Poverty Watch 2

Written By: - Date published: 7:35 am, September 8th, 2012 - 64 comments
Categories: national, poverty - Tags:

Welcome to Poverty Watch, a weekly update on the National government’s lack of response to the urgent and growing issue of poverty in NZ.

The facts are pretty simple.  Poverty (and inequality) were falling (albeit too slowly) under the last Labour government.   Now they are on the rise again, in fact a Waikato University professor says that poverty is our biggest growth industry.  Before the last election Labour called for a cross party working group on poverty. Key turned the offer down.  Report after report after report has condemned the rate of poverty in this country, and called on the government to act.  In a recent summary of the government’s targets and goals John Armstrong wrote: “Glaringly absent is a target for reducing child poverty”…

In relevant news this week a study estimates the cost of child poverty in NZ:

Child poverty costs NZ $10b a year – expert

Child poverty costs New Zealand as much as $10 billion a year and three-quarters of that cost is avoidable, a public health conference in Wellington has been told.

Independent researcher John Pearce, who spent two years studying the subject, said about 200,000 children grew up in poverty in New Zealand.

He told the Public Health Association Conference yesterday that the costs of child poverty were in four areas – poor education and its effect on productivity ($2.2 billion), health ($3 billion-$4.5 billion), crime ($2.2 billion) and social welfare ($1.4 billion).

Humanitarian arguments for reducing poverty don’t seem to move the Nats at all. But alleviating poverty would save money. Will this economic argument get results?

Poverty Watch always ends with the following list, the National government’s response to rising poverty in NZ:

• National has not yet set any target for reducing poverty
• ?

64 comments on “Poverty Watch 2 ”

  1. Dr Terry 1

    I fear that we have to settle for it, that we have one of the most heartless governments among all nations. With our tiny population, poverty stands out glaringly for all to see.

  2. red blooded 2

    What I can’t stand is the ‘blame the poor’ attitude. The assumption seems to be that people don’t have enough money because they WANT to be poor; that their kids don’t get fed well enough because they don’t care about them; that they don’t heat their houses well or dress their kids warmly enough in winter because it’s just not important to them; that the best way to deal with people who have fallen into addiction or even casual drug use is to cut off their income (after all, that’s not likely to drive anyone further down the road to desperation or make them feel less connected to society and its norms, is it?). The focus is on the failings of individuals rather than on the creation of jobs and reduction of the gap between rich and poor.

    If for no other reason than that violent crime goes up exponentially as this gap widens, you’d think that they might be more interested in helping people. But no; instead they just build more prisons (contracted out to the private sector, so at least our tax money is being used to support one growth industry!).

    • Mr Burns 2.1

      Of course it is the poor’s fault. I am not poor so therefore I am a superior being. This smug superiority I enjoy is the only thing that gets me up in the morning.

  3. TightyRighty 3

    Poverty is a relative term. You are poor compared to a rich person. There will always be people who are wealthier, therefore always people who are poorer. This is regardless of any economic system. If you can’t change what is human nature, then the only reason you care so much is that you hate the rich. Despite the fact they provide the jobs and pay all the tax that labour and the left love to spend. Strange you have never noticed this contradiction. Or is it an adult extension of hating your parents?

    • millsy 3.1

      So what schools and hospitals do you want to close?

    • RedLogix 3.2

      Poverty is a relative term. You are poor compared to a rich person.

      Of course. This word is used in two distinct contexts, ‘absolute poverty’ and ‘relative poverty’.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_threshold

      One can imagine an hypothetical society in which one person owns everything… or another at the opposite extreme where everyone owned exactly the same. Neither case is achievable nor desirable; all real societies lie somewhere in between with some considerable variations in GINI.

      What is now quite well understood is that our Western society has trended towards one extreme with a very small number of people owning and controlling a vastly disproportionate amount of assets and wealth creating a very steep gradient between the very rich and the rest of us.

      If you can’t change what is human nature, then the only reason you care so much is that you hate the rich.

      This steep social gradient is bad for all of us. Humans are happiest when we can see everyone sees that a fair effort receives a fair reward, while we all understand that some lucky and talented ones will always do better than others we know we are being cheated when the game is rigged by the rich to shut everyone else out.

