Why selling assets won’t solve our debt problem

Written By: - Date published: 9:41 am, January 27th, 2011 - 38 comments
Categories: Economy, john key - Tags: ,

Everywhere he can, John Key is busy raising the canard of our economy being as indebted as the PIIGS countries (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, Spain) that are in trouble in Europe.  He’s talking about net foreign debt, and he’s suggesting lowering government debt (by hocking our inherited family silver off) is the solution.

But New Zealand’s debt problem is not a government debt problem like the bailed-out countries of Greece and Ireland.  We do not face the risk of bail-out as JK deceitfully suggests, as we are a long way from the government being unable to pay its bills.  While NZ’s net foreign debt position is 85% of GDP, net public debt is forecast to peak at 30% of GDP in 2015 (edit: currently 18.8%). Compare this to the current situation of Italy (115.2%), Portugal (76.9%), Greece (126.8%), Spain (53.2%), and Ireland (64.8%).

National arrived in office with zero net Crown debt, but through the recession and tax cuts for the rich in 2009 and 2010 we are now gathering debt – including $120 million/week for those tax cuts.  But it is still only a small part of the problem.

The problem is personal debt.  At the moment it’s improving – without asset sales – no doubt partly because the Government is socialising the debt of the wealthy through those tax cuts.

So asset sales won’t solve a non-existent government debt problem, will it help with the personal debt problem?

No.

If we sell to foreign investors we lose the profits overseas.  Prices go up (and/or spending on new infrastructure goes down) as they demand a bigger return on their investment; New Zealanders’ costs go up and so does our debt.

If we sell to “mum and dad investors” the assets they already own (also known as extortion if it’s done by the mob), they will currently need to borrow (from overseas…) to pay for their shares.  Or they reduce their other investments – starving the pool of money that is funding our productive exporters that we need to pull us into recovery.

This is another reason why businesses in the productive economy will be supporting Labour this year, along with their fiscal and exchange rate policies.  Where National’s asset sales will starve the investment into our productive economy, Labour’s revitalising kiwisaver, re-starting the NZ Super Fund and other measures to increase saving will grow the sector; instead of National’s starving R&D, Labour knows innovation is the key to future growth and will help fund it.

So if we want to reduce foreign debt we need to introduce measure to encourage savings, not flick off assets.  It the wrong solution to the wrong problem John.

38 comments on “Why selling assets won’t solve our debt problem ”

  1. BLiP 1

    And yet another PR plank collapses under the strain of evidence. The timing of the sell off is near perfect if the real intention was to ensure foreign ownership. Just at the time when most “mum and dad” investors are up to their eyeballs in debt, give the already rich a tax cut to free up a little loose cash to show a modicum of local ownership and then put the silverware on the block.

    Good work National Ltd™ – I’m lovin’ it.

    • ZeeBop 1.1

      We sell lots of exports. Its like a rip at the beach. A huge sucker that can pull you out fast.
      Its like the drain in your sink, it sucks you down. Now all those exports need someone on
      the other side of the currency trade so farmers can bring back their profits. That means
      the kiwi economy has to produce wants, that means kiwis need to buy tvs, buy drugs,
      buy other peopels exports to match our own. Unless of course farmers don’t bring back
      their whole profit, only the money to cover their costs! That means they can grow richer
      in some foreign place where the stores sell stuff cheap as there are more buyers and sellers.
      So it rewards exporters to not climb the currency border! But what elites have done is
      actually make it easier to get out of NZ, by capital farming, by churning business here
      you can make more capital gain on the rise in a bubble market, by entering and exiting,
      so when money does flush into the economy to invest, that money is pushed into creating
      a bubble where the players can realize very quickly a profit. And no productive gain, no
      long term investment, and the money goes overseas to buy a pad in Sydney.
      So its the giant economic rip tide that suckers NZ out of their export dollar, leaves
      farmers heavily in debt, and the best farms owned by foriegners. If you want a better
      economy, introduce a capital gains tax, make pure finance profiteering harder and
      organic company growth more profitable.
      I didn’t see any of the top tax band tax cut, so how were the three rounds of
      tax cuts introduced by National fiscally neutral, if I’m now paying percentage
      more of the total tax requirement of government, paying off all that extra
      borrowing as well that National have built up? How a PM can lie so openly
      on public TV, and how effective the reporters can look trying to pull him
      down and yet not, is a shocking indictment of the state of our lack of democratic
      accountability.

