The magical disappearing surplus

Written By: - Date published: 10:36 am, April 11th, 2015 - 67 comments
Categories: bill english, budget 2014, Economy, election 2014, john key, making shit up, national, same old national, spin, you couldn't make this shit up - Tags:

John Key and National have placed a huge amount of political capital in returning the country’s books to surplus.  Back in 2008 they campaigned heavily on how Labour was going to deliver “a decade of deficits” and it really was the slogan de jour.  According to them Labour’s mismanagement of the economy was the cause of the global financial crisis and not the pure unadulterated greed of a bunch of merchant bankers like Key seeking never ending wealth.

That always annoyed.  Helen Clark and Michael Cullen had always run a tight budget, produced nine, read that again, nine budget surpluses during the term of the fifth Labour Government, had paid off debt, put ACC on a more secure financial footing, had created the Cullen fund and had put away funds for the time that things went pear shaped.

At the time of the 2008 election the Global Financial Crisis was already causing havoc and no matter who was in power it was the right thing to do to open up the chequebook.  To be fair to National the Christchurch earthquakes have certainly put considerable pressure on the country’s finances.  But Key and co have created this illusion that they are sound financial managers.  And this illusion needs to be shown for what it is.

If you google search the word “surplus” on John Key’s own website the results suggest that he has used the word “surplus” 1,280 times in reported speeches and press releases.  And some of the quotes and passages are real doozies.  Like the following:

  • August 2011 – “In only three years we will be one of the first developed countries back in surplus.  After that, we will be repaying debt while other countries keep borrowing.”
  • October 2011 – “An earlier return to surplus gives future governments more choices, and National is focused on that goal”
  • November 2011 – “We are committed to getting back to surplus in 2014/15 and that significant challenge will require ongoing spending restraint across the public sector and a focus on innovation and results.”
  • January 2012 – “Mr Key said that the Government’s focus on responsibly managing its finances includes a commitment to return to surplus in 2014/15 – which National campaigned on at the election.”
  • April 2012 – “Getting back to surplus is a challenge but we are making the decisions required to get there, so that we can pay down debt and have more choices about what we want to do.”
  • April 2013 – “We remain firmly on track to reach surplus in 2014/15.”
  • May 2013 – “New Zealand’s economy is in good shape.  The Budget confirms the Government will get back to surplus by 2014/15.”
  • January 2014 – “After much hard work, the Government is effecting a remarkable turnaround in the books, with the latest forecasts showing a budget surplus in the next financial year – 2014/15 – after which government debt begins to fall.”
  • May 2014 – “A $500 million support package for families and children, dividends from a growing economy, and a track to surplus next year are all features of Budget 2014.”

Even the 2014 election campaign material continued this theme that a surplus was just around the corner.  Remember this?

Since National came into government, we have been working towards achieving a surplus in the 2014/15 year as well as reducing debt.

But the earlier euphoric confidence started to wear off after the 2014 election.

  • October 2014 – “The Government is focused on returning to surplus.”
  • January 2015 – “The Government is working towards a surplus and repaying debt.”

This week Bill English (note it was Bill and not John) was forced to admit the bad news.  Despite all the promises, despite all the shenanigans such as cutting funds from the Christchurch rebuild, recategorising grants to Auckland Transport as loans and hanging onto ACC surpluses, despite all the rhetoric National is going to fail.

In reality not reaching surplus this financial year is not such a big thing. Economies tend to be cyclical and a good government will save during the good times and spend up during the bad times.  But when you promise for so long with such confidence that you will achieve a result and you then fail to deliver you deserve all the cynicism and opprobrium that opposition parties can muster.

Remember the decade of deficits?  We are over two thirds of the way there and the end is not in sight.

67 comments on “The magical disappearing surplus ”

  1. fisiani 1

    It takes a supertanker 22 miles to stop. Bill English has taken the basket case economy he inherited and virtually turned it around and you quibble about a few more weeks to get to surplus. Clutching at straws.

    • mickysavage 1.1

      Yeah bloody Helen Clark and Michael Cullen were responsible for the global financial crisis and the 2007 drought. You guys must think they have superhuman magical powers.

      But do you think the nats should have been promising a return to surplus for so long when they clearly are unable to achieve this?

    • Paul 1.2

      Your support of Key is slavish.
      People would respect our opinions more if you, like Fran O’Sullivan, showed a modicum of independent, intelligent thinking.
      She is right wing and she can see faults in the God you call Honest John Key.

