beneficiary bashing Archive

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  Gordon Campbell debunks right wing welfare myths - by frog

  
  
  
  Gordon Campbell has a great piece in this month’s Werewolf debunking some of the myths about welfare trotted out by the beneficiary bashers. Here are a few of the highlights: read more
  February 16, 2011 9:02 am - 97 Comments
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  Beneficiary-bashing Bill back in Parliament, and worse than ever - by Metiria Turei

  
  
  
  Paula Bennett’s draconian Social Assistance (Future Focus) Bill has been reported back to Parliament by the Social Services Select Committee.  Despite overwhelming opposition to the Bill by submitters, the National Party used its majority on the Select Committee to report it back largely unchanged. They even decided to recommend a harsher reduction of benefit regime for [...] read more
  July 31, 2010 5:11 pm - 85 Comments
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  Inside the welfare forum we were un-invited to - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  Today and tomorrow, the Welfare Working Group is hosting a forum on welfare issues to look at the big picture. It was advertised as open to the first 250 people who enrolled, and billed as bringing together “a diversity of opinions and experience”. Metiria and I immediately registered, along with one of our researchers, because [...] read more
  June 9, 2010 5:02 pm - 174 Comments
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  Bennett’s unhelpful benefit cliches - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  The Minister of Social Development Paula Bennett made a speech recently at the National Party Regional Conference in Oamaru, in which she talked about how terrible it is for children to see their parents on a long-term benefit. I must experience a more complex universe than the Minister. The worst experience for a child is [...] read more
  May 31, 2010 3:42 pm - 19 Comments
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  Fuller v Bennett - by frog

  
  
  
  While both I and Green MPs have slammed Paula Bennett’s beneficiary bashing policies, I haven’t climbed into the information privacy dispute between Bennett and DPB beneficiary Natasha Fuller – until now! Bennett is going too far, and seems to want to escalate the dispute for her own political ends. read more
  May 27, 2010 6:47 pm - 23 Comments
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  Human Rights Commission slams Future Focus - by frog

  
  
  
  Remember the bad old days when Jenny Shipley was Minister of Social Welfare and there were beneficiary bashing measures in every Budget (including the benefit cuts in the 1991 Mother of All Budgets that have never been restored)? Surprised there is nothing similar in this year’s Budget? read more
  May 21, 2010 1:51 pm - 15 Comments
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  Paula, Peter and Peter: a perplexing predicament - by frog

  
  
  
  Today in the House, Catherine Delahunty posed a perplexing problem to Paula Bennett. Which Peter was she talking about? Last week, Catherine hit Paula up about the Welfare Working Group and the obvious bias of the people she had appointed. When asked about Peter Saunders’ statement that there is a link between “low average intelligence [...] read more
  May 5, 2010 5:56 pm - 34 Comments
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  Send ’em all down pit, Paula - by frog

  
  
  
  Let’s hope Gerry Brownlee and Paula Bennett don’t pick up on this policy initiative from Australian Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott. read more
  April 22, 2010 9:27 am - 8 Comments
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  Welfare reform: copying Australia’s failure - by frog

  
  
  
  Why, when New Zealand has a weak labour market, is Paula Bennett copying the welfare reforms that failed in Australia at a time they had a strong labour market? read more
  March 25, 2010 3:02 pm - 66 Comments
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  Beneficiary bashing back in fashion - by Catherine Delahunty

  
  
  
  The Government smokescreen for inaction on the rising unemployment figures is to raise the spectre of benefit fraud. I had a look at the Ministry of Social Development statistics and found this is not a growing problem. read more
  February 15, 2010 2:41 pm - 36 Comments
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  Lindsay Mitchell compares apples with oranges and goes bananas - by frog

  
  
  
  Beneficiary bashing blogger Lindsay Mitchell published a post last week in which she attempted to argue that many people on sickness and invalid’s benefits should be looking for work. She compared the current unemployment and sickness/invalid’s benefit figures with those in 1999, the last time unemployment was at its current level of 7.3%, and came [...] read more
  February 8, 2010 12:46 pm - 49 Comments
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  Paula’s Christmas bash - by frog

  
  
  
  As if it isn’t miserable enough being on a benefit at Christmas time, Paula Bennett has decided to put the boot into beneficiaries. Wouldn’t it be a better idea for the Government to actually create some jobs for beneficiaries through a programme like the Green New Deal? Or would that be too hard? read more
  December 23, 2009 1:56 pm - 25 Comments