As usual it will be a cover policy for another useless Natz owned private welfare agency to hoover up government funding and nothing will change.Maybe even some of Colin Moonlandings lot will get the contract and persecute the kids for daring to be alive . Wouldn’t that be peachey?. Christine Rankin would just adore it.!
He wants to be Prime Minister after 2017.
I’m sure we will see some initiatives come out in the next few months.
What all need to accept is all MPs and all parties take this seriously.
Child poverty isn’t something that has happened just now under national.
It grew under Helen Clarkes watch despite the biggest boom in 50 years.
What we don’t see here is any constructive ideas. Mainly wild ideas about JK, which only really shows ignorance.
It grew under neo lib policies and Helen had only 20,000 odd unemployed remember? Nacts been promising 150000 jobs for how long now??? 6 years ??? Somehow he forgets to deduct the job losses. The man defines arrogant
sorry – im going to stick with known factors – not feel good “we all want the same outcomes” nonsense.
what was that thing key said once? “we would love to see wages drop”
No it fell during Clark’s era because
1. income related rents for state houses were restored in 1999.
2. they brought in working for families tax credits (required because family tax credits stopped being increased for inflation in the 1990’s – and this still impacts on those on benefits).
The problem that has developed is that the CPI increase in benefit payments does not cover the rising cost of necessities (rent, transport, food and power). The CPI is an average that is lower than the rising cost of necessities that dominate beneficiary spending. One suspects that the benefits have fallen as much again in real terms since 1991 than they were cut at that time.
This problem also impacts on those on low wages dependent on government to increase the MW to receive a pay increase.
No overall poverty rose, despite some good policy implemented.
How?
From 1999 to 2008
The number on benefits fell.
Those in low wage work saw the MW go from under $7 to $12 within 9 years.
This as well as the WFF tax credits.
Child poverty was becoming confined to those on benefits and so there may have been an increase 2007-2008 with the rising unemployment that year as high interest rates took us into a recession. But overall the rate was below where it was in 1999.
Sorry I stand corrected.
Rates did drop, but not a whole bunch.
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/04/19/the-true-horrifying-depths-of-nz-child-poverty/#!prettyPhoto
Rubbish. there have been ooddles of constructive policies from Labour, Mana and the Greens to deal with child poverty. There has been report after report after report about ” the problem” of poverty. The Natz raised GST ( affects the low income earners more than any other sector), they have effectively lowered wages and put up charges from ACC thru to petrol taxes, prescription fees, postal charges to name afew. Paula Bennett derided the need for collecting data on poverty because it doesn’t exist and then she laughed about the reality she was denying. Oh and they have taken away training allowances for beneficiaries and removed funding for apprenticeships by and large. Apprenticeship funding is 13 times lower than when Key took office.And narrowly directed at the building trade .
If the government won’t track the effects of its policies – will the Opposition?
And, if the assorted Opposition parties will – what are their measures? And how often will they publish? And where?
Further: who will be looking at the systems and delivery mechanisms to see how effective those are?
Because gut feeling and ‘everyone knows’ can be very wrong.
Behind the emotion and rhetoric there has to be understanding and sound information. We’ve trundled along for a long time without either of those basics – and this is the result we’ve created.
PS free school lunches is ‘lovely’. What happens in the holidays? And weekends? Weetbix and milk is so ‘iconic’ – except for the kids with a milk or wheat allergy. Nice plaster – doesn’t get down to addressing the scarcity of opportunities and choices, and total lack of vision for the future direction of this country though.
Seriously — Key should hire Hone as a consultant if he wants new ideas to solve the problem. But if course, he doesn’t really want to, does he ?
And Key’s breakfasts ? Carbs, sugar and dairy (weetbix, milk and sugar) better than nothing, yes, but only just. Awful, awful diet to begin kids on. And it’s UHT milk as well, I think — what on earth is left in it that’s any good ?
You may find Hone does get asked.
Key doesn’t do the tribal bullshit, he works with any one to get the job done.
That’s why he’s so popular.
so why are so many jobs left undone ? you make little sense.
Yeshe –
I humbly apologise if the FREE breakfasts being given to kids whose parents are too useless to meet their responsibilities, is not up to the standard you expect.
I get up every day and work to support myself and my family… what do I make myself for breakfast? Weetbix and milk.
[Something about looking a gift horse in the mouth.]
[Something about beggars can’t be choosers.]
There is nothing humble in your comment. Suggest you buy a dictionary.
“I get up every day and work to support myself and my family” So … this is posted at 4.15pm. Are you posting on your bosses time or ignoring your family ?
@ yeshe..
..i agree with both..
..hone cd do some good work there..
..and yes..the vile muck disguised as food they give these children..
..is a disgrace..
..you’d think they’d at least give them something healthy..
..good quality wholemeal toast with healthy-toppings wd be better than that rubbish…
You’ll find it’s Lite UHT per health ministry stipulation, as there is, weirdly, both an undernourishment and obesity problem within the same constituency.
No-one would dare give full fat milk for fear of criticism, and given the remoteness of many NZ schools, it’s simply not logistically feasible to make frequent deliveries of the fresh stuff, so, Lite UHT is what they get.
