Amazon facial recognition mistakenly confused 28 Congressmen with known criminals
Amazon is trying to sell its Rekognition facial recognition technology to law enforcment, but the American Civil Liberties Union doesn’t think that’s a very good idea. And today, the ACLU provided some seemingly compelling evidence — by using Amazon’s own tool to compare 25,000 criminal mugshots to members of Congress.
Sure enough, Amazon’s tool thought 28 different members of Congress looked like people who’ve been arrested.
I write this with a sort of tired certainty of having seen this all before. Time and again, I’ve looked deep into the dark heart of our political economy and seen nothing but greed, constructed confusion, obfuscation, selfishness and an unbreakable desire by older property owners never to give up what they believe is rightfully theirs. We’ve had this debate many times before and property owners simply don’t want things to change. It has made them one trillion dollars richer over the last 20 years, and they didn’t pay a cent of tax on that unearned capital gain. It was like manna from heaven, or a lotto win. No one is taking that back gently.
Only raw political power will change that. No amount of working groups and sage advice and economic modeling will change that.
Given most of these older voters vote National, Labour should be bold.
1. CGT from 1 April 2021, ALL non prime residence property sold after then subject to CGT – income assessed based on historic purchase price.
2. As a CGT on residential property is too hard (no one in the world does it – because when people move they would have to pay a CGT which lowers their equity in their next property purchased) do what others do – leave it to end of life – estate taxation.
The US still has capital gains tax on primary residences. It used to actually have teeth and be broad enough based that it captured most sales of primary residences. I paid CGT on my primary residence sale in 1996, so it’s not impossible to implement one that works. But by now it’s apparently been so weakened with exemptions and loopholes that most primary residence transactions aren’t affected.
Rather than exempting primary residences from CGT, the better way to alleviate the equity problem you mentioned is to have a rollover provision.
Say your first house cost $500k. You then sell a few years later for $800k and buy a new place for $1000k. Without a rollover, and a tax rate of 33%, you would have a $100k tax bill, and a cost basis for your new place of $1000k. But with a rollover, you would not pay any tax now, and the cost basis for your new place is $700k (your original $500k plus the extra $200k you’ve paid to upgrade). You’ve effectively deferred tax on that $300k of capital gain to a later date, such as when it’s time to start downsizing, or (God forbid) it’s your estate dealing with your taxes.
Judith Collins’ sprays yesterday about recompense for those unfairly chucked out of Housing NZ homes suggests she is again positioning herself as the bulldog strong alternative to the simple wobbly-mouthed one. (No pun intended with the female dog reference.)
Wasn’t one of the people complaining about ex-prisoners getting too much compensation after they were found not guilty of the crime that they’d been imprisoned for?
Get over it – Māori have heard this a lot. I spose she’s here to try and help but…
“Tel Aviv Foundation chief executive Hila Oren, who calls herself a “citymaker”, said in an interview with Stuff last week that the quakes were “not important at all”, and the city needed to “let it go” and get on with the future.
The Christchurch Foundation, funded partly by the city council, used corporate sponsorship to cover the $35,000 costs* of Oren’s flights, accommodation and event costs for visit to the city from Israel where she is spending three months as a thinker in residence. Oren donated her time.”
WTF
Any one of us could do as good a job. Thinker in residence? Just NZ cringe factor.
Why from Israel though, what about one of the Scandinavian countries? Israel has trouble coping with its own thinking, we don’t want to import it here.
Or democracy for that matter in people’s communities… The size, scale and privatisation of shared land between properties to remove sun and privacy under the unitary plan is in full swing.
Would never happen in the UK with 60 million people and tight planning rules to stop the greedy and stupid plans outside of public interest. I don’t even think it could happen in the US… Here in NZ we are rocketing towards planning stupidity, as well as some of the most expensive housing in the world and ones that have the stupidest planning and building regulations that consider everything ‘minor’ effect or not able to be allowed to be included as an effect.
Why worry though, when it’s the homeowners themselves who are expected to sort out council and developers messes post and during development as developing is a ‘private’ non transparent activity is seems and the first anyone knows of the screw ups are when the builders arrive.
The government seemed (under previous labour and national) to fully allow all motorways and truck routes to be built up against housing residential areas!!
This simply allowed the truck noise, air pollution, and vibration to destroy our suburbs, from 24/7 truck freight noise, vibrations, air pollution to ruin the residential zones!!!!!
So these ‘short term Governments’ need to wake up and relocate suburbs away from “industrial activities of road truck noise ect’ – roading planning’ before they try to make all homes ‘warm and dry’so make them also safe to occupy without traffic noise,vibration and air pollution as well.
In Auckland we have the opposite problem. Apparently land earmarked for rail and with an existing rail line going from Helensville to Auckland CBD has had the council sell off a small strip of land in Kumeu near the rail way line, apparently and that’s why AT have decided it can’t be used… sounds like an excuse or something that should be rectified unless of course their a reason the council wants to blow hundreds of billions on new rail that has not been built yet and won’t be for years and divert all the people from North West Auckland (in a massive development housing spec situation at present) to Swanson and have them change trains instead of a quick easy 20 minute journey to the city by rail and take commuters off the road that could be done now????
As usual Dukeofurl you are missing the main -points as to the real issues and reasons why labour Minster of transport Phil Twyford needs to come top Napier and fix their problem they made from 1961 till now.
Fact;
The Napier Hastings Motorway was designated in 1961-2 as a “commuter route for the people of Hastings to get to the Airport which the Labour Government awarded to Napier city and since Hastings lost it’s bad to have the airport at Hastings the government offered a “fig leaf to Hastings to build a motorway single lane road each way to the new airport at Napier.
The Motorway was not designated as a major truck route nor was it designed for trucks.
So you don’t appear to understand this fact yet, – this was now meant to have been a truck route get that????
PCE found the same conclusion that the Motorway was planned at another time when we had few heavy vehicles on our roads as rail carried 70% of our entire freight not roads.
Read the PCE report for Christ sake I am astounded you didn’t read it first.
Since then when road took over freight the trouble appeared and now is getting worse every year.
HBRC in 2003 admitted the road was never planned when environmental issues were so strong as today so they need to protact the residents against the traffic emissions now since they need to stop blaming who was right and who was wrong.
here are the PCE Environmental report after they studied the problems.
HBRC “Murray Buchannan” see below blamed NCC for allowing homes to be built so close to what then was a 50kms road with few heavy trucks but since then the designation has gone through many changes to allow now four times the numbers of heavy trucks to the port of Napier.
“HB Today article 25th February 2003 “Residents ask help from Council.”
Abridged. The Citizens has asked the HBRC to consider the traffic effects of air quality and noise caused from the traffic using the overbridge which is to be completed later this year. Under the regional land transport Strategy the council is obliged to consider the environmental effects of any new traffic route.
The problem has arisen because prior to the expressway construction the Napier City council allowed residential development to abut the proposed road.
“The decision was unwise and made when environmental concerns were not as strong, and awareness of the consequences was much lower”, a council report by Environmental manager Murray Buchanan states.
“Whatever the case, there is no point trying to debate the rights and wrongs of the case as the road is there along with the houses. The only option is to limit the effects of the road on residents.”
PCE ruling;
5.3 Residential development near the
expressway
The expressway’s designation originally passed through mainly rural land –
the limit of residential development was well clear of the designation. The
Napier City Council has progressively zoned for residential development on
both sides of the expressway corridor. Residential development now lies
close to about a fifth of the expressway’s length. Many houses are close to
the expressway and several hundred people reside within 60 metres of it.
These residential areas were designed and built with very little effective
protection from the adverse effects of expressway traffic. This is testament
to past approaches to urban and transport planning being quite different to
those that prevail today.
