Good money after bad into the bottomless pit of charter schools

Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, January 29th, 2016 - 73 comments
Categories: accountability, education, national, schools - Tags: , , , ,

Did only RNZ pick up on this yesterday?

Charter school a waste of public money – PPTA

Education Minister Hekia Parata confirmed the closure of the charter school in Northland today, saying the challenges facing its board were too great.

PPTA president Angela Roberts said the union and Ministry advisors warned the government of all those challenges and risks – but were ignored. She said state schools could have made good use of the millions spent to prop up a school that was never viable.

The Ministry of Education updated the cost of the Whangaruru school from $4.8 million to $5.2 million dollars this afternoon. It said the extra $400,000 was a payment it was obliged to make for the first quarter of this year, even though the school will not be open.

The money will be paid to the owners of the school, Nga Parirau Matauranga Trust, and the Ministry said only a portion of it will be recoverable. ….

$400,000 down the hole for a school that won’t open? The Nats must have negotiated the contract with all the skill that brought as the Sky City, Warner Bros and Rio Tinto fiascoes. Brilliant.

73 comments on “Good money after bad into the bottomless pit of charter schools ”

  1. savenz 1

    +100 – Don’t worry

    “Inside NZ house of filth”
    ‘Bodies were never dumped at sea’
    Crashed out on side of the motorway
    Has anyone ever heard of a kinkajou?
    Apple recalls NZ wall plug adapters
    Don’t ask Roger Federer stupid questions
    Emirates to fly Auckland-Dubai non-stop
    Introducing the new, realistic Barbie”

    ‘Breaking’ news from our ‘business newspaper’ Granddady Herald….

    Kids education, more bad decisions from Natz, millions of taxpayers dollars wasted,
    MSM not really interested in that news obviously…..

  2. Andre 2

    $400,000 for one quarter of the year for a roll that peaked at less than 40 students? How does that compare to regular state school funding?

    • repateet 2.1

      The Minister last year intimated in the House that should the school be closed down (at that stage) the same amount of money spent on those kids until the end of February 2016 would be spent on those pupils in other (state) schools. That was a lie.

    • Molly 2.2

      Approx $7,000/yr per student a few years ago, IIRC.

      Don’t think it has changed that much. But definitely not up to the level of approx $40K/year/student.

    • Nick Nack 2.3

      You have to compare apples with apples, that is include the establishment costs. For example Rolleston Secondary (http://rollestonsec.school.nz/school-design/) is costing around $53m, and is projected to open in 2015 with 225 students. I could easily create a false impression by comparing their costs per pupil with an established charter school, but that would be dishonest. Some opponents of charter schools are doing precisely that, which doesn’t help the credibility of their position.

      • Andre 2.3.1

        Admittedly none of the articles is precisely explicit on whether the $400,000 for the first quarter of this year includes some establishment costs. But since all of them separately mention $1.4 million in establishment costs, it certainly gives the impression the $400,000 is just for ongoing operating expenses.

        • Nick Nack 2.3.1.1

          It’s not just about establishment costs, it’s also about amortising total cost over a smaller roll in the early life of a new school. That also is a dishonest way of criticising the charter school model that is frequently deployed.

          Charter schools are controversial, I accept that. And they don’t always work, but then nor do state schools. The difference is charter schools can fail, whereas state schools have money pumped into them so they can’t fail.

          • Andre 2.3.1.1.1

            “The school has received $3.2m in operational funding in the last two years and prior to its opening, the trust received $1.6m for establishment costs, which the school used to buy a farm.”

            http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/76334545/opposition-mps-call-for-hekia-paratas-resignation-on-back-of-charter-school-closure

            That’s $400,000 per quarter in operational funding for the last two years. Over $40,000 per year per student. Over and above establishment costs, paid by the government. And the assets bought by the charter school operators don’t revert back to the government, they are apparently kept by the failed charter school operators. Please, do explain how this is a dishonest criticism of the charter school model. I so enjoy a defence of the indefensible.

            • Nick Nack 2.3.1.1.1.1

              I’m not defending anything, I’m simply pointing out that some opponents of charter schools use misleading comparisons. You’ve actually done exactly that in your comment above. The ‘per student’ method of calculating cost is irrelevant until the school is at or near capacity. Your flawed methodology could be applied to the Rolleston example I gave above to produce an establishment cost of $235,000 per student, yet that would entirely misleading.

