The same people live in the same houses but the banks now own them.
The world financial crisis will continue until governments take control of the money. Money should be a catalyst to create wealth, not an imaginary commodity used to trick and enslave us.
In New Zealand, house prices doubled between 2002 and 2007 and households added about $100 billion of foreign debt. This was virtually ignored by the Reserve Bank, which stuck to its knitting of keeping consumer price inflation between 1 and 3 per cent a year over the medium term.
Young Kiwis can’t afford to buy their own home … because of an explosion in prices. Poorer families are now paying higher rents because of the huge inflation in asset prices. Exporters are driven out of business because the kiwi is overvalued by 15 per cent, as measured by the IMF. Our current account deficit is growing, despite nearly six years of slow-to-low growth. Our GDP per capita is lower this year than it was in 2003.
The RBNZ is equivalent to the lunatics running the asylum. Most people know of the OCR through hearing about it ad-nauseum in the media but I doubt even 1% of the population know what it is & even fewer know why it is meant to keep inflation down.
The biggest irony of the RBNZs use of the OCR is that it’s intended to control the amount of money that banks lend by soaking up excess bank reserves. The reality was the banks just kept borrowing more from overseas when they ran short of reserves, the OCR never really affected their lending. We had low inflation but not for the right reasons. House prices aren’t part of the CPI so the massive inflation in the housing market didn’t show up as inflation.
The RBNZ have dug a huge economic hole for the country and none of the beancounters know how to get us out of it.
The RBNZ have dug a huge economic hole for the country and none of the beancounters know how to get us out of it.
I think that they do know how to get us out of it but they won’t as it means that the free-market is a failure and they can’t admit that even though the GFC is proof positive of that failure. There’s only one way to get us out of the hole that free-market economics has put us in and that’s to restrict money flows and that they just won’t do as they keep harping on about needing foreign capital to use our own resources.
Nah, they’re just stumped don’t credit them with abilities they don’t have. Inflation was kept down because we imported deflation, the reducing price of imports kept the CPI artificially low. Imports got cheaper because the overseas borrowing pushed the $NZD up, plus China started powering up with cheaper manufactured goods. NZ manufacturers couldn’t compete & started closing down so we imported more & more which kept the CPI down even more.
The problem now is that we rely on imports for just about every sector of the economy. Any attempt to drive the $NZD down will lead to high inflation in consumer goods and the RBNZ have to keep inflation below certain targets. They don’t know how to get the $NZD down AND keep inflation down. They steered the country down a no-exit road. Useless gits.
My take on the inflation targets,purely political, the middle class who hold the bulk of the votes in saying who will be the Government and who also happen to be the bulk holders of home mortgages or wanting to will not tolerate high interest rates and will vote accordingly,
My view is that the inflation target should stay, smart economics says that there can be inflation of 3%, a lower valued NZ dollar, increased employment and lower costs to housing both in the rental and sales markets,
Produce the monies to seriously increase the number of State House rentals, spend those monies into the economy at a pace that leaves the inflation rate at 2.5-3%, dilute the value of the NZDollar by having expanded capital, lower unemployment with an ongoing building program, take the steam out of all areas of the housing market by markedly increasing the housing supply,and, increase activity in the local economy which is driven by household spending simply by having produced more households…
Imports got cheaper because the overseas borrowing pushed the $NZD up…
The NZ$ was driven up by the high interest rates that the high OCR used to reduce inflation as people overseas were buying heavily in NZ$ denominated bonds sold by the banks. These bonds increased the banks capital ratio and thus allowing them to increase the lending that they could do which meant that the market was flooded with hot money – lots of hot money. A lot of that hot money went on houses pushing the price of houses up and the rest went on spending binges as people realised that they could re-mortgage and buy boats, cars, stereos etc etc which pushes the CPI up forcing the RBNZ to put the OCR up…rinse and repeat.
Now, according to the delusional free-market theory the people overseas should have looked at the massive amounts of private borrowing that NZers were doing and stopped buying NZ$. This didn’t happen because 1) the people with the money were greedy and went for the high returns and 2) a lack of investment options.
And, yeah, the deflation that was caused by China becoming a massive, high tech exporter. Increased productivity must result in deflation. This is something else that the mainstream economists get wrong. They tell us that increased productivity results in increased wages yet when we look over the last few decades what we see from increased productivity is stagnant and/or decreasing wages and boosted profits.
Any attempt to drive the $NZD down will lead to high inflation in consumer goods and the RBNZ have to keep inflation below certain targets.
Reduce the OCR to zero, stop the banks selling NZ$ denominated bonds, and have the government start printing money to fund building state houses and factories. This should drop the NZ$ making imports more expensive while also boosting NZ manufacturing. Yes, there will be some inflation but NZ will survive it and be stronger afterwards.
None of this will happen though even with a left-wing government because they’re to infatuated with the failed free-market and so we’ll continue our march to the sea cliffs.
The relatively easy ‘fix’ to the problems within housing are the same as circa 1930’s, Government simply need print enough monies into circulation so as to dilute the value of the New Zealand dollar,
The monies so produced need be spent by the State in the construction of low cost rental housing owned and rented out by the State on the basis of 25% of income for the tenant(s),
Part of the structural fault within the NZ economy lies in the fact that as ‘Rogernomics’ built a new class of poor beneficiaries who were then the most ‘needy’ in terms of State Housing those employed at the minimum wage and up to the point of ‘Rogernomics’ were those traditionally housed by the State at rentals of 25% of household income,
As this change in the structure of the economy took place minimum wage workers were forced to spend more than 25% of their income on private rental accomodation thus seriously curtailing their ability to have and spend into the economy disposable income,
A large number of structural economic issues along with a wide range of social needs can be addressed simply by dramatically increasing the number of State House rentals…
The RBNZ note there that not much of the increase in housing stock was new houses and even that was subject to increased prices as well so a doubling of house prices between 2002 & 2007 looks about right.
Thank you DH. You have not commented on the sharp drop in House Prices after 08 and the “negative” increase about 2009. It would enhance your credibility if you gave us the full picture.
Auckland prices didn’t suffer a sharp drop in 2008 unless you call a 5% decline a sharp drop and since then risen consistently because of shortage of supply.
It would enhance your own credibility if you addressed the points raised.
Even if the GFC (which just might have temporarily affected house financing) resulted in a cumulative drop of around a fifth of peak prices, that’s still a five year increase in housing prices of 40%, most of the credit for which is purchased from overseas because most of our banks are foreign owned.
Fair Comment McFlock. I am not an accountant, nor do I have any deep understanding of the country’s economy so I am dependant on the wisdom of others for guidance on this subject. But, when some one says “prices have doubled in 5 years”, the question arises, is this the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
DH offered a web site to support this statement(rbnz.govt.nz/keygraphs/fig4.html Fig. 4) and out of courtesy to DH, I called it up. The Graph consists of 2 data bases overlaid and is titled “House Prices and Value of Housing Stock”.
The independant variables for one data base are,(a) Annual % Change, (b) Date
For the second data base they are (a) Value of Housing Stock, (b) Date
Now the “…% Change” shown changed steeply up over the 5 years mentioned BUT, there were other, just as dramatic, changes in the down direction afterwards. Why were the changes down not mentioned?
Is the subject too complex for a simple soul like me to understand, am I looking at the wrong data, or is someone pulling a “Snow Job”.
You’re trying to make an argument out of nothing there. The drop in prices in ’08-’09 is not dramatic in the slightest and the cause is well known. The graph also shows that the ‘dramatic’ fall was cancelled by an equally dramatic increase not long after. It also doesn’t change the fact that house prices doubled in five years and that $100billion was borrowed from overseas in that period.
DH, we seem to differ in our understanding of what the Graph is portraying.
As I visualise it, at any point in time the graph is showing how fast house prices are changing. The slope of the line shows how fast the rate-of-change is changing.
