Author Archive

What does it take for bosses not to get their bonus?

Written By: - Date published: 11:26 am, September 13th, 2018 - 17 comments

Why is it that all risk lies with the shareholders? Why does poor performance by a company not result in CEO and top management bonuses being clawed back?

Cullen says 2020 election effectively a referendum on tax

Written By: - Date published: 1:20 pm, March 7th, 2018 - 32 comments

Don’t hold your breath for recommendations of radical tax reform from the Tax Working Group. Chair Sir Michael Cullen says the 2020 election will be a referendum on tax and he is already kicking for touch

Fletcher Chair resigns but directors retain huge fees despite staggering loss

Written By: - Date published: 4:34 pm, February 14th, 2018 - 123 comments

Fletcher announces more huge losses but directors still laughing all the way to the bank

Fonterra a failure in concept and in practice

Written By: - Date published: 6:10 pm, February 9th, 2018 - 109 comments

New Zealanders 17 years ago accepted the idea of a national dairy monopoly on the condition it would deliver outstanding returns. The cost has been high — filthy and unswimmable rivers. Now it turns out the result has been a financial fiasco – the whole thing is literally bullshit, or more correctly, cowshit.

Ideological issues more than leadership are Nat’s problem

Written By: - Date published: 8:19 am, February 4th, 2018 - 108 comments

Changing National’s leadership will not help the conservatives regain power if they fail to address questions of why they lost the 2017 election. National may be the biggest single party but it is unlikely to stay that. And they have no remaining parliamentary partners.You can’t form a MMP government from that…

High Country selloff scandal laid bare

Written By: - Date published: 2:11 pm, January 21st, 2018 - 35 comments

A feature in yesterday’s Domion Post Weekend lays bare the extent of the scandalous selloff of huge tracts of our high country. The tenure review of the high country has been conducted since 1992 to  privatise some of the land and also bringing parts into the conservation estate. The process has been followed by both National and Labour governments.

It’s time to embrace nanny state

Written By: - Date published: 1:45 pm, January 19th, 2018 - 22 comments

Rather than apologise, it’s time the Left and the new government embraced “nanny state” as a positive, just as the gay community claimed the previously pejorative term “queer”. A nanny state is clearly economically and socially more efficient. We should celebrate our nanny state and not apologise for it.

IMF: higher taxes for rich will cut inequality and won’t hurt growth

Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, October 14th, 2017 - 104 comments

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it now favours higher taxes on the rich and has demolished the myth this might adversely affect economic growth. The authoritative Washington-based think tank in its influential half-yearly monitor also argued for taxes on capital, suggesting a wealth and/or land taxes should be considered, something that will make Gareth […]

Labour won’t regain power until it wins the tax debate

Written By: - Date published: 4:36 pm, September 25th, 2017 - 178 comments

Labour didn’t deserve to win on Saturday because, firstly, because it failed to bring a fully-fleshed tax policy to voters, and, secondly, it never attempted to win the ideological battle over tax. To succeed at the next election, Labour must begin work today to frame this debate.

NZ fishery catch 2.7 times reported – new study says

Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, May 16th, 2016 - 15 comments

“The findings also reveal how the Quota Management System, despite its intentions and international reputation, actually undermines sustainable fisheries management by inadvertently incentivising misreporting and dumping,” University of Auckland’s Dr Glenn Simmons said.

Competition lapdog a cert to approve newspaper monopoly

Written By: - Date published: 7:43 am, May 14th, 2016 - 43 comments

“The newspaper market is buggered anyway. I wouldn’t expect we will have any daily newspapers in ten year’s time,” says Brian Gaynor.

National Party President selling out?

Written By: - Date published: 12:09 pm, May 12th, 2016 - 14 comments

The $25 million deal prompted considerable curiosity because it involved an off-market purchase of shares from Sanford’s second biggest shareholder, Avalon Investment Trust, which is run by the family of Peter Goodfellow.

Silencing scientists integral to National’s anti-science DNA

Written By: - Date published: 1:34 pm, May 11th, 2016 - 40 comments

“It’s gone too far. The spin and message control has got stronger. They are less willing to put scientists out there to talk to the public because of the inability to control the message” – Shaun Hendy.

