Child abuse and poverty – still with us

Written By: - Date published: 11:32 am, November 28th, 2016 - 33 comments
Categories: child abuse, child welfare, national, paula bennett, poverty - Tags: , , ,

As topics like Trump and the quakes take the limelight, the slow tragedies unfolding in NZ carry on in the background. In the Herald this morning:

Our kids at risk: Lost security puts children at risk in Flaxmere

NZ has the fourth-highest rate of child deaths from assault in the OECD. Simon Collins visited three communities to look for the root causes of that bad child abuse record.

Treasury data shows that 570 (39 per cent) of Flaxmere’s 1473 preschoolers are “at risk” of poor outcomes later in life based on four risk indicators: mothers with no qualifications, parents on benefits, parents with criminal records, and official findings of abuse or neglect. The NZ average for preschoolers at risk is 15 per cent.

New Zealand children overall face higher risks of dying from assault before age 15 than children in any other OECD country except Estonia, the United States and Mexico. Latest World Health Organisation data shows eight Kiwi children killed by assault in 2011, a death rate seven times Australia’s for every 100,000 children. …

It’s a long and interesting read, lots of real stories. Stay tuned for the two follow up pieces on other communities.

Last week on One News:

‘It’s an embarrassment’ there are so many vulnerable children in NZ, says Sir Graham Henry as Plunket gala aims to raise $500k

Former All Blacks coach Sir Graham Henry says it’s an embarrassment that a great country like New Zealand has 300,000 young people who are vulnerable.

The 2015 Child Poverty Monitor found that around 300,000 under-18-year-olds are living in poverty and Sir Graham told Seven Sharp he’s a proud New Zealander but that statistic is an embarrassment.

“I think the Government’s refocusing in this area, as you probably know. They need to. It’s our embarrassment. This country is a great country,” he said. …

Rather difficult for them to “refocus” on this area without even an official measure of poverty I would have thought.

33 comments on “Child abuse and poverty – still with us ”

  1. Rosemary McDonald 1

    Gosh!

    Paula Bennett’s an embarrassment.

  2. Sorrwerdna 2

    rather than abuse and criticism from the left how about some suggestions and answers what the great left would do if they ever get into power

    • Rosemary McDonald 2.2

      Oh, I don’t know….perhaps increase the tax on alcohol and impose some kind of harm mitigation levy on the massive booze industry? This would piss off the booze barons…but what the heck.

      Fund extensive anti getting pissed messaging…perhaps even stating that using any mind altering recreational chemical when responsible for children is socially unacceptable….similar to the anti smoking message.

      Fund addiction services….REAL addiction services. Funding can be sourced from the Harm Mitigation Levy that will be imposed on the booze barons…

      Give real support to the initiatives from communities such as those in the article by Simon Collins. Grassroots, interventional programs.

      Hopefully, a left leaning government would refuse to have it’s duty to the less well heeled compromised by it’s commitment to it’s supporters.

      • Psycho Milt 2.2.1

        The government already imposes taxes on the liquor industry and funds extensive wowser messaging. The kind of people who file producing children under “shit happens” and unsurprisingly go on to neglect and abuse them are impervious to such messaging.

        • Rosemary McDonald 2.2.1.1

          “The government already imposes taxes on the liquor industry and funds extensive wowser messaging.”

          More taxes, levy to mitigate harm, funding for messaging that actually does encourage the reduction of substance abuse…not those stupid, facile, infantile…

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHe6hJlCNlI

    • One Anonymous Bloke 2.3

      Run the economy better, as usual.

    • ropata 2.4

      I dunno, how about actually address the problems outlined in this post rather than laugh them off like Pullya Benefit

    • Cinny 2.5

      A cross party group to investigate and find solutions, but the government said no, they were doing their own investigation. That really pissed me off, kids come first, our stat’s and abuse rates are shocking, but still the national party said no to a cross party group on child poverty.

      What’s changed? Nadda.

      Education is so important and support. Often when one has a baby they are shipped out of the hospital asap, with their newborn. Educate parents on how to cope with a baby, that would be a great start. How about Plunket? How much support do groups like plunket get from the government?

