Don’t often do so, but listened to Brian Edwards and Michelle Boag on the afternoon panel session today. The main topic discussed was Metiria Turei’s confession. Michelle Boag’s responses served to confirm that the faux rage being expressed by all the usual media suspects is a further example of the ‘Right Wing’s Dirty Political’ machine. They are all saying exactly the same things and feeding off each other.
None of them mention the root cause of this sudden upsurge in this petty benefit fraud. It was the cutting of the benefit by Ruth Richardson in the early 1990s. I was one of those affected and the benefit went from around $150 per week to $130 per week. No-one could survive on $130 even in the 90s so hence the need to seek a source of income elsewhere. In my case it was doing housework for an elderly family friend. She was a Christian lady who would never have broken a law in her life. But she was happy to pay me cash under the table because she knew how desperate my financial situation was at that time.
So, here they are… screaming foul play when it was one of their own kind who forced people into having to “break the law” in the first place!
Can’t speak for Mickey but for myself its her total and utter cavalier attitude that rubs me up the wrong way, like shes not sorry nor repentant and it just smacks of a political stunt
She could have used her maiden speech and then paid whatever money she owes back, could have done it when she become co-leader but nope she waits until a couple of months out from the election
Well shes made a gamble so it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out. Personally I think this is going to backfire on the Greens and it won’t help Labour either
And for me I don’t see that attitude – I see a woman with a child, studying to make life better for herself and her child. There is a sincere, honest and composed compassion around this leader that cannot be sullied by the right. Her bringing it to the public consciousness and her handling of it since then have been exemplary. All of the combined nastiness against her is petty bullshit and the tactics of some very scared little boys and girls. They should be scared too, very scared, because change is going to happen.
You are misinterpreting Metiria’s attitude chris73. It is not cavalier. Do you honestly think the vast bulk of beneficiaries enjoyed ‘breaking the rules’? It is pathetic calling it law-breaking because what I, Metiria and thousands of others did was hardly a criminal act. If you had found yourself in the same circumstance in the 90s you would have done exactly the same thing. It’s called survival.
Agreed Anne
And the absolute terror and stress at having to break the rules like that to survive, knowing that the full force of the state would come down hard.
The dob in a beneficiary scheme bred fear and distrust all round
If I recall correctly, an analysis done not long after the Clark govt. came to power found that some 72 to 75% of those anonymous dob-ins proved to be false and motivated by malice.
Er, yes. Is anyone in National sorry or repentant for slashing benefits in 1991, which is what led to this widespread practice of lying to WINZ? No, not even slightly – so why should Turei be sorry or repentant?
I know right-wingers struggle to imagine that anyone feels empathy for the poor, but that’s because you’re right-wingers. Among Turei’s and the left’s target market, the fact that Turei’s also struggled to make ends meet on the receiving end of National’s “brighter future” isn’t a drawback.
Psych nuse
don.t think so. Any female benny would have done. Male might have had some sympathy because he didn’t go and get pregnant which is a sin and a shame on females.
I also don’t think it’s cavalier, and anyone listening to her talk about how terrifying it was and who knows what it’s like being on a benefit and dealing with WINZ understands very well that Turei is taking this very seriously. She just put her career on the line, and she did this for her constituents.
Interestingly, it seemed to me that right at the end of that interview Brian Edwards’ patience with bellicose Boag was running out, and Jim Mora (wanting to keep things nicy-nicy) rapidly shut down the conversation.
A pity – for far too long to my mind has Edwards kindly agreed to so much slanted stuff that Boag has uttered.
Heard it. I quite enjoyed the thought of that tiny extra bit of Michelle Boag’s taxes that Metiria managed to obtain to feed her child baked beans or some other cheap staple. Perhaps they named each baked bean after some filthy rich National party grandee as they went down the hatch. The scabrous, judgmental old Boag was entirely repulsive.
chris73’s comment is of great value to most commenters here, though it may not seem so at first reading. His comment that Metiria’s attitude “rubs him up the wrong way” is genuine and visceral and indicative of his “sort”; what Metiria has done and her follow-up comments on that have sorted the wheat from the chaff. It’s now blatantly obvious which side of the fence chris73, James, red et al sit on and there’s no point at all in trying to haul them over to the other side; they ain’t for haulin’. Let’s save our collective breath. Metiria has proved the Great Revealer, and those sizzling under the heat of her spotlight are those we have to dismiss as lost, not entertain as potential allies, so I say, come on wheat, blow off that chaff and let’s rally behind our flag-bearers; we’ll gain so much by combining our talents and keeping our eyes on the main prize and if you don’t know what that is, stay tuned to Metiria and her kind for further guidance.
I do enjoy reading your contributions so believe me when I say that I am genuinely sorry that you’re going to get a big surprise on election day (and not the kind you’re hoping for)
That’s very kind of you, Chris73, however, I’m pretty confident that you’re as hopeless at accurately predicting the future as I am, and face the possibility of a similar fate to that you’ve predicted for me, so why don’t we just enjoy the ride and while we’re doing that, spread a little more love than we have been, around. God knows, we could all use it. I’m giving Metiria all I can, across the etheric divide, on the airwaves, from my far-flung aerie; you could pitch in too and make someone’s burden just that little lighter, should you choose to express some of the milk of human kindness that doubtless swells your metaphoric breast.
Not only were the benefits reduced but Housing NZ house rents jumped to market rates. Shipley and Richardson will probably never know the damage they did to many families.
