No quick fix for diseases of poverty

Written By: - Date published: 9:23 am, January 16th, 2015 - 136 comments
Categories: class war, health, poverty - Tags: , ,

Poverty was one of the major issues in the run up to the 2011 election. There were some major pieces of work on the issue, such as the Inside Child Poverty documentary:

Shock look at NZ’s child poverty

More than 100 New Zealand children who died last year would probably have survived had they lived in Japan, Sweden or the Czech Republic, a new documentary shows.

In Inside Child Poverty: A Special Report, set to air this week, Wellington documentary maker Bryan Bruce shows a Swedish doctor footage of sick, scab-ridden schoolchildren suffering from preventable diseases in Porirua and asks if he saw similar situations in his country. The doctor shakes his head: “In the 70s, maybe.”

Last year, more than 25,000 children were admitted to hospital for respiratory infections. Doctors routinely treat cases of rheumatic fever and scabies – diseases now rare in Europe. The reason behind these preventable diseases were appalling rates of child poverty that New Zealand could not afford to ignore, Mr Bruce said.

Other notable events were the RNZ insight coverage and the seven key recommendations of the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) (which the government rejected out of hand). Fast forward to 2014, and Andrea Vance’s piece yesterday:

Rheumatic fever, syphilis cases rise

Rheumatic fever rates are on the up despite $65 million being spent on prevention, new figures reveal.

A report by crown research unit ESR (Environmental Science and Research) shows a “significant increase” in cases of the disease in the year to September, with 235 notified acute cases, up 75 on the previous 12 months.

The Government has pumped resources into the combating the illness with free drop-in clinics, healthy homes initiatives and public information campaigns, and wants to reduce incidences by two-thirds by June 2017.

Labour’s health spokeswoman Annette King said the Government was failing with rates of the disease rising in the last three years. … Estimates put 140 adult deaths a year down to the illness. “As former health minister Tony Ryall himself said: ‘We are the only developed country in the world with levels of rheumatic fever you would see in the third world’,” King said.

She wanted the Government to tackle the causes. “Acute rheumatic fever is largely a disease of poverty, overcrowding, and healthcare inequality,” she said. “Preventing it requires more than throat-swabbing and publicity campaigns, it requires a health system that provides services that are accessible for all and a co-ordinated effort to address social factors that impact on health, such as housing.”

So it turns out that there are no quick fixes to diseases of poverty. To tackle them, you need to tackle the cause – poverty itself.

Your move, National.

136 comments on “No quick fix for diseases of poverty ”

  1. Colonial Rawshark 1

    Good post Anthony.

    Although the diseases might be slow to fix, poverty in NZ can be virtually eliminated within 3 years: by boosting all core benefits by 15%, implementing a guaranteed youth jobs programme for those who are 25 and under, and inexpensive housing encouraging people to live outside of Auckland.

    • The lost sheep 1.1

      implementing a guaranteed youth jobs programme for those who are 25 and under,

      ‘Entitlement’ versus ‘incentive’ is obviously a key area of debate between Left and Right Rawshark.
      When you say “guaranteed”, do you propose that the entitlement should involve any ‘incentive’ link to individual educational efforts?

      • Draco T Bastard 1.1.1

        Most people are more than happy to work simply because it’s real boring doing nothing and don’t actually need to be incentivised to do it. The capitalists make use of this habit that people have to exploit them and enrich themselves.

      • Colonial Rawshark 1.1.2

        When you say “guaranteed”, do you propose that the entitlement should involve any ‘incentive’ link to individual educational efforts?

        Let’s check your terminology here. A full time job is not an “entitlement”, mate. It is a Kiwi right. You actually work for your money in a job, and are expected to perform or you will be tossed out on your ear for a 90 day stand down on the standard dole.

        • The lost sheep 1.1.2.1

          If a job was a right guaranteed by the State, then it would in fact, and terminology, be an ‘entitlement’, unless my Oxford needs correcting.

          But in your discussion of the semantics you have not actually answered my question.

          You propose ‘guaranteed’ jobs for everyone under 25 as part of your solution to poverty.
          Self evidently this would involve the State supplying jobs for individuals who could not find them in private enterprise.

          Do you believe such jobs should have some form of ‘incentive’ linking the right to a job in itself, or the quality of the job, to an individuals educational efforts?

          • Colonial Rawshark 1.1.2.1.1

            Do you believe such jobs should have some form of ‘incentive’ linking the right to a job in itself, or the quality of the job, to an individuals educational efforts?

            No, these would be full and half time minimum wage jobs. The pay wouldn’t change if you have a PhD degree or were a qualified orthodontist from Pakistan without NZ registration. If people have specific skills then of course an effort would be made to utilise those skills.

            If a job was a right guaranteed by the State, then it would in fact, and terminology, be an ‘entitlement’, unless my Oxford needs correcting.

            I don’t use terminology from the politically poisoned United States. You chose that word because it is from the politically poisoned United States.

            In NZ we speak of government “benefits”, “social security” and “human rights”. We do not refer to education, healthcare, ACC, or work programmes as “entitlements” although minor elements of those programmes may use that terminology.

            • The lost sheep 1.1.2.1.1.1

              Apologies CR for prompting a reply, and then not having time to engage with a decent reply today.
              I did appreciate that you were willing to post something concrete in the way of solutions, and hope to get back to you with some discussion on the line you proposed..

          • Murray Rawshark 1.1.2.1.2

            “Self evidently this would involve the State supplying jobs for individuals who could not find them in private enterprise.”

            Self evidently this would involve the State supplying jobs which private enterprise chose not to. A small change, but let’s put the emphasis where it belongs.

            “Do you believe such jobs should have some form of ‘incentive’ linking the right to a job in itself, or the quality of the job, to an individuals educational efforts?”

            No. They are two separate issues.

  2. Bill 2

    I don’t want to come across all cynical Anthony, but to tackle diseases of poverty, you have to tackle the root cause of poverty; not poverty.

    An illustrative example might be offered by considering Thomas Macaulay, who toured India in the 1800’s and found no evidence of poverty. Now sure, that situation was rectified fairly quickly by the British imposing market discipline on India and its industry.

