Paula Bennett shows NZ how to take responsibility
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Social Welfare Minister, Paula Bennett has been issuing edict after edict, demanding that welfare beneficiaries “take responsibility for their lives” and accept certain ‘obligations’ in return for receiving their welfare benefits,
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And not forgetting Dear Leader’s own 5 cents + 15% GST worth,
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It’s very ‘helpful’ when a multi-millionaire explains to a person living in poverty, how to budget to buy food…
Bennett and Key expect a high degree of personal responsibility and expect obligations to be undertaken.
How does Paula Bennet, Minister for Social Welfare compare when it comes to taking personal responsibility and meeting her obligations to the public?
Let’s put it to the test, shall we?
When problems surrounding WINZ job-kiosks hit the headlines, and quickly became apparent to be the biggest leak of information in this country’s history, did Paula Bennet step up and take responsibility?
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“At the end of the day I have a level of responsibility and certainly accountability. What I can’t be held to is to blame for something I have no control over.
“I set high standards for the ministry. They have not lived up to them in this case and I want … to be sure it will never happen again.”
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Short answer: no.
It’s someone elses’ responsibility.
Which begs two questions,
- Can welfare beneficiaries be “held to blame for something they have no control over” ?
- Just why is Bennett collecting her ministerial salary of $257,800 p.a. plus perks and allowances?
Paula Bennett, Minister of Hypocrisy and Double standards.
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Highly recommended
Gareth Morgan: Belt Tightening Won’t Reduce Unemployment
Sources
Parliament: Salaries payable under section 16 of Civil List Act 1979
NZ Herald: Bennett: Winz security process ‘atrocious’
TV3: Staff cuts blamed for WINZ computer woes
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Frankly Speaking... 
I look forward to any response from Ms Bennett’s office…
Those two words dont fit together with the clown government. Yes, they take, no they arent responsible.
Believe me, James, it took a while to put together a heading for that blogpost… I seemed to have a mental ‘block’ when it came to associating words like “responsibility” with Commissar Bennett…
Bloody double standards, they had the use of benefits etc now they are trying to say we shouldn’t have them grrrr
They won’t get in at the next election.
maybe they wont it to fail so they can bring in other laws to help their control system work
I wonder what Bennett thought would happen when her Ministry cut 70 jobs from MSD’s IT dept?
http://www.3news.co.nz/Staff-cuts-blamed-for-WINZ-computer-woes/tabid/1607/articleID/273669/Default.aspx
they need to fire all the top level and start again and have it done properly and not by goverment control freak zombies
Shes irresponsable
Paula Bennett states that the reason for the breaches is due to processes not being in place – this is the very definition of systemic failure that she claims doesn’t exist!
I think she got madcow disease and has never come right.
@ John B,
Funny thing, John… I could be wrong, but I can’t recall this kind of thing happening when Labour was in power… (I could be corrected on this, as I’m relying on memory only)
I know what happened to my old office when IT staff were cut, it went to shit within around 3 months, the rest got burned out and some of those also ended up taking a walk pretty much to save their sanity, and the Dr’s were left high and dry … funny that.
Too many people still regard proper investment in these systems as a “nice to have” instead of part of a strategic initiative that requires proper backing like any other critical process that makes a department or office run properly, and in this day and age, where systems rely more and more on such staff, that just spells a disaster waiting to happen
making the system crash the common person angry with the state and the state given reason to increase protection on its self
Print that, roll it up and symbolically slap the dogs nose with that one. Kudos to you Frank.
Thanks, Patti.
I’ve emailed a link to Bennett’s office (copy of email after my initial blogpost, on my Blog).
I’ll be interesting to see what response I get.
Covering her backside that’s what…It’s called passing the buck
Why should anyone from WINZ be held responsible? After all, they’re taking their cues from their boss, right?
I think that’s a fair call, Chris.
After all, Bennett herself isn’t above (mis-)using the private details of welfare recipients; https://fmacskasy.wordpress.com/2011/11/13/hypocrisy-thy-name-be-national/
Good point……All government bureaucrats – local and central – take their instructions from their Minister/Mayor/Councilor. The buck ends with the Minister. Does she have meetings with managers on a regular basis? Has she written, contractual rules and are they in the possession and signed by her employees in the Ministry? Do her employees have the opportunity to meet with the minister if they find those rules are unenforceable or have other vagaries detrimental to being carried out or overwhelmingly draconian causing “suffering”? We will never know.
It really hurts to see Key the State house boy wonder with the free tertiary education and Bennet, dragged out of poverty with welfare and education while a beneficiary denying others the same opportunities they had.
No we are going to put her through the test, as her task at hand does not seem to be very successful at all does it ?
Challenges are on and have been executed, they are before the courts at the moment having to try and fix their mistakes up, well she does not want to admit she went wrong and her poor chief excutive of MSD is quivering in his speeches and we all know why !
Hes feeling like he has to protect her and he really doesnt want to cause even he knows shes wrong. And he feels its going against his ethic of beleifs and code of conducts, body language is an excellent skill to upgrade your CVs with, for all those unemployle people like myself out there makes for an interesting tool to use in daily life .
Bennett won’t take ANY responsibility but weren’t the kiosks her idea brought in to save money by reducing staff time or something?
Hmmmm, I do believe you’re right, Rodger. So not only did she initiate the kiosks project – but then oversaw the sacking of 70 IT staff when MSD most needed their services…
National ministers – totally thick.
“Just why is Bennett collecting her ministerial salary of $257,800 p.a. plus perks and allowances?” WOW what would she be getting if she actually did a good job of it ?
Mind you I’d be an arrogant hypocrite for $5000 per week . Especially seeing as she doesn’t seem qualified for her position.
Often wondered how much Peter Dunne has quietly put aside in his long and varied career as a Cabinet Minister of any party in power… and he’s done just as little for his electorate.
I literally die of embaressment to think he’s my supposed MP every time he opens his mouth… the asset sale one-vote-to-decide-them-all had to be one of the most hideous betrayals in a while by any MP with his electorate overwhelmingly rejecting that proposal…
What was he offered?
Yeah Taura, you gotta wonder eh…
“All power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.”
She is too dumb to even understand what eugenics is so she is the perfect pawn, a pawn who actually believes that actual shit falling from her own hole it true.
To be honest this government is more OF A NANNY STATE GOVERNMENT THAN LABOUR EVER WAS.
Only thing they uinderstand is how to hammer the worse off while they sit in comfort on there multi millions.
Say what you will about Kate Wilkinson, credit should go where it’s due for her taking some measure of responsibility in the Ministry of Labour’s part in the Pike River tragedy. Maybe Paula Bennett could learn something from that. But then again, maybe pigs’ll start flying.
Frankly “Dear Leader”, if made as many “poor choices” in budgeting the taxpayers money that I receive as my benefit as you do in budgeting the taxpayers money that you receive to run our country then you might have something to complain about!