Andrew Little speech: Ready for work
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2:22 pm, November 6th, 2016 - 201 comments
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E nga mana
E nga tapu
E Te whanau o te roopu reipa
Tena koutou katoa
Talofa lava
Kia orana
Malo e lelei
Nǐ hǎo
Namaste
Can I acknowledge party president Nigel Haworth, and all of our hard working New Zealand Councillors.
I want to thank our wonderful MPs. You are well served by your caucus. There’s only one problem – there isn’t enough of them.
Winning Mt Roskill and getting Michel Wood adds one. Next year, we add more.
I also want to acknowledge the great team who’ll be leading the campaign next year. Our wonderful new General Secretary and campaign manager Andrew Kirton, and Campaign chair Phil Twyford.
I especially want to thank my deputy Annette King. You know, last year a journalist described Annette as a cross between your favourite grandmother and a Mafioso boss. I make no comment on that, but Annette’s doing a great job.
Last, and most of all, I want to acknowledge you, our fantastic party members.
I’ve had the chance to see many of you over the last two years.
Those of you who saw a certain rug probably got a chance to see more of me than you wanted.
Honestly though, I was very flattered by that rug’s depiction of me.
They really made my arms look much bigger than they are.
I think the style of art for that rug is called socialist realism. I’m just thankful it wasn’t cubism.
Delegates, we’ve had a fantastic conference.
Yesterday we launched out Future of Work report, which yet again proved Labour is the party of ideas in New Zealand. Grant Robertson thank you for leading this very important project.
For over 100 years now, Labour has been New Zealand’s party of ideas. No organisation in our country’s history has the same record of delivering progress for our people.
- From building the welfare state to restoring the mana of the Treaty of Waitangi;
- From going nuclear free to winning marriage equality;
- From our first sovereign wealth fund to tackling the future of work, Labour is the party that has done the things that define us as a country, and that laid the foundations for progress for our great nation.
That is our legacy. It’s up to all of us to build on it.
Helen Kelly
I would like to take a moment to pay tribute to Helen Kelly.
The Labour movement has lost a warrior.
New Zealand has lost one of its greatest daughters.
And many of us have lost a friend.
All our thoughts are with Steve, Dylan, Cath, and Max as they come to terms with losing Helen.
To them, Helen was a partner, a mother, a daughter, a sister.
To all of us, Helen was a champion, an advocate, an agitator. She was an inspiration.
Whether she was fighting for fair wages, safety at work, or for access to medicine, Helen epitomised the best of New Zealand values.
When she saw others in need, she offered to help.
When she saw wrong, she strove to right it.
Helen stood in no one’s shadow, and we will miss her greatly.
But, delegates, Helen would say:
“Don’t mourn, organise.”
The best way to honour Helen’s memory is to keep fighting without tiring, without flinching. To never give up and to make the changes we need.
Delegates, I’ve been the Leader of our Party for nearly two years now.
In that time, I’ve had the opportunity to meet some incredible New Zealanders.
Kiwis who are doing amazing things, leading the world, helping others.
People like Peter Beck of RocketLab whose passion for outer space and sheer determination will see New Zealand as one of the few countries in the world offering commercial services in small satelite deployment. Which for me was unthinkable as a 15 year old bopping to Mi-sex singing Space Race.
People like the senior boys at St Thomas College in Christchurch who, every year, enter the nationwide young enterprise scheme, and insist on an entry that has social benefits, not just commercial benefits.
And who every year win recognition for the quality of their entry and the compassion behind it.
People like the young couple who ten years ago started an online retail business in their garage selling baby clothes, who now, have a staff of 15, and insist that no one gets paid less than the living wage.
It comes down to this. We are a great country because we are a great people.
We’re fair minded.
We are not, by nature, mean-spirited.
We’re ambitious and we grab opportunities with both hands.
If you give New Zealanders a fair chance, a decent shot, there’s nothing we can’t achieve.
Delegates, that’s what our party has always believed.
For 100 years now, we’ve stood for that fair go. For everyone.
Our time in government has been about building a country where everyone can live up to their potential and no one is left out or left behind.
And right now, that is the approach we need more than ever.
Because there’s another side to our country today.
For all the great things Kiwis are doing, too many people are missing out.
Inequality and poverty are rising.
The housing crisis is raging on.
And the things people rely on to give them opportunity – the health services to keep us well, the police to keep us safe, and the schools for our kids – all those things are under pressure.
So while more than ever goes to those already doing very well, it’s getting harder for everyone else to get ahead.
It’s like there’s a party on the top two floors in New Zealand, but no one else is invited.
Delegates, we have the opportunity in front of us to change all of that.
The choice we have to make
In my speech last year, I talked about the Kiwi Dream.
It’s pretty basic stuff.
A decent job, more money in your pocket at the end of the week, a warm, dry home, a good school for your kids and a healthcare system that’s there when you need it.
This year, I want to tell you about the chance that’s in front of us to make that dream a reality for every New Zealander.
We meet this weekend at a time of real opportunity for our country.
We’ve come through a rough time economically.
Fortunately, New Zealand was in a better position than most to weather that storm.
Thanks to successive governments, our banking system was in better shape than many in Europe and North America.
And thanks to Sir Michael Cullen, our public debt in 2008 was virtually zero. Zero.
So when the crisis hit, New Zealand was ready.
Our good position means we’ve come out of the shadow of the GFC faster and in better shape than most other countries.
That means we are now in a position to finally address many of the challenges we face as a country. We have billions of dollars of new debt to repay.
Contributions to the Super Fund were stopped and we are way behind what is needed for the future cost of superannuation.
And there is the urgent need to invest in our people, and invest in their future.
Delegates, it’s time that every New Zealander got to benefit from the good times ahead.
That’s the choice in front of us. That’s the decision we have to make.
Do we choose to stick with business as usual? Do we keep throwing more money at those already doing well.
Keep running down our schools and our hospitals. Keep eroding the things that give people the foundation to get ahead.
Or do we invest in people?
Invest in the things that give people opportunities.
Better schools. Better healthcare. Safer communities.
An end to the housing crisis that’s causing so much misery.
That’s the choice we have.
Delegates, that is the fight in front of us at next year’s election.
If we want to change what’s happening now, we have to change the government.
We have to win.
The last two years has been about getting our great party ready to do just that.
The results of the local elections show we can campaign to win. The polls show it’s a neck and neck race between the centre-left and centre-right blocs.
This is a straight fight, and I’m up for it, we’re up for it and I’ll tell you this:
We’re going to win.
We’re going to win because New Zealanders know it’s time to back our people.
It’s time to invest in the future.
It’s time to put people first.
National’s Plan
And look, we can do so much better than what this Government is offering.
They’ve been very clear about the path they want us to take.
We should give them credit for that, they’ve been very up front about it.
No, I’m serious. They’ve been straight up about what they’d rather do.
They’re proud of their plan. Really.
Do you know what it is?
It’s pretty simple:
Tax cuts.
That’s it. That’s their answer.
After eight years, it’s pretty much all they’ve got left.
At next year’s election, they’ll be asking you to believe that shaving a few points off the top tax rate is the height of what we can achieve as a nation.
They’ll be asking you to believe that moving from the fifth lowest taxes in the OECD to the fourth lowest is the best we can hope for.
And look, I get that this government’s never met a tax cut they didn’t like.
The economy is in trouble in 2010? Well, time for a tax cut to get things growing again! Because you know, trickle down and all that.
The economy’s on the rebound in 2016? Thank god, now we can do tax cuts!
Here’s the reality about the last lot of tax cuts: it didn’t actually make that much of a difference for most people, while the ones already doing well got a big boost.
That’s the problem with tax cuts – those who already have the most always get the most.
And when National’s talking about three billion dollars a year in tax cuts, that’s a lot of money to give away to the very rich.
And to pay for that, they’ll keep running down our schools and our hospitals. They’ll keep underfunding the very things we should be investing in.
This is an empty, small minded vision for our future. And in this election, together, we’re going to show New Zealand a better way.
Delegates, Labour offers a much more hopeful vision for our country.
While National looks to give more than ever to those at the very top, we will invest in people.
We’ll build on everything we love about our country and together we will leave it even better for future generations.
A country that is more prosperous. That is more just. That has more opportunities for all our people.
Let’s start with housing.
Everyone except National agrees we have a housing crisis in New Zealand.
Not a housing “challenge,” or a housing “issue.”
It’s a crisis.
It’s a crisis when home ownership is at its lowest level in 65 years.
It’s a crisis when speculators are having a field day but nurses and teachers and police officers can’t afford to buy a home in Auckland.
And it’s a crisis when more and more of our families are having to sleep in garages and in cars.
You’ve all heard about the family living in a van in South Auckland, with an 11 year old girl struggling to do her homework in a dimly-lit back seat.
That’s a tragedy but they’re not alone.
Lynette Haines lives in Tauranga.
She’s 69, she’s worked all her life and she’s been forced to live in a campground for the last six months because she couldn’t afford a home, and now she faces being evicted from there as well.
69 years old, a lifetime of work, and you end up living in your car.
How the hell does that happen in a country like ours?
When did we decide that was the kind of place we wanted to be?
We never voted for that.
That’s not the New Zealand I know. That’s not the country I love.
Well, I say: no more.
We’re not going to let people languish in poverty like this.
We’re not going to let our families be shut out of the housing market any longer.
We’re not going to sit on the sidelines, we’re going to roll up our sleeves, get stuck in, and fix housing once and for all.
That means 100,000 new affordable homes for first home buyers.
And we’ll establish an Affordable Housing Authority to work with developers, cut through the delays and get those homes built fast.
