Child poverty reduction
It’s likely that Labour’s new Child Poverty Reduction Bill will get through its third reading by the end of this year.
Social issues
class
National forgets it apologised for Housing Corp meth hysteria
Three months ago National apoligised for getting dud advice and evicting hundreds of state house tenants where miniscule amounts of methamphetamine were discovered. This week National backed off from that very proper apology.
We are failing kids from poor families
Kirsty Johnston has produced an in-depth analysis of the current rate of young people from poor backgrounds entering professional ranks. And the news is not good.
Period. End. Done.
The Scottish government has just taken a massive step to eradicate period poverty. Why not here?
Nurses.
There’s a sickness affecting our health system.
The UN is shocked by NZ’s child poverty rates
Earlier this year the United Nations expressed shock and concern at New Zealand’s rates of child poverty, homelessness, incarceration and violence. What is this Government doing to address these issues?
Killing Them Softly With…
In New Zealand there is sufficient evidence to show that poor peoples’ lives are cut short because of poverty related poor nutrition. While food banks are alleviating the worst impacts of hunger, their kindness may well be contributing to the problem. Food poverty is a systemic issue and requires a systemic response, a response that successive governments are able to avoid while charities continue to provide a buffer for the system.
Collins keeps Housing Corp P debacle in news cycle
Judith Collins has managed to keep the Housing Corp methamphetamine story alive for another news cycle by attacking poor people who take drugs.
Housing Band Aids
What lies behind the homelessness crisis in Aotearoa New Zealand? Is it a housing crisis or are the homeless to blame? If the problem is a housing crisis, why is there an assumption that the homeless themselves need extra services to secure and maintain rental housing?
Rogue Nation(s)
Just some thoughts that kind of meandered down to the ocean.
Thank you Metiria.
Some movement on social security (a thing we all deserve)
Mike Hosking reckons: Minimum wage increase will be terrible for everyone
Mike Hosking reckons that an increase in the minimum wage will increase housing unaffordability and cause job losses and business closures.
Is youth the new political divide?
There is evidence in the United Kingdom and in New Zealand that youth and not class may be the new political divide.
Jacinda Ardern’s child poverty speech
In a major speech yesterday on poverty, Prime Minister Ardern has laid out fully and forthrightly what is the problem and what need to be done.
Ruminations on deprivation
Man gets wet feet. Is reminded of privilege.
Up in Smoke.
US reverses Federal marijuana stance.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Why the latest Star War movie may contain inspiration and meaning for left wing activists.
Voltairine de Cleyre
When history buries treasures, those treasures don’t have to remain buried.
The Missing Noun.
When they said they wanted to eradicate poverty, I didn’t suspect they simply meant to expunge the word.
A letter to my middle-class, well meaning, professional, liberal friends and family
A post about the responsibility to advocate for change in a visible way.
Happy Oompa Loompas?
Dunedin hosts a celebratory graduation ceremony for discarded labour.
Industrial dairying and blue babies
When you run an economy that sees harm to babies as acceptable risks that can be mitigated, then you are approaching society’s end game.
Donkey Dick Duncan
Gross political incompetence, not immigration, is what lies behind and beneath New Zealand’s infra-structure problems. Only a excited donkey’s dick waving in a stiff breeze might point accusingly towards immigrants and immigration as the problem.
There is hope
Anarchism and democracy.
WINZ and Super Scandals
Here’s the scandal.
Do you?
In the interests of keeping it simple, an obvious fact or two and a basic proposition.
Corbyn-esque NZ
This post was written and ready to go and then news of Metiria Turei stepping down hit. Some of it might read a little strangely because of that. I’ve changed some of the tenses used.
Messages for the Left
Kōrero Pono writes about the class divide within the parliamentary Left and the importance of the wider Left’s message in this election.
#IamMetiria
If you know that feeling of dread when you get a WINZ letter, or if you’ve had roiling anxiety from being ‘called in’ for a WINZ interview, or sighed with relief when the letter from WINZ turns out to be a replacement community services card, then follow #IamMetiria. And if you just don’t recognise those, then you might want to follow #IamMetiria to find out why others do…
Election 2017: the battle lines are drawn
The 2017 election campaign has been set alight by the Greens adopting brave policies that Jeremy Corbyn would be proud of and NZ First adopting policies that would meet with Donald Trump’s approval.
This is not an image of a Low Flying Penguin.
It’s also is not a picture of a person claiming entitlements who has not felt compelled to bend the truth when dealing with WINZ. Both images would be equally difficult to find.
Signals
The politics of the Grenfell Tower fire.
Missing voices
Former Trump supporter speaks Her Truth
#Trumpcare
The proposed Republican replacement of Obamacare will, surprise surprise, result in lower benefits, reduced coverage and a tax cut for the wealthy.
More Multi-millionaires than ever!
In this glorious ‘go ahead’, ‘get ahead’ land of opportunity…
Chloe King – John Key, I am a low waged worker, and neither “lazy” nor “drug addled”
Blogger and social activist Chloe King, one of the hundreds of thousands of low waged workers in this country was devastated by John Key’s comments suggesting that she and others were lazy and had no work ethic. This is her response.