Posts by Russell Brown
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One of the more assiduous citizen journalists in Twitter says she's hearing that Lyttelton and Brighton are going to be hard places to live. Still haven't heard from my friend in Brighton.
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It hardly matters now, but I'd just finished the copy for the Wellington and Christchurch Great Blends, set for March 10 in Wellington and the 11th in Christchurch. Emailed it off, went for a swim, then came back to this.
I have no idea what happens now, I'm just glad our Christchurch people are okay.
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UPDATE: David Haywood, Jen and their kids are unhurt.
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Hard News: Again: Is everyone okay?, in reply to Megan Wegan,
This picture is particularly alarming.
I can't figure out where that is. Manchester St?
I think it's the CTV building.
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TVNZ running ads with coverage. Classy.
They've announced that they've stopped that.
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person with a camera here: http://twitter.com/dyedredlaura
This picture is particularly alarming.
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Any word from David and the behbehs?
I've texted. We can only wait.
There are reports on Twitter of the Cathedral being down.
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Hard News: Welfare: Back to the Future?, in reply to Stephen Judd,
Fair dos, I wasn’t expecting that.
Yes. Credit where due. Free contraception is good.
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Its key recommendation is scrapping all existing benefits, including the Domestic Purposes and Sickness Benefits, and replacing them with a single Jobseeker Support payment.
That payment would be administered by a single Crown Agency - Employment and Support New Zealand - standing at "arms length" from the Government.
Under the new system, a vast majority of beneficiaries would be required to apply for jobs regardless of difficult family circumstances, long term illness or disability.
Mothers would be forced to look for work once their first child turns three.
But that age limit would be reduced to 14 weeks if a mother had a second child while on the benefit, in the only recommendation not unanimously endorsed by the working group.
I haven't had a chance to look at what sort of jobs the authors think the disabled and long-term sick will be applying for.
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Hard News: Welfare: Back to the Future?, in reply to JackElder,
She regularly has to spend considerable amounts of time chasing up WINZ case managers to find out why payments haven't come in. It's a huge stuff-around.
I would not expect this system to become markedly more seamless and efficient if it's overloaded with a lot of single mothers being forced out to work.
Agreed. The chances of a complex and controversial new regime being competently introduced -- especially with respect to work-testing recipients of the sickness and invalid's benefits -- are vanishingly small.
Apart from anything else, there aren't nearly enough tame GPs currently on the books. And anyone who knows their rights will seek appeal. It's the people who can't stand up for themselves -- including people on the autism spectrum -- that worry me.