    Now, I’m not saying that disease was absent in India in the 1800s, but I would suggest that all things being equal in terms of medical advances and understandings, that the ‘third world’ instances of the diseases mentioned in the post would be a smidgin of what they are today were it not for the gross misappropriation and misallocation of resources and services that we deliver to ourselves via Capitalism’s market mechanisms.

    The ‘third world’ is just a more stark reflection of what happens under systems that concentrate wealth, resources and various forms of access to all manner of things. More than that, the ‘third world’ offers a picture of what’s waiting down the track as Capitalists take back all the compromises they were pressured to agree to…various expressions of social welfare.

    No Western Social Democratic government is now going to block a return to the fucked up immiseration and inhumanity of the 1920s. Some may slow the descent somewhat.

    • Olwyn 2.1

      No Western Social Democratic government is now going to block a return to the fucked up immiseration and inhumanity of the 1920s. Some may slow the descent somewhat.

      I think that if the pattern you describe is left go unchecked for too long, the result could well be worse than in the 1920’s. In the 20’s more people lived in rural areas, and there was still a working class estate, if a deprived one. In comparison, the reintroduction of poverty after a period of rough equality leaves people abandoned.

      The influx of people into the cities was due to manufacturing, which is no longer there, while most of the service industry replacements pay badly and do not generate enough jobs to take up the slack. Moreover, there is not a square inch of land that would not be “worth more” if these people were uprooted from it. While we wait for corporate rule to fall prey to its own contradictions, we need to do what we can in the meantime to limit its destructiveness, even if we are not yet able to get to the real roots of poverty.

  3. Tracey 3

    Agree with Bill, we have to get to the root causes of poverty. Too often in NZ people are still arguing whether there is poverty or not. While that is the focus we will only have a few hard working, well meaning groups and people addressing the root causes but in a manner that would make Sisyphus smile. Note: my reference to Sisyphus is to the frustration of rolling a stone uphill only to have it drop down, and repeat…not to the notion that well meaning people addressing poverty are deceitful

  4. I don’t want to come across all cynical Anthony, but to tackle diseases of poverty, you have to tackle the root cause of poverty; not poverty.

    Yep. And the biggest factor in child poverty is single-parent parent families on benefits. Good luck to the government that tries to lower the proportion of kids growing up in those – if they even managed to come up with a way of doing it, it’s a safe bet that most organisations and individuals on the left would be vigorously opposed.

    • JanM 4.1

      And do you have the foggiest idea how so many of these families came to be single parent families? Think carefully, now ,and take in the bigger picture

      • Psycho Milt 4.1.1

        In what sense is how they came to be single-parent families relevant? Are you looking for a hook to hang value judgements on?

        • JanM 4.1.1.1

          Quite the reverse, but I sense that you may be

        • Well, you’re the person suggesting that governments need to find ways to lower the proportion of children growing up in one-parent households. Examining why this occurs is a fairly logical place to start.

          (And a fairly immediate reading of your comment, assuming that leftwing people will oppose any moves, suggests you think the “solutions” would be more socially conservative. In fact, the best way to help people not end up in solo-parent-beneficiary situations would be to make it easier for them to choose the timing and spacing of their children, through better sex education and access to contraception and abortion – issues normally, though not “naturally”, promoted by leftwing liberals.)

          • Psycho Milt 4.1.1.2.1

            Examining why this occurs is a fairly logical place to start.

            Well, sure. But the government should already have data on how one-parent families are created. My question was more to do with why JanM thinks I personally should be thinking about it. I’m commenting on a blog, not preparing a social policy proposal. The problem is the existence of such a high proportion – quibbling about why it’s so high wouldn’t get us anywhere.

            And a fairly immediate reading of your comment, assuming that leftwing people will oppose any moves, suggests you think the “solutions” would be more socially conservative.

            I base it on previous experience. At this and other left sites where I’ve had this discussion, the idea that children are better off raised by two parents in a stable, long-term relationship is generally greeted with dismay or outrage, depending on the degree of personal offence taken.

            • adam 4.1.1.2.1.1

              And Psycho MIlt shows himself to be the biggest loser on the Standard today. Sexist, hateful and repeated idiocy. Sheesh Milt I always thought you were a few short of a loaf, but today you just put the plastic bag on your head, and sucked.

            • JanM 4.1.1.2.1.2

              Perhaps I think you should be thinking about it because as a general rule it’s a good idea to know something about the subject you’re discussing – you appear to be content to let the ‘gummint’ do all the thinking for us – heaven help!

            • tracey 4.1.1.2.1.3

              “Family breakdown

              It is true to say that lone parents are at a higher risk of living in poverty than average but family breakdown again provides an inadequate explanation of poverty in the UK.
              In 2009/10, HBAI shows that 63 per cent of children in poverty lived in families with two parents.
              A recent study has also shown that marriage does not offer a solution to poverty. Instead, factors such as the lack of affordable childcare and flexible jobs offer more plausible reasons why many lone parent families struggle to make ends meet.”

              http://www.cpag.org.uk/content/child-poverty-myths

              Two parent, stable families dont stop child abuse, historically or currently. So your definition of “stable” might be more value based than you realised.

              You suggested that single parent on benefits is the “biggest factor” in poverty based on your experience it turns out. Perhaps that is why your call for the solution to be two-parent (one man and one woman?) and “stable” might have been challenged in other discussions? IF I accept your premise is correct, how do you redress it?

              • Two parent, stable families dont stop child abuse, historically or currently.

                Do you understand the concept of “more likely” vs “less likely?”

                • The Fairy Godmother

                  I think that we need to be more supportive and nurturing of relationships as a society than we are now. Currently WINZ actively discourages and penalises people who are in emerging relationships by cutting benefits and asuming the new partner will support the beneficiary before they are at the permanent relationship stage. So they are obliged to either split up or go too fast too soon. Back in the early 20th century so to speak, where no-one was meant to have sex until they married. Quite ridiculous and hypocritical if we believe that children are better off in a two parent family.

                • Olwyn

                  Why should causation not run the other way – why not “There are a lot of single parent families because there is a lot of poverty.” Poverty increases stress, subjects people to anxiety and humiliation on many fronts and generally puts their relationships under pressure.

                  • Karen

                    You are so right Olwyn. Rogernomics and Ruthanesia put huge stress on families.
                    There are many reasons for broken families. Violence, alcohol and drug abuse, physical and mental health problem and, as you say, poverty. Staying together “for the sake of the children” is not always
                    a good thing.

