Daily Review 17/08/2018
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5:30 pm, August 17th, 2018 - 20 comments
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Graphic borrowed from @LabourMemes.
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This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day.
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Returning to the model that was failing for most polytechnics and Institutes of Technology is not the answer. ...3 days ago
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It’s been revealed that National has cancelled 60 percent of its housing projects planned before mid-2025 amidst housing woes. ...3 days ago
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- Release: Why not both? Luxon shuns Waitangi celebrations
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is running away from problems of his own creation, with his decision not to go to Waitangi. ...4 days ago
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The Government’s planned changes to the freedom of speech obligations of universities is little more than a front for stoking the political fires of disinformation and fear, placing teachers and students in the crosshairs. ...4 days ago - Release: Nicola Willis spirals country deeper into recession
The economy shrank 1% this quarter and New Zealand has tumbled into the depths of a recession of Nicola Willis’ making. ...4 days ago
- Release: Hikes for company directors but not ordinary Kiwis
Working people are going backwards while company directors are being given huge pay hikes. ...5 days ago
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- Release: Strengthening Justice Services for New Zealanders
A Bill to modernise the role of Justices of the Peace (JP), ensuring they remain active in their communities and connected with other JPs, has been put into the ballot. ...5 days ago
- Release: Labour will continue fight against destructive projects
Labour will continue to fight unsustainable and destructive projects that are able to leap-frog environment protection under National’s Fast-track Approvals Bill. ...6 days ago
- Green Government will revoke dodgy fast-track projects
The Green Party has warned that a Green Government will revoke the consents of companies who override environmental protections as part of Fast-Track legislation being passed today. ...6 days ago
- Government for the wealthy keeps pushing austerity
The Green Party says the Half Year Economic and Fiscal Update shows how the Government is failing to address the massive social and infrastructure deficits our country faces. ...6 days ago
- Release: Visa changes let migrant workers be paid less
The Government’s latest move to reduce the earnings of migrant workers will not only hurt migrants but it will drive down the wages of Kiwi workers. ...6 days ago
- Release: Nightmare before Christmas for Nicola Willis
With more debt and a larger deficit, Nicola Willis’ reputation is in tatters after her failure to return the Government’s books to surplus. ...6 days ago
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Te Pāti Māori has this morning issued a stern warning to Fast-Track applicants with interests in mining, pledging to hold them accountable through retrospective liability and to immediately revoke Fast-Track consents under a future Te Pāti Māori government. This warning comes ahead of today’s third reading of the Fast-Track Approvals ...6 days ago
- Release: Govt cuts wages for lowest paid NZers… again
For the second year running, the government has effectively cut wages for the lowest paid workers in New Zealand. ...6 days ago
- Govt’s miserly 1.5% minimum wage will take workers backwards
The Government’s announcement today of a 1.5 per cent increase to minimum wage is another blow for workers, with inflation projected to exceed the increase, meaning it’s a real terms pay reduction for many. ...6 days ago
- Release: Govt shirking responsibility for rate hikes
All the Government has achieved from its announcement today is to continue to push responsibility back on councils for its own lack of action to help bring down skyrocketing rates. ...6 days ago
- Luxon’s ‘localism’ strikes again
The Government has used its final post-Cabinet press conference of the year to punch down on local government without offering any credible solutions to the issues our councils are facing. ...7 days ago
- Release: Govt breaks promise on EV chargers
The Government has failed to keep its promise to ‘super charge’ the EV network, delivering just 292 chargers - less than half of the 670 chargers needed to meet its target. ...7 days ago
- Greens call for end to subsidies for Methanex
The Green Party is calling for the Government to stop subsidising the largest user of the country’s gas supplies, Methanex, following a report highlighting the multi-national’s disproportionate influence on energy prices in Aotearoa. ...7 days ago
- Govt child poverty targets allow for increase in poverty
The Green Party is appalled with the Government’s new child poverty targets that are based on a new ‘persistent poverty’ measure that could be met even with an increase in child poverty. ...1 week ago
- Release: Four weeks annual leave under threat
The Government’s attack on workers continues with news it is scrapping work on the Holidays Act. ...1 week ago
- Govt’s emissions plan for measly 1% reduction
New independent analysis has revealed that the Government’s Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) will reduce emissions by a measly 1 per cent by 2030, failing to set us up for the future and meeting upcoming targets. ...1 week ago
- Greens stand in solidarity with Whakaata Māori on sad day
The loss of 27 kaimahi at Whakaata Māori and the end of its daily news bulletin is a sad day for Māori media and another step backwards for Te Tiriti o Waitangi justice. ...1 week ago
- Sanctions regime to create more hardship for families
Yesterday the Government passed cruel legislation through first reading to establish a new beneficiary sanction regime that will ultimately mean more households cannot afford the basic essentials. ...1 week ago
- Govt gifts renters housing anxiety for Christmas
Today's passing of the Government's Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill–which allows landlords to end tenancies with no reason–ignores the voice of the people and leaves renters in limbo ahead of the festive season. ...1 week ago
- Release: National Party urged to support modern slavery legislation
Labour is urging the Prime Minister to walk the talk and support legislation combating modern slavery. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour has lost confidence in the Speaker
The Speaker of the New Zealand Parliament made an unprecedented decision on the government amendment to the Fast Track Approvals Bill last night. ...2 weeks ago
- One year on, still no progress on new ferries
Today’s announcement from the Government on its plan for new ferries throws more uncertainty on the future of the country’s rail network. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Nicola Willis’ smaller ferries will cost more
After wasting a year, Nicola Willis has delivered a worse deal for the Cook Strait ferries that will end up being more expensive and take longer to arrive. ...2 weeks ago
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Clue a marsupial
Chris Bishop. Now wasn’t he one of Amy Adam’s principle supporters in the campaign for the National Party leadership? No, I’m not saying he was the messenger. I think he is probably too smart to do that. But there are ways and means of imparting a message that can never be tracked back to a single source and they can sometimes be unconventional.
