“Let’s Get Waitakere Moving Without Paula Bennett” says Unite Waitemata.

Protest at Paula Bennett's Office, 5.45 pm Thursday 15th August, 429 Great North Rd

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.”

“We think the best way for Waitakere to move forward is to remove Paula Bennett from office” said Janet Robin, President of Unite Waitemata, which is a branch of the Unite Union.

“Unite is a union for low paid workers and beneficiaries,” said Ms Robin.

“The real purpose of the benefit reforms is to make everybody compete on the labour market for scarce jobs, which will bring down wages. This helps employers increase their falling profits.” said Ms Robin.

“That’s why workers and beneficiaries need to unite against benefit cuts and wage cuts.”

“The Government is more interested in corporate welfare than social welfare “, said Ms Robin.

“WINZ punitive sanctions for such small things as being five minutes late for an appointment, mean that many people are just giving up trying to get a benefit at all, which is what WINZ wants.” she said.

“The less people on the benefit; the more the government saves money.”

“The government is focussing on getting the sick and disabled, and single parents, off benefits, because that is where the biggest welfare budget is”, she said.

“They plan to save more than a billion dollars by taking benefits off single parents and the sick, who are the people who need them the most” she said.

“With no jobs out there, it is hypocritical and ridiculous to pretend that WINZ really wants to help people get jobs.”

“If that is really their intention, why doesn’t the government create jobs?” she asked.

“Paula Bennett’s supposed caring for children suffering from violence is hypocritical when she is prepared to take half a benefit off a beneficiary family for something as trivial as not attending a doctor’s appointment.”

“This contravenes the United Nations Rights of the child, for the necessities of life; as obviously a child cannot be supported on half a benefit.”

“The biggest hypocrisy of all is the fact the Paula Bennett was on the DPB, was helped to get a deposit for her first home, and received a Training Incentive Allowance which helped her to study full time at tertiary level and eventually to get the career she now has. Yet she has destroyed all these possibilities for other beneficiaries now.”

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