Has anything highlighted NZ Heralds right wing/National party bias as much as the Auckland issue. So refreshing to read Metro’s great piece on this issue:
The main reason we have runaway increases in house prices is that there are votes in it. The government believes home owners do not want it to control rising property prices.
And the main reason the transport impasse exists is the government believes there are votes in that too. It will not allow anything that looks like a penalty for car drivers, and it does not believe public transport is the key to solving congestion on our roads.
and yet the car drivers and home owners amongst the metro reading crowd will vote for national again and again for precisely the stated reason. Stupid, greedy, shortsighted. But as the old saying goes, i have mine and to hell with you.
There is plenty of soft Nat Jaffa’s that are starting to resent foreigners outbidding them on property. Add the resentment of close to 50,000 migrants arriving each year, many settling in Auckland and you have a catalyst for a blow back at the voting booths.
Peters seems to be the only one making much noise. Labour have given Phil Goff Off the plumb Auckland Issues portfolio so he can enhance his changes of winning the Auckland mayoralty. If anyone needs to get angry it should be Goff Off. Come on you gutless wonder you should be all over this screaming from the top of sky tower. Perform or pass the portfolio on to someone who has some guts to front up.
Goff Off played it safe by making the minimum amount of noise. He never pushed for the deep water port in Northland, Peters was campaigning in the buy election but had the sense to way into the reclamation debate. We all know Brown is woefully useless!
Phil Twyford as Labour’s Transport spokesperson was very quiet on the issue actually, another play it safe stance. Admittedly he had been busy with Housing, but still it is his duty holding the portfolio. Spare me the put down nonsense I detest Labour wasting plum opportunities to be front footing issues that put them at the forefront.
I think you will find that the government is not controlling property and transport due to receiving generous donations, to make money for themselves and ideology.
Do not agree it is Home Owners fault.
Most people agree with more public transport, but it is how it is implemented that is the problem.
Most people myself included would expect the council to be spending our rates on transport for example, not propping up barristers by supporting illegal action by Ports of Auckland.
It is the ridiculous waste of money, by the government and councils, that is one of the biggest problems and the hypocrisy of extra rating and taxes for transport and reduction of social services while they waste money against the interests of the rate payers.
Labour should take a book out of the Nats, mimic the right discourse.
Clean up government and councils to stop the out of control spending.
The whole rates increase is a very bad joke on ratepayers. Blame Len Brown for his lack of leadership, and Rodney Hide for giving us the monstrous Super City. (Carnal) Left and (greedy) Right together to screw the population.
Blame Key and co for failure to allow Auckland Council the proper process to raise the funds for developing needed infrastructure – so they have to lump it on ratepayers. By the way – if you live in Auckland – how do you feel about the possibility of Auckland in almost constant gridlock in a few years from now?
“I think any ordinary person will realise a process when you don’t advise the person that you’re considering something, you don’t let them attend, you don’t even give them a chance to respond to allegations, is no proper process,”.
Greek parliament has voted 178-120 for a referendum but it looks moot after this statement (courtesy Zerohedge) form the Eurogroup:
“The Eurogroup takes note of the decision of the Greek government to put forward a proposal to call for a referendum, which is expected to take place on Sunday July 5, which is after the expiration of the programme period. The current financial assistance arrangement with Greece will expire on 30 June 2015, as well as all agreements related to the current Greek programme including the transfer by euro area Member States of SMP and ANFA equivalent profits.”
The financial markets will be interesting on Monday!!
It’s going to be interesting times for the world watching on.. I assume the Government wants the referendum so they then have a mandate from the public to pull out of the Euro.
Of course they do. Then at the negotiating table they can say “we” might see the sense of what you say but our people want buy it… it’s one negotiating tactic our current government threw away a long time ago by being so noddingly compliant
Just to clarify for general readers, Greece (for example) might exit the “euro”, as in the currency or Eurozone or EZ which is the monetary union, but could still remain within the European Union or EU that is the single market politico-economic union.
Denmark and the United Kingdom are of course in the EU but are exempt from the EZ.
Sweden was required to join but their people voted down the move in their 2003 referendum and has stayed outside the EZ since then.
The thing is, maybe Greece is playing a “nothing left to lose” game of chicken. At this point just maybe the EU and the bankers have more to lose if Greece pulls out cos they have to worry, that IF Greece ends up no worse off out than they are today, can find a better deal from another “bank” or Nation, which other EU countries might say “fuck it, we will default too”> THAT is one risk the IMF EU etc are taking by asking Greece’s fewer number of employed to work and pay tax to send out of their economy to meet interest payments…
Since the austerity conditions attached to finance Greece’s unemployment has fallen not risen.
Exactly. That is why the EU is playing hardball. They are terrified it will encourage other countries to tell them to sod off. I think it is appropriate that Greece be the first country to go down this path.
Apparently there is precedent for sovereign default of debt and I am not suggesting defaulting will be easy for the Greek people but perhaps the best outcome is actually to give a 3-5 moratorium on interest payments…
Perhaps printing their own money again might cause problems but it might also see more money in the local economy?
BUT I definitely think that NOT just sitting meekly and nodding to the big boys would help Greece (as the previous government was doing while piling on more pain), so I say bravo for their stand. They are fucked whichever path they go down, for a while anyway.
It is time for the online left to be sure to expose at every opportunity the astro-turf “Auckland Ratepayers Alliance” for what it is – a out-and-out deceptive front for the extreme right, National party aligned so-called “tax payers union” created by Jordan Williams and that enemy of democracy, the right wing courtier David Farrar.
This so-called alliance tells lies about itself – on the “about” page of this “alliance” it claims the “Taxpayers’ Union” is a politically independent organisation. http://www.ratepayers.nz/about It has a couple of useful idiot muppets mentioned, presumably to give it a bit of credibility, but make no mistake – it is simply the right wing of the National party with a lampshade on it’s head as a disguise.
This front group will try, by the look of Farrar’s frantic pushing of it, to run as a front for the Auckland Remuera elite and it’s hard right agenda.
All Standardnista’s must be vigilant to expose this dishonest astroturf group in comments sections whenever it seeks publicity, be it on Facebook or in online electronic media. Attack them at every turn, and don’t let these anti-democratic right wing bastards get any media or popular traction through these sort of dishonest fronts!
One of the most shameful parts of NZ history is the White New Zealand policy that began at the start of the 1880s and culminated in 1920 legislation that finally barred the door to pretty much all Chinese immigration to NZ.
This latest piece examines what was happening in NZ society – NZ was now clearly a (capitalist) nation-state, in the early 1890s the long depression was still in process, the big estates (or a section of them) were being broken up, thwarted on the industrial field labour had turned to parliamentary politics and elected a LIberal government, in the early 1890s the suffrage movement was a big force.
The main forces campaigning for White New Zealand were liberals, mainstream trade unionists, feminists, social improvers and do-gooders.
Later, of course, the liberal racists would be joined by the early Labour Party, as we shall see in one of the articles to come.
Who or what am I, and what do I do? (Avoid post-plumber shock)
(tl;dr skip to video at end)
Feeling lost. We’ve all been there, at some point in our lives. Sometimes the answer is to do the modern equivalent of running away to join the circus, without having any acrobatic skills, and there is no circus anywhere near us, they wouldn’t have us even if we asked nicely and we‘re so confused that even the act of running away turns into a stumbling lolloping shuffle.
It doesn’t matter how old we are, how much stuff we own, the balance of our bank account, or the long string of success or failure in our past. All we want is to be free to discover whatever it is that feels like it’s missing.