      Or is it an adult extension of hating your parents?

      Consider the families we grow up in, that while each member of it is quite different, with quite different needs and responsibilities … there is a social cohesion because it is so intimate and there is normally the necessary caring, nurturing to allow the whole family to flourish. But on a mass social scale this intimacy breaks down and these differences between people become a very real source of anxiety and stress if we see the rich and powerful becoming increasingly insulated by their extreme wealth from the needs and rights of the wider society they live in.

      The same society that indeed made their wealth possible.

      • Draco T Bastard 3.2.1

        Neither case is achievable nor desirable;

        What is achievable and desirable is the realisation that the community owns all the resources and each individual has an equal say in how those resources are used, a variable claim* on those resources with a minimum supplied to provide a reasonable living standard.

        * How that variability is chosen is up for discussion but ownership is out as it is through ownership that the capitalists manage to exploit the rest of society.

        • TheContrarian 3.2.1.1

          “What is achievable and desirable is the realisation that the community owns all the resources and each individual has an equal say in how those resources are used, a variable claim* on those resources with a minimum supplied to provide a reasonable living standard.”

          Which community? How big is a community? What if you have community with more resources than the other? Do you assume they’ll be peaceful together and if so/not, why?

          I don’t think you have thought this through properly.

          • Colonial Viper 3.2.1.1.1

            No need to over complicate it mate. The most important principle here is that very small groups of people don’t own, direct and control strategic resources for everyone else.

    • QoT 3.3

      they provide the jobs and pay all the tax

      *snort*

    • fatty 3.4

      “If you can’t change what is human nature, then the only reason you care so much is that you hate the rich”

      I do not know of anyone that hates the rich…and most of the people I spend time with are what you would probably consider leftish extremists/socialists. The only hate is a hatred of a system which is based on greed, and gives a large percentage of the resources to a few, while the rest have to struggle. The rich aren’t evil, and they are not hated…its the excessive inequality and suffering that is hated.
      I know a few rich people, and they are just as nice as the poor people I know.

      • Dr Terry 3.4.1

        It is not the rich as such that we might hate, it is the fundamental attitudes and actions of so may of the rich that caring people hate. One has to generalise, for undoubtedly there are decent and generous rich people, but comparatively rare, I should think.

        This afternoon I had time only to glance at a lead article in the “Listener” which deeply sympathised with our “unfortunate” government with the “unsolvable” problem on its hands of the poor and hungry (long ago I cancelled my sub. to this rag). What, they wonder, could the government ever do, when these poor and beneficiaries are such a lousy, lamentable and blameworthy lot? They cause their own problems, therefore the government is helpless to improve anything.

        This is victimising victims in the extreme, and gives the government the “cop-out” that it will so much appreciate. I would not recommend the “Listener” to my worst enemy.

      • Vicky32 3.4.2

        The rich aren’t evil, and they are not hated…its the excessive inequality and suffering that is hated.

        Seconded! 🙂

    • BernyD 3.5

      “then the only reason you care so much is that you hate the rich”

      Poor people starve TightyRighty, they don’t give a shit about your money, they just want to stop starving.

      If you want abuse so much, then take out an add, you can afford it …

      Self centered childish attention seeker, seeks abuse from others cause I’m “soooo loonley”
      Have made a lifetime worth of bullshit choices and decisions, I have plenty too spare
      I love too foist my own personallity on others, everyone thinks like me, I just know it.

      Reply too: Fuckwit@Slaves4Me.org
      No time wasters please.

    • KJT 3.6

      Jobs are provided because of demand.

      The rich are notably poor at providing jobs. http://kjt-kt.blogspot.co.nz/2012/08/the-wealth-creator-myth-stealing.html

      Half the wealthy do not even pay any tax. Source IRD and MSD.

      Most of the tax is paid by people like me. Working class with valuable skills. Those of us who haven’t got sick of most of the money going to non productive parasites, like most of the wealthy, ( http://kjt-kt.blogspot.co.nz/2011/08/it-is-not-their-money.html ) , and left for Australia.

      The fact is “the wealthy are so envious of the poor they are stealing what little they have left”.

      When the system is set up so a very few people steal ever increasing proportions of our societies production, in the long term society will fail for them also.

