Duncan loves Paula...

Duncan Garner is singing Paula Bennett's praises; check this out:

Who really thinks National's welfare reforms are that scary?

They're not.

Forcing people to be work-tested should be a basic contractual agreement between the Government and its "clients" when money changes hands.

Indeed much of that happens already - and has been occurring for years.

Paying the rent and power bills of teenagers directly before they spend their benefit money on booze and cigarettes is hardly radical.

No one will lose their benefits if they can't find a job. All the Government is asking is that they get work tested sooner and that they become more aggressive in their search for work. They will lose the right to turn down work - they must take a job if it's offered. If they continue to thumb their nose at work, they will start to lose their benefits.

The message is this: welfare should not become a lifestyle where you can keep having more babies, while other Kiwis work.

The statistics have become alarming: 13 percent of the country's working age population - 351,000 New Zealanders - are currently on a benefit and 220,000 children live in benefit-dependent households. John Key says it's holding us back.

Surely the architects of the welfare system didn't envisage a welfare state like this.

I think National's approach will go down well across middle New Zealand and especially amongst its core voters.

And Paula Bennett, the Minister, has started the sales job, by attacking the opponents of change with some knockout punches - of which I'll get to shortly.

Garner has really given Ms Bennet big raps in this piece; he goes on to say a little further down in his blog-piece:

But back to Bennett and her handling of these changes so far.

She's tough. She's been there. She's been a solo mum. She's had it hard. She's come out the other end. Labour hates her. And she hates them more. It's a perfect rematch of the Rumble in the Jungle - except these guys might be tougher. Labour regards her as a traitor in my opinion - and they're going after her. Problem is - nothing is sticking yet.

And Bennett loves a knuckle.

Her handling of the youth unemployment issue last year in my opinion was average - 83,000 young Kiwis are not in either education employment or training and it's a crisis not helped by the Government's underwhelming approach to it last year.

But Bennett has started the year with a spring in her step. She looks determined to front foot these welfare changes that she believes in.

She is indeed; and she made Hone Harawira look like a novice yesterday when he tried to get her to agree with something he'd been quoted on in the Herald; check out the action:

The maverick MP from up north got smashed by the westie wahine yesterday; it was great to watch. But given that this is Duncan Garner's love-fest, we'll give him the final word:

But so far Bennett is winning the war on this battle. That could change, but right now she appears to be doing well. The public aren't marching in the street - indeed they're likely to be behind welfare reform.

Whether it works is another thing. And in two years' time the real test will be in whether people have got jobs and the numbers of people on welfare are down. It failed in the '90s, it could easily do so again if the economy doesn't pick up.

But Bennett is trying something, and she's loud and proud about it. The Prime Minister backs her - and as long as Hone Harawira and Sue Bradford are rallying against her then she's likely to have mainstream working NZ sewn up on this one.

Sure she has her detractors - but that's not new in politics.

If she can deliver this one - could she be on track for higher honours in the National Party?