Author Archive
David Craig on Inequality in NZ – Winner takes all
Written By: - Date published: 11:30 am, June 25th, 2012 - 3 comments
This free Fabian Society seminar is on tomorrow Tuesday in Wellington at Connolly Hall in Guilford Street, starting at 5:30pm All welcome; you can register here. Will be interesting.
Muddling through with “intelligent austerity”
Written By: - Date published: 4:21 pm, June 23rd, 2012 - 31 comments
It’s our official policy according to Treasury’s Chief Economist at a seminar yesterday. A questioner asked “What’s intelligent about it?”, citing anti-tradables bias and income inequality as examples. There is a more intelligent approach says Krugman citing IMF research. We could use it here.
All the news that’s fit to print – Rupert & Gina’s way
Written By: - Date published: 12:23 pm, June 22nd, 2012 - 23 comments
Major changes in the media in Oz will have their impact here – some already have. Interesting times ahead for all, including the Standard.
Pike Road?
Written By: - Date published: 10:27 pm, June 21st, 2012 - 10 comments
A strong safety warning today about sheeptruck disaster met Ministerial indifference from Associate Transport Minister Simon Bridges. He said Australian legislation to promote safety and fairness in the road transport industry was not needed here because “New Zealand already has a system of work time requirements to help manage the risk of fatigue”. More infamous last words from a National politician – but the police are really worried.
Phony Tony
Written By: - Date published: 7:23 pm, June 19th, 2012 - 83 comments
The Herald reports that Tony Ryall said Labour had a history of privatising state owned assets back in the 1980s and early 90s. Ryall was elected to Parliament in 1990 – and it was a National government that privatised the BNZ and Tranzrail. Ryall’s a phony. National’s asset sales programme is a dog.
Know when to fold ’em
Written By: - Date published: 7:29 am, June 19th, 2012 - 8 comments
Key’s ditched the surplus target that was so important a month ago – yet another casualty on the way to the brighter future. The Queen may have asked him why he didn’t see European contagion coming. Shearer is right – Europe is an excuse for a government that has run out of ideas. Labour does have a fresh approach – we need to hear more.
Know when to walk away
Written By: - Date published: 10:52 pm, June 17th, 2012 - 92 comments
Tony Ryall wanted to be very clear on Q+A today that asset sales were not necessarily a done deal. Could this be the first sign that Farrar’s polling is telling National, as it did with teacher numbers, that MOM is a turkey and if they go ahead National is toast?
Asset sales – windfall capital gain for some, higher prices for the rest of us
Written By: - Date published: 5:04 pm, June 14th, 2012 - 33 comments
National rushed its Asset Sales Bill back into the House today. Stephen Joyce argued that it was to reduce debt, deepen capital markets, and invest in schools etc. One-off asset sales asset increase debt and if schools depend on flogging off more assets, we won’t get many more before the assets run out. The real reason for the sale is the middle one. Asset sales produce huge windfall capital gains for the buyers. They should be taxed.
Update: Bill went through 61-59 – 2 opposed from Maori Party. Cushion?
Rebstock for Judge at ACC
Written By: - Date published: 3:56 pm, June 12th, 2012 - 40 comments
Announced this morning before Question Time in Parliament that John Judge will be replaced as Chair of ACC on a temporary basis by Paula Rebstock. Judge is going to chair the ANZNational Bank; Rebstock has been chairing the advisory body to WINZ. It will be interesting to see which bits of the culture get changed and if there is any benefit to ACC claimants.
Parata to the Headmaster’s office?
Written By: - Date published: 1:58 pm, June 7th, 2012 - 50 comments
Nanaia Mahuta has a wicked sense of humour, as well as being a very smart politician. Her report card on National’s performance on education gives Parata an F for failing to do homework. Parata may also risk expulsion., judging by John Key’s comments from London that she should talk to the unions. Looks like a call to the headmaster’s office coming up.
Update: Sure enough the Nats have backed down completely from upping class sizes.
Basher Bennett rides to Hekia’s rescue
Written By: - Date published: 3:26 pm, June 6th, 2012 - 41 comments
Same old National – when they’re in trouble, out comes the club for a distracting headline. Hekia Parata’s under fire and digging herself into a very deep hole, so Paula Bennett rides to the rescue with the “news” that Cabinet is discussing allowing judges to direct miscreant parents not to have children. Who knows what the judges think about this hospital pass – let’s hope the media sees it for what it is.
