Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
Uncaring.
Anyone who voted this government in.
A large proportion of New Zealand teenagers are living in poverty, a study has revealed.
The research from Auckland University showed almost one in five secondary school students and nearly half of all Pacific students were struggling.
Significant differences between ethnicities were highlighted, with about one third of Maori students living in households experiencing poverty.
Published in the International Journal for Equity in Health, the study used data from the Youth 2012 study of 8500 students.
It grouped students by household poverty based on nine indicators of deprivation:
* No car
* No phone
* No computer
* Parental worry about not having enough food
* More than two people sharing a bedroom
* No holidays with family
* Moving home more than twice a year
* Garages or living rooms used as bedrooms
* No parent at home with employment.
Students needed to report two or more indicators before being classed as experiencing poverty, while researchers also examined the interaction between household deprivation and depressive symptoms, smoking and obesity.
Senior lecturer and co-author of the report Dr Terry Fleming said some results mirrored those found by the Ministry of Social Development and the Child Poverty Action Group.
But the suggestion such a large proportion of Pacific youth were living in poverty was worrying.
“When you start excluding a community or ethnic group to that extent that’s pretty harmful.”
If children reported that their household was missing 2 of nine factors, then that was a hardship analog for poverty.
I might have no car, but I don’t have to get kids to school or sports practise.
I might have no holidays with family, but I can take a holiday any time.
I might have no computer at home, but this will not impact on my education.
I have a bedroom, but I only need one – I don’t have someone sleeping in my living room.
As soon as it’s not just about me, but about the kids I’m responsible for as well, then some of those indicators aren’t quite so easy to scoff at.
I see some quite poor people, never seen one without a phone! If no car is a sign of poverty then we must be a rich Nation. Haven’t we one of the highest rates of car ownership in the OECD> So if you dont have all 9 your not in poverty? I am not sure what your saying!
Your regular contributions to this site only confirm the point I make.
We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring and selfish nation under Key’s wretched leadership
Yeah, this is a pretty silly set of indicators to use in such a blunt fashion, as clearly No car, No phone, No computer and no family holidays have other explanations than “poverty” as being the cause of them.
Instead it should be a points system, where you have to get 40 points to be considered in poverty, and things like no phone would score 10 points, whereas things like “garages or living rooms used as bedrooms” would count as 25 points.
I’m not sure that I’d want to raise kids without a phone or a car or a computer or even a family holiday for a week or so with relatives.
Me? I can do without three of those standing on my head. But if I were raising kids, they’re more important for the child’s education and socialisation.
1. Maybe you live very close to a library, and your child isn’t obsessed with screens so they don’t need constant access to a computer / internet.
2. Maybe you don’t have any relatives in the country to visit.
3. Maybe your family doesn’t have anyone who can or needs to drive a car, and your child is encouraged to use their own bike to get everywhere.
4. Maybe you just don’t need a phone, because you get on really closely with your neighbors and you just use theirs.
I’ll admit that #4 is a bit grasping, but the others aren’t too unreasonable.
My point is that not having 2 of those particular 4 things shouldn’t put you in to “poverty”. If you had 3 of those things, or 2 of those things + one of the other more important ones? Fine. But that’s why a more sophisticated scoring system should be used. I’m sure it wouldn’t take more than a few hours to come up with a system than it is better than simply “2 strikes and you’re out”.
The list conspicuously doesn’t mention anything about electricity being cut off or limited use of heating during winter due to prices, which are pretty good indicators as well. Better than “do you go on family holidays”.
Growing up, my family seldom went on holidays, because my parents were saving all their extra money to take us on a 5-week overseas holiday when I turned 12. Turns out they only needed 1/3rd of the money they eventually saved up, so when we came back they bought a car, a new computer and put an extension on the house. But we weren’t in poverty – it was just a choice my parents made.
You can put together a maybe about any of those factors. That doesn’t make it likely or reasonable. For example, these days “computer at home” is equivalent to “has school text books”.
The list mentions long term things that the kids would be aware of, because it’s the kids being surveyed. They wouldn’t know that, for example, a friend of mine turns off all home heating during winter whenever her kids are out.
But if you really want to critique the research, go read it rather than basing your criticism off a news report. And yes, some reasonably complex analyses are used to arrive at the deceptively simple “2 strikes” level reported in the news stories.
well anyone whithout a mobile phone would have an issue finding a job and may even could not keep a job if not ‘available’ on the ring of the bell.
anyone without a car especially rural or semi rural areas would have an issue finding a job, take kids to school or doctor or just go to the next supermarket – and would then be futher taxed by having to buy at a local dairy at a higher price
anyone without a computer or access to a computer and internet would have an issue finding a job or doing study / homework especially in rural semi rural areas where there may be a shortage of libraries that offer access to computer/printer/internet for free
anyone who can’t offer their children a holiday programme or can afford to take time of during school holidays (or even is permitted to do so) and need help from whanau to not leave children unsupervised during 8 weeks of summer holiday may want to disagree with you.
