Covid =/= Rogernomics

Written By: - Date published: 12:47 pm, April 28th, 2020 - 45 comments
Categories: covid-19 - Tags: ,

Some right wing neoliberal dude on Nine to Noon promoting this idea that we’ve been through a big upheaveal before, the 1980s/90s, and this can be a guide to how to manage a covid economy.

Let’s not forget that Rogernomics was intentional and caused a huge amount of harm for ideological reasons.

It’s not a good model to lean on. Seems to me that Rogernomics is more like what we would have had this year if back in February we had a government that decided to make the economy more important than people eg if we had gone for a herd immunity response to covid.

Whatever the economic rationales for Rogernomics, it was still a neoliberal and then a right wing neoliberal response rather than a compassionate, left wing, or progressive one.

It didn’t have to be that way.

Same now. We have choices about the value systems we use to underpin covid recovery. We also have choices about the social and economic frameworks we use, and using neoliberal ones to try and remedy a situation where neoliberalism is very sick indeed is kind of like pouring salt on the wound.

This applies to Labour too of course, and we’re still waiting to see how much Labour will be willing to step out of the cul de sac it’s been in for the past 35 years. Having a (voting) public au fait with the other options ups our chances of useful change.

Looking for other ways to think about this? The new paradigms that integrate social justice and ecology seem promising. Putting people and the environment at the centre and designing our responses out from that. The economy gets to serve the people and the land we live with rather than using us as resources.

Greenpeace NZ and the NZ Green Party are both putting out good material that presents this new, emerging framework in terms that are close enough to Labour so as to not scare the horses too much

Kate Raworth’s Doughnut Economics model is also a frame that can serve as a transition from neoliberalism and is based on values that work well in New Zealand.

 

This is about using a new way of looking at problems, so that we can see  solutions appropriate to both the covid problem and the wider contexts of climate change, ecology crises, and poverty/social decay. It helps us avoid being channeled into limited solutions by using old frameworks that may not be suitable for the task at hand. We don’t have to through the baby out with the bathwater here (god knows we don’t need another too fast, top down revolution), but we do need people in power, and in the public, to be fluent in a range of languages.

One of the things I like about the graphic is that work and income are placed in equal proportion to many other human needs. This opens a door to those needs being met in multiple ways, not just via conventional models that say you have to work x hours a week to be able to afford y goods.

There is an introduction to Doughnut Economics on Kate Raworth’s website here.

Also on Nine to Noon, the idea that the dole brings the risk of welfare dependency but we could have a UBI instead. Not quite sure how that works, as if welfare has magic powers that make people need their dole more than other people need their wages. But the left should be paying attention to when the right are interested in a UBI, because one of the big problems with a UBI is how to tory-proof it. Especially if it is done alongside dismantling welfare, long a right wing goal.

45 comments on “Covid =/= Rogernomics ”

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  1. Gosman 1
    28 April 2020 at 1:34 pm

    You missed his point. The issue is that just like pre-Rogernomics we have a lot of economic activity that is currently in an area of the economy that is unlikely to be poructive/profitable anytime soon. Moving these resources away from such activity is going to be difficult but we did do that during the Rogernomic era of reform and this time we might be able to do it less painfully by having more emphasis on retraining and even a UBI. That is something I thought many left wing people would be quite happy with.

    • weka 1.1
      28 April 2020 at 1:40 pm

      The frame matters. Because from a neoliberal perspective resources were moved within 5 or so years, but from a LW perspective, the damage was carried on over decades and we still haven't recovered. The idea that it worked but we could do it a bit more successfully now fails because Rogernomics was like COVID, only intentional and the responses to it continued neoliberalism and prioritised the economy rather than us having solutions that prioritised people. That Rogernomics limited some of the damage it did doesn’t mean it’s a good model to use as a comparison.

      • Enough is Enough 1.1.1
        28 April 2020 at 1:48 pm

        "We still haven't recovered".

        That is also intentional. No government since 1984, including this one, has undone the fundamental reforms that Douglas introduced to us.

