Same old story. First Christchurch, now Auckland.
The lack of financial support by government for key public transport infrastructure, then all of a sudden ‘cash strapped’ councils.
The fire sale of New Zealand continues.
Neo-liberalism knows only one way.
Yup that’s the plan and why they use every trick to win the GE last year as there’s plenty of juicy council assets and further privatisation that needs to get done before the smiling assassin slings his hook and leaves the jurisdiction.
They say the sales will assist a cash strapped council, yet from the article you linked to it states: any sell-down of these assets will reduce future revenue and could lead to higher rates to plug the gap, which, of course, defeats the objective.
Sales never assist a cash strapped council or, in fact, any government. All they do is transfer the wealth to the rich so as to make the citizens of the country serfs to those rich.
I just wanted to draw attention to the closure today of submissions regarding the proposed land swap relating to the redevelopment of the Three Kings quarry.
I attended earlier in the week my first public meeting organized and driven by the local community, it was clear after the presentation and proper explanation of the proposal that the swap in its current form represents windfall gain for Fletchers and a significant loss to the Three Kings community not to mention a further degeneration of the maunga.
Anyway if you have the time please write an opposing submission and get it sent to threekingsreserve@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz by 4pm today.
Have not read it yet, but worth recalling that Auckland’s actual population growth over recent decades has always been higher that the official Stats NZ ‘High” projection (which to 2040 is about another million residents). Some discussion and presentations from the 2013 council-hosted event that focused on the issue: http://voakl.net/2013/06/15/population-trends/
The Hearld plays the ratings game in this .ornings edition. John Key rates a 8 out 10. “The Teflon is peeling, but only at the margins…his rating would be higher but for the gou know what.”
Espiner this morning interviews Pagani (former failed Labour party candidate) and somebody called Nick Legget . Both couldn’t wait to diss (criticize disrespectfully) Andrew Little and Labour. In the end Espiner had to shut them up and curb their enthusiasm to disparage Labour
What is their agenda?
Legget is mayor of Porirua. Both of them are involved in setting up a conservative pressure group within Labour. The whining non-entity Phil Quin was involved as well, but I guess he can’t troll Labour as effectively since he flounced out of the party a couple of weeks ago.
Nick Leggett is a very self-important person who really thinks he is going places. He was very keen on council amalgamation in the greater Wellington region. I attended a meeting where he spoke and he absolutely failed to convince the large audience on the merits of his viewpoint.
I was listening peripherally to Natrad earlier…I thought one of the household had broke ranks and tuned into Radio Live. A real commercial tone to the talk, and a disturbing lack of the expected gravitas.
Thank god their website is more navigable so we can go back and listen to the way things were.
Rodel
Never mind. They quickly moved on to the far more important matter of a rich man’s sports trophy and how we, the great unwashed, can pat it reverentially with a glove on.
With Auckland’s road traffic congestion problems, in particular from the North across the harbour you would think a fast track option that would be less disruptive to road users would be a Rail tunnel. Far cheaper than what the Nats are proposing.
When it comes to transport they don’t care if it’s much more expensive, has far less benefit to the community and the wider city, drains the economy by holding people up in traffic jams, and puts the climate more at risk. It’s roads or nothing.
If National propose it you can be fairly certain that there’s a cheaper option that’s far better. The reason for that is that National look for maximum profit for their donors rather than what’s best for the country.
It refers to the Government’s “financial veto” – what is that? Does this really mean that parliament is not supreme – that they are subservient to a cabinet selected by the governing political party? What law contains that right to over-ride parliament?
If the government does not like a bill on financial grounds, shouldn’t they be regarding it as a “confidence and supply” issue – and thus “encouraging” support partners like Peter Dunne to vote the way they want rather than with his conscience?
I recall an article on No Right Turn some time ago, which didn’t invoke much discussion – isn’t it time we had this issue clarified?
You say “we’ve only had National do it”
Can you tell us of any case of such a veto having been used?
I didn’t think that the provision, although it exists, has ever been used.
The earlier bill had the numbers to pass in Parliament, with the Maori Party and United Future – both Government support parties – in support, however it was always doomed to failure.
A week after it was drawn, National pledged to use its financial veto to block the bill, eventually announcing its own plans to extend paid parental leave as part of the 2014 Budget.
On April 1 leave was extended by two weeks to 16 weeks, and in April 2016 it will be extended again to 18 weeks.
The announcement was not enough to see Labour withdraw the bill, and National used a number of tactics to delay the progress of the proposed legislation until after the 2014 election, meaning the veto was not required because of National’s increased caucus.
So, they didn’t actually get round to using the veto using filibustering instead but they did say that they would and then they realised that they’d lose support if they did and so they put in place their own watered down version. And now that it’s back on the table I’m sure that National will be saying they’ll veto it again.
A teachers union is dropping its opposition to the Government’s $155 million a year plan to pay teachers more to improve schools after negotiating changes to the scheme.
Nice to see the union laying on its back with its belly exposed 😉
You need to read beyond the headline, schmuck. The union negotiated the changes it wanted, then signed up. It was the Education Ministry that rolled over.
It is a touchy subject for Stephen ‘snake oil’ Joyce and the National spin department. Buoyed by the $155 million dollar bribe to keep the teachers on side during last years election, they decided to employ the same tactic in this year’s Northland ‘Buy election’ with the Bridges they plucked out of their arse. The whole country laughed at that spectacular fail. And I don’t think it will end there as Shane Jones is likely to stand for NZF in Whangarei and clean out the hapless Nat’s Shane Reti, both local opposition partys will probably work together and vote stratically and push National completely out of the North 🙂
“Farmers on the Liverpool Plains in northern New South Wales are vowing to launch legal action and resort to civil disobedience if they have to, to stop a Chinese coal mining company being granted a mining licence….
Farmer and Caroona Coal Action Group head Tim Duddy said the project was “agricultural genocide”.
“We are not talking about a coexistence model, we are talking about mining coming and farming going and it’s as simple as that,” he said.
Mr Duddy and a group of other Liverpool Plains farmers have met to discuss how they will proceed.
“We’re looking at our legal options, we’re looking at our other options, certainly the community is prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure a mine does not occur here,” Mr Duddy said.
Farmer Andrew Pursehouse, who owns more than 4,000 hectares of prime agricultural land on the Liverpool Plains, said the group would resort to civil disobedience if it had to.
“”We’ve got to act like French farmers and stop this, this is just not right.”
Has anyone read the Opinion (?) piece in the compost? (trying to write dom post but TNT came up instead, seemed appropriate!) Hatchet job on Little, absolutely spitting venom. Wonder who wrote it?
Has anyone read the Opinion (?) piece in the compost? (trying to write dom post but this came up instead, seemed appropriate!) Hatchet job on Little, absolutely spitting venom. Wonder who wrote it?
Anyone that may remain unsure as to whether or not the New Zealand Listener has been taken over by the extreme political right need go no further than read the editorial in the latest issue (August 1 to August 7 2015).
There is only one word in my vocabulary for this writing and that is ‘scurrilous’. It may also verge on being defamatory but then I’m no legal eagle.
