Latest Welfare Headlines

Let’s Get Waitakere Moving Without Paula Bennett, says Unite

Tue, 13 Aug 2013 17:20:06 +1200 | Unite Waitemata

Interest is building in a protest at Paula Bennett’s Office at 6.45 pm, Thursday 15 August, against the welfare reforms; called by Unite Waitemata Paula Bennett will be addressing a public meeting about “Moving Waitakere Forward.”More >>

New Child Protection Measures Announced

Tue, 13 Aug 2013 14:07:13 +1200 | Hamish Cardwell

At a press conference in Wellington today Minister for Social Development Paula Bennett laid out Child Harm Prevention Orders. The plans include barring suspected and convicted child abusers from having access to children to children.More >>

Government ignoring poverty, again

Tue, 13 Aug 2013 13:15:35 +1200 | Green Party

It remains to be seen if announcements today will better protect children, but the National Government is forgoing an opportunity to really help kids by ignoring the elephant in the room, which is poverty, Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei says.More >>

Welfare debt a bigger target than unpaid tax

Tue, 13 Aug 2013 09:40:54 +1200 | Victoria University of Wellington

New research from Victoria University shows government agencies are more likely to write off unpaid tax than welfare debt—even though the outstanding tax bill is almost six times larger.More >>

“Let’s Get Waitakere Moving Without Paula Bennett”

Tue, 13 Aug 2013 09:39:20 +1200 | Unite Union

Interest is building in a protest at Paula Bennett’s Office at 6.45 pm, Thursday 15 August , against the welfare reforms; called by Unite Waitemata. More >>

Werewolf Edition #41 : The John Key "Nanny State" Issue

Mon, 12 Aug 2013 10:00:12 +1200 | Werewolf

Hi and welcome to the 41st edition of Werewolf, in which we’re kicking back against the real Nanny State . Here at the ‘Wolf we’re dead against the kind of Big Government that passes laws that (a) condone mass surveillance (b) penalise legitimate protest ...More >>

Waipareira And Papua New Guinea – Humble Beginnings

Fri, 9 Aug 2013 16:01:54 +1200 | Te Whanau O Waipareira Trust

The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea praised Te Whanau O Waipareira for the work they are doing in the community. More >>

Increased pension portability to Realm countries

Fri, 9 Aug 2013 13:52:42 +1200 | New Zealand Government

Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully today joined Cook Islands Prime Minister Henry Puna in Rarotonga to announce improved pension portability for those looking to retire to the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau from New Zealand.More >>

Labour plans for expansion of Well Child service welcomed

Thu, 8 Aug 2013 17:30:27 +1200 | Every Child Counts

The announcement today that Labour would expand Well Child provision to enable nurses to visit vulnerable mothers at home before the birth of baby is a welcome commitment to invest in children’s early years,” says Every Child Counts.More >>

New fund focuses on quality of life in Canterbury

Thu, 8 Aug 2013 17:18:08 +1200 | Canterbury Community Trust

The Canterbury Community Trust (‘the Trust’) is proactively supporting innovation and employment by launching a new $2.5 million Social Enterprise Fund, says a leading US public policy consultant.More >>

New findings on health loss and where gains might be made

Thu, 8 Aug 2013 17:02:30 +1200 | University of Otago

The Ministry of Health has just released a new “Burden of Disease” study for New Zealand – a culmination of many years of study into disability, disease and premature death. More >>

Contractors the real winners in welfare reforms

Wed, 7 Aug 2013 15:52:38 +1200 | New Zealand Labour Party

The government is paying private contractors more to get sole parents off its books than it would cost to boost their long-term career prospects by reinstating support to study, Labour’s Social Development spokesperson Jacinda Ardern says.More >>

Call for journalists to improve disability knowledge

Wed, 7 Aug 2013 15:45:15 +1200 | Article 33 Convention Coalition

A report being launched today says that the lack of disability awareness and responsiveness within the New Zealand media is huge. This lack of awareness contributes to journalists, more often than not, seeking out the voices of organisations run for, and not by, ...More >>

Unite Union decries WINZ wage subsidy to McDonald's

Tue, 6 Aug 2013 14:25:40 +1200 | Unite Union

Unite Union is questioning the $270,000 paid by WINZ as a wage subsidy to McDonald's between July 2009 and June 2013. "This subsidy is only for the stores directly owned by the US fast food giant. 80% of stores in New Zealand are franchisee owned so the ...More >>

Youth Services making a difference

Tue, 6 Aug 2013 14:06:38 +1200 | New Zealand Government

Social Development Minister Paula Bennett says young people are responding well to the new way of working with Youth Services. “We introduced welfare changes for young people to help them into work quickly so they can lead positive, productive ...More >>