Unfortunately Wellington Mayor Justin Lester’s fabulous tear-jerker of a speech about true leadership isn’t available, but tomorrow: Grant Robertson’s excellent Future of Work.
So I watched Andrew Speech now. Here’s my opinion.
There are some rough edges to Iron out. To me public orating, music , it’s kind of similar.
By this I mean Andrew had set talking points, passionate pieces where you could not help be moved as he punctuated those points he was almost perfect. Then you bring the audience back down and gently build them up to the points you wish to make for the next piece, here we had four, with him using some examples to lay foundation for the next talking point emphasised with a rising voice and passionate delivery in between.
He was too long on the chorus and not enough on the crescendo. IE the quiet calm to build up the drama was just to long, not even sure examples are a good break between them, perhaps more reference to what current policies that national has introduced and how it has done harm before building up the audience with his Labour parties policy points and what they will do.
The finger pointing, really good use of emphasis with the hands but less pointing with that finger.
Polished up and a bit more practise he’ll be one leader who can bring a crowd to a roar, he just has to keep them focused I was drifting off during those drawn out examples.
Couple times he lost his lines, minor, once at the police numbers, couple minor times..
It was a difficult and long speech so I can understand that.
The beginning was fantastic.. it really was, it just drifted of course a little as it went on.
The jobs policy would be for those on the Jobseeker benefit for more than six months, and would not be compulsory.
But that’s where the policy could get tricky for Labour as Mr Little said there were already sanctions in place for those on the Jobseeker benefit who did not fulfil their obligations; sanctions Labour has previously described as punitive.
When Mr Little was asked about how young people would be made to do the paid work if they flat out refused, he referred to the sanctions, and in the next breath reverted to the criticism of them as punitive.
Then he settled on young people being “actively managed” after their six months on a benefit, which left reporters none the wiser about whether those young people would have a choice about whether they would take up the six months work, or how much pressure they would come under to do so.
Labour is in serious need of some decent Coms staff.
What is a good policy has become a cluster fuck because no one can explain it in simple terms that don’t confuse journalists or provide the Nats with any ammunition.
It is pretty simple shit. When you are about to announce a new policy, stress test it by getting a devils advocate in the room and try and work out every Tory attack line. Don’t leave any announcements open to those attack lines.
If you get to the position when you need to clarify points with journalist or explain how the policy operates for days on end, then you probably fucked up the initial announcement.
Actually the policy was costed along orthodox lines. The offer is for six months’ work. Not everyone will complete that work as a number will go off and find alternative work or training, which is as the policy is intended. That’s why you cost on an average length of time people are expected to be in the course. Based on existing Jobseeker numbers, the average time would be four months.
To have costed at six months would have been absurd, and it’s not how costings are modelled. Have a look at Paid Parental Leave, which does not assume all parents taking it take the full 18 weeks. Have a look at student numbers, where universities do not assume all students finish their course. Have a look at Superannuation, which does not assume all citizens live to 65. This is utterly orthodox, and all that has been shown is that the press gallery do not understand how to do costings.
To blame this on Labour’s comms is a cop out. What we have is a press gallery that takes the Nats’ spin on face value and refuses to admit when it’s wrong.
Little is a union stooge with the mentality of a union stooge. A turd needs to be flushed as no amount of polishing will improve a turd. He has destroyed the labour party as an electable party capable of governing. Well done Andrew.
Amen, also the need to stop obsessing about costings. Forecasting the costs of any policy is so subjective the Gnats will always be able to rip it apart so why give them ammunition?
“Amen, also the need to stop obsessing about costings. ”
Spot on. The simple facts need to be put forward. First the costings are about as accurate as any treasury forecast (e.g not very accurate at all). There are many components which are just guess work, like how many will take up the scheme, or how much gst will they pay due to their extra income. Also the more effective your scheme the further the economy leaves status quoue and so the more up in the air your forecast is anyway. and at the end of the day the government cant run out of money anyway so its pretty inconsequential exactly what forecast numbers are put up.
Just because Andrew Little has a moral framework that suggests having a job is a good thing and somehow neither demeaning nor an affront to basic notions of human decency – where does he get the notion that it’s okay to foist all that onto others?
I don’t know any unemployed people who are idle. There should be no sanctions. No compulsion. Nothing.
If Labour was talking of a living wage as opposed to a minimum wage and doing that alongside a commitment to reverse the benefit cuts instigated in the 90’s as well as a reversal of those imposed by the last Labour government, then it just might be a worthwhile policy, except…
…beyond the ‘pretend and extend’ and in spite of all this guff about ‘the future of work’ being about mechanisation and computerisation, the global economy is set to be sent reeling by the impacts of climate change.
So to hell with the DOC work and the community service – pay people a living wage to begin the process of making our homes and other pieces of infrastructure resistant to the likely impacts of global temp rises in excess of 2 degrees. (Working to an assumption of 4 degrees would be prudent)
And while we’re at it, re-purpose the army to the same ends.
Alarmist? Ridiculous? No. It’s called getting real.
A few months back Adam posted a link in comments to a Stein interview where she said that the US’s ‘National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) were now predicting a 3m rise in sea level by 2050 off the back of preliminary data coming from Antarctica. I chased that down. A senior advisor within NOAA is indeed telling the insurance industry that bar some glitch in the data, it’s possible that we’re looking at 3 by 50.
How much of NZ’s roading, port facilities, rail, housing, power distribution, reticulated water supplies etc are going to be able to be left where they are right now in that scenario?