The writer (identity not acknowledged) likens Phil Twyfords attempt at initiating a discussion on just who is purchasing Auckland homes to “Nazi Germany, where mass extermination was justified on the premise that Jews were subversive, disloyal and a threat to ‘true’ Germans.” Next comes an emotive linking of the recent Diana Wichtel interview with an elderly Auschwitz survivor and links how Twyford is suggesting that “Chinese speculators are to blame – – – “.
Further on, the writer dredges up how Chinese were subjected to vilification and discrimination in the 19th. and early 20th. centuries. This leads on to how an elderly Chinese was shot dead in a Wellington street!
The final extraordinary flight of fancy in this article links the median income of Chinese N.Z’ers (2013) as being a “modest $16,000” and that this somehow runs counter to the theory that N.Z. is being overrun by wealthy Chinese seeking a haven for their money as China’s economy contracts.
There is much other dubious content in this editorial and IMO the Listener richly deserves extreme condemnation. I’m going to the Press Council.
In due course, I would like to see Labour take action against these shallow, politically motivated attacks designed to play on the emotions of readers and without any attempt at providing objective analysis.
And hiding behind anonymity in a mainstream public journal. Makes you wonder who the source was…. Quin, Pagani, Leggott where are you?
I just read it with dismay. The writer pretends that Twyford has criticised NZ residents of Chinese origin investing in the house market. It is overseas investors with no connection to NZ that are the target becasue they are distorting the market. It would be better if there was a problem with Scandanvian investment in the Auckland housing market. This would allow for more accurate surname analysis and get the race card (actually played by Labours critics, not Labour) right out of it.
Dismay quickly turned to a deep seated anger at the lying, twisting and vituperate tone of the editorial. So much so, I didn’t dare respond to the content.
Somebody correct me if I’m wrong, but I have a faint recollection Phil Quin was associated with the Listener at some point in the past. I may well have the wrong person, but if not… then I’m picking he had a hand in it’s composition.
Fully agree. I do not know about Quin, but I do not want to try to write a critical letter of that rancid piece of politicking in my current mood.
It is the ownership of the Listener that is the cause: in the days of Monte Holcroft, Ian Cross, etc, the magazine maintained a Lord Reith style of independence. It is now, no doubt, set up commercially, and thereby corrupted. If there are shareholders and a Board of Directors (Parent owner is actually a German company, is it not?) you can bet that Editors and policies will thereby be skewered to the right. Commercialism and marketing are a pox upon the face of our modern society, seen most clearly in our deteriorating MSM. Listener- from clarion to carrion.
i try to avoid buying the Listener these days…it is hopelessly compromised as a New Zealand public watch dog and investigative journalism is out the window …it is full of PR merchants for Nact imo
….Joanne Black their former star opinion feature writer ( may still write for them as far as I know ) went to work for Bill English and is now the PR person for selling Kiwi Rail …her husband I think works in jonkey’s office
…..Interesting that Bill English did not front sale of Kiwi Rail on Nine-to- noon recently but used instead Joanne Black to front jonkey Nact government policy of financially gutting NZ rail, in an era when all other countries are looking to expand rail services….GUTLESS!
“The government has put KiwiRail on notice, giving it two years to identify savings and reduce Crown funding required. What is the future of the rail network and what is its importance to regional New Zealand? The Hawkes Bay Regional Council. Regional leaders are fighting to retain rail links, and in Hawkes Bay to re-open its rail service. The Napier – Gisborne line was mothballed back in 2012 after it was washed out by a major storm. The Hawkes Bay Regional Council is fighting for its resurrection and has put up five-and-a-half million dollars to part fund the line. Liz Lambert is the Chief Executive of the Hawkes Bay Regional Council. Lawrence Yule is the mayor of Napier and chairman of Local Govenrment New Zealand. Joanne Black is the spokesperson for Kiwi Rail.”
…i try to avoid buying the Listener these days…it is hopelessly compromised…
I have not bothered with it since Pamela Stirling replaced Findlay MacDonald as editor. I could see straight away that it was over, and was very sad as it was a beloved piece of NZ for me up until then. When I glance at the headlines in the supermarket it now looks to be a cross between a National Party newsletter and a social climber’s handbook.
The truth is, America’s lurch toward widening inequality can be reversed. But doing so will require bold political steps.
At the least, the rich must pay higher taxes in order to pay for better-quality education for kids from poor and middle-class families. Labor unions must be strengthened, especially in lower-wage occupations, in order to give workers the bargaining power they need to get better pay. And the minimum wage must be raised.
Don’t listen to the right-wing lies about inequality. Know the truth, and act on it.
Considering NZ’s lurch down the same ideological path over the last 30 years the same can be said of NZ.
Labour’s yellow peril is a myth and fabrication according to Auckland City Council, which says “Auckland Council has revealed how many of its rates bills are sent overseas. Of the 535,057 rates bills sent out, 5617 or 1.05% are sent overseas – 2885 to Australia and 2732 to the rest of the world.” http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/few-council-rates-bills-going-overseas-sl-p-175906
This is pretty solid evidence that the whole “foreigners are pushing up prices” idea is nothing but xenophobic scapegoating. For that to be true but only 1.1% of rates bills going overseas would require virtually every foreign buyer to be using a local agent. Occam’s Razor applies, the simpler explanation is that foreign ownership is just not that high.
Not that mere logic is going to convince those who really want this to be true, of course.
…would require virtually every foreign buyer to be using a local agent.
What is so surprising about that? I knew a number of local landlords in my apartment building (60 apartments – 10 owners occupier) when I was active in the body corporate less than 10 years ago. Less than 10% of the landlords did not use an agent. All the ones from off-shore did. Using agents like Crockers or Barfoots or Quinovic is the norm rather than the exception.
When I moved out for 4 years to get more room for a film to be produced, we used Quinovic, even though the apartment was only 4 blocks away. Who has the time or inclination to run a rental property. Same with almost everyone else that I know of who rents out properties in Auckland.
Yep. House next door to me is owned by a Honk Kong businessman who resides in Hong Kong. He has a “friend” in NZ who manages the property for him. She currently rents it out to tenants (3 bedroomed house) at around $900 per week. When she gets the word from the overseas owner she will sell it for him.
@ Clean_power ….it is up to the government…Nactional …to get the real and true statistics on who is buying Auckland houses …every single one of them ….as you well know…thus far they have been avoiding this like the plague
….and if someone overseas buys 40 houses …do they get 40 rates bills or just one?
most likely sent to their local agent in NZ…which gives no indication whether the houses are overseas owned or not
again I repeat …the nactional government need to give New Zealanders the real and true statistics on who is buying up NZ houses and property …every single one of them ….thus far they have been avoiding this like the plague
Did I say they did? They show that even where there are many more restrictions on the purchase of homes by foreign buyers than here in NZ – foreign buyers (and the majority seem to be coming from the one area – which is not surprising – there being around $21 trillion NZ dollars sitting in private bank accounts in China alone at low rates of interest) are distorting the market to such an extent that they are causing concern. In Vancouver it is possible to walk down many streets with many well built houses empty and boarded up. Simply investments in property with prices escalating many tens of thousands a year – why go through the hassle of renting – and with a projected 22,000 similarly owned in Auckland, one has to wonder at, who could be the owners? Just how much foreign owned and by how many is difficult to assess but the house price bubbles in Sydney and Auckland and Vancouver are real concerns, and will have devastating effects on their respective economies when they burst as burst they will.
