He said Waterfront Auckland was open to partnerships, joint ventures or multiple-party contracts as opposed to the standard development agreement, but investors would be seeking certainty
WHAT!!!
So they want and ratepayer/taxpayer underwritten profits, regrdless !
I just heard Solid Energy’s chair Mark Ford on Radio New Zealand news saying that former chief executive Don Elder was not available to answer questions to Parliament’s Commerce select committee because it was apparently “not appropriate”. The committee were obviously interested in how Solid Energy could get things so bad that it had gone for a significant earner of overseas reserves to the current position where it is a cot case.
This is incredible for a couple of reasons. Firstly Elder is still getting full pay as he sits at home waiting for a telephone call. He was earning over a million a year so he must be the the best paid gardener in the country. He was the one who knew the business better than anyone else.
Secondly why is Ford the one to decide who should appear? Shouldn’t the peoples representatives be the ones to decide who should tell them how their business is doing rather than some high paid corporate friend of the National Party?
The corporate take over of New Zealand is nearing completion …
Waking up to hear Don Elder is ‘now’ a paid consultant makes my hangover even worst! What is it with these Coal guys? That dirt bag Whittle done the same. The only consulting Don should be doing is with his conscience. Oh that’s right psychopaths don’t have a conscience!
mickeysavage. “He was earning over a million a year so he must be the the best paid gardener in the country.”
I’m just off to do some gardening as a paid employee. One million dollars would employ me for over 32 years full-time, 2000 hours per year, at $15.56 per hour.
Why should people get upset over salaries, perks and golden handshakes of that magnitude? I just don’t understand it.
Had a look at the picture in the Herald article cited above. First impression was that John Key looks crumpled. He needs to press his suit, an analogy which could be also applied to his work as an ambassador for NZ in Venezuela. But I suspect an impeccable suit in Washington has told him that would not wear well in US circles.
Dirty Don the coal man and Double Dipping Bill suffer minimal consequences by fraudulently accessing public funds for their own benefit. However if you are struggling to bring up children on the DPB and lie about the existence of an unreliable partner, god help you! http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2013/03/dirty-don-and-double-standards.html
Do these ad/marketing people think w’re stupid? We know how ads work to convey multiple messages. In response to an “eco-activist” making a complaint about the 100% Pure slogan,
The ASA is responsible only for the regulation of advertising in New Zealand. Tourism NZ spokeswoman Deborah Gray said it did not buy advertising here with any of the ASA’s member organisations.
“100% Pure New Zealand is a campaign that tells the story of how our landscape, people and activities combine to deliver a visitor experience that is unique to New Zealand.
“Our unique combination of landscapes, people and activities cannot be found anywhere else – hence it is a ‘100% Pure New Zealand’ visitor experience.”
The slogan was “not an environmental claim, and it never has been”.
People do seem to be easily led by the flash advertising. That’s one of the reasons that I think stopping watching TV was such a boon for me. Instead of being led around I had to go look for information resulting in being better informed and clearer thinking which allowed me to see the BS that adverts are.
I’m interested by this ‘ASA’s member organisations’ claim. The ASA will not refuse jurisdiction on local ads. They can’t for to do so will mean they’re not being an effective regulator and open the argument for govt regulation of their sector.
The ASA of course won’t uphold the complaint. They are funded by corporates and controlled by conservative interests. They’re very ACT in their approach.
“It should be a real wake-up call to the mayor as to where the real problems and frustrations lie for most Aucklanders – that is in traffic jams.”
Mr Brewer said he’d like more improvements to the motorway network and more bus lanes, ferry terminals and cycle and walkways, rather than the CBD rail tunnel.
You know, it’s sometimes difficult to comprehend just how stupid some people are.
Auckland has transport problems, most of those problems centre around the simple fact that we have too many cars on the road and this idiot doesn’t want the CBD rail tunnel, which will remove cars from the roads and thus decrease the traffic jams, built?
Really, that paragraph is obviously some one who has an ideological hatred of rail and will do anything to try and prevent it from being built even when it will make his precious roads better.
Auckland rail network is doomed to fail as long as the one way in & out Britomart station remains status quo. A loop should have been put in 50 years ago. National & Labour take a bow!
The Greens should make it an election promise put the acid on Labour
Bedroom tax is the latest cruel welfare program from the British right wing, unable to institute positive programs to encourage employers to hire and the economy to produce what is needed for their citizens.
Will this soon be happening in NZ? This was tried here in the 1990’s I think. I know a woman who had to move to another distant town because she had a two-bedroom flat, and then couldn’t get the one bedroom one she expected in her new town. Meanwhile she was deprived of all her friends, support network etc. .