5.4 Changes in traffic movement
Traffic in and around Napier has grown significantly since 1964. Much of
this is heavy vehicle traffic associated with the Port of Napier. Increasing
levels of road traffic have been exacerbated by the decline in the movement
of freight by rail. It has been estimated that heavy goods vehicle (HGV)
traffic to and from the port will almost double by 2026.19 Vehicle traffic
movement elsewhere in the region has also grown significantly since
the 1960s
I suspect that it will be not available in NZ, but if anyone gets the chances to watch Series 5 of Rake starring Richard Roxhurgh it’s absolutely the best political satire around at the moment:
Season four of Rake ended on a cliff-hanger with Greene finding out he’d been elected to the Senate, and Roxburgh says taking the show in the new direction has opened up plenty of storylines.
Still, he jokes there are some places even he won’t go.
“I don’t think Rake is ready for Barnaby [Joyce]. We have to draw the line somewhere,” he says.
In talking about the show Roxburgh slips seamlessly between playing himself and speaking as Greene — “I find it very easy to drift into Cleaver” — which can make it hard to pinpoint exactly who you’re talking to.
So when asked whether Greene would make an improvement on the current group of Australian senators, Roxburgh appears to have his tongue planted firmly in cheek.
Interesting how abc all the time I was listening to Roxburgh, played a little random jingle over and over. Sort of like being in an adult nursery. Do they think that they are so boring, that people expressing thoughts is too hard for the average joe, that we need accompanying music or noise? behind the speech to keep interested, or even stop us from falling asleep? i have noticed this invasive elevator music creeping in but I don’t find it uplifting.
Grant Robertson is not ruling out tax cuts in 2020, nothing says more about whether Labour is going to fight to make a difference to the deliberate under funding of government capability by National than this.
Apparently it is prepared to go about it very slowly – because where are people who want improved funding going to go?
SPC, this is what Robertson is quoted to have said.
“One of the things we’ve written and asked the group to do is to come back to us with a package which is as we say revenue neutral so the amount of tax in the system as whole doesn’t change,” Robertson said on NewstalkZB.
I’s suggest that from whom the revenue comes from might change.
Also, it has to be said that this a bit like reading the tea leaves. The cup of tea from which such interpretations may be drawn has not yet even had the leaves grown yet, let alone been brewed.
Of course Robertson is going to say essentially nothing about tax changes when the still interim report has just been published.
Robertson has not given any indications and would be mad to do so, on the basis of an interim report only which has yet to be considered by – amongst other groups – Cabinet. as certain other Labour Ministers have been reminded just this week. LOL.
Yes, Robertson has committed to NOT improving funding for government by increasing revenues by finally taxing some of the currently untaxed income.
Thus what way does he afford it?
By borrowing. No – committment to get debt to GDP to 20%.
Out of growth. Not quickly – because of a committment to keep government spending to below 30% fo GDP.
It’s fiscal policy means it intends to be National-lite.
FFS, the bright-line regime is voluntary as IR has made no efffort to collect it, no change under the current government.
Fiscally we are on bi-partisan neo-liberal auto-pilot. Where compliant obedience to economic orthodoxy is put before the peoples well-being.
There are two bold moves that could yet change this, but neither are likely given the timidity so far.
1. Stop paying super to those over 65 still working – $3Bpa available to government from this.
2. Instead of funding $2Bpa into the Cullen Fund from tax revenues, take 1% from the employee and 1% from the employer for this.
Labour was re-elected in 1987 after placing a surtax on all income earnt by those on super. And that was manifestly unfair because it included private super and other savings income.
What you do not seem to realise is that already most over 65 vote National because Labour’s WFF tax cut preference to across the board tax cuts means the super amount paid is lower. Labour has already risked more votes (and paid the price) doing this than by the measure I suggest here.
What is going to happen on the current path, is Labour will get some CGT revenue and then give those over 65 and still working a super payment increase (from the tax cut).
Both stupid and unjust.
If they do not ask more of the more privileged of the older haves, why should younger voters (with whom they have a chance) vote for them?
Stop paying super to those over 65 still working; apart from costing votes for Labour, it would also breach a core NZF bottom line (while Winston is still around anyway).
Agree to rely on budget surpluses is fraught with danger.
Increasing the age for super would be a start.
I was very surprised that Robertson has indicted any tax changes will be revenue neutral. He must be pinning his hopes on growing the tax base (shit that is what I expect a National finance minister to say).
One of the reasons that the IRD has been kind of sluggish over the last two decades is because their computer system was essentially state of the art in 1975. But that just meant that the targeting was only really capable to looking at the PAYE level of avoidance. Which is why the majority of the tax take fell on PAYE rather than businesses.
They are now going to be able to both collect and analyze more data on the cash, deductions, and avoidance economies. All of the assorted bumf is going to be much easier to highlight from the pack. For instance the redline rort is easily detectable with access to the companies office data and land info.
It is going to cause a reformation in bookkeeping similar to that caused by the introduction of GST, and including the same benefits like actually knowing when you don’t have a real business but are really running a tax avoidance rort. You wouldn’t believe the numbers of business people who have delusions about how competent they really are.
And in tax disputes, the taxpayer must disprove an IR allegation. That means increased record-keeping is required, creating an increased compliance cost for all businesses if they are to prove their innocence. Items not previously recorded, such as loss, inefficiency, wastage or theft, may now be vital. So taxpayers must carry the cost of proving their innocence when the computer concludes they are out of line with what it knows based on anonymous and hypothetical models.
In an interesting comment I read recently in regards to 1080, someone pointed out that one of the reasons trapping never works as an alternative is because trappers are inclined to keep possum numbers at a level that make them reasonably easy to catch in accessible areas. I thought this story regarding Tahr reflects the same sort of philosophy:
“In the last couple of decades recreational, safari, and commercial hunters have lobbied for the management of tahr numbers to be left mainly to their own efforts,” said Forest & Bird’s Regional Manager for Canterbury, Nicky Snoyink.
“Leaving the main management of tahr numbers in the hands of the hunting community has led to the out-of-control population increases. Instead of a population of 10,000 animals we now have a population of over 35,000 tahr on public conservation land and probably closer to 50,000 when non-conservation land is taken into account – five times the maximum population required by the Tahr Control Plan,” she said.
“While recreational hunting has a role in pest control, it is essential that we do not hand over conservation management to the hunters. Time after time we have learnt that recreational hunting is not up to the task of achieving the desired conservation goals.”
“Because of the past failures of recreational and commercial hunting we now need to reduce tahr numbers by 80 percent. If the hunting organisations were genuine in their claims that they want to look after the environment they would support DOC’s proposals rather than opposing them,’ says Ms Snoyink.”
It could be some dealing at the school by a juvenile entrepreneur, or just sharing out their mother’s cooking. Best to wait before offering possibilities.
“In the deep end with Ruth Money!” guffaws Tim Watkin.
This dog of a program was today as offensive as it’s ever been. The Panel, RNZ National, Friday 21 Sept. 2018
Tim Watkin, Peter Fa’afiu, Ruth Money, Caitlin Cherry
The alarm bells started ringing as soon as I heard that Ruth Money, from the outré and discredited S.S. Trust was going to be on the show. And sure enough, straight after the 4 o’clock news, Tim Watkin introduced her by burbling vacuously: “Victims’ advocate and first-time member of the Panel, Ruth Money….”
First topic for discussion was Meka Whaitiri’s alleged assault of an employee….
TIM WATKIN: Ruth, you’re a victims’ advocate. How would you deal with this?
RUTH MONEY: Once again the victim has not got a voice. What about the victim? All we’ve heard about is the alleged perpetrator. I feel like at least an advocate’s voice should have been acting for the, uh, …..[continues talking with marginal coherence]….