And we will end the tax loopholes that the big property speculators use to rack up their super-profits.
We’ll scrap the negative gearing tax break they use and if they buy a property to flip it within five years, they’ll pay the full tax on it.
That’s my message: no more free rides for the speculators and a fair shot for first home buyers at last.
With our plan, the difference is clear. We are the party of homeownership.
If you’re trying to save to buy a home, Labour will help make it happen.
And if you want to see an end to homelessness in New Zealand, Labour is the party that’ll do it.
No child in our country should have to do their homework in the backseat of a car because they don’t have a home.
It’s wrong and under Labour, those days are over.
We’ll build new state houses and invest in emergency housing as well, so every Kiwi family can have a roof over their heads.
Delegates, the next part of our plan is about investing in our future.
It’s about restoring the things that give people opportunity.
It starts with making sure we’re giving all our kids the best education we can.
I remember the first day Leigh and I sent our son Cam off to Island Bay Primary.
Letting your child go for the first time, watching them walk through those school gates on their own, it can be anxious time for every parent.
But I remember the peace of mind that came from knowing he was going to a great school, where the teachers would do everything they could to give him the best start.
Finding a good school for your child shouldn’t be a lottery.
Every Kiwi kid deserves a world class education, no matter how much money their parents have.
So we’ll turn around National’s legacy of failure on education.
That means saying no to bulk funding and larger class sizes.
It means no more public money for dodgy charter schools.
It means ending the funding freeze for our public schools.
We have some of the best teachers in the world, and we’re going to back them to do what they do best: change children’s lives.
Delegates, we’re also going to undo the damage that National has done in health.
You all know the old saying that health cuts don’t heal.
Well, National has underfunded health by $1.7 billion over its time in office.
The health budget simply hasn’t kept up with a growing population and rising costs.
And that means people are missing out.
Get this, in the last year 45,000 New Zealanders were told they needed hospital treatment, but when they got there the local hospital told them they couldn’t afford to treat them.
Every one of those 45,000 waited to see a specialist.
And they waited.
And they waited.
And you know what?
They’re still sick and they’re still waiting.
Heather Stevens was one of those people. She’s working in a dry cleaning business in Dunedin, and she desperately needs surgery on her hip.
She’s in agony, she’s not sure how much longer she can keep working.
But she’s been waiting for four years with no end in sight.
That’s so wrong, and we’re going to fix it.
We’ll restore the funding that National has cut and we’ll give our doctors and nurses and health professionals what they need to keep people well.
And there’s one more public service Labour is going to invest in.
Our police.
Our police do a really tough job, keeping our communities safe.
But years of underfunding have made their job much much harder.
This year, the Government signed off on a four year freeze in police numbers, even though we have a rising population.
And when police aren’t on the beat, crime goes up.
Just recently there was the dairy in West Auckland, held up three times in three weeks.
One store. Three weeks. Three robberies.
That’s not what we should expect in a peaceful country like ours.
That’s why Labour is going to put 1000 extra front line cops on the beat.
It’ll mean fewer crimes being committed and more crimes being solved.
It’ll mean more people able to live their lives free of the fear of violence.
Labour’s Youth Jobs Plan.
And delegates, today I want to tell you about the next part of our plan to take our country forward.
In Labour, we know that investing in our young people, in giving them the opportunity to succeed and live up to their potential is the best thing we can do for the future.
As Leader, I’ve made this a personal priority because I know how much it matters.
I’ve already announced some major policies in this area:
- Three years free education after high school.
- Helping businesses meet the cost of a new apprentice.
- Professional careers advice at school to help young people make good decisions about work or further study.
- Grants for young Kiwis who want to start their own business.
And today, I want to add the next plank.
Right now, we have 74,000 young people in New Zealand who aren’t just out of work, but aren’t in training or education either.
74,000 young people with nothing to do, wasting away on the scrap heap.
Think of all the talent we are wasting.
Young people with forty years of their working lives still ahead of them, but who aren’t getting any skills, who aren’t getting any experience.
Think of the thousands of young people with no prospects, with no hope, who feel like everyone’s given up on them.
Well I’m telling you this: we’re not going to give up.
I’m not going to give up.
Not now, not ever.
It’s not who I am.
As a parent, as a politician, as someone who gives a damn, I won’t give up on our young people.
Everyone has potential. Everyone deserves an opportunity to live up to it.
That’ why today I am announcing that the next Labour Government will introduce a jobs scheme to put those young people to work in our communities.
We won’t let them waste away, we’ll give them a job. We’ll give them opportunities. We’ll give them the fair shot they need.
My commitment is this: A future where every young New Zealander is earning a living or studying towards a career.
Here’s how it’s going to work:
Rather than pay young people the dole, we’ll set them up for six months with a job working in the conservation estate for DOC, or with a local charity or non-profit.
We’ll put young people to work serving the community, getting the work experience they need.
Now these won’t be flashy jobs, but they will be a first step on the ladder.
And every young person will be paired with a mentor, someone who can help them learn new skills and get them ready for the job market.
I’ve seen for myself how programmes like these can work.
I’ve seen courses where they gave young people who have been out of work for a while a chance.
And its hands on stuff, they make sure they get to work, they make sure they bring a lunch, and they work in horticulture, they work on the land.
And by the end of the course, they’ve learned how to stick to a routine, how to pick themselves up when things get rough, they’ve learned habits that will last a life time.
They’ve got experience, they’ve got a reference, they’re providing for themselves.
They’re ready for work.
That’s the change we can make in the lives of thousands of people.
This is about saying to our young people: we’re not giving up on you. We see the potential in you, and here’s opportunity to make the most of yourself.
Delegates, we’re going to change the lives of thousands of our young people.
We’re going to restore opportunity.
We’re going to restore hope to people.
Conclusion
New Zealand, we have a once in a generation opportunity in front of us.
And next year’s election is about whether we can seize it.
We have a chance to make a difference.
A chance to rise to the challenge, win this fight, and make this a better country.
Delegates, that chance is in front of us, now let’s go make it happen.
Let’s organise and campaign and win the changes we need.
Let’s fight for the young people who need a chance, who need a job, who need hope.
Let’s fight for the young couples who are trying to buy their first home.
For the children who want to learn and the families who need better healthcare.
Let’s fight for Helen Kelly and all the changes she wanted to see.
Let’s fight for young people like Taylor and PPV who we saw on Friday. Young people with immense talent who can do anything if we give them an opportunity.
Let’s fight for a Government that puts people first.
New Zealand, It’s time for a better way.
It’s time to raise our sights as a nation
Time to restore hope to our people.
Together, let’s rise to the challenge.
Let’s change the government and then let’s make this an even better country together.
Thank you.
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The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...1 day ago - Jones finds $410,000 to help the government muscle in on a spat projectBuzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...1 day ago
- Again, hate crimes are not necessarily terrorism.
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading ...1 day ago - Despair – construction consenting editionEric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...1 day ago
- Coalition promises – will the Govt keep the commitment to keep Kiwis equal before the law?Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...1 day ago
- An impermanent public service is a guarantee of very little else but failureChris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...1 day ago
- What happens after the war – Mariupol
Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...1 day ago - Babies and benefits – no good newsLindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. ...1 day ago
- Should the RBNZ be looking through climate inflation?
1 day ago - Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links
The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours, as of 9:16 am on Thursday, April 18 are:Housing: Tauranga residents living in boats, vans RNZ Checkpoint Louise TernouthHousing: Waikato councillor says wastewater plant issues could hold up Sleepyhead building a massive company town Waikato Times Stephen ...1 day ago - Gordon Campbell on the public sector carnage, and misogyny as terrorismIt’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...2 days ago
- Meeting the Master Baiters
Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...2 days ago - How extreme was the Earth's temperature in 2023This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blog In 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...2 days ago
- Backbone, revisited
The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...2 days ago - Ministers are not above the lawToday in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...2 days ago
- What’s the outfit you can hear going down the gurgler? Probably it’s David Parker’s Oceans Sec...Buzz from the Beehive Point of Order first heard of the Oceans Secretariat in June 2021, when David Parker (remember him?) announced a multi-agency approach to protecting New Zealand’s marine ecosystems and fisheries. Parker (holding the Environment, and Oceans and Fisheries portfolios) broke the news at the annual Forest & ...2 days ago
- Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?Bryce Edwards writes – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...2 days ago
- Matt Doocey doubles down on trans “healthcare”Citizen Science writes – Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...2 days ago
- A TikTok Prime Minister.
One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...2 days ago - Texas LessonsThis is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election.
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3 days ago - Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links at 6:06 am
The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours as of 6:06 am on Wednesday, April 17 are:Must read: Secrecy shrouds which projects might be fast-tracked RNZ Farah HancockScoop: Revealed: Luxon has seven staffers working on social media content - partly paid for by taxpayer Newshub ...3 days ago - Fighting poverty on the holiday highwayTurning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...3 days ago
- Bernard's six-stack of substacks at 6:26 pm
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...3 days ago - At a glance – Is the science settled?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 ...3 days ago
- Apposite Quotations.
3 days ago - What’s a life worth now?
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...3 days ago - Howling at the MoonKarl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...3 days ago
- Newshub is Dead.
