Welfare Highlights 2006

To wrap for the year, here are a few of the government's welfare highlights;

- Labour convinces a majority of NZers (using their money) that welfare is for everyone - including Ipod and cell phone owners - as opposed to Micky Savage's vision of welfare meeting only the most basic needs

- the unemployment rate stays near the top of the OECD , but 1 in 8 homes has nobody employed

- sickness and invalid benefit numbers don't grow as fast but continue to grow

- the number of 16-19 year-old welfare-dependent single parents creeps up guaranteeing a permanent DPB caseload for decades to come

- the number of people on the DPB drops due to part-time workers moving to a higher welfare subsidy - the 'In Work' payment

- NZ gets its first 'Super Ministry' after MSD remerges with CYFS

- CYFS receives a record number of child abuse and neglect notifications

- The Canadian MSD Deputy Chief Executive finishes his two year stint without causing the government any embarrassment (think Paula Tyler and John Davey)

- The Minister, Benson-Pope, repeatedly shows ignorance of his portfolio and does cause embarrassment (but is a forgiven 'conscientious and hard-working' Minister)

- The Minister, Benson Pope, manages to evade parliamentary questions about how much the Kahui whanau was receiving in benefits and national anxiety about taxpayers being forced to fund murderer's lifestyles eventually recedes

- For a change, WINZ doesn't experience any high profile staff fraud but an Auckland electrician makes up for it big time

- the Maori Party starts their term slamming welfare but are soon asking for more, proving they are still a reliable coalition partner for Labour

- shifting welfare expenditure into the IRD jurisdiction cleverly disguises growing redistribution

- welfare spending reaches an all-time high and receives no criticism



Feel like celebrating?