I think we need to see Point 1 – 9 not so much as luxury items. This is not the seventies anymore, people in this day and age can not well function without these items. Btw. I don’t have a mobile phone, but then i am 10 hours a day in my business and I have a landline. Not having a phone means literally that one is invisible and non existent.
Seriously what is poor for you? Half starved in a ditch?
I see some quite poor people, never seen one without a phone! If no car is a sign of poverty then we must be a rich Nation. Haven’t we one of the highest rates of car ownership in the OECD;
Your perceptions aren’t reality though, if you want reality talk to people from the Mission, Food banks and charities who see what’s going on every day.
All Russian sport to be banned from the Olympics due to doping.
Russian hooligans turn up in Marseille during Euro 2016
Anyone else think all this is just a bit too convenient given the war games NATO is playing in the Baltic, Poland and Ukraine at the moment?
Why, of course, the people don’t want war. Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece. Naturally, the common people don’t want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship…
Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.
Russians banned from the Olympics? All the more medals for NZ.
So USA banned from the Olympics? Even more medals for NZ.
And ban Africa, Canada, Australia… 🙂
The media is the problem.
Propaganda about Corbyn, Syria, the Ukraine, Iraq…
Feed the plebs with stories about Instagram postings by celebrities.
The decline and fall of Rome had many similarities.
For the last 12 months I have had a $200 sub for an online Ancestory research program. It was OK, as it found a family 19 generations back. But watch out.
I had apparently ticked a box 12 months ago which said it would automatically roll over for another year. Which it did yesterday to the tune of $333. But I had gone as far as I wanted. Stop. I say stop and desist. They said I couldn’t stop. Committed! A phone call last night from I think the Philippines, and a fierce defence of my right to withdraw, and I may have had the contract cancelled.
My point is beware of what you sign up for!
The same goes for Adobe. I bought a month’s subscription to Photoshop a while ago to edit an add for the shop, my old version wouldn’t open the file so had to get the current one. Thought I’d selected all the right options for a single month, non-renewing subscription, but no. A month later Adobe are trying to take another month out of my card.
Unfortunately (for Adobe) they weren’t getting anywhere as I’d used a burner debit card (Loaded Card) that I use for online purchases. I transfer the required amount onto immediately prior to use and generally all’s good.
The upshot with Adobe is that they tried to get the payment for 21 days and then gave up. Adobe’s conditions turned out to be that subscriptions could only be canceled when the subscription was current, or would automatically renew. Adobe did say they would refund if it was canceled within a short time (10 days?). That all came out after the obligatory chat with the robot.
Moral of the story, try and read, and comprehend the conditions when you buy from these online outfits, and expect inertia marketing. It’s an insidious practice but how these globalised pricks roll.
But the process is pretty sneaky Graeme. I wonder how many people get caught out and are unable to know how to argue to cancel. Its a bit like the single phrase buried in pages of Insurance policies as opposed to key rules in big print. I think I will assume that they are all out to get me.
“I wonder how many people get caught out and are unable to know how to argue to cancel. ”
The answer to this is unfortunately a significant amount. Often the amounts aren’t that large, so cardholders don’t bother following up odd small transactions, then spending hours arguing with a robot or $2/hr call centre. A lot of card fraud also works like this, lots of small innocuous transactions adding up to a huge amount.
On the consumer protection side they give lip service and will try and negotiate the best deal for them that they can. The call centre location / robot algorithm is set up to maximise their opportunity. So you’ll end up arguing with someone from a culture with inherent negotiating abilities, and incentivised to get the best deal. The only moderation now is the power of social media, once their practices start to hurt them, they back off or run out of customers.
Another aspect to the online wide boys is taxation. Generally these purchases don’t attract any sales tax anywhere, and profits get a bit amorphous, so no income tax, anywhere.
Unfortunately (for Adobe) they weren’t getting anywhere as I’d used a burner debit card (Loaded Card) that I use for online purchases. I transfer the required amount onto immediately prior to use and generally all’s good.
The first three poverty factors of Paul’s survey are a joke when I think back on my life…. no car … cars were too expensive ….no phone …. even today I only need a phone to connect to the web …. No computer …. they were only in universities and Sinclair had not brought out the ZX80.
OK I know things change but perhaps people need to get a grip on what things really matter in life and starting out. Some of the other factors are suspect too like sleeping in the living-room and bedroom numbers. Well into ‘life’ I was living in a converted stable with just power and cold water, outside privy … maybe that was poverty but it was adequate and cheap …. I had been sleeping in the firm’s darkroom before somebody found a better place to live with her husband and passed the stable onto me.
