The Greek referendum

Written By: - Date published: 5:00 am, July 6th, 2015 - 302 comments
Categories: capitalism, Europe, Financial markets, International - Tags: ,

Greece referendum protest

(Photo from AFP)

By the time you read this the Greeks will have voted in a referendum on whether or not they should accept austerity.  The stakes are high.  Next week either they resign themselves to continuous austerity imposed hardship or they move into unchartered waters and give the bankers the middle finger.

Opinion polls suggest the result will be close.  Those with nothing to lose, the young and the poor will vote no, the middle and upper class will tend to vote yes.

Clearly the status quo is not acceptable.  Unemployment rates are at 25%, and youth unemployment rates are upwards of 60%.

Economists are split on what should happen.  Progressive economists such as Joseph Stiglitz, Paul Krugman, Thomas Piketty, and Jeffrey Sachs would vote no essentially because this is the only option if Greece is to have a future.  Others including 246 professors at economics schools and universities in Greece  have urged a yes vote, obviously because of their views on economic orthodoxy.

And the EU may have blinked and may have acknowledged that Greece should be allowed to break out of the straight jacket the EU has put it into.  From the Guardian:

After more than five months of eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation between Alexis Tsipras’s radical left-led government and Greece’s creditors, and with only hours to go before voting began, one of the most hawkish of the lenders appeared to blink. Germany’s finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, until now even more of a hardliner than his chancellor Angela Merkel, suddenly turned a more conciliatory face towards Athens.

Having previously insisted that a No vote on the lenders’ last terms would see their country forced out of the euro, Schäuble told the Bild newspaper that the choice before them on Sunday was between holding on to the euro and being “temporarily without it”.

It was far from clear what Schäuble had in mind, but economists have mooted the notion of a period in which Greece might go back to its national currency, the drachma, while its economy recovered.

Polls close at 4 am New Zealand time and results should start to come through from 6 am.

302 comments on “The Greek referendum ”

  1. Sable 1

    Give the bankster a-holes the boot Greece….

    • Chooky 1.1

      +100

    • Foreign waka 1.2

      The boot does not land with the bankers but with the population of the wider European Union. We are talking about those countries who have taken millions (! in true numbers) of refugees – economic or otherwise, have given ALL of them shelter, clothes and food on a continued basis. They are also the one being now in debt for it, inclusive of the money they gave as a loan to Greece. This is the same money that is needed to keep payment of increasing social bills happening.
      Meanwhile, no one mentioned the 10% very rich who have brought their fortune into save heaven (Swiss, Luxembourg, etc) over the last 5 years. Tax free of cause and ample time provided to do just that. Everybody in Europe and many outside it (except the ones being hoodwinked by the media) know about this.
      How naive! The whole of Europe will stand up as they are not able to foot the bill on any default, the increasing unrest is already visible. Lets hope this is not another great war in the making.

      • This sort of problem is exactly what Europe signed up to handle with wider entry into the Euro. If Europe is not committed to keeping Greece in after they democratically rejected the (objectively unreasonable and stupid) creditors’ proposals, then they are fundamentally giving up on the idea of a shared currency.

        Not to mention the proposed cuts might allow short-term payments but will tank Greece’s economy in the medium and long term, just like every other measure proposed with the “help” of the IMF.

        If you believe in keynesianism, solidarity, or even just shared regional currencies like the Euro, you should be cheering that Europe doesn’t try to kick greece out after this vote. And regardless of what you think of the decision, if you believe in democracy, you should respect that Greece has made its decision and that now it’s a matter of whether the bankers adopt a reasonable compromise that doesn’t throw greece into a nationwide austerity-induced debtor’s prison, like the IMF has been doing to less developed countries for decades.

  2. just saying 2

    http://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2015/jul/05/greeces-eurozone-future-in-the-balance-as-referendum-gets-under-way–eu-euro-bailout-live

    Updated above. The “no” vote is now predicted to win by a landslide.

    Restoring my faith in human nature.

  3. Sirenia 3

    Sort of appropriate that Greece is leading the way on democracy.

  4. BM 4

    That’s it for Greece.

    Expect emigration to rise sharply.

    • Paul 4.1

      Oh it’s BM, here to derail another thread………….

      • BM 4.1.1

        You don’t think the 30-40% of the population who voted Yes can’t see the writing on the wall?

        As said above the ones who voted Yes, would be the most intelligent and wealthy of the Greek population, I doubt they’re going to hang around.

        • Matthew Hooton 4.1.1.1

          It won’t be too long before they are forced to introduce exit visas. Syriza will be forced to take Greece down a totalitarian path. It’s what always happens when countries follow this type of economic “thinking”.

          • just saying 4.1.1.1.1

            You mean the wealthy might have some of their “rights” curtailed?
            Like the poor have been prgressively disempowered and disenfranchised by the rich these past 30 years. Never heard you complaining about that – or calling it “authoritarian”.

          • te reo putake 4.1.1.1.2

            Preview of coming attractions, Matthew? I take it this is the line you’ll be using on Nine to noon. Any thoughts on the people of a country democratically choosing to tell neo-liberalism to go fuck itself?

            • Wayne 4.1.1.1.2.1

              the roe uptake

              Of course the Greek people can vote for to end “neo-liberalism” and introduce Greek socialism. But they can’t vote to force other countries to lend to them.

              Greece could easily become the Venezuela of Europe. A charismatic leader winning successive votes, except of course Greece does not have oil. So it might be harder for Tsipras to emulate Chavez in giving good things to his supporters. If Tsipras fails to force the Eurolenders to bend to his will, Greece is going to have introduce a new (perhaps parallel) currency.

              While that might be good for Greece in the medium term, it will be painful in the short term. An effective devaluation of perhaps 50% is going to make all imports much dearer. If too much of the new currency is issued, there will be inflation, and if they mess the whole thing up it could even mean hyper inflation.

              In short no easy choices.

              I guess the Greeks are hoping the Tsipras is as good as his word. That he will get a better deal from the Eurolenders, that they will led more money on easier conditions and that they will also write off a good chunk of the existing debt. Just writing this paragraph makes me think this is not likely. Unless of course you think Merkel will be just putty in Tsipras hands. Maybe she will be.

              • mickysavage

                Wayne why should the world bail out merchant banks but not countries?

                  • Pascals bookie

                    And yet, it does. Let’s not forget that the abnks who originally owned the Greek debt had it balied out by taxpayers. Those govts who took on that unsustainable debt were then re-elected.

                  • Generally countries are larger collections of people than banks. If we’re bailing out banks we should DEFINITELY be bailing out countries.

                • Wayne

                  micky savage,

                  Well, that is exactly what the Eurolenders have been doing. Continuing to lend Greece more money over the last three years. That is why the Greek debt has been increasing. And if there is a new deal the Eurolenders will continue to do so.

                  But as with merchants banks, lending is not indefinite. Some banks do not get further advances and go to the wall, i.e. become bankrupt and are liquidated. And Greece could easily do so as well.

                  Countries, of course are never wound up, they merely default and are cut out of international debts markets for a few years. Like Argentina, which despite protestations of the Left, is hardly a success story.

                  Countries, being the collectivity of millions of people, are perfectly capable of making bad choices, just as individuals can do so. Argentina has been doing that for decades, mostly due to the voting choices people have made, which why Argentina is in the state that it is.

                  • Olwyn

                    Countries, being the collectivity of millions of people, are perfectly capable of making bad choices, just as individuals can do so. Argentina has been doing that for decades, mostly due to the voting choices people have made, which why Argentina is in the state that it is.

                    Do you ever ask yourself why countries make choices that you consider to be bad? The system to which you subscribe has long since given up promising a better life all round – merely a tedious manta of ‘musts’ – sell your assets, cut taxes, cut spending, stifle the unions and dismantle your manufacturing. It should not surprise you that those harmed by this sort of thing will vote against it if they have the chance. Pockets of disquiet are popping up all around this system – the Scottish Nationalist support, the growing support for Bernie Sanders, the increasing support for Jeremy Corbyn’s bid for the UKLP leadership, and of course the Greek “no” vote. Neo-liberalism, understood in the above manner, has not succeeded in establishing itself as “just the way the world is.”

                  • Pascals bookie

                    How much of that extra lending has been going on debt servicing?

                    As far as I can make out, pretty much everyone from the IMF down agrees that the only way forward is debt relief, ie, that the debt load is simply too high, and that sticking with it will only make the situation worse. the debt to GDP ratio has blown out mostly because the economy has shrunk so drastically following the reform demands, which have largely been followed.

                    If the EU genuinely wants to carry n with its long term project, then they need to, at crisis points, act in ways that signal commitment to the EU project. But instead the core EU shows it only really wants the benefits of the EU. Germany enjoys the lower rates the Euro affords it compared to the DM, but pretends there is no benefit to Germany from having the Euro periphery locked in.

                    There is hypocrisy all around to be sure, but this myth that it’s all just Greek fecklessness is some bullshit Wayne, and I’m sure you’re aware of it.

                    • RedLogix

                      Exactly. The current Euro policy is really no more sophisticated than the old idea of debtors prison.

                    • RedLogix

                      Incidentally here’s Steven Keen’s take on the outcome.
                      (Since moving to Kingston University in London Keen’s gained a rapid profile in Europe and seem to be doing very well.)