    • mike e 3.7

      tighty almighty good spin from another house or field maid.
      Darwinism Calvinism
      Undermining democracy by cynicism is why I call you the house maid.
      I don’t hate rich people but sharing and caring for the rest of society makes us all richer and live longer according to statistics.
      Poverty is a $ 6 to $10 billion drag on the economy and you being an economist (even though you got sucked in to the Chicago school model of exploitative economics where the individual only counts ) should be able to figure out that if we fixed this problem you pretend doesn’t exist we would not be 27th on the OECD list instead we would be in the top 5 countries .
      Simple minded people such as your redneck self are easily sucked in though and my sympathies are with you.You would be to scared to show your face in some of the suburbs where real poverty exists and see for your self if the problem is real or perceived.
      One example of what a successful welfare state can do John Key.The man who forgot how he got to where he is today.
      Another example is your narcissistic self for without a heavily subsidized education system would not be in a situation to pee freely down on the poor, trickle down economic otherwise known as Chicago school neo liberalism!

    • Draco T Bastard 3.8

      Despite the fact they provide the jobs…

      They don’t supply the jobs or create the wealth. The community does that. All the rich do is steal from the community. If we had a society that didn’t reward people for being rich then we wouldn’t have any poverty.

      If you can’t change what is human nature,

      But that’s just it. We can change it. In fact, throughout history there have been societies that didn’t have greed as the driving force as we do today. They were far more equal societies.

      In fact, this would indicate that what you would like to be unchangeable human nature isn’t.

      • weka 3.8.1

        It does beg the question of how to get from here to there though. Any historical examples of cultures that have shifted from greed to egalitarian? We’ve been doing greed for a long time now (the dominating culture).

        • Dr Terry 3.8.1.1

          Yes, weka, how about the Michael Joseph Savage government of 1935 for starters? It was indeed egalitarian in principle. Do your research, you will find numbers of similar examples in history.

          • weka 3.8.1.1.1

            Hi Terry, yes that govt did some good things, but egalitarianism is relative. I wonder how Maori feel about the idea that NZ society shifted from greed to equality in the 1930s.

            Still, I take your point. The best thing that could happen now is for us to have a sufficiently deep and long depression to make NZ wake up and get politicised.

            ” Do your research, you will find numbers of similar examples in history.”

            Well, I did ask here. I’m not sure your example is what I was meaning, but am open to hearing of others.

            • KJT 3.8.1.1.1.1

              Venezuela after they reversed the “lost decade”. An early example of the “success” of austerity.

              Norway is another country where citizens regained their country from a few wealthy thieves.

          • Draco T Bastard 3.8.1.1.2

            The 1st Labour government shows that we can start heading in the right direction. The following governments are proof that once we start we need to keep going else we end up with extremes of poverty and wealth with the majority being in poverty.

        • Colonial Viper 3.8.1.2

          Any historical examples of cultures that have shifted from greed to egalitarian?

          Yes, recent history too. However, guillotines were involved, and it was a pretty messy 50 year period.

    • Dr Terry 3.9

      You hardly have to explain which part of your anatomy is “Tighty”.

    • McFlock 3.10

      Accusing people who want to end poverty of “hating the rich” is like saying that people who want to end capital punishment “hate the living”.
             
      TR, people don’t hate you because you’re rich. If people do hate you, it’s most likely because you’re the sort of fuck-knuckle who says that kids going to school on one meal a day and without adequate shoes or wet-weather gear is only “relative” poverty that we can’t really do much about, not that you give a damn either way about the suffering of children. 

  4. David H 4

    “I know a few rich people, and they are just as nice as the poor people I know.”
    Really I know both rich and poor and I’ll tell you this. The rich that I know would let you starve or just walk past you even if you were bleeding on the footpath. But the poor, they would help in anyway they can. It’s not rich and poor, it’s the rich peoples attitude to their fellow man that’s appalling, it’s like they think they are better, and they deserve more of the pie, even though they don’t work any where as hard as the poor. And yet theirs is the first ticket held out to be clipped, usually with the biggest slice of the pie.