The rate-of-change of the rate-of-change.
In Calculus it would be a 2nd order differential?
Also, since 08 the 1st order rate-of-change has been drifting between -10% and +8%, comparitivly stable since it has averaged out at zero to +1.
Prices rose rapidly over a 5 year period and have been stable since then. is that correct?
The OP made the correlation between house prices doubling between 2002-2007 and the accompanying buildup of foreign debt to pay for the splurge on houses. That the increase in prices had a hiatus in 2008 is irrelevant, it doesn’t change the past does it. It wouldn’t surprise me if the amount of overseas borrowing stalled in 2008 too.
The only reason I linked to the RBNZ chart was because you asked for evidence that prices had doubled in that period. That chart shows it did.
The OPs post raises a reasonable question; what would house prices have done if the banks didn’t have access to cheap overseas funding? Few houses were bought for cash, buyers had to borrow to buy a house, so what would house prices look like now if there had been $100billion less money to lend in that five years?
John72 you smell a rat and rightly so, I am sitting here reading the property section of my once local paper from 1978 , I could buy my house for 22k then on a quarter acre and basically properties in NZ have doubled in value every 7 to 8 years since the turn of the last century, it’s called inflation, something if you look into it the present monetary system can’t survive without.
But back to the 22k in 1978 if you add 10% every year from there you get roughly todays value so basically the doubling in value in 5 years is nothing unusual as since 1978 property has doubled in value every 7 to 8 years and people wonder why New Zealanders invest in property.
And the point is that back in the ’70s and early ’80s we had high inflation on everything, it wasn’t uncommon for annual wage increases to be 10% to keep up with inflation. Now we don’t have high inflation, or at least the pompous wankers at the RBNZ say we don’t have high inflation.
But the rest of us see house prices increasing +10% a year and know damn well that we do have high inflation and more importantly we have high inflation without the wage increases to pay for it. It’s just asset inflation and since that isn’t counted in the CPI as consumer inflation the RBNZ ignored it; played the three monkeys & pretended it wasn’t happening while the low/medium income earners in the country were bled dry. The beancounters have a lot to answer for.
increasing house prices are driven by increasing debt; you explained it very clearly – if house prices are advancing way faster than incomes where does the difference come from?
Only one place, its got to come from banks lifting individuals property purchasing power through the injection of debt based money into the economy.
Aye, and when you follow the trail back to its source you hit the RBNZ. The big inflation fighters are the direct cause of the massive inflation in the housing market. It’s enough to make you weep.
DH, you have not addressed all the points that I made, only those that you thought that you could defend.and even that was not successful. The graph that we have been refering to shows that the growth in house prices over the last 4 years has fluctuated between -10% and +8%.. I will refrase this for the benefit of those readers who are not happy with mathematics.
Sometimes, over the last 4 years, house prices have decreased and some times house prices have increased. The end result is that over the 4 year period prices have increased slightly. Probably about 1 or 2% in 4 years, NOT 10%.
DH, thank you for your posts,”Your actions (and words) bear witness to your thoughts”.
Yes DH the poor get poorer and the rich get richer = National Ltd, just keep asking the friends you suspect voted for this lot, “how’s you brighter future going” .
Just wait 5-15 years when the baby boomers try to cash in en masse for their “retirement” and discover that there’s a glut of supply and the price plummets.
TPP item: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl112aNNTbo
this little bit of The Alyona Show has a very interesting line (at about 3:12) regarding the extraordinary level of secrecy attached to this document. A document that increasingly appears to be the victors’ presentation of our terms of surrender. Always remember, POW’s were largely unwilling captives, it was the Generals who surrendered.
When a story like that emerges what we should be seeing is the close down of the corporation (assets seized by the state) and the CEO, directors and probably other upper management types jailed. None of this paying a fine BS.
Government
Politicians – any level
Corporations
Banks(ers) – Central, Investmen, Retail, the lot
Media
Lawyers
Military
Big Oil
Big Pharma
Big Finance
Charities
UN
WTO
WHO
NATO
UNESCO
IMF
WB
(anything that has initials, and is sold as being “there to help)
NONE, cant trust anything you hear, that you read, therfore what you think, and how you act…
People have to learn that they are being farmed, that there instincts are being removed, so that they no longer see the danger in front of them..
Listen to your instincts, trust humanity, they are there, they are buried under the lies which have been sold to people, as truth, or as what life is!
Dotcom – Top brass in the US admin involved yet the leadership of that “preddy liddle oudpost in da Soud Pacific (where it’s all to happen) wasn’t briefed.
Perhaps we should start up some billboard “Yeah rights!”
How concerned should we be about poll results in yesterday’s Herald? Are they trustworthy? If they really are accurate, I guess we will have to try hard not to despair! A huge number of people like the direction this Government is taking. It blows one’s mind! Possibly it is due to a still ineffective Opposition? (Rather than to any particular virtue of National). Naturally, the Herald is now longing (editorial) for a three term government. On the basis of this survey, we remain in for a long, hard slog. It almost seems that this Government would be forgiven even genocide!!
I have a wide range of friends of various political persuasions, and I am struggling to find ONE that likes this current sack-of-shit government. A few tolerate, the majority have given up.
What results?
As far as I see, the polls are generally trending well for the left, given that national has no friends to speak of (and them that exists are on borrowed time).
I think I should be allowed back here by now. With a pledge for a reduced presence – that will be dependent in part on whether the discussion-less niggles and attacks on me also reduce.
It’d be nice to know if you’ve learned anything from your ejection, Pete, though the whinge you had on your own site immediately afterwards suggests not.
Still, I imagine what you describe as niggles and attacks will indeed reduce if you stop being a prat. Like mike e, I accept it is good to have commenters here from the right and I genuinely look forward to having quality debates with you in the future. Kia waimarie!
I did learn (or had confirmed) that rules are applied unevenly here.
And maybe you could have a wee look in the prat mirror yourself. You often don’t attempt any sort of ‘quality debate’ – there are many examples of that. But if you genuinely want quality debate I’ll do what I can to play my part.
How can we improve the referenda process? I think both government and Citizen initiated referenda have scope for improvement.
[lprent: Rules are always applied unevenly here. A moment for reflection would have told you why. It isn’t exactly rocket science…
We moderate on a voluntary basis and all the moderators work*. Most of the comments come in during work hours. So it is whatever time we (and our employers) can spare. So mostly we scan the hundreds of daily comments and pick out whatever we notice. Mostly what that means is that each moderator scans for destructive patterns of behaviour in what they have read and takes action on that. Consequently the moderating will always be uneven – it depends on what time we have available. People can take all the risks they like with behaviour, but one day they’ll hit a moderator who sees the wrong patterns from someone…. The uncertainty is pretty good at making people who are aware of how we work to stay well within the bounds.
The site is set up mostly for discussing the politics of the broad left and for the activists on the broad left. Our about leaves absolutely no ambiguity about that. We don’t pretend to show any kind of balance in out opinions. We also give less leeway to those who’d like to discuss stuff outside that broad area. Consequently we welcome people from the right and purported ‘centre’, but only whilst they add to our discussion. So there is a selective bias in the moderating because what the moderators are concerned with is that the site performs its intended function. When the debate diverges too far from that outside of openmike we tend to get irritated.
Any of the moderators will tell you that there is a distinct difference between the behaviour of commentators on the broad left and the broad right on the is site. Mostly we only have to express a minor warning to get lefties to change behaviour because they’re pretty understanding that we are the ones making the effort to run the site. But many on the right appear to value their contributions to the site above the efforts of the moderators and authors. Rather than feeling grateful that the site is there, they frigging whine about it and want to run it by some kind of inane proxy control. For some strange reason the moderators can’t be bothered with it…
Life is ‘uneven’ whenever you try to set your own policy on the work of others. It is commonly called the backseat driver effect, and generally the right is full of it. They like telling others how they should live their life.
