Migration

Written By: - Date published: 7:17 am, June 14th, 2016 - 32 comments
Categories: Economy, im/migration - Tags:

National did their typical thing yesterday and belatedly and half-heartedly moved vaguely in the right direction when put under enough pressure; hoping to go just far enough to keep enough people on side.  Raising the refugee quota to 1000 wasn’t enough and it was good to see them called on it. (It’ll be interesting to see if they give some sop towards Paid Parental Leave to excuse themselves when they – in an unprecedented & undemocratic move – veto Sue Moroney’s Bill before it’s read on Wednesday.)

But what about immigration in general?

I love migrants, and the diversity they add to our country (and we’re all migrants from not that far back…), but we need to slow it down to a rate that we can cope with, that we can build infrastructure for.

We’re at levels unknown in the rest of the OECD.  Net 1.5% of our population arrived last year.  Britain is feeling stretched and complaining with less than half that rate!

We’re adding 800 Aucklanders each week to a housing crisis.  Huge amounts more cars each week to Auckland’s transport problems.  Auckland Council is groaning under all the newly needed development cost (putting water, roads & drainage ever further out) – and, as central government keeps power and purse-strings closely held, the Council wonders how to pay for it.

To National, they see the housing crisis as no problem – how many (paper) millionaires have they created through the Housing Bubble?!  Surely those newly ‘wealthy’ Aucklanders will vote for them?!  (If this fails, blame Auckland Council!  Central government may hold most of the levers, but surely it’s the Council’s fault for not freeing land fast enough?)

Last year our GDP growth was near top of the OECD, another thing for them to crow about.  As long as no-one digs too deep and realises that the GDP growth was pretty much entirely population growth, and wasn’t making any of us richer per capita.  (Indeed with inequality growth, a lot of us were poorer…).

So National feel no need to slow the flow of migration, it makes them look good.  We have a points system that is easily adjustable to control how many we have coming in, but, unlike all previous governments, this is yet another lever this laissez-faire government refuses to put its hands on.  Like Housing, employment, etc “the market will sort it out.”

Bernard Hickey’s piece on Sunday was excellent.

Here we learnt that a large chunk of our migration is now short-term “essential skills” visas, and students.  But what are those “essential skills”?

• Chef 2283

• Dairy cattle farmer 1596

• Cafe/restaurant manager 975

• Retail manager (general) 924

• Carpenter 901

• Dairy cattle farm worker 806

• Retail supervisor 797

• Aged or disabled carer 731

• Truck driver (general) 401

• Registered nurse (aged care)372

So it would appear Andrew Little’s remark about training our own chefs wasn’t so silly…  And how can we need to be importing dairy cattle farmers?  It’s what we do!

Cafe/restaurant & retail managers and supervisors?  These are not essential skills.  We surely can source them here.

Aged care, farm workers and truck drivers are being imported to keep Kiwi workers’ wages down.  Aged care pays just above minimum wage and it should pay a lot more.  If you’re one firm though, you’ll see it as: import foreign labour, or not be able to compete on price with other providers.  If the Government makes you employ Kiwis… well, wages will rise.  But this government’s quite happy to skew the market against the workers.

Carpenter – well we need carpenters and there may well be a shortfall in skills.  But then this government’s been in power for 8 long years and really could have turned out quite a few apprentices in that time.  Remember that earthquake in Christchurch?  You’d have thought they’d make a big push for upskilling Kiwis in the trades after that, but, well…  Y’know, the market will provide…

Y’know, that market that’s working so well for Auckland housing right now…

32 comments on “Migration ”

  1. vto 1

    Employers that claim they cannot get enough workers need to up their game.

    They need to pay rates which will attract supply for their work in the free market. Instead they undermine the entire country by importing slave labour for the farms, the orchards, the restaurants in Queenstown, on it goes ….

    Employers like this are free market failures.

    That includes most all of the dairy industry…. bunch of pussies unable to stand up to it. Weak.

    • mary_a 1.1

      @ vto (1) … + 100

      You state … “Employers like this are free market failures.”

