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The release today of the Welfare Working Group's (WWG) issues paper is a missed opportunity, says Child Poverty Action Group. Instead of offering up some constructive ways to make welfare relevant in the 21st century, it has manufactured a crisis that doesn't exist, the group says.
While the group is pleased the WWG has taken account of children, it is disappointed the report has failed to recognise that working does not always result in the best outcome for children.
Spokesperson Donna Wynd says the report has overlooked research showing that working parents can be very stressful for children, especially when not working can result in loss of income.
"We also know from our own research and overseas studies that children and young people are vulnerable to behavioural problems when sole parents work. The report should have acknowledged this. As well, the improvements in income that come from working usually come from government subsidies, and there is no discussion about whether these are more sustainable than paying parents a benefit."
The group is also alarmed at the prospect of a two-tiered insurance-based system.
"The working group has been told that insurance cements in existing inequalities, but have chosen to ignore this advice. Instead, they now concede we may end up with a two-tier system, with one tier for those with insurance, and a much lower level of support and private charity for those who are uninsurable.
Children are already over-represented in New Zealand's poverty statistics, and this proposal will mean that the poverty they and their families endure will be even deeper and more difficult to escape," said Donna Wynd.
CPAG says the government has invented a crisis and children in benefit dependent households look set to suffer.
"New Zealand may have a crisis, but it is a crisis of inter-generational poverty. Until the government comes up with a credible plan to create the jobs it wants sole parents to get, it would be better off offering additional support to all low-income families to help children escape poverty."
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Comments
as mentioned in another
as mentioned in another welfare artical the real issues are not being addressed and thats alcohol gambling drugs and lack of health care nothing else will work if these continue to play a major part in society..so yeah points for trying i suppose Haha
they don't get any "points
they don't get any "points for trying" from me, because they're not really trying to make things better for the children on welfare: they're suggesting (as usual under right wing governments) moves towards the American system that everyone can see is worse for children, increases poverty, increases violence, etc.
poverty is a huge advantage for business. ideally you want slaves who represent an absolute minimal expense (just the costs of feeding them and keeping them fit for work), but if you can't have that, the next most profitable situation is a pool of very poor unemployed people with little or no welfare support, so that they will work extremely hard for minimal pay. this is why right wing policies are a complete package (lower taxes on the wealthy, cut welfare, increase violent legal repression of unrest) and left wing policies are roughly the opposite package (raise taxes on the wealthy, increase welfare, fund education and social programmes instead of building more prisons). the "welfare working group" is just another group asking, "how can we make ourselves richer while keeping up the appearance that we're trying to make the country better for everyone?".
i'd give them points for trying to help the children in poverty, but i don't give them any points for trying to help themselves to the profits produced by those children's labour. as for addictions and health care and so on, exactly: health, education and social programmes are where we'd direct our resources if we really wanted to improve the situation for everybody. putting those resources into business and a legal system to keep the wealth concentrated in business is just what we do when we're rich and want to get richer, and couldn't give a toss about the kids suffering at the other end of town.
I love the way john key says
I love the way john key says it will be a better result ...
What a joke ! how did this crazy guy get in power ?
Cutting welfare will DEFFINITLY not be the right way 2 go .
My children dont deserve 2 goto school 2 get beaten up for there lunch because john key desides he would cut there solo mother or sick parents welfare !
this makes me sick the govmt is even thinking of this and i dont care what john key says the result will be because MOST of us know that drug selling will go up in our schools and this is no future for our children.
Heres a good result . our
Heres a good result .
our family is sick of the new goverment and is moving to aussie .
now thats what i call a result john key.
Rampant Welfare is like
Rampant Welfare is like cannibalism ,Sooner or Later you run out of food stock.
when are people going to
when are people going to wake up!
children need a parent devoted to bringing them up.
i do not begrudge the dpb to anyone who is in genuine need.
it is not an easy road and the parents i know on the dpb are trying to bring their children up to work and provide for themselves.
you can't be a great single parent if you get home too tired to listen to their day and help with homework.
how dare they suggest a single parent should return to work when a baby is a few months old -
how can a child develop a full brain with full emotional maturity in a daycare situation with multiple caregivers
you do not grow a healthy brain in daycare full time as a baby.
i am so lucky i have managed to create a job at home for myself so my children get to walk home to mum and afternoon tea
we discuss the day and how it went and move on to homework.
i take it as a compliment when people say you cant tell my kids are from a single parent family
I can see it now, a mass
I can see it now, a mass exodus from New Zealand to Australia. How about providing jobs that are sustainable and provide a decent income? Instead of allowing companies to farm out jobs to India and the Philippines? Where workers earn $3 hr, that allows them to live like kings? Where is the justice? Well John Key and co are out next election and we spend another 20 years fixing their fixes, and on it goes.