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...3 days ago - Seymour is chuffed about cutting early-learning red tape – but we hear, too, that Jones has loose...Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...3 days ago
- Bryce Edwards: Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...3 days ago
- Was Hawkesby entirely wrong?David Farrar writes – The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...3 days ago
- PRC shadow looms as the Solomons head for electionPRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time. A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...3 days ago
- Climate Change: Criminal ecocideWe are in the middle of a climate crisis. Last year was (again) the hottest year on record. NOAA has just announced another global coral bleaching event. Floods are threatening UK food security. So naturally, Shane Jones wants to make it easier to mine coal: Resources Minister Shane Jones ...3 days ago
- Is saving one minute of a politician's time worth nearly $1 billion?Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced ...3 days ago
- Long Tunnel or Long Con?Yesterday it was revealed that Transport Minister had asked Waka Kotahi to look at the options for a long tunnel through Wellington. State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the ...4 days ago
- Smoke And Mirrors.
You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...4 days ago - What is Mexico doing about climate change?This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...4 days ago
- State of humanity, 2024
2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...4 days ago - Govt’s Wellington tunnel vision aims to ease the way to the airport (but zealous promoters of cycl...Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...4 days ago
- The case for cultural connectednessA recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...4 days ago
- Useful context on public sector job cutsDavid Farrar writes – The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated. While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...4 days ago
- Gordon Campbell On When Racism Comes Disguised As Anti-racismRemember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...4 days ago
- Govt ignored economic analysis of smokefree reversal5 days ago
- True Blue.
True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...5 days ago - Who is running New Zealand’s foreign policy?While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...5 days ago
- 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #15A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 7, 2024 thru Sat, April 13, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week is about adults in the room setting terms and conditions of ...5 days ago
- Fast-track submissions period must be extended
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...4 hours ago - Release: Progress on climate will be undone by Govt
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...5 hours ago - Release: Dark day for Kiwi kids as a third of Govt cuts affect themNews that 1000 jobs at the Ministry of Education and Oranga Tamariki could go is devastating for future generations of New Zealanders. ...2 days ago
- Release: Alarm as Government signals further blow to school lunchesMore essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...2 days ago
- Release: Quick, submit – stop Govt’s dodgy approvals billThe Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...3 days ago
- Government throws coal on the climate crisis fireThe Government’s policy announced today to ease consenting for coal mining will have a lasting impact across generations. ...3 days ago
- Release: Public transport costs to double as National looks at unaffordable roading project insteadCancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...4 days ago
- Release: Cost of living in Auckland still not a priorityA laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...4 days ago
- Greens look to fast-track submissions on harmful lawThe Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...1 week ago
- Release: Govt should stop making people’s lives harder and build more homesThe National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...1 week ago
- Release: Melissa Lee missing in action on mediaThe action Melissa Lee promised to protect democracy and the media sector is missing, Media and Communications spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...1 week ago
- Landlord Government leaves little hope for rentersThe Government’s announcement on tenancy rules prove that it does not care about renters. ...1 week ago
- Opportunity to build a more sustainable economyGreen Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...1 week ago
- Significant step forward in fixing cruel and unjust pastA significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...1 week ago
- Missed opportunity but NZ will surely one day recognise the right to a sustainable environmentNew Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...1 week ago
- Release: Don’t cut our lunches – clear message sent to GovernmentTens of thousands of people are demanding the Government commits to fully funding free and healthy school lunches. ...1 week ago
- Release: Govt makes U-turn on Suicide Prevention OfficeLabour welcomes the Government’s U-turn on the closure of the Suicide Prevention Office, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...1 week ago
- CCC issues warning over further climate delayToday’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...2 weeks ago
- Luxon targets lame and lousy example of leadershipIf talk is cheap, Chris Luxon’s “targets” are bankrupt. ...2 weeks ago
- Luxon targets are lousy example of leadershipIf talk is cheap, Chris Luxon’s “targets” are bankrupt. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Commitment to disability communities missing from Govt prioritiesMinister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...2 weeks ago
- Methane target review is dangerous duplicationThe Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Government must commit to school building project for disabled studentsThe Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: National must take mental health seriouslyMental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...2 weeks ago
- Referendums for Māori wards a racist step backwardsThe Government's imposed referendum on Māori wards is a racist step backwards for Māori representation, and disregards Te Tiriti o Waitangi. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Job losses at Health not worth it for tax cutsNew Zealand will feel the harm of the National Government’s reckless cuts to jobs at the health ministry for generations, says Ayesha Verrall. ...2 weeks ago
- Press release: No Māori initiatives in Government’s nothing planMāori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...2 weeks ago
- Thirty six point PR spinThe Government’s ‘36 point’ plan for the next three months is as pointless as it is hollow. ...2 weeks ago
- Thirty six point PR spinThe Government’s ‘36 point’ plan for the next three months is as pointless as it is hollow. ...2 weeks ago
- Thirty six point PR spinThe Government’s ‘36 point’ plan for the next three months is as pointless as it is hollow. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Social housing off Government’s to-do listThe Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Less money in most people’s pockets this AprilChanges to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...3 weeks ago
- $41m to support clean energy in South East Asia
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...5 hours ago - Minister releases Fast-track stakeholder listThe Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...7 hours ago
- Judicial appointments announcedAttorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...7 hours ago
- Education Minister heads to major teaching summit in SingaporeEducation Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...8 hours ago
- Value of stopbank project proven during cycloneA stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...8 hours ago
- Anzac commemorations, Türkiye relationship focus of visitForeign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...9 hours ago
- Minister to Europe for OECD meeting, Anzac DayScience, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...11 hours ago
- Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the PhilippinesPrime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...22 hours ago
- Government commits $20m to Westport flood protectionThe Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...1 day ago
- Taupō takes pole positionThe Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...1 day ago
- Cost of living support for low-income homeownersLocal Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...1 day ago
- Government backing mussel spat projectThe Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...1 day ago
- Government focused on getting people into workBenefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...1 day ago
- Clean energy key driver to reducing emissionsThe Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...1 day ago
- Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forwardThe Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...2 days ago
- Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic PartnershipPrime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...2 days ago
- Government consults on extending coastal permits for portsRMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...2 days ago
- Inflation coming down, but more work to doToday’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...2 days ago
- School attendance restored as a priority in health adviceRefreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...2 days ago
- Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sectorOceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...2 days ago
- Patterson promoting NZ’s wool sector at International CongressAssociate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...3 days ago
- Removing red tape to help early learners thriveThe Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...3 days ago
- RMA changes to cut coal mining consent red tapeChanges to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...4 days ago
- McClay reaffirms strong NZ-China trade relationshipTrade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...4 days ago
- Prime Minister Luxon acknowledges legacy of Singapore Prime Minister LeePrime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...4 days ago
- PMs Luxon and Lee deepen Singapore-NZ tiesPrime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...4 days ago
- Antarctica New Zealand Board appointmentsForeign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...4 days ago
- Finance Minister travels to Washington DCFinance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...4 days ago
- Pet bonds a win/win for renters and landlordsThe coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...4 days ago
- Long Tunnel for SH1 Wellington being consideredState Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...5 days ago
- New Zealand condemns Iranian strikesPrime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...5 days ago
- Huge interest in Government’s infrastructure plansHundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...1 week ago
- Health Minister thanks outgoing Health New Zealand ChairHealth Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...1 week ago
- Roads of National Significance planning underwayThe NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...1 week ago
- Navigating an unstable global environmentNew Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...1 week ago
- NZ welcomes Australian Governor-GeneralPrime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...1 week ago
- Pseudoephedrine back on shelves for WinterAssociate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...1 week ago
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Great speech Andrew , come the hour, come the man
+infinity
Andrew is an outstanding speaker, would love to hear the audio, he gets this ‘rev’ in his voice when he is very passionate about something, powerful speaker.
I haven’t voted labour since Aunty left, however next year I’m thinking I will. Really like Andrews style and message, the way he comes across. Alpha Male
Will be backing Andrew all the way this election.
<a href ="https://www.facebook.com/NZLabourParty/
Disappointed that the Youth Job Scheme will only pay minimum wage and not the living wage.
Minimum wage is a BIG step up from what they get on UB. And, it is like an apprenticeship isn’t it?
In 2012, Paula Bennett’s Social Security (Youth Support and Work Focus) Amendment Bill targeted under 18’s from receiving the UB.
“The bill was passed by 64 votes to 57, with National, the Maori Party, United Future and the Act Party in support and Labour, Greens, New Zealand First and Mana against.”
<a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10812818
<a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10820783
An apprenticeship in what? 74000 youths (male & female) clambering around the Tararuas for 6 months, making their own lunches. What could go wrong?
On that note, TVNZ could make a reality TV show – Survivor Labour. The winner gets a job in Andrew Little’s office.
Hopefully the minimum wage will be increased faster than under National.
Why don’t Labour just put the taxes up? Then they can show they really have the courage of their convictions and pay the Survivor DOC players the Living Wage, instead of just the neo-liberal Minimum Wage. Then once the trainees have finished their 6-month rotation, they can have their Living Wage holiday on the Gold Coast, and then come back and put their name down with DOC for a permanent job using their new skills.
I wondered that also? Perhaps it’s just a matter of keeping it economically viable?
My wife and I had a good discussion on this today – I can see how it could be a good idea.
“My wife and I”
Very posh James. You must come from a very good background.. Cambridge, Oxford?
I don’t know what constitutes posh in tokoroa – but just using basic grammar shouldnt impress you that much. It’s as posh as you seem to think.
A thumbs up for the jobs policy for the young unemployed. Not only does it guarantee a significantly better income than benefit money, even if only at minimum wage, it also cuts off the work for dole movement which is tantamount to slave labour. Equal pay for equal work is fair and empowering.
Though it’s a shame it doesn’t kick in until after six months and won’t be open to those over the age limit, it’s a positive position to take from labour.
Its clear Andrew Little is counting on National offering a tax cut, and is trying to counter that.
As John Key has shown over and over again, he does not conform to traditional centre right politics. He will just as easy venture onto the left side of centre as well.