So one day we’re sitting in a paddock together, me and a new friend of mine, and she was exasperated with herself and screamed out at the world that was far, far, away from where we were that moment, “What the fuck am I doing with my life!”. At the time, to my ears, it sounded ungrateful and ironic. You’ll get to hear a lot between the fence posts of a farm, doing what no one else really wants to do that much – unless they’re taking the wages back to the Islands.
Such a place is one of NZ’s versions of The Circus for the Lost. It’s not very exciting, but has nice views, and while there is miles of wire there are no trapeze artists. You do get to hear a lot of detail about other people’s lives, although you never really meet the actual person, until maybe much later. So this gal was, despite her gold-star personality and high level of skills in a particular area; despite the considerable success she’d had overseas in her efforts; despite the more-or-less-privileged circumstances she (we) could maintain to even be where she (and we) was and were; she was discouraged and confused.
And then there was the other dimwit, me, who had no idea which way was up, none of that gal’s talent, skill, or success, scratching my head thinking, she does know who she is, right, she knows what she can and does do, right? We weren’t young either. We were in our thirties, she was a few years older than me.
Now the Buddhists just avoid all this trouble with a good belly laugh and a reminder that life is what it is – why encourage the anxiety? In NZ, though, we have a cultural aversion to large, perpetually jolly, people – by the time we’re ten we’re taught to be suspicious of them unless they come bearing gifts in December. Even the more yoga-pants oriented among us still want to know that our investment will return the percentage we thought it would. So we scrape around in self-help courses, community education, religions, go see an advisor, join the circus, find a counsellor or psychotherapist, or just talk to our friends endlessly about our troubles – trying to find some direction. It’s the Western way, and not many can completely escape it if they’re born into it. And in those books, lecture theatres, workplaces and coffee groups we find little snippets of information on what to do that doesn’t help one bit. Something is still missing. The steps are too far apart, or obscured.
“All you have to do is buckle-up, stick at it, work hard and it’ll turn out. Takes time.” But time keeps running out. No amount of buckling, perseverance or hard work changes the situations they get into.
“Get an education, choose an area that pays well and work hard!” They do have an education, but it’s “worthless”. No one will hire them
“Start your own business!” With what? In what? How?
“You have to really really really want it.” So what is that the definition of?
“You have to get out there, off your ass and ask around.” They did, but couldn’t do it well enough. Everyone turned them down.
“You just need to get back into the habit.” You mean you’ll make their life unnecessarily hard for kicks?
“Keep your head down, knuckle down, don’t talk, pay your dues.” They found what they wanted, the thing they’re told they need – can momentarily attain it – but can’t hold onto it very long.
The best we can see is pieces of a method but not the complete picture, the bits missing, who it might relate to or its overall relevance. Worse, you might run into this stuff:
“Hey, Mary, these cakes you make, they taste great you should totally do this for a living!” Encouraged by her friends’ chatter, Jan makes several attempts, learns a lot, but ultimately fails. Why?
“Find what you love and the money will follow!” Find what I love? What does that mean? Or you meet someone on your search who tells you if you were really doing what you loved it wouldn’t matter about them paying you below legal, unliveable wages.
“Find out what makes you cry, and do that!” Some people don’t really feel all that passionately about anything, let alone love anything. Why should it matter anyway?
“What are your interests? Find an industry that suits.” This person finds out that there is more to an industry than just applied skill and interest, and their attempts fail.
And all the while, time passes, lots of it. These people still have to deal with their everyday lives, the additional task of neutralising repeated failure so as not to distort their ability to see straight, and culture and politics never lets-up telling them they’re lazy, bludgers, miscreants, losers. It’s not their fault. Not at all. In fact, there is nothing wrong with them that could be considered a fault.
Why does “good” advice fail?
Because to use “good” advice, people have to be the same personality type as the advice-giver (similar dominant cognitive functions), have very similar experiences within a similar culture (experience a similar trend in external events as the advice-giver did when they did what they did), similar intellectual skills (to re-interpret anything they are told to suit their specific situation), and hear the advice at the right location to act, and the right time in their life.
Also, the advice-giver has to be particularly skilled to make sure the advice given carries all the necessary steps (which is very rare, most likely you’ll get slogans, as above). There’s a lot of details to consider when giving advice, and dismissing those details is more a favour to the ignorance of the advice-giver than the person who needs help.
It’s how living in a bubble-of-belonging works. No one inside the bubble knows the steps to get in or out, because they never stepped outside the bubble and were born into it – they were moving along nicely inside the bubble because their personality type suited the values of the bubble. When you’re outside the bubble, the job of the bubble is to keep you out, and this is related to how privilege works. Unchecked, a person can unwittingly whack other people from inside the bubble, as with those slogan type advice snippets above. However, there is a happy ending to this story, because conforming to a culture of privilege is only one way to live your life, or one way to find a life to live, if you prefer.
Is this an advice post?
Nope, it’s more a unsolicited commiseration party, one you never knew you needed: However easy it is to do stuff once you find the start line or get into the swing of things, it can be difficult to find a start line or make that first swing in a world that is full of unusable, fragmented, misapplied advice – so lighten up on yourself. The people who rag on you for not being like them, they don’t know much.
So what is this?
Just undoing some of the common tangles before offering a different knot to try to tie-up loose ends. One particular piece of advice isn’t going to be universally suitable for everyone. 99.9% of the advice for finding direction I’ve heard in circulation has been totally useless to me. In it they ask questions that are usually oriented in one direction: What can we get from the World? Sometimes there’s slight variation: What do we feel we could get from the World? And if I hear another, “What would you do if you had all the money in the World…” again, I might just start burning down libraries. It’s amazing that human life has developed so far technologically, and yet no one can answer the simplest of questions – What am I? Who am I? Where am I?
So when I heard a talk on TEDx recently, by chance, it caught my attention (because generally I don’t like TED talks. I think this one was part of a youtube autoplay). Here was someone changing the orientation of the questions: Yes, they were ego-centric and risked the associated pitfalls, but not as risky as most, they were even somewhat political,
Who are you?
What do you do?
Who do you do it for?
How do they change as a result?
How do they change? But… where’s the money… you didn’t mention passion… or finding what I love to do… or what I’m interested in…. or what I want to do… where’s the focus on what I get? That’s the point. These questions weren’t just about work, careers, personal sensory satisfaction or financial gain; they were about finding a personal reference point by noticing effect of actions; they were about identifying who you are at any particular time – and potentially working forward from there. How other people changed, and the name given to that change, was the description of what you did, and what you were. The obvious answers are obvious, but also there are hidden answers. For example, you might work at a gas station, and your name is Alice,
Who are you? I’m Alice.
What do you do? I pump gas, clean windows, check the oil, chat with people. Sometimes I’m here alone at night, watching the forecourt.
Who do you do it for? You mean other than me earning minimum wage? I do it for the customers I guess. I mean, sure I work for the boss, but it’s the customer’s cars.
How do they change as a result? They move on their way, knowing that they aren’t going to run out of gas, or their tyres ain’t going to pop on a dark road, or their engines burn out, or when I give directions, so they get to where they’re going.
Alice works at a gas station, but she doesn’t often pump gas. She reinforces in people a sense of security, if they need it, reinforces a form of certainty that they might be running low on. She makes sure people don’t stop for avoidable problems. What is Alice really? What does Alice really do?
Using that approach – a metaphorical interpretation of actions – anyone can locate where they are at, no matter where they are, regardless of socio-economic status. Everyone does something, and more importantly, they do it in a certain way and the effect it has is measureable.
Although it’s not a silver bullet, it’s a lot more stable than thinking, “I’m plumber, therefore I fix pipes, dig holes and break small things. When I retire, or if I loose my job, I’ll be nothing, because I won’t be plumbing anymore.”. Avoid post-plumber shock.
