The latest annual net migration gain is the largest in more than three years, according to Stats NZ data.
Not surprising given the border closures.
The net gain of 86,800 people in the year ended June was the biggest since May 2020.It was made up of a record net gain of 121,600 non-New Zealand citizens and a net migration loss of 34,800 New Zealand citizens.
The numbers are large though.
New Zealand's highest annual net migration gain was 91,700 in the year ended March 2020.
Highest. So three years ago was the highest ever. So not being quite as high is well, a lot.
"Months since November 2022 have averaged net migration gains of about 12,000 non-New Zealand citizens a month, which is high by historical standards," Stats NZ population indicators manager, Tehseen Islam said.
Maybe it’s time for members of the National Party to clutch some pearls, rather than beat drums, and expect of government that there be requirement to provide migrant workers with housing. And entry requires a real job …
American politics – rules that suit the corporate profit, not the worker, more in prison, tougher on those on welfare, promotion of white race nation culture and identity flag patriotism – the prosperity religion gospel, those closest to God have their own private jets, or room on their gated community island for a helipad.
With no CGT, wealth tax or estate tax, the Kiwi not iwi pavlova paradise haven for the scions of capital mammon. Hark the herald.
I went to a citizenship ceremony last night, and the depth of new kiwis was humbling. I thanked them and welcomed them home, they are more deserving than almost all of us.
Are we currently witnessing the drawback before the immigration tsunami strikes our tiny domestic economy, the small labour market, and the tight housing & rental markets?
A RBG whose over-reaction to the pandemic inflated the property market.
And now an over-reaction to employers competing for workers (without access to migrants) and consequences of opening it up to allow a quick redress – including an inability to cope with oversight of the numbers/regulate it properly.
A Labour government might think again next year. But NACT would not.
86,000 new people in a country with crumbling infrastructure and an apocalyptic housing crisis that only builds 27,000 homes a year….
Golly…. And that's under a labour government…
Nats/Act will have that up up to about 150,000- 200,000 arrivals a year coupled with austerity because it's the only way they know how to "grow" the economy.
I love immigration but with our current housing apocalypse, it just feels like a neoliberals recipe for low wage growth, high rents further failing infrastructure and more kiwis in motels and in their cars and a rapid rise in resentment, hatred and bigotry.
If you're not building the housing and infrastructure to keep up with the population growth, its not fair on the locals nor the new arrivals and is a recipe for disaster.
IF NACT win, we have Oz under a Labour government – to get FPA working conditions
A third of Israelis are considering emigration. The ones with the ability to chose where they go as skilled migrants. It takes the term brain drain to the next level.
From the shambles that was their presentation of the proposal it sounds more as if the disorganised lot that is our current Government hadn't even thought of the idea until Willis's members bill hit the House. It was her bill reaching the floor that gave them the idea by the look of things. Then they stuffed up the proposal and had to fix the numbers.
She could hardly have seen it coming if, as I am surmising, they hadn't even had the idea until she put it forward.
You also seem to be suggesting that Nicola was only offering a "miserable sop" to the parents with her bill. I take it that you think that the Labour Party are being much more generous with their offer and that she should have suggested the same extra, tax-payer paid parental leave.
The Standing Orders of the House don't allow her to put forward a Private Members Bill that would involve the Crown having to pay for the leave. It would be immediately ruled out, without debate, because it would require substantial expenditure by the Crown and therefore would be refused because it breached Standing Orders. This is Order 334. I suggest you read this and try and explain how she could have been any more generous than just allowing the option to take the leave without incurring any further costs?
You have confused the draft of the release about the GST off food announcement on Sunday with her private members bill about couples sharing parental leave between them. Two different issues.
Nicola Willis has said her party cannot afford to extend the 26 weeks parental leave, because they made no provision for it in their policy for 2023-2026 (once again favouring tax cuts and in particular landlords).
It is a reprise of 2005, because Labour's more targeted WFF tax credits allowed them to fund interest free tertiary loans – whereas National blew it on their big across the board tax cuts. And so families and younger workers with SL/TD … returned the government for a third term.
I don't understand what you are suggesting. I thought it was her private member's bill that you thought was not generous. It doesn't matter what National may, or may not propose to do if they become the Government.
The members bill, if passed, would apply to the actions of the current Government and spending more money would breach the rules.
It was National that chose to make an issue of parental leave before the election, via a private members bill.
They did this knowing they had no plan to extend the provision (26 weeks).
Now the electorate knows that if Labour is elected there will be 28 weeks paid leave 1 April 2024 – and the husband can take 4 weeks leave and have 2 weeks unpaid and 2 weeks paid. This increasing to 5 weeks (3 paid) and 6 weeks (4 paid in April 2025 and April 2016.
The PM has also said that after the election they can also look at tidying up the legislation and make other changes at that time. All National can respond with is they would do what was in the private members bill, lacking any provision for more funding in their plan.