And even the most rabid lefties here will agree…National is very good at understanding voter sentiment via continuous internal polling.
It is just possible, taking into account voter sentiment (if its there) that National will forgo tax cuts and instead spend the surplus on the “issues of the day”.
And / or only adjust the lower tax bracket down or even “no tax on the first $x earned”.
Interesting times…
“And even the most rabid lefties here will agree…National is very good at understanding voter sentiment” Indeed that why he vote with Sue Bradford to remove the loop hole to enable parents to beat there kids. So Chuck the Slap conspiracy theorist – do you agree with Key on this?
As you use speech marks all the time, I think I’m not alone thinking it comes from you, as you never make it clear when you are quote someone else. That said, if you are going to quote someone else, it is also generally assumed you agree with the statement they have made.
Simple rules of politics Chucky, as you seem not to know them…
“As you use speech marks all the time, I think I’m not alone thinking it comes from you, as you never make it clear when you are quote someone else.”
Well looks like I have a groupie in adam then, I might need a restraining order 🙂
Glad you have finally worked out that it was all in your head…
Do you have any children adam?? For the record I have three, all brought up in a caring loving family.
BTW: Trying to score points by accusing people of mistreating children reflects poorly on you adam.
Delusional as always Chucky, I’ve been asking you a question for two days and a simple no rather than your continued deflections is not to much to ask.
You started on the personal attacks, I just wanted and still want to know if you oppose the beating of children position, sponsored by those who called it the anti-smacking bill?
You will not answer that simple question Chuck, it is a politically loaded question yes. But as you brought up anti-smacking is it not time you answered the question.
By the way not a fan of people who deflect as often as you. Its a simple question, you are the one turning it into an accusation – by not answering a very simple question. Do you beat children or support the rights of people to beat children? I would have thought after two days Chucky you could come with an answer, and a position on a political issue like this as you seem so ready to offer your opinion on everything else.
adam, no amount of spinning will hide the facts.
You made a half hearted attempt at an apology…@ 5.1
“As you use speech marks all the time, I think I’m not alone thinking it comes from you”
I’m making no apology, feel free to dream on about that one. Let me remind you, you brought up anti-smacking position. I’m trying to found out were you stand on the issue.
The constant deflections are making you look like you support child abuse.
My question is, and has always been quite simple, I’m sure most 5 year olds would be able answer, but you are struggling. So here it is again – even more simplified as you seem to be having trouble with English the last two days. Do you hit children or support the rights of people who do? A simple yes or no – will do, as anything else seems to be too taxing for you.
Andrew Little and Labour have to find a way passed an hostile media to get their message out.
A case in point last nights One news two top stories were
1 Joseph Parker
2 A scrub fire at Brighton beach near Dunedin
Grant Robertsons speech on the future of work some time after the first commercial break and the PMs photo opportunities.
The whole landscape has changed for Labours share of important air time and how the story is portrayed to the population unless the news is negative and can inflict damage on the party, a favourite one is “disunity in the ranks ” or Labour is” divided on this” issue.
The speech was good and has real lift and positive appeal and the ability to reach out with an alternative vision of how Labour is going to address some serious problems and invoking the sacrifice of the late Helen Kelly.
How much will be reported and how will it be conveyed is the next test.
Who still watches the network news?
That is now really just the domain of the aged and those unable to undertake personal research.
Communicate with the people you want via other means (hint: the interaction means they prefer themselves) and forget about the old broadcast model.
pull your head out of your arse ,i bet shit loads still get all their politics from tv
The viewing numbers are ..really low WB..real low..
People must be getting there tv on demand and skipping perhaps news? or viewing the news on PC’s.
I would state, internet advertising and getting the message out on a web presence will be the way of the future, if not right NOW.
As far as i am aware the domain of the aged and those unable to undertake personal research still vote Chess Player.
Indeed they do, and haven’t they all voted well in the past…very effective voting.
Like I say, if you choose an outdated medium to communicate your message – one that involves an intermediary that can add their own perspective/spin – then you do that at your peril.
mosa,
I generally agree with all your points, except to say, after reading Andrews speech, that I cannot get any real enthusiasm or lift from the speech.
I feel as if I read it all before.
I don’t believe the speech will get any traction for Labour in the polls simply because people are not listening to a political party that will probably have to have two other political parties with sizable electorate support to form a coalition government bench.
I wish Andrew and the party well, but there is a feeling of staleness about this conference that I cannot shake.
Billmurray. If any politician and political party is stale and has gone passed it’s use by date, then it’s no future, visionless, no ideas sell out John Key and his National party, that requires the support of 3 minor political parties to govern, and it would be extremely hard, near on impossible in fact, for anyone to feel any real enthusiasm for the same old tired lies that we have all heard so many times before.
Is Dunne fully charged up yet. where is that ..grrrr
I am all for an understanding between Labour and the Greens to rid Ōhāriu of Peter Dunne.
Leftie, yes it is fair to say that the National party also has staleness. They are more stale than Labour by a country mile.
But they do not suffer from making to many promise’s to the electorates, read Andrews speech and couple it with Grants speech and you have had a book (taken into account the fine print that will be needed to implement) of promise’s.
Grant is already furiously backtracking on his tax on small employers for ‘non training’ of staff. Grant did not do his research nor did he present well.
The $60M cost for a policy from Andrew is now being challenged and will be challenged further in the new week starting.
Though National should not win in 2017, they have better than a fighting chance because of Labours ineptitude and lack of understanding of MMP. Labour can certainly crunch the numbers but they do not understand the key to winning in a MMP enviroment is not just numbers.
John Key and Winston Peters are both successful politicians who understand MMP without numbers.
Finally please read Chris Trotters latest blog (bowalley road) to get further insight of what I am trying to convey about Labours staleness.
Bollocks Billmurray. And Winston Peters will never support John key, and Labour have a far better track record of keeping their promises than National, who have practically broken every promise they have made.
I disagree in part of your comment BillMurray for these reasons.
I think there is a real will to change this government.
I think all of keys lies have wound people down they have had enough.
People are aware of the dirty politics and know Keys promises are broken most of the time.
I think when we get to full election time the list of things national has lied about, done and been nasty on are going to come home to roost if played right and policy will be forgotten to a degree.
When the election cycle starts getting nearer the election day, policy will be side lined by slagging each other off and negative electioneering.
If it goes to negative electioneering, labours got far to much ammo for that.
John I think will go for a massive voter bribe, he wants to try for that fourth term,, he’s a man who sets goals and does his best to achieve.
It’s way to early and this is nothing,(re any faults with policy announcement) we got a year to go.. They can review and correct. good learning curve for them (labours new caucus).., tough breaks like these can make a team.. a team that will improve their electioneering skills.
Nothing ever starts perfect in my experience, it’s how you learn as a team from your mistakes. That I think is what’s going to decide this election.
I noted he aligned himself with the actual words centre left..
This is where he has chosen to stand his Labour party. He will succeed or fail on how the election goes, and we I suppose shall have to listen and make our decisions.
That be politics.
I think now if you really are interested in the election and politics, you’ll be browsing the net and reading here and there making your own mind up.
The people are not as stupid as people think. No ones, not thinking things on an even basis.
We all know parties exaggerate and the media is bias.
What i’m saying is people take into consideration more than your giving them credit.
You guys are all forgetting what happened last election. The whole Country was awash with blue hoardings, the money for National dominated all the media and the left were very competently ridiculed.
For the majority of kiwis who don’t give a toss about politics it was easy to support Key. The media are as Right as you can get (including RNZ now).
Do you really think the Left is looking good enough to overcome all that this time around? I would suggest not and imo I totally blame Labour for that. They are the ones with arrogance and an inability to cooperate.
You can’t throw billions on failed policy.., Clintons done that, it only works when the damage of your policies hasn’t taken effect.
I think, the mood of the electorate has changed, hence left n right block are far closer now than before in the polls
It’s easy to blame labour, have you contributed to their campaign chest? if not, well you shouldn’t moan . really.
Also: What about the older folks who’ve years of experience and get traded in for cheaper youth-uni grads & qual’s?
What is Labour going to do for the unemployed 47-65 age group who’ve been displaced by foreign workers and cheap uni students who’re useless but have a quals?
The data says this needs to be addressed …. its a growing bubble with a tail.
A Taniwha having a moe!
Have a look at the Future of Work report Takere there is lots there for all sectors of society.
Ae mate .Have done and also the released version earlier this year in the Jan/Feb release … its a bit vague, but I can understand. Dildo Face will steal any good policy! Haha!
It all stems from tertiary ed. selling qual’s to generate income for the ed. private & state sectors then to move them on into the employment to justify a bought education’s worth. It is a scam on a large scale. It needs to be address by making education free and devalue the financial implication of the qual in dollar terms.
Cheers!
https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/nzlabour/pages/2371/attachments/original/1478147232/43229_LoO_Future_of_Work_Full_Document_FINAL_2_LR.pdf?1478147232
Yes , MS I like what i’m seeing so far both from grant and Andrew, looking a positive AGM.
Ok, so if there are approx. 56,741 NZ Labour Party members (as per wikipedia) and approx. 74,000 unemployed young people, that means if each Labour party member employs just one person, the problem is largely solved.
You actually don’t need to elect Labour into power to achieve this, you can simply hire a young person each and Bob’s your uncle!
Idiot comment of the week goes to Chess Player!
Go read a book , live a little outside your obvious white privileged self absorbed world, then come back and add to the conversation like an adult.
Audrey beat him with her McCully comment..
Should frame it for my wall as a forever keep sake, I might actually do that too.