      True.

      Such employers are also free market bullies. Not only the slave pay rates they offer, but also the appalling conditions workers are expected to work under, such as unreasonable hours, no breaks etc, combined with on occasion, late or no payment of wages!

      I thought NZ had labour laws to protect workers. Obviously not it seems, otherwise a decent caring government would enforce fair employment law!

      Another point is the importation of foreign labour should be stopped, while there are Kiwi workers unemployed who need jobs, many of whom are skilled! And what’s the matter with the government having these unemployed NZers work government contracts, instead of bringing in overseas contract workers to do the work?

    • Once was Tim 1.2

      Couldn’t agree with you more @vto.
      There are some absolutely appalling cases of ‘slave labour’ that the Labour Inspectorate is only now lifting its game with.
      Now that we’ve (the gubbamint) created this mess however, we cannot simply give the immigrants we’ve allowed here the boot – as I imagine many would like to do.

      We’ve fucked up on apprenticeships and are reliant on immigration in the short to medium term.

      We’ve fucked up on orchardists. IF for example MPI again messed up on border control and the PSA virus was to get through again, the Kiwi fruit industry would utterly collapse were it not for the predominantly Sikh community in the Bay of Plenty. (The expertise now exists with predominantly Sikh operators to be able to EXPEDIENTLY and quickly deal with the problem – and even to a lesser extent, expertise rests with them in things like grading, etc.)

      We’ve fucked up on farming and getting people into that sector with good wages and conditions.

      Immigration has been used by many to drive down wages and working conditions (including things we now occasionally see in the media – such as people effectively being paid $4 per hour; or others living in tin sheds that I’ve personally witnessed; or people 6 to a room).

      We need to begin now, but not over-react to those ALREADY here and being treated as slaves. We now also OWE these immigrants we’ve treated like shite!
      We’ve created an education ‘industry’, whereby international students have often been promised the world, only to find courses are near bloody useless, and things like ‘work experience’ on graduation turn out to be total shite. We should be ensuring these international students actually get what they paid for (often their parents have begged, borrowed and mortgaged the shack to send their children here on ‘mis-sold’ education ‘industry’ promises). Some I know have resorted to prostitution and most ‘feel’ obligated to repay their parents debt because they think they’ve had the priviledge of coming here.

      And I agree that cafe managers, and so on do not require ‘immigrant’ labour (this sector is often the frikken worst at ripping off employees), but when I go to an Indian restaurant (or Chinese for that matter), I would hope to see an Indian in some way in charge of the proceedings, but also with local/indigenous employment of other staff members.

      This gubbamint really has created an unholy mess of things and I suspect it was intentional – I can’t figure out any other reason for Mr Joyce’s absolute Bugger’s Muddle of a Munstry (MoBIE) that cobbles together such disparate entities such as Immigration, economic development, the labour inspectorate, and buidling and housing.

      • The New Student 1.2.1

        “We need to begin now, but not over-react to those ALREADY here and being treated as slaves. We now also OWE these immigrants we’ve treated like shite!”

        Hear hear. Absolutely. In a similar vein to what Infused says and like I said before, WE are the problem. We have all contributed in some way (stupid investments, blind consumerism, not standing up for our own rights let alone for those of vulnerable people and probably all sorts of stuff) so we all need to help fix it. Government has the biggest responsibility but we all have our part to play too.

    • Infused 1.3

      Hard to pay those rates when the customers are going for bottom dollar. You don’t really get it.

      You as consumers have caused this problem.

      NZ is a 3rd world country in this regard, we just don’t acknowledge it.