What is needed is to keep jobs here, create new ones, put money into industries that allow for long term sustainable growth, and offer people real wages that allow them to live and be happy. I mean who in their right mind is going to stay here for $12.95 an hour, when a worker in an ice-cream stand in OZ gets $24 per hour!!!, and its cheaper to live there!!!!
Kids need parents at home to love and care for them, if Rebstock has her way say hello to a mass exodus of people, and also to stock up on news papers and shopping trolleys, because a lot more people will end up on the streets. Say hello to more violent crime, child abuse and horror stories.
And these poor invalids and people on sickness, statistically its interesting as the main reason people go off an invalids benefit is because they die. I understand the process is so hard as to be ridiculous to actually get on the thing, the joke with that is a lot of people on Invalids benefit are there because of ACC shunting them off because they won't pay for them or are well known for finding pre-existing causes to accidents, i.e hit by a car? and have spinal pain? its something you had in the past so we cannot pay you.
Think about what will happen if insurance companies have their way with welfare? For profit? I wonder how many genuine people will end up suffering, and all the while John is in his 8 million dollar house making his mates richer, while the rest of those helpless people wonder where their next meal is coming from?
In the end, welfare reform or not, focus on getting jobs for those people able to work, and then create programs for those who are disabled where they can find suitable work if they feel they can work.
I agree with most comments
I agree with most comments here, what makes me sick is the govt giving themselves a 10% pay rise, and then turning around and saying their going to be hard ass to those who are struggling to continue a basic survival. The economy is failing due to these fat cat politicians living like kings, trim the fat in the beehive before attacking the poor!
Yes a 10% pay rise is a kick
Yes a 10% pay rise is a kick in the guts, and attacking the poor is the worst example of this, its a common tactic to distract people from what they are doing and trying to achieve, create fear amongst the people and you can do what you like. You have to ask yourself who benefits from creating poverty? The answer as above clearly was those who wish to have slave employees, and going by the American example we are heading there quick smart, hell WalMart in the US pays its employees so little that they provide their staff with welfare application forms, is that where we want to head?
And what the hell is a US citizen doing running a welfare reform initiative? We don't like their politics, why the hell do you think we would like their social policies?
" I wonder how many genuine
" I wonder how many genuine people will end up suffering, and all the while John is in his 8 million dollar house making his mates richer, while the rest of those helpless people wonder where their next meal is coming from?"
Tony Blair now has an annual income of 10 million pounds and Bill Clinton apparantly made his 100 million dollar fortune from public speaking.
Take a look at this article and ask yourself is John Key going to get even more money once he hassold New Zealand to the wealthy Banksters.
Let Them Eat Cake": A handful of oligarchs are becoming billionaires while the rest of the country goes down the drain
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=20389
And National are getting their policy directly from the World Bank website. In small print at the bottom of some of the world banks website we see "World Bank Group". Yes a private for profit banksters are setting National Party Policy. They must be that secret government people talk about.
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/WBI/WBIPROGRAMS/PPPILP/0,,menuPK:461142~pagePK:64156143~piPK:64154155~theSitePK:461102,00.html
And you can watch how quickly this link disapears from the Google News search page. Any comments exposing the truth and Google News stops linking to that story very quickly.
With this opinion page been
With this opinion page been live, it's gotten to the "Bogus Welfare Committee"they've panicked! They're calling a meeting urgently for next week!!
Keep it up Voxy!!
And you just know that these
And you just know that these committees charge a fortune just for sitting around thinking up bogus ideas, I'm talking over $20K for an afternoon sitting around a table talking.
Perhaps they should employ an out of work beneficiary to explain what it's really like. And come up with a viable solution.