The great Chinese sharemarket selldown

Written By: - Date published: 11:48 am, July 28th, 2015 - 70 comments
Categories: capitalism, China, Economy, International - Tags:

China share market crash

The Chinese share market has recently shown strong signs of being a bubble.  Following a sustained increase in share prices until July this year the market then hit severe turbulence, and previous gains have been well and truly wiped out.

Emergency measures were taken by the Chinese Government to slow down the sell off and showed how different the Chinese economy is to the US economy.  Steps included the suspension of the sale of shares once their value dropped by 10%, the suspension of new IPOs, new cheap credit, Government agencies actively buying shares and a ban of share sales by major shareholders.  A sign of how desperate the measures are that over half of all listed companies have the sale of their shares suspended.

Last night’s news of a further dramatic drop suggest that the measures are not enough.  From the Guardian:

Following three weeks of relative calm, the Shanghai Composite Index plummeted on Monday, ending down 8.5% at 3725.56 – its worst fall since February 2007. Meanwhile the Shenzhen index dropped nearly 7.6% to close at 12493.05 points. Analysts predict more misery ahead for investors in the world’s second largest economy.

Xinhua, China’s official news agency, commemorated the latest crash in a tweet that read: “The return of the debacle!” Two-thirds of all companies listed on the Chinese mainland, or about 1,800 stocks, lost 10% of their value – the maximum daily limit – and were suspended.

Rajiv Biswas, chief Asia economist for analysis firm IHS Global Insight is quoted in the article as saying this:

The government has been trying to hold back the tide like King Canute. This is now a stock market crisis and you can see from the responses that they have been making that they are not really sure how to address it. Today’s developments are just going to put this even more at the centre of their economic problems.”

The basic problem is that the splurge on shares was caused by the stoking of greed and fuelled by cheap credit.  Now many Chinese citizens will have worthless shares and debt to repay.  And the purchase was dependent on never ending growth.

And the implications for New Zealand?  Reduced consumer confidence and discretionary spending power are bound to hurt sales of milk, wine, and other items that we export not to mention a reduction in inbound tourism.  This could be grim.

70 comments on “The great Chinese sharemarket selldown ”

  1. ianmac 1

    When China sneezes NZers become cot cases.

  2. Sabine 2

    and maybe it needs to crash. there is no denying that the current system is simply not sustainable.
    so let them crash, let some of the rich guys eat crow for a while.

    • maui 2.1

      +1, it’s going to get ugly sooner or later.

    • Draco T Bastard 2.2

      +111

      Very definitely need to let the system crash. That would allow us to start putting in place better policies and a better system.

    • Colonial Viper 2.3

      The elite 0.01% have been exiting the Chinese market for months. It’s the “Mum and Dad” investors who get screwed with these crashes. In other words, it is a massive transfer of wealth upwards to the 0.01%.

      • Ad 2.3.1

        Exactly.
        Leftie schadenfreude is just a sad dream.

      • G C 2.3.2

        It happened to Chinese “Mum and Dad” property investors between 2005 – 2011. I think there are insightful parallels which could be shown more by the media.

        Unfortunately many of the investors burned by the Chinese Property bubble are probably now being stung by the Stock Market Bubble.

    • Ad 2.4

      It’s not the rich who suffer in a crisis.

      Economic recession is not political revolution.

      It’s the poor who suffer more in a recession.

      If there’s another recession coming, our current trends of poverty, homelessness, decreasing home ownership, greater wealth disparity, more of the precariat going under will be the trends that increase.

      • Sabine 2.4.1

        well, considering that the poor have been suffering for a while, i think the rich will find a crash a bit harder. For the poor it will be business as usual.

        • Ad 2.4.1.1

          Nope, the poor will find it infinitely worse. The 1% will find it inconvenient.

          Check out who is really suffering in Greece.

  3. linda 3

    Its not just china the stock values are fantasy. You. Only hid the truth for: so long.
    It doesn’t look good. For new Zealand rock star economy. Key will resign before the implosion as all bad managers do ,it was all right when. I was pm.

  4. Weepus beard 4

    Good!

  5. Ad 5

    Australasia does not need another economic crisis.

    The NZ hit of exposure to dairy, East Asian service economy demand, Chinese anti-corruption drives decreasing luxury goods demand, and risk to Auckland’s housing bubble, leaves NZ intensely vulnerable on nearly every important front. The Opposition should not go down the path of crying crisis. This will go so deep into NZ that they should think about how they can deepen points of common interest with the Chinese government, with key exporters, and with the NZ Chinese resident and citizen populations.