The title of the TEDx talk says “How to know your life purpose in five minutes”, which to me sounded a bit grandiose, because life circumstances often change, don’t they? People go through cycles with specific times for activities that come and go. “Life Purpose” isn’t always static. Also, that everyone’s life has an inherent purpose is a philosophical choice people make that might be true for some, but not a proven certainty for all… and the video takes ten minutes… so that’s funny too. I don’t agree with everything the speaker says (e.g. examining is living… for someone), but the questions are good for anyone stuck in common Western mind-traps. It did sound like a good way to track down some common themes that run through people’s lives.
If people are thinking, “I need to do something, but what? There is so much going on in the world, but my skills don’t fit…”, or if they find themselves in any of the can’t-follow-good-advice catch-22s above and need to know what they are right now or have been while they’ve been in their current cycle, they can at least find that reference point and decide where to go from there. Some of the movement forward, after finding out, will take no effort at all, and may reveal why things didn’t work out earlier. It’s an out of the ordinary method, I thought, and useful to someone.
+100…thanks Charles ….yes I am going to have to reread this tomorrow….there is a lot of thought in this…reminds me of a sociology text found in a university bookshop years ago ( I cant remember the name of the author but he was American and wrote 3 volumes and I was riveted…stood reading it for hours before i decided I would have to buy it)….the big existential questions…who am I? …what is my life purpose?…where do I fit into the scheme of things….questions of meaning
…seems to me that networks, family and friends are really important these days….(to keep the wolves of alienation, anxiety and depression at bay, especially for those most disadvantaged… the unemployed, the young and the low income earner…the un housed, the mentally and emotionally fragile, the children and the elderly…and those without supportive families close by)
…and that the little people have to stand up for themselves and their own human value …..and fight to get their rights/ wants/needs recognised …..they have to fight for their grassroots democracy ….against corporate, media , bankster, vested, overseas and systemmic religious institution interests….some of which are indistinguishable
Thanks Charles, very thought provoking. I’m at a stage in my life where this is very appropriate. I find it interesting the expectations that capitalism has created, for instance it’s expected if you’re “working” you should be working a 40 hour week. Indeed in most cases this is what is required for survival.
Also from doing some job searches on the net lately it seems the most frequent jobs going are construction, aged care, sales, administration. Either it was just me or most of the jobs seemed to be about keeping capitalism alive. There were few jobs that involved making the country/world a better place, I guess these jobs fall into what society calls unpaid “volunteer” work.
I’ve also been investigating personality types lately (i.e Myers-Briggs) and it seems some personalities don’t like being told what to do and how to do it. Their whole world view is doing things their own way for causes they believe in. How could they then ever work effectively as an employee for a company?
I was recently at a jobs expo and in a room full of stall holders there wasn’t much to get excited about. All the stalls were pretty sterile, commercialised and with an air of fakeness to them. One of the university stalls tried to lure you in with lego type robots on their desk – as if there was a job out there where you could build and play with robots all day.
Jane is providing regular updates of developments in Greece …. FYI
EUROPE MUST SWITCH OVER FROM THE PRIVATE CREATION OF MONEY TO SOVEREIGN MONEY IMMEDIATELY
Central to eurozone plans to handle a Greek default must be a switch over from the private creation of money to sovereign money.
A default is now on the cards after controlled Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras torpedoed negotiations with the announcement of a trick referendum without warning the Greek delegation.
A referendum makes a default inevitable but also blocks legislation to manage that default.
As a result Greece will now default in chaotic circumstances, the Syriza government could be toppled, social division will increases and the danger of a civil war looms. The Greek parliament is due to vote on the referendum tonight.
The impementation of the Chicago Plan Revisited could, and must, be done by legislative decree immediately. It would bring a return of prosperity to Europe. It would also drain the bankers of the funds they use to control the media and stage false flags and pave the way for political stability.
Iceland has already prepared legislation to make the transition, and other countries must follow suit.
If European leaders do not act soon, chaos may engulf all of Europe. It cannot be ruled out that the ECB and German central bank will be razed to the ground altogether by angry Germans, when they realize they have to foot the bill for Greece’s fractional reserve banking debt and their money is worthless.
The bank runs in Greece are just a foretaste of what could happen across Europe in the coming days unless the creation of money is taken out of the hands of private banks and returned to soveriegn national banks.
Well Penny, if banks are stripped of their ability to create money and can only loan out deposits – I hope the banks loan out your savings first. How would we expand the money supply Penny? Would the bank phone the government every time someone wants money for a house – a bit inefficient Penny!
Or Penny, are you suggesting people only get home loans from the government directly?
While there’s no real problem with your second option, the first is already the case. Only a moron would suggest that banks would employ someone to draw funds from the government for each and every mortgage, just because their reserve ratio needs to be 1:1.
Restricting banks lending on houses to only the amount of bank deposits is exactly what is needed. At present overseas banks are exporting billions in profits from NZ in money created solely from their unmitigated lending. This is not only ripping off the people of NZ – but also fuels the housing market causing escalation and inflationary pressures in the housing market.The only time where banks should be allowed to lend above and beyond their deposits is where that money is going into the creation of productive capacity and jobs within the economy. Lending on existing housing does not do that.
The need for them to “have to create” all the extra money so that people can buy a house is a direct result of them creating and inflating the price of houses in the first place. If money was restricted – the price of houses would fall. What needs to happen is a slow but steady credit squeeze slowly reducing the money supply so that people would have surety in a managed reduction. Houses would then fall into line with the prices of other capital items in the economy, and not be overvalued as they are now.
This is not a new concept nor is this the first time that economist have queried the freedom of allowing banks to create money unchecked. John Mc Murtry in his book “Unequal Freedoms – the Global market as an ethical system” Published in Canada in 1998 states on pp 316 -317
How ca a regime so prejudicial to the public good persist with so little public opposition? The answer is that what is no seen is not opposed. Significantly, the Global market’s international co-ordinating body that has led the substitution of privatised government bonds for bank reserves is the Swiss based Bank of International Settlements, a socially accountable private banker committee that plots the world’s norms of money creations and supplies outside of the public’s gaze. The Bank Of International Settlements originally set up to bring German war reparations under banks control before the 1929 crash and Great Depression, later handed over Czechosolvarkia’s gold to Hitler after his invasion of Prague in 1938. Today it leads a policy of abolishing all reserves for bank loans, a carte blanche secretly passed into law in 1991. The banks view is that every one must have collateral for loans, but banks themselves do not have to have cash reserves to back up loans to governments or to individuals. Cash reserves are called an “unfair tax”, an Orwellian conception that Central Bankers cheerfully repeat. The logic of the bankers’ code exempts them they themselves prescribe as inviolate to everyone else. This is another symptom of our social disorder.
He goes on – but I shall end there – so what Penny has referred to is not out of left field – nor it is un-thought – it is the concern of many who prefer to take a more expansive view of economic policy than the limited and failed economic policy of the conventional “wisdom”
Well what Penny is suggesting is out of left-field because she suggested stopping banks (expanding the money supply by) creating money in the form of loans. If banks used a ‘fractional reserve 1:1 ratio’ – Banks would still be creating money through loans.
Penny originally suggested banks should be “stripped of their ability to create money” – obviously she has amended her post~!!!
At the present time we have given Banks carte blanche to create money at the press of a key board. This is unhealthy to our economy and has to stop. Banks should be limited a 1:1 lending ratio on existing houses – they create no new productive capacity, nor extra employment. Obviously having let the cat out of the bag it is going to be extremely difficult to get it back in, and many people would suffer if a direct limitation was imposed at once. The only way banks can effectively be brought into line now, is to manage a steadily tightening credit squeeze with full public knowledge of why it was happening, and with full advice as to how and when it was being implimented, with appropriate advice for those affected, in order that people could plan accordingly.
