‘Poverty of parental responsibility’ and ‘True Homeless’ – How the National Party use language to bash the poor

By
Martyn Bradbury
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18
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We have two new phrases that help the National Party to escape criticism of their war on the poor.

Paula Bennet now refers to ‘True Homeless’ rather than 41 000 homeless, because some of the 41 000 live on couches, so according to Paula, they aren’t technically ‘homeless’. Her ‘True Homeless’ is a way to minimise the impact of National’s failed housing policies.

Likewise, Judith Collins’ use of ‘Poverty of parental responsibility’ to shift aside hard questions about the poverty the Police are now needing to clean up on the streets. By blaming the parents, Judith doesn’t have to take any responsibility for the policies her Party has implemented.

If the National Party spent as much energy on redefining language to escape having to acknowledge the poverty their policies create on actually helping the poor, then they would have solved child poverty by now.

The simple truth is National don’t care and their neoliberal beliefs justify that lack of concern.

 

They have hidden the violence at SERCO, they deny there is a housing crisis, their work and student visa immigration scheme is a scam, our water is being polluted by cow shit, our national debt now stands at 100.7% of GDP and the top 1o% have more wealth than the other 90%.

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Yet the mainstream media continue to focus on the banal and trivial and the voters of NZ are left none the wiser.

To now watch Bennett and Collins restructure language to bash those bearing the worst of their social policy reforms is like

This only changes when the middle classes lose their property portfolio in the coming collapse.

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18 COMMENTS

  1. When I saw that phrase ‘poverty of parental responsibility’ I honestly vomited in my mouth a little. Yet again, National trying to claim the UN is worthless and they know better, and the Orwellian attempt to twist the language of the real problem in NZ and instead ‘blame it on some poor people’. I really thought I’d seen the worst from them, now I know their nadir goes way deeper…

  3. Neuro-linguistic programming: compiling particular word combinations to establish association of ideas, followed by frequent repetition until the victim has been conditioned to subconsciously associate the words and the ideas.

    ‘community development’

    ‘sustainable development’

    ‘conspiracy theory’

    Neuro-linguistic programming can work against the system, of course:

    “It’s a big club. And you are not in it.”

    “It’s the same big club they beat you over the head with every day, telling you what to wear, what to buy, what to think…..’

    • Any using the word ‘comply’ and it’s cousin “Compliance” is the bashing word used in every matter we face on Planet key today as the master word for ultimate control of fear engendered into the masses.

      This is masterful Hitler-ism straight-out of his “Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda” skilfully operated by Joseph Goebbels.

  4. National never did care. They had nine years under Bolger and Shipley to sort it out. We all know what happened – or did not happen. We know that Aunty Helen had nine years to sort it out.

    Sort of why I am voting New Zealand First at the 2017 election. Darroch Ball has had plenty to say on poverty.

  8. Aaah well, the silence from Collins was nice while it lasted, but it goes against type for her to not vomit some nasty little comments. Mind, you when she said that she saw “a poverty of ideas”, did anyone else wonder if she was actually talking about her cabinet colleagues?

  9. Judith Collins should shut her big fat mouth she went overseas using our taxes at the same time promoting her husband Oravita business then she had a bloody cheek to say she called in on her way to the airport yeah right bloody crooks her and her husband.

  11. The most important thing about National’s attack on any disadvantaged group of society is WHEN they do it.
    National comes out with another diatribe about beneficiaries, irresponsible parents and dole bludgers when they are under pressure. There is a lot of pressure on them right now: the weekend’s poor showing by the right in local body elections, Key’s pathetic excuse about child poverty targets, the government being called for hyprocisy on the same issue by the UN, the housing price bubble and their U-turn on immigration.
    This latest (predictable) rant by Collins is really just National’s version of rallying the troops, swords clashing against shields and fists pounding in the air, shouting oaths of allegiance and slapping each other on the back.” Courage men! courage! Do not falter in the face of your enemy!”
    Seen it so many times before. National always blame the sins of the world on everyone except themselves. They are so nauseatingly predictable.

  12. I find it hard to believe there are only 41,000 people homeless in this country. I know single unemployed people who receive less money than their rent. The Idea people pay 50% of their benefit in accommodation my be true for families, however for most single people it’s 100% and they are certainly not going to get assistance from Housing NZ.

    I’ve had a friend staying with me off and on this past week. He’s here in Christchurch now as his job in Wanaka ended. WINZ will not assist him in any way, shape or form. Because he had a job there is a stand down period. He’s currently running around after a birth certificate, medical certificate, IRD statement, etc to attend an appointment in 4 weeks time (the earliest they had).

    The truth is, even if he managed to get all this ducks in a row for a sickness benefit (or some such), he’d never be able to afford to rent here in Christchurch. His only choice is to live with a lot of other people, even then I can’t see how he’ll survive. He has an old ute and has told me he’s considering just living in that.

    I’m sure he’ll find a job, I hope he does. He has little sympathy for people on the benefit. He’s complained to me about the fact he has paid huge amounts in tax on the little income he has earned, yet when between jobs, he’s entitled to nothing – “families on the benefit at least have enough left over after paying rent (often on statehouses) to buy bread” he says. He can’t do either.

    Obviously my friend has fallen into the trap of blaming his fellow struggling New Zealanders for his situation. The poor clearly are fighting eachother for the scraps falling from the table of the rich. It’s very convenient for the rich to have the poor fighting eachother and not them.

    The truth is, the last Labour government didn’t do anything for single working people and National have carried that on. Because of the housing crisis their are just more people in poverty now. New Zealand wanted a secular society, the media cried out for it. The atheist philosophy/religion now engrained in NZ is a huge problem.

    It’s fine to say you’ve got no time for fairy tales, but what is true is, if there is no higher power, there is no right and wrong, aka moral absolutes. So if someone is poor, they are just poor – sucks to be them. Such a situation is neither right or wrong, it just is. There is no right or wrong except what we choose for ourselves. The laws aren’t right or wrong, they are just laws.

    So here we are, Friedrich Nietzsche would be impressed. God is dead and it looks like the poor aren’t far off as they struggle to put food in their mouths.

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