Audrey Young at peak intellect.
-The threshold for a McCully sacking is higher than for ordinary ministers because despite his failings, he is good at his job. And that helps Key.
Adam. He’s (an assumption) obviously a checkers player not realising they’re playing the wrong game!
“Idiot comment of the week goes to Chess Player!”
For once I agree with you adam…that there are 56,742 NZ Labour Party members!!
But just as accusing someone of abusing children, the same rules apply to assuming someone’s race, and then abusing them because of said race.
Poor chucky, the privilege getting to you…
To much smugness and self absorption means you are not actually a good person?
Has it dawned on you yet?
No, oh poor Chucky.
Fascinating that on the basis of one comment, you have assumed quite a lot about me. You must be a superior being.
It’s true I am white (well, pinkish) and I’m definitely privileged, given I’m free to engage in discourse such as this and only suffer written abuse and not torture, like my relatives, however I don’t think I am self-absorbed.
I care very deeply about people and I care about you too, adam, and so does God.
God loves you, and he will save you from all perils, if you just let him.
You don’t have to keep living in pain.
Trust in yourself.
And then, when you have started a business and employed people, come back to the conversation and tell us all about it.
I believe in God to Chess Player, but not the money worshiping one you bow your head to.
You a Evangelical type there Chess Player, the follows who really are engaged in solipsism – the type churches who know all the words, but none of the meaning.
I’m guessing that, you don’t know what love is or humanity means becasue in reality that would get in the way of your warped view of the gospels. Or that you have a dire need to embrace the old testament, because well, Jesus was a dirty communalist after all.
How many Labour members do you think are in a position to employ anyone? I employ two young people but I am in an unusual position.
Surely they could be employed to pop the corks on the chardonnay of the Labour Party members?
adam has an issue with white people and a very unhealthy fascination with beating children.
I broke one of my rules and engaged with adam on the basis he accused me of child abuse…
Just giving you the heads up Chess Player!
Yeah I want child beating to stop, so I’m asking you if you are opposed to it Chucky. But then again you lie so easy, I’m not sure you can even understand that concept.
What the hell are you on about? .., Oi who left the fucking door open, some Tory’s wandered in and looks lost.
Wonders if he should take the piss, and go to wikipedia edit the page place 4.5 million paid members for Labour. Then edit the National page on Wikipedia and put Chess player there currently single and hoping for friends. Oh change the name of their party to NZ Nazi’s just for giggles.
Do you have any skill in chess ? Or do you just wish you did?
I think your optimism is superbly summed up by Chris Trotter;
“Yes, the delegates will all be there in the conference hall this weekend. The workshop debates will splutter and stutter to some sort of conclusion. Party vacancies will be filled, reports presented, and Andrew will deliver his speech. Except, this time, the political drama’s script will not have been written by a Kirk, a Lange, a Clark, or even a Roger Douglas, but by a committee.
Labour’s villains have become banal, and her heroes are dead and gone. For me, the party’s annual conference no longer beckons. Fortunately, there’s plenty to keep me busy in my garden. This year’s roses are a particularly vivid shade of red”.
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2016/11/06/must-read-sunday-why-i-wont-be-at-the-labour-conference-this-weekend/
Ready with the popcorn for TS resident Politburo Members to declare Trotter a Trotskyite and one who must be given the benefit of a show trial before being purged from Dear Leaders Ranks and sentaced to a life in the outer for his heinous crimes against Mother Labour.
[lprent: Have you really had your head up your arse since before the 1960s? Otherwise how else can you explain the supreme stupidity of regurgitating McCarthy era propaganda designed for simpletons?
Do too much of this low-grade stupid trolling and you will find that I start discussing exactly how much of a simple minded fuckwit you appear to be to me. ]
He’s entitled to his opinion Tory.. jeez.
The only one of those four that can deliver, beg your pardon could deliver a speech Was lange.
They all had flaws..
However I would choose 2 of them to govern me because they kept things as fair as they could in an imperfect world.
I don’t expect governments to have all the answers.., but when you fuck with a sector of society like beneficiery and the sick and mentally ill. Punish them with starvations i’ll come for you. you can bet your life on it.
Little said there were 74,000 young people not in employment, education or training, yet Labour is assuming only 10,000 would be involved in the new work scheme.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/86144698/labour-offers-six-months-paid-work-to-young-longterm-unemployed
Moreover, it’s only six months paid employment.
While better than nothing, at a cost of $60 million a year it’s disappointing Labour failed to come up with something more substantial.
According to Farrar they’ve got the sums wrong, it’s actually $120 million
http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2016/11/dodgy_sums_from_labour.html
Farrar is wrong. Here is my basic costing, assuming 30 hours per week work (full-time as defined by the Social Security Act):
Minimum wage is $15.25/hour x 30 = $457.50 per week = $389.93 net (less PAYE) per week. I used the PAYE calculator on the IRD website to calculate this.
Net Benefit for someone < 25 is $175.10 per week per https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/map/deskfile/main-benefits-rates/jobseeker-support-current.html .
Actual net weekly cost to the government is $389.93 – $175.10 = $214.83 per week x 26 = $5,585.58.
Multiplied by 10,000 = $55,855,800.
Admin will add to that, as will holiday pay, public holidays, Kiwisaver employer contributions, sick pay etc – somewhere between 12% and 20% typically. On the other hand, there will be some amount of savings in accommodation supplements through abatement, and increased GST (15% of the net figure of $214.83 is over $8,000,000 when multiplied out over 26 weeks and 10,000 people).
All in all, $60 million is a reasonable estimate for a headline cost, given the complexity of the analysis involved.
[lprent: Even a small look at the numbers indicates that David Farrar was simply lying with numbers (a characteristic of Nationals’s spokespeople). Because most of the subsequent conversation is numeric dipshit discussed by idiots.
I’ve moved this comment up to the top of the thread as it explains the costing clearly enough that even a talking head on TV might understand it. It was originally written at about 2320.
Craig H expanded it in a later comment ]
/slap, do not quote me a National party full on nut jobs bias.
FFS BM that’s ridiculous.
Do I use stalin for reference!
[lprent: Looks like I should start putting some words back into auto-moderation. It is clear that you are using them without context and in a way that is guaranteed to start idiotic flamewars. I’ve already turfed an entire out-of-context thread out of this post into OpenMike that you started.
Or I could just do the simpler solution and remove the problem for a few months. ]
No more nuttier than this site, you should go and do a few posts.
David Farrar is very laid back free speech sort of guy, it takes a hell of a lot to get banned from Kiwi blog.
You ‘d probably quite enjoy posting on his blog and fighting with the regulars.
Joke of the week there BM…Well done – your always good for a laugh mate with the shit you actually believe.
Ok then you go hang with him..seriously, you love him so, me i’d spew up just being in his company.
Just watching One News…they are tearing Andy Little and Labour apart on bogus numbers.
Seems the fine print was that Labour has only allowed for 4 months per person and not the 6 months announced. Hence why the numbers don’t add up.
You just can’t make this shit up…
It’s just amateur hour, thank goodness I’m not a left winger the incompetence would do my head in.
Ha.. I love the Torys, the make outrageous accusations and sit back like smug arrogant arseholes because in their infinite wisdom how could the serfs ever not believe anything they ever say. They are Tories!
you lot are completely fucking bonkers.
amateur hour.
Ok Bm… 1 word..McCully..
You want to mention amateur hour spin McCully out of it.
He’s retiring.
retiring or paid off and moving onto a sweet number?
head shepherd for a saudi king maybe
ackshully..he said he’s not standing but if Key really wanted him he’d come back on his list.
back to you.
For fucksake Chump. I mean Chuck! 10,000 people won’t be signed up on day one! As more employers take up the offer. It’ll grow.
Employers will have to make some kind of contribution. Nothings for free!
People will and can move from one job to the next anytime!
The decent employers will contribute financially reducing the drain on the fund!
Currently there $873m spent every year on this!
Are you Tory fucks that thick? Or do you have to have someone else do the thinking for you?
NO T, you are right they are that THICK.
as in they think the people are even thicker and will just believe any ol;d thing they say without the slightest..question.
and they are wrong. We are not that thick. You and me, and everyone else is starting to cotton on.
Come on Takere, Chuck is the guy who runs for conspiracy, and/or polls to justify anything he says. Hell he can’t even answer the simplest of questions. He just a troll, you likes to dish it out, but can’t take it.
The damage has already been done Takere.
What is the message we (NZ public) are going to take out of the Labour conference just finished today?
That Labour cannot get there numbers right, even on one of their own policy’s…how are they going to run the Country?
And it was Andy Little that said he had only allowed for 4 month period for each person. So why on earth did he say the policy was for 6 months?? did he not expect anyone to run a ruler over the numbers??
What is the message we (NZ public) are going to take out of the Labour conference just finished today?
Incompetence, with a side helping of ineptitude, heavily seasoned with cloddishness. 😀
You actually believe your own spin ah Chucky….
Makes those conspiracies easy to swallow to I guess…
Mate. You’re making some “wrong” assumptions. TV LSM only give 30-40 seconds. If you’re that stupid to believe a Policy can be explained in its entirety in that amount of time … you’re a bigga fuckwit than I thought? My apologies for being rude but fuck mate you deserve a serve.
The nuance of a policy is beyond you and life too most probably? But, I guess I’m wasting my time with trying to reason with you,however, if you just try to use your imagination just a little without the tory spec’s on, you just might see there is a benefit in this policy?
I don’t know you so I’m not sure if you have any understanding of NZ’s political history but, National empty the cupboards & Labour fill the cupboards back up!