    • fatty 4.1

      Yes, that might often be true, but I think those ideals are created by a greed based system. Since we live in a context that forces us to push others down to get ahead, everyone will use whatever power we have to do it. Its just that rich people have so much more power at their disposal to do this. That’s why poor people are more likely to commit physical crimes, whereas rich people can commit their form of violence through economic means, and by perpetuating the widely accepted discourse of hatred of poor people.

      “it’s the rich peoples attitude to their fellow man that’s appalling”

      Yes, it is appalling…but a system that demands individual responsibility, greed and disdain of poor people is the real problem. Rich people are merely actors fulfilling their role. I’m not sure we can expect them to change if we don’t change the structure.

      • prism 4.1.1

        fatty 4.1
        Do you think that there is an aspect of a shame based system also – which overlies the welfare state that was set up to assist poorer people? So people should be ashamed to go on welfare which is the attitude of 19th century Britain which was one of the downward pressures that people were trying to escape when they came here. We are very judgmental I think – ready to find fault not look for a solution to fixing people’s problems.

        • fatty 4.1.1.1

          Yeah, for sure. The stigma of welfare has become overwhelming since the 1980s. The assumption of individual responsibility throughout our society has been one of the most devastating parts of neoliberalism. That’s why if we are going to have welfare, it should be a universal welfare system, not a residual one.
          The universal child benefit which was suggested lately was a good idea, because it eliminates the concept of deserving/undeserving. However, it was not surprising for Key to claim it was a dopey idea, because by eliminating our stigmatised welfare, the power that the rich gain from our current welfare system disappears.
          Our welfare system is defined and controlled by the rich for their purposes, and their purposes only. Just as our current form of biculturalism is defined and controlled by Pakeha. Current welfare/biculturalism do not help improve the basic statistics of poor/Maori…they do the opposite, and to make it worse, they ensure the blame is only to be directed at these subjugated groups!
          We spend so much money on our targeted welfare not to improve the economy, or ‘motivate’ undeserving people, it is done to perpetuate blame and stigma, the same kind of blame and stigma from 19th Century Britain – as you’ve highlighted. Beyond essentialising all welfare recipients as scammers, statements like “ripping off the system” suggest that our current system is morally sound and that poor people should thank the rich for the opportunity to live on the poverty line. Adequate welfare should be considered a human right, because it is. Being on welfare should be seen firstly as a failure of the system, even in 2003 when unemployment was at 3%. Its crazy to think that now with our unemployment rate so high we are still blaming the individual
          Its unsurprising that National foster the stigma of welfare recipients, and they are quite blatant about it. It is a shame that Labour do the same, and this is not just the painter on the roof story…I still consider third way ideology to push the concept of individual responsibility much too far. It would be nice if Labour began to frame unemployment benefit recipients as victims, because they have been since the 1980s. But that is a long way off, the stigmatisation of welfare is now so extreme that we apply it to mothers/fathers that should be forming a bond with their child.
          That’s how sick and demented New Zealand is.

        • Vicky32 4.1.1.2

          So people should be ashamed to go on welfare which is the attitude of 19th century Britain

          Not just Britain, and not just the 19th century.  My mother was a Scots-descended New Zealand born woman who refused (until we talked her into it) to apply for National Super, as she thought of it as charity…. although she’d spent the previous 4 or so years on a widow’s benefit after my father died, as her younger children were still only 12 and 14… I think the thinking was that the WB was for them, but the pension would be for her, and that would be charity! This was in 1978…

          • fatty 4.1.1.2.1

            The reference to 19th Century Britain refers to the new poor law. The concept of ‘deserving vs undeserving’ poor became entrenched. We moved away from that for a good part of the 20th Century, but its back in fashion now.
            Your Mother is a good example…its a shame its such a normalised perspective now.

  5. Blue 5

    “Humanitarian arguments for reducing poverty don’t seem to move the Nats at all. But alleviating poverty would save money. Will this economic argument get results?”

    Unfortunately, no. The right wing like to put it about that they are so concerned about the economy and saving money, but time and again they demonstrate that they actually care more about ideology than any other consideration.

    Their faith-based recipe is always the same, and no evidence will ever alter it.

    The prescription for the poor in a right-wing universe is that they must get jobs and then all will be well. No matter that their economic policies destroy jobs, and suppress wages. So then they say that the poor must educate and upskill themselves to get better jobs, all while their policies lift education further and further out of the reach of those who can least afford it.