      How about taking the booze out of the supermarket? Can’t tell me that some of the abuse is not alcohol related. Pick up some wine with the nappies and formula…

      How about some ads on tv to educate parents, dang how about a parenting tv programme? Do we even have one of those?

      Are teachers in schools and preschools taught to identify signs of abuse? So they can do something if they see it?

      Is mental health funded properly? Is post natal depression even talked about?

      Are the social pressures of life causing so much stress that parents can’t cope?

      A cross party group would be a good start.

    • Chris 2.6

      Labour promises to reverse its war-on-the-poor policies of 1999 to 2008, says it got it wrong and promises not to do it again, instead of merely repeating the line “we’re a different party now”, like it said in 1999. There’s a start.

  3. save nz 3

    Put simply, a UBI is a pump-priming minimum income that is unconditionally granted to all on an individual basis, without any means test or work requirement. It eliminates the poverty traps that the poor fall into when welfare payments have many conditions and are administered by large and inflexible bureaucracies….

    “We tend to think that simply giving people money makes them lazy. Yet a wealth of scientific research proves the contrary: free money helps. It is time for a radical reform of the welfare state.”

    https://thecorrespondent.com/541/why-we-should-give-free-money-to-everyone/31639050894-e44e2c00

    • Mr Nobody 3.1

      Save NZ as you seem to have a better understand on UB, can you explain this to me (or point me towards a resource that can)…

      As a country we’re already supporting a those who need it via the welfare system (No issue). From my understanding a UB would eliminate the welfare system and those people would still be getting supported (though I believe at a greater amount than today?), but what about the person $50k/annum or $100K/annum?

      Do their tax rates increase?

      What happens when we pay UBI and people still “need” more because they can’t survive?

      thanks in advance.

    • AB 3.2

      @save nz
      “We tend to think that simply giving people money makes them lazy”.
      Actually we only tend to think that giving poor people money makes them lazy. Secretly, and without any justification, we believe they are really lazy anyway and that’s why they are poor.

      But we have no problem at all with well-off people getting money for nothing – unearned capital gains from rental property speculation anyone? A nice portfolio of shares that goes up in value? All good – a fair and just monetary reward for umm, err, for already having money. And getting it doesn’t make them lazy – no it drives them to ever greater and more heroic investments. Truly they are our salvation.

      Next time some authoritarian fool says they don’t like a UBI because people would get money without working for it – ask if they would prohibit all income from capital.

      • Jono 3.2.1

        The rich are a different breed but you will never hear from the media they are lazy. But actually they are much lazier than the average poor person. They usually make there money throught the least labour intensive method posible ie the share market or a takeover. I know i might get a bit of flack for saying this…

        • save nz 3.2.1.1

          Jono, the rich and actually even the middle class don’t even have to pay taxes as they were previously because of all the legal tax avoidance. Nowadays the big money is made on paper and there seems to little taxes on it, and talk of them seems to be shut down.

          That is why I would advocate a robin hood tax on banks for each transaction and maybe some sort of transaction tax to pay for the UBI.

          That would tax those that are whizzing their money around the world and avoiding local taxation. As soon as tax avoiders try to take it away, they would have to pay some tax.

          In addition some sort of electronic tax, maybe .01% on every transaction in the country. That way they can tax consumption, something which is not being taxed properly.

          Therefore no legal hassles or accountancy battles either. Sell a house, then .01% automatically goes to the government, sell a business .01% automatically goes to the government, pay some wages or get some money out .01% automatically goes to the government.

          I can see the howls from the super rich. But the opposition need to find some way to tax them. Remember we have apparently the forth richest country in the world per capita!! We can afford to eliminate poverty and increase equality.

          At the same time other taxes could come down like PAYE or Corporation taxes.

          At present the super rich don’t earn much taxable income so the rich can get more welfare than those that actually need it!

          Those that need welfare can’t access it because of the amount of bureaucracy it requires and those giving it seem to be trying to stop people getting what they are entitled to.

          In terms of income, the UBI should be at the same levels as super is set today. Aprox $300 p/w per person net. Maybe $150 per child with a upper limit of 2 children?

          https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/map/deskfile/nz-superannuation-and-veterans-pension-tables/new-zealand-superannuation-and-veterans-pension-ra.html

          Not only that it would encourage parents to stay together as they are not being penalised under the current system that seems to try to break up families by paying more for single parents than those in a relationship.

