Speaking of inequality…

Written By: - Date published: 9:35 am, June 25th, 2016 - 45 comments
Categories: class war, national, poverty - Tags: , , ,

While we’re on the subject of increasing inequality and its political consequences, back here in NZ’s Brighter Future:

Poverty NZ’s ‘new normal’ – report

The government is dumping responsibility for desperate people on the charitable sector, say New Zealand’s Christian social services.

A new report from the NZ Council of Christian Social Services, released today, says demand on social service organisations has soared, while government support has shrunk, particularly in the form of food grants.

Read the full report online here

Executive officer Trevor McGlinchey said like many of the people they served, social service organisations were under huge financial stress, with government funding staying largely static for the last eight years.

Desperation to find housing, food and sufficient income to survive had become “the new normal” for many families, he said. …

See also Food bank pantries bare, emergency food grant dropping – report (video) “They’re already struggling to find a home, now many of the poorest Kiwis can’t even get a meal”, and also NZ egalitarian? That’s a pretty little lie.

Hello – National supporters – look around at the world – where do you think this is going to end?

45 comments on “Speaking of inequality… ”

  1. Yes in some ways the hardest pill to swallow this new normal. The cascading downstream effects are huge for everyone.

    • Draco T Bastard 1.1

      Quite a few people knew that this would happen back in the 1980s but the then 4th Labour government listened to the ‘experts’ and the result has been an ever increasing poverty while a few people got richer.

      • Paul 1.1.1

        I wonder whether history books will describe the events of 1984 – 1988 as a coup d’etat.

  2. Whateva next? 2

    I was heartened recently to hear increasing numbers of people feeling “uncomfortable” about the fact they had a warm dry bed at night.
    It would be a seismic cultural shift for NZers to learn to tolerate current wealth gap, and stop caring about their neighbours, something they have been very proud of.
    What a legacy for Mr.Key, or what an opportunity for those real people to unite and refuse to be moulded into the resentful mobs we will become

    • Draco T Bastard 2.1

      It’s not just Key but governments for the last thirty years and the neo-liberal nightmare that they’ve imposed upon us.

      • Paul 2.1.1

        +100

      • jcuknz 2.1.2

        As I have heard and understand it Lange cut Douglas off before he had a chance to balance what he started with the safety net as a Labourite was his history and upbringing…. typical stupid Labour infighting unfortunately. National rarely engage in it which makes them strong.
        I guess they are pragmatic rather than idealistic.

        • One Anonymous Bloke 2.1.2.1

          What’s pragmatic about hate speech and corruption?

          Your ‘understanding’ doesn’t meet the definition of the word.

        • Draco T Bastard 2.1.2.2

          As I have heard and understand it Lange cut Douglas off before he had a chance to balance what he started with the safety net as a Labourite was his history and upbringing…

          If he was going to do that then he should have done it at the same time as he ripped it out…

          Oh, wait…

  3. whispering kate 3

    We will be having the Government next bringing in Work/Poor Houses where the destitute can survive under a roof. My own Great Grandfather ended his days in a London Working House and it was the era then for the churches and philanthropists to give charitable alms to the poor in lieu of Government responsibility. I heard the other day a comment which went something like this “we wouldn’t need to depend on philanthropists or charity for the hungry kids and homeless if everybody paid their fair share of taxes.

    This is not progress but a regressing back into history and we all know that saying “history has a habit of repeating itself”. It seems the powers that be haven’t learnt a thing and do not read history which should be a pre-requisite for eligibility to becoming a member of parliament.

    • Draco T Bastard 3.1

      This is not progress but a regressing back into history and we all know that saying “history has a habit of repeating itself”.

      QFT

      It seems the powers that be haven’t learnt a thing and do not read history which should be a pre-requisite for eligibility to becoming a member of parliament.

      The powers that be really do seem to want to take us back to feudalism. That’s what privatisation of the commons looks like and that’s what we’re getting. A few people that own everything and thus has everyone else indebted to them – in other words, an aristocracy.

    • srylands 3.2

      Meanwhile back here on earth, the Government will be spending billions via social investment over the next decade to improve lifetime outcomes for disadvantaged kiwis. And all this from a ‘neoliberal’ government. What a thing!

      http://www.treasury.govt.nz/statesector/socialinvestment

      But don’t let reality interfere with the obvious enjoyment you get from your misplaced hatred.

      • Paul 3.2.1

        Someone defending a government that does not house its citizens.

      • One Anonymous Bloke 3.2.2

        “Social investment”, in this context, means “privatising government services.”

