Lindsay Mitchell

From the hinterland, the back blocks of rural heartland, one of my favourite commentators and artists Mark Wahlberg has started a blog  Insi...

Oh wait. Did I get that right? Here's a quote I used recently when opposing the linking of benefits to wage inflation:  "...it...

In the permissive tradition made famous by Metiria Turei, Greens co-leader Marama Davidson says : "It doesn't matter why you can...

These are extremely unusual times. 'Stay calm and carry on' is my preferred mode of action. A side effect of this flux is the expo...

The matter of falling fertility caught my attention last year when I produced this paper for Family First. NZ's fertility rate had dr...

Media Release: Parents on benefits continue having babies March 3, 2020 Lindsay Mitchell, Welfare Commentator and researcher In 2019 ...

Shane Jones' adding- insult- to- injury comments are intriguing: "I challenge anyone in New Zealand to disagree with me in term...

" Unsupported Child’s Benefit is a weekly payment which helps carers supporting a child or young person whose parents can't care f...

One explanation for why Jobseeker numbers continue to climb despite the unemployment rate staying low might be part-time employment. An in...

Latest stats just released by MSD Here's the longer term back story:

Almost 12,000 more children on benefits February 25, 2020 Lindsay Mitchell, Welfare commentator and researcher Data released under th...

Indexing benefits to wages is setting a precedent. They've been indexed to inflation since 2001 but this move has always been resisted....

Given child poverty reduction isn't playing well for Jacinda, she might reflect on this piece of realism and honesty from Don Brash as N...

Reported in a soundbite during tonight's TV One News the italicised finding below. The press release  from which the soundbite arose: ...

Here the official unemployment rate (from the HLFS ) is charted against the receipt of Jobseeker benefit (from MSD fact sheets ) by region...

There are people in prison who shouldn't be there. And there are people who aren't in prison who should be there.  According to...

Regarding the Flaxmere tragedy, earlier this week we were told : "Foster said no other government agencies, such as Oranga Tamariki...

A few weeks back I posted about burgeoning and  massively expensive motel residence funded by Work and Income. Just advised from MSD: ...

This evening, a gathering for a karakia for the nameless beaten Flaxmere four-year-old delivers an honest observation : Hastings District...

Much has been mentioned by media lately regarding student debt. There's another kind of debt that hits the young too. Child support debt...