      At present your views are laughable and ridiculous.

    • Wynston 1.3

      1. In the words of Mark Twain “First get your facts right, then you may distort them as you choose”.
      2. In the words of Thomas Carlyle “I do not believe in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance”, and you are one of the very best at the latter!.

    • Tracey 1.4

      And how did they go fulfilling their debt reduction promises? You only make yourself look foolish defending the lies and PR spin.

    • NZJester 1.5

      Nationals claim they inherited a country in bad financial shape from Labour is now and always has been Nationals biggest lie. They inherited a country with nearly all debt paid off and assets that where returning the government good dividend money. Of course there was little actual cash in the government coffers as it had all been spent paying off huge money draining debt.
      If National had not given the rich a tax break this country could not afford and borrowed money heavily to do it, then not sold off half those assets that gave them good returns the books might not have been in surplus, but they would be balanced. A country does not need surplus it just needs good balanced books like Labour had done using any possible surplus to pay off the large debt the National government before them had run up!
      In good times and in bad, the National party always cuts the tax for the rich and runs up our debt while claiming to have surpluses. All so called surpluses are false as long as you have huge debts that still need to be repaid.
      National also claimed at one point it would also cut the taxes for the less well off. That was yet another tricky lie they told as although they did cut PAYE tax they on the other hand also increased GST and any PAYE gains most kiwis got never made up for the higher output in the extra money they had to spend on the GST increases. Only those in the higher wage brackets benefited from the PAYE to GST tax swap. The average kiwi has always paid higher taxes since then.

      • Nic the NZer 1.5.1

        You, and others, need to stop criticizing the government for not running a balanced budget. Balancing the government budget is the wrong way to manage the economy, and previous and current attempts to balance the government budget are a causal factor in many of the issues you also have with the NZ economy. These include but are not limited to,
        * Low levels of funding for public sector programs (education, health care, public transport infrastructure).
        * Income inequality (and low paying jobs, with poor rewards).
        * High levels of personal indebtedness (and of course low levels of personal savings, including retirement savings).
        * High levels of unemployment.
        * High house prices.

        Similar issues will occur regardless of which political party attempts to run a balanced budget and how they try to do that, in fact many of the issues listed above were happening already under the previous Labour government.

        NZ’s government debt is not ‘huge’ and does not in any way need to be paid off.

        • mickysavage 1.5.1.1

          I am not criticising the Government for failing to run a balanced budget. I am criticising them for promising this repeatedly and for failing and for having this as essentially their sole economic policy.

    • Draco T Bastard 1.6

      Bill English is on record as saying that the economy was in great shape after the 4th Labour government. Or are you saying that Bill English is a liar?

    • Straight out of J Keys mouth, written by N Fisiani.

    • Pat 1.8

      basket case economy they inherited??…you really are an economic illiterate fisiani

  2. Nic the NZer 2

    For a government like NZ’s which issues its own currency, running a surplus or deficit, is purely the by-product of the governments impact on the economy. The question of if that results in a surplus or deficit is completely irrelevant, there is certainly no virtue in running surpluses, the only question worth addressing is how the overall economy is doing. There is also a non-linear relationship between the governments surplus/deficit status and the overall level of economic activity, so in many cases governments attempting to cut spending drives overall economic activity down to the extent that the government deficit increases (e.g in Greece recent austerity has only made their government deficit larger, and cut 25% off their GDP since 2008). The NZ governments cutting of spending has probably only resulted in a reduction of NZ’s GDP growth rate, e.g ordinary NZers aggregate income growth, however. In so doing the unemployment, and underemployment rates have been higher than necessary for longer than necessary.

    As can be plainly seen the economy is starved of public funds, programs such as the earthquake rebuild, public health, many infrastructure projects, border controls are being poorly impacted by cuts in their budgets. Most councils are trying to find ways to increase rates, because central government will not provide the extra needed funds. Plainly any attempt by the government to run a surplus is not useful in the present economic environment the deficit should be larger and the government more generous in many areas.

    Even the Cullen surpluses are highly questionable, as they largely resulted from activity due to a housing bubble, with the result that NZ has huge problems now due to inflated house prices locking people out of the housing market. If the government of the day had introduced the stringent credit controls required to check the housing bubble (e.g with a much stronger form of present LVR legislation, e.g with 100% coverage) then the surpluses would have disappeared as the housing bubble stopped and the government might have been required to run a significant deficit to balance this and maintain similar GDP growth rates to those of the day.