        I wonder, S Rylands. Did you have any hand in authoring this tissue of corrupt self-interested lies? Or did SERCO write their own report?

        What kind of trash (apart from you, S Rylands) responds to a problem now with more brighter future promises.

        Is there a good reason people shouldn’t spit on you in the street?

      • Draco T Bastard 3.2.3

        And yet things will still get worse as they privatise even more of our commons so as to make rich people richer.

      • reason 3.2.4

        meanwhile in the real world this Govt did a ‘Dirty Politics’ hit on behalf of the drug pushers known as the alcohol industry.

        They had their dirty team players run attacks and smears on health professionals who were trying to lower alcohol ABUSE.

        The head of the snake John Key came out and trashed the report …. by ruling out one of its main recommendations straight off his slimy cuff.

        They then ignored other recommended measures to improve public safety and health …….. instead drafting and passing a expensive confused mess which has worked totally in the liquor industry s favor.

        And now the police are at breaking point with over half of their work “domestic related”. That is why they can not investigate your burglary…… Beaten woman and kids are more important.

        This is what the Nats were ignoring when voting for their friends in the Alcohol drug industry ……………….

        * It can ruin the lives of individuals, devastate families, and damage the fabric of communities.

        * The harmful use of alcohol is especially evident among younger age groups with the World Health Organisation (WHO) citing alcohol as the leading risk factor for death among males aged 15–59.

        * Harmful drinking patterns are particularly prevalent among men, young adults, Māori, Pacific people and those living in highly deprived communities.

        * Children, young people, Māori, Pacific Peoples and those living in more deprived neighborhoods are among those that experience a disproportionate burden of harm from Alcohol abuse.

        * Children experience significant harm from the drinking of others.

        *between 2005 and 2007 an average of 61 children and young adults aged between four weeks and 25 years died every year because of their or someone else’s drinking. In 32% of cases the death was due to someone else’s drinking.

        Srylands and the nats are liars when they pretend to care about children.

        Collins, Key, Adams, Tolley and the rest of them are responsible for a huge amount of child abuse and family violence.

        They should be locked up in Serco which has profited from their pro-booze governing.

        .

  4. save nz 4

    Please bring on NEXIT

  5. Greg 5

    Its how society was run during the Victorian era, the Golden times for Tories.

    A disposable cheap exploitable workforce, prostitution, abuse of children, and violent suppression of dissent.

    Nationals brighter future was a light at the end of the tunnel, except its a glowworm.

    Hopefully when Key departs the party next year, it will break National.

    The next census will trigger a electorate boundary change, and National party seats in the regions will shrink. As the regions have been depopulated by Nationals benefit changes.

    http://www.elections.org.nz/voting-system/electorates/how-electorates-are-calculated

    We can expect more prisons to be built, which will blow out Treasury debt to 150 Billion.

    • jcuknz 5.1

      “will break National” and get what? A NZF/Green government with the muppets to be seen in both groupings ? It could be the future with all the tired old seat warmers in Labour. I read KB too and comments about folk desperately looking for a seat.

      • Greg 5.1.1

        Wait until the next census sunshine.
        Last report on the population figure i read in a NZ National Geographic story was that the regions make up 13% of our population.
        Nationals needs to keep immigration high so a few might move to the regions,
        it wont replace the locals, and ex farm workers that are been forced into cities to look for jobs.

        Helensville didnt vote for the flag change, that has to hurt.

  6. reason 6

    It is evident that the burden of alcohol-related injuries and violence falls disproportionately on some population groups, for example those living in more deprived neighborhoods, Māori, Pacific peoples, children and young people.

    Being young, being Māori or Pacific or living in more deprived neighborhoods all increase risk of experiencing alcohol-related harm

    Problematic alcohol consumption is common among marginalised groups.

    Women experience greater harm as a result of other’s drinking.

    More than 62,000 physical assaults and 10,000 sexual assaults are estimated to occur in New Zealand every year where the perpetrator has been drinking

    . New Zealand males and females who abuse alcohol are up to
    13 times more likely to commit violent offenses than those with no alcohol misuse

    It is clear that alcohol use in New Zealand is contributing to increased inequalities and this must be addressed through policy and planning development.

    • ropata 6.1

      It’s the same with other drugs & vices, legal or illegal. The poor do not have the support systems and resources to manage addictive behaviour and recover from it relatively intact

      • reason 6.1.1

        I agree with what you say ropata …. but its even worse than that …. addiction services are the first to get cut or chopped back in health budgets under stress…… Addicts are less ‘deserving’.

        and in Society our number 1 drug of addiction is kept cheap……its, pushed with $200 million ‘marketing’ and it is in the face of every man woman and child every time they visit the supermarket.