    • Tracey 4.2

      So, from where you sit, there is no point addressing poverty if the biggest factor (sources please) is single parents on benefits. You chide JanM about value judgments but surely looking at why children are in single parent families on benefits enables us to alleviate it as the problem you say it is for contribution to poverty?

      • Psycho Milt 4.2.1

        So, from where you sit, there is no point addressing poverty if the biggest factor (sources please) is single parents on benefits.

        Not so, and bugger the sources – I get sick of having to re-do this every time. Google’s your friend, have a look for yourself. Start with having a look at what features are most strongly correlated with long-term child deprivation.

        • tracey 4.2.1.1

          so, you state that single[parents on benefits are the biggest “factor” in poverty but then say that why we have single parents on benefits in such high numbers (according to you) is “quibbling” and “wouldn’t get us anywhere”. You seem to be suggesting therefore, that the solution is to find partners for the single parents and move them off benefits? Presto, a big dent in poverty? Will we have WINZ provide vetting for suitable partners? Will they have to marry, or is living together ok? Will the new partner have to have a job (although it isnt clear from your statements that joblessness is a big factor in poverty, so perhaps they won’t. And remove the benefit… I can see a small problem arising.

          • Psycho Milt 4.2.1.1.1

            You seem to be suggesting therefore, that the solution is to find partners for the single parents and move them off benefits?

            I don’t know what the solution is. I’d just prefer a bit of honesty about what the problem is.

            • tracey 4.2.1.1.1.1

              you ignore the data from the uk which shows 65% of kids in poverty come from two parent homes… so you are not being very honest about the problem either while purporting it is the biggest factor in poverty, this one parent family thing… when it is not the biggest factor at all.

              • UK data counts for shit – we don’t have their unemployment rate, and they don’t have our single-parent rate. Apart from which, for third-world diseases you need to look at chronic rather than transitory poverty, and two-parent families are more likely to be in transitory poverty than chronic (eg for a period of unemployment).

                In this country, we have 200,000 – 240,000 kids in poverty, depending on how you define it. We also have upwards of 100,000 single parents on SPS, so well over 100,000 kids involved. Just about everyone on SPS will fall under that higher poverty definition. We also know that being raised by a single-parent beneficiary is way more likely to put you in chronic rather than transitory poverty, and makes you way, way more likely to suffer stuff like neglect and abuse. It’s not hard to figure out.

                • Tracey

                  ok

                  we need kids in “two parent stable homes” to solve poverty.

                  how?

                  oh that’s right. you dont know. too busy making sure everyone knows thats the answer.

                  and how does that solve the problem of the poor in two parent stable homes?

                  • Being raised by a single-parent beneficiary is the biggest risk factor for a child when it comes to chronic deprivation. Reducing the number of children in that situation is not the same thing as “solving poverty,” and I haven’t made that claim for it. Would it kill you to respond to my actual comments, rather than the right-wing strawman you’re busy grappling with?

                    As to how you reduce it, the government pays people a shitload of money to tell it stuff like that. I’m not paid for this shit at all, but even i can see that you could reduce it by ensuring that full-time work is enough to live on, that heavily-subsidised childcare is available, that free contraception is not merely available but actively promoted to high-risk groups, that fathers are actively and relentlessly pursued for fulfilment of their responsibilities, and that there are heavy disincentives to staying on SPS long-term.

                    and how does that solve the problem of the poor in two parent stable homes?

                    I can’t solve 100% of child poverty in a single comment so I’m full of shit? Please…

                    • JanM

                      There you are, and it didn’t hurt a bit, did it? It’s only taken you 8 hours to stop railing and ranting and saying what you actually think should happen instead of having a go at everyone else and questioning their honesty.
                      Turns out most of us would probably agree with your suggested solutions, so what’s all the drama about. Did you vote for the party most likely to put all this in place?

                    • Turns out most of us would probably agree with your suggested solutions, so what’s all the drama about.

                      Well, quite. My sentiments exactly.

            • JanM 4.2.1.1.1.2

              Then start by defining the problem and being honest yourself – it’s no good just blathering on about single parent families (by the way I brought up two really cool sons as a solo parent. Both have education, jobs and steady relationships – so, for that matter, do the children of some of my other solo friends – it’s not that simple) and simplistically stating that the gummint must have data (???) on this subject. Does this mean you think it’s up to the gummint to fix it? If so, how, in your opinion?
              By the way, if the response continues to be ‘I don’t know’, I’m not sure why you’re even involved in this discussion

              • …by the way I brought up two really cool sons as a solo parent.

                Well, good for you, but your anecdote is irrelevant, and your determination to make value judgements about it is tiresome.

                Does this mean you think it’s up to the gummint to fix it? If so, how, in your opinion?

                Is there anyone with an opinion on this who doesn’t think it’s up to the government to fix it? Even the right-wingers believe that (albeit, in the sense that they’d like the government to take the action of removing the welfare system). In terms of how it might do that, I’m just an asshole with an opinion, but it seems to me the government could do a lot to make sure that full-time work pays better than a benefit, that facilities are in place to enable single parents to earn a living, and that there are very strong disincentives to remaining on SPS long-term.

                • Tracey

                  why is her experience irrelevant but your experience that concludes the answer is two parent stable hones is not?

                  • “I base it on previous experience” was a response to Stephanie querying the basis for my assumption that leftists would be opposed to what I’m saying (an assumption amply borne out by this thread, as it happens). You misread the comment.

                    Her experience is irrelevant in the sense that any particular anecdote is irrelevant when discussing “more likely” vs “less likely” across large numbers of people. If I were providing similar anecdotes, they’d be equally irrelevant.

                • miravox

                  but your anecdote is irrelevant

                  Anecdotes are not irrelevant. Especially if you get lots of them. They could be the very things needed to start investigating why some kids of sole parents do well and others do not (all other things being equal).

            • greywarshark 4.2.1.1.1.3

              PM
              You ask for the truth and honesty. You have been told and you can’t handle the truth so don’t pontificate on about it. You don’t want to know better, and we aren’t going to tell lies or say we know the guaranteed answer. We have said what will help, but you reject that.