We don’t. We just tell you the bounds of how you will act here. Just live within our policies and guidelines and stop whining about it.
* To me it is rather noticeable that working seems to be somewhat more optional for most of the blog authors on the right…. One day I’ll have some time to pursue an enquiry into that observation… ]
Well, you are clearly going to give as good as you get, Pete. No problem there!
But I disagree that the rules were applied unevenly. You were chucked for a particularly lame bit of linkwhoring, posting a comment well below your usual semi-topical links to your site. I guess you need the click throughs from here to big up your own page, but you actually got bounced for not putting enough effort in to disguising it as a genuine link. That’s not the mod’s fault and I see you’ve at least put some sentences around today’s readership boosting attempt to make it seem valid. Shame you didn’t notice that there has already been a post here about the minimum pricing proposal, where all your questions are answered.
You don’t seem to understand what the ban was for, it wasn’t about moderating. Links are common and rarely reprimanded.
I did notice a post on the minimum price for alcohol, but that was a day or two ago. I thought it was something that warranted further discussion, especially on how high the price would be likely to increase, but now it’s probably moot:
@PeterDunneMP
If Labour’s minimum alcohol price amendment depends on my vote, it is doomed.
So that pretty much dooms it. Just as well, it needs far more consideration than a last minute SOP.
Ha! It does rather look like I’m the first commentor to accidently ban himself, McFlock. I should have put quotation marks around Eddie’s comment. Or dropped the bold. Or put up the link. D’oh!
God pete after a hugely expensive enquiry into the industry .
The recommendations were pretty damning and very clear Shonkey Banksie and hairpiece have ignored just about all recommendations. This is a $ 6 billion a year dragon our economy from a legal addictive drug You and unbridled fuckwiits by doing nothing are neglecting the problem.
Therefore part of the problem.
Just spieling off Nactuf spin boring brainless and dunneb. s
Do some research pete and come up with some truth and originality.
I just wonder, Dear Modeartors and LPrent, how long you plural will be able to sustain this on an “after-work” basis. You are far and away the most powerful left of centre site. Surely it dserves some advertising income to be able to sustain one of you to work on this site semi-professionally?
We have advertising income, but it is somewhat too erratic to sustain anyone in employment. We run as a coop with a wide range of people dropping in and out depending on what we’re working on. It spreads the load.
[ Just live within our policies and guidelines and stop whining about it.]
I generally do live within your policies and guidelines and I make more of an effort than some at doing that.
But it would be a bit stupid not speaking about things for fear of being labeled a whiner, wouldn’t it? You dish it out with a decided advantage, but do you really expect no one to give a bit back? It’s a bit of an odd situation here, a bit like if the speaker was the PM or leader of the opposition, but most of the risks are known – except the odd time that newbies get a bollocking.
Your blog, your rules, your control, no argument with that. But it would get a bit boring if no one every challenged prescribed behaviour, wouldn’t it?
We seldom do much about whining.. Apart from getting irritated and whining about how damn pointless it is. Provided it doesn’t get to the stage of trying to tell us what to do or wasting too much time to write notes we’ll usually just be sarcastic
By the way its good to have you back its a bit boring now all the other right wingers gos gavid garett etc have gone to ground since the libor scandal as they have nothing to defend any more.
Something I suspect many on the left will have concerns with (as well as on the right) is Labour’s proposal to impose minimum prices on alcohol.
This is potentially a major proposal with potentially wideranging effects, and it will impose increased costs on the majority who can handle their booze.
I have seen very little relevant information on this. How much would alcohol prices increase? Has that been answered here? A small increase would have negligible if any effect. So would we be facing a big bump? Half as much again on the price? Double?
There’s little time to inform and discuss this properly.
actually Labour’s proposal is to allow minimum prices to be imposed. Not impose them. If passed, that would still be up to Key. And it could be tweaked via order in council at any time.
Brewing beer is fairly easy. Brewing a good beer is a little more difficult although the kits you can get can help with that if you’re just starting out.
Really, all beers started out as a home brew at some point.
Pete you are nothing but a concern troll, here is a little snip from the rationalwiki.org/wiki/Concern_troll
One common tactic of concern trolls is the “a plague on both your houses” approach, where the concern troll tries to convince people that both sides of the ideological divide are just as bad as each other, and so no one can think themselves “correct” but must engage in endless hedging and caveats. This preys on a willingness to debate critics and allow dissent; everyone wastes time discussing the matter and bending over backwards, so as not to appear intolerant of disagreement, all to the great amusement of the troll.
The tobacco Industry bought the right wing off for years then Hone Harawira held UF and nactional to account increasing the price has worked so Peter Dunne has voted for it .
PG back to old tricks spieling out Nacts propaganda again .aaaaaaaa how much does national get in donations and special hospitality treats from the alcohol industry PG.
Nothing to do with ‘old tricks’. Except having concerns about the old trick of penalising everyone to try and address the problems of a few.
If the price of alcohol goes up substantially I don’t think it will be just National and UF voters who get a bit grizzly about it. And I don’t think it will be just National and UF voters who lose their jobs.
Ramping the price up has many rammifications, and it’s not likely to cure a few alcoholocs and binge drinkers.
I think it needs a lot more public discussion and consideration. One key question is how much would then price be likely to go up when there is a Labour or Green minister making the decisions. I think it’s reasonable (essential) to have some honesty and openness on this.
Over three years down the track and National Standards are even being described as “ropey” by the Prime Minister. Rather than spending more tens of millions in trying to make them work, why don’t we chuck them altogether and get back to teaching and learning! http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2012/07/key-admits-standards-are-ropey.html
Aha, along with the European and US economy’s which are also producing negative figures, something i just caught on RadioNZ this morning was a further fall in the prices of dairy products as supply increases and demand weakens,
Manufacturing figures for NZ are up 1% as the abundance of milk caused more butter, cheese, etc to be made, however, prices for dairy in the same period fell 400 million dollars,
Running into a brick wall at an ever increasing speed still results in brain damage…
The article on the Chinese economy wasn’t as catastrophist as I expected it to be. I have no economic forecasting expertise, and as much patience for pollyannas as I do for those willing a Great Leap Backward. I have however heard descriptions of New Zealand as in a “sweet spot” for an even more sustained global recession:
– strong Australian banks sustaining our credit
– a growing class of slightly more wealthy Chiense and Indian families seeking to buy our exported food and beverage into the foreseeable future
– local real estate demand and values perhaps sustained under the existing tax structures
Naturally I would not dare attribute any economic management virtue to our Government. Nor dare call so many among us in poverty as lucky by dint of “you could be worse”. Only that perhaps our global economic positioning may be about as good as it could be.
You should read up Steve Keen and his view on how strong Australian banks are, particularly with regard to the hyperinflated Australian property bubble.
Also bear in mind that Australia is a two product-two country economy. And with China stumbling, you can expect Australia to follow with a 6 month lag.
– local real estate demand and values perhaps sustained under the existing tax structures
sheer madness. This will not translate into any jobs or productive economic activity even if it occurs. And forget tax structures as secondary; property price expectations fueled by debt acceleration is the most crucial factor for determining change in house prices.
Oh TV3 News is just like Radio New Zealand… More on the seemingly endless Scott Guy trial – Guy’s parents whinging for Africa that McDonald was guilty, dammit, and why did the police fail? Really?
McDonald will not be welcomed back in town, says the reporter. Srsly, who cares? New Zealanders are very vengeful people.
Then they mention the earthquake… IMO, much more important and interesting than an endlessly rehashed murder involving the wealthy and white..
On One news tonight after the item on the Scott Guy murder AGAIN that took up one hell of a lot of time, there was a news item that the Kiwifruit PSA virus may have come from pollen imported from China.
