This is an injudicious response from Bennett.
1/ It sounds threatening
2/ The question is entirely reasonable given the data now available about at risk children and long-term welfare dependence
3/ The government is doing quite a lot to reduce the incidence of "young, incapable and irresponsible" parents through various policies. Does Bennett stand behind those policies?
4/ In light of this, her taking aim at a particular question/er displays illogical defensiveness and animosity
I have only ever had one direct piece of correspondence from Bennett when she objected to my pointing out that while many sole parents came off welfare, they also returned. She was offended on their behalf. At least they were trying. And she herself had tried to come off welfare and had to return.
It's a little like the Left's 'walk a mile in my shoes' deflection whenever someone questions the circumstances of a needy person. It doesn't wash with me.
An MP or Minister's job is to deal with questions objectively. I am sure that the questioner knows what Paula's background is. It's been well-publicized.
(Disclaimer - My reaction is based purely on the DomPost snippet. I have no further context. But nether do the thousands of other readers.)
4 comments:
Even if she is part of a small number who do succeed it's not really an answer but then I am increasingly thinking that this government is still ducking the really hard decisions in this and many other areas.
The teenage birth raste should tell you something. This was a political stunt no less one could guess.
Correction needed to this line "..thousands of other readers".
Should read ".... hundreds of other readers". The rest of us only buy the rag just for the 5 minute quiz - it's not as if it's got anything newsworthy in it! It's kind of like a newspaper would be if it never got past infancy.
My Mum only buys it for the various quizzes though Dad probably reads more.
My typical approach is scan through the news, look at the letters and op-eds to see if there are any contributors I want to read, go to the Target and see if I can get the big word in under a minute - if not, abandon. Go to the crossword and see if I can get the two first horizontal words that make-up a saying or phrase when put together ... and abandon that if I can't get it quickly. Then it goes in the cupboard awaiting recycling bin. The whole process takes about 5 mins.
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