Don’t give it any thought. Let’s have thousands of people tasked with killing possums and working in food banks. She’ll be right.
Margaret Davidson, NOAAâs senior advisor for coastal inundation and resilience science and services, and Michael Angelina, executive director of the Academy of Risk Management and Insurance, offered their take on climate change data in a conference session titled âEnvironmental Intelligence: Quantifying the Risks of Climate Change.â
Davidson said recent data that has been collected but has yet to be made official indicates sea levels could rise by roughly 3 meters or 9 feet by 2050-2060, far higher and quicker than current projections.
Its not that young people need a kick in the pants, thats not what this policy is about at all. Its simple math, when there are not enough jobs (suitable for young people) to go around then some of them must go without and be unemployed. Without sufficient jobs that outcome always happens regardless of how hard they try (just like in musical chairs). This is especially hard on the unemployed as they find it harder to get a job than for an employed person to change jobs.
And yes the proposal is far far too small. It should be unconditionally available and to all unemployed (and under employed) for as long as they want it. With a much broader range of occupations taking part in the scheme as well.
That rousing speech will rally the troops and I expect the next poll to show Labour over 40%. Then I woke up. The general opinion of thepublic is that the dodgy numbers and conflicting statements about enforcement and of course taxing businesses who dare to employ a refugee or immigrant confirms that Labour could not even organise a piss up in a brewery. This will be the talk of the summer barbeques. The meme ‘Angry Andy’ is taking root in the public. How low can limbo Labour go?
I’d like to see a move to the Australian system (not sure if they still use it) but if you migrated to Australia you had to have a profit (not turnover) over $50k for your business and employ two Australian workers and keep that up for 5 years or so to get residency. That way only the successful entrepreneurs got residency.
In NZ migrants can come over, get a job and then be made redundant and then go on the dole or do a business that loses money. Not sure how that is good for the economy here.
You could easily invest 10 million in property (farm/residential) and then lose money on it on paper, leave the country, employ nobody or other migrants and that seems to be ok in NZ.
Not to mention the $20k bribes for someone to be employed or the $2 p/h, $8 p/h wages some employers are paying. Yep they get caught but what’s the deterrent – the employeer should have to pay massive fines to the employee and the government, be deported if they are not resident and maybe a jail sentence if it is widespread over a lot of employees or businesses.
On the flip side we have real skilled migrants trying to settle in NZ and the leave because working conditions and wages are so ridiculous, here we can’t keep them such as Wellington Hospital lost its leading cardio-electrophysiologist, Dr Alejandro Jimenez Restrepo. Clearly there is a problem attracting quality migrants (and also keeping NZ talent) when employees are not valued and feel they can not make a difference in NZ and employers are encouraged to think of workers as commodities, ship em in or employee them cheap, don’t listen just pretend to, and if that doesn’t work out, who cares.
Hipkins says the Government was doing “too much too fast”. Now it’s praying clearing the decks will also clear the way to a better election result. File Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTLDR: He’s done it. New PM Chris Hipkins has ‘cleared the decks’ of all manner of flotsam and ...
A deeply-statistically-flawed poll the other day reported that 43.8 percent do not trust the National Party leader. I say deeply-statistically-flawed because it can be empirically proven that this data is non-correct.Let me show my working.The Newshub-Reid Research poll asks 1,000 random New Zealanders what they reckon. Thus we can infer ...
Hipkins held his expected bonfire of the policies today, ditching the RNZ/TVNZ merger, punting hate speech legislation to the Law Commission (which basicly means it will never happen), and dumping the "bougie dole" social insurance scheme. But along the way, he also shitcanned a key part of the government's emissions ...
Fonterraâs farmers will be relieved that prices in the Global Dairy Trade auction this week have rebounded – up 3.2% across the board. It is the first rise since December 6 The index had fallen 2.8% on January 3 and 0.1% on January 17, to kick off 2023 on a ...
Buzz from the Beehive Announcements on the provision of aid â to Auckland, Turkey and Syria â are recorded on the Beehive website today along with a statement from the PM about his flying visit to Australia. This was Chris Hipkinsâ first overseas visit since he took office, enabling him ...
Thereâs a 19th century flavour to Nationalâs âsocial investmentâ strategy, in that it aims to seek capital from philanthropists and charitable organisations â some of them having their own religious agendas- to fund and deliver the provision of social services. Beyond that point, the details are remarkably scarce. Regardless, âsocial ...
Karl du Fresne writes –Â The jury has returned its verdict, and itâs emphatic. New Zealanders want the countryâs name left as it is. In a Newshub-Reid Research poll, respondents were asked what they thought New Zealand should be known as. Fifty-two percent wanted the country to be ...
Poorly-managed diabetes results in amputations and other expensive hospital treatments – an example of how charging patients to access their medication ends up costing more in the long run. Photo: Getty ImagesTLDR: The phrase ‘penny wise and pound foolish’ is one that applies across much of the Government’s approach to ...
* Dr Bryce Edwards writes- In recent decades the Labour Party has lost its traditional connection with working-class voters, becoming more of a middle-class party of liberalism. This is especially true of Labourâs historic connection with working-class MÄori. This is a constituency that the party used to monopolise. ...
In recent decades the Labour Party has lost its traditional connection with working class voters, becoming more of a middle class party of liberalism. This is especially true of Labourâs historic connection with working class MÄori. This is a constituency that the party used to monopolise. But ever since the ...
Hi,I wanted to thank everyone who responded to A New Day, a New Cease & Desistover the last five days or so. So many readers have brushed up against MLMs — and they’re something I want to push further into. Did I hear from good old Jonathan Callinan, the ...
