Hubbard, James, 1949- :It vanished quite slowly... beginning with the end of the tail... 22 August 2011

The title is 'Curiouser & curiouser'. The Minister of Social Development, Paula Bennett, is shown in four cameos as the Cheshire cat from 'Alice in Wonderland'. The cat represents 'Minister Bennett's credibility'; in the first cameo it grins broadly, in the second the grin remains but the tail is disappearing, in the third there is just an outline of the cat but the grin is still there and in the last cameo just the grin remains holding between its teeth a card that reads 'Benefit card backtrack'. Text accompanying the images reads 'It vanished quite slowly... Beginning with the end of the tail... And ending with the grin Which remained some time after the rest of it had gone...' Context: Under the Government's new youth welfare policy announced by Prime Minister John Key at the weekend, 16, 17 and 18-year-old beneficiaries would receive a payment card for food and clothes from approved stores. Several months ago Ms Bennett criticised this approach as too invasive and hands on. Now she is being criticised by Labour deputy leader Annette King who said Ms Bennett had backtracked on the policy, which she called an "election stunt". (NZ Herald 18 August 2011)

Quantity: 1 digital cartoon(s).