Written By:
advantage - Date published:
8:45 am, September 28th, 2020 - 30 comments
Categories: benefits, Carmel Sepuloni, Economy, labour, uncategorized, welfare -
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There’s been plenty of criticism about Labour’s policies not being effective enough to alleviate poverty.
Time for a bit of perspective.
You’ll probably remember the interview Labour’s Carmel Sepuloni gave with TVNZ last year.
But, as with most policy areas, COVID19 focused the Minister’s mind, and that of Treasury.
Labour’s Social Welfare Minister has had a hard time from the Child Poverty Action Group recently. Their task is necessarily unceasing.
But, as the Minister rightly notes, Labour have implemented a lot.
For just a few of the highlights:
Sure, there is plenty they didn’t do. Minister Sepuloni should keep taking the criticism, and fighting harder for her patch in Cabinet. That’s what you get paid for.
Of all the political capital they’ve accumulated, it’s sure time to spend some of it in social welfare.
And probably COVID19’s social and economic effects will confuse any causality of the collected policies to any change to the GINI Coefficient. Brutal damn year.
But that scale of positive social intervention never happened under National. Or Act.
Labour’s Carmel Sepuloni led this change, as did the Prime Minister herself.
It would have been a meaner, crueller, more damaged country without Labour’s social welfare policies; a very, very dark entry into the crisis we are in.
Social welfare is another portfolio for which Labour should be voted back in.
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I think the handbrake NZ 1st applied in cabinet should not be underestimated. Labour, without that impediment should be able to more social gains. Keep in mind that covid is going to be having an effect for a some time yet.
[Is there a good reason why you changed your user name? You’re creating extra work for Moderators. Please stick to only one user handle and to the old one from now on, thanks – Incognito]
See my Moderation note @ 9:09 AM.
What Have Labour Done For The Poor, Exactly?
Sweet FA, tbh.
https://www.cpag.org.nz/new-zealands-welfare-system-fails-to-recognise/
They've completely ignored the existence of people with long term illnesses and disabilities and barely-if ever- acknowledge our existence. As long as we don't exist they don't have to help.
If none of them will even have the decency to respond to an email on the subject then as far as I'm concerned they have done absolutely nothing. The only thing I will agree with is things are always a hell of a lot worse in general under the Nat. It does not mean they are better under Labour.
heard Robertson talk about an insurance scheme for unemployment. Seems Sweden has this, was reading about it in the context of Covid
I can assure you that $25 has achieved absolute nothing. For nearly all of us it was eaten up right away by the rent. The worrying thing now is, Temporary Additional Support renewals have been on hold for the last 6 months because of covid and WINZ being over-run but are about to be restarted. usually, an increase in benefit rates result in an automatic decrease in TAS. Given every beneficiary in private rental and/or with high disability costs is now getting TAS full time just to have a roof over our heads, we are facing the very real prospect of having up to $25 taken off us.
totally disagree kay, that $25 per week was a 9.5 percent increase in my benefit. has made a big difference. along with the winter power payout(doubled this winter, has helped me pay off a couple of longstanding accounts and also put a little aside for rainy day. I realise that everybodies experiences vary, but if you turn your nose up at a nearly ten percent increase in your weekly stipend, dont expect sympathy from this fellow beneficary. your claim that every beneficary in private rental is now getting TAS is also wrong.
Fine woodart, I'm very pleased that $25 has helped you. It's no doubt helped a few people, but it's made bugger all difference to the people I know in private accommodation for the reason I've given, especially when their rent is more than the core benefit and we need supplements to pay the bills. And did I turn up my nose? It is how ever, a token gesture and the government knows it. Until exorbatant rents are sorted then token gesture increases are not going to make much of a difference.
I do agree, than in conjunction with the increased winter energy payment (= $65/week for a single person), now that has made a massive difference. But 40 of that is about to vanish as you know. And just how many people do you think actually used that energy payment to pay for energy? Like you say, pay off a couple of accounts (if they were power, then that shows you didn't have enough to meet non-winter prices), and put a bit aside, ie hoarding for the leaner times to come.
not everyone got $25.
Bill was worried about that. He left a few comments stating exactly this just before lockdown.
The state gives with one hand and it takes away with the other. the poverty of the masses as a political tool.
"Also benefits raised by $25 at the start of covid"
It's important to understand that that doesn't mean that each beneficiary got an increase in the bank account each week. Depending on what supplementary benefits they get, that $25 is abated down once the full benefit is calculated. Some beneficiaries get much less.