As the planet continues to cook, extreme weather events like those we experienced over the last two weeks are set to become more frequent. How we plan our cities to mitigate the risks of climate change will inevitably be more salient going forward, and that will only increase over time. ...
TLDR: For paying subscribers, here’s the key scoops, breaking news and key links I’ve picked up this morning, as at 6.40 am, including:the Reserve Bank of Australia hiked its official cash rate to a 10-year high and warned of more hikes to come, which was more hawkish than expected; RBABP ...
A year ago this week we saw the headline “Mask-wearing 17-year-old egged by aggressive convoy protesters”. As the protestors settled in for their long campout in opposition to vaccination requirements they demonstrated their commitment to standing up for the rights of the individual by verbally abusing, and throwing eggs at, ...
Chris Hipkins has become New Zealandâs 41st prime minister following Ardernâs unexpected resignationâperhaps the bold and unpredictable move Labour needed to improve its election chances. Just six days into his premiership and Labour had its first lead over National in thirteen weeks. National has had a largely uninterrupted run of ...
Good people can come into your life imperceptibly. It can seem they’re just there one day being remarkable. Nat Torkington, for instance.We were both online from the early days, I’m assuming that’s where we first connected; maybe in the UseNet newsgroups, or maybe later through Public Address.But it was when ...
One of New Zealand’s biggest electricity generators, Genesis Energy, has given the go-ahead for a large solar farm near Lauriston on the Canterbury Plains, an hourâs drive south of Christchurch. It is part of Genesisâ strategy of replacing thermal baseload with renewable generation â a mix of wind and solar. ...
Buzz from the Beehive We found just one fresh announcement on the Beehive website this morning, when we made our first visit since 4 February.  It was posted in the name of Nanaia Mahuta, our Minister of Foreign Affairs, and explained why she was not at Waitangi at the weekend. ...
Hipkins is doing the right thing for New Zealanders already living in Australia, but there’s now a growing risk of a fresh surge of net emigration of frustrated young Kiwis across the Tasman. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTLDR: Employers here in Aotearoa are desperate to keep their best-trained, most-productive ...
This post contains two guest posts from readers, both of which were sent to us after the flooding on Friday 27 January, both of which discuss how we handle our stormwater. This is a guest post from Ed Clayton, who’s written for us before about Auckland’s relationship with freshwater, ...
TLDR: For paying subscribers, here’s the key breaking news, scoops and links I’ve found since 4 am this morning, as of 7 am, including:A 7.8 magnitude earthquake killed more than 2,200 in Turkey near its border with Syria; ReutersMetService has warned a new cyclone is forming north of Aotearoa that ...
The politics of Waitangi and the Treaty evident over the weekend have moved into a new space. The politics of Waitangi and the Treaty evident over the weekend have moved into a new space. There is a new wave of Maori activism, which sees the Treaty as a living ...
Originally published by The Hill After decades of failure to pass major federal climate legislation, Congress finally broke through last year with the Inflation Reduction Act and its close to $400 billion in clean energy investments. Energy modeling experts estimated that these provisions would help the U.S. cut its carbon pollution ...
Apology Accepted? âI dropped the ball on Friday, I was too slow to be seen âŚThe communications werenât fast enough â including mine. Iâm sorry for that.ââAuckland Mayor Wayne Brown.HOW OFTEN do politicians apologise? Sincerely apologise? Not offer voters the weasel words: âIf my actions have offended anyone, then I ...
At first blush, Christopher Luxonâs comment at the parliamentary powhiri at Waitangi this year sounded tone deaf. The Leader of the Opposition in talking about the Treaty of Waitangi described New Zealand as âa little experimentâ. It seemed to diminish the treaty and the very idea of our nation. Yet ...
THE (new) Prime Minister said nobody understands what co-governance means, later modified to that there were so many varying interpretations that there was no common understanding. BRIAN EASTON writes: Co-governance cannot be derived from the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It does not use the word. It ...
A brief postscript to yesterday’s newsletter…Watching the predawn speeches just now, the reverence of those speaking and the respectful nature of those listening under umbrellas in the dark. I felt a great sadness at the words from Christopher Luxon last evening still in my head. The singing in the dark accompanied ...
by Don Franks While on holiday,I stayed a few days in Scotland with a friend who showed me one of the countryâs great working-class achievements. It was a few miles out of central Edinburgh, a huge cantilever bridge across the river Forth. The Forth Bridge was the first major structure ...
Time To Call A Halt: Chris Hipkins knows that iwi leaders possess the means to make life very difficult for his government. Notwithstanding their objections, however, the Prime Ministerâs direction of travel â already clearly signalled by his very public demotion of Nanaia Mahuta â must be confirmed by an emphatic and ...
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 29, 2023 thru Sat, Feb 4, 2023. Story of the Week Social change more important than physical tipping points1.5-degree Goal not plausible Photo: CLICCS / Universität Hamburg Limiting global ...
So Long - And Thanks For All The Fish: In the two-and-a-bit years since Jacinda Ardernâs electoral triumph of 2020, virtually every decision she made had gone politically awry. In the minds of many thousands of voters a chilling metamorphosis had taken place. The Faerie Queen had become the Wicked ...
Look at us here on our beautiful islands in the South Pacific at the start of 2023, we have come so far.Ten days ago we saw a Māori Governor General swearing in our new PM and our first Pasifika Deputy PM, ahead of this year’s parliament where they will be ...