Richardson worked closely with Minister of Social Welfare Jenny Shipley and proudly announced her fiscal outlay as the ‘mother of all budgets’
The budget essentially dismantled much of what remained of the welfare state institutions established in the 1930s by the First Labour Government. The unemployment benefit was cut by $14.00 a week, sickness benefit by $27.04, families benefit by $25.00 to $27.00 and universal payments for family benefits were completely abolished.
Richardson also introduced many user pays requirements in hospitals and schools, services previously free to the populace and paid for by the government.[3] Public services such as state housing were devolved essentially into companies under government contract in all but name.
I have absolutely NO respect for Ruth Richardson and Jenny Shipley. They were happy to shaft people who needed the safety net of the social welfare system. They lacked the quality of compassion that makes Metiria Turia the courageous woman that she is. We need women of her caliber to change the mean spirited culture perpetuated by this (outgoing) government.
Too complicated and precious. You did her housework and she gave you cash and now you’re claiming you did it for the money. Is that how your “elderly family friend and Christian lady” saw it ? You and she might not have “broken the law” after all and now she can’t speak for herself.
For your health, I recommend avoiding the Boag/Edwards pairing.
Listening to the comfortably off from Herne Bay lecturing the poor is bad for one’s digestion.
Actually it was only a stones throw from an out and out shouting match today. Edwards wasn’t going to have a bar of Boag’s distorted diatribes – especially over the Turei saga. Quite entertaining.
Michelle Boag does not have such a squeaky clean history herself. Remember the big fine over the Wine Box inquiry.
I can’t understand why all those rich people who have accountants to work out how to get out of paying as much tax as they can every year are making such a fuss about a few hundred dollars used to feed a baby two decades ago.
‘……But, talk of ”record labour force participation” and a ”significant increase” in jobs is only telling part of the story.
Just below the surface, another darker picture emerges.
It does not take much digging in Statistics New Zealand’s latest Household Labour Force Survey to uncover a growing world of low-paid work, insufficient working hours, financial struggles and unfulfilled lives…..
…During the past nine years, the percentage increase in unemployment, underemployment and underutilisation has been two to three times higher than the increase in employment.
Let’s take those one at a time.
For the whole of New Zealand, over that period, the number of people unemployed has increased 49 per cent.
Then there are the underemployed. Those are the people who are employed for fewer than 30 hours a week and would like to be working more hours. Their number has increased 61 per cent.
And there are the underutilised. This is the grouping of people who are unemployed, underemployed and in the potential labour force. They have grown by 38 per cent.
Welcome to the precarious proletariat, aka, the precariat; the growing group of second-class citizens who struggle to get a decent job, a decent wage, a decent life.
In New Zealand today, there are 139,000 people unemployed and trying to find work. That includes 5500 unemployed people in Otago. But remember, ”unemployed” is not the whole picture. There are also 80,000 Kiwis wanting to work but who have given up looking, including 3600 in Otago. On top of that, there are 110,000 individuals in part-time work who need more hours, including 5400 in Otago. There are now 329,000 New Zealanders, including almost 15,000 in Otago, who cannot get any or enough work. That is one person for every eight people in the total work force.’
And more…
‘Not only is underemployment increasing, but the length of time people are unemployed is also growing.Compared with 2008, the percentage of those unemployed who remain without work for more than a year has tripled. Now, more than 30 per cent of those looking for work remain ”between jobs” for more than 52 weeks.
On the underemployment front, Rosenberg says people are being forced off benefits when there are no suitable jobs for them. He points to recent research for the Ministry of Social Development that shows only a third of those who came off welfare benefits during the year to June, 2011, were in employment two years later.
”They find themselves having to take up insecure, part-time or short-term jobs and many end up unemployed again or underemployed.”
Even after the Government has backed away from zero-hour contracts, its employment laws still make it too easy for employers to hire people on low pay and bad conditions, he says, citing a recent OECD report, Back to Work: New Zealand.The report looks at ways to improve unemployed New Zealanders’ chances of getting work.
The summary states that ”in New Zealand most displaced workers find a new job again, largely due to a strong economy and a highly flexible labour market”.
”But,” says the report, ”many of them face large losses in terms of job quality and especially wages.”
New Zealand has the weakest job protection legislation of any job protection legislation of any OECD country, Rosenberg says.’
…’Work and Income New Zealand is an organisation he tries to avoid. Dealing with the government agency is too much hassle, he says. So, as often as possible, Jefferies finds other ways to get by, even when things are tough.
The idea that he pays taxes and obeys the law, so the State has an obligation to protect and promote his wellbeing, is alien to his experience and his worldview.
Jefferies is a success because he is a survivor. He is a member of the precariat; one of hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders living on an economic knife-edge, who have been doing so for so long they think it is normal‘
I just don’t understand why there isn’t a revolution in this country.
Well, fucking educate yourself then. Information about what it was like in countries that did have revolutions is in plentiful supply and should clear up this mystery for you fairly quickly if you trouble yourself to locate and read it.
Psycho Milt
You don’t have to rip apart every off the cuff comment that Ed says in an emotional moment. When Ed wrote “I just don’t understand why there isn’t a revolution in this country.”, it was really a rhetorical question.
And this also begs the question that neither of you have noted that the change to neo liberalism amounted to a long-running, acid-drip revolution in NZ engineered by The Smugs of Labour 1984. Motto “We do it because we can”. That was a virtually silent revolution. But it turned us upside down so whether you look up or down it was a revolution all right.
But it turned us upside down so whether you look up or down it was a revolution all right.
Well, if we’re classing “elected government passes laws through Parliament” as a “revolution,” Ed’s wish has already come true – every parliamentary session sees a new revolution.