At least Parker’s onto it
Written By: - Date published: 5:33 pm, June 5th, 2012 - 80 comments
The news out of Europe, China and Australia is looking worse by the day. What’s coming at us doesn’t look pretty. I was about to do a post saying I hoped someone in Labour was doing some scenario planning and was very pleased to see today that Parker’s eyes are open.
One law for some
Written By: - Date published: 7:48 pm, June 4th, 2012 - 18 comments
Financially troubled private school Wanganui Collegiate received a $3million grant in Budget 2012, 3 times the annual operating grant of the larger Wanganui City College. Since then it has been advertising its low class sizes and ability to reduce fees significantly. Private schools will no doubt be using the current outrage over increased class sizes for recruiting purposes, but they should not be doing it with taxpayers’ money.
Abbott does a runner
Written By: - Date published: 7:41 pm, June 1st, 2012 - 7 comments
Tony Abbott fled from the Australian Parliament on Wednesday. He was trying to avoid his vote being recorded if newly independent Craig Thompson supported the Coalition on a closure motion. Running away won’t help Abbott whose numbers are at record lows as Labor improves. Instead of a leadership spill in Labor we could see one in the Coalition.
Polly Parata
Written By: - Date published: 12:11 am, June 1st, 2012 - 69 comments
Hekia Parata is demonstrating how political lines endlessly repeated can go horribly wrong if you have nothing else to say. Her Polly Parrot repetitions are wrongly-based, and the longer she and Key go on about how fewer teachers and larger classes is going to improve the quality of teaching the worse its going to get for National. The hubristic Parata has galvanised and united the education sector and more backdowns are likely, both in policy and politics.
Bliar on Leveson tonight
Written By: - Date published: 1:33 pm, May 28th, 2012 - 9 comments
Riveting television for politicos on-line at the Leveson enquiry tonight at 9pm as Tony Blair is questioned by the silken Robert Jay QC. More details on the mating of porcupines will no doubt come up. Revelations of the hidden relationship based on mutual interest between Murdoch-owned media and British politicians are very disturbing. While prosecutions and resignations may follow there, the lessons apply here as well.
A Tale of Two Networks
Written By: - Date published: 10:26 pm, May 21st, 2012 - 4 comments
Wellington’s electricity network was privatised 20 years ago. The water network wasn’t. Tomorrow evening (Tuesday) researchers Peter Harris, Dick Werry and Jim Turner will present their outcome comparison to a Fabian seminar at St John’s Church Hall in Wellington at 5:30pm. Water network costs rose by 17% over the period, electricity network costs by four times that amount. The reach of both networks is similar – the lesson is that the required return on appreciating assets from privatisation drives up the costs. All welcome to come and discuss. You can register here.
Alternative Budget Competition
Written By: - Date published: 5:13 pm, May 21st, 2012 - 2 comments
Tomorrow night in Auckland four University teams from Auckland, Victoria and Otago will present their visions and prescriptions for New Zealand’s economic future in an event which is
open to the public, and will be held from 5.30pm at the University of Auckland Business School. All are welcome to attend – it should be interesting.
Greens Budget Alternative
Written By: - Date published: 1:11 pm, May 21st, 2012 - 68 comments
The Greens launched their Budget alternative this morning. Titled “Smart Green Economics” it lived up to the billing. Extra heft was provided by BERL economist Dr Ganesh Nana paper arguing that the Government’s asset sales programme leaves the government accounts permanently worse off. It was also good to hear about opportunities and their alternatives. We’ve had enough of TINA.
The smell of corruption
Written By: - Date published: 11:23 pm, May 16th, 2012 - 32 comments
The Jackal raised the issue of corruption in relation to John Banks in a comment here and has written more about it on his blog. It appears on the evidence of DotCom’s lieutenant that when he was a Member of Parliament Banks was offering to accept a financial consideration in respect of any act to be done by him in his capacity as a member of Parliament. This makes Philip Field look like a Good Samaritan. Banks has to go.
Brooks charged with perverting justice
Written By: - Date published: 10:03 pm, May 15th, 2012 - 19 comments
Rebekah and Charlie Brooks have been charged with perverting the course of justice in relation to the News International phone-hacking affair. Now it’s in the courts, this albatross will hang around Cameron’s neck through to the next election.
