Paula Bennett, the Minister of 'Social Development', has been 'inspired ' by the brutal welfare 'reforms' of Tory Minister Iain Duncan Smith - 'reforms' that have helped to provoke large scale riots in several major British cities.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that riots have erupted in some of the poorest areas of metropolitan Britain. The suburb of Tottenham, for example, where the young black man Mark Duggan was shot twice by police and killed, has one of the highest unemployment rates in Britain - and a large youth population.
They are young people being denied a future by corrupt and venal politicians, both Tory and Labour, who have had plenty of money to give to Britain's wealthy, but claim to have nothing left for ordinary people - nothing but cuts and misery that is.
The £81 billion of cuts ordered by the Tory Government translates into hundreds of thousands of job losses, wrecked communities and social services destroyed. While pathetic Labour politicians and hopeless trade union leaders may have resigned themselves to the cuts - or even support them - it is clear that the people on the streets aren't prepared to be sacrificed on the altar of capitalism. They can't 'retire' to their weekend homes in the countryside like David Cameron and Ed Miliband can - their only option is to fight.
The British riots has seen a mobilisation and expression of rage from youth who have decided to 'up the stakes' as one protester tweeted. They have nothing to lose and they don't fear the police.
Yes, there has been widespread looting and arson but that does not mean that there isn't a certain political dimension to these riots, albeit a confused and uneven one.
The bailing out of the bankers and the finance houses has engendered a real sense of social betrayal up and down Britain.
The British ruling class, while they bang on about 'criminality' and 'mob rule', know this and that is why they have been quick to close ranks. Tory home secretary Theresa May may have denounced the actions as “sheer criminality” but the recalling of Parliament is supposed to demonstrate that the British capitalist state is still in control and will assert its power if necessary. Some politicians have already called for the use of the military.
Many people on the streets of the metropolitan cities will simply see this as a charade carried out by the Parliament of their class enemies.
The firebombing and looting is ugly but is it any uglier than the looting of the public purse by the rogues of casino capitalism? It is also understandable when people are deprived of a decent future by the likes of the odious Minister of Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith.
Duncan Smith's welfare 'reforms', introduced in November last year, are directed at forcing the unemployed into low paid and unpaid work - at a time of mass unemployment. He introduced no plans to create jobs - just plans to bash the poor.
He was, of course, recently in New Zealand urging the Government to introduce tougher conditions for the dole and other benefits here.
His views have been received favourably by the Minister of 'Social Development', the equally odious Paula Bennett.
This week she has been crowing about how 7400 people have 'dropped off' the unemployment benefit since the Government introduced a policy in September last year forcing them to reapply every twelve months. But she provided no evidence that these people have actually found jobs.
She has driven more people into poverty and probably crime and she is doing exactly what Iain Duncan Smith is doing in Britain.
Perhaps she should take a good look at what is happening is Britain right now. Riots in the streets of London today - riots in the streets of South Auckland tomorrow?
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