Yes inequality is a real issue in NZ. There still isn’t enough inequality.
Far too much is still being taxed off people who get up in the morning and go to work, and redistributed to the those who don’t.
Too useless to feed your children in a country with an unemployment benefit, a DPB, extra child allowances, Accommodation supplements, etc etc etc…? Don’t worry, that is someone else’s responsibility. Everyone else’s.
Maybe add some good protein to your breakfasts to get a better class of sarcastic argument there RRM. You sound bitter as all get up.
Such a large problem never has only one cause. I belief that the ratio of wages between the lowest and highest paid is completely out of whack for a starter. Then there are not enough full time jobs or lets rephrase this, jobs where one can make a living. 1 hour employment a day or week is not gainful employment and far from survivable. How about raising the minimum wage to 16.50 per hour and have a 35 hrs week. The cost of employment is the same but the hours of work needing a person increase. Ideally for every 7 FT employees there should be an additional workplace created. What has to stop are the welfare payments that subsidize wages. But what do I say ! Stupid me, greed and more greed has got us where we are so why would anything really change?
I utterly agree, RRM. I’m tired of paying taxes for you to have roads to drive on and a police force to protect your property.
So, now that you’ve agreed to stop living off the benefits of MY taxes, could you go somewhere and learn how to reason?
Please?
It’s not that difficult, I promise.
Hope Labour won’t be missing in action, too busy squabbling about the leadership. And then bitching about the leader if it’s not the man they wanted.
the thing with keys’ majority..is that if he wants to..he cd move on poverty..
..whereas last time the numbers dictated he had to keep a mewling act and dunne happy..
..this time both are just compliant satraps doing whatever key wants..
..so if he is thinking of his heritage..
..if he wants to become the politician he models himself after..holyoake..
..the man who defined working the centrist political-line..
..he cd well decide to move on poverty..
..there is nothing stopping him..
It is good that the government looks like it will finally act on child poverty. One thing is certain – chucking more money at the problem is not the solution. We need targeted programs (such as free doctors appointments and food stamps) not tax credits or tax free thresholds.
Looks like he’s listening to the voters.
Would be good if a few others did as well – they might get somewhere.
I agree – important to ensure funds actually get to where they can do some real good, rather than intercepted along the way.
WOF housing provides healthy homes – all those landlords who seem to need to be compelled to even do basic insulation etc.
Medical and dental visits covered till the child is 18.
Developing a necessities index for assessing benefit payment adjustment rather than the CPI to prevent further decline in real value. And also identifying by how much the benefit has fallen in real terms since 1991 to dismiss once and for all the idea that beneficiaries have been getting enough to keep their children out of poverty “if only they were good parents”.
And acknowledging the WFF tax credits were brought in because family tax credits had not been increased for inflation for years (under National and Labour), and pass them onto beneficiaries.
The incentive to work comes from having a MW as a living wage, rather than at the level of subsistence.
And as a co-requisite with these payment changes, require parents who fail to address the child’s needs with moving onto the payment card.
Providing part-time jobs as teacher and nurse aids to those on benefits with children.
Ending secondary tax on part-time workers.
One idea to help even up the playing field..
At any given time in every primary classroom in NZ a significant number of kids may as well not be there….they are “deaf” because of glue ear, something that comes and goes throughout childhood, esp with coughs and colds etc.
Waiting lists for grommets in the public system, the only option for most people, are long and a child’s self confidence is fragile.
Govt should fund ENT Departments to clear their lists at once….and keep them clear.
He often tells people he’s doing things but they turn out to be only keeping up with inflation.
After seeing all those National supporters on telly the other night with their designer bling and glasses of champagne, I seriously doubt if child poverty is any more than an abstract idea.
I’d be truly surprised if the Nats could make ANY inroads into child poverty – more like sweeping it under a rug, or having some non- robust way of measuring it.
Methinks John is making his move to the centre to keep Labour out for good.
Somehow the focus on child poverty I find a joke. How did it even get to be an issue?
I know because the Left probably Labour, had a meeting and a strategy to overcomes key and National was to highlight poverty and hope the public would bite and national would come out losing to the caring left wing parties.
Well that didn’t work did it.
and trust me I know all about poverty, I’ve grown up a Bi-Polar in rough area’s with the baddest of bad crews, and then grew up. I’ve travelled and lived in Sunderlands, Shiney Row, for ten years. I know things many of you would have no idea about. I’ve been to Albania twice for long periods, and seen real poverty with no safety net.
In this country true poverty is miniscule, the truth is welfare doesn’t pay enough for their life style and choices are made so a box of beers or a tinny, smokes, pokies, P, and anything else one needs so badly, and the kids will be eating 5 dollars fish n chips if they are lucky. It hasn’t gone up in ages and they find all their money actually going on essentials instead of a night at the pub or three. The ones that are or had been getting by, got through fine fed their kids and if they struggled hadn’t pulled so many stories they actually got an assistance grant from Winz, wasters always are down their, oh the fridge blew, the dog ate my food can I have a food grant.
loads supplement their incomes as well selling weed. Infact only signing up to have at least a flimsy excuse for the new holden clubsport they are driving.
