It’s really simple. If judgemental, entitled fucks like Peter Lewis don’t know how to manage a tenancy they need to find a different way to make a living.
He’s saying that the house was fine but the tenants couldn’t afford to run the heat pump he had installed. Yet instead of advocating for decent incomes for people he instead makes out they are bad people. If he’s so shit hot at the least he should be doing regular inspections and communicating to the tenants what is expected. And if he is renting to people on low incomes he needs to rethink the kind of housing he is providing and stop expecting people to live to a standard of living he deems appropriate.
I have zero sympathy for people like him who are moaning about not being able to make even more money out of people living in poverty.
“He’s saying that the house was fine but the tenants couldn’t afford to run the heat pump he had installed”
Yes, that’s correct. And despite his attitude, the fact remains (the tenants couldn’t afford to run the heat pump).
So what’s to become of them if their failure to run the heat-pump results in the house becoming unwarrantable?
Inspections and communicating what is expected isn’t going to help the tenants pay the power bill, hence is unlikely to help the situation (tenants not being able to afford to run a heat pump).
I see a DVS was suggested below, which is great and they’re reasonably cheap to run, but there will be some out there that would struggle with even that little extra cost.
Landlords won’t want to bear the constant repair costs, thus how will this impact struggling tenants?
“But you’re buying in to the false dichotomy of heat pump vs expensive damage.”
False dichotomy?
Rubbish.
We’ve had this discussion before, heating along with ventilation is required to keep a home dry and free from mould and moisture damage. Which, if unattended, can be an ongoing, thus costly expense.
So what cost free solution would you recommend concern landlords pursue?
If you are actually concerned about the tenants, vote Green because they not only want a wof for rentals, but they want tenancy rights, and an increase to minimum wage and benefit rates.
In other words, you’re here to argue for landlord rights, and against the party that wants to give protection to tenants.
Do the Greens have tenancy rights protecting tenants deemed of being the cause of the damage and reason why a property failed obtaining a WoF?
It’s been a while since I looked, but afaik there is the ability for landlords to evict tenants if the tenants are damaging the property. The issue is about where the line is between wear and tear and damage from neglect or abuse. In the article there was a landlord complaining that the carpets got dirty. That’s what happens in houses, it’s normal. It’s also why landlords have insurance, so that if an accident happens they’re covered. You can look up the recent case law on this too where the courts sided with a tenant.
You’re still running the line that houses go mouldy because the tenants do the wrong things. But this is still on the landlord to manage. If they ignore the house for 6 months, that’s on them. Mould doesn’t happen overnight and the landlord is the one with the power to look after the house in terms of environmental issues. This has been explained to you already a number of times.
Again, it’s a business. If landlords aren’t doing their job properly then they need to find another way of making a living.
“In other words, you’re here to argue for landlord rights, and against the party that wants to give protection to tenants.”
No. The rights of landlords and tenants have to be fair and balanced.
If you haven’t noticed by now, I’m one of the only ones on here that is concerned about the impact of a housing WoF on struggling tenants.
And while landlords have responsibilities, so do tenants.
Heating is a large cost factor that a number can’t afford, but it’s also required to avoid accusations of tenant neglect. As shown in the article.
“You’re still running the line that houses go mouldy because the tenants do the wrong things. But this is still on the landlord to manage”
The reason why I’m still running this line is simply because tenants have responsibilities too.
“Mould doesn’t happen overnight and the landlord is the one with the power to look after the house in terms of environmental issues. This has been explained to you already a number of times.”
Still, you seem to be overlooking the tenants responsibility in this regard. It”s not all on the landlord. As I’ve explained above and as shown in the article. Do you disagree on this? Your comment suggests so.
When a landlord is at fault, it will fall on them, but what happens when a landlord has done all they can do and it then falls on the struggling tenant? What’s to become of them?
It seems those advocating for a rental WoF are getting so carried away by their do good notion that they are blinded to the unintended consequences of the poor struggling tenants. And what the ramifications will be for them – i.e. blacklisted, higher rents, forced heating costs and evictions.
what happens when a landlord has done all they can do and it then falls on the struggling tenant?
1: regular inspections
2: if problems begin to emerge, provide education, ensure insulation etc is up to scratch
3: provide cleaning materials
4: if problems get worse, confirm there isn’t a reason inherent in the flat, eg rising damp or a roof leak
5: if it’s a structural problem, remedy it, provide dehumidifiers, and subsidise the power bill involved, because it’s the landlord’s responsibility
6: if it’s not a structural problem but a genuine problem with the tenant, go through the tenancy disputes process.
It’s not fucking rocket science. It’s doing your goddamn job. It’s exactly like a taxi or bus having to meet a warrant of fitness. Are you arguing “what about passengers who won’t be able to afford a bus with, like, brakes and reliable steering, don’t you care about them?” I hope not.
If rents are to be capped are we also going to cap rate increases, increases in the cost of maintenance and rises in insurance premiums? Or do we expect landlords to soak up all those costs too?
And would you deem that to be fair and balanced?
I wonder if a rental WoF will drive a number underground and create a large black market in non notified cash rentals?
In this instance we are talking about the tenants being the reason why it got into that state. Why? Because they are poor and can’t afford to heat their homes. Mould or food on the table then becomes their choice.
No, in this case we have the landlord blaming the tenants. They’re one link in the chain between clean house and house requiring repairs. Most of the links are in the landlord’s power to maintain.
If the heat pump is too expensive to run it isn’t fit for purpose.
This is not uncommon with the increase in the installation of heatpumps by house owners hoping to reduce costs and salespeople who know nothing of the product they’re selling.
Ideally there should be, in every room, a heat pump that has the capacity to heat that space, not one in the main living area that grinds away all day trying to heat the whole house, a space way beyond its capacity.
If he spent only 6.5k he obviously didn’t install enough pumps to heat the house effectively and efficiently.
Stephanie Rodgers on why the whole ‘policy is god’ thing is a problem coming from someone of Morgan’s privilege and in capacity to examine his own bias,
I do think policy is important – but so are values and MO. I want to know how an MP or party will respond to unexpected events and the need to come up with solutions not covered in existing policies. I want to know how MPs and parties will negotiate differences between parties.
Yes, and it’s the values underlying the MO that are starting to concern me. It’s one thing to be a dick, it’s another to conduct a deliberately offensive and divisive campaign presumably designed to grab the centrist vote.
I agree the how they will respond stuff is important. I can’t see him being a good person to be in govt with or even have on C and S. How is he going to cope with Māori MPs disagreeing with him? Finger pointing and telling them they’re not kaupapa Māori?