So I would not be surprised to find if many overseas investors did have a substantial portfolio of housing stock in the NZ market. They have after all been in the game for at least the last 5 years. This is nothing new, it has only just been made prominent in the last week or so, and many NZers – such as yourself – are only coming to terms with it now.
Macro – you have no clue as to whether or not the majority of foreign investment in NZ houses comes from China. How wou;ld you know for instance, whether or not billion dollar US hedge funds like Blackstone have been buying up NZ real estate via locally listed companies or trusts..
….”That’s roughly $32 billion,” says Tee. “The Canadian government said: ‘We don’t want your money anymore’ and that capital is now hitting the Sydney market.”
“There is a mountain of liquidity. China is bursting with flight capital. They can’t go to the US, they can’t get it into Singapore anymore, or Hong Kong.”
Tee’s comments come at a time of increasing concern that a generation of young Australians have been locked out of the property markets of Melbourne and Sydney due to spiralling house prices….
Tee says recent figures in the media which put Chinese investment in the Sydney property market at 25 per cent of total sales were too low. He says it might be twice this level but it is hard to tell because of the lack of transparency on ownership.
Most Chinese purchases hide behind trustees and proxies. Third parties such as friends and relatives were often used.
“Chinese students are being paid 2 per cent of the purchase price of the property to purchase property on behalf of relatives,” says Tee.
Another person au fait with Chinese property transactions in Australia told Fairfax Media it was simple for Chinese investors to get around the foreign capital restrictions.
“The money never really moves. In a simple example, Kunlun is a forex trading and money exchange company. It has bank accounts in many countries with significant cash balances. So if someone wants $40 million in Australia they put the money in a Kunlun China account and Kunlun transfers the money from their Australian accounts to the person’s friend’s Australian account.
“Kunlun is just one example – any large trading multinational will hold large reserves of cash in each country so they can effect a transfer with an internal paper transaction. No banks or government scrutiny involved. And given that they don’t do effective reporting in this country, who will ever trace it?…”Kunlun is just one example – any large trading multinational will hold large reserves of cash in each country so they can effect a transfer with an internal paper transaction. No banks or government scrutiny involved. And given that they don’t do effective reporting in this country, who will ever trace it?
“The current situation is that one of the best assets a local Chinese can have is a permanent Australian residence. They will have ‘friends’ lining up to ‘loan’ them money to buy properties in Australia.
All the government needs to do is follow the cash.”
Sadly, for a generation of young homebuyers it seems the government is not interested in following the cash. Otherwise our politicians, of both major parties, would have introduced the second tranche of AML legislation by now and real estate agents would have to prove that their clients’ funds were legitimate.
You know sometimes events speak truth to power. Like this weekend National will be having their 79th party conference at the Sky Tower.
This is an event, in a place that just say’s – we are corporate lackeys. I think Key and Co. are desperate to be noticed by their lords and masters. How truly funny.
from the ‘guess these things don’t matter anymore‘ file
Aren’t there a whole lot of rules about not using the image of the PM or members of his Cabinet in commercial promotions?
Here we have an image of the PM and Bill English headlining a “paid content” Fisher Funds article in the NZH Brand Insight section.
The image is also thumbnailed under the Brand Insight header on the Herald’s homepage. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/fisher-funds/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503733&objectid=11485147
They’re refusing to say whether the contract will be cancelled, but for things to get this bad after only a few years it shows that the best tenderer was woefully inadequate. Privatisation fail.
But Sam assured the House that it “is the top prison performer on the prison performance table, which measures core security, internal procedures, and rehabilitation”.
I can see the Headlines now “Minister tripped or stumbled from 9th Floor says PM” Duncan will assure us all there is nothing to see not even tv footage of any carnage, and suddenly a mystery MP will be admitted to Middlemore Hospital so “it couldn’t have happened on our patch”.
Witnesses are like water quality scientists – tugger can find a dozen mps who’ll swear that L-L was only found to be injured after he had been transferred to the Labour Party headquarters…
Dairy farmers are doing it tough, and the sector is important, but it makes up only about 5 per cent of our economy,
From yek’s newsletter.
Can someone explain briefly what the 5% refers to.?
Is it volume of exports? Is it money earned?
Where is the 95% coming from then?
If we are so well off can we start having a decent system of national works to ensure the base line of employment and work is kept alive? Also can we have prescription charges dropped back to $3, and heating subsidies. And an renewal of firm but fair prison warden training for that group heavy on humanity also for social welfare department workers.
Dairy is5% of GDP I believe ,its there way of glossing over the fact that its 20% of export earnings . Most owners will get through but I’ve already noticed a few comments on social media sights about hours being cut for workers. Shit roles down hill and its always the little guy at the bottom .
7% of the labour force to returning 5% of the total productivity.
Although you might argue that primary production might be less efficient viewed alone, but it produces essential raw materials that subsequently add value to other sectors in the economy. It’s probably something that I’d want to look through a bit more closely than simply assuming efficiency based on share of labour vs share of gdp.
Even taking into account the fact that producing food supports everything else we do it shows poor economics as that extra 2% of the working population, ~100,000 people*, could be used to produce better returns.
* About the same number of people that Samsung uses to produce 25% of our GDP
unless the GDP average is artificially inflated by forex traders, derivatives gamblers, and other high-income leeches on the economy. Average vs median, sort of thing.
I’d definitely want to look at a few of the different sectors to see whether dairy is particulalry wasteful of labour compared to other areas of primary production.
Samsung isn’t a primary industry, but it would be fucked without primary industry.
That’s the thing about value-adding: mining rare earths might not be as profitable as turning those materials into chips and batteries, but you can’t do one without the other.
Many of the basics in our supermarkets and restaurants would not be produced without milk products. They might well produce more revenue per employee, as well. But they’d be equally fucked without dairy products.
Me and the cocky next door were talking about the limiting factors to nzs production yesterday and its all distance to market isn’t it ? We could turn every flat price of ground into intensive crop growing but were would we sell it.?
Just ask yourself – where is Tip Top ice cream and Anchor butter sold now? That’s right: all around the world. Just like we used to sell butter and milk powder to Russia (USSR) and the UK.
There still low tech ,low input products were as fruit ,nuts, veges and the like would be higher in $ha returns require more labour but are harder to shift.
We could turn every flat price of ground into intensive crop growing but were would we sell it.?
We already have turned every flat piece of ground into farms and a hell of a lot of the not so flat. As to where would we sell it – well, every country can produce all the food that they need so the chances are there wouldn’t be anywhere.
The start of the discussion was the under production of nz farm land vs labour input .I’ve tried to point out the limiting factors as to why that is . I never argued that we weren’t farming most of the available land.
“7% of the labour force to returning 5% of the total productivity.”
Is that inherently a problem? I can see it is for an export driven economy, but what if farming in NZ was primarily for growing food for NZers? Would it matter then?
When Europeans arrived in NZ, they thought the land wasn’t in use because it hadn’t been cleared and farmed. But the native ecosystems provided food and other resources for the people that lived here (and a smaller population made that possible), and Māori were active in the maintenance of those ecosystems, just in ways that the Europeans didn’t understand.