        Being in the supermarket. after having a bad day, and with a spare $20 in your pocket would be the leading trigger for relapse for problem drinkers trying to give up …… The booze industry loves$ those who abuse alcohol …. there is large profits in problem drinking.

        Key was one of the first to trash the Alcohol law review ………… and suffered zero political harm.

        John Keys Govt Dirty politics operation do not care about abused kids or harm to the vulnerable and disadvantaged…..

        Instead They’ll use the resultant damage to get a hatchet merchant like Rebstock to advise privatization of Cyfs ………. and sercos

        Whale oil is being taken to court for his part in the Nats DP campaign to protect the profits of the alcohol pushers …..

        but there are others like Peter Dunne & Karl de frense who should be in the dock with slug boy …………….

        ‘Minister responsible for the government’s alcohol policy, Peter Dunne today dismissed Professor Doug Sellman, an addiction specialist, and 450 senior doctors and nurses as a group of people who don’t like a drink of wine at a wedding.

        “These people are campaigning to stop the harm and violence that erupts as a result of alcohol abuse, particularly the harm done to young New Zealanders,” Jim Anderton said.

        “They are not campaigning to stop people enjoying a glass of wine at a wedding, and to suggest that shows how ill-equipped Peter Dunne is to be a minister anywhere near alcohol regulation.

        “Although Peter Dunne claims to know what people like Professor Sellman thinks, Mr Dunne could not name the 5+ Solutions that Mr Sellman and Alcohol Action are proposing..’..”

        Du fresnse wanted Sgt Alistair Lawn and any cops like him removed from the NZ police force https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHI-4NWB8n0

    • Problematic alcohol consumption is common among marginalised groups.

      I’ll suppress the urge to raise the difference between “problematic alcohol consumption” and “problematic behaviour” to focus on the more significant logic fail in your comment.

      Like “problematic alcohol consumption,” violent criminal activity and low educational qualifications are also associated with poverty. People who aren’t very bright (most commenters over at Kiwiblog, for example) think that the best way to deal with that is through more intensive policing of the poor and setting up charter schools. People with a little more intellectual horsepower than the typical Kiwiblog commenter recognise that fixing poverty would be a more effective approach than trying to clamp down on the unpleasant things that are associated with poverty.

      Your comment, and the activities of the public-health wowsers peddling policies to restrict recreational drug use, are the left-wing equivalent of that fucked-up approach to poverty-related crime and education problems. Trying looking at the cause, not the effect.

      • reason 6.2.1

        Gosh you sound like peter Dunne …….. same lies.

        Your like a climate change denier of alcohol abuse ……………..

        You’d be funny if it were not obvious your not a person who has to deal with the results and mess of your favorite drug ……

        • reason 6.2.1.1

          “Alcohol-related injuries are a major burden to Emergency Departments (ED). In New Zealand up to 35% of injury presentations to EDs are estimated to be alcohol-related, with this increasing up to 75% during weekends

          Alcohol was involved in almost half of all facial fracture presentations; males accounted for the majority of cases and violence was the leading cause of presentation

          intoxicated patients negatively affect ED staff. One New Zealand study reported that 50% of ED staff were assaulted by an intoxicated patient at work”

          And hospitals are spending “health funding” to pay for security guards to protect the doctors and nurses ……..

          .

          • Psycho Milt 6.2.1.1.1

            Hell is other people.

            More to the point: you can wish as hard as you like for people to stop using recreational drugs, it ain’t going to happen. There are governments that kill people for using recreational drugs and people still use them (well, not the ones who were killed for it, obviously). You might just as well wish for them to stop fucking.

            The situation you describe involves behaviour that’s already criminal. Assault and threats of violence are against the law – enforcing those laws would be a better approach than fiddling with alcohol licencing.

            • reason 6.2.1.1.1.1

              you keep telling lies Psycho Dunne …………..

              Show me where lowering abuse =….”wish as hard as you like for people to stop using recreational drugs,”

              It sounds just like dunnys lie “dismissed Professor Doug Sellman, an addiction specialist, and 450 senior doctors and nurses as a group of people who don’t like a drink of wine at a wedding.”

              My view is If we had sensible Alcohol and other drug laws we would be having less victims of abuse and violence………. and we would be closing prisons.