Yes those who buy at the top of the market would find themselves with a house that would not sell for what they paid. This is going to happen sooner or later anyway when the market collapses in the not too distant future. http://www.3news.co.nz/tvshows/paulhenry/interviews/reserve-bank-fears-housing-bubble-will-burst#axzz3eLks5tVX http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/picking-stocks-and-housing-bubbles-ck-150761
A housing bubble occurs when there is an accelerating growth in real estate prices without a commensurate increase in the underlying fundamental value, Greenaway-McGrevy said. The bubble ends when the ability of people to buy or rent properties is compromised.
“Eventually at some point economic fundamentals limit the degree to which people can pay for property,” he said. Income was the biggest factor. “If it becomes hard for people to rent or purchase a property in Auckland then you will begin to see demand for housing in Auckland tail off,” he said.
In Auckland that point has not been reached.
“Buyers are wary of being priced out by further increases in prices so as a result seem to be willing to pay premiums to secure properties,” said Quotable Value’s Auckland valuer James Wilson said.
“Investors are still very active in the market, capitalising on low interest rates, high equity across their portfolios and rapidly rising prices.”
I disagree with having a ‘reserve ratio of 1:1’ – the money supply should be expanded as need. What you are suggesting sounds an awful lot like austerity.
I like the BitCoin currency because it’s not dependent of continued expansion unlike ALL other paper currencies I know of.
Lending to The Government and lending to Private Citizens are two different things. Though both expand the money supply. I don’t see the whole country lining up outside The Reserve Bank to take out loans.
I disagree. The money supply would be expanded when banks loan out money. The only time it would NOT be is if:
A. The bank takes your money (deposit) without your permission and loans it to your neighbour (which is theft)
B. The government outlaws banks and becomes the lender
Are you shitting me? The bank doesn’t label your money, it promises you it will give you back that amount of money when you ask for it.
“Your” money is almost immediately lent to someone else or used to pay a depositor who is making a withdrawal.
If you ask for your money, and it can’t pay you back, it would get in shit – insolvency rumours, run on the bank, bam it’s broke. So if it lends to a hose purchaser at 6% to get a profit, what is the bank to do in case you want your money back? It borrows from the reserve bank at 3%. It credits your account 2%. And makes 1% profit.
With a fractional reserve of 10%, a bank borrows $1million from the reserve bank. That covers it lending up to $10million. Hence the expansion in the money supply.
With a reserve of 1:1, if the bank borrows $10million it can only lend out $10million.
The reduction in elasticity therefore gives the reserve bank more direct control over the economic accelerator. It would only be the RB that creates the cash (the digits it lends to the banks).
Nobody other than banks need borrow from the reserve bank – the banks just borrow the aggregate of what they think they’ll need at that particular OCR.
Nobody other than banks need borrow from the reserve bank – the banks just borrow the aggregate of what they think they’ll need at that particular OCR.
Indeed. And ordinary people and companies cannot have accounts with the RBNZ; only registered banks.
If you ask for your money, and it can’t pay you back, it would get in shit – insolvency rumours, run on the bank, bam it’s broke. So if it lends to a hose purchaser at 6% to get a profit, what is the bank to do in case you want your money back? It borrows from the reserve bank at 3%. It credits your account 2%. And makes 1% profit.
the other thing to note is that the bank can always pay out the money first in the form of an electronic credit to your nominated bank account, and go looking for any additional reserves it needs to balance things out at the end of the day (either on the open market or from the RBNZ) *afterwards*.
The Bank doesn’t loan my money out as such, it creates money on top of my deposit and loans that out. Then the whole process starts again when the newly created money is deposited.
The Reserve Bank is creating the money you say, ok fine, BUT the demand for the money creation is coming from the likes of ANZ, ASB, BNZ – so directly or indirectly these bank are creating the money. And dynamically (and corruptly sometimes, granted) responding to consumer demand.
Again, I don’t see the whole of New Zealand lining up outside the Reserve Bank to take out a loan.
BUT the demand for the money creation is coming from the likes of ANZ, ASB, BNZ – so directly or indirectly these bank are creating the money.
…but the demand for the banks to lend money that the reserve bank created comes from people who wish to borrow money, so by you logic mortgagees directly or indirectly create money.
I think you’re running around in circles. The point being, however, that a 1:1 ratio makes government policy, not bank self interest, the major determinant of the money supply.
I disagree with having a ‘reserve ratio of 1:1′ – the money supply should be expanded as need. What you are suggesting sounds an awful lot like austerity.
Expanding the money supply would be done either by the central bank (RBNZ) increasing central bank money available to the retail banks and instructing the retail banks to increase certain types of lending as the economy is deemed to require – or by Government spending the money into existence, investing those monies into strategic areas of the nation.
The retail banks could then take that increased availability of money and act as savings societies (which use a reserve ratio of 1:1) to extend private loans into the economy.
So no, it wouldn’t necessarily be austerity, its just that the Government determines whether the money supply needs to be expanded or tightened, and for what purposes.
Of course, we also need to be cogniscent that the world bankster cartel have taken down entire nations for less.
Good Post, I’m inclined to think you’re onto something with saving societies (it sounds good anyway). However, the ‘Government determining whether the money supply needs to be expanded’ – I’m not sure how they would determine that? Or if it would be more dynamic than the current system.
BitCoin is the best currency I’ve ever seen. Your ideas are interesting for sure Colonial Rawshark .
Granted you did say private banks – I suppose there is something/much to be said for that in our current ‘reserve banking system’. Over issuance of new currency (money printing) obviously devalues a currency (see history for examples).
“Again Athens finds itself at loggerheads with its creditors, particularly the IMF. The Greeks appear to be willing to do only enough to stay in the Eurozone, while the rest of Europe is willing to offer it just enough support to stay afloat – all awhile making the Greek economy almost impossible to grow. Is the Euro a failure?
CrossTalking with Mitch Feierstein, Stephen Haseler, and Scheherazade Rehman.
I wouldn’t call the Euro a failure – it’s a unification of Europe at best, succeeding where many failed. The cracks seem to be showing though. Prophetically speaking I’d suggest on the horizon is the fast pace emergence of a religious system (papal), which will begin dominating Europe and the political systems therein.
I have no doubt the Greek people are being denied dignity and austerity needs to end. Greece have been offered participation in the BRICS bank – so maybe some light at the end of the proverbial ‘tunnel’ for them?
On a different note, Turkey must be breathing with a big sigh of relief that, despite their constant knocking on the doors of the white Judeo-Christian club, they were fobbed off with tonnes of excuses constantly and may well have saved themselves of a lot of ‘pain’.
Let me guess – Turkey is not that enthusiastic about joining the EU now?
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 ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
Bryce Edwards writes – It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played.“Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I- Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka KotahiThe fact that a ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Pacific Media Watch Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was held for 12 hours at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, says Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian journalists at the facility and made them kneel on the ground for hours, while naked and blindfolded. “The occupation forces handcuffed and blindfolded us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute chinasong, Shutterstock Electricity customers in four Australian states can breathe a sigh of relief. After two years in a row of 20% price increases, power prices have finally stabilised. In many places they’re ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
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The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII has hosted members of the Green Party Caucus at Tuurangawaewae Marae in Ngaaruawahia. The audience follows the King’s Hui-aa-Motu on 20 January, where more than 10,000 people gathered to discuss national ...