This morning the Prime Minister ruled out raising benefits if they get a second term, pledged continued incrementalism.
From 5:28
They have not increased benefits for anyone unless they are Families. there you get a wee bit of money for kids under three, and once they are three years old and a day, the kids can go get a job and 'learn the value' of work.
School Lunches – Again, we can credit Covid with the increases in the school lunches provided. The 200.000 number of kids getting is came about Covid, not need. Covid.
https://www.education.govt.nz/our-work/overall-strategies-and-policies/wellbeing-in-education/free-and-healthy-school-lunches/
The covid increase in the base benefits, due to Covid. The extra 25 NZD came because of Covid. No other reason than that. Not the need that was there already 3 years ago, 2 years ago and 1 year ago, but the Lockdown Level 4 braught that on. And only due to bad reports and bad score cards that were handed out before.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/413106/people-say-they-re-struggling-to-get-financial-support-from-work-and-income-during-covid-19-lockdown
The rent freeze? Covid.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12319849
I like the little admonishment of the renters to not 'abuse' the situation, no word yet on Labour admonishing the Landlords not to abuse the drop of the rent freeze, but i guess that is ok?
The Covid unemployment?
https://workandincome.govt.nz/covid-19/income-relief-payment/index.html
Housing? Still as bad as it was 20 years ago, 10 years ago, 3 years ago, the rent freeze did help, but that is running out and i don't think Labour will extend it, despite the need for it.
Homeless?
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/more-1000-homeless-be-housed-through-budget-2019#:~:text=Budget%202019%20will%20turn%20around,Minister%20Phil%20Twyford%20announced%20today.
never mind that by their own estimate in 2018 we had over 41800 people experiencing severe housing depreviation or homelessness , and the budget in 2019 did not even amount to a drop of water on a hot stone.
https://www.hud.govt.nz/news-and-resources/statistics-and-research/2018-severe-housing-deprivation-estimate/
Food security? go check the increase in foodbank parcels.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300077507/coronavirus-auckland-city-mission-faces-175-rise-in-demand-for-food-parcels
Income? Go check out the hard ship grants that we are handing out.
https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/incomes-fall-for-first-time-on-record
on average by their own numbers income fell by abut 50 NZD – just about the price of water and maybe internet per month.
Unemployment? currently the hardest hit are already among the poorest or those most likely to be employed part time, low skilled and low wage jobs – Women, Young, Elders, Disabled/differntly abled. The ones that were already suffering before covid.
https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/employment-highest-ever-for-women
No shovel ready jobs for the dears, just the same old humiliating Winz – kinder and gentler if you can get someone to answer the phone in the first place, and then a benefit only if your husband does not earn 0.50 cnt above the threshold, and then my dear you depend on your husband for your three meals a day and nice save and warm bed at nigh. IF the partner is a bit of a shitheel go run to a womens refugee or just die in a ditch.
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO2009/S00148/labour-partys-welfare-policy-condemns-beneficiaries-to-poverty.htm
Band aids, that is all they handed out. Not serious surgery for the festering boil that is poverty in NZ to clean up and heal, but shitty little bandaids so they – Labour – can feel like they did something.
Labour should be ashamed of themselves with their kinder and gentler bullshit, its not even enough of a turd to trickle down to those that need it the most.
Fixed above error.
didnt bother to read all of your post ,because your first line is totally incorrect, who knows about the rest. I live alone, not a family, and my benefit was raised $25 per week. if you are going to put a rant on here, get your facts correct!
Yes she did get that first line wrong, that dates back to National and their pathetic attempt at saying how wonderful they were at fixing child poverty.
I gather you don't get TAS woodart? If you don't then you'll get to keep your $25. As for the many, many of us reliant on it, well like I said, we're about to find out how much will be clawed back. You do know that's how they get away with these 'increases' don't you? Take away to give = not much of an increase to the budget.
i have a comment in moderation due to high use of links. I hope it gets trhough. 🙂
thanks. 🙂
It is one of the core principles of quality assurance that you determine the efficacy of your products or services, not independently, but in close consultation with your customer base.
Though there would be no argument that Labour have done infinitely better than National would have done, that's a pretty back-handed compliment. The measures taken in support of the response to Covid were very positive however.
But Labour still have much ground to make up for offshoring my industry. A few grudging sops thrown to the folk they impoverished in the first place don't make up for that. They really need to put some thought into what would create better prospects for those freight-trained by their ill-judged enthusiasm for the lies of Roger Douglas.