      • save nz 3.2.2

        (AB did you read the article, it showed that the ‘poor’ when given the UBI got off drugs, did courses and turned their lives around!!)

        As well as being good for society UBI can also save money from all the other support services that don’t seem to be working. It costs $90,000 to put someone in jail for a year in NZ, maybe $500,000 to prosecute them -etc etc All these costs could be eliminated and more jobs created in the recreational areas

        Think about it, who in their right mind would think Pokemon would exist 10 years ago?? Nobody. It seems crazy to me, but I’m not the target market but it’s some world wide phenomena and I guess getting people out socialising and doing something is better than them drinking, committing suicide or committing crimes. (Something that seems to be increasing in NZ).

        We don’t know what the jobs of the future are yet or what is going to motivate people. But if unemployed people are too busy filling in forms at WINZ, committing crimes to survive because WINZ arbitrarily cut off their benefit or doing busywork to punish them, then they are not happy productive members of society.

        It’s not just young, unemployed people that will benefit. This is a way for a country like NZ to stop relying on other people and trade for everything and to increase our productivity and innovation. Use our people power. Not things, services or ideas.

        NZ desperately needs to find some way to improve productivity – because our low wage, banana republic economy is not working.

        What is going to happen when we have sold our last farm, our last section and our last asset (sooner than you think with Natz at the cashier in the fire sale!!)?

        • AB 3.2.2.1

          save nz
          Agree – I’m a UBI proponent.
          Apologies if my sarcasm in the post above not clearly flagged as such.

          • save nz 3.2.2.1.1

            Thanks AB (sorry sometimes hard to tell sarc from trolls) –

            The reality is that neoliberalism is not working.

            Neoliberalism is increasing the cost of living by encouraging growth by increased profits on food, housing, power and the other essentials.

            At the same time Neoliberalism is stopping people’s wages from rising (because that takes away company profits) so people have less income and more expenses.

            Clearly something has got to give with that and that is why all around the world people are suddenly voting to disrupt neoliberalism.

            Neoliberalism is not sustainable unless people get more money to live off!

            I’m not keen for some sort of bloody revolution, civil war OR One word Army surveillance approach, so how about some old fashioned fairness and let everyone have a living wage with zero conditions with a UBI.

            Rather than have supper, accommodation supplement, unemployment benefit, working for families, sickness benefit, DPB, ACC etc – just have a UBI

            Neoliberalism is leading to massive loss of taxes through global tax avoidance and at the same time there is little effort on climate change .

            Government need to tax consumption and they can do that with Robin hood and transaction taxes.

            Let’s start taxing consumption not encouraging it for a sustainable approach.

  4. ropata 4

    I wish this post was permanently pinned to the top of TS. A society should be judged by how it treats its youngest and most vulnerable. On that score, we suck. Good on Alexander Gillespie for reporting this.

    NZ’s end of year report – Could try harder
    While we score high in the indices for peace and transparency, our poverty and inequality gaps have grown.

    The anchor that stops us progressing, for which we deserve a fail mark of D is that although we are close to the OECD average for poverty (as in, 50% of the median income), our poverty rates have increased since the mid 1990s when it was closer to 8% to about 11% today.

    Also, our income inequality and the gap between the rich and the poor, has grown since the mid 1980s, with a trajectory that put us in the top end of the OECD for the growing gap (but the USA and UK are still above us, but Aus is not).

    Where we are lagging is with our youth. The Global Youth Development Index of the Commonwealth Secretariat, has us at 11th out of 49 countries in this group (Aus 3rd and UK 4th).

    According to the OECD, our child poverty figure, at 14%, is slightly above the OECD average but we are in the lowest third of the OECD members, meriting a clear failure of an E grade with regards to children, in terms of adolescent suicide rate, teenage birth rate, educational deprivation and sense of belonging at school. In terms of child deaths from assault we are the fourth worst country in the OECD.

    • save nz 4.1

      It’s pretty clear to me as a parent, that the National government hates and ignores children.

      Not being economic units yet, or voters, they just don’t count.