You didn’t have a Sinclair ZX80 therefore there is no poverty in New Zealand. Do you even believe the shit you type?
OK, OK, I know that your entire sense of self-worth hangs on complete drivel, and examining it makes you uncomfortable, and it’s easier to simply regurgitate the lies you were spoonfed, but seriously; is that the best you can do?
As for the Auckland University study, I note your feeble attempt to belittle its provenance says lots about you and nothing at all about the study.
When I was young I had to walk uphill in bare feet both ways to get to the salt mines, kids today with their fancy shoes & smart phones don’t know how lucky they are, sarc.
1. Our cities have been designed to be car dependent making it essential to own a car. It’s not optional any more.
2. Did you know that it was a requirement to get the unemployment benefit to own a phone? WINZ don’t pay for the phone of course.
3. Computers to have become mandatory. They encase many things including schooling, political engagement, research and many other things that are part and parcel of today’s society.
If we followed your logic the Industrial Revolution would never have happened as nobody would have learned maths because back in my day we didn’t need it.
Draco …. Your points merely confirm my opinion of how society has gone on a wrong materialistic path …. I gather some call it Neoliberalism … a fancy word for a lack of common sense.
The first point was all about making profit. A car in each driveway produces far more profit than the entire number of buses needed to move a city. It’s actually a large part of the proof that the profit motive brings about the worst possible outcome rather than the best as our economists and RWNJs tell us.
The second point has to do with being contactable to get a job.
Those are the only two to do with neo-liberalism.
The third one has to do with being able to access the information needed to govern. Sure, a lot of people don’t use it for that but I’m also sure that that will change over time. It’s a large part of democracy.
And the only thing that can be said about common sense that old saw Common sense isn’t. Most of what’s passed off as ‘common sense’ is simply wrong.
“Governor Graeme Wheeler has today released proposed new urgent restrictions that will mean property investors across the country will need a deposit of at least 40 per cent….”
But that won’t stop investors will it? The equity in existing houses become the deposit for the next. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11677196
Really well planned?
Turkish officials would say that.
Organising a coup at 9.30 p.m. isn’t the best planning I can think of.
More and more people are questioning the reliability of the Guardian as a source after its pro-establishment line over Scotland, Brexit, Ukraine and Corbyn.
I note that you love to close down debate and discussion on many issues by using the words “conspiracy theories’. Is that by design?
Gwynne Dyer is an expert political commentator. He doesn’t buy the well planned argument.
It wasn’t a very competent coup attempt. The first rule of coup-making is: arrest or kill the person you are trying to overthrow. The coup leaders should have been able to grab Erdogan, who was on holiday at the seaside resort of Marmaris, but they didn’t.
They didn’t shut down the internet and social media either, so Erdogan was able to use his cellphone to get a message out on FaceTime, calling on his supporters to defy the soldiers on the streets of Istanbul and Ankara. They didn’t even shut down the broadcast media that sent Erdogan’s call out to the public.
It was three hours before they occupied the offices of TRT, the state broadcaster, and they were chased out again by Erdogan less than an hour later. They didn’t ever try to shut down the private television networks, which have a much bigger audience.
The second rule of coup-making is: act as if you mean it. This usually means that you have to be willing to kill people—but the colonels behind the coup (the generals were all vetted by Erdogan’s people) were reluctant to use large amounts of lethal force.
I like Rachel Stewart’s take.
”I’m pretty convinced that Turkey’s “coup” was about as staged as Milli Vanilli’s singing.”
Everyone has noticed how Erdogan already had purge lists of thousands of people drawn up and ready to go.
Next to be gone is 7000 police officers. (And the police stayed loyal to Erdogan during the coup).
One of the best theories I have seen is that what Ad references as a “well organised coup” was actually a parallel coup. Some military officials got wind that Erdogan was about to launch a massive purge which would catch thousands of them and other officials.
So they quickly organised and launched a rapid, pre-emptive coup ahead of Erdogan.
And failed.
So instead of being removed from their offices, now they are going to be shot.
(I think Erdogan will follow through with his threat to bring back civil capital punishment. Not that that’s an impediment to military tribunal capital punishment.)
This “really well planned coup” let CNN Turkey stay on the air, and let Erdogan do a Facetime appeal on the channel to hundreds of thousands of supporters to come out on the streets.
Then it appears that only a minority of military units took part in the coup, and most of them declined to use the force required to do their jobs. In fact, many coup soldiers looked bewildered and said that they had simply been told that they were on an exercise.
