Budget nasties

Written By: - Date published: 8:27 pm, May 25th, 2012 - 37 comments
Categories: budget2012, schools - Tags: ,

This afternoon a couple of ‘hidden treasures’ have come out of the budget.  Not announced previously they have just been stumbled upon by either careful poring over the Budget papers, or because it came up in the bill in parliament today.

1122 teachers could be losing their jobs as National have stopped funding technology training at intermediate level.  Schools will still be required to do technology training – they just won’t be funded for it.

And the asset testing for people spending their last years in residential care will now only increase by the rate of inflation, instead of $10,000/year.  Apparently this doesn’t need discussion, and the lack of it is the media’s fault for not finding it on page 341, section 23, paragraph 4 footnote b.  As such it should be rammed through under urgency, and denied any select committee scrutiny.

Some might argue it is a sensible thing to do, but it certainly isn’t a sensible way of doing it.  And it wasn’t a sensible way of making the urgent retrospective law passed yesterday to tax young people doing paper rounds (often at less than minimum wage/hour) and working in dairies or supermarkets.

John Key was defending that poor bit of law today because it will clean up the tax code.  The empathy oozed as he mentioned a long forgotten paper route from his own youth.  I’m sure today’s young people will be similarly empathetic about how much tidier the IRD’s spreadsheets are now that they are being taxed on every cent of their meagre earnings.

They will remember this when they turn 18 – which for some of them will be before November 2014, John.

37 comments on “Budget nasties ”

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  1. mickysavage 1
    25 May 2012 at 9:06 pm

    Thanks Bunji.

    There really is an avalanche of crap happening to the NZ people.  Instead of being open and honest the nats are piling it all on at one time and hope that people do not notice.

    It is also a substitute for leadership and intellectually is such a bankrupt approach.  Deciding to cut when there is a problem is confirmation that our leadership does not have a clue what to do … 

    • Draco T Bastard 1.1
      25 May 2012 at 11:23 pm

      Our “leadership” know exactly what they’re doing – they’re screwing over NZ so that we can be sold to their rich mates overseas.

  2. Georgecom 2
    25 May 2012 at 9:12 pm

    Minister of Education Parata crowed that teacher-student ratios in years 7 & 8 had been dropped from 1:29 to 1:27.5 in the budget.

    What she didn’t say was that the 1:120 technology staffing had been cut.

    If a school wants to offer technology, as they do now, they will have to find that staffing out of the 1:27.5.

    However Minister Parata is clear that class sizes are not going up, they are in fact going down.

    She will set up a working party to investigate what happens to technology teaching.

    Surely this beggars belief.

    Why bother wasting time with a working party? Simply reinstate the staffing.

  3. HJN 3
    25 May 2012 at 9:12 pm

    There are more nasties yet to come. Whats the deal with spending $2.3M on hosting rights for the Square Kilometre Array? NZ Herald Article

    Check the documents here on page 72 under Square Kilometre Array. See the 3.15M to be spent this year, up from 864K last year?

    I wonder what 2.3M could do for NZ – not for scientists.

    Having the dishes here would be great for science, but where would we put them? We don’t have the land, the infrastructure, nor the emotional ability to scar our landscapes with these huge dishes.

    2.3M could do a lot more to rebuild homes for the southron kin than a failed bid at something that will never get built here.

    • NickS 3.1
      25 May 2012 at 11:06 pm

      /sigh

      Do some research next time, because then you’d understand that there will only be a few stations set up in NZ, with the bulk being spread across the Tasman and size wise, they’re pretty small compared to the set ups over in the USA. And amusingly the Times Of India article you linked to points out exactly why we’d like to have it and why it could be a boon to NZ.

      Having the dishes here would be great for science, but where would we put them? We don’t have the land, the infrastructure, nor the emotional ability to scar our landscapes with these huge dishes.

      The stupid, it burns.

      You know what? I rather go play dwarf fortress than plump the depths of your above stupidity…

    • Draco T Bastard 3.2
      25 May 2012 at 11:38 pm

      Personally, I think the government should the entire bloody thing in NZ by itself (well, a duplicate one anyway). That would NZ far more good than getting a small bit of the one Europe wants to build.