    Time to look like you can help, not cry doom.

    • Sabine 5.1

      yes, sure lets help the rich people all over the world to keep their inflated assetts inflated…cause the wealth will trickle down.

      And again, it has got nothing to do with ‘the Chinese” is has all got to do with a subset of a small handful or two of man and women that hold these inflated assets and that will rather you starve before their virtual bank accounts loose a zero.

      Explain to me why my milkprices here in NZ have gone up three times this year, when the global market is down grading the price of Milk solids.

      Care to explain, other then I little Nz’ler has to support someones inflated virtual account.

    • Draco T Bastard 5.2

      The Left can if they do this. If they try to keep the failed neo-liberal system then it’s just gonna get worse.

      • Ad 5.2.1

        No government in the EU or OECD is proposing that.

        Sorry to go all Keynsian on you, but what better protects us from the great capitalist waves breaking, is a large and healthy public service doing public service and public works.

        It’s the only thing that’s got us out of a Depression in a century.

        • Draco T Bastard 5.2.1.1

          No government in the EU or OECD is proposing that.

          The idea is to do something different rather than doubling down of the failed system we have now as the EU are doing.

          And you’ll note that what I propose has Keynesian overtones but it’s not there to protect capitalism as Keynes was trying to do.

          • Ad 5.2.1.1.1

            Go for your life.

            What you propose will never happen in New Zealand under any foreseeable political mix.

            • Draco T Bastard 5.2.1.1.1.1

              Well it certainly won’t if it’s not suggested and I think that we have no choice about to be honest. All other forms of financialisation have failed miserably.

    • maui 5.3

      I went to a talk by Dr Mike Joy the other day, and interestingly he was saying along the lines of we have threatened/endangered most of our native freshwater fish species, practically all of New Zealand’s lowland rivers are completely unswimmable (over 90%) due to dairy and beef. That is some of the domestic environmental cost of export dairy.

      Internationally, we’ve completely destroyed the island of Nauru by opencast mining it for phosphate and spreading it on our farms as fertiliser. Since that phosphate is super rich in cadmium, we now have high levels of toxic cadmium rich soil in productive land all over NZ from spreading it around for decades (much higher than other countries). Our cattle are so full of cadmium that their internal organs are not fit for sale.

      We export most of dairy products as milk powder to China where workers have to work in slave like conditions to get it ready for sale. We’re also a massive importer of palm kernel, meaning we are supporting the destruction of rainforests that have to be removed for palm plantations in places like Indonesia, and the predictable slave labour that occurs for us to get our hands on this product cheaply.

      ^A few reasons why this shouldn’t go on any longer.

      • Molly 5.3.1

        Thanks maui. I agree with what you say here.

        The externalities of some of our big earners, are ongoing costs for NZers.

        I was speaking with someone about the cadmium issue just a couple of weeks ago. She is involved with water testing for nitrates etc for a community group, and mentioned the high cadmium levels. Another unconsidered consequence of trying to change a balanced ecosystem to deliver only one outcome.

      • Macro 5.3.2

        The size of NZ’s dairy herd is around 6.1 million cows at present. With the down turn of milk powder prices it is estimated that the size will reduce by around 1 million for the next milk season. That’s 1 million cows slaughtered just like that. We are such a caring species.
        I don’t drink Fontarra milk for much the same reasons as you outline above, and because of the way our dairy herd is treated. The natural life of a dairy cow is around 20 years, but the life of a cow in a “conventionally farmed” dairy herd in NZ is around 5 years. Fed crap, continually impregnated from a young age, and exploited over their short life time, these animals die prematurely.

        • maui 5.3.2.1

          Another interesting point he made is those 6 million cows each produce as much urine waste as 14 people, so that is the equivalent of about 90 million humans living in rural areas pissing all over our countryside. No wonder our rivers are in such a state.

          I haven’t made the jump to change my consumer habits of a lifetime, I still have mass produced milk and I eat red meat. But when you lay out all the destructive things in the industry it does make you think – should I be supporting this?

  6. esoteric pineapples 6

    “This could be grim.”

    Or not – sometimes when bubbles burst it means ugly developments of one kind and another can’t go ahead. The more milk prices drop the more chance my favourite river won’t be dammed and all the rivers in my region become unswimmable.

