It has been a cynical exercise in jingoism for years now, hooking younger people into war being a respected sacrifice, feel good even, narrative–NZ Defence and 5 Eyes machinations lurking in the shadows. WWI was an inter imperialist war that slaughtered working class people in huge numbers totally unnecessarily.
The self righteous celebrators of war even got the Gallipoli numbers wrong for many years until around 2013. NZ troop participation was almost twice greater than quoted throughout the 20th century. So NZ and Australian casualty percentages were actually similar. (no relief to the bereaved descendants). https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/299592/nz's-true-gallipoli-numbers-revealed
nb. My uncle was blown to bits at Monte Casino, 1944 in WWII. He is recorded in the Auckland War Memorial Museum records and name on the wall. WWII was the anti fascist war that a number of leftists did support.
Agree Tiger. There is too much glorification of war in the ANZAC day ceremonies for me. Ukraine shows the true horror of war.
My dad fought in WW2-in fact he was on the HMS Belfast which was a WW2 cruiser and has now been preserved on the Thames in London as a floating museum operated by the Imperial War Museum.
One person's glorification is another's sombre remembrance.
My Uncle served in Malaya, came back a profoundly changed man. He would have been at the cenotaph in Feilding today with the RSA contingent. Unfortunately, strokes and a heart attack have him laid up in hospital and unlikely to leave.
A good turnout this morning, hopefully some of the many youngsters there can question their parents when the 'China bad' war drums start beating…
I visited HMS Belfast when in London in 1990 – a very interesting exhibit.
I guess we will always need a defence force because extremist clowns like Hitler, Stalin and Putin keep on turning up (China's leader seems to have expansionist ideas too).
Its always the politicians who get us into the mess, but the young men who do the fighting. Possibly WW II could have been averted had Neville Chamberlain stood up to Hitler, but England and the French had lost an entire generation in the Great War so they were desperate to avoid more conflict. As a result, Chamberlain gave in to a series of German territorial demands.
Likewise my grandfather was one of the few New Zealander's to get off Gallipolli alive, fought at Chunnuck Bair with the Wellington Mounted Rifles, he lost both his brother's in France & Belgium in WW1.
Then we lost an Uncle in WW2 flying Wellington bombers out of El Alamien, disappeared over Palermo, Sicily, to this day he or the wreckage has never been found.
You're not supposed to be a fan of Anzac day or war it's meant to be a somber day where we reflect on the mistakes of the past and the horrors of war and the many, many many dead.
We will never get rid of Anzac day.
Anzac day is not pro war, They say least we forget so we don't repeat the mistakes of the past.
I do not want to lose another generation to war.
Occasionally the left needs to pull our heads out of our arses and stop acting like philistines and accept some traditions.
More a somber rememberance for our family members, the damage done from war to surviving family members carries through the generations, mainly alcoholism and physcological issues. I can remember having discussions with a friend of my parents who was young teenager tending to the wounds of Returned Servicemen of the Maori Battalions after WW2 in Tokomaru Bay. He said it was a very sobering experience, the trauma must of been horrific for Ngati Porou and it's people.
I did some work with some of the Maori Trusts on the East Coast, and one of the trustees, was one of the last surviving Officers of the Maori Battalions, he said Ngati Porou lost most of their leaders fighting in WW2.
My paternal grandfather was a Major in the Otago Regiments in France & Belgium in WW1, he fought in the First Battle of Passchendaele and was recommended for a MC. However in the Second Battle of Passchendaele the Otago Regiments lost 90% of their troops in half (1/2) an hour, fortunately he was on leave in Paris. I have read and copied his War Letters describing these events, which I will place in the Hocken Collections at the University of Otago.
One of his duties was to write the letters back to the families in New Zealand on the death of New Zealand troops. Dick Travis (aka Dickson Savage) VC was his Chief Scout in France & Belgium, he was supposedly an Uncle of Captain Pita Awatere an Officer in the Ngati Porou Cowboys (Maori Battalion) in WW2.
I have two great uncles buried in France & Belgium, Andrew O'Brien was a Private in the East Kent Regiments died 1914, and his older brother Charles was a Captain in the Irish Guards died in the last week of WW1. We have just located a descendant of Charles Stuart O'Brien. The damage done to families in any conflict is immense and it is supposedly carried in our DNA.
Very interesting. It was once explained to me that one way of looking at the difference between Maori and Pakeha cultures is that a Maori had a worldview of him or herself as standing in the present and looking back to the ancestors who came before and the legacy of their whakapapa which largely defines who they are.
While Pakeha tilt the opposite way, standing in the present looking to a future and the potential of who their mokopuna might be.
Obviously this is not a black and white matter – just a description of differing propensity. But it does go some way to explaining why you describe the loss of that generation in the wars of the last century as 'embedded in your DNA'. While as a predominantly Pakeha I tend to intellectualise the same loss as ‘service to ideals and a sacrifice for country’. Perhaps they amount to the same thing in the big picture. Either way it speaks to how history has such powerful roots in the present – and often deeply embedded in our psyches.
As for my paternal grandfather Frank – we know he was trained as an engineer and is listed in the online Battalion records as a 'motor mechanic' – yet that is pretty much all we know. Linda his wife contracted tuberculosis as a nurse during the war and died in 1942, and as a consequence the family lost almost all knowledge of what happened to Frank after he left for the war. The records tell us nothing and he never returned to NZ as far as we are aware. What I do know is that he was from an East Coast hapu – Ngāti Kahungunu from memory.
Literally days before we came to Australia in 2013 we bumped into a relative of his who we probably should have kept in touch with. On reflection I should probably make the effort to find out more.
I have only found out this information by researching in the last 20 years, fortunately I have an Uncle who is still alive and an old trunk with my grandfathers War Letters in it. Growing up as a little boy I remember hearing both my grandfathers fought in WW1, the paternal grandfather was Scottish and my maternal grandfather was Irish, he was born on a military base in Deal, Kent so was from a military family, he was a merchant seaman and arrived in Wellington around the turn of last Century, became a shepherd at Kiwitahi in the Manawatu, until the outbreak of WW1 joining the Manawatu/Wellington Mounted Rifles, they took their farm horses by boat to Egypt, these had to be shot b4 they departed for Gallipoli Turkey. He was subsequently busted up on Chunuk Bair in 1915 and invalided back to London, I remember him limping around the house. My paternal grandfather was teaching at Otago Boys High School before sailing to the UK in 1916, he rose to the rank of Major, fought in France and Belgium and was involved in the march and occupation of Germany. He was one of two Officers selected to attend a Short Course at Oxford University as part of the Military for a debrief course in 1919, he was the Adjutant that brought the vessel Remuera back into Auckland, where he met my grandmother through family war connections. Fortunately both got back alive although one severely injured.
I know that this is a couple of weeks old (and may have been the subject of debate in TS) but Trotter is on the money here for me. Anybody who hasn't read it should read it.
I gave up reading Bowally Rd because Trotter's muses became so over the top. But every now and then he seems to come up with a gem and this is one of them. It is summed up nicely with this paragraph from BG’s link:
If McAnulty’s colleagues have the courage to follow his lead, then the looming election may yet become an historical turning-point. With National and Act offering nothing more than more of the same, Labour, the Greens, and Te Pāti Māori have been given the chance to join the most progressive elements of the older generations with the hopes and aspirations of younger New Zealanders, thereby forging an electoral alliance equal to the challenges of an uncertain and demanding future.
Despite media attempts to portray the young generation as a pot-pourri of robbers and ram raiders, I have met enough of them to see the enormous potential in them. They seem to possess a wisdom and maturity well beyond their years, and it augers well for a better future for everyone.
A long time ago I asked a war vet if he regretted his action in Egypt where he famously was wounded horribly. A terrible stomach wound where the surgeon just sewed him up as he would die anyway.
Derek's response to me was an angry defence of the "most wonderful time of his life! Friendship and togetherness never better!"
In a surprise announcement, Fox News on Monday cut ties with its controversial yet top-rated prime-time host Tucker Carlson, one of the most influential voices in Republican politics.
The apparently hasty parting — Carlson gave no indication he was leaving in his last nightly appearance Friday, and the network was still running promos for his show Monday morning — came less than a week after Fox settled a defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems, which had sued the network for false claims about the 2020 election. Carlson was among several on-air personalities expected to testify.
yep, that is what my guess is. Heck, i would not be surprised if he took up some space in the R Party. They are desperate for someone who is not T or DeSantis.
Or both. At 53 Tucker can afford to wait until T burns out or departs, and it would be smart to put some distance between himself and some of the lies he was compelled to run with at Fox.
Presumably Martyn Bradbury will now lament the fall of yet another kindred spirit, a scalp for the woke before posting his ANZAC special – "Smeared: the untold story of a poor Austrian painter".
Or Epoch Times, he will have to be militantly anti-China though.
The other option is to join Glenn Greenwald and Russel Brand and Joe Rogan on Rumble. The right wing platform hosts Truth Social and claims its the place of free speech rather than a MSM (some were paid to go there from other places such as You Tube).
I refer to it as, let us go brandon/onbrand, central. Where once reasonable people go to be less responsible – Fox News was the place of transition for Carlson (who once aspired to be the voice of reason on the right but instead became a Murdoch orc.
