Author Archives: againstwelfarereforms

1st October Press Release National Day of Action

National Day of Action Against Welfare Reforms, National Press Release

 “If you are neutral in situations of injustice , you have chosen the side of the oppressor”.

 Bishop Desmond Tutu

 The aim of the National Day of Action against Welfare Reform on the 5th of oct 2012 is to hold The NZ National Party accountable for implementing detrimental welfare policies that stigmatise and vilify the poor also to expose the unethical tactics used to fast track legislation of these policies. In April 2012 Chief Human Rights Commissioner David Rutherford criticised the submissions process, saying “the constrained timeframe of just 11 working days undermined the principles of democracy”.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10800260

The ministry of justice has also admitted that the welfare reforms are discriminatory

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10800260

 Because of this we believe they are in breach of the NZ Bill of Rights Act in May 23, this year Green MP Jan Logie made these comments

“It has been noted that the proposed welfare reforms will breach ICESCR (International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) articles 2,3,4,6,9,10,11 and 12 and concerns have been raised by the Human Rights Commission and many others noting breaches to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention of Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People.”

http://blog.greens.org.nz/2012/05/23/government-on-the-way-to-making-human-rights-a-cliche/

 New Zealand deserves integrity and honesty from its leaders. We request not only an enquiry but also more dialogue and transparency from NZ Government also that the Attorney General’s Report in to these matters be released to the public as we believe the Welfare Reform Bill to be invalid not only for human rights breaches

but also for the breach of Article 2 of the Treaty

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tino_rangatiratanga

 and the breach of the UNDRIP which was endorsed by government in 2010

http://posttreatysettlements.org.nz/long-standing-implications-the-undrip-and-nz/

 We believe the National party has utilised beneficiaries as the scapegoats of NZ which is unfair considering the tax cuts that they gave to the rich and there is already subsidised contraception available at family planning clinics the only real solution to poverty is education not vilification. Studies have proven that raising children is the equivalent of having 2 fulltime jobs.

 This day is not only about dignity for all New Zealand families whether rich or poor it is also about the challenge to save ethics and humanity in New Zealand.

The Peoples Collective NZ

The.Peoples.Collective.NZ@gmail.com

DEAR JOHN

Being sent to John key, on behalf of the National Day:

Hello,

On behalf of many disappointed New Zealanders who will be protesting parts of the current welfare reforms, I respectfully invite Mr Key to attend one of the many protest actions to be held around the country at 1pm on Friday the 5th of October, 2012.

To that end, I would like to know where Mr Key is scheduled to be around that time, so that contact can be made with the protest group in that area, to organise a time for Mr Key to speak about the decisions made, to answer some questions, and to take on feedback from affected groups. It is hoped that the feedback he receives will be constructive, and can assist in altering the suggested changes to become more workable and acceptable to those affected.

I anticipate that this activity should take only an hour of Mr Key’s time, plus travel. Although the protest action is scheduled to begin at 1pm, some flexibility is available for Mr Key’s attendance.

Kind regards,

The National Day of Action Against Welfare Reforms

ps: For the sake of clarity and openness, I would like to mention that this e-mail, and any responses, will probably be copied (in full) onto the protest action’s website for public viewing and comment.

Criticism over welfare reforms

An academic says the Government’s welfare reforms will treat beneficiaries as though they’re subhuman.

A bill that will merge seven types of benefits into three will soon be introduced into Parliament and go before a Select Committee.

Dr Andrew Cardow from Massey University’s School of Management disagrees with threatening to halve people’s benefits if they don’t meet requirements, such as sending their children to preschool or getting health checks.

“If you’re a beneficiary, you’re obviously incapable of looking after your children, incapable of knowing what is right and wrong, and it’s up to the state to tell you what is right and wrong.”

Andrew Cardow says the Education Act only requires children to be educated from the age of six so we shouldn’t force beneficiaries to do something different.

As beneficiaries and low paid workers we have rights

 As beneficiaries and low paid workers we have rights :

We have the right to raise our children in our homes
We have the right to educate our children as we see fit
We have the right to make medical decisions for our children and ourselves
We have the right to make our own contraceptive choices

We have the right to access healthcare for ourselves and our children
We have the right to be treated with dignity and respect
We have the right to be treated as equal members of our society
We have the right to privacy
We have the right to a decent standard of living
Attacking the civil liberties of the poor is unacceptable in our country.
Waging war on certain sectors of society based on religion, gender, class, or race is not acceptable in our country.