                      So now it’s time for Syriza to return the hardball tactics that the Troika has thrown at them. Go back to the meeting with a plan for debt restructuring—and a significant one. Include not only the restructuring that the IMF admitted last week is needed, but also a write-off of the 20% of the debt that effectively represents the failure of the Troika’s program. Submit a budget with a 3% deficit as allowed by the Maatricht Treaty (the Treaty also insists on a maximum government debt ratio of 60% of GDP, but even Germany breaches that with a ratio of about 75% of GDP). A 3% primary budget deficit would provide a huge stimulus to the Greek economy, and end the Great Depression the Troika’s failed austerity program has caused.

                      If the Troika still refuses to negotiate, to compromise on its own failed program, then Syriza should threaten total default—a move that would send shock waves through Europe while simultaneously taking a major burden off the Greek economy. That would then present the Troika with a choice: what are you more committed to? Austerity, or the Euro?

                      http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevekeen/2015/07/05/time-to-play-hardball-yanis/

                    • Gosman

                      Ummm… if they default with a 3 % planned deficit how will they fund this deficit given they can’t borrow or print Euro’s?

                    • RedLogix

                      The point of Keen’s proposal is that it still fits within the Euro rules. Persist with a failed austerity program, or admit the Euro project is dead. Pick a lane.

                      Of course the Russians may well be happy to help …

                    • maui

                      Gosman, the Greeks can print Euros – they have their own 10 Euro note printing press. But it’s more likely they will issue IOU’s to cover the next wee while.

                    • Keen is appropriately named. His advice is good and Greece’s only real move here is to go guns-blazing and say that austerity has failed, has been rejected, and now measures need to be taken to alleviate the debt that will actually help Greece’s economy, and that will include some degree of debt forgiveness, or a default will be inevitable.

              • Lanthanide

                “and that they will also write off a good chunk of the existing debt.”

                The IMF already published a report saying that even if Greece agreed to all of the terms and conditions they’re proposing, by 2050 the debt level will still be unsustainable, and as such there is no other option but to give them debt relief.

                The debt will never be repaid, it’s only a matter of whether the lenders write that down in their copy-books now, or later, and whether they accept the ramifications of that now, or later.

              • Wayne

                te reo putake
                Apologies for wrong name. An auto correct function I think.

              • Tracey

                Of course like many lenders who see that they aren’t going to be repaid $1 for $1 some might choose a much lesser pay back just to get something. Which could see a division amongst the lenders…

                These lenders might not lend any more but, like Donald Trump has shown us, there is always someone lining up to lend to a financial basket case.

            • Matthew Hooton 4.1.1.1.2.2

              People can vote anyway they like, and try to build an economy where people won’t work nor pay tax. It will be an interesting experiment.

              • They’ve already tried that system, Matthew, and that’s why they’re in the poo. The Greek bourgeoisie have been used to not contributing for so long that the country is on the verge of financial collapse. I have faith that the majority can reverse that mindset.

                • DoublePlusGood

                  Hopefully New Zealander’s learn the lesson that we can’t afford have people like BM, Matthew Hooton and Wayne Mapp not contributing to the economy…

              • linda

                Its the wealthy who don’t pay taxes workers have no choice are all those off shore bank accounts some sort of left wing conspiracy theory

                • Naki man

                  “Its the wealthy who don’t pay taxes workers have no choice are all those off shore bank accounts some sort of left wing conspiracy theory”

                  Its not just the wealthy who are not paying taxes, have you never heard of working under the table. Very few are paying tax. There were 40,000 people fraudulently collecting pensions often for dead relatives and that is just one of the many scams going on there.
                  Greece is screwed and they only have themselves to blame.

                  • Tracey

                    “There were 40,000 people fraudulently collecting pensions often for dead relatives and that is just one of the many scams going on there.”

                    date for your source?

                    • Tracey

                      good one Bob… seems they clamped down on it though from 2012, and the conservative governments running the show knew about i before that and didn’t stop it…

                      WAIT A MINUTE!!!!

                      That can’t be they would have chased it down, closed the loopholes, like any good capitalist government, wouldn’t they Bob????

                    • Bob

                      Tracey, Naki Man said “Greece is screwed and they only have themselves to blame” he also gave you an example of how, you got snarky and showed an inability to use Google so I helped you out.
                      I don’t give a shit if it was a conservative, socialist, Marxist or a communist party in charge at the time.
                      But to answer your question “That can’t be they would have chased it down, closed the loopholes, like any good capitalist government, wouldn’t they Bob????” You’re right, any good capitalist government would crack down on benefit fraud, to the howls of “bene-bashing” from those on the left, go figure.

              • dv

                How much tax did Onassis and the shipping lines pay?

              • Pat

                and the lies continue ad nauseam

          • BM 4.1.1.1.3

            Yeah I agree, they’ll start locking it down pretty soon.
            The window of opportunity to flee won’t be long.

            That’s one advantage about being in EU, it’s all rather easy to go live somewhere else.

          • dukeofurl 4.1.1.1.4

            Totalitarian state ?

            Of course, that Icelandic prison state tells it all. Capital controls for 5 years means no can leave ( with their money).

            What it isnt ? Tell me it aint true !

            or is this Hootons biggest fail since …. since I he said Bill English was only borrowing $500 mill this year instead of over $6 bill.

          • Paul 4.1.1.1.5

            Shill for the 1%

          • half crown 4.1.1.1.6

            @8.23 Hooton said

            “It won’t be too long before they are forced to introduce exit visas. Syriza will be forced to take Greece down a totalitarian path. It’s what always happens when countries follow this type of economic “thinking”.”

            You mean like the Ukraine. The right have done wonders there haven’t they
            /sarc

            I would not be at all surprised if there was a coup in Greece organised by the right, CIA and the bankers just like the Ukraine, and earlier on Chile. If there is, no doubt it could be another Pinochet led Chile type of coup. We all know the type of exit visa’s that bit of filth gave, thrown out of the door of a helicopter at 2000 ft over the Pacific…
            The world is still suffering from Pinochet’s economic “thinking” when he gave oxygen to that prat Friedman from the Chicago Business school.

            If there is a coup I feel will be like the one in Chile as the conditions are very similar. Allende was a popular socialist democratically elected and when he came to power inflation was at 30% unemployment was at 20% and about 50% of children under the age of 15 were suffering from malnutrition. To try and resolve some of these problems, he nationalised the copper industry and the banks, That went down like a lead balloon, Pinochet aided and abetted by the right and the CIA forced a coup, Later on he was helped by Thatcher, as he conducted a war on the unions. The sort of thing Thatcher had orgasms over

            http://spartacus-educational.com/COLDchile.htm

          • Kevin 4.1.1.1.7

            Or Greece could be playing poker in the hopes that they will be offered a better deal. Although even if they are I doubt they will be offered anything better.

            • fisiani 4.1.1.1.7.1

              Poor poker player.
              Merkel is not bluffing
              Greeks with liquid assets will fill planes.
              The government has no money for state servants or for pensioners.
              Unemployment could double.
              The poor will suffer most due to the stupidity of Syriza.

              • They’ve been suffering for five years under austerity. Today they decided they’ve got nothing to lose, so they’ve gone all in. Merkel’s the one with the tricky hand, now. Syriza called her bluff and now she and her neo lib mates are going to have to decide whether they fold or risk losing more on the next deal.

                (How’s that for a poker based argument?)

                • Foreign waka

                  trp – you are reading the situation completely wrong. Merkel is under enormous pressure from the people in Europe as they face already millions of refugees that must be fed and housed. Who is going to pay for that?
                  It was Tsipras who played poker and it will be Greece which will pay the price because Europe has no money left – they are indebted up to the eyebrows. Wait and see, you might witness history repeating itself.
                  BTW – NZ would never allow a 20% increase of the population and then having to pay for food and shelter. Just think about what would happen here and what is under the surface stirring in Europe right now.

                  • Actual illegal immigration to Europe is a tiny percentage of Europe’s current population. Not 20%. Not 10%. Not even 1%. And most of them pay for themselves by working. So, nah, Merkel’s under no pressure on that front.

                    • Foreign waka

                      The amount of people moving into Europe is now so great that it effectively destabilizes the continent in its financial and societal coherency.
                      Western Europes population: 379.5 million, that includes
                      Immigrants since 2013:
                      Germany: 9.8 Mil or 11.9% of their population
                      United Kingdom: 7.8 Mil or 11.6% of their population
                      France: 7.4 Mil or 11.6% of their population
                      Spain: 13.8% of their population
                      Sweden: 21% of their population
                      Norway: 15.6% of their population
                      Denmark: 11.6% of their population
                      Italy: 8.2% of their population

                      In July alone, 1300 illegal immigrants have crossed the alps and lets not forget the ones that try by boat or truck. There is an estimate of 400,000 illegal immigrants being smuggled every year into Europe.
                      My word, your comment is as distant to the reality as NZ is from Europe.

                  • Europe faces the problem of dealing with these people whether they migrate out of Greece to the rest of the EU or not. The only way to avoid the problem is to admit that the EU is a failed system and kick Greece out, which they are VERY unlikely to try and do, because then they will face an exodus from other countries and the EU will at best be left with its core members, a less desirable economy situation than actually dealing with the problem of how to help Greece. If they restrict movement from Greece, then they admit that freedom of movement is a failure. If they force Greece to exit the Euro, they admit a shared currency is a failure. There is LITERALLY no way for Europe to solve this problem while still fundamentally remaining the EU as it currently is, other than trying to get Greece out of debt. They claim to have been trying the last three years by forcing austerity on Greece. We all see how poorly that’s worked out.

                    Best thing to do here would be to actually take constructive measures to help Greece with its corruption problems, institute rules that stop the wealthy from tax-dodging, and actually support the people through the economic recovery. But good luck convincing a bunch of right-wing politicians and bankers to go for that!

