Nothing seems to sum up the counter productive nature of our neoliberal welfare system quite as powerfully as the madness of this case…
Man arrested at Work and Income office hours after leaving prison
After four years behind bars for aggravated robbery, Jamie Mako was high on life when he was released from Rimutaka Prison on 24 July.But things quickly turned sour for the 46-year-old.
He went straight to Work and Income in Lower Hutt to get a $350 Steps to Freedom grant people get when they leave prison, and said he was belittled.
“I was on a natural high – being incarcerated for so many years,” he said.
Mako said the receptionist was rude and spoke down to him, telling him he had to go to Upper Hutt to cash in his grant.
“I reacted negatively, I swore, I used a couple of derogatory words,” he said.
“The security guards came over and they were right in my face and I felt intimidated. My natural reaction was to get them out of my way.”
On his way out, Mako pushed a guard with one arm forcing the man to take a few steps backwards.
Within an hour, he was arrested at the Upper Hutt office for assault.
…the militarisation of WINZ Offices occurred after MSD was taken to Court for the death of staff members in Ashburton.
Instead of focus on the toxic culture within WINZ and the draconian policies that make desperate people leash out, MSD simply put security guards on all entrance ways and it’s created a worse environment.
MSD argue they should be able to hide the level of threats, yet the actual rate of abuse…
Trespass orders in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch WINZ offices increased from 114 in 2016 to 170 the following year.
Over the same period, 11 incidents ended in injury to at least one MSD staff member across the three regions.
…for the cost is completely out of whack…
Evergreen International NZ has won an $80 million contract to supply security services to the Ministry of Social Development, just six months after the private equity-owned firm acquired the Armourguard Security business in New Zealand for $1.
The national two year plus two year contract includes provision of security guards, monitoring of security and fire alarms in ministry offices and Child Youth and Family homes, and support for monitoring systems.
Evergreen, which is owned by New York-based Evergreen Capital, acquired the Armourguard business from NYSE-listed Tyco last year. The value of the transaction was given as $1 according to a note in the accounts of Sensormatic New Zealand, the immediate owner of Tyco New Zealand. The note didn’t say whether there was a debt component to the transaction.
The firm, which had 1,500 employees, takes over as national provider for services that were previously supplied by a number of companies, a spokeswoman for the ministry said. She declined to give details of the contract, including whether any cost savings were achieved.
According to the request for proposal documents released via the government’s GETS tender website, the ministry currently employs about 162 guards at 144 Work & Income sites.
…that was 2014 prices, Christ knows what it is now. Even at those rates, $80million for 11 incidents seems like a Housing NZ meth hysteria level of self-interested incompetence.
Teachers would love to have only 11 incidents a year plus half the security cost…
Beaten, bloodied, bashed and bruised – even the classroom isn’t safe as teachers across New Zealand face violent assaults from their own students.
Last year, a shocking 580 primary school students and 119 secondary school students were stood down for assaulting school staff.
The argument has always been that it was the previous Government’s awful policies that made beneficiaries violent and not the sadistic staff, so with a change of Government and a replacement of the puritanical and cruel policy implementation, why the huge security still?
If we can admit Housing NZ meth policy was an abortion, why can’t we also check the neoliberal welfare agencies other sacred cows like inane WINZ Office security?
How can WINZ staff receive a level of security that Teachers or Nurses would cry for?
The reason of course is that it’s not just a policy thing, the staff at WINZ have a special level of sadism in them which makes for a toxic culture the new Government are trying (and failing) to respond to.
The real reason security can’t be cut back is because these staff are still toxic and are still creating the justification for violent responses from vulnerable beneficiaries.
Perhaps stripping them of their bully boy security will force these staff members to treat beneficiaries humanly and not punitively?
Its not just Winz that have a bad culture it is also MSD have you tried calling them about getting into social housing I did yesterday and got hung up on cause I said it was harder to get a house to rent if your brown. The whole process set up by the national government is about keeping people at arms length so they actually don’t have to deal with them and so they are actually put of seeking out help from any government agency and go somewhere else for help. To make matters worse they don’t care about the people so should these types of people be working in our government agencies when they don’t care and they are not fit for purpose.