And Erdogan’s personal jet kept its transponder turned on up in the air for over an hour, and it wasn’t shot down even though the coup had interceptors in the air!
Ad, you do know Coup’s are by their very nature, are generally organised by a group of people, in secret. Or if you will, a secret group conspiring to overthrow a government?
So by definition it is a conspiracy, and like most conspiracies, it takes a long time to unravel them. So at present, the case put forward by the guardian, is just another conspiracy theory along with the rest.
All I know is the Kurds I know are freaking out. This is bad for them because Erdogan has reignited the civil war with them, he will use this as excuse to hurt the Kurds more. This is what we should be talking about. Not how a conspiracy has played out, because frankly, that is for historians.
Other home buyers will still need at least a 20% deposit.
But this time all the rules apply nationwide.
“A sharp correction in house prices is a key risk to the financial system, and there are clear signs that this risk is increasing across the country.”
-Graeme Wheeler, Governor of the Reserve bank of New Zealand.
Hopefully this has more effect than the last lot of measures.
CV is right. It is defiantly helping foreign investors and richer people a lot more than Kiwi Mums n Dads owning a 2nd property.
Everything this government does seems to be geared to help non residents and those paying no taxes here rather than people who live here. It is uncanny.
The Treasury has heavily criticised the government’s drug policy. It said (paraphrasing) “that instead of spending $400m a year on trying (and failing) to enforce the illegality of using cannabis it should instead legalise it such that it would gain $150m from taxes on its use.”
This is groundbreaking. Treasury, no less, are saying legalise cannabis. This will bring a gain of $550m to the public purse. Looks like a good policy option for Labour and Greens now that this has Treasury backing.
Well bombings in Brussels, trucks in Nice, ax attacks in Berlin, shootings in Paris, mass sex attacks in Cologne so yeah I think NZ is a better place at the moment
McClay admitted he received new information, while speaking with media on a trade trip to Indonesia.
“I’ve checked overnight and when I was in China I did receive some information from the embassy that an industry body made contact with a New Zealand company in China raising some concerns.
McClay using the old ‘didn’t get the email’ defence when he mis-spoke before.
and no we can’t expect the current National Party led government to do better cause free market, money needs to be made and surely Labour did it too at some stage over the last 100 years of its existence. so all is good in NZ.
+100…she was slagging off Mike Lee because he had an opinion on Auckland airport transport options. Apparently you have to agree with everything or resign. Complete bollocks. She has spent too much time talking to Key’s sheep in parliament….sorry “MP’s”.
Then someone texted in and asked that she declare her interest in supporting Bill Ralston to council. And boy, did she go off.
As usual, Mora and Edwards were utterly ineffective.
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Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
The pressure is mounting on the Government as it finalises its Budget Policy Statement, but yet more predicted revenue ‘goes missing’. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Climate Commission has delivered another funding blow to the National-ACT-NZ First coalition Government’s tax-cutting plans, potentially carving $1.4 billion off the ‘climate ...
The Government now faces the prospect of having to watch another tax raise the price of petrol when, only six days ago, it abolished the Auckland Regional Fuel tax. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon argued that the regional fuel tax imposed costs on lower-income people with less fuel-efficient vehicles and that ...
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 ...
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. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
The government’s attack on Māori health this week is committing tangata-whenua to a premature death, says Te Pāti Māori. “The government have begun their onslaught on Māori health with the abolishment of the Māori Health Authority and smokefree laws in the same day” said health spokesperson and co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. ...
Today marks a tragic milestone for New Zealanders as the Coalition Government side with big tobacco to repeal the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act 2022, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins and Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
This year’s Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity and the contribution of Pacific communities to New Zealand culture, says Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti. Dr Reti announced dates for the 2024 Pacific Language Weeks during a visit to the Pasifika festival in Auckland today and says there’s so ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
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 Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
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Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.
Uncaring.
Anyone who voted this government in.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/82211556/half-of-all-new-zealand-pacific-teenagers-living-in-poverty-study-claims
http://thewireless.co.nz/articles/one-in-five-young-kiwis-live-in-poverty
So you could have no car and no holidays with the family and be classed as living in poverty………
I never knew I was so poor.
NOPE 9 factors NOT 2
I think the article states that if you miss 2 of the 9 factors then you are classed as living in poverty.
Not quite.
If children reported that their household was missing 2 of nine factors, then that was a hardship analog for poverty.
I might have no car, but I don’t have to get kids to school or sports practise.
I might have no holidays with family, but I can take a holiday any time.
I might have no computer at home, but this will not impact on my education.
I have a bedroom, but I only need one – I don’t have someone sleeping in my living room.
As soon as it’s not just about me, but about the kids I’m responsible for as well, then some of those indicators aren’t quite so easy to scoff at.
OOps!!!