Questions
a) Was this a bit of sabotage by the Chinese or,
b) It managed to get into this country owing to the lack of border security now this pack of shit we have as a government has reduced the number of front line security staff.
When it comes to biosecurity there is this ERMA outfit.. The RM stands for risk management. The government and its agencies are prepared to take the risk and run a lottery on us not letting nasties into the country – I don’t know whether they publish odds like bookies.
The pollies can’t be bothered about the precautionary principle – it interferes with the making and implementing of their plans to squeeze all heads of departments into a telephone box and when it’s full, that’s the number of departments they’ll have.
For goodness sake, I heard how very focussed Muslims in Mali are destroying grand and ancient images of the past because of a new ideology. We have our own militant iconoclasts right here in River City, or Strait City if you prefer, yes sirree.
Lawrence Krauss, cosmologist and particle physicist, says:
“it [the higgs-boson] has never been called the “God particle” by the physics community. That moniker has been picked up by the media, and I hope it goes away.”
Indeed you are right, TC. The scientests are not trying to disprove God. However, the link to religion is that the discovery removes a significant layer from the belief that some iteration of celestial superbeing created life and the universe.
Well, yeah … that’s what I said at the start of the thread. But one more pillar of irrational belief has fallen and the human race takes a further step toward maturity.
You’re missing the point. The Higgs boson now replaces ‘god’ as the driver of the universe, the thing that gives life its substance and objects their mass. Much like The Dude’s rug, it ties the room together.
That doesn’t mean that creationists can’t still claim that God started the process, but it significantly narrows the claim down from ‘in the beginning God created …’ to something like ‘in the beginning God caused to happen’. In other words, the conventional understanding of God’s works is inexorably slipping away as science exposes nature’s hand in making the universe.
You underestimate its importance, TC. The Higgs boson is the missing link. Without it, there would be nothing but particles whizzing about randomly at light speed and nothing of substance, including ‘life’ would exist. It is to the univese what the sea is to fish, the air to birds.
However, there is still much to be discovered and this really only applies to the universe as we currently understand it. Things may change. But it is the most important discovery this century, by a significant distance, and probably science’s greatest achievement since the moon landings. And, in terms of the human race’s understanding of itself, its a significant marker on the road to intellectual and, yes, spiritual, maturity.
I do not underestimate it’s importance, you underestimate the importance of everything else in the standard model.
Without the electron there’d be no life, without all the other boson’s there’d be no life. Without the leptons or all 6 quarks there’d be no life. The Higg’s in but one of all these. Finding the higgs is like finding the final piece of a puzzle – but that doesn’t mean those other pieces are not just as important.
Ok, I’ll stick with the scientists, you stick with your understanding. Let me know when the Nobel people call, I wanna be there when you get the medal.
Umm, what? The Standard model of physics relies on many different particles of which the higgs is but one.
Without the leptons, for example, the standard model would be false and life as we know it wouldn’t exist.
The fanfare is due to the Higg’s being the final piece of the puzzle, not the puzzle itself.
Am I still able to say “The more we learn, the more we realise how little we know”?
All these discoverys, over the last 100 years plus, are fascinating but they still seem to leave some unanswered questions.
1. Time, as we know it, seems to have had a begining. Who started it ticking? Who “pulled the trigger” for the for the Big Bang.
2. The Universe, as we know it, is a beautiful and imaginative structure. Who designed it?
3. The Earth we live on is also a beautiful and imaginative structure. Who designed it?
4. Go to the internet and find a photo of the Earth, taken from the Moon. If you had a free hand, could you improve on what we have?
5. Accepting that the Earth had a begining, WHY was it created?
6. Is time, as we know it, total reality? Is it possible that there are other dimensions around us that we are not priviledged to experience or understand?
7. Higgs is another step in the adventure of life. I do not think anyone (except the media) is presenting it as the final answer.
If questions 1-6 upset you, good. Read them again, and ask yourself why they upset you.
Perhaps there is a GOD and you are not yet ready to admit it. In every religion you will see examples of the Church becoming too self-important. This is unfortunate because some people use this as a reason to stop thinking. There are a multitude of humble people and genuine churches in so many religions, but they are often unnoticed.
Life is an adventure. Go out and enjoy it. Start in your own neighbourhood.
1: Shit just happens.
2: see 1.
3: see 2.
4: vibrating couches that grow on trees. Human testicles would be encased in protective shells (or at least less things would be at nut height). Coconut milk contains 40% ethanol. IT folk irresistible to opposite gender. Beef fat would be healthier than lentils or chickpeas. Watching TV or reading a book would be an effective cardiovascular workout.
5: see 3.
6: no. yes – see 5.
Not upset by your questions. Surprised you think I might be.
1. No ‘who’. The laws of physics allow for the creation of a universe
2. No one designed it
3. No one designed it
4. No, fine the way it is
5. The earth wasn’t created for any reason
6. Indeed, according to string theory there 11 dimensions
7. The final answer is possibly unknowable
1. Physics has no say in the matter. Some philosophers make a good case for a Creator. And there are other pieces of evidence. A God hypothesis is just as valid as other theories such as PUG, MWI, the eternal or oscillating universe.
Wow.. Chrome for the iPad is very clean and stable. Love the mike on the address bar. Takes whatever you say and googles it. And it understands my raspy post cold voice…
Try saying “the standard” or “John key is a dork”. The latter takes you to Cactus Kate ….
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
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:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
Photo by Alvan Nee on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
Buzz from the Beehive One minister is talking tough while a colleague – whose ministry had acted tough and drawn a barrage of flak – has shown an official softening. Some ministers are doing what Labour was good at, which is distributing public funds to causes regarded as worthy or ...
A ballot for 4 Member's Bills was held today, and the following bills were drawn: Insurance Contracts Bill (Duncan Webb) Income Tax (Clean Transport FBT Exclusion) Amendment Bill (Julie Anne Genter) Crimes (Increased Penalties for Slavery Offences) Amendment Bill (Greg Fleming) Pae Ora (Healthy Futures) ...
One of the strongest narratives about "our" spy agencies is that they are basically institutional traitors, working for foreign powers (or just themselves), without any control or oversight by the elected government. And today, we have yet another report from the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security which explicitly confirms this. ...
“It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April to meet the Prime Minister’s ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track 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 publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
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 publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
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Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
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The same people live in the same houses but the banks now own them.
The world financial crisis will continue until governments take control of the money. Money should be a catalyst to create wealth, not an imaginary commodity used to trick and enslave us.
In New Zealand, house prices doubled between 2002 and 2007 and households added about $100 billion of foreign debt. This was virtually ignored by the Reserve Bank, which stuck to its knitting of keeping consumer price inflation between 1 and 3 per cent a year over the medium term.
Young Kiwis can’t afford to buy their own home … because of an explosion in prices. Poorer families are now paying higher rents because of the huge inflation in asset prices. Exporters are driven out of business because the kiwi is overvalued by 15 per cent, as measured by the IMF. Our current account deficit is growing, despite nearly six years of slow-to-low growth. Our GDP per capita is lower this year than it was in 2003.
The RBNZ is equivalent to the lunatics running the asylum. Most people know of the OCR through hearing about it ad-nauseum in the media but I doubt even 1% of the population know what it is & even fewer know why it is meant to keep inflation down.
The biggest irony of the RBNZs use of the OCR is that it’s intended to control the amount of money that banks lend by soaking up excess bank reserves. The reality was the banks just kept borrowing more from overseas when they ran short of reserves, the OCR never really affected their lending. We had low inflation but not for the right reasons. House prices aren’t part of the CPI so the massive inflation in the housing market didn’t show up as inflation.
The RBNZ have dug a huge economic hole for the country and none of the beancounters know how to get us out of it.