Do you not think that hearing the thoughts of the MSD employee and the security staff involved might be relevant to this story?
MSD aka “the ministry” is Work and Income
Having a conversation online about this yesterday with a group who pooled information relating to this incident prompted me to write an email to all three Ministers who have skin in this area, with practical suggestions for avoiding a repeat in the future. The whole thing was so avoidable and now I see it’s an OTT expense as well. I know there is change in processes, which can’t happen fast enough, and the contract with Armourguard will likely be as bad as the other contracts negotiated under Natz – no parachute clause, so to get out of the contract will cost a huge amount.
Just get a UBI happening so we can shitcan this entire government department already. TWG should have had this in their brief.
Hmmm. Maybe if a UBI was brought in behind energy and transport reforms and marijuana reform and sold as away of distributing the gains. Socialists are always complaining about capitalists greed and capitalists always complain about socialists wanting free money. Must be away of selling it to the public. Just a thought.
same old bull from them winz natz Nazis, fire all managers and make them reapply for their jobs, with a beneficiaries staffed board as judge of their Competence, you can see the fear in their eyes now.
We need the current regulations for entitlements published openly instead of being treated as a state secret, then folks know where they stand and what help is currently available, stop playing the blame game and do something proactive for a change, as for the security Nazis, one word, Cost-cutting.
The guy is a mobster.. He is enshrined in a culture that thrives on the intimidation of ordinary society.. He gets out of jail and when things don’t go entirely his way he resorts to displaying the behaviour that had him incarcerated in the first place.. And then cries because it was turned back on him.. Sorry but fuck him and his kind..
So right Richard…..I would ask when any of the outraged SJW’s above last had dealings with a stroppy agro mongrel mob member. Your description of him is 100% correct
ones man criminal is another mans freedom fighter, judgmental assholes should try a mile in his shoes
Another Richard here, given this guy is still in his colours he doesn’t seem too committed to reform.
In saying that his Mob buddies could have shown a bit support for him and sent a sensible grown up with him while he was adjusting to life outside prison – how he acted probably made sense inside.
he is a gang member, a career criminal….that is why he is in prison aged 46 years. I am sure those who were his victims would not call him a freedom fighter. Why dont you offer him a place to stay.?
why dont you? here people is the ignorant prejudiced view that is the real problem in society, how do you know what his crime was? Hes been released after serving his time in hell, you just want to keep punishing him for tattoos, colors and a dark skin. You my friend are a DICK
I wont offer him a place to stay because he is a criminal with a 30 year history, and you are quite correct, I dont like his tattoos (and appearance).
The mob have the right to scribble over themselves, and I have the right to judge him because of my experience with people who look and act like him So, no, I wont offer him a place to stay, but since you see him as a freedom fighter, put your money where your mouth is.
True he’s mob.
Steps to freedom exists to prevent people leaving prison don’t need to commit a crime to survive the week after being released. Perhaps if Work and Income focused on delivering this payment efficiently the many, many prisoners who need advocates like me to help them get this payment they would have a fucking chance to rehab into society.
The payment is meant to cover rent + all living costs including clothing and the amount paid has not been reviewed for over a decade.
There is no reason Work and Income can’t just automatically pay it to all those qualifying on the day the leave, but in the world of MSD this is impossibly difficult.
How not difficult would it have been to give the guy $350 as he walks out the prison gates.
I’m sure one of the many security guards could handle it if Work and Income find it too frightening.
Exactly Z & JOE22, give the ex cons the money as they leave the prison gates!!! It’s not exactly rocket science! Otherwise they will be robbing for the bus fare to WINZ or food and creating the very frustrating experience that many people who have to deal with the petty stupidity of government organisations go through.
In the case of ex cons after leaving prison probably unreformed, that anger management has not been rehabilitated and why put it to the test as the first thing theses guys have to go through or the WINZ people for that matter giving them the bad news, it’s gonna take a while and you are in the wrong office!