It is my sense Tucker backed the wrong horse over Ukraine. While I think he instinctively wanted to tap into that old and always potent strain of American isolationism – I suspect the mass of US Republicans and conservatives were not on board with this message at all.
The You Tube link 4.2 indicates his reasoning on Ukraine – he does not think the USA can cope with a geo-political/economic/military alliance between Russia and China. He wants the USA to pressure Ukraine to do a deal – involving the formal cession of Crimea and other ethnic Russian areas.
Yes. There is some sense in that appraisal. Just as at the end of WW2 the US realised it had no appetite nor the capacity to confront the Red Army on European soil – it now makes better sense to build alliances and work toward containment rather than full on confrontation.
In this the demographic and geopolitical realties favour the West in the long run. Russia has a terrible demography, and China faces imminent population collapse. Depending on whose data you believe the mainland Chinese population is on track to dropping by 50% to 650m by just 2050. That is before you factor in the perfect storm of other vulnerabilities they face.
The other thing that should be apparent is that US intelligence probably knows more about what is being talked about in the Kremlin than Putin does. And while for the moment they assess that on a rational basis there is only a small chance of nuclear exchange – you only have to watch what is happening on Russian state TV every night to understand rationality is not a universal condition. Which is why their support for Ukraine has been carefully calibrated to ensure they can neither quite lose, nor quite win.
A defeated Kremlin could be a very dangerous beast indeed, with many unpredictable consequences. In war it is wise never to force an outcome until you are reasonably sure what it will be.
American support is also calibrated to draw the Russian military into a long and painful war of attrition. Ukraine is useful but expendable in their overall plan to remove Russia as a strategic threat
Shorn of their legacy stockpile of nuclear weapons Russia is not a strategic – anything. Conversely there are nations who do have nuclear weapons, UK, France, India etc, that are not a considered a strategic threat either.
Nope the problem is that Russia ticks both boxes, nuclear armed AND acting like threatening arseholes. Bad combination.
There are of course any number of things you can say about the post WW2 Washington led world order, but it would be delusional to argue that a Stalinist or Maoist led version of it would have been an improvement of any kind.
What did it mean to them, pray tell? Genuinely interested.
I don't do ANZAC day. I didn't like most of the veterans when they were alive and nowadays to me it is just a chance for largely Pakeha New Zealanders to engage in a quasi-pagan ceremony and wear a rather mawkish and maudlin nationalism on their sleeves, before they go back to demonstrating to everyone their relationship with NZ is pretty transactional by posting in the comments section of the Herald and Stuff that they can't wait to gap it to Aussie.
Pay all your taxes, be law abiding, help your landlady take out her garbage and if anyone invades Google how to make a Molotov cocktail. No need to get up on a cold morning to do any of that.
Probably most of that crowd couldn't have given a short description of the Sykes-Picot Agreement of the Balfour Declaration, or how after initial Russian gains against Austria-Hungary, Germany was controlling the eastern front and could throw plenty of resources to the west, or how the operation itself was botched, etc..
So the commemorations we see aren't really about the event itself. Something else is happening. I'm open to the possibility that it's potentially a good thing that is being manufactured here, but far from certain that it is.
I don't do ANZAC day either. At least not in the normal sense.
My Dad fought in both world wars. As a very young man (he lied about his age) he saw action in France in the last twelve months. His most treasured possession was an album of studio photographs of his war-time mates who did not survive that war. In WW2 he saw action in the Pacific.
He didn’t talk much about his war experiences but he hated war – any war – with an abiding passion. He didn't do ANZAC either. He regarded it as a "glorification of war" and he wanted no part of it. He never stepped inside RSA's for the same reason. Looking back I think there was trauma there that he never managed to fully overcome. He saw some terrible things. Apart from the worst cases, there was no help for returning soldiers in those days. You were expected to just get on with your life as though nothing had happened.
At the end of ANZAC day when everyone has gone home, I visit the local memorial and plant two poppies. One for Dad and one for Mum as both of them knew the true cost of war. There is usually no-one around, and I can reflect on their lives and feel grateful for the values they instilled in me.
Since it is Anzac Day I wanted to comment on something I saw earlier.
On Tuesday last week I saw former All Black Wayne (Buck) Shelford talking on Seven Sharp calling for an extra memorial day for defence force vets, as well as more money and privileges for vets.
He said that we don't support vets enough, citing how in the US vets are given special privileges, special seating at sports arena, and much more publicity.
He was persuasive, but I don't agree with them that we should be more like the US in how vets are treated. Shelford said that at football games the announcers ask them to stand up before the game so that people can applaud them. I don't really think that NZ vets would really like this kind of thing somehow. They certainly appreciate thanks for their services and sacrifices but in a less ultra patriotic more New Zealand way.
And I don't know if an extra public holiday to celebrate the services of vets would get much support in NZ. It is fair enough to want that, but perhaps it should be part of the evolving nature of ANZAC Day celebrations. Perhaps ANZAC Day could be remodelled into vets day, seeing as there are now no longer any surviving men from that dreadful day.
In USA the vets are not treated well. Currently the Republicans are creating Bills to cut Vet medical care and cut Vet social services. Echoes of reducing Government (Federal) spending. Nicola will be applauding.
At our local ANZAC Day service, it was the service men and women, past and present, who were honoured at the beginning and ending of the service.
The address by the local high school head student referenced the WW1 honor board – of those students who had died during that war. It is a tradition that their names are read, and so they were this year. Her address focused on WW1 – but it was the only one which did so.
I think that most ANZAC services are already morphing away from the specific WW1&2 memorials.
Despite its claim to separate church and state, America's state religion is 'christian' nationalism that idolises militarism and gun violence. They venerate military service but the machine churns up men and damages them for life then spits them out onto the street. Obsession with flags and guns and uniforms is a crap form of virtue.
"Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel" – Samuel Johnson
I was watching this youtube video on the eve of ANZAC day and made me most pessimistic and rather pensive. The presenter casually noted the desire of Japan to DOUBLE it's defence spending by 2026 and to create a force projection capability to defend it's outlying island (and Taiwan, one would think) from attack. Wht 2026? because Xi has said China will be in a position to take back Taiwan by 2028.
A confrontation between heavily armed North Asian powers in the Taiwan strait could be closer than we think, an incredibly depressing thought. I have hoped that I could see out my days without us getting involved in a big war. I still hope, but the drums are getting louder.
The Chinese were in full dare-me mode consistently entering Taiwanese airspace and doing wargames after Speaker Pelosi's visit in August last year.
That stopped being a full response of Taiwanese fighters going into China airspace because they and the US figured it was better to show restraint right at the moment.
In response in March this year the PLA and airforce and navy rehearsed blockades and invasion tactics in the open, all around Taiwan.
That’s how close it got.
The US will defend Taiwanese democracy better than the UK defended Hong Kong democracy, independent judiciary, free press, right to free expression, right to political non-interference by intelligence services, etc.
We are not yet at a full-on carrier group crisis like the mid-1990s but we are getting very close.
I see you have already discovered Perun's excellent and highly regarded channel. As he puts it, if anyone has suggested that a channel dedicated to hour plus Powerpoint presentations on defense economics would gain 400k subscribers in less than a year – he would have scoffed at you.
He remains anonymous, but has stated that he works somewhere in the Australian defense logistics world and he clearly knows his stuff. As in 'standing under a fire-hose' of it stuff.
The campaign is on for a third Medical School in Waikato. This shot across the politicians’ bow is full of lazy rhetoric from another ‘Mr Fix-It’. Of course, this doesn’t matter if the aim is to generate a groundswell of public opinion, or just a ripple from a vocal minority. Once it registers in the focus groups, National will elevate it to a bullet speaking point in their election campaign aka a ‘policy’.
Looking into the messenger, he does seem to fit the mould of a stereotypical National-aligned politician. Turns out he’s apparently also a fellow-blogger. Interesting fellow and I suspect we’ll hear more from and about him in future – not worth wasting any oxygen on just yet.
A Washington Post headline says, "How Tucker Carlson became the voice of White grievance. " He is the face of white, conservative, fearful America. He is their Mike Hosking.
One good clip I've seen today is Carlson in full flight:
"Imagine forcing yourself to tell lies all day about everything in ways which were so transparent and so outlandish that there is no way the people listening to you could possibly believe anything you said.
Then imagine doing that again and again and again every day of your professional life for your entire life. Could you do that?"
The Nielsen MRI Fusion numbers reveal that in October, Fox News unsurprisingly got the majority of the audience of self-proclaimed Republicans, with 69% of them overall tuning into total-day programming and 73% of them in the demo tuning into primetime programming.
More surprising are the stats about Carlson and Fox News’ pull with self-proclaimed Democrats.
Of those demo-aged viewers surveyed who identified
as Democrats, 39% chose Fox News,
31% chose MSNBC and 30% chose CNN for programming from 8 p.m. ET to 11 p.m. ET.
In total-day viewership, Fox News grabbed 42% of Democrats aged 25-54, CNN nabbed 33% and MSNBC got 25%.
2023
Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson drew an audience of 3.473 million viewers last week, making Tucker Carlson Tonight the highest-rated show in cable news for the week ending February 12. Carlson’s show also delivered 490,000 viewers 25-54, the demographic group most valued by national advertisers.
