National’s management of the economy has been completely predicated on borrowing and spending, with no strategy or commonsense.
And precious little focus on helping out the vast majority of NZers who are on less than $50K pa and plenty of focus on helping rich mates make more money by taking money off workers.
There was some growth in jobs pertaining to death. Deaths in the year ending December 2011 – up six percent, or 1640, on the 2010 year. For the first time deaths exceeded 30,000. There were 30,080 reported deaths.
The preventable deaths are the ones which concern me. Buildings not properly checked, medical errors, employers cutting corners e.g. bad work conditions, unrealistic demands on workers and the most unacceptable, the fatal bashing of defenseless children.
Don’t be simplistic. National made a promise of 4000 jobs from a cycleway which was never ever going to eventuate. Its also keeping the NZ dollar at historical highs which is killing our manufacturing exporters (same as Labour). And the wealth pump which are the Australian banks sending billions a year offshore – that has to be stopped.
Selling off our most productive assets including farmland is a formula for long term ruin, but what do these Tories care – they get to line their pockets today.
In fact just going by this graph does it not show that the jobs summit was a huge success.
Just to run through this from January 2008 to February 2009 62,000 jobs were lost – effectively 9 months of Labour and 4 months of National (who would have had no time to do anything). Then since February 2009 only 3,000 jobs have been lost.
That’s a pretty good effort from the summit I would have thought.
But given this is a left leaning blog I assume I am happy to admit there is a strong possibility I am reading the graph incorrectly, especially since I have not followed the link to the information provided and and basing it solely off the graph.
Yep, I’m having a bit of difficulty following it myself. ‘Since Job Summit’ looks like the square peg to me. The others fit the sequence, but that column seems awfully short.
too bad about you being too lazy to click a link, even if it is just to educate yourself chris….. then maybe we could have been spared another dissembling…… which seems to have become the M O of pretty much every tory apologist on here…..
How can I answer when I have no idea what you are asking for? In fact as far as I can tell your only question was got no real ammo. Ammo for what? You don’t ask any real questions then criticize me for not answering – good work
Back to the post though yes jobs dropped initially under National as they did under the last part of the last Labour government, primarily as a result of the recession – since 2009 they have generally been climbing again. Indicating perhaps the government isn’t actually at fault for the job loss. Does that answer your non-question
Back to the post though yes jobs dropped initially under National as they did under the last part of the last Labour government, primarily as a result of the recession…
Funny, isn’t it…
When National is held to account for high unemployment and lack of jobs – it’s the fault of the recession.
When welfare is debated, unemployment is the fault of beneficiaries, who are labelled as bludgers.
So given the apparent fact that job growth or loss is all the governments fault what the hell did Labour do to drop jobs by 25,000 in 9 months
You just don’t get it. When we have a Labour govt and the economy is going well (normal in first term under socialism) then it’s Labour’s policies…. but when things go bad under Labour (normal in term 2 or 3) then it’s the global economy….
Then when having rooted the economy with excessive spending and over taxation Labour are thrown out of office (normal for Labour after 2 terms) it’s all National’s fault.
Come on Chris, like the Soviet Union… it was going great guns right till the last minute when people ditched communism socialism… it was ditching communism socialism that made them broke… life was glorious before that…..
Having actually worked in the FSU it was my experience that the ordinary people had very mixed feelings about their life under the Soviet state. Before capitalism came to Russia they might not have had political freedom, but they had families, homes, jobs, food, superb schooling, universities, hosptitals… and on the weekends they caught a cheap train out of town to the family dacha by a river or lake, caught fish and lived on mushrooms and berries. Life was actually ok.
They did realise that the totalitarian state had to come to an end; while at the same time there was huge bitterness about how the Western capitalists had bankrupted their country, stolen their assets (sound familiar) and then abandoned them.
It was only the fact of their intensely socialist history that meant that all the people who kept society running, albeit at often a very basic level, still turned up to work, still kept the water, the power, the schools, the hospitals, etc.. kept the going even when they were often not beiing paid for months on end.