I think that they do know how to get us out of it but they won’t as it means that the free-market is a failure and they can’t admit that even though the GFC is proof positive of that failure. There’s only one way to get us out of the hole that free-market economics has put us in and that’s to restrict money flows and that they just won’t do as they keep harping on about needing foreign capital to use our own resources.
DTB have a capital gains tax on currency speculation
You already pay tax on currency speculation
Nah, they’re just stumped don’t credit them with abilities they don’t have. Inflation was kept down because we imported deflation, the reducing price of imports kept the CPI artificially low. Imports got cheaper because the overseas borrowing pushed the $NZD up, plus China started powering up with cheaper manufactured goods. NZ manufacturers couldn’t compete & started closing down so we imported more & more which kept the CPI down even more.
The problem now is that we rely on imports for just about every sector of the economy. Any attempt to drive the $NZD down will lead to high inflation in consumer goods and the RBNZ have to keep inflation below certain targets. They don’t know how to get the $NZD down AND keep inflation down. They steered the country down a no-exit road. Useless gits.
My take on the inflation targets,purely political, the middle class who hold the bulk of the votes in saying who will be the Government and who also happen to be the bulk holders of home mortgages or wanting to will not tolerate high interest rates and will vote accordingly,
My view is that the inflation target should stay, smart economics says that there can be inflation of 3%, a lower valued NZ dollar, increased employment and lower costs to housing both in the rental and sales markets,
Produce the monies to seriously increase the number of State House rentals, spend those monies into the economy at a pace that leaves the inflation rate at 2.5-3%, dilute the value of the NZDollar by having expanded capital, lower unemployment with an ongoing building program, take the steam out of all areas of the housing market by markedly increasing the housing supply,and, increase activity in the local economy which is driven by household spending simply by having produced more households…
The NZ$ was driven up by the high interest rates that the high OCR used to reduce inflation as people overseas were buying heavily in NZ$ denominated bonds sold by the banks. These bonds increased the banks capital ratio and thus allowing them to increase the lending that they could do which meant that the market was flooded with hot money – lots of hot money. A lot of that hot money went on houses pushing the price of houses up and the rest went on spending binges as people realised that they could re-mortgage and buy boats, cars, stereos etc etc which pushes the CPI up forcing the RBNZ to put the OCR up…rinse and repeat.
Now, according to the delusional free-market theory the people overseas should have looked at the massive amounts of private borrowing that NZers were doing and stopped buying NZ$. This didn’t happen because 1) the people with the money were greedy and went for the high returns and 2) a lack of investment options.
And, yeah, the deflation that was caused by China becoming a massive, high tech exporter. Increased productivity must result in deflation. This is something else that the mainstream economists get wrong. They tell us that increased productivity results in increased wages yet when we look over the last few decades what we see from increased productivity is stagnant and/or decreasing wages and boosted profits.
Reduce the OCR to zero, stop the banks selling NZ$ denominated bonds, and have the government start printing money to fund building state houses and factories. This should drop the NZ$ making imports more expensive while also boosting NZ manufacturing. Yes, there will be some inflation but NZ will survive it and be stronger afterwards.
None of this will happen though even with a left-wing government because they’re to infatuated with the failed free-market and so we’ll continue our march to the sea cliffs.
The relatively easy ‘fix’ to the problems within housing are the same as circa 1930’s, Government simply need print enough monies into circulation so as to dilute the value of the New Zealand dollar,
The monies so produced need be spent by the State in the construction of low cost rental housing owned and rented out by the State on the basis of 25% of income for the tenant(s),
Part of the structural fault within the NZ economy lies in the fact that as ‘Rogernomics’ built a new class of poor beneficiaries who were then the most ‘needy’ in terms of State Housing those employed at the minimum wage and up to the point of ‘Rogernomics’ were those traditionally housed by the State at rentals of 25% of household income,
As this change in the structure of the economy took place minimum wage workers were forced to spend more than 25% of their income on private rental accomodation thus seriously curtailing their ability to have and spend into the economy disposable income,
A large number of structural economic issues along with a wide range of social needs can be addressed simply by dramatically increasing the number of State House rentals…
House prices doubled between 2002 and 2007.
Would you be kind enough to define your source of information?
Try here;
http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/keygraphs/Fig4.html
The RBNZ note there that not much of the increase in housing stock was new houses and even that was subject to increased prices as well so a doubling of house prices between 2002 & 2007 looks about right.
Thank you DH. You have not commented on the sharp drop in House Prices after 08 and the “negative” increase about 2009. It would enhance your credibility if you gave us the full picture.
Auckland prices didn’t suffer a sharp drop in 2008 unless you call a 5% decline a sharp drop and since then risen consistently because of shortage of supply.
It would enhance your own credibility if you addressed the points raised.
Even if the GFC (which just might have temporarily affected house financing) resulted in a cumulative drop of around a fifth of peak prices, that’s still a five year increase in housing prices of 40%, most of the credit for which is purchased from overseas because most of our banks are foreign owned.
Thoughts, John?
Fair Comment McFlock. I am not an accountant, nor do I have any deep understanding of the country’s economy so I am dependant on the wisdom of others for guidance on this subject. But, when some one says “prices have doubled in 5 years”, the question arises, is this the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
DH offered a web site to support this statement(rbnz.govt.nz/keygraphs/fig4.html Fig. 4) and out of courtesy to DH, I called it up. The Graph consists of 2 data bases overlaid and is titled “House Prices and Value of Housing Stock”.
The independant variables for one data base are,(a) Annual % Change, (b) Date
For the second data base they are (a) Value of Housing Stock, (b) Date
Now the “…% Change” shown changed steeply up over the 5 years mentioned BUT, there were other, just as dramatic, changes in the down direction afterwards. Why were the changes down not mentioned?
Is the subject too complex for a simple soul like me to understand, am I looking at the wrong data, or is someone pulling a “Snow Job”.
You’re trying to make an argument out of nothing there. The drop in prices in ’08-’09 is not dramatic in the slightest and the cause is well known. The graph also shows that the ‘dramatic’ fall was cancelled by an equally dramatic increase not long after. It also doesn’t change the fact that house prices doubled in five years and that $100billion was borrowed from overseas in that period.
DH, we seem to differ in our understanding of what the Graph is portraying.
As I visualise it, at any point in time the graph is showing how fast house prices are changing. The slope of the line shows how fast the rate-of-change is changing.
The rate-of-change of the rate-of-change.
In Calculus it would be a 2nd order differential?
Also, since 08 the 1st order rate-of-change has been drifting between -10% and +8%, comparitivly stable since it has averaged out at zero to +1.
Prices rose rapidly over a 5 year period and have been stable since then. is that correct?
The OP made the correlation between house prices doubling between 2002-2007 and the accompanying buildup of foreign debt to pay for the splurge on houses. That the increase in prices had a hiatus in 2008 is irrelevant, it doesn’t change the past does it. It wouldn’t surprise me if the amount of overseas borrowing stalled in 2008 too.
The only reason I linked to the RBNZ chart was because you asked for evidence that prices had doubled in that period. That chart shows it did.
The OPs post raises a reasonable question; what would house prices have done if the banks didn’t have access to cheap overseas funding? Few houses were bought for cash, buyers had to borrow to buy a house, so what would house prices look like now if there had been $100billion less money to lend in that five years?
John72 you smell a rat and rightly so, I am sitting here reading the property section of my once local paper from 1978 , I could buy my house for 22k then on a quarter acre and basically properties in NZ have doubled in value every 7 to 8 years since the turn of the last century, it’s called inflation, something if you look into it the present monetary system can’t survive without.
But back to the 22k in 1978 if you add 10% every year from there you get roughly todays value so basically the doubling in value in 5 years is nothing unusual as since 1978 property has doubled in value every 7 to 8 years and people wonder why New Zealanders invest in property.