I see some quite poor people, never seen one without a phone! If no car is a sign of poverty then we must be a rich Nation. Haven’t we one of the highest rates of car ownership in the OECD> So if you dont have all 9 your not in poverty? I am not sure what your saying!
You’re not sure what other people are saying, and you cut and paste your confusion in two comments.
Your regular contributions to this site only confirm the point I make.
We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring and selfish nation under Key’s wretched leadership
‘Inhumane’ Auckland city businesses drenching homeless with water
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/-inhumane-auckland-city-businesses-drenching-homeless-with-water-q01872
Yeah, this is a pretty silly set of indicators to use in such a blunt fashion, as clearly No car, No phone, No computer and no family holidays have other explanations than “poverty” as being the cause of them.
Instead it should be a points system, where you have to get 40 points to be considered in poverty, and things like no phone would score 10 points, whereas things like “garages or living rooms used as bedrooms” would count as 25 points.
I’m not sure that I’d want to raise kids without a phone or a car or a computer or even a family holiday for a week or so with relatives.
Me? I can do without three of those standing on my head. But if I were raising kids, they’re more important for the child’s education and socialisation.
1. Maybe you live very close to a library, and your child isn’t obsessed with screens so they don’t need constant access to a computer / internet.
2. Maybe you don’t have any relatives in the country to visit.
3. Maybe your family doesn’t have anyone who can or needs to drive a car, and your child is encouraged to use their own bike to get everywhere.
4. Maybe you just don’t need a phone, because you get on really closely with your neighbors and you just use theirs.
I’ll admit that #4 is a bit grasping, but the others aren’t too unreasonable.
My point is that not having 2 of those particular 4 things shouldn’t put you in to “poverty”. If you had 3 of those things, or 2 of those things + one of the other more important ones? Fine. But that’s why a more sophisticated scoring system should be used. I’m sure it wouldn’t take more than a few hours to come up with a system than it is better than simply “2 strikes and you’re out”.
The list conspicuously doesn’t mention anything about electricity being cut off or limited use of heating during winter due to prices, which are pretty good indicators as well. Better than “do you go on family holidays”.
Growing up, my family seldom went on holidays, because my parents were saving all their extra money to take us on a 5-week overseas holiday when I turned 12. Turns out they only needed 1/3rd of the money they eventually saved up, so when we came back they bought a car, a new computer and put an extension on the house. But we weren’t in poverty – it was just a choice my parents made.
Good for you, I guess.
You can put together a maybe about any of those factors. That doesn’t make it likely or reasonable. For example, these days “computer at home” is equivalent to “has school text books”.
The list mentions long term things that the kids would be aware of, because it’s the kids being surveyed. They wouldn’t know that, for example, a friend of mine turns off all home heating during winter whenever her kids are out.
But if you really want to critique the research, go read it rather than basing your criticism off a news report. And yes, some reasonably complex analyses are used to arrive at the deceptively simple “2 strikes” level reported in the news stories.
well anyone whithout a mobile phone would have an issue finding a job and may even could not keep a job if not ‘available’ on the ring of the bell.
anyone without a car especially rural or semi rural areas would have an issue finding a job, take kids to school or doctor or just go to the next supermarket – and would then be futher taxed by having to buy at a local dairy at a higher price
anyone without a computer or access to a computer and internet would have an issue finding a job or doing study / homework especially in rural semi rural areas where there may be a shortage of libraries that offer access to computer/printer/internet for free
anyone who can’t offer their children a holiday programme or can afford to take time of during school holidays (or even is permitted to do so) and need help from whanau to not leave children unsupervised during 8 weeks of summer holiday may want to disagree with you.
I think we need to see Point 1 – 9 not so much as luxury items. This is not the seventies anymore, people in this day and age can not well function without these items. Btw. I don’t have a mobile phone, but then i am 10 hours a day in my business and I have a landline. Not having a phone means literally that one is invisible and non existent.
Seriously what is poor for you? Half starved in a ditch?
I see some quite poor people, never seen one without a phone! If no car is a sign of poverty then we must be a rich Nation. Haven’t we one of the highest rates of car ownership in the OECD;
Your perceptions aren’t reality though, if you want reality talk to people from the Mission, Food banks and charities who see what’s going on every day.
Get out more then.
All Russian sport to be banned from the Olympics due to doping.
Russian hooligans turn up in Marseille during Euro 2016
Anyone else think all this is just a bit too convenient given the war games NATO is playing in the Baltic, Poland and Ukraine at the moment?
Hermann Goering
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jul/17/banned-russian-athletes-smear-campaign-documentary-rio-olympics-2016
http://www.globalresearch.ca/smearing-russia-in-the-eyes-of-public-opinion-politics-propaganda-and-the-weaponization-of-the-rio-olympics/5532250
Russians banned from the Olympics? All the more medals for NZ.