              Your comment about the assets and the operators is also questionable, unless you know the details of the trust that operated the school, and of the contract between the trust and the crown.

              I had doubts about the charter school model, but so far most are working well, and the take-up by Maori and Pacifica is particularly encouraging.

              • Macro

                The ‘per student’ method of calculating cost is irrelevant until the school is at or near capacity.

                🙄
                How big do you think the max roll would be? Not more than 100 tops – if that!
                And yes it is relevant – because that expenditure could have been better spent elsewhere – where the investment in each student is a fraction of the money wasted on this exercise.

                • Nick Nack

                  “How big do you think the max roll would be? Not more than 100 tops – if that!”

                  How do you know?

                  “where the investment in each student is a fraction of the money wasted on this exercise.”

                  The same could be said of state schools that get extra help…why not just convert them to charter schools?

                  You see that’s the point. You can spin numbers whichever way you want. I could argue that because Rolleston school is costing $10.2m per 200 students (assuming its roll will be full at 1040 by 2020), whereas the first 5 charter schools only cost $1.43m per 200 students, then all schools should be charter schools. You see how absurd the argument becomes when you distort the numbers?

              • Andre

                Maximum capacity roll at Whangaruru 128
                http://www.eduvac.co.nz/news/2014/05/15/nz%E2%80%99s-charter-schools-small-and-expensive Maximum roll achieved 71. If it ever achieved its maximum roll without getting an increase in operational funding, its per student funding would be about $12,500, 65% more than the average state funding for secondary school students.

                It looks to me like you’re the one trying to conflate operating and establishment costs, but anyway, taking your example, the Rolleston School is intended for a roll of 1040, and taking your word for the $53M ( I haven’t gone looking for verification), that’s $51k per student, not $235k.

                The next sentence in the stuff link above from the one quoted: “Parata said in the case of state schools the ministry owns the land and assets, but in this case the ministry would have to go into “commercial negotiations”.” I have the very strong suspicion this translates as “we couldn’t be bothered thinking about what happens if it fails, so we didn’t put anything in the contract so now we’re going to go try to beg some of the money back”. If you have another interpretation, please share.

                Please feel free to link to any credible positive news stories about success stories at charter schools. I haven’t seen any since this thread prompted to look for them. In fact, at 11:24 this morning I was only mildly annoyed about charter schools, now I’m fucking outraged at what a rort they’ve turned out to be.

                • Nick Nack

                  The data on Whangaruru is not correct. The $3.2m for the two years must have included some establishment funding, because the $1.6m was used to purchase a farm.

                  Re Rolleston, the $235k per student was based on the anticipated opening roll, not the 2020 roll, and precisely illustrates my point about how distorted such a comparison this would be. Overall state schools are costing considerably more per pupil to establish than are charter schools.

                  Re the ‘credible positive news stories’:
                  http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/268702/good-ero-reports-for-two-charter-schools
                  http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11514077
                  http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/288486/charter-school-interest-a-'vote-of-confidence

                  As I said earlier, Charter schools are controversial. Some will fail, some will succeed. Just like state schools, the only difference being we pump money into state schools to avoid them failing. At the extremes, both opposition and support for charter schools seems to be more ideological than evidence based. My support for them is tentative but based on what I see as a real possibility of helping kids who have previously slipped through the cracks.

                  • The Other Mike

                    Thanks. But can anyone explain why they are buying f’n FARM???

                  • Draco T Bastard

                    I’d like to know why the government is buying a farm for someone else as well.

                    • tricledrown

                      the worst thing is the farm will remain the property of the trust after the school closes.

                  • Andre

                    $800,000 was paid for the farm. Which now has an estimated sale value of $750,000. That leaves $800k for other establishment costs.
                    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503450&objectid=11581567
                    It looks to me like you’ve pre-decided things aren’t as bad as reports by reputable news organisations presenting facts are making clear, so you’ve gone out of your way to try to paint a distorted rosy picture.

                    The two nzherald items you’ve linked are puff pieces written by vested interests. Which leaves the ERO reports in the radionz as the positive news. At least one of those schools has had serious problems since the ERO reports http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11554125

                    This government isn’t shy about closing state schools.
                    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10886944

                    Education isn’t my field of expertise, or much personal interest beyond the fact that it’s a big part of government and I’ve got kids in education now. So yesterday morning I only had a vague sense that charter schools weren’t the panacea they were made out to be. But now that I’ve spent a bit of time looking into them, I’ve come to the view that they are an utter waste of government money that would be better spent improving the state school system. And I’ll leave it at that.