Carlson helped propel Fox News to its 104th consecutive weekly ratings victory over CNN and MSNBC, with an average prime time audience of 2.5 million viewers and 359,000 viewers in the key demo. Fox News Channel also won the week for total day ratings (6 a.m. to 6 a.m.), with an average total audience of 1.54 million viewers and 205,000 viewers in the key demo.
Fox Corporation shares dropped on Monday after the media company said in a terse comment that it is parting ways with star host Tucker Carlson, raising questions about the future of Fox News and the future of the conservative network's prime time lineup.
Carlson, whose last show was on Friday, April 21, is leaving Fox News even as he remains a top-rated host for the network, drawing 334,000 viewers in the coveted 25- to 54-year-old demographic in the 8 p.m. slot for the week ended April 20, according to AdWeek.
That was more than twice the audience of his competitors at CNN and MSNBC in the same hour, and also represented a bigger audience than other Fox News hosts such as Sean Hannity or Laura Ingraham.
Shares of Fox closed 3% lower on Monday after dropping as much as 5% earlier in the day.
But surely only white people with grievances would have watched that show. Totes. Totes. Totes.
In the meantime CNN fires Don Lemon – who knows for what, it certainly can not be white people with grievances that watched him to much, right? s/
Don Lemon says he was fired by CNN without warning. Network blasts ‘inaccurate’ statement
Prominent CNN host Don Lemon on Monday announced that he has been fired after 17 years at the cable news network.
“I was informed this morning by my agent that I have been terminated by CNN,” Lemon wrote in a statement posted on Twitter. “I am stunned. After 17 years at CNN I would have thought that someone in management would have had the decency to tell me directly.”
His departure was swift. Lemon had appeared on “CNN This Morning” earlier in the day.
The network confirmed the news in a statement.
“CNN and Don have parted ways,” CNN Chief Executive Chris Licht said in the statement. “Don will forever be a part of the CNN family, and we thank him for his contributions over the past 17 years. We wish him well and will be cheering him on in his future endeavors.”
But CNN also challenged Lemon’s account of how he was fired.
“Don Lemon’s statement about this morning’s events is inaccurate,” the network said in a statement posted online. “He was offered an opportunity to meet with management but instead released a statement on Twitter.
My guess is that the one who got fired by Fox was for actually doing journalism and showing segments / interviews of stuff and people that the good left wing media would not touch and someone put the kibbosh onto Fox and well they caved.
CNN however just got rid of someone who had miserable ratings and a rather sketchy reputation for being a bit of diva with complexes of grandeur.
My guess is that Tucker Carlson will have a bit of a rest and then do his thing, whilst Don Lemon will just have to grovel and hovel in order to be re-hired anywhere.
Your guess is that the one who got fired by Fox was for actually doing journalism?
Your guess is as good as anyone's.
"According to ‘The Atlantic’, that’s where his transformation from journalist to commentator truly began. It has since blossomed into something much more than that since his arrival at Fox News. He has been called racist, dangerous, and an immigrant fear-monger … but not a journalist (except on his wiki page)."
Every one who differs in opinion from the prescribed truth as per media/academia and liberal politics is a racist, a fear monger, anti immigrant, anti trans identified people if they insist in biological reality, a white supremacist if they are not self hating/self canceling whites, bigots/nazis/phobes if all the other slurs did not work to shut them down.
Its easier to insult and smear, then to actually acknowledge that almost 40% of democrats – irrespective of color of their skin or sex or creed – watched him, and that according to your previous comment that would make them white supremacists cause they watched Tucker Carlson who obviously is a white supremist and fear monger. Guilt by association i think is the term.
I don't particularly care about him but have tuned in when he had people on his show that would not be platformed by the approved non racist, non white supremacist, gender before sex mainstreem media. Not because i cared much about what he had to say, but because i wanted to hear what those de-platformed by the mainstream media, those others, had to say.
And i would venture a guess that Tucker Carlson will do very well in a Joe Rogan Format. And again, that many people who self identify as democrats will tune in to listen to those that are not allowed a voice elsewhere. Go figure.
Emily Writes interviews Renters United on the need for rent controls in NZ:
In the middle of a cost of living crisis and the climate emergency wreaking havoc across Aotearoa, there’s a really strong case to be made for instituting a rent freeze. We know that for the vast majority of renters their largest expense is rent, and as such one of the best short-term policy tools we have to alleviate economic hardship is to call time on rent increases through a freeze.
They outline their preferred implementation:
Our preferred iteration is as follows and we’re confident that this is balanced towards all parties, while also offering genuine and meaningful reform:
Limit rent increases to no more than inflation, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in the preceding 12 months.
Allow reasonable and proportionate rent increases above CPI where significant improvements have been made to the quality or facilities of the home – beyond ordinary maintenance. Such improvements would not include those made in order for the property to comply with minimum standards.
Prevent unreasonable rent hikes between tenancies by requiring the landlord to set rent within a reasonable range of the previous rent charged for that property (except where significant improvements beyond normal maintenance have been made) and inform incoming tenants in writing of the rent paid by the previous tenants.
Yes – constraining the supply of rentals in order to solve the shortage of rentals has got to be the solution. /sarc
The problem is not just in New Zealand. Here in Australia the challenge is just as acute. We had to buy an apartment on moving to a new role in Perth a few months ago – not because we had planned to – but because literally we were queuing up with 100 more more people just for the mandatory inspection. And as a contractor unable to produce evidence of my past three months of full time employment income, our chances of getting past the paper work was zero. I'm not grizzling about this, I realise we are fortunate enough to have had an option – but the experience of just how much the rental market is under pressure was pretty vivid.
The reasons for this are complex. This recent article explores them in good depth and even-handedly:
There is a housing crisis in Australia with an undersupply of both properties for rental and for sale.
The surge in immigration and the return of international students has seen a demand for housing boom.
The extra half a million people who will be coming over the next year or two have to live somewhere, and they don’t bring houses with them.
This means they are competing with locals in the rental market, where vacancy rates are at near-record-low levels and rents are rising at a strong double-digit pace.
I realise the source will not meet your left wing purity test – but it is an informed and accurate view of why we have gotten to this place. And usefully it suggests some intelligent responses.
My other challenge to many readers here is to ask – just how many of you have applied for a mortgage recently? It is all well and good to point to excessively high prices as a challenge to home ownership, but all too often the biggest hurdle to making the transition to ownership is when people sadly discover that they do not qualify for a mortgage at any price. This can happen for a host of reasons, insecure income being one of the most commonplace, but some of them quite unexpected.
Very recently a younger colleague told me how they wanted to buy into a home closer to work in order to reduce their excessive fuel bills. When they applied for the mortgage they were turned down because – they were spending too much on petrol!
We're trying the end of the mortgage interest deductibility for existing property (either to first home owners or those who can buy without debt) to realise divestment and purchase of new builds for rent – it would work if it was bi-partisan (and not rising OCR and thus declining developer activity) but National's potential return to power is an obstacle.
I understand the commonplace left wing hatred of renting drives simplistic solutions like 'smash all landlords', but again it overlooks reality. There is a strong and organic demand for residential rentals and it continues to grow.
People are far more transient than they were in our parents generation who typically were born, educated and lived in the same region all their lives. In the office I work in at present out of the 35 of us, there are migrants from 15 different countries, and just 3 who were born in this city.
More people are waiting until much later in their lives before they finally put down roots in one location – hell I am nearly 70 and still have not. As our generations get older, the occupancy rate decreases – older people being typically way less keen on sharing accommodation unless it is with close family.
And many people, often professionals with good incomes, prefer to invest elsewhere than in the house they live in.
All of these – and more – are legitimate reasons why home ownership has been declining and the demand for rentals increasing. Yet at 8% interest rates only the brave and well pocketed are going to build to supply that market. It is inherently a long-term market and when govts constantly intervene, it introduces a degree of risk few have the appetite for.
FFS really, the old supply is the issue argument. Come on Red get a grip on reality mate.
The problems are way more than that one trick, let developers solve it – mantra – that has dominated the debate for the last 40 odd years. When that particularly pony gave us leaky homes, slave labour from north Asia, and suburbia – which has led to all our councils being perpetually broke.
Contrast that with, Auckland being awash in unoccupied properties. Or my personally favourite 6 bed rooms with one person occupying them. Or how about boarded up properties – which litter our cities?
No the main problem is, and has always been, the political will for the greedy to feed their greed at the expense of everyone else.
In what world do you imagine reducing the supply of something will fix the problems caused by a shortage of it?
Not what I said and you know it, good try at a strawman though. And changing an economic system towards a social democratic one is not smashing capitalism, only in far right wet dream would that be the case.
We need to build what is needed, large public housing projects. Not rely on developers to fix what is in their interest – not to fix. My problem with what you said is how you effectively cut and paste the propaganda you have been spoon feed.
We need to build what is needed, large public housing projects.
Yes social housing does have it's place, and everyone acknowledges this. Sadly the record of these projects is however not pretty; especially when at large scale. Nor is it clear to me that whether or not what you are really intending is a mass nationalisation of a large fraction of the housing supply – aka the Soviet model. (Which I have personally experienced.)
Moreover the article I referenced lists about 8 other possible measures that all seem like steps you would want to consider – before reaching for that somewhat drastic and risky solution.
A lot of funds are moving into residential property in the USA – this is going to be the zero debt investment source. It's low rest and secure returns our local conservative super funds will move into this.