        Despite being in opposition for 18 years, and denouncing Rogernomics during that time, Labour has failed to ever fix their history and reform the system, when they are in government.

      • woodart 1.1.2
        28 April 2020 at 4:31 pm

        buggerall silver left to flog now, so neolibs are phucked.

    • Enough is Enough 1.2
      28 April 2020 at 1:43 pm

      That's the key point that government needs to consider. How we move away from the parts of our economy that are now rooted.

      Douglas smashed them with a sledge hammer. Covid has done a very similar thing.

      The answers to that question is what the election will be fought on.

      • Gosman 1.2.1
        28 April 2020 at 4:22 pm

        If you don't move fast then you cause your economy a great deal of harm by continuing to invest precious capital in areas that are unproductive. It would be like pumping 100's of millions in to a NZ Cruise liner business when there are no takers. Better to retrain all the people involved so they can do something else.

        • woodart 1.2.1.1
          28 April 2020 at 4:34 pm

          another way of looking at things gosman, is for the gov to invest in some cruise ships, run them hard aground on the nth shore and theres your auckland housing crisis solved.

        • KJT 1.2.1.2
          28 April 2020 at 5:59 pm

          Yes. Like more roads, eh?

  2. Kay 2
    28 April 2020 at 3:03 pm

    The Ministerial Statements made in Parliament this afternoon offered a bit of an insight into the general economic paths the Parties wanted to go down. (Is it just me, or is it really hard listening to Simon speak?) Personally I could go along with what a lot of what Marama and Winston spoke about.

    (link not up yet)

  3. RedLogix 3
    28 April 2020 at 4:00 pm

    I've been looking at the 'donut model' closely. I can see the thinking behind it; but in my view it has a crucial flaw. It completely misreads the role of energy in human civilisation.

    I realise it's just a conceptual diagram, but you've referenced it a number of times. It's worth asking the question, what determines the conceptual 'diameter' of these two circles?

    My answer is this; the size of the outer circle is driven by the availability of energy to a society. (Other key variables such geography, technology and resources are tightly linked to this, but energy is the one ring that rules them all and can be conveniently used as a proxy to keep the conversation tidy.)

    Energy is what determines how effectively each of the nine constraints on the 'outside' can be managed. The diffuse, intermittent and low quality energy from photosynthesis means these constraints press in tightly, reducing humans to a narrow and poverty blighted existence. Concentrated, continuous and high quality energy sources enable progressively sophisticated technologies to expand the limits dramatically. The conceptual diameter of the outer circle is driven at root by the nature of the energy available. For every component of the 'ecological ceiling' that we are currently bumping into, there is a conceivable approach to shift it if we could access unlimited, low cost, zero impact energy.

    The inner circle by contrast is driven by complex social institutions that can only exist in a society stable, wealthy and prosperous enough to support a middle class that has escaped subsistence level agriculture. It grows in response to the outer circle expanding, following it as we build more prosperous, educated and capable societies. In other words the constraint limits that define the 'safe space' for humans to build civilisations is not innately static. Looking back at recorded history it's obvious this space is dynamic, and there is every reason to think it will remain so in the future.

    • Drowsy M. Kram 3.1
      28 April 2020 at 4:22 pm

      "Looking back at recorded history it's obvious this space is dynamic, and there is every reason to think it will remain so in the future."

      Agreed, there is indeed every reason to think (and hope and pray) that it will remain so in future. A couple of days ago I watched the film "ANTHROPOCENE: The Human Epoch" – sobering stuff. Maybe it will inspire more people to devise ways of expanding that outer circle (the "Ecological Ceiling"), although I'm not convinced that this is a realistic or sustainable means of escape from the bind humanity has engineered itself into. Do you ever wonder if the ‘ceiling’ is there for a reason?

      https://theanthropocene.org/film/

      • RedLogix 3.1.1
        28 April 2020 at 4:39 pm

        Yes that film offers a far more spirited and optimistic vision of the challenge ahead than Michael Moore's latest nihilistic effort The Planet of the Humans.

        At a complete tangent I offer you this short but superb clip from BSG. It's the moment the otherwise flawed, narcissistic, treacherous Gaius Baltar redeems himself and saves the human race.