There you been told,
so shut up and take your scraps you ungrateful peons.
We don't take kindly to folks telling us to "shut up"!
Also:
Thoroughly agree that there is a long way to go, but hundreds of thousands of people are better off from these policies. For future policies, I'd suggest expanding ACC to illness and social insurance since people will be invested in a better welfare system if they are paying directly into it and can see the potential benefits for themselves. Potentially also has the bonus of eliminating income protection insurance as a thing.
I just realised in typing this that it is unclear whether I meant to include social insurance in ACC or as a separate thing, so perhaps that can be a discussion topic.
Notice that the nz left lazily only talks about poverty in one way: Families. Families families. Child poverty. CHILD poverty.
Because middle class liberals have decided that adults who are in poverty deserve it.
Won't somebody think of the children!!!
Bugger all for anyone without kids, whose disabled can't work because of mental illness or can't find a job right now in any real financial way once covid benifit runs out.
Spot on or people who cant pay for meds and cant even get a benefit either .
The reason is that there isn't enough sympathy, for adults in poverty, to get traction for reducing poverty. See the antipathy from the Chardonnay Socialists on here, to even minimal taxes on the rich, to be used to reduce poverty.
The only way to get any progress is to talk about child poverty.
The religious belief that poverty is deserved, is so prevalent in New Zealand. (Comforting to our sense of decency, if we can tell ourselves we are richer, because we are better people). Nurtured by the many who either profit from poverty, or do not want to contribute, even the price of a few coffees a week, to reducing it.
The belief that NZ is a meritocracy, where people get the income they deserve, is a common self justifying delusion, still!
However even they cannot justify claiming that little children, "deserve" poverty without sounding totally callous.
Disabled people seem, unfortunately, to be invisible.
The actual "Left" whose only representatives in Parliament are the Greens, "well meaning middle class they may be, but their hearts are in the right place, have not forgotten about adults that are poor. We are struggling to get more help for the poor. At least if we get children helped a lot more, we may be able to break the cycle of poverty somewhat.
As has been touched on in the comments, raising benefits and working class wages mainly benefits landlords. Any extra money gets thrown into a rent payment bidding war in a desperate search for adequate housing.
Ending the housing shortage is a necessary first step to reduce poverty. The only way to end a housing shortage is to build houses. Here labour has delivered the most building starts for a generation both public and private. Also a good move by labour to increase capacity by using free fees to get the young ones onto trades rather than uni.
Its a long game but I think they've got the right idea.
Yep incl the landlords Bene, the NZ Govt Accommodation Supplement. Another example of Socialism for the rich pricks…even moreso those with multiple properties.
The criminal selling off of OUR State Housing…by nat and neolib "labour" has lead us to a bad place. Better change….
Some old news…but hey..relevant as ever
"It seems that an economy whose claim to fame has been getting rid of subsidies is now more reliant than ever on a subsidy to landlords which became the centrepiece of National’s housing reforms of the 1990s (and was embraced again when the party regained office) and a subsidy to employers that was a flagship policy of the Clark Labour governments (I’m told it was politically verboten in Treasury at the time to characterise WFF as a benefit, which it really is)."
https://publicaddress.net/hardnews/budget-2017-how-do-we-get-out-of-here/
Agree the fees free trades and building State rentals are good policy.
However we need State house building at the per capita level of the 40's and 50's to even make a dent.
Training up kids on the job to build 10 000 State rentals would be an excellent, “Shovel ready” project.
@ 12.2 Hey I've thought, said, promoted (wished ) that for so long….just seems to be that cliche "no brainer" but so long coming…. Just frustrating as all hell. And Hey re you at 11.2. I kinda wondered what I'd struck here at times. Power to you matey… : )!
No capital gains tax while Ardern leader
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/pro/2019/04/17/542639/no-capital-gains-tax-while-ardern-leader
I think a prime minister that touts pragmatism as one of their greatest assets, but only takes a firm stand on NOT implementing a capital gains tax, thereby directly supporting and encouraging the obscene housing ‘market’ has made it quite plain what their fundamental ideology is…free market capitalism, if she can help the poor within that frame work fine, but you can be sure she and this liberal Labour govt will NOT operate outside of their own self-imposed liberal free market framework. That is just a fact that they have made abundantly clear to anyone who chooses to see it can plainly see..like it or not.