The countries in the western world that have had “revolutions” are Greece, Spain, Italy and France (did France actually have a revolution?). Their rates of unemployment and underemployment are typically double, or in the case of Greece and Spain, quadruple the rate of New Zealand.
There is simply no way that New Zealand can be compared to these European countries. Their economies (excepting France) have actually shrunk in the last decade.
In contrast New Zealand’s growth rate is near the top of the OECD. Our employment rate, even with very high immigration, is among the highest in the OECD. The conditions for “revolution”are simply not present.
Even the Greens and Labour have bought into the broad economic settings of the last few years with their MOU and Budget Rules.
So even if there is a change a govt, it is not going to herald a radical departure from the past. The Greens are the most radical of the alternative (Labour, NZF, and the Greens), but they will also have the smallest say in the alternative govt.
Wayne, you were part of the neoliberal revolution that turned New Zealand from a socialist country into the deregulated capitalist nirvana for billionaires it is today.
Proud of that?
Revolutions are everywhere the result of pitiful corrupt governments.
NZ now leads the world in suicide and homelessness, the prospects for revolution are as high as they have ever been here.
Combine that with the blatant incompetence, corruption and vindictive attacks on the poor that characterize this government, and the only reason the incumbents aren’t tiger food is unprecedented generosity of spirit on the part of most New Zealanders.
We should be not so generous to the treacherous scum who steal our assets, it only encourages them.
Rt Hon Winston Peters: Can he confirm the contents of a requested presentation by UBS AG, a Swiss investment bank giant, which details options to sell our national grid, worth billions of dollars—this document, marked confidential.
Well there you go, I didn’t know they were still operating until now as I thought they closed up or were brought out after the Thames branch line closed.
Another proud and great engineering firm gone what a blood shame!
In the early 90s when Metiria was going through these “issues” I too had a young family.
I worked around 50hrs a week plus travelled about an hour a day.
If I was on the benefit at that time our families income would have been similar to my wage, without travel and costs associated with working we would have been better off.
If we had pretended to seperate and my wife got the dpb we would have been much better off
(No WFF back then)
We didn’t do either of those, though we considered it, we didn’t want to break the law.
This is not about bene bashing, this not about woman or Maori bashing.
There are always tough times, some worse than others.
But while my family, and Matiria, worked hard and changed our families story… she did it by cheating and I don’t think that is acceptable.
She has bought daylight to inadequate behaviour by WINZ, and payment levels, but to me she has done so in the wrong way. She simply should have paid back the money first and apologised.
Many people are very very angry, tbh I’m one, not because I don’t think we need a safety net, because I don’t like cheats.
Some are literally incoherent with anger that a successful female Maori MP cheated ‘the system’ while a new solo mum a couple of decades ago. The fact that she has voluntarily admitted her wrong doing and committed to repaying what she owes seems to make it that much worse.
Either the level and direction of their anger is disproportionate and biased, or they must be in a constant lather over those perpetrating more substantial rip-offs.
The BIG cheats, now as in the past, excel at concealing their behaviour, but occasionally they do get caught out…
I hadn’t read awww properly at 9. This is from a male who had a wife and family that he had to work hard for. And he is comparing himself to one person trying to do the work of two, plus do training so she could get a job in the first place.
It shows the complete and wilful ignorance that bennie-bashers revel in. They build themselves up as heroes who stand proud above the hoi-polloi struggling at their feet. It’s just a form of self-gratification. Instead of thinking, this is hard-times for us all, good on her for getting training and a job and be a working mother, supporting herself, he just goes for the cheap sneer and superiority.
awww g-me a break – your claims haven’t the ring of truth about them, but giving you the benefit of the doubt, I wonder how it could be that someone like you who shared the same misfortune as Metiria (note spelling) even to the point of giving consideration to “cheating”, are so damning now in your comments, of someone who found themselves in a position so similar to your own. It seems very unlikely that someone who has given thought to cheating due to pressures such as both you (you say) and Metiria (note spelling) experienced, would bother to go to the trouble of going to a Metiria-friendly blogsite to condemn her for something you yourself were, you say, very close to doing yourself. Pretty unkind and lacking in empathy, I’d say, if I was believing your story (which, I don’t – my apologies if I’m wrong).
Why come here and share, because I want to understand the support she is getting.
If I live in my bubble and never get challenged I can’t learn.
Yes, my spelling is shite, always has been. No offence intended.
Your disbelief doesn’t offend, and you can take my word that it’s an honest account (or not)
BTW, I think looking at temptation and making a choice is the making (or undoing) of everyone.
aww
Your pseudo implies that you don’t believe anything you hear or read.
We come here to try and get an understanding about what’s going on.
You say you have already experienced something and still don’t understand it – what can we say?
The main point is that it takes a great effort to study and learn and pass a university degree, plus be a good parent, and put regular good meals on the table, and pay the bills, and spend time with your child, be there when they are sick, get the washing dry and study,study. And the government doesn’t really get behind you. Back some decades ago they did try though the rules could be contradictory.
I tend to think “there, but for the grace of god, go I”. Or would if I were religious.
If someone’s genuinely lying to get money they don’t need to buy luxuries, then fair enough I’d be pissed.
But people shouldn’t have to work 50 hours a week to get the same as a benefit, and people on a benefit shouldn’t have to struggle just to live. The law is one thing, but people being cheated by the system can’t cheat the system if they’re just getting their dues. Hell, a mate tonight said he was going through a review process because msd was fucking him out of cash.
As for paying back the cash, I doubt Turei knows specifically how much is at issue – I’m damned sure I played fast and loose with declarations once or twice back in the day, but am stuffed if I remember the details. There’s a even slim chance I actually did everything legitimately but by accident, lol.
