Significantly reducing poverty in New Zealand needs serious commitment and investment, something which Child Poverty Action Group’s Janet McAllister says she’s yet to see from the party of Jacinda Ardern. “We can’t just tinker with the so-called social welfare system … it’s just not going to cut the mustard.” – Professor Cindy Kiro, chair of … Read more
Voting is under way in the New Zealand general election. Explore the main parties’ pledges at Policy.nz; in the meantime here’s a whistlestop tour of what’s on offer when it comes to welfare and equity. Read more two-minute policy wraps here Welfare is always an election issue, but mass job losses brought about by the … Read more
Campaign groups are trying to get issues around the welfare system, housing and poverty onto the election agenda. Alex Braae was in Wellington to see a deeply frustrating debate play out. Many election forums give politicians plenty of room to speak about whatever they want. But at a forum on inequality, the onus was reversed, … Read more
One of National’s most prominent MPs has pulled the pin on her career just months before the 2020 election. Alex Braae was there to see Paula Bennett say farewell. In the end, it was a somewhat muted departure for an MP who spent 15 years demanding to be heard. Paula Bennett, former deputy PM, former … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Criticism over new ‘two-tier’ welfare payments, National announces reshuffle, and a day of differing fortunes in the media world. The government has announced a brand new income support scheme for those who have lost work – but in many ways, it immediately became notable more … Read more
There’s more to the finance minister’s controversial move than meets the eye, argues Max Rashbrooke. If you’re a current beneficiary, I can see how it looks like a slap in the face. Finance minister Grant Robertson yesterday announced that people rendered unemployed by the coronavirus will receive a 12-week benefit of $490 a week, nearly … Read more
With mass unemployment coming, some existing benefit rules are going to exacerbate people’s problems. The size and suddenness of the Covid-19 shock has highlighted just how far New Zealand has allowed its welfare system to run down. The government yesterday announced extensions to its wage subsidy scheme and that it is “expediting urgent work on … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: National releases discussion document on social services, new sea level rise research raises inundation fears, and updates from Wellington’s messy mayoralties. National has released a discussion document on social services, in order to shape their policy into the election. It’s the latest in a series of discussion documents … Read more
Laura O’Connell Rapira looks at what benefit cuts and successive generations of an unregulated housing market has done to welfare and housing for those in the margins. For the first seven or so years of my life, I was raised mostly by my mum on the domestic purposes benefit (my dad is a big part … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Pressure on government over poverty, major concerns for forestry at both ends of growing cycle, and feebate scheme for car emissions finally unveiled. The government is under immense pressure over their efforts against entrenched poverty, and the system that manages it. It’s not just the services … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Negative reaction to government’s welfare report response, deep concern for Victim Support-held money, and a closer look at Panuku and Auckland CCOs. There’s significant disquiet over the small scale of the government’s response to the Welfare working group’s report. When the Welfare Expert Advisory Group report was … Read more
The Welfare Expert Advisory Group’s report could have been the backbone for so much more, writes activist and former Green MP Sue Bradford. The government’s response to the findings of the Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG), which was released on Friday, is dismal. It appears the only substantive welfare reform we can expect during this parliamentary term … Read more
One of the government’s most important working groups has just reported back on what changes should be made to the welfare system. So what have they said? And what will the government do about it? At a glance: Sanctions on solo mothers who refuse to name the father of their child will be abolished Benefit … Read more
This afternoon the recommendations from a wide-ranging study of our welfare system will be released. Hannah McGowan, who has lived on a benefit for most of the past 20 years, writes about the indignities and stresses of her life – and the issues she hopes today’s report will address. The first time I went on … Read more
The number of ‘attachment orders’ on benefits has grown dramatically in recent years, locking some of the poorest New Zealanders into ever deeper cycles of debt. Joseph Nunweek writes. When Sharon* first heard the knock at her door and saw the men standing outside, she assumed it was something to do with her ex. Before … Read more
After tax, the next cab off the working-group rank is welfare. The Universal Basic Income has been the hottest new idea of recent years, but Max Rashbrooke reckons that just doesn’t add up, and there’s another, stronger option The New Zealand Initiative and Sue Bradford make strange bedfellows: normally there is not much that unites … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Eradication, not containment chosen for m. bovis outbreak, National eyes up new allies, and welfare working group disappoints activists. The government has decided to press ahead with eradication of cattle disease mycoplasma bovis. Radio NZ reports the eradication plan will cost close to a billion dollars, with the … Read more
Good morning, and welcome the The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Major welfare changes coming, more funding for soldiers with PTSD, and Eric Murray won’t have a beer after all. A major overhaul of the welfare system is coming, in line with Labour and Green election campaign promises, reports Newshub. PM Jacinda Ardern indicated that could include the scrapping … Read more