    • Jum 1.2

      Go to the top of the class for stating the obvious.

  2. Lanthanide 2

    Another way to argue it, is that if the share are sold to ‘mum and dad investors’ in NZ, is that the people buying up the shares won’t be the same people who currently have a stake in them.

    In other words, we are taking assets owned by all NZ taxpayers, and selling them to a small bunch of NZ taxpayers that have excess cash on hand to invest in such things – concentrating the ownership of assets into a smaller group of the population.

    • Bright Red 2.1

      and then they sell the shares to who knows who and they’re gone forever.

      • Lanthanide 2.1.1

        No, they’re gone until they’re bought back. That may not be ever, but it’s not like it’s impossible to get shares back. All you have to do is offer an attractive price.

        Who knows? Maybe National would lead us to a nirvana of 6% growth per annum compounding, and we’ll be able to buy back our electricity companies. I doubt it, of course.

        • Colonial Viper 2.1.1.1

          All you have to do is offer an attractive price.

          Or compulsorarily acquire the shares at a price you set. Say the purchase price less 10%.

          You warn potential prospective buyers upfront, so they can make the choice.

          • Lanthanide 2.1.1.1.1

            While it’s possible, this is not very business-friendly, and may cause unforeseen consequences.

            • Colonial Viper 2.1.1.1.1.1

              I think it reinforces a ring fence over what activities NZ is open for on business – just about everything – and what we are not: core strategic and infrastructure assets. Many countries do exactly the same.

              Just try buying a power station of a water company in China, Singapore or Norway as a foreigner.

          • Jum 2.1.1.1.2

            Now you’re talking – warn the scalpers in advance that they will lose the assets that were stolen from New Zealanders, and get back less than they originally paid.

  3. tsmithfield 3

    Sorry, Bunji, you still don’t get it.

    1. The fact that these SOE’s are very low risk assets means that investors will accept very low returns. They are probably a safer investment than money in the bank so investors will accept quite a low yield. The old “risk and return”.

    2. Interest rates are currently very low. This means selling shares now is the optimum time. Investors will be pissed off with the low return they get from banks and will be willing to put their money into something that gives a little bit more return and is very safe.

    3. OTOH, the government has to regularly roll its debt. The yield curve suggests going out that interest rates are going to increase appreciably. Also, borrowing more money to fund government expenditure is going to increase the CD spread, increasing borrowing costs for the government. This means, going forward, debt is likely to cost the government a lot more, even if it is cheap now, because existing debt needs to be rolled.

    4. The capital projects the government invests the money into may in themselves produce a dividend return to the government, that may well balance out any dividend that is lost in the share float.

    5. Point 3 and 4 together, the government may well be cashflow positive due to this move.

    6. The taxpayer is no worse off in real terms because one asset (shares) is being swapped for another asset (cash). That cash may well be used to produce a better return than the dividends lost from the shares that were sold.

    All in all, the share float strategy is very low risk and much better than borrowing more money. A debt problem can’t be solved with more debt.

    • Colonial Viper 3.1

      Forget the finance speak.

      NZ needs to maintain its energy sovereignty in an age of increasing fuel prices and decreasing oil availability.

      Selling our hard energy assets off to China and middle eastern petrostates is the last thing in the world we should be doing at this time of peaking oil production.

      • ZeeBop 3.1.1

        State Asset sales are a fraud, and the MPs who vote for it should be charged and convicted. We do not need more foreigners owning NZ and taking profits overseas! We already own the asset so Key suggesting kiwis can own it is a lie, we already own it damnit!

      • tsmithfield 3.1.2

        Riiight…lets ignore the finance speak when it contradicts the position you want to take.

        • Colonial Viper 3.1.2.1

          The finance speak is irrelevant. No amount of money can compensate for the loss of a nation’s energy sovereignty in a time of peaking oil production.

          Its stupid to exchange hard energy assets during peak oil, for piles of worthless paper US dollars which are simply coming off the printing press. (Or being electronically created in an account and then sent out, the modern way).

    • Bored 3.2

      TS, a little learning is a dangerous thing: rather than criticize your arguments which are at best mechanistic and at worst narrow constructs I suggest you broaden your reading. The likes of Adam Smith is a good place to start especially his critiques of investor behavior. Below is a line copied from a Wiki but it is a good place to start on the subject of economic rent. It is very pertinent to your argument on asset sales.