Has anything highlighted NZ Heralds right wing/National party bias as much as the Auckland issue. So refreshing to read Metro’s great piece on this issue:
http://www.metromag.co.nz/editors-blog/len-brown-the-brave/
And these quote sum things up perfectly.
and yet the car drivers and home owners amongst the metro reading crowd will vote for national again and again for precisely the stated reason. Stupid, greedy, shortsighted. But as the old saying goes, i have mine and to hell with you.
There is plenty of soft Nat Jaffa’s that are starting to resent foreigners outbidding them on property. Add the resentment of close to 50,000 migrants arriving each year, many settling in Auckland and you have a catalyst for a blow back at the voting booths.
Peters seems to be the only one making much noise. Labour have given Phil Goff Off the plumb Auckland Issues portfolio so he can enhance his changes of winning the Auckland mayoralty. If anyone needs to get angry it should be Goff Off. Come on you gutless wonder you should be all over this screaming from the top of sky tower. Perform or pass the portfolio on to someone who has some guts to front up.
@Skinny
Goff came out against the wharves. A 1000 times better than gutless Brown.
Goff Off played it safe by making the minimum amount of noise. He never pushed for the deep water port in Northland, Peters was campaigning in the buy election but had the sense to way into the reclamation debate. We all know Brown is woefully useless!
Phil Twyford is pretty good on the issue. But then its always a good day to just put down Labour it seems.
Phil Twyford as Labour’s Transport spokesperson was very quiet on the issue actually, another play it safe stance. Admittedly he had been busy with Housing, but still it is his duty holding the portfolio. Spare me the put down nonsense I detest Labour wasting plum opportunities to be front footing issues that put them at the forefront.
I think you will find that the government is not controlling property and transport due to receiving generous donations, to make money for themselves and ideology.
Do not agree it is Home Owners fault.
Most people agree with more public transport, but it is how it is implemented that is the problem.
Most people myself included would expect the council to be spending our rates on transport for example, not propping up barristers by supporting illegal action by Ports of Auckland.
It is the ridiculous waste of money, by the government and councils, that is one of the biggest problems and the hypocrisy of extra rating and taxes for transport and reduction of social services while they waste money against the interests of the rate payers.
Labour should take a book out of the Nats, mimic the right discourse.
Clean up government and councils to stop the out of control spending.
The whole rates increase is a very bad joke on ratepayers. Blame Len Brown for his lack of leadership, and Rodney Hide for giving us the monstrous Super City. (Carnal) Left and (greedy) Right together to screw the population.
So how would you fix the transport and housing problems?
Blame Key and co for failure to allow Auckland Council the proper process to raise the funds for developing needed infrastructure – so they have to lump it on ratepayers. By the way – if you live in Auckland – how do you feel about the possibility of Auckland in almost constant gridlock in a few years from now?
Almost $200 Million Donated to Representatives to Pass TPA
http://economyincrisis.org/content/almost-200-million-donated-to-representatives-to-buy-yea-votes-to-pass-tpa
On a similar note of ‘donations’, I actually think they should be called by their proper names, Bribes.
In good old NZ we call it a facilitation payment
Colin Craig, hypocrite:
“I think any ordinary person will realise a process when you don’t advise the person that you’re considering something, you don’t let them attend, you don’t even give them a chance to respond to allegations, is no proper process,”.
Long read, but worth it. The perfidy of Richard Cheney the Dick. This must never be allowed to happen here.
http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/fracking-whats-killing-the-babies-of-vernal-utah-20150622?page=3
Greece voting right now on whether to have referendum on EU/ECB/IMF so-called “bailout package”
http://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2015/jun/27/greek-crisis-mps-referendum-tsipras-eurogroup-ministers-live
Queues at the ATM’s overnight.
Greek parliament has voted 178-120 for a referendum but it looks moot after this statement (courtesy Zerohedge) form the Eurogroup:
“The Eurogroup takes note of the decision of the Greek government to put forward a proposal to call for a referendum, which is expected to take place on Sunday July 5, which is after the expiration of the programme period. The current financial assistance arrangement with Greece will expire on 30 June 2015, as well as all agreements related to the current Greek programme including the transfer by euro area Member States of SMP and ANFA equivalent profits.”
The financial markets will be interesting on Monday!!
It’s going to be interesting times for the world watching on.. I assume the Government wants the referendum so they then have a mandate from the public to pull out of the Euro.
Of course they do. Then at the negotiating table they can say “we” might see the sense of what you say but our people want buy it… it’s one negotiating tactic our current government threw away a long time ago by being so noddingly compliant
Just to clarify for general readers, Greece (for example) might exit the “euro”, as in the currency or Eurozone or EZ which is the monetary union, but could still remain within the European Union or EU that is the single market politico-economic union.
Denmark and the United Kingdom are of course in the EU but are exempt from the EZ.
Sweden was required to join but their people voted down the move in their 2003 referendum and has stayed outside the EZ since then.
See further:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_and_the_euro
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denmark_and_the_euro
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden_and_the_euro
The thing is, maybe Greece is playing a “nothing left to lose” game of chicken. At this point just maybe the EU and the bankers have more to lose if Greece pulls out cos they have to worry, that IF Greece ends up no worse off out than they are today, can find a better deal from another “bank” or Nation, which other EU countries might say “fuck it, we will default too”> THAT is one risk the IMF EU etc are taking by asking Greece’s fewer number of employed to work and pay tax to send out of their economy to meet interest payments…
Since the austerity conditions attached to finance Greece’s unemployment has fallen not risen.
Exactly. That is why the EU is playing hardball. They are terrified it will encourage other countries to tell them to sod off. I think it is appropriate that Greece be the first country to go down this path.
Apparently there is precedent for sovereign default of debt and I am not suggesting defaulting will be easy for the Greek people but perhaps the best outcome is actually to give a 3-5 moratorium on interest payments…
Perhaps printing their own money again might cause problems but it might also see more money in the local economy?
BUT I definitely think that NOT just sitting meekly and nodding to the big boys would help Greece (as the previous government was doing while piling on more pain), so I say bravo for their stand. They are fucked whichever path they go down, for a while anyway.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/assets/news/42087/eight_col_Cairn_erected_in_Cathedral_Squre_in_protest_at_elected_members_being_dumped_from_Environment_Canterbury_in_2011._Credit_RNZ_Conan_Young.jpg?1435292137
This is a fine statement of broken rights that is a historic document in New Zealand’s history.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/insight/audio/201760029/insight-for-28-june-2015-democracy-and-water-rights
It is time for the online left to be sure to expose at every opportunity the astro-turf “Auckland Ratepayers Alliance” for what it is – a out-and-out deceptive front for the extreme right, National party aligned so-called “tax payers union” created by Jordan Williams and that enemy of democracy, the right wing courtier David Farrar.
http://www.taxpayers.org.nz/ratepayers_alliance_launch
This so-called alliance tells lies about itself – on the “about” page of this “alliance” it claims the “Taxpayers’ Union” is a politically independent organisation. http://www.ratepayers.nz/about It has a couple of useful idiot muppets mentioned, presumably to give it a bit of credibility, but make no mistake – it is simply the right wing of the National party with a lampshade on it’s head as a disguise.
This front group will try, by the look of Farrar’s frantic pushing of it, to run as a front for the Auckland Remuera elite and it’s hard right agenda.
All Standardnista’s must be vigilant to expose this dishonest astroturf group in comments sections whenever it seeks publicity, be it on Facebook or in online electronic media. Attack them at every turn, and don’t let these anti-democratic right wing bastards get any media or popular traction through these sort of dishonest fronts!
One of the most shameful parts of NZ history is the White New Zealand policy that began at the start of the 1880s and culminated in 1920 legislation that finally barred the door to pretty much all Chinese immigration to NZ.