Sprung again – Key’s “lawyer” has close links to Mossack Fonseca

Written By: - Date published: 8:01 am, May 10th, 2016 - 170 comments

Contrary to Prime Minister John Key’s categorical assertion, his “lawyer”, Ken Whitney, has been found to have links to Mossack Fonseca, the Panama law firm at the centre of a global scandal on tax evasion and avoidance, TVNZ reported today.

The link between tax havens, criminals and the amoral rich

Written By: - Date published: 2:23 pm, May 9th, 2016 - 162 comments

“The Panama Papers issue is either illegal, or verging on illegal, it’s tax evasion, rather than tax avoidance,” Brash said.

Sprung! New Panama Papers dump confirm NZ is a tax haven

Written By: - Date published: 7:33 am, May 9th, 2016 - 277 comments

A new release of Panama papers absolutely confirms New Zealand is a tax haven says Nicky Hager. And ironically, it is because of New Zealand’s squeaky clean reputation that tens of thousands of foreigners have come flooding here.
Rather than actually dealing with the issue, John Key is using his old classics “nothing to see here” coupled with “Labour did it too”, “nicky hager is a conspiracy nut”, and “wait for the (Shewan) whitewash enquiry” defenses.

Panama Papers whistleblower cites Pacific isles, NZ, for good reasons

Written By: - Date published: 6:37 pm, May 8th, 2016 - 23 comments

Jurgen Mossack told Field his business involved people “trying to avoid paying taxes in their home countries” – crucially “avoidance”, “unlike evasion”, is within the law.

John, Ken and Mark might have had much better weeks

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 pm, May 7th, 2016 - 14 comments

“I did a little yelp of joy…like an excited puppy,” wrote Farrier, the former Newsworthy presenter at TV3, on hearing of Weldon’s resignation

Why was John Key singled out by Panama Papers hacker?

Written By: - Date published: 1:03 pm, May 7th, 2016 - 169 comments

Why, out of all the rotten, corrupt and unprincipled nations of the earth, did the Panama Papers hacker single out New Zealand’s John Key for special mention?

John’s Key’s “lawyer” is not a lawyer

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, April 21st, 2016 - 199 comments

John Key, explaining why he had an account with tax avoidance specialists Antipodes Trust Group, said he used the firm because his long-term friend, Ken Whitney, is a principal at the firm and has been his private lawyer for many years. The flaw in that theory is that Whitney is not currently a lawyer.

Whitewash a certainty in tax haven review

Written By: - Date published: 12:31 pm, April 12th, 2016 - 77 comments

John Key’s solution to the exposure of his ludicrous claims that New Zealand has full disclosure on foreign trusts nor is tax haven, is to appoint an expert in tax avoidance as the so-called “independent expert” to review the laws. As fallout from the “Panama Papers” has escalated and the prime minister’s claims are seen […]

Which National Party muppet appointed Peter Boshier to be Chief Ombudsman?

Written By: - Date published: 9:16 am, April 8th, 2016 - 15 comments

One of the few things the Nats normally excel at, is selecting a suitably unqualified flunkey to ensure an office they have no regard for is suitably undermined – witness the Race Relations Commissioner. Why then Boshier, whose only previous was an eight year stretch as a highly competent and effective Principal Family Court Judge? […]

Kiwibank sale to NZ Super, ACC privatisation by stealth

Written By: - Date published: 11:58 am, April 7th, 2016 - 52 comments

The transfer of part of Kiwibank to the Cullen Fund will inevitably lead to its privatisation, no matter what the Government says.

Panama tax rort stirs world leaders but not Key

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, April 7th, 2016 - 18 comments

The Panama Papers highlight a significant problem for the countries of the world.  The actions of the 1% is robbing countries throughout the world of funds needed to run their countries and underlines that the capitalist system is based on greed.  Most leaders see this but not John Key.

Here we go again – from leaky homes to porous pipes

Written By: - Date published: 12:32 pm, March 21st, 2016 - 24 comments

As if leaky buildings was not enough, New Zealand’s lax standards and lack of inspection may be contributing to new problems in the Building Industry.

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