        • Drowsy M. Kram 3.1.1.1
          28 April 2020 at 6:25 pm

          'Anthropocene' didn't fill me with optimism for the future of 'our' home. The stark reality is that humans have not been 'using' the Earth (their home) sustainably. Rather, they are degrading the shared environment and are either too pampered or ignorant or desperate to realise/admit it, even when presented with the facts. How intelligent people can maintain an attitude of denial as to the truly frightening path we continue to fashion for future generations is beyond me. Self interest?

          We can either change our (human) behaviours, or we can continue to behave as if natural limits do not apply to humans. This 'Above the Law' belief/attitude heralds the rapid extinction of many other species (just one rather obvious warning sign by which to quantify how unsustainable our collective 'directions' are), but f**k 'em.

          A couple of quotes from the film's trailer sum things up:

          "…this time in the geological record when humans have moved the planet outside its natural limits."

          "It could be a full scale catastrophic change."

          "There's no way to get back, we live now in a different world."

          There is no way back; careful consideration must be given to how we got to here as we ‘plan’ the next steps. The film’s cinematography is amazing.

    • Gosman 3.2
      28 April 2020 at 4:51 pm

      The main issue with the 'dough-nut' model is that it effectively does away with the need for politics. If you construct a society within such constructs what is it that your politics are going to be deciding? It has already been decided for you. Politicians then become little more than bureaucrats maintaining the status quo. I know that is what many on the left ultimately want but it is a dangerous way of running a nation.

      • RedLogix 3.2.1
        28 April 2020 at 5:00 pm

        It's a good question. If you pre-suppose the limits of the donut are static, then yes you are correct … all human endeavour is narrowed down to little more than shuffling deck chairs.

        My suggestion above is that it's more lively to think of the constraining outer circle as dynamic, it moves with time and circumstance, the ground shifts under us constantly. Which means as societies we are always engaged in a constant negotiation between what we already know what works, and what we hope might work … politics.

      • weka 3.2.2
        28 April 2020 at 5:08 pm

        "The main issue with the 'dough-nut' model is that it effectively does away with the need for politics."

        Lol, translation: such a model has no room for right wing slash and burn economics, nor neoliberal extract and pollute economics. It's ok, there can still be a left and a right, they just can't destroy the planet and people any more.

        • Gosman 3.2.2.1
          29 April 2020 at 9:12 am

          What will the left and right be deciding then?

          • weka 3.2.2.1.1
            29 April 2020 at 11:16 am

            all it's doing is shifting the Overton window*. If you think being right is inherently being anti-green I guess it would be hard to see, but there is a conservative end of green politics.

            Pretty sure that left and right would have disagreement over the inner part of the doughnut.

            *or maybe putting in a new window where a room was too dark.

      • Morrissey 3.2.3
        28 April 2020 at 5:12 pm

  4. Corey Humm 4
    28 April 2020 at 4:10 pm

    I don't trust Labour not to go the neoliberal route, it'd be madness to expect labour to ditch neoliberalism at this point. I don't trust Labour to have any new ideas, nothing we have come up with in 36 years gives any indication that labour will ever ditch neoliberalism, we brought it into country ffs , Labour will do what we always do flavourless policies supposed to please everyone but please noone a don't do anything. Labour govts historically were reforming govts, we haven't had an original idea since the 80s other than tinkering around the edges. Over the long weekend I decided I couldn't vote Labour again, that the party's unsavable and will not be renewing my membership, I will party vote green and electorate vote red, when it comes to economic policy I've zero faith in labour to get us through this, I don't have that faith in the greens either but the only way we'll get any economic change will be by having other parties force labour to do so, I wish a party like the alliance was still around but till then the greens will do. All I ask is labour stop calling themselves Labour and rename themselves after the party they most resemble, the Liberal party.

    • weka 4.1
      28 April 2020 at 5:13 pm

      I've been noticing myself lowering my expectations. Otoh, I think it's a process and I'm always grateful for people that have figured out that tactics and a broader strategy are more helpful than just trying to tear something down or walking away from it. So I agree that the only way Labour will change is if parties to the left of them are empowered by the electorate. We've seen this already with the Greens, especially on environmental issues, but also Turei was right and she shifted the whole debate on poverty and welfare.