And to make things worse Willis is claiming New Zealand National cannot afford it because they have other priorities – we are overtaxed bribing voters with tax cuts, rewarding its donors/members (landlords) and for them there is too much debt to afford new spending, except for roads (and fixing pot holes caused by allowing heavy trucks on the roads).
You don't say……‘Dehumanizing’ Russians has backfired – ex-Zelensky aide Aleksey Arestovich claimed….
“The main thing we did was to allow ourselves to dehumanize the Russians. This is our main mistake. At first we held on and then we delved into all that with pleasure. The collective Ukrainians, I mean. We allowed that to pour into the internet,” Arestovich stated. He added that such behavior gave average mobilized Russians –not professional soldiers– “an excellent motivation to fight.”
It appears that this site does not disgust you as much as RNZ, for example, because you keep coming back all the time. That said, I assume you are still listening to RNZ too, for your daily ‘adrenaline kick’.
I come back less and less…most of the people I used to like on here have been hounded off or kicked off…I noticed a slow downturn in my interest a bit after you showed up as a moderator actually..or maybe that is just a coincidence?
RNZ needs to be listened to on and off to pull them up on their constant stream of misinformation on geo-politics….and to think they have the cheek to have that lightweight Susie Ferguson actually do a multi part series on misinformation….still I guess it is a perfect reflection of the impenetrable bubble the Liberal class have encased themselves in.
I’ve suggested to you so many times to lift your game and the tone of your comments but your comments invariably still have a whiff of stale breath.
I wish I could take credit for you coming back here less and less but alas, I cannot, even though I’ve been a Mod here for exactly 4.5 years this month.
Through the "beautiful wet season" that Mohi Beckham calls the past 18-months, most of the paddocks were underwater on the coastal Bay of Plenty farm which he manages.
However, the paddocks that survived were those with diverse pastures, he says. The others were left looking brown and rusty.
All Farms (and Farmers?) are different. But we could sure do with more like Mohi Beckham, who, while admitting he's "still learning" seems to be on a pretty good path. Good on him.
Tax settings need to change to address this imbalance if we want younger people to ever be able to own homes. Party vote Green, Labour have demonstrated they are incapable (for you).
The poll asked respondents whether they believed the country was on the right or wrong track. The majority (55 per cent) thought it was on the wrong track, while 37 per cent believed it was on the right track – the most negative result on the question since about 2001.
Correlates with the winter malaise feeling that's been expressed in our media by various journos – and a two-decade inertial swing highlights the challenge the PM's campaign rhetoric must reverse to shift the public mood back.
TPM at 3% makes it seem that it bubbled up last month then popped, but may be different publics being measured by different pollster orgs. Greens also up in this one – 2% increase. NZF on 4.4% and Nat/Lab margin half that of the poll before this one.
Aha…and Mr Luxon wants to 'get NZ back on track'…..do you think any of the polled have any idea which track he is talking about, and if they were shown a track which direction would they take and how would they know if they were on the right track going in the wrong direction or on the wrong track going in the right direction.
No I don't believe most respondents have any sense of a positive alternative. Think it's just a measure of public sentiment pollsters seem to like as a general indicator, so I read it as most folks lacking confidence that Labour know what they're doing.
If Harman's right and their strategy is actually clever the next poll ought to at least register left/right parity within the margin of error. If it continues to show Labour distinctly below National, I would read that as Harman being wrong about their strategy rather than any belief that National has a better grasp of what's required.
It seems you have lost the plot and are mixing up two different commenting threads.
I cannot wait to find out if Harman is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ (again, about what??) and your personal reading of the entrails actually means anything in the greater scheme of NZ politics.
Despite all your polyads, your commentary is still firmly stuck in boring binaries.
Factoring in the undecided, left/right poll parity could be now or even better for the left….or the public sentiment may be totally askew with respondents confused by the choice of tracks all going in different directions. Possibly quite a few of them may just give up and not get on any track.
Right track wrong track is a nonsense question if it's standing alone, you could have 2 labour voter say wrong track , one could want them to be more like act and one could want them to be more like act.
In that article (link) those polled also rated the state of the economy, 76 per cent saying it was not so good or poor.
Well New Zealand currently has a AA+ credit rating with Standard and Poor's, which may head south a bit but is still very good by international standards. Also Mr Key was on record just the other day saying "NZ is doing pretty darn good"……….
Once again this polling is just more scene setting designed to foster discontent and malaise, but then for the likes of Jessica Mutch McKay, forever hopeful for some political sparring, can report with glee-full eyebrow raising, head nodding excitement on the 6pm news.
Just shows to go how accurate completely nonsensical these types of 'polling' are, wouldn't you agree…..surprisingly there were 12 months in that 2001 year.
Journos by and large want the Nats, but don't love Luxon, that is a problem for them.