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/22/renters-downsize-bedroom-tax
Fears about the incoming bedroom tax are growing, along with speculation about the likely consequences. Some tenants might stay but not pay the difference between their local housing allowance and their actual rent. They face eviction when discretionary housing payments, limited to six months, run out in October. Mass evictions due to arrears seem certain. Government advice for tenants with a “spare” room is ill-informed or callous. Suggesting part-time workers do a few more hours work to cover costs is deluded when an extra 63 hours are required in certain circumstances .
Let’s take a simple example. A young woman leaving care, who was allocated a two bedroom flat costing £100 a week as there were no one bedroom flats available in her area, faces a deduction of £14 a week from her housing benefit. . She is already working 16 hours a week at the minimum wage. Working an extra three hours a week will net her less than £3 because her housing and council tax benefit will be reduced because of the additional hours: nowhere near enough to make up for the bedroom tax deduction. To earn an additional £14 a week, enough to pay for the bedroom tax, she will need to work 28 hours: a whole 12 hours more. However this doesn’t mean she has escaped the bedroom tax: in fact she will still face the full £14 being taken from her remaining housing benefit. To completely escape she must work a total of 48 hours a week at the minimum wage – three times her current working hours.
http://www.housing.org.uk/policy/welfare_reform/‘under-occupation’_penalty.aspx
How much will people lose?
The cut will be a fixed percentage of the Housing Benefit eligible rent. The Government has said that this will be set at 14% for one extra bedroom and 25% for two or more extra bedrooms.
The Government’s impact assessment shows that those affected will lose an average of £14 a week. Housing association tenants are expected to lose £16 a week on average.
How many people will see their benefit cut?
The proposal will affect an estimated 660,000 working-age social tenants – 31% of existing working-age housing benefit claimants in the social sector. The majority of these people have only one extra bedroom.
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/the-bedroom-tax-is-just-the-latest-assault-on-our-poorest-citizens-8478898.html
According to Shelter, the number of overcrowded homes has doubled in just a decade; in some parts of the country, one in four households live in cramped conditions. Yet the bedroom tax is yet another means for the Government to turn Britain’s poorest against each other. Don’t blame the Government for failing to build housing: blame your neighbour instead. The refusal of both New Labour and the Tories to build council housing has left up to five million on social housing waiting lists. A house building programme is key to recovery from our economic catastrophe: it would stimulate the economy, create j obs, and bring down the housing benefit bill. But it would be a policy of sanity for a government in the grip of economic madness.
Thousands of those hammered by the bedroom tax have nowhere to downsize to. According to the National Housing Federation, there are 180,000 English social tenants “under-occupying” two-bedroom homes, but fewer than 70,000 one-bedroom available social homes. According to Hilary Burkitt at Affinity Sutton, one of the largest housing associations, there are very few one-bedroom properties at all in regions like the North West and North East. Tenants could be driven into the higher rents of the private sector, of course, but then would need even higher levels of housing benefit. Research for housing associations shows 42 per cent of those affected already struggle financially. The rise in homelessness that will result won’t just be devastating for those involved, it will cost: last year, the number of homeless families living in B&Bs soared by nearly half.
When I was in Britain in the 1970s there was a rort on government assistance for homeless people. So there is a synergy in treating vulnerable people harshly by government and private enterprise sweeping them up into some sort of accommodation subsidised by government. And who cares about them?
No-one in NZ seemed to care when the Nats put rents up to market levels. Wikipedia In 1991 the fourth National government raised state house rentals to “market levels” amid much controversy. The Housing Corporation was now expected to make a profit.
The Fifth Labour Government, elected in 1999, placed a moratorium on state house sales and re-established the income-related rents.
It was an eye opener to me about our ‘caring socially responsible’ society when the market rents were introduced. Even the local churches didn’t have any sense of care or involvement. We now have Habitat with houses being built by volunteers along with some sweat equity on an individual basis. But churches could use their power to encourage a good housing system. If they combined and got government to prepare plans and consult while the churches had an expert that oversaw the liaison over the preparation and the work, government would find it hard to resist. But the churches are stuck in their own paradigms of care, and are often concentrated on their own congregations. Their quality of mercy is strained I’m sorry to say.
others (with a little on-going supervision for me-self; it’s ok to be validated for being od / “not normal” ) anyway, upon reflection, nothing that’s observed is regretted. 🙂 (could swear like a trooper, yet, how does that help anything? they don’t refer to this site as a “vipers nest” by accident.
I think Claire Trevett is reading a little too much into the importance of a hat given to John Key. It’s like she’s imagining a conversation between some adviser and the Colombian President.
–¿Senor Presidente, is the smiling gringo worthy of this fine Colombian sombrero?