Later, talking to Bryce Edwards about the travails of the coalition government, Watkin added to the ugly and irresponsible tone of the show by endorsing Jacinda Ardern’s morally bankrupt decision to keep our military “trainers” in Iraq…
TIM WATKIN: There has been some tidying up going on. You can toss the Iraq deployment in with that, too…
A brief discussion about the Friends of Sherwood’s opposition to 1080 being dropped in Auckland ended with Watkin reading out an email from a listener: “If the Friends of Sherwood are conservationists, then I can call myself a farmer.” This elicited supportive snorts from Money and Fa’afiu. No doubt many listeners thought bitterly of the obvious addition to that statement, viz., IF THE S.S. ARE VICTIMS’ ADVOCATES, THEN LEIGHTON SMITH IS A LEADING THINKER, AND DONALD TRUMP IS A STABLE GENIUS.
After the 4:30 news, Tim Watkin mentioned the incredible, cloth-eared decision to have the shit pop band Maroon 5 play the halftime show at the Super Bowl in Atlanta. This elicited what will probably be the most embarrassing statement to have been uttered on any radio station anywhere this year….
PETER FA’AFIU: I love Maroon 5. I think Adam Levien is a great singer!
For her Soapbox contribution, Money called herself “Ruth the Victim’s Advocate” before embarking on a rant about psychiatric patients, and denouncing what she called “therapeutic culture” which to her mind “endangers public safety.” She said she’s working to “increase rights of victims, tidy that up….”
Neither Watkin nor Fa’afiu commented on the gross obscenity, the vicious irony of someone like Money calling herself “Ruth the Victims’ Advocate.”
ad nauseam…
More on Ruth Money’s appalling and disgusting organization ….
God forbid dangerous lunatics be kept away from prospective victims morrsisey. Ruth might think that we’re regulated by smug callous bureaucrats. Why, she’s practically Satan.
Ruth is a dear friend of mine and works tirelessly for the rights of victims and with victims of crime. How dare you call her Satan, I bet if your the victim of a crime you would bless her for what she would do for you behind the scenes and the time she would give you.
Ruth is a dear friend of mine and works tirelessly for the rights of victims and with victims of crime.
??? Then what on earth is she doing in that disgusting, discredited organization?
I bet if your [sic] the victim of a crime you would bless her for what she would do for you behind the scenes and the time she would give you.
Please ask your “dear friend” to tell you exactly how her S.S. Trust worked behind the scenes after the stabbing to death of a young boy in Manurewa ten years ago.
That was hyperbole Monty. You find it here sometimes. We are allowed to criticise your friends and colleagues. You are allowed to correct the excess, but saying don’t ‘dare’ speak wildly is not the way to go.
Gabby, you DO know that she is in the S.S. Trust, do you not? (I note that Watkin was careful not to mention that this afternoon, no doubt at her behest.)
Morrissey – You are a valid person to comment on someone’s smugness, drawing from your own experience. And what is the SS Trust – oh I remember that first call for comment group on anything, the Sensible Sentencing Trust. They don’t sound sensible in their ideas. Why can’t we hear from one of the churches, like the Salvation Army, with a vast experience of trying to guideand help people morally and compassionately?
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Who likes being sneered at? Nobody. Worse yet, when the sneerer has their facts all wrong, and might well be an idiot.The sneer in question is The adults are in charge now, and it is a sneer offered in retort to criticism of this new Government, no matter how well ...
When in government, Labour pushed to extend the Parliamentary term to four years, to reduce accountability and our ability to vote out a bad government. And now, they're trying to do it through the member's ballot, with a Four-Year Parliamentary Term Legislation Bill. The bill at least requires a referendum ...
A ballot for a single Member's Bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill (Hūhana Lyndon) The bill would prevent the government from stealing Māori land in breach of Te Tiriti o Waitangi. It ...
Simeon Brown, alongside Wayne Brown, is favouring a political figleaf now in exchange for loading up tens of millions in extra interest costs on Auckland ratepayers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s is pushing back hard at suggestions from Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown ...
Buzz from the Beehive One headline-grabber from the Beehive yesterday was the OECD’s advice that the government must bring the Budget deficit under control or face higher interest rates. Another was the announcement of a $1.9 billion “investment” in Corrections over the next four years. In the best interests of ...
Chris Trotter writes – Had Zheng He’s fleet sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks of the Ming Dynasty, among the largest and most sophisticated sailing vessels ever constructed, would have failed ...
David Farrar writes – Two articles give a useful contrast in balance. Both seek to be neutral explainer articles. This one in the Herald on Social Investment covers the pros and cons nicely. It links to critical pieces and talks about aspects that failed and aspects that are more ...
The tikanga regulations will compel law students to be taught that a system which does not conform with the rule of law is nevertheless law which should be observed and applied…Gary Judd KC writes – I have made a complaint to Parliament’s Regulation ...
The future of Te Huia, the train between Hamilton and Auckland, has been getting a lot of attention recently as current funding for it is only in place till the end of June. The government initially agreed to a five year trial, through to April 2026, but that was subject ...
TL;DR: Hamas has just agreed to Israel’s ceasefire plan. Nelson hospital’s rebuild has been cut back to save money. The OECD suggests New Zealand break up network monopolies, including in electricity. PM Christopher Luxon’s news conference on a prison expansion announcement last night was his messiest yet.Here’s my top six ...
A homicide in Ponsonby, a manhunt with a killer on the run. The nation’s leader stands before a press conference reassuring a frightened nation that he’ll sort it out, he’ll keep them safe, he’ll build some new prison spaces.Sorry what? There’s a scary dude on the run with a gun ...
Hi,I know it’s been awhile since there’s been any Webworm merch — and today that all changes!Over the last four months, I’ve been working with New Zealand artist Jess Johnson to create a series of t-shirts, caps and stickers that are infused with Webworm DNA — and as of right ...
The OECD’s chief economist yesterday laid it on the line for the new Government: bring the deficit under control or face higher Reserve Bank interest rates for longer. And to bring the deficit under control, she meant not borrowing for tax cuts. But there was more. Without policy changes—introducing a ...
After a hiatus of over four months Selwyn Manning and I finally got it together to re-start the “A View from Afar” podcast series. We shall see how we go but aim to do 2 episodes per month if possible. … Continue reading → ...
In 2008, the UK Parliament passed the Climate Change Act 2008. The law established a system of targets, budgets, and plans, with inbuilt accountability mechanisms; the aim was to break the cycle of empty promises and replace it with actual progress towards emissions reduction. The law was passed with near-universal ...
Buzz from the Beehive Local Water Done Well – let’s be blunt – is a silly name, but the first big initiative to put it into practice has gone done well. This success is reflected in the headline on an RNZ report:District mayors welcome Auckland’s new water deal with ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate ConnectionsA farmworker cleans the solar panels of a solar water pump in the village of Jagadhri, Haryana Country, India. (Photo credit: Prashanth Vishwanathan/ IWMI) Decisions made in India over the next few years will play a key role in global ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – The Children’s Minister, Karen Chhour, intends to repeal Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 because it creates conflict between claimed Crown Treaty obligations and the child’s best interests. In her words, “Oranga Tamariki’s governing principles and its act should be colour ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. ...
Brian Easton writes – This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be (I will report on them ...
TL;DR:Winston Peters is reported to have won a budget increase for MFAT. David Seymour wanted his Ministry of Regulation to be three times bigger than the Productivity Commission. Simeon Brown is appointing a Crown Monitor to Watercare to protect the Claytons Crown Guarantee he had to give ratings agencies ...
The gloves are off. That might seem to be the undertone of surprisingly tough talk from New Zealand’s foreign and trade ministers. Winston Peters, the foreign minister, may be facing legal action after making allegations about former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr on Radio New Zealand. Carr had made highly ...
I could be a florist'Round the corner from Rye LaneI'll be giving daisies to craziesBut, baby, I'll wrap you up real safe Oh, I can give you flowers At the end of every dayFor the center of your table, a rainbowIn case you have people 'round to stay Depending on ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 12 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Finance Minister Nicola Willis will give a pre-budget speech on Thursday.Parliament sits from Question Time at 2pm on ...
The price of the foreign affairs “reset” is now becoming apparent, with Defence set to get a funding boost in the Budget. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has confirmed that it will be one of the few votes, apart from Health and Education and possibly Police, which will get an increase ...