                    • Nick Nack

                      The problem with the argument about improving state schools is that state schools don’t work for some kids. Charter schools specifically meet the needs of those kids, as the evidence is showing.

                      As for the links, you asked for positive media coverage, without qualifications. The ERO reviews are definitive. The ‘cultural’ complaints about Middle School are irrelevant to the educational outcomes of the kids. The MSM would not have even been interested in that if it wasn’t a charter school.

                    • Draco T Bastard

                      Charter schools specifically meet the needs of those kids, as the evidence is showing.

                      [citation needed]

                      Generally speaking, I’d call it bollocks though. To teach people of differing learning methods requires high investment which would cut into the charter schools profit.

                      And, again, it would have been easier and cheaper to just make the investment into the existing state schools.

                  • One Anonymous Bloke

                    What you’re missing is that they’re founded on a lie. Not just the “education in crisis” lie that John Key was pushing in 2007, and was used to introduce the retrograde and self-defeating notional standards, but the entire narrative.

                    The single most influential factor in education outcomes is household income. Not the school you attend. While inequality and poverty increase, the authors of this economic disaster blame teachers for the inevitable result.

                    The only reason any of the above is at all controversial is politics. ‘Centre-right’ education policy has no validity.

                    • Nick Nack

                      Absolutely household income matters, but it is not the only factor. Some kids don’t take to conventional schooling. That’s where charter schools come into their own.

                    • One Anonymous Bloke

                      [citation needed]

                      This is what’s happening is it? Kids are being chosen because they “don’t take to conventional schooling”, and it’s just an amazing coincidence that they all happen to come from areas of economic and social deprivation.

                      Personally I think that sounds like bullshit. No doubt you can provide supporting information? Of course you can’t, because right wing education policy has no validity.

      • Draco T Bastard 2.3.2

        Sure but there’s one big difference – the charter school didn’t need to be set up at all and so it comes under the economic heading of ‘opportunity cost’. It would have been simpler and better just to spend that money directly into Northland’s existing schools.

        National lost millions of dollars on this one school. If we have a look at other charter schools around the country chances are that we’ll find even more loss. A loss that could have been spent on existing schools and improving them.

      • Psycho Milt 2.3.3

        You have to compare apples with apples, that is include the establishment costs. For example Rolleston Secondary (http://rollestonsec.school.nz/school-design/) is costing around $53m, and is projected to open in 2015 with 225 students.

        Indeed you do have to compare apples with apples. Rolleston Secondary won’t do as a comparison because the government would never establish a public school as small as Whangaruru, for the excellent reason that it’s a wastefully inefficient way to spend taxpayers’ money. Also, the people setting up Rolleston Secondary won’t get to pocket the cash themselves or buy themselves a farm with it.

        • Nick Nack 2.3.3.1

          Irrelevant. The issue is whether or not the method of cost comparison is relevant, not the merits of operating a small school. Are you advocating shutting all state schools with a roll of under 200?

          • One Anonymous Bloke 2.3.3.1.1

            The issue is that right wing education policy has no validity, and every unsupported “I reckon” comment you leave here just underlines that point.

            Can you imagine what the theory would look like?

            “Educational achievement is proportional to the number of farms owned by the educators”,

            “The success of a school is determined by donations to the National Party”.

            “The purpose of state education is to smash the unions”.

            • Nick Nack 2.3.3.1.1.1

              “Right wing education”? I’m not interested in political ideology. I want to see NZ kids who are currently falling through the cracks helped to succeed. Education is a key to that. I don’t care WHY they are in the position they are in; I don’t care WHO runs the system; I just want what works. For some kids that’s the public system, with it’s many benefits. For others it is private schooling, or the integrated hybrid. And for some, it may well be charter provision. What I find interesting is that Maori and Pacifica groups are charter schools are lining up to set up charter schools. They must see the benefits, even if you don’t.

              • One Anonymous Bloke

                Oh, sorry, I now realise that your version of education policy is:

                “Something must be done! This is something, therefore we must do this!”

                “I want to see NZ kids who are currently falling through the cracks helped to succeed”. However, you don’t want to do a damn thing to tackle the single most influential factor in education achievement, eh. Pretending to be so concerned for the kids, except by recognising the actual problems they face. No wonder you can’t seem to find any validity.