Shaw says, “I know people are looking for fractures, but there are none…” addressing splitters like ScottGN, who presumably watched the clip, but failed to see himself featured therein.
It’s seems hard for some people to get their heads around, that people can disagree and still work together and have a good relationship.
The Greens bring a new way of doing politics, but I wish more people would get this. The MoU specifically allowed for the parties to do their own thing and still work together to change the govt. This is exactly what is happening. But some people seem to think that working together means doing deals and the Greens being subservient to Labour and they miss that this is a partnership.
Robert please don’t call me a splitter, cos I’m not. I would have loved nothing more than a Lab/Green coalition government. But it’s not going to happen. The Greens have shown themselves to be unready for the burden of office. The best I can hope for after election day is that Winston looks kindly upon Jacinda.
You sound so sure of yourself, Scott, almost as though you have prescience of some sort, but you don’t, leaving us to wonder at your self-confidence. The thing you would have loved nothing more than, a Lab?Green coalition government, is only impossible inside of your head, it seems to me. Outside of that space, there are many, myself included, who can see the potential still for such a pleasant combination. I think you caved too soon. So perhaps not splitter – quitter?
Let’s examine my limerick more closely for those who I don’t care about offending who might nonetheless feel obliged to be offended.
There once was a fellow called Scott. Self evident. Obscured by blubber and snot, Scott is upset about something. Crocodile tears, OAB doubts the sincerity of Scott’s outrage. Transparent fears,
Trashtalk unreason and plot. …and goes on to outline exactly what OAB feels offended by in Scott’s rhetoric.
Well, that was dull. Dullards unite, then vote National.
From your link, Jacinda Ardern and James Shaw say the relationship between the two parties is solid and Ōhāriu is just like any other seat as far as both parties are concerned. Makes sense to me, and is true to what I am observing.
I watched the video you linked to. I don’t see anything in that video that is a GP own-goal. Quite the opposite, I saw the leaders of the two parties backing each other up, affirming the MoU both in the relationship and the intent.
Yet you asserted ‘own-goal’ in a sound-bite. This is in line with other comments I have seen you make. I’m sure I’m not reading all your comments but at the moment what I see is a lot of criticism of the Greens that is basically you saying you don’t like them. If you don’t want to come across as anti-Green then I’d suggest putting a bit more effort into explaining your thinking.
You misjudge me Weka. I’ve never said I don’t like the Greens. I’ve always welcomed the idea of a Green/Lab government. However I do think the Greens have badly fucked up this election cycle. Time will tell. In the meantime it would be nice not to get completely dumped on in here, I am pretty much on the same side, after all.
Green-leaning veteran Journo Gordon Campbell certainly thinks it’s a potential own goal. Reeks of desperation, he suggests:
Hard to treat the Greens’ belated decision to stand a candidate in Ohariu as being anything other than a desperation move, by a party whose own leadership is evidently concerned about its chances of survival …
Evidently, Greens leader James Shaw has decided the party can no longer afford to forego the few hundred party votes that a local candidate (Tane Woodley) and a “two ticks” message might make possible. The downside of this tactical change is that it readily looks like panic and could be self defeating: in that hey, if they’re deciding to throw the strategy into reverse in Ohariu things must be looking really, really bad …
So bad in fact that the party vote pittance the Greens stand to gain in Ohariu could well be cancelled out nationwide. Quite a few centre-left voters may now conclude that voting for the Greens could be a wasted vote, given the risk of the Greens not making the 5 % MMP threshold – a risk that even the party leadership evidently feels is palpable. Validly or not, the Ohariu decision conveys a sense of impending disaster, at the very time when the party is trying to climb back off the canvas, post Metiria.
really?…and what do you believe will be the net result vote wise?…id suggest for every party vote they gain (if any) by increased profile in Ohariu they’ll lose two (or more) elsewhere by looking desperate, unreliable and undetermined …..and that ignores the damage done to trust levels between themselves and Labour and the wider damage done by voter perception of the links between the two parties
Agree with Pat. The Greens seem to be pretending that getting rid of Dunne was their Everest.
Well it’s not the Everest of the left coalition – a change in government is – and the Greens have abandoned that in order to concentrate on their own survival.
A united front with Labour without the panic moves would have gone a long way to achieving both.
Perhaps the Greens, having had their social justice arm severed, are returning to their core blue/green values of elitist environmental concern.
id suggest for every party vote they gain (if any) by increased profile in Ohariu they’ll lose two (or more) elsewhere by looking desperate, unreliable and undetermined
They’ll gain votes overall and you have a strange concept of looking desperate.
@Muttonbird
The Greens seem to be pretending that getting rid of Dunne was their Everest.
They’re not pretending anything.
A united front with Labour without the panic moves would have gone a long way to achieving both.
There is a united front and there’s no panic moves.
The Greens seem to be pretending that getting rid of Dunne was their Everest.
What does that even mean? That the Greens think they got rid of Dunne? I haven’t seen Green Party people saying that.
Well it’s not the Everest of the left coalition – a change in government is – and the Greens have abandoned that in order to concentrate on their own survival.
You do understand that if the Greens don’t do well at the election there will either not be a change in govt, or we will end up with a centrist NZF/L govt.
For all the internet reckons about what the Greens should do with regards to their party vote, I’m still going to trust the actual Greens to know what works in their own party.
Agreed Draco. Campbell (who is usually excellent) has this completely wrong. Now Dunne has gone it is common sense for the GP to stand in Ohariu.
Many people don’t seem to understand MMP- the GP standing in Ohariu makes no difference at all to the outcome of the election except it may give the Greens some more Party Votes, and what’s wrong with that?.
Hi weka. The Greens have said the reason they didn’t stand a candidate in Ohariu was to unseat Dunne and therefore remove the overhang and deprive the Nats of a free seat.
This obviously was a deal to help bring about a change of government which is the end goal. Unseating Dunne wasn’t the end goal and as such I think this is a job half done.
That what I meant by The Greens pretending that getting rid of Dunne was their Everest.
The Greens have been at 10%-11% in the last two elections and they fully deserve that but the Turei thing wasn’t handled well, the social justice element of the party has been gutted and they themselves now feel they are in that much danger that they’ve made a move which, in my opinion, harms moral boosting polling for the left in Ohariu.
And it really is only a few hundred Ohariu Party Votes at most that we’re talking about.
I’ve had a brief gander at the Greens’ 2011-14 Party Vote swings in the seats where they failed to put up a Candidate & compared these with their swing in the General Electorates as a whole over those two Elections.
The difference really wasn’t great.
In the General Electorates as a whole, the Greens fell 0.43 (ie slightly less than half a percentage point)
They failed to stand in 11 seats in 2014.