      Having the dishes here would be great for science, but where would we put them? We don’t have the land, the infrastructure, nor the emotional ability to scar our landscapes with these huge dishes.

      It’s the equivalent of 3000 homes across the country – plenty of space. The infrastructure could be built (that’s generally what development means) and I’m pretty sure that NZers would actually back as we’re getting pissed off by idiots (such as yourself) treating us as if we’re stupid and then selling us down the road.

      As for the cost? Well, that’s what taxes are for – just need to put them back up a bit on higher incomes, say to 40% for $70k, 50% for $150k, 60% for $300k, 80% for $600k and 90% for $1m, so that this country can start doing something rather than being poverty stricken because we don’t tax them enough.

      • Colonial Viper 3.2.1
        26 May 2012 at 10:58 am

        Need a general wealth tax. 0.25% pa for every dollar of assets over $1M.

      • HJN 3.2.2
        26 May 2012 at 12:36 pm

        You miss the point

        2.3M extra for the hosting of a few dishes. If, as I’m assuming is the case, each dish while being 15M wide needs to have 1sq km between each dish and we have 30 dishes, where will they be situated?

        Crown land? Farmland? DOC land?

        Never mind that we need 42,000+ homes right now. We have 1 dish in Whangarei so far afaik, wouldn’t having 1 more dish in Te Wai Pounamu suffice?

        • Colonial Viper 3.2.2.1
          26 May 2012 at 12:53 pm

          Plenty of hard to farm, low productivity land they can be situated on. What’s the problem? Lets move on this is small fry.

          And anyways I like NZ scientific involvement in a project like this.

          • HJN 3.2.2.1.1
            26 May 2012 at 1:03 pm

            I’m not saying I dislike it, I just believe that there are other priorities where 3.15M can be spent.

            Things like Youth Development, Housing, Trades Training, Kiwisaver, Paperboy tax rebates, teachers, cheaper prescriptions and doctors fees, and biosecurity just to name a few.

            3.15M could go a long way to some of the above.

          • muzza 3.2.2.1.2
            26 May 2012 at 1:14 pm

            Small fry Viper…

            Um, no its not really is it! Rather a large programme of work will underpin this, and frankly thats something which NZ is now a very much going to be directly part of..

            The stories about contacting ET etc are simply garbage, you will understand that!

            I do agree that given current local and global goings on, that this topic is not high priority, however I also agree that the money put into this is not well spent given those same problems.
            Cost fundings will of course grow, and I bet are more than what we have been told, as usual and NZ will be required to continue to put funds into this project.
            Until we hear more about this programme, what it is, what its going to cost, who is actually funding it, what will be the non functional requirements/cost impacts and so on, which will filter out over time, I call the info so far BS from here!

            Edit: Draco, “high rise, high density, inner city”, give me a break , I know what it could be, but given NZ’s planning and housing design and development failures, no thanks!
            Agree, the govt should be funding housing, but Im not in favour of the HR, HD, IC option.

        • Draco T Bastard 3.2.2.2
          26 May 2012 at 1:07 pm

          If, as I’m assuming is the case, each dish while being 15M wide needs to have 1sq km between each dish and we have 30 dishes, where will they be situated?

          Yep, you’re an idiot.

          Last time I looked we have more than 30 square kilometres of land and the land between can be used for something else.

          Never mind that we need 42,000+ homes right now.

          Yep, and the government should be building them (preferably high rise, high density, inner city). The thing that you don’t seem to get is that we could (and should) do both.

          • HJN 3.2.2.2.1
            26 May 2012 at 1:19 pm

            Low rise, medium density would suit NZ far better rather than ending up like a Canyon City as NYC is.

            You build too many high rises in close proximity you end up with slums.

            And DTB – I get we can do both. You don’t seem to get that we should refocus our spending priorities onto people – not scientists so they can have a new plaything.

            What are the additional costs that NZ now faces as a result of building the dishes? NZPoliticians are by and large pretty useless at entering into contractual arrangements that benefit NZ. The added infrastructure costs of hosting 30 dishes will no doubt be borne by taxpayers.