People rent at different times for different reasons. I have a good friend who has rented since her husband died as she does not want the responsibilities of home maintenance etc in her later years. My partner and I are thinking of doing the same as the organisation of a big house, gardens and so on will become beyond us. We don't want a retirement village, we want a good apartment with good view and a supermarket on the block.
Exactly – home ownership is a responsibility and burden not everyone wants to take on. There are so many diverse circumstances people find themselves in these days, that a traditional one size fits all housing solution no longer applies.
For many kiwis I still think a most pressing structural problem is an inadequate retirement income provision, and a real shortage of alternate investment pathways other than housing.
NZ Super was originally conceived and set at a level that worked if you were a home owner at retirement – and mortgage free. For just about everyone else it fell well short. These days home owning costs have risen to the point where even owning a home is not enough. Between rates, insurance, power and telco – fixed costs leave not too much change out of $10k pa, and then there is the 2% of capital value you should be spending on R&M. For many people this is a slow pathway to running out of money.
Especially when you consider that it is no longer uncommon to live another three decades beyond retirement.
Personally I like the idea of group housing associations – entities set up as an incorporated society that take care of managing all the administrative issues around common land, rates and insurance – a sort of a blend between strata management, retirement home and non-profit. I have long said that NZ could do well to look overseas to study some of the alternatives – we need more options for people beyond the three staples of the NZ market – social housing, renting and owning.
There is a UK based charity which expanded in NZ somewhere, based on a community paper article I read about 5 years ago. It helps organise older people to flat together in 5-6 bedroom homes. The article specifically discussed a home with widowed friends. They get company, can pool resources like paying for domestic help, cook for each other, and keep an eye out for each other as they age.
If they are homeowning, that can free up some of their own homes for rent. A wrapround non-profit renting agency, like the mental health NGO Commcare, which supports mental health clients by managing all aspects of their tenancy (right up to smartly kicking out problem tenants in the nicest possible way), could provide stress-free management for co-oping oldies to rent their homes. The agency could organise getting older houses read bto rent.
One flat or shared house then provides 3-5 rental homes. Flatting in old villas with large rooms with many flatmates was a social pleasure for me up to my 40s. I would be happy for a financially secure option that allowed me this option in retirement.
My partner's aunt lived in one in England and his mother was the instigator of the Dunedin Abbeyfield. My M-i-L and I discussed the concept and I suggested Flatting for Oldies which was rightly rejected by her in favout of Flatting for Seniors.
It is the most marvellous concept.
The English one was in a large former stately home.
A good time fora rent freeze (counters inflation).
During the pandemic when the number of tourists visiting New Zealand was near zero, many owners of properties which had been in the short-term rental pool or which accommodated foreign students made these houses and units available for long-term tenants. Now, that situation is changing, and the rent implications seem clear.
Units are being let again to students and tourists – with returns from servicing the latter group tending to easily exceed returns from taking in Kiwi families and individuals.
In a monthly survey of landlords which I run with Crockers Property Management we can see a rising proportion of investors are planning to raise their rents, and the average rent rise they are seeking is increasing.
Rising rents versus falling prices is rapidly shifting the equation for current renters in favour of buying and that is going to create an interesting situation somewhere down the track – maybe late this year.
Prices may have just about stopped falling, but rents will keep rising while population growth accelerates because of the migration boom, and newbuild supply growth is set to slow quite a bit.
Ukraine was a member nation state of the UN from 1945, while part of the USSR. Whereas other parts, such as Russia, became independent of each other with the end of “Soviet Union”.
My guess is that the USA was in be nice to Russia under Yeltsin mode (and they and Ukraine, for a time, would have the nukes) and Russia did allow the liberation of Kuwait.
Some interesting perspectives from some nations as to the set up of the UNSC – an awareness of the flaws.
Byelorussia also had a seat in the General Assembly from 1945 to 1991.
Actually Stalin originally wanted 16 seats for the 16 Republics. The USA countered with the proposal that they should have 48 for the, then, 48 States. The ended up giving Joe 3.
That was also the Russia that signed the Budapest Memorandum in the 90's. It made pragmatic sense for a nuclear armed Russia to inherit the UNSC seat of the USSR.
Putin however has repudiated not only that obligation, but if you listen carefully to the rhetoric in Russia, the internal narrative in 2023 is the restoration of the USSR borders or even those of Imperial Russia. If you recall early last year when justifying the 'special operation' in a speech, Putin characterised Russia as a nation that 'cannot be held back' that some nations have an eternal destiny, while others are nothing more than colonies. The whole of Eastern Europe decoded this accurately enough, even if we chose not to hear it.
At some point the UN General Assembly is going to say enough is enough.
Tucker making a run at the US presidency is very unlikely but not outside the realms of possibility. Despicable as he is, I think he might have a better chance of success than Trump.
Now, residents and researchers are scrambling to assess the impact of the explosion on local communities, their health, habitat and wildlife including endangered species. Of primary concern is the large amount of sand- and ash-like particulate matter and heavier debris kicked up by the launch. The particulate emissions spread far beyond the expected debris field.
As a result of the explosion, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded the company’s Starship Super Heavy launch program pending results of a “mishap investigation,” part of standard practice, according to an email from the agency sent to CNBC after the launch. No injuries or public property damage had yet been reported to the agency as of Friday.
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 ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
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 ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
Buzz from the Beehive Reactions to news of the government’s readiness to make urgent changes to “the resource management system” through a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) suggest a balanced approach is being taken. The Taxpayers’ Union says the proposed changes don’t go far enough. Greenpeace says ...
I’m starting to wonder if Anna Burns-Francis might be the best political interviewer we’ve got. That might sound unlikely to you, it came as a bit of a surprise to me.Jack Tame can be excellent, but has some pretty average days. I like Rebecca Wright on Newshub, she asks good ...
Chris Trotter writes – Willie Jackson is said to be planning a “media summit” to discuss “the state of the media and how to protect Fourth Estate Journalism”. Not only does the Editor of The Daily Blog, Martyn Bradbury, think this is a good idea, but he has also ...
Graeme Edgeler writes – This morning [April 21], the Wellington High Court is hearing a judicial review brought by Hon. Karen Chhour, the Minister for Children, against a decision of the Waitangi Tribunal. This is unusual, judicial reviews are much more likely to brought against ministers, rather than ...
Both of Parliament’s watchdogs have now ripped into the Government’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s political economy and beyond on the morning of Tuesday, April 23 are:The Lead: The Auditor General,John Ryan, has joined the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah SpengemanPeople wait to board an electric bus in Pune, India. (Image credit: courtesy of ITDP) Public transportation riders in Pune, India, love the city’s new electric buses so much they will actually skip an older diesel bus that ...
The infrastructure industry yesterday issued a “hurry up” message to the Government, telling it to get cracking on developing a pipeline of infrastructure projects.The hiatus around the change of Government has seen some major projects cancelled and others delayed, and there is uncertainty about what will happen with the new ...
Hi,Over the weekend I revisited a podcast I really adore, Dead Eyes. It’s about a guy who got fired from Band of Brothers over two decades ago because Tom Hanks said he had “dead eyes”.If you don’t recall — 2001’s Band of Brothers was part of the emerging trend of ...
Buzz from the Beehive The 180 or so recipients of letters from the Government telling them how to submit infrastructure projects for “fast track” consideration includes some whose project applications previously have been rejected by the courts. News media were quick to feature these in their reports after RMA Reform Minister Chris ...
It would not be a desirable way to start your holiday by breaking your back, your head, or your wrist, but on our first hour in Singapore I gave it a try.We were chatting, last week, before we started a meeting of Hazel’s Enviro Trust, about the things that can ...
Calling all journalists, academics, planners, lawyers, political activists, environmentalists, and other members of the public who believe that the relationships between vested interests and politicians need to be scrutinised. We need to work together to make sure that the new Fast-Track Approvals Bill – currently being pushed through by the ...
Feel worried. Shane Jones and a couple of his Cabinet colleagues are about to be granted the power to override any and all objections to projects like dams, mines, roads etc even if: said projects will harm biodiversity, increase global warming and cause other environmental harms, and even if ...
Bryce Edwards writes- The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. ...
Michael Bassett writes – If you think there is a move afoot by the radical Maori fringe of New Zealand society to create a parallel system of government to the one that we elect at our triennial elections, you aren’t wrong. Over the last few days we have ...
Without a corresponding drop in interest rates, it’s doubtful any changes to the CCCFA will unleash a massive rush of home buyers. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate on Monday, April 22 included:The Government making a ...
Sunday was a lazy day. I started watching Jack Tame on Q&A, the interviews are usually good for something to write about. Saying the things that the politicians won’t, but are quite possibly thinking. Things that are true and need to be extracted from between the lines.As you might know ...
In our Weekly Roundup last week we covered news from Auckland Transport that the WX1 Western Express is going to get an upgrade next year with double decker electric buses. As part of the announcement, AT also said “Since we introduced the WX1 Western Express last November we have seen ...
TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 29 include:PM Christopher Luxon is scheduled to hold a post-Cabinet news conference at 4 pm today. Stats NZ releases its statutory report on Census 2023 tomorrow.Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivers a pre-Budget speech at ...
A listing of 29 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 14, 2024 thru Sat, April 20, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week hinges on these words from the abstract of a fresh academic ...
