overseas investment

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Tell Key to keep Pharmac

Written By: - Date published: 7:25 am, June 2nd, 2011 - 35 comments

Like the ACC, Pharmac is a Kiwi institution that delivers benefits to everyone at a lower cost than other countries.  National has got ACC on the butcher’s block.  We must make sure that Pharmac doesn’t follow.

Easy passports for the rich

Written By: - Date published: 9:11 pm, May 7th, 2011 - 26 comments

The National Government has relaxed the rules for so-called business migrants, those who can get easy access to a passport by investing in New Zealand. The Minister is proud that the scheme has now raised $562 million. He says it is part of the government’s economic growth programme.

Eye on the Banks

Written By: - Date published: 8:10 am, March 29th, 2011 - 25 comments

The next  Fabian Seminar at Connolly Hall Thursday 31 March at 5:30pm will feature economist Geoff Bertram examine how the high level of New Zealand’s overseas debt that figures prominently in much policy discourse is largely an increase in foreign-currency liabilities voluntarily taken on by mainly Australian-owned banks in pursuit of private profit. It will be interesting – all are welcome to attend.

Key’s “unpopular concessions”

Written By: - Date published: 7:39 am, February 22nd, 2011 - 34 comments

With the TPP being negotiated in secret today the signs from John Key are that he’s planning to sell us down the river.

But given the way he sold out our work rights to Warner Brothers we shouldn’t be surprised.

Contact Energy: A Case Study

Written By: - Date published: 6:01 am, January 29th, 2011 - 65 comments

We could look at bailed-out TranzRail and Air NZ, with privatisation leading to risk-free pay-outs for the temporary owners of infrastructure that couldn’t be allowed to fail. Or Telecom that doesn’t look out for NZers interests, and needs us to pay for it to build us a fibre network. But let’s look at the “success” story of Contact, the closest privatisation to National’s new plans.

‘Playing fair’ makes us losers in currency wars

Written By: - Date published: 6:29 am, November 12th, 2010 - 51 comments

The US Government has begun creating new money out of thin air, to inflate away the value of its debt and lower its currency to make its industries more competitive. It’s not the only country. Nearly all the major currencies are engaged in the ‘Currency Wars’, trying to force down their exchanger rates. We’re in the cross-fire doing nothing.

Selling assets to finance current account deficit = good?

Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, October 20th, 2010 - 58 comments

I’m generally a fan of Gareth Morgan, but boy his facts are wrong in yesterday’s Herald, leading  him to really bad conclusions. Basically, Morgan argues that we have to let foreigners buy our assets because we use that money to buy more imports than we export, which we won’t be able to do if we block asset sales. Why is that a bad thing?

Why the Right is worried 3: Policy

Written By: - Date published: 11:59 am, October 20th, 2010 - 8 comments

In contrast to National’s policy vacuum on the economy, Labour has been focusing its policy work on a major change in direction. It’s obvious that the hands-off approach introduced in the 1980s has failed, leading to mal-investment in housing with an economy stripped of its manufacturing capability and geared for import-dependent consumerism.

I’m confused

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, October 20th, 2010 - 32 comments

Trying to get my head around the economic arguments going on. Hearing contradictory things. Who’s telling the truth? ls Labour’s new overseas investment policy Stalinism that will  ruin the economy, as Key claimed on Monday and Tuesday? Or is the same as the existing law, as Key claimed on Monday and Tuesday?

Key: good that foreign buyers increase land prices

Written By: - Date published: 2:00 pm, October 19th, 2010 - 37 comments

John Key says that if we don’t let overseas buyers snap up our farmland then land prices will decrease and some over-leveraged farmers will go underwater. And that’s supposedly a bad thing. Key wants us to believe that foreigners putting our farmland out of the reach of Kiwis and making us borrow more from the Aussie banks is a good thing.

Phil Goff: The Leader Emerges

Written By: - Date published: 1:22 pm, October 18th, 2010 - 43 comments

Phil Goff made an excellent speech yesterday.  One that showed far more direction, and a lot of promise for going forward.  Hopefully Labour can capitalise on this much better than they did on the excellent “The Many, Not The Few” speech.  They should be able to – yesterday’s “Kiwi Dream” speech contained much more meat […]

Owning our future

Written By: - Date published: 7:20 am, October 18th, 2010 - 139 comments

It’s great to hear Phil Goff announce that a Labour government won’t let overseas interests to own more than 25% of monopolistic companies, like ports and airports, and farmland. In the new world economy we’re moving into, a global scramble for vital natural resources like farmland, we need to keep the foundations of our economy in Kiwi hands.