Most are now "hearing" Seymore and get a sense he is too radical.
As for Winnie, there is a sense of deja vu, disbelief and even admiration for his relentless intent to be Parliament.
So here is the issue, Winston will see Seymore as too much like himself, and will see Luxon as a Leader who could be managed. imo So he would want Seymore as number 3. Now, that won't wash…..
"Plus What's Willis going to do???"
Does anyone see a problem?
I can't see Luxon involved in successful Coalition building, with those two, and Willis. He will revert to dictatorial in a flash imo????
In that situation you'd probably have a Nat minority govt with confidence and supply from Act and Nzf outside of cabinet.
Sounds like a nightmare, Can you imagine trying to get NZF and Act to agree on a budget …. Good lord…
Not much would get done because the only thing the three parties agree on is hating "woke" elite and conservative social policy.
NZF ,economically has far more in common with Labour and the Greens and tbh they worked well together, Nats,act and NZF would be a hilarious, chaotic clusterf**k
I also don't see Luxon surviving a full term as prime minister, I feel he'd get rolled a year or two into the job in, hes had so much hand holding as Loto but being pm is brutal, but whether it's by someone on the liberal wing or the tory wing would be the question.
Montana is violating the rights of young people with policies that prohibit the state from considering climate change effects when it reviews coal mining, natural gas extraction and other fossil fuel projects, a state judge said on Monday.
The decision by Judge Kathy Seeley in Helena marked a major victory in the first youth-led climate case to reach trial in the US and could influence similar cases nationwide.
In her ruling, Seeley said Montana's greenhouse gas emissions have been proven to be "a substantial factor" in causing climate impacts to Montana's environment, harming the young plaintiffs.
The 16 plaintiffs sued Montana in 2020, when they were ages two to 18, claiming the state's permitting of projects like coal and natural gas production exacerbated the climate crisis, despite a 1972 amendment to the Montana constitution requiring the state to protect and improve the environment.
Seeley said the plaintiffs have a "fundamental constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment."
This is a great decision that hopefully gets various governments to step up. Continued extraction for profit endangers the future for all of us. Climate action now.
Very unimpressed with the journalists giving themselves vapours this week, particularly with an allegedly senior journalist calling something ‘stupid’.
Whether this is the work of a subeditor or not, this seems to be a simple campaigning for one side. Even Hosking, Prebble and Joyce in their opinions don’t use this kind of snide language.
Perhaps we need to see Chippy and his ministers get back on the Facebook live and do more direct communication to avoid these unprofessional hacks.
The National Party said today they could not afford to match Labour's new parental leave policy (2 weeks paid leave 1 April 2024 in addition to the existing two weeks unpaid leave, with a third week paid leave in April 2025 and a fourth in April 2026) because they love
Tax Cuts that dribble to flood as the income levels rise.
Restoration of mortgage payments as a cost against rent income
Reducing the bright-line test to 2 years.
Luxon and Willis said they had been prepared to fake concern about support for new parents, to embarrass Labour in parliament and in neo-liberal friendly media, but would not try and match this – and have determined on calling it unaffordable instead.
They would stick with merely allowing couples to share the 6 month entitlement (maximum 3 months for both which costs nothing).
And watch their media sycophants who were beating Labour with not supporting families etc etc , do a handbrake 180 and start saying how it’s all unaffordable etc etc.
New research shows that 55% of New Zealanders are struggling with their financial situation – up 17% compared to February 2021 and the highest level since surveying began.
Out of those surveyed, 51% say they are ‘starting to sink, or treading water’ and a further 3.5% are ‘sinking badly’.
Since February 2021, Te Ara Ahunga Ora Retirement Commission has commissioned TRA to survey 4000 people annually, gathering insights on how people are feeling about money and how they are coping.
The latest findings have revealed that women, Māori and Pacific Peoples are being hit the hardest, with 61% of women saying they are in a difficult position financially (compared to 48% of men) and 60% of Māori and 58% of Pasifika are also struggling.
Something needs to be done to redress this increase in inequality. The tools are there but are being kept in the draw. Labour must do more and needs to be forced to do so. Labour, insufficient (for you). Party vote Green.
to miss the mark with the cost of its GST off fruit and veg policy by about $250million dollars is the gnarliest own goal we’ve seen
Grant will presumably respond "Well, a quarter of a billion off is no big deal in financial estimates." Dunno why the Nat deputy leader is making a big thing about it. Does anyone ever really believe big govt costings from either side?? I doubt it.
she explained Labour had failed to cost the first year of the policy and only partially cost the second year.
I can't see Grant admitting to making any such mistake but his explanation may be entertaining.
According to the report it was published this morning. You reckon Grant's credibility isn't worth taking seriously? I reckon plenty of voters would expect him to get policy costings right – therefore their reliability is the issue, not Tova's agenda.