                    • Foreign waka

                      Your last paragraph shows that there is not much understanding of the situation. The tax dodging is known for years and when tax was to be collected, the rich just took off and took their wealth with them. They had 5 years reprieve to do so, and everybody in Europe knows that.
                      As for immigration, these are from the middle east and Africa mostly.
                      There are Burroughs in Britain that are entirely claimed by people from the middle east and no white person is allowed to cross (at their own risk as some found out).
                      The ghettoisation of people never has had a good outcome.

                      Talking about Europe – it is not the USA- for a starter.
                      Firstly, there are 28 nations and languages, cultures – each of them look back of a few thousand years development.
                      Secondly, the history that has left its own scars still does play a role and is not the “glue” that will bind anything.
                      Thirdly, most have tried for quite some years now to make a go of it and all that came out of it was that most are worst off, the change to the EURO inflicted in some countries double digit inflation figures.
                      Last but not least, Greece will not be the only country leaving the EURO ZONE. Even if the reasons are different.
                      You seem to forget that with the joining of the Euro zone the nations have given away their sovereignty and are basically financially ruled by Brussels. There are demands that makes one eye water. And the worker has to pay.
                      Here in NZ people march on the street protesting against the TTPA – well this is no different, only people did not vote for it.
                      So my prediction is, another 3 nations will leave in the next year.

                    • You seem to be reading a very different post from the one I made, and trying to educate me about things about Europe I already know.

                  • Tracey

                    and yet, she says the door is open… which is odd given so many predictions the loan door would be slammed and Greece trhown out of EU by now.

              • McFlock

                interesting prediction, fizz-bang: Greece defaults, no debt relief, leaves the euro, 50% unemployment across the board (~100% for youth), capital flight of the parasites, EU destabilised as the nations it’s been picking up for 20 years see the downside of membership and start to rethink their allegiences…

                Still, even then it’s better than being run by tories, or so the Greeks think.

                • fisiani

                  Greece will have to learn the price of not getting all workers and traders to pay tax. It will mean massive unemployment and a Greek diaspora of youth, I feel sorry for them as they will be made an example of to discourage other countries from following their financial suicide path.

                  • McFlock

                    cry your crocodile tears as you pray for validation of your corrupt and evil economic faith, fisi.

                    Because if your prediction is wrong, Greece joins Iceland as an example that there IS an alternative to neoliberalism.

                    • David

                      Iceland is a completely neoliberal economy and doesn’t have a faction of Greece’s problems. The Greek’s have voted for abject poverty, rather than a decade of pain. Outside the Euro their GDP will collapse.

                    • McFlock

                      completely neoliberal? Have they sold the bank they nationalised yet?

                      As for the “decade of pain”, even with the IMF requirements were the greeks looking to have the monkey of their back by 2025? What about 2050?

                      If you’re gonna spend a lifetime in abject poverty either way, you might as well own the country. That way you can run it with autonomy, and if you run it well then you keep the dividends.

                  • I like that to you this is about ordinary people not having to pay taxes, rather than corruption in government, bank-imposed austerity and tax-dodging by millionaires. What a brilliantly fictional world you live in, Fisi.

                  • Tracey

                    Given your understanding of this crisis, how long was it going to take (under the plans whereby Greece made its payments) for unemployment to stop rising and a reduction in the 35% increase in suicides in Greece?

                    http://www.cnbc.com/id/102395651 (data not collected from 2012 by these researchers)

                    http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/21/austerity-greece-male-suicides-spending-cuts

                • Tracey

                  his predictions are reliable though McFlock

                  this one is quite funny in hindsight

                  http://thestandard.org.nz/dollar-parity/#comment-996728

              • Tracey

                psychological tsunami fisiani, it’s a psychological tsunami.

                This notion some of you have that Greeks haven’t already been leaving if they can find work elsewhere and that the poor aren’t suffering under austerity beggars belief, unless you all have only just tuned in and are basing your “opinions” on some sound bites?

                merkel has said today the door is still open which is odd cos apparently Greece were to be thrown out of the EU and the loan door slammed by now…

                unemployment has already skyrocketted under austerity measures…

                The poor may well CONTINUE to suffer but continuing to repay billion dollar debts which sees money leave the greek economy is ridiculous as a solution. Even the NZ Institute can see that. That doyen of Socialism in NZ.

                Still, I am repeating myself. There is no “right” answer to this mess, no matter what you think, it is still only an opinion and economists and others are divided.

          • kenny 4.1.1.1.8

            So the troika have not been taking a totalitarian path over the last 5 years Matthew? Just like all bullies they don’t like it when someone stands up to them.

          • urchin 4.1.1.1.9

            Matthew,so you are happy for Greece and countries like ours to accept financial dominance of our sovereignty by us capitulating to the requests from organizations like the I.M.F. who!s interests lay with the Banking moguls profit and their protection of their dominant way of profit exploitation usury for their meglomaniac control of selfish need,with the known but unspoken caveat,don!t look, lean, or turn left..Or like the other piece on the board the corporation and its feudal dominance,give us this tax incentives or tax money ponyied up if you wish for us to invest.

            Well you have to accept Matthew,that the people can only take so much talked about prosperity for all if we only believe as the market and their paid lackey!s keep talking it up.

        • te reo putake 4.1.1.2

          I don’t think you should use intelligent and wealthy in the same sentence, BM. As we learned from Puddles Hooper over the weekend, the terms aren’t synonymous. And if the bludger class wants to take their loot and flee, well, so what? Greece would be better off without the people who got them in the shit in the first place. And there’s plenty of ambitious, brave immigrants entering Greece every day on little boats to take their place.

        • Tracey 4.1.1.3

          you dont think those who can get jobs elsewhere have already left? Cos they have.

      • Kevin 4.1.2

        Oh look it’s another standardista who can’t handle dissenting opinion …

        • Paul 4.1.2.1

          It’s not the dissenting that makes me comment.
          It’s the nuisance value.
          You and BM are here simply to derail.

        • half crown 4.1.2.2

          I don’t think so, I think TRP was pointing out too many think that intelligence does go with wealth or the other way round. Whatever.

        • gnomic 4.1.2.3

          Clear off you egg. What is objectionable are rightist trolls who spout nonsense and sneer at the left on the basis of some supposed intellectual superiority.

  5. just saying 5

    Interesting figures.

    I reckon it is about 30 percent of New Zealanders that have a strong vested interest in inequality. That number will decline somewhat over time, but it is a rough approximation of the numbers who have so-far benefited from neoliberalism, (some through their spouses and/or parents) and enjoyed the fruits of wealth and power being systematically stripped away from the majority.

    I realise that there will have been many wealthy people who voted “no” in Greece but they were probably slightly over-balanced by those voting against their own best interests – 15 percent aspirational or toadying idiocy.

    (edited to make sense)

  6. Clean_power 6

    Syriza and Mr Tsipras have no alternative now: they must deliver on their election promises of getting better terms from the lenders.

    Unfortunately, the radical demagogues will fail and the Greek people will pay the heavy price. They voted No, and will have to live with the consequences: financial ruin.

    • Morrissey 6.1

      You sound angry—nearly as angry as poor old Oliver Hartwich from the right wing pressure group New Zealand Initiative.

      Democracy: you’ve got to hate it.

      • Paul 6.1.1

        It’s interesting how all these right wing trolls hate democracy so much.
        Must all be harking back to their Fascist roots in the 30s.

        • Gosman 6.1.1.1

          You can’t vote for other nations to give you money and expect they will respect your ‘democratic’ decision. That is nonsensical. They can vote to leave the Eurozone and set up their own currency. That is not what they were voting for though and is why the referendum is a mockery.

      • Clean_power 6.1.2

        Not angry at all. Just pointing out thet the Greeks have chosen self-immolation. Let’s them have it.

    • Kevin 6.2

      Thing is how is Greece going to come up with the money now? At least the bailout would have given them a chance to start rebuilding their economy.

      • adam 6.2.1

        Well done kevin, I think you take the the cake for most stupid comment by a Tory today.

        And look who you beat out – almost all the Tory apologist are on the standard today. All we need is Cathy honest Odgers, and we’d have the band back together.

    • DoublePlusGood 6.3

      Hmm, financial ruin or financial ruin? I’d take the financial ruin that still leaves me with some control of my own affairs over being run as cattle for EU vampires every time.

  7. Stuart Munro 7

    There were no good options for Greece – it will be hard whatever happens. But – rolling over to neo-liberal orthodoxy would only have briefly deferred Greece’s default. And – if Europe breaks Greece, Germany’s finance packages for submarines will fall with them. The Greek PM was wise to seek a popular mandate – something our troughing tyrant would avoid like the plague because his mandate was limited to improving our situation, and he has only plunged us into debt and misery.

    • Gosman 7.1

      The Greeks will be forced to undergo a form of Austerity regardless of their decision in the referendum. Leaving the Eurozone will mean their banks will collapse and the Government will be forced to impose even stricter capital controls and then start printing their own currency which will cause inflation and make everyone poorer in comparison.

      • Stuart Munro 7.1.1

        Yes, but staying means being forced to adopt the failed neo-liberal policies which punish but do not enliven the shrinking economy.

        Better to go it alone and cope with depression than fight both depression and crazed Friedmanite economic saboteurs at the same time.

  8. Clean_power 8

    It has the hallmarks of Sparta all over it. Ah, the idealistic radical Greeks are going to plunge their country into a catastrophe.