They’re empty now …. again!
Don’t think I’m biting. I’m happy to only to use “a” dying mem-cell on you so I’m good with that.
“TV LSM only give 30-40 seconds. If you’re that stupid to believe a Policy can be explained in its entirety in that amount of time”
That my friend is politics these days. News bites…by Labour fucking up the numbers it was the lead story re – Labour conference.
All Andy Little had to do was cost the policy to match what he said. Simple really.
Isn’t this just taskforce green or those PEP schemes from 20+ years ago.
What’s the difference?
Yep. The numbers. It worked then, and it’ll work again. The only thing(s) that has changed is the evolution of capitalism. Same shit, just a different day.
It ain’t rocket science stuff if you break it down and relate it to with what has changed tech advancements.
Why did those schemes get canned?.
Lack of money, poor ROI ?
30-40 years of evolution mate. Politics & Globalisation & Corporatisation and fuckwit Governments.
I was in a pep scheme as a youth.. some of the best parties I ever went to got organized there, between sunbathing on the roof, or doing nothing…
the god damn people pleasing crap parties have presented as solutions in the past eh BM talking both sides here.
Wicked parties, sunbathing, chillin out, sounds like taxpayer money well spent 😉
It was wonderful time, and when you worked for the MOW and it rained you got paid for playing cards in the caravan for a week or so..
and when it was sunny, pot holes took a week to repair because there had to be extensive conversations around safe shovel handling and the proper way one should lean on it whilst gathered together.
ahh the good old days.
Takes a pep manager to enable that!
A lot of those got canned because Gnat cronies were rorting them for cheap labour. Goodman Fielder Christchurch used to ‘train’ folk to stack flour bags for two months, then dump them & take on a new lot. A refugee I was teaching got screwed like this – he was a senior hospital administrator back home – not very impressed. He’s in OZ now.
Your the public..right,
cancel the election, just ask Chuck.
“10,000 people won’t be signed up on day one! As more employers take up the offer.”
The announcement made no mention of the cost while the option was taken up, it simply talked of an annual cost of $60m. They clearly got the sums wrong. The result is that instead of debating a policy with merit, the focus will be on Labour’s inability to get basic sums right. Sad.
Semantics. Nuance..watch da finga’s on the gat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plODO1LOzrM
Takere, it isn’t semantics. It is an error, and is being painted as such already. My point is that such a fundamental error is politically inexcusable, because it gives the government an opportunity to hammer Labour, and to change the narrative of the discussion around what could have been a good policy.
Dude, breathe. Give the imagination some room to grow. Its ok? Some of us have a handle on these “Big” things the little people like you cant imagine or handle, its ok. We’ll do the heavy lifting for those of you that can’t. You just relax and don’t fuck’n stress mate! Have a Cup-O-Tea?
Jeeeezzus!? Have I turned up on the wrong fuck’n day or what?
Anal or micro managing? Who gives a fuck about MSMTV. Nobody watch’s it or believes it anymore. Well, I mean only dumb fucks do. And those are the people I like meeting every day and I like to fuck their day up with some good ole home truths.
“Anal or micro managing? Who gives a fuck about MSMTV. Nobody watch’s it or believes it anymore. Well, I mean only dumb fucks do. And those are the people I like meeting every day and I like to fuck their day up with some good ole home truths.”
Great
Thanks, though i’d rather believe a team that’s worked on policy for months to have done the sums and know what and how they are going to budget for it.
For you to say they have no integrity and they just put up any old figures is an insult to them me and everyone else.
I trust them far more than YOU TVONE, Paul henry Mike Hosking or any other of the crooked and well known biased media.
You get me someone with a respectable and unbiased opinion i’ll listen till then enjoy your make believe faults. I ain’t impressed.
Richard the maths are simple.
The minimum wage is $15.25 per hour.
The policy is for 10,000 participants.
A working week is 40 hours.
There are 26 weeks in six months.
$15.25 x 10,000 x 40 x 26 = $158,600,000.
I’ve tried to get back to Labour’s figures, using 37.5 hours per week, and the minimum youth wage of $11.80, and I still get $115,050,000.
I stand to be corrected, but if, as you suggest, they have worked on this policy for ‘months’, how can they have got this so wrong?
They are already paid a benefit say?, so perhaps it’s like they get an extra 20 dollars a week?
So extra cost is negligible?
or taking into account the benefit they were already getting that’s why they can do so much with so Little as it’s the extra cost over and above what it already costs the government to support them.
of the top of my head.
If the target audience are on a benefit, and they are paid the youth wage used in my calculations, no-one would take up the offer.
Conversely, if they are on a benefit and switch to being paid the minimum adult wage, the cost would not be $60 million.
Either way, Labour’s numbers don’t add up.
Full time is 30 hours per week in the Social Security Act (the benefit act), not 37.5 or 40. Also, deduct the benefit being paid originally, because that would be paid anyway. The $60 million is the net increase in costs to the government, since some of it was being paid anyway.
Plus factor in the the deductions of income tax the workers would be paying each week.
If they are on a benefit, they will already be paying income tax.
And they’ll pay more when they earn more which reduces the cost of the scheme.
No-where in Labour’s policy is 30 hours mentioned. But, giving them the absolute benefit of the doubt:
$11.80 x 10,000 x 30 x 26 = $92,040,000. And that doesn’t include any administration costs.
Factor in properly all they already receive, these are always based on extremely good looking figures for the party proposing a policy, both parties do that.
But what I will say WFW, is this.
It’s god damn piss poor when we are all struggling to work it out, even if it’s right.
When we need to impress the electorate, this is crap. It should have been down in the policy exactly how Labour did these figures and I am not impressed. Not because I think they are wrong.
But that it is clear, this policy’s funding is unclear.
It’s almost like they have an incredible capacity to shoot themselves in the foot.
However, when National can explain where all the asset sales and borrowing went to in detail, the RW can moan. Till then, i’ll give it what it deserves..my support.
.
Rough figures.
Per person
hourly rate 15.8
hours 40
weeks 26
15.8x40x26=16,432
– tax Over $14,000 and up to $48,000
17.5%
= 13,554.6
x 10000
= 135,540,000
less what they were getting by way of, maxing it too, accommodation, basic benefit, supplementary. etc.
they here have after tax so i’ll skip that
$175.10 basic 18-19 example and the nest zone 1 accommodation supplement is a massive 145.oo
so
175.1 + 145 = 320.10
times 26 weeks =8,332.60
times 10000= 83,226,000
then we subtract..
135,540,000
– 83,226,000
= 52,314,000
that’s a glowing best case they live in an area 1 accommodation supplement area and are ages between 18-19 and are not living at home.
Why oh why Labour would you make it like that, we in the grand scheme of tax take are playing here with pocket change.
if I changed it to zone 4 accommodation supplement it may soak up the other 7.7m.. probably does off the top of my head.
administration costs, you really want to growl at this don’t you, no admin costs, freaking do the same work when they call in the office weekly to report!!!
That took me, oh 5 minutes this morning, first look at it..
How long you been working out sums now?
and they say we’re numerically illiterate!
only on second coffee..
I am invincible.. love that from..what was it, x-men.
Hi Richard.
A few observations on your numbers.
1. If we’re genuinely talking ‘youth’ here, there would not be much in the way of accomodation benefits.
2. The tax rate on the $0 to $14,000 income bracket is only 10.5%.
3. The admin costs have to be factored in. The systems to administer welfare are already in place. The systems to administer a ‘make work’ scheme are not.
Here’s a better explanation of the costings from Labour themselves:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11743712
I’m still reminded of the old adage “explaining is losing”.
I don’t watch the media TV here to bias.
as for claims he fiddled numbers, are you serious, they would do that..
Spare me the integrity insult.
I’d wager they have found a way via Farrar to discredit it, somehow, and they will not give Andrew or Labour the chance to correct them at all.
They did not fiddle the numbers it’s just plain incompetence,
what is?.. precisely explain to me what the bloody bally hoo from you lot is all about.. gawd.
it’s like you found the holy grail..
stop the world.., what is so bloody bad.. then.?
It’s not incompetence, it’s a lack of understanding of the policy. The $60 million is a net increase in costs to the government based on having to pay a benefit anyway.
That’s not mathematically correct, and it isn’t even the way Labour are explaining it.
I’ve costed it out elsewhere here, and $60 million is a reasonable estimate.
Only for four months. Even Labour have admitted that now. The numbers do not add up when applied to the way the policy was announced, and now Labour are trying to argue that out in public with NZH. Foolish.
sadly a quick look at the figures shows as usual, the RW have the biggest issues counting things, like um social costs, health costs, getting to a surplus without fiddling the books by selling stuff to yourself!!
Perhaps if national went to Labours conference and joined some of their workshops it’ll help the National Caucus work out what’s between 1 and 10..
lol BURN…:)
One news the Bastion of bias free non government interfered straight up, truth.
FUCKING A, THE MAN IS TVONE…
lets all sit back and laugh at the tories.. you lot are fubar honestly.
You will grab anything at all to brag.. my god we all laughed yesterday at the RM poll. this is even better.
Just seen One News. What a shambles.
The youth employment problem.
First thing admit some of them at the moment are unemployable full stop.
I have no answers, I have bitter experiences with youth and engineering.
I’d rather hire an adult.
Richard, have another look at the speech. Andrew’s actually talking about getting people into an employable state; helping them develop work skills and giving each one involved in the scheme an active mentor to help address any issues that might be a barrier to employment. Plus, people change – especially young people. They grow and develop. In a scheme like this they’d have a chance to grow in a positive direction.