The Heraldâs headline writers are at it again! A sensible and balanced piece by Liam Dann on the battle against inflation carries a headline that suggests that NZ is doing worse than the rest of the world. Check it out and see for yourself if I am right. Is this ...
Photo by Anna Demianenko on UnsplashTLDR: Here’s my longer reads and listens for the weekend for sharing with The Kaka’s paying subscribers. I’ve opened this one up for all to give everyone a taste of the sorts of extras you get as a full paying subscriber.Subscribe nowDeeper reads and listens ...
Hello from the middle of a long weekend where I’m letting the last few days unspool, not ready, not yet, to give words to the hardest of what we heard.Instead, today, here are some good words from other people.Mother CourageWhen I wrote last year about Mum and Dad’s move to ...
Workers Now is a new slate of candidates contesting this yearâs general election. James Robb and Don Franks are the people behind this initiative and they are hoping to put the spotlight on working peopleâs interests. Both are seasoned activists who have campaigned for workers’ rights over many decades. Here is ...
Buzz from the Beehive Politicians keen to curry favour with MÄori tribal leaders have headed north for Waitangi weekend. More than a few million dollars of public funding are headed north, too. Not all of this money is being trumpeted on the Beehive website, the Government’s official website. ...
Insurers face claims of over $500 million for cars, homes and property damaged in the floods. They are already putting up premiums and pulling insurance from properties deemed at high risk of flooding. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTLDR: This week in the podcast of our weekly hoon webinar for paying subscribers, ...
Our Cranky Uncle Game can already be played in eight languages: English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish. About 15 more languages are in the works at various stages of completion or have been offered to be done. To kick off the new year, we checked with how ...
The (new) Prime Minister said nobody understands what co-governance means, later modified to that there were so many varying interpretations that there was no common understanding.Co-governance cannot be derived from the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It does not use the word. It refers to âgovernmentâ on ...
It’s that time of the week again when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kaka. Jump on this link for our chat about the week’s news with special guests Auckland Central MP Chloe Swarbrick and Auckland City Councillor Julie Fairey, including:Auckland’s catastrophic floods, which ...
In March last year, in a panic over rising petrol prices caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the government made a poor decision, "temporarily" cutting fuel excise tax by 25 cents a litre. Of course, it turned out not to be temporary at all, having been extended in May, July, ...
This month’s open thread for climate related topics. Please be constructive, polite, and succinct. The post Unforced variations: Feb 2023 first appeared on RealClimate. ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two fresh press releases had been posted when we checked the Beehive website at noon, both of them posted yesterday. In one statement, in the runup to Waitangi Day, Maori Crown Relations Minister Kelvin Davis drew attention to happenings on a Northland battle site in 1845. ...
It’s that time of the week again when I’m on the site for an hour for a chat in an Ask Me Anything with paying subscribers to The Kaka. Jump in for a chat on anything, including:Auckland’s catastrophic floods, which are set to cost insurers and the Government well over ...
Australia’s Treasurer Jim Chalmers (left) has published a 6,000 word manifesto called ‘Capitalism after the Crises’ arguing for ‘values-based capitalism’. Yet here in NZ we hear the same stale old rhetoric unchanged from the 1990s and early 2000s. Photo: Getty ImagesTLDR: The rest of the world is talking about inflation ...
A couple of weeks ago, after NCEA results came out, my son’s enrolment at Auckland Uni for this year was confirmed - he is doing a BSc majoring in Statistics. Well that is the plan now, who knows what will take his interest once he starts.I spent a bit of ...
Kia ora. What a week! We hope you’ve all come through last weekend’s extreme weather event relatively dry and safe. Header image: stormwater ponds at Hobsonville Point. Image via Twitter. The week in Greater Auckland There’s been a storm of information and debate since the worst of the flooding ...
Hi,At 4.43pm yesterday it arrived — a cease and desist letter from the guy I mentioned in my last newsletter. I’d written an article about “WEWE”, a global multi-level marketing scam making in-roads into New Zealand. MLMs are terrible for many of the same reasons megachurches are terrible, and I ...
Time To Call A Halt: Chris Hipkins knows that iwi leaders possess the means to make life very difficult for his government. Notwithstanding their objections, however, the Prime Ministerâs direction of travel â already clearly signalled by his very public demotion of Nanaia Mahuta â must be confirmed by an emphatic ...
Open access notables Via PNAS, Ceylan, Anderson & Wood present a paper squarely in the center of the Skeptical Science wheelhouse: Sharing of misinformation is habitual, not just lazy or biased. The signficance statement is obvious catnip: Misinformation is a worldwide concern carrying socioeconomic and political consequences. What drives ...
Mark White from the Left free speech organisation Plebity looks at the disturbing trend of ‘book burning’ on US campuses In the abstract, people mostly agree that book banning is a bad thing. The Nazis did us the favor of being very clear about it and literally burning books, but ...
 Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has undergone a stern baptisim of fire in his first week in his new job, but it doesnât get any easier. Next week, he has a vital meeting  in Canberra with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese, where he has to establish ...
As PM Chris Hipkins says, itâs a âno brainerâ to extend the fuel tax cut, half price public subsidy and the cut to the road user levy until mid-year. A no braoner if the prime purpose is to ease the burden on people struggling to cope with the cost of ...
Buzz from the Beehive Cost-of-living pressures loomed large in Beehive announcements over the past 24 hours. The PM was obviously keen to announce further measures to keep those costs in check and demonstrate he means business when he talks of focusing his government on bread-and-butter issues. His statement was headed ...