                • Nick Nack

                  “However, you don’t want to do a damn thing to tackle the single most influential factor in education achievement, eh.”

                  How do you know I don’t want to address that? This discussion is about charter schools. Improving educational outcomes is a challenge with more than one solution. Charter schools may well be one of them.

                  • One Anonymous Bloke

                    That’s a piss-poor reason to experiment on children, especially given overseas experience of fraud and failure.

                    If the issue were pedagogical flexibility, then it would have been a lot cheaper to foster it by abandoning retrograde notional standards.

                    Sure that might interfere with plans to smash the teachers’ unions and introduce wholesale privatisation, and so what?

              • Andre

                Or maybe it’s a few predatory arseholes in those Maori and Pacifica communities that see their opportunity and are going for it. You know, the likes of Donna Grant, Brian Tamaki, Donna Awatere Huata…

                • Nick Nack

                  Or Willie Jackson?

                  Not a single operator of any of the charter schools is a ‘for-profit’ enterprise. You’re way off beam here.

                  • Andre

                    “One school, Vanguard Military School, paid $309,391 for management, over and above what it paid its principal. The money went to the Advanced Training Group. Both entities are owned by the Hyde family.”

                    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11501047

                    It’s possible they are technically a non-profit. But they’re pretty fucking good at lining individual pockets.

                    • Nick Nack

                      From the same article:

                      “Vanguard chief executive Nick Hyde said the payment was for the day-to-day running of the 93-student school, allowing the principal to focus on staff, students and the curriculum. It went towards a chief executive, his staff, payroll, accounts, administration and the support from directors and board members.

                      He said splitting governance and management had led to success so far, including a 100 per cent NCEA Level 2 pass rate.”

                      You also seem to have a misconception of how charter schools are funded.

                      “The model is based on funding for state schools. Partnership Schools will also be eligible for entitlements that attach to individual students or schools such as transport assistance, Māori Language Programme Funding and an allowance for isolated schools.”

                      http://www.education.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Ministry/Initiatives/Partnership-schools/FundingForPartnershipSchools.pdf

                      I would recommend you read the entire document, it will dispel your concerns.

              • Stuart Munro

                There’s a reasonably clear distinction between the kind of charter school that succeeds, and those that fail. The successful kind are started by education professionals and tend to use longer hours as well as unconventional strategies on top of their core curricula to ensure success. These are relatively rare – 5-10% of charter schools.

                The unsuccessful kind are started by ‘business’ people to secure a chunk of state funding. They hire marginal or unqualified teachers and have no freaking idea what they’re doing educationally.

                National has chosen to fund the second model.

                • Nick Nack

                  And yet 4 of the 5 schools have received excellent ERO reviews.

                  • One Anonymous Bloke

                    And yet in 2007, the lying opposition leader told lies when he said that 20% of schools were failing, and that meant the sky was falling. A 20% failure rate has already been identified as a massive crisis.

                    Sauce for the goose? Or not?

          • Psycho Milt 2.3.3.1.2

            Are you advocating shutting all state schools with a roll of under 200?

            Nope, just pointing out that the goverment wouldn’t create a new public school of that size because it believes it to be a wastefully inefficient use of taxpayers’ money. Any cost comparison of charter schools vs public schools needs to make explicit that the former are of a type regarded by the government as wastefully inefficient.

      • In Vino 2.3.4

        Yes, but Rolleston is being established because there is a shortage of classroom space in the area, and the school is actually needed.

        Charter schools are being opened willy-nilly wherever the neo-liberal ideologues think they can make a buck, with no concern as to whether there is actually a shortage of classroom space in the area.

        So the establishment costs of Charter Schools are generally costs that would not have been needed, and far more benefit would have gone to the students if the under-resourced state schools had been given that extra funding. Your argument is rubbish – not apples and oranges, but rotten tomatoes.

        • Nick Nack 2.3.4.1

          Charter schools are certainly not being opened ‘willy nilly’. They are being opened in very small blocks, any prospective operators are put through a robust assessment, and they are being subject to greater scrutiny than are state schools. 4 out of the first 5 have been successful.

          “and far more benefit would have gone to the students if the under-resourced state schools had been given that extra funding. ”

          And you know this how? From I see charter schools are helping kids who have the state system has failed, despite all the extra assistance it has received.