    • Kiwiri 8.1

      Of course, as you might know the Greek dramatic structure and sequence, catastrophe follows after protasis and epitasis (or you can include prelude and catastasis in there), and leads into conflicts being resolved.

    • maui 8.2

      The country is not already in crisis? Ah, those comfortable middle-class greeks just decided to torpedo their own economy just for the hell of it. Damn, why did they vote in this radical leadership and why are they still listening to them…

    • McFlock 8.3

      The hallmarks of Sparta?
      What, you mean the 10% of the population in control periodically “declaring war” on the 90% of them that does the actual work in the fields?

      Tend to agree – the problems remain, even if the methods differ. At least this time the helots have kicked their overlords in the nuts.

    • Tracey 8.4

      “plunge their country into a catastrophe.”

      I know this is very hard for many who think Greece should have voted yes to grasp, but

      GREECE IS ALREADY IN A CATASTROPHE

      This vote is about some people saying the last 5 years haven’t worked for Greece, unemployment rising and rising and rising…

      So, let’s try another way out of this disaster.

      I know it’s a complex notion, but, please, try.

      • Gosman 8.4.1

        Pray tell where is Greece going to find the money to try another way? They seem reluctant to reform their tax system in any meaningful way and even if the repudiated 100% of their debts the damage infliicted on their economy by the hamfisted way Syriza has managed things to date means that they will require external support just to maintain the level of spending they have at the moment.

        • Tracey 8.4.1.1

          Pray tell how did Trump go bankrupt 4 different times…. unless there were people greedy enough to hope that this time he wouldn’t throw their money down a toilet. And now he is running for President.

          Well, Gosman under austerity unemployment has skyrocketted, how long do you think ti was going to take to work, on paper?

          • Gosman 8.4.1.1.1

            It is quaint you think that a specific law in the US enabling people to declare bankruptcy protection is somehow applicable to a nation state like Greece.

            My position is that Greece has never really followed a proper austerity regime. They have attempted to resolve their structural problems by increasing taxes more than they have cut their spending. This is not generally regarded as the best approach. But perhaps you can advise where they can get extra funds to avoid the cuts they look likely to have to make.

            • Tracey 8.4.1.1.1.1

              i thin it is quaint that you so easily dismiss the parallels to avoid having to address what was then asked of you

              “Well, Gosman under austerity unemployment has skyrocketted, how long do you think ti was going to take to work, on paper?”

              “a proper austerity regime. They have attempted to resolve their structural problems by increasing taxes more than ”

              Both involve living beyond your means on other people’s money and finding someone stpuid enough to keep lending to them in the future.

              Please lay out your proper austerity scheme, that has time-lines til it works, your measurement for defining “working”, what tax structures they should have introduced and so on,. When you have laid that all out I will answer your question..

              Perhaps Greece should have given more tax cuts to the top earners, that was English’s economic answer to our recession.

              FOG

              • Gosman

                English hardly cut taxes at all. However even if he did that is a standard Keynesian approach to combating a recession so I’m not sure why you would object. Greece should have raised taxes but they should have cut spending more. That is what is generally regarded as the best structural approach to getting government finances back in shape. The Greeks can’t seem to get enough of big government it seems though.

                • dukeofurl

                  “hardly cut taxes at all ”

                  “Across the board personal tax cuts worth $14.3 billion over four years” is what he said at the time

                  plus the cuts to company tax rate. another $1.2 bill

                  All up it was a $17.5 bill of tax cuts over 4 years

                • Richard Christie

                  English hardly cut taxes at all.

                  Gosman gets it right from one perspective.

                  For those on middle and low incomes he sure as hell hardly cut income taxes by a meaningful amount, but equally surely knifed them with the subsequent GST increase.

        • Pat 8.4.1.2

          pray tell how does an economy restructure when in freefall?….where does the funding for new systems, training et all come from when every last euro and then some is being siphoned off to save euro banks that made the unwise loans in the first instance…..there was neither funds nor time given for the demanded reforms…..and that was before Syriza was elected FFS.

  9. AsleepWhileWalking 9

    Shoddy reporting incorrectly stating the their membership of the EU hangs by a thread.

    The fact is that leaving the EU requires unanimous vote by ALL member countries including Greece itself. Either way this looks like a fresh start for Greece which may eventually lead to more prosperity, the break up of NATO, and a stronger allegiance with Russia and China.

    In other news…just over 260K Austrians have signed a petition (threshold is 100K) for a referendum to be held as they wish to exit the EU. What’s that cracking sound?

    • Tracey 9.1

      My understanding is the only way for way country to exit is that it must ask to leave, not through other countries voting.

      • I did read somewhere on the weekend that there is no clear mechanism to remove a country. Apparently the writers of the constitution never considered the possibility that the issue would ever come up.

        • Tracey 9.1.1.1

          Yup, the ONLY mechanism is a country deciding it wants to leave

          • adam 9.1.1.1.1

            So the Greeks are just a bit smarter than the Tory scum commenting on here would like us to believe.

            Mind you what’s new – when you get the whole gaggle swooping in – your know they are worried.

  10. Oxi, Oxi, Oxi, The Greek Voted No, What’s Next?

    John Key made his fortune selling crap financial products to unsuspecting pension funds and sovereign wealth funds. One of the side effects was the enslavement of countries such as Greece and Ireland and of course the multitude of third world countries. With $ 112 Billion and counting of derivatives and about $ 95 billion of debt on New Zealand’s books we are heading that way too. Here is some information you might want to share with your farming and National voting mates!

    This is about educating ourselves so we may face our future a bit more informed when the bankers try to extract their pound of flesh!

    You might also want to read up on what Iceland is doing to their bankers.

    A good alternative to bending over and letting ourselves be ravaged by the likes of John Key and his mates! I say!

  11. weka 11

    Anyone know what the turnout was?

    • The only figure I’ve seen was 80%, weka. Given the intensity of the debate, I guess it was always going to be high. Key’s flag referendum … maybe not so much.

      • Tracey 11.1.1

        I heard on RT it was 50%.

        But remember some may have been opting out cos they are so pissed off that they have been failed they don’t trust any politicians.

    • Kiwiri 11.2

      as at Greece local time 1:15am, 6 Jul 2015

      Registered 9.383.870
      Reporting 95,40 %
      Voted 62,49 %
      Invalid/Blank 5,79 %

      Yes: 61,31 %
      No: 38,69 %

      source: from the link I pointed out above at #2.1

      i’ve reproduced the decimal comma as used in continental Europe.

      (i guessed, with their notation, the ‘Registered’ figure indicates there were 9,406,166 people who were registered. note that first time 18yo voters can participate in this referendum, unlike at the January 2015 election called by the conservative right-wing when the 18yos were excluded due to so-called bureaucratic reason)

    • Olwyn 11.3

      A total of 6.16 million Greeks voted in Sunday’s referendum, or 62.5 percent of eligible voters. The poll needed a minimum 40 percent turnout to be valid.

      http://news.yahoo.com/latest-greece-polls-open-bailout-referendum-040638552.html#

      • weka 11.3.1

        thanks everyone, it’s does seem to be in the 62.5%, which strikes me as low* and I’m curious now who was voting and who wasn’t.

        *maybe not outside of a general election.

  12. Chooky 12

    Support for the Greeks and their sovereignty and liberty against the corporate banksters across Europe is wide-ranging …from the socialists to the right wing

    ‘Monstrous democratic slap to EU’: Le Pen hails Greek anti-austerity party victory’

    http://rt.com/news/226199-france-greece-elections-lepen/

    “….The Greek election debate is one of freedom, she believes.
    “Do we want to be free? With the European Union, we are not… Neither our immigration policy, nor our monetary policy or agriculture.”
    Sunday’s elections in Greece are “opening the trial of the ‘euro-austerity’,” according to Le Pen.
    “When we try to avoid democracy, the boomerang always returns with increased speed.”….
    “There is a fracturing in Europe, which is seeing the people taking power against the totalitarianism of the European Union and their accomplices, the financial markets,” she added.
    Le Pen’s father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, who led the National Front party from its foundation in 1972 until 2011, welcomed “the defeat of the European Union in Athens.”

    Syriza’s win was welcomed by France’s Socialist party, several MPs from which protested France’s President Francois Hollande anti-austerity policies last year.
    “The victory of a party on the left is always good news for the Socialist party in France,” said First Secretary Jean-Christophe Cambadélis.
    Jean-Luc Melenchon, France’s most prominent far-left politician described Syriza’s success as “pure happiness.”

    • Kiwiri 12.1

      I’d personally be circumspect and cautious when quoting Marine Le Pen who is of the far-right and has Farage-like aims that would see the failure of the socio-political European project.

      At no point has Syriza or Tsipras indicated they want the break-up of that project and indeed, Varoufakis has said they will consider an injunction if there are moves to push Greece from the euro.

      • Chooky 12.1.1

        my statement is not endorsing Le Pen or the far right …but stating a fact ….that the Greeks have wide support in Europe across the political spectrum, from hard right to hard left…interesting! ( incidentally they also have support from many left wing Germans)

  13. ianmac 13

    Greece is highly indebted and disaster strikes. On a different plane but isn’t NZ also highly indebted?

    • Paul 14.1

      Funny how the Tory trolls despise democracy so much and just love the banksters.
      Oh, and btw, using the Daily Mail as a source is hardly a recommendation. Did you know the Daily Mail was an ardent supporter of Hitler?

      • Morrissey 14.1.1

        He neither knows nor cares, Paul. Reading and reflection are clearly not on his agenda.