When we transition to local food and susatinable land management, we will need more land to produce the food we eat and to replace the food we currently import. We will need to grow more resources to replace fossil fuels (eg timber, hemp, bamboo, biofuels etc), as well as restore a great number of ecosystems whether that be to native or otherwise, because they won’t sustain themselves once the fossil fuel inputs are gone. Myself, I don’t have a problem with some land being left to its own devices, but in the interim I can’t see that being the most of it.
Whatever we do, I can’t see us stepping aside from existing land management for a very long time, if ever.
In some ways that might all seem like semantics. Farmland will not be like it was before, so could be described as ‘retired’. But I think it’s important that we can see productive options beyond the current economic paradigm. That’s why the conversation about GDP and labour was interesting. If we change what we value and how we measure that, then I think things look quite different.
Māori also changed the landscape by burning large areas of forest, probably to make hunting easier.
I read somewhere else that Māori had cleared about 50% of the native ecosystems before the Europeans arrived. The idea that the Māori were eco-friendly is pretty much a lie.
If we change what we value and how we measure that, then I think things look quite different.
Yep. Once we consider what the economy is, what it’s for and look at it in it’s real physical limits we come back with far different values than mere profit.
Off the top of my head one could argue that such a disparity within a closed system would actually be more indicative of a problem, because producers of an essential commodity are rewarded at below average rates.
Alternatively, one could tautologically argue that it’s a good think because the value added by a primary industry is less than more advanced precessing.
But that’s the problem with economics in general – any observation can be cut in any way to be seen as either good or bad depending on the observer’s bias.
In DTB graph the agricultural employment stats have gone down majorly since being about 10.5% circa 1986 and 1991.
Then took a steep dive to 1997 8.5%, rose over years ending at 2001 9%. then its been downward to 6.6% for the last reported year of 2009. So down while we have been hearing how wonderful a sector it is.
Amazing! And the High Court roasting of the Health Department over the not Awarding of the funding for the Problem Gambling Foundation is amazing! Andrew runs it across the rule of law. Andrew writes:
“As Peter Dunne, the then Associate Health Minister, said in response to claims that the PGF had been punished for its vocal opposition to the gambling industry:
There’s just not one shred of truth in this allegation. It’s shameful, it reflects on the integrity of the people making these allegations and it detracts from a process which has been robust, independent, it’s been peer reviewed and it’s probably one of the better processes that has been undertaken in this area for a very long time.”
And Andrew’ summary of the Court decision:
So, to summarise, the High Court has just told us that the PGF lost its government contract after being very vocally critical of government policy through a process that;
1. Changed the ground-rules as to how the contracts would be awarded after organisations had bid for them;
2. So wrongly assessed the PGF’s application that the apparent result couldn’t be trusted; and
3. Used people to assess who should get the contract who were at least apparently biased in favour of some applicants over others. http://www.pundit.co.nz/content/the-governments-problem-with-problem-gambling
$erco $acked!…. more or less. Great news!
Now about charter schools.
Oh no! Because they’re failing HekiaP is giving them thousands more money.
In New Zealand we reward the inept and incompetent – and that’s not just the politicians or sailors.
And the poor incarcerated bastards will continue to suffer as subjects in a ghastly political experiment. Hey they might be incarcerated bastards but they’re still human beings, not fiscal digits in a corporate enterprise like the kids in charter schools.
“A Swedish scientist claims in a new theory that humanity has exceeded four of the nine limits for keeping the planet hospitable to modern life, while another professor told RT Earth may be seeing an impending human-made extinction of various species.
Environmental science professor Johan Rockstrom, the executive director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre in Sweden, argues that there are nine “planetary boundaries” in a new paper published in Science – and human beings have already crossed four of them.
Those nine include carbon dioxide concentrations, maintaining biodiversity at 90 percent, the use of nitrogen and phosphorous, maintaining 75 percent of original forests, aerosol emissions, stratospheric ozone depletion, ocean acidification, fresh water use and the dumping of pollutants…
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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 ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
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 ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
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 English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. 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 ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8. The universe was ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
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. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The 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 ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
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Same old story. First Christchurch, now Auckland.
The lack of financial support by government for key public transport infrastructure, then all of a sudden ‘cash strapped’ councils.
The fire sale of New Zealand continues.
Neo-liberalism knows only one way.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11485922
Yup that’s the plan and why they use every trick to win the GE last year as there’s plenty of juicy council assets and further privatisation that needs to get done before the smiling assassin slings his hook and leaves the jurisdiction.
Indeed, Paul.
They say the sales will assist a cash strapped council, yet from the article you linked to it states: any sell-down of these assets will reduce future revenue and could lead to higher rates to plug the gap, which, of course, defeats the objective.
Sales never assist a cash strapped council or, in fact, any government. All they do is transfer the wealth to the rich so as to make the citizens of the country serfs to those rich.
Are they acting on the advice of Goldman Sachs ?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/4730668/Big-benefits-seen-in-State-asset-sales
http://www.goldmansachs.com/what-we-do/investing-and-lending/direct-private-investing/equity-folder/gs-infrastructure-partners.html
I just wanted to draw attention to the closure today of submissions regarding the proposed land swap relating to the redevelopment of the Three Kings quarry.
I attended earlier in the week my first public meeting organized and driven by the local community, it was clear after the presentation and proper explanation of the proposal that the swap in its current form represents windfall gain for Fletchers and a significant loss to the Three Kings community not to mention a further degeneration of the maunga.
Anyway if you have the time please write an opposing submission and get it sent to threekingsreserve@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz by 4pm today.
Report produced as part of Auckland Unitary Plan process disagrees a lot about future trends, and questions population projections and housing supply options: http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/regional/279554/report-questions-auckland-population-forecasts
Have not read it yet, but worth recalling that Auckland’s actual population growth over recent decades has always been higher that the official Stats NZ ‘High” projection (which to 2040 is about another million residents). Some discussion and presentations from the 2013 council-hosted event that focused on the issue: http://voakl.net/2013/06/15/population-trends/
The Hearld plays the ratings game in this .ornings edition. John Key rates a 8 out 10. “The Teflon is peeling, but only at the margins…his rating would be higher but for the gou know what.”
Oh you mean that creepy habit of his!
Espiner this morning interviews Pagani (former failed Labour party candidate) and somebody called Nick Legget . Both couldn’t wait to diss (criticize disrespectfully) Andrew Little and Labour. In the end Espiner had to shut them up and curb their enthusiasm to disparage Labour
What is their agenda?
Legget is mayor of Porirua. Both of them are involved in setting up a conservative pressure group within Labour. The whining non-entity Phil Quin was involved as well, but I guess he can’t troll Labour as effectively since he flounced out of the party a couple of weeks ago.
Nick Leggett is a very self-important person who really thinks he is going places. He was very keen on council amalgamation in the greater Wellington region. I attended a meeting where he spoke and he absolutely failed to convince the large audience on the merits of his viewpoint.
I was listening peripherally to Natrad earlier…I thought one of the household had broke ranks and tuned into Radio Live. A real commercial tone to the talk, and a disturbing lack of the expected gravitas.
Thank god their website is more navigable so we can go back and listen to the way things were.
Radio New Zealand, National.
Rest In Peace.
Can they remove their Labour Party membership? That may be helpful. It’s interesting they climb into Little, then at the end they’re gushing about Kelvin Davis.
Interview: http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201763678/our-panel-looks-back-at-a-%27hell%27-week-for-labour
Pagani’s agenda seems to be to support National into power. Dunno Legget but he sounds the same as Pagani.