      The thing that interests me is that covid gives Labour a way out. I don't expect them to jump, but more that it's a watching game to see how far they will step to the left. I also don't expect them to lead the way out of neoliberalism, but I do expect them to shift as the electorate does. In that sense, having the public talking about different models means we have some degree of influence.

      We've seen this with a UBI already. Labour toyed with the idea pre-election, put the toy away, and not it's been brought out again. What's really important right now is that the public get really well informed about what a UBI might be, so that we can have some input into whatever Labour look at doing (I favour a UBI/welfare hybrid myself).

    • In Vino 4.2
      28 April 2020 at 7:41 pm

      Join the club, Corey. I also party vote Green despite despair – the other parties all mean greater disaster.

    • Peter 1 4.3
      29 April 2020 at 6:23 pm

      Could not agree more, voted Labour once since 1984 do not see any reason to vote for them again

  5. NZJester 5
    28 April 2020 at 4:11 pm

    "Is kind of like pouring salt on the wound"? I think you mean is kind of like pouring salt on the fertile ground. Those neoliberal policies totally ruin the fertile economy and makes it go stagnant with little able to take root and grow for a long time.

  6. Tricledrown 6
    28 April 2020 at 8:26 pm

    Replying to Gosman retraining is the right idea so does the individual run up a student loan..or get free tuition.

  7. gsays 7
    28 April 2020 at 8:34 pm

    Great post, weka.

    Thanks for the introduction to doughnut economics.

    Who knew economics could be compassionate!

    'Imagine if businesses asked themselves; "Is our core business model helping to bring humanity into that safe and just space between planetary and social boundaries? Or at the very least, not profiting by pushing people out of it."

    • Shanreagh 7.1
      28 April 2020 at 9:56 pm

      Compliments Weka. And gsays for the wording below…

      'Is our core business model helping to bring humanity into that safe and just space between planetary and social boundaries? Or at the very least, not profiting by pushing people out of it."

      Perhaps we could nudge businesses into doing the triple bottom line accounting processes. It has been around for a while and perhaps is a little step towards the big picture doughnut economics.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_bottom_line

      Any strategic business planner should be able to wrap something decent in the way of ways to achieve the above and ways of measuring if we do achieve. It also has that magic 'stretch' that is beloved of business planners and is intensely aspirational.

    • weka 7.2
      29 April 2020 at 1:40 am

      thanks gsays! Hoping to write more about this.

  8. Maurice 8
    29 April 2020 at 1:13 am

    Now – how do we force these changes?

    … and what do we do to those who oppose and resist?

    • weka 8.1
      29 April 2020 at 1:39 am

      I'm a fan of tipping point theory. Once you have enough people on board, change happens naturally. It doesn't even need to be most people. This is one reason why it's good to build relationships in politics, and to focus on the people that get it and are about to get it, because they are the ones that will make the change in the required time. People who oppose sometimes have useful things to say (cautions), and sometimes are acting against good and need to be constrained (this is what we have conventional politics for).

      Or something comes out of left field (eg a pandemic), causing a lot of rapid change, and the trick there is to intervene in the appropriate points to make sure the tipping happens in the right direction.

      • Dennis Frank 8.1.1
        29 April 2020 at 8:16 am

        This: "Scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute[2] have found that when just 10 percent of the population holds an unshakable belief, their belief will always be adopted by the majority of people". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tipping_point_(sociology)

        Elsewhere I have read accounts of similar research identifying the threshold at a higher percentage. Could be that caveats deriving from context apply. If so, there's no general law to discover. However the unicorn hunt is still worth the effort: similarities of context will likely provide similarities of threshold. Another caveat from extent of contagious effect too – some glues hold a join more strongly.