Congratulations to Tsimsyen Warriors who won their battle to save Lelu Island. The LNG project has been cancelled. pic.twitter.com/y5IA84Y0DF— Ruth H. Hopkins (@RuthHHopkins) July 26, 2017
All your life is Time magazineI read it tooWhat does it mean?PressureI'm sure you'll have some cosmic rationaleBut here you are with your faithAnd your Peter Pan adviceYou have no scars on your faceAnd you cannot handle pressureSongwriter: Billy Joel.Christopher Luxon is under pressure from all sides. The reviews are ...
After seeing yet-more-months of political debate and policy decisions to ‘go for growth’ by pulling the same old cheap migration and cheap tourism levers without nearly-enough infrastructure, or any attempt to address the same old lack of globally conventional tax incentives for investment, I thought it would be worth issuing ...
The plans for the buildings that will replace the downtown carpark have been publicly notified giving us the first detailed glance at what is proposed for one of the biggest and best development sites in the city centre. The council agreed to sell the site to Precinct Properties for $122 ...
With the Reserve Bank expected today to return the Official Cash Rate to where it was in mid-2022 comes a measure of how much of a psychological impact the rate has. Federated Farmers has published its latest six-monthly farm confidence survey, which shows that profit expectations have fallen and risen ...
Kiwis Disallowed From Waiting Lists Based on Arbitrary MeasuresWellington hospital are now rejecting patients from specialist waiting lists due to BMI (body mass index).This article from Rachel Thomas for The Post says it all (emphasis mine):A group of Porirua GPs are sounding alarm bells after patients with body mass indexes ...
The Prime Minister says he's really comfortable with us not knowing the reoffending rate for his boot camp programme.They asked him for it at yesterday’s press conference, and he said, nah, not telling, have to respect people's privacy.Okay I'll bite. Let's say they release this information to us:The rate of ...
Warning 1: There is a Nazi theme at the end of this article related to the disabled community. Warning 2: This article could be boring!One day, last year, I excitedly opened up a Substack post that was about how to fight back, and the answer at the end was disappointing ...
This may be rhetorical but here goes: did any of you invest in the $Libra memecoin endorsed and backed by Argentine president and darling of the global Right Javier Milei (who admitted to being paid a fee for his promotion of the token)? You know, the one that soared above ...
Last week various of the great and good of New Zealand economics and public policy trooped off to Hamilton (of all places) for the annual Waikato Economics Forum, one of the successful marketing drives of university’s Vice-Chancellor. My interest was in the speeches delivered by the Minister of Finance and ...
The Prime Minister says the Government would be open to sending peacekeepers to Ukraine if a ceasefire was reached. The government has announced a $30 million spend on tourism infrastructure and biodiversity projects, including $11m spent to improve popular visitor sites and further $19m towards biodiversity efforts. A New Zealand-born ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler “But what about when the sun doesn't shine?!” Ah yes, the energy debate’s equivalent of “The Earth is flat!” Every time someone mentions solar or wind power, some self-proclaimed energy expert emerges from the woodwork to drop this supposedly devastating truth bomb: ...
This post by Nicolas Reid was originally published on Linked in. It is republished here with permission.In this article I look into data on how well the rail network serve New Zealanders, and how many people might be able to travel by train… if we ran more than a ...
Hi,Before we get into Hayden Donnell’s new column about how yes, Donald Trump is definitely the Antichrist, I wanted to touch on something feral that happened in New Zealand last week.Members of Destiny Church pushed and punched their way into an Auckland library, apparently angry it was part of Pride ...
Despite delays, logjams and overcrowding in our emergency departments, funding constraints are limiting the numbers of nurses and doctors being trained. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, February 18 are:A NZ Herald investigation ...
Now that the US has ripped up the Atlantic alliance, Europe is more vulnerable now than at any time since the mid-1930s. Apparently, Europe and Ukraine itself will not have a seat at the table in the talks between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin that will ...
Olivia and Noah and Hana are going to the library!It is fun to go to the library. It has books and songs and mat time and people who smile at you and say, Hello Olivia, what have you been doing this morning?The library is more fun than the mall. At ...
New World Orders: The challenge facing Christopher Luxon and Chris Hipkins is how to keep their small and vulnerable nation safe and stable in a world whose economic and political climate the forty-seventh American president is changing so profoundly.IT IS, SURELY, the ultimate Millennial revenge fantasy. Calling senior Baby-Boomer and Gen-X ...
“This might surprise you, Laurie, but I reckon Trump’s putting on a bloody impressive performance.”“GOODNESS ME, HANNAH, just look at all those Valentine’s Day cards!”“Occupational hazard, Laurie, the more beer I serve, the more my customers declare their undying love!”“Crikey! I had no idea business was so good.” Laurie squinted ...
In 2005, Labour repealed the long-standing principle of birthright citizenship in Aotearoa. Why? As with everything else Labour does, it all came down to austerity: "foreign mothers" were supposedly "coming to this country to give birth", and this was "put[ting] pressure on hospitals". Then-Immigration Minister George Hawkins explicitly gave this ...
And I just hope that you can forgive usBut everything must goAnd if you need an explanation, nationThen everything must goSongwriters: James Dean Bradfield / Sean Anthony Moore / Nicholas Allen Jones.Today, I’d like to talk about a couple of things that happened over the weekend:Brian Tamaki’s Library Invasion and ...
New reporting highlights how Brooke van Velden refuses to meet with the CTU but is happy to meet with fringe Australian-based unions. Van Velden is pursuing reckless changes to undermine the personal grievance system against the advice of her own officials. Engineering New Zealand are saying that hundreds of engineers ...
