A new make-work scheme

What a colossal waste of parliamentary time.

Ex unionist, Darien Fenton, asked 140 separate written parliamentary questions about the number of people on various benefits, at various times, at various service centres only to be told;

Hon Paula Bennett (Minister for Social Development and Employment) replied: I refer the Member to the Ministry of Social Development’s quarterly benefit factsheets, which are published on the Ministry’s website (www.msd.govt.nz). This is also my response to written parliamentary questions 6219 to 6285 and 6304 to 6377 (2009).

Some of the questions asked for information about non-quarterly totals which wouldn't be published but 140 questions could nevertheless have been condensed into 3 or 4 quite easily. Perhaps filibustering has become institutionalised.

And the irony. The only other time Darien Fenton has come to my attention was when she was whining about New Zealanders working too hard.

Ms Fenton says the time has come to change the way people think about how many hours they should be working. She believes employers should also take a good hard look at how much work they throw at staff.

We mustn't laugh though. We are paying for it.