    • Chooky 6.1

      urmmm…but they may be full of foreign swimmers…you know the foreign ones who have bought up all the bankrupt New Zealand farmland

      • esoteric pineapples 6.1.1

        I’m happy to share if the water is clean.

        • Chooky 6.1.1.1

          like the Yangtze or Ganges…unfortunately over- population is not good for clean rivers…or rivers full stop.

    • Colonial Viper 6.2

      The more milk prices drop the more chance my favourite river won’t be dammed and all the rivers in my region become unswimmable.

      Works both ways. Farmers might decide to try and maxmise their output to make up for the shortfall in per kg pricing, for instance.

      • esoteric pineapples 6.2.1

        That’s possibly true. But while milk prices remain especially low, no increase in production will make investing in a dam profitable for farmers. I think the dam thing is a bit of a ponzi scheme anyway.

        The government puts money up front, the constructors take a cut, farmers who have sheep & beef properties sell their land at an inflated price to a dairy investor, banks make money lending to the purchaser, agricultural companies make money out of supplying irrigators etc, the irrigation scheme becomes unprofitable, and the whole thing deflates leaving the tax payer and rater payer to pay for someone else’s profits at the same time as not having a clean river to swim in any more.

  7. Draco T Bastard 7

    Analysts predict more misery ahead for investors in the world’s second largest economy.

    Actually, indications are that China is the worlds largest economy.

    Now many Chinese citizens will have worthless shares and debt to repay.

    That would be the same as what happened to many people in The Great Depression.

    And the implications for New Zealand? Reduced consumer confidence and discretionary spending power are bound to hurt sales of milk, wine, and other items that we export not to mention a reduction in inbound tourism.

    The silver lining being that the house prices in Auckland may hold steady for awhile if not actually drop.

    The lesson to be taken home from all of this is, simply, that the market system doesn’t work, that that failure to work is exacerbated by the existence of rich people and that we need to be looking for a replacement system and getting rid of rich people.

    • Chooky 7.1

      @ DTB…re – “The silver lining being that the house prices in Auckland may hold steady for awhile if not actually drop”

      Ummm….I wouldnt count on house prices to fall

      ….not with the huge population and pressure coming out of China…I.3 billion people…excess of 55 million males to females by 2020 (could swamp NZ many times over…NZ is paradise)
      ….the demand to get out of and take money out of grossly overpopulated, human rights violations, environmentally trashed China with its share market plummeting is HUGE

      http://www.smh.com.au/business/comment-and-analysis/wall-of-chinese-capital-buying-up-australian-properties-20150628-ghztdf.html#ixzz3gVPV2Oew

      • Draco T Bastard 7.1.1

        Well, I did say ‘may’ help but considering the draconian (I really love that word 😈 ) actions that the Chinese government have already taken regarding their stock market crash they may just decide to stop all funds leaving the country. It’s certainly something that I’d look at doing in their position.

        • Chooky 7.1.1.1

          possibly… but I dont think so unfortunately …they want to extend their influence and spread their risks….aren’t many of the loans made for foreign investment made from the Chinese Banks

    • Phil 7.2

      indications are that China is the worlds largest economy.

      Pedantry:

      1) The quality of China’s official statistics leaves a lot to be desired, and certainly cannot be relied upon for as accurate a measurement as most of the western economies that have much more transparent and audited processes for measuring GDP. That the World Bank has had a crack at doing this comparison is admirable, but I think even they would admit there is a lot of uncertainty in Chinese data.

      2) ‘Largest’ can mean a lot of different things. GDP is a measure of income only , so even if Chinese GDP is now larger than the US, it’s unlikely to top the total assets or average per-capita income of the US economy for quite some time yet.

      What I mean is; for many years you’re earning $1.00 a day and your neighbor has been earning $0.50c. Suddenly your neighbor’s income goes up to $1.01. Is s/he now “richer” than you? Probably not, because you’ve got many years of accumulated assets and resources behind you that they have not.

      • Colonial Viper 7.2.1

        congrats, you just successfully defined “pedantry.”

      • Draco T Bastard 7.2.2

        Even the article I linked to said it was contentious but it is something that will happen sooner or later (and probably sooner) even if it hasn’t happened yet.