    • Karen 4.3

      Here’s a few suggestions for reducing the rates of child poverty (but I suspect Psycho Milt will not like them). Increase benefit rates, build more state houses, increase the minimum wage, strengthen the role of unions in the workplace, provide more affordable quality child care and reinstate the Training Incentive Allowance to make tertiary study affordable for beneficiaries.

      • Tracey 4.3.1

        a good place to start Karen, and why not try it to see if it will work… all those health and crime related savings too…

        • Karen 4.3.1.1

          Yep – savings in the areas of health and justice expenditure and a big injection of money into the NZ economy.

      • Psycho Milt 4.3.2

        Psycho Milt likes all of them except “increase benefit rates.” Increasing benefits is likely to increase the number of workless families, not reduce it.

        • Karen 4.3.2.1

          If you don’t increase benefit rates you will not get rid of poverty. Children growing in poverty suffer problems with health and education, and reduce their chances of getting out of poverty when they grow up.

          You seem to have accepted ACT member Lindsay Mitchell’s thesis that the growth in families led by single parents is because DPB is too attractive a deal to refuse. I have known many solo parents and I can assure you that the reason they are solo parents is not because they want to live on DPB.

          The thing is that life on DPB is a struggle, as is bringing up children on your own. Finding jobs that allow you time off during the school holidays and whenever one of your kids is sick are almost impossible to find. There aren’t enough jobs for people without these problems, so I would rather solo parents were not pressured into work. I would rather they were encouraged to get qualifications that would help them get a well paid job when their circumstances allowed it.

          • tracey 4.3.2.1.1

            Paula Bennett was state assisted on the DPB, her training was paid for and now she is a Minister… oh wait a moment

            • Murray Rawshark 4.3.2.1.1.1

              That’s the solution right there. All solo parents should join NAct and become ministers. It would only need to happen about three times to get rid of benefits altogether. Wouldn’t do much for poverty, though.

          • Psycho Milt 4.3.2.1.2

            You seem to have accepted ACT member Lindsay Mitchell’s thesis that the growth in families led by single parents is because DPB is too attractive a deal to refuse.

            I’d put it more like I have accepted that research shows that increasing benefits increases the number of workless families. I do think Lindsay has a point when she refers to the financial difference between Sole Parent Support and a minimum-wage job as a factor in why there are so many sole parents, but that’s not the same thing as imagining SPS is “attractive,” and it leaves open the question of why minimum-wage jobs pay so poorly.

            The thing is that life on DPB is a struggle, as is bringing up children on your own.

            Yes, which is irrelevant to any of my comments, but it does mean we should be finding ways to see that fewer people find themselves in that situation.

        • tracey 4.3.2.2

          Can you direct me to three countries where increasing the benefit to say, 80% of the average wage increased the number of jobless families?

          • Naturesong 4.3.2.2.1

            Hell, I’d settle for just one.

            On a related note, if you give the homeless a place to live, do they become productive and engaged members of society, or do they decide they don’t need to work now they have a home?

            Who knows?

            Or if you give people a guaranteed basic income, do they suddenly decide to quit working, or does it result in greater employment, lower heath costs and higher levels of education?

            • Colonial Rawshark 4.3.2.2.1.1

              You have to have faith in people. Do people want to improve their lives, get on with personal projects or activities, or just subsist, existing in barely tolerable circumstances?

              • My point being that a UBI (done properly) results in lower health care costsw, higher education outcomes, greater choices in employment and a raft of other positives.

                It does however make those jobs that involve back breaking work for a pittance less attractive – cleaners may have to be paid enough for them to have a life on a 40 hour working week!!!

          • Colonial Rawshark 4.3.2.2.2

            Can you direct me to three countries where increasing the benefit to say, 80% of the average wage increased the number of jobless families?

            I would be against a benefit or UBI set at 80% of the average wage. It is too high. In NZ the average wage is roughly $50K pa.

            • Psycho Milt 4.3.2.2.2.1

              Sure, increasing the benefit to 80% of the average wage would fix the problem in a lot of cases. However, it’s a crap solution. To see why, consider unemployment. Suppose we get a large number of people unemployed – raising the unemployment benefit to 80% of the average wage would certainly help the unemployed people, but it’s a much less sensible idea than reducing unemployment by getting people into productive work that pays enough to live on.

        • greywarshark 4.3.2.3

          PostModern
          Your comment reeks with the idea that RW love that it’s a sure thing that if benefit rates are increased, everyone will either stop applying for jobs cleaning soot out of chimneys or cleaner, getting up at 3am to catch the bus to get to the office cleaning job and you may be right. They might demonstrate a wee bit of choice and turn down these attractive offers. But they won’t down tools on a decent job and sit around playing guitars and smoking weed or maybe quaffing home brew. And making more children. Those people wouldn’t have held down a job anyway.
          There are dropouts, but not in the exaggerated numbers you propound.

          • tracey 4.3.2.3.1

            thats why everyone retires at 65… cos 65% of average wage is shit hot

            • Colonial Rawshark 4.3.2.3.1.1

              That would be approx $32K pa. But I think NZ Super is somewhat less than that.

              • Karen

                You’re right CV, it is less than that.

                NZ super for a married/defacto couple is $29,355pa and for a single person living on their own it is $19,080. For a couple the rate is base on 65% of the average wage after standard tax has been deducted, while the single rate is 65% of the married rate.
                The rate for a couple is close to the minimum wage for a 40 hour week .

  5. Draco T Bastard 5

    So it turns out that there are no quick fixes to diseases of poverty. To tackle them, you need to tackle the cause – poverty itself.

    Correct except for one point – you’re mis-identifying the cause which is capitalism. Capitalism causes poverty and thus causes the preponderance of poverty related diseases that we see.

    • We know this because poverty never existed in non-capitalist societies, right?

      • Draco T Bastard 5.1.1

        To a degree, that is actually correct. The Australian aborigines would not have described themselves as being in or having poverty before the English arrived with capitalism and forced them into it.

    • Harriet 5.2

      “…….Capitalism causes poverty and thus causes the preponderance of poverty related diseases that we see…..”

      LOL.

      Socialism has people waiting for bread. Capitalism has bread waiting for people.

      Just go to your local supermarket and look at the amount of people NOT lining up for bread — and the amount of bread on the shelves.