Garth George & the limits to growth

Written By: - Date published: 2:12 pm, October 17th, 2010 - 64 comments

In his last column Garth George laments how foods he regularly enjoyed in his childhood (1870s?) are now priced beyond the reach of most New Zealanders. It’s easy to dismiss the complaints of an old man about prices these days but there’s a deeper story: with population growth and resource depletion, there increasingly isn’t enough to go around.

Hickey sees the light

Written By: - Date published: 12:49 pm, September 29th, 2010 - 73 comments

Bernard Hickey, one of the country’s leading economic commentators, was a hardline neo-liberal – ie. the market is god. Now, he’s changed his mind. He’s come to the realisation that there’s no invisible god’s hand directing capitalist markets. Instead they are directed by short-termist elites. We need to take back control.

Natural Dairy NZ & Chinese neo-mercantilism

Written By: - Date published: 10:23 am, September 13th, 2010 - 65 comments

To have power and independence, any country needs a solid economic base. That’s even more true of superpowers/empires. To secure their economic sovereignty they need the raw materials and markets of less powerful countries. They reinforce their economic sovereignty by taking others’. China does it by buying up whole supply chains.

You’re All Racists – Minister

Written By: - Date published: 8:11 am, September 3rd, 2010 - 34 comments

According to Maurice Williamson, we’re all racist. Our concern with foreign investment has nothing to do with the economy, we just hate the Chinese.

What’s Key in Korea for again?

Written By: - Date published: 6:32 am, July 7th, 2010 - 17 comments

Key’s worried about us being even more bought out by foreigners. Key’s in South Korea about to sign a Free Trade Agreement. New Zealand already has nearly no tariffs. Everyone knows the sweetener for the other side in these deals is opening up investment in NZ. So, Key’s railing against foreign ownership while making it […]

Key concedes Left has it right on foreign ownership

Written By: - Date published: 11:16 am, July 6th, 2010 - 46 comments

PM warns against Kiwis becoming ‘tenants’ – The Herald. John Key says that we’ve got to make sure we don’t sell too many of our assets and end up sending the profits overseas. Good stuff, it’s exactly what the Left has been saying and the opposite of National’s policy until now. I guess we’ll have to see if Key backs up his words with action.

Goff speech on Labour’s vision

Written By: - Date published: 1:47 pm, May 12th, 2010 - 72 comments

Phil Goff has delivered his speech on Labour’s economic vision ahead of the Budget. It’s a good one, filled with core Labour values and ideas that will get New Zealand moving ahead. Goff talks about fairer tax rather than tax cuts for the rich, better monetary policy, and investing in New Zealand’s future.

What’s the Govt’s economic vision?

Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, May 10th, 2010 - 6 comments

To build a brighter future for New Zealand we need to invest in it. We need to build up our national savings, invest in R&D, and build a sustainable, more self-sufficient economy. National has cut savings and R&D investment, and talked down New Zealand’s potential for hi-tech manufacture. Seems they’re only interested in short term pay offs for the rich.

Bold economic leadership… from the Opposition

Written By: - Date published: 12:45 pm, May 6th, 2010 - 61 comments

I’m glad to see Labour is stealing a march on the lazy Nats and building an alternative economic vision ahead of the Budget. It looks to be just the vision New Zealand needs, built on the twin planks of economic sovereignty and a fairer distribution of wealth.

Key to rich mates: NZ for sale

Written By: - Date published: 11:38 am, November 17th, 2009 - 33 comments

John Key’s residency for the rich scheme has attracted the interest of 12,000 people thus far. Yes, NZ residency is for sale at the measly investment of NZ$500,000 and a few low-paid jobs. The Herald notes: Thousands of wealthy foreigners are lining up to move here, just weeks out from the introduction of business migration […]

Those who do not learn

Written By: - Date published: 4:20 pm, August 11th, 2009 - 15 comments

Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. National has learned nothing from the failure of the neoliberal policies of the late 80s / early 90s (when gaps in growth and income opened up with Australia). So they are gearing up to repeat them: [English] and other ministers’ utter single-mindedness of […]

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