I’ve stuck up seven lengthy pieces up on Redline on the development of the White New Zealand policy. The list is here: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/02/07/pieces-on-the-white-new-zealand-policy/
A few minutes ago, I pasted up the 7th; it looks at the context of the 1890s parliamentary debates: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/06/27/white-new-zealand-pt-7-analysing-and-contextualising-the-parliamentary-debates-over-white-new-zealand-in-the-1890s/
This latest piece examines what was happening in NZ society – NZ was now clearly a (capitalist) nation-state, in the early 1890s the long depression was still in process, the big estates (or a section of them) were being broken up, thwarted on the industrial field labour had turned to parliamentary politics and elected a LIberal government, in the early 1890s the suffrage movement was a big force.
The main forces campaigning for White New Zealand were liberals, mainstream trade unionists, feminists, social improvers and do-gooders.
Later, of course, the liberal racists would be joined by the early Labour Party, as we shall see in one of the articles to come.
Phil
Naomi Klein accepts invitation to Papal Climate Conference in Rome
Says the Pope provides moral leadership on a topic too dominated by economic considerations.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/28/pope-climate-change-naomi-klein
Who or what am I, and what do I do? (Avoid post-plumber shock)
(tl;dr skip to video at end)
Feeling lost. We’ve all been there, at some point in our lives. Sometimes the answer is to do the modern equivalent of running away to join the circus, without having any acrobatic skills, and there is no circus anywhere near us, they wouldn’t have us even if we asked nicely and we‘re so confused that even the act of running away turns into a stumbling lolloping shuffle.
It doesn’t matter how old we are, how much stuff we own, the balance of our bank account, or the long string of success or failure in our past. All we want is to be free to discover whatever it is that feels like it’s missing.
So one day we’re sitting in a paddock together, me and a new friend of mine, and she was exasperated with herself and screamed out at the world that was far, far, away from where we were that moment, “What the fuck am I doing with my life!”. At the time, to my ears, it sounded ungrateful and ironic. You’ll get to hear a lot between the fence posts of a farm, doing what no one else really wants to do that much – unless they’re taking the wages back to the Islands.
Such a place is one of NZ’s versions of The Circus for the Lost. It’s not very exciting, but has nice views, and while there is miles of wire there are no trapeze artists. You do get to hear a lot of detail about other people’s lives, although you never really meet the actual person, until maybe much later. So this gal was, despite her gold-star personality and high level of skills in a particular area; despite the considerable success she’d had overseas in her efforts; despite the more-or-less-privileged circumstances she (we) could maintain to even be where she (and we) was and were; she was discouraged and confused.
And then there was the other dimwit, me, who had no idea which way was up, none of that gal’s talent, skill, or success, scratching my head thinking, she does know who she is, right, she knows what she can and does do, right? We weren’t young either. We were in our thirties, she was a few years older than me.
Now the Buddhists just avoid all this trouble with a good belly laugh and a reminder that life is what it is – why encourage the anxiety? In NZ, though, we have a cultural aversion to large, perpetually jolly, people – by the time we’re ten we’re taught to be suspicious of them unless they come bearing gifts in December. Even the more yoga-pants oriented among us still want to know that our investment will return the percentage we thought it would. So we scrape around in self-help courses, community education, religions, go see an advisor, join the circus, find a counsellor or psychotherapist, or just talk to our friends endlessly about our troubles – trying to find some direction. It’s the Western way, and not many can completely escape it if they’re born into it. And in those books, lecture theatres, workplaces and coffee groups we find little snippets of information on what to do that doesn’t help one bit. Something is still missing. The steps are too far apart, or obscured.
“All you have to do is buckle-up, stick at it, work hard and it’ll turn out. Takes time.”
But time keeps running out. No amount of buckling, perseverance or hard work changes the situations they get into.
“Get an education, choose an area that pays well and work hard!”
They do have an education, but it’s “worthless”. No one will hire them
“Start your own business!”
With what? In what? How?
“You have to really really really want it.”
So what is that the definition of?
“You have to get out there, off your ass and ask around.”
They did, but couldn’t do it well enough. Everyone turned them down.
“You just need to get back into the habit.”
You mean you’ll make their life unnecessarily hard for kicks?
“Keep your head down, knuckle down, don’t talk, pay your dues.”
They found what they wanted, the thing they’re told they need – can momentarily attain it – but can’t hold onto it very long.
The best we can see is pieces of a method but not the complete picture, the bits missing, who it might relate to or its overall relevance. Worse, you might run into this stuff:
“Hey, Mary, these cakes you make, they taste great you should totally do this for a living!”
Encouraged by her friends’ chatter, Jan makes several attempts, learns a lot, but ultimately fails. Why?
“Find what you love and the money will follow!”
Find what I love? What does that mean? Or you meet someone on your search who tells you if you were really doing what you loved it wouldn’t matter about them paying you below legal, unliveable wages.
“Find out what makes you cry, and do that!”
Some people don’t really feel all that passionately about anything, let alone love anything. Why should it matter anyway?
“What are your interests? Find an industry that suits.”
This person finds out that there is more to an industry than just applied skill and interest, and their attempts fail.
And all the while, time passes, lots of it. These people still have to deal with their everyday lives, the additional task of neutralising repeated failure so as not to distort their ability to see straight, and culture and politics never lets-up telling them they’re lazy, bludgers, miscreants, losers. It’s not their fault. Not at all. In fact, there is nothing wrong with them that could be considered a fault.
Why does “good” advice fail?
Because to use “good” advice, people have to be the same personality type as the advice-giver (similar dominant cognitive functions), have very similar experiences within a similar culture (experience a similar trend in external events as the advice-giver did when they did what they did), similar intellectual skills (to re-interpret anything they are told to suit their specific situation), and hear the advice at the right location to act, and the right time in their life.
Also, the advice-giver has to be particularly skilled to make sure the advice given carries all the necessary steps (which is very rare, most likely you’ll get slogans, as above). There’s a lot of details to consider when giving advice, and dismissing those details is more a favour to the ignorance of the advice-giver than the person who needs help.
It’s how living in a bubble-of-belonging works. No one inside the bubble knows the steps to get in or out, because they never stepped outside the bubble and were born into it – they were moving along nicely inside the bubble because their personality type suited the values of the bubble. When you’re outside the bubble, the job of the bubble is to keep you out, and this is related to how privilege works. Unchecked, a person can unwittingly whack other people from inside the bubble, as with those slogan type advice snippets above. However, there is a happy ending to this story, because conforming to a culture of privilege is only one way to live your life, or one way to find a life to live, if you prefer.
Is this an advice post?
Nope, it’s more a unsolicited commiseration party, one you never knew you needed: However easy it is to do stuff once you find the start line or get into the swing of things, it can be difficult to find a start line or make that first swing in a world that is full of unusable, fragmented, misapplied advice – so lighten up on yourself. The people who rag on you for not being like them, they don’t know much.
So what is this?
Just undoing some of the common tangles before offering a different knot to try to tie-up loose ends. One particular piece of advice isn’t going to be universally suitable for everyone. 99.9% of the advice for finding direction I’ve heard in circulation has been totally useless to me. In it they ask questions that are usually oriented in one direction: What can we get from the World? Sometimes there’s slight variation: What do we feel we could get from the World? And if I hear another, “What would you do if you had all the money in the World…” again, I might just start burning down libraries. It’s amazing that human life has developed so far technologically, and yet no one can answer the simplest of questions – What am I? Who am I? Where am I?
So when I heard a talk on TEDx recently, by chance, it caught my attention (because generally I don’t like TED talks. I think this one was part of a youtube autoplay). Here was someone changing the orientation of the questions: Yes, they were ego-centric and risked the associated pitfalls, but not as risky as most, they were even somewhat political,
Who are you?