      Or you could simply go to Veneuzala.

      • Draco T Bastard 5.2.1

        Socialism has people waiting for bread. Capitalism has bread waiting for people.

        You should probably get more before opening up your mouth and proving your ignorance.

        Socialism is a patina of niceness painted over capitalism.

        Just go to your local supermarket and look at the amount of people NOT lining up for bread

        People without any money to buy bread obviously won’t be lining to buy any. This is the effect of market principles and capitalism – it actually limits what people can buy by limiting the amount of money that they have.

        So it’s not that capitalism produces enough but that it limits the demand.

        Or you could simply go to Veneuzala.

        Venezuela is still capitalist.

        • Harriet 5.2.1.1

          “…Venezuela is still capitalist….”

          Then why did the Catholic Bishops of Venezuela – of all people – write to the Pope just LAST WEEK condemming socialism in Venezuela?

          “…..People without any money to buy bread obviously won’t be lining to buy any. This is the effect of market principles and capitalism – it actually limits what people can buy by limiting the amount of money that they have. …”

          Capitalism doesn’t limit people from earning money. Regulation of labour does – just ask any young worker at Maccas or Woolworths if they are allowed to work 12-14hrs a day 6 days a week. They arn’t.

          Little needs to propose a labour law where current workers are allowed to work more hours before others are employed. It is very safe to work 14hrs a day 6 days a week in most nz work places.

          {i’m a chef by trade and used to work up to 70hrs a week during my apprentiship. I now live in aussie, last month a noted chef in Brisbane stated that most apprentices are now very lucky to get 50hrs. I banked a lot of money as an apprentice. I’d doubt very much that apprentices today do.

          • Colonial Rawshark 5.2.1.1.1

            Harriet.

            Venezuela, like Russia, is under attack from western financial institutions. The aim is to cripple the country, overthrow the government, and put in place dictatorships which will allow western corporations easy and cheap access to the natural resources those nations have.

            This is what western “capitalism” has now become. A variation of rape and pillage, just done by the financial markets.

            Capitalism doesn’t limit people from earning money. Regulation of labour does – just ask any young worker at Maccas or Woolworths if they are allowed to work 12-14hrs a day 6 days a week. They arn’t.

            In ancient parlance, you’re a wage slave driver, a member of the overseer class, someone who has no concept of work/life balance apart from for yourself and those others in a position of privilege.

            • framu 5.2.1.1.1.1

              also – though harriet couldnt be arsed with a link – they are going right back to when chavez took power with their complaint.

              Whether your a chavez fan or not, I think that adds a slightly different nuance to the issue

          • framu 5.2.1.1.2

            so your saying that socialism has created NZs low wage economy?

            this is going to be fun

            i think your full of it anyway

            so harriet – back your self up – prove your assertion that there are laws dictating max hours of work for income reasons in NZ.

            there might be max limits in some industries – but these will be for quite bloody obvious health and safety reasons

            ” It is very safe to work 14hrs a day 6 days a week in most nz work places.”

            why stop there? – lets bring back child labour

            • greywarshark 5.2.1.1.2.1

              I think Harriet and Psycho Melt should marry – they seem so well matched they might have set this discussion up to be together. Lovebirds or all in the family perhaps.

              • Colonial Rawshark

                I quite like PM, actually, even though I find their arguments and politics occasionally off beam.

          • Tracey 5.2.1.1.3

            how bizarre harriet cos your proposal will increase unemployment. Why not 35 hour weeks, 5 weeks holiday, living wage and watch productivity and employment grow?

            • Colonial Rawshark 5.2.1.1.3.1

              Apply penalty rates 1.5x or 2.0x after 40 hours to encourage employers to take on more people, not just use the same people for 60 or 70 or 80 hours a week like wage slave drivers.

              • Tracey

                but how will Harriet get richer from your plan??????

                • Colonial Rawshark

                  Yep. The overseer class. There are always those citizens willing to play that role for the Power Elite, screwing fellow Kiwis in return for minor favours and privileges.

                  • tracey

                    i wonder when carrick graham last did a genuine 80 hour week… after you take out brekkie lunch dinner and cocktail meetings… In my experience in law and business those claiming to work long hours waste a fuckofalot of those claimed hours on gossiping and social arrangements, gym pool etc. another myth

                  • greywarshark

                    Yep the minor favours you receive as overseers are better than the ones in the under-the-overseer class like say…miners.

              • greywarshark

                Hey CR that’s a great idea. Didn’t they used to do that once back in the past century when there were jobs and we had a life at the end of the working day (not night).

          • Draco T Bastard 5.2.1.1.4

            Capitalism doesn’t limit people from earning money.

            Yes, actually, it does. Only a few people get to be rich and the rest constantly lose out. That’s why we’re seeing increasing poverty here in NZ and in every other country that has followed similar policies.

            Little needs to propose a labour law where current workers are allowed to work more hours before others are employed.

            And thus create even more unemployment driving wages down even further and driving up the need to work even longer to earn a living. We already have zero hours contracts and insecure work because of such policies.

            It is very safe to work 14hrs a day 6 days a week in most nz work places.

            No it’s not. That will get people killed very, very rapidly.

            And I’m speaking there as a manager. People who constantly work that long inevitably end having NFI WTF they’re doing. They’re a danger to both themselves and other people.

          • BassGuy 5.2.1.1.5

            I’m so glad you said that “It is very safe to work 14hrs a day 6 days a week,” because I did so a couple of years ago, for three months.

            My body has yet to recover completely from it. My wrist still clicks and creaks, from holding a mouse for a 12 hour day. My ribs and back cramped up from sitting in the same chair,for the whole day. It still aches if I sit for more than a couple of hours now. If I sleep funny for one night, my neck locks up. If I sleep funny for a couple of nights in a row, my neck starts to burn and ache.

            The funny thing about 12-14 hour days is that you tend to get stuck in a limited number of positions, and the human body did not evolve to such a specification.

            After I left that job, I got another where I sometimes end up standing in a small circle for up to 7 or 8 hours a day sometimes (more normally 4 or 5 hours). Your feet, ankles, and your back don’t recover from that for a few days.

            It’s really not worth the minimum wage they offer (when they offer to pay you for the overtime).