Poor Mike Hosking. He has revealed himself in his most recent diatribe to be one of those public figures who is defined, not by who he is, but by who he isnât, or at least not by what he is for, but by what he is against. Jacindaâs departure has ...
New Zealand is the second least corrupt country on earth according to the latest Corruption Perception Index published yesterday by Transparency International. But how much does this reflect reality? The problem with being continually feted for world-leading political integrity â which the Beehive and government departments love to boast about ...
TLDR: Including my pick of the news and other links in my checks around the news sites since 4am. Paying subscribers can see them all below the fold.In Aotearoa’s political economyBrown vs Fish Read more ...
TLDR: Including my pick of the news and other links in my checks around the news sites since 4am. Paying subscribers can see them all below the fold.In Aotearoa’s political economyBrown vs Fish Read more ...
In other countries, the target-rich cohorts of swinging voters are given labels such as ‘Mondeo Man’, ‘White Van Man,’ ‘Soccer Moms’ and ‘Little Aussie Battlers.’ Here, the easiest shorthand is ‘Ford Ranger Man’ – as seen here parked outside a Herne Bay restaurant, inbetween two SUVs. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / ...
In other countries, the target-rich cohorts of swinging voters are given labels such as ‘Mondeo Man’, ‘White Van Man,’ ‘Soccer Moms’ and ‘Little Aussie Battlers.’ Here, the easiest shorthand is ‘Ford Ranger Man’ – as seen here parked outside a Herne Bay restaurant, inbetween two SUVs. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / ...
Transport Minister and now also Minister for Auckland, Michael Wood has confirmed that the light rail project is part of the government’s policy refocus. Wood said the light rail project was under review as part of a ministerial refocus on key Government projects. âWe are undertaking a stocktake about how ...
Sometime before the new Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced that this year would be about “bread and butter issues”, Nationalâs finance spokesperson Nicola Willis decided to move from Wellington Central and stand for Ohariu, which spreads across north Wellington from the central city to Johnsonville and Tawa. Itâs an ...
They say a week is a long time in politics. For Mayor Wayne Brown, turns out 24 hours was long enough for many of us to see, quite obviously, “something isn’t right here…”. That in fact, a lot was going wrong. Very wrong indeed.Mainly because it turns ...
One of the most effective, and successful, graphics developed by Skeptical Science is the escalator. The escalator shows how global surface temperature anomalies vary with time, and illustrates how "contrarians" tend to cherry-pick short time intervals so as to argue that there has been no recent warming, while "realists" recognise ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTLDR: Here’s a quick roundup of the news today for paying subscribers on a slightly frantic, very wet, and then very warm day. In Aotearoa’s political economy today Read more ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTLDR: Here’s a quick roundup of the news today for paying subscribers on a slightly frantic, very wet, and then very warm day. In Aotearoa’s political economy today Read more ...
Tomorrow we have a funeral, and thank you all of you for your very kind words and thoughts — flowers, even.Our friend Michèle messaged: we never get to feel one thing at a time, us grownups, and oh boy is that ever the truth. Tomorrow we have the funeral, and ...
Lynn and I have just returned from a news conference where Hipkins, fresh from visiting a relief centre in Mangere, was repeatedly challenged to justify the extension of subsidies to create more climate emissions when the effects of climate change had just proved so disastrous. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The ...
Kia ora e te whÄnau. Today, we mark the anniversary of the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi - and our commitment to working in partnership with MÄori to deliver better outcomes and tackle the big issues, together. ...
Weâve just announced a massive infrastructure investment to kick-start new housing developments across New Zealand. Through our Infrastructure Acceleration Fund, weâre making sure that critical infrastructure - like pipes, roads and wastewater connections - is in place, so thousands more homes can be built. ...
The Green Party is joining more than 20 community organisations to call for an immediate rent freeze in TÄmaki Makaurau Auckland, after reports of landlords intending to hike rents after flooding. ...
When Chris Hipkins took on the job of Prime Minister, he said bread and butter issues like the cost of living would be the Governmentâs top priority â and this week, weâve set out extra support for families and businesses. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to provide direct support to low-income households and to stop subsidising fossil fuels during a climate crisis. ...
 The tools exist to help families with surging costs â and as costs continue to rise it is more urgent than ever that we use them, the Green Party says. ...
Work on the TVNZ/RNZ public media entity to stop; Radio NZ and NZ on Air to receive additional funding Social insurance scheme will not proceed this term The Human Rights (Incitement on Ground of Religious Belief) Amendment Bill to be withdrawn and not progressed this term. The matter to be ...
The Government is providing a $5 million package of emergency support to help businesses significantly affected by the recent flooding in Auckland. This includes: $3 million for flood recovery payments to help significantly affected businesses $1 million for mental wellbeing support through a boost to the First Steps programme $1 ...
The Governmentâs Temporary Accommodation Service (TAS) has been activated to support people displaced by the severe flooding and landslips in the Auckland region, Housing Minister Megan Woods says. âTAS is now accepting registrations for people who cannot return to their homes and need assistance finding temporary accommodation.  The team will work ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese today held their first bilateral meeting in Canberra. It was Chris Hipkinsâ first overseas visit since he took office, reflecting the close relationship between New Zealand and Australia. âNew Zealand has no closer partner than Australia. I was pleased to ...
New Zealand will immediately provide humanitarian support to those affected by the earthquakes in TĂźrkiye and Syria, Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta announced today. âAotearoa New Zealand is deeply saddened by the loss of life and devastation caused by these earthquakes. Our thoughts are with the families and loved ones affected,â ...