      • Gosman 14.1.2

        You can’t vote for other people to give you more money and expect them to agree.

        • adam 14.1.2.1

          So if you have a policy of no more asset sales – then start selling assets????

    • greywarshark 14.2

      I remember hearing how one of the USA presidents had employed such good lawyers and accountants that he had managed to avoid paying any income tax one year.

    • Big Al 14.3

      You could also google “Greek for a week” – a UK TV4 doco (about 45 mins) shot in 2012, highlighting the differences between working in UK (and rest of Europe) and working in Greece. No wonder the EU powers want Greece to restructure their modus operandi.

      • Tracey 14.3.1

        you are aware that the greeks HAVE implemented austerity measures and fraud clamping measures for over 4 years, right?

        • Gosman 14.3.1.1

          The point is that they really haven’t implemented any meaningful structural changes to their economy at all. Certainly their tax system is as arcane as it ever was.

        • Foreign waka 14.3.1.2

          Tracey, over the last 5 years the very rich have siphoned all their money out of the country – what is left are middle class and poor people. Since I know the Greek people very well, they will have “found ways” to make live easier. The point is though that everybody tries to get out of paying their taxes. Which they did, and the government has borrowed to make up for the lack of tax take. This is where it is at. Given that the mentality wont change, the problems will not go away. Europe as a whole, inclusive of Britain have their own issues with the millions and millions of economic and political refugees. There is no housing left and debts are piling up to feed these people. Just wait a while longer and Greece will be a faint memory of what is about to come.

          • Tracey 14.3.1.2.1

            Foreign waka

            I also know some Greek people and to stereotypically put them all in a single boat is fruitless.

            I, and no one I know, is suggesting that voting no casts a magical spell over the situation and everything will be fine in the morning. It is also patronising to the nth degree for anyone to suggest the greeks all think they will wake up their Monday and everything will be tikkety Boo.

            As for the alternative of continued and stronger austerity, well “Just wait a while longer and Greece will be a faint memory of what is about to come.”

            In the country where I live lots of people pay for their building work and maintenance and anything they can with cash … so they save the sales tax, and the tradie doesn’t have to pay any tax at his/her end. People who earn middle to high income form trusts and companies to reduce their tax.

            • Foreign waka 14.3.1.2.1.1

              Tracy, your last paragraph is called tax avoidance and you surely do not want to say that there is one law for one people and another one for others? Are you? Because this would point to a truly corrupt society.

              And talking about Greece, I lived there for a while so I think I know what I am saying.

              BTW – all of Europe is/will be on the same Austerity diet as the millions of refugees moving there need to be fed and housed. Europe will not be just “taking another one for the team” again. The unrest is already widespread and it is just a matter of time until the European Union dismantles by default. Austria just had a petition put to parliament to vote on the very issue. Hungary wants to build a wall (!) and separate itself completely. England wants to get out too. But none of those countries expect someone else to pay for their living cost.

      • Naki man 14.3.2

        ‘You could also google “Greek for a week” – a UK TV4 doco (about 45 mins) shot in 2012″

        Thanks, excellent Doco

        • Iron Hoof 14.3.2.1

          Cupcake likes to watch people suffering and offer commentary on what he does not know or understand

          Aren’t you just the cutest little hill billy

          Hugs

          • Naki man 14.3.2.1.1

            Iron Hoof you are an idiot
            No one is suffering in the doco, just living the high life on other peoples money. Next time watch the doco before one handed typing.

            • Pascals bookie 14.3.2.1.1.1

              ‘Reality tv show’ is what most google cites call it, rather than ‘doco’. But whatevs

              • Weepus beard

                Reality TV is the new documentary for the right wing.

                Devoid of analysis and intellect, just as Naki man and friends like it.

      • joe90 14.3.3

        There’s lots of good stuff on Channel 4 – How to Get a Council House, My Daughter the Teenage Nudist, Bums Boob and Botox, My Mad Fat Diary….. and a vile character assassination of Greek society (which has some dreadful flaws) in support of the banks.

    • Tracey 14.4

      And was it a right wing or left wing government presiding over that Naki, cos they definitely knew it was going on…

  14. Morrissey 15

    Why can’t New Zealand have a referendum about “austerity” too?

    • maui 15.1

      Such referendums have been banned in the People’s Republic of Key.

    • stigie 15.2

      Morrissey, do you think New Zealanders are hard done by ?

      • Paul 15.2.1

        Do you?

        • stigie 15.2.1.1

          No !

          • Paul 15.2.1.1.1

            I think NZ has become a most unequal country.
            And a significant number of New Zealanders are hard done by.

            • Gosman 15.2.1.1.1.1

              Most unequal compared to who exactly? Out GINI coefficient ratio is around the OECD average. That is hardly indicative of a nation becoming a most unequal nation.

              • Iron Hoof

                Sweetums, your parrot impression has come along in leaps and bounds hasn’t it

                Still a bit of a dummy though ain’t ya

                Dummy’s sometimes get the girl, but not this one

                Smooches

                [Getting a bit tired of your regular use of patronising putdowns like sweetums, cupcake etc. Knock it off, please. And you might want to lose your homophobic handle while you’re at it. TRP]

              • Weepus beard

                We should be aspiring to become the most equal, bar none. Traditionally that is one of the things which has identified New Zealand, its egalitarianism and sense of a fair go for all.

                Not under this government though…

          • adam 15.2.1.1.2

            So my work day of trying to find emergency housing, (which there is none, as it’s all used up) , medical advocacy for third world medical conditions, helping people deal with housing NZ, anyone seen the letters that department sends out lately? – true newspeak, it’s like 1984 is the department go to manual. Getting someone into Whanua Ora, no wait can’t do that funding’s all on hold. So sending them back into a medical system, which I pray this time won’t make them try to kill themselves. Getting a disabled person access to get a job, no wait funding’s all under review – so can’t get to job interview. Not that having higher education helps when you have a disability. Helping a another disabled person file for bankruptcy, because their company has been ripped off them by some so call able bodied friend.

            Oh wait it’s only Monday, and thank goodness it’s the school holidays – that means were quite.

            stigie – your so far out of touch and away with the fairies. It’s called Tory dream land, or Planet Key – where you bury your own head up your ass and sign, la la la la la la la la.

            Because tomorrow I can come up with another list just as dam long, worse in some case, and still I’m thankful it’s the school holidays, because were quieter than usual.

    • Gosman 15.3

      You want a greater public debt do you?

    • Tracey 16.1

      The Germans have forgotten 1953 which laid the foundation to them becoming the European economic powerhouse…

      • Gosman 16.1.1

        A few differences between Greece now and (West) Germany in 1953. The most obvious one being the Germans have a reputation of being incredibly productive. The Greeks on the other hand have the opposite reputation.

        • tracey 16.1.1.1

          what was Germany’s reputation in 1953?

          you and I hold different opinions on this Gosman. It seems until veryone says “you are right gosman”, you will just bang on and on and on and on and on… so

          you are right Gosman.

          • Weepus beard 16.1.1.1.1

            what was Germany’s reputation in 1953?

            I hate to think, I really do.

          • Psycho Milt 16.1.1.1.2

            Germany’s reputation in 1953? First Iron-Curtain country to attempt an uprising against Soviet occupation. Unsuccessful, but weren’t they all? That’s a pretty good reputation. However, I presume you’re referring to the war reparations debt write-off of 1953. It was indeed generous – 50% of Germany’s debt was just written off. Perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not, 50% of the debt consisted of ludicrously punitive reparations inflicted by the Versailles treaty. None of the debt was incurred by the German government borrowing to fund lavish lifestyles for its citizens.

            As to a reputation for productivity, the Germans have had it for centuries. The Greeks, er… haven’t.

        • TeWhareWhero 16.1.1.2

          Germany would not be in a position to loan money at high interest rates to Greece and to strong arm the Greek government into ‘austerity’ measures without the massive post-WW2 loans it received from the USA, and the cancellation of 60% of its foreign debt in 1953 plus the extraordinarily flexible and generous repayment terms on the balance – e.g. repayments not to exceed 3% of export earnings.

          If Germany had been forced into harsh ‘austerity measures’ to repay all its foreign debts owing from the Treaty of Versailles as well as repay post WW2 US loans at the levels being demanded of Greece, it would not have been able to rebuild its economy at the speed it did and would not be the economic powerhouse it is today. In fact the entire map of Europe would be very different.

          Claims that Germany’s reconstruction was all due to the hard working, clever, disciplined, tax paying Germans (in contrast to the lazy, dumb, ill-disciplined, tax-dodging Greeks) are crass and simplistic and as ahistorical as they are ideological.

          • Foreign waka 16.1.1.2.1

            And lets not forget that all of Germany’s Gold was taken in lieu for the debt – it was not forgiven. Belief me they paid, with their brightest scientist and all all the wealth they had. But alas , unlike lazy people, they work and work hard and efficient. Yes, this will not make them the most liked but it does make them the best wealth creators.

            • TeWhareWhero 16.1.1.2.1.1

              The ‘economic miracle’ that occurred in Germany after WW2 was a combination of massive investment from the USA (motivated by a fear of the Soviet Bloc) and being excused a large part of their foreign debt.

              I do not take anything away from the workers who rebuilt Germany – including the hundreds of thousands of of Italian, Spanish, Greek, Turkish, Moroccan, Portugese, Tunisian and Yugoslavian Gastarbeiter.

              • That “massive US investment” myth is just that. The US put about as much into Britain and France as it put into Germany. Neither Britain nor France had as fucked an infrastructure or as decimated a population as Germany, but a few decades later the Jerries were (again) completely outstripping them technologically, scientifically and economically.