The ability of the private sector to quickly establish major new projects making use of the urban and natural environment is to be supercharged by the new National-led Government. Yesterday it introduced to Parliament one of its most significant reforms, the Fast Track Approvals Bill. The Government says this will ...
This is a column to say thank you. So many of have been in touch since Mum died to say so many kind and thoughtful things. You’re wonderful, all of you. You’ve asked how we’re doing, how Dad’s doing. A little more realisation each day, of the irretrievable finality of ...
Identifying the engine type in your car is crucial for various reasons, including maintenance, repairs, and performance upgrades. Knowing the specific engine model allows you to access detailed technical information, locate compatible parts, and make informed decisions about modifications. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a step-by-step approach to ...
Introduction: The allure of racing is undeniable. The thrill of speed, the roar of engines, and the exhilaration of competition all contribute to the allure of this adrenaline-driven sport. For those who yearn to experience the pinnacle of racing, becoming a race car driver is the ultimate dream. However, the ...
Introduction Automobiles have become ubiquitous in modern society, serving as a primary mode of transportation and a symbol of economic growth and personal mobility. With countless vehicles traversing roads and highways worldwide, it begs the question: how many cars are there in the world? Determining the precise number is a ...
Maintaining a safe and reliable vehicle requires regular inspections. Whether it’s a routine maintenance checkup or a safety inspection, knowing how long the process will take can help you plan your day accordingly. This article delves into the factors that influence the duration of a car inspection and provides an ...
Mazda Motor Corporation, commonly known as Mazda, is a Japanese multinational automaker headquartered in Fuchu, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. The company was founded in 1920 as the Toyo Cork Kogyo Co., Ltd., and began producing vehicles in 1931. Mazda is primarily known for its production of passenger cars, but ...
Your car battery is an essential component that provides power to start your engine, operate your electrical systems, and store energy. Over time, batteries can weaken and lose their ability to hold a charge, which can lead to starting problems, power failures, and other issues. Replacing your battery before it ...
In most states, you cannot register a car without a valid driver’s license. However, there are a few exceptions to this rule. Exceptions to the RuleIf you are under 18 years old: In some states, you can register a car in your name even if you do not ...
Mazda, a Japanese automotive manufacturer with a rich history of innovation and engineering excellence, has emerged as a formidable player in the global car market. Known for its reputation of producing high-quality, fuel-efficient, and driver-oriented vehicles, Mazda has consistently garnered praise from industry experts and consumers alike. In this article, ...
Struts are an essential part of a car’s suspension system. They are responsible for supporting the weight of the car and damping the oscillations of the springs. Struts are typically made of steel or aluminum and are filled with hydraulic fluid. How Do Struts Work? Struts work by transferring the ...
Car registration is a mandatory process that all vehicle owners must complete annually. This process involves registering your car with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and paying an associated fee. The registration process ensures that your vehicle is properly licensed and insured, and helps law enforcement and other authorities ...
Zoom is a video conferencing service that allows you to share your screen, webcam, and audio with other participants. In addition to sharing your own audio, you can also share the audio from your computer with other participants. This can be useful for playing music, sharing presentations with audio, or ...
Building your own computer can be a rewarding and cost-effective way to get a high-performance machine tailored to your specific needs. However, it also requires careful planning and execution, and one of the most important factors to consider is the time it will take. The exact time it takes to ...
Sleep mode is a power-saving state that allows your computer to quickly resume operation without having to boot up from scratch. This can be useful if you need to step away from your computer for a short period of time but don’t want to shut it down completely. There are ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
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Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
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The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
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What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
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You can’t have missed the Gallipoli story as the movies, documentaries, essays and books capture what it was like for New Zealand troops in their eight-month campaign on the Peninsula. But this Anzac Day the Auckland War Memorial Museum has published a book that sheds light on a little-known aspect of the ...
The Prime Minister has committed to resuming direct flights to Thailand. But it’s not a promise he will be able to deliver on anytime soon. The post Prime Minister jumps the gun in Thailand appeared first on Newsroom. ...
It’s not that long ago Eliza McCartney was seriously wondering if the Paris Olympics would be her pole vaulting swansong. After years of being hounded by injury after injury, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist was still confident she would compete at her second Olympics in Paris in July, unless something ...
FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
Not a big ANZAC day fan personally. The day realistically could have ceased being marked when last ANZAC died…
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/rotorua-daily-post/news/new-zealands-last-anzac-i-lived-through-it-somehow/SP726IGVVCVLZPGZQTHHGGSOQY/
It has been a cynical exercise in jingoism for years now, hooking younger people into war being a respected sacrifice, feel good even, narrative–NZ Defence and 5 Eyes machinations lurking in the shadows. WWI was an inter imperialist war that slaughtered working class people in huge numbers totally unnecessarily.
The self righteous celebrators of war even got the Gallipoli numbers wrong for many years until around 2013. NZ troop participation was almost twice greater than quoted throughout the 20th century. So NZ and Australian casualty percentages were actually similar. (no relief to the bereaved descendants).
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/299592/nz's-true-gallipoli-numbers-revealed
nb. My uncle was blown to bits at Monte Casino, 1944 in WWII. He is recorded in the Auckland War Memorial Museum records and name on the wall. WWII was the anti fascist war that a number of leftists did support.
Agree Tiger. There is too much glorification of war in the ANZAC day ceremonies for me. Ukraine shows the true horror of war.
My dad fought in WW2-in fact he was on the HMS Belfast which was a WW2 cruiser and has now been preserved on the Thames in London as a floating museum operated by the Imperial War Museum.
One person's glorification is another's sombre remembrance.
My Uncle served in Malaya, came back a profoundly changed man. He would have been at the cenotaph in Feilding today with the RSA contingent. Unfortunately, strokes and a heart attack have him laid up in hospital and unlikely to leave.
A good turnout this morning, hopefully some of the many youngsters there can question their parents when the 'China bad' war drums start beating…
I visited HMS Belfast when in London in 1990 – a very interesting exhibit.
I guess we will always need a defence force because extremist clowns like Hitler, Stalin and Putin keep on turning up (China's leader seems to have expansionist ideas too).
Its always the politicians who get us into the mess, but the young men who do the fighting. Possibly WW II could have been averted had Neville Chamberlain stood up to Hitler, but England and the French had lost an entire generation in the Great War so they were desperate to avoid more conflict. As a result, Chamberlain gave in to a series of German territorial demands.
Likewise my grandfather was one of the few New Zealander's to get off Gallipolli alive, fought at Chunnuck Bair with the Wellington Mounted Rifles, he lost both his brother's in France & Belgium in WW1.
Then we lost an Uncle in WW2 flying Wellington bombers out of El Alamien, disappeared over Palermo, Sicily, to this day he or the wreckage has never been found.
You're not supposed to be a fan of Anzac day or war it's meant to be a somber day where we reflect on the mistakes of the past and the horrors of war and the many, many many dead.
We will never get rid of Anzac day.
Anzac day is not pro war, They say least we forget so we don't repeat the mistakes of the past.
I do not want to lose another generation to war.
Occasionally the left needs to pull our heads out of our arses and stop acting like philistines and accept some traditions.
More a somber rememberance for our family members, the damage done from war to surviving family members carries through the generations, mainly alcoholism and physcological issues. I can remember having discussions with a friend of my parents who was young teenager tending to the wounds of Returned Servicemen of the Maori Battalions after WW2 in Tokomaru Bay. He said it was a very sobering experience, the trauma must of been horrific for Ngati Porou and it's people.
I did some work with some of the Maori Trusts on the East Coast, and one of the trustees, was one of the last surviving Officers of the Maori Battalions, he said Ngati Porou lost most of their leaders fighting in WW2.
Indeed. One of them was my paternal grandfather. It is a common pattern that war takes a disproportionate toll on the young men from rural areas.
My paternal grandfather was a Major in the Otago Regiments in France & Belgium in WW1, he fought in the First Battle of Passchendaele and was recommended for a MC. However in the Second Battle of Passchendaele the Otago Regiments lost 90% of their troops in half (1/2) an hour, fortunately he was on leave in Paris. I have read and copied his War Letters describing these events, which I will place in the Hocken Collections at the University of Otago.
One of his duties was to write the letters back to the families in New Zealand on the death of New Zealand troops. Dick Travis (aka Dickson Savage) VC was his Chief Scout in France & Belgium, he was supposedly an Uncle of Captain Pita Awatere an Officer in the Ngati Porou Cowboys (Maori Battalion) in WW2.
I have two great uncles buried in France & Belgium, Andrew O'Brien was a Private in the East Kent Regiments died 1914, and his older brother Charles was a Captain in the Irish Guards died in the last week of WW1. We have just located a descendant of Charles Stuart O'Brien. The damage done to families in any conflict is immense and it is supposedly carried in our DNA.
Very interesting. It was once explained to me that one way of looking at the difference between Maori and Pakeha cultures is that a Maori had a worldview of him or herself as standing in the present and looking back to the ancestors who came before and the legacy of their whakapapa which largely defines who they are.
While Pakeha tilt the opposite way, standing in the present looking to a future and the potential of who their mokopuna might be.
