An Easter Meditation

Written By: - Date published: 10:02 pm, April 7th, 2023 - 16 comments
Categories: Austerity, debt / deficit, Economy, Financial markets, israel, loan sharks, privatisation, religion, socialism - Tags:

In his …and forgive them their debts, my favourite economist and Jubilee advocate Michael Hudson states that Jesus driving the money-changers from the Temple was “the act that inspired the city leaders to plot his death.”

Hudson is a polymath, a lifetime opponent of usury, a tireless exponent of the perils of compound interest and the financialised economy that is the United States. His website is here. Another book well worth a read is his The Destiny of Civilization: Finance capitalism, industrial capitalism, or socialism. All very relevant today, with the current unsteady state of the US and European banking system and the desperate attempts by central banks to combat runaway inflation.

…and forgive them their debts links Jesus’ first sermon “where he unrolled the scroll of Isaiah and announced his mission to ‘restore the year of Our Lord'” to the Jubilee Year, the economic ideal central to Mosaic Law, the widespread annulment of personal debts.” Hudson writes:

This ideal remains so alien to our modern way of thinking that his sermons are usually interpreted in a broad compassionate sense of urging personal charity toward one’s own debtors and the poor in general. There is a reluctance to focus on the creditor oligarchy that Jesus (and many of his contemporary Romans) blamed for the epoch’s deepening poverty.

There have been some recent successes in debt cancellation, most notably the Jubilee 2000 campaign led by the UK’s Ann Pettifor, then of Advocacy International, which led to the cancellation of $100 billion worth of debt owed by the world’s most indebted countries. Speaking of Jubilee 2000 campaign, Ann Pettifor said in 2011:

Jubilee 2000 was a campaign that mobilized many millions of people in more than 60 countries behind an effort to “break the chains of debt” that effectively enslaved poor debtor countries to rich creditor countries.  Like the British 19th century anti-slavery campaign, Jubilee 2000 arose as a response to a movement – people in poor debtor countries demonstrating against and resisting decades of foreign debt repayments, and the associated International Monetary Fund “structural adjustment” programs.

The IMF was, and is, the agent of the finance sector, all global creditors, official and private. Riots and resistance in debtor nations were triggered by policies imposed by the IMF on behalf of bankers, and included hikes in food and gasoline prices, increases in unemployment, cuts in government programs – all designed to generate resources for the repayment of foreign debts.  Jubilee 2000 set out to place pressure on creditors, one of which was our own government, to cancel these debts, and thereby render the IMF and its policies redundant.

Jubilee 2000 succeeded in one of its goals: getting about $100 billion of debt written off for 35 poor countries — a huge achievement.  But we failed to achieve structural legislative change.  We failed to alter the balance of power between international creditors and sovereign debtors. Instead, under pressure from millions of campaigners, creditors caved in. If we had achieved structural change, the debt write-offs would have been much bigger, Greece would not be in turmoil, and the eurozone would not be in crisis.

The most important is this: both sovereign debt – the debts of whole nations – and individual, household and corporate debt in the U.S. rose dramatically after the deregulation of the private finance sector in the 1970s.  Associated with this rise in debt, were policies that impoverished those without financial assets, and wildly enriched those who had gained financial assets – by fair means or foul.

These levels of debt did not exist in the immediate postwar period. There was not a single international financial crisis between 1945 and 1971 according to the great historian of the financial system, Barry Eichengreen. And similarly, Americans were not burdened by rising debts and falling incomes during that period. The unregulated, liberalized expansion of credit and debt began quietly after President Nixon unilaterally dismantled the Bretton Woods system in 1971.

Millions of Americans are today enslaved by what in biblical times was called “usury,” the exploitation of those without money by those with money.  Bankers and financiers whose place it is to act as “servant” to the real economy in which Americans work and live, have instead become “stupid masters” of a world crafted, designed, worked and built, not by financiers, but by ordinary hardworking Americans.

Ann Pettifor is also credited as being one of the first to predict the 2008 crash. Michael Hudson too has returned to the idea of the Jubilee in an op-ed article in the Washington Post written in 2020 in the midst of the Covid crisis. Hudson writes:

America’s 2008 bank crash offered a great opportunity to write down the often fraudulent junk mortgages that burdened many lower-income families, especially minorities. But this was not done, and millions of American families were evicted. The way to restore normalcy today is a debt write-down. The debts in deepest arrears and most likely to default are student debts, medical debts, general consumer debts and purely speculative debts. They block spending on goods and services, shrinking the “real” economy. A write-down would be pragmatic, not merely moral sympathy with the less affluent.