In Botany (- 0.05) and Pakuranga (+ 0.14), they out-performed that General Electorate swing, and in another 3 seats (Hamilton West, Palmerston North and Rangitata) they performed only slightly worse (-0.55 to – 0.63). Even the remaining 6 seats weren’t dramatically different … the Greens’ greatest party Vote fall in an electorate where it didn’t stand was – 1.82 in Rotorua.
These minor percentage point falls represent very small raw numbers of Party Votes. Gordon Campbell’s probably right – does tend to suggest desperation time.
In these last desperate weeks, i would hope that Shaw concentrates his Party’s efforts in those electorates that have been shown to deliver the maximum vote; the “leafy suburbs” of Grey Lynn, central Wellington, Dunedin North, Nelson, etc. Just concentrate your remaining effort on the highest historical yield.
Pat have you never listened to a Radio NZ interview, and then 5 mins later the “News” as reported by Nicola Wright; and wondered if the “reporter” listened to the same interview you just heard?
It’s called “spin” and Radio NZ is as bad at it as any other media outlet, only more insidiously. You are being spun, because quite frankly, the MOU between Labour and the Greens was about each Party working together to change the government. It was never about the Greens bending over backwards to improve Labour’s vote.
Nothing has been broken here except the truth as presented by RNZ.
i posted the interview so Shaws’ words could speak for themselves…if you believe Im being “spun” then your must truly be concerned about the wider public and their reaction to such spin….as to what the MOU was or wasn’t supposed to be,(it is evident it now exists in name only) that is largely irrelevant to this issue…as always its about numbers.
The Greens don’t believe they will be polling below 5% by the time people vote.
The strategy hasn’t been thrown into reverse, it’s been adapted around a totally new situation.
I’m not sure where the few hundred thing comes from, the Greens did well on the party vote in that electorate last time with Woodley standing (5,600 votes), I assume that having him there is important to get those party votes again as well as trying to increase them.
Watching the Greens themselves as they’re campaigning, they don’t come across as desperate. They look focussed and on point.
I have followed werewolf for a time now. His stance is often right of center in tenor. How the Right is trying to paint the Greens out of this Election imo.
Further the “Taxinda” tag for Jacinda in comments by the Right wing types commenting on Stuff, show an attack to undermine. Again imo.
The nasties are looking for chinks, using attack dogs.
I normally respect the analysis of Gordon Campbell – but frankly on this he is way off. Firstly, the polling is not indicating 5% or less apart from one rogue poll. Secondly, there is no indication that Party vote Green will be lost – indeed the feedback from door knocking and meetings and canvasing from around the country indicate quite the opposite. Remember Corban was given no hope by the pollsters and commentariate in the UK 4 weeks out from the election, but they were not on the forefront of the campaign trail meeting the voters face to face . The base of around 10+% points for the Greens on environmental issues is still there – although I know you fixate on polling and will try to tell me otherwise. But frankly there is no other party to hold a candle nor with the record of commitment to environmental issues as the Greens, and those passionate about these issues know that. But with the further emphasis on Social Justice and the elimination of poverty in this country (for which Meteria has been martyred,) there is another group of voters, who have previously been dormant, who are now signing up.
Agreed macro-Campbell is usually excellent but he has the Greens-now-standing-in-Ohariu analysis completely wrong.
(Pure speculation-maybe his judgement has been clouded here by being close to some of the Green people involved? Or too close to people in Labour?)
Once Dunne was gone it was an entirely sensible thing to do; not a “panic” move. The GP is now simply treating Ohariu like all of the other electorates.
Thank you Macro.
Gordon has often damned the Greens with faint praise, or quoted so called poor public perceptions of them, often without a balancing view. After a bit I wondered if he was the “public perception” in some cases. (imo)
Further, there is a growing trend towards Lab/NZFirst. preferences, shutting the Greens out in discussions.
… there is no indication that Party vote Green will be lost … quite the opposite … The base of around 10+% points for the Greens on environmental issues is still there – although I know you fixate on polling and will try to tell me otherwise.
Not sure whether you’re trying to convince me or yourself, Macro.
And I’m not sure how you estimate a Party’s core vote without some sort of Poll data (as opposed to anecdotal evidence and a touch of wishful thinking)
In that respect, the latest analysis by the legendary Jack Vowles (hot off the Press and just launched by Helen Clark at Victoria University) suggests the Green’s solid core is much smaller than most pundits assume.
The NZES flow-of-the-Vote data suggests less than half of 2011 Green voters remained loyal at the 2014 General Election. About a quarter of 2011 Greens swung to Labour, with a little less than one fifth going to the Nats and NZF (each).
There were significant reciprocal swings. The Greens lost more to Labour than they gained from the Larger Centre-Left Party, but most of the vote inflow that the Green’s did receive in 2014 was indeed from Labour as well as from previous Non-voters – thus largely (but not entirely) compensating for their lost 2011 votes.
As Vowles argues: ” … the apparent stability of Green voting support is something of an illusion; as in a railway station, some got off and others got on the train, in this case in about equal numbers.”
In other words … not the same 11% voting Green in 2011 and 2014. Around 5% of all voters (just under half of 2011 Greens) voted Green in both Elections, the rest were new.
And this isn’t actually anything new – go back to earlier NZES polling (late 90s / early zeros Elections) and you’ll see the same inherent volatility in the Green vote.
Bear in mind too that at the very least a large minority (and quite possibly a majority) of Green voters in both 2011 and 2014 were Labour supporters at some time in the recent past. A lot of movement back and forth between the two parties over consecutive Elections.
So, I’d argue the Greens’ base vote is more like 5%.
Jacindamania + the Greens turmoil in this campaign will probably mean the Party won’t receive its usual amount of (significant and vital) Labour-supporter froth on top of that core vote. Probably just enough to raise it to 6-8%.
NOTE: If the Greens are averaging anything less than about 6.5% in the final round of pre-Election Polls then I myself am going to be forced to switch my Party Vote from Labour to the Vegetable Rights and Peace Party, just to ensure they return.
Ok, so you can demonstrate that then. This is a tough political debate culture. My suggestion stands, give more in your comments than sound-bite negatives and then you won’t come across as anti-Green.
I have no problems with the tough culture in here. I can probably hold my own. And I don’t think my comments are mere “sound bite negatives” either whatever they are? I don’t believe I am anti Green but I am pro Labour. Mostly because I am a 52 year gay man who remembers that Labour was the only party that ever really stood up for me.