Another MMP rort?
Written By: - Date published: 11:50 am, May 4th, 2012 - 44 comments
The media are doing a good job investigating John Banks’ donation history. The Police are presumably also doing theirs, and it seems clear that the matter must end up in Court and the issue of who is telling the truth will be decided by a judge. Some in the media have dismissed the question of any threat to National’s majority. Short-term maybe, long-term I’m not so sure.
Ask no questions?
Written By: - Date published: 9:02 pm, May 2nd, 2012 - 4 comments
There’s the facts, the questions and the legal opinions. Today in Parliament John Key stuck to his lack of interest in detailed questions, and adherence to Banks’ reliance on legal opinions. He even alleged that the Labour Opposition agreed with these opinions. Not likely. The Police need to ask all the relevant questions that have so far not been answered by Banks or asked by Key, then their veracity and reliability should be established by a judge.
CamerKey and BanksHunt
Written By: - Date published: 1:40 pm, May 1st, 2012 - 7 comments
David Cameron was summoned to Parliament to explain why he has not called an enquiry into Culture Minister Jeremy Hunt’s backdoor contacts with the Murdochs. Cameron accepted verbal assurances from Hunt but did not ask for evidence, and Hunt was “not aware” of what his now-sacked confidential adviser was doing. Sounds very familiar here; both Ministers are on the slippery slope and both PM’s evasiveness is costing them at the polls. Question Time should be interesting today.
Twisting in the wind
Written By: - Date published: 10:03 am, May 1st, 2012 - 24 comments
According to 3 News, Kim Dotcom paid cheques into John Banks’ campaign account in Queenstown. Duncan Garner says this would show up on Banks’ bank records as “anonymous”. So how did Kim Dotcom get TeamBanksie’s account number? Two days after he had had a lunch meeting with Banks.
More questions for the Police to ask and Banks to answer.
The name’s on the cheque!
Written By: - Date published: 11:04 pm, April 30th, 2012 - 55 comments
Campbell Live showed us pictures of the Cheques by which Kim Dotcom’s company Megastuff made donations to Team Banksie 2010. How can John Banks argue that the two donations of $25,000 from Kim Dotcom’s company Megastuff Limited are anonymous when the company name is on the cheque? You could look up their address on the website. Game over, John and John.
Firewalls up in smoke
Written By: - Date published: 6:35 pm, April 30th, 2012 - 34 comments
David Cameron’s defence of embattled Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has been called a “firewall” that’s failing to hold.
Cameron needs Hunt to stay or else Cameron is the next to go. It is the same for John Key.
As the stench of corruption around John Banks grows, he desperately needs him to stay or else all he loses legitimacy for asset sales and potentially his majority on the issue as well.
Policy for Money?
Written By: - Date published: 9:50 pm, April 29th, 2012 - 13 comments
Party donations for the 2011 general election will be published on Tuesday . One new provision in the Act provides for the declaration of the number of donations in two bands; $1500 to $5,000, and up to $15,000. It will be very interesting to see the number of upper level donations in National and ACT particularly. They could hide Banks-type split donations from asset-sale backers.
Filleted Murdock
Written By: - Date published: 4:46 pm, April 27th, 2012 - 37 comments
Stayed up last night to watch Robert Jay QC question Rupert Murdoch at the Leveson enquiry. It was riveting – you can see why top lawyers like Jay are called silks. Murdoch denied, deferred, demeaned, derided and defended but couldn’t help himself – ended up with more damage than control. This affair has more legs than a millipede.
$100m for Lizards
Written By: - Date published: 8:54 pm, April 26th, 2012 - 26 comments
John Key and Bill English couldn’t find $150million over four years for increased parental leave that would hugely benefit future children. Horrors – we would have to borrow! But they could find $100million straight away to pay international investment banks including Australian company Lazard’s to advise on asset sales that robs our children’s future and that nobody else wants. It’s a matter of priorities – money gets money, kids get nothing.
Community Forum on State asset sales Sunday 29th
Written By: - Date published: 12:08 pm, April 26th, 2012 - 21 comments
Gareth Morgan and Peter Harris will speak at a Community Forum on the sale of State-owned assets on Sunday 29th at 3:30pm at the Island Bay Bowling Club, 260 The Parade, Island Bay, Wellington. The forum is being organised by the Wellington South Branch of the Labour Party. All welcome.
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