In fact, it could create what the Germans called an “Economic Miracle” — their own modern debt jubilee in 1948, the currency reform administered by the Allied Powers. When the Deutsche Mark was introduced, replacing the Reichsmark, 90 percent of government and private debt was wiped out. Germany emerged as an almost debt-free country, with low costs of production that jump-started its modern economy.

Critics warn of a creditor collapse and ruinous costs to government. But if the U.S. government can finance $4.5 trillion in quantitative easing, it can absorb the cost of forgoing student and other debt. And for private lenders, only bad loans need be wiped out. Much of what would be written off are accruals, late charges and penalties on loans gone bad. It actually subsidizes bad lending to leave them in place.

In the past, the politically powerful financial sector has blocked a write-down. Until now, the basic ethic of most of us has been that debts must be repaid. But it is time to recognize that most debts now cannot be paid — through no real fault of the debtors in the face of today’s economic disaster.

The coronavirus outbreak is serving as a mind-expansion exercise, making hitherto unthinkable solutions thinkable. Debts that can’t be paid won’t be. A debt jubilee may be the best way out.

We could be looking now at a worse crash and crisis than in 2008. Student debt is the most pernicious social policy imaginable, combining as it does massive debt burden with having to make a start in life.

Hudson describes Jesus as revolutionary in threatening Jewish creditors and behind them the Pharisees who had rationalised their rights against debtors.The Pharisees followed the teachings of Hillel, in an age when creditor power was gaining dominance throughout the ancient word. Hillel sponsored the prosbul clause in which “creditors obliged their clients to waive their rights to have their debts canceled in the Jubilee year.”

Jesus was a prophet and a revolutionary. What is remarkable about Jesus’ story is that even though he has been  deified and the Lord’s Prayer  has been sacralised, his advocacy for the poor and for peace even to his own death continues to inspire so many, as is evident in the Jubilee 2000 campaign and many other places.

And just imagine if every time the Lord’s prayer was recited around the world, the words were changed back to ‘give us this day our daily bread, and let our debts  be forgiven as we forgive debts owing to us..”

Michael Hudson’s wish might be granted.

 

 

16 comments on “An Easter Meditation ”

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  1. roblogic 1
    7 April 2023 at 11:42 pm

    A wonderful meditation, thanks Mike.

    The mission of Jesus was redemption, restoration and healing, not just of souls but the entirety of Creation, which groans under oppression and yearns for freedom. That includes economic and political systems.

    Jesus famously said that his Kingdom is not of this world, and declined the devil's temptation to rulership of earthly kingdoms. His way is not a top-down dictatorship, but a grassroots movement, seeded in the hearts of His followers, and all people of good will.

    A recently published book "Jesus: A Life in Class Conflict" examines the much neglected and politically inconvenient economic aspects of Jesus' ministry.

    it shatters a number of lazy liberal assumptions about Jesus which strive anachronistically to restrict him to the role of a soixante-huitard hippy…

    At a time when Marxists and people of faith continue to treat each other’s core texts with contempt or suspicion, Jesus: A Life in Class Conflict is a timely and welcome study

    The Biblical texts against usury, greed, wealth, poverty and injustice are impossible to ignore. (Unless you are an Evangelical American seminary where these themes, once common 100 years ago, have carefully been excised lest the school lose its funding).

    MLK was part of a lost tradition of clergy holding the powerful to account. Perhaps many churches have lost their mana. But the Way of Christ is still the peaceful way to a better future, a vision of the City of God.

    https://twitter.com/skepticsproject/status/1644038792771170319?s=20

  2. Ad 2
    8 April 2023 at 7:48 am

    He’s perfect on the threat to power that the temple money exchange system presented; also how useful to have one Roman coin to translate the value of all other coins before buying the required level of sacrifice.

    One of my favourite early church scholars Dominic Crossan situated Jesus within Roman rule, and has done so for a couple of decades.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tLFd3JuZT0&t=3485s

    The trouble for the Jews however in taking Jesus' execution as a key to starting an all out war against their oppressor is that by 66AD their entire national centre was smashed and burnt to the ground and tens of thousands of them were killed.

    Amplifying Jesus' small angry symbolic action out into full throated monetary revolution isn't something to necessarily wish for.

    • SPC 2.1
      8 April 2023 at 11:41 am

      Sure it was about the issue of taking a share of the offering as currency trade profit.

