Go Paula Bennett.
Finally we have a government willing to attack the political nightmare of New Zealand’s welfare dependency.
It is going to be wrought with hyperbole surrounding inflated cases of child neglect (they are there already people), and sob stories, (when many are investigated it will reveal the truth).
There are going to be so many do-gooders up in arms and of course the opposition has jumped down National's throat saying they need to create jobs to give these people. Well, let them mine areas of New Zealand and create jobs, and why didn’t Labour, while they had the good years and not the global recession that National has had to deal with, tackle the long term unemployed?
If, after mining, they plant natives and ensure that the area will regenerate with little impact on the environment, what is the harm?
And if there aren’t jobs for the long term unemployed, then why are we employing overseas labour for our horticulture industry? I think the answer is because for some it has been too easy for them to collect their welfare cheque rather than get up and go to work.
I’m not saying it is all, and believe me I know there are people struggling to find work, but if you argue that all on the dole queue feel that way, your head is buried in the sand and you need to come back to reality. I think it is long overdue that we let the drop kicks that have burdened our welfare system, cost us taxes and contributed zilch to society know that they need to get off their butts.
People may say this is being cruel, well I don’t care. And the truth is, these people will feel much better about themselves when they do make a change.
We can’t say that the government shouldn’t take away their benefits because the children will suffer, because to be honest, those few who aren’t willing to make an effort to meet their obligations to keep their benefits probably aren’t looking after their children anyway.
I’ll bet they can still afford a crate and a pack of smokes. I’m no angel and every week relax with a drink or eight, but I work for it and I look after my kids. I’m also not stupid, I know that there are many who will still cheat the system, they put father unknown on the birth certificate so their boyfriend doesn’t have to pay child support and they can have more children together.
They will pop out another when one is nearing the age of six and they need a job. But the government needs to stay on top of this and for the select few that do this, investigate cases more and make it harder for them. At the moment for some the welfare system is a career choice.
There is the argument that there are some that are just unemployable because they will turn up to interviews in dire states, probably under the influence of one or another substance. Well, cut their benefit then.
Or if they are really that disgusting, put them all in a warehouse together to sort recycling, must be cheaper than flying it all to China to process. And if they all turn up to work off their trees on P and decide to massacre each other, is it really that much of a loss?
Another thing bothering me is the possible sale of dairy farms to the Hong Kong based investors. The New Zealand dairy farms and its farmers underpin much of our economy and if we start to sell them offshore with a looming food crisis, where will it stop. I would prefer SOE Landcorp to swoop in and buy these farms.
This is a whole other blog.
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