The cops might shake you down now and then, but mainly to put some gas in the Lada so as they could still get around town.
Everyone had two or three jobs or black market scheme of some sort just to keep alive. I rented an apartment from two doctors … who gladly moved out for three months… because my hard currency rent tripled their income.
I’m not glamourising it burt. I saw some grim things I’ve never talked about and I’m not about to here. But as a society they’ve survived a capitalist collapse of the worst kind in a way we could never dream of in the West. I saw it up close burt and it left a lasting impression.
Well some of notice the pattern that forms when we flip-flop from Labour to National every 3-9 years. Perhaps if you watch the pre-election Labour campaign again you can try and explain to me how after every “great rebuilding” from Labour, which showed a great and prosperous NZ, it suddenly flipped to “Nasty National” raining down hard times on NZ…..
Was it because NZ voters hated having life so glorious under Labour so they voted for hardship or was it because invariably the policies of Labour are like a heroin fix…. the initial rush and euphoria of rampant redistribution and intervention feels great then the effects start to wear off and the hangover kicks in ….
Interested to hear your explanation as to why it’s National’s fault that they seem to always inherit a rooted stagnant economy from Labour.
You’ll note that unemployment was down during Labour’s term; wages rose; government surpluses were up; and a few other positive (as well as a few negative) indicators.
Perhaps if you watch the pre-election Labour campaign again you can try and explain to me how after every “great rebuilding” from Labour, which showed a great and prosperous NZ, it suddenly flipped to “Nasty National” raining down hard times on NZ…..
This happened in the 1990s, when National cut taxes (twice) and cut spending on social services. Once again, NZ ended up with a widening gap in income and inadequate social services.
It’s interesting that people had had a gutsful of National by 1999, and the election that year practically reversed the number of seats held by Labour and National. If Nasty National was such a great government – why were they turfed out?
Was it because NZ voters hated having life so glorious under Labour so they voted for hardship or was it because invariably the policies of Labour are like a heroin fix
Because wages rose under Labour?
Because social services met the needs of society?
Just a few “pointers”.
By the way, I might remind you that our Dear Leader promised to raise wages – and has yet to fulfill his pledge.
And a question for you , Burt; at what point does National start taking responsibility for failure of it’s own policies?
This happened in the 1990s, when National cut taxes (twice)
It happened in 2008 as well. As the graphs in the blog you linked to show, unemployment was already falling when Labour inherited the economy in 1999. Somehow… National made it go back up again while Labour were still in power……
OK so the peak for job loss in 08 was when Labour was in power great chart! Totally agree. We all know when Labour were in power in 08 the World economic down turn was no where as bad as it is now or since National has been in.
So what you are telling me is National has done a great job in difficult circumstances couldnt agree more thanks for the article
[you know James, this place isn’t like your high school. We don’t have to let you come no matter how dumb you are. yes, the recession began worldwide in the first half of 08 – remember the subprime crisis and the credit crunch? – and NZ had a drought to boot. I can’t believe you say the downturn was worse then than now – five quarters of recession, the world financial system frozen. National has had three years to recover and we’re still losing jobs. Eddie]
“So what you are telling me is National has done a great job in difficult circumstances couldnt agree more thanks for the article”
James you seem to be looking in the wrong place for some feel-good, redneck National propaganda to satisfy your fetish for all things blue. The article regarding good news brought about by your beloved National does’t seem to be forthcoming due to their inability to do anything for the public good.
Now James why don’t you (and the rest of your year 8 class) write letters to your local National MP or John Key even and voice your concerns about their lack of ability to do anything of value for the WHOLE of the NZ population.
Eddie the data doesn’t back that up up until September we were growing jobs again. the last couple of months have dipped again slightly but they haven’t been shedding jobs the way you suggest.
Zero minus negative five is positive five. So if you lose -10,100 jobs, you end up with +10,100 jobs. This is in regards to the chart above, not the data that is linked to. I think the label is wrong.