            • Draco T Bastard 3.2.2.2.1.1
              26 May 2012 at 7:11 pm

              You build too many high rises in close proximity you end up with slums.

              Only if you’re stupid enough, and this government is, to cut services and jobs to people living there.

              You don’t seem to get that we should refocus our spending priorities onto people – not scientists so they can have a new plaything.

              Yes, science has a cost but it results in society knowing stuff that it didn’t before that can be put to good use benefiting people. Yes, that even applies to building and maintaining 30 radio-telescopes. That’s why we need to do both.

              The added infrastructure costs of hosting 30 dishes will no doubt be borne by taxpayers.

              No matter what happens the costs are always carried by the people. We sold Telecom 20 years ago, we have competition in the “market” and yet we’re still having to pay to build up an adequate network despite the huge profits (also paid for by the people) that have been pulled out of the telecommunications sector.

      • Murray Olsen 3.2.3
        26 May 2012 at 9:50 pm

        Having it only in New Zealand wouldn’t give it a long enough baseline to be an advance over radio astronomy facilities that already exist. From a scientific point of view, it only makes sense to go into as part of an international collaboration.

        • Draco T Bastard 3.2.3.1
          26 May 2012 at 10:56 pm

          Well, yeah, my point was that we should be building this sort of stuff anyway whether in collaboration with others or not and then connecting in when they’re built.

          • Murray Olsen 3.2.3.1.1
            26 May 2012 at 11:01 pm

            The old Ministry of Works would have managed to build it. I agree that we should build the kiwi component of it, or at least as much as we’re technologically capable of. Maybe we should build the Aussie component as well, since most of their skilled construction workers seem to be tied up in the mines.

      • muzza 3.3.1
        26 May 2012 at 12:54 pm

        Quite an amazing scope change to the project isnt it!

        “There is already infrastructure in South Africa and Australia, including radio telescope dishes that were built as precursors to the new array. They will now be incorporated into the SKA”

        —- Nothing pre planned about the scope change then there….

        “Global tech companies are already earmarking development funds linked to the project, which will rely on computing technology that does not even exist yet to process the flood of data it will collect.”

        —More BS here, of course the technology exists already, the road maps of tech firms, while closely guarded are many years into the future, along with what the public are told currently exists.

        “International Business Machines, IBM and Astron, the Netherlands institute for radio astronomy, announced in April a 33 million euro, five-year deal to develop extremely fast computer systems with low power requirements for the SKA project”

        — IBM, there as always….

        “Other companies that have signed partnership agreements with the project include Nokia-Siemens , BAE Systems PLC, Cisco Systems and Selex Galileo, a UK unit of Italian group Finmeccanica SpA.”

        — Oh look, its some of the worlds most intrusive tech firms, and one of the worlds largest war engineering companies BAE….

        “It is overcoming those challenges that the leaders of the project argue could lead to untold spin-offs for industry. They point to Wi-Fi technology as one of the best known commercial applications to come from radio astronomy, for instance”

        –Spin offs for industry, not for humanity…nice choice of words there…But using wi fi as something the plebs can feel has really added value to life on earth!

        “Bernie Fanaroff, South African project director for the SKA, said the telescope could have a real impact on social and economic development for the country and its neighbours.”

        — What UTTER crap this is, there is nothing but resource rape happening in Africa, and that will continue. Nice attempt at make believe though Bernie!

        “A project like this is iconic; it’s inspirational, and it raises the profile of science and technology in Africa dramatically, both in the eyes of the rest of the world and in the eyes of Africans.”

        —-Yes you get to leave your legacy behind Bernie, BRAVO

        “He added: “Africa was perceived as not too high tech. People talked about Africa as the next big business destination, the next great economic growth story, but you’ve got to underpin that with something, you don’t want to just dig things out of the ground and ship them off to Asia or Europe.”