What do you do?
Who do you do it for?
How do they change as a result?
Here is the actual TEDx talk… credit where credit is due…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVsXO9brK7M
How do they change? But… where’s the money… you didn’t mention passion… or finding what I love to do… or what I’m interested in…. or what I want to do… where’s the focus on what I get? That’s the point. These questions weren’t just about work, careers, personal sensory satisfaction or financial gain; they were about finding a personal reference point by noticing effect of actions; they were about identifying who you are at any particular time – and potentially working forward from there. How other people changed, and the name given to that change, was the description of what you did, and what you were. The obvious answers are obvious, but also there are hidden answers. For example, you might work at a gas station, and your name is Alice,
Who are you?
I’m Alice.
What do you do?
I pump gas, clean windows, check the oil, chat with people. Sometimes I’m here alone at night, watching the forecourt.
Who do you do it for?
You mean other than me earning minimum wage? I do it for the customers I guess. I mean, sure I work for the boss, but it’s the customer’s cars.
How do they change as a result?
They move on their way, knowing that they aren’t going to run out of gas, or their tyres ain’t going to pop on a dark road, or their engines burn out, or when I give directions, so they get to where they’re going.
Alice works at a gas station, but she doesn’t often pump gas. She reinforces in people a sense of security, if they need it, reinforces a form of certainty that they might be running low on. She makes sure people don’t stop for avoidable problems. What is Alice really? What does Alice really do?
Using that approach – a metaphorical interpretation of actions – anyone can locate where they are at, no matter where they are, regardless of socio-economic status. Everyone does something, and more importantly, they do it in a certain way and the effect it has is measureable.
Although it’s not a silver bullet, it’s a lot more stable than thinking, “I’m plumber, therefore I fix pipes, dig holes and break small things. When I retire, or if I loose my job, I’ll be nothing, because I won’t be plumbing anymore.”. Avoid post-plumber shock.
The title of the TEDx talk says “How to know your life purpose in five minutes”, which to me sounded a bit grandiose, because life circumstances often change, don’t they? People go through cycles with specific times for activities that come and go. “Life Purpose” isn’t always static. Also, that everyone’s life has an inherent purpose is a philosophical choice people make that might be true for some, but not a proven certainty for all… and the video takes ten minutes… so that’s funny too. I don’t agree with everything the speaker says (e.g. examining is living… for someone), but the questions are good for anyone stuck in common Western mind-traps. It did sound like a good way to track down some common themes that run through people’s lives.
If people are thinking, “I need to do something, but what? There is so much going on in the world, but my skills don’t fit…”, or if they find themselves in any of the can’t-follow-good-advice catch-22s above and need to know what they are right now or have been while they’ve been in their current cycle, they can at least find that reference point and decide where to go from there. Some of the movement forward, after finding out, will take no effort at all, and may reveal why things didn’t work out earlier. It’s an out of the ordinary method, I thought, and useful to someone.
Thanks for sharing that Charles.
+100…thanks Charles ….yes I am going to have to reread this tomorrow….there is a lot of thought in this…reminds me of a sociology text found in a university bookshop years ago ( I cant remember the name of the author but he was American and wrote 3 volumes and I was riveted…stood reading it for hours before i decided I would have to buy it)….the big existential questions…who am I? …what is my life purpose?…where do I fit into the scheme of things….questions of meaning
…seems to me that networks, family and friends are really important these days….(to keep the wolves of alienation, anxiety and depression at bay, especially for those most disadvantaged… the unemployed, the young and the low income earner…the un housed, the mentally and emotionally fragile, the children and the elderly…and those without supportive families close by)
…and that the little people have to stand up for themselves and their own human value …..and fight to get their rights/ wants/needs recognised …..they have to fight for their grassroots democracy ….against corporate, media , bankster, vested, overseas and systemmic religious institution interests….some of which are indistinguishable
Thanks Charles, very thought provoking. I’m at a stage in my life where this is very appropriate. I find it interesting the expectations that capitalism has created, for instance it’s expected if you’re “working” you should be working a 40 hour week. Indeed in most cases this is what is required for survival.
Also from doing some job searches on the net lately it seems the most frequent jobs going are construction, aged care, sales, administration. Either it was just me or most of the jobs seemed to be about keeping capitalism alive. There were few jobs that involved making the country/world a better place, I guess these jobs fall into what society calls unpaid “volunteer” work.
I’ve also been investigating personality types lately (i.e Myers-Briggs) and it seems some personalities don’t like being told what to do and how to do it. Their whole world view is doing things their own way for causes they believe in. How could they then ever work effectively as an employee for a company?
I was recently at a jobs expo and in a room full of stall holders there wasn’t much to get excited about. All the stalls were pretty sterile, commercialised and with an air of fakeness to them. One of the university stalls tried to lure you in with lego type robots on their desk – as if there was a job out there where you could build and play with robots all day.
+100 thanks Charles….finally had time to watch the Ted Talk….and it is very good!…have passed it on!
Familiar with the work of Jane Burgermeister?
Jane is providing regular updates of developments in Greece …. FYI
EUROPE MUST SWITCH OVER FROM THE PRIVATE CREATION OF MONEY TO SOVEREIGN MONEY IMMEDIATELY
Central to eurozone plans to handle a Greek default must be a switch over from the private creation of money to sovereign money.
A default is now on the cards after controlled Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras torpedoed negotiations with the announcement of a trick referendum without warning the Greek delegation.
http://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/international/auch-griechische-delegation-ueberrascht-tsipras-verschwieg
A referendum makes a default inevitable but also blocks legislation to manage that default.
As a result Greece will now default in chaotic circumstances, the Syriza government could be toppled, social division will increases and the danger of a civil war looms. The Greek parliament is due to vote on the referendum tonight.
The impementation of the Chicago Plan Revisited could, and must, be done by legislative decree immediately. It would bring a return of prosperity to Europe. It would also drain the bankers of the funds they use to control the media and stage false flags and pave the way for political stability.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/9623863/IMFs-epic-plan-to-conjure-away-debt-and-dethrone-bankers.html
Europe’s leaders have dodged the necessity to end the private creation of money, and in doing so, have brought Europe to the brink ot disaster.
Even Martin Wolf from the Financial Times warned last year that private banks must be stripped of the power to create money.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/7f000b18-ca44-11e3-bb92-00144feabdc0,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2F7f000b18-ca44-11e3-bb92-00144feabdc0.html%3Fsiteedition%3Dintl&siteedition=intl&_i_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.ie%2F
Iceland has already prepared legislation to make the transition, and other countries must follow suit.
If European leaders do not act soon, chaos may engulf all of Europe. It cannot be ruled out that the ECB and German central bank will be razed to the ground altogether by angry Germans, when they realize they have to foot the bill for Greece’s fractional reserve banking debt and their money is worthless.
The bank runs in Greece are just a foretaste of what could happen across Europe in the coming days unless the creation of money is taken out of the hands of private banks and returned to soveriegn national banks.
Well Penny, if banks are stripped of their ability to create money and can only loan out deposits – I hope the banks loan out your savings first. How would we expand the money supply Penny? Would the bank phone the government every time someone wants money for a house – a bit inefficient Penny!
Or Penny, are you suggesting people only get home loans from the government directly?
While there’s no real problem with your second option, the first is already the case. Only a moron would suggest that banks would employ someone to draw funds from the government for each and every mortgage, just because their reserve ratio needs to be 1:1.
