There is a bizarre story in the Herald today about a woman who is apparently starving to death on her benefit because it is not enough? I say bizarre, because, unlike the “journalist” responsible for this article, I can do arithmetic. Firstly, the reason given for this lady to be in such dire straits is: [...]

I have to say I am amused by the frenzied reaction to the story of the Chinese drug dealer who was drawing a sickness benefit and living in a state house. Does anyone actually think this is an abnormal situation? Judging by the reactions over on Kiwiblog, I would say the answer to that is [...]

Two stories caught my eye today, both of them involving beneficiaries. The first is the story of a woman who has been battling with WINZ because she has investment properties that WINZ says count against her receiving an accommodation allowance. I note that she seems to have a fairly extensive rental property portfolio and seems [...]

Paula Bennett has turned her attention to invalid beneficiaries. In a carefully worded statement, she says: “This Government will support those that cannot work. “I just want to be clear that this is not a blanket 85,000 people having to walk through the doors of Work and Income in the first month or something,” Ms [...]