MSD
Sepuloni pleads ignorance over MSD spending on private rentals
It's a multimillion-dollar ministerial blind spot that is being called into question. Opposition parties are demanding accountability after revelations millions of dollars was shelled out by the… Audio
$24.1m boost for Māori trades, training for rangatahi
The government is putting $24.1 million of further funding towards Māori trades and training and reducing barriers to employment for rangatahi.
Social Development and Employment Minister Carmel… Audio
Disabled people in relationships paying for the price of love
People with disabilities in relationships are paying for the price of love - losing their allowances because they're coupled up.
MSD assumes people in relationships share their finances, but for… Audio
Unemployment down, but are jobs enough to cover rising costs?
The government's counting another drop in unemployment numbers as a win - but others say they don't paint the whole picture.
Over the past three months, more than 31,000 people found jobs and got off… Audio
MSD Minister discusses delayed reviews of sanctions cases
Thousands of women who had their benefits docked are still waiting for their cases to be reviewed more than two years after the Minister ordered MSD to take a second look.
The women had up to $28 a… Video, Audio
Gang members in emergency housing not a huge issue - Sepuloni
Parliament's been told gang members in emergency housing are not a "huge issue" in regional New Zealand.
Ministers have been facing questions about why gang members are allowed into emergency… Audio
MSD reviews of scrapped sanction cases painfully slow - AAAP
Advocacy group Auckland Action Against Poverty (AAAP) has 38 cases on its books, with women appealing past MSD sanctions, in the hope of getting years of deductions repaid.
One of those women has… Video, Audio
Woman sanctioned by MSD over fear of naming child's father owed thousands
Welfare advocates say thousands of women who had benefits docked unfairly because they could not or would not name their child's father could be entitled to significant lump sum refunds.
But the… Video, Audio
MSD in court on claims of failure to act over wage subsidies
A philanthropic foundation is taking legal action against the Ministry for Social Development over its failure to take legal action against a single wage subsidy recipient.
More than $13 billion was… Audio
A poverty 'crisis': New figures show demand for food, housing
Record numbers of people are asking the government for help to pay for their food and accommodation, with frontline community workers labelling the situation a 'crisis'.
New figures from the Ministry… Audio
Beneficiaries helped into work by govt, Auckland Council
The government and Auckland Council say they're landing jobs for beneficiaries as part of a scheme to deal with the looming skills gap.
As they pour billions of dollars into infrastructure projects… Audio
Driving youth into employment: more money needed
Some rural mayors and city councillors are calling for a big increase in funding for a scheme to help young people become more employable by learning to drive. Audio
Long queues outside MSD ‘shocking’ but not the norm - minister
Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni concedes it's shocking to see beneficiaries queuing up in the cold and dark for food and clothing grants; but she says it doesn't have to be that way. She… Video, Audio
Queues outside MSD ‘inhumane’ - AAAP
Auckland Action Against Poverty advocates meet with beneficiaries outside a South Auckland Work and Income office every Thursday morning to help them with their claims. They say the situation is… Video, Audio
Beneficiary says MSD investigation drove her to attempt suicide
A beneficiary says the stress of a long MSD fraud investigation drove her to attempt suicide and has ruined her life, even though she was cleared in an independent review of her case. She spoke with… Audio
Commissioner blasts MSD for breaching beneficiaries’ privacy
The government has ordered an urgent review into the Ministry of Social Development's power to collect any information about someone it's investigating for benefit fraud. Audio
AAAP calls for MSD's CEO, deputy CEO to resign
Ricardo Menendez March from Auckland Action Against Poverty has called on MSD's CEO and deputy CEO to resign over the way it investigated beneficiaries, including snooping through their social media… Video, Audio
MSD defends fraud investigations, saying it never broke the law
While Ministry of Social Development has accepted the Privacy Commissioner's recommendations, it has also defended its investigations into benefit fraud, saying it had to go to third parties as most… Audio
Beneficiary investigated by MSD: 'It's all too much to handle'
Ministry of Social Development has been collecting large amounts of highly sensitive information about beneficiaries from telcos, banks and police records - without the person at the centre of the… Audio
MSD spying on beneficiaries
The Privacy Commissioner John Edwards has found the Ministry of Social Development has been systematically misusing its powers while pursuing people it suspects of benefit fraud. He says the Ministry… Audio