Two Tier. Bull. Shit.
I thought we were “in this together” or some such?
welfare
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?
The Largesse
April the first and second mark the days when those receiving entitlements receive a yearly increase in line with the CPI and the governments increase to Accommodation Supplement also comes into effect. So what does it all mean for those receiving entitlements?
The Greens’ new welfare policy
“Green co-leader Metiria Turei described it as one of the most important Green policies in her 15 years in Parliament.”
Welfare is making Kiwis lazy and unemployable
This old chestnut is getting another outing on Stuff today.
Spinning ‘social investment’
Bill English has co-opted the old term “social investment” to replace another old term “targeted welfare”. Simon Wilson (writing at The Spinoff) has bought into the spin and written a deeply confused piece about it.
Briefing Papers: And so this is Christmas…
Alicia Sudden reflects on Christmas at The Briefing Papers: “Yet this brief annual window excludes the elephant in the room: that this poverty is a consequence of our welfare system failing to provide the support it was intended to.”
Generous welfare makes people more likely to want to work
Evidence on levels of welfare and willingness to work suggests that yet another nasty right-wing myth is wrong. Reality and its well known liberal bias strikes again.
Three more years
This election result is not the end of the world for me – because I am very, very lucky.
Welfare is not a pissing contest
Why must we turn welfare, an important safety net and part of the social fabric / contract of our country, into a stupid pissing match about a minister’s “reputation”?
Pushed off the safety net
News from Australia reports an increase in numbers turning to sex work following cuts to welfare benefits. Here in NZ as a similar cost-saving measure we have benefit purges underway – at a time of rising unemployment…
We are all beneficiaries
Deborah Russell’s piece in the Dominion Post sets out some constructive thoughts on welfare.
The Pernicious Food Card
Or how the food card will inevitably push beneficiaries into all types of deeper strife.
The cartoon (since it doesn’t show up clearly and you might be wondering) is a lifebelt being thrown in the “Welfare” cell and a book titled “Learn to swim” being thrown in the second “Welfare Reform” cell.
Centre for Inaccurate Studies
The CIS released a report [PDF link] today entitled Ending No. 8 Wire Welfare: Why New Zealand is Lagging Behind. Its author is […]
Cartoon: Attacking the poor
The Child Poverty Action Group thinks that National’s welfare policy is likely to hurt vulnerable children.
Gordon Campbell on Nats’ welfare plan
Dog whistle politics to some, beneficiary bashing to others. But is there logic to National’s policy on benefits? Gordon Campbell asks: Will John Key’s policy […]