        I've said it here before: paradigms are analogous to operating systems. People adhere to them to stay on track with society. So it's a deeper grip than mere herding. Sustainability requires a political paradigm shift. That was obvious when the Greens formed. Comprehension will not snowball unless the Greens resume restating the obvious. Propaganda 1.01 – derives from marketing 1.01 – people believe in a product as soon as they see the ad on tv enough times…

        • Maurice 8.1.1.1
          29 April 2020 at 10:15 am

          Ah!

          … so a litany of lies?

          Sounds like the cure is just like Capitalism!

          • Dennis Frank 8.1.1.1.1
            29 April 2020 at 10:42 am

            Truthiness is the current fad. Social reality gets co-constructed out of competing mass hallucinations added like spice to the general consensus about what's real.

            So indoctrination via repeating a message just plays to this part of human nature. It works. Capitalism works too, but not so well the further into the future we venture. Our economy is like a ship confronted with a storm on the horizon heading our way just as we are sailing thro a more local gale. Set a new course. Make the economy sustainable.

        • weka 8.1.1.2
          29 April 2020 at 12:04 pm

          I'm also hoping the Greens front foot over the coming months. Been good to see their output in the past few weeks.

          I'm also encouraged by how much NZ has quickly adapted around serious challenge. We've demonstrated that we can adapts socially/mentally, and then change systems fast. I can see this happening with climate action, albeit not so fast and the processes will be different I think. But I feel more hopeful now than I did before covid.

          • Shanreagh 8.1.1.2.1
            29 April 2020 at 3:11 pm

            Weka, In trade terms NZ businesses were/are regarded as 'fast followers'…so not first off the block entrepreneurs but just behind and having worked hard to knock out the fish hooks or valuing adding.

            It is therefore a bit strange that we are still so heavily into commodity trading. We must do this ie trade in commodities to keep cash flowing sending bulk logs, cheese and milk overseas. Keep our export fruit going etc.

            We want to keep value adding and fast following. Very good with the PM keeps saying that we are wonderful in getting ourselves this far. I think we are wonderful too. I want to keep that feeling too and the idea that any changes now are for locking in any Covid-19 gains to processes, keeping us healthy and this may lead to better ways on other things.

            I feel now that we have been stifled for a long time, without really knowing it. Having to survive on our own wits in out bubbles hopefully has unlocked something good.

            • weka 8.1.1.2.1.1
              29 April 2020 at 4:45 pm

              "Having to survive on our own wits in out bubbles hopefully has unlocked something good"

              Very good.

              My optimism comes from watching the non-commodity businesses I guess. I'm sure that dairy farming is still doing the same shit it was a few months ago, ditto Fonterra. I understand the value added concept, but I also don't see the point in running highly polluting and extractive industrial dairy farms to produce speciality cheeses for China instead of milk powder. None of it is sustainable.

              What I'd love to see is us transition to other models. What would happen to the dairy industry in a doughnut economics model? To me it looks exciting.

        • weka 8.1.1.3
          29 April 2020 at 12:07 pm

          "Propaganda 1.01 – derives from marketing 1.01 – people believe in a product as soon as they see the ad on tv enough times…"

          I struggle with how many people simply don't get the value in having 15 Green MPs instead of 6. The influence via MSM reporting alone is gold for shifting what people think towards more effective climate action.

  9. Shanreagh 9
    29 April 2020 at 2:06 am

    A much beloved quote from Gerge Bernard Shaw "Man & Superman' as it described a large group of farsighted siblings in our family.

    “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”

    Not the pejorative meaning of unreasonable but the person who has a good idea and persists, gradually getting people to think about the issues. So eventually a tipping point.

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    2 days ago
  • The Possum: Demon or Friend?

    Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • Not a story

    Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry published its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • A tougher line on “proactive release”?

    The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • 'Let's build a motorway costing $100 million per km, before emissions costs'

    TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Lester's Prescription – Positive Bleeding.

    I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Casey Costello gaslights Labour in the House

    Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone icon on the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Why is the Texas grid in such bad shape?