And the point is that back in the ’70s and early ’80s we had high inflation on everything, it wasn’t uncommon for annual wage increases to be 10% to keep up with inflation. Now we don’t have high inflation, or at least the pompous wankers at the RBNZ say we don’t have high inflation.
But the rest of us see house prices increasing +10% a year and know damn well that we do have high inflation and more importantly we have high inflation without the wage increases to pay for it. It’s just asset inflation and since that isn’t counted in the CPI as consumer inflation the RBNZ ignored it; played the three monkeys & pretended it wasn’t happening while the low/medium income earners in the country were bled dry. The beancounters have a lot to answer for.
increasing house prices are driven by increasing debt; you explained it very clearly – if house prices are advancing way faster than incomes where does the difference come from?
Only one place, its got to come from banks lifting individuals property purchasing power through the injection of debt based money into the economy.
Aye, and when you follow the trail back to its source you hit the RBNZ. The big inflation fighters are the direct cause of the massive inflation in the housing market. It’s enough to make you weep.
DH, you have not addressed all the points that I made, only those that you thought that you could defend.and even that was not successful. The graph that we have been refering to shows that the growth in house prices over the last 4 years has fluctuated between -10% and +8%.. I will refrase this for the benefit of those readers who are not happy with mathematics.
Sometimes, over the last 4 years, house prices have decreased and some times house prices have increased. The end result is that over the 4 year period prices have increased slightly. Probably about 1 or 2% in 4 years, NOT 10%.
DH, thank you for your posts,”Your actions (and words) bear witness to your thoughts”.
Yes DH the poor get poorer and the rich get richer = National Ltd, just keep asking the friends you suspect voted for this lot, “how’s you brighter future going” .
Ropata
Are you aware that only 31% of houses in New Zealand are mortgaged ?
That’s about 700,000 over which the banks fight to fund.
Fartrain So where is the other $200 billion of private debt held
Dairy farms and dairy conversions, and more dairy conversions.
Just wait 5-15 years when the baby boomers try to cash in en masse for their “retirement” and discover that there’s a glut of supply and the price plummets.
Asset bubble, like many before.
TPP item: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl112aNNTbo
this little bit of The Alyona Show has a very interesting line (at about 3:12) regarding the extraordinary level of secrecy attached to this document. A document that increasingly appears to be the victors’ presentation of our terms of surrender. Always remember, POW’s were largely unwilling captives, it was the Generals who surrendered.
The Alyona Show is covering the TPP this week, so hopefully a few more lumens into the shadows.
http://rt.com/programs/alyona-show/
Ron Kirk!
GlaxoSmithKline dirty global drug corporate caught lying and probably causing the death of a number of people. Who can we trust?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10817202
The Standard should start a blog of shame with the global Corporates and the henchmen named and shamed.
When a story like that emerges what we should be seeing is the close down of the corporation (assets seized by the state) and the CEO, directors and probably other upper management types jailed. None of this paying a fine BS.
Lets see who we can trust…
Government
Politicians – any level
Corporations
Banks(ers) – Central, Investmen, Retail, the lot
Media
Lawyers
Military
Big Oil
Big Pharma
Big Finance
Charities
UN
WTO
WHO
NATO
UNESCO
IMF
WB
(anything that has initials, and is sold as being “there to help)
NONE, cant trust anything you hear, that you read, therfore what you think, and how you act…
People have to learn that they are being farmed, that there instincts are being removed, so that they no longer see the danger in front of them..
Listen to your instincts, trust humanity, they are there, they are buried under the lies which have been sold to people, as truth, or as what life is!
Dotcom – Top brass in the US admin involved yet the leadership of that “preddy liddle oudpost in da Soud Pacific (where it’s all to happen) wasn’t briefed.
Perhaps we should start up some billboard “Yeah rights!”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10817283
How concerned should we be about poll results in yesterday’s Herald? Are they trustworthy? If they really are accurate, I guess we will have to try hard not to despair! A huge number of people like the direction this Government is taking. It blows one’s mind! Possibly it is due to a still ineffective Opposition? (Rather than to any particular virtue of National). Naturally, the Herald is now longing (editorial) for a three term government. On the basis of this survey, we remain in for a long, hard slog. It almost seems that this Government would be forgiven even genocide!!
I have a wide range of friends of various political persuasions, and I am struggling to find ONE that likes this current sack-of-shit government. A few tolerate, the majority have given up.
What results?
As far as I see, the polls are generally trending well for the left, given that national has no friends to speak of (and them that exists are on borrowed time).
McFlock, refer NZ Herald 3/7/12. Their results stacked up incredibly well for the Nat’s, all things considered!! Let’s hope they are biased.
Herald digipoll?
A few points to the conservative side of the last election. If they say “neck and neck” I’m not too worried.
The Dim Post highlights some excellent photoshop work by Joe W
national govt spin the wheel policy development game
john key wears his tribal tattoos
+10 dr ropata this is not wall st you know
Don’t worry mike e, our smiley faced PM will make us all millionaires by turning NZ into the ponzi capital of the Pacific
I think I should be allowed back here by now. With a pledge for a reduced presence – that will be dependent in part on whether the discussion-less niggles and attacks on me also reduce.
lol
Love that you left it a few hours just to make sure.
It’d be nice to know if you’ve learned anything from your ejection, Pete, though the whinge you had on your own site immediately afterwards suggests not.
Still, I imagine what you describe as niggles and attacks will indeed reduce if you stop being a prat. Like mike e, I accept it is good to have commenters here from the right and I genuinely look forward to having quality debates with you in the future. Kia waimarie!
I did learn (or had confirmed) that rules are applied unevenly here.
And maybe you could have a wee look in the prat mirror yourself. You often don’t attempt any sort of ‘quality debate’ – there are many examples of that. But if you genuinely want quality debate I’ll do what I can to play my part.
How can we improve the referenda process? I think both government and Citizen initiated referenda have scope for improvement.
[lprent: Rules are always applied unevenly here. A moment for reflection would have told you why. It isn’t exactly rocket science…
Life is ‘uneven’ whenever you try to set your own policy on the work of others. It is commonly called the backseat driver effect, and generally the right is full of it. They like telling others how they should live their life.
We don’t. We just tell you the bounds of how you will act here. Just live within our policies and guidelines and stop whining about it.
* To me it is rather noticeable that working seems to be somewhat more optional for most of the blog authors on the right…. One day I’ll have some time to pursue an enquiry into that observation… ]
Well, you are clearly going to give as good as you get, Pete. No problem there!
But I disagree that the rules were applied unevenly. You were chucked for a particularly lame bit of linkwhoring, posting a comment well below your usual semi-topical links to your site. I guess you need the click throughs from here to big up your own page, but you actually got bounced for not putting enough effort in to disguising it as a genuine link. That’s not the mod’s fault and I see you’ve at least put some sentences around today’s readership boosting attempt to make it seem valid. Shame you didn’t notice that there has already been a post here about the minimum pricing proposal, where all your questions are answered.
You don’t seem to understand what the ban was for, it wasn’t about moderating. Links are common and rarely reprimanded.
I did notice a post on the minimum price for alcohol, but that was a day or two ago. I thought it was something that warranted further discussion, especially on how high the price would be likely to increase, but now it’s probably moot:
So that pretty much dooms it. Just as well, it needs far more consideration than a last minute SOP.
Just to refresh your memory:
[a week ban for attempting to derail the thread with off topic link whoring. Eddie]
[lprent: bit harsh bearing in mind that it is OpenMike? ]
lol
Did TRP inadvertently self-ban by cut&pasting a mod’s comments to another commenter? 🙂
Um a bit harsh doncha think? TRP was addressing directly the point of Petey’s post. And Petey seems to have forgotten his promise to comment less …
Ha! It does rather look like I’m the first commentor to accidently ban himself, McFlock. I should have put quotation marks around Eddie’s comment. Or dropped the bold. Or put up the link. D’oh!