          • One Anonymous Bloke 2.3.4.1.1

            Didn’t take you long to start parroting transparent lies. As I said, you won’t do shit about the actual problem: household income – remember that? You pretended to accept it as an influential factor, but perhaps I should have rubbed your face in it a bit harder.

            Why can’t right wingers propose policies without lying? What the fuck is wrong with you people?

            • Nick Nack 2.3.4.1.1.1

              Household income is a factor. I don’t know how you could rub my face in anything I’ve said. I’ve stuck with the discussion, which is charter schools. You seem stuck on an ideological bandwagon.

              • One Anonymous Bloke

                the state system has failed, despite all the extra assistance it has received.

                Nothing irrational in disliking tired zombie lies. In light of the fact that household income is the single most important factor, you have no grounds to support the tired zombie lie above, because since 1984, comparing like for like, the number of children living in poverty has doubled.

                You really oughtn’t go believing the things right wing liars tell you. What’s your excuse?

                • Nick Nack

                  So you should support Charter schools, because they provide free education (that’s right, free!) to families of kids in need! They target precisely the kids of families you are pretending to be concerned about! But I suspect you won’t support them, because your opposition is not based on evidence or experience, just ideology.

                  • One Anonymous Bloke

                    That’s odd, because according to you yesterday, they teach kids who “don’t take to conventional schooling.”

                    So basically you’ll say anything, while ignoring substantive rebuttal. Why do you tell so many lies? I think it’s because you have zero personal responsibility.

                    Fix the problems (increased inequality and child poverty) liars like you created, and then tackle those (if any) who still “fall through the cracks”.

                    It ought to be possible to do that without buying farms for unregistered teachers.

                    • Nick Nack

                      “That’s odd, because according to you yesterday, they teach kids who “don’t take to conventional schooling.””

                      What’s odd? My comment is correct, and is consistent with everything else I have posted. BTW, some kids have difficulty in the state system, irrespective of family background. It’s not only poor kids who don’t fit in OAB.

                      “Fix the problems (increased inequality and child poverty) liars like you created, and then tackle those (if any) who still “fall through the cracks”.”

                      There is no absolute fix for these problems. And any progress with not be fast. Meanwhile, you consign thousands of kids to educational failure because of ideological bias. Well done.

                      “It ought to be possible to do that without buying farms for unregistered teachers.”

                      I don’t have any problem with unregistered teachers. Virtually every teacher who has been in the news over the past few years for sexual deviancy has been registered. Teaching is a gift, some people have it, some people don’t. Registration won’t change that.

                    • Nick Nack

                      BTW, I found this piece. I noticed there is a lot of support for Campbell here, so I thought you might be interested.

                      http://www.newshub.co.nz/tvshows/campbelllive/charter-schools-the-future-of-education-2014091219#axzz3ysDojqZL

                    • lprent []

                      A report from 12 Sep 2014?

                      Have they failed in the mean time like so many other charter schools after sponging up millions from taxpayers like so other charter schools? Is that why you can’t source a more recent analysis about how they have been going. Or was Campbell Live the home of the only kiwi journalists?

                      You are a bit of a idiot aren’t you?

                    • One Anonymous Bloke

                      And out comes the sick parrot.

                    • Nick Nack

                      I posted the Campbell live clip because Campbell is popular among the left. I’ve already linked to the ERO reports, and to very recent positive media coverage. But then you do know that.

  3. Dot 3

    These are all points that must be remembered in the run up to the next election
    I think that in Education we can point out clear differences between opposition parties and National,
    that hopefully New Zealanders will take note of .
    This gross mis-spending sadly is an example.

  4. savenz 4

    Charter schools are known fraud vehicles for corporates and individuals, it’s not really hard to find out especially in the US… interestingly they never seem to recoup the money???

    “Charter schools are cheating your kids: New report reveals massive fraud, mismanagement, abuse
    Millions of dollars are being vacuumed out of public schools and into the corporate pockets — or fraudulent execs”

    http://www.salon.com/2014/05/07/CHARTER_SCHOOLS_ARE_CHEATING_YOUR_KIDS_NEW_REPORT_REVEALS_MASSIVE_FRAUD_MISMANAGEMENT_ABUSE/

    “The great charter school rip-off: Finally, the truth catches up to education “reform” phonies
    Fraud, financial mismanagement, lousy results: Reports highlight awful charter schools and people are catching on”

    http://www.salon.com/2014/10/02/the_great_charter_school_rip_off_finally_the_truth_catches_up_to_education_reform_phonies/

  5. DFool 5

    I know some people contracted to teach different activities at the school, and which required a high staff to student ratio. Every week multiple staff would travel three hours return to the school for an hours lesson and most of the time there were less students than they were staffed up and paid for, and most of the time half of those that were in attendance did not participate in the activities even though they were in attendance. I could imagine lots of money being wasted across other subjects in the same manner.