    Most of the time, due to saving desires of the private sector, a government should probably be running a deficit of some size. For some reason people still wonder why NZ has a low savings rate, but its perfectly obvious and is simply the product of the government trying to lower its deficit.

    • Colonial Rawshark 2.1

      For a government like NZ’s which issues its own currency, running a surplus or deficit, is purely the by-product of the governments impact on the economy. The question of if that results in a surplus or deficit is completely irrelevant, there is certainly no virtue in running surpluses, the only question worth addressing is how the overall economy is doing.

      This. Of course, the government can run a surplus if it decreases the savings and income of the private sector and of households. Why anyone thinks that is a good idea is beyond me.

      Even the Cullen surpluses are highly questionable, as they largely resulted from activity due to a housing bubble

      Cullen ran a debt swap. He allowed escalating private sector debt (esp from mortgages) to inject lots of money into the NZ economy. He then taxed that extra money in to the Treasury coffers in order to pay off public sector debt. The government’s books looked better, the private sector’s books looked worse, and NZ overall became more indebted than ever. It was just the balance of whose books that debt appeared on which changed.

      • dukeofurl 2.1.1

        You really have trouble reading financial reports to produce this sort of mumbo jumbo.
        Since we dont have a capital gains tax, Cullen coudnt tax anything from the property bubble. We dont even have land tax and stamp duty on property transfers like Australian states, to benefit from property speculation. Major property sales are usually done by a sale of shares in a company to avoid GST, or they use the rollover provisions

        • Colonial Rawshark 2.1.1.1

          Huh? If you can’t follow the monetary concept of sectorial money balances between the private sector and the public sector, and the fact that an increasing government surplus *always* drives an increasing private sector deficit in the absence of a current account surplus, then please don’t comment. “Financial reports” in a general accounting sense are irrelevant to this activity because they do not track this activity.

          Cullen coudnt tax anything from the property bubble. We dont even have land tax and stamp duty on property transfers like Australian states, to benefit from property speculation.

          Irrelevant to my point that Cullen effectively performed a debt swap between the private sector and the public sector balance sheets.

      • Draco T Bastard 2.1.2

        Why anyone thinks that is a good idea is beyond me.

        Because if the government runs too much of a deficit the private sector ends up with too much money. Considering that that too much money will be in the hands of the few due to the way capitalism works that means that those few will be a) looking for returns on that money resulting in ever higher accumulation and b) looking to buy up society’s wealth and they’ll be able to do both of these because of c) they’ll have the politicians in their pocket. These result in ever increasing poverty for society.

    • Draco T Bastard 2.2

      For a government like NZ’s which issues its own currency

      Although governments can and should do that no government today actually does so. They take out interest bearing loans instead.

      Even the Cullen surpluses are highly questionable

      From what I can make out most of the GDP growth of the last decade or so is a result of both public and private borrowing and very little else. Although there’s been some actual development of the economy I don’t think that it’s as much as the rate of GDP growth.

      Most of the time, due to saving desires of the private sector, a government should probably be running a deficit of some size. For some reason people still wonder why NZ has a low savings rate, but its perfectly obvious and is simply the product of the government trying to lower its deficit.

      It’s pretty obvious in this article: Private profit (which includes savings) = government deficit.

  3. Tracey 3

    ” But when you promise for so long ”

    But when you lie for so long

    FIFY

  4. I do not believe the current Govt are interested for one minute in the books being in balance as all they are interested at this time is keeping workers from having any decent pay increases .

    But come 2017 prior to the next election announcement what’s the bet that a surplus will magically appear just in time we go to the ballot box ?
    And the promises of pay increases will flow from their mealy mouths once again.

    These Tories are a devious lot and will do anything to stay in power.

  5. david 5

    Colonial Rawshark, while there are merits on what you say, Bats have done precious little to address the external debt. Their focus has been on the govt books but these are not a problem. To address the external debt we need to save and invest more. Other than lowering tax rates they have nothing to encourage savings and investment. You compare nz incentives for saving to the incentives they have in Australia like salary sacrifice and we don’t stack up here. National are all talk and no do.

