Dear all,
On Tuesday this week the government published its key annual document on poverty and inequality in New Zealand, the Household Incomes Report.
My take on the report, for the Spinoff, is here. I argue that the government's record on keeping inequality and overall poverty at their current high levels, and enabling an increase in the most severe forms, is bad enough without people resorting to exaggerations about all forms of poverty "skyrocketing".
I also have a more detailed analysis of the Household Incomes Report data here, for those who want to look more deeply into the trends and figures.
Elsewhere, following the launch of my report Bridges Both Ways: Transforming the openness of New Zealand government, I've been writing columns for Newsroom on the five 'big ideas' that formed the keystones of the report. The latest one is here, with more to come shortly. They've been generating some interesting discussion, including with officials and political parties - all of which is encouraging.
Finally, I'll be talking about the report in Auckland in roughly a month's time, on August 24th. More details here.
Regards,
Max Rashbrooke
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