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An article recently published by the New Zealand Listener, Child support that works, asserts that the existing system of child support "is next to useless at reducing poverty" - because, to a large extent "Government simply takes the child support to offset the benefit".Yet this is exactly what should happen if the purpose of the benefit is to top up inadequate child-support payments by non-custodial parents. Child-support payments allow more children to be supported than could be funded otherwise. Read more

There is a common saying that human rights are what make us human. But with the modern expansion of human rights beyond its classical origins, are we becoming more human, or less? Read more

It may be an uncomfortable truth, but there are some of us who enjoy rights and privileges above others, simply by virtue of being born. Not by talent, hard work, or any other factor reflecting merit, these people enjoy a privileged status in New Zealand. Read more

Since the publication of The Spirit Level in 2009, and its ‘devastating critique’, The Spirit Level Delusion, in 2010, debates in the media and among politicians have been gripped by wealth inequality fever. The latest instalment is French economist Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the Twenty-First Century – a book which is at the centre of its own maelstrom over the accuracy of its analysis. Read more

The constant striving to improve one’s lot is human nature, and people naturally move to where the opportunities lie. But when moving house and moving jobs involve children, these moves become controversial. Read more

Budget day last week was dominated by the usual focus on the return to surplus, some new spending pledges and discussions around potential future tax cuts. Soon afterward, however, commentators and politicians discovered that the Treasury papers contained some political dynamite outside the core of fiscal policy: a projected rise in net migration figures. Read more

‘The labour market’ refers to all the places where firms look for people to hire, and where workers look for job opportunities. It exists because firms need workers and workers need jobs. Read more

Earlier this week, the Ministry of Social Development announced a new policy to support the Canterbury rebuild and reduce unemployment. The policy, dubbed ‘3k to Christchurch’ is a one-off incentive of $3,000 to beneficiaries outside of Christchurch to relocate and work in the city. Read more

Lately, a lot of people have been calling Social Development Minister Paula Bennett a beneficiary basher. Beneficiary bashing involves anything that sours public perceptions of beneficiaries, thereby justifying benefit cuts, limitations and restrictions. Read more

According to recent research, the new poor are not actually poor at all. Well, at least not as we know it. Read more