Welfare reforms have not occurred – it’s still toxic. Is the politics of kindness hollow?
Carol from WINZ will see you now.
Surprise, surprise. Welfare is still toxic…
Welfare advocates frustrated with Work and Income’s ‘superficial’ changes
A raft of “superficial” changes to Work and Income’s offices have not abated the frustrations of those using the service, welfare advocates says.
The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) launched a pilot scheme to change the physical face of the organisation in 2018 by repainting walls, providing comfortable furniture, and arming security guards with warm greetings.
But an acknowledged “inconsistent” service has advocates saying promised substantive and legislative changes are overdue.
Wellington Free Store chaplain Rev Lynley Webster said she knew a Wellington man, out of work and without money or accommodation, who had been “shrugged off” by Work and Income prior to the Christmas holiday period.
…and this…
WINZ clients ‘beg’ for entitlements
“At one point WINZ stopped my childcare subsidy incorrectly and they wouldn’t back-pay me for it. I had to make a formal complaint, and after that one day someone rang me and said that I had been right all along, and finally it was sorted out.”
…no other Ministry has managed to utterly own their Minister quite like WINZ has. The announcement last year that the new Government are 20% less cruel than National was embarrassingly heralded like a mighty win…
Benefit suspensions drop after new policy
The number of people whose benefits are suspended or cancelled each day has dropped by more than a fifth in just a matter of weeks, the Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni says.
…on the same day it was announced that IRD and WINZ have screwed up and are now charging beneficiaries hundreds, if not thousands of dollars we got this pitiful claim that the toxic culture of WINZ has somehow been ‘modified’…
Parents who have had Family Tax Credit payments administered by Work and Income are now receiving letters from the Inland Revenue Department demanding re-payment of alleged debts arising from errors made by Work and Income.
Kirstie, a woman interviewed by Newshub (see 6.00pm TV3 News, Tuesday 26 June) has received a letter from IRD stating, “Our records show we haven’t received payment for your working for Families Tax Credits in full” and that this dates back to March 2014. IRD has told Kirstie she owes them $568.18 and she is being charged interest on this amount.
Another woman has received a letter from IRD stating she owes IRD over $7000.
…here was the Minister touring her toxic empire…
…if only this Government could protect the users of welfare services as much as they do the staff of these services.
Labour then went on to announce that they will spend $2.5million to make WINZ offices warm and fucking friendly…
All of Work and Income’s service centres will undergo a $2.5m transformation from cold, clinical waiting rooms into colourful, well-furnished spaces as part of the Government’s plan to make the welfare system “kinder” and less punitive.
The renovation of the 126 centres comes after the more welcoming approach was trialled at four service centres around the North Island.
“It’s the right thing to do,” said Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni.
“We don’t want to be pushing people into further hardship or causing unnecessary stress and anxiety in people’s lives because we’re making it difficult for them to access something that they are actually eligible for.”
…YAY! When the sadistic WINZ staff member (who seems to get off on the power they have over weak and vulnerable people) kicks you in the guts, turns down your welfare and spies through Facebook to see if you you are in a relationship, it’ll all happen in a warm and friendly environment.
Wokedom at it’s most hollow and insincere.
I’m sure most beneficiaries would be more than happy to swim through shark infested pools and walk over broken glass to just see a WINZ staff member who wasn’t looking to catch them out and use spite to denigrate and shame their vulnerability. Look at the most recent survey…
Survey shows four out of five people had negative experiences at WINZ
A new survey has shown that four out of five people have had negative experiences at Work and Income New Zealand (WINZ).The survey, conducted by the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) and ActionStation, questioned 267 people on their perspectives, insights and experiences of the welfare system.
The findings included an overwhelming trend of people having negative experiences with WINZ and a desperate lack of income to afford basic needs.
One of the key findings was that 84 per cent of people said they did not currently receive enough income to live with dignity and participate fully in the community.
…punishing people who don’t have enough already seems like the sort of social policy Mordor implements.
The simple naked truth is that beneficiaries don’t have enough to live on and making them hungry, cold and vulnerable only creates more costly social harm than any good, sadly the cult of bash the bennie is so engrained in our culture, Labour are too terrified to make meaningful change.
The de-unionised NZ workforce who have had their wages eroded now look sideways at the welfare cheque in envy, and that envy breeds hatred.
Labour have to bite the bullet and find some real courage to actually acknowledge people need to live on more and that the punitive sanctions are a sickening affront to who we want to be.
Anything less than that makes the Politics of Kindness hollow and meaningless.
Superficial indeed, and nothing much more will happen after the cabinet will have dealt with the recommendations by that social welfare advisory group they set up.
In the meantime, all is as per usual:
https://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.wordpress.com/2018/05/23/social-security-benefit-rates-in-new-zealand-set-at-will-by-governments-ignoring-socio-economic-realities-and-evidence/
https://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/social-security-benefit-rates-in-n-z-set-at-will-by-govt-ignoring-evidence-nzsjb-23-05-18.pdf
And others, e.g. MSDs Advisors, they do rather well:
https://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.wordpress.com/2017/05/01/msd-releases-oia-info-on-dr-bratts-and-other-senior-health-advisors-high-salaries-nearly-4-years-late/
PDF:
https://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.files.wordpress.com/2017/05/msd-releases-oia-info-on-health-advisors-salaries-nearly-4-years-late-post-30-04-171.pdf
Went with a friend to the Onehunga Office not long ago, NO real changes there, still old seating, no privacy, useless computer kiosk and what else they have.
Security hangs around there, at the door and inside, appearing somehow bored to death, but now have no more clipboards to check details and IDs, instead say ‘hello’ and ‘have a nice day’.
That is all we could note. The regime itself has NOT changed one bit, still same sanctions, same insufficient benefits, same staff, and same bean counting and nit picking.
there are things that could be done instantly to make the WINZ/MSD punishment machine slightly less sadistic; drop stand down periods for new applicants and people who have done temporary work, drop abatement rates on income earned totally below the Living Wage figure, write off all bullshit debt established once and for all, such as motel accomodation, drop all sanctions except in proven extreme fraud, hand out food vouchers and intros to food banks upon request, public transport vouchers, and free wifi and phone top ups where possible, no one should ever be denied food, benefit rates be boosted substantially to liveable rates etc.
the proof that WINZ/MSD have failed the vulnerable is right there in several years (HLFS) Household Labour Force Surveys, there are thousands more people self reported as unemployed, than those actually in receipt of a jobseeker allowance–if it was easy to get on, and stay on the “dole”, and it really was enough to live on, surely more would sign up for it?–but no, the punitive approach sends people underground and literally onto the streets
in the medium term a whole echelon of bludging neo libs need to cleaned out of the top ranks of the public service and forbidden via restraints of trade from working in the public sector again, or for a very long time–and it is past time to trial UBI/GMI for all citizens to end the demonisation of beneficiaries as some sort of personal failures, when the system has failed them!
Well given that they have only been in office about 14 months, I was not expecting nine years of toxicity to be cleared up in that time.
That said I am expecting comprehensive reform of the Social Welfare Act before the Government leaves office.