(Bear in mind that a recent UK study suggested both Green and UKIP supporters – arguably the two “extremes” of the mainstream UK political spectrum – tended much more toward Neurosis than Labour, Tory or Lib Dems. For all the Hippy excesses, Greenies tend not to be relaxed personality types)
Was Jacinda’s new emphasis on climate change further evidence of that?
And how about Kelvin Davis (when asked on the leaders debate who does Labour want to get into bed with?) saying Labour wants to get into bed with themselves?
Labour is after as many votes as it can get just like every other party /shrug. I keep seeing them affirming their relationship with the Greens. I’ll take their word over Gower’s any day of the century.
Gower is a manipulative abuser of his power who thinks he has a role in the outcome of the election. No idea why you would reference him seriously.
Yes, I know. But I didn’t see Labour making any complaints about his assertions in this regards. Have you?
And if it wasn’t so, surely Labour would have spoken out by now? Yes?
Even one of the hosts of the leaders debate commented (as if surprised) Kelvin didn’t mention getting into bed with the Greens. At around 37.10 in the earlier clip.
The Treasury Department imposed sanctions Tuesday on 10 companies and six people from China and Russia that it said had conducted business with North Korea in ways that advanced the country’s missile and nuclear weapons programme.
But China’s Foreign Ministry said its government had fully implemented UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea and would punish anyone caught violating the Security Council sanctions under Chinese law.
It added that it opposed sanctions outside the framework of the Security Council.
Somewhat annoyed by Hoskings ‘clarification’ on 7 Sharp tonight. All the placards etc speak of electorate vote and party vote. But arrogant Hosking doesn’t use the standard term – he calls it by the unusual name of ‘list vote’.
I see this as a not-too-subtle attempt at further obfuscation. A lot of people who know the term ‘Party Vote’ (written on our voting form?) will not know that ‘List Vote’ is?
The promised disaster did not materialise. By the autumn of 2016 – a year after taking power – the government could boast of sustained economic growth, and a 13% jump in corporate investment. And this year, figures showed the deficit had more than halved, to 2.1% – lower than at any time since the return of democracy four decades ago. Indeed, this is the first time Portugal has ever met eurozone fiscal rules. Meanwhile, the economy has now grown for 13 successive quarters.
During the years of cuts, charities warned of a “social emergency”. Now the Portuguese government can offer itself as a model to the rest of the continent. “Europe chose the line of austerity and had much worse results,” declared the economy minister Manuel Caldeira Cabral. “What we are showing is that with a policy that restitutes income to the people in a moderate way, people get more confidence and investment returns.”
Interestingly enough the same was shown after WWI in Britain. After the spending of the war the UK tried really hard to get back on the Gold Standard (They’d dropped it during the war) through major austerity and had all sorts of troubles.
Across the Channel in France, with all the devastation of the war, things were booming as France spent their way into prosperity.
Thing is you can Look at the Marshall Plan after WWII and see the same thing.
Things are often the exact opposite of what modern economists tell us.
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I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
By Robin Martin, RNZ News reporter A New Zealand local authority, Whanganui District Council, has passed a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, condemnation of all acts of violence and terror against civilians on both sides of the conflict and the immediate return of hostages. It comes as ...
Asia Pacific Report The Aotearoa chapter of the Women’s International league for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) has appealed to the New Zealand government to call out Israel over the “cruel and barbaric use of force” in Gaza and demand a permanent ceasefire. The league’s open letter was sent to Prime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will invest $566 million over a decade on data, maps and other tools to promote exploration and development in Australia’s resources industry. The project will fund “the first comprehensive map of what’s ...
Asia Pacific Report Following an open letter by Auckland University academics speaking out in support of their students’ right to protest against the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza, a group of academics at Otago University have today also called on New Zealand academic institutions to “repair colonial violence” and end ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Linda J. Graham, Professor and Director of the Centre for Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology Ryan Tauss/ Unsplash, CC BY Two male students have been expelled from a Melbourne private school for their involvement in a list ranking female students. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The Reserve Bank is now assuming Australians will see no interest rate cuts this year – and quite possibly none before the next federal election, due next May. That’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University The Victorian budget offered more of the same on Tuesday, with the only change being how the budget papers were packaged. The usual shrink wrap was gone, hinting at savings in the pages ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Coalition is demanding extensive amendments to the government’s legislation targeting non-citizens who refuse to co-operate with their removal. In a dissenting report to the senate inquiry into the legislation, the Coalition says it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vanita Yadav, Senior Research Fellow, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University Brett Boardman/Belvoir The complex and grappling issue of violence against women takes centre stage in the soul-stirring solo dance drama Nayika: A Dancing Girl. During a dinner conversation ...
Disruption to patient care from a nationwide junior doctors strike is bordering on unsafe, a senior doctor claims, despite what health officials say. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Diepstraten, Senior Research Officer, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Ground Picture/Shutterstock The anti-cancer drug abemaciclib (also known as Vernezio) has this month been added to the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to treat certain ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominic McAfee, Postdoctoral researcher, marine ecology, University of Adelaide Robbie Porter, OzFish Unlimited Around Australia, hundreds of people are coming together to help a once-prized, but decimated and largely forgotten marine ecosystem. They’re busy restoring Australia’s native oyster and mussel reefs. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Webb, Lecturer, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology Austin Human/Unsplash How does Earth stop meteors from hitting Earth and hurting people? –Asher, 6 years 11 months, New South Wales Alright, let’s embark on a meteor ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rory Mulcahy, Associate Professor of Marketing, University of the Sunshine Coast Professional sports organisations regularly promote and develop initiatives to support diversity, equity and inclusion. While sport has the power to change attitudes by sparking conversations about political issues and social ...
Comment: The weekly Monday post-Cabinet press conference is a useful forum for observing Christopher Luxon and how he is developing into the job of Prime Minister. He attempts to convey the impression of a man of action, speaking fast, delivering memorised National Party strategies in a connect-the-slogans kind of way, ...
Double votes, missing ballot boxes, tired tech and stressed staff: how tick-tallying went astray at last year’s election. Cast your mind back to November 2023, that bleary-eyed post-election period duringwhichwewaited, andwaited, for a coalition deal to be hammered out. A distraction from the hotel-hopping of our ...
International audiences are starting to discover what New Zealand already knew about After the Party.When After the Party aired in New Zealand last year, the response was fast and furious. In his preview for Rec Room, Duncan Greive said it was a “gritty, wrenching and highly confronting” series. By ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shahram Akbarzadeh, Convenor of the Middle East Studies Forum (MESF), and Acting Director the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University Iran’s leadership has been a direct beneficiary of the months-long war in Gaza. With every missile that Israel fires ...