–Si
When in all likelihood it’s just standard operating procedure for visiting delegations to get some kind of token.
When she was a student in the late 1950s, she said, it was widely understood that loans create deposits. Now students are told that deposits create loans, which is wrong.
Much of neo-classical economics “regard banks as glorified safes.” However, “banks do not lend money” she stated. They don’t have a pot of money that they are passing on.
Economists: Getting the basic fundamentals wrong and then getting surprised when things don’t go as the expect.
Actually, that may be a good addendum to the definition of insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result which is something else that economists keep doing.
1: Vehicle WoF costs are minimal compared to the capital expenditure of buying it in the first place. If the repairs to make it up to code are more than the cost of buying a new one, they write it off and buy a new one. And seriously, for houses we’re not talking gold-plating. Insulation and a roof that doesn’t leak isn’t that much to ask for.
2: Prices are set at the most basic level by supply and demand. If the costs increase, the demand is smaller, so costs decrease again.
Putting 1 and 2 together means that you are only correct if the cost of upgrading homes puts enough houses out of the rental market that the supply dwindles and increases costs beyond poor people’s affordability. But then there will be a glut of below-par houses that will be more affordable purchases for first-home DIYers (as Prism points out) because they’re not an investor’s choice.
I think you’ll find that the actual requirements for the WoF will be fuck-all compared to the income provided by rents. And if I’m proved wrong, the worst that will happen is that the accommodation supplement gets larger.
While costs incurred may be minimal compared to total investment expenditure, they are still an additional cost that will be required to be offset. Effectively leading to rent increases.
People living in cheap, poor quality rentals generally don’t have the fiscal scope to sustain rent increases, albeit minimal..
Higher rents will negatively effect family budgets.
The decline in current rental supply will result in higher demand, hence higher rents.
Higher rents largely won’t impact housing demand as housing is a necessity, the numbers requiring cheap housing won’t just disappear..
Tenants in low quality homes generally can’t afford to buy, hence why they are tenants
The current housing shortfall will help sustain prices challenged by a market increase of poor quality homes, hence continuing to price tenants of low quality homes out of the market.
Moreover, those poor quality homes can’t be rented until they meet new requirements set, hence no increase in the supply of cheap rentals.
Additionally, investment in upgrading the properties will generally be seeking higher yields.
Higher accommodation subsidies is not the solution, it’s a bandage and taxpayer burden resulting from poor forward planning.
See, what you’re doing is suggesting that obstacles might be insurmountable as a justification for avoiding the attempt, without actually bothering to see if obstacles that large actually exist.
If the average upgrade/wof cost were 30% of the average residence, you might have a point. But given that I think we’re probably talking about single-digit percentages (if not fractions of a percent), I think the changes will be too small to have an effect on the market as a whole.
But on the off-chance you’re correct, cutting GST a couple of percent will compensate the poor for the change in price.
The shortfall from reducing GST would also have to be offset.
I’m not stifling the attempt or the end objective (improving living conditions).I’m highlighting the unforeseen consequences being over looked.
The means to this end (improving living conditions) .needs reconsidering.
I’ve conceded increases may be minimal, but I’ve also highlighted the lack of fiscal scope. A number of landlords are mortgaged to the hilt and people living in cheap, poor quality rentals generally don’t have the fiscal scope to sustain higher rents.
If they did, they wouldn’t be living in low quality homes
Landlords have faced tax changes, rate increases, and insurance increases, this would add to that burden and will be passed on to tenants.
You’re not highlighting anything that’s been overlooked.
Until specific wof standards come out of proposed legislation, you’re simply pretending that the worst case scenario is among the most likely. And that therefore the policy shouldn’t be implemented. If we all followed that philosophy, we’d still be living in caves.
Only parata would be dumb enough to suddenly introduce standards at a level that distorts the rental market to that degree. Well, maybe brownlee, too.
Failing to refute my assertions, you’ve now taken to being somewhat disingenuous.
I’m highlighting the pitfalls proposed legislation should initially avoid when drafted.
Claiming otherwise is merely your unsubstantiated disingenuous assertion..
I’ve yet to see advocates highlight these pitfalls. Perhaps you could provide me with a link?.
Moreover, I didn’t say or imply the policy shouldn’t be implemented. I highlighted the means to the ends needs reconsidering. I support the end objective (improved living conditions)
Again,you’ve resorted to being disingenuous.
Look at the impact of supply and demand in Christchurch for an example.
Effectively, outlawing lower quality rentals will force the poor into higher quality homes that they can’t afford.
That’s not a warning of what might happen, it’s an outright prediction you made on the basis of no data whatsoever.