An historic Northland pÄ site with links to NgÄpuhi chief Hongi Hika is to be handed back to iwi, after collaboration by government, private landowners and local hapĹŤ. âIt is fitting that the ceremony for the return of the PÄkinga PÄ site is during Waitangi weekend,â said Regional Development Minister ...
The Government is investing in a suite of initiatives to unlock MÄori and Pacific resources, talent and knowledge across the science and research sector, Research, Science and Innovation Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Two new funds â He tipu ka hua and He aka ka toro â set to ...
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta departs for India tomorrow as she continues to reconnect Aotearoa New Zealand to the world. The visit will begin in New Delhi where the Foreign Minister will meet with the Vice President Hon Jagdeep Dhankar and her Indian Government counterparts, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and ...
Over $10 million infrastructure funding to unlock housing in WhangÄrei The purchase of a 3.279 hectare site in Kerikeri to enable 56 new homes Northland becomes eligible for $100 million scheme for affordable rentals Multiple Northland communities will benefit from multiple Government housing investments, delivering thousands of new homes for ...
The Government is supporting one of Aotearoa New Zealandâs most significant historic sites, the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, as it continues to recover from the impacts of COVID-19. âThe Waitangi Treaty Grounds are a taonga that we should protect and look after. This additional support will mean people can continue to ...
A memorial event at a key battle site in the New Zealand land wars is an important event to mark the progress in relations between MÄori and the Crown as we head towards Waitangi Day, Minister for Te Arawhiti Kelvin Davis said. The Battle of Ohaeawai in June 1845 saw ...
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Ka papÄ te whatitiri, Hikohiko ana te uira, wÄhi rua mai ana rÄ runga mai o Huruiki maunga Kua hinga te mÄreikura o te Nota, a Titewhai Harawira NÄ reira, e te kahurangi, takoto, e moe Ka mĹwai koa a Whakapara, kua uhia te Tai Tokerau e te kapua pĹuri ...
Carmel Sepuloni, Minister for Social Development and Employment, has activated Enhanced Taskforce Green (ETFG) in response to flooding and damaged caused by Cyclone Hale in the TairÄwhiti region. Up to $500,000 will be made available to employ job seekers to support the clean-up. We are still investigating whether other parts ...
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The prime minister has unveiled what he calls a ânew directionâ for the Labour government, and it involves launching a wrecking ball into Jacinda Ardernâs extensive policy programme. Stewart Sowman-Lund reports from parliament.We knew something was coming, but we perhaps werenât expecting quite so much policy carnage at parliament ...
Organisations directly affected by this afternoonâs announcement that the media merger will not go ahead have issued statements in response, with a common thread of welcoming clarity after months of uncertainty and speculation. RNZ chair Jim Mather said:Â âMedia in New Zealand is being challenged by rapidly changing commercial models, the ...
The decision to halt legislation that would bring religious grounds into existing hate speech rules, pending a referral to the Law Commission, has been rebuked by Amnesty International NZ. âWe are deeply disappointed and frustrated that the government is taking so long to strengthen the countryâs legislation against incitement to ...
The biggest private sector union in Aotearoa New Zealand, E tĹŤ, is concerned by the Prime Ministerâs announcement today that the New Zealand Income Insurance Scheme (NZIIS) will be delayed indefinitely. The announcement was part of the new Prime ...
The Taxpayersâ Union has welcomed the Governmentâs decision to take the proposed social insurance scheme off the table for the rest of this parliament but has warned against bringing back similar proposals in future. Taxpayersâ Union Campaigns Manager, ...
NZ On Air welcomes the decision from Cabinet today providing certainty for the public media sector. âOur funding strategy is flexible and future-focused, and we are able to quickly respond both to audience and media environment changes, without being ...
In an email to staff distributed shortly after Chris Hipkinsâ announcement that the media merger will be scrapped, RNZ chief executive Paul Thompson has said: âIt is good to have clarity after recent uncertainty.â The boost in funding for RNZ, details of which are to be determined, was âan endorsement ...
PÄmu is committed to reducing its climate impact through emissions reduction and strengthening climate resilience through adaption. Doubling down on its commitment , the state-owned enterprise has now signed a second sustainability-linked loan, ...
The Taxpayersâ Union is delighted at the news that the TVNZ/RNZ media merger is to be scrapped. Taxpayers' Union Executive Director, Jordan Williams, said: âOur former Chairman, a former TVNZ board member, Barrie Saunders was among the first ...
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Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards. Political Roundup:Â Labour’s reorientation to working class MÄoriPolitical scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. In recent decades the Labour Party has lost its traditional connection with working class voters, becoming more of a middle class party of liberalism. This is especially true of Labour’s historic connection with ...
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It appears the proposed merger of TVNZ and RNZ will indeed be scrapped in under an hourâs time. A source from within the media industry has told Te Ao MÄori News that the planned entity has been abandoned by the government as new prime minister Chris Hipkins attempts to reign ...
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Norton, a leading Cyber Safety brand of Gen, today published the New Zealand findings from a global study about online dating, associated scams, and attitudes about online stalking. The 2023 Norton Cyber Safety Insights Report (NCSIR), conducted online ...
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Watching now, audio needs syncing (out of sync) while Andrew speaks.
The start got me hot and almost ready to start marching.. we need to change this government. Hell yeah!
So I watched Andrew Speech now. Here’s my opinion.
There are some rough edges to Iron out. To me public orating, music , it’s kind of similar.