The NZCTU strongly supports the Employment Relations (Employee Remuneration Disclosure) Amendment Bill. This Bill represents a positive step towards addressing serious issues around unlawful disparities in pay by protecting workers’ rights to discuss their pay and conditions. This Bill also provides welcome support for helping tackle the prevalent gender and ...
Years of hard work finally paid off last week as the country’s biggest and most important transport project, the City Rail Link reached a major milestone with the first test train making its way slowly though the tunnels for the first time. This is a fantastic achievement and it is ...
Engineers are pleading for the Government to free up funds to restart stalled projects. File Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday, February 17 are:Engineering New Zealand CEO Richard Templer said yesterday hundreds of ...
It’s one of New Zealand’s great sustaining myths: the spirit of ANZAC, our mates across the ditch, the spirit of Earl’s Court, Antipodeans united against the world. It is also a myth; it is not reality. That much was clear from a series of speakers, including a former Australian Prime ...
Many people have been unsatisfied for years that things have not improved for them, some as individuals, many more however because their families are clearly putting in more work, for less money – and certainly far less purchase on society. This general discontent has grown exponentially since the GFC. ...
A listing of 34 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 9, 2025 thru Sat, February 15, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report shows worsening food poverty and housing shortages mean more than 400,000 people now need welfare support, the highest level since the 1990s. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and ...
You're just too too obscure for meOh you don't really get through to meAnd there's no need for you to talk that wayIs there any less pessimistic things to say?Songwriters: Graeme DownesToday, I thought we’d take a look at some of the most cringe-inducing moments from last week, but don’t ...
Please note: I’ve delayed my “What can we do?” article for this video.The video above shows Destiny Church members assaulting staff and librarians as they pushed through to a room of terrified parents and young children.It was posted to social media last night.But if you read Sinead Boucher’s Stuff, you ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is sea level rise exaggerated? Sea levels are rising at an accelerating rate, not stagnating or decreasing. Warming global temperatures cause land ice ...
Here is a scenario, but first a historical parallel. Hitler and the Nazis could well have accomplished everything that they wanted to do within German borders, including exterminating Jews, so long as they confined their ambitious to Germany itself. After all, the world pretty much sat and watched as the ...
I’ve spent the last couple of days in Hamilton covering Waikato University’s annual NZ Economics Forum, where (arguably) three of the most influential people in our political economy right now laid out their thinking in major speeches about the size and role of Government, their views on for spending, tax ...
Simeon Brown’s Ideology BentSimeon Brown once told Kiwis he tries to represent his deep sense of faith by interacting “with integrity”.“It’s important that there’s Christians in Parliament…and from my perspective, it’s great to be a Christian in Parliament and to bring that perspective to [laws, conversations and policies].”And with ...
Severe geological and financial earthquakes are inevitable. We just don’t know how soon and how they will play out. Are we putting the right effort into preparing for them?Every decade or so the international economy has a major financial crisis. We cannot predict exactly when or exactly how it will ...
Questions1. How did Old Mate Grabaseat describe his soon-to-be-Deputy-PM’s letter to police advocating for Philip Polkinghorne?a.Ill-advisedb.A perfect letterc.A letter that will live in infamyd.He had me at hello2. What did Seymour say in response?a.What’s ill-advised is commenting when you don’t know all the facts and ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff has called on OJI Fibre Solutions to work with the government, unions, and the community before closing the Kinleith Paper Mill. “OJI has today announced 230 job losses in what will be a devastating blow for the community. OJI needs to work with ...
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is sounding the alarm about the latest attack on workers from Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Brooke van Velden, who is ignoring her own officials to pursue reckless changes that would completely undermine the personal grievance system. “Brooke van Velden’s changes will ...
Hi,When I started writing Webworm in 2020, I wrote a lot about the conspiracy theories that were suddenly invading our Twitter timelines and Facebook feeds. Four years ago a reader, John, left this feedback under one of my essays:It’s a never ending labyrinth of lunacy which, as you have pointed ...
And if you said this life ain't good enoughI would give my world to lift you upI could change my life to better suit your moodBecause you're so smoothAnd it's just like the ocean under the moonOh, it's the same as the emotion that I get from youYou got the ...
Aotearoa remains the minority’s birthright, New Zealand the majority’s possession. WAITANGI DAY commentary see-saws manically between the warmly positive and the coldly negative. Many New Zealanders consider this a good thing. They point to the unexamined patriotism of July Fourth and Bastille Day celebrations, and applaud the fact that the ...
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with regular and special guests, including: and on the week in geopolitics, including the latest from Donald Trump’s administration over Gaza and Ukraine; on the ...
Up until now, the prevailing coalition view of public servants was that there were simply too many of them. But yesterday the new Public Service Commissioner, handpicked by the Luxon Government, said it was not so much numbers but what they did and the value they produced that mattered. Sir ...
In a moment we explore the question: What is Andrew Bayly wanting to tell ACC, and will it involve enjoying a small wine tasting and then telling someone to fuck off? But first, for context, a broader one: What do we look for in a government?Imagine for a moment, you ...
As expected, Donald Trump just threw Ukraine under the bus, demanding that it accept Russia's illegal theft of land, while ruling out any future membership of NATO. Its a colossal betrayal, which effectively legitimises Russia's invasion, while laying the groundwork for the next one. But Trump is apparently fine with ...
A ballot for a single member's bill was held today, and the following bill was drawn: Employment Relations (Collective Agreements in Triangular Relationships) Amendment Bill (Adrian Rurawhe) The bill would extend union rights to employees in triangular relationships, where they are (nominally) employed by one party, but ...