      Then there issue was conflating the desire of a perfect animal specimen to sacrifice (earlier the Levites of the tribes wanted only the best animals in their tithe collection) with only the able bodied and healthy being ritually pure.

      The Court of the Gentiles probably was where Jesus drove out the buyers and sellers and overturned the tables of the moneychangers (Mark 11:15–17), shouting, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have turned it into a den of robbers” (Mark 11:17 NET; Barbieri, “Matthew,” 68; Evans, Mark, 171). Caiaphas, the high priest, had authorized the sale of items necessary for the sacrifices in the temple (Grassmick,“Mark,” 157). Money was changed because the temple tax had to be paid in Tyrian shekels—the so-called shekel of the sanctuary—and half-shekels. The underlying reason for this was that other coinages had an uneven value and weight and because these coins had idolatrous images (Hiers,“Purification,” 87; Goldhill, Temple, 67). Just as other temples in the ancient world, the temple in Jerusalem functioned as a bank. Explicit reference to banking activities in the temple is found in 2 Maccabees 3:10–11 (Hamilton, “Temple,” 366).

      It was against this avarice that Jesus reacted and took action—and when He did, He challenged the entire banking system of Jerusalem. Hamilton makes the case that this interference with the operations of the temple bank—and so with the bedrock of Judaea’s economy—was directly a claim for kingship (Hamilton, “Temple Cleansing,” 370–71)

      https://lucris.lub.lu.se/ws/portalfiles/portal/57820558/Court_of_the_Gentiles_m_fr.pdf

      Jerusalem did not fall to the legions of Titus until 70CE. And there is no known connection between his disciples and the early church and the rebellion against Rome.

      Jews rebelled whenever there was an imperial threat to their national Temple cult (Hasmoneans vs Damascus Greeks a few centuries earlier).

      • Ad 2.1.1
        8 April 2023 at 12:02 pm

        Leviticus chapter 1 sets out the kinds of sacrifice required for each kind of temple offering. Each have their own prices. We know Jesus' family was poor because Mary offered two doves as sacrifice, rather than a lamb:

        Luke 2: 22 When the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, they brought him up to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”), 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”

        Your quote simply supports my claim of the need for a single denomination for all other coins proffered.

        Jews started their revolt against the Romans in 66AD. By 69AD all of Judea Jerusalem excepted was subdued again. Then in 70AD the Romans razed Jerusalem in particular the entire massive temple to the ground.

        There's plenty of evidence that Jesus was a failed apocalyptic prophet – though plenty still debate it. To me it's not the most useful form of Christianity now.

    • Derry Gordon 2.2
      8 April 2023 at 1:26 pm

      But it wasn't the Christians that Rome sacked, it was the Jewish nation of the time. The nascent Christian church was also antagonistic to the Jewish church then, which was about the time the Gospels were written.

      • Ad 2.2.1
        9 April 2023 at 3:22 pm

        I know right the Romans just left those Nazarean reformists alone.

        Jesus just did a joyous Barbara Thiering and got married and had kids, Easter never happened, and James, Simon, Jude, Paul, and the entire set of Apostles were just left alone by the Romans to have families and get on to be an otherwise obscure reformist movement of Second Temple Judaism.

        OMG.

    • Belladonna 2.3
      9 April 2023 at 2:47 pm

      Thank you for reminding me of Dominic Crossan – I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed his lectures (informative, interesting, and challenging pre-conceptions). Truly enjoyable.

  3. Ad 3
    8 April 2023 at 8:06 am

    Almost forgot to mention since I'm in the middle of the Easter service cycle that yesterday was the first time our Catholic church has done a really big mass gathering for Easter since 2019: 4 years. Same across the country.

    ANZAC morning will I expect be similar.

    One might have thought the ardour had cooled: instead we had standing room only inside of 800 and easily the same again flowing out down the stairs and into the carpark.

    • Patricia Bremner 3.1
      8 April 2023 at 11:24 am

      Fellowship is a human need, which bolsters the spirit.heart

    • Belladonna 3.2
      8 April 2023 at 12:20 pm

      Agree. Our Good Friday service (the longest one in the liturgical year – 2.5 hours long) – had the church packed (about 900 people) and about 200 outside the doors.

      Notably, the attendance was predominantly middle-aged and young (a notably big turn out of teens – who are often missing from church services) – with relatively few older people. [I suspect self-selection due to health concerns] And, about half-and-half (my eyeball estimation) between 'classic Kiwi' faces, and immigrant ones. [I know it's fashionable to ascribe the influx into churches as being entirely immigrant driven]

      • hetzer 3.2.1
        8 April 2023 at 12:33 pm

        I had the same experience Belladonna.