At the top of society, we extract wealth beyond good reason, to the levels of pure greed. This imbalance infects the structure of the economics and requires a symmetrical sacrifice at the bottom end which reflects that unreasonable greed at the top. Naturally, this will incense the recipients beyond reason, due to that’s where it originated. This is why so much seems unreasonable, reason is dead, economic rationalism is a lie. It’s all a tissue of lies. Nevermore, nevermore, quoth the Raven nevermore.
The following is called “Astray” from the album Insight into the Torment by Darken.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mGOWvT_QWo
I wish you all a good day.
Another bludger. I feel sorry for MSD staff.
Yeah, its tough being condescending every day.
Yeah well go here on facebook and take a look at this group (and count yourself bloody lucky if you aren’t amongst the 235,000 plus suffering from) “UNDERFUNDING OF MEDICINES BY PHARMAC” for another end result of winz’s incompetence and have a bloody good read. Not only has winz failed my friend the complete welfare system and the health funding system has by being so out of wack with todays reality his health is 10 times worse than it needs to be. So excuse me if I have absolutely no time for winz nazi’s who take great pleasure making my young diabetic friends life absolute hell.
Richard, Gary and Mike?
Is this Stepford Wives the Gay Way day? Hahahahah ahahahahahahha ahahahahahahahahahahaha
Not PC but hahahahhdhahdhadhahhdhahdhahhaahhdhdhdhah
Can’t breath.
Bahahahah ahahahahah ahaha hahahahahahahahahahah
Gangs? = Damaged people.
Damaged? How?
Poverty.
Who?
These fuckers.
@John Minto
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2018/08/20/imagine-if-the-rich-listers-paid-the-same-tax-rates-as-beneficiaries/
The Big Bad Gangster.
More like the sad, desperate victim.
And I see some of you shameful idiots are still falling for [their] bullshit. No disrespect to actual bullshit.
Your stupidity is embarrassing. Get enlightened or fuck off. No disrespect to actual fucks.
We can always depend on Countryboy for an abusive response. You have called me a “shameful idiot” and “embarrassingly stupid” so I will give my thoughts on my perception of you, ” a sad, lonely, left wing alcoholic who can only communicate through a keyboard with foul and abusive language”
You know nothing about me or my life experience, but I bet I have had more contact with, and know more about gang culture than you. Stop this “poverty causes crime” rubbish. You simply dont know what you are talking about.
Try talking politely and rationally for a change, people may take you more seriously.
They do it with a smile. These people that run this department are sick puppies martyn. They know they have power and control so they abuse people cause they can and then get away with it. I would not be surprised if there is not an uprising against this draconian department. Or somebody with a few ethical principles and has some power will reform the the system. Could be an interesting future for the MSD…
I am 86 years old and live about 25 km from the nearest WINZ office. In July last year I went to the office to submit a document. I was stopped at the door by a gentleman dressed in black and sporting a belt from which dangled an assortment of accoutrements. He asked if I had an appointment, I didn’t, I simply wish to submit a form. I told him that as a matter of fact I had been trying to set up an appointment but had found it impossible to contact WINZ. He refused me entry.
Although I knew the answer, I emailed the CEO of the Private Investigators and Security Guards Association and asked what exactly were the powers of a security guard. He referred me to the Act where there is a special section which declares that security guards have no more powers than the average citizen. I returned a few days later and walked straight past three security guards and did not acknowledge their presence.
A few weeks ago I again had to go to the office and was stopped at the door by a black clad gentleman who asked if I was going to reception. I replied that to the average intelligent observer that there was nowhere else to go but to reception and walked past him.
It seems to me that should one of these gentlemen attempt to physically stop a member of the public entering a public office to go about his public business then they leave themselves open to a charge of assault. So just ignore them. It does seem to me that if I was entering with ill intent, then the security guard would be the first one for the chop…
A repeat of the Ashburton incident is just about as likely as being run over by a London bus. It is time for WINZ to relax and save the taxpayer $80 million.
I wouldn’t ignore them because the could over react when the perception of power is disturbed.
I’d cooperate but yeah….London Bus is right.
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