The following appears on the front page of the Dominion Post. It's not news - not in sense that news implies something 'new'.
Dr Van Herck, who is originally from Belgium and has been working in New Zealand for 2½ years, said many able-bodied sickness beneficiaries should be on the unemployment benefit instead.
"A lot of people on sickness benefits say Work and Income staff have sent them and just expect you to sign the form."
He had seen one woman who had been on a sickness benefit for 19 years because of asthma but smoked a packet of cigarettes a day. Work and Income had offered her several quit programmes. "She admitted she was too lazy to go."
Another sickness beneficiary's documented reason for not working was they "could not be bothered".
He signed off both beneficiaries but wrote on their forms that they needed follow-up and reassessment.
On the day he saw the asthma sufferer, he also saw a man whose leg had been amputated above the knee and who worked full-time, despite pain. Another woman continued to work after a stroke.
"They are paying taxes to sustain somebody with asthma smoking a packet of cigarettes a day. Many GPs have complained; it becomes a culture of handouts."
What it is going to take to break this culture? First there has to be a consensus that 'bludging' just isn't acceptable. Until that happens isolated individuals will struggle to stand up to the intimidation or sheer persistence. Alongside the culture of handouts is the culture of making excuses for people. The opposite doesn't demand that we stomp all over people punitively. What it requires is more people showing, teaching and expecting aspiration and ambition.
Sometimes those people just aren't available in the lives of beneficiaries. But they exist in the community. And I have seen the difference 'mentoring' relationships can make.
Then I have also seen the resistance of people to any effort to help and encourage them. In which case we need to relearn a culture of just saying 'NO'.
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5 comments:
Mny of these beneficiaries are from the unemployment benefit and are encouraged to go on the sickness bneefit by case managers who cant meet their job placement targets. So the beneficiaries are told to go to the dr to get a medical certificate. Once they have their first medical certificate they stay there as they know that if they dont get another one after 13 weeks the benefit is automatically suspended.
If WINZ gets a medical certificate it cannot question it, because you canot question bullied Drs opinions. Some Drs love a visit by beneficiaries every 13 weeks - its easy money and they havent got the balls to refuse to sign the form for able bodies sickness beneficiaries.
Right.
the only solution is a day one abolition of all these benefits. The whole lot.
I am amazed how often people speak about things they know nothing about. Winz can in fact question a doctors medical certificate and often do the longer a person stays on the benefit, they can and do ask for a second opinion from another doctor.
As for the "solution" to abolishing all benefits... I hope that is a joke. Even a fool would see that would increase the homeless population by huge amounts and the crime rate as those who are unable to work start to take desperate measures to eat and support themselves.
You are trying say is the poor and vulnerable somehow deserve it, so you can justify the fact you simply do not care what happens to them as long as *you* are ok, and *you* do not have to be a decent human being and contribute to support the vast majority that in fact need the support.
Just wait until you discover how *easy* it is to get onto the benefit and try to live on it, after *you* develop a brain tumor or be gang raped and be expected to tell and relive the gruesome details over and over because winz wants a second or third opinion, as you claim does not happen.
Why don't you just suggest that all "benefit bludgers" take a pill to end their life, seeing you seem to only value people by the size of their wallets. I am certain that most of us would be glad to take it, to not be in a world filled with heartless scum like you.
Anonymous ( that last one). Unlike you, it appears, I have been a WINZ case manager. I think I know whats going down at WINZ, from the WINZ perspective not a beneficiary, a lot more than you do. I can confirm that a WINZ case manager cannot challenge a decision from a GP. But if i was you case manager you`ll be looking for work double quick.
I don't value people by the size of their wallet but by the size of their contribution. Most unemployed and SBs I have personally met contribute nothing and live off the work of others. I have bad back, suffer a chronic nerve damage problem and experience pain almost every day. I still manage to work - sometimes three jobs at a time over the past ten years to prpvide for my family.
Brian Smaller
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