        —Bernie SA and Africa in general is not going to be the next big anything other than the continued shame of the west and east at the deliberate denigration of the people, and those nations in the continent. How can growth happen naturally when you have huge marorities of indigenous people living in slums, with no intention of the white man altering that….Oh SA will have growth alright, but it will be 100% manufactured for the benefit of the “elite”,

        South Africa’s Science Minister welcomed the compromise. “It was an unexpected decision,” said Naledi Pandor. “We accept the comprise in the interests of progress.”

        — Yes very unexpected that a project this size, would have simply changed its scope without any pre planning, variance and governance around that scope change….Argh, progress, that never ending lie to keep stupid, and even some very smart people enthraulled with gadgetary distractions, and “higher learnings” so they can believe in their own largess!

        Nah, this will not be a boon in anyway at all for humanity of that time, now or then!

  4. Scintilla 4
    25 May 2012 at 10:47 pm

    Up until the last year or so, there has been a shortage of technology teachers and you could get a studentship (fees paid) in return for bonded employment. There is still a shortage of ICT teachers in secondary schools, which falls under “technology”. My bet is the government are trying to “scare out” who they consider to be “dead wood” in the profession, you know, people who go into battle for their students, for a decent education system, for better conditions for teachers and therefore for their students. They want to privatise some state schools and turn them into academies as has happened in the UK. Break the union, privatise education.

    Teachers deal with the results, the consequences of government policies that have pulverised our society – we ARE the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. Every one of those consequences is a child or teenager trying to find a secure platform in a world that usually offers them sweet Fanny Adams. Is there any other generation that has had to deal with so much spin, so much pressure and hopelessness? These kids need more individual time, not less. It would break your heart if you could walk around a school and have so many kids need you to acknowledge them, to remember their name, to clock that they exist and that they matter. They are the future.

  5. dave brownz 5
    25 May 2012 at 11:01 pm

    Why does any of this surprise anyone? The Budget is a lie in an orchestrated litany of lies.
    The NACTs do it because cutting wages and taxes increases their profits.
    The NACTs CAN do it because we let them.
    Where is Labour, where are the Greens, even Mana is only saying we need to reverse all these austerity policies.
    But the problem is much deeper. They system is fucked and we will all be fucked with it unless we change it.
    Why doesnt The Standard hold a competition for the best conception of a society that can replace fucked over capitalism that will meet all our fundamental needs to survive, create, cooperate, plan, and respect one another and the planet?
     
     

  6. Dr Terry 6
    25 May 2012 at 11:57 pm

    Big, wealthy businessmen (name often preceded with a “Sir”) moan about young persons not being suited to the miserable jobs they have on offer. What does their Government do but cut back on the teachers in trades. With all the setbacks for the young, how ever can they present the “right image” to a prospective employer (not that too many employers actually exist!) Employers demand qualified people, Government ensures that those qualifications are harder than ever before to attain.
    The Tories have struck at almost everything now except the rich. But they had overlooked one possibility, which is older people. Well, they are quickly putting that right with legislation under urgency. I have been waiting for it. (Politicians, of course, in their own old age will enjoy most rosy conditions)..
    I guess the Government thinks (hopes?) the old will be dead and gone by Nov. 2014. Young school children will still not have the vote. How nicely calculated!
    I wonder if it has become too late already for anything ever to return to the kinder way they were?
    Kindness is almost a forgotten commodity in clean and green (and greedy) New Zealand.
    As Greece well knows, austerity measures are plainly cruel toward the most helpless victims of society and political sway. Who pays for austerity so called “recoveries? The young, education, trainees, beneficiaries, workers, unions, solo-parents, (need I continue?) and now, finally, the elders who served so well, for so long.

    • Draco T Bastard 6.1
      26 May 2012 at 9:26 am

      Employers demand qualified people, Government ensures that those qualifications are harder than ever before to attain.

      You know, that actually makes sense but not in a good way.

      In a world that’s more and more mechanised, that requires fewer and fewer people to actually work and where any jobs that are going require higher and higher education keeping more and more people uneducated by making education harder to reach gives the Tories another reason to continue to blame the poor for being poor while taking all the gains of that increased productivity for themselves.