To clarify, Eddie was banning Pete, a week ago.
Hehe I am sure Eddie would never ban you TRP …
EDIT: McFlock is way more onto it that I am tonight …
Interesting comment.
Self immolation is just so socialist!
Ah that explains it… I was wondering what in the hell was going on…
And yet the asset sales are not his responsibility at all, but national’s…
Anyway, three cheers for Dunne cosying up to the alcohol industry. A most unexpected turn of events [sarc]
Not again we’ve had 12 years of no action so do nothing
Great policy
Pontificating george.
Fiddle while Rome burns
God pete after a hugely expensive enquiry into the industry .
The recommendations were pretty damning and very clear Shonkey Banksie and hairpiece have ignored just about all recommendations. This is a $ 6 billion a year dragon our economy from a legal addictive drug You and unbridled fuckwiits by doing nothing are neglecting the problem.
Therefore part of the problem.
Just spieling off Nactuf spin boring brainless and dunneb. s
Do some research pete and come up with some truth and originality.
I just wonder, Dear Modeartors and LPrent, how long you plural will be able to sustain this on an “after-work” basis. You are far and away the most powerful left of centre site. Surely it dserves some advertising income to be able to sustain one of you to work on this site semi-professionally?
Why not reward yourselves for this success?
We have advertising income, but it is somewhat too erratic to sustain anyone in employment. We run as a coop with a wide range of people dropping in and out depending on what we’re working on. It spreads the load.
Besides we all have interesting jobs…
[ Just live within our policies and guidelines and stop whining about it.]
I generally do live within your policies and guidelines and I make more of an effort than some at doing that.
But it would be a bit stupid not speaking about things for fear of being labeled a whiner, wouldn’t it? You dish it out with a decided advantage, but do you really expect no one to give a bit back? It’s a bit of an odd situation here, a bit like if the speaker was the PM or leader of the opposition, but most of the risks are known – except the odd time that newbies get a bollocking.
Your blog, your rules, your control, no argument with that. But it would get a bit boring if no one every challenged prescribed behaviour, wouldn’t it?
We seldom do much about whining.. Apart from getting irritated and whining about how damn pointless it is. Provided it doesn’t get to the stage of trying to tell us what to do or wasting too much time to write notes we’ll usually just be sarcastic
…sheesh PeteG. and your first thread back adds nothing to current debate but is all about you.
that will be dependent in part on whether the discussion-less niggles and attacks on me also reduce.
See, guys, Petey can’t be held responsible for his own actions, his own rate of posting, his own linkspamming … it’s our fault for being such meanies.
And to think someone with such a fantastic lack of self-awareness or sense of personal responsibility missed out on being a Member of Parliament …
pg stop blindly defending and following nactionals own spin and admit your wrong from time to time.
In politics less is more.
By the way its good to have you back its a bit boring now all the other right wingers gos gavid garett etc have gone to ground since the libor scandal as they have nothing to defend any more.
Something I suspect many on the left will have concerns with (as well as on the right) is Labour’s proposal to impose minimum prices on alcohol.
This is potentially a major proposal with potentially wideranging effects, and it will impose increased costs on the majority who can handle their booze.
I have seen very little relevant information on this. How much would alcohol prices increase? Has that been answered here? A small increase would have negligible if any effect. So would we be facing a big bump? Half as much again on the price? Double?
There’s little time to inform and discuss this properly.
http://yournz.org/2012/07/04/minimum-alcohol-price-support/
I reckon they should just target those pre mixed drinks…..
actually Labour’s proposal is to allow minimum prices to be imposed. Not impose them. If passed, that would still be up to Key. And it could be tweaked via order in council at any time.
Note to self: Must find my father-in-law’s old still from up there in Ettrick, give it a real clean and get him to teach me how.
Apparently beer homebrewing is pretty easy (but then my mate who’s into that, and has made some truly amazing homebrew, is a chemist by profession …)
Brewing beer is fairly easy. Brewing a good beer is a little more difficult although the kits you can get can help with that if you’re just starting out.
Really, all beers started out as a home brew at some point.
It is indeed… my alkie father did it in the 1960s…
Pete you are nothing but a concern troll, here is a little snip from the rationalwiki.org/wiki/Concern_troll
One common tactic of concern trolls is the “a plague on both your houses” approach, where the concern troll tries to convince people that both sides of the ideological divide are just as bad as each other, and so no one can think themselves “correct” but must engage in endless hedging and caveats. This preys on a willingness to debate critics and allow dissent; everyone wastes time discussing the matter and bending over backwards, so as not to appear intolerant of disagreement, all to the great amusement of the troll.
Does this remind you of anyone we know?
Can have a referendum on banning Pete for life.
The tobacco Industry bought the right wing off for years then Hone Harawira held UF and nactional to account increasing the price has worked so Peter Dunne has voted for it .
PG back to old tricks spieling out Nacts propaganda again .aaaaaaaa how much does national get in donations and special hospitality treats from the alcohol industry PG.
Nothing to do with ‘old tricks’. Except having concerns about the old trick of penalising everyone to try and address the problems of a few.
If the price of alcohol goes up substantially I don’t think it will be just National and UF voters who get a bit grizzly about it. And I don’t think it will be just National and UF voters who lose their jobs.
Ramping the price up has many rammifications, and it’s not likely to cure a few alcoholocs and binge drinkers.
I think it needs a lot more public discussion and consideration. One key question is how much would then price be likely to go up when there is a Labour or Green minister making the decisions. I think it’s reasonable (essential) to have some honesty and openness on this.
Over three years down the track and National Standards are even being described as “ropey” by the Prime Minister. Rather than spending more tens of millions in trying to make them work, why don’t we chuck them altogether and get back to teaching and learning!
http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2012/07/key-admits-standards-are-ropey.html
The Chinese economy is slowing and is likely to slow a lot more. Get ready for a hard landing. says Barron’s.
Did I just hear a distant pop?
Pete, look at history. The world is constantly changing. Have you learned to speak Mandarin yet? Be prepared.
Aha, along with the European and US economy’s which are also producing negative figures, something i just caught on RadioNZ this morning was a further fall in the prices of dairy products as supply increases and demand weakens,
Manufacturing figures for NZ are up 1% as the abundance of milk caused more butter, cheese, etc to be made, however, prices for dairy in the same period fell 400 million dollars,
Running into a brick wall at an ever increasing speed still results in brain damage…
The article on the Chinese economy wasn’t as catastrophist as I expected it to be. I have no economic forecasting expertise, and as much patience for pollyannas as I do for those willing a Great Leap Backward. I have however heard descriptions of New Zealand as in a “sweet spot” for an even more sustained global recession:
– strong Australian banks sustaining our credit
– a growing class of slightly more wealthy Chiense and Indian families seeking to buy our exported food and beverage into the foreseeable future
– local real estate demand and values perhaps sustained under the existing tax structures
Naturally I would not dare attribute any economic management virtue to our Government. Nor dare call so many among us in poverty as lucky by dint of “you could be worse”. Only that perhaps our global economic positioning may be about as good as it could be.
Any views?
Well, it turns out that China IS lying about everything. Even how much electricity they are using.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/turns-out-china-lying-about-everything
You should read up Steve Keen and his view on how strong Australian banks are, particularly with regard to the hyperinflated Australian property bubble.
Also bear in mind that Australia is a two product-two country economy. And with China stumbling, you can expect Australia to follow with a 6 month lag.
sheer madness. This will not translate into any jobs or productive economic activity even if it occurs. And forget tax structures as secondary; property price expectations fueled by debt acceleration is the most crucial factor for determining change in house prices.
.
Earthquake Observation #312.75;
When you thence hear of a seven you wonder how many deaths just thence occured.