By this I mean Andrew had set talking points, passionate pieces where you could not help be moved as he punctuated those points he was almost perfect. Then you bring the audience back down and gently build them up to the points you wish to make for the next piece, here we had four, with him using some examples to lay foundation for the next talking point emphasised with a rising voice and passionate delivery in between.
He was too long on the chorus and not enough on the crescendo. IE the quiet calm to build up the drama was just to long, not even sure examples are a good break between them, perhaps more reference to what current policies that national has introduced and how it has done harm before building up the audience with his Labour parties policy points and what they will do.
The finger pointing, really good use of emphasis with the hands but less pointing with that finger.
Polished up and a bit more practise he’ll be one leader who can bring a crowd to a roar, he just has to keep them focused I was drifting off during those drawn out examples.
Couple times he lost his lines, minor, once at the police numbers, couple minor times..
It was a difficult and long speech so I can understand that.
The beginning was fantastic.. it really was, it just drifted of course a little as it went on.
From Radio NZ
The jobs policy would be for those on the Jobseeker benefit for more than six months, and would not be compulsory.
But that’s where the policy could get tricky for Labour as Mr Little said there were already sanctions in place for those on the Jobseeker benefit who did not fulfil their obligations; sanctions Labour has previously described as punitive.
When Mr Little was asked about how young people would be made to do the paid work if they flat out refused, he referred to the sanctions, and in the next breath reverted to the criticism of them as punitive.
Then he settled on young people being “actively managed” after their six months on a benefit, which left reporters none the wiser about whether those young people would have a choice about whether they would take up the six months work, or how much pressure they would come under to do so.
or in other words Yeah…..nah
RNZ
yeah nah
RNZ Yeah ..nah for reporting what Little said?????
Is that what he said what you have posted?
Labour is in serious need of some decent Coms staff.
What is a good policy has become a cluster fuck because no one can explain it in simple terms that don’t confuse journalists or provide the Nats with any ammunition.
It is pretty simple shit. When you are about to announce a new policy, stress test it by getting a devils advocate in the room and try and work out every Tory attack line. Don’t leave any announcements open to those attack lines.
If you get to the position when you need to clarify points with journalist or explain how the policy operates for days on end, then you probably fucked up the initial announcement.
NO
it was costed AND explained to that very Media and now they are on a proper hatchet job. Pretending and ramping it up.
Newshub TV3..Henry gone 7 sharp gone. Yep doing well.
TV3 are DESPERATE to survive.. carry on like this they will end up buried.
They disgust me. Don’t blame Andrew or anybody else for this.
No it wasn’t and has been proved today. Labour are idiots
Actually the policy was costed along orthodox lines. The offer is for six months’ work. Not everyone will complete that work as a number will go off and find alternative work or training, which is as the policy is intended. That’s why you cost on an average length of time people are expected to be in the course. Based on existing Jobseeker numbers, the average time would be four months.
To have costed at six months would have been absurd, and it’s not how costings are modelled. Have a look at Paid Parental Leave, which does not assume all parents taking it take the full 18 weeks. Have a look at student numbers, where universities do not assume all students finish their course. Have a look at Superannuation, which does not assume all citizens live to 65. This is utterly orthodox, and all that has been shown is that the press gallery do not understand how to do costings.
To blame this on Labour’s comms is a cop out. What we have is a press gallery that takes the Nats’ spin on face value and refuses to admit when it’s wrong.
repeat lie, ad nauseum there’s spew all over the place. we need a cleaner.
“Labour is in serious need of some decent Coms staff.”
They have had a revolving door for Coms staff, just managing to hire a couple more the other month.
And it shows…
Little is a union stooge with the mentality of a union stooge. A turd needs to be flushed as no amount of polishing will improve a turd. He has destroyed the labour party as an electable party capable of governing. Well done Andrew.
đ
Ian’s little hate is boiling over!
Not really. Just saying it as it is.
No you’re not.
Thank you for displaying your symptoms so openly so we can get a good look at you.
I find it hard to believe that any genuine Labour Party supporter uses the term “Union stooge”.
I sense a RWNJ concern troll who has probably never voted for Labour anyway.
No.
Labour need to bring the hammer down on media liars.
Boycott the Herald – declaring it Black would be even better.
Give Gower and Vance a year in Coventry each. Fuck ’em.
Fuckwit reporters are not the story. “Gotcha” news is not the story.
Meltdown – Key wants to talk about meltdown?
Home ownership headed for 40% is a meltdown John.
Giving our money to Clinton and the Sheikh is a meltdown John.
8 years of unremitting failure is a meltdown John.
You want Little to lie down because its the only way you can beat him.
+1 Stuart Munro
“You want Little to lie down because its the only way you can beat him”.
I was having an average morning until I read that. You should get involved in comedy Stuart.
Amen, also the need to stop obsessing about costings. Forecasting the costs of any policy is so subjective the Gnats will always be able to rip it apart so why give them ammunition?
“Amen, also the need to stop obsessing about costings. ”
Spot on. The simple facts need to be put forward. First the costings are about as accurate as any treasury forecast (e.g not very accurate at all). There are many components which are just guess work, like how many will take up the scheme, or how much gst will they pay due to their extra income. Also the more effective your scheme the further the economy leaves status quoue and so the more up in the air your forecast is anyway. and at the end of the day the government cant run out of money anyway so its pretty inconsequential exactly what forecast numbers are put up.
How accurate are treasury forecasts?
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11561359
Or to quote the finance minister “It’s not disappointing; it’s just another Treasury forecast”.
They are typically pretty close give or take a billion dollers.
