A summary

Darren G, on the proposed government measures re protecting the 'vulnerable' in Mr Farrar's Kiwiblog, comments as follows;

The "vulnerable" in this case is obviously Helen Clark and her government.
She is in her neck up to it as much as Mercury Energy, if not more so.
Mercury Energy is a state-owned enterprise.
Helen Clark and her government appoints its board.
Helen Clark and her government decide on the financial targets the company has to meet. Thus the greedy, rapacious and heartless capitalist is not so much Mercury Power but Michael Cullen.
Helen Clark and her government has been in power for eight years. Obviously until last week they were happy with this state of affairs, or else they could have changed them.
Helen Clark and her government are responsible for the benefits system. They instigated a policy called Working for Families, which involves people applying for it.
Did the famnily apply for it? Was it too hard for them? Did they fear shame in applying? If this was the case, then Working For Families failed in this instance.
Helen Clark and her government could have instigated tax cuts for the poor, like what we have seen in Australia, which would have been paid directly to the breadwinner of the house and could have been used to pay the power bill-and the family's phone bill too.
Now the family are poor. Well obviously taxes in this country are too high for those on low incomes, much higher than for equivalent poor families in Australia. Helen Clark and her government are to blame for this.
And as the husband's wage wasn't much either, then obviously Helen Clark and her government have instigated economic policies that have failed to generate sufficient extra wealth for those at the bottom of the heap.
I am sure we could go on.
We could look at the family itself.
The role of culture? If someone has been in the country 6 or more years then they should be able to speak and understand English, understand New Zealand ways.
What other bills were they paying?
Were they giving money to the church that they could ill afford.
I find it striking that after whipping up a media frenzy, tipping off his favourite contacts at Radio New Zealand, that union activist Brendan Sheehan is demanding a halt to the police inquiriries.
This union activist created the media storm, which at first glance fits in with the beliefs of the left and our struggling 'vulnerable' PM.
Thus, it is only right that inquiries by the police and the media carry on to their logical conculsion, to find out what really happened.
Trouble is for Clark and Sheehan, the facts might not be what they wish to hear.

A very good summary of the situation.