It’s not the complete answer, but it’s a good start. Put it together with the education and training policies and it’s certainly a positive set of plans.
I understand that, for the willing.
here’s my issue, as Bi-polar my youth was spent floating around getting drunk and stoned, in trouble, all sorts of bad behaviours. 70’s 80’s I was a menace.
i’m only saying that to show, I recognize their is an antisocial group.. it’s those i’m more directed at.
Because I believe for the most part that’s the demographic of youth hard to get on a correct track and propping up unemployed youth statistics. trust me i see a lot of them in Tokoroa i was one.., you just know. So wanting to work, turning up, and wanting to learn how do we do that..
the only thing that would have changed me back then was a proper prospect of a future ,a good apprentiship with conditions, those being I sorted my shit out.
I think.. at that age it may have worked.
I cannot think of anything else that would have not made me go get fucked if they wanted me to do something for nothing.
I have no answers at all. I really was a fucking shit of a kid.
its a start of a repair job after 9 years of national i still don’t think we know the full extent of the damage and what state the books are in we know English is very good at moving money around to give the appearance that all is well
I’m sure this dovetails into the bigger economic strategy? I’m guessing they’ll leave the scary stuff till later? Like restructuring the economy? Pull those levers that bring about a structural (macro-micro) change in how NZ(ers) earns a living domestically & internationally?
Rebalance the economy …. I’m guessing? Or else I won’t be voting for them! Haha! It’s been a long wait for me, 20 years!
Where was the bold policy? Where was the vision? Fairly insipid stuff. Why would a National voter of 2014 switch to voting Labour in 2017? What in that speech is believable?
Thanks fifi.
your contribution to the standard is noted, passed and flushed.
Does it hurt passing shit that big?
It’s far more policy than National have.
In fact, all that National has is tax cuts for the rich and entrenching Trickle Down Economics even more.
In other words, All National have is proven failure.
NO DTB, you completely missed the whole Tory way.
First they make up any old policy, the easier the better and if it helps the rich jolly good.
Then they invent the result that confirms that it is working.
it’s perfect and so devilishly clever they use it in banks, I think they called it a Ponzi scheme in banking.
Well, that’s a succinct but accurate description.
It’s not National’s policy you need to worry about – it’s Winnie and Gareth’s policy.
I don’t think anyone really expects great policy ideas from either National or Labour (the Greens discount themselves as they are really just Labour’s annoying little sister and so look to differentiate themselves with all manner of absurd utterings).
The next election will be most interesting entertainment for quite some time.
Winnie will find one chink in the armour (fear of being old and poor, fear of missing out on prosperity, etc), and work it for all it’s worth, just like he did with the Gold Card and in Northland for the by-election.
Gareth will come out with lots of ideas and few people will be able to get their head around them, as they are so used to the traditional smile and wave/everything ‘s fine/aren’t the ABs doing well (Invincible!) National approach vs the traditional You Have Stuff We Want So We Will Tax You approach from Labour.
National’s time will definitely run out – but what the replacement looks like is not clear. And Labour is not the default.
Arrh because about 4% of the National vote are swingers!
National received 700,000 more votes in 2014 than they did in 2002, I think you underestimate the NZ swing vote. Not everyone votes for a party because they always have.
Why would a National voter of 2014 switch to Labour in 2017?
Two words… Michelle Boag
Don’t blame it on the Boagey.
Lol Cinny!
Thought the swing to National took place in 2008,
those swing voters.. they will remember kids locked in rooms..
They will remember you didn’t fund Keytruda
They will remember the lovely Lecretia Seales I certainly will
and Helen Kelly too what a fantastic lady.
there are some shockers I could go on but that will do for an example
you got some repairs to do..
Your total ignorance of the bad things under nationals term confounds me fisi.
If you don’t address them your asking for trouble.
You know what?
That’s exactly the problem that this study says will happen:
There’s really only one way to resolve the problem and that’s to get rid of capitalism and the rich.
That’s not the solution. In fact, it’s part of the problem as it entrenches private ownership even more.
Yes, we need the 100k homes – but make them state homes rented out to anyone on a first come, needs basis. And then offer to buy peoples homes off of them but allow them to stay on the same great rent of 10% of household income and a lifetime lease.
Make it so that people don’t want to own a home because doing so costs far more.
Quite right. No one should own a home. The state should own all the houses and all the companies. Everyone should earn the same. No one should ever die. Chocolate should be free.
Will you be my rainbow-tailed unicorn pony?
What’s the point of owning a house?
Please note: I said house, not home. People living in state houses have a home. Well, they do until National sells them all off to their bludging rich mates.
All private business should be cooperatives with no one having ownership in them.
I tend to be more in favour of getting rid of money altogether but for now I’m happy with just putting in place a maximum income of $100k.
I cannot tell if you are joking. I hope so. i cannot believe you are serious.
Oh, she’s serious.
And you? You will conform…
And I know that you’re serious about making life ever more difficult for the majority of people just so that a few bludging rich people can be ever richer.
Majority? I don’t think so some how.
Yes, the majority.
As Adam Smith said (Paraphrased): You need lots of poor people to support one rich person.
National are working to bring about lots of poor people.
In the mean time the left “wanks on” about “the living wage” and your big policy announcement uses the minimum wage; hypocrisy at its best.
I’m not a political party and thus haven’t announced any policy.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/nznews/did-labour-plagiarise-newshub-2016110619?platform=hootsuite
Cannot count and cannot come up with a fresh idea. What a disaster.
meh morry minor, and with Jacinda to look at ,this male gets side tracked by her beauty.
So really you’ve had a full 2 days now to rip shit out of labour, and not a lot..
I think it’s going well..
Dick, we don’t need to “rip shit out of Labour”, you lot are achieving that quite successfully yourselves without any input from the right.
I see, so all day yesterday the massive influz..of Tory Dicks attacking the standard and it’s memebers and everything anyone said..
was just a figment of my KDS ..
I see…
clearly now.
Here’s something for you to think about Tory.
When you look at yourself as a poster here, you have come to a left wing blog. You have called yourself Tory.. at a left wing blog. That’s an interesting name in itself.
To call oneself Tory on a left blog, invites people to attack you..it’s bait in itself, and carefully chosen, your intent by that name is to invite the posters here to focus on you..it’s well thought out and deliberate in itself.
Then the content of your posts is always of a critical nature, you contribute little to the site but thrills for your own amusement.
The derogatory nature of offence intended by the use of this name here is tantamount to posting on a jewish web site and calling yourself Hitler.
The bullshit mock offence you guys put up yesterday left me so side split with laughter, taking the above into consideration that I wondered where all the admins were.
I don’t go to your RW sites, call myself Commie and attack anyones idea’s or thoughts there, so if getting a leftie back for stuff they post on RW sites is your intent..your not well.
From here on Tory..i’ll do my bit to just plain out ignore the fuck out of you..or just be really rude to you.
because all of the above is pretty much spot on. IMHO.
Ready for work?
Well not quite.
Not quite ready just yet to face up the greatest work we will ever have to do, as a government, as a nation, as a people, as a world.
Whatever happened to, “The government I lead will make our country a leader in the fight against climate change.” Andrew Little, delivered to the Green Party conference?
Or even the passing nod given to climate change in Grant Robertson’s Future Of Work speech yesterday?
https://thestandard.org.nz/grant-robertson-speech-future-of-work-commission-results/#comment-1255662
.”We owe it to our kids – I owe it to my son – to do our part in the fight against climate change – because they don’t have a future if our planet doesn’t have a future.”
“The government I lead will make our country a leader in the fight against climate change.”
I haven’t seen a change from that, so what makes you think there has been Jenny? It’s impossible to fit in every detail and/or plan in a speech, but you definitely get the idea of where the party is heading.
Websters English dictionary
the elephant in the room
DEFINITION
a major problem or controversial issue which is obviously present but is avoided as a subject for discussion
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=banksy+elephant+in+the+room+barely+legal+exhibition&&view=detail&mid=9F4FA361C75D4AA52F579F4FA361C75D4AA52F57&FORM=VRDGAR
Another elephant in Labour’s room is fixing the safety net for the poorest of the poor. Labour doesn’t want to do that. Labour might be a party for the workers, but if you’re an unemployed worker or someone who’s unable to participate in the Labour market, then Labour offers you nothing except life on the scrap heap.
Hi Chris, in lesser words you could have said, ‘I think the benefit cuts need to be reversed’. Which is a fair comment, but a bit off topic.
Forgive me if I am wrong, but since your comment was in reply to my comment, I am guessing that you are trying to make a rather round-about point that my comment was off topic.
This thread is about Labour’s Future Of Work policies. It is in my humble opinion that addressing climate change will be central to the future of work, and to ignore that reality represents a glaring ommission. You may, or may not, have a different opinion, and could have said that.
In his speech Grant Robertson mentioned the words climate change just once, and then only in passing. Explaining that his use of the phrase “just transition” had been borrowed from the environmental movement. Almost apologetically, Grant added, “Climate change and its global impact was ever-present in the work of the Commission.
In our report we are calling for decent work that supports our move to a low-carbon economy.”
(You could argue, I suppose that, that amounted to two mentions of climate change by Grant.)
Andrew Little in his speech, chose not to mention climate change at all.
Lefty in his comment, apologetically, explains, “It’s impossible to fit in every detail and/or plan in a speech”
The “detail” Lefty mentions, is nothing less than the greatest crisis that humanity has ever faced. If our leaders ever do eventually start to properly begin to address the challenge presented by climate change, it will be the beginning of the greatest work we ever do.
Jenny!