So lets get real here. The BIG flaming story on child poverty is an overblown load of sensationalism to fill the news slot, and for labour to try in vain to score browny points on but cannot because most of the country think the above is pretty much the truth of it all.
The Winz benefit going up to catch up with inflation should be the only thing that is done about poverty. AND perhaps getting down and truthful about peoples bad choices and solving that, would be a better approach to helping the kids that suffer from parents with antisocial behaviour problems.
You would really like the Whalespew blog. They’re always telling each other stories about how tough they are. The stuff about Albania would go down well too.
By the way: you forgot the Sky TV dishes.
I said that, so hopefully people would realize, attacking key on welfare reforms is a hard ask. Most people as you will see, if you read the rights trolls who come here, and what they have said on the subject. Fact is for us, the truth is not far from what I said.
Welfare has not increased to take into consideration insurance food and rent increases. It should be, it would solve a lot of our poverty, and kids suffering, the next biggest thing to actually solve welfare dependence would be to get tough on gangs, create jobs, sort out dependency issues.
We skirt around the issues tinkering but if we really are serious about fixing it, instead of having our focus sometimes on getting elected we would follow our hearts, then maybe the public would vote with theirs.
Why do you think Bennet is so popular? You may not like it, I hate her, but her hard line is what the people want, they are sick of wasters and lazy bastards ripping off WINZ with no intent to even look for a job. It’s the truth FFS.
and please note everyone is aware their are genuine hardships out there.
I talking about dealing with the issue seen by the masses.
You may not like what the right trolls like BM and others say but don’t forget to analyse their mentality,
The art of war says to defeat your enemy first you must understand him.
BTW I have visited it once, I may have written something you found to be like his posts, but that was not my intention , my motive was to make the point I wrote in the bigger post. It may be a big bunch of stereotyping, but it’s part of the issue and the biggest misconception the workforce who have never been on it, believe.
might the bad news for the dairy farmers be the reason for his sudden re-think of childhood poverty?
I heard the pay out was not as good as anticipated and the rock star economy is not as rocking as needed?
RICHARD food is just anther attachment to life we have to eat i would love to confine this process ,some of us can through lack of money, in the real world the basic market controlled debts seem to come first and feeding the children next a bad credit rating makes a lot life’s processes difficult,i can smell the calories in the rubbish bin now. A lot of families are genuinely trying . We are talking about real living people who want quality of life and the odd indulgent or pleasure life has to offer not everyone is invited to feast at the round table ..
JOHN has realized he has to think will both sides of his brain he is now appealing to the side which has feelings and intuitions here’s hoping he’s sitting on the plane of reality without prejudices or biases .
Child poverty? How many of these children should have even been born? This is the fundamental question. It starts very early, by the fact that often it is children having children in hopeless circumstances. Where is the sex education in schools specifically targeting not only contraception, but why you have children and why you should wait. Where is the education to teach these children that having children is a responsilibility. Why not bring real babies into the classroom, warts and all and teach them that it’s 24/7 for the next 20 years? Teach them that they are responsible and not other members of the household, teach them it’s not right to abuse them, that it’s not right to spend any discretionary dollar on anything other that the home security of that child. Teach them what it means to have more than children than they can cope with? I would hate to think its for more $.
Encourage mothers to stay home and care for their children, fuck work, you don’t need a bigger, house new car, new sky subscription. We face an explosion of dysfunctional children because they are either institutionalised, or left in the wrong hands. It is not just the poor that are guilty of this, children are not cherished by the rich either, other than for trophy status. If they can’t do this don’t have them, simple, you do not deserve them. Stick your right to have them, responsibility is entirely yours. I can hear the feminist crying in their lattes with that one but in my mind they started the rot by demanding equal work opportunities. Sure no problem, but please don’t have kids if you are going to be a “career” women. Bollox you say, open your eyes, are your kids that well adjusted and secure, not financially, but emotionally secure. If I start naming all the modern day terms we use for dysfunctional kids here, I would need all day. Look at you “high”achieving friends who have lots of kids, how did they do it, but look through the veneer people and spot the problems…
Not poverty related perhaps but just as relevant. The reason we have lost the way in this country is that we have forgotten what the true meaning of family means. Think about it before you flame away… Oh and go and give your kid a hug, they deserve it.
@Dreamland
You make some valid points, the most significant point being that at the centre of poverty is the family, or more precisely mum and dad.
My own personal experience is that I came from a large working class family, luxuries were rare, we were very poor, food was always scarce but my father worked his butt off to provide for us and as soon as we were old enough we worked in the holidays and contributed to the family finances. It was tough but we survived and my family went on to be well adjusted people with good careers , modest homes and happy families. It can be done but needs discipline, resilience and a lot of self determination. In the modern era there are a lot of temptations for the parents, alcohol, drugs, zoning out on the bene, these things need to change. More accountability is required from parents, having a family is not casual, it is seriously hard work.