  6. The Murphey 6

    Until such time as legitimate financial and monetary commentators are involved in preparing and distributing messages to the public the lies and deceit will continue to revolve around meaningless abstract targets such as ‘return to surplus’

    Should the above come to pass it is likely the current financial framework has collapsed and or is in transitional state towards phase out

    Realistically the transitional state has been underway for +/- 40 years however the message is still controlled by the establishment which is why the lies and propaganda are becoming ever more transparent

    The NZ media and its messages are reflective of the NZ economy and financial well being which if course are directly responsible for many deaths and the poverty levels in NZ

    • tracey 6.1

      There does seem to be an (unscientific) correlation between the rise and domination of neo liberal (instantly benefit those at the top) economics and the deterioration of understanding of journalists of the role they are meant to play and the power they hold. And IF this journalistic deterioration is because of editorial and boardroom pressure then where is the courage? Many people suck it up and challenge the status quo and accept the price may e less pay or a different job. Sadly there don’t seem to be many of these in the field of journalism these days…

      • Naturesong 6.1.1

        This is worth a read – it covers some of your questions;

        Speech delivered by Nicky Hagar to Sociological Association of Aotearoa New Zealand Conference, University of Otago, 26 November 2008: Imagining a world where the PR people had won

        • Tracey 6.1.1.1

          Have read it before, but was good to read again. Thanks. His Bruce Jesson is always worth a re-read too.

          “We live in an era where the public spaces are being crowded with paid spokespeople, spin and trickery; where news and political discussion are being polluted by the glib outpourings of ever growing numbers of PR people; and where the public spaces available for real democratic activity are drying up.”

          How proud people like Farrar and Hooton et al must feel…

          • Naturesong 6.1.1.1.1

            This is the bit I was thinking of at the time I commented:

            I believe that to understand current New Zealand society, one of the most important mechanisms to understand is the past and present attacks on certain groups of people. For example, one of the vigorous PR vehicles in the 1980s was NZBR. It claimed of itself that it was purely a source of information and analysis, but one of its main tactics was active attacks on anyone prominent or influential that did not support its beliefs. Many people were hounded out of positions of influence by its efforts.
            Because the winners wrote lots of this history, these events need more analysis to understand the long-term effects. However there is a lot of evidence of the journalists who got repeated attacks and found themselves marginalised at that time.
            The same with public figures like economist Brian Philpott, who was hounded out of the Wellington newspapers. One Wellington lobby firm specialised in pressuring journalists (it’s co-founder is still a dominant character in Wellington PR and lobbying).

            The same thing happened in universities and the public service – with nasty attacks on critics of Rogernomics and behind the scenes manoeuvring to undermine their employment. Many people were pushed aside in this way, while other were favoured and promoted. NZBR head Roger Kerr went onto VUW council from 1995-99 to continue this process, actively investigating and making life difficult for lecturers who were outspoken against the policies he believes in.

            A university economist told me recently that there had not been a single appointment of a left-leaning economist to any university department in New Zealand for about 20 years. If correct, this would mean that – even though New Zealand has moved a lot since the 1980s and 1990s — econ students today are still getting an almost uniform diet of free market ideology.

            • Tracey 6.1.1.1.1.1

              Did you read Farrar’s “research” on media “opinion” which is positive or negative toward Labour or National?

              One criteria was

              “An editorial or column is assessed against whether someone reading it will feel more positive or more negative about the Government/National, Labour, Greens or NZ First.”

              WHO made the assessment?

              • I was not aware of the criteria – I’d seen the figure in Bryce Edwards colmn.

                Adding “An editorial or column is assessed against whether someone reading it will feel more positive or more negative about the Government/National, Labour, Greens or NZ First.” to his piece would have provided useful context.
                Instead he wandered off into the weeds.

                • Tracey

                  yes and WHO made the assessment on whether it was positive or negative and based on what…

                  AND why exclude the large numbers of other opinion pieces which litter our papers, espeh on weekends, from the “research”?

                  And didnt do NZF or the Greens cos they dont written about enough…. That is probably the most interesting statistic about our FPP media.

            • Wynston 6.1.1.1.1.2

              “econ students today are still getting an almost uniform diet of free market ideology”.

              Spot on! But then for the last 40 or so years one has only had to teach a parrot “trickle down” and they’ve turned out an economist.

              • NZJester

                Trickle down as a theory has so many major flaws and was long ago debunked as a good working economic model.
                When those at the top get that money they have no incentive to let it trickle down as it makes them far more money locked away in their bank accounts or in long term investments.
                Why would they invest that money in small businesses to help them grow when those business have few customers that can afford their goods.

                When you put the money in at the bottom however it does make its way up the chain.
                Those at the top must invest in helping small business grow if they want to collect any of that money as it makes it’s way up the chain.
                Because more costumers at the bottom of the chain have the money to spend on goods businesses can afford to grow to meet a real demand for their services.

