Those heaping praise on her for what they deem to be exceptional courage in confessing that she deliberately indulged in welfare fraud back in the 1990s are bestowing accolades she simply does not deserve.

Those who have rushed to her side in lemming-like solidarity have done so largely for two reasons.

First, they share Turei's deep distaste of the welfare "reform" agenda pursued currently by National and previously by Labour.

Second, they feared that Turei's admission to welfare fraud was to invite her being crushed under the weight of public opinion devoid of any sympathy for those on a benefit.

Those standing alongside the Greens' co-leader might like to ponder another possible motive for her coming clean about her past — one which has little to do with the debate surrounding benefit policy and social deprivation.

Turei has made little secret of her ambition to be in charge of the Social Development portfolio in a Labour-Greens coalition government.

Were she to become Social Development minister following September's election and had she not disclosed her misleading of Work and Income, the Social Development ministry's operational arm, the prime minister (whoever that might yet turn out to be) would have no choice but to sack her were those indiscretions to have become public.

Her honesty would be refreshing were the timing not just a few weeks out from an election. That stinks - as does the manner in which she has handled the matter.

It is difficult to reach a fair conclusion when it comes to casting moral judgment on her behaviour.

The question of whether Work and Income should conduct an investigation into Turei's history as a beneficiary would likely strike the same problem.

That problem is that there are many questions, but few answers. They have been swallowed by the passage of time.

Turei has volunteered little information.

She has said she and her child lived in five different flats with various people while she completed her law degree. In three of those flats, she had extra flatmates who paid rent. She did not inform Work and Income for fear of her benefit being cut.

Her obvious reluctance to provide more detail is nothing short of a disgrace. It is also very telling. Continue reading

At the same time government support has shrunk, particularly in the form of food grants.

Executive officer Trevor McGlinchey said social service organisations were under huge financial stress.

But government funding has stayed largely static for the last eight years.

More people use food banks but grants of food decreased

The NZCCSS report shows the provision of food bank services and meals by NZCCSS' member agencies becoming a ‘normal' part of how many people coped when income levels are too low.

More and more people were relying on food parcels from community food banks. Yet Work and Income's special needs grants for food decreased by 28 percent between December 2009 to December 2015.

Housing NZ waiting list dropped 10,000 while homelessness increased

The report also found that in the same period, Housing New Zealand waiting lists dropped from over 10,000 to 3500.

At the same time overcrowding and homelessness increased, and emergency housing providers were being swamped with people asking for help.

McClinchey said the Government has relied too heavily on the response of community organisations, charities and service providers to meet the needs.

Government response

A spokesman for the Social Development Minister Anne Tolley said food grants peaked in 2010 at the height of the global financial crisis.

They were now at "similar levels" to 2011. While the number of applications had declined, the percentage granted had increased, he said.

No evidence taxpayer money is effectively helping the needy

The spokesperson said that the government invests over $330 million of taxpayer money in the social services sector - and there is little evidence it is effective in helping vulnerable people.

So the department is revamping the system through the community investment strategy so that it makes a real difference for those who need support the most.

The spokesperson said Budget 2016 invested

• an additional $347 million as part of the overhaul of care and protection for vulnerable young people
• $46 million for a new nationwide system to support victims of sexual abuse system,
• $790 million child material hardship package in Budget 2015 represented the first rise in benefits for 43 years."

Source

• radionnz.co.nz
• Image: nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net

Research and advocacy co-ordinator Lisa Beech said what the legislation was attempting to do had parallels with the poor houses of Britain in the 19th century.

Beech said Caritas had no confidence that its views would be heard.

"In 25 years of making submissions, I have never felt more disillusioned and discouraged about participating in the select committee process."

"The role of the select committee is not simply to rubber-stamp the decisions of the Cabinet ... or to provide some kind of legal proof-reading of minor details."

Statistics New Zealand's latest household labour force numbers, published earlier this month show people out of work rose to 7.3% in the September quarter.

Labour leader David Shearer and other opposition MPs, say prime minister John Key's legacy is leaving the highest jobless rate since Jenny Shipley's National government in the late 1990s.

Source

• Radio New Zealand
• NBR
• Image: The Daily Post

Laws are going to be changed, requiring solo parents on a benefit to look for part-time work when their youngest child is five and fulltime work when that child turns 14.

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett says extensive skill training programmes and help with childcare are essential parts of her package. "We're not cutting benefits, we're trying to move people ahead and we're not being punitive," she said. "Long-term reliance on benefits is one of the worst things that can happen to families and we need to help them get off it."

Responding to claims these reforms amounted to beneficiary bashing and were unrealistic the Prime Minster, John Key expressed the opinion that plenty of women go back to work when their baby is a year old and that it makes financial sense to do so.

Labour, NZ First, the Greens and the Mana Party say there aren't any jobs available and beneficiaries are being unfairly targeted.

Child Poverty Action Group says at the time when the Government is consulting on vulnerable children, it's about to blow a huge hole in the safety net provided to thousands of children whose parents are on a benefit. Spokesman Dr Mike O'Brien says there are also issues around what provisions will be put in place to protect parents of high-needs children.He says the proposals suggest there's no understanding within the Government that the care of children is hard work.

New Zealand Council of Christian Social Service's (NZCCSS) most recent Vulnerability Report, published in September 2011, concluded that the increasing hardening of access to government benefits and housing is resulting in higher levels of vulnerability and more people wanting services from social support organisations. It said most NZCCSS members experienced another strong increase in demands for their services.

The NZCCSS is fostering debate to encourage politicians to address the impact of income inequality through government policy.

NZCCS represents six denominations — Anglican, Baptist, Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist and the Salvation Army — who are responsible for about 500 social service delivery sites nationwide.

The changes in benefit eligibility and access to state housing in particular seem to have been having an impact. "There has been a large drop in the number of hardship grants - including for food and benefit advances to help pay for power. This appears to be a direct result of the requirement to get budgeting advice if you need to get more than three grants a year", said NZCCSS Executive Officer, Trevor McGlinchey. "Community social service providers have been coping with a surge in budget advice referrals, and while some areas in Auckland had a drop in demand for food parcels many others have had a marked increase in requests."

"The National Council of Women of New Zealand (NCWNZ) believes in principle that stage one of the Government's welfare reforms represents a positive step in the right direction," NCWNZ President Elizabeth Bang said today.

The National Business Review has an extensive list of links to blogs and opinions about the welfare reforms.

• The Manawatu Standard
• NZCCSS
• NewstalkZB
• TV3
• The Christian Century
• Image: Stuff.co.nz