For example, do you have any idea whether the short term housing stock reduction that results from the proposed wof policy will be at all comparable to the christchurch earthquakes? No, of course you don’t, because policy specifics haven’t been worked out yet let alone released for public discussion. But apparently you know enough to predict dire consequences for the poor. Rest assured, your concern is touching.
Just have the government enter as a major landlord, instead of leaving it to the market.
If a private investor doesn’t want to upgrade their rental property to the latest standards, the government can acquire the property for a small sum, and socialise the accomodation.
+1 and the price is offset by fewer kids being admitted to hospitals with asthma, rheumatic fever and other illnesses that flourish in damp, cold living conditions.
Just have the government enter as a major landlord, instead of leaving it to the market.
Yep, just have the government own and maintain enough housing to null out demand. IMO, a 2 or 3% over supply of housing, all up to the highest standards and all set to a percentage of household income.
Watch out everybody who wants a house. There will be some that come onto the market ‘needing TLC’ if the WOF is brought in as the money-grubbers have to change to investing intelligently. So start getting your home maintenance classes under your belt in advance.
And don’t forget that little ruse that one solicitor and his wife in Sydney used. Keep an eye on all the mortgage sales and pop along early to see the place, after getting a bit of info on the property. You never know, someone’s bad fortune might be your stroke of luck.
And of course have your mortgage pre-agreed and don’t try beyond that. Look for a reasonable lender who will advise on your suitable loan cap and if they offer you a mortgage holiday don’t take it and check their standing.
The foreseen consequences of a rental property WoF
People don’t live in cold, damp houses and garages, and their children don’t get third world diseases.
Scumbag property owners (slumlords) fix up their stock or get out of the market, but either way, aren’t getting money for nothing off the backs of the unfortunate.
I don’t care about the costs to implement the scheme, just as long as it’s not self regulated or a patsy quango setting the scene.
Those who knowingly rents out an unfit property, it’s clear, value income over society. You are not not good citizens.
You should be hit hard, with legislation aimed squarely at your fat wallets.
Soon as you don’t have the numbers in parliament, you’re fucked.
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I can hear the former skilled engineer workers from the now deceased Dunedin Rail workshop cheering from here!
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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 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 ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
COMMENTARY:By Ronny Kareni Since the atrocious footage of the suffering of an indigenous Papuan man reverberates in the heart of Puncak by the brute force of Indonesia’s army in early February, shocking tactics deployed by those in power to silence critics has been unfolding. Nowhere is this more evident ...
Analysis - Nicola Willis is holding firm on tax cuts despite the economic outlook being worse than forecast and critics urging her to wait, writes Peter Wilson for The Week In Politics. ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
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 ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
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Auckland waterfront up for grabs
Nice headliner….
WHAT!!!
So they want and ratepayer/taxpayer underwritten profits, regrdless !
Taxpayer contributions, foreign investors wanted… say what?
I despair.
That’s what they always want and they have a tendency to get it as well.
I just heard Solid Energy’s chair Mark Ford on Radio New Zealand news saying that former chief executive Don Elder was not available to answer questions to Parliament’s Commerce select committee because it was apparently “not appropriate”. The committee were obviously interested in how Solid Energy could get things so bad that it had gone for a significant earner of overseas reserves to the current position where it is a cot case.
This is incredible for a couple of reasons. Firstly Elder is still getting full pay as he sits at home waiting for a telephone call. He was earning over a million a year so he must be the the best paid gardener in the country. He was the one who knew the business better than anyone else.
Secondly why is Ford the one to decide who should appear? Shouldn’t the peoples representatives be the ones to decide who should tell them how their business is doing rather than some high paid corporate friend of the National Party?
The corporate take over of New Zealand is nearing completion …
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2548506/solid-energy-chairman-says-don-elder-on-full-pay.asx
Waking up to hear Don Elder is ‘now’ a paid consultant makes my hangover even worst! What is it with these Coal guys? That dirt bag Whittle done the same. The only consulting Don should be doing is with his conscience. Oh that’s right psychopaths don’t have a conscience!
Sad, isn’t it. And all the environmental protections will soon be gone too. Oh, we live in a country run by
shitty people. Is there any hope left ?
Three truths.
Is there a left hope?
mickeysavage. “He was earning over a million a year so he must be the the best paid gardener in the country.”
I’m just off to do some gardening as a paid employee. One million dollars would employ me for over 32 years full-time, 2000 hours per year, at $15.56 per hour.
Why should people get upset over salaries, perks and golden handshakes of that magnitude? I just don’t understand it.
mac 1 With all that disgusting wealth he will surely be buried in a solid gold coffin (oh, yes, even people like that get to die before long!)