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Will the way that some tenants live lead to their residence failing a rental WoF?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/96067676/landlords-v-tenants-how-to-live-in-a-house
Moreover, will that result in them being shown the door and blacklisted from obtaining another rental?
How else (if they’re required to have a WoF) are landlords going to overcome this?
It’s really simple. If judgemental, entitled fucks like Peter Lewis don’t know how to manage a tenancy they need to find a different way to make a living.
He’s saying that the house was fine but the tenants couldn’t afford to run the heat pump he had installed. Yet instead of advocating for decent incomes for people he instead makes out they are bad people. If he’s so shit hot at the least he should be doing regular inspections and communicating to the tenants what is expected. And if he is renting to people on low incomes he needs to rethink the kind of housing he is providing and stop expecting people to live to a standard of living he deems appropriate.
I have zero sympathy for people like him who are moaning about not being able to make even more money out of people living in poverty.
yup.
And put in a fucking DVS!
“He’s saying that the house was fine but the tenants couldn’t afford to run the heat pump he had installed”
Yes, that’s correct. And despite his attitude, the fact remains (the tenants couldn’t afford to run the heat pump).
So what’s to become of them if their failure to run the heat-pump results in the house becoming unwarrantable?
Inspections and communicating what is expected isn’t going to help the tenants pay the power bill, hence is unlikely to help the situation (tenants not being able to afford to run a heat pump).
I see a DVS was suggested below, which is great and they’re reasonably cheap to run, but there will be some out there that would struggle with even that little extra cost.
Landlords won’t want to bear the constant repair costs, thus how will this impact struggling tenants?
But you’re buying in to the false dichotomy of “heat pump vs expensive damage”.
As opposed to “actually manage the property, work with the tenants to find a solution, and help them implement it”.
Which is what reasonable people who take their job seriously would do, as distinct from people who just want to make money without doing much for hit.
Being a landlord is an actual job.
And which very few of the ‘landlords’ actually recognise. They just see tenants as cash cows for their own enrichment.
But that’s true of pretty much all capitalists. Everyone else is just there to make them richer.
“But you’re buying in to the false dichotomy of heat pump vs expensive damage.”
False dichotomy?
Rubbish.
We’ve had this discussion before, heating along with ventilation is required to keep a home dry and free from mould and moisture damage. Which, if unattended, can be an ongoing, thus costly expense.
So what cost free solution would you recommend concern landlords pursue?
I don’t recommend landlords pursue a cost-free solution.
I recommend they spend time to inspect their properties and show the tenants any quirks a house might have.
I recommend that they invest in insulation, glazing solutions, skylights, and other ways of helping their property stay dry.
Because the evident alternative is that they spend loads on home repairs and then call the media to complain about their tenants.
I was referring to a cost free solution for the tenant.
“I recommend they spend time to inspect their properties and show the tenants any quirks a house might have.”
That won’t help them pay the power bill.
“I recommend that they invest in insulation, glazing solutions, skylights, and other ways of helping their property stay dry.”
That will help to some extent while also helping to reduce the power bill, but it won’t cover all their heating costs, thus the problem remains.
I can see this becoming an unintended consequence of a housing WoF.
making power bills “affordable” doesn’t mean making them “free”.
If you are actually concerned about the tenants, vote Green because they not only want a wof for rentals, but they want tenancy rights, and an increase to minimum wage and benefit rates.
lol that’s a big “if”
Do the Greens have tenancy rights protecting tenants deemed of being the cause of the damage and reason why a property failed obtaining a WoF?
Labour have given no indication they will allow the Greens to increase benefits.
In fact, the only call I see the Greens getting is from Labour telling them they’re going to call Winston.
In other words, you’re here to argue for landlord rights, and against the party that wants to give protection to tenants.
Do the Greens have tenancy rights protecting tenants deemed of being the cause of the damage and reason why a property failed obtaining a WoF?
It’s been a while since I looked, but afaik there is the ability for landlords to evict tenants if the tenants are damaging the property. The issue is about where the line is between wear and tear and damage from neglect or abuse. In the article there was a landlord complaining that the carpets got dirty. That’s what happens in houses, it’s normal. It’s also why landlords have insurance, so that if an accident happens they’re covered. You can look up the recent case law on this too where the courts sided with a tenant.
You’re still running the line that houses go mouldy because the tenants do the wrong things. But this is still on the landlord to manage. If they ignore the house for 6 months, that’s on them. Mould doesn’t happen overnight and the landlord is the one with the power to look after the house in terms of environmental issues. This has been explained to you already a number of times.
Again, it’s a business. If landlords aren’t doing their job properly then they need to find another way of making a living.
“In other words, you’re here to argue for landlord rights, and against the party that wants to give protection to tenants.”
No. The rights of landlords and tenants have to be fair and balanced.
If you haven’t noticed by now, I’m one of the only ones on here that is concerned about the impact of a housing WoF on struggling tenants.
And while landlords have responsibilities, so do tenants.
Heating is a large cost factor that a number can’t afford, but it’s also required to avoid accusations of tenant neglect. As shown in the article.
“You’re still running the line that houses go mouldy because the tenants do the wrong things. But this is still on the landlord to manage”
The reason why I’m still running this line is simply because tenants have responsibilities too.
“Mould doesn’t happen overnight and the landlord is the one with the power to look after the house in terms of environmental issues. This has been explained to you already a number of times.”
Still, you seem to be overlooking the tenants responsibility in this regard. It”s not all on the landlord. As I’ve explained above and as shown in the article. Do you disagree on this? Your comment suggests so.
When a landlord is at fault, it will fall on them, but what happens when a landlord has done all they can do and it then falls on the struggling tenant? What’s to become of them?
It seems those advocating for a rental WoF are getting so carried away by their do good notion that they are blinded to the unintended consequences of the poor struggling tenants. And what the ramifications will be for them – i.e. blacklisted, higher rents, forced heating costs and evictions.
1: regular inspections
2: if problems begin to emerge, provide education, ensure insulation etc is up to scratch
3: provide cleaning materials
4: if problems get worse, confirm there isn’t a reason inherent in the flat, eg rising damp or a roof leak
5: if it’s a structural problem, remedy it, provide dehumidifiers, and subsidise the power bill involved, because it’s the landlord’s responsibility
6: if it’s not a structural problem but a genuine problem with the tenant, go through the tenancy disputes process.
It’s not fucking rocket science. It’s doing your goddamn job. It’s exactly like a taxi or bus having to meet a warrant of fitness. Are you arguing “what about passengers who won’t be able to afford a bus with, like, brakes and reliable steering, don’t you care about them?” I hope not.
Yes.
One of the things to do in introducing a rental wof would be to cap rents for substandard properties.