A listing of 26 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 28, 2024 thru Sat, May 4, 2024. Story of the week "It’s straight out of Big Tobacco’s playbook. In fact, research by John Cook and his colleagues ...
Yesterday I received come lovely feedback following my Star Wars themed newsletter. A few people mentioned they’d enjoyed reading the personal part at the beginning.I often begin newsletters with some memories, or general thoughts, before commencing the main topic. This hopefully sets the mood and provides some context in which ...
April 30 was going to be the day we’d be calling Mum from London to wish her a happy birthday. Then it became the day we would be going to St. Paul's at Evensong to remember her. The aim of the cathedral builders was to find a way to make their ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Can’t remember the last book by a Kiwi author you read? Think the NZ government should spend less on the arts in favor of helping the homeless? If so, as far as Newsroom is concerned, you probably deserve to be called a cultural ignoramus ...
Eric Crampton writes – Grudges are bad. Better to move on. But it can be fun to keep a couple of really trivial ones, so you’re not tempted to have other ones. For example, because of the rootkit fiasco of 2005, no Sony products in our household. ...
A new report warns an estimated third of the adult population have unmet need for health care.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāHere’s the six key things I learned about Aotaroa’s political economy this week around housing, climate and poverty:Politics - Three opinion polls confirmed support for PM Christopher Luxon ...
Today is May the fourth. Which was just a regular day when my mother took me to see the newly released Star Wars at the Odeon in Rotorua. The queue was right around the corner. Some years later this day became known as Star Wars Day, the date being a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Much more media attention is being paid to something Winston Peters said about former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr than to a speech he delivered to the New Zealand China Council. One word is missing from the speech: AUKUS. But AUKUS loomed large in his considerations ...
Is the economy in another long stagnation? If so, why?This is about the time that the Treasury will be locking up its economic forecasts to be published in the 2024 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update (BEFU) on budget day, 30 May. I am not privy to what they will be ...
The annual list of who's been bribing our politicians is out, and journalists will no doubt be poring over it to find the juiciest and dirtiest bribes. The government's fast-track invite list is likely to be a particular focus, and we already know of one company on the list which ...
In the weeks after the October 7 Hamas attacks on Southern Israel I wrote about the possible 2nd, 3rd and even 4th order effects of the conflict. These included new fronts being opened in the West Bank (with Hamas), Golan … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – It is one of the oldest truisms that there is never a good time for MPs to get a pay rise. This week’s announcement of pay raises of around 2.8% backdated to last October could hardly have come at a worse time, with the ...
David Farrar writes – Newshub reports: Newshub can reveal a fresh allegation of intimidation against Green MP Julie-Anne Genter. Genter is subject to a disciplinary process for aggressively waving a book in the face of National Minister Matt Doocey in the House – but it’s not the first time ...
The Treasury has published a paper today on the global productivity slowdown and how it is playing out in New Zealand: The productivity slowdown: implications for the Treasury’s forecasts and projections. The Treasury Paper examines recent trends in productivity and the potential drivers of the slowdown. Productivity for the whole economy ...
Winston Peters’ comments about former Australian foreign minister look set to be an ongoing headache for both him and Luxon. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts and , along with regular guests on Gaza and ...
These puppet strings don't pull themselvesYou're thinking thoughts from someone elseHow much time do you think you have?Are you prepared for what comes next?The debating chamber can be a trying place for an opposition MP. What with the person in charge, the speaker, typically being an MP from the governing ...
The land around Lyme Regis, where Meryl Streep once stood, in a hood, on the Cobb, is falling into the sea.MerylThe land around Lyme Regis, around the Cobb that made it rich, has always been falling slowly but surely into the sea. Read more ...
Buzz from the Beehive Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters was bound to win headlines when he set out his thinking about AUKUS in his speech to the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. The headlines became bigger when – during an interview on RNZ’s Morning Report today – he criticised ...
The Post reports on how the government is refusing to release its advice on its corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law, instead using the "soon to be publicly available" refusal ground to hide it until after select committee submissions on the bill have closed. Fast-track Minister Chris Bishop's excuse? “It's not ...
As pressure on it grows, the livestock industry’s approach to the transition to Net Zero is increasingly being compared to that of fossil fuel interests. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above ...
The New Zealand Herald reports – Stats NZ has offered a voluntary redundancy scheme to all of its workers as a way to give staff some control over their “future” amidst widespread job losses in the public sector. In an update to staff this morning, seen by the Herald, Statistics New Zealand ...
On Werewolf/Scoop, I usually do two long form political columns a week. From now on, there will be an extra column each week about music and movies. But first, some late-breaking political events:The rise in unemployment numbers for the March quarter was bigger than expected – and especially sharp ...
David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: TVNZ says it is dealing with about 50 formal complaints over its coverage of the latest 1News-Verian political poll, with some viewers – as well as the Prime Minister and a former senior Labour MP – critical of the tone of the 6pm report. ...
Muriel Newman writes – When Meridian Energy was seeking resource consents for a West Coast hydro dam proposal in 2010, local Maori “strenuously” objected, claiming their mana was inextricably linked to ‘their’ river and could be damaged. After receiving a financial payment from the company, however, the Ngai Tahu ...
Alwyn Poole writes – “An SEP,’ he said, ‘is something that we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. That’s what SEP means. Somebody Else’s Problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a ...
Our trust in our political institutions is fast eroding, according to a Maxim Institute discussion paper, Shaky Foundations: Why our democracy needs trust. The paper – released today – raises concerns about declining trust in New Zealand’s political institutions and democratic processes, and the role that the overuse of Parliamentary urgency ...
This article was prepared for publication yesterday. More ministerial announcements have been posted on the government’s official website since it was written. We will report on these later today …. Buzz from the BeehiveThere we were, thinking the environment is in trouble, when along came Jones. Shane Jones. ...
New Zealand now has the fourth most depressed construction sector in the world behind China, Qatar and Hong Kong. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 8:46am on Thursday, May 2:The Lead: ...
Hi,I am just going to state something very obvious: American police are fucking crazy.That was a photo gracing the New York Times this morning, showing New York City police “entering Columbia University last night after receiving a request from the school.”Apparently in America, protesting the deaths of tens of thousands ...
Winston Peters’ much anticipated foreign policy speech last night was a work of two halves. Much of it was a standard “boilerplate” Foreign Ministry overview of the state of the world. There was some hardening up of rhetoric with talk of “benign” becoming “malign” and old truths giving way to ...
Graham Adams assesses the fallout of the Cass Review — The press release last Thursday from the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls didn’t make the mainstream news in New Zealand but it really should have. The startling title of Reem Alsalem’s statement — “Implementation of ‘Cass ...
This open-for-business, under-new-management cliché-pockmarked government of Christopher Luxon is not the thing of beauty he imagines it to be. It is not the powerful expression of the will of the people that he asserts it to be. It is not a soaring eagle, it is a malodorous vulture. This newest poll should make ...
The latest labour market statistics, showing a rise in unemployment. There are now 134,000 unemployed - 14,000 more than when the National government took office. Which is I guess what happens when the Reserve Bank causes a recession in an effort to Keep Wages Low. The previous government saw a ...
Three opinion polls have been released in the last two days, all showing that the new government is failing to hold their popular support. The usual honeymoon experienced during the first year of a first term government is entirely absent. The political mood is still gloomy and discontented, mainly due ...
National's Finance Minister once met a poor person.A scornful interview with National's finance guru who knows next to nothing about economics or people.There might have been something a bit familiar if that was the headline I’d gone with today. It would of course have been in tribute to the article ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – Throughout the pandemic, the new Vice-Chancellor-of-Otago-University-on-$629,000 per annum-Can-you-believe-it-and-Former-Finance-Minister Grant Robertson repeated the mantra over and over that he saved “lives and livelihoods”.As we update how this claim is faring over the course of time, the facts are increasingly speaking differently. NZ ...
Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
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. ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
ANALYSIS:By Olli Hellmann, University of Waikato When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day today on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also to mark a defining event for national identity. The battle of Gallipoli against ...
By Robin Martin, RNZ News reporter A New Zealand local authority, Whanganui District Council, has passed a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, condemnation of all acts of violence and terror against civilians on both sides of the conflict and the immediate return of hostages. It comes as ...
Asia Pacific Report The Aotearoa chapter of the Women’s International league for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) has appealed to the New Zealand government to call out Israel over the “cruel and barbaric use of force” in Gaza and demand a permanent ceasefire. The league’s open letter was sent to Prime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Albanese government will invest $566 million over a decade on data, maps and other tools to promote exploration and development in Australia’s resources industry. The project will fund “the first comprehensive map of what’s ...
Asia Pacific Report Following an open letter by Auckland University academics speaking out in support of their students’ right to protest against the genocidal Israeli war on Gaza, a group of academics at Otago University have today also called on New Zealand academic institutions to “repair colonial violence” and end ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Linda J. Graham, Professor and Director of the Centre for Inclusive Education, Queensland University of Technology Ryan Tauss/ Unsplash, CC BY Two male students have been expelled from a Melbourne private school for their involvement in a list ranking female students. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The Reserve Bank is now assuming Australians will see no interest rate cuts this year – and quite possibly none before the next federal election, due next May. That’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Hayward, Emeritus Professor of Public Policy, RMIT University The Victorian budget offered more of the same on Tuesday, with the only change being how the budget papers were packaged. The usual shrink wrap was gone, hinting at savings in the pages ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Coalition is demanding extensive amendments to the government’s legislation targeting non-citizens who refuse to co-operate with their removal. In a dissenting report to the senate inquiry into the legislation, the Coalition says it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vanita Yadav, Senior Research Fellow, Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University Brett Boardman/Belvoir The complex and grappling issue of violence against women takes centre stage in the soul-stirring solo dance drama Nayika: A Dancing Girl. During a dinner conversation ...
Disruption to patient care from a nationwide junior doctors strike is bordering on unsafe, a senior doctor claims, despite what health officials say. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Diepstraten, Senior Research Officer, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute Ground Picture/Shutterstock The anti-cancer drug abemaciclib (also known as Vernezio) has this month been added to the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to treat certain ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dominic McAfee, Postdoctoral researcher, marine ecology, University of Adelaide Robbie Porter, OzFish Unlimited Around Australia, hundreds of people are coming together to help a once-prized, but decimated and largely forgotten marine ecosystem. They’re busy restoring Australia’s native oyster and mussel reefs. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Webb, Lecturer, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology Austin Human/Unsplash How does Earth stop meteors from hitting Earth and hurting people? –Asher, 6 years 11 months, New South Wales Alright, let’s embark on a meteor ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rory Mulcahy, Associate Professor of Marketing, University of the Sunshine Coast Professional sports organisations regularly promote and develop initiatives to support diversity, equity and inclusion. While sport has the power to change attitudes by sparking conversations about political issues and social ...
Comment: The weekly Monday post-Cabinet press conference is a useful forum for observing Christopher Luxon and how he is developing into the job of Prime Minister. He attempts to convey the impression of a man of action, speaking fast, delivering memorised National Party strategies in a connect-the-slogans kind of way, ...
Double votes, missing ballot boxes, tired tech and stressed staff: how tick-tallying went astray at last year’s election. Cast your mind back to November 2023, that bleary-eyed post-election period duringwhichwewaited, andwaited, for a coalition deal to be hammered out. A distraction from the hotel-hopping of our ...
International audiences are starting to discover what New Zealand already knew about After the Party.When After the Party aired in New Zealand last year, the response was fast and furious. In his preview for Rec Room, Duncan Greive said it was a “gritty, wrenching and highly confronting” series. By ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shahram Akbarzadeh, Convenor of the Middle East Studies Forum (MESF), and Acting Director the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University Iran’s leadership has been a direct beneficiary of the months-long war in Gaza. With every missile that Israel fires ...
Claire Mabey reviews the haunting and sexy debut novel from Sinéad Gleeson, who is about to touch down in Aotearoa for a string of live events.When Irish writer Sinéad Gleeson was in Aotearoa in 2018 with her spectacular collection of essays, Constellations, she told me she was working on ...
PNG Post-Courier Bougainville Affairs Minister Manasseh Makiba has described the Post-Courier’s front page story yesterday regarding a meeting between Bougainville and national government leaders as “sensationalised” and without substance. The Autonomous Bougainville Government (AGB) had warned it might use “other avenues to gain its independence” should the PNG government “continue ...
Where some saw the worst press conference given by the government to date, Anna Rawhiti-Connell recognised girl maths game.Nicola Willis, recently exasperated by comparisons to Ruth Richardson, said she was “a bit sick of being compared with every female finance minister that’s ever been out there.”Some think that’s ...
The March results are reported against forecasts based on the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update 2023 (HYEFU 2023), published on 20 December 2023 and the results for the same period for the previous year. ...
Jamie Arbuckle, the district councillor who became an MP but decided to keep getting paid for both roles, will instead donate one salary to charity. ...
Adding gender to the Human Rights Act would simply make the implicit explicit. So why is it so controversial? Paul Thistoll explain. At present, Aotearoa’s 1993 Human Rights Act (HRA) includes sex, marital status, religious belief, ethical belief (meaning a lack of religious belief), colour, race, ethnicity or national origin, ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, an 18-year-old who’s studying and working in hospo shares their approach to spending and saving. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Transmasc Age: 18 Ethnicity: Pākehā/Māori Role: Student, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Kelsey, Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Resources Minister Shane Jones has reportedly asked officials for advice on whether oil and gas companies could be offered “bonds” as compensation if drilling rights offered by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Gleeson, Associate Professor of Law, Macquarie University Shutterstock The Albanese government is weighing up the costs of delivering an election promise to protect religious people from discrimination in Commonwealth law. Such protections were relatively uncontroversial when included in state anti-discrimination ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yen Ying Lim, Associate Professor, Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University Pexels/Andrea Piacquadio Dementia is often described as “the long goodbye”. Although the person is still alive, dementia slowly and irreversibly chips away at their memories and the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Judy Bush, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, The University of Melbourne Adam Calaitzis/Shutterstock I met with a friend for a walk beside Merri Creek, in inner Melbourne. She had lived in the area for a few years, and as we walked ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Throsby, Distinguished Professor of Economics, Macquarie University Arts companies and individual artists in Australia are supported by government arts agencies, philanthropists, industry bodies, private donors and patrons. However, it is frequently overlooked that a major source of support for the arts ...
Harm Reduction Coalition Aotearoa, a new incorporated society dedicated to ending harmful drug policies, officially launched today, seeks a new fit-for-purpose drug law for Aotearoa New Zealand, rooted in science, experience and evidence. ...
The Corrections Minister admits he "muddied the water" after he and the Prime Minister repeatedly provided incorrect information about a $1.9 billion prison spend-up. ...
It took a post-post-cabinet statement to confirm that 810 new beds will be built at Waikeria, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Lili Tokaduadua was only 15 when she left her family in Fiji to pursue her netball dream in New Zealand. She’d been playing the sport for 10 years and was offered a netball scholarship at Auckland’s Howick College. Now, in her first year out of high school, the 19-year-old defender ...
The beloved local grocers lost a legal challenge to stop a new cycleway outside their store. Joel MacManus reports. In the annals of New Zealand legal history, there are a few brave people who have dared to stand up to the powers that be, no matter how bleak the odds ...
How what we produce and what we eat connects us to the world beyond our shores, visualised. Walking around a supermarket or vege shop, it might be obvious that everything on the shelves came from somewhere. But you might ...
Professor Jemma Geoghegan, of the University of Otago, Otakou Whakaihu Waka, co-leads a Te Niwha project aimed at understanding how and where avian influenza could affect Aotearoa New Zealand, as the highly infectious H5N1 virus spreads globally. The virus has now spread to all continents except Oceania and was recently ...