        Im not a Catholic but my wife is, and I only attend Christmas and Easter services so she is not alone and to share the experience with her on those dates.

        I too noted the full church and the crowds standing outside, also the cross section of ages, races. It was uplifting to be a part of it as a community even if I am a pagan!

        • Mac1 3.2.1.1
          9 April 2023 at 1:32 pm

          Hetzer, thank you for your comment which sparked me into accompanying my wife to a vigil which I did enjoy even though the theology displayed was to me doubtful or wrong. Still, not many people there but the kids got marshmallows and I met a couple of new people and experienced some of my wife's spiritual life.

          • Belladonna 3.2.1.1.1
            9 April 2023 at 2:43 pm

            I sat next to an acquaintance in mass today – she was accompanying her elderly mum to the Easter Sunday service – but otherwise hadn't been to mass in years.

            And, she said to me, entirely unprompted – that she'd forgotten how peaceful it was. Just taking time out of your day to sit and think.

            Of course, you can do this through meditation, or in nature, in in a thousand other ways – but church is a really easy one for people to access.

    • RedLogix 3.3
      9 April 2023 at 1:51 pm

      That is heartening to read Ad.

      Unlike many I have a great deal of faith in the native intelligence of ordinary people. They do not necessarily express it eloquently or with big words. And like everyone they frequently fall short of their ideals – but emphatically they are not stupid.

      And they know deep in their souls that the materialism, the power seeking ideologies and lamentably defective political order of the world can only have a cure in the transformation of hearts.

      I wish your congregation the best in building on this momentum.

  4. SPC 4
    8 April 2023 at 12:00 pm

    I'd go with

    1. issuing debt free finance to government

    2. a windfall profits tax on banks to finance loans to business

  5. Mike the Lefty 5
    10 April 2023 at 6:09 pm

    Although I don't believe Jesus was the son of God because I don't believe in God I still have a lot of respect and admiration for Jesus the man and social reformer. Him driving the traders from the temple is my favourite bit.

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    Media awareness about global warming and climate change has grown fairly steadily since 2004. My impression is that journalists today tend to possess a higher climate literacy than before. This increasing awareness and improved knowledge is encouraging, but there are also some common interpretations which could be more nuanced. ...
    Real ClimateBy rasmus
    3 days ago

  • Bennie Bashing.
    If there’s one thing the mob loves more than keeping Māori in their place, more than getting tough on the gangs, maybe even more than tax cuts. It’s a good old round of beneficiary bashing.Are those meanies in the ACT party stealing your votes because they think David Seymour is ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • The kindest cuts
    Labour kicks off the fiscal credibility battle today with the release of its fiscal plan. National is expected to follow, possibly as soon as Thursday, with its own plan, which may (or may not) address the large hole that the problems with its foreign buyers’ ban might open up. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago

  • Green right turn in Britain? Well, a start
    While it may be unlikely to register in New Zealand’s general election, Britain’s PM Rishi Sunak has done something which might just be important in the long run. He’s announced a far-reaching change in his Conservative government’s approach to environmental, and particularly net zero, policy. The starting point – ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    4 days ago

  • At a glance – How do human CO2 emissions compare to natural CO2 emissions?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • How could this happen?
    Canada is in uproar after the exposure that its parliament on September 22 provided a standing ovation to a Nazi veteran who had been invited into the chamber to participate in the parliamentary welcome to Ukrainian President Zelensky. Yaroslav Hunka, 98, a Ukrainian man who volunteered for service in ...
    Open ParachuteBy Ken
    4 days ago

  • Always Be Campaigning
    The big screen is a great place to lay out the ways of the salesman. He comes ready-made for Panto, ripe for lampooning.This is not to disparage that life. I have known many good people of that kind. But there is a type, brazen as all get out. The camera ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • STEPHEN FRANKS: Press seek to publicly shame doctor – we must push back
    The following is a message sent yesterday from lawyer Stephen Franks on behalf of the Free Speech Union. I don’t like to interrupt first thing Monday morning, but we’ve just become aware of a case where we think immediate and overwhelming attention could help turn the tide. It involves someone ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Competing on cruelty
    The right-wing message calendar is clearly reading "cruelty" today, because both National and NZ First have released beneficiary-bashing policies. National is promising a "traffic light" system to police and kick beneficiaries, which will no doubt be accompanied by arbitrary internal targets to classify people as "orange" or "red" to keep ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • Further funding for Pharmac (forgotten in the Budget?) looks like a $1bn appeal from a PM in need of...
    Buzz from the Beehive One Labour plan  – for 3000 more public homes by 2025 – is the most recent to be posted on the government’s official website. Another – a prime ministerial promise of more funding for Pharmac – has been released as a Labour Party press statement. Who ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: The Vested interests shaping National Party policies
    As the National Party gets closer to government, lobbyists and business interests will be lining up for influence and to get policies adopted. It’s therefore in the public interest to have much more scrutiny and transparency about potential conflicts of interests that might arise. One of the key individuals of ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago

  • Labour may be on way out of power and NZ First back in – but will Peters go into coalition with Na...
    Voters  are deserting Labour in droves, despite Chris  Hipkins’  valiant  rearguard  action.  So  where  are they  heading?  Clearly  not all of them are going to vote National, which concedes that  the  outcome  will be “close”. To the Right of National, the ACT party just a  few weeks  ago  was ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    4 days ago

  • GRAHAM ADAMS: Will the racists please stand up?
    Accusations of racism by journalists and MPs are being called out. Graham Adams writes –    With the election less than three weeks away, what co-governance means in practice — including in water management, education, planning law and local government — remains largely obscure. Which is hardly ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on whether Winston Peters can be a moderating influence
    As the centre-right has (finally!) been subjected to media interrogation, the polls are indicating that some voters may be starting to have second thoughts about the wisdom of giving National and ACT the power to govern alone. That’s why yesterday’s Newshub/Reid Research poll had the National/ACT combo dropping to 60 ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    4 days ago

  • Tuesday’s Chorus: RBNZ set to rain on National's victory parade
    ANZ has increased its forecast for house inflation later this year on signs of growing momentum in the market ahead of the election. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: National has campaigned against the Labour Government’s record on inflation and mortgage rates, but there’s now a growing chance the Reserve ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • After a Pittsburgh coal processing plant closed, ER visits plummeted
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Katie Myers. This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Pittsburgh, in its founding, was blessed and cursed with two abundant natural resources: free-flowing rivers and a nearby coal seam. ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • September-23 AT Board Meeting
    Today the AT board meet again and once again I’ve taken a look at what’s on the agenda to find the most interesting items. Closed Agenda Interestingly when I first looked at the agendas this paper was there but at the time of writing this post it had been ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    4 days ago

  • Electorate Watch: West Coast-Tasman
    Continuing my series on interesting electorates, today it’s West Coast-Tasman.A long thin electorate running down the northern half of the west coast of the South Island. Think sand flies, beautiful landscapes, lots of rain, Pike River, alternative lifestylers, whitebaiting, and the spiritual home of the Labour Party. A brief word ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • Big money brings Winston back
    National leader Christopher Luxon yesterday morning conceded it and last night’s Newshub poll confirmed it; Winston Peters and NZ First are not only back but highly likely to be part of the next government. It is a remarkable comeback for a party that was tossed out of Parliament in ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago

  • 20 days until Election Day, 7 until early voting begins… but what changes will we really see here?
    As this blogger, alongside many others, has already posited in another forum: we all know the National Party’s “budget” (meaning this concept of even adding up numbers properly is doing a lot of heavy, heavy lifting right now) is utter and complete bunk (read hung, drawn and quartered and ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    5 days ago