Can I suggest to you that…. just because the words “Climate Change” do not appear in each and every speech by leading Labour politicians does not mean they don’t care or are not interested. Indeed the opposite is the case. I was at the week-end conference and the subject matter was referred to in one form or another at both policy sessions I attended – and not just once but several times.
Together Labour and the Greens represent the best chance this country will ever have of dealing to Climate Change in a timely and realistic manner. There’s much more goes on behind the scenes than is apparent in the one-off conference speeches. Labour’s CC spokeswoman, Megan Woods is very well informed – and that comes from someone who was once in the climatalogical business.
Thank you Anne.
[I assume you didn’t see my earlier moderation note. Calm. The. Fuck. Down. TRP]
Thank you, Anne
Q: If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound?
A: Not in politics.
(Especially, if it does not make it to a press release, or official speech.)
Anne, do you have any records or notes of these policy sessions you could pass on, through this medium?
Why the secrecy?
What is Labour trying to hide?
What are Labour’s plans around the issue of climate change and work, do they have any?
Does Labour still support the opening of new coal mines?
Will Labour support the Pacific Island Forum Nations ban on all new coal mining in the region?
Does Labour still support deep sea oil drilling?
Does Labour oppose John Key’s plan to spend $7billion on a second harbour crossing in Auckland, instead of maximising public transport?
Should we be building motorways under the harbour or bus lanes across the Habour Bridge, and expanding the public transport sector by hiring and training more bus drivers?
(What’s Labour’s view on this?)
Does Labour intend to take any issue at all with the government over any element of National’s climate change policies in next year’s elections?
Going on Labour’s past record, my guess is no, to all of the above
Pacific Island forum nations call for the end of coal mining in the region.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/14/pacific-islands-nations-consider-worlds-first-treaty-to-ban-fossil-fuels
http://www.ipsnews.net/2015/08/tiny-island-nation-pleads-for-global-moratorium-on-new-coal-mines/
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-10/pacific-islands-forum-abbott-to-be-asked-to-ban-new-coal-mines/6763804
Labour’s views on mining close to the government’s
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10822510
Maybe Anne, as an insider, you could tell me, is this the reason that Labour keeps talk of climate change “behind the scenes” while enforcing a public silence?
I would appreciate your thoughts.
Greens and Labour have a memorandum of understanding, best the greens do what the greens do and labour does what it does, do you not think.?
For Grant to make ANY comment on climate change etc, really opens up a can of worms, and a can of kick ass for the media, they will exploit any, slightest, friction, or differences.
I think it’s covered, labours entering government and it will be along side the greens, Let the greens deal with their field of expertise and labour there’s.
Green party co leader James Shaw was highly complementary of Andrew Little.
Co leaders of the Green party were special guests at Labour’s conference, James Shaw was very complementary of Andrew Little.
Apologies for the doubling up of comments, having a few probs with posting.
[your comments are going into Spam for some random reason. It takes time for them to be released manually – weka]
Thanks Weka.
It was a statement of fact, and I wasn’t being apologetic.
Nothing leftie says is important. He’s a shill for the Labour party. People reading the shit that pours from his mouth need to take this into account.
Lol That’s rich coming from a nat fan troll like yourself, Chris. You are showing yourself up.
You’re trolling Chris.
You’re trolling Chris
Fuck off, you pathetic uncritical Labour party shill. You disgust me.
[Settle down, cobber. No need for that kind of mindless abuse. Only warning. TRP]
I view painted elephants like that as a form of abuse.
Here is my basic costing of the Ready For Work policy, assuming 30 hours per week work (full-time as defined by the Social Security Act):
Minimum wage is $15.25/hour x 30 = $457.50 per week = $389.93 net (less PAYE) per week. I used the PAYE calculator on the IRD website to calculate this.
Net Benefit for someone < 25 is $175.10 per week per https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/map/deskfile/main-benefits-rates/jobseeker-support-current.html .
Actual net weekly cost to the government is $389.93 – $175.10 = $214.83 per week x 26 = $5,585.58.
Multiplied by 10,000 = $55,855,800.
Admin will add to that, as will holiday pay, public holidays, Kiwisaver employer contributions, sick pay etc – somewhere between 12% and 20% typically. On the other hand, there will be some amount of savings in accommodation supplements through abatement, and increased GST (15% of the net figure of $214.83 is over $8,000,000 when multiplied out over 26 weeks and 10,000 people). This ignores excise taxes (alcohol, tobacco, gambling), petrol tax and what happens when the beneficiary concerned has children (working for families and childcare subsidies increase).
All in all, $60 million is a reasonable estimate for a headline cost, given the complexity of the analysis involved.
Your estimate makes sense to me.
Plus quite a few beneficiaries might already be getting some supplementary assistance, above the $175.10 you mention, which could also be displaced by the new scheme (plus there are administration costs of the existing benefits, such as rubbish “work for you” seminars etc).
It’s a real shame that calculation, or conveying it, seems to have been beyond its proponents. Maybe they’ve got their act together now, I don’t know.
Actually they have been ambushed by obviously misleading (and I suspect malicious) calculations produced by opponents.
Maybe Labour’s background could have been more detailed up front, but you can’t predict every lie a liar will make – only after they lie do you know what to respond to.
Well I’d’ve thought a ‘showmethamunny’ was pretty predictable. Christ help them come election time.
People from the top end of town don’t like these policies cause they get in the way of there agenda for higher profits. If you have train a kiwi to do a job it costs more than importing a skilled migrant. To the top end of town they see less $$$… I think Little is on the right track here but i also think he needs to introduce a Universal Basic Income. So people are less reliant on the top end of town and can take the risk of starting up there own businesses.
I agree, Jono. Labour’s sentiments and policies show a much better direction than NAct, but we need to do more – and a UBI would be a great step.
Andrew talks a bit about the lack of tax/contribution from the top end of town, but could go further, given it is the elephant in the room. Could start by putting some pressure on John Key – a 1%er who also happens to be PM – to reveal his tax vs his wealth.
And that is why it’s going to take a while to get a UBI through. It totally removes the need for rich people.
Morgans pushing for the UBI,
here we have the perfect left, each working to gather votes from those who want specifics.. once the votes are counted we get all three benefits.
Greens Labour Morgan
we may not need the wolf in McCully’s clothing Winston at all, and would that not be a spectacular sunrise.?
It’s like ACT UF Nats and Maori but with the other parties actually contributing instead of pushing the main party over the line for their own benefit.
This is how you do it folks.
What is so stupid about current labour and it’s policies is that they can’t see past the traditional model of implementation, tax, or the grounds for them, socialism. Instead of taking two mediocre and individually rather useless, if not punititve policies, like levying businesses not providing training to New Zealanders and providing free tertiary education if you meet certain criteria at some point in the future, Why not behave like a government with all the statistical and institutional resources a government has.
Why not identify current and future skill shortages, which don’t arise overnight, and provide free education in those skills and retraining and perhaps subsidised apprenticeships for those in the workforce or in areas where tertiary training isn’t relevant.
Show that they’e thought about the problem and the future of it. not just looked at some clickbait headline and released a clickbait policy to match exactly that headline.
Small wonder no one seriously thinks they are ready to govern.
WHAT!
Well if you won’t drop the negativity and ACTUALLY LOOK, we will never change your perception.
I read that and just shook my head everything you moaned about they did!! FFS
Is this all we get? Tinkering around the edges? Like National, only red coloured.
Where is the unwinding of neoliberalism? I can only conclude they still agree with it, even if they posture otherwise.
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
Rubbish Rsbandit, you haven’t read it have you?
I think its fair for some of us to be questioning these policies.
Unemployment is at 4.9%.
It is probably not an issue playing large in people’s minds when they go to the voting booth.
For myself, I have two 20 year old children currently unemployed. One is waiting for seasonal work, one had to leave University. I don’t in fact worry about them being ‘unemployed’.
What keeps me awake at night is that every job they have had has been less than full time. And less than permanent. And has had a wage too low to cover even a decent standard of living in Auckland. Once upon a time you could get a crappy flat for peanuts and the landlord would leave you alone. Now even that is out of reach.
This is all the result of the neo liberal free trade model and the downward pressure it puts on workers.
What is Labour going to do about that?.
And if appeasing the Third Way faction of the Labour Party is the price Little is willing to pay to win…well what is the point??
Exactly. Well said.
Now that I can agree with , deal with today’s issues
Which National is refusing to do Blue.
What’s National got Rsbandit?
Do you honestly believe unemployment is really just 4.9%??
Stats NZ reviewed it’s methodology.
<a href=" http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/81579257/NZ-unemployment-rate-tumbles-and-workforce-shrinks-in-recalculation
Labour is showing the direction it’s heading, I don’t see it as mere “tinkering around the edges” like we see with National, and it’s a hell of lot more proactive than this do nothing, but exasperate the issues, current government.
“Once upon a time you could get a crappy flat for peanuts and the landlord would leave you alone. Now even that is out of reach.”
That’s a pretty damn exact litmus test. And Labour offers nothing to address that. It’s the third way, all the fucking way. Centre right dicks. They can fuck off.
How do you know that will not be addressed under a Lab/Green coalition government? And please don’t try to pass it off by saying history, this current Labour party is not the same as it’s predecessors, and hasn’t been tested yet in government.
Labour hasn’t even pretended to address the incomes of the poorest people over the past eight elections. Show why you think 2017 will be any different?
You didn’t read the report. There is no reason to assume a Lab/Green coalition government will not address these issues.
You didn’t read it, you already formed that opinion and nothing labour said barring declaring war would have changed it.
Look with an open mind, then make a decision.
Well said Richard.