Oh TV3 News is just like Radio New Zealand… More on the seemingly endless Scott Guy trial – Guy’s parents whinging for Africa that McDonald was guilty, dammit, and why did the police fail? Really?
McDonald will not be welcomed back in town, says the reporter. Srsly, who cares? New Zealanders are very vengeful people.
Then they mention the earthquake… IMO, much more important and interesting than an endlessly rehashed murder involving the wealthy and white..
On One news tonight after the item on the Scott Guy murder AGAIN that took up one hell of a lot of time, there was a news item that the Kiwifruit PSA virus may have come from pollen imported from China.
Questions
a) Was this a bit of sabotage by the Chinese or,
b) It managed to get into this country owing to the lack of border security now this pack of shit we have as a government has reduced the number of front line security staff.
Can’t wait to see John Key shrugs and being dismissive.
When it comes to biosecurity there is this ERMA outfit.. The RM stands for risk management. The government and its agencies are prepared to take the risk and run a lottery on us not letting nasties into the country – I don’t know whether they publish odds like bookies.
The pollies can’t be bothered about the precautionary principle – it interferes with the making and implementing of their plans to squeeze all heads of departments into a telephone box and when it’s full, that’s the number of departments they’ll have.
For goodness sake, I heard how very focussed Muslims in Mali are destroying grand and ancient images of the past because of a new ideology. We have our own militant iconoclasts right here in River City, or Strait City if you prefer, yes sirree.
HCM and they all get their own reality program
God’s dead. Or did He create the Higgs boson?
The Higgs-Boson has nothing to do with God. The ‘God Particle’ is just a catchy name.
I’m fascinated – how can you be so sure?
Ummm, because it is called the Higgs Boson and the ‘God particle’ is just a catchy name.
Lawrence Krauss, cosmologist and particle physicist, says:
“it [the higgs-boson] has never been called the “God particle” by the physics community. That moniker has been picked up by the media, and I hope it goes away.”
Indeed you are right, TC. The scientests are not trying to disprove God. However, the link to religion is that the discovery removes a significant layer from the belief that some iteration of celestial superbeing created life and the universe.
All that is left now is blind faith and that leads to this sort of madness.
Na, they can always hide god somewhere. Who created the Higgs? God of course.
Well, yeah … that’s what I said at the start of the thread. But one more pillar of irrational belief has fallen and the human race takes a further step toward maturity.
TC But that catchy name of God particle may contain an unrealised truth. Nobody knows.
Na, the catchy name is media invention. It is no more the ‘god particle’ than the ‘up’ quark
You’re missing the point. The Higgs boson now replaces ‘god’ as the driver of the universe, the thing that gives life its substance and objects their mass. Much like The Dude’s rug, it ties the room together.
That doesn’t mean that creationists can’t still claim that God started the process, but it significantly narrows the claim down from ‘in the beginning God created …’ to something like ‘in the beginning God caused to happen’. In other words, the conventional understanding of God’s works is inexorably slipping away as science exposes nature’s hand in making the universe.
The higgs boson is not the driver of the universe and is as important as every other particle in the standard model in driving the universe.
It does not give life substance and while it may ‘tie the room together’ all the particles in the standard model tie the room together.
You underestimate its importance, TC. The Higgs boson is the missing link. Without it, there would be nothing but particles whizzing about randomly at light speed and nothing of substance, including ‘life’ would exist. It is to the univese what the sea is to fish, the air to birds.
However, there is still much to be discovered and this really only applies to the universe as we currently understand it. Things may change. But it is the most important discovery this century, by a significant distance, and probably science’s greatest achievement since the moon landings. And, in terms of the human race’s understanding of itself, its a significant marker on the road to intellectual and, yes, spiritual, maturity.
I do not underestimate it’s importance, you underestimate the importance of everything else in the standard model.
Without the electron there’d be no life, without all the other boson’s there’d be no life. Without the leptons or all 6 quarks there’d be no life. The Higg’s in but one of all these. Finding the higgs is like finding the final piece of a puzzle – but that doesn’t mean those other pieces are not just as important.
I think I can settle this: http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/376496_444755935545423_2096910254_n.jpg
Ok, I’ll stick with the scientists, you stick with your understanding. Let me know when the Nobel people call, I wanna be there when you get the medal.
Edit: cheers, felix, very witty.
Umm, what? The Standard model of physics relies on many different particles of which the higgs is but one.
Without the leptons, for example, the standard model would be false and life as we know it wouldn’t exist.
The fanfare is due to the Higg’s being the final piece of the puzzle, not the puzzle itself.
Here look:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepton
Without leptons there’d be no electron, without the electron, no life. As important as the Higg’s.
Am I still able to say “The more we learn, the more we realise how little we know”?
All these discoverys, over the last 100 years plus, are fascinating but they still seem to leave some unanswered questions.
1. Time, as we know it, seems to have had a begining. Who started it ticking? Who “pulled the trigger” for the for the Big Bang.
2. The Universe, as we know it, is a beautiful and imaginative structure. Who designed it?
3. The Earth we live on is also a beautiful and imaginative structure. Who designed it?
4. Go to the internet and find a photo of the Earth, taken from the Moon. If you had a free hand, could you improve on what we have?
5. Accepting that the Earth had a begining, WHY was it created?
6. Is time, as we know it, total reality? Is it possible that there are other dimensions around us that we are not priviledged to experience or understand?
7. Higgs is another step in the adventure of life. I do not think anyone (except the media) is presenting it as the final answer.
If questions 1-6 upset you, good. Read them again, and ask yourself why they upset you.
Perhaps there is a GOD and you are not yet ready to admit it. In every religion you will see examples of the Church becoming too self-important. This is unfortunate because some people use this as a reason to stop thinking. There are a multitude of humble people and genuine churches in so many religions, but they are often unnoticed.
Life is an adventure. Go out and enjoy it. Start in your own neighbourhood.
1: Shit just happens.
2: see 1.
3: see 2.
4: vibrating couches that grow on trees. Human testicles would be encased in protective shells (or at least less things would be at nut height). Coconut milk contains 40% ethanol. IT folk irresistible to opposite gender. Beef fat would be healthier than lentils or chickpeas. Watching TV or reading a book would be an effective cardiovascular workout.
5: see 3.
6: no. yes – see 5.
Not upset by your questions. Surprised you think I might be.
1. No ‘who’. The laws of physics allow for the creation of a universe
2. No one designed it
3. No one designed it
4. No, fine the way it is
5. The earth wasn’t created for any reason
6. Indeed, according to string theory there 11 dimensions
7. The final answer is possibly unknowable
1. Physics has no say in the matter. Some philosophers make a good case for a Creator. And there are other pieces of evidence. A God hypothesis is just as valid as other theories such as PUG, MWI, the eternal or oscillating universe.
2/3. Design in nature is fascinating. Examples: Smolin, Feynman, Wigner
4. Looks like the work of a supreme and subtle intellect…
5. Here’s part of the answer. See also “The Reason Why” by R.A. Laidlaw
6. Only a few iconoclasts really think that the laws of physics == total reality
7. 42
Cont I thought god created everything.
nah just fuckwits
I think Te Reo Putake may be referring to Hawking’s latest speculative pseudo science book
Have you read said speculative pseudo science book?
Because I have and much of it isn’t speculative (the conclusions are but science is not)
Some of it. Not a bad read, but it did not impress actual working physicists.
Indeed, it had mixed reviews.
Not bad for a guy typing one word per minute with his cheek muscles I bet.
It was a thoroughly entertaining read
Wow.. Chrome for the iPad is very clean and stable. Love the mike on the address bar. Takes whatever you say and googles it. And it understands my raspy post cold voice…
Try saying “the standard” or “John key is a dork”. The latter takes you to Cactus Kate ….