              • Foreign waka

                If you speak of the Marschallplan, one also have to add that the German Government was effectively entmachted (made to abdicate) with the demand of observance of some time to have a central government installed. There was the directive that the landeszonen (county bounderies) within western Germany have to be observed and the Besatzungsstatute was implemented where people are taking on responsibility whilst under the Hoheitsrecht (authority of the state) of the USA, Britain and France until 1951. Polititions, economists (i.e. Ludwig Erhard) worked on a plan that was later on agreed by the allied forces. The moneys supplied were overwhelming loans and not gifts that were meant to be repaid.
                The main increase in wealth came from production and exports growing from 6 to 10%. It was the currency differential that Germany used to their advantage that helped with their export of mainly cars and engines and their fast increase in national wealth.
                As for the Gastarbeiter – they were predominantly Yugoslav by nationality and the first came to Germany in 1955.
                The London Debt contract 1953 which you point out saw allied loans (before the war and moneys for the reconstruction after the war) partially “repaid” as long as Germany adheres to the “Wiedergutmachung” which means financially as well as politically- todate 108 billion DM.
                In addition, the Luxenburger Abkommen secured that Germany pays 3 Milliarden DM worth of weaponry an Israel and 450 Milliarden DM an the Jewish Claims Conference. The wealth that was left behind by the Jewish has either already been smuggled out of the country (not necessary by the owners) and the rest was fought over by the allied forces.
                876 Millionen Mark on top of all that is payable to other west European states under a contact concluded in 1964.

                Comparison? Not really. But I do belief that they must be very resilient, hard working, willing to build their nation with every one that can contribute.

        • adam 16.1.1.3

          Racist comment much?

          I heard those stupid comments from the skinheads in Melbourne back in the 90’s. Tards one and all.

          Good to see racism is alive a well on the right in NZ. If all else fails, blame it on there skin colour.

  15. Kiwiri 17

    Tsipras’ post-referendum speech (Google’s auto-translation) from his Facebook page:

    Greeks, Greeks
    The current referendum has no winners and losers.
    It is a great victory in itself.
    Today, all together, we wrote a brilliant page in modern European history.

    We have shown that even in the most difficult circumstances democracy does not are extorting and is dominant value and choice outlet.

    Also proved that when a people has faith and collective conscience, can endure and overcome even the greatest difficulties.

    I want to thank each and every one of you separately.
    Regardless of what you have chosen the ballot box, by tonight we’re all one.
    And our duty is to do our best to overcome this crisis and to ξανασηκώσουμε high greece.
    διαφυλάττοντας always jealously national unity, by restoring the social cohesion and economic stability.

    I also wish to thank from the bottom of my heart, the thousands of European citizens in all major cities of Europe who took to the streets looking practice their solidarity to the Greek people.

    Greeks, greeks,
    Today, given the unfavourable situation last week, you made a brave choice.
    However, I am well aware that the mandate for giving me is not mandate rupture with Europe but mandate for enhancing our negotiating power to achieve a sustainable agreement.

    In terms of social justice, in terms of perspective and απεγκλωβισμού from the vicious circle of austerity.
    And this command will serve the without delay.
    We all know that there are no easy solutions.
    But there are just solutions.
    There are viable solutions.
    Suffice it to pursue both sides.

    I would also like to point out that with Today’s historic and brave choice of the Greek people responded to the right question and simultaneously changed and the question of dialogue in europe.

    Don’t answer the question inside or outside the euro.

    This question should be long gone from the debate.
    Don’t can Europe is the application of the memorandum of austerity.

    The Greek people today to answer to the question: What kind of Europe we want.
    And replied: We want a Europe of solidarity and democracy.

    From tomorrow Greece will come to the negotiating table.

    Immediate priority the rapid restoration of the functioning of our banking system and economic stability.

    And I am sure that the ecb fully understands not only the general economic situation and the humanitarian but has become the crisis in our country.

    At the same time we are ready to continue this negotiation.
    With a shot reliable funding.
    With a draft reforms, but one which will have the acceptance of Greek society.
    On the basis of social justice, the transfer i.e. weights of the weak to the economically powerful.
    And with a credible plan direct development investment, in cooperation with the European Commission.

    At the same time, this time at the negotiating table will be located and the issue of debt, how even when the same the IMF in his report he admits it.
    Report which was absent so far from the negotiations, since, just the other day I saw the spotlight, and confirms the Greek positions for the necessary debt restructuring in order to reach a viable solution final exit from the crisis, both for Greece and for the Europe.

    Greeks, Greeks
    This time, the place needs more than ever unity and cohesion, solidarity and honest understanding to overcome the difficulties.

    Right after we visit the President of the Republic and ask him tomorrow morning the cabinet political leaders, in order to inform about the immediate initiatives of the government, but also to hear their own proposals.

    Today we celebrate the victory of democracy.
    From tomorrow all together we continue and we are completing the national effort for a bargain outlet.
    With Powerful Ally the faith of our people to the forces of.
    With powerful ally democracy and the right, which is on our side.
    We’ll manage.

    Source:
    https://www.facebook.com/tsiprasalexis/posts/10153580780253054:0

    • Tracey 17.1

      Thanks Kiwiri

      I think some of the Right persuasion want to make people believe that the Greeks think everything will be easy now so that when it is hard, as it is going to be, they can say “see it didn’t work”.

  16. Paul 18

    Just listening to Hooton’s drivel on 9 to noon.
    How does this nincompoop get such air time?
    It seems our media gives a soapbox to many with objectionable and nonsensical viewpoints…..Glucina, Hooton, Hooper etc.
    The children of privilege lacking any empathy.

    • Which bit didn’t you agree with?

      • Paul 18.1.1

        Pretty much everything you said about Greece.

        • Gosman 18.1.1.1

          Are you going to expand on the reasons he is wrong in your view or do we just take your view as being true?

        • gnomic 18.1.1.2

          What he said. Sounded like bullet points regurgitated from a review of the browser bookmarks during breakfast, or maybe just Faux News, the Telegraph, and the Economist. Along with a bit of nothing to see here. And what the hell would Hoots know about Greece anyway? Anyone got a link to that? Plus the sneering tone. Not every one lives in your smug wee bubble Hoots.

      • Tracey 18.1.2

        which part of the austerity measures was getting Greece back on its feet and its unemployment dropping Matthew? Bear in mind this has been going on for a few years, or does it need longer, 10, 20, 30 years to turn it around through austerity? Let me know how many years you think and how to deal with the side effects of everything until then? Who was austerity working for most effectively?

  17. millsy 19

    Well this wasn’t in the script….

  18. Philip Ferguson 20

    Excellent article by the always reliable Michael Roberts: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/07/06/greece-votes-no-to-austerity-what-happens-now/

    Hopefully the great result in Greece (61.39% to 38.61%) will put more wind in the sails of anti-austerity feeling and movement in Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Italy.

    Phil

    • Jones 20.1

      “Hopefully the great result in Greece (61.39% to 38.61%) will put more wind in the sails of anti-austerity feeling and movement in Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Italy.”

      This, I believe, is one of the primary reasons the troika in Europe have been so heavy with Greece. If they were to grant any concessions to Greece, the countries quoted above, as well as France, will be demanding the same.

  19. Philip Ferguson 21

    Yes, they can’t let anyone off. Of course, such intransigence also runs quite heavy risks. Greece may be small and weak compared to the Franco-German axis at the heart of the EU, but crushing Greece can undermine the euro and do some damage to the EU.

    The two problems that the serious left faces in Greece are that the working class is not starting to take over workplaces and organise an alternative economic model – it’s still all very much within the framework of capitalism – and the European working class are not ready to support Greece yet. However, there have been some promising stirrings – some very big Podemos demos in Spain against austerity, for instance.

    On Saturday, there was a demo of thousands in Dublin in solidarity with Greek resistance to austerity. And, of course, in Ireland there is mass resistance to the austerity being imposed by the Fine Gael-Labour coalition there.

    Labour got devastated by Sinn Fein last May in the Euro elections and in the local council elections and Labour will go down to a big, big defeat in the next general election in the South; much of their current support will go over to Sinn Fein, which is already a significantly bigger force than them in the most deprived working class areas in Dublin and elsewhere. (Unfortunately, SF isn’t really opposed in principle to austerity, so them overtaking Labour is a step sidewards for workers, but it does indicate that workers are not wedded to any party any more.)

    Labour supporters in this country, meanwhile, should ponder the behaviour of the Labour parties in Greece and Ireland (and Spain) in being keen imposers of draconian austerity on the working class. If we have a deep recession here and Labour gets back into power, watch out for your backs and your throats. Because Labour here will be in stabbing and slashing mode.

    The European examples are another indication of how we desperately need a new political movement: of, for and by the working class.

    Phil

    • Nigel 21.1

      +1
      Well put.
      I don’t trust Labour either…..they are no longer a party of the working class.

      As you say we are all stuck in the Capitalist model and seeing our living standards reduce. Those doing the best seem not to produce anything.

    • Wayne 21.2

      Philip,

      In case you hadn’t noticed we are not Greece. Our economy has grown about 20% at the same time as the Greek economy has shrunk 25%. Unemployment in NZ is 5%, in Greece 26%. Govt debt in NZ is 38%, in Greece 180%.

      So if Labour wants to follow Syriza, they can look forward to lets say 20 years in opposition.