Did you hear Joyce declare he could not recall the meeting?
he couldn’t even keep the smarmy conceipted chuckle out of his voice as he said it
This crew will be remembered as ‘the brain fade government’.
Ford is the Nat’s ‘Mr fixit’ when he’s actually ‘Mr cover it up’
Subpoena the Solid Energy bloke, before he gets any elder and inconveniently dies.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10869811
not a single comment, really ??? Not a single Herald on-line reader has an opinion on this topic ?
Had a look at the picture in the Herald article cited above. First impression was that John Key looks crumpled. He needs to press his suit, an analogy which could be also applied to his work as an ambassador for NZ in Venezuela. But I suspect an impeccable suit in Washington has told him that would not wear well in US circles.
There probably are comments… The Herald online has likely decided not to publish them.
There are comments now. Sometimes there’s a huge lag, then they publish a whole lot at once.
Dirty Don the coal man and Double Dipping Bill suffer minimal consequences by fraudulently accessing public funds for their own benefit. However if you are struggling to bring up children on the DPB and lie about the existence of an unreliable partner, god help you! http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2013/03/dirty-don-and-double-standards.html
Do these ad/marketing people think w’re stupid? We know how ads work to convey multiple messages. In response to an “eco-activist” making a complaint about the 100% Pure slogan,
“Do these ad/marketing people think w’re stupid?”
Yes, yes they do.
But the worst part is how often they’re proven right…
People do seem to be easily led by the flash advertising. That’s one of the reasons that I think stopping watching TV was such a boon for me. Instead of being led around I had to go look for information resulting in being better informed and clearer thinking which allowed me to see the BS that adverts are.
Deborah Wormtongue Gray
I’m interested by this ‘ASA’s member organisations’ claim. The ASA will not refuse jurisdiction on local ads. They can’t for to do so will mean they’re not being an effective regulator and open the argument for govt regulation of their sector.
The ASA of course won’t uphold the complaint. They are funded by corporates and controlled by conservative interests. They’re very ACT in their approach.
How one crash caused gridlock chaos
You know, it’s sometimes difficult to comprehend just how stupid some people are.
Auckland has transport problems, most of those problems centre around the simple fact that we have too many cars on the road and this idiot doesn’t want the CBD rail tunnel, which will remove cars from the roads and thus decrease the traffic jams, built?
Really, that paragraph is obviously some one who has an ideological hatred of rail and will do anything to try and prevent it from being built even when it will make his precious roads better.
Auckland rail network is doomed to fail as long as the one way in & out Britomart station remains status quo. A loop should have been put in 50 years ago. National & Labour take a bow!
The Greens should make it an election promise put the acid on Labour
It was Labour’s policy last time to support the loop.
What we need is for Labour support to actually make things happen.
To do that Labour needs levers of power throughout NZ when it is both in and out of power.
It has none currently – it gave them up.
Tiny Solutions to Capitalism and the crisis myth
The artist taxi driver:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZLdWWwDlWI&list=UUGThM-ZZBba1Zl9rU-XeR-A&index=2
Bedroom tax is the latest cruel welfare program from the British right wing, unable to institute positive programs to encourage employers to hire and the economy to produce what is needed for their citizens.
Will this soon be happening in NZ? This was tried here in the 1990’s I think. I know a woman who had to move to another distant town because she had a two-bedroom flat, and then couldn’t get the one bedroom one she expected in her new town. Meanwhile she was deprived of all her friends, support network etc. .
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/22/renters-downsize-bedroom-tax
Fears about the incoming bedroom tax are growing, along with speculation about the likely consequences. Some tenants might stay but not pay the difference between their local housing allowance and their actual rent. They face eviction when discretionary housing payments, limited to six months, run out in October. Mass evictions due to arrears seem certain. Government advice for tenants with a “spare” room is ill-informed or callous. Suggesting part-time workers do a few more hours work to cover costs is deluded when an extra 63 hours are required in certain circumstances .
Let’s take a simple example. A young woman leaving care, who was allocated a two bedroom flat costing £100 a week as there were no one bedroom flats available in her area, faces a deduction of £14 a week from her housing benefit. . She is already working 16 hours a week at the minimum wage. Working an extra three hours a week will net her less than £3 because her housing and council tax benefit will be reduced because of the additional hours: nowhere near enough to make up for the bedroom tax deduction. To earn an additional £14 a week, enough to pay for the bedroom tax, she will need to work 28 hours: a whole 12 hours more. However this doesn’t mean she has escaped the bedroom tax: in fact she will still face the full £14 being taken from her remaining housing benefit. To completely escape she must work a total of 48 hours a week at the minimum wage – three times her current working hours.
http://www.housing.org.uk/policy/welfare_reform/‘under-occupation’_penalty.aspx
How much will people lose?