      • Once was Tim 1.3.1

        “NZ is a 3rd world country in this regard, we just don’t acknowledge it.”
        Absolutely true! There are tea pickers in supposed “3rd World” countries I’ve seen treated with more respect.
        You’re providing Paul with all the ammunition he needs in his daily claims. Thanks for the acknowledgment.
        The pretense and hypocrisy just astounds me at times, although I don’t imagine it’ll change any time soon whilst we constantly preoccupy ourselves with our ‘wants’ rather than our ‘needs’, and until the shit really hits the fan and we realise the I I I me me me/minimalist under-resourced-supposedly-representative gubbamint culture wasn’t such a good idea.
        Actually, as we know – that’s a favourite neo-liberal minded trick (e.g. you under-fund and under resource things like the Labour Inspectorate, or the Ombudsman’s Office, or front line MPI staff, or even front line CYFS THEN WONDER WHY even the staunchest of Natzi suppotas, such as Paul Henry or Peddy Gear start having a go at you over refugees, or the housing ‘CRISIS’ – yes ….. C R I S I S)

      • Draco T Bastard 1.3.2

        You as consumers have caused this problem.

        Nope. The ‘free-market’ BS has caused it fully by undermining wages in NZ through the use of skilled labour elsewhere in the world that are paid far less in working conditions that are quite simply illegal in NZ. In other words, NZ workers can’t actually compete because it’s not actually a level playing field. This seems to be the desired result of this government so that they can force wages down even further – As John Key said that he wanted.

        The low wages then force people to shop on price causing an even further degradation in wages both in NZ and overseas.

        Our present policies are causing the increasing poverty that we see around the world and in NZ.

      • vto 1.3.3

        Infused, not even close to worthy of a response

  2. vto 2

    It is quite clear that John Key and Bill English have opened the immigration taps in order to jolly up the economy and retain power in Parliament.

    It is as simple as that.

    They care not the implications

    • mickysavage 2.1

      Yep their whole economic strategy is cheap labour for their farmer mates and a binge on home prices by allowing increased immigration.

      This is a strategy that is bound to end in tears.

      • vto 2.1.1

        Yes it is already in tatters as a strategy for our fair lands and good people.

        But as a strategy for retaining Parliamentary power it is going to work. The only thing to stop them will be some random sideswipe from unknown quarters, or house price falls.

        It is all about house prices this next election. John Key knows it and doesn’t care on bit.

        John Key does not care.

      • Pat 2.1.2

        don’t forget the inward flow of foreign funds….we don’t need to earn our way (we can behave like a vulture fund) and then borrow the rest……imagine our exchange/growth rate without those inflows.

      • Ad 2.1.3

        Agreed, and hopefully ends in tears under the current government rather than the next one.

  3. Sabine 3

    Shop Supervisors? Are we now saying that in NZ we have a shortage of Shop Supervisors, or only a shortage of Shop Supervisors that refuse to work seven day a week on min wage?
    Same for the Retail Managers – really? Cafe Managers? Fucking really?

    Frankly that is bullshite.

    • vto 3.1

      Yes Sabine, that is exactly it. Exactly it.

      The free-market-loving business owners, employers, and National Party do not operate under the free market one little bit. They can’t foot it. They are weak. They are unable to attract people with their business model and so instead rely on government intervention and effectively slave labour.

      They have extremely poor business models.

      • dukeofurl 3.1.1

        They will be working in dairies and small shops.

        Its part of the immigration game where people who are often graduates take these positions in ethnic owned businesses to get residency visa. The other type of employer is the fast food industry.

        • Sabine 3.1.1.1

          And there is no reason to be on the Skill Migration list.
          IF it is to simply employ of the same ethnicity they can look in NZ. I am sure that we have enough People born of all ethnic back grounds here in NZ that could fill these positions.

          These jobs should NOT be on the Skilled Migrants list. Full stop.

          • Draco T Bastard 3.1.1.1.1

            I’d expect skilled to mean has a three year degree or better that cannot be gained in NZ.

            • Stuart Munro 3.1.1.1.1.1

              In fact skilled wages need to be supported too. So you did a bachelors in social work or engineering – you need to pay off the student fees somehow, not be shelved while cheaper foreign graduates eat your lunch.