      • RedBaronCV 21.2.1

        We have grown 20%!!?? Where’s my share or is it all in your pocket Wayne

      • Weepus beard 21.2.2

        Yes, it has shrunk 25% because of mismanagement by the right, the IMF, and the Euro-bankers. These were the people who were in control.

  20. Philip Ferguson 22

    Yes, they can’t let anyone off. Of course, such intransigence also runs quite heavy risks. Greece may be small and weak compared to the Franco-German axis at the heart of the EU, but crushing Greece can undermine the euro and do some damage to the EU.

    The two problems that the serious left faces in Greece are that the working class is not starting to take over workplaces and organise an alternative economic model – it’s still all very much within the framework of capitalism – and the European working class are not ready to support Greece yet. However, there have been some promising stirrings – some very big Podemos demos in Spain against austerity, for instance.

    On Saturday, there was a demo of thousands in Dublin in solidarity with Greek resistance to austerity. And, of course, in Ireland there is mass resistance to the austerity being imposed by the Fine Gael-Labour coalition there.

    Labour got devastated by Sinn Fein last May in the Euro elections and in the local council elections and Labour will go down to a big, big defeat in the next general election in the South; much of their current support will go over to Sinn Fein, which is already a significantly bigger force than them in the most deprived working class areas in Dublin and elsewhere. (Unfortunately, SF isn’t really opposed in principle to austerity, so them overtaking Labour is a step sidewards for workers, but it does indicate that many workers are not wedded to any party any more.)

    Labour supporters in this country, meanwhile, should ponder the behaviour of the Labour parties in Greece and Ireland (and Spain) in being keen imposers of draconian austerity on the working class. If we have a deep recession here and Labour gets back into power, watch out for your backs and your throats. Because Labour here will be in stabbing and slashing mode.

    The European examples are another indication of how we desperately need a new political movement: of, for and by the working class.

    Phil

  21. Nessalt 23

    Interesting, Do the oxi crowd have a mandate? only 36.1% of all elegible votes cast for Oxi. With voter turnout so low compared to general elections (normally 80%+ compared to 60% for this referendum), you’d have to question whether anti-austerity campaigners have actually won?

    • One Anonymous Bloke 23.1

      Would “you”? How’s it going to work? Abandon all pretence of democracy and make up a different result, the way the National Party does in Canterbury?

    • Turnout at the last Greek general election was 63.9%, so no great difference. But, yeah, I agree with you, John Key had no mandate for the theft of strategic assets. That was the point you were making, wasn’t it?

      • Bob 23.2.1

        Right, so the Greek referendum was a waste of time then? No mandate gained so…as you were?

        • te reo putake 23.2.1.1

          Nah, I’m just kidding. Key and English (and their fanbois here) have regularly claimed National had a mandate to flog off the assets to mom and pop investors overseas, but that’s a spurious argument.

          At least the Greeks were voting on a single issue and if I remember correctly, the turnout has to be 40% for it to be legit. Given the number of people who have left because of the lack of jobs and related economic reasons, the turnout was probably always going to be a bit lower than the General election. And, like the recent Scottish referendum, you had to be in the country to vote.

          On the numbers, the No vote won comfortably, and got 38.31% of all potential votes. 37.5% didn’t vote and 24.18% voted Yes.

          • Bob 23.2.1.1.1

            Fair enough, I’ll give you that (even though I am currently one of those fanbois…)

          • Clean_power 23.2.1.1.2

            Nobody is arguing with the numbers, TRP. The No won convincingly. What remains to unfold is the financial ruin that will hit Greece if Syriza and Tsipras fail to deliver. People will remember and hold the radicals accountable.

            • McFlock 23.2.1.1.2.1

              🙄

              Lucky they’ve enjoyed the brighter future so far then.

              Hell, they’ll probably be better off in the longer term just saying no.

              • Clean_power

                McFlock: It is easy to say that from a safe distance. Different if you were a Greek citizen caught in the middle of financial storm. The next days will be critical. I think Mr Tsipras will surrender to the lenders.

                • McFlock

                  Greece is already in financial ruin, in case you hadn’t noticed. That’s why they elected Syriza.

                • Tracey

                  Actually the greeks already know they are in the middle of financial storm. I don’t get that some here are finding that so hard to comprehend. Stop listening to Mike Hosking for his take on the state of the average Greek. He is, as always vacuous in his opining.

                  Mr Tsipras is in a much stronger bargaining position today than he was a few days ago. Greece is still fucked but he is in a position to make a better deal than the one he would have got had he done what the likes of Gosman suggested and just rolled over and produced the payments out of the mouths of his people.

        • dukeofurl 23.2.1.2

          Look at it like polls do. A tiny number becomes statistically significant.

          That way 60% of of those who voted becomes 60% of the electorate easily.

          There is no one who will say that the numbers werent high enough.

        • Tracey 23.2.1.3

          I think you meant to reply to Nassalt

  22. Smilin 24

    News Key says Europe will fight to keep Greece in the Euro
    Ah really all they want to do is make an example of Greece that this is how your country will be be if you dont play ball with the banksters
    Tell them banksters to take a hike
    And Key you can to if you think your TPPA- “trans payment punishment agreement ” that is all the wealth of this country that will be owned by the multinationals who are goin to enslave us thanks to Key
    There will be currency value like the price of oil little shift in value until it finally collapses the real result of the TPPA. Another ladder to the tower Key lives in so he doesnt get caught when we all realise we are in prison in NZ created by THE IMPENDING DOOM of TPPA
    Hello Greece we really know how you feel

  23. G C 25

    Historically Speaking: The Greeks were conquered by the Romans and the seconded leg of the Roman Empire saw the rise of the Papacy….

    History is said to ‘repeat itself’.

  24. miravox 26

    Varoufakis resigns because the Troika don’t want to negotiate with him.

    I shall wear the creditors’ loathing with pride.
    We of the Left know how to act collectively with no care for the privileges of office. I shall support fully Prime Minister Tsipras, the new Minister of Finance, and our government.

    Something for the soft centre-left to think about.

    As for Christine Lagarde – your turn now. Your silence is deafening.

    • maui 26.1

      Hmm, surely now would be a good time to keep your finance minister. Hopefully they’ve thought all this through.

      • te reo putake 26.1.1

        Could be a stroke of genius. Removes an area of unnecessary conflict, gets Merkel off her high horse, and signals a willingness to get down to doing a deal.

        • maui 26.1.1.1

          So potentially they could get a good deal on writing off their debt and they could remain with Euros instead of going back to the Drachma? A lot of drama in the end with a simple resolution.

          • te reo putake 26.1.1.1.1

            That debt write off is the key. Much like the Greeks did for the Germans at the end of WW2. If that deal hadn’t been done, Germany would be a generation behind, economically. And subject to the kind of social distortions Matthew Hooton was speculating about this morning. Really, there’s no incentive for Greece to sign a deal that locks them into penury for decades. And the irresponsible banks and European institutions that encouraged Greece into this situation need to take some responsibility for the situation too.

        • miravox 26.1.1.2

          Yeah, there was not a lot of hope for reasonable negotiation with him in the room, the mood is too bitter and full of recrimination. He’s done his job in paving the way for a more sustainable debt load, even if it does mean leaving the Eurozone.

          I’d like to see Christine Lagarde go now. Her passive-aggressive approach has lost the IMF its money and unnecessarily attempted to humiliate the Greek government. She also negotiated for no debt relief against the advice of her own organisation . The referendum may never have happened but for her stance. She should resign.

        • Pat 26.1.1.3

          and relaxes Schauble’s sphincter…

      • Tracey 26.1.2

        “Hopefully they’ve thought all this through.”

        That’s a tad patronising don’t you think? My best guess is that strategising and planning and thinking through options and permutations and consequences is all this Greek Government has done since it was elected.

    • mickysavage 26.2

      Obviously the Greeks still want to do a deal. Over to the bankers …

      Of course Spain and Portugal and Italy are looking on. It is strange where we get to the situation that bankers have higher expectations than sovereign nations …

      • Tracey 26.2.1

        Of course they do, they are, and have been, strengthening their bargaining position. Many of our right wing commenters have suggested they just roll over and do as they are told… which is funny when you consider that success in captialsim is about screwing the other guy for as little (or as much) as you can anyway you can… no wonder so many of them like John key, he is the “how high do you want me to jump” negotiator on behalf of NZ.

        • Reddelusion 26.2.1.1

          Strange view of capitalism Tracy. I thougt it’s more about letting the market determine what people want Screwing people is not a very sustainable model at the micro business level I think most people go with capitalism even lefties, where the differ is how much to leave up to the market and self regulation vs state intervention and possibly level of redistribution I think most sane people would argue good capitalism is the best model we have

      • Gosman 26.2.2

        You keep mentioning Bankers when the vast majority of the debt being discussed is between Governments or muliti-lateral institutions controlled by Governments. Bankers are hardly going to be impacted by any Debt restructure. It will be taxpayers.

  25. old school 27

    And what yous recon just continue,with look we can say this nothing of value just dare say.Will i be sacked tomorrow and look away from our kind as they speak,looking at our exploiter class and waiting for the sun to set or rise,shall i just get on my knees .Dare we get off our knees or do we just crawl share the value compromise see how they close the door as you pass bye,dare we get to look see this is all over the place.

  26. Tanz 28

    Socialism is a con and Greece just proved it. As Thatcher said, the money always runs out…

    • Tracey 28.1

      so is Capitalism and Greece just proved it…

    • Wow, socialism works fast, eh. The Greek left’s only been in power a few months, Tanz. It’s not them that got Greece into this situation, it was right wing governments and right wing ideologies that did that.

