Paula starves bennies and then appears on Good Morning showing them how to cook 'cheap eats' - the audacity!
Last week, TVNZ embarrassed themselves by giving Paula Bennett a propaganda platform to soften her public image by talking about loving little babies rather than ONE question from former National Party candidate Paul Henry about her Welfare Razor Gang voodoo math which is being used to justify forcing solo mothers, the mentally unwell, the crippled and the sick back to work in a 6.8% unemployment environment.
I didn't think it could possibly get worse - oh but it did. On Tuesday a terrible story about a solo mother losing a sixth of her body weight since the beneficiary slashing appeared...
When belt tightening is not enough
A sole parent says she has lost a sixth of her bodyweight because she has not been able to eat properly since the Government tightened access to training subsidies for beneficiaries last year. Sara, a 35-year-old West Auckland mother in her second year of an applied science degree at Unitec, gets $517 a week in welfare but needs $668 a week to pay rent, drive to her classes and run a home for herself and her 12-year-old daughter - a shortfall of $151 a week.
This solo mother simply can not afford to live on the benefit given her and the sheer cruelty of the depth of NZs hatred towards those on welfare is fully explored by Idiot/Savants point made by NZ's best documentary maker, Alister Barry in his brilliant, In a Land of Plenty...
experts worked out minimum food budgets for beneficiaries based on nutritional needs and different expectations of diet. Treasury took the lowest level - which was inadequate to meet basic nutritional needs - and cut it by 20% to provide an "incentive". And while benefits have been inflation adjusted, that basic gap between benefit levels and minimum nutritional needs has remained ever since. And now we're back in an era of mass unemployment and longer durations on benefits, it is again coming back to haunt us.
...we have purposely set welfare at nutrition levels 20% lower than the lowest level and then on top of this news story about beneficiaries starving Paula Bennett has the audacity to appear on Good Morning yesterday telling people how to cook 'cheap eats'.
Her 'Let them eat leak and potato soup' was in extraordinary bad taste in the wake of the solo mother starving story and just further proof of what an extension of the National Party TVNZ has sadly become.
Ugly, so very ugly.
posted by Bomber @ 7:42 am
12 comments
12 Comments:
So its cruel to not pay a beneficiary over $47000 a year?
Dr 'Truth' you are moving from climate denial and getting into social policy? How terrifying, perhaps you missed my point, which let's be honestbased on your previous posts on this site isn't a surprise, let me cut and paste it again for you...
we have purposely set welfare at nutrition levels 20% lower than the lowest level and then on top of this news story about beneficiaries starving Paula Bennett has the audacity to appear on Good Morning yesterday telling people how to cook 'cheap eats'.
...there you go champ.
"So its cruel to not pay a beneficiary over $47000 a year?"
Yes Bomber, people are starving in the streets.
The problem with your militant rhetoric is that when people see that beneficaries are not starving and that the only people panhandling for change are those wanting to buy some woodies than they simply don't believe such crass socialist propoganda.
How come the rent is $668 a week? That sounds like an awful lot even for someone who is working 40hrs a week.
Even by just reading that article, something doesn't sound right and I don't mean in relation to the Government but on the solo mothers side.
That lady is lucky!
When I was a student I lived less than half what she did ($220 a week ), I rode my bike to class and leek and potato soup was a luxury!
"we have purposely set welfare at nutrition levels 20% lower than the lowest level"
Have you actually seen how many morbidly obese people there are on benefit day in south akl?
@Anon 11:43AM
Her rent is $295 per week.
The $688 figure is her total costs for the week including rent, bills, medical costs etc.
SARA'S BUDGET
Income
* DPB + Temporary Additional Support (net of repayments to Work and Income for benefit advances) - $289.86 pw
* Accommodation supplement - $125.00 pw
* Family support (one child aged 12) - $86.00 pw
* Disability allowance - $16.46 pw
TOTAL - $517.32 pw
Fixed costs
* Rent (2.5-bedroom flat in West Auckland) - $295.00 pw
* Petrol (to Unitec Mt Albert 5 days pw + hospital visits etc) - $90.00 pw
* Debt repayments (credit card + HP for child's clothes & shoes) - $50.00 pw
* Power - $38.00 pw
* Child's bus home from intermediate school - $27.00 pw
* Phone/internet (required for study) - $26.00 pw
* Parking (Unitec) - $12.00 pw
* Medical costs (fixed weekly payment to friendly GP) - $10.00 pw
* Water bill - $10.00 pw
* Fines (no WOF or rego on car - still can't afford WOF) - $10.00 pw
TOTAL - $568.00 pw
Net deficit before food - $50.68 pw
Deficit allowing $100 for food - $150.68 pw
So how do you explain the number of beneficiaries who smoke, drink alcohol, smoke dope and are obese.
You seem to be a sucker for a headline (as long as it supports your prejudice) without doing you research.
Fast/junk food outlets love beneficiaries - expensive empty calories for the lazy and stupid.
Looks to me like this, already lean woman, is attention seeking.
50 kilos may not be an unhealthy weight, depends on her height and other facts. My ‘ideal’ weight is 52 kilos – unfortunately at the moment I am 60 kilos.
As has been demonstrated numerous times eating healthy is cheaper that eating junk, just takes a little more effort.
I do find the Paula Bennett appearance in bad taste, and indeed many of the comments that have been posted. Making the lives of the already unfortunate even harder is not going to help them, or society. It makes no sense to kick those already injured, unless you're an ignorant bigot or a bully.
However, did you mean that $517 is not enough to meet nutritional needs in light of the research that has indicated just that? If so, can I just whine a little on behalf of students, who are living off less than $200 a week per person, irregardless of location (and therefore rent costs)? A little OT I know, but still somewhat ridiculous.
"If so, can I just whine a little on behalf of students, who are living off less than $200 a week per person,"
Bro, I'm reduced to drinking double browns so that's how hardup I am.
I demand in the name of humanity that the govnt give me more more so that I can drink stella or hitup some woodies.
Cant see a problem.
As far as appearances go I think its safe to assume that Paula Bennett is an absolute expert/tohunga/jedi when it comes to educating people about food & eating.
No?
Tuber or not tuber...
Her 'Let them eat leak and potato soup' was in extraordinary bad taste...
I'm guessing that's a staple soup in the Beehive
- leaks being the dark art of the "sieve-all service"...
whereas leeks would mean Paula is Welshing on her obligations to nation's needy...
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