    Then of course when all this fails they just smear the poor as being lazy, stupid, greedy and dishonest, and so undeserving of anything other than a further helping of punishment.

    • Olwyn 5.1

      I don’t think it is ideology at all that makes them indifferent to the actual economy. I think that the wealthiest backers of right wing parties simply want to own and control as many resources as possible. Any concessions they make to the actual economy are based on what they think they can get away with at any given point in time. It is not idealism that drives them but predation. Ideology is the province of their intellectual and PR flunkies, who write the rationalisations.

    • KJT 5.2

      Nothing to do with ideology. Their ideology is perfectly flexible. Whatever they can use with the gullible while suppressing dissent, to allow the continued theft of a common wealth.

      Watch the call for “freedom of association” when it involves getting rid of ordinary peoples collective power, while at the same time getting police to block the freedom to protest.

      • Colonial Viper 5.2.1

        Jobs are provided because of demand.

        Yeah one super rich prick can still only eat one dinner out a night and only needs to get one hair cut a month.

        10 well paid workers on the other hand means ten meals ordered from restaurants and 10 hair cuts done at hairdressers.

        • kiwi_prometheus 5.2.1.1

          Plus warm clothes and shoes for their kids.

          • Colonial Viper 5.2.1.1.1

            Sure. One super rich dude still only needs one ski pass, ten decently paid workers need ten. Super rich dude only gives the garage work for one WOF in a year (maybe two if he’s got two cars), the ten decently paid workers need twenty. And on it goes.

            • kiwi_prometheus 5.2.1.1.1.1

              I think you got me wrong.

              I was actually supporting the argument that more money to the workers means more economic benefit for the whole community/nation.

              Interest.co.nz has all the info of how the global rich have poured all their capital into government bonds in the stampede for a safe haven in a crisis, not into business activity. Apparently the big US corps are sitting on piles of cash too fearful to make investments that produce real economic activity and thus employment.

              • Colonial Viper

                Hi KP, no probs, that is what I took from your comments, I just continued in a similar vein with a couple more examples. Thanks for the clarification though.

  6. Those watching poverty will never end it.
    Poverty is endemic to capitalism.
    If you want to get rid of poverty you have to get rid of capitalism.
    Don’t leave it to the poor children, do it now.
     

    • Draco T Bastard 6.1

      +1

      Capitalism is the problem but can’t seem to get people to realise that yet.

      • kiwi_prometheus 6.1.1

        Capitalism is fine if it is within a frame work of capital distribution instead of capital accumulation.

        • Draco T Bastard 6.1.1.1

          The heart of capitalism is capital accumulation. If it was about capital distribution then profit wouldn’t be considered so important.

          • blue leopard 6.1.1.1.1

            I agree with kiwi prometheus

            however unclear why you are discussing capitalism at all. Is what we have in actual fact capitalism?

            I understood capitalism to be when those with capital create the means of production.

            Now we have those with capital creating credit instruments whizzing through optic cables at high speed and only a very small percentage of capital is going into creating the means of production; those with capital appear to have lost interest in creating the producing things and appear more delighted with creating money with money…or strange forms of credit which make them appear rich on paper, yet if one were to try and evaluate what the real price of the strange deals they are making on paper…its anyone’s guess what their real worth is…if such worth is anything like the derivative instruments sold out of America prior to the “Mortgage” Criss, well, they probably aren’t worth the paper they aren’t written on…

            http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2012/04/16/the-terrible-cost-the-u-s-pays-for-derivatives/

            • Draco T Bastard 6.1.1.1.1.1

              Is what we have in actual fact capitalism?

              Yes. The capitalists still own the means of production and control the resources. the problem comes as increased competition lowers the rate of profit and so the capitalists reach for the financial system and speculation to maintain and increase profits. This speculation inevitably brings down the financial system as real wealth production gets left behind by the amount of debt in circulation.

              I understood capitalism to be when those with capital create the means of production.

              Nope, it’s when they own the means of production. It’s other people who create it.