Paula Bennett reckons the jobs are there for people to take.
WHAT JOBS? I have been trying to find work since my Christchurch job died with the building it was in on 22 February 2011, and there are two things that are quite clear:
1) Many of the jobs that are supposed to exist, don’t. Those that do are swamped by applicants and the chances of scoring an interview are sometimes as low as 1/30.
2) Employers are fussy. I have done postgraduate, have skills that would really useful in Christchurch and none of the applications filed in the last year have landed me jobs and many have gone completely unacknowledged.
i believe that labour and national are essentially the same party. They both agreed to make us live in the same type of system with slightly different views on very few details, but the general propositions are exactly the same: Low inflation and protecting the capital.
At the end, what the parties are really interested, is protecting the banks and their only asset: Money Capital, that with inflation would be devalued spreading the wealth.
The situation here is even worse off, because 4 out of 5 banks are australians and the huge profit are sent overseas overnight, skimming the country off of further funds.
Until one party decides to stop the anti market privilege to let the bank know how much they can approx lose with their capital in one, ( stability pack says that our inflation has to be between 0 and 3%) there will be no opportunities for a real economic boom, because banks are not interested in booming time, but in controlling the money supply and the expansion thereof, so the devaluation of their capital is under control.
All banks want is stability and that’s all they have.
All employers and employees want is opportunities and that won’t happen with low tight inflation.
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The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Asia Pacific Report Students and activist staff at Australia’s University of Sydney (USyd) have set up a Gaza solidarity encampment in support of Palestinians and similar student-led protests in the United States. The camp was pitched as mass graves, crippled hospitals, thousands of civilian deaths and the near-total destruction of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James B. Dorey, Lecturer in Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong Australian teddy bear bees are cute and fluffy, but get a look at that massive (unbarbed) stinger! James Dorey Photography Most of us have been stung by a bee and we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jen Roberts, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong Aussie~mobs/FlickrVictor Farr, a private in the 1st Infantry Battalion, was among the first to land at Anzac Cove just before dawn on April 25 1915. Victor Farr ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Gregory Moore I had the good fortune to care for the sugar gum at The University of Melbourne’s Burnley Gardens in Victoria where I worked for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra BagzhanSadvakassov/Upsplash, CC BY-SA Australia’s inflation rate has fallen for the fifth successive quarter, and it’s now less than half of what it was back in late 2022. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Ong ViforJ, ARC Future Fellow & Professor of Economics, Curtin University Just when we think the price of rentals could not get any worse, this week’s Rental Affordability Snapshot by Anglicare has revealed low-income Australians are facing a housing crisis like ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meighen McCrae, Associate Professor of Strategic & Defence Studies, Australian National University American and Australian stretcher bearers working together near the front line during the Battle of Hamel in 1918.Australian War Memorial While the AUKUS alliance is new, the Australian-American partnership ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tracey Holmes, Professorial Fellow in Sport, University of Canberra When the news broke last weekend that 23 Chinese swimmers had tested positive to a banned drug in early 2021 and were allowed to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games six months later ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cally Jetta, Senior Lecturer and Academic Lead; College for First Nations, University of Southern Queensland Australian War MemorialAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains names and images of deceased people, as well as sensitive historical information ...
RNZ News Melissa Lee has been ousted from New Zealand’s coalition cabinet and stripped of the Media portfolio, and Penny Simmonds has lost the Disability Issues portfolio in a reshuffle. Climate Change and Revenue Minister Simon Watts will take Lee’s spot in cabinet. Simmonds was a minister outside of cabinet. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Lindenmayer, Professor, Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University laurello/Shutterstock Some reports and popular books, such as Bill Gammage’s Biggest Estate on Earth, have argued that extensive areas of Australia’s forests were kept open through frequent burning by ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon framing the demotion of two ministers as the portfolios getting "too complex" is a charitable way of saying they weren't up to the job. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra With Jim Chalmers’s third budget on May 14, Australians will be looking for some more cost-of-living relief – beyond the tax cuts – although they have been warned extra measures will be modest. As ...
