What’s up With ACT?
If ACT is now the party of feminists whinging about misogyny, I don’t know who is left to vote for.
Lindsay Mitchell
Māori Must Take Control
Children need stability, routine, security, and a mother and a father they can rely on. Welfare has robbed too many of these vital necessities. It isn’t the rest of New Zealand, the government, the public service, the Waitangi Tribunal, charities or academics who can fix this problem.
RNZ Showcases Why Nobody Trusts Mainstream Media
Yet again RNZ shows its total lack of balance.
No, This Is Self-Induced Poverty
You never hand money to an addict. Surely. Unless you are MSD. It is a crazy state of affairs. The state is using massive resources to stamp out the supply of P while simultaneously funding a large part of the demand.
If Luxon Stays, the Country Blunders On
He must go. His party must put New Zealand’s future and democratic foundations first.
Yes, Wellington Has Taken a Hammering
This isn’t much consolation to those losing their jobs today but let’s hope that the unavoidable correction to Labour’s six years of over-cooking the economy with borrowed money doesn’t come with too much more pain.
New Zealand’s Child Poverty Conundrum
The numbers cannot be encouraged to keep growing. That will only ramp-up inter-generational dependency and further deplete potential productivity.
Laugh Out Loud Hypocrisy
Those responsible for the recklessness, many of whom are now opposition spokespeople, haven’t a leg to stand on when it comes to forming a logical and credible objection.
It Is Time for Some Perspective
Lindsay Mitchell lindsaymitchell.blogspot.com A lack of perspective can make something quite large or important seem small or irrelevant. Against a backdrop of high-profile, negative statistics it is easy to overlook the positive. For instance, the fact that 64 per cent of Maori are employed is rarely reported. For
What Agency Can Be Trusted to Protect Children?
lindsaymitchell.blogspot.com The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour blind,
Does Culture Matter More Than Care?
lindsaymitchell.blogspot.com One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same? Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children in care now than as at
Babies and Benefits – No Good News
lindsaymitchell.blogspot.com Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. Add
Science? You Be the Judge
Lindsay Mitchell Lindsay Mitchell has been researching and commenting on welfare since 2001. Many of her articles have been published in mainstream media and she has appeared on radio, tv and before select committees discussing issues relating to welfare. Lindsay is also an artist who works under commission and exhibits
Two Timid Welfare Targets From the Govt
lindsaymitchell.blogspot.com The National Government has announced just two targets for the Ministry of Social Development. They are: – to reduce the number of people receiving Jobseeker Support by 50,000 to 140,000 by June 2029, and – (alongside HUD) to reduce the number of households in emergency housing by
Cuts Will Only Scratch the Surface
lindsaymitchell.blogspot.com While Thursday morning’s news heralded 134 job losses at the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Social Development has just announced their own plan to achieve the 6.5% savings requested by the new government: We will begin by offering people in some parts of our
What Media Bias Looks Like
lindsaymitchell.blogspot.com When news media took a pummeling last week at both TVNZ and TV3, a number of critics said part of the reason ratings are poor is the public don’t trust them. The public believes that the media is biased. The print media is similarly suspect. An