Obviously this is not a black and white matter – just a description of differing propensity. But it does go some way to explaining why you describe the loss of that generation in the wars of the last century as 'embedded in your DNA'. While as a predominantly Pakeha I tend to intellectualise the same loss as ‘service to ideals and a sacrifice for country’. Perhaps they amount to the same thing in the big picture. Either way it speaks to how history has such powerful roots in the present – and often deeply embedded in our psyches.
As for my paternal grandfather Frank – we know he was trained as an engineer and is listed in the online Battalion records as a 'motor mechanic' – yet that is pretty much all we know. Linda his wife contracted tuberculosis as a nurse during the war and died in 1942, and as a consequence the family lost almost all knowledge of what happened to Frank after he left for the war. The records tell us nothing and he never returned to NZ as far as we are aware. What I do know is that he was from an East Coast hapu – Ngāti Kahungunu from memory.
Literally days before we came to Australia in 2013 we bumped into a relative of his who we probably should have kept in touch with. On reflection I should probably make the effort to find out more.
I have only found out this information by researching in the last 20 years, fortunately I have an Uncle who is still alive and an old trunk with my grandfathers War Letters in it. Growing up as a little boy I remember hearing both my grandfathers fought in WW1, the paternal grandfather was Scottish and my maternal grandfather was Irish, he was born on a military base in Deal, Kent so was from a military family, he was a merchant seaman and arrived in Wellington around the turn of last Century, became a shepherd at Kiwitahi in the Manawatu, until the outbreak of WW1 joining the Manawatu/Wellington Mounted Rifles, they took their farm horses by boat to Egypt, these had to be shot b4 they departed for Gallipoli Turkey. He was subsequently busted up on Chunuk Bair in 1915 and invalided back to London, I remember him limping around the house. My paternal grandfather was teaching at Otago Boys High School before sailing to the UK in 1916, he rose to the rank of Major, fought in France and Belgium and was involved in the march and occupation of Germany. He was one of two Officers selected to attend a Short Course at Oxford University as part of the Military for a debrief course in 1919, he was the Adjutant that brought the vessel Remuera back into Auckland, where he met my grandmother through family war connections. Fortunately both got back alive although one severely injured.
Thanks for the dialogue Red Logix interesting to find someone on the same wavelength.
I know that this is a couple of weeks old (and may have been the subject of debate in TS) but Trotter is on the money here for me. Anybody who hasn't read it should read it.
https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2023/04/game-changer.html
But the comments!
I gave up reading Bowally Rd because Trotter's muses became so over the top. But every now and then he seems to come up with a gem and this is one of them. It is summed up nicely with this paragraph from BG’s link:
Despite media attempts to portray the young generation as a pot-pourri of robbers and ram raiders, I have met enough of them to see the enormous potential in them. They seem to possess a wisdom and maturity well beyond their years, and it augers well for a better future for everyone.
A long time ago I asked a war vet if he regretted his action in Egypt where he famously was wounded horribly. A terrible stomach wound where the surgeon just sewed him up as he would die anyway.
Derek's response to me was an angry defence of the "most wonderful time of his life! Friendship and togetherness never better!"
Tucker Carlson fired from Fox:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2023/04/24/tucker-carlson-leaves-fox-news/
😂🔥
https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1650587143360905216?s=20
Wonder if it is linked to the admissions he made here about a month or so ago:
https://twitter.com/Lukewearechange/status/1650662552408391683?s=20
I've seen a couple of links from that podcast, which I haven't watched in its entirety, but it can be seen here:
https://youtu.be/kAaFEOCHE4I
Funny thing is that Fox needed him more then he needs them. It will be interesting to see what he does next.
He's well placed to do a Joe Rogan style podcast . Instant audience.
yep, that is what my guess is. Heck, i would not be surprised if he took up some space in the R Party. They are desperate for someone who is not T or DeSantis.
Or both. At 53 Tucker can afford to wait until T burns out or departs, and it would be smart to put some distance between himself and some of the lies he was compelled to run with at Fox.
agree. He has money and he has time.
He is going to believe a few powerful corporations rule the world in his next incarnation – will he mention his former boss Murdoch?
And regard Andrew Tate as the common mans Jordan Peterson
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-64125045
Some takes in the USA
The pride of Georgia
https://twitter.com/RepMTG/status/1650570478598103040
https://twitter.com/TheBabylonBee/status/1650531511471427589
The founder of Rumble
https://twitter.com/chrispavlovski/status/1650572046022107150
Between being at work on Friday and leaving Fox News.
https://twitter.com/TexasLindsay_/status/1650543460057853963
Sayonara Tucker Carlson.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyWLm5E0SAI
Fox fired his ass without ceremony. No final show, no thanks, just done.
Presumably he goes on to AONN.
Presumably Martyn Bradbury will now lament the fall of yet another kindred spirit, a scalp for the woke before posting his ANZAC special – "Smeared: the untold story of a poor Austrian painter".
Bet your feeling like a right plonker about now Sanctuary. Your beige predictions just make an ass of the situation.
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2023/04/26/mediawatch-tucker-carlson-fox-news-meltdown/
Or Epoch Times, he will have to be militantly anti-China though.
The other option is to join Glenn Greenwald and Russel Brand and Joe Rogan on Rumble. The right wing platform hosts Truth Social and claims its the place of free speech rather than a MSM (some were paid to go there from other places such as You Tube).
I refer to it as, let us go brandon/onbrand, central. Where once reasonable people go to be less responsible – Fox News was the place of transition for Carlson (who once aspired to be the voice of reason on the right but instead became a Murdoch orc.
Rumble is the natural place for him to go, join recent interviewee Russel Brand.
Tucker's main motivation is probably money.
My guess his next home could be RT.
Need to run a sweepstake!
It is my sense Tucker backed the wrong horse over Ukraine. While I think he instinctively wanted to tap into that old and always potent strain of American isolationism – I suspect the mass of US Republicans and conservatives were not on board with this message at all.
The You Tube link 4.2 indicates his reasoning on Ukraine – he does not think the USA can cope with a geo-political/economic/military alliance between Russia and China. He wants the USA to pressure Ukraine to do a deal – involving the formal cession of Crimea and other ethnic Russian areas.
Tucker's reasoning?
Personally I couldn't care less what he thinks, about anything. He is a moron with no morals or wisdom. His only "qualification" of any type is fame.
Never underestimate your opponent.
Yes. There is some sense in that appraisal. Just as at the end of WW2 the US realised it had no appetite nor the capacity to confront the Red Army on European soil – it now makes better sense to build alliances and work toward containment rather than full on confrontation.
In this the demographic and geopolitical realties favour the West in the long run. Russia has a terrible demography, and China faces imminent population collapse. Depending on whose data you believe the mainland Chinese population is on track to dropping by 50% to 650m by just 2050. That is before you factor in the perfect storm of other vulnerabilities they face.
The other thing that should be apparent is that US intelligence probably knows more about what is being talked about in the Kremlin than Putin does. And while for the moment they assess that on a rational basis there is only a small chance of nuclear exchange – you only have to watch what is happening on Russian state TV every night to understand rationality is not a universal condition. Which is why their support for Ukraine has been carefully calibrated to ensure they can neither quite lose, nor quite win.
A defeated Kremlin could be a very dangerous beast indeed, with many unpredictable consequences. In war it is wise never to force an outcome until you are reasonably sure what it will be.
American support is also calibrated to draw the Russian military into a long and painful war of attrition. Ukraine is useful but expendable in their overall plan to remove Russia as a strategic threat
Shorn of their legacy stockpile of nuclear weapons Russia is not a strategic – anything. Conversely there are nations who do have nuclear weapons, UK, France, India etc, that are not a considered a strategic threat either.
Nope the problem is that Russia ticks both boxes, nuclear armed AND acting like threatening arseholes. Bad combination.
There are of course any number of things you can say about the post WW2 Washington led world order, but it would be delusional to argue that a Stalinist or Maoist led version of it would have been an improvement of any kind.
https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1650587143360905216
looks like tweets and youtubes aren't embedding on comments.
Massive turnout in Wanaka this morning with on my crowd count 400 people there, which is easily 5% of the resident population.
Two biplanes did the flypast, while a young teenager spoke about what it all meant to them.
What did it mean to them, pray tell? Genuinely interested.
I don't do ANZAC day. I didn't like most of the veterans when they were alive and nowadays to me it is just a chance for largely Pakeha New Zealanders to engage in a quasi-pagan ceremony and wear a rather mawkish and maudlin nationalism on their sleeves, before they go back to demonstrating to everyone their relationship with NZ is pretty transactional by posting in the comments section of the Herald and Stuff that they can't wait to gap it to Aussie.
Pay all your taxes, be law abiding, help your landlady take out her garbage and if anyone invades Google how to make a Molotov cocktail. No need to get up on a cold morning to do any of that.
I daren't speak for the silent thoughts of the crowd.
But you do get a little glimpse of its collective meaning from who showed up:
– The Scouts
– The nurses in uniform
– The firefighters
– The Police
– The retired veterans, their descendants, all wearing service medals
– The young and very young
– The politicians (insofar as we have politics at such a local level)
– The bagpipe players, the anthem singers, assorted celebrants
– The tradies, their families, the retired people of Wanaka.
Who knows, somewhere in there is New Zealand giving thanks to each other.
Yes that's fair. Something is going on.