Analysis: Melissa Lee has lost the media portfolio and her spot in Cabinet after multiple failed attempts to find solutions for a media industry in crisis. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister announced Lee would be losing her spot in Cabinet along with her media and communications ministerial portfolio. The job ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Wilmot, Senior Lecturer, Film, Deakin University Among the many Australian who served during the second world war, there is a small group of people whose stories remain largely untold. These are the Muslim men and women who, while small in number, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kelly Saunders, PhD Candidate, University of Canberra There has been much analysis and praise of Justice Michael Lee’s recent judgement in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case against Channel Ten. Many people were openly relieved to read Lee’s “forensic” and “nuanced” application of law ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kathy Gibbs, Program Director for the Bachelor of Education, Griffith University zEdward_Indy/Shutterstock Around one in 20 people has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It’s one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood and often continues into adulthood. ADHD is diagnosed ...
The Fairer Future coalition of anti-poverty groups say Whaikaha must be properly funded going forward, and that to argue that poor financial management of the new Ministry is a red herring by the Prime Minister. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is today congratulating Hon. Paul Goldsmith on his appointment as Minister for Media and Communications and urges him to rule out state intervention in the private media sector. ...
Asia Pacific Report The West Papuan resistance OPM leader has condemned Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden, accusing their countries of “six decades of treachery” over Papuan independence. The open letter was released today by OPM chairman Jeffrey P Bomanak on the eve of ANZAC Day ...
Welcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits and quirks of New Zealanders at large. This week: writer and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2024, Lauren Groff.The book I wish I’d writtenIf I wish I’d written a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Fechner, Research Fellow, Social Marketing, Griffith University mavo/Shutterstock Imagine having dinner at a restaurant. The menu offers plant-based meat alternatives made mostly from vegetables, mushrooms, legumes and wheat that mimic meat in taste, texture and smell. Despite being given that ...
“Three Strikes is a dead-end policy proposed by a dead-end government. The Three Strikes law ignores the causes of crime, instead just brutalising people already crushed by the cost of living.” ...
By Don Wiseman, RNZ Pacific senior journalist An Australian-born judge in Kiribati could well face deportation later this week after a tribunal ruling that he should be removed from his post. The tribunal’s report has just been tabled in the Kiribati Parliament and is due to be debated by MPs ...
With its clear mandate for police use, political nuances, and nuanced public trust, Denmark's insights provide valuable considerations for Australia and New Zealand. ...
Books editor Claire Mabey reviews poet Louise Wallace’s debut novel. A famous poet once said to me that he’s always suspicious when a poet publishes a novel. I never really understood why but maybe it’s something to do with cheating on your first form. Louise Wallace is a poet. She’s ...
For a few months at the turn of the millennium, TrueBliss burned bright as the biggest pop stars in the country. Alex Casey chats to two superfans who still hold the flame. During a humble backyard wedding in Nelson, 1999, one of the cordially invited guests had to excuse themselves ...
How will the recent wave of job cuts impact ethnic diversity in the media? In November last year, I was working a very busy day in the newsroom of a large online news site, interviewing whānau about their concerns over the imminent closure of one of the few puna reo ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ruth Knight, Researcher, Queensland University of Technology Have you ever felt sick at work? Perhaps you had food poisoning or the flu. Your belly hurt, or you felt tired, making it hard to concentrate and be productive. How likely would you be ...
Despite heavy criticism and an ongoing select committee process, the Police Minister says the Government will forge ahead with a ban on gang patches. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sam Whiting, Lecturer – Creative Industries, University of South Australia Shutterstock Everyone has a favourite band, or a favourite composer, or a favourite song. There is some music which speaks to you, deeply; and other music which might be the current ...
A new survey says ‘outlook not great’ for those charged with building infrastructure, while RMA changes delight farmers and depress environmentalists, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. First RMA changes announced ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato Getty Images When New Zealanders commemorate Anzac Day on April 25, it’s not only to honour the soldiers who lost their lives in World War I and subsequent conflicts, but also ...