  8. Ovid 8

    The Economist foresaw this back in April:

    For those with a cautious bent, there is no shortage of warning signs. Three are especially noteworthy. First, valuations are beginning to look stretched and, in some cases, plainly absurd. ChiNext, China’s small-cap board, has a trailing price-earnings (PE) ratio of 90, more than double that of internet stocks at the peak of America’s dotcom bubble in 2000. Second, leverage has soared over the course of the rally. Outstanding loans to stock investors reached a record 1.67 trillion yuan ($269 billion) as of April 13th, up some 300% from a year earlier. Finally, many of those rushing to snap up stocks are small-time day traders with little understanding of what they are buying. Chinese investors opened nearly 5m trading accounts in March, a stampede that has continued into April. A survey by China’s Southwestern University of Finance and Economics found that two-thirds of new investors last year did not complete high school.

    • Ad 8.1

      Just step back a bit a consider why this is less likely to be the crisis the left wants it to be:

      Less than 15% of China’s household financial assets are involved in the sharemarket. This is why soaring shares did little to boost consumption and crashing share prices won’t hurt it much. While many stocks were bought on debt, that represents just 1.5% of total assets in the Chinese banking system.

      Happy to be analysed otherwise, but there are better reasons to forecast doom for China than its sharemarket.

  9. Kevin 9

    A few things to consider:

    China’s economy is predicated on a massive working-age peasant population. As the population gets older this work force will naturally start shrinking and with it the economy.

    China’s workforce is mostly unskilled and inefficient. Something like one American worker is worth 100 chinese workers.

    China is a third-world Muldoonist economy. There is nothing innovative about it. Their whole economy is based around creating consumer goods for western companies cheaply.

    Corruption is rampant and the Chinese government has their fingers in every pie. That means businesses that should have gone bust are allowed to stay in business through subsidies because some bureaucrat has a self-interest in the business. For now China can afford to do this but once the number of inefficient businesses outnumbers the ones that are actually making money then the cash will soon run out.

    Because of China’s disastrous one-child policy one working chinese will be having to support 12 or 15 retired chinese. When I put this to a chinese woman she replied that the retired chinese could support themselves. I guess she didn’t get that most working chinese work for sustenance wages and are unlikely to be able to save much money for their retirement.

    It is is sheer lunacy for our government to put all our eggs in China. What we need to do, if we’re not doing it already, is diversify as much as possible and look for new emerging markets, especially those markets likely to take China’s place.

    • vaughan little 9.1

      there’s quite a bit of innovation in tech/e commerce.

    • Sable 9.2

      China has recently amended its one child policy. I agree it was never a good idea to start with but the problems they have with population control are very difficult to manage.

      Corruption is indeed also a very big issue that has only been partly addressed so spot on there too. That said the same could be said of the USA, UK, EU and Australia/NZ.

      Where I don’t agree is the comment regarding US workers. In my experience a good portion of the US workforce is either ill educated or illiterate on one level or another. By contrast the standard of education in China is high with savage competition to get into the top three tiers of schooling which lead to the best universities. All in all China’s knowledge base is probably stronger than the US. On that basis alone I would have more faith in China’s longevity than the USA.

      By the way which emerging markets are you referring to? Other BRICS nations? Just curious…..

      • Kevin 9.2.1

        “By the way which emerging markets are you referring to? Other BRICS nations? Just curious…..”

        Just guessing but India could possibly be one, and possibly Malaysia.

    • Draco T Bastard 9.3

      Wow, you really sound like someone who thinks that nothing changes.

      China’s workforce is mostly unskilled and inefficient. Something like one American worker is worth 100 chinese workers.

      That may be true today but it won’t be true tomorrow. China are building up better factories all the time – usually by having corporations like Apple building them and then reverse engineering them.

      It is is sheer lunacy for our government to put all our eggs in China. What we need to do, if we’re not doing it already, is diversify as much as possible and look for new emerging markets, especially those markets likely to take China’s place.

      That bit I’d agree with except the delusion about emerging markets – they to are developing and will be able to supply themselves with everything that they need hence trade in the long term is dead. You can only get trade between specialists and countries, if they want to develop, don’t specialise.

      • Kevin 9.3.1

        “That may be true today but it won’t be true tomorrow. China are building up better factories all the time – usually by having corporations like Apple building them and then reverse engineering them.”

        That’s basically what Japan did – took western technology, reverse engineered, and then innovated.

        The problem is with China I can’t think of one example where they’ve actually done that.

        • Liberal Realist 9.3.1.2

          If China and it’s partners are successful with their macro-economic long term strategy, China will become the new global powerhouse.