Her complaint was that Labour should have made more of an effort to let media know that they had got the wrong info in the first press release before hand. Only some got the correct info with the second press release after the public announcement.
The side dish was NW trying to conflate public (government) budget plans with Labour Party policy on how to use allocations for new spending (if re-elected) – via the earlier info inaccuracy as cause.
The story is two days old, GR and NW have faced off in the House since.
He would have put his Wellingtons on and walked across the little puddle between the two and waved a draft of legislation for 4 weeks of parental leave to the man of the house – claiming it was affordable to him if not to her – because she gave away all the money to people like her boss who have 6 houses.
The story is two days old, GR and NW have faced off in the House since.
Well, did the truth emerge?? I've seen no report of it. Seemed to me that's why she published her analysis this morning; to provoke a reaction. You know, as if govt policy costings are worth taking seriously.
I mean, if it's just National & Labour doing claim & counter-claim with both avoiding reality due to reality being inaccessible, I can go with that…
You've been around long enough to know the difference between government policy plans in office (as to budgets) and their manifesto policy they take to elections (given leaks to opposition parties from some …)
Which is why (all) parties should have their budgets costed.
I was trying to figure out the substance of the story. Thanks for helping – I presume NW got leaked the draft rather than the end result so her apparent win wasn't real, much ado about nothing substantial & Tova doesn't get it…
We need to be saying F- the economists and idealogues who wield economics (Don Brash one of the experts in why cheaper fruit and veges is bad) and their infiltration into treasury.
We’ve already seen that they want unemployment to increase.
Now they want to cut school lunches because one or two years of school lunches hasn’t reversed colonialism and generational deprivation. Even done a report.
We didn’t stand up to the charlatans who took the value we’d invested into our public companies or clipped the ticket on both side of the privatisation deals in the 1980s and 1990s.
The other charlatans such as Luke Malpass and Tova O Brien who despite watching inequality grow because of very poor tax policy in housing, call a small change with positive externalities stupid. We need to stand up to them too.
Journalists have cheered and worshipped economic growth that was simply immigration and then turned to Steven Joyce like he was a savant. He wasn’t. We haven’t paid for the infrastructure for the immigration and now we’re turning in the tap again and National wants to make it much worse with its sprawl nonsense. That’s fucking stupid Luke, not a dollar off apples. But you’re complicit so we understand.
Treasury- the people who said we got no benefit from having a movie and TV industry in NZ, though strangely silent on us subsidising farmers- think:
Treasury documents show there is a lack of support for the continuation of the Ka Ora, Ka Ako programme, which launched about four years ago.
A report for Finance Minister Grant Robertson said the programme had had no impact on attendance, and for Māori learners, had not led to better levels of concentration in class.
Perhaps we should cut Treasury salaries to below the bread line on the same basis as they seem to be claiming eating lunch is not required to be productive. It seems unlikely, based on this careful research, to have any impact on the concentration or quality of the output of Treasury officials.
What do communities or Principals know?
Principal Margs Aiono said since free lunches came in, she had seen an improvement in the children's attention spans.
and
Bankwood School assistant principal Anaru Popham said for some kids, lunch was the difference between coming to school or not.
and
Another parent said every bit of help went a long way in a cost-of-living crisis.
"A lot of families are struggling financially with the cost of food increasing. It does help us, especially with the fruit provided and vegetables in the lunches."
Good job Checkpoint! It’s obvious we’re fighting the same technocrats from TINA at this election as much as we ever have. I hope those benefiting can get all their friends out to vote and out to make phone calls and drop leaflets for the parties that are going to keep this programme.
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Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
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 The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
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 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
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Migration levels
Not surprising given the border closures.
The numbers are large though.
Highest. So three years ago was the highest ever. So not being quite as high is well, a lot.
https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/08/14/number-of-migrants-to-nz-highest-in-three-years/
The historic data, shows its the largest intake on non-residents ever, mitigated by a large outflow of citizens to below the record of 2020.
https://www.miragenews.com/net-migration-gain-driven-by-non-new-zealand-1004746/
Do all the migrant workers actually have jobs? No. We've opened it up and lost control.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2023/08/major-criminal-investigation-after-dozens-of-migrants-discovered-living-in-squalid-auckland-home.html
Maybe it’s time for members of the National Party to clutch some pearls, rather than beat drums, and expect of government that there be requirement to provide migrant workers with housing. And entry requires a real job …
https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/300863738/janet-wilson-its-time-to-unclutch-the-pearls-and-start-planning-for-immigration
Gotta get the the unemployment rate higher and house prices up don't ya know!!
American politics – rules that suit the corporate profit, not the worker, more in prison, tougher on those on welfare, promotion of white race nation culture and identity flag patriotism – the prosperity religion gospel, those closest to God have their own private jets, or room on their gated community island for a helipad.
