MEDIAWATCH: Greg Presland’s meltdown tantrum Sepuloni blog and the limitations of identity politics journalism 

WHAT?

‘Historic moment’: Carmel Sepuloni is NZ’s first Pasifika deputy prime minister

Carmel Sepuloni will make history as New Zealand’s first deputy prime minister of Pasifika heritage.

The Labour Party Pasifika caucus celebrated her promotion on Sunday, with the excitement bubbling over even before incoming Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and the full Labour caucus had confirmed her role.

But there are some questions, most vocally from Te Pāti Māori, about what the role of tangata whenua would be in the Hipkins-led Government.

This is such appalling identity politics journalism even for Stuff!

Where the Christ is the analysis of Carmel’s terrible decisions on welfare and Oranga Tamariki?

How can celebrating her identity trump analysis of her time as Minister of Social Welfare in a Labour Government?

How can her not implementing the Welfare Expert Advisory Group recommendations or amputating Oranga Tamariki oversight not be forefront in analysing Carmel’s appointment as Deputy?

Instead we get diversity virtue signals masquerading as journalism minus any class analysis of her time in power!

Greg Presland’s meltdown tantrum over at The Standard in defending Carmel’s appointment has to be read to be believed.

He argues that Carmel changed the culture of MSD Offices and has lifted 66 500 children out of poverty while claiming my criticism of Carmel is due to her being a woman which is quite possibly the dumbest thing Greg Presland has ever said.

My criticism of Carmel has nothing to do with her being a woman, and has everything to do with the terrible decisions she has made as Minister towards the most vulnerable.

If Greg wants to lock into a woke identity politics lens and claim my criticism is because Carmel is a woman, surely he must then expand that woke identity politics lens and acknowledge that many of the must vulnerable are in fact women and Carmel is doing that because she secretly hates women.

See how redundant that viewpoint is?

I will concede Greg that I am wrong when I quote…

None of the 42 key recommendations made by the Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG) in February 2019 have been fully implemented, according to a stocktakereleased today [MONDAY 30 NOV] by the Child Poverty Action Group. Of the 126 detailed recommendations, only 4 (3%) have been found to be fully implemented.

…because that was the first report from 2020. The 2021 report hilariously argues that of the 42 key recommendations, NONE of them have been completed with only 22 partially implemented…

Govt yet to fully implement a single key WEAG recommendation nearly three years on: new research

None of the 42 key recommendations of the Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG) have been fully implemented almost three years after the report release, with 22 minimally or partially implemented, new research by the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) has found.

In February 2019, following consultation with over 3,000 New Zealanders, government-appointed WEAG experts recommended complete reform of the welfare system, providing 42 key recommendations and 126 detailed recommendations to inform this overhaul.

The Government’s vision – for a welfare system where people have an “adequate income and standard of living” – is not being realised, according to CPAG researchers and report co-authors Caitlin Neuwelt-Kearns and Professor Emeritus Innes Asher. In their second annual stocktake of implementation of WEAG’s recommendations, they found progress in improving the welfare system to be “slow, patchy and piecemeal”.

“If transformative welfare reform had been introduced as WEAG recommended, our communities would have been better equipped to withstand crises, including a pandemic,” says Professor Asher, who also served as a WEAG member. “Accelerating welfare reform would be an appropriate response to Covid-19 – but so far we have seen slow implementation progress, with no acceleration from last year.”

…so it’s worse than I originally claimed. I thought they had implemented 4. Turns out they have implemented none.

As for the 2022 report, Professor Susan St John has written much on why that report isn’t credible.

Put aside the real lack of traction on welfare reforms, you can’t pretend that removing the Children’s Commissioner from Oranga Tamariki oversight makes things worse for children in state care!

In light of the Royal Commission into historic abuse of children by the State, removing oversight is criminal negligence, not wise social policy!

What’s funniest about Greg’s tantrum in defending Carmel winning Deputy is how the commentators and even fellow bloggers attack his assertions of Welfare wins for beneficiaries in the comments section.

Greg is right however when he argues Carmel has been an influence in pulling the more draconian elements of MSD back from their usual innate cruelty…

No beneficiaries sanctioned for failing social obligations

No one has ever had their benefit cut for failing to have their children in school or early education, or enrolled with a doctor.

…so yes, she has been less cruel than the previous cruelty, but that’s not really much of a vision is it?

We are less cruel than the others! VOTE FOR US!

More destabilising to Greg’s defence is the moment earlier this year when Luxon promised to sanction 2000 disabled teenagers off welfare which was immediately seized on by the Left as evidence of National’s draconian bash the bennies bullshit again.

How quickly our righteousness in attacking Luxon evaporated however when it turned out that Carmel has in fact cut the benefits of around 4000 sick, injured and disabled jobseekers in the last five years because they weren’t preparing to return to work fast enough!

Govt sanctions sick jobseekers for failing to prepare for work

The Labour Government has cut the benefits of around 4000 sick, injured of disabled jobseekers in the last five years because they weren’t preparing to return to work fast enough.

Greg, you claim my criticism of Carmel is because I hate women, that’s a Wellington Runner Mill level smear.

Look Greg, I shouldn’t have to be wasting energy fighting you, the possibility of a romper stomper hard right ACT/National Government would be the worst thing this country has seen and will damage friends, family and loved ones in communities we live in and care about.

An ACT/National Government is the real enemy here, while you’re just an annoying little prick.

Here’s what I’ll offer Greg.

I will gladly stop criticising Carmel as Deputy and accept I’m a bad women hating person for questioning her AND I’ll publicly pledge my vote to Labour IF you get Carmel, now she is Deputy, to implement all the WEAG recommendations, review all those 4000 sanctions and re-appoint the Children’s Commissioner to have oversight of Oranga Tamariki with the budget to investigate.

You have argued Carmel is great, you claim she is a friend to working people, well, now she is in a position of actual power, simply rewind these 3 terrible decisions AND you get my Labour vote as well!

This is a win win win win for you Greg! You get to one up me (which clearly you need), Carmel does the right thing for all those vulnerable people, all those vulnerable people get transformative change AND you get an extra vote for Labour!

If Carmel is as good as you claim, I look forward to the press release announcing WEAG recommendations, reappointment of the Children’s Commissioner providing oversight of Oranga Tamariki and a review of the 4000 teens we threw off welfare.

I support Chippy as Leader and would gladly support Carmel as Deputy if the latter rescinded the terrible decisions she made as Minister.

This isn’t a case of the perfect eclipsing the good, it’s a case of the stupid eclipsing the ignorant, Carmel has overseen terrible decisions and pretending otherwise so we can all cheer an identity politics win is just beneath the trauma of what is happening in our most vulnerable communities.

 

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