Not up to scratch? Rent caps at, say, $60 a bedroom.
The point being to encourage landlords to upgrade without evicting folk in the middle of NZ’s worst housing crisis.
If rents are to be capped are we also going to cap rate increases, increases in the cost of maintenance and rises in insurance premiums? Or do we expect landlords to soak up all those costs too?
And would you deem that to be fair and balanced?
I wonder if a rental WoF will drive a number underground and create a large black market in non notified cash rentals?
“So what cost free solution would you recommend concern landlords pursue”
Sell the properties and stop having a business attitude to someone’s home.
I don’t want to bear the constant repair costs on my car, guess what happens at the next wof?
If your car fails a warrant you don’t have to throw you tenants out.
Do you care about them?
If your car fails a warrant, it was endangering your “tenants” lives. Why would you let it get to that state?
In this instance we are talking about the tenants being the reason why it got into that state. Why? Because they are poor and can’t afford to heat their homes. Mould or food on the table then becomes their choice.
So what do you think will happen to them?
“The” reason?
No, in this case we have the landlord blaming the tenants. They’re one link in the chain between clean house and house requiring repairs. Most of the links are in the landlord’s power to maintain.
In this instance we’re talking about the landlords letting their house drop below wof standards.
Cars don’t have tenants, but the point of the comparison is to show that landlords have responsibilities to not harm other people.
What will happen to the tenants is that once we get some decent tenancy laws their lives will improve.
If the heat pump is too expensive to run it isn’t fit for purpose.
This is not uncommon with the increase in the installation of heatpumps by house owners hoping to reduce costs and salespeople who know nothing of the product they’re selling.
Ideally there should be, in every room, a heat pump that has the capacity to heat that space, not one in the main living area that grinds away all day trying to heat the whole house, a space way beyond its capacity.
If he spent only 6.5k he obviously didn’t install enough pumps to heat the house effectively and efficiently.
He’s an incompetent landlord.
Gareth Morgan and Sean Plunket are going hard again on the let’s cause maximum offence as campaign strategy. Some of the twitter commentary is good,
@HORansome on why Morgan and TOP in parliament is likely to be a problem,
https://twitter.com/HORansome/status/900582237602803712
Russell Brown, the voice of middle-class left NZ, on Morgan reaching to insult everyone he can,
https://twitter.com/publicaddress/status/900522586303483904
Stephanie Rodgers on why the whole ‘policy is god’ thing is a problem coming from someone of Morgan’s privilege and in capacity to examine his own bias,
https://twitter.com/bootstheory/status/900507953740079105
and some humour,
https://twitter.com/rumpole3/status/900526864334114816
https://twitter.com/robhosking/status/900569772110209024
I do think policy is important – but so are values and MO. I want to know how an MP or party will respond to unexpected events and the need to come up with solutions not covered in existing policies. I want to know how MPs and parties will negotiate differences between parties.
Yes, and it’s the values underlying the MO that are starting to concern me. It’s one thing to be a dick, it’s another to conduct a deliberately offensive and divisive campaign presumably designed to grab the centrist vote.
I agree the how they will respond stuff is important. I can’t see him being a good person to be in govt with or even have on C and S. How is he going to cope with Māori MPs disagreeing with him? Finger pointing and telling them they’re not kaupapa Māori?
Another day, another Greens own goal.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/latest-election-campaign-greens-and-labour-keen-show-theres-no-bad-blood
Shaw says, “I know people are looking for fractures, but there are none…” addressing splitters like ScottGN, who presumably watched the clip, but failed to see himself featured therein.
It’s seems hard for some people to get their heads around, that people can disagree and still work together and have a good relationship.
The Greens bring a new way of doing politics, but I wish more people would get this. The MoU specifically allowed for the parties to do their own thing and still work together to change the govt. This is exactly what is happening. But some people seem to think that working together means doing deals and the Greens being subservient to Labour and they miss that this is a partnership.
Happens here all of the time 🙂
which bits?
Robert please don’t call me a splitter, cos I’m not. I would have loved nothing more than a Lab/Green coalition government. But it’s not going to happen. The Greens have shown themselves to be unready for the burden of office. The best I can hope for after election day is that Winston looks kindly upon Jacinda.
You sound so sure of yourself, Scott, almost as though you have prescience of some sort, but you don’t, leaving us to wonder at your self-confidence. The thing you would have loved nothing more than, a Lab?Green coalition government, is only impossible inside of your head, it seems to me. Outside of that space, there are many, myself included, who can see the potential still for such a pleasant combination. I think you caved too soon. So perhaps not splitter – quitter?
Sob sob sob sob sob. Sobly sob sob.
There once was a fellow called Scott.
Obscured by blubber and snot,
Crocodile tears,
Transparent fears,
Trashtalk unreason and plot.
[you’re crossing over the line OAB, please dial back the abuse because I don’t want to have to monitor an escalation – weka]
Haha very good OAB. Boy I’m really getting it tonight.
You protesteth a little bit much for me. I mention it a little bit much for Weka. You can’t please all of the people so why try?
Let’s examine my limerick more closely for those who I don’t care about offending who might nonetheless feel obliged to be offended.
There once was a fellow called Scott. Self evident.
Obscured by blubber and snot, Scott is upset about something.
Crocodile tears, OAB doubts the sincerity of Scott’s outrage.
Transparent fears,
Trashtalk unreason and plot. …and goes on to outline exactly what OAB feels offended by in Scott’s rhetoric.
Well, that was dull. Dullards unite, then vote National.
Lol, still looking anti-Green there Scott.
From your link, Jacinda Ardern and James Shaw say the relationship between the two parties is solid and Ōhāriu is just like any other seat as far as both parties are concerned. Makes sense to me, and is true to what I am observing.
I’m not anti Green Weka. I’m anti-stupidity.
I watched the video you linked to. I don’t see anything in that video that is a GP own-goal. Quite the opposite, I saw the leaders of the two parties backing each other up, affirming the MoU both in the relationship and the intent.
Yet you asserted ‘own-goal’ in a sound-bite. This is in line with other comments I have seen you make. I’m sure I’m not reading all your comments but at the moment what I see is a lot of criticism of the Greens that is basically you saying you don’t like them. If you don’t want to come across as anti-Green then I’d suggest putting a bit more effort into explaining your thinking.
You misjudge me Weka. I’ve never said I don’t like the Greens. I’ve always welcomed the idea of a Green/Lab government. However I do think the Greens have badly fucked up this election cycle. Time will tell. In the meantime it would be nice not to get completely dumped on in here, I am pretty much on the same side, after all.
And yet, the “own goal” you declared earlier, doesn’t exist, save in your imagination. Perhaps it’s that which needs moderation.