With no CGT, wealth tax or estate tax, the Kiwi not iwi pavlova paradise haven for the scions of capital mammon. Hark the herald.
I went to a citizenship ceremony last night, and the depth of new kiwis was humbling. I thanked them and welcomed them home, they are more deserving than almost all of us.
They do not need sanctification just basic human rights while here.
https://www.greens.org.nz/immigration_policy
https://assets.nationbuilder.com/beachheroes/pages/9597/attachments/original/1591177646/Policy-Greens_Immigration.pdf?1591177646
Need? I said they deserve. Everyone deserves more than 'basic' anything. Would have thought you agreed with that.
You claimed that they were better than (near all of) those born here.
Everyone needs to have their basic human rights protected, migrants (some of whom will permanent residents, some citizens) and those born here.
Really? Bit of a broad judgement there. I dont think you know "almost all of us."
Maybe you should get around a bit more…..
I meant us commenters, but may as well apply to everyone. It's a bit spurious to claim that I don't know all, I probably know more than you'd expect.
Are we currently witnessing the drawback before the immigration tsunami strikes our tiny domestic economy, the small labour market, and the tight housing & rental markets?
A RBG whose over-reaction to the pandemic inflated the property market.
And now an over-reaction to employers competing for workers (without access to migrants) and consequences of opening it up to allow a quick redress – including an inability to cope with oversight of the numbers/regulate it properly.
A Labour government might think again next year. But NACT would not.
86,000 new people in a country with crumbling infrastructure and an apocalyptic housing crisis that only builds 27,000 homes a year….
Golly…. And that's under a labour government…
Nats/Act will have that up up to about 150,000- 200,000 arrivals a year coupled with austerity because it's the only way they know how to "grow" the economy.
I love immigration but with our current housing apocalypse, it just feels like a neoliberals recipe for low wage growth, high rents further failing infrastructure and more kiwis in motels and in their cars and a rapid rise in resentment, hatred and bigotry.
If you're not building the housing and infrastructure to keep up with the population growth, its not fair on the locals nor the new arrivals and is a recipe for disaster.
IF NACT win, we have Oz under a Labour government – to get FPA working conditions
A third of Israelis are considering emigration. The ones with the ability to chose where they go as skilled migrants. It takes the term brain drain to the next level.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-66474153
Back in 2005 Bill English released National policy to make TL easier to repay.
Labour followed with interest free loans.
Nicola Willis and some miserable sop to partners of new mothers.
Labour followed with this 4 weeks ….
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/08/labour-promises-to-increase-paid-parental-leave-for-partners.html
Did she not see this coming? Did no one tip her off?
what's TL?
Tertiary Loan?
From the shambles that was their presentation of the proposal it sounds more as if the disorganised lot that is our current Government hadn't even thought of the idea until Willis's members bill hit the House. It was her bill reaching the floor that gave them the idea by the look of things. Then they stuffed up the proposal and had to fix the numbers.
She could hardly have seen it coming if, as I am surmising, they hadn't even had the idea until she put it forward.
You also seem to be suggesting that Nicola was only offering a "miserable sop" to the parents with her bill. I take it that you think that the Labour Party are being much more generous with their offer and that she should have suggested the same extra, tax-payer paid parental leave.
The Standing Orders of the House don't allow her to put forward a Private Members Bill that would involve the Crown having to pay for the leave. It would be immediately ruled out, without debate, because it would require substantial expenditure by the Crown and therefore would be refused because it breached Standing Orders. This is Order 334. I suggest you read this and try and explain how she could have been any more generous than just allowing the option to take the leave without incurring any further costs?
https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/parliamentary-rules/standing-orders-2020-by-chapter/chapter-6-financial-procedures/#_Toc51754717
You have confused the draft of the release about the GST off food announcement on Sunday with her private members bill about couples sharing parental leave between them. Two different issues.
Nicola Willis has said her party cannot afford to extend the 26 weeks parental leave, because they made no provision for it in their policy for 2023-2026 (once again favouring tax cuts and in particular landlords).
It is a reprise of 2005, because Labour's more targeted WFF tax credits allowed them to fund interest free tertiary loans – whereas National blew it on their big across the board tax cuts. And so families and younger workers with SL/TD … returned the government for a third term.
I don't understand what you are suggesting. I thought it was her private member's bill that you thought was not generous. It doesn't matter what National may, or may not propose to do if they become the Government.
The members bill, if passed, would apply to the actions of the current Government and spending more money would breach the rules.
It was National that chose to make an issue of parental leave before the election, via a private members bill.
They did this knowing they had no plan to extend the provision (26 weeks).
Now the electorate knows that if Labour is elected there will be 28 weeks paid leave 1 April 2024 – and the husband can take 4 weeks leave and have 2 weeks unpaid and 2 weeks paid. This increasing to 5 weeks (3 paid) and 6 weeks (4 paid in April 2025 and April 2016.