Rodel
Never mind. They quickly moved on to the far more important matter of a rich man’s sports trophy and how we, the great unwashed, can pat it reverentially with a glove on.
With Auckland’s road traffic congestion problems, in particular from the North across the harbour you would think a fast track option that would be less disruptive to road users would be a Rail tunnel. Far cheaper than what the Nats are proposing.
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11485304
When it comes to transport they don’t care if it’s much more expensive, has far less benefit to the community and the wider city, drains the economy by holding people up in traffic jams, and puts the climate more at risk. It’s roads or nothing.
If National propose it you can be fairly certain that there’s a cheaper option that’s far better. The reason for that is that National look for maximum profit for their donors rather than what’s best for the country.
Another useful instalment from the Guardian on the challenges facing UK Labour.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jul/23/labour-back-from-brink-unity
I read the following article this morning:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11485784
It refers to the Government’s “financial veto” – what is that? Does this really mean that parliament is not supreme – that they are subservient to a cabinet selected by the governing political party? What law contains that right to over-ride parliament?
If the government does not like a bill on financial grounds, shouldn’t they be regarding it as a “confidence and supply” issue – and thus “encouraging” support partners like Peter Dunne to vote the way they want rather than with his conscience?
I recall an article on No Right Turn some time ago, which didn’t invoke much discussion – isn’t it time we had this issue clarified?
more importantly can Labour do it too?
or does it only apply to National let Governments?
Any government can do it but we’ve only had National do it when things don’t go their way. They’re like a bunch of spoiled children.
You say “we’ve only had National do it”
Can you tell us of any case of such a veto having been used?
I didn’t think that the provision, although it exists, has ever been used.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/8606915/Parental-leave-extension-bill-too-costly
http://www.3news.co.nz/politics/pm-english-will-use-veto-on-parental-leave-2014022811#axzz3gn6AC6OT
http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/parenting/70491894/paid-parental-leave-extension-back-before-parliament-again
So, they didn’t actually get round to using the veto using filibustering instead but they did say that they would and then they realised that they’d lose support if they did and so they put in place their own watered down version. And now that it’s back on the table I’m sure that National will be saying they’ll veto it again.
But what legislation allows the government of the day to do this? Why can the opposition not force them to defeat it in the house?
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/279285/nzei-drops-opposition-to-school-plan
A teachers union is dropping its opposition to the Government’s $155 million a year plan to pay teachers more to improve schools after negotiating changes to the scheme.
Nice to see the union laying on its back with its belly exposed 😉
You need to read beyond the headline, schmuck. The union negotiated the changes it wanted, then signed up. It was the Education Ministry that rolled over.
The ministry rolled over on the X-axis, puckish spins on the y-axis…
It is a touchy subject for Stephen ‘snake oil’ Joyce and the National spin department. Buoyed by the $155 million dollar bribe to keep the teachers on side during last years election, they decided to employ the same tactic in this year’s Northland ‘Buy election’ with the Bridges they plucked out of their arse. The whole country laughed at that spectacular fail. And I don’t think it will end there as Shane Jones is likely to stand for NZF in Whangarei and clean out the hapless Nat’s Shane Reti, both local opposition partys will probably work together and vote stratically and push National completely out of the North 🙂
Australian farmers go activist to oppose Chinese coal mining company:
‘Liverpool Plains farmers threaten legal action to stop Shenhua Watermark mine’s ‘agricultural genocide’
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-13/liverpool-plains-farmers-vow-legal-action-to-stop-shenhua-mine/6616940
“Farmers on the Liverpool Plains in northern New South Wales are vowing to launch legal action and resort to civil disobedience if they have to, to stop a Chinese coal mining company being granted a mining licence….
Farmer and Caroona Coal Action Group head Tim Duddy said the project was “agricultural genocide”.
“We are not talking about a coexistence model, we are talking about mining coming and farming going and it’s as simple as that,” he said.
Mr Duddy and a group of other Liverpool Plains farmers have met to discuss how they will proceed.
“We’re looking at our legal options, we’re looking at our other options, certainly the community is prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure a mine does not occur here,” Mr Duddy said.
Farmer Andrew Pursehouse, who owns more than 4,000 hectares of prime agricultural land on the Liverpool Plains, said the group would resort to civil disobedience if it had to.
“”We’ve got to act like French farmers and stop this, this is just not right.”
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/chinese-mine-giant-snaps-up-43-nsw-farms/story-e6frg6nf-1226082387428
Has anyone read the Opinion (?) piece in the compost? (trying to write dom post but TNT came up instead, seemed appropriate!) Hatchet job on Little, absolutely spitting venom. Wonder who wrote it?
Has anyone read the Opinion (?) piece in the compost? (trying to write dom post but this came up instead, seemed appropriate!) Hatchet job on Little, absolutely spitting venom. Wonder who wrote it?
whats wrong with it, sounds pretty fair and balanced to me. Littles just not cut out for being leader, its not a bad thing because its a difficult job
Oh!! It’s just you! Have a nice day!
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/70463735/editorial-andrew-little-cant-get-it-right
There you go
Check out this comment, PR: http://thestandard.org.nz/andrew-little-tppa-no-way/#comment-1049341
See you tomorrow.
See you on Monday
Good as gold. Have a nice weekend.
lol…bye bye Pucky…lovely day to go cylinder hunting
Anyone that may remain unsure as to whether or not the New Zealand Listener has been taken over by the extreme political right need go no further than read the editorial in the latest issue (August 1 to August 7 2015).
There is only one word in my vocabulary for this writing and that is ‘scurrilous’. It may also verge on being defamatory but then I’m no legal eagle.
The writer (identity not acknowledged) likens Phil Twyfords attempt at initiating a discussion on just who is purchasing Auckland homes to “Nazi Germany, where mass extermination was justified on the premise that Jews were subversive, disloyal and a threat to ‘true’ Germans.” Next comes an emotive linking of the recent Diana Wichtel interview with an elderly Auschwitz survivor and links how Twyford is suggesting that “Chinese speculators are to blame – – – “.
Further on, the writer dredges up how Chinese were subjected to vilification and discrimination in the 19th. and early 20th. centuries. This leads on to how an elderly Chinese was shot dead in a Wellington street!
The final extraordinary flight of fancy in this article links the median income of Chinese N.Z’ers (2013) as being a “modest $16,000” and that this somehow runs counter to the theory that N.Z. is being overrun by wealthy Chinese seeking a haven for their money as China’s economy contracts.
There is much other dubious content in this editorial and IMO the Listener richly deserves extreme condemnation. I’m going to the Press Council.
Here is the link:
http://www.listener.co.nz/commentary/editorial/call-helen/
In due course, I would like to see Labour take action against these shallow, politically motivated attacks designed to play on the emotions of readers and without any attempt at providing objective analysis.
And hiding behind anonymity in a mainstream public journal. Makes you wonder who the source was…. Quin, Pagani, Leggott where are you?
Thanks for the link Anne. I don’t subscribe to them online.
I’ve cooled down a bit now but – – – really! A vicious piece of writing.
I just read it with dismay. The writer pretends that Twyford has criticised NZ residents of Chinese origin investing in the house market. It is overseas investors with no connection to NZ that are the target becasue they are distorting the market. It would be better if there was a problem with Scandanvian investment in the Auckland housing market. This would allow for more accurate surname analysis and get the race card (actually played by Labours critics, not Labour) right out of it.