      How the hell, they can get away with turfing out parents with newborns after 4 hours of giving birth, I don’t know. (wonder why we have enormous rates of child abuse, who knows, sarc), having plunket as a charity rather then a government run service, making single parents go out looking for work when their child is 1 or whatever the new rules are, only 17% breastfeeding at 6 months, Ministry for vulnerable children being chosen as a name against official advice, etc etc

      You can’t ignore kids for 18 years and then suddenly look at them and say, you’re hopeless, lets import in someone better than you, (oh that’s right, that’s the neoliberal solution to not looking after your own kids as a society is importing in ready to go adults…)

      Remember there is not such thing as society…

      • Incognito 4.1.1

        I hear what you’re saying but it is daft to say that National “hates children” because they are not economic units yet.

        The raising & upbringing of children, even conceiving, is a billion-dollar market, literally. Children are a sure way of tapping into people’s pockets through pulling heart strings if a little ‘encouragement’ is desired. People mortgage themselves silly to live in zone so that little Jasper or little Jennifer can attend the right school; parents choose up, socially, for their children first and foremost.

        As to vulnerable children, child poverty, etc., it is important to realise that National is waging a class war and is extremely well-camouflaged.

    • lprent 4.2

      It’d be nice if that was what people wanted to debate. However it seldom is unless it is a slow news day.

      Generally editors will prefer to pin ‘hot’ topics to the top because it encourages people to read into the comments and join the debate. They also then carry on to spill over into the other posts. With google analytics we can track that behaviour happening in almost real time. Some of those hot topics relate to comments, sometimes to pageviews, sometimes to unique views, and sometimes to numbers of new readers.

      That fits the general thrust of the site. It concentrates less on the authors posting than it focuses on the commenters getting involved in writing cogent arguments. Since we also don’t want to become a stodgy echo chamber, we also allow a reasonable amount of (often boring for non-participants) cut and thrust provided it doesn’t start to overwhelm the post topics – after all we provide Open Mike and Daily Review for the personal jousting for a reason.

      However some times an editor will decide to pin a topic up for a while because they consider that it is important topic. Mostly that will happen on weekends or weekday mornings and evenings. But you have to remember that we’re not here for pontificating broadcasts, we’re here for debate.

      We do however provide a mechanism if you want to promote something. The social media buttons at the base of posts is a very powerful mechanism to push attention to a post. As importantly it allows you to editorialize ‘above’ the post rather than below the posts as a comment.

      • ropata 4.2.1

        Understood, wasn’t really complaining about site policies, more wishful thinking really. Poverty is hardly ever a leading news item but it impacts more people and causes just as much trauma as any natural disaster.

        • lprent 4.2.1.1

          Figured that. Personally I prefer thoughtful and informative posts on things I know too little about. That is despite my own behaviour of only being to able to write when I want to rant with facts.

          But hey.. we mix and match..

  5. save nz 5

    incognito – the Natz are after easy short term returns, kids don’t cut it. It’s the parents that spend the money not the kids.

    So if anything, it is about manipulating what the parents want for their kids than any real statistics or policies on improving kids lives.

    • save nz 5.1

      For example National standards. Have been showed everywhere not to work.

      But parents want their kids to ‘succeed’ and be better than their peers so Natz put forward National standards which make the parents feel good and something is being done, they get some bogus report rating on their kid.

      Sadly it is harming the kids and the teachers and our country eventually when these robot neoliberal babes grow up and think that is the only system out there.

    • Incognito 5.2

      I hear you but you’re not hearing me, it seems.

      Let me try this then: parents spend money on children, this is true, but a lot of the “manipulation” actually occurs through the children (not just advertising, but also peer pressure, social networks, etc.). Many children, especially privileged ones, have their own bank accounts and do have spending power. We live in a neo-liberal Nirvana (AKA social nightmare) – children are brought up to make their own choices in life …

      PS if you do engage with others here on TS it helps a lot (!) if you use the reply button appropriately 😉

      • save nz 5.2.1

        I’m more talking about children 0 – 12 rather than teenagers. Even then, I’m not sure how many kids have their own bank accounts with enough money to be influencing the politicians. The post is about kids in poverty.

        I think the parents are being manipulated.

        We actually agree on the main points – I agree National is waging a class war,but class is different now than it used to be.

        Class used to be about breeding, now wealth is more important to the political system.

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    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
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    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
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