Thirty years on from Rwanda’s genocide, is guilt over the atrocities is blinding the world to the true nature of its current leadership? The post The repressive underside of Rwanda’s regime appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Opinion: Last week, important recommendations for our criminal justice system were made by the international community. Every five years, each member of the United Nations has its human rights practices reviewed. This rolling event – the Universal Periodic Review – is the culmination of a government reporting on its human ...
Highly pathogenic avian influenza – H5N1, or bird flu – has been flying around the world since the late 1990s. New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands are so far free of it, but now it’s been discovered in mainland Antarctica and scientists say it’s only a matter of time ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 7 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...
The following interview with auto electrician and former caver Stu Berendt, 68, of Charleston on the West Coast, came about because he was part of the caving team that found the rare and amazing fossil remains of the giant Haast eagle, the subject of one of the year’s best books, ...
A $1.8b funding boost for Pharmac still won’t enable it to buy more drugs, raising questions about the Government’s approach to the agency The post Can Pharmac do more with the same pot of money? appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Eric Stokan, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Maryland, Baltimore County If you live in one of the most economically deprived neighborhoods in your city, you might think the government is directing a smaller share of public funds to your community. ...
Wansolwara The news media’s crucial role in climate change and environment journalism was the focus of The University of the South Pacific’s Journalism Programme 2024 World Press Freedom Day celebrations. The European Union Ambassador to the Pacific, Barbara Plinkert, and Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Henry Puna were the chief ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Adams, Professor of Corporate Law & Academic Director of UNE Sydney campus, University of New England Last August, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched legal proceedings against Qantas. The consumer watchdog accused the airline of selling thousands of tickets ...
This episode of A View From Afar was recorded LIVE on May 6, 2024 (NZST) which is Sunday evening, May 5, 2024 at 8:30pm (USEST). In an analytical essay titled ‘A moment of friction’ political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan wrote how we are living within a decisive moment ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Taylor, Assistant Professor, Bond University Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures At the crux of the critical response to Luca Guadagnino’s new movie Challengers is one word: “sexy”. The film charts a love triangle between three up-and-coming tennis players: Tashi (Zendaya), ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jenny Stewart, Professor of Public Policy, ADFA Canberra, UNSW Sydney For years, First Nations people have been telling governments they want to be listened to. In particular, they want more ownership of the programs and services that are supposed to help them. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Why do trees have bark? Julien, age 6, Melbourne. This is a great question, Julien. We are so familiar with bark on trees, that most of us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anthony Nasser, Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy, University of Technology Sydney PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is an important ligament in the knee. It runs from the thigh bone (femur) to the shin bone (tibia) and helps stabilise ...
So much for new technology to keep us secure eh?
https://www.cnet.com/news/amazon-facial-recognition-thinks-28-congressmen-look-like-known-criminals-at-default-settings/
Amazon facial recognition mistakenly confused 28 Congressmen with known criminals
Amazon is trying to sell its Rekognition facial recognition technology to law enforcment, but the American Civil Liberties Union doesn’t think that’s a very good idea. And today, the ACLU provided some seemingly compelling evidence — by using Amazon’s own tool to compare 25,000 criminal mugshots to members of Congress.
Sure enough, Amazon’s tool thought 28 different members of Congress looked like people who’ve been arrested.
Maybe it wasn’t a mistake …
Yup. Looks like it can detect unknown criminals too?
Ha ha ha Micky; – maybe we should use this on our MP’s too?
Bernard Hickey doesn’t hold back – telling greedy property owners, pollies and others resistant to change that they are the problem.
“Dear young renters: you are sooo toast”
That’s a good article.
Given most of these older voters vote National, Labour should be bold.
1. CGT from 1 April 2021, ALL non prime residence property sold after then subject to CGT – income assessed based on historic purchase price.
2. As a CGT on residential property is too hard (no one in the world does it – because when people move they would have to pay a CGT which lowers their equity in their next property purchased) do what others do – leave it to end of life – estate taxation.
3. End payment of super to those still working.
The US still has capital gains tax on primary residences. It used to actually have teeth and be broad enough based that it captured most sales of primary residences. I paid CGT on my primary residence sale in 1996, so it’s not impossible to implement one that works. But by now it’s apparently been so weakened with exemptions and loopholes that most primary residence transactions aren’t affected.
Rather than exempting primary residences from CGT, the better way to alleviate the equity problem you mentioned is to have a rollover provision.
Say your first house cost $500k. You then sell a few years later for $800k and buy a new place for $1000k. Without a rollover, and a tax rate of 33%, you would have a $100k tax bill, and a cost basis for your new place of $1000k. But with a rollover, you would not pay any tax now, and the cost basis for your new place is $700k (your original $500k plus the extra $200k you’ve paid to upgrade). You’ve effectively deferred tax on that $300k of capital gain to a later date, such as when it’s time to start downsizing, or (God forbid) it’s your estate dealing with your taxes.
Judith Collins’ sprays yesterday about recompense for those unfairly chucked out of Housing NZ homes suggests she is again positioning herself as the bulldog strong alternative to the simple wobbly-mouthed one. (No pun intended with the female dog reference.)
yes Pete;
National firstly causes havoc,!!!!!!
And then blames others for it, every time it seems clear.
“the simple wobbly-mouthed one”.
That is a totally unacceptable way of describing the PM.
Wash you mouth out.
Wasn’t one of the people complaining about ex-prisoners getting too much compensation after they were found not guilty of the crime that they’d been imprisoned for?
Get over it – Māori have heard this a lot. I spose she’s here to try and help but…
“Tel Aviv Foundation chief executive Hila Oren, who calls herself a “citymaker”, said in an interview with Stuff last week that the quakes were “not important at all”, and the city needed to “let it go” and get on with the future.
The Christchurch Foundation, funded partly by the city council, used corporate sponsorship to cover the $35,000 costs* of Oren’s flights, accommodation and event costs for visit to the city from Israel where she is spending three months as a thinker in residence. Oren donated her time.”
https://i.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/107240956/controversial-thinkers-let-it-go-comment-branded-hurtful-and-insensitive
WTF
Any one of us could do as good a job. Thinker in residence? Just NZ cringe factor.
Why from Israel though, what about one of the Scandinavian countries? Israel has trouble coping with its own thinking, we don’t want to import it here.
What happened to warm dry housing for all?
Or democracy for that matter in people’s communities… The size, scale and privatisation of shared land between properties to remove sun and privacy under the unitary plan is in full swing.
Would never happen in the UK with 60 million people and tight planning rules to stop the greedy and stupid plans outside of public interest. I don’t even think it could happen in the US… Here in NZ we are rocketing towards planning stupidity, as well as some of the most expensive housing in the world and ones that have the stupidest planning and building regulations that consider everything ‘minor’ effect or not able to be allowed to be included as an effect.
Why worry though, when it’s the homeowners themselves who are expected to sort out council and developers messes post and during development as developing is a ‘private’ non transparent activity is seems and the first anyone knows of the screw ups are when the builders arrive.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12128678
Yes Save NZ; Goood points you raise here.
The government seemed (under previous labour and national) to fully allow all motorways and truck routes to be built up against housing residential areas!!
This simply allowed the truck noise, air pollution, and vibration to destroy our suburbs, from 24/7 truck freight noise, vibrations, air pollution to ruin the residential zones!!!!!
https://www.pce.parliament.nz/media/pdfs/Hawkes-Bay-Expressway-Noise-and-air-quality-issues-June-2005.pdf
So these ‘short term Governments’ need to wake up and relocate suburbs away from “industrial activities of road truck noise ect’ – roading planning’ before they try to make all homes ‘warm and dry’so make them also safe to occupy without traffic noise,vibration and air pollution as well.