          Below is an example, 21st century silk road.

          https://tinyurl.com/pxk9dsr

        • Colonial Viper 9.3.1.3

          That’s basically what Japan did – took western technology, reverse engineered, and then innovated.

          The problem is with China I can’t think of one example where they’ve actually done that.

          How about this article:

          But, many executives at Chinese and Western companies contend, China’s technology sector is reaching a critical mass of expertise, talent and financial firepower that could realign the power structure of the global technology industry in the years ahead.

          “Traditionally Chinese companies were fast followers, but we are starting to see true innovation,” said Colin Light, partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers…

          But in the past decade, Huawei overtook Western rivals such as Nokia Corp. and Alcatel-Lucent SA in the telecom-gear market. Part of its success stemmed from Huawei engineers’ creative ways to upgrade wireless networks using software instead of a costly method of replacing all hardware components, according to Mr. Zhou.

          Huawei now has an R&D center in Shanghai that employs more than 10,000 engineers, many of whom have computer-science degrees. As the mobile industry deploys faster fourth-generation networks, Huawei is already working on the technology for fifth-generation networks, which could be ready around 2020.

          Huawei’s global expansion has met some skepticism. Last year, some European Union officials alleged that unfair subsidies from the Chinese government allowed Huawei to sell its gear at lower prices in Europe. Huawei denied those allegations.

          In October, when Danish telecom carrier TDC A/S announced a $700-million deal to replace its existing Ericsson equipment with Huawei’s gear, TDC Chief Executive Carsten Dilling said that he chose Huawei for its technical expertise, not its prices—adding that Huawei was “actually quite expensive.”

          http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303819704579320544231396168

    • DoublePlusGood 9.4

      Given that their one-child policy stopped their population hitting 2 billion I’d say that isn’t a disaster by any means, given their already dire level of overpopulation.

      • Kevin 9.4.1

        When combined with a economy that’s based on a massive working age workforce it is a disaster.

        • DoublePlusGood 9.4.1.1

          Oh, the economy might tank. But what good is an economy if you trash the ability of the land to support people due to overpopulation?

    • Ad 9.5

      China’s population is only getting older very slowly. The far more direct economic driver remains the shift from rural villages to the cities.

      Calling China a “third-world Muldoonist economy” kind of undercooks the extent and limits of the Chinese Communist Party’s command of economic and social levers. Far be it for me to critique lefties for wanting a strong hand in the economy.

      As for “fingers in every pie”, what is wrong with that? Why is inefficiency bad again?

      On the one-child policy, the real shift is towards a consumption-led economy, and less so a manufacturing one. There’s now a far stronger safety net than previous decades, with health insurance, old-age benefits, and free schooling. What is being blunted is the remarkable Chinese propensity to save. At 40% of income, the household rate of saving has stopped rising.

      • nadis 9.5.1

        Ad – I think your view of chinese demographics is a few decades out of date. China actually has a terrible demographic problem – one of the worst outlooks in the world. Check out this graph for instance:

        http://static.businessinsider.com/image/528612e06bb3f7e8251e069e/image.jpg

        China faces a double whammy – declining overall population and increasing dependency ratio.

        And a reason why it isn’t a good idea to long run bet against the US, certainly relative to China is the same demographics in US- it has the healthiest outlook of any major country.

        https://www.flickr.com/photos/rfmcdonald/7770821930/

        The US has the opposite outlook – a growing population and a declining dependency ratio. In the long run, demographics are one of the key drivers of long term growth.

        And re the chinese sharemarket, the shanghai composite index is back to the level it was in late March. Not much of a crash (so far).

        • Colonial Viper 9.5.1.1

          The US has the opposite outlook – a growing population and a declining dependency ratio. In the long run, demographics are one of the key drivers of long term growth.

          That’s true in the most generic terms.

          But no corporation is treating the USA as a growth market. They do however view China as a market with a rapidly growing middle class wanting to consume modern western goods.

          US consumers are tapped out on debt, only the top 10% have benefitted economically over the last 30 years, and the evisceration of their welfare state means that the entire bottom half of Americans have next to no discretionary income to spend. Workforce participation is hovering around multi-decade lows.

          The American consumer, which comprises 71% of the US economy, is knocked out on their feet.

          • nadis 9.5.1.1.1

            The American consumer, which comprises 71% of the US economy

            That’s one of the most misunderstood economic “statistics” of all time. It’s an outcome of the structure of the US economy rather than any insight into what drives the American economy.