              “Police attend a family violence incident every seven minutes

              In terms of the actual economic cost to society a 1994 study entitled The New Zealand Economic Cost of Family Violence put the bill at $1.2 to $5.8 billion.

              Based on that study, the cost today would be approximately $8 billion.

              Each year, Police alone spend $3.9 million on homicide inquiries related to family violence.

              spokesperson for the National Network of Stopping Violence Services, Brian Gardner, believes domestic violence levels in New Zealand would drop significantly if recent recommendations by the Law Commission’s report Alcohol In Our Lives – Curbing The Harm were adopted.

              • One Anonymous Bloke

                Why does “your” “view” completely ignore the effects of inequality?

                we would be having less victims of abuse and violence………. and we would be closing prisons.

                By what mechanism, when violence and crime are consequences of economic factors?

                What you are proposing is an increase in the consumption of homebrew and moonshine.

        • Psycho Milt 6.2.1.2

          Gosh you sound like peter Dunne …….. same lies.

          So you’ll be able to point out those lies and explain how they’re dishonest, then? Because, otherwise, you’re just a spouter of bullshit. My money’s on the spouting one.

        • One Anonymous Bloke 6.2.1.3

          No, I think PM is quite right: the mental health (including alcohol and drug abuse) of a society is inversely proportional to the GINI.

          If you want people to feel less like numbing the effects of centre-right government policy, then the thing to do is destroy the policy and treat the low-life scum who implement it with contempt, not penalise the victims.

  7. John shears 7

    Hospital ED Departments and Ambulance services are also overrun by drunks especially on weekends and violence is a problem in those areas as well.
    Bring back drunk and disorderly as a criminal offence, apply the breath test to prove level followed by blood test to confirm Then in the clanger and before the court on Monday and publish names in the paper just like they used to, no exceptions.
    Intoxication is a self inflicted malady.

    • Colonial Viper 7.1

      Well that’s shitloads of NZ’s future doctors, dentists, lawyers, teachers etc screwed before they even start their professions.

  8. reason 8

    We suffer from dual propeganda regarding recreation drugs leading to bad laws

    I …….as I’ll use Amy Adams to show and demonstrate.

    I’ve ‘quoted’ Amy Adams saying exactly the same thing …..but readers should gauge their emotional response

    Amy Adams …”She said the Government needed to understand the implications of putting in place a ban on drug sponsorship of sport, before making any decisions on the issue.”

    vrs

    Amy Adams ….”She said the Government needed to understand the implications of putting in place a ban on alcohol sponsorship of sport, before making any decisions on the issue.”

    Our indoctrination minimizes the harms of the drug alcohol ……. and demonizes “Drugs”.

    Leading to manipulation and exploitation ……………… and very shitty laws.

    • Our indoctrination minimizes the harms of the drug alcohol ……. and demonizes “Drugs”.

      If you think about it real hard, you might be able to figure out why the best response to that isn’t to start demonising alcohol the way we have those other drugs.

      • reason 8.1.1

        Demonizing would be like Draco or Paulas claim where something 24 times below the level of any ‘plausible’ health effect is ‘contaminated’ and toxic……

        Paula …. “We are not going to risk houses suspected of being drug dens today, becoming potentially toxic playgrounds for innocent children in the future.”

        Or false claims/smears such as those who want to lower alcohol ABUSE ”wish as hard as you like for people to stop using recreational drugs,”

        or call them “public-health “wowsers” ….. or claim “450 senior doctors and nurses as a group of people who don’t like a drink of wine at a wedding.”

        I’m not trying to demonize or ban anything ……………… but I am disgusted with Nationals DP campaign against those trying to lower alcohol abuse in our society.

        Lowering Alcohol abuse IS the low hanging fruit in lowering all sorts of other harms. Especially domestic violence.

        Why is it such a drama to take booze out of supermarkets and back into bottle shops? …………. whats so extreme about stopping advertising /pushing. Why should the drug Alcohol get subsidized by taxpayers ?.

        I do agree that our quite macho thugby society has a hell of a lot to do with the levels of violence that go with our Alcohol abuse.

        Violence I’ve found is generally related to levels of anger …………..

        Being exploited, being treated unfairly or feeling left out by a hostile society raises anti social angry feelings.

        Otherwise Poor people are more honest and caring than the rich in my experience ….. so I do not buy the poverty = violence meme. …. its how people feel treated.

        Anyway I’m not going to argue about alcohol/violence again ….. I have literally screes of Alcohol stats and quotes which I will copy and paste up.

        People can draw their own conclusions.

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  • 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
    5 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
    5 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
    6 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
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  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
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