The napier hastings expressway land was reserved for the motorway before the houses were there
In Auckland we have the opposite problem. Apparently land earmarked for rail and with an existing rail line going from Helensville to Auckland CBD has had the council sell off a small strip of land in Kumeu near the rail way line, apparently and that’s why AT have decided it can’t be used… sounds like an excuse or something that should be rectified unless of course their a reason the council wants to blow hundreds of billions on new rail that has not been built yet and won’t be for years and divert all the people from North West Auckland (in a massive development housing spec situation at present) to Swanson and have them change trains instead of a quick easy 20 minute journey to the city by rail and take commuters off the road that could be done now????
As usual Dukeofurl you are missing the main -points as to the real issues and reasons why labour Minster of transport Phil Twyford needs to come top Napier and fix their problem they made from 1961 till now.
Fact;
The Napier Hastings Motorway was designated in 1961-2 as a “commuter route for the people of Hastings to get to the Airport which the Labour Government awarded to Napier city and since Hastings lost it’s bad to have the airport at Hastings the government offered a “fig leaf to Hastings to build a motorway single lane road each way to the new airport at Napier.
The Motorway was not designated as a major truck route nor was it designed for trucks.
So you don’t appear to understand this fact yet, – this was now meant to have been a truck route get that????
PCE found the same conclusion that the Motorway was planned at another time when we had few heavy vehicles on our roads as rail carried 70% of our entire freight not roads.
https://www.pce.parliament.nz/media/pdfs/Hawkes-Bay-Expressway-Noise-and-air-quality-issues-June-2005.pdf
Read the PCE report for Christ sake I am astounded you didn’t read it first.
Since then when road took over freight the trouble appeared and now is getting worse every year.
HBRC in 2003 admitted the road was never planned when environmental issues were so strong as today so they need to protact the residents against the traffic emissions now since they need to stop blaming who was right and who was wrong.
here are the PCE Environmental report after they studied the problems.
HBRC “Murray Buchannan” see below blamed NCC for allowing homes to be built so close to what then was a 50kms road with few heavy trucks but since then the designation has gone through many changes to allow now four times the numbers of heavy trucks to the port of Napier.
“HB Today article 25th February 2003 “Residents ask help from Council.”
Abridged. The Citizens has asked the HBRC to consider the traffic effects of air quality and noise caused from the traffic using the overbridge which is to be completed later this year. Under the regional land transport Strategy the council is obliged to consider the environmental effects of any new traffic route.
The problem has arisen because prior to the expressway construction the Napier City council allowed residential development to abut the proposed road.
“The decision was unwise and made when environmental concerns were not as strong, and awareness of the consequences was much lower”, a council report by Environmental manager Murray Buchanan states.
“Whatever the case, there is no point trying to debate the rights and wrongs of the case as the road is there along with the houses. The only option is to limit the effects of the road on residents.”
PCE ruling;
5.3 Residential development near the
expressway
The expressway’s designation originally passed through mainly rural land –
the limit of residential development was well clear of the designation. The
Napier City Council has progressively zoned for residential development on
both sides of the expressway corridor. Residential development now lies
close to about a fifth of the expressway’s length. Many houses are close to
the expressway and several hundred people reside within 60 metres of it.
These residential areas were designed and built with very little effective
protection from the adverse effects of expressway traffic. This is testament
to past approaches to urban and transport planning being quite different to
those that prevail today.
5.4 Changes in traffic movement
Traffic in and around Napier has grown significantly since 1964. Much of
this is heavy vehicle traffic associated with the Port of Napier. Increasing
levels of road traffic have been exacerbated by the decline in the movement
of freight by rail. It has been estimated that heavy goods vehicle (HGV)
traffic to and from the port will almost double by 2026.19 Vehicle traffic
movement elsewhere in the region has also grown significantly since
the 1960s
I suspect that it will be not available in NZ, but if anyone gets the chances to watch Series 5 of Rake starring Richard Roxhurgh it’s absolutely the best political satire around at the moment:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-17/richard-roxburgh-on-ending-his-role-as-rakes-cleaver-greene/10131706
The script writers are brutally funny.
Great. .. I am sure that I can get it somewhere.
I really did enjoy Rake.
Interesting how abc all the time I was listening to Roxburgh, played a little random jingle over and over. Sort of like being in an adult nursery. Do they think that they are so boring, that people expressing thoughts is too hard for the average joe, that we need accompanying music or noise? behind the speech to keep interested, or even stop us from falling asleep? i have noticed this invasive elevator music creeping in but I don’t find it uplifting.
Oh wow, just wow.
Grant Robertson is not ruling out tax cuts in 2020, nothing says more about whether Labour is going to fight to make a difference to the deliberate under funding of government capability by National than this.
Apparently it is prepared to go about it very slowly – because where are people who want improved funding going to go?
I guess they are not beyond thinking bribing voters wins their votes
SPC, this is what Robertson is quoted to have said.
“One of the things we’ve written and asked the group to do is to come back to us with a package which is as we say revenue neutral so the amount of tax in the system as whole doesn’t change,” Robertson said on NewstalkZB.
I’s suggest that from whom the revenue comes from might change.
Also, it has to be said that this a bit like reading the tea leaves. The cup of tea from which such interpretations may be drawn has not yet even had the leaves grown yet, let alone been brewed.
Of course Robertson is going to say essentially nothing about tax changes when the still interim report has just been published.
Well said, mac1.
Robertson has not given any indications and would be mad to do so, on the basis of an interim report only which has yet to be considered by – amongst other groups – Cabinet. as certain other Labour Ministers have been reminded just this week. LOL.
He has, he has given in to calls on the right that the tax package will be revenue neutral. That is a Cabinet collective decision, inferred now.
Yes, Robertson has committed to NOT improving funding for government by increasing revenues by finally taxing some of the currently untaxed income.
Thus what way does he afford it?
By borrowing. No – committment to get debt to GDP to 20%.
Out of growth. Not quickly – because of a committment to keep government spending to below 30% fo GDP.
It’s fiscal policy means it intends to be National-lite.
FFS, the bright-line regime is voluntary as IR has made no efffort to collect it, no change under the current government.
Fiscally we are on bi-partisan neo-liberal auto-pilot. Where compliant obedience to economic orthodoxy is put before the peoples well-being.
There are two bold moves that could yet change this, but neither are likely given the timidity so far.
1. Stop paying super to those over 65 still working – $3Bpa available to government from this.
2. Instead of funding $2Bpa into the Cullen Fund from tax revenues, take 1% from the employee and 1% from the employer for this.
“1. Stop paying super to those over 65 still working – $3Bpa available to government from this.”
Not a question of timidity, but of utter foolhardiness to try that one.
2. Instead of funding $2Bpa into the Cullen Fund from tax revenues, take 1% from the employee and 1% from the employer for this.
In other words create another tax? More foolhardiness, not as much but electorally risky.
Labour was re-elected in 1987 after placing a surtax on all income earnt by those on super. And that was manifestly unfair because it included private super and other savings income.
What you do not seem to realise is that already most over 65 vote National because Labour’s WFF tax cut preference to across the board tax cuts means the super amount paid is lower. Labour has already risked more votes (and paid the price) doing this than by the measure I suggest here.
What is going to happen on the current path, is Labour will get some CGT revenue and then give those over 65 and still working a super payment increase (from the tax cut).
Both stupid and unjust.
If they do not ask more of the more privileged of the older haves, why should younger voters (with whom they have a chance) vote for them?
And it is not foolish to have a reliance on budget surpluses to afford inputs to the Cullen Fund?
We know that under English there were 9 years without inputs because of this – it’s not a sane way to provide for a known future rise in cost.
It’s like providing for earthquake insurance for homeowners out of tax revenues rather than premiums. Reckless.
Stop paying super to those over 65 still working; apart from costing votes for Labour, it would also breach a core NZF bottom line (while Winston is still around anyway).
Agree to rely on budget surpluses is fraught with danger.
Increasing the age for super would be a start.