I just read it with dismay.
Dismay quickly turned to a deep seated anger at the lying, twisting and vituperate tone of the editorial. So much so, I didn’t dare respond to the content.
Somebody correct me if I’m wrong, but I have a faint recollection Phil Quin was associated with the Listener at some point in the past. I may well have the wrong person, but if not… then I’m picking he had a hand in it’s composition.
Fully agree. I do not know about Quin, but I do not want to try to write a critical letter of that rancid piece of politicking in my current mood.
It is the ownership of the Listener that is the cause: in the days of Monte Holcroft, Ian Cross, etc, the magazine maintained a Lord Reith style of independence. It is now, no doubt, set up commercially, and thereby corrupted. If there are shareholders and a Board of Directors (Parent owner is actually a German company, is it not?) you can bet that Editors and policies will thereby be skewered to the right. Commercialism and marketing are a pox upon the face of our modern society, seen most clearly in our deteriorating MSM. Listener- from clarion to carrion.
Yes, I stopped buying the Listener years ago. Once it was the top magazine in the country – a must read. No more…
i try to avoid buying the Listener these days…it is hopelessly compromised as a New Zealand public watch dog and investigative journalism is out the window …it is full of PR merchants for Nact imo
….Joanne Black their former star opinion feature writer ( may still write for them as far as I know ) went to work for Bill English and is now the PR person for selling Kiwi Rail …her husband I think works in jonkey’s office
…..Interesting that Bill English did not front sale of Kiwi Rail on Nine-to- noon recently but used instead Joanne Black to front jonkey Nact government policy of financially gutting NZ rail, in an era when all other countries are looking to expand rail services….GUTLESS!
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/201761880/kiwirail-on-notice-what-is-its-future
“The government has put KiwiRail on notice, giving it two years to identify savings and reduce Crown funding required. What is the future of the rail network and what is its importance to regional New Zealand? The Hawkes Bay Regional Council. Regional leaders are fighting to retain rail links, and in Hawkes Bay to re-open its rail service. The Napier – Gisborne line was mothballed back in 2012 after it was washed out by a major storm. The Hawkes Bay Regional Council is fighting for its resurrection and has put up five-and-a-half million dollars to part fund the line. Liz Lambert is the Chief Executive of the Hawkes Bay Regional Council. Lawrence Yule is the mayor of Napier and chairman of Local Govenrment New Zealand. Joanne Black is the spokesperson for Kiwi Rail.”
…i try to avoid buying the Listener these days…it is hopelessly compromised…
I have not bothered with it since Pamela Stirling replaced Findlay MacDonald as editor. I could see straight away that it was over, and was very sad as it was a beloved piece of NZ for me up until then. When I glance at the headlines in the supermarket it now looks to be a cross between a National Party newsletter and a social climber’s handbook.
http://i.stuff.co.nz/national/education/70505123/Decision-on-troubled-charter-school-Te-Pumanawa-o-te-Wairua-to-be-announced
So Seymour admits these are some of our most vulnerable kids and yet sees fit to experiment with them . how fucking stupid are these fools?
how fucking greedy and uncaring are these fools?
fixed your typo 🙂
Time for a Neetflux perspective 🙂
http://neetflux.tumblr.com/post/124455759522
They are really good at these, really surprised to not see them shared around the social medias more often!
The Four Biggest Right-Wing Lies About Inequality
Considering NZ’s lurch down the same ideological path over the last 30 years the same can be said of NZ.
Child Poverty – More of the same from Key and his insufferable cabal: http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/279597/thousands-of-children-hit-by-benefit-sanctions
Labour’s yellow peril is a myth and fabrication according to Auckland City Council, which says “Auckland Council has revealed how many of its rates bills are sent overseas. Of the 535,057 rates bills sent out, 5617 or 1.05% are sent overseas – 2885 to Australia and 2732 to the rest of the world.” http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/few-council-rates-bills-going-overseas-sl-p-175906
Will Mr Twyford clarify the “confusion”?
I can. The bills are sent to the local agent who arranged the house purchase. Next question …
Or the local property manager.
This is pretty solid evidence that the whole “foreigners are pushing up prices” idea is nothing but xenophobic scapegoating. For that to be true but only 1.1% of rates bills going overseas would require virtually every foreign buyer to be using a local agent. Occam’s Razor applies, the simpler explanation is that foreign ownership is just not that high.
Not that mere logic is going to convince those who really want this to be true, of course.
…would require virtually every foreign buyer to be using a local agent.
What is so surprising about that? I knew a number of local landlords in my apartment building (60 apartments – 10 owners occupier) when I was active in the body corporate less than 10 years ago. Less than 10% of the landlords did not use an agent. All the ones from off-shore did. Using agents like Crockers or Barfoots or Quinovic is the norm rather than the exception.
When I moved out for 4 years to get more room for a film to be produced, we used Quinovic, even though the apartment was only 4 blocks away. Who has the time or inclination to run a rental property. Same with almost everyone else that I know of who rents out properties in Auckland.
Your argument is completely stupid.
No it’s not as the ACC obviously don’t know who the bills are going to. The data that they have is far less worthy than what Labour used.
Which would be simpler than the foreign based owner doing it themselves as it would save them having to set up their own property management service.
You wouldn’t know what logic was if you tripped over it but that’s normal for ignorant RWNJs such as yourself.
+100 DTB..and Iprent…and trp …and dv…makes sense
Answer trp’s point
+1
That was exactly what I was thinking.
Yep. House next door to me is owned by a Honk Kong businessman who resides in Hong Kong. He has a “friend” in NZ who manages the property for him. She currently rents it out to tenants (3 bedroomed house) at around $900 per week. When she gets the word from the overseas owner she will sell it for him.
@ Clean_power ….it is up to the government…Nactional …to get the real and true statistics on who is buying Auckland houses …every single one of them ….as you well know…thus far they have been avoiding this like the plague
….and if someone overseas buys 40 houses …do they get 40 rates bills or just one?
“….and if someone overseas buys 40 houses …do they get 40 rates bills or just one?”
40
most likely sent to their local agent in NZ…which gives no indication whether the houses are overseas owned or not
again I repeat …the nactional government need to give New Zealanders the real and true statistics on who is buying up NZ houses and property …every single one of them ….thus far they have been avoiding this like the plague
I suspect most of the owners of multiple homes are locals.
NZ is well overdue for a capital gains tax.
Yes nz is long overdue for a cgt. and I couldn’t care less if a cgt didn’t slow price rises its about the tax system being fare.
“I suspect most of the owners of multiple homes are locals”…actually given the scale of the problem overseas and in Auckland I doubt it
….and why is the jonkey nact government so coy on getting the statistics?…this is an important political issue now…do they have something to hide?
..i think so
Why do you doubt it ?
Chooky just told you – given the scale of the problem both here and overseas (eg Sydney, Vancouver, etc)
http://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/illegal-foreign-property-buying-inevitable-says-firb-20150325-1m6bel.html
http://business.financialpost.com/personal-finance/mortgages-real-estate/how-skyrocketing-vancouver-home-prices-are-fuelling-anger-towards-foreign-buyers
err. neither of those links suggest that the majority of multiple homes owners are non residents.