            • blue leopard 6.1.1.1.1.2

              “Nope, it’s when they own the means of production. It’s other people who create it.”
              Agree, much more accurate, thankyou for the correction

              Accuracy in discussion about political philosophy is important to achieve clarity of thought and sound resolutions, which is why I suggest that we are in need of a new label for what we have. Squanderism perhaps? Speculationism?

              Couldn’t it be argued that “people owning the means of production” is no longer central to what we have…well it kind of is to the functioning part of our society …yet any “organizational principle” is being sidelined by the derivatives market.

              Where profits used to go into more means of production now they go into gambling.
              Not quite what capitalism started out as.

              If there were a new label then perhaps more people would see and acknowledge what is really going on here.

              • Colonial Viper

                Accuracy in discussion about political philosophy is important to achieve clarity of thought and sound resolutions, which is why I suggest that we are in need of a new label for what we have. Squanderism perhaps? Speculationism?

                Blue Leopard. I suggest you watch at least a dozen episodes of the Keiser Report from this point on

                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BaDbK9jFts

                The most accurate description I have been able to come up with – and really its thanks to Max Keiser – is

                Kleptocratic ponzi-based crony capitalism.

                In other words: it is a system of enrichment for a few via theft, using dishonest means to make it appear that investment wealth is being grown, run by a network of buddies for the network of buddies, using the mechanisms and appearance of what was once capitalism.

                In another note: in this system the “real economy” (and means of production) becomes a very small part of the overall economy. Especially when most of the globe’s ‘means of production’ are now located in $2/hr China. The big part of the economy are the highly leveraged financialised gaming systems which suck/cheat money from real people in the real economy into their own vortex and never release it again into wider circulation.

                Although most Americans don’t realise it, this is the heart of the “Wall St versus Main St” divergence of wealth.

                • kiwi_prometheus

                  “The most accurate description I have been able to come up with – and really its thanks to Max Keiser – is

                  Kleptocratic ponzi-based crony capitalism.”

                  Yeah I’ve watched Max Keiser from time to time, found his material via Bernard Hickeys interest.co.nz and Steven Keens debtdeflation.com.

                  Max is hypo, typical American style I suppose. Sometimes I think he is going to fall off his chair he gets that excited, lol.

                  “Especially when most of the globe’s ‘means of production’ are now located in $2/hr China.”

                  That was the big idea – send all the tedious dirty laborious activity to the 3rd World giving them a chance to start moving up the development curve. Meanwhile the West would transition to and enjoy the fruits of the Knowledge Economy, with Wall Street, Hong Kong, London City etc the hubs of financial services to the global economy. Lots of high paying finance and IT jobs for all of us 🙄 .

                • blue leopard

                  CV

                  Belated response

                  I agree with the description you provide of “Kleptocratic ponzi-based crony capitalism” Bloody good actually!

                  I am playing with ideas here and am suggesting that debating whether capitalism works or doesn’t leads to a missing of the real problem, in that we have a system that involves a whole other “kettle of fish” (futures markets, involving something like 20x the amount of credit flying around than world GDP) which all the standard arguments for and against capitalism miss.

                  My thoughts being that if there were a new label sans the word ‘capitalism,’ which more accurately reflected what is actually occurring-“production becoming a very small part of the overall economy”-then people would start asking ‘what does that word refer to?’ This would allow for the type of information that Max Keiser imparts to get into mainstream thinking and get the debate shifting toward something that will effect positive change

                  …rather than what we appear to have now, which is where all of us (multi-coloured) niggers and house niggers (Thanks Mr Harawira) are left scrapping over the leftovers…without even acknowledging that that is exactly what they are…left overs..i.e 10% or 5% of the “overall economy”

                  And although I very much respect the suggestions and activities of “Boreds” (below) I consider it very important that a dialogue is conducted regarding the system we have because otherwise it appears there is simply going to become more and more charity work required and increasingly less opportunity for people to actually generate their own livelihoods 🙁

              • Colonial Viper

                I’ll add a corollary. In Marx’s day, who ever owned the means of production, controlled the economy. That’s because Marx’s economy of the day was an extremely industrial resource based on.

                Our modern economy is a highly financialised ponzi economy. In such an economy, whoever owns and controls the institutions and mechanisms of high finance, debt and credit control the economy. Everyone else, including the useless politicians, are completely secondary.