      • muzza 6.1.1
        26 May 2012 at 10:57 am

        Gidday B,

        You seem to be conscious of the agenda that is the continued rolling up of the layers. How this works is by being capable of directing/forcing the technological/scientific direction, via controlling the laws, education and industries, while fooling people into believing they’re smarter than the rest because of the education required to fill the ever decreasing number of “jobs” with the “high tech” jobs….this is simply the genocidal policy of eugenics in action!

        What has happened to the universal human rights to life!

        Food, water, air,shelter….(energy)….The only things humans need to live, and they are almost entirely controlled presently, as a result of “money”

  7. Hami Shearlie 7
    26 May 2012 at 12:07 am

    I love the bit about John Key OOZING empathy for the paper boys and girls. Well, an abscess or a boil ooze, and they’re not welcome either!! BTW I heard Blinglish saying that the unemployed should move to Christchurch to get work.What work would that be? And pray tell, where are they and their families(or don’t the unemployed deserve families?) supposed to live while searching for and doing these jobs? There are not enough houses for the people of Christchurch to live in now? Most unemployed cannot afford to leave their family behind, even if they were working in Christchurch, they couldn’t afford two lots of rent for a start! And you can’t disrupt childrens’ education willy-nilly -or should that be “silly-billy!”

  8. Dave Kennedy 8
    26 May 2012 at 1:56 am

    Despite the fact that education is one of our highest performing sectors it continues to be attacked by this National Government. They must really hate teachers!
    http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2012/05/national-kneecaps-quality-public.html

    • Draco T Bastard 8.1
      26 May 2012 at 2:42 am

      They can’t stand an educated populace as that shows their beliefs up as the delusional rantings that they are.

      • Dave Kennedy 8.1.1
        26 May 2012 at 11:12 pm

        You’re right Draco, which is why they are dismantling our education system under the pretense of improving it. The more ignorant people they can create the more potential National voters.

  9. Mel 9
    26 May 2012 at 6:36 am

    Yes, the devil was hidden in the detail.
    By cutting technology staffing (I heard Hekia calling technology staffing an anomaly), intermediate schools have to either increase their class sizes by a significant amount for homeroom teachers or they lose technology staff.
    This means a whole generation of New Zealanders who will not have the opportunity to learn basic skills in design, cooking, woodwork and plastics etc.
    We are losing a valuable part of our educational landscape. The curriculum will narrow, and student achievement will of course go down. 🙁
     

  10. Carol 10
    26 May 2012 at 7:28 am

    On Key not getting a tax rebate on his paper run: When did these jobs start getting taxed? When at school I had a weekly job, collecting the payment for paper deliveries from the homes of the customers. The pay was small, but I don’t remember any tax being deducted or any requirement for it to be declared.

    Also, in my younger working days, I don’t remember my bank savings being taxed. When did taxation on savings begin?

    • Draco T Bastard 10.1
      26 May 2012 at 9:32 am

      When did taxation on savings begin?

      Either in the late 1980s under Roger Douglass’s burst of neo-liberalism and broadening of the tax base (necessary because he’d just cut the top tax rates from 66% to 30 something) or in the early 1990s under National (Once the balls-up of the 4th Labour government became obvious but which National deepened).

    • HJN 10.2
      26 May 2012 at 1:07 pm

      Paperboys have always been taxed.

      The difference is that for schoolchildren employers had to fill out screeds of red tape just so they didn’t have to worry about paying the PAYE for their delivery people /sarc

      If income was under a certain level – I think around $40 pw from memory, PAYE wasnt deducted. Anything over that PAYE was deducted on the entire amount. Come July/August of the following year, those paperboys could get a refund back from IRD if their total annual income was under $2350 or thereabouts.

      Otherwise the $9800 rebate was there, but now that’s gone as well.

  11. HJN 11
    26 May 2012 at 1:15 pm

    Most of the current parties have missed the point on CGT. It hasn’t really worked anywhere in the world in “dampening house prices” as seems to be the rallying cry for introducing CGT here.

    I’d rather see GST applied to the sale of every house – family home included. A simple flat rate, less ability to abuse the system like a CGT would, and it would be, now that income splitting is a reality.