A leaked document shows the Canterbury/Waitaha arm of health agency Te Whatu Ora is scurrying to save $13.3 million by July. The “financial sustainability target”, which was “allocated” to Waitaha, is consistent with what’s happening in other districts, says Sarah Dalton, executive director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists. ...
A look at the state of the previous government’s affordable housing scheme, and what could come next.Remind me: What’s KiwiBuild again?First announced in 2012, KiwiBuild was a flagship policy of the Labour Party heading into both its 2014 and 2017 election campaigns. With Jacinda Ardern as prime minister, ...
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Opinion: It has been announced that nine percent of roles at Oranga Tamariki will be disestablished, presumably to help fund the tax cuts promised by the coalition Government. I am reminded of the graphics used to illustrate pandemic events, where five thousand people are standing in a field and then ...
After more than two sleepless days, running through savage terrain, Greig Hamilton didn’t know if he was going to finish one of the most gruelling psychological assaults in sport. He was metres away from the finish line, a yellow gate made famous in a Netflix documentary; a race he’d dreamed ...
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COMMENTARY:By Murray Horton New Zealand needs to get tough with Israel. It’s not as if we haven’t done so before. When NZ authorities busted a Mossad operation in Auckland 20 years ago, the government didn’t say: “Oh well, Israel has the right to defend itself.” No, it arrested, prosecuted, ...
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While police are "broadly in favour", the government's proposed anti-gang laws are facing pushback from lawyers, rights groups and former gang members. ...
While police are "broadly in favour", the government's proposed anti-gang laws are facing pushback from lawyers, rights groups and former gang members. ...
By Miriam Zarriga in Port Moresby Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has arrived at Kokoda Station, Northern province, at the start of his state visit to Papua New Guinea. Both Albanese and Prime Minister James Marape will meet with the locals and the Northern Provincial government before they begin their ...
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National’s management of the economy has been completely predicated on borrowing and spending, with no strategy or commonsense.
And precious little focus on helping out the vast majority of NZers who are on less than $50K pa and plenty of focus on helping rich mates make more money by taking money off workers.
There was some growth in jobs pertaining to death. Deaths in the year ending December 2011 – up six percent, or 1640, on the 2010 year. For the first time deaths exceeded 30,000. There were 30,080 reported deaths.
The preventable deaths are the ones which concern me. Buildings not properly checked, medical errors, employers cutting corners e.g. bad work conditions, unrealistic demands on workers and the most unacceptable, the fatal bashing of defenseless children.
I’m sure people dying adds to GDP somehow so is it all bad.
So given the apparent fact that job growth or loss is all the governments fault what the hell did Labour do to drop jobs by 25,000 in 9 months
[a little something called the Great Recession happened that year. Eddie]
Don’t be simplistic. National made a promise of 4000 jobs from a cycleway which was never ever going to eventuate. Its also keeping the NZ dollar at historical highs which is killing our manufacturing exporters (same as Labour). And the wealth pump which are the Australian banks sending billions a year offshore – that has to be stopped.
Selling off our most productive assets including farmland is a formula for long term ruin, but what do these Tories care – they get to line their pockets today.
I’m not arguing any of that if you see my comment below I have a feeling something is wrong with the graph.
NZ Herald report on the cycleway. Note the photo used, and the nature of the story: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10692801
In fact just going by this graph does it not show that the jobs summit was a huge success.
Just to run through this from January 2008 to February 2009 62,000 jobs were lost – effectively 9 months of Labour and 4 months of National (who would have had no time to do anything). Then since February 2009 only 3,000 jobs have been lost.
That’s a pretty good effort from the summit I would have thought.
But given this is a left leaning blog I assume I am happy to admit there is a strong possibility I am reading the graph incorrectly, especially since I have not followed the link to the information provided and and basing it solely off the graph.
Yep, I’m having a bit of difficulty following it myself. ‘Since Job Summit’ looks like the square peg to me. The others fit the sequence, but that column seems awfully short.