This is a guest post by George Weeks, reviewing a book called ‘How to Fly a Horse’ by Kevin AshtonBook review: ‘How to Fly a Horse’ by Kevin Ashton (2015) – and what it means for Auckland. The title of this article might unnerve any Greater Auckland ...
This story was originally published by Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Within just a week, the sheer devastation of the Los Angeles wildfires has pushed to the fore fundamental questions about the impact of the climate crisis that have been ...
In this world, it's just usYou know it's not the same as it wasSongwriters: Harry Edward Styles / Thomas Edward Percy Hull / Tyler Sam JohnsonYesterday, I received a lovely message from Caty, a reader of Nick’s Kōrero, that got me thinking. So I thought I’d share it with you, ...
In past times a person was considered “unserious” or “not a serious” person if they failed to grasp, behave and speak according to the solemnity of the context in which they were located. For example a serious person does not audibly pass gas at Church, or yell “gun” at a ...
Long stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, February 13 are:The coalition Government’s early 2024 ‘fiscal emergency’ freeze on funding, planning and building houses, schools, local roads and hospitals helped extend and deepen the economic and jobs recession through calendar ...
For obvious reasons, people feel uneasy when the right to be a citizen is sold off to wealthy foreigners. Even selling the right to residency seems a bit dubious, when so many migrants who are not millionaires get turned away or are made to jump through innumerable hoops – simply ...
A new season of White Lotus is nearly upon us: more murder mystery, more sumptuous surroundings, more rich people behaving badly.Once more we get to identify with the experience of the pampered tourist or perhaps the poorly paid help; there's something in White Lotus for all New Zealanders.And unlike the ...
In 2016, Aotearoa shockingly plunged to fourth place in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. Nine years later, and we're back there again: New Zealand has seen a further slip in its global ranking in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). [...] In the latest CPI New Zealand's score ...
1. You’ve started ranking your politicians on how much they respect the rule of law2. You’ve stopped paying attention to those news publications3. You’ve developed a sudden interest in a particular period of history4. More and more people are sounding like your racist, conspiracist uncle.5. Someone just pulled a Nazi ...
Transforming New Zealand: Brian EastonBrian Easton will discuss the above topic at 2/57 Willis Street, Wellington at 5:30pm on Tuesday 26 February at 2/57 Willis Street, WellingtonThe sub-title to the above is "Why is the Left failing?" Brian Easton's analysis is based on his view that while the ...
Salvation Army’s State of the Nation 2025 report highlights falling living standards, the highest unemployment rates since the 1990s and half of all Pacific children going without food. There are reports of hundreds if not thousands of people are applying for the same jobs in the wake of last year’s ...
Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Correction: On the article The Condundrum of David Seymour, Luke Malpass conducted joint reviews with Bryce Wilkinson, the architect of the Regulatory Standards Bill - not Bryce Edwards. The article ...
Tomorrow the council’s Transport, Resilience and Infrastructure Committee meet and agenda has a few interesting papers. Council’s Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport Every year the council provide a Letter of Expectation to Auckland Transport which is part of the process for informing AT of the council’s priorities and ...
All around in my home townThey're trying to track me down, yeahThey say they want to bring me in guiltyFor the killing of a deputyFor the life of a deputySongwriter: Robert Nesta Marley.Support Nick’s Kōrero today with a 20% discount on a paid subscription to receive all my newsletters directly ...
Hi,I think all of us have probably experienced the power of music — that strange, transformative thing that gets under our skin and helps us experience this whole life thing with some kind of sanity.Listening and experiencing music has always been such a huge part of my life, and has ...
Business frustration over the stalled economy is growing, and only 34% of voters are confidentNicola Willis can deliver. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, February 12 are:Business frustration is growing about a ...
I have now lived long enough to see a cabinet minister go both barrels on their Prime Minister and not get sacked.It used to be that the PM would have a drawer full of resignations signed by ministers on the day of their appointment, ready for such an occasion. But ...
This session will feature Simon McCallum, Senior Lecturer in Engineering and Computer Science (VUW) and recent Labour Party candidate in the Southland Electorate talking about some of the issues around AI and how this should inform Labour Party policy. Simon is an excellent speaker with a comprehensive command of AI ...
The proposed Waimate garbage incinerator is dead: The company behind a highly-controversial proposal to build a waste-to-energy plant in the Waimate District no longer has the land. [...] However, SIRRL director Paul Taylor said the sales and purchase agreement to purchase land from Murphy Farms, near Glenavy, lapsed at ...
The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has been a vital tool in combatting international corruption. It forbids US companies and citizens from bribing foreign public officials anywhere in the world. And its actually enforced: some of the world's biggest companies - Siemens, Hewlett Packard, and Bristol Myers Squibb - have ...
December 2024 photo - with UK Tory Boris Johnson (Source: Facebook)Those PollsFor hours, political poll results have resounded across political hallways and commentary.According to the 1News Verizon poll, 50% of the country believe we are heading in the “wrong direction”, while 39% believe we are “on the right track”.The left ...
“The ACT Party can’t be bothered putting an MP on one of the Justice subcommittees hearing submissions on their own Treaty Principles Bill,” Labour Justice Spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
The Government’s newly announced funding for biodiversity and tourism of $30-million over three years is a small fraction of what is required for conservation in this country. ...
The Government's sudden cancellation of the tertiary education funding increase is a reckless move that risks widespread job losses and service reductions across New Zealand's universities. ...
National’s cuts to disability support funding and freezing of new residential placements has resulted in significant mental health decline for intellectually disabled people. ...
The hundreds of jobs lost needlessly as a result of the Kinleith Mill paper production closure will have a devastating impact on the Tokoroa community - something that could have easily been avoided. ...
