Cruel Government makes benefit sanctions harsher while unemployment jumps to 5.1%
Critics slam ‘punitive’ new benefit sanctions
Critics say the government’s new non-financial sanctions for beneficiaries are “punitive” and unlikely to make a real difference.
Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston said on Monday that two non-financial sanctions were being added to the traffic light system.
This is designed to show beneficiaries whether they are meeting their obligations.
Those who do not can end up losing part or all of their benefits.
The two new sanctions focus on job-hunting.
In one case, jobseekers will be required to perform a minimum of three job-search activities a week for four weeks and report to the Ministry of Social Development.
In the other, jobseekers will be required to attend and participate in employment-related training courses for at least five hours a week for four weeks.
People would have to meet these obligations before they returned to the “green” level.
Let’s be clear what is happening here.
The vast, vast, vast number of beneficiaries are all doing exactly what they are told they need to do to keep their welfare and because so many are follwoing the rules and not giving the Government a reason to kick them off welfare, the Government have come up with more pointless busy work to find a reason to kick people off welfare for not complying!
THIS. HAS. NOTHING. TO. DO. WITH. THE. WELLBEING. OF. THE. BENEFICIARY!
This is about finding new loopholes to trip people up to disqualify them from welfare rather than getting people work ready for jobs that don’t exist…
Unemployment rate rises to 5.1%, highest since 2020
The unemployment rate continues to climb, reaching 5.1% in the December 2024 quarter, according to the latest Stats NZ figures – the highest level it’s been since 2020.
It’s up from 4.8% in the September 2024 quarter.
…so the Government crash the economy with their Austerity budget, put further work sanctions on beneficiaries and then blame beneficiaries for the unemployment???
The idea that the economy is going to magically bounce back after the austerity budget are ludicrous!
National borrowed more than Labour, BUT THEY BORROWED FOR TAX CUTS WE COULDN’T AFFORD AND RICH LANDLORD LOOP HOLES!
They didn’t spend that extra borrowing on public services, in fact they hollowed out those public services so much so it’s all going to predictably collapse…
Revealed: Tight Budgets force ‘reductions to public services’ – Treasury
Treasury officials have warned the Government that “significant reforms” or “reductions to public services” will be needed in the not-too-distant future if it sticks to its current, restricted spending track.
The Herald can reveal that even with this relatively tight spending, the Government will not post a surplus under the traditional Obegal measure until 2031, which will mark the longest period of Government deficits since the 1979-1994 deficits (which were measured quite differently).
Treasury officials also warned that the Government had planned so much capital investment – spending on items like schools, hospitals and roads – that it might have to cut spending earmarked for public services so it can fund the significant ongoing maintenance of those investments.
…I also find the idea that we should actively punish Beneficiaries who are the collateral damager here pretty sickening…
…put aside the fact that Luxon is a rich prick, look at what he has done to the economy and then consider his lecturing towards beneficiaries:
He crashed the economy with an austerity budget that borrowed more for tax cuts and loopholes we couldn’t afford, and you is lecturing the poor?
HE HAS DONE THIS!!!
Blaming the victims of his economic policy is outrageous!
National are pushing 350,000 jobseekers to find work when there is no work because they collapsed the economy!
There are less than 11,000 jobs on Trademe and less than 5000 on Seek and National are demanding new sanctions against beneficiaries after sacking 9520 public sector workers!
How much must you hate Jacinda for post Covid bitterness to find this obscenity of policy sophistry acceptable?
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Luxon and Willis don’t even have the courage to own their own clusterfuck of very very very very extremely extremely poor brainless decision making….they just blame Labour.
Labour …who left office with an impressive unemployment rate of only 3.2 %. .. ..now..5.1% in the space of just 14 months with the Coalition of Chaos in charge…
Labour…who had the country on the right track to reach surplus again by mid 2027 …as verified by Treasury…
after being crippled by the worldwide economy destroyer, and
killer… Covid.
Labour…who did one of the business deals of the century when they negotiated with the world’s best ship builders, Hyundai, to build 2 state- of – the art fully rail enabled hybrid ships at a bargain basement price due to the worldwide downturn in all economies at that time.
Since cancelled by National, who now have the taxpayer’s of N.Z slapped with, and indebted to, a half billion dollar cancellation penalty fee for their knee jerk, spiteful, poor ,clueless business ability decision, with no viable alternative option on the table….
But wait…there’s more…
Labour…who despite all this… had introduced a fantastic lunch in schools programme where fresh nutritious food was sourced locally and made by passionate locals…delivered on time to their local schools.
Now cancelled by the Associate Minister of Education Seymour….not..the actual Minister of Education Erica Stanford…who
obviously rolled over.
We now have an oily, high sodium reconstituted ,reheated, mass produced upchuck muck that has to be transported halfway across the country everyday served in foil and plastic containers which can’t even make it to schools on time to be reheated for lunch…
Apparently this will save the country a wee bit of money without providing any evidence that it does once the quid pro quo
factor is fully accounted for.
National, Act and N.Z.First, have managed to slam the country’s economy and morale into reverse… and then back it over a cliff…in just 14 months with no hope of a surplus till at least 2031
Luxon and Willis’s answer/ solution/ excuse to this nose dive economically illiterate death spiral they now have us locked into is easy….blame Labour!
100%, Grant. You nailed it beautifully.