Green-leaning veteran Journo Gordon Campbell certainly thinks it’s a potential own goal. Reeks of desperation, he suggests:
http://werewolf.co.nz/2017/08/gordon-campbell-on-the-greens-ongoing-problems/
it was an act of mind numbing stupidity….god alone knows what they thought they were doing.
No it wasn’t. As soon as Dunne withdrew it was meaningless for them to continue abstaining from the electorate.
What it shows is leadership as the moved both rapidly and confidently to take advantage of the changed circumstances.
really?…and what do you believe will be the net result vote wise?…id suggest for every party vote they gain (if any) by increased profile in Ohariu they’ll lose two (or more) elsewhere by looking desperate, unreliable and undetermined …..and that ignores the damage done to trust levels between themselves and Labour and the wider damage done by voter perception of the links between the two parties
Agree with Pat. The Greens seem to be pretending that getting rid of Dunne was their Everest.
Well it’s not the Everest of the left coalition – a change in government is – and the Greens have abandoned that in order to concentrate on their own survival.
A united front with Labour without the panic moves would have gone a long way to achieving both.
Perhaps the Greens, having had their social justice arm severed, are returning to their core blue/green values of elitist environmental concern.
@Pat
They’ll gain votes overall and you have a strange concept of looking desperate.
@Muttonbird
They’re not pretending anything.
There is a united front and there’s no panic moves.
The Greens seem to be pretending that getting rid of Dunne was their Everest.
What does that even mean? That the Greens think they got rid of Dunne? I haven’t seen Green Party people saying that.
Well it’s not the Everest of the left coalition – a change in government is – and the Greens have abandoned that in order to concentrate on their own survival.
You do understand that if the Greens don’t do well at the election there will either not be a change in govt, or we will end up with a centrist NZF/L govt.
For all the internet reckons about what the Greens should do with regards to their party vote, I’m still going to trust the actual Greens to know what works in their own party.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201855897/greens-break-hariu-deal-with-labour-and-stand-candidate
Agreed Draco. Campbell (who is usually excellent) has this completely wrong. Now Dunne has gone it is common sense for the GP to stand in Ohariu.
Many people don’t seem to understand MMP- the GP standing in Ohariu makes no difference at all to the outcome of the election except it may give the Greens some more Party Votes, and what’s wrong with that?.
Hi weka. The Greens have said the reason they didn’t stand a candidate in Ohariu was to unseat Dunne and therefore remove the overhang and deprive the Nats of a free seat.
This obviously was a deal to help bring about a change of government which is the end goal. Unseating Dunne wasn’t the end goal and as such I think this is a job half done.
That what I meant by The Greens pretending that getting rid of Dunne was their Everest.
The Greens have been at 10%-11% in the last two elections and they fully deserve that but the Turei thing wasn’t handled well, the social justice element of the party has been gutted and they themselves now feel they are in that much danger that they’ve made a move which, in my opinion, harms moral boosting polling for the left in Ohariu.
And it really is only a few hundred Ohariu Party Votes at most that we’re talking about.
I’ve had a brief gander at the Greens’ 2011-14 Party Vote swings in the seats where they failed to put up a Candidate & compared these with their swing in the General Electorates as a whole over those two Elections.
The difference really wasn’t great.
In the General Electorates as a whole, the Greens fell 0.43 (ie slightly less than half a percentage point)
They failed to stand in 11 seats in 2014.
In Botany (- 0.05) and Pakuranga (+ 0.14), they out-performed that General Electorate swing, and in another 3 seats (Hamilton West, Palmerston North and Rangitata) they performed only slightly worse (-0.55 to – 0.63). Even the remaining 6 seats weren’t dramatically different … the Greens’ greatest party Vote fall in an electorate where it didn’t stand was – 1.82 in Rotorua.
These minor percentage point falls represent very small raw numbers of Party Votes. Gordon Campbell’s probably right – does tend to suggest desperation time.
In these last desperate weeks, i would hope that Shaw concentrates his Party’s efforts in those electorates that have been shown to deliver the maximum vote; the “leafy suburbs” of Grey Lynn, central Wellington, Dunedin North, Nelson, etc. Just concentrate your remaining effort on the highest historical yield.
as your numbers suggest ,the reason given doesn’t stack up so it looks like a fit of pique….and self harming pique at that
Pat have you never listened to a Radio NZ interview, and then 5 mins later the “News” as reported by Nicola Wright; and wondered if the “reporter” listened to the same interview you just heard?
It’s called “spin” and Radio NZ is as bad at it as any other media outlet, only more insidiously. You are being spun, because quite frankly, the MOU between Labour and the Greens was about each Party working together to change the government. It was never about the Greens bending over backwards to improve Labour’s vote.
Nothing has been broken here except the truth as presented by RNZ.
i posted the interview so Shaws’ words could speak for themselves…if you believe Im being “spun” then your must truly be concerned about the wider public and their reaction to such spin….as to what the MOU was or wasn’t supposed to be,(it is evident it now exists in name only) that is largely irrelevant to this issue…as always its about numbers.
The Greens don’t believe they will be polling below 5% by the time people vote.
The strategy hasn’t been thrown into reverse, it’s been adapted around a totally new situation.
I’m not sure where the few hundred thing comes from, the Greens did well on the party vote in that electorate last time with Woodley standing (5,600 votes), I assume that having him there is important to get those party votes again as well as trying to increase them.
Watching the Greens themselves as they’re campaigning, they don’t come across as desperate. They look focussed and on point.
I have followed werewolf for a time now. His stance is often right of center in tenor. How the Right is trying to paint the Greens out of this Election imo.
Further the “Taxinda” tag for Jacinda in comments by the Right wing types commenting on Stuff, show an attack to undermine. Again imo.
The nasties are looking for chinks, using attack dogs.
Gordon Campbell = “Right of Centre” ???????
You’re joking, right ?
Capitalist Roader!
I normally respect the analysis of Gordon Campbell – but frankly on this he is way off. Firstly, the polling is not indicating 5% or less apart from one rogue poll. Secondly, there is no indication that Party vote Green will be lost – indeed the feedback from door knocking and meetings and canvasing from around the country indicate quite the opposite. Remember Corban was given no hope by the pollsters and commentariate in the UK 4 weeks out from the election, but they were not on the forefront of the campaign trail meeting the voters face to face . The base of around 10+% points for the Greens on environmental issues is still there – although I know you fixate on polling and will try to tell me otherwise. But frankly there is no other party to hold a candle nor with the record of commitment to environmental issues as the Greens, and those passionate about these issues know that. But with the further emphasis on Social Justice and the elimination of poverty in this country (for which Meteria has been martyred,) there is another group of voters, who have previously been dormant, who are now signing up.