So USA banned from the Olympics? Even more medals for NZ.
And ban Africa, Canada, Australia… 🙂
I’m not sure about that. Aren’t they only sending people who have a chance of a medal anyway? The ones who would have benefited aren’t getting sent.
Eddie the Eagle would win Gold if he was the only entry. 🙂
Yes clearly a plot by the reverse vampires in cahoots with the lizard people.
Fool that is exactly what the real rulers, the praying mantis elite alien advance flottila, want you to believe ☺
Maaaaaybe Russia shouldn’t have had a massive state doping programme then. That might have helped their case to be in the Olympic games a bit.
Too obvious, no one would fall for that.
Do you accept the results of the Chilcott inquiry?
The media is the problem.
Propaganda about Corbyn, Syria, the Ukraine, Iraq…
Feed the plebs with stories about Instagram postings by celebrities.
The decline and fall of Rome had many similarities.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5fbvquHSPJU
For the last 12 months I have had a $200 sub for an online Ancestory research program. It was OK, as it found a family 19 generations back. But watch out.
I had apparently ticked a box 12 months ago which said it would automatically roll over for another year. Which it did yesterday to the tune of $333. But I had gone as far as I wanted. Stop. I say stop and desist. They said I couldn’t stop. Committed! A phone call last night from I think the Philippines, and a fierce defence of my right to withdraw, and I may have had the contract cancelled.
My point is beware of what you sign up for!
The same goes for Adobe. I bought a month’s subscription to Photoshop a while ago to edit an add for the shop, my old version wouldn’t open the file so had to get the current one. Thought I’d selected all the right options for a single month, non-renewing subscription, but no. A month later Adobe are trying to take another month out of my card.
Unfortunately (for Adobe) they weren’t getting anywhere as I’d used a burner debit card (Loaded Card) that I use for online purchases. I transfer the required amount onto immediately prior to use and generally all’s good.
The upshot with Adobe is that they tried to get the payment for 21 days and then gave up. Adobe’s conditions turned out to be that subscriptions could only be canceled when the subscription was current, or would automatically renew. Adobe did say they would refund if it was canceled within a short time (10 days?). That all came out after the obligatory chat with the robot.
Moral of the story, try and read, and comprehend the conditions when you buy from these online outfits, and expect inertia marketing. It’s an insidious practice but how these globalised pricks roll.
But the process is pretty sneaky Graeme. I wonder how many people get caught out and are unable to know how to argue to cancel. Its a bit like the single phrase buried in pages of Insurance policies as opposed to key rules in big print. I think I will assume that they are all out to get me.
“I wonder how many people get caught out and are unable to know how to argue to cancel. ”
The answer to this is unfortunately a significant amount. Often the amounts aren’t that large, so cardholders don’t bother following up odd small transactions, then spending hours arguing with a robot or $2/hr call centre. A lot of card fraud also works like this, lots of small innocuous transactions adding up to a huge amount.
On the consumer protection side they give lip service and will try and negotiate the best deal for them that they can. The call centre location / robot algorithm is set up to maximise their opportunity. So you’ll end up arguing with someone from a culture with inherent negotiating abilities, and incentivised to get the best deal. The only moderation now is the power of social media, once their practices start to hurt them, they back off or run out of customers.
Another aspect to the online wide boys is taxation. Generally these purchases don’t attract any sales tax anywhere, and profits get a bit amorphous, so no income tax, anywhere.
Clever. One to remember.
Yes. Me too Graeme re the burner debit card.
The first three poverty factors of Paul’s survey are a joke when I think back on my life…. no car … cars were too expensive ….no phone …. even today I only need a phone to connect to the web …. No computer …. they were only in universities and Sinclair had not brought out the ZX80.
OK I know things change but perhaps people need to get a grip on what things really matter in life and starting out. Some of the other factors are suspect too like sleeping in the living-room and bedroom numbers. Well into ‘life’ I was living in a converted stable with just power and cold water, outside privy … maybe that was poverty but it was adequate and cheap …. I had been sleeping in the firm’s darkroom before somebody found a better place to live with her husband and passed the stable onto me.
You didn’t have a Sinclair ZX80 therefore there is no poverty in New Zealand. Do you even believe the shit you type?
OK, OK, I know that your entire sense of self-worth hangs on complete drivel, and examining it makes you uncomfortable, and it’s easier to simply regurgitate the lies you were spoonfed, but seriously; is that the best you can do?
As for the Auckland University study, I note your feeble attempt to belittle its provenance says lots about you and nothing at all about the study.
Your contributions above only confirms the point I make.
We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring and selfish nation under Key’s wretched leadership.