The cut will be a fixed percentage of the Housing Benefit eligible rent. The Government has said that this will be set at 14% for one extra bedroom and 25% for two or more extra bedrooms.
The Government’s impact assessment shows that those affected will lose an average of £14 a week. Housing association tenants are expected to lose £16 a week on average.
How many people will see their benefit cut?
The proposal will affect an estimated 660,000 working-age social tenants – 31% of existing working-age housing benefit claimants in the social sector. The majority of these people have only one extra bedroom.
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/the-bedroom-tax-is-just-the-latest-assault-on-our-poorest-citizens-8478898.html
According to Shelter, the number of overcrowded homes has doubled in just a decade; in some parts of the country, one in four households live in cramped conditions. Yet the bedroom tax is yet another means for the Government to turn Britain’s poorest against each other. Don’t blame the Government for failing to build housing: blame your neighbour instead. The refusal of both New Labour and the Tories to build council housing has left up to five million on social housing waiting lists. A house building programme is key to recovery from our economic catastrophe: it would stimulate the economy, create j obs, and bring down the housing benefit bill. But it would be a policy of sanity for a government in the grip of economic madness.
Thousands of those hammered by the bedroom tax have nowhere to downsize to. According to the National Housing Federation, there are 180,000 English social tenants “under-occupying” two-bedroom homes, but fewer than 70,000 one-bedroom available social homes. According to Hilary Burkitt at Affinity Sutton, one of the largest housing associations, there are very few one-bedroom properties at all in regions like the North West and North East. Tenants could be driven into the higher rents of the private sector, of course, but then would need even higher levels of housing benefit. Research for housing associations shows 42 per cent of those affected already struggle financially. The rise in homelessness that will result won’t just be devastating for those involved, it will cost: last year, the number of homeless families living in B&Bs soared by nearly half.
When I was in Britain in the 1970s there was a rort on government assistance for homeless people. So there is a synergy in treating vulnerable people harshly by government and private enterprise sweeping them up into some sort of accommodation subsidised by government. And who cares about them?
No-one in NZ seemed to care when the Nats put rents up to market levels.
Wikipedia In 1991 the fourth National government raised state house rentals to “market levels” amid much controversy. The Housing Corporation was now expected to make a profit.
The Fifth Labour Government, elected in 1999, placed a moratorium on state house sales and re-established the income-related rents.
It was an eye opener to me about our ‘caring socially responsible’ society when the market rents were introduced. Even the local churches didn’t have any sense of care or involvement. We now have Habitat with houses being built by volunteers along with some sweat equity on an individual basis. But churches could use their power to encourage a good housing system. If they combined and got government to prepare plans and consult while the churches had an expert that oversaw the liaison over the preparation and the work, government would find it hard to resist. But the churches are stuck in their own paradigms of care, and are often concentrated on their own congregations. Their quality of mercy is strained I’m sorry to say.
others (with a little on-going supervision for me-self; it’s ok to be validated for being od / “not normal” ) anyway, upon reflection, nothing that’s observed is regretted. 🙂 (could swear like a trooper, yet, how does that help anything? they don’t refer to this site as a “vipers nest” by accident.
I think Claire Trevett is reading a little too much into the importance of a hat given to John Key. It’s like she’s imagining a conversation between some adviser and the Colombian President.
–¿Senor Presidente, is the smiling gringo worthy of this fine Colombian sombrero?
–Si
When in all likelihood it’s just standard operating procedure for visiting delegations to get some kind of token.
Maybe they were just sick of seeing his bald spot.
I refer again to this article for those who didn’t see it.
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v34/n17/james-meek/how-we-happened-to-sell-off-our-…
Still can’t believe Key and co are following the same disastrous line of that silly Margaret Thatcher flogging off UK silverware.
…from the “Peak”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/terry-tamminen/peak-barbie-mickey-mouse_b_2813737.html
not far to drop-off now
Why don’t economists understand money? (new video)
Economists: Getting the basic fundamentals wrong and then getting surprised when things don’t go as the expect.
Actually, that may be a good addendum to the definition of insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result which is something else that economists keep doing.
The unforeseen consequences of a rental property WoF
A warrant of fitness for rental housing will create a new bureaucracy that will require funding.
Funding will come from landlords (via their tenants) through new fees incurred.
The quality of a rental property is generally reflected in the rent. Improving quality and imposing new fees will further increase rents.
Deeming cheaper, lower quality homes unsuitable for rent will further reduce rental supply, also resulting in higher rents.
A number of landlords are mortgaged to the hilt, hence don’t have the extra money or means to upgrade.
Effectively, outlawing lower quality rentals will force the poor into higher quality homes that they can’t afford.