    No one would be any worse off by having to pay GST on the sale of their house as everyone would be buying and selling “in the same market” so no real detriment is suffered.

    A $2M house sale in Remuera would net an easy $300,000 for the government coffers. Clever accountants would definitely reduce that liability under CGT for high income earners.

    While we’re at it, remove the ability for businesses to claim GST on their expenditure and let PAYE earners claim back GST on the costs of their work related expenditure. At least the GST refunds would be going back to the people that need it the most.

    Businesses pass on the cost of their expenditure, to the consumer, and make no recourse to the fact they can claim back nearly all of their GST costs. It’s one of the reasons why I refuse to claim back my GST on expenditure – it’s a matter of principle.

    Perhaps then we might see a marked improvement in government revenue. National are going after pennies by attacking the very backbone of this country – the workers.

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    Photo by Anna Ogiienko on UnsplashIt’s that time of the week for an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session for paying subscribers about the week that was for an hour, including:duelling fiscal plans from National and Labour;Labour cutting cycling spending while accusing National of being weak on climate;Research showing the need for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Weekly Roundup 29-September-2023
    Welcome to Friday and the last one for September. This week in Greater Auckland On Monday, Matt highlighted at the latest with the City Rail Link. On Tuesday, Matt covered the interesting items from Auckland Transport’s latest board meeting agendas. On Thursday, a guest post from Darren Davis ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    3 days ago

  • Protest at Parliament: The Reunion.
    Brian’s god spoke to him. He, for of course the Lord in Tamaki’s mind was a male god, with a mighty rod, and probably some black leathers. He, told Brian - “you must put a stop to all this love, hope, and kindness”. And it did please the Brian.He said ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Labour cuts $50m from cycleway spending
    Labour is cutting spending on cycling infrastructure while still trying to claim the higher ground on climate. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Labour Government released a climate manifesto this week to try to claim the high ground against National, despite having ignored the Climate Commission’s advice to toughen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • The Greater Of Two Evils.
    Not Labour: If you’re out to punish the government you once loved, then the last thing you need is to be shown evidence that the opposition parties are much, much worse.THE GREATEST VIRTUE of being the Opposition is not being the Government. Only very rarely is an opposition party elected ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #39 2023
    Open access notables "Net zero is only a distraction— we just have to end fossil fuel emissions." The latter is true but the former isn't, or  not in the real world as it's likely to be in the immediate future. And "just" just doesn't enter into it; we don't have ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Chris Trotter: Losing the Left
    IN THE CURRENT MIX of electoral alternatives, there is no longer a credible left-wing party. Not when “a credible left-wing party” is defined as: a class-oriented, mass-based, democratically-structured political organisation; dedicated to promoting ideas sharply critical of laissez-faire capitalism; and committed to advancing democratic, egalitarian and emancipatory ideals across the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago

  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Hipkins fires up in leaders’ debate, but has the curtain already fallen on the Labour-led coalitio...
    Labour’s  Chris Hipkins came out firing, in the  leaders’ debate  on Newshub’s evening programme, and most of  the pundits  rated  him the winner against National’s  Christopher Luxon. But will this make any difference when New  Zealanders  start casting their ballots? The problem  for  Hipkins is  that  voters are  all too ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    4 days ago

  • Govt is energising housing projects with solar power – and fuelling the public’s concept of a di...
    Buzz from the Beehive  Not long after Point of Order published data which show the substantial number of New Zealanders (77%) who believe NZ is becoming more divided, government ministers were braying about a programme which distributes some money to “the public” and some to “Maori”. The ministers were dishing ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • MIKE GRIMSHAW: Election 2023 – a totemic & charisma failure?
    The D&W analysis Michael Grimshaw writes –  Given the apathy, disengagement, disillusionment, and all-round ennui of this year’s general election, it was considered time to bring in those noted political operatives and spin doctors D&W, the long-established consultancy firm run by Emile Durkheim and Max Weber. Known for ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • FROM BFD: Will Winston be the spectre we think?
    Kissy kissy. Cartoon credit BoomSlang. The BFD. JC writes-  Allow me to preface this contribution with the following statement: If I were asked to express a preference between a National/ACT coalition or a National/ACT/NZF coalition then it would be the former. This week Luxon declared his position, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • California’s climate disclosure bill could have a huge impact across the U.S.
    This re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Andy Furillo was originally published by Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The California Legislature took a step last week that has the potential to accelerate the fight against climate ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Untangling South East Queensland’s Public Transport
    This is a cross post Adventures in Transitland by Darren Davis. I recently visited Brisbane and South East Queensland and came away both impressed while also pondering some key changes to make public transport even better in the region. Here goes with my take on things. A bit of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    4 days ago