Are you happy to live in a country where this happens?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLjVc-zNcNQ
Would’ve been a palace to us!
When I was young I had to walk uphill in bare feet both ways to get to the salt mines, kids today with their fancy shoes & smart phones don’t know how lucky they are, sarc.
Yes, things have changed.
1. Our cities have been designed to be car dependent making it essential to own a car. It’s not optional any more.
2. Did you know that it was a requirement to get the unemployment benefit to own a phone? WINZ don’t pay for the phone of course.
3. Computers to have become mandatory. They encase many things including schooling, political engagement, research and many other things that are part and parcel of today’s society.
If we followed your logic the Industrial Revolution would never have happened as nobody would have learned maths because back in my day we didn’t need it.
Draco …. Your points merely confirm my opinion of how society has gone on a wrong materialistic path …. I gather some call it Neoliberalism … a fancy word for a lack of common sense.
The first point was all about making profit. A car in each driveway produces far more profit than the entire number of buses needed to move a city. It’s actually a large part of the proof that the profit motive brings about the worst possible outcome rather than the best as our economists and RWNJs tell us.
The second point has to do with being contactable to get a job.
Those are the only two to do with neo-liberalism.
The third one has to do with being able to access the information needed to govern. Sure, a lot of people don’t use it for that but I’m also sure that that will change over time. It’s a large part of democracy.
And the only thing that can be said about common sense that old saw Common sense isn’t. Most of what’s passed off as ‘common sense’ is simply wrong.
Would you be glad to raise kids in a stable??
With starting initials of JC you never know! lol
“Governor Graeme Wheeler has today released proposed new urgent restrictions that will mean property investors across the country will need a deposit of at least 40 per cent….”
But that won’t stop investors will it? The equity in existing houses become the deposit for the next.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11677196
A pretty thrilling account of how close the recent Turkish coup came to succeeding:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/18/military-coup-was-well-planned-and-very-nearly-succeeded-say-turkish-officials
As more of these accounts come out, it will help put aside silly conspiracy stories about how it was all just a giant stunt by Erdogan.
Really well planned?
Turkish officials would say that.
Organising a coup at 9.30 p.m. isn’t the best planning I can think of.
More and more people are questioning the reliability of the Guardian as a source after its pro-establishment line over Scotland, Brexit, Ukraine and Corbyn.
I note that you love to close down debate and discussion on many issues by using the words “conspiracy theories’. Is that by design?
Gwynne Dyer is an expert political commentator. He doesn’t buy the well planned argument.
I like Rachel Stewart’s take.
”I’m pretty convinced that Turkey’s “coup” was about as staged as Milli Vanilli’s singing.”
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/commentary/20160718/gwynne-dyer-half-hearted-coup
https://twitter.com/RFStew/status/755141011693633536
Everyone has noticed how Erdogan already had purge lists of thousands of people drawn up and ready to go.
Next to be gone is 7000 police officers. (And the police stayed loyal to Erdogan during the coup).
One of the best theories I have seen is that what Ad references as a “well organised coup” was actually a parallel coup. Some military officials got wind that Erdogan was about to launch a massive purge which would catch thousands of them and other officials.
So they quickly organised and launched a rapid, pre-emptive coup ahead of Erdogan.
And failed.
So instead of being removed from their offices, now they are going to be shot.
(I think Erdogan will follow through with his threat to bring back civil capital punishment. Not that that’s an impediment to military tribunal capital punishment.)
This “really well planned coup” let CNN Turkey stay on the air, and let Erdogan do a Facetime appeal on the channel to hundreds of thousands of supporters to come out on the streets.
Then it appears that only a minority of military units took part in the coup, and most of them declined to use the force required to do their jobs. In fact, many coup soldiers looked bewildered and said that they had simply been told that they were on an exercise.
And Erdogan’s personal jet kept its transponder turned on up in the air for over an hour, and it wasn’t shot down even though the coup had interceptors in the air!
Really weird shit.
Well planned as defined by ‘Turkish Officials’ not included on the pre coup ‘purge lists’
“Thrilling account” is a term better used for a fictional movie production or bed time story.
The Monty Python esque coup attempt by a military with a strong history of successful coups to its credit, doesn’t qualify as, ‘thrilling’
Ad, you do know Coup’s are by their very nature, are generally organised by a group of people, in secret. Or if you will, a secret group conspiring to overthrow a government?
So by definition it is a conspiracy, and like most conspiracies, it takes a long time to unravel them. So at present, the case put forward by the guardian, is just another conspiracy theory along with the rest.
All I know is the Kurds I know are freaking out. This is bad for them because Erdogan has reignited the civil war with them, he will use this as excuse to hurt the Kurds more. This is what we should be talking about. Not how a conspiracy has played out, because frankly, that is for historians.