    This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Headline from 2021 The Texas grid, run by ERCOT, has had a rough few years. In 2021, winter storm Uri blacked out much of the state for several days. About a week ago, Hurricane Beryl knocked out ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on a textbook case of spending waste by the Luxon government

    Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • LXR Takaanini

    As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    3 days ago
  • Four kilograms of pain

    Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Luxon gets caught out

    NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • A worrying sign

    Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Are we fine with 47.9% home-ownership by 2048?

    Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloitte report for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Let's Win This

    You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Waimahara: The Singing Spirit of Water

    There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    4 days ago
  • A major milestone: Global climate pollution may have just peaked

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’s Oliver LewisScoop: Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announced the Board of Te Whatu Ora- Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • HealthNZ and Luxon at cross purposes over budget blowout

    Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2500-3000 more healthcare staff expected to be fired, as Shane Reti blames Labour for a budget defic...

    Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Might Kamala Harris be about to get a 'stardust' moment like Jacinda Ardern?

    As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    5 days ago
  • Solutions Interview: Steven Hail on MMT & ecological economics

    TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
    The KakaBy Steven Hail
    5 days ago
  • Reported back

    The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Vandrad the Viking, Christopher Coombes, and Literary Archaeology

    Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Biden Withdrawal

    History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    5 days ago
  • Joe Biden's withdrawal puts the spotlight back on Kamala and the USA's complicated relatio...

    This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Why we have to challenge our national fiscal assumptions

    A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Existential Crisis and Damaged Brains

    What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • A speed limit is not a target, and yet…

    This is a guest post from longtime supporter Mr Plod, whose previous contributions include a proposal that Hamilton become New Zealand’s capital city, and that we should switch which side of the road we drive on. A recent Newsroom article, “Back to school for the Govt’s new speed limit policy“, ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29

    A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • I'd like to share what I did this weekend

    This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • For the children – Why mere sentiment can be a misleading force in our lives, and lead to unex...

    National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Order image, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A friend in uncertain times

    Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Chaotic World of Male Diet Influencers

    Hi,We’ll get to the horrific world of male diet influencers (AKA Beefy Boys) shortly, but first you will be glad to know that since I sent out the Webworm explaining why the assassination attempt on Donald Trump was not a false flag operation, I’ve heard from a load of people ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • It's Starting To Look A Lot Like… Y2K

    Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 20

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Pharmac Director, Climate Change Commissioner, Health NZ Directors – The latest to quit this m...

    Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Flooding Housing Policy

    The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • A Voyage Among the Vandals: Accepted (Again!)

    As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā's Chorus for Friday, July 19

    An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 19-July-2024

    Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: A market-led plan for failure

    TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Tobacco First

    Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Trump’s Adopted Son.

    Waiting In The Wings: For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSA announced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Joint statement from the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand

    Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue.  We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago
  • AG reminds institutions of legal obligations

    Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • More young people learning about digital safety

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views.  “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • Speech to the Conference for General Practice 2024

    Tēnā tātou katoa,  Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • Employers and payroll providers ready for tax changes

    New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts.  “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Experimental vineyard futureproofs wine industry

    An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Funding confirmed for regions affected by North Island Weather Events

    The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Indonesian Foreign Minister to visit

    Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.   “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Strengthening partnership with Ngāti Maniapoto

    He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Transport Minister thanks outgoing CAA Chair

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Test for Customary Marine Title being restored

    The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says.  “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Opposition united in bad faith over ECE sector review

    Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet.  “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Kiwis having their say on first regulatory review

    After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks.  “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government upgrading Lower North Island commuter rail

    The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government moves to ensure flood protection for Wairoa

    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • PM speech to Parliament – Royal Commission of Inquiry’s Report into Abuse in Care

    Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.  At the heart of this report are the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges torture at Lake Alice

    For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government acknowledges courageous abuse survivors

    The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Half a million people use tax calculator

    With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis.  “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Paid Parental Leave improvements pass first reading

    Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Rebuilding the economy through better regulation

    Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • ‘Open banking’ and ‘open electricity’ on the way

    New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Charity lotteries to be permitted to operate online

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Accelerating Northland Expressway

    The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Sir Don to travel to Viet Nam as special envoy

    Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.    “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Grant Illingworth KC appointed as transitional Commissioner to Royal Commission

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