Probably most of that crowd couldn't have given a short description of the Sykes-Picot Agreement of the Balfour Declaration, or how after initial Russian gains against Austria-Hungary, Germany was controlling the eastern front and could throw plenty of resources to the west, or how the operation itself was botched, etc..
So the commemorations we see aren't really about the event itself. Something else is happening. I'm open to the possibility that it's potentially a good thing that is being manufactured here, but far from certain that it is.
The lawful good. God bless 'em. (I'm probably more “chaotic good”)
"I don't do ANZAC day."
I don't do ANZAC day either. At least not in the normal sense.
My Dad fought in both world wars. As a very young man (he lied about his age) he saw action in France in the last twelve months. His most treasured possession was an album of studio photographs of his war-time mates who did not survive that war. In WW2 he saw action in the Pacific.
He didn’t talk much about his war experiences but he hated war – any war – with an abiding passion. He didn't do ANZAC either. He regarded it as a "glorification of war" and he wanted no part of it. He never stepped inside RSA's for the same reason. Looking back I think there was trauma there that he never managed to fully overcome. He saw some terrible things. Apart from the worst cases, there was no help for returning soldiers in those days. You were expected to just get on with your life as though nothing had happened.
At the end of ANZAC day when everyone has gone home, I visit the local memorial and plant two poppies. One for Dad and one for Mum as both of them knew the true cost of war. There is usually no-one around, and I can reflect on their lives and feel grateful for the values they instilled in me.
Since it is Anzac Day I wanted to comment on something I saw earlier.
On Tuesday last week I saw former All Black Wayne (Buck) Shelford talking on Seven Sharp calling for an extra memorial day for defence force vets, as well as more money and privileges for vets.
He said that we don't support vets enough, citing how in the US vets are given special privileges, special seating at sports arena, and much more publicity.
He was persuasive, but I don't agree with them that we should be more like the US in how vets are treated. Shelford said that at football games the announcers ask them to stand up before the game so that people can applaud them. I don't really think that NZ vets would really like this kind of thing somehow. They certainly appreciate thanks for their services and sacrifices but in a less ultra patriotic more New Zealand way.
And I don't know if an extra public holiday to celebrate the services of vets would get much support in NZ. It is fair enough to want that, but perhaps it should be part of the evolving nature of ANZAC Day celebrations. Perhaps ANZAC Day could be remodelled into vets day, seeing as there are now no longer any surviving men from that dreadful day.
Comments please!
In USA the vets are not treated well. Currently the Republicans are creating Bills to cut Vet medical care and cut Vet social services. Echoes of reducing Government (Federal) spending. Nicola will be applauding.
At our local ANZAC Day service, it was the service men and women, past and present, who were honoured at the beginning and ending of the service.
The address by the local high school head student referenced the WW1 honor board – of those students who had died during that war. It is a tradition that their names are read, and so they were this year. Her address focused on WW1 – but it was the only one which did so.
I think that most ANZAC services are already morphing away from the specific WW1&2 memorials.
Despite its claim to separate church and state, America's state religion is 'christian' nationalism that idolises militarism and gun violence. They venerate military service but the machine churns up men and damages them for life then spits them out onto the street. Obsession with flags and guns and uniforms is a crap form of virtue.
"Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel" – Samuel Johnson
I was watching this youtube video on the eve of ANZAC day and made me most pessimistic and rather pensive. The presenter casually noted the desire of Japan to DOUBLE it's defence spending by 2026 and to create a force projection capability to defend it's outlying island (and Taiwan, one would think) from attack. Wht 2026? because Xi has said China will be in a position to take back Taiwan by 2028.
A confrontation between heavily armed North Asian powers in the Taiwan strait could be closer than we think, an incredibly depressing thought. I have hoped that I could see out my days without us getting involved in a big war. I still hope, but the drums are getting louder.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BHnijL9xYc&t=2698s
The Chinese were in full dare-me mode consistently entering Taiwanese airspace and doing wargames after Speaker Pelosi's visit in August last year.
That stopped being a full response of Taiwanese fighters going into China airspace because they and the US figured it was better to show restraint right at the moment.
In response in March this year the PLA and airforce and navy rehearsed blockades and invasion tactics in the open, all around Taiwan.
That’s how close it got.
The US will defend Taiwanese democracy better than the UK defended Hong Kong democracy, independent judiciary, free press, right to free expression, right to political non-interference by intelligence services, etc.
We are not yet at a full-on carrier group crisis like the mid-1990s but we are getting very close.
Military enhancement without diplomacy to resolve the matter is a fools path.
I see you have already discovered Perun's excellent and highly regarded channel. As he puts it, if anyone has suggested that a channel dedicated to hour plus Powerpoint presentations on defense economics would gain 400k subscribers in less than a year – he would have scoffed at you.
He remains anonymous, but has stated that he works somewhere in the Australian defense logistics world and he clearly knows his stuff. As in 'standing under a fire-hose' of it stuff.
The campaign is on for a third Medical School in Waikato. This shot across the politicians’ bow is full of lazy rhetoric from another ‘Mr Fix-It’. Of course, this doesn’t matter if the aim is to generate a groundswell of public opinion, or just a ripple from a vocal minority. Once it registers in the focus groups, National will elevate it to a bullet speaking point in their election campaign aka a ‘policy’.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/300860738/make-our-third-medical-school-in-hamilton
Looking into the messenger, he does seem to fit the mould of a stereotypical National-aligned politician. Turns out he’s apparently also a fellow-blogger. Interesting fellow and I suspect we’ll hear more from and about him in future – not worth wasting any oxygen on just yet.
A Washington Post headline says, "How Tucker Carlson became the voice of White grievance. " He is the face of white, conservative, fearful America. He is their Mike Hosking.
One good clip I've seen today is Carlson in full flight:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7pSVl8aGek
we should just get rid of 'white' people and then all would be good. s/
Never mind the viewership – but i guess they must be all white, no non white people would watch the show. lol
2022
https://www.thewrap.com/tucker-carlson-liberal-viewership-fox-news/
2023
in the meantime
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fox-stock-tucker-carlson-top-ratings-draw/
But surely only white people with grievances would have watched that show. Totes. Totes. Totes.
In the meantime CNN fires Don Lemon – who knows for what, it certainly can not be white people with grievances that watched him to much, right? s/
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2023-04-24/don-lemon-fired-cnn
My guess is that the one who got fired by Fox was for actually doing journalism and showing segments / interviews of stuff and people that the good left wing media would not touch and someone put the kibbosh onto Fox and well they caved.
CNN however just got rid of someone who had miserable ratings and a rather sketchy reputation for being a bit of diva with complexes of grandeur.
My guess is that Tucker Carlson will have a bit of a rest and then do his thing, whilst Don Lemon will just have to grovel and hovel in order to be re-hired anywhere.
Your guess is that the one who got fired by Fox was for actually doing journalism?
Your guess is as good as anyone's.
https://theclick.news/is-tucker-carlson-a-journalist-the-answer-wasnt-always-so-easy/
Every one who differs in opinion from the prescribed truth as per media/academia and liberal politics is a racist, a fear monger, anti immigrant, anti trans identified people if they insist in biological reality, a white supremacist if they are not self hating/self canceling whites, bigots/nazis/phobes if all the other slurs did not work to shut them down.
Its easier to insult and smear, then to actually acknowledge that almost 40% of democrats – irrespective of color of their skin or sex or creed – watched him, and that according to your previous comment that would make them white supremacists cause they watched Tucker Carlson who obviously is a white supremist and fear monger. Guilt by association i think is the term.
I don't particularly care about him but have tuned in when he had people on his show that would not be platformed by the approved non racist, non white supremacist, gender before sex mainstreem media. Not because i cared much about what he had to say, but because i wanted to hear what those de-platformed by the mainstream media, those others, had to say.
And i would venture a guess that Tucker Carlson will do very well in a Joe Rogan Format. And again, that many people who self identify as democrats will tune in to listen to those that are not allowed a voice elsewhere. Go figure.
Emily Writes interviews Renters United on the need for rent controls in NZ:
They outline their preferred implementation:
https://emilywrites.substack.com/p/explainer-is-it-time-for-a-rent-freeze
Yes – constraining the supply of rentals in order to solve the shortage of rentals has got to be the solution. /sarc
The problem is not just in New Zealand. Here in Australia the challenge is just as acute. We had to buy an apartment on moving to a new role in Perth a few months ago – not because we had planned to – but because literally we were queuing up with 100 more more people just for the mandatory inspection. And as a contractor unable to produce evidence of my past three months of full time employment income, our chances of getting past the paper work was zero. I'm not grizzling about this, I realise we are fortunate enough to have had an option – but the experience of just how much the rental market is under pressure was pretty vivid.
The reasons for this are complex. This recent article explores them in good depth and even-handedly:
There is a housing crisis in Australia with an undersupply of both properties for rental and for sale.
https://propertyupdate.com.au/from-population-boom-to-housing-nightmare-addressing-australias-housing/
I realise the source will not meet your left wing purity test – but it is an informed and accurate view of why we have gotten to this place. And usefully it suggests some intelligent responses.
My other challenge to many readers here is to ask – just how many of you have applied for a mortgage recently? It is all well and good to point to excessively high prices as a challenge to home ownership, but all too often the biggest hurdle to making the transition to ownership is when people sadly discover that they do not qualify for a mortgage at any price. This can happen for a host of reasons, insecure income being one of the most commonplace, but some of them quite unexpected.