Agreed macro-Campbell is usually excellent but he has the Greens-now-standing-in-Ohariu analysis completely wrong.
(Pure speculation-maybe his judgement has been clouded here by being close to some of the Green people involved? Or too close to people in Labour?)
Once Dunne was gone it was an entirely sensible thing to do; not a “panic” move. The GP is now simply treating Ohariu like all of the other electorates.
Thank you Macro.
Gordon has often damned the Greens with faint praise, or quoted so called poor public perceptions of them, often without a balancing view. After a bit I wondered if he was the “public perception” in some cases. (imo)
Further, there is a growing trend towards Lab/NZFirst. preferences, shutting the Greens out in discussions.
Macro
Not sure whether you’re trying to convince me or yourself, Macro.
And I’m not sure how you estimate a Party’s core vote without some sort of Poll data (as opposed to anecdotal evidence and a touch of wishful thinking)
In that respect, the latest analysis by the legendary Jack Vowles (hot off the Press and just launched by Helen Clark at Victoria University) suggests the Green’s solid core is much smaller than most pundits assume.
The NZES flow-of-the-Vote data suggests less than half of 2011 Green voters remained loyal at the 2014 General Election. About a quarter of 2011 Greens swung to Labour, with a little less than one fifth going to the Nats and NZF (each).
There were significant reciprocal swings. The Greens lost more to Labour than they gained from the Larger Centre-Left Party, but most of the vote inflow that the Green’s did receive in 2014 was indeed from Labour as well as from previous Non-voters – thus largely (but not entirely) compensating for their lost 2011 votes.
As Vowles argues: ” … the apparent stability of Green voting support is something of an illusion; as in a railway station, some got off and others got on the train, in this case in about equal numbers.”
In other words … not the same 11% voting Green in 2011 and 2014. Around 5% of all voters (just under half of 2011 Greens) voted Green in both Elections, the rest were new.
And this isn’t actually anything new – go back to earlier NZES polling (late 90s / early zeros Elections) and you’ll see the same inherent volatility in the Green vote.
Bear in mind too that at the very least a large minority (and quite possibly a majority) of Green voters in both 2011 and 2014 were Labour supporters at some time in the recent past. A lot of movement back and forth between the two parties over consecutive Elections.
So, I’d argue the Greens’ base vote is more like 5%.
Jacindamania + the Greens turmoil in this campaign will probably mean the Party won’t receive its usual amount of (significant and vital) Labour-supporter froth on top of that core vote. Probably just enough to raise it to 6-8%.
NOTE: If the Greens are averaging anything less than about 6.5% in the final round of pre-Election Polls then I myself am going to be forced to switch my Party Vote from Labour to the Vegetable Rights and Peace Party, just to ensure they return.
Ok, so you can demonstrate that then. This is a tough political debate culture. My suggestion stands, give more in your comments than sound-bite negatives and then you won’t come across as anti-Green.
I have no problems with the tough culture in here. I can probably hold my own. And I don’t think my comments are mere “sound bite negatives” either whatever they are? I don’t believe I am anti Green but I am pro Labour. Mostly because I am a 52 year gay man who remembers that Labour was the only party that ever really stood up for me.
Straight as a die Kiwi bloke who’s just turned 53 comes to your rescue, amidst Hippy Reefer-Madness Greenie pile-on !
https://thestandard.org.nz/daily-review-24072017-2/#comment-1373208
(Bear in mind that a recent UK study suggested both Green and UKIP supporters – arguably the two “extremes” of the mainstream UK political spectrum – tended much more toward Neurosis than Labour, Tory or Lib Dems. For all the Hippy excesses, Greenies tend not to be relaxed personality types)
Great form there Swordfish.
I’ve been working on my neuroses for years.
How do you explain all these “centrists” parroting Hoskings on here, all of a sudden.
Ignorance, neuroses, or trolling?
Oh please fuck off with your moral superiority. What are your credentials to assess stupidity? You embody it, just like the gods that contend in vain.
Don’t beat yourself up, Scott.
We are here to help.
Oh look, another own goal by both National and ACT – major rift between coalition partners!
Is that the reason, Scott, you are giving so many examples of your own?
Here’s something for you to ponder.
A couple of weeks ago Patrick Gower (yeah, I know) said he was told Labour are out to crush the Greens.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/election/2017/08/labour-is-out-to-crush-the-greens-patrick-gower.html
Was Jacinda’s new emphasis on climate change further evidence of that?
And how about Kelvin Davis (when asked on the leaders debate who does Labour want to get into bed with?) saying Labour wants to get into bed with themselves?
The Kelvin Davis remark was made at 36.50 in the clip in the link below
https://www.maoritelevision.com/tv/shows/election-aotearoa-2017/S11E022/election-aotearoa-leaders-debate
Labour is after as many votes as it can get just like every other party /shrug. I keep seeing them affirming their relationship with the Greens. I’ll take their word over Gower’s any day of the century.
Gower is a manipulative abuser of his power who thinks he has a role in the outcome of the election. No idea why you would reference him seriously.
“Gower is a manipulative abuser of his power.”
Yes, I know. But I didn’t see Labour making any complaints about his assertions in this regards. Have you?
And if it wasn’t so, surely Labour would have spoken out by now? Yes?
Even one of the hosts of the leaders debate commented (as if surprised) Kelvin didn’t mention getting into bed with the Greens. At around 37.10 in the earlier clip.
China demands US immediately withdraw North Korea sanctions
My bold.
Somewhat annoyed by Hoskings ‘clarification’ on 7 Sharp tonight. All the placards etc speak of electorate vote and party vote. But arrogant Hosking doesn’t use the standard term – he calls it by the unusual name of ‘list vote’.
I see this as a not-too-subtle attempt at further obfuscation. A lot of people who know the term ‘Party Vote’ (written on our voting form?) will not know that ‘List Vote’ is?
hehe
yet to search for corroborating evidence but this is a timely article….
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/aug/24/austerity-lie-deep-cuts-economy-portugal-socialist
Interestingly enough the same was shown after WWI in Britain. After the spending of the war the UK tried really hard to get back on the Gold Standard (They’d dropped it during the war) through major austerity and had all sorts of troubles.
Across the Channel in France, with all the devastation of the war, things were booming as France spent their way into prosperity.
Thing is you can Look at the Marshall Plan after WWII and see the same thing.
Things are often the exact opposite of what modern economists tell us.
The writ has been issued and history is about to be made.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1708/S00473/governor-general-gives-green-light-for-election.htm