Today Te Pāti Māori MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, released her members bill that will see the return of tamariki and mokopuna Māori from state care back to te iwi Māori. This bill will establish an independent authority that asserts and protects the rights promised in He Whakaputanga ...
The Whangarei District Council being forced to fluoridate their local water supply is facing a despotic Soviet-era disgrace. This is not a matter of being pro-fluoride or anti-fluoride. It is a matter of what New Zealanders see and value as democracy in our country. Individual democratically elected Councillors are not ...
Nicola Willis’ latest supermarket announcement is painfully weak with no new ideas, no real plan, and no relief for Kiwis struggling with rising grocery costs. ...
Half of Pacific children sometimes going without food is just one of many heartbreaking lowlights in the Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report. ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on benefits, including their children, hit hardest. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Annette Kroen, Research Fellow Planning and Transport, RMIT University The cleanup is underway in northern Queensland following the latest flooding catastrophe to hit the state. More than 7,000 insurance claims have already been lodged, most of them for inundated homes and other ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Subha Parida, Lecturer in Property, University of South Australia Carl Oberg/Shutterstock Houses and fire do not mix. The firestorm which hit Los Angeles in January destroyed nearly 2,000 buildings and forced 130,000 people to evacuate. The 2019–20 Australian megafires destroyed ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Bowman, Professor of Pyrogeography and Fire Science, University of Tasmania Tasmania has been burning for more than two weeks, with no end in sight. Almost 100,000 hectares of bushland in the northwest has burned to date. This includes the Tarkine rainforest ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Martin Loosemore, Professor of Construction Management, University of Technology Sydney This week, the Productivity Commission released its much-awaited report into productivity growth in Australia’s housing construction sector. It wasn’t a glowing appraisal. The commission found physical productivity – the total number ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Pascale Lubbe, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Molecular Ecology, University of Otago Royal spoonbills are among several new species that have crossed the Tasman and naturalised in New Zealand. JJ Harrison/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA When people arrived on the shores of Aotearoa ...
Stats NZ’s head is stepping down over the agency’s failure to safeguard census data, and more officials may soon be in the firing line, writes Catherine McGregor in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. An ‘absolutely unacceptable’ failure Stats NZ chief ...
Health NZ is under greater government scrutiny, with the new health minister setting up a unit he says will "drive greater accountability and performance". ...
Manurewa Marae acknowledges should have done better at handling completed census forms, following an inquiry into steps government agencies took to protect data. ...
Police failed to protect people from protesters at a high-profile rally and made unlawful arrests at another, the Independent Police Conduct Authority says. ...
Comment: Crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are making it easier for people to invest in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum without having to handle digital wallets or private keys. These allow investors to buy and sell cryptocurrency through their regular brokerage accounts.This has opened the door for billions of dollars ...
Two long-awaited reports into alleged personal data misuse, centred on census collection and Covid-19 vaccination efforts at Manurewa Marae, were released yesterday. Here’s what you need to know.“Very sobering reading” was how public service commissioner Sir Brian Roche described his organisation’s long-awaited report into the alleged misuse of census ...
Backbench MPs reached new levels of patsy questions in an extraordinarily dull question time on Tuesday. Echo Chamber is The Spinoff’s dispatch from the press gallery, recapping sessions in the House. Columns are written by politics reporter Lyric Waiwiri-Smith and Wellington editor Joel MacManus. “MPs ask questions to explore key issues ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Wednesday 19 February appeared first on Newsroom. ...
The New Zealand Government says the Cook Islands must share more information about the deals it has signed with China, following the release of an ‘action plan’ in the face of protests in the Pacific nation’s capital.The Cook Islands government has also revealed plans to spend $3 million on a ...
Comment: The recent attack by Destiny Church front groups on a Drag science show at Te Atatū library crossed a line. This wasn’t the first time that Brian Tamaki, the multimillionaire self-appointed ‘apostle’, has ordered acts of aggression against the queer community. Last year, Drag Story Time events were targeted, ...
Martina Salmon is well versed in the fast-paced action on a netball court, but even she was caught by surprise with the speed at which her career changed tack last year.Staying in the fast lane is only part of her drive this season.Fresh off a nine-day camp in Sydney with ...
Last night I may as well have been in Taihape. Or, closer to home, for me at least, somewhere in the Wairarapa. Or Tūrangi, even – which is near where we used to spend the summer when I was a child. For there was that same gorgeous small town feeling ...
Having Auckland’s food scraps dumped onto your rural backyard sounds scandalous, but in the North Island town of Reporoa there’s no fuss about the thousands of tonnes carted here every week.From the same site as one truck drops the waste, another truck picks up fertiliser to spread on local sheep ...
Negotiating rights over freshwater in Treaty settlement negotiations could have extended negotiations a decade, a Ngāi Tahu leader says.Tribal leaders, and its umbrella body, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, have taken the Attorney-General to court in a bid to have the Crown recognise its rangatiratanga (chiefly authority) over wai māori ...