Did I say they did? They show that even where there are many more restrictions on the purchase of homes by foreign buyers than here in NZ – foreign buyers (and the majority seem to be coming from the one area – which is not surprising – there being around $21 trillion NZ dollars sitting in private bank accounts in China alone at low rates of interest) are distorting the market to such an extent that they are causing concern. In Vancouver it is possible to walk down many streets with many well built houses empty and boarded up. Simply investments in property with prices escalating many tens of thousands a year – why go through the hassle of renting – and with a projected 22,000 similarly owned in Auckland, one has to wonder at, who could be the owners? Just how much foreign owned and by how many is difficult to assess but the house price bubbles in Sydney and Auckland and Vancouver are real concerns, and will have devastating effects on their respective economies when they burst as burst they will.
So I would not be surprised to find if many overseas investors did have a substantial portfolio of housing stock in the NZ market. They have after all been in the game for at least the last 5 years. This is nothing new, it has only just been made prominent in the last week or so, and many NZers – such as yourself – are only coming to terms with it now.
Macro – you have no clue as to whether or not the majority of foreign investment in NZ houses comes from China. How wou;ld you know for instance, whether or not billion dollar US hedge funds like Blackstone have been buying up NZ real estate via locally listed companies or trusts..
Actually CV, the problem is that you’re in denial about the figures that were released.
+100 Macro …here is the scale of the problem…anyone who denies this is ignorant or disingenuous
http://www.smh.com.au/business/comment-and-analysis/wall-of-chinese-capital-buying-up-australian-properties-20150628-ghztdf.html#ixzz3gVPV2Oew
….”That’s roughly $32 billion,” says Tee. “The Canadian government said: ‘We don’t want your money anymore’ and that capital is now hitting the Sydney market.”
“There is a mountain of liquidity. China is bursting with flight capital. They can’t go to the US, they can’t get it into Singapore anymore, or Hong Kong.”
Tee’s comments come at a time of increasing concern that a generation of young Australians have been locked out of the property markets of Melbourne and Sydney due to spiralling house prices….
Tee says recent figures in the media which put Chinese investment in the Sydney property market at 25 per cent of total sales were too low. He says it might be twice this level but it is hard to tell because of the lack of transparency on ownership.
Most Chinese purchases hide behind trustees and proxies. Third parties such as friends and relatives were often used.
“Chinese students are being paid 2 per cent of the purchase price of the property to purchase property on behalf of relatives,” says Tee.
Another person au fait with Chinese property transactions in Australia told Fairfax Media it was simple for Chinese investors to get around the foreign capital restrictions.
“The money never really moves. In a simple example, Kunlun is a forex trading and money exchange company. It has bank accounts in many countries with significant cash balances. So if someone wants $40 million in Australia they put the money in a Kunlun China account and Kunlun transfers the money from their Australian accounts to the person’s friend’s Australian account.
“Kunlun is just one example – any large trading multinational will hold large reserves of cash in each country so they can effect a transfer with an internal paper transaction. No banks or government scrutiny involved. And given that they don’t do effective reporting in this country, who will ever trace it?…”Kunlun is just one example – any large trading multinational will hold large reserves of cash in each country so they can effect a transfer with an internal paper transaction. No banks or government scrutiny involved. And given that they don’t do effective reporting in this country, who will ever trace it?
“The current situation is that one of the best assets a local Chinese can have is a permanent Australian residence. They will have ‘friends’ lining up to ‘loan’ them money to buy properties in Australia.
All the government needs to do is follow the cash.”
Sadly, for a generation of young homebuyers it seems the government is not interested in following the cash. Otherwise our politicians, of both major parties, would have introduced the second tranche of AML legislation by now and real estate agents would have to prove that their clients’ funds were legitimate.
For now but the rate of foreign buying will soon change that.
Why the Left’s obsession with higher taxes? CGT, carbon, PAYE, etc. Is the Left afraid of people keeping more of their own money in the pocket? Why?
You know sometimes events speak truth to power. Like this weekend National will be having their 79th party conference at the Sky Tower.
This is an event, in a place that just say’s – we are corporate lackeys. I think Key and Co. are desperate to be noticed by their lords and masters. How truly funny.
from the ‘guess these things don’t matter anymore‘ file
Aren’t there a whole lot of rules about not using the image of the PM or members of his Cabinet in commercial promotions?
Here we have an image of the PM and Bill English headlining a “paid content” Fisher Funds article in the NZH Brand Insight section.
The image is also thumbnailed under the Brand Insight header on the Herald’s homepage.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/fisher-funds/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503733&objectid=11485147
So this has flown under the radar.” It seems the Gout may at least discuss MC in a sensible fashion
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/united-patients-group-participates-in-historical-medical-cannabis-policy-briefing-with-new-zealand-healthcare-officials-300118093.html
Breaking news: government taking back management of Mt Eden prison as of Monday.
They’re refusing to say whether the contract will be cancelled, but for things to get this bad after only a few years it shows that the best tenderer was woefully inadequate. Privatisation fail.
But Sam assured the House that it “is the top prison performer on the prison performance table, which measures core security, internal procedures, and rehabilitation”.
That was before he realised that if he didn’t throw serco under the bus quicksharp, key would throw him under that very same bus 🙂
Or drop him from the 9th floor balcony 😉
Well we know his career is more important to him than serco
Nah… drop him over the Debating Chamber balcony immediately above Kelvin Davis next Tuesday during Question Time.
That’s evil! 🙂
Well it’s all Labour’s fault anyway.
I can see the Headlines now “Minister tripped or stumbled from 9th Floor says PM” Duncan will assure us all there is nothing to see not even tv footage of any carnage, and suddenly a mystery MP will be admitted to Middlemore Hospital so “it couldn’t have happened on our patch”.
Witnesses are like water quality scientists – tugger can find a dozen mps who’ll swear that L-L was only found to be injured after he had been transferred to the Labour Party headquarters…
🙂
Well it’s all Labour’s fault anyway.
You mean Kelvin Davis for being underneath him when he dropped….?
But of course! What was he doing in the House anyway asking all those awkward questions?
Quite.
Dairy farmers are doing it tough, and the sector is important, but it makes up only about 5 per cent of our economy,
From yek’s newsletter.
Can someone explain briefly what the 5% refers to.?
Is it volume of exports? Is it money earned?
Where is the 95% coming from then?
If we are so well off can we start having a decent system of national works to ensure the base line of employment and work is kept alive? Also can we have prescription charges dropped back to $3, and heating subsidies. And an renewal of firm but fair prison warden training for that group heavy on humanity also for social welfare department workers.
Just for a start, rest later.
Dairy is5% of GDP I believe ,its there way of glossing over the fact that its 20% of export earnings . Most owners will get through but I’ve already noticed a few comments on social media sights about hours being cut for workers. Shit roles down hill and its always the little guy at the bottom .
Which is absolutely disgusting considering that it uses up ~7% of the working population. Shows how uneconomic farming actually is.
I’m afraid you’ll have to explain why that’s disgusting!?
7% of the labour force to returning 5% of the total productivity.
Although you might argue that primary production might be less efficient viewed alone, but it produces essential raw materials that subsequently add value to other sectors in the economy. It’s probably something that I’d want to look through a bit more closely than simply assuming efficiency based on share of labour vs share of gdp.