The PM has also said that after the election they can also look at tidying up the legislation and make other changes at that time. All National can respond with is they would do what was in the private members bill, lacking any provision for more funding in their plan.
And to make things worse Willis is claiming
New ZealandNational cannot afford it because they have other priorities –we are overtaxedbribing voters with tax cuts, rewarding its donors/members (landlords) and for them there is too much debt to afford new spending, except for roads (and fixing pot holes caused by allowing heavy trucks on the roads).You don't say……‘Dehumanizing’ Russians has backfired – ex-Zelensky aide Aleksey Arestovich claimed….
“The main thing we did was to allow ourselves to dehumanize the Russians. This is our main mistake. At first we held on and then we delved into all that with pleasure. The collective Ukrainians, I mean. We allowed that to pour into the internet,” Arestovich stated. He added that such behavior gave average mobilized Russians –not professional soldiers– “an excellent motivation to fight.”
https://robotism.ai/dehumanizing-russians-has-backfired-ex-zelensky-aide-rt-russia-former-soviet-union/
Quite a bit of that disgusting behavior was/is displayed on occasion on this very site too I would like to add.
It appears that this site does not disgust you as much as RNZ, for example, because you keep coming back all the time. That said, I assume you are still listening to RNZ too, for your daily ‘adrenaline kick’.
I come back less and less…most of the people I used to like on here have been hounded off or kicked off…I noticed a slow downturn in my interest a bit after you showed up as a moderator actually..or maybe that is just a coincidence?
RNZ needs to be listened to on and off to pull them up on their constant stream of misinformation on geo-politics….and to think they have the cheek to have that lightweight Susie Ferguson actually do a multi part series on misinformation….still I guess it is a perfect reflection of the impenetrable bubble the Liberal class have encased themselves in.
I’ve suggested to you so many times to lift your game and the tone of your comments but your comments invariably still have a whiff of stale breath.
I wish I could take credit for you coming back here less and less but alas, I cannot, even though I’ve been a Mod here for exactly 4.5 years this month.
See you around, Adrian.
Dah.
"I wish I could take credit for you coming back here less and less"…..enough said.
In your typical fashion of selective reading & reacting, you missed the first sentence of my comment to you that was meant to provide the context.
For your convenience, here it is again:
Enough said.
Thanks for saying this Adrian.
To question the neo-con orthodoxy over Ukrainian is to invite vitriolic attacks.
I barely comment either now.
All Farms (and Farmers?) are different. But we could sure do with more like Mohi Beckham, who, while admitting he's "still learning" seems to be on a pretty good path. Good on him.
ABC financial journalist Alan Kohler pointing out the inequity baked into the system:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm6_Bd42CTU&ab_channel=EquityMates
Tax settings need to change to address this imbalance if we want younger people to ever be able to own homes. Party vote Green, Labour have demonstrated they are incapable (for you).
This indicator is worth mentioning:
Correlates with the winter malaise feeling that's been expressed in our media by various journos – and a two-decade inertial swing highlights the challenge the PM's campaign rhetoric must reverse to shift the public mood back.
TPM at 3% makes it seem that it bubbled up last month then popped, but may be different publics being measured by different pollster orgs. Greens also up in this one – 2% increase. NZF on 4.4% and Nat/Lab margin half that of the poll before this one.
Aha…and Mr Luxon wants to 'get NZ back on track'…..do you think any of the polled have any idea which track he is talking about, and if they were shown a track which direction would they take and how would they know if they were on the right track going in the wrong direction or on the wrong track going in the right direction.
No I don't believe most respondents have any sense of a positive alternative. Think it's just a measure of public sentiment pollsters seem to like as a general indicator, so I read it as most folks lacking confidence that Labour know what they're doing.
If Harman's right and their strategy is actually clever the next poll ought to at least register left/right parity within the margin of error. If it continues to show Labour distinctly below National, I would read that as Harman being wrong about their strategy rather than any belief that National has a better grasp of what's required.
It seems you have lost the plot and are mixing up two different commenting threads.
I cannot wait to find out if Harman is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ (again, about what??) and your personal reading of the entrails actually means anything in the greater scheme of NZ politics.
Despite all your polyads, your commentary is still firmly stuck in boring binaries.
Factoring in the undecided, left/right poll parity could be now or even better for the left….or the public sentiment may be totally askew with respondents confused by the choice of tracks all going in different directions. Possibly quite a few of them may just give up and not get on any track.
Right track wrong track is a nonsense question if it's standing alone, you could have 2 labour voter say wrong track , one could want them to be more like act and one could want them to be more like act.
did you mean like ACT and like the GP?
Yip bugger
In that article (link) those polled also rated the state of the economy, 76 per cent saying it was not so good or poor.