Restricting banks lending on houses to only the amount of bank deposits is exactly what is needed. At present overseas banks are exporting billions in profits from NZ in money created solely from their unmitigated lending. This is not only ripping off the people of NZ – but also fuels the housing market causing escalation and inflationary pressures in the housing market.The only time where banks should be allowed to lend above and beyond their deposits is where that money is going into the creation of productive capacity and jobs within the economy. Lending on existing housing does not do that.
The need for them to “have to create” all the extra money so that people can buy a house is a direct result of them creating and inflating the price of houses in the first place. If money was restricted – the price of houses would fall. What needs to happen is a slow but steady credit squeeze slowly reducing the money supply so that people would have surety in a managed reduction. Houses would then fall into line with the prices of other capital items in the economy, and not be overvalued as they are now.
This is not a new concept nor is this the first time that economist have queried the freedom of allowing banks to create money unchecked. John Mc Murtry in his book “Unequal Freedoms – the Global market as an ethical system” Published in Canada in 1998 states on pp 316 -317
He goes on – but I shall end there – so what Penny has referred to is not out of left field – nor it is un-thought – it is the concern of many who prefer to take a more expansive view of economic policy than the limited and failed economic policy of the conventional “wisdom”
Well what Penny is suggesting is out of left-field because she suggested stopping banks (expanding the money supply by) creating money in the form of loans. If banks used a ‘fractional reserve 1:1 ratio’ – Banks would still be creating money through loans.
Penny originally suggested banks should be “stripped of their ability to create money” – obviously she has amended her post~!!!
At the present time we have given Banks carte blanche to create money at the press of a key board. This is unhealthy to our economy and has to stop. Banks should be limited a 1:1 lending ratio on existing houses – they create no new productive capacity, nor extra employment. Obviously having let the cat out of the bag it is going to be extremely difficult to get it back in, and many people would suffer if a direct limitation was imposed at once. The only way banks can effectively be brought into line now, is to manage a steadily tightening credit squeeze with full public knowledge of why it was happening, and with full advice as to how and when it was being implimented, with appropriate advice for those affected, in order that people could plan accordingly.
Yes those who buy at the top of the market would find themselves with a house that would not sell for what they paid. This is going to happen sooner or later anyway when the market collapses in the not too distant future.
http://www.3news.co.nz/tvshows/paulhenry/interviews/reserve-bank-fears-housing-bubble-will-burst#axzz3eLks5tVX
http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/picking-stocks-and-housing-bubbles-ck-150761
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/68222217/Aucklands-housing-bubble-expected-to-spread
I disagree with having a ‘reserve ratio of 1:1’ – the money supply should be expanded as need. What you are suggesting sounds an awful lot like austerity.
I like the BitCoin currency because it’s not dependent of continued expansion unlike ALL other paper currencies I know of.
The money supply is still expanded. Just not by the banks, whose primary focus is on their short term profit.
It’s the reserve bank that expands the money supply by lending government bonds.
Lending to The Government and lending to Private Citizens are two different things. Though both expand the money supply. I don’t see the whole country lining up outside The Reserve Bank to take out loans.
I disagree. The money supply would be expanded when banks loan out money. The only time it would NOT be is if:
A. The bank takes your money (deposit) without your permission and loans it to your neighbour (which is theft)
B. The government outlaws banks and becomes the lender
Are you shitting me? The bank doesn’t label your money, it promises you it will give you back that amount of money when you ask for it.
“Your” money is almost immediately lent to someone else or used to pay a depositor who is making a withdrawal.
If you ask for your money, and it can’t pay you back, it would get in shit – insolvency rumours, run on the bank, bam it’s broke. So if it lends to a hose purchaser at 6% to get a profit, what is the bank to do in case you want your money back? It borrows from the reserve bank at 3%. It credits your account 2%. And makes 1% profit.
With a fractional reserve of 10%, a bank borrows $1million from the reserve bank. That covers it lending up to $10million. Hence the expansion in the money supply.
With a reserve of 1:1, if the bank borrows $10million it can only lend out $10million.
The reduction in elasticity therefore gives the reserve bank more direct control over the economic accelerator. It would only be the RB that creates the cash (the digits it lends to the banks).
Nobody other than banks need borrow from the reserve bank – the banks just borrow the aggregate of what they think they’ll need at that particular OCR.
Indeed. And ordinary people and companies cannot have accounts with the RBNZ; only registered banks.
the other thing to note is that the bank can always pay out the money first in the form of an electronic credit to your nominated bank account, and go looking for any additional reserves it needs to balance things out at the end of the day (either on the open market or from the RBNZ) *afterwards*.
The Bank doesn’t loan my money out as such, it creates money on top of my deposit and loans that out. Then the whole process starts again when the newly created money is deposited.
The Reserve Bank is creating the money you say, ok fine, BUT the demand for the money creation is coming from the likes of ANZ, ASB, BNZ – so directly or indirectly these bank are creating the money. And dynamically (and corruptly sometimes, granted) responding to consumer demand.
Again, I don’t see the whole of New Zealand lining up outside the Reserve Bank to take out a loan.
…but the demand for the banks to lend money that the reserve bank created comes from people who wish to borrow money, so by you logic mortgagees directly or indirectly create money.
I think you’re running around in circles. The point being, however, that a 1:1 ratio makes government policy, not bank self interest, the major determinant of the money supply.
Expanding the money supply would be done either by the central bank (RBNZ) increasing central bank money available to the retail banks and instructing the retail banks to increase certain types of lending as the economy is deemed to require – or by Government spending the money into existence, investing those monies into strategic areas of the nation.
The retail banks could then take that increased availability of money and act as savings societies (which use a reserve ratio of 1:1) to extend private loans into the economy.
So no, it wouldn’t necessarily be austerity, its just that the Government determines whether the money supply needs to be expanded or tightened, and for what purposes.
Of course, we also need to be cogniscent that the world bankster cartel have taken down entire nations for less.
Good Post, I’m inclined to think you’re onto something with saving societies (it sounds good anyway). However, the ‘Government determining whether the money supply needs to be expanded’ – I’m not sure how they would determine that? Or if it would be more dynamic than the current system.
BitCoin is the best currency I’ve ever seen. Your ideas are interesting for sure Colonial Rawshark .
Granted you did say private banks – I suppose there is something/much to be said for that in our current ‘reserve banking system’. Over issuance of new currency (money printing) obviously devalues a currency (see history for examples).
Interesting discussion on the issues…
‘Greek pain’
http://rt.com/shows/crosstalk/269752-greek-pain-eurozone-creditors/
“Again Athens finds itself at loggerheads with its creditors, particularly the IMF. The Greeks appear to be willing to do only enough to stay in the Eurozone, while the rest of Europe is willing to offer it just enough support to stay afloat – all awhile making the Greek economy almost impossible to grow. Is the Euro a failure?
CrossTalking with Mitch Feierstein, Stephen Haseler, and Scheherazade Rehman.
I wouldn’t call the Euro a failure – it’s a unification of Europe at best, succeeding where many failed. The cracks seem to be showing though. Prophetically speaking I’d suggest on the horizon is the fast pace emergence of a religious system (papal), which will begin dominating Europe and the political systems therein.
I have no doubt the Greek people are being denied dignity and austerity needs to end. Greece have been offered participation in the BRICS bank – so maybe some light at the end of the proverbial ‘tunnel’ for them?
On a different note, Turkey must be breathing with a big sigh of relief that, despite their constant knocking on the doors of the white Judeo-Christian club, they were fobbed off with tonnes of excuses constantly and may well have saved themselves of a lot of ‘pain’.
Let me guess – Turkey is not that enthusiastic about joining the EU now?
thanks penny.
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11472481
An interesting opinion on what’s happening in the antarctic.
wow! an excellent article from the Herald – not normally given to such in depth articles on this topic.