  • A night out
    Everyone was asking, Are you nervous? and my response was various forms of God, yes.I've written more speeches than I can count; not much surprises me when the speaker gets to their feet and the room goes quiet.But a play? Never.YOU CAME! THANK YOU! Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • A pallid shade of Green III
    Clearly Labour's focus groups are telling it that it needs to pay more attention to climate change - because hot on the heels of their weaksauce energy efficiency pilot programme and not-great-but-better-than-nothing solar grants, they've released a full climate manifesto. Unfortunately, the core policies in it - a second Emissions ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • A coalition of racism, cruelty, and chaos
    Today's big political news is that after months of wibbling, National's Chris Luxon has finally confirmed that he is willing to work with Winston Peters to become Prime Minister. Which is expected, but I guess it tells us something about which way the polls are going. Which raises the question: ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • More migrant workers should help generate the tax income needed to provide benefits for job seekers
    Buzz from the Beehive Under something described as a “rebalance” of its immigration rules, the Government has adopted four of five recommendations made in an independent review released in July, The fifth, which called on the government to specify criteria for out-of-hours compliance visits similar to those used during ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • Letter To Luxon.
    Some of you might know Gerard Otto (G), and his G News platform. This morning he wrote a letter to Christopher Luxon which I particularly enjoyed, and with his agreement I’m sharing it with you in this guest newsletter.If you’d like to make a contribution to support Gerard’s work you ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: Alarming trend in benefit numbers
    Lindsay Mitchell writes –  While there will not be another quarterly release of benefit numbers prior to the election, limited weekly reporting continues and is showing an alarming trend. Because there is a seasonal component to benefit number fluctuations it is crucial to compare like with like. In ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • BRIAN EASTON: Has there been external structural change?
    A close analysis of the Treasury assessment of the Medium Term in its PREFU 2023 suggests the economy may be entering a new phase.   Brian Easton writes –  Last week I explained that the forecasts in the just published Treasury Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update (PREFU 2023) was ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • CRL Progress – Sep-23
    It’s been a while since we looked at the latest with the City Rail Link and there’s been some fantastic milestones recently. To start with, and most recently, CRL have released an awesome video showing a full fly-through of one of the tunnels. Come fly with us! You asked for ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    5 days ago

  • Monday’s Chorus: Not building nearly enough
    We are heading into another period of fast population growth without matching increased home building or infrastructure investment.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Labour and National detailed their house building and migration approaches over the weekend, with both pledging fast population growth policies without enough house building or infrastructure investment ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • Game on; Hipkins comes out punching
    Labour leader Chris Hipkins yesterday took the gloves off and laid into National and its leader Christopher Luxon. For many in Labour – and particularly for some at the top of the caucus and the party — it would not have been a moment too soon. POLITIK is aware ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago

  • Tax Cut Austerity Blues.
    The leaders have had their go, they’ve told us the “what?” and the “why?” of their promises. Now it’s the turn of the would be Finance Ministers to tell us the “how?”, the “how much?”, and the “when?”A chance for those competing for the second most powerful job in the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • MIKE GRIMSHAW:  It’s the economy – and the spirit – Stupid…
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Over the past 30-odd years it’s become almost an orthodoxy to blame or invoke neoliberalism for the failures of New Zealand society. On the left the usual response goes something like, neoliberalism is the cause of everything that’s gone wrong and the answer ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #38
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Sep 17, 2023 thru Sat, Sep 23, 2023. Story of the Week  Opinion: Let’s free ourselves from the story of economic growth A relentless focus on economic growth has ushered in ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • The End Of The World.
    Have you been looking out of your window for signs of the apocalypse? Don’t worry, you haven’t been door knocked by a representative of the Brian Tamaki party. They’re probably a bit busy this morning spruiking salvation, or getting ready to march on our parliament, which is closed. No, I’ve ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • Climate Town: The Brainwashing Of America's Children
    Climate Town is the YouTube channel of Rollie Williams and a ragtag team of climate communicators, creatives and comedians. They examine climate change in a way that doesn’t make you want to eat a cyanide pill. Get informed about the climate crisis before the weather does it for you. The latest ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Has There Been External Structural Change?
    A close analysis of the Treasury assessment of the Medium Term in its PREFU 2023 suggests the economy may be entering a new phase. Last week I explained that the forecasts in the just published Treasury Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update (PREFU 2023) was similar to the May Budget BEFU, ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago

  • Another Labour bully
    Back in June, we learned that Kiri Allan was a Parliamentary bully. And now there's another one: Labour MP Shanan Halbert: The Labour Party was alerted to concerns about [Halbert's] alleged behaviour a year ago but because staffers wanted to remain anonymous, no formal process was undertaken [...] The ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • Climate Change: Ignoring our biggest problem
    Its that time in the election season where the status quo parties are busy accusing each other of having fiscal holes in a desperate effort to appear more "responsible" (but not, you understand, by promising to tax wealth or land to give the government the revenue it needs to do ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • New community-level energy projects to support more than 800 Māori households
    Seven more innovative community-scale energy projects will receive government funding through the Māori and Public Housing Renewable Energy Fund to bring more affordable, locally generated clean energy to more than 800 Māori households, Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods says. “We’ve already funded 42 small-scale clean energy projects that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Huge boost to Te Tai Tokerau flood resilience
    The Government has approved new funding that will boost resilience and greatly reduce the risk of major flood damage across Te Tai Tokerau. Significant weather events this year caused severe flooding and damage across the region. The $8.9m will be used to provide some of the smaller communities and maraes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Napier’s largest public housing development comes with solar
    The largest public housing development in Napier for many years has been recently completed and has the added benefit of innovative solar technology, thanks to Government programmes, says Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods. The 24 warm, dry homes are in Seddon Crescent, Marewa and Megan Woods says the whanau living ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Te Whānau a Apanui and the Crown initial Deed of Settlement I Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me...
    Māori: Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna te Whakaaetanga Whakataunga Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna i tētahi Whakaaetanga Whakataunga hei whakamihi i ō rātou tāhuhu kerēme Tiriti o Waitangi. E tekau mā rua ngā hapū o roto mai o Te Whānau ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Plan for 3,000 more public homes by 2025 – regions set to benefit
    Regions around the country will get significant boosts of public housing in the next two years, as outlined in the latest public housing plan update, released by the Housing Minister, Dr Megan Woods. “We’re delivering the most public homes each year since the Nash government of the 1950s with one ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago

  • Immigration settings updates
    Judicial warrant process for out-of-hours compliance visits 2023/24 Recognised Seasonal Employer cap increased by 500 Additional roles for Construction and Infrastructure Sector Agreement More roles added to Green List Three-month extension for onshore Recovery Visa holders The Government has confirmed a number of updates to immigration settings as part of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Poroporoaki: Tā Patrick (Patu) Wahanga Hohepa
    Tangi ngunguru ana ngā tai ki te wahapū o Hokianga Whakapau Karakia. Tārehu ana ngā pae maunga ki Te Puna o te Ao Marama. Korihi tangi ana ngā manu, kua hinga he kauri nui ki te Wao Nui o Tāne. He Toa. He Pou. He Ahorangi. E papaki tū ana ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Renewable energy fund to support community resilience
    40 solar energy systems on community buildings in regions affected by Cyclone Gabrielle and other severe weather events Virtual capability-building hub to support community organisations get projects off the ground Boost for community-level renewable energy projects across the country At least 40 community buildings used to support the emergency response ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • COVID-19 funding returned to Government
    The lifting of COVID-19 isolation and mask mandates in August has resulted in a return of almost $50m in savings and recovered contingencies, Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Following the revocation of mandates and isolation, specialised COVID-19 telehealth and alternative isolation accommodation are among the operational elements ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Appointment of District Court Judge
    Susie Houghton of Auckland has been appointed as a new District Court Judge, to serve on the Family Court, Attorney-General David Parker said today.  Judge Houghton has acted as a lawyer for child for more than 20 years. She has acted on matters relating to the Hague Convention, an international ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Government invests further in Central Hawke’s Bay resilience
    The Government has today confirmed $2.5 million to fund a replace and upgrade a stopbank to protect the Waipawa Drinking Water Treatment Plant. “As a result of Cyclone Gabrielle, the original stopbank protecting the Waipawa Drinking Water Treatment Plant was destroyed. The plant was operational within 6 weeks of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Govt boost for Hawke’s Bay cyclone waste clean-up
    Another $2.1 million to boost capacity to deal with waste left in Cyclone Gabrielle’s wake. Funds for Hastings District Council, Phoenix Contracting and Hog Fuel NZ to increase local waste-processing infrastructure. The Government is beefing up Hawke’s Bay’s Cyclone Gabrielle clean-up capacity with more support dealing with the massive amount ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Taupō Supercars revs up with Government support
    The future of Supercars events in New Zealand has been secured with new Government support. The Government is getting engines started through the Major Events Fund, a special fund to support high profile events in New Zealand that provide long-term economic, social and cultural benefits. “The Repco Supercars Championship is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • There is no recession in NZ, economy grows nearly 1 percent in June quarter
    The economy has turned a corner with confirmation today New Zealand never was in recession and stronger than expected growth in the June quarter, Finance Minister Grant Robertson said. “The New Zealand economy is doing better than expected,” Grant Robertson said. “It’s continuing to grow, with the latest figures showing ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Highest legal protection for New Zealand’s largest freshwater springs
    The Government has accepted the Environment Court’s recommendation to give special legal protection to New Zealand’s largest freshwater springs, Te Waikoropupū Springs (also known as Pupū Springs), Environment Minister David Parker announced today.   “Te Waikoropupū Springs, near Takaka in Golden Bay, have the second clearest water in New Zealand after ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • More support for victims of migrant exploitation
    Temporary package of funding for accommodation and essential living support for victims of migrant exploitation Exploited migrant workers able to apply for a further Migrant Exploitation Protection Visa (MEPV), giving people more time to find a job Free job search assistance to get people back into work Use of 90-day ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Strong export boost as NZ economy turns corner
    An export boost is supporting New Zealand’s economy to grow, adding to signs that the economy has turned a corner and is on a stronger footing as we rebuild from Cyclone Gabrielle and lock in the benefits of multiple new trade deals, Finance Minister Grant Robertson says. “The economy is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Funding approved for flood resilience work in Te Karaka
    The Government has approved $15 million to raise about 200 homes at risk of future flooding. More than half of this is expected to be spent in the Tairāwhiti settlement of Te Karaka, lifting about 100 homes there. “Te Karaka was badly hit during Cyclone Gabrielle when the Waipāoa River ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Further business support for cyclone-affected regions
    The Government is helping businesses recover from Cyclone Gabrielle and attract more people back into their regions. “Cyclone Gabrielle has caused considerable damage across North Island regions with impacts continuing to be felt by businesses and communities,” Economic Development Minister Barbara Edmonds said. “Building on our earlier business support, this ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • New maintenance facility at Burnham Military Camp underway
    Defence Minister Andrew Little has turned the first sod to start construction of a new Maintenance Support Facility (MSF) at Burnham Military Camp today. “This new state-of-art facility replaces Second World War-era buildings and will enable our Defence Force to better maintain and repair equipment,” Andrew Little said. “This Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Foreign Minister to attend United Nations General Assembly
    Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta will represent New Zealand at the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York this week, before visiting Washington DC for further Pacific focussed meetings. Nanaia Mahuta will be in New York from Wednesday 20 September, and will participate in UNGA leaders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Midwives’ pay equity offer reached
    Around 1,700 Te Whatu Ora employed midwives and maternity care assistants will soon vote on a proposed pay equity settlement agreed by Te Whatu Ora, the Midwifery Employee Representation and Advisory Service (MERAS) and New Zealand Nurses Association (NZNO), Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. “Addressing historical pay ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • New Zealand provides support to Morocco
    Aotearoa New Zealand will provide humanitarian support to those affected by last week’s earthquake in Morocco, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. “We are making a contribution of $1 million to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to help meet humanitarian needs,” Nanaia Mahuta said. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Government invests in West Coast’s roading resilience
    The Government is investing over $22 million across 18 projects to improve the resilience of roads in the West Coast that have been affected by recent extreme weather, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins confirmed today.  A dedicated Transport Resilience Fund has been established for early preventative works to protect the state ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Government invests in Greymouth’s future
    The Government has today confirmed a $2 million grant towards the regeneration of Greymouth’s CBD with construction of a new two-level commercial and public facility. “It will include a visitor facility centred around a new library. Additionally, it will include retail outlets on the ground floor, and both outdoor and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • Nanaia Mahuta to attend PIF Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
    Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta will attend the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, in Suva, Fiji alongside New Zealand’s regional counterparts. “Aotearoa New Zealand is deeply committed to working with our pacific whanau to strengthen our cooperation, and share ways to combat the challenges facing the Blue Pacific Continent,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