  6. reason 6

    I wonder if Nacts charter schools are part of the reason we are plummeting backwards down the world education rankings under this government ??? ………..

    Remember they are taking money from normal state schools, or closing them down ……. so they can pump more money into private and charter schools.

    Yet another door the bent Key has opened ……………..

    • Molly 6.1

      Was looking up a school closure for someone who has no access to the internet, and printed off the Excel spreadsheet that is located here for them to take.

      Interesting spreadsheet for those who want to have a look at the number of communities who have been affected.

  7. Tricledrown 7

    The worst thing about this is the land that was purchased by this charter school is not being taken back but left in this trusts hands
    Scandalous.
    Who’s on the board of this trust friends of the National Party.

    • savenz 7.1

      Don’t worry Tricledrown – the herald has their new finger on the news pulse because

      Emirates to fly Auckland-Dubai non-stop
      Introducing the new, realistic Barbie

      It’s called cross promotion and advertorials – you pay to get your company into the news! Fabulous.

      We don’t need to know who authorised IWI to get 5.2 million from the National party and gets to keep the land….. I mean you get paid to keep that stuff out of the news, right?

      If Parata keeps this up with Charter Schools she might get to be as good at negotiating as Grosser!

    • repateet 7.2

      The Minister was specifically asked about this in the House last year well before the writing was on the wall for the school. Of course the usual fudging happened with the answers.

  8. Macro 8

    They were told right from the get go that these “Dames Schools” were going to be a disaster. Everyone with any knowledge of educational history would have told them that – I certainly did. But they were never going to listen and now, a few years later, a few people are a lot richer, and the kids a lot poorer.

  9. ianmac 9

    Paul Goulter points to another real risk Education + TPPA. Set up a private school then demand taxpayer funding. Horrible thought!
    “Imagine an education system where multi-national corporations could set up a school alongside your local public school, and then demand equal access to the taxpayer purse to fund that school.

    It’s a likely scenario because global businesses are on the hunt for new ways of getting their fingers into nations’ multi-billion dollar public education purses. And here in New Zealand, the TPPA could provide that opportunity.”
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11581754

    • Descendant Of Sssmith 9.1

      Well there’s a whole lot of religious schools in New Zealand that have already done that.

      They also lie, and encourage the parents to lie, about their children’s religious status in order to breach the operating conditions of the schools.

      Got a grandmother who was Catholic – sign up here!

      Don’t know why you are using overseas examples.

      • savenz 9.1.1

        I’m using overseas examples because our MSM doesn’t report what is happening here and also because Charter schools have been going for 20 years in the USA and are openly used fraudulently and to transfer money meant for kids from the State into business and individual pockets for profit. Charter schools are lobbied by billionaire hedge funds managers who want to meddle in education as a business opportunity for their pals and to impose their ideology on kids and communities.

        The Natz and Maori party stealing from Kids in NZ is not OK!

        • Descendant Of Sssmith 9.1.1.1

          The last part of the comment was tongue in cheek. It was pretty obvious why you were using overseas examples. I’m just pointing out our non-tax paying religious citizens are more than happy to take tax-payers funds and commit fraud as well.

          And it is my view that it is fraud to knowingly encourage people to lie about their religious status in order to (pretend) to meet their legal requirements.

          The hypocrisy of the religious.

          Personally it’s my view that if they want tax payers money for their schools they should no longer have tax exemptions. Still paying no tax no doubt helped the brethren have plenty of money to pay for political advertising didn’t it.

          • Craig H 9.1.1.1.1

            While the tax exemption for charities includes advancement of religion, hence churches etc being exempt from income tax, the tax exemption for charities also includes advancement of education, so they would qualify for the income tax exemption anyway.

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  • Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    Bryce Edwards writes –  It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 hours ago
  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    6 hours ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    6 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    7 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    8 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    11 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    11 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    11 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    12 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    13 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    14 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    16 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
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