There was an employer quoted on RNZ saying that when ever they advertised a position now, they were getting over a hundred applicants. The main issue currently is not whether jobseekers were looking hard enough for jobs, but the number of jobs available. You can use all the traffic light systems and big data that you like, but it is not going to decrease the jobless rate, only more jobs will do that.
There may be a place for such measures during times of low unemployment, such as when Labour got it down to 3.2%, but tough sanctions are currently serving no purpose while the rate is 5.1% and expected to reach 5.4%.
If the govt is serious about efficiency, then it should stop all migrant work visa approvals until the jobless rate falls below 4%, and only when they reach that level, should they then do things like looking at importing migrant workers or using msd sanctions. Having msd staff concentrate on that now has no purpose, and shows msd probably have too many staff.
For Mr Wealthy & Sorted, to make his proclamation, looks too much like a political diversion in light of falling poll numbers, treaty bad press, and the Tim Jago debauchery.
The CoC is crumbling, you can smell the fear on the righty tighty trolls breath.
Yeah Grant this is telling it exactly how it is. Added is the treaty debacle and the other sneaky bill they want to slide in. Totally sickening. I just hope NZ twigs to all this and votes COC the fuck out with a landslide.
The worst aspect of rising unemployment, from the Herald today.
32,000 net jobs lost in 2024
70% of those lost jobs were from 15-24 year olds.
23% of 15-19 year olds are unemployed.
85% of the people who lost jobs were men.
This government’s promise of 2025 being a year of economic growth must equate to increasing employment rates and wages for those who need it most. If the growth is just some form of financial slight of hand then we are in trouble.
Better Economic Managers everyone!
Imagine if you are homeless and living on the streets, having to jump through these hurdles to meet ever tougher msd requirements. Your main priorities are, where are you going to sleep, and finding something to eat, and keeping yourself safe. They are not, reporting in to msd.
Housing insecurity is not that far away for many people. Recently at a community centre I talked to a JP who was providing regular JP services, and she said there was a continuous stream of clients seeking stat decs to withdraw kiwisaver to enable them to keep their house after getting behind on repayments. Often caused by loss of income.
You can twiddle with msd regulations all you like, but you reduce unemployment by creating more jobs.
3.2% Labour…..5.1% National…..the facts say it all.
I agree that you reduce unemployment by creating jobs. The Reserve Bank‘s hamfisted approach to interest rates does not help job creation. The RB is good at increasing its staff and creating the most expensive website in the public service, but not so great at other things.
I wish the government would create jobs instead of the opposite.
Sanctions are nothing to do with creating jobs.
Cruelty is their point and forcing people to accept lower pay and worse working conditions is their goal.
When is someone going to realise that unemployment is going to exist forever and punishing people for not having a job is just stupid.
This was recognised by economists as early as the 1960s who pointed out that technology alone would hugely reduce the workforce of the future.
A practical example of this, that maybe even the Trevors, Zeldas and other reactionaries can recognise if they lay their prejudices aside for a moment, are the port industries.
In the 1960s several thousand men ,and some women, loaded the ships in the Ports of Auckland(Waitemata and Manukau). Crews on board the ships could number up to 100( more for vessels carrying passengers).
This was replicated in ports up and down the coast.
Containers and purpose built ships have reduced this workforce to a small fraction of what it was both on ships and shores.
This is ONE example.
In almost all fields of production technology has reduced the workforce AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO SO.
It has also made existing work safer and more comfortable( right wingers must hate that).
I therefore suggest it is time to stop punishing the unemployed for not finding jobs that do not exist.
Coalition supporters do not need to do this. Unfortunately they will always be able to satisfy their base instincts by torturing small animals to death and bullying vulnerable people.
Yep righty tightys have always got off on the sound of a cracking bull whip, the cries of the down trodden, the fiery tongue of a cross waving bible basher, it’s in their DNA, they really are the pathetic and sad face of humanity.
Fucking right on Phil
It’s hard to imagine who Luxon is talking to in the above tweet. Is it an example of why the Curia-led faction want rid of him so badly? In that short outburst he insults recruitment firms, employer associations, Industry in general, treasury, economists, and anyone else living in the 21st century. It literally makes no sense.
To support unemployment, infrastructure and the decimation of our public services I suggest…
A. A capital gains tax
B. Reverse landlord subsidies
C. A higher tax rate for the highest income earners
D. Willis to stop the idea of tax relief for businesses… (https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/economy/gdp/nicola-willis-talks-up-business-friendly-tax-tweaks-ahead-of-budget-2025/RR3FN35ROFEYRLX7GT334JJZIY/)
Income earnt from these measures will enable New Zealand to be a better place.
At present and under this government our unemployment has risen and multiple long term businesses have closed. In short, what this government is doing is not working.
This political crowd would quote the saying ‘You’ve got to be cruel to be kind’ as if it came from Jesus and id in the Authorised Version of the bible.
Where does the saying “cruel to be kind” come from?
From William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 4: “I must be cruel, only to be kind: / Thus bad begins and worse remains behind.”
but note:
Is cruel to be kind a paradox?
Expert-Verified Answer
The quote from Hamlet is a paradox because it suggests that being cruel can lead to kindness, which seems contradictory.9 Mar 2023.
Brainly https://brainly.com › question
This is an example of an explanation that isn’t clear at all so possibly a good paradox, and an example of how misunderstandings occur. Shakespeare could be referring to where a number of unpleasant matters were to be revealed, and that starting with lesser bad things prepared listeners for the blow of the greater misfortunes to follow. And he relates that in rhyme too, clever!