Even taking into account the fact that producing food supports everything else we do it shows poor economics as that extra 2% of the working population, ~100,000 people*, could be used to produce better returns.
* About the same number of people that Samsung uses to produce 25% of our GDP
unless the GDP average is artificially inflated by forex traders, derivatives gamblers, and other high-income leeches on the economy. Average vs median, sort of thing.
I’d definitely want to look at a few of the different sectors to see whether dairy is particulalry wasteful of labour compared to other areas of primary production.
Check my edit.
Samsung isn’t a primary industry, but it would be fucked without primary industry.
That’s the thing about value-adding: mining rare earths might not be as profitable as turning those materials into chips and batteries, but you can’t do one without the other.
Many of the basics in our supermarkets and restaurants would not be produced without milk products. They might well produce more revenue per employee, as well. But they’d be equally fucked without dairy products.
Or we’d be fucked importing those dairy ingredients instead of exporting them, as our balance of trade worsens accordingly.
That’s actually my point. That we’d be better off if we only produced enough food for NZ and use the freed up people to produce higher quality goods.
Me and the cocky next door were talking about the limiting factors to nzs production yesterday and its all distance to market isn’t it ? We could turn every flat price of ground into intensive crop growing but were would we sell it.?
What kind of weird discussion is this?
Just ask yourself – where is Tip Top ice cream and Anchor butter sold now? That’s right: all around the world. Just like we used to sell butter and milk powder to Russia (USSR) and the UK.
There still low tech ,low input products were as fruit ,nuts, veges and the like would be higher in $ha returns require more labour but are harder to shift.
I seem to get my almonds, prunes, raisins, sauerkraut and bananas from places very far away
Food miles are some of the biggest contributers to GHG emissions.
Sauerkraut really!! That’s some nasty stuff.
So grow and they’ll buy it you reckon
We already have turned every flat piece of ground into farms and a hell of a lot of the not so flat. As to where would we sell it – well, every country can produce all the food that they need so the chances are there wouldn’t be anywhere.
The start of the discussion was the under production of nz farm land vs labour input .I’ve tried to point out the limiting factors as to why that is . I never argued that we weren’t farming most of the available land.
“7% of the labour force to returning 5% of the total productivity.”
Is that inherently a problem? I can see it is for an export driven economy, but what if farming in NZ was primarily for growing food for NZers? Would it matter then?
Unless you were going to retire vast parts of the country side you would need to import another 15 million people .
why?
Because we produce far more than 4 .5 million can consume.
When Europeans arrived in NZ, they thought the land wasn’t in use because it hadn’t been cleared and farmed. But the native ecosystems provided food and other resources for the people that lived here (and a smaller population made that possible), and Māori were active in the maintenance of those ecosystems, just in ways that the Europeans didn’t understand.
When we transition to local food and susatinable land management, we will need more land to produce the food we eat and to replace the food we currently import. We will need to grow more resources to replace fossil fuels (eg timber, hemp, bamboo, biofuels etc), as well as restore a great number of ecosystems whether that be to native or otherwise, because they won’t sustain themselves once the fossil fuel inputs are gone. Myself, I don’t have a problem with some land being left to its own devices, but in the interim I can’t see that being the most of it.
Whatever we do, I can’t see us stepping aside from existing land management for a very long time, if ever.
In some ways that might all seem like semantics. Farmland will not be like it was before, so could be described as ‘retired’. But I think it’s important that we can see productive options beyond the current economic paradigm. That’s why the conversation about GDP and labour was interesting. If we change what we value and how we measure that, then I think things look quite different.
Not really:
I read somewhere else that Māori had cleared about 50% of the native ecosystems before the Europeans arrived. The idea that the Māori were eco-friendly is pretty much a lie.
Yep. Once we consider what the economy is, what it’s for and look at it in it’s real physical limits we come back with far different values than mere profit.
DTB seems to think it’s a problem.
Off the top of my head one could argue that such a disparity within a closed system would actually be more indicative of a problem, because producers of an essential commodity are rewarded at below average rates.
Alternatively, one could tautologically argue that it’s a good think because the value added by a primary industry is less than more advanced precessing.
But that’s the problem with economics in general – any observation can be cut in any way to be seen as either good or bad depending on the observer’s bias.
Sheeezus you guys have fucking lost the plot
That 7% figure includes hunting, forestry and fishing; probably horticulture as well as sheep, beef, etc.
The 5% GDP figure you match it up against is just dairy FFS
In DTB graph the agricultural employment stats have gone down majorly since being about 10.5% circa 1986 and 1991.
Then took a steep dive to 1997 8.5%, rose over years ending at 2001 9%. then its been downward to 6.6% for the last reported year of 2009. So down while we have been hearing how wonderful a sector it is.
Amazing! And the High Court roasting of the Health Department over the not Awarding of the funding for the Problem Gambling Foundation is amazing! Andrew runs it across the rule of law. Andrew writes:
“As Peter Dunne, the then Associate Health Minister, said in response to claims that the PGF had been punished for its vocal opposition to the gambling industry:
There’s just not one shred of truth in this allegation. It’s shameful, it reflects on the integrity of the people making these allegations and it detracts from a process which has been robust, independent, it’s been peer reviewed and it’s probably one of the better processes that has been undertaken in this area for a very long time.”
And Andrew’ summary of the Court decision:
So, to summarise, the High Court has just told us that the PGF lost its government contract after being very vocally critical of government policy through a process that;
1. Changed the ground-rules as to how the contracts would be awarded after organisations had bid for them;
2. So wrongly assessed the PGF’s application that the apparent result couldn’t be trusted; and
3. Used people to assess who should get the contract who were at least apparently biased in favour of some applicants over others.
http://www.pundit.co.nz/content/the-governments-problem-with-problem-gambling
Thanks for the synopsis ianmac. Another example of loss of democracy.
Another example of the Misery of Health getting it SO wrong.
And another example of Government punishing an advocacy organisation for….. advocating.
$erco $acked!…. more or less. Great news!
Now about charter schools.
Oh no! Because they’re failing HekiaP is giving them thousands more money.
In New Zealand we reward the inept and incompetent – and that’s not just the politicians or sailors.
I doubt serco will roll over and bugger off I’m sure trader john will of let them put all sorts of fish hooks intro the contract.
And the poor incarcerated bastards will continue to suffer as subjects in a ghastly political experiment. Hey they might be incarcerated bastards but they’re still human beings, not fiscal digits in a corporate enterprise like the kids in charter schools.
Human beings 95% of whom will be back living in a street near you within a couple if years.
‘Earth is halfway to being inhospitable to life, scientist says’
http://www.rt.com/news/242441-earth-facing-human-extinction/
“A Swedish scientist claims in a new theory that humanity has exceeded four of the nine limits for keeping the planet hospitable to modern life, while another professor told RT Earth may be seeing an impending human-made extinction of various species.
Environmental science professor Johan Rockstrom, the executive director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre in Sweden, argues that there are nine “planetary boundaries” in a new paper published in Science – and human beings have already crossed four of them.
Those nine include carbon dioxide concentrations, maintaining biodiversity at 90 percent, the use of nitrogen and phosphorous, maintaining 75 percent of original forests, aerosol emissions, stratospheric ozone depletion, ocean acidification, fresh water use and the dumping of pollutants…