Govt eyes WoF for rental housing
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10869714
Oh, noes, the poor landlords!!1!!11
/sarc
Well, then the government will just have to build more state houses.
It’s not an excuse seeking sympathy. It’s an economic reality requiring recognition.
tell me, do WoF requirements make rental cars unaffordable? Or are other factors involved?
WoF requirements increases the running cost of any vehicle Hire companies past the cost burden on. As will landlords.
1: Vehicle WoF costs are minimal compared to the capital expenditure of buying it in the first place. If the repairs to make it up to code are more than the cost of buying a new one, they write it off and buy a new one. And seriously, for houses we’re not talking gold-plating. Insulation and a roof that doesn’t leak isn’t that much to ask for.
2: Prices are set at the most basic level by supply and demand. If the costs increase, the demand is smaller, so costs decrease again.
Putting 1 and 2 together means that you are only correct if the cost of upgrading homes puts enough houses out of the rental market that the supply dwindles and increases costs beyond poor people’s affordability. But then there will be a glut of below-par houses that will be more affordable purchases for first-home DIYers (as Prism points out) because they’re not an investor’s choice.
I think you’ll find that the actual requirements for the WoF will be fuck-all compared to the income provided by rents. And if I’m proved wrong, the worst that will happen is that the accommodation supplement gets larger.
Ponder this:
While costs incurred may be minimal compared to total investment expenditure, they are still an additional cost that will be required to be offset. Effectively leading to rent increases.
People living in cheap, poor quality rentals generally don’t have the fiscal scope to sustain rent increases, albeit minimal..
Higher rents will negatively effect family budgets.
The decline in current rental supply will result in higher demand, hence higher rents.
Higher rents largely won’t impact housing demand as housing is a necessity, the numbers requiring cheap housing won’t just disappear..
Tenants in low quality homes generally can’t afford to buy, hence why they are tenants
The current housing shortfall will help sustain prices challenged by a market increase of poor quality homes, hence continuing to price tenants of low quality homes out of the market.
Moreover, those poor quality homes can’t be rented until they meet new requirements set, hence no increase in the supply of cheap rentals.
Additionally, investment in upgrading the properties will generally be seeking higher yields.
Higher accommodation subsidies is not the solution, it’s a bandage and taxpayer burden resulting from poor forward planning.
See, what you’re doing is suggesting that obstacles might be insurmountable as a justification for avoiding the attempt, without actually bothering to see if obstacles that large actually exist.
If the average upgrade/wof cost were 30% of the average residence, you might have a point. But given that I think we’re probably talking about single-digit percentages (if not fractions of a percent), I think the changes will be too small to have an effect on the market as a whole.
But on the off-chance you’re correct, cutting GST a couple of percent will compensate the poor for the change in price.
The shortfall from reducing GST would also have to be offset.
I’m not stifling the attempt or the end objective (improving living conditions).I’m highlighting the unforeseen consequences being over looked.
The means to this end (improving living conditions) .needs reconsidering.
I’ve conceded increases may be minimal, but I’ve also highlighted the lack of fiscal scope. A number of landlords are mortgaged to the hilt and people living in cheap, poor quality rentals generally don’t have the fiscal scope to sustain higher rents.
If they did, they wouldn’t be living in low quality homes
Landlords have faced tax changes, rate increases, and insurance increases, this would add to that burden and will be passed on to tenants.
You’re not highlighting anything that’s been overlooked.
Until specific wof standards come out of proposed legislation, you’re simply pretending that the worst case scenario is among the most likely. And that therefore the policy shouldn’t be implemented. If we all followed that philosophy, we’d still be living in caves.
Only parata would be dumb enough to suddenly introduce standards at a level that distorts the rental market to that degree. Well, maybe brownlee, too.
McFlock
Failing to refute my assertions, you’ve now taken to being somewhat disingenuous.
I’m highlighting the pitfalls proposed legislation should initially avoid when drafted.
Claiming otherwise is merely your unsubstantiated disingenuous assertion..
I’ve yet to see advocates highlight these pitfalls. Perhaps you could provide me with a link?.
Moreover, I didn’t say or imply the policy shouldn’t be implemented. I highlighted the means to the ends needs reconsidering. I support the end objective (improved living conditions)
Again,you’ve resorted to being disingenuous.
Look at the impact of supply and demand in Christchurch for an example.
Take a Chair man
You sound as if you’ll soon be thinking like that notorious sheriff in Arizona who puts prison inmates in tents as holding cells.
“Disingenuous”? Let’s see what you started with:
That’s not a warning of what might happen, it’s an outright prediction you made on the basis of no data whatsoever.
