August 02, 2020
National MP Louise Upston right to blast Minister Sepuloni for welfare bigotry
Martyn 'Bomber' Bradbury: National Party Welfare spokesperson Louise Upston attacked Welfare Minister Carmel Sepuloni on Newshub over the weekend for the two-tier welfare system Labour have adopted as a response to the pandemic.
Sadly, however, Louise Upston wasn't offering anything more than pointing out the injustice of that two-tiered system rather than actually promising a break from the draconian welfare policies National have championed.
Labour have offered the two-tiered welfare system in the desperate hope that the recently unemployed won't have to directly interact with WINZ staff whose toxic culture and obtuse nature have been honed beating down solo parents and the long term unemployed.
The last thing Labour needs months out from an election is a tsunami of the recently unemployed who are not numbed by WINZ cruelty and counterproductive policies flooding social media with horror stories of WINZ malice.
So by providing a direct means for the recently unemployed to have minimal interaction with callow WINZ staff, Labour have avoided having to do anything meaningful about the toxic culture inside WINZ.
This stopgap bigotry (which is a slap in the face to the long term unemployed and solo parents it discriminates against) isn't sustainable however and at some stage Labour have to be serious about reforming welfare and the provision of services by WINZ or else the backlash from the electorate will become politically damaging to Jacinda's brand.
If Carmel Sepuloni can't reform WINZ, then get a Minister who can!
Martyn Bradbury
Editor – TheDailyBlog.nz
twitter.com/CitizenBomber
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