A bit of contextual info would be helpful, Zet.
too bad about you being too lazy to click a link, even if it is just to educate yourself chris….. then maybe we could have been spared another dissembling…… which seems to have become the M O of pretty much every tory apologist on here…..
what’s up? got no real ammo or something?
Not sure what you’re asking here? Was simply pointing out it is terrible graph if you are trying to show how much National has failed.
I looked at the data and it shows the graph is accurate – so why would the dissembling have been saved?
no answer then? never mind,…. i was expecting that….
How can I answer when I have no idea what you are asking for? In fact as far as I can tell your only question was got no real ammo. Ammo for what? You don’t ask any real questions then criticize me for not answering – good work
Back to the post though yes jobs dropped initially under National as they did under the last part of the last Labour government, primarily as a result of the recession – since 2009 they have generally been climbing again. Indicating perhaps the government isn’t actually at fault for the job loss. Does that answer your non-question
Funny, isn’t it…
When National is held to account for high unemployment and lack of jobs – it’s the fault of the recession.
When welfare is debated, unemployment is the fault of beneficiaries, who are labelled as bludgers.
Which is it?
Are you asking me? Because I don’t believe that unemployment is the fault of the beneficiaries and have never said it was?
I just don’t believe that the drop in jobs is National’s fault anymore than it was Labour fault previously
Chris
You just don’t get it. When we have a Labour govt and the economy is going well (normal in first term under socialism) then it’s Labour’s policies…. but when things go bad under Labour (normal in term 2 or 3) then it’s the global economy….
Then when having rooted the economy with excessive spending and over taxation Labour are thrown out of office (normal for Labour after 2 terms) it’s all National’s fault.
Come on Chris, like the Soviet Union… it was going great guns right till the last minute when people ditched
communismsocialism… it was ditchingcommunismsocialism that made them broke… life was glorious before that…..Having actually worked in the FSU it was my experience that the ordinary people had very mixed feelings about their life under the Soviet state. Before capitalism came to Russia they might not have had political freedom, but they had families, homes, jobs, food, superb schooling, universities, hosptitals… and on the weekends they caught a cheap train out of town to the family dacha by a river or lake, caught fish and lived on mushrooms and berries. Life was actually ok.
They did realise that the totalitarian state had to come to an end; while at the same time there was huge bitterness about how the Western capitalists had bankrupted their country, stolen their assets (sound familiar) and then abandoned them.
It was only the fact of their intensely socialist history that meant that all the people who kept society running, albeit at often a very basic level, still turned up to work, still kept the water, the power, the schools, the hospitals, etc.. kept the going even when they were often not beiing paid for months on end.
The cops might shake you down now and then, but mainly to put some gas in the Lada so as they could still get around town.
Everyone had two or three jobs or black market scheme of some sort just to keep alive. I rented an apartment from two doctors … who gladly moved out for three months… because my hard currency rent tripled their income.
I’m not glamourising it burt. I saw some grim things I’ve never talked about and I’m not about to here. But as a society they’ve survived a capitalist collapse of the worst kind in a way we could never dream of in the West. I saw it up close burt and it left a lasting impression.
Default response #1: Labour’s fault.
Frank Macskasy
Well some of notice the pattern that forms when we flip-flop from Labour to National every 3-9 years. Perhaps if you watch the pre-election Labour campaign again you can try and explain to me how after every “great rebuilding” from Labour, which showed a great and prosperous NZ, it suddenly flipped to “Nasty National” raining down hard times on NZ…..
Was it because NZ voters hated having life so glorious under Labour so they voted for hardship or was it because invariably the policies of Labour are like a heroin fix…. the initial rush and euphoria of rampant redistribution and intervention feels great then the effects start to wear off and the hangover kicks in ….
Interested to hear your explanation as to why it’s National’s fault that they seem to always inherit a rooted stagnant economy from Labour.