When they ask next time for costing you say, well we got a few billion of Bills borrowing to work with haven’t we? so no problem really.
Just because Andrew Little has a moral framework that suggests having a job is a good thing and somehow neither demeaning nor an affront to basic notions of human decency – where does he get the notion that it’s okay to foist all that onto others?
I don’t know any unemployed people who are idle. There should be no sanctions. No compulsion. Nothing.
If Labour was talking of a living wage as opposed to a minimum wage and doing that alongside a commitment to reverse the benefit cuts instigated in the 90’s as well as a reversal of those imposed by the last Labour government, then it just might be a worthwhile policy, except…
…beyond the ‘pretend and extend’ and in spite of all this guff about ‘the future of work’ being about mechanisation and computerisation, the global economy is set to be sent reeling by the impacts of climate change.
So to hell with the DOC work and the community service – pay people a living wage to begin the process of making our homes and other pieces of infrastructure resistant to the likely impacts of global temp rises in excess of 2 degrees. (Working to an assumption of 4 degrees would be prudent)
And while we’re at it, re-purpose the army to the same ends.
Alarmist? Ridiculous? No. It’s called getting real.
A few months back Adam posted a link in comments to a Stein interview where she said that the US’s ‘National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) were now predicting a 3m rise in sea level by 2050 off the back of preliminary data coming from Antarctica. I chased that down. A senior advisor within NOAA is indeed telling the insurance industry that bar some glitch in the data, it’s possible that we’re looking at 3 by 50.
How much of NZ’s roading, port facilities, rail, housing, power distribution, reticulated water supplies etc are going to be able to be left where they are right now in that scenario?
Don’t give it any thought. Let’s have thousands of people tasked with killing possums and working in food banks. She’ll be right.
http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2016/04/12/405089.htm
It ain’t the young unemployed who need a kick in the pants Andrew.
Absolutely bloody spot on.
Its not that young people need a kick in the pants, thats not what this policy is about at all. Its simple math, when there are not enough jobs (suitable for young people) to go around then some of them must go without and be unemployed. Without sufficient jobs that outcome always happens regardless of how hard they try (just like in musical chairs). This is especially hard on the unemployed as they find it harder to get a job than for an employed person to change jobs.
And yes the proposal is far far too small. It should be unconditionally available and to all unemployed (and under employed) for as long as they want it. With a much broader range of occupations taking part in the scheme as well.
So he say. Right i’m going to increase the minimum wage to say 20 dollars.., just a figure for example.
We get a hostile media attacking him till the election, how much this going to cost, businesses moaning everyone attacking Labour.
Give me a break, everything labour says, the media think it’s news to rip to shreds.
You can raise the minimum wage. It just does not need to be announced.
Do you think he should politic with extreme policy when Labour are centre left. ?
Morgans doing the UBI, so covered.
Greens doing environment and remember a thing called the memorandum of understanding.. consequences of conflicting policy losing both parties votes.?
I think your not being fair.
I’m waiting for the Greens to solve your issues of the environment.., not Labour.
You JUST cannot please all the people all time.
/sigh
Know what you mean. I hear you Richard.
Whats this Morgan stuff I hear going around? Is he starting a political party?
Yes, The Opportunity Party.
That rousing speech will rally the troops and I expect the next poll to show Labour over 40%. Then I woke up. The general opinion of thepublic is that the dodgy numbers and conflicting statements about enforcement and of course taxing businesses who dare to employ a refugee or immigrant confirms that Labour could not even organise a piss up in a brewery. This will be the talk of the summer barbeques. The meme ‘Angry Andy’ is taking root in the public. How low can limbo Labour go?
The training levy on employers of migrants is a recent UK Tory policy…
However Labour only suggested it for occupations on the Skill Shortages Lists.
Refugees get resident visas so would not require levies.
I’d like to see a move to the Australian system (not sure if they still use it) but if you migrated to Australia you had to have a profit (not turnover) over $50k for your business and employ two Australian workers and keep that up for 5 years or so to get residency. That way only the successful entrepreneurs got residency.
In NZ migrants can come over, get a job and then be made redundant and then go on the dole or do a business that loses money. Not sure how that is good for the economy here.
You could easily invest 10 million in property (farm/residential) and then lose money on it on paper, leave the country, employ nobody or other migrants and that seems to be ok in NZ.
Not to mention the $20k bribes for someone to be employed or the $2 p/h, $8 p/h wages some employers are paying. Yep they get caught but what’s the deterrent – the employeer should have to pay massive fines to the employee and the government, be deported if they are not resident and maybe a jail sentence if it is widespread over a lot of employees or businesses.
On the flip side we have real skilled migrants trying to settle in NZ and the leave because working conditions and wages are so ridiculous, here we can’t keep them such as Wellington Hospital lost its leading cardio-electrophysiologist, Dr Alejandro Jimenez Restrepo. Clearly there is a problem attracting quality migrants (and also keeping NZ talent) when employees are not valued and feel they can not make a difference in NZ and employers are encouraged to think of workers as commodities, ship em in or employee them cheap, don’t listen just pretend to, and if that doesn’t work out, who cares.
http://werewolf.co.nz/2014/12/public-health-the-silent-crisis/
Really there is a balance but NZ clearly has it horribly wrong.
It’s stil 2km higher than Key and McCully..
there’s robust debate, and there shit stirring which camp do you BM and Chucky fall into..
I hope the admins return shortly because while they have been busy at the Labour conference your little fucks have been taking the piss.
Right now fifi, yep you got me, proper.
it worked, well done, now fuck off.