“The unit, which was mooted by Jones earlier this year, will provide expert advice, planning and strategy and will support the delivery of major infrastructure projects across the country.”
https://www.interest.co.nz/news/95389/minister-infrastructure-says-new-independent-body-will-help-sort-out-some-nz%E2%80%99s-major
Halfway house?
Sticking a bunch of policy analysts on a different floor and changing their email signatures from the looks of it.
the devil is always in the detail but from what i’ve seen so far its a Claytons MOW
Perhaps neither of you are familiar with the old Ministry of Works which was abandoned 30 years ago. Worked successfully for decades and was instrumental in over-seeing the govt. initiated infrastructure programmes of the times.
If this new body is based on that former scheme but updated to handle modern day requirements including in the private sector then it should eventually be a huge success story.
am very well aware of the old MOW….and this aint it….from what Ive read/heard so far its not even a pale imitation.
As long as there’s a Max Smith among the “New cohort” … Things could be worse…
Ledgend has it he created many of the amenty areas in the upper Mackensie, despite “Think Big”
https://www.odt.co.nz/lifestyle/magazine/works-and-schemes
“When Mr Smith took over as project engineer in 1970, he had a vision for the Upper Waitaki and Mackenzie areas: he wanted to create a resource that could be used by New Zealanders with small pay-packets or older folk living on little more than their pension.”
And he succeeded. Despite the destruction of the MacKenzie, catchments and Downstream …
https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/waitaki-water-of-tears-river-of-power/
http://www.stuff.co.nz/timaru-herald/news/9357871/Lake-creator-man-before-his-time
I suspect a Mr Smith would be kneecapped today…but maybe I’m wrong…heres hoping
Eventually he was …. Have You Ever been there .. Done that .. ?
kneecapped?
I am picking up what you are putting down, Anne.
So many benefits to a rebooted MOW.
One of the cliche reactions from the Tories is inefficiencies.
The lens through which they argue (a balance sheet), can not take into account (pun intended) the benefit of a child seeing their father going to work every day. Even if he is leaning on a shovel a bit.
By father, I obviously meant parent. (He said top toeing out of the room)
🙂
Anne (3.1.1.1) … Bring back MOW.
It worked well in the past, keeping the nation’s infrastructure up to scratch and turning over. Handled efficiently (and honestly), it could do the same now.
Not that Natz would approve of course of its return. MOW would affect too many of their construction cronies’ back pockets, as well as party funds!
I think the major clue is in the target for setting it up: “late 2019”. It’s probably planned to package and roll out a whole raft of costed and attractive ideas to bring to the table for the election in 2020. That could be either a bad or a good thing, but I think it’s a key part of the calculation.
any dept. is going to need comparable or superior capability than the private sector and thats going to take time, years…not to mention that Treasury appear to have a substantial hand in its formation and they will be looking after their patch which means there is unlikely to be significant independent economic analysis.
The thing is Pat, a determined government should be able to overcome the inevitable resistance to it’s plans. Michael Joseph and co. had to fight all manner of obstacles when they set up the Welfare State, but they achieved their goals in the end. I see no reason why this govt. could not be as successful, but I concede we’re going to have to wait a couple of years before we can make any sort of judgement.
They can and could…my concern is they are half hearted…thats what this looks like to me…I will be pleased to be proved wrong
“Following an unprecedented 270,000 downloads of his study, Johan Rockström, executive director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre, said he had not seen such a surge of interest since 2007, the year the Nobel prize was awarded to Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.”
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/aug/17/world-waking-up-to-reality-climate-change-hothouse-earth-author
270.000……theres an estimated 3.2 billion people with internet access…so less than 0.009%, quite some ways to go i think.