Breaking news:
New Zealand property investors will need a 40% deposit, according to new Reserve bank rules.
https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2995161/ReserveBankConsultationPaper.pdf
Other home buyers will still need at least a 20% deposit.
But this time all the rules apply nationwide.
“A sharp correction in house prices is a key risk to the financial system, and there are clear signs that this risk is increasing across the country.”
-Graeme Wheeler, Governor of the Reserve bank of New Zealand.
Hopefully this has more effect than the last lot of measures.
Foreign Chinese cash buyers will be happy with these changes.
thats racist dude
It’s a pure economic analysis. Nothing racist about it. It takes local Kiwi competition out of the market and gives cash buyers like them a clear run.
nah its only racist when Labour says it. 🙂
Should you not change “Foreign Chinese cash buyers” to those cashed up the the People’s Liberation Army?
OK not all, like those trying to get the hell out of Hong Kong, and Macau.
CV is right. It is defiantly helping foreign investors and richer people a lot more than Kiwi Mums n Dads owning a 2nd property.
Everything this government does seems to be geared to help non residents and those paying no taxes here rather than people who live here. It is uncanny.
Greenpeace having fun with teh ‘leave and we put 350 million to the NHS Bus”. The bought it.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/greenpeace-bus-nhs-brexit-vote-leave-350-million-repainting-messages-outside-parliament-a7142451.html
RSA Animate: Ha-Joon Chong
Video, autoplays.
Just reported on RNZ.
The Treasury has heavily criticised the government’s drug policy. It said (paraphrasing) “that instead of spending $400m a year on trying (and failing) to enforce the illegality of using cannabis it should instead legalise it such that it would gain $150m from taxes on its use.”
This is groundbreaking. Treasury, no less, are saying legalise cannabis. This will bring a gain of $550m to the public purse. Looks like a good policy option for Labour and Greens now that this has Treasury backing.
Great stuff.
Or at least de-criminalise cannabis.
Yes but better to legalise, then there can be the $150m tax revenue.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11677179
NZ has its problems but still a lot better then Europe at the moment
What are NZs problems?
PR means the Natz
Nothing that can’t be forgotten when reading about an axe attack in Germany.
Well bombings in Brussels, trucks in Nice, ax attacks in Berlin, shootings in Paris, mass sex attacks in Cologne so yeah I think NZ is a better place at the moment
I prefer not to use other peoples’ misery to make myself feel better.
Good for you
That come 2020 there’ll probably be a Labour/Green government 🙂
nah mate by then we will be flying the chinese flag. 🙂
Well it could be worse
true that we could have had that ugly flag that was not the hypno flag.
I did like hypno flag. t’was a good flag for the country, so suiting to the mind set of many.
In the latest ‘major backdown’ by the government…
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/82236173/nz-gets-new-assurances-from-chinese-embassy-over-trade-war-fears
McClay using the old ‘didn’t get the email’ defence when he mis-spoke before.
serco…the gift that keeps on giving.
and no we can’t expect the current National Party led government to do better cause free market, money needs to be made and surely Labour did it too at some stage over the last 100 years of its existence. so all is good in NZ.
we now officially don’t give a shit anymore.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/82241264/prison-operator-serco-slammed-over-treatment-of-inmate-at-mt-eden-prison
Michelle Boag on the Panel with no rebuttal from either Mora or Edwards.
Ghastly.
+100…she was slagging off Mike Lee because he had an opinion on Auckland airport transport options. Apparently you have to agree with everything or resign. Complete bollocks. She has spent too much time talking to Key’s sheep in parliament….sorry “MP’s”.
Then someone texted in and asked that she declare her interest in supporting Bill Ralston to council. And boy, did she go off.
As usual, Mora and Edwards were utterly ineffective.
Commons votes for Trident renewal by majority of 355
Over half Labour MPs but not Jeremy Corbyn back motion after Theresa May says she would order nuclear strike
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jul/18/mps-vote-in-favour-of-trident-renewal-nuclear-deterrent?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GU+Today+main+NEW+H+categories&utm_term=182262&subid=13842748&CMP=EMCNEWEML6619I2
Yes – some of us ARE having an anti-TPPA protest against USA Vice-President Joe Biden.
(It’s Our Future Auckland have called this protest.)
WHEN: Wed 20 July 2016
WHERE: Cnr George Bolt Memorial Drive / Tom Pearce Drive (in front of Z petrol station)
Near Auckland airport.
TIME: 3 – 5.30pm
(It gets HEAPS of traffic!)
Want to ‘stand up and be counted’?
(You may need an umbrella 🙂
Penny Bright
2016 Auckland Mayoral candidate.