Well New Zealand currently has a AA+ credit rating with Standard and Poor's, which may head south a bit but is still very good by international standards. Also Mr Key was on record just the other day saying "NZ is doing pretty darn good"……….
Once again this polling is just more scene setting designed to foster discontent and malaise, but then for the likes of Jessica Mutch McKay, forever hopeful for some political sparring, can report with glee-full eyebrow raising, head nodding excitement on the 6pm news.
Interesting though that the next highest number for wrong direction is a year before Helen Clark got Labours second highest mmp result.
What happened in 2001?
Just shows to go how
accuratecompletely nonsensical these types of 'polling' are, wouldn't you agree…..surprisingly there were 12 months in that 2001 year.https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/07-06-2018/does-jacinda-ardern-face-a-helen-clark-style-winter-of-discontent
I don't know for sure, but maybe it was a hangover from the so-called Winter of Discontent?
Journos by and large want the Nats, but don't love Luxon, that is a problem for them.
Most are now "hearing" Seymore and get a sense he is too radical.
As for Winnie, there is a sense of deja vu, disbelief and even admiration for his relentless intent to be Parliament.
So here is the issue, Winston will see Seymore as too much like himself, and will see Luxon as a Leader who could be managed. imo So he would want Seymore as number 3. Now, that won't wash…..
"Plus What's Willis going to do???"
Does anyone see a problem?
I can't see Luxon involved in successful Coalition building, with those two, and Willis. He will revert to dictatorial in a flash imo????
Q-'why did the Mercedes cross the road?'
A-'to get…Luxon to the other..side'!
Yes Blazer, not even Winnie had that kind of hubis.
But.. Luxon =Lux, Seymore =gun lobby, Winston= vax freedom? Unholy trinity.
hubris
Yes got a phone call and did not check sorry
ok, that's quite funny.
Journalists want DRAMA, its their job, they are children.
In that situation you'd probably have a Nat minority govt with confidence and supply from Act and Nzf outside of cabinet.
Sounds like a nightmare, Can you imagine trying to get NZF and Act to agree on a budget …. Good lord…
Not much would get done because the only thing the three parties agree on is hating "woke" elite and conservative social policy.
NZF ,economically has far more in common with Labour and the Greens and tbh they worked well together, Nats,act and NZF would be a hilarious, chaotic clusterf**k
I also don't see Luxon surviving a full term as prime minister, I feel he'd get rolled a year or two into the job in, hes had so much hand holding as Loto but being pm is brutal, but whether it's by someone on the liberal wing or the tory wing would be the question.
Yes, Corey,perhaps "chaos" is closer to home than the 'right' realise. Nicola would roll him.imo.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/495830/us-judge-hands-historic-win-to-young-plaintiffs-in-climate-change-case
This is a great decision that hopefully gets various governments to step up. Continued extraction for profit endangers the future for all of us. Climate action now.
All wins are welcome.
Very unimpressed with the journalists giving themselves vapours this week, particularly with an allegedly senior journalist calling something ‘stupid’.
Whether this is the work of a subeditor or not, this seems to be a simple campaigning for one side. Even Hosking, Prebble and Joyce in their opinions don’t use this kind of snide language.
Perhaps we need to see Chippy and his ministers get back on the Facebook live and do more direct communication to avoid these unprofessional hacks.
The National Party said today they could not afford to match Labour's new parental leave policy (2 weeks paid leave 1 April 2024 in addition to the existing two weeks unpaid leave, with a third week paid leave in April 2025 and a fourth in April 2026) because they love
Luxon and Willis said they had been prepared to fake concern about support for new parents, to embarrass Labour in parliament and in neo-liberal friendly media, but would not try and match this – and have determined on calling it unaffordable instead.
They would stick with merely allowing couples to share the 6 month entitlement (maximum 3 months for both which costs nothing).
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/08/election-2023-national-questions-affordability-of-paid-parental-leave-changes-after-labour-proposal.html
And watch their media sycophants who were beating Labour with not supporting families etc etc , do a handbrake 180 and start saying how it’s all unaffordable etc etc.
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO2308/S00141/new-research-reveals-more-than-half-of-kiwis-struggling-with-money.htm
Something needs to be done to redress this increase in inequality. The tools are there but are being kept in the draw. Labour must do more and needs to be forced to do so. Labour, insufficient (for you). Party vote Green.
Apparently Labour didn't get a policy costing right: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300949957/tova-obrien-labours-gst-own-goal-the-gnarliest-weve-seen-all-fifa-womens-world-cup
Grant will presumably respond "Well, a quarter of a billion off is no big deal in financial estimates." Dunno why the Nat deputy leader is making a big thing about it. Does anyone ever really believe big govt costings from either side?? I doubt it.
I can't see Grant admitting to making any such mistake but his explanation may be entertaining.
That's old news , a printing error or some such , and falling for tovas self promoting headlines !! Really??
