bludgers

If ever there was a need for an explanation of why interest free student loans need to axed it is the entitlement essay written by Richard Meadow on Stuff.

Monday was a day of new beginnings. We celebrated the good lord’s rise from the grave with a three-day chocolate and hot-cross-bun binge.

In less joyous news, a new tax year began, and with it came a series of changes to the student loan scheme.

Monday marked the closure of a 10 per cent bonus for voluntary repayments made to your loan balance.
The minimum repayment was also raised from 10 cents to 12c in every dollar earned above the $19,000 threshold.

With these changes now in place, it’s time to reassess the smartest method for casting off your student debt millstone.

So what should you do?

Nothing at all.  Read more »

All over the world cities are paying for liberal elite hobbies and the players in those hobbies are little more than liberal elite bludgers…like the musicians of symphony and philharmonic orchestras:

The musicians say that to retain the most talented players, they must be compensated as well as their peers in the country’s top orchestras. Base pay for musicians in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Los Angeles Philharmonic is slightly higher than base pay for San Francisco Symphony musicians. San Francisco Symphony musicians earn an average annual salary of $165,000, with a minimum salary of $141,700, Theil said. The union has said management was out to freeze musicians’ wages.  Read more »

David Farrar takes apart the “decent journalists, trained and skilled” at the Herald on Sunday for their rehashing of a Jacinda Ardern snow job.

But also, once again we have media pimping the poor to prove their story.

Steph Gray firmly believes there is no job to fit her circumstances.

The Wainuiomata mum of one has applied for 20 jobs in the past two months and has had no luck. She’s registered with Winz but no opportunities have come from there either.

Gray has been solo with her son Malachi since her marriage collapsed three years ago.

“My son was 5 at the time and the marriage broke up just as my son started school.”

Malachi was diagnosed with epilepsy two years ago.

“I get $530 a week and that covers rent, power, phone, food, doctors, insurance, school fees – and petrol. When you have a child with epilepsy, a car is not a luxury, it is a necessity.”  Read more »

From the UK, A warning of the dangers of making benefits a life style choice and incentivising breeding on a benefit.

Until 3 months ago Michael Philpott shared his cramped three-bedroom semi-detached home with his wife, mistress and all 11 children he had with both women. He also fathered five other children from two other women.

Philpott and his wife Mairead and are charged with deliberately starting a fire that killed their remaining six Children after the mistress left taking her children and depriving him of the associated benefit money. The motive being to frame his ex girlfriend to get back custody of the children.

The prosecution opened with: ”He just wanted a house full of kids and the benefit money that brings.”:

A father killed six of his children in a house fire that was part of a ‘plan’ to frame his former mistress, a court heard yesterday.

Michael Philpott, 56, is accused of hatching a plot to set up Lisa Willis, 28, just hours before he was due to contest her application for custody of their five children in court.

Prosecutor Richard Latham QC said: ‘Michael Philpott did not want to work. He just wanted a house full of kids and the benefit money that brings.  Read more »

Whale army challenge. Today’s young people expect at age 25 to be able to afford a house and the Greens want to buy their vote.

They expect

- interest free student loans

- paid parental leave

- taxpayer “rent to buy” homes

- “working” for families

Add in the comments the other bludging welfare ideals now in the heads of these twerps.

Cactus Kate has performed a quick google and found that TVNZ pin-up Sharissa Naidoo, 25 years old and supporter of the Greens Debt To Taxpayer Home For Life, has lived in New Zealand for just seven years. Most of those as a bludging student.

Naidoo completed a worthless return on investment, Masters degree and is working as a youth intern at Amnesty International.

If Sharissa is finding New Zealand a little too tough, perhaps she should pop back to South Africa after receiving her education at one of the best Universities in the world and see what affordable housing looks like. A bit mean? I think not.

That is right, Sharissa seems to have only recently even arrived in New Zealand. Six years as at 2012. That would be a couple of years tops in New Zealand’s state education system and then the benefit of New Zealand’s University system.

So after seven years and zero of those as a net taxpayer, she expects assistance to buy a house?

New Zealand’s biggest bludgers, farmers, are on the bludge again and David Carter’s final gift to them is a $80m free water bludge.

Today, Primary Industries Minister David Carter announced $80 million will be invested in a new Crown company to act as a bridging investor for regional water infrastructure development.

The company will be a minority investor in any development project and the Government expects to consider the first proposal within the next twelve months.

“New Zealand naturally has plenty of water – this is about managing the resources for the economy and the environment,” says Minister Carter.

“Reliable irrigation represents a major step in unlocking economic potential for New Zealand, having our tradable sectors growing strongly, and delivering on the Government’s economic growth goals.”

National is working hard to build an economy which is more competitive and productive. Find out more about our plan to build a stronger economy here.

Skeptics will wonder whether ROI will be considered when making investments, and if a loss is made who will be held responsible or if the government will just sweep losses under the carpet.

Funding farmers is a dumb thing for National to do because farmers aren’t swing voters, and after many decades of backing farmers New Zealand’s economy has gone consistently backwards.

Chris Finalyson is perhaps the best Arts Minister one could find in the world. He loathes pretentious art.

The Parliamentary Art Collection, value $12 million, includes an artwork in shagpile that can only be described as a piece of its time.

That time is 1981 – the year of the underarm bowling scandal, the Springbok Tour, and the first hints of the trend that shoulder pads and big hair will become. The piece, Variation in Apricot, is considered ‘textile art’. It reportedly feels like touching a dirty dog.

Arts Minister Chris Finlayson’s immediate reaction is sotto voce: “S***, that’s awful.”

Then he gets closer and sees the plaque that says it was donated by the National Party caucus wives in 1981 – when Robert Muldoon was the Prime Minister.

“Oh my God,” he says, shamefaced at slighting the taste of such a group of women. He slams into reverse and hunts for a more diplomatic adjective than ‘awful.’

“It certainly is a unique contribution to the art collection in Parliament.

I couldn’t think of better lighting for it. It has been very carefully thought through.”

It is in a dark corridor of Parliament, in an area where no members of the public and few MPs would go.

There are other insults:  Read more »

Earlier today I blogged about the fascinating call for more immigrants in Christchurch to fill positions for jobs that remain unfilled despite over 5% unemployment rate in the city.

Stuff has another article about the issue of Christchurch’s bludgers not pulling their weight:

Christchurch baker Diane McPherson has had an “absolute nightmare” trying to find staff for the past four months.

One applicant turned up for an interview in pyjama pants, another was texting during the interview and another flicked her tongue piercing in and out of her mouth and indicated she was not prepared to remove it during work hours.

McPherson, who owns the Brumby’s Bakery and Wendy’s Supa Sundaes stores at the Hub in Hornby, said many others did not return messages inviting them for an interview, or, having been offered a job, failed to turn up for work.

“I’ve had ones from [Work and Income] who just want me to sign a form to say they have been for an interview but don’t want a job through the summer,” she said.  Read more »

I can’t stand Asenati Lole-Taylor but this tweet exchange is pure gold:

There is no helping bludgers and she has just found out. Julie Fairey goes all pinko and wants to give the drunk gambling bludgers a hug….and probably a couple of thousand of taxpayers dollars too…and os probably arranging for Len Brown to build them and affordable home.

Read more »