Very recently a younger colleague told me how they wanted to buy into a home closer to work in order to reduce their excessive fuel bills. When they applied for the mortgage they were turned down because – they were spending too much on petrol!
We're trying the end of the mortgage interest deductibility for existing property (either to first home owners or those who can buy without debt) to realise divestment and purchase of new builds for rent – it would work if it was bi-partisan (and not rising OCR and thus declining developer activity) but National's potential return to power is an obstacle.
I understand the commonplace left wing hatred of renting drives simplistic solutions like 'smash all landlords', but again it overlooks reality. There is a strong and organic demand for residential rentals and it continues to grow.
People are far more transient than they were in our parents generation who typically were born, educated and lived in the same region all their lives. In the office I work in at present out of the 35 of us, there are migrants from 15 different countries, and just 3 who were born in this city.
More people are waiting until much later in their lives before they finally put down roots in one location – hell I am nearly 70 and still have not. As our generations get older, the occupancy rate decreases – older people being typically way less keen on sharing accommodation unless it is with close family.
And many people, often professionals with good incomes, prefer to invest elsewhere than in the house they live in.
All of these – and more – are legitimate reasons why home ownership has been declining and the demand for rentals increasing. Yet at 8% interest rates only the brave and well pocketed are going to build to supply that market. It is inherently a long-term market and when govts constantly intervene, it introduces a degree of risk few have the appetite for.
FFS really, the old supply is the issue argument. Come on Red get a grip on reality mate.
The problems are way more than that one trick, let developers solve it – mantra – that has dominated the debate for the last 40 odd years. When that particularly pony gave us leaky homes, slave labour from north Asia, and suburbia – which has led to all our councils being perpetually broke.
Contrast that with, Auckland being awash in unoccupied properties. Or my personally favourite 6 bed rooms with one person occupying them. Or how about boarded up properties – which litter our cities?
No the main problem is, and has always been, the political will for the greedy to feed their greed at the expense of everyone else.
There is no solution in fixing the supply – As 2 homes are empty for each homeless person in NSW.
We have a problem which is political in nature and a lack of will to change a fubar economic system which is only making it worse.
Perhaps a 1% land tax on vacant land and housing with no occupants (or 0.5% if only half the bedrooms are occupied).
In what world do you imagine reducing the supply of something will fix the problems caused by a shortage of it?
Apart from smashing capitalism that is.
Not what I said and you know it, good try at a strawman though. And changing an economic system towards a social democratic one is not smashing capitalism, only in far right wet dream would that be the case.
We need to build what is needed, large public housing projects. Not rely on developers to fix what is in their interest – not to fix. My problem with what you said is how you effectively cut and paste the propaganda you have been spoon feed.
Yes social housing does have it's place, and everyone acknowledges this. Sadly the record of these projects is however not pretty; especially when at large scale. Nor is it clear to me that whether or not what you are really intending is a mass nationalisation of a large fraction of the housing supply – aka the Soviet model. (Which I have personally experienced.)
Moreover the article I referenced lists about 8 other possible measures that all seem like steps you would want to consider – before reaching for that somewhat drastic and risky solution.
friendlyjordies youtube vid on NSW housing crisis
From about 2 min in friendlyjordies examines the corruption of NSW developers.
A lot of funds are moving into residential property in the USA – this is going to be the zero debt investment source. It's low rest and secure returns our local conservative super funds will move into this.
People rent at different times for different reasons. I have a good friend who has rented since her husband died as she does not want the responsibilities of home maintenance etc in her later years. My partner and I are thinking of doing the same as the organisation of a big house, gardens and so on will become beyond us. We don't want a retirement village, we want a good apartment with good view and a supermarket on the block.
Exactly – home ownership is a responsibility and burden not everyone wants to take on. There are so many diverse circumstances people find themselves in these days, that a traditional one size fits all housing solution no longer applies.
For many kiwis I still think a most pressing structural problem is an inadequate retirement income provision, and a real shortage of alternate investment pathways other than housing.
NZ Super was originally conceived and set at a level that worked if you were a home owner at retirement – and mortgage free. For just about everyone else it fell well short. These days home owning costs have risen to the point where even owning a home is not enough. Between rates, insurance, power and telco – fixed costs leave not too much change out of $10k pa, and then there is the 2% of capital value you should be spending on R&M. For many people this is a slow pathway to running out of money.
Especially when you consider that it is no longer uncommon to live another three decades beyond retirement.
Personally I like the idea of group housing associations – entities set up as an incorporated society that take care of managing all the administrative issues around common land, rates and insurance – a sort of a blend between strata management, retirement home and non-profit. I have long said that NZ could do well to look overseas to study some of the alternatives – we need more options for people beyond the three staples of the NZ market – social housing, renting and owning.
There is a UK based charity which expanded in NZ somewhere, based on a community paper article I read about 5 years ago. It helps organise older people to flat together in 5-6 bedroom homes. The article specifically discussed a home with widowed friends. They get company, can pool resources like paying for domestic help, cook for each other, and keep an eye out for each other as they age.
If they are homeowning, that can free up some of their own homes for rent. A wrapround non-profit renting agency, like the mental health NGO Commcare, which supports mental health clients by managing all aspects of their tenancy (right up to smartly kicking out problem tenants in the nicest possible way), could provide stress-free management for co-oping oldies to rent their homes. The agency could organise getting older houses read bto rent.
One flat or shared house then provides 3-5 rental homes. Flatting in old villas with large rooms with many flatmates was a social pleasure for me up to my 40s. I would be happy for a financially secure option that allowed me this option in retirement.
This is called Abbeyfield.
https://www.abbeyfield.co.nz/
https://www.abbeyfield.co.nz/house/abbeyfield-dunedin/
My partner's aunt lived in one in England and his mother was the instigator of the Dunedin Abbeyfield. My M-i-L and I discussed the concept and I suggested Flatting for Oldies which was rightly rejected by her in favout of Flatting for Seniors.
It is the most marvellous concept.
The English one was in a large former stately home.
A good time fora rent freeze (counters inflation).
https://www.oneroof.co.nz/news/43472
The pandemic proved it is simple enough to enact. To refuse to do so is a polictical choice. Rent Controls Now
https://rentersunited.org.nz/rentcontrolsnow/
What Russia is up to with the Presidency of the UNSC.
https://www.rt.com/russia/575281-lavrov-un-security-council/
Why does Russia remain a permanent member of the UNSC? That privilege surely expired when the USSR that was the original signatory dissolved in 1991.
Ukraine was a member nation state of the UN from 1945, while part of the USSR. Whereas other parts, such as Russia, became independent of each other with the end of “Soviet Union”.
My guess is that the USA was in be nice to Russia under Yeltsin mode (and they and Ukraine, for a time, would have the nukes) and Russia did allow the liberation of Kuwait.
Some interesting perspectives from some nations as to the set up of the UNSC – an awareness of the flaws.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council
Byelorussia also had a seat in the General Assembly from 1945 to 1991.
Actually Stalin originally wanted 16 seats for the 16 Republics. The USA countered with the proposal that they should have 48 for the, then, 48 States. The ended up giving Joe 3.
Russia was the successor state to the USSR, along with all the debts and credits.
It forgave Cuba it's debt of $32 billion in 2014, and paid off its lend lease obligations to the US in 2006
That was also the Russia that signed the Budapest Memorandum in the 90's. It made pragmatic sense for a nuclear armed Russia to inherit the UNSC seat of the USSR.
Putin however has repudiated not only that obligation, but if you listen carefully to the rhetoric in Russia, the internal narrative in 2023 is the restoration of the USSR borders or even those of Imperial Russia. If you recall early last year when justifying the 'special operation' in a speech, Putin characterised Russia as a nation that 'cannot be held back' that some nations have an eternal destiny, while others are nothing more than colonies. The whole of Eastern Europe decoded this accurately enough, even if we chose not to hear it.
At some point the UN General Assembly is going to say enough is enough.
They may do , but what legal recourse do they have ?
And surely US would have to be thrown out for its illegal invasion of Iraq
Sauce for the goose etc
Giving them a few home truths.
Tucker making a run at the US presidency is very unlikely but not outside the realms of possibility. Despicable as he is, I think he might have a better chance of success than Trump.
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/24/hypothetical-tucker-carlson-2024-campaign-00093608
A rapid unscheduled disassembly has consequences.
Now, residents and researchers are scrambling to assess the impact of the explosion on local communities, their health, habitat and wildlife including endangered species. Of primary concern is the large amount of sand- and ash-like particulate matter and heavier debris kicked up by the launch. The particulate emissions spread far beyond the expected debris field.
As a result of the explosion, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded the company’s Starship Super Heavy launch program pending results of a “mishap investigation,” part of standard practice, according to an email from the agency sent to CNBC after the launch. No injuries or public property damage had yet been reported to the agency as of Friday.
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/24/spacex-starship-explosion-spread-particulate-matter-for-miles.html
At 4:40 am Wednesday our time (1640 Tuesday GMT) ispace's Hakuto-R will be the first privately operated spacecraft to land on the moon.
https://youtu.be/CpR1UUnix3g
https://ispace-inc.com/
https://twitter.com/ispace_inc
Well that was a let-down. Contact lost during descent and unable to be re-established.