            C + G + I + X – M

            Guess what makes up C? (Clue, its not just retail sales – they are 27% of GDP)

            The C in the GDP formula doesn’t stand for Consumer, it stands for Consumption — 2 very different things,

        • Ad 9.5.1.2

          Declining working population ratio on one graph and an overanxious academic? Please.
          Plus, I was commenting on its relative important as a driver of economic growth.

          I didn’t comment on its relativity to US so no idea where that came from.

          You’re simply agreeing with me on the Chinese share market.

          Would be far more interesting if people tied commenting on some more present risks to the Chinese economy. Such as:

          – Residential property overvaluations
          – Oil commodity exposure (irrespective of barrel price)
          – The limits of strong state economic intervention and the slow eclipse of the Chinese Communist Party
          – The political and trade impact of its isolation from TPP
          – etc

          People, the share market is a distraction.

    • Save NZ 9.6

      +1 Kevin

      It is is sheer lunacy for our government to put all our eggs in China. What we need to do, if we’re not doing it already, is diversify as much as possible and look for new emerging markets, especially those markets likely to take China’s place.

      I have an even more radical thought, maybe instead of exporting our raw materials, we use our food to feed our own country, and create jobs by processing items here.

      Instead of subsidising Serco and charter schools we use that money to set up (for example) plants to process wood, plants to process fish, plants to process wool into other products. Schemes for apprenticeships, schemes for builders to build cheap state houses etc Schemes to help IT and innovation locally.

      We try to lift wages and improve productivity.

      We actually charge the US to spy here, by an agreement for example to buy x amount of produce or pump x dollars into our economy. And they can’t spy or have others spy on Kiwis or do any mass surveillance. Purely for defence purposes, not economic or political spying.

      Less food/produce miles and a more guaranteed market. We use subsidies to create jobs.

      Soon however, we won’t own the land to farm here. Quality food and raw materials will go up as our food and materials is exported and the supply chain excludes NZ and goes directly offshore.

      • Colonial Rawshark 9.6.1

        this is the kind of out-of-the-box thinking NZ desperately needs. At the moment we are too focussed on how to best manage the mess of a system as it exists today. We need to change the game.

  10. vaughan little 10

    the jury’s out on how consumption will be impacted.

    investors numbered only “roughly” a hundred million, so arguably it won’t have a big effect on the wider economy.

    michael pettis suggests that the biggest effect might be from the hit to the government’s reputation. if people stop trusting that the state has a firm grip on the economy, that might have quite a consequential effect on confidence. link here:

    http://blog.mpettis.com/2015/07/interpreting-information-in-chinas-stock-markets/

  11. vto 11

    stampeding out of there and into Auckland before stampeding off somewhere else sometime later …..

  12. vaughan little 12

    From Ambrose Evans Pritchard over at the telegraph:

    “Western banks say they are coming under heavy pressure from Chinese officials to refrain from negative comments. They are effectively gagged if they wish to do business in China.”

  13. Clean_power 13

    Do not despair. Timing and patience are characteristics of any GOOD investor. So, sit tight until the moment comes to buy again.

    • McFlock 13.1

      The only people despairing are those who had money spare to gamble on the stockmarket. The establishment always has the odds stacked in its favour.

  14. Rolf 14

    If you like me live in China and work as a foreign correspondent, it looks different from inside. It is absolutely a non issue. OK, people speculated, the share market went up like a balloon, popped, and came down as a stone. Did anyone expect anything else? The Chinese say, you throw a stone in the air, at some point it returns to earth, while stupid foreigners stand there gawking and think it is strange. What did they expect, that it continue forever up? Share market and all speculation is a jojo business, it goes up, and come down. Some gamblers got burned, fine, hope they learn a lesson. Earlier people speculated in the residential home market, but the government put a firm end to that. So what about the residential speculation in New Zeeland, they have done nothing. Could that be because of the famous New Zeeland corruption, that the decision makers in parliament are just those who have most to gain from speculation? Just wonder how much John Key has made on his personal residential investment.

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    7 hours 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
    7 hours 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 ...
    8 hours 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
    9 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
    9 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
    12 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
    13 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
    13 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
    13 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
    14 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
    15 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
    17 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
    1 day 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
    2 days 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 ...
    2 days 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 ...
    2 days 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
    2 days 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
    2 days 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
    2 days 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
    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
  • 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    4 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
    4 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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 ...
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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 ...
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours 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
    11 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
    13 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
    13 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
    1 day 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
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