  4. Greg 4

    National get a lot of self backslapping from rubber stamping work visa’s, they claim it as part of their job creation (no real effort) policy.
    Immigration is a known economic factor in keeping unskilled wages low, its now evidenced and undeniable as National policy. Migrants competing for minimal wage jobs clearly show Nationals high skilled immigration policy is a failure, or worse, a fraud.
    You can bet employers are signing work visa employees to Kiwisaver to get the $400 fee for it, how isnt this a fraud. It should be a easy number to quantify with IRD rejected or withdrawn applications.

  5. M. Gray 5

    So much for bringing in highly skilled labour what a load of bull-shert I went to the New World store in Lower Hutt it was full of Indian workers these are jobs that could be filled with NZers. We all know who is benefitting go to your petrol stations, bottle stores, supermarkets, shops and call centres and who is working in these jobs ? mostly foreigners very sad what this Government is doing to our country and our people.

    • Rodel 5.1

      Went to hospital A&E some time ago . Nearly every doctor and many of the nurses etc. were immigrants. Was very glad they’re here in NZ…..just saying….

      I remember a skinhead in trouble some years ago who complained that just once he’d like to buy his fish ‘n chips from someone who wasn’t a ‘chink’. An unpleasant fellow he was.

      • Puckish Rogue 5.1.1

        He should get out more, plenty around the more rural areas of Otago and Southland so I’m sure its similar in the rural areas of the North Island

        • b waghorn 5.1.1.1

          I Havn’t had a nz born go for over 11 years. Which I’m cool with , it would be nice if I got to have the same doctor for more than a year though.

  6. Lanthanide 6

    in an unprecedented & undemocratic move

    There’s nothing “undemocratic” about it. They are exercising one of the powers of government – a government that was democratically elected.

    As part of the reform that allows private members bills to commit the government to financial expenditure, the government was given the right to veto such spending bills.

    Until that reform was in place, Sue Moroney’s bill wouldn’t have even been allowed to be added into the ballot, let alone drawn and voted on.

    • Colonial Viper 6.1

      They were elected to do their best for the good of the country Lanth.

      Anything else is a misuse of the power that they have been democratically given.

      • Lanthanide 6.1.1

        If that’s the case, then practically every government in the history of the world has misused their power.

        Anyway, that doesn’t refute anything, because they think what is best for the country is to use the money elsewhere.

  7. Colonial Viper 7

    Are we finally at the stage of admitting that Auckland’s population growth is one major driver (and there are others) of Auckland’s housing shortage.

  8. save nz 8

    Great post – this is an issue that needs a lot of debate in NZ. From what I can work out we have gone from a ‘can do’, ‘ DIY’ ‘moral’ culture to this helpless, get someone else to do our work and someone can cream off a bit from someones cheap labour and a punishment culture. And I don’t think the majority of NZ’ers want this.

    When the finance minister calls youth ‘pretty hopeless’ as workers after Kiwis being known for being ‘hard workers’ previously on the OE type experiences, something is very wrong.

    Neoliberalism has robbed us more than previously thought. Not just cutting off the younger generation from housing but also from being able to get a part time job and learn valuable skills, able to study without incurring eye watering debt by the age of 22, being able to travel and flat with others (increasingly youth have to keep living at home and thus not really having to cope with bills, living with others and budgeting) and finally getting a first job with security and prospects. In effect government policy over the last 30 years is stunting the next generation of growing up and feeling that they have a stake in our country.

    To cover this problem, the government is importing in people to do the jobs the younger generation should be doing, increasing the problems for youth and creating a massive problem for our social security. At the same time other governments like Britain are tightening up immigration for so what a decade ago was available to Kiwi young adults in the acquisition of new skills via the OE experience is now going.

    The answer is to ditch these low skilled immigration jobs completely and start getting back to training our own people in building, engineering, labouring, technology, creative capital and agriculture.

    There should be a criteria like Australia where only committed people who are successful can come into our country and get citizenship. You should have to employ at least 2 New Zealanders and make at least $50,000 in taxable profit to be able to live here.

    There should be no property investment allowed as this is a closed system for NZ. Instead it should be about exporting and networking and having a collaboration with mutual countries benefiting. The goal should be to provide high value jobs in NZ. i.e. instead of selling our forests and getting nothing, the goal should be for skilled migrants to invest money into creating high value products from our logs and then export the high value products using their contacts in their home country.