                Basically Greed prevents trickle down from working. But then Greed does not hinder, but can help trickle up from working.

          • The Murphey 6.1.1.1.2

            How proud people like Farrar and Hooton et al must feel…

            One is left to speculate what those who ‘support the framework’ have been blackmailed or threatened with

            There will be many who are willing participants and again speculation as to the motives makes for interesting conversations

            • Tracey 6.1.1.1.2.1

              No threats. Ego and money, and a complete failure to give a shit about the wider consequences. Note this week Hooton was annoyed at Key government, in part cos Key had lied about Hooton. NOT cos of any inherently wrongness about where they are taking NZ.

              • The Murphey

                Many must genuinely not give a toss given the state of play globally on so many fronts

                I wonder if the minions stop to consider the consequences of their contributions

                Something does not add up

        • Unicus 6.1.1.2

          Thanks for the reminder – some great work from Hagar over the years

          Here’s a helpful “PR concept ” for the addicted and depressed wanting to kick their evening dose of pap and lies

          “LOOSE THE NEWS”

  7. When you have to slash social spending as this government has in order to get a surplus, then it’s not a real surplus. It’s an attack on those who cannot protect themselves and the community at large.

    • Draco T Bastard 7.1

      +1

      Well said and the only people who benefit from such policies are the rich.

    • tracey 7.2

      Robbing the low income to make the higher incomes richer and the middle income feel comfortable.

      • Picard101 7.2.1

        The middle have no reason to feel any better. Unless the thought of 30 police stations closing in order to meet government ordered savings from the police dept makes them feel safer.

        • Tracey 7.2.1.1

          no they don’t but that is the trick, isn’t it… make them feel threatened by beating a drum, then stop the drum.

          the law and order drum is beaten pre election… the time to close stations cos law and order aint as bad as presented in elections, is the year after elections.

  8. Chooky 8

    Letter from Metiria Turei , Co-leader of the Greens:

    Kia ora

    The Government opened its books yesterday and it doesn’t make pretty reading.

    With just over a month to go to the Budget, John Key and Bill English are heading towards a record seventh consecutive deficit, equalling the mark set by their National mates from 1966 to 1972.

    This is a Government that has sold itself as the masters of economic management, and what do we have to show for it?

    To start with, there’s that string of deficits, as well as growing inequality, and a two-track economy that only benefits a small number of people.

    Tax cuts for the rich and selling off our assets have done nothing to help everyday Kiwis.

    There are signs of this Government’s ineptness everywhere you look; be it growing child poverty, substantial job losses or the horrendously over-inflated housing market – all of which John Key and Bill English are turning their backs to.

    The Green Party is committed to promoting a fairer, greener economy for our country.

    We also know that New Zealanders are depending on us to hold the Government accountable for its fiscal failings – and that’s what we’ll be focusing on over the coming months.

  9. Draco T Bastard 9

    Remember the decade of deficits?

    National have worked hard to ensure that we would have such a decade by giving the rich tax cuts and corporate welfare and selling off state assets while putting the boot into the poor.

  10. fisiani 10

    if we are not in surplus by election 2017 I admit the election could be close. Low inflation makes it difficult to achieve a surplus but I’m sure the average person cares not a jot about when a surplus is achieved. Most people appreciate low inflation, improved housing affordabilty (ex Auckland) affordable mortgages and raised pensions. extended free primary health care for children and cheaper holidays in Australia and the All Blacks winning the World Cup.

    • Paul 10.1

      More slavish nonsense.
      Some help for you, fisi.
      How to leave a cult.

      http://www.wikihow.com/Leave-a-Cult

    • Straight out of J Keys mouth, written by Nat Fisiani.

    • mac1 10.3

      Dear Fisiani, since you never reply to information which you cannot dispute or spin, here is a piece of something I wrote in reply to you on another thread. I’d be interested in your view of a current reality quite different from yours above.

      “The budget forecast to be in the positive has gone red, the by-election was lost and the privatisation of NZ prisons gets a boost. Social housing land is sold, the value of the NZ dollar hurts our exporters, and our poorly researched government is starting to pull back on silly ideas such as paying for police checks; and 30 Police stations are to close.”

      • mac1 10.3.1

        Oh, and Ministers of the Crown don’t even know the basic facts of their portfolio, Fisiani, as demonstrated by Tim Groser, to the point of getting it exactly wrong.

        Will the Great Leader, and Protector of the Bastions of Honesty, John Key, have a word with his errant Minister?