          • Colonial Viper 6.1.1.1.2

            DTB: it’s what is done with those profits which is critical. Are they reinvested in the business and the people? The community? Or is it simply hoarded in electronic accounts doing no good for actual people?

            Let’s use Apple as an example. It has sucked up money from communities around the world at such a prodigious rate it now as a US$117B cash reserve. That is money which has been removed from communities, and is now just sitting stagnant, not returning to those communities in any way, shape or form.

            US$117B would do a hell of a lot of good for people in real towns and cities around the world, instead of sitting parked in electronically stored financial instruments.

    • If you want to get rid of poverty you have to get rid of capitalism.

      See, now if only National would pick up on sensible, practical ideas like this to deal with child poverty. What’s wrong with them?

  7. Bored 7

    Lot of yarbling about getting rid of capitalism, etc etc above….all very good, meanwhile as the whole economic mess becomes toxic kids go to school hungry, old people go without.

    Lets encourage a little help: yesterday in the gale I sowed more crops which will have a surplus to give away. We instituted a charities box at work for the same purpose. I hate charity, it cuts over what should be a right, but nobody else is doing much, especially the gumint. Hoping a few more do a little something to take the edge off of the chill winds.

    • RedLogix 7.1

      Thanks bored.

      What you are doing is exactly what people always do when they are able to … putting a little extra back into their community.

      What you are doing is a radical act. While personally I believe capitalism has it’s place, it’s not in the unregulated, greed takes all, neoliberal form that has been pushed onto us this last 30 years.

      What you are doing takes faith and courage because the modern state and the corporates have reserved the right to collective action for themselves. Leaving the ordinary people dispossessed and powerless.

      We were told to stop believing in ourselves and our ability to act collectively as communities to make a difference. We we told that only the ‘gummints’ and the ‘free market’ were capable of acting and as a result money became the only measure of value … everything of value has been either taxed or commercialised.

      Because while the contribution you are making may seem like pissing in the wind … but if most people did a little something then poverty would be a memory and our communities strong, safe and a lot more fun.

    • just saying 7.2

      In years gone by there have been so many occasions of gardeners trying to fob off their excesses onto other gardeners, and friends of gardeners who’ve already been fobbed-off on. For some reason keen gardeners have disproportionate numbers of friends and neighbours who are also keen gardeners.

      This year we are organised – seeds, seedlings and the overabundance of the fruit and veg they bring are going to be distrubuted to where they are most needed in the community. Mostly. Finger’s crossed.

      And we’ll only get bet better at organising these things over time.

      These sorts of things are never going to be enough and certainly won’t hold back the creeping tidal wave of hardship and, suffering, and need going unmet. But at least we can share amongst ourselves and in the process extend out the links between us and reinforce the existing ones. Which even as I write it feels and is hopelessly inadequate.

    • mike e 7.3

      +1 Bored

  8. Vicky32 8

    Thanks all above, howzabout this

    It’s jolly good! 🙂
    (At the very least, a good start..)

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    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 ...
    43 mins ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    48 mins ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    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 ...
    1 hour ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    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 ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    2 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    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 ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    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 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    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 Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    6 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    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 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    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 Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    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 ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    8 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    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 ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    9 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    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 ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    11 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    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 ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    23 hours ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    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 ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    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 ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    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. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    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 ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    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 ...
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    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 ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    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 ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    1 day ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    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; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    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 ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    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 ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    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 ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “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 ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    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, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    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, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    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, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$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 ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    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. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    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 ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    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 ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    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 ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    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 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    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 ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    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 Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    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 ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    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 ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    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 ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • 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 ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    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 ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    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 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    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 ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    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 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    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 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    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 ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    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 ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    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 ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    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 ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    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 ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    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. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The 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 ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    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 ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    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 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    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 ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter 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 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    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 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    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 ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    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 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    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 ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    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 ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    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, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    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 ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    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 ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    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 ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    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 ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    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 ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    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 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    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, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Two bar blues
    The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    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.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    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, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    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. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    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, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    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, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    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,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    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. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    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. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity
    This year’s Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity and the contribution of Pacific communities to New Zealand culture, says Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti.  Dr Reti announced dates for the 2024 Pacific Language Weeks during a visit to the Pasifika festival in Auckland today and says there’s so ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-19T03:50:03+00:00