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None of the content particularly surprises. Lots of statistics (many quite dated) about who is in poverty, followed by the 'drivers and determinants' which include unemployment, inadequate benefits, debt, lack of social housing, the fuel crisis, climate change, poor mental health, discrimination and colonisation - specifically, "The failure of the Crown to protect the social and economic wellbeing of Maori [which] breaches the obligations of Te Tiriti." Then the 'cure'.
I wait with bated breath for someone purportedly representing Christians to mention other drivers such as, having children with no means to support them, separation, alcohol and substance abuse and addiction, not acquiring educational qualifications or skills, committing crime. But that would involve blaming the individual instead of the 'system'. That would be judgmental and an anathema to those operating in this space.
What space is that?
The author of the report completed a postgraduate degree between 2014 and 2016 which "focused heavily on inequality and social policy in Aotearoa." She went on to become a political advisor to the Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern and a senior political advisor to Hon Carmel Sepuloni. No disclaimer is made with the report.
Yet the recommendations it makes are totally political:
Introduce a Poverty Reduction Act to commit to freeing New Zealanders from Poverty; increase benefits and reduce sanctions; index benefits back to CPI or wages - whichever is higher; restore a benefit akin to the old sickness benefit with a higher payment rate; allow beneficiaries to earn more from work without losing their benefit; build more social housing; introduce GST rebates on food for low income families and remove asset thresholds for those who need or already receive the accommodation supplement.
Right out of the Labour or Green Party playbooks.
I'd be happy to take a bet with anyone that we will eventually see the author running for parliament.
She typifies the career politician on the left.
What frustrates though is, faced with the evidence of policy failure, she still demands more of the same.
The report states:
"In 2018, in response to the rising rate of child poverty in Aotearoa, the Government introduced the Child Poverty Reduction Act. Under the Act, the Government is required to set three- and ten-year targets, while how New Zealand is tracking against the measures is reported annually through data from the Household Income and Living Survey (HILS) (previously the Household Economic Survey). In 2026, 8 years after the Act’s introduction, these targets have not been achieved, with no significant reduction in child poverty rates, despite initial improvements following the 2021 Wellbeing budget."
Despite the failure of the Child Poverty Reduction Act the author calls for yet more legislation, namely the Poverty Reduction Act.
Welfare has not made New Zealand a stronger, more cohesive and productive society. Unemployment is 5.3 percent - not high by historical standards (though the author may not recall the 1990s and the GFC). The low-skilled say they can't find jobs yet migrants come here and work in arduous, often vital roles many New Zealanders have turned their backs on. Because they can. Interviewed about the report a Salvation Army spokesperson said, "Around 10 percent of those needing food support are in employment." Meaning ninety percent are on welfare.
Being 'in poverty' is predominantly about being on welfare long-term and the associated mind-set. The country needs less welfare dependence, not more, which is what bigger and better benefits inevitably lead to. If the current 12.8 percent of working-age people on welfare was significantly reduced, the genuinely needy could be better taken care of.
But here comes the next generation of socialists determined to build a nirvana through tax-and- redistribute policies that simply do not work and never will.
Lindsay Mitchell is a welfare commentator who blogs HERE - where this article was sourced
7 comments:
I like to ask these socialists who call themselves Christians to point to one passage in the Bible where Jesus goes to a person in poverty and says, "You poor thing. Have some welfare". Instead he says, "Pick up your crutches and walk".
Every person in poverty is responsible for the down economy and record unemployment. Particularly young people, where the unemployment rates are higher than we’ve seen for decades. Yeah, the poor people have done this to our country and it is un Christian to suggest anything else.
I’m gonna grab a couple of bible verses that back this up. Back shortly.
So the author was a policy advisor to Jacinda. The PM who took on responsibility for erasing child poverty. The PM who, with the advice of the reports author, achieved zero movement in child poverty in six years.
It makes me wonder why anyone would take the report seriously with such a pedigree.
CXH - exactly true.
Why would anyone take them seriously anymore when they preach & promote victimhood and blame when they should be encouraging self reliance and parental responsibility.
One of the Five Pillars of Islam is 'zakat'. This is a payment of 2.5% of disposable income levied on people whose assets exceed a certain sum, i.e. it is assets-tested. Zakat moneys are used by the religious authorities to assist the poor, widows and orphans, and for other worthy social causes.
The zakat system strikes me as a lot more practical and certainly more cost-effective than the Western model of fleecing hard-working people for 'social' expenditures most of which are spent on burgeoning bureaucracies.
What did our Lord say? "For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always." Matt 26:11. The job of the Christian is to preach Jesus - crucified and risen. Relieving the poor is incidental to this great commission. They claim the name of Christian but they do not do the works of a Christian IMO.
Considerable amount is also said about work and personal responsibility and advice like ' No food for those who don't work ' ( excluding the diseased). There is no dignity in acquiring an income without working for it .
The so called Christian Churches, promoting this document have become apostate.
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