For example, do you have any idea whether the short term housing stock reduction that results from the proposed wof policy will be at all comparable to the christchurch earthquakes? No, of course you don’t, because policy specifics haven’t been worked out yet let alone released for public discussion. But apparently you know enough to predict dire consequences for the poor. Rest assured, your concern is touching.
Well you outlaw the poorer quality rentals and have the govt repossess them at market value less needed improvements.
The govt does them up and uses them as socialised housing.
Its pretty win/win.
McFlock
No joy on that link?
It’s a warning that will result if the pitfalls raised above are not taken into prior consideration (and resolved) when drafting legislation..
I wasn’t implying the numbers would be as bad as Christchurch. The reference was to the effect of supply and demand.
And regardless of the numbers, impose additional costs onto landlords and those costs will be passed on.
Effectively, forcing the poor into higher quality homes that they can’t afford.
Bullshit at “warning”. It was a clear prediction. Otherwise you “asserted” nothing.
Care to make an actual assertion, then?
Just have the government enter as a major landlord, instead of leaving it to the market.
If a private investor doesn’t want to upgrade their rental property to the latest standards, the government can acquire the property for a small sum, and socialise the accomodation.
+1 and the price is offset by fewer kids being admitted to hospitals with asthma, rheumatic fever and other illnesses that flourish in damp, cold living conditions.
Yep, just have the government own and maintain enough housing to null out demand. IMO, a 2 or 3% over supply of housing, all up to the highest standards and all set to a percentage of household income.
All fixed.
Watch out everybody who wants a house. There will be some that come onto the market ‘needing TLC’ if the WOF is brought in as the money-grubbers have to change to investing intelligently. So start getting your home maintenance classes under your belt in advance.
And don’t forget that little ruse that one solicitor and his wife in Sydney used. Keep an eye on all the mortgage sales and pop along early to see the place, after getting a bit of info on the property. You never know, someone’s bad fortune might be your stroke of luck.
And of course have your mortgage pre-agreed and don’t try beyond that. Look for a reasonable lender who will advise on your suitable loan cap and if they offer you a mortgage holiday don’t take it and check their standing.
The foreseen consequences of a rental property WoF
People don’t live in cold, damp houses and garages, and their children don’t get third world diseases.
Scumbag property owners (slumlords) fix up their stock or get out of the market, but either way, aren’t getting money for nothing off the backs of the unfortunate.
I don’t care about the costs to implement the scheme, just as long as it’s not self regulated or a patsy quango setting the scene.
Those who knowingly rents out an unfit property, it’s clear, value income over society. You are not not good citizens.
You should be hit hard, with legislation aimed squarely at your fat wallets.
Soon as you don’t have the numbers in parliament, you’re fucked.
People don’t live in poor quality homes because there is currently no better alternative – they tend to live in them because they are cheap to rent.
Improving low quality homes comes at a cost.
Improvements also add value, further adding to insurance and local council rate costs.
These costs will be passed on to tenants.
The objective is to improve the living conditions of the poor. Higher rents won’t achieve this.
Higher rents will negatively effect family budgets.
Savings would have to be made elsewhere – i.e.Doctor visits, heating, diet, etc…
Cheap low quantity rentals cater to market demand.
Not all landlords have the means to buy a quality rental.
And not all tenants can afford to rent one.
But all NZers deserve one.
Absurd Political Correctness Watch
No. 1: David Slack
The Panel, Radio NZ National, Friday 8 March 2013
JIM MORA: All right, it’s Susan Baldacci with what the world’s talking about. What have you got for us today, Susan?
SUSAN BALDACCI: First up is this story of a British school which has banned children playing cops and robbers.
JIM MORA: Did you play with toy guns when you were a boy?
DAVID SLACK: I think I had a toy gun and a holster but I don’t think I enjoyed it very much.
Glib and Spineless Watch
No. 1: Jim Mora
The Panel, Radio NZ National, Friday 8 March 2013
JIM MORA: Okay, just a couple of minutes left. SHOULD JOHN KEY GO TO HUGO CHAVEZ’S FUNERAL OR NOT? I can see why he’s NOT going. Ha ha ha ha!
DAVID SLACK: Of course he should go. He’s been leaned on by the United States.
MORA: But he’d be seen to be endorsing a revolutionary left wing leader?
MARK INGALLS: I’m ashamed as a New Zealander that he’s not going.
[Long uncomfortable pause….]
MORA: Okay!
Stephen Joyce is getting away with far too much piss taking. Hearing Joyce is considering supporting New Zealand manufacturers in some kind of procurement arrangement, where joint ventures between NZ firms get preferred consideration on big builds etc.
I can hear the former skilled engineer workers from the now deceased Dunedin Rail workshop cheering from here!