Happy to oblige, Burt. The data can be found here; http://fmacskasy.wordpress.com/2011/11/16/labour-the-economic-record-2000-2008/
You’ll note that unemployment was down during Labour’s term; wages rose; government surpluses were up; and a few other positive (as well as a few negative) indicators.
This happened in the 1990s, when National cut taxes (twice) and cut spending on social services. Once again, NZ ended up with a widening gap in income and inadequate social services.
It’s interesting that people had had a gutsful of National by 1999, and the election that year practically reversed the number of seats held by Labour and National. If Nasty National was such a great government – why were they turfed out?
Because wages rose under Labour?
Because social services met the needs of society?
Just a few “pointers”.
By the way, I might remind you that our Dear Leader promised to raise wages – and has yet to fulfill his pledge.
And a question for you , Burt; at what point does National start taking responsibility for failure of it’s own policies?
It happened in 2008 as well. As the graphs in the blog you linked to show, unemployment was already falling when Labour inherited the economy in 1999. Somehow… National made it go back up again while Labour were still in power……
???
OK so the peak for job loss in 08 was when Labour was in power great chart! Totally agree. We all know when Labour were in power in 08 the World economic down turn was no where as bad as it is now or since National has been in.
So what you are telling me is National has done a great job in difficult circumstances couldnt agree more thanks for the article
[you know James, this place isn’t like your high school. We don’t have to let you come no matter how dumb you are. yes, the recession began worldwide in the first half of 08 – remember the subprime crisis and the credit crunch? – and NZ had a drought to boot. I can’t believe you say the downturn was worse then than now – five quarters of recession, the world financial system frozen. National has had three years to recover and we’re still losing jobs. Eddie]
“So what you are telling me is National has done a great job in difficult circumstances couldnt agree more thanks for the article”
James you seem to be looking in the wrong place for some feel-good, redneck National propaganda to satisfy your fetish for all things blue. The article regarding good news brought about by your beloved National does’t seem to be forthcoming due to their inability to do anything for the public good.
Now James why don’t you (and the rest of your year 8 class) write letters to your local National MP or John Key even and voice your concerns about their lack of ability to do anything of value for the WHOLE of the NZ population.
Eddie the data doesn’t back that up up until September we were growing jobs again. the last couple of months have dipped again slightly but they haven’t been shedding jobs the way you suggest.
Isn’t negative job loss the same as job growth?
No… Negative job loss is what happens under National, job growth only happens under Labour.
Zero minus negative five is positive five. So if you lose -10,100 jobs, you end up with +10,100 jobs. This is in regards to the chart above, not the data that is linked to. I think the label is wrong.
Think you missed the point a bit there.
Yes, that’s quite possible.
Paula Bennett reckons the jobs are there for people to take.
WHAT JOBS? I have been trying to find work since my Christchurch job died with the building it was in on 22 February 2011, and there are two things that are quite clear:
1) Many of the jobs that are supposed to exist, don’t. Those that do are swamped by applicants and the chances of scoring an interview are sometimes as low as 1/30.
2) Employers are fussy. I have done postgraduate, have skills that would really useful in Christchurch and none of the applications filed in the last year have landed me jobs and many have gone completely unacknowledged.
What use is that?
i believe that labour and national are essentially the same party. They both agreed to make us live in the same type of system with slightly different views on very few details, but the general propositions are exactly the same: Low inflation and protecting the capital.
At the end, what the parties are really interested, is protecting the banks and their only asset: Money Capital, that with inflation would be devalued spreading the wealth.
The situation here is even worse off, because 4 out of 5 banks are australians and the huge profit are sent overseas overnight, skimming the country off of further funds.
Until one party decides to stop the anti market privilege to let the bank know how much they can approx lose with their capital in one, ( stability pack says that our inflation has to be between 0 and 3%) there will be no opportunities for a real economic boom, because banks are not interested in booming time, but in controlling the money supply and the expansion thereof, so the devaluation of their capital is under control.
All banks want is stability and that’s all they have.
All employers and employees want is opportunities and that won’t happen with low tight inflation.
best
DTC