      • Reddelusion 28.2.1

        Hard pressed to call Greece a hot be of neoliberal economics over the last 30 years TRP. If so I doubt they would be in the mess they are in

        • te reo putake 28.2.1.1

          Surely you jest! 35 years of neo lib governments, mostly led by New Democracy, but also including a few years of PASOK cynically betraying their roots in a way that would make Rodger Douglas blush.

          • Reddelusion 28.2.1.1.1

            Neoliberal economics last time I looked, government contolling deficits, privatisation, free float currency ( before euro), broard tax base, efficient state, good and enforceable legal system, removing trade barrier and protectionism including state monopolies, where can you point to any of that in Greece in the last 30 years. Joining the euro, financial liberalisation yes but the Greeks simply pigged out on their old ways with cheap money and hence the result. They should never have been accepted into the eu monetary union for their own good

          • Tracey 28.2.1.1.2

            it’s always the fault of socialists TRP, even when the government is not. Some of our right wing commenters here for example think that Key runs a socialist government.

            Of course it is a hybrid, as are most but they like to think it is always the socialist side that is the reason for failures.

    • les 28.3

      got things around the wrong way there sport…capitalism has been shown up….its big on theory and woeful on reality!

      • Reddelusion 28.3.1

        And socialism can roll out successful case study after case study. Capitalism has pulled 100s of million out of poverty over the last 50 years, not to mention developments in technology on every level of human endeavour, it is unsurpassed as a system of innovation and wealth creation

        • half crown 28.3.1.1

          “And socialism can roll out successful case study after case study. Capitalism has pulled 100s of million out of poverty over the last 50 years, not to mention developments in technology on every level of human endeavour, it is unsurpassed as a system of innovation and wealth creation”

          I have read the book, very thin though, and I did not realise the time I took to read it could be measured in such miniscule amounts.

          • Gosman 28.3.1.1.1

            Have you got any evidence of the success of Socialism?

            • mickysavage 28.3.1.1.1.1

              Would a pure capitalist system give a damn about child poverty?

              • Gosman

                Poverty world wide(including presumably child poverty) has fallen to its lowest level ever in the history of humanity. This is largely the result of Capitalistism and Globalisation. The surplus that Capitalism provides enables Governments the flecibility to determine how best to tackle any additional challenges around poverty that the free market throws up. Just as Greece is doscovering now, if you don’t have a productive economy you can’t afford to have a generous welfare state.

                • Tracey

                  and Socialism gives Governments the drive to support its most vulnerable (thus also lifting them out of poverty). This bullshit argument about

                  socialism versus capitalism is a very big strawman on all fronts because no governments today run a PURE system of either, exclusively.

                  • I guess it’s possible Gosman imagines we got the 40-hour working week, public education, universal adult suffrage etc because capitalists could see an excellent return on investment for it. Ideology can make people highly delusional.

            • half crown 28.3.1.1.1.2

              “Have you got any evidence of the success of Socialism?”

              By my own experience pal. If it was not for socialistic systems set up after the second world war I would not be here today, and I doubt if I would have been successful like I have. I feel for the Precariat. and do my utmost to help out when I can. Incidentally some of the people involved were NOT socialist but they had a social conscience, and a lot of them were officers and gentleman/ladies. Something the right wing fucking Neo Liberal prats of today don’t know the meaning of, let alone practice.

              • Tracey

                but they weren’t pure socialist governments were they half crown? A hybrid of some sort, yes?

                • half crown

                  “but they weren’t pure socialist governments were they half crown? A hybrid of some sort, yes?”

                  Yes

        • Tracey 28.3.1.2

          actually “capitalism” hasn’t. It is a hybrid of capitalism and socialism that has pulled people out of poverty.

          not one or the other but a combination, unless you can name 10 purely capitalist governments in the world (which would be a useful but not great sample)

    • half crown 28.4

      Ah Thatcher the darling of the right, lover of that bit of filth called Pinochet. Could not afford welfare for the unfortunates but spent millions on the Falkland war to save her political neck, and the stupid poms fell for the Rule Britannia shit and voted her in
      Famous saying “There is no such thing as society.”

  27. venezia 29

    With reference to the turn out in the Greece Referendum…….. remember that many Greek eligible voters have had to leave to get work overseas. Because you must return to Greece to vote, many thousands could not do so. Like the two who were labouring away on my earthquake repairs today – thrilled to bits about the outcome of the referendum!

  28. Reddelusion 30

    Until the Greeks accept controlling government deficits , a braord simple and enforceable tax base, removing state protectionism, remove corruption at all levels, reform welfare and that the private sector creates wealth not the state they are truly rooted They got by for many years on other people’s money, the game is up. , It is intellectually dishonest to not claim that Greek society as a whole has played no part in their demise, all society, all classes not simply the bankers and the rich as the left try to claim The only innocent here are young Greeks who have been handed a basket case by the Greek political class for unforgivable economic management , left and right, fruit loops the lot of them

  29. gnomic 31

    There is a fruit loop in the house, but not in Greece. Perhaps consider some remedial classes in writing understandable English prose?

    ‘It is intellectually dishonest to not claim that Greek society as a whole has played no part in their demise.’

    Good grief. The adults are trying to have a conversation here. Perhaps come back when you can talk like a grown-up?

    • Reddelusion 31.1

      Every one loves a corrector, intellectual snobbery or just an ass hole, the former me think

      • gnomic 31.1.1

        Nope, still fail. Consider taking up some other activity you might be good at. Spewing out semi-literate regurgitations of RWNJ talking points is not it.

        • Gosman 31.1.1.1

          Do you have a point gnomic beyond attempting to score points over another persons grammar on a blog comment thread?

          • Psycho Milt 31.1.1.1.1

            Expecting participants in a written discussion to be able to write a coherent sentence isn’t ‘point-scoring.’

            • Gosman 31.1.1.1.1.1

              Reddelusion’s point was understandable even if the mistake made does render one sentence difficult to comprehend.

              • Tracey

                hasn’t everyone agreed you are Right yet Gosman? Bugger, I had hoped yesterday to get the ball rolling.

                • half crown

                  Forgot about that Tracey, Of course Gosman is RIGHT, though I have to agree with him over this one. English to some of us is a second language and also some of us may have had our education interrupted and struggle. I know from my own experience my English at times leaves a lot to be desired.
                  I don’t find it clever when people try to point score when someone makes a spelling or grammar mistake.

                  • Tracey

                    unless I am grading papers ( 😉 ) I try to read what I think someone is trying to say.

                    My comment @ Gosman is that he reserves such responses in defence only of those he sees as being on “his side”. I am sure he will come by and correct me but I am sick of the repetitive nature of it all.

                    I challenge anyone to prove to me that there is a definitively RIGHT answer about Greece’s problems AND to lay out how the RIGHT answer will work, with more tha njust generalities.

                    • Gosman

                      What do you mean ‘RIGHT’ answer? There are simple facts on that leave Greece in a very unpleasent position. The facts are as follows:

                      The Greek economy has had very low productivity.

                      The Greek Tax system is very inefficient and Greek people are generally unwilling to pay the taxes that they State thinks they should pay.

                      The Greek State plays a large role in the economy and has provided support for Pensioners at a high level in the past.

                      A combination of failure to collect enough Tax and excessive spending by successive Greek governments (on a variety of areas including outright corruption and military spending) led to a situation where the Greek Sovereign debt ballooned over the years. This got worse after the Greeks joined the Eurozone as they got the benefit of lower cost capital.

                      Greece’s debts are unsustainable long term. They required a massie restructuring of them.

                      The ‘Troika’ refinanced Greece’s loans in return for reforms.

                      The Greek government have been very reluctant to follow through on promised reforms.

                      The Greek economy fell by about a quarter mainly as a result of fall in investment.

                      The Greeks want further restructuring of their debt despite there being quite a bit before now.

                      The German and othe Eurozone members (mainly based in Northern Europe) don’t wish to give the Greeks more money or any debt relief unless they undergo further reforms.

                      The Greeks need further money even if they repudiated all the Debt.

                      The Greeks don’t want to leave the Eurozone.

                      Without an injection soon the Greek banks will collapse and the economy will slide in to even worse situation.

          • gnomic 31.1.1.1.2

            You are another one. Clear off and take that halfwit bluedelusional with you. Why not start your own site where you can fascinate each other with your drivel and spare the rest of us. My point was that the post was nonsense from start to finish as you ask. Not only irrelevant drivel, but close to incomprehensible.

  30. Reddelusuon 32

    Wannabe moderator gnomic, get back to your porn sites you seem frustrated

    • Tracey 32.1

      Gosman must have missed this one so I will do it for him.

      Do you have a point Reddelusion beyond attempting to score points over another persons through ad hominem on a blog comment thread?

    • gnomic 32.2

      Clown.

  31. Tanz 33

    Key does run a socialist government, if anything he has been our most leftist PM in history. Just look at the last budget for starters. Key is both progressive and socialist. He is the darling of the left and the media.

Links to post

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • At a glance – Does CO2 always correlate with temperature?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    5 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 hours ago
  • Relentlessly negative
    Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 hours ago
  • Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    Bryce Edwards writes –  It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    8 hours ago
  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    8 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
    8 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 ...
    9 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
    10 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
    11 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
    13 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
    14 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
    14 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
    14 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
    15 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
    16 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
    18 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
    2 days 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
    2 days 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
    4 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
    6 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
    7 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
    12 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
    14 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
    15 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
    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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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
    7 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
    7 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
    7 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
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-19T11:15:52+00:00