      In economics, rent seeking occurs when an individual, organization or firm seeks to earn income by capturing economic rent through manipulation or exploitation of the economic or political environment, rather than by earning profits through economic transactions and the production of added wealth.

    • Draco T Bastard 3.3

      They are probably a safer investment than money in the bank…

      That’s because the returns are government guaranteed but that also means that the private owners will put on even more pressure for high returns. They know they can’t lose.

      Interest rates are currently very low. This means selling shares now is the optimum time.

      Nope, keeping something is a hell of a lot cheaper than having to buy it back in such a state that we have to spend a few billion bringing it back to standard (which will happen – Telecom, Rail).

      OTOH, the government has to regularly roll its debt.

      This is what presently happens but not what needs to happen. What the government should do is print the money and pay the bonds off as they come due – not keep rolling them over. If inflation looks to be a problem then increase taxes.

      The capital projects the government invests the money into may in themselves produce a dividend return to the government, that may well balance out any dividend that is lost in the share float.

      If the government has projects that need doing then they should finance them through taxes. They should never borrow and they should never sell off existing assets as this just leaves the country worse off.

      Point 3 and 4 together, the government may well be cashflow positive due to this move.

      Pure speculation and, given what’s happened before, probably not a high chance of happening.

      The taxpayer is no worse off in real terms…

      We’ll be worse off in a number of ways:
      1.) We’ll lose critical assets
      2.) We’ll have to borrow more to cover the loss of savings from those assets
      3.) We’ll have to borrow more due to the private owners of the sold assets taking as much profit out as possible

      Basically, you’re full of shit. We know what happens when we sell state assets – we become worse off. This is what happened every previous time and what will happen again.

    • ghostwhowalksnz 3.4

      What do define as ‘low return’ , the power companies are all ready getting 7.5%, which is greater than the cost of borrowing if the state had just bought them.

    • Frank Macskasy 3.5

      Tsmithfield, John Key’s announcement of partial asset sales raises several questions;

      1. How long before these state assets are fully privatised?

      2. What will privatisation of power companies do for electricity prices? The privatisation of Wellington’s “Capital Power” meant price rises soon after, and Max Bradford’s infamous comment that power prices will come down with competition still rings in our ears.

      3. What is the gaurarantee that private owners will not price-gouge consumers, to recoup their investments?

      4. If it’s good enough for John Key to state categorically that Kiwibank will never be sold, then why are our other strategic companies exceptions?

      5. What guarantee is there that new owners of our power companies will not result in poor performance and collapse, as with NZ Rail and Air New Zealand?

      6. Why should Kiwi Mum & Dad investors buy something which we already own?

  4. John Dalley 4

    “Mum & Dad” investors as smile and wave likes to call them where royally screwed over from past asset sales when the larger institutional investors manipulated the rules to suit themselves resulting in “mum and dad” investors not realizing the potential of there shares. If mum and dad are stupid enough to learn from history then they are dumb F**ks.

    • Irascible 4.1

      “Mum & Dad Investors” are a hypothetical construct created by a PR company to disguise the true true identity – the overseas corporates dedicated to asset stripping rather than real investing. The reality of privatisation of State owned Companies was demonstrated when every “Mum & Dad Investor” got scalped by the Asset Strippers when the local body power companies were privatised by Bradford.

  5. johnm 5

    Ireland which Key said the other day was “bankrupt” and which has a debt problem according to him: Neither assertion was true until the Incompetent NeoLiberal Cowan (Coward) Government crazily decided to cover the bad bets in the property casino market, foreign easy money merchants had made through private banks. Legally they could have saved the Irish People from these greed sharks by legally refusing to cover these market plays,as Iceland did-well done Iceland!, Now they’re imposing AUSTERITY on Ireland to cover a corrupt failed market.

    Before this historic failure Ireland had absolutely no debt problem and had a hard working confident people ,all of this has been ruined by bad criminal decisions. This government here are no better to my mind but Kiwis continue to vote for them as their young people get out to a better place such as Australia.

    • Colonial Viper 5.1

      Question: given Ireland has a major public debt problem, WHO leant Ireland the money?

      And why are those lenders now demanding that the ordinary Irish person pay for it with suffering and poverty?

      • Deadly_NZ 5.1.1

        The IMF Vultures and the first thing they stole was about 20 billion euro pension fund, then they make the govt tax and tax and then tax again.

        “But the Irish were shocked by a key condition for the rescue — that the government use euro17.5 billion of its own cash and pension reserves to shore up its public finances, which have been overwhelmed by recession and exceptional costs of a runaway bank-bailout effort.”