I was very surprised that Robertson has indicted any tax changes will be revenue neutral. He must be pinning his hopes on growing the tax base (shit that is what I expect a National finance minister to say).
One of the reasons that the IRD has been kind of sluggish over the last two decades is because their computer system was essentially state of the art in 1975. But that just meant that the targeting was only really capable to looking at the PAYE level of avoidance. Which is why the majority of the tax take fell on PAYE rather than businesses.
They are now going to be able to both collect and analyze more data on the cash, deductions, and avoidance economies. All of the assorted bumf is going to be much easier to highlight from the pack. For instance the redline rort is easily detectable with access to the companies office data and land info.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12029264
It is going to cause a reformation in bookkeeping similar to that caused by the introduction of GST, and including the same benefits like actually knowing when you don’t have a real business but are really running a tax avoidance rort. You wouldn’t believe the numbers of business people who have delusions about how competent they really are.
Incidentally, have a look at the GamePlanet conversation around that article.
https://www.gpforums.co.nz/threads/524211-IRD-s-new-computer-system
In an interesting comment I read recently in regards to 1080, someone pointed out that one of the reasons trapping never works as an alternative is because trappers are inclined to keep possum numbers at a level that make them reasonably easy to catch in accessible areas. I thought this story regarding Tahr reflects the same sort of philosophy:
“In the last couple of decades recreational, safari, and commercial hunters have lobbied for the management of tahr numbers to be left mainly to their own efforts,” said Forest & Bird’s Regional Manager for Canterbury, Nicky Snoyink.
“Leaving the main management of tahr numbers in the hands of the hunting community has led to the out-of-control population increases. Instead of a population of 10,000 animals we now have a population of over 35,000 tahr on public conservation land and probably closer to 50,000 when non-conservation land is taken into account – five times the maximum population required by the Tahr Control Plan,” she said.
“While recreational hunting has a role in pest control, it is essential that we do not hand over conservation management to the hunters. Time after time we have learnt that recreational hunting is not up to the task of achieving the desired conservation goals.”
“Because of the past failures of recreational and commercial hunting we now need to reduce tahr numbers by 80 percent. If the hunting organisations were genuine in their claims that they want to look after the environment they would support DOC’s proposals rather than opposing them,’ says Ms Snoyink.”
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/the-country/news/article.cfm?c_id=16&objectid=12128057
the downside of automation.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/two-pedestrians-hurt-as-driverless-train-derails-in-tasmania-20180921-p5056m.html
whether it’s a “downside” depends what their accident rate is.
Scary – wtf is going on
“Sixteen children are ill at Carterton’s South End School – reportedly after a low-flying plane released an unknown substance.”
https://i.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/wairarapa/107281930/school-children-sick-after-plane-drops-toxin-over-carterton-school
1080?
The world is getting stranger by the day!
Defense Minister Ron Mark said it appeared a plane had “accidentally sprayed the schools with pesticide”!
Emergency incident controller Lockyer said, “…unsubstantiated and more unlikely than likely”…
It could be some dealing at the school by a juvenile entrepreneur, or just sharing out their mother’s cooking. Best to wait before offering possibilities.
I fell asleep to the @Dukeofearl (THANK CHRIST!) . It was a bit of a nanna nap, but thanks anyway Duke.
I woke up to ‘The Panel’. Actually, it was the pre-cum (15:45) for the benefit of the Duke and his ilk. Tum was filling in for Jum
I’m wondering if any of them realise just how self-fucking-indulgent they are.
All that’s wrong with PSB and what they think is the definition of it.
“In the deep end with Ruth Money!” guffaws Tim Watkin.
This dog of a program was today as offensive as it’s ever been.
The Panel, RNZ National, Friday 21 Sept. 2018
Tim Watkin, Peter Fa’afiu, Ruth Money, Caitlin Cherry
The alarm bells started ringing as soon as I heard that Ruth Money, from the outré and discredited S.S. Trust was going to be on the show. And sure enough, straight after the 4 o’clock news, Tim Watkin introduced her by burbling vacuously: “Victims’ advocate and first-time member of the Panel, Ruth Money….”
First topic for discussion was Meka Whaitiri’s alleged assault of an employee….
TIM WATKIN: Ruth, you’re a victims’ advocate. How would you deal with this?
RUTH MONEY: Once again the victim has not got a voice. What about the victim? All we’ve heard about is the alleged perpetrator. I feel like at least an advocate’s voice should have been acting for the, uh, …..[continues talking with marginal coherence]….
Later, talking to Bryce Edwards about the travails of the coalition government, Watkin added to the ugly and irresponsible tone of the show by endorsing Jacinda Ardern’s morally bankrupt decision to keep our military “trainers” in Iraq…
TIM WATKIN: There has been some tidying up going on. You can toss the Iraq deployment in with that, too…
A brief discussion about the Friends of Sherwood’s opposition to 1080 being dropped in Auckland ended with Watkin reading out an email from a listener: “If the Friends of Sherwood are conservationists, then I can call myself a farmer.” This elicited supportive snorts from Money and Fa’afiu. No doubt many listeners thought bitterly of the obvious addition to that statement, viz., IF THE S.S. ARE VICTIMS’ ADVOCATES, THEN LEIGHTON SMITH IS A LEADING THINKER, AND DONALD TRUMP IS A STABLE GENIUS.
After the 4:30 news, Tim Watkin mentioned the incredible, cloth-eared decision to have the shit pop band Maroon 5 play the halftime show at the Super Bowl in Atlanta. This elicited what will probably be the most embarrassing statement to have been uttered on any radio station anywhere this year….
PETER FA’AFIU: I love Maroon 5. I think Adam Levien is a great singer!
For her Soapbox contribution, Money called herself “Ruth the Victim’s Advocate” before embarking on a rant about psychiatric patients, and denouncing what she called “therapeutic culture” which to her mind “endangers public safety.” She said she’s working to “increase rights of victims, tidy that up….”
Neither Watkin nor Fa’afiu commented on the gross obscenity, the vicious irony of someone like Money calling herself “Ruth the Victims’ Advocate.”
ad nauseam…
More on Ruth Money’s appalling and disgusting organization ….
https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2018/01/noelle-mccarthy-swallowed-vomit-for-15.html
https://morrisseybreen.blogspot.com/2018/01/why-is-national-radio-or-anyone-still.html
God forbid dangerous lunatics be kept away from prospective victims morrsisey. Ruth might think that we’re regulated by smug callous bureaucrats. Why, she’s practically Satan.
Ruth is a dear friend of mine and works tirelessly for the rights of victims and with victims of crime. How dare you call her Satan, I bet if your the victim of a crime you would bless her for what she would do for you behind the scenes and the time she would give you.
Careful Monty, Morrsisey will put your name on ze list too.
Ruth is a dear friend of mine and works tirelessly for the rights of victims and with victims of crime.
??? Then what on earth is she doing in that disgusting, discredited organization?
I bet if your [sic] the victim of a crime you would bless her for what she would do for you behind the scenes and the time she would give you.
Please ask your “dear friend” to tell you exactly how her S.S. Trust worked behind the scenes after the stabbing to death of a young boy in Manurewa ten years ago.
That was hyperbole Monty. You find it here sometimes. We are allowed to criticise your friends and colleagues. You are allowed to correct the excess, but saying don’t ‘dare’ speak wildly is not the way to go.
Gabby, you DO know that she is in the S.S. Trust, do you not? (I note that Watkin was careful not to mention that this afternoon, no doubt at her behest.)
And how fucking DARE they not share your musical taste. Bastards.
Peter Fa’afiu’s lamentably bad taste in music reflects his commentary: smug, ill informed, complacent and bland.
Morrissey – You are a valid person to comment on someone’s smugness, drawing from your own experience. And what is the SS Trust – oh I remember that first call for comment group on anything, the Sensible Sentencing Trust. They don’t sound sensible in their ideas. Why can’t we hear from one of the churches, like the Salvation Army, with a vast experience of trying to guideand help people morally and compassionately?