          • adam 5.2.1.1.6

            Wow – The ideological claptrap is just oozing from the idiots of free market liberalism today.

            Where to begin – Harriet, you’re so ideological Stalin want’s your cell number. Harriet, I can smell the uranium or is that the stench of self righteousness – from here.

            When will you lap dogs of the bat shit crazy right actually offer a reasoned discussion? Or is it business as usual, the battery of hate full dren? I mean is it wilful blindness, or are you really that stupid?

          • Murray Rawshark 5.2.1.1.7

            “Then why did the Catholic Bishops of Venezuela – of all people – write to the Pope just LAST WEEK condemming socialism in Venezuela?”

            Because most of the South American bishops are in bed with the large landowners and are an extremely reactionary force in society. They are like a mixture of Jamie Whyte Power and John Ansell, in fancy dress.

      • framu 5.2.2

        “Just go to your local supermarket and look at the amount of people NOT lining up for bread — and the amount of bread on the shelves.”

        the queues are at the food bank harriet

        your victorian-esque work house view of people is really quite repugnant

      • Paul 5.2.3

        OK that’s three nonsensical arguments made here, finished off with the ridiculous ‘go to Venezuela.’

        Educate yourself.
        Then express an opinion.

        http://tvnz.co.nz/nigel-latta/s1-ep4-video-6025283
        http://www.tv3.co.nz/INSIDE-NEW-ZEALAND-Mind-The-Gap/tabid/3692/articleID/94816/Default.aspx

      • Chch_Chiquita 5.2.4

        Hmmmm… I can think of two examples – Russia and Poland in the good old days of communism, where in the first people had the money to buy but not the bread (hence the lines) and in the other there was the bread but people did not have the money to buy. So I’m not so sure how these will fit into your one dimensional view of economics.

        Do we really need these definitions? Who cares if it’s called socialism or capitalism or any other ism. What we need to do is try to find a way that takes good ideas and solutions from any economic thought we know, mix them all together and come up with a system that gives as many of us the ability to live a decent life.

      • greywarshark 5.2.5

        Hairnet
        Which cereal box have you been reading. I think the stuff is giving you a sugar high.

  6. Skinny 6

    There will come a point when the inequality gap will tigger a rebellion where mass rioting will occur. Nature taking it’s course I guess you could say. I am picking it will start in America and sprend across the Western World rapidly. The Yanks have been gearing up for civil unrest for sometime now. The wealthy will be fair game and suffer the backlash to neo-capitalism. stonings, clubbing, beaten to death. Bankers will be dragged outside and publicly flogged, with the cops standing by watching, quite easy to see these sorts of things happening.

    • Colonial Rawshark 6.1

      The Yanks have been gearing up for civil unrest for sometime now.

      Yep. And how did London city respond to reports that increasing inequality might lead to more social unrest and riots in the future?

      They bought 2 water cannons.

      • phillip ure 6.1.1

        “..The Yanks have been gearing up for civil unrest for sometime now..”

        ..as have we here..remember when those military vehicles..were bought..?

        ..withe ‘experts’ grumbling they were utterly useless for the jungle/desert-fighting they might expect..

        ..but they are utterly brilliant for zapping up and down the desert rd..

        ..and quelling civil-unrest here/in a place like nz…

        ..which is the real reason they were purchased..

      • indiana 6.1.2

        it was kinda ironic that the rioters were looting high end electronic goods not food though…

        • greywarshark 6.1.2.1

          The psychology would be quite simple indiana, food they can make do with a crust at a time but a beautiful piece of complex technology they might never get a chance at again. When you have little to lose, and much to gain, seizing the opportunity to steal something is a big upward step in lifestyle.

          Diamonds on the soles of her shoes gives the feeling.
          He’s a poor boy
          Empty as a pocket
          Empty as a pocket with nothing to lose
          Sing Ta na na
          Ta na na na
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I_T3XvzPaM

        • Lanthanide 6.1.2.2

          The intention may have been to sell them off cheap at 1/3 to 1/2 the retail price online – plenty of takers. Then use that money to buy a lot more food than they could carry by looting.

          • Murray Rawshark 6.1.2.2.1

            Yep. Food spoils, even if you do loot heaps of it. Much better to take high price items and sell them. They don’t spoil, and you end up with a lot more food.

    • Paul 6.2

      BBC ‘The Superrich and us’ .
      New documentary this year.

      Saw this yesterday.
      Britain is totally stuffed now.

      http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04xw2x8/the-superrich-and-us-episode-1

      Probably on youtube.
      Well worth a watch.

      Warning ..this will anger you.
      If you are Harriet, you may simply aspire to being one of these filthy rich who are destroying our societies and the planet.

    • Ross 6.3

      Some wit recently summed up the world situation this way: 100 people sit down to a pizza cut into 100 slices. One guy takes 80. If this was a real room full of real people how would this situation play out? The greedy bugger would be, well, buggered. It takes a little longer for things to work themselves out on a global level, but they do work themselves out. I fear, Skinny, that you are spot on. Sad eh?

  7. Tracey 7

    I have been reading about trying to get tot he bottom of how to deal with the root causes of poverty. Not easy. In my reading travels I came across this article by peter Singer, which was a response to Andrew Kuper responding/analysing his article on poverty.

    In particular it looks at charity as a means of alleviating poverty.

    http://www.utilitarian.net/singer/by/2002—-.pdf

    • Bill 7.1

      Alleviating poverty implies accepting and leaving in tact the basic mechanism(s) that create poverty in the first place – capitalism. Rather than alleviating it, why not make it impossible? Easy to do. Abolish the market as a means of distribution while, if you value political freedom, refuse to participate in the creation of a command economy that some ‘well meaning’ types will doubtless insist on establishing.

      • Tracey 7.1.1

        it doesn’t imply anything of the sort. reducing poverty can be done a number of ways, including changing the ideological system of a society, if that is a cause of the poverty. Everything you just suggested alleviates poverty.

        Had you read the article you would know both authors agree that neo liberalsim has failed the poor and helped create them.

        • Colonial Rawshark 7.1.1.1

          Let’s eliminate poverty.

          Let’s give every Kiwi ways and means of living dignified, fulfilling lives, without people having to scrape at the feet of big financiers and distant big bosses.