        And this as well is what we can look forward to–

        “This is not a rescue plan. It is the longest ransom note in history: Do what we tell you and you may, in time, get your country back,”

        Yes it look like Shonky jonky knows exactly what he is doing he is one of the greedy bankers, who are raping and pillaging their way across the financial scene.

        Oh and the link I forgot it
        http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101129/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_europe_financial_crisis

  6. Colonial Viper 6

    BTW this is a std NAT ploy.

    They know that selling off SOEs is not going to be popular, so they will “listen” to public feedback, and water down the policy down the track before elections, to show that they are being “moderate and cautious” in their approach.

    • Lanthanide 6.1

      Just like how they showed us 1 tax-cut policy, that wasn’t too unfriendly to the bottom end, and replaced it with the “tax switch” that raised GST.

  7. Janice 7

    As I understand it “Mum and Dad” investors are going to be able to buy at a preferential price lower than overseas investors. Will these mums and dads then be able to sell at the higher price to the overseas investors? What a nice (untaxed) capital gain. Who are these mums and dad? Mr and Mrs J Key, Mr and Mrs W English and Mr and Mrs R Hide, etc, etc.

    • If true, then that’s also a built in incentive to on-sell quickly (to overseas investors) to ensure that you make guaranteed money, rapidly.

      If JK doesn’t see that ‘unintended consequence’ then perhaps he’s not as financially savvy as some would have us believe. Then again, maybe he does see that ‘unintended consequence’, which would make it an ‘intended consequence’ or at least a consequence he doesn’t wish to highlight?

  8. grumpy 8

    Labour and in particular Goff have huge problems with this issue, they sold off a huge number of assets, without warning, including Telecom.

    Nationals plan is much more mild, keeping a majority stake (unlike Labour) and looking at ways to limit foreign ownership (unlike Labour).

    This is the policy Labour wish they had thought of years ago!

    • Draco T Bastard 8.1

      Labour and in particular Goff have huge problems with this issue, they sold off a huge number of assets, without warning, including Telecom.

      Yes, they did – 20 years ago and they’ve learned the lesson that doing so is bad for the country and so have promised not to sell any more. NACT, on the other hand, want to sell more of our assets to make us worse off and themselves and their rich mates better off.

      Nationals plan is much more mild…

      No it’s not. It’s still designed to transfer NZs wealth to the rich few.

  9. Graeme Chisnall 9

    The Govt already gets dividends from these assets mentioned in John Keys “Garage Sale”. Also his mention of these so called “mums & dads” investors buying into these newly allocated shares (which by the way we have already paid for) is a load of cr**. Mums & dads investors have not nor will they invest in the stock market. This “derogatory” term is of old, silly and uninformed investors who know little of stock market investing. This is why the demographic of M&D investors went into the housing investment sector and Finance companies – they want(ed) a regular and consistent return on investment, something they understood. To many the stock exchange is alien and scary. With the recent world market crash and Finance company meltdown, these investors will stick to safer banking institutions. Therefore M&D’s will not buy into these asset sales! As seen before when Auckland Airport was nearly sold, which would have seen all the profits go to the Ontario Teachers Fund (Canada), Labour blocked that sale. All the profits of a well performing NZX entity would have given Ontario Teachers a very comfortable retirement at our expense.
    A total lie about NZ’s debt too. Most of NZ’s debt is in the property sector where too much investment pushed property values to the highest per capita debt in the world. It is NOT Govt debt (other than Nationals borrowing $120m weekly to pay for the rich to get richer) it is personal debt.
    One consistent with National is their ability to lie.

  10. prism 10

    It is notable that news snippets about our ‘overseas debt’ do not refer to the private nature of (most of) it, the property market etc. and the consumer borrowing. The post was timely and thanks for the clear explanation Bunji.

    The irresponsibility and calculated cunning of investors as in the SCF debacle, became a burden the government encouraged and then accepted, and now they are borrowing to recover the tax cuts to the rich.

    One thing about NACT they look after their financiers and supporters. I remember when John Banks got into a position of power he greased his way into the hearts of sportspeople with a juicy settlement. Jolly John Banks and Jonkey
    pay up promptly, up to he expected standard while we remain poor.

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    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
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    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
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • 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
    6 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
    8 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
    8 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
    22 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    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
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  • Minister’s Ramadan message
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