Pay rises for the sick, who just get sicker

The Dom Post has a story on the blowout in numbers of drug and alcohol addicts recieving sickness and invalids benefits. This has been a problem for years. Those on the sickness and unemployment benefits get $219.25, and if you transfer to the invalids benefit - as many are doing - you get $277.50. That's more than students get.

The problem is that the 5279 on such benefits because of these problems are not required to get treatment. However they can be put on literacy and numeracy programmes but Work and Income isn't bothering to do this, either. Wouldn't it be better puttting the extra $52.25 into drug and alcohol rehab for these people instead?

We have a classic " I am confident" comment from the Minister

However, Social Development Minister Ruth Dyson said she was confident that programmes such as Paths (Providing Access to Health Solutions) ensured alcohol- and drug-affected beneficiaries got the treatment they needed

This is despite giving National MP Judith Collins the miniscule numbers, that majority who are not hard druggies, but have ill health or disabilities, or are stressed or depressed. And in the very next sentence, the report explains that they are not getting the treatment they need.

Ms Reade said case managers could not force beneficiaries into treatment programmes.

That's not the issue. They don't even have to encourage them to get treatment either. PATHS doesn't even assist drug and alcohol abusers unless they are stressed or depressed, and many who exit a benefit after PATHS go back on the benefit. It's more likely to give people gym memberships or physiotherapy.

Until compulsory intervention of drug use is introduced, we taxpayers will continue to divert money which could be used to reduce hospital and Court waiting lists and provide road maintenance, into keeping these people in the manner to which they have become accustomed.

And on a side issue, the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis party has today put out a call for candidates. Perhaps they should put up posters at Work and Income offices.

More here: Why can't WINZ force druggies to get treatment

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A great image

Currently, this is my favourite Flickr image. Rather haunting.

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How many more files has Corrections left on the street?

Is it possible to get someone to have a couple of words in Corrections chief Barry Matthew's ear about these confidential files being left on the street.

Perhaps something along the words of "You're fired".

The latest document listed personal details of 22 people under night curfews who were required to wear ankle bracelets. Perhaps it's time for Corrections staff to wear ankle bracelets to prevent a street collection of correction files.

It's time Corrections were audited.

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Routes for the truck drivers protest tomorrow

Here are the routes for the truck drivers protest tomorrow in the centres of Auckland and Wellington. Drivers are protesting against a sudden increase in road-user charges on diesel vehicles. This will affect some people more than others and it is likely that other roads will be heavily congested as people try to avoid the protest route. I have been sent a copy of the planned routes and they are detailed below. Each protest has two routes.

Auckland protest route
Operators to gather at nearest motorway on ramp for 7.30 departure and take two routes off the motorway.
Route 1
Operators coming from west take Nelson St Off Ramp, From North Shore take Cook St Off Ramp onto Nelson St
Right onto Victoria,Right onto Queen, head UP Queen St
Top Queen, left onto K Rd, left Symond St
Left Wellesley St, Left Queen
Repeat…

Route 2
Operators coming from south
Off ramp Symonds, right into Upper Queen
Down Queen, left into Wellesley
Left Hobson, left Pitt, left K Rd
Left Queen

Repeat…
9:30 Disperse

Wellington protest
Operators will start at 7 am

Route 1
Assemble at Mckays Crossing
Mckays Crossing down State Highway One through Terrace Tunnel
Turn into Taranaki Street, down Jervois Quay
Left at Whitmore Street, past Parliament Building to Molesworth Street off-ramp

Route 2
Assemble at Seaview
Along Petone Esplanade down State Highway 2 to motorway and through Terrace Tunnel
Turn into Taranaki Street, down Jervois Quay
Left at Whitmore Street, past Parliament Building to Molesworth Street off-ramp

Update: I see the Herald has finally caught up with the news and has added the Christchurch and Dunedin protest routes. I was going to offer the routes to the Dominion Post early this afternoon, but they told me not to bother giving them news tips and hung up on me. The person I spoke to didn't give his name, even when asked, but I know enough to know who that person was and what his name is. You'd think chief reporters who pick up the phone would welcome news - or at least be courteous on the phone.

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Boring, silly, nanny state speech - from National

I don`t know what advice John Key is getting lately but its not very good if this nanny state speech is anything to go by.

He wants kids to play sport, so they can be healthier, fitter - and less obese and less likely to to be mixed up up in criminal offending. At least he wants to put some money into it to assist schools with equipment, but will that money go on sport? He`ll have to fund schools properly and let us know if the money he puts into school for sport - like sports equipment and gyms - is more than the amount that parents are paying in school donations - the “donation” donations, not the “fee” donations - because if it is less, then parents are practically funding Nationals policy twice out of their own pockets should it be implemented.

What is wrong with a public education campaign to encourage parents to walk at least part of the way to school with their kids, and get older kids to walk or bike to school, to take swimming lessons or other forms of physical activity. At least you`re less likely to get injured and be a drain on the ACC system ( which National wants to privatise). What's wrong with encouraging kids to cut the lawns, have a paper run or utilise the local playgrounds.

Organised sport is not the be all and end all - and it costs more money than walking or cycling to school every day. Better to get councils to cut down the fees for recreation centres, gyms and and swimming pools and subsidise gym membership so the poor, lazy and fat can afford to walk through their doors.

John Key needs to come up with better ideas than this. He is sounding so Labour he'll probably be krumping within a month.

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