          • Tracey 7.1.1.1.1

            lets quibble about what word to use when we all know that we three want to get rid of poverty.

            😉

        • Bill 7.1.1.2

          Yeah, nah. Poverty only exists where distribution of resources and wealth (however you want to measure that) can concentrate. Capitalism, whether a more or less neo-liberal version, does that. Always. Poverty is the one thing that capitalism always produces in abundance.

          Now, you want a market system where poverty is less? Fine. That’s do-able and can be done via some mix of regulation, taxes and welfare (state and private), plus, probably, a couple of other things that aren’t crossing my mind right now.

          And at the end of the day there will still be poverty…alleviated for sure, and a scenario that many people find to be quite acceptable.

  8. Michael 8

    A good way to reduce poverty is by giving people enough money so they’re not in poverty. Shocking, I know. Too good to be true, I know.

    The only reason poverty is higher now than 30 years ago is because of benefit cuts and low wages. That’s the only reason.

    We can get rid of poverty by raising benefits above the poverty line and raising the minimum wage.

    • Ross 8.1

      My stock comment is: Tax the rich. This can be achieved in any number of ways: paying more would be one solution. Someone recently suggested a higher tax free threshold. The base idea is the same as you suggest – pay more to the poor and then they won’t be poor any more. Somehow this solution – and you are right, it is the only solution – seems too complex for people to comprehend. There is no discussion to be had here. It’s not about laziness or single parents or bludgers or what is poverty really or any other form of shagging about with definitions. Tax the rich.

      Oh, but the rich pay so much already. I can already here the apologists. But to tax is a form of distress. And the distress caused by 10.5% tax for someone earning a few hundred bucks a week is significantly more than the distress caused by 33% tax for someone earning a few thousand. Tax all the same, proportionate amount of distress and we may just find that there is no distress at all.

      • Colonial Rawshark 8.1.1

        Also worth remembering that government does not need to use taxes to raise revenue. It can issue NZD by spending them into existence.

        • Lanthanide 8.1.1.1

          “It can issue NZD by spending them into existence.”

          If it doesn’t care at all what other countries (that it relies on for trade) think.

          • Colonial Rawshark 8.1.1.1.1

            Now that’s a very interesting point to consider!

            • Ross 8.1.1.1.1.1

              CR, could the NZ gummint print dollars to fund tertiary education that will educate a new generation who will pour their knowledge, expertise and energy back into the country (instead of fleeing to escape the onerous debt they incur at present)? I am not familiar with the mechanism. Can the spending be that targeted? And if so (indirectly back at Lanthanide) how does that upset our trading partners? And if not, it’s still a bloody good point to consider. The trading partners who would get upset, I imagine, are the very ones that have rooted the global economy and who refuse to admit that what they get upset about is protecting the 1% and no one else.

              • Colonial Rawshark

                I’ll be controversial and say that we need fewer people going into university, and that the balance of what is taught at university needs to change.

                But back to your questions.

                1) You could keep that new talent in NZ simply by giving them suitable local jobs and writing off an extra $100 off their student loan per month simply by staying in the country. (Plus hiking up the interest rate on students who leave our shores…). No money printing required.

                2) Yes, spending can be exactly targeted, because the spending would go through the government’s normal annual budgetary and oversight processes.

                3) The mechanism of government “money printing” would not involve any actual “printing.” There are many potentially complex and convoluted ways of doing it but a simple one would be: the Reserve Bank enters $100M into its own account by using a keyboard. It deposits that $100M into the Government’s Westpac operating account. The Government then spends that $100M on teachers salaries, new state houses, new NZ made boots for the Army. That $100M which was created by the RB is now in general circulation in the economy.

                4) Three sets of peeps could potentially get upset with us. a) trading partners. Printing NZD would tend to weaken the NZD, making our exports more competitive and our imports from them less competitive. b) major holders of NZD. As the value of the NZD could potentially weaken against other currencies. c) This is the big one. Big International and Banking Capital. They do not like any Sovereign Government becoming more independent of them in terms of funding. Their expectation is that the NZ Govt continues to use the international wholesale debt markets in order to fund any deficit spending ie so they can continue to take their cut.

                NB increased inflation from printing money is only a concern if your industries or work force are already close to full utilisation. Or if the new money is not invested in productive economic activities but merely used to speculate on assets/consume. Or if the money is poured into some part of the economy with limited competition and little opportunity for new entrants.

                In those kinds of cases, of course prices will inflate.

                • Colonial Rawshark

                  Note, upsetting big international capital is a big risk as they can take immediate and detrimental action against a sovereign nation.

                  They are inter-related and include

                  1) Capital flight.
                  2) Crashing the currency (making everything imported from petrol to medicines to consumer goods we do not produce ourselves much more expensive).
                  3) Hiking up our borrowing/debt servicing costs.
                  4) Pushing the nation into default, unable to access foreign goods or foreign financial markets.

                  These are exactly what they are doing to Russia and Venezuela at the moment. Argentina is (again) also not far behind.

                  It should be clear that the global money men rule nations, not the nations themselves.

                • Ross

                  So, it is the people who have rooted the global economy that will get upset (ie, Big International and Banking Capital). Plus trading partners whose beef is that it improves our competitiveness, and anyone with large NZD holdings. So in all cases, you know, fuck them. The only mystery remaining for me CR, is why this isn’t being promoted as a strategy.

                  And ps. agreed about the university students and what they’re taught. Also your solution to student debt. Brilliant.

                  • Colonial Rawshark

                    The only mystery remaining for me CR, is why this isn’t being promoted as a strategy.

                    Now that’s a good question. One part of it is that the MSM drowns out/sidelines/black lists anyone who does not repeat the orthodox neoclassical or bank economist lines.

                    Even when Russel Norman talked about printing money last year, the establishment lampooned him and he backed down real quick. (The establishment neatly and effectively limits the acceptable bounds of economic discussion in this country).

                    Another part of it is that most NZ MPs are utterly ignorant of these matters and dependent on advice from the orthodoxy at Treasury and the NZRB. (In contrast you can go on to youtube and search for the recent debate on money creation in the UK House of Commons).

          • Colonial Rawshark 8.1.1.1.2

            What I find very interesting is how certain countries can “get away with it” (China, Japan, UK, EU, US, even Switzerland) while others cannot – or do not seem to want to try.