  • PREFU shows no recession, growing economy, more jobs and wages ahead of inflation
    Economy to grow 2.6 percent on average over forecast period Treasury not forecasting a recession Inflation to return to the 1-3 percent target band next year Wages set to grow 4.8 percent a year over forecast period Unemployment to peak below the long-term average Fiscal Rules met - Net debt ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago

  • New cancer centre opens in Christchurch
    Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall proudly opened the Canterbury Cancer Centre in Christchurch today. The new facility is the first of its kind and was built with $6.5 million of funding from the Government’s Infrastructure Reference Group scheme for shovel-ready projects allocated in 2020. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago

  • Government invests in top of the south’s roading resilience
    $12 million to improve the resilience of roads in the Nelson, Marlborough and Tasman regions Hope Bypass earmarked in draft Government Policy Statement on land transport $127 million invested in the top of the south’s roads since flooding in 2021 and 2022 The Government is investing over $12 million to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago

  • New Zealanders continue to support the revitalisation of te reo as we celebrate Te Wiki o te Reo Mā...
    Ko tēnei te wiki e whakanui ana i tō tātou reo rangatira. Ko te wā tuku reo Māori, e whakanuia tahitia ai te reo ahakoa kei hea ake tēnā me tēnā o tātou, ka tū ā te Rātū te 14 o Mahuru, ā te 12 o ngā hāora i te ahiahi. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 weeks ago

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