    For those migrants getting citizenship they should have to commit to spending at least 5 months of the year in NZ to keep it.

    You should not be able to get migrant family in unless there are real circumstances for other family members to contribute to this country, (not just as unpaid baby sitters who then can then obtain welfare themselves).

    • red-blooded 8.1

      I think this post raises some strong thinking points. I would like to comment on a few matters where I think people have gone too far, though:

      “You should have to employ at least 2 New Zealanders and make at least $50,000 in taxable profit to be able to live here.” Hmm… So what happens in our hospitals and schools, then? Not too many doctors or physics teachers employ at least two people. And yes, I know we could argue that NZ should do more to target training and to keep our own young professionals, but that’s not the whole answer. NZers have always travelled and many spend a number of years living overseas. While they’re away, someone’s got to do the hip operations. And besides, let’s turn this around for a moment: are you saying you want a world in which no NZer can live in another country unless they meet these criteria? That only business owners should be allowed to emigrate? That seems a bit draconian to me.

      “You should not be able to get migrant family in unless there are real circumstances for other family members to contribute to this country, (not just as unpaid baby sitters who then can then obtain welfare themselves).” Again, pretty extreme. I’m very glad that my immigrant sister-in-law, for example, was able to raise her children here in NZ with her parents on hand. They immigrated to join her and her sister (also married to a NZer). Think of everything they, their daughters and their (NZ) grandchildren would have missed if they hadn’t been able to live here.

      Also, who said immigrants are “obtaining social welfare”? You have to live here for at least 10 years to get NZ Superannuation, for example, and other benefits have stand-down periods and depend to a large extent on reciprocal arrangements with other countries. Think about all the NZers who’ve been resident in Australia for many years but can’t get benefits or other basics like student loans. That’s (justifiably) been seen here as unfair for many years.

      Don’t let’s slip into seeing immigrants as lesser than others. The original post was careful not to do that, but not all comments have been.

      • save nz 8.1.1

        I think when citizens of our country are now living in cars and tents and youth are displaying ‘colonisation like’ symptoms of desperation, alcoholism, drug addiction, suicide, criminal behaviour, helplessness, dependancy and achieving below what most others have in this country – then it is time to stop the famous NZ hospitality and say we need to solve problems at home first rather than keeping the status quo going.

        Like climate change there is a tipping point where you continue to do something that is causing a lot of damage to environment/society – I think we have gone past that point already with immigration (something like 1.5% last year alone increase in population) and it is time to stop continuing the problems.

        It is not about blaming migrants – it is about caring for current citizens and valuing the unique culture that they have, no matter what ethnicity – rather than some sort of colonial destruction of a tiny nation being bought and sold on the international stage with it’s citizens being considered valueless and treated like pawns with it’s natural resources to be plundered.

        Supposedly we ‘learnt’ from the 19th and 20th century colonisation, but find that in the 21st century it has been replaced by a kind of plutocracy supported by Kleptocracy.

        At least that is what I feel the National ‘financial hub 0% tax havens and immigration policy” seems to mean.

        Like any ponzi scheme, neoliberalism is held up by the influx of new money and people. Immigration is keeping the illusion of wealth on NZ going, but cracks are growing wider each passing day.

        We need to stop papering over the cracks and start to address the structural integrity and value and preserve our nation’s identity before we turn into a Pacific version of South America.

        • red-blooded 8.1.1.1

          Do you seriously blame immigration for issues like youth depression, addiction and suicide? That’s ridiculous.

          I also note you haven’t addressed any of the points I raised in my comment.

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    “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
    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
    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
    2 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
    3 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
    3 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    5 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 ...
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Two bar blues
    The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • AT Need To Lift Their Game
    Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
    6 days ago
  • Christopher's Whopper.
    Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days 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
    4 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
    6 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
    6 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
    20 hours 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
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
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  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
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  • Minister’s Ramadan message
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  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
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