Labour govt 2020-23

[Balance]

And that's with no rent to pay, maybe a little bit of the $200pw towards rent, and what looks like some serious debt. Not hard to see why some hundreds of landlords won't take a chance on her as a tenant, even though she might be a good one. Recent changes to tenancy rules make it a really bad decision to take on a potential risk.

It is impossible not to feel sorry for her 5 children. What kind of future do they really have when they are in a constant state of flux in education, accommodation and father?

Blame has to be laid squarely on the mother - what was she thinking when she had the last 3 children especially when she knew that the eldest one has special needs?

Then, there're the two dogs!

But the greatest blame is with the welfare system introduced by Clark & Cullen - 'Working for Family' which really should be renamed 'Working against Family'.

The way the system works, it is much better for any couple in her situation to live apart so as a solo parent, she can derive maximum payments and benefits from the welfare system. If they stay as a couple, they start losing out under the abatement system.

Have a look at a schedule of welfare payments depending on how many kids are produced by welfare beneficiaries in the table below :

https://www.ird.govt.nz/-/media/proj...20210308210347

As Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore said to John Key once, seems like NZ put in welfare systems without any idea of the outcome.

[nztx]

But I'm the PM - I don't have to Pay


https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/pms-we...AWYWHOADDN254/

Jacinda Ardern has cancelled her wedding venue and the angry owner says the Prime Minister won't pay a $5000 fee.

Robin Pierson - the owner of the Bushmere Arms venue, on the outskirts of Gisborne - says Ardern and her partner Clarke Gayford booked the venue two years ago but talks broke down after a stoush over catering by a Kiwi celebrity chef.

"Jacinda and Clarke came here two years ago, she sat on the barstool and said, 'We'd like to book our wedding here'," Pierson told the Herald on Sunday.

More at link

[dobby41]

But I'm the PM - I don't have to Pay


https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/pms-we...AWYWHOADDN254/

More at link

Interesting headline - not what was in the article at all.
You would expect her to pay whatever was in the contract.
I haven't seen the contract so don't know - have you seen it.
The owner sounds like a bit of a d1ck.

"They have offered me $1200 and I've yet to get back to them. They say my fee is 'unfounded' but It's not up to them to tell me what my cancellation fee is," Pierson said.

His cancellation fee would be in the contract - or maybe not so he doesn't 'deserve' anything. You can't just make it up and expect to be paid.

[artemis]

It is impossible not to feel sorry for her 5 children. What kind of future do they really have when they are in a constant state of flux in education, accommodation and father?

Blame has to be laid squarely on the mother - what was she thinking when she had the last 3 children especially when she knew that the eldest one has special needs?.....

That's harsh. We don't know the circumstances and life can definitely chuck some curve balls. My post does lay blame, and it is on the current government for introducing rules and regs that protect tenants but introduce costs and risks for landlords. Who make decisions in their own best interests mostly.

There was another recent article in the media about a solo parent heading for transitional housing. There was no family they could stay with as they were all already in emergency housing. And almost certainly on the social housing waiting list.

It's a crisis for less than ideal tenants, and IMO a scandal.

[Panda-NZ-]

That's harsh. We don't know the circumstances and life can definitely chuck some curve balls. My post does lay blame, and it is on the current government for introducing rules and regs that protect tenants but introduce costs and risks for landlords. Who make decisions in their own best interests mostly.

There was another recent article in the media about a solo parent heading for transitional housing. There was no family they could stay with as they were all already in emergency housing. And almost certainly on the social housing waiting list.

It's a crisis for less than ideal tenants, and IMO a scandal.

He seems to have missed that childcare costs either the state or person 4k for all of those kids.

The mother is doing us all a favour by caring for them herself.

[Panda-NZ-]

What good is working when this happens:

The rise was put down to more parents in the workforce, and who were working longer hours, resulting in soaring childcare rolls.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/ind...-a-child-rises

National took away the training allowance to break this cycle and secure high paying roles with improved benefits like work life balance.

[artemis]

....

National took away the training allowance to break this cycle and secure high paying roles with better work life balance.

Don't recall the details now as it was years ago and superseded by student loans. Same as everyone else. The current government has effectively reinstated the TIA.

[Balance]

That's harsh. We don't know the circumstances and life can definitely chuck some curve balls. My post does lay blame, and it is on the current government for introducing rules and regs that protect tenants but introduce costs and risks for landlords. Who make decisions in their own best interests mostly.

There was another recent article in the media about a solo parent heading for transitional housing. There was no family they could stay with as they were all already in emergency housing. And almost certainly on the social housing waiting list.

It's a crisis for less than ideal tenants, and IMO a scandal.

Not only introducing the rules & regulations which drove up costs & rental prices but this government is so desperate that it is doing deals with developers, paying over the top for housing units (not standalones) in most places.

And we know that Kainga Ora, instead of building new houses, had been competing in the market to buy existing units.

In doing both of the above, this clueless government feeding the rising property prices. Making a bad situation worse and a crisis into a disaster.

No wonder property speculators, land bankers and building material companies absolutely love the incompetence and incoherence of this government.

[Logen Ninefingers]

Wow, $1.3 Billion over 4 years. Did NZ suddenly stumble across a huge financial windfall?! I haven't read anything about income tax increasing, or a capital gains tax coming into being - so how are we paying for this? Or are we just going full 'silly season' until the onset of 'The Great Reset'? I get the feeling Robertson and co aren't even pretending any more.


https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/...-to-13-billion

Climate change: New Zealand to quadruple climate cash for poor countries to $1.3 billion
Luke Malpass
05:15, Oct 18 2021

The Government has announced that it will be quadrupling the amount of money it spends over the next four years to help poorer countries deal with climate change.

In a significant boost to New Zealand’s global efforts to battle climate change, Stuff can reveal that over the next four years the Government has committed to ploughing $1.3 billion into offshore efforts, part of a global commitment to the developing world of $100b.

New Zealand’s previous commitment was $300 million.

[peetter]

It is impossible not to feel sorry for her 5 children. What kind of future do they really have when they are in a constant state of flux in education, accommodation and father?

Blame has to be laid squarely on the mother - what was she thinking when she had the last 3 children especially when she knew that the eldest one has special needs?

Then, there're the two dogs!

But the greatest blame is with the welfare system introduced by Clark & Cullen - 'Working for Family' which really should be renamed 'Working against Family'.

The way the system works, it is much better for any couple in her situation to live apart so as a solo parent, she can derive maximum payments and benefits from the welfare system. If they stay as a couple, they start losing out under the abatement system.

Have a look at a schedule of welfare payments depending on how many kids are produced by welfare beneficiaries in the table below :

https://www.ird.govt.nz/-/media/proj...20210308210347

As Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore said to John Key once, seems like NZ put in welfare systems without any idea of the outcome.

I'd much rather see free pre-school with meals for beneficiary kids and benefits in form of tax credits on income than current model of paying people for breeding. Also introduce limit on child benefits for up to 3 kids going forward. This would effectively encourage the parents to get work and children would still be fed, giving the children a semblance of a working parent role model.