Louise Upston
Govt fails to meet major targets for reducing child poverty
Figures released show 156,000 children living in material hardship in 2024, up from 144,000 the year before. That's almost 13.5 percent of Aotearoa's children. Measures of material hardship include… Audio
Meeting held in Tokoroa to save Kinleith Mill from closure
About 500 people including politicians from across the spectrum attended a community meeting in Tokoroa on Monday night about trying to save the Kinleith paper mill from closure. MP for Taupō Louise… Audio
Govt to roll out plan to get beneficiaries into work
Beneficiary numbers are rising, and the government is rolling out a targeted plan for 70,000 job seekers to get into work. Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston spoke to Corin Dann.
…Morning Report Essentials for Thursday 31 October 2024
On today's episode, a new poll shows the race between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris is dividing the U.S. electorate along lines of gender, race and education. The poll shows a… Audio
Report shows average time spent on benefit decreases slightly
The government says new estimates of how long beneficiaries stay on welfare prove a need for tougher sanctions. Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss. Audio
Young people on job seeker benefit struggling to find work
Young people on the job seeker benefit say they're barely surviving as they struggle to find work while dealing with threat of losing their only source of income. In August, the government introduced… Audio
Morning Report Essentials for Wednesday 16 October 2024
On today's episode, the leader of the opposition, Labour's Chris Hipkins, says the threshold for intervention at the Wellington City Council hasn't been met yet, the number of beneficiaries being… Audio
Drop in number of beneficiary sanctions under govt's new traffic light system
The number of beneficiaries being sanctioned has dropped under the government's new traffic light system Social Development Minister Louise Upston says it shows more beneficiaries are doing what's… Audio
Social development minister Louise Upston on closure of Winstone Pulp International mills
Two hundred and thirty jobs are set to be lost from Southern Ruapehu with the closure of the Winstone Pulp mills. Social development minister Louise Upston spoke to Corin Dann. Audio
Midweek Mediawatch - Herald denies Hobson's Pledge
In this week's edition of Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Emile Donovan about the Herald backing away from running another ad from Hobson's Pledge, a question going begging in the coverage… Audio
Govt unveils new traffic light system for beneficiaries
Beneficiaries could face tougher sanctions as the government unveils its new traffic light system aimed at cracking down on those out of work. It's part of a raft of changes to the benefit system… Audio
Social Development Minister on govt's child poverty targets
The Child Poverty Report - released alongside Budget 2024 - shows an increase to the targeted percentage for all three measures of child poverty. Social Development Minister Louise Upston spoke to… Audio
People on job seeker benefit to be managed over the phone
Thousands of young people on the job seeker benefit are to be managed over the phone, and if they fail to make their appointment they could face sanctions. The move, announced by Social Development… Audio
Midday Report Essentials for Monday 15 July 2024
On today's episode, we cross to Washington DC for the latest on the attempt to assassinate former President Trump. Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston discusses a new… Audio
Benefit appointments move to phone calls, sanctions possible
Thousands of young people on the job seeker benefit will now meet with a case manager over the phone, but may face sanctions if they miss the call without a good reason. The new over-the-phone service… Audio
Employment Minister responds to govt public service targets
The Prime Minister has outlined nine measureable goals or so called Better Public Service Targets. Among them; An aim to get 95% of people elective treamtments within four months. Getting 95% of… Audio
Employment minister responds to hundreds of job losses in public sector
The axe is falling on hundreds of jobs in the public sector, with the latest losses looming at Oranga Tamariki and The Ministry of Health. Ministries have been ordered to find between 6.5 and 7.5% in… Audio
Welfare and immigration set for a 'reset'
The PM’s State of the Nation speech got the media’s attention when he said welfare needs reform. He didn't mention record-level immigration but that’s also been deemed unsustainable and set for a… Video, Audio
New approach needed to reduce child poverty: Minister Louise Upston
Child advocates have criticised the government saying it doesn't have any specific strategy to fight child poverty.
They say changes to benefit indexing and tax cut policies won't help families that… Audio
Welfare Minister defends benefit crackdown
The government's directive to ramp up welfare sanctions to stop what it calls the surge in benefit dependency under Labour, is being slammed by parties on the left.
The coalition has told officials… Audio