        • mac1 10.3.1.1

          I wonder, Fisiani, whether the above GL and PotBoH, John Key, will be having a word with his Minister of Finance about his ability to accurately predict, and plan for, the first fiscal surplus of his tenure.

          “Geez, Bill, get it right , mate, or I’ll give the job to …..er….. now who’s not been telling lies or stuffing up? OK, look just do better next time, or my reputation for honesty and integrity in government will be in tatters, and we know What Keeps Us In Power, don’t we?”

    • tracey 10.4

      But then you were so confidant the dollar would reach parity with the Aussie dollar at 4pm one day last week… when it didn’t you changed your certainty to in a “month”. It’s like you are writing from the Government’s playbook.

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

      “improved housing affordabilty (ex Auckland) ”

      THAT is hilarious Fisi… you conveniently remove a third of the population from your aggrandizement of the situation.

      “but I’m sure the average person cares not a jot about when a surplus is achieved”

      FUNNY that the Government puts so much emphasis on it Fisi.

      “1,280 times in reported speeches and press releases. ” is 213 times a year, 17 times a month, and 2 and a half times a week…

    • Incognito 10.5

      “Most people appreciate low inflation …”.

      As if people have a choice in the matter! Low inflation also leads to lower or no wage increases: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11430800

      Do you think most people do appreciate that as well?

      • Tracey 10.5.1

        In Fisi’s world

        ” the average person cares not a jot about when a surplus is achieved.” but they really appreciate the impact of low inflation on their lives.

    • Picard101 10.6

      You seem to miss the point. It is the fact National have made a MASSIVE deal about this surplus and how it proves how great they are at managing the country. They have a lot riding on this. You are right that normally the average joe cares not a jot, but national have made people care, and now they will be hung by this massive broken promise.

    • dave 10.7

      the world is grip of deflation stagnation we have austerity . property bubbles ,an over valued currency , no real income growth, exports crashing , new Zealand has one of highest household debt problems in the oecd ,child poverty through the roof a government practising the 4 ds divert , deflect ,deceive ,and FJK favourite denial, suicide rates are spiralling upwards ,polluted rivers and a total national debt of over 508 billion and all the likes of fisiani can say is how fucking awesome there key-god is.

    • I love it when you contradict yourself in the space of one comment.

      Because how can a lack of surplus make 2017 a “close” election if “the average person” doesn’t care about surpluses?

  11. Paul Campbell 11

    really it’s simple – we wouldn’t be in this situation if we hadn’t given Key’s mates a tax break – all English has to do to fix things is to take the tax break back – I’m sure he knows that but refuses to do so

  12. Penny Bright 12

    How much is New Zealand now exposed to ‘off the books’ derivatives?

    Penny Bright

  13. Wynston 13

    http://www.theautomaticearth.com/2015/04/theres-trouble-brewing-in-middle-earth/

    Provides an excellent coverage of the country’s economy and the governments performance. Blinglish, Fisi and others of such ilk would do well to read it! And I am sure that Shonkey will love (I don’t think) this piece of truth in particular: “The country’s prime minister since 2008, John Key, used to work at Merrill Lynch and the New York Fed, and that sort of background guarantees valiant efforts to sell anything in the country that’s not bolted down, and take an axe to what is. It also guarantees zero initiative to become self-sufficient.”

    • dave 13.1

      that’s a bloody good article so was Forbes article last year on 12 reasons NZ economy will crash
      http://www.forbes.com/sites/jessecolombo/2014/04/17/12-reasons-why-new-zealands-economic-bubble-will-end-in-disaster/

      and its fucking happening

      • Wynston 13.1.1

        Agree totally!
        It was a toss up between the two articles as to which one I linked. The “reasons why” one totally stumped (“stuffed” might be more accurate) our (now brand new) local MP when I raised it at last years Grey Power AGM!

      • I remember that article in Forbes.

        Although it doesn’t take an analyst to know something is wrong. Someone who can read and DOES read between the lines will figure it out.

        And essentially none of the problems that we have had for the last 15-20 years since a programme on television in about 1999 talked about the success of nations that invested more in research and development; bigger emphasis on exports and diversification of the export base – all which we have not done – have been solved.

        Yes the economy is in trouble.

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    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
    5 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 ...
    5 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
    5 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 ...
    6 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
    7 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
    8 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
    11 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
    11 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
    11 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
    11 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
    12 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
    13 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
    16 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    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
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    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
    4 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
    9 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
    11 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
    12 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
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