According to the report it was published this morning. You reckon Grant's credibility isn't worth taking seriously? I reckon plenty of voters would expect him to get policy costings right – therefore their reliability is the issue, not Tova's agenda.
Her complaint was that Labour should have made more of an effort to let media know that they had got the wrong info in the first press release before hand. Only some got the correct info with the second press release after the public announcement.
The side dish was NW trying to conflate public (government) budget plans with Labour Party policy on how to use allocations for new spending (if re-elected) – via the earlier info inaccuracy as cause.
The story is two days old, GR and NW have faced off in the House since.
He would have put his Wellingtons on and walked across the little puddle between the two and waved a draft of legislation for 4 weeks of parental leave to the man of the house – claiming it was affordable to him if not to her – because she gave away all the money to people like her boss who have 6 houses.
The story is two days old, GR and NW have faced off in the House since.
Well, did the truth emerge?? I've seen no report of it. Seemed to me that's why she published her analysis this morning; to provoke a reaction. You know, as if govt policy costings are worth taking seriously.
I mean, if it's just National & Labour doing claim & counter-claim with both avoiding reality due to reality being inaccessible, I can go with that…
You've been around long enough to know the difference between government policy plans in office (as to budgets) and their manifesto policy they take to elections (given leaks to opposition parties from some …)
Which is why (all) parties should have their budgets costed.
I was trying to figure out the substance of the story. Thanks for helping – I presume NW got leaked the draft rather than the end result so her apparent win wasn't real, much ado about nothing substantial & Tova doesn't get it…
It's an in house matter – a party has 100 x to campaign with.
They have 4 major campaign policies. Any first cost/estimate changes/updates impact on that available for the others.
If the cost of the parental leave was greater or lesser, the more or less foods that could be covered with GST free etc.
NW was stretching to infer some official in government budget matter to it all (because of the earlier and later figures).
TO is just covering the all drama, no consummate campaign politician like Obama, angle – the boredom of explaining the inane.
Nope, you are not getting it.
Tova is just doing her ‘job’; without a ‘story’ and a bit of drama she’s got nothing and she’ll become a proverbial tree in the middle of a forest …
We need to be saying F- the economists and idealogues who wield economics (Don Brash one of the experts in why cheaper fruit and veges is bad) and their infiltration into treasury.
We’ve already seen that they want unemployment to increase.
Now they want to cut school lunches because one or two years of school lunches hasn’t reversed colonialism and generational deprivation. Even done a report.
We didn’t stand up to the charlatans who took the value we’d invested into our public companies or clipped the ticket on both side of the privatisation deals in the 1980s and 1990s.
The other charlatans such as Luke Malpass and Tova O Brien who despite watching inequality grow because of very poor tax policy in housing, call a small change with positive externalities stupid. We need to stand up to them too.
Journalists have cheered and worshipped economic growth that was simply immigration and then turned to Steven Joyce like he was a savant. He wasn’t. We haven’t paid for the infrastructure for the immigration and now we’re turning in the tap again and National wants to make it much worse with its sprawl nonsense. That’s fucking stupid Luke, not a dollar off apples. But you’re complicit so we understand.
Treasury- the people who said we got no benefit from having a movie and TV industry in NZ, though strangely silent on us subsidising farmers- think:
Treasury documents show there is a lack of support for the continuation of the Ka Ora, Ka Ako programme, which launched about four years ago.
A report for Finance Minister Grant Robertson said the programme had had no impact on attendance, and for Māori learners, had not led to better levels of concentration in class.
Perhaps we should cut Treasury salaries to below the bread line on the same basis as they seem to be claiming eating lunch is not required to be productive. It seems unlikely, based on this careful research, to have any impact on the concentration or quality of the output of Treasury officials.
What do communities or Principals know?
Principal Margs Aiono said since free lunches came in, she had seen an improvement in the children's attention spans.
and
Bankwood School assistant principal Anaru Popham said for some kids, lunch was the difference between coming to school or not.
and
Another parent said every bit of help went a long way in a cost-of-living crisis.
"A lot of families are struggling financially with the cost of food increasing. It does help us, especially with the fruit provided and vegetables in the lunches."
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018902763/free-lunches-seen-as-essential-despite-uncertain-future
Good job Checkpoint! It’s obvious we’re fighting the same technocrats from TINA at this election as much as we ever have. I hope those benefiting can get all their friends out to vote and out to make phone calls and drop leaflets for the parties that are going to keep this programme.
The picture is more nuanced. A month ago there was a whole Post dedicated to this topic (https://thestandard.org.nz/why-a-change-of-government-would-be-a-bad-thing-school-lunches/); you may want to re-read the discussion thread starting @ 10 (https://thestandard.org.nz/why-a-change-of-government-would-be-a-bad-thing-school-lunches/#comment-1959843) in particular.