            Are there some other rules at play here that we plebs don’t know about.

          • Draco T Bastard 8.1.1.1.3

            Why should we care what other countries think of that? It’ll just reflect in the exchange rate – exactly how it’s supposed to work in fact.

  9. indiana 9

    “A good way to reduce poverty is by giving people enough money”

    uhhh, shouldn’t people look to EARN money not wait for people to GIVE it to them? I’m sure i have been described as a nasty right winger, but even left minded people like Andrew Little understand that people should not wait around for a handout when they are capable of earning it themselves.

    • Tracey 9.1

      so if every person on a benefit rocked up to WINZ offices in the next month looking for jobs they could get one? Great news Indiana. thats sorted then.

      and those physically or mentally unable should be grateful for subsistence until we discover cures to their afflictions. i know heaps awaiting the cures for ms and cp.

    • Olwyn 9.2

      Michael’s comment did not specify how money is to be given, but cited raising benefits above the poverty line and raising the minimum wage. He could easily have added maintaining a policy of full employment to the mix, in which case far less people would be on benefits being “given money.”

      But how about this, can you justify employing anyone for the time that it takes to earn a living, while not paying them an amount that would add up to a living? Isn’t that being “given” someone’s labour? And if you own rental houses that must be propped up by a supplement, due to the too-low wages, isn’t it you who is being “given money”?

      • Tracey 9.2.1

        +1

      • Draco T Bastard 9.2.2

        +11111

        But how about this, can you justify employing anyone for the time that it takes to earn a living, while not paying them an amount that would add up to a living? Isn’t that being “given” someone’s labour? And if you own rental houses that must be propped up by a supplement, due to the too-low wages, isn’t it you who is being “given money”?

        The subsidies that the rich receive from the rest of us are absolutely fucken massive and need to be reduced ASAP.

    • greywarshark 9.3

      indiana
      You sound like Harriet’s sister or brother. Sound in teens or twenties. Same RW nonchalance. Let them eat cake approach.

  10. Ad 10

    The Prime Minister will not admit to poverty being an issue.

    On the left it’s preaching to the converted, heading into 2017.
    Can’t see how this issue will gain greater MSM profile (too unglamorous) or public profile (too embarrassing) than it already has.

    • Colonial Rawshark 10.1

      Well, must be time to let poverty slide and get Labour to focus on something more glamorous and less embarrassing then.

      Something that John Key will admit to being an issue.

      Perhaps Little should put forward a design for the new flag and show the NZ middle class that Labour still has what it takes to be a middle class party?

    • Ross 10.2

      Ad, has Labour actually tried pushing this as an issue?

      • Colonial Rawshark 10.2.1

        I’m waiting for the day Labour says benefit rates have not kept up with expenses, and like wages are too low to live on.

        Not going to happen.

  11. Pete George 11

    Stuff reports that Beneficiary numbers fall again: Government – quoting a media release from Social Development Minister Anne Tolley.

    They also quote Labour’s Carmel Sepuloni claiming “no evidence” there are “more people in sufficient paid employment”, and “you see increasing numbers of people who are out on the street begging” – but she provides no evidence.

    Tolley’s media release:

    BENEFIT FIGURES CONTINUE STRONG DECLINE

    Social Development Minister Anne Tolley welcomes today’s release of benefit figures which show year-on-year benefit numbers continue to track downwards.

    Key numbers:

    • 309,145 people on benefit at the end of the December 2014 quarter
    • 12,700 fewer people than last year
    • The lowest December quarter since 2008 and the third consecutive quarter (June, September, December) with such record lows
    • Numbers on the Jobseeker Support benefit have decreased by over 5,500 since last year and have been consistently declining since 2010, even as the overall working age population has increased.
    • 5,300 fewer people on the Sole Parent Support benefit compared to last year, a drop of 6.8 per cent

    Tolley concludes:

    “This Government’s welfare reforms are continuing to support New Zealanders into work. The reductions we’re now seeing will mean fewer people on benefit in the years to come which means we’re going to see healthier, more prosperous households.” Mrs Tolley says.

    The Government sees getting people off benefits and into paid work as one of the best ways of reducing poverty.

    Percentage of working age population on main benefits:

    • December 2009 – 13.0%
    • December 2013 – 11.8%
    • December 2014 – 11.2%

    One of the most significant reasons for children in hardship/poverty is sole parents on benefits.

    A lack of jobs is an obvious issue, but the job market is growing. Low wage levels for many is also an issue.

    There is also a lack of suitable job skills and qualifications amongst the unemployed and sole parents, they tend to be under-educated and unskilled.

    There are a number of Government initiated programmes aimed at improving employable skills but it is challenging motivating, educating and upskilling those remaining on benefits.

    Source: http://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/statistics/benefit/post-sep-2013/all-main-benefits/december-2014-quarter.html

    • So, the economy’s finally recovering from the recession, and unsurprisingly the proportion of the working population on benefits is going back down. If this keeps up it will be all the way down to, ooh, let’s see, maybe even as low as it was when Labour was in office – I believe it was down to 10% at one point.

      The Government sees getting people off benefits and into paid work as one of the best ways of reducing poverty.

      If they really did think that, they’d have a focus on creating jobs, and they wouldn’t be helping employers drive down pay and conditions. Their actions speak a hell of a lot louder than their words, and their actions say they don’t give a shit about poverty and are, if anything, hard at work exacerbating it rather than reducing it.

    • weka 11.2

      One of the most significant reasons for children in hardship/poverty is sole parents on benefits.

      A lack of jobs is an obvious issue, but the job market is growing. Low wage levels for many is also an issue.

      Fuck off Pete. Low benefit rates cause child poverty. Solo parents already have a job. Forcing them into low paid, part time work where they get penalised by secondary tax and WINZ abatement rates doesn’t improve the lives of their children. Likewise forcing them into training programmes.

      So I see you are a Bennett apologist now too 🙄

  12. National has made its move. It was to do nothing.

    Sad, but true.

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    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 ...
    1 day 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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
    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
  • 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

  • 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
    2 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
    7 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
    9 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
    9 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
    23 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 ...
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  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
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  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
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  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
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  • Government lowering building costs
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  • Trustee tax change welcomed
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  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
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