  • Try A Little Kindness.
    My daughter arrived home from the supermarket yesterday and she seemed a bit worried about something. It turned out she wanted to know if someone could get her bank number from a receipt.We wound the story back.She was in the store and there was a man there who was distressed, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • What makes NZFirst tick
    New Zealand’s longest-running political roadshow rolled into Opotiki yesterday, with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters knowing another poll last night showed he would make it back to Parliament and National would need him and his party if they wanted to form a government. The Newshub Reid Research poll ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago

  • September AMA
    Hi,As September draws to a close — I feel it’s probably time to do an Ask Me Anything. You know how it goes: If you have any burning questions, fire away in the comments and I will do my best to answer. You might have questions about Webworm, or podcast ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago

  • Bludgers lying in the scratcher making fools of us all
    The mediocrity who stands to be a Prime Minister has a litany.He uses it a bit like a Koru Lounge card. He will brandish it to say: these people are eligible. And more than that, too: These people are deserving. They have earned this policy.They have a right to this policy. What ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • More “partnerships” (by the look of it) and redress of over $30 million in Treaty settlement wit...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point of Order has waited until now – 3.45pm – for today’s officially posted government announcements.  There have been none. The only addition to the news on the Beehive’s website was posted later yesterday, after we had published our September 26 Buzz report. It came from ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • ALEX HOLLAND: Labour’s spending
    Alex Holland writes –  In 2017 when Labour came to power, crown spending was $76 billion per year. Now in 2023 it is $139 billion per year, which equates to a $63 billion annual increase (over $1 billion extra spend every week!) In 2017, New Zealand’s government debt ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • If not now, then when?
    Labour released its fiscal plan today, promising the same old, same old: "responsibility", balanced books, and of course no new taxes: "Labour will maintain income tax settings to provide consistency and certainty in these volatile times. Now is not the time for additional taxes or to promise billions of ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • THE FACTS:  77% of Kiwis believe NZ is becoming more divided
    The Facts has posted –        KEY INSIGHTSOf New Zealander’s polled: Social unity/division 77%believe NZ is becoming more divided (42% ‘much more’ + 35% ‘a little more’) 3%believe NZ is becoming less divided (1% ‘much less’ + 2% ‘a little less’) ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the cynical brutality of the centre-right’s welfare policies
    The centre-right’s enthusiasm for forcing people off the benefit and into paid work is matched only by the enthusiasm (shared by Treasury and the Reserve Bank) for throwing people out of paid work to curb inflation, and achieve the optimal balance of workers to job seekers deemed to be desirable ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    5 days ago

  • Wednesday’s Chorus: Arthur Grimes on why building many, many more social houses is so critical
    New research shows that tenants in social housing - such as these Wellington apartments - are just as happy as home owners and much happier than private tenants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The election campaign took an ugly turn yesterday, and in completely the wrong direction. All three ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • 100 new public EV chargers to be added to national network
    The public EV charging network has received a significant boost with government co-funding announced today for over 100 EV chargers – with over 200 charging ports altogether – across New Zealand, and many planned to be up and running on key holiday routes by Christmas this year. Minister of Energy ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago

  • Safeguarding Tuvalu language and identity
    Tuvalu is in the spotlight this week as communities across New Zealand celebrate Vaiaso o te Gagana Tuvalu – Tuvalu Language Week. “The Government has a proven record of supporting Pacific communities and ensuring more of our languages are spoken, heard and celebrated,” Pacific Peoples Minister Barbara Edmonds said. “Many ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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