Analysis: Poor safeguarding of New Zealanders’ data could be a widespread practice within the public service and certainly within the health system, according to the findings of an independent inquiry into allegations of misused census and Covid-19 vaccination information.The Public Service Commission’s review, led by consultant Pania Gray and former ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jennifer Stone, Principal Research Fellow, School of Population and Global Health, The University of Western Australia Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock Having dense breasts is a clear risk factor for breast cancer. It can also make cancers hard to spot on mammograms. Yet you ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The National Anti-Corruption Commission will finally investigate whether six people referred to it by the royal commission into Robodebt engaged in corrupt conduct. This follows an independent reconsideration by former High Court judge Geoffrey ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Blaxland, Professor, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University Last week in Europe, the United States sent some very strong messages it is prepared to upend the established global order. US Vice President JD Vance warned a stunned Munich ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Reserve Bank has delivered the expected modest rate cut of a quarter of a percentage point, and we’re set for the predictable frenzy of speculation about an April election. The cut is unlikely to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra The Reserve Bank cut official interest rates on Tuesday, the first decrease in four years, saying inflationary pressures are easing “a little more quickly than expected”. However, the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The Reserve Bank has delivered the expected modest rate cut of a quarter of a percentage point, and we’re set for the predictable frenzy of speculation about an April election. The cut is unlikely to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Allan Fels, Professor Allan Fels, Professor of Law, Economics and Business at the University of Melbourne and Monash University., The University of Melbourne Australia is creeping towards adding a divestiture power to its Competition and Consumer Act. Under such a law, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arjen Vaartjes, PhD Student, Quantum Physics, UNSW Sydney Dmitriy Rybin / Shutterstock What makes something quantum? This question has kept a small but dedicated fraction of the world’s population – most of them quantum physicists – up at night for decades. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mary Anne Kenny, Associate Professor, School of Law, Murdoch University Australia’s minister for home affairs announced on Sunday that the federal government has struck a deal with Nauru to “resettle” three non-citizens from what’s come to be known as the “NZYQ cohort”. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matt Fitzpatrick, Professor in International History, Flinders University (From left to right): Neville Chamberlain, Édouard Daladier, Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Italian Foreign Minister Galeazzo Ciano before signing the Munich Agreement, which gave the Sudetenland to Germany.German Federal Archives/Wikimedia Commons Ukraine ...
Looks like TOP has just shifted its first policy debate.
And yep, it was the one about cats:
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/dcc-cat-management-proposal-passes-vote
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win!!
Cull must have done such a good, cheap job of flood alleviation that there’s money left over for this. Or maybe he plans on drowning them.
Don’t often do so, but listened to Brian Edwards and Michelle Boag on the afternoon panel session today. The main topic discussed was Metiria Turei’s confession. Michelle Boag’s responses served to confirm that the faux rage being expressed by all the usual media suspects is a further example of the ‘Right Wing’s Dirty Political’ machine. They are all saying exactly the same things and feeding off each other.
None of them mention the root cause of this sudden upsurge in this petty benefit fraud. It was the cutting of the benefit by Ruth Richardson in the early 1990s. I was one of those affected and the benefit went from around $150 per week to $130 per week. No-one could survive on $130 even in the 90s so hence the need to seek a source of income elsewhere. In my case it was doing housework for an elderly family friend. She was a Christian lady who would never have broken a law in her life. But she was happy to pay me cash under the table because she knew how desperate my financial situation was at that time.
So, here they are… screaming foul play when it was one of their own kind who forced people into having to “break the law” in the first place!
Can’t speak for Mickey but for myself its her total and utter cavalier attitude that rubs me up the wrong way, like shes not sorry nor repentant and it just smacks of a political stunt
She could have used her maiden speech and then paid whatever money she owes back, could have done it when she become co-leader but nope she waits until a couple of months out from the election
Well shes made a gamble so it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out. Personally I think this is going to backfire on the Greens and it won’t help Labour either
And for me I don’t see that attitude – I see a woman with a child, studying to make life better for herself and her child. There is a sincere, honest and composed compassion around this leader that cannot be sullied by the right. Her bringing it to the public consciousness and her handling of it since then have been exemplary. All of the combined nastiness against her is petty bullshit and the tactics of some very scared little boys and girls. They should be scared too, very scared, because change is going to happen.
You are misinterpreting Metiria’s attitude chris73. It is not cavalier. Do you honestly think the vast bulk of beneficiaries enjoyed ‘breaking the rules’? It is pathetic calling it law-breaking because what I, Metiria and thousands of others did was hardly a criminal act. If you had found yourself in the same circumstance in the 90s you would have done exactly the same thing. It’s called survival.
Ruth Richardson has a great deal to answer for!
Ruth Richardson has a great deal to answer for!
True, just a shame theres never been a left government to restore benefits in power since it happened
Agreed Anne
And the absolute terror and stress at having to break the rules like that to survive, knowing that the full force of the state would come down hard.
The dob in a beneficiary scheme bred fear and distrust all round
If I recall correctly, an analysis done not long after the Clark govt. came to power found that some 72 to 75% of those anonymous dob-ins proved to be false and motivated by malice.
…like shes not sorry nor repentant…
Er, yes. Is anyone in National sorry or repentant for slashing benefits in 1991, which is what led to this widespread practice of lying to WINZ? No, not even slightly – so why should Turei be sorry or repentant?
Because it would have somewhat mitigated the coming damage thats going to happen to the Greens and the left in general?
I know right-wingers struggle to imagine that anyone feels empathy for the poor, but that’s because you’re right-wingers. Among Turei’s and the left’s target market, the fact that Turei’s also struggled to make ends meet on the receiving end of National’s “brighter future” isn’t a drawback.
Isn’t it all about an uppity Maori woman who has risen above her station and middle class anger that she dosn’t knowher place.
Psych nuse
don.t think so. Any female benny would have done. Male might have had some sympathy because he didn’t go and get pregnant which is a sin and a shame on females.
I’m sure that plays a part.
I also don’t think it’s cavalier, and anyone listening to her talk about how terrifying it was and who knows what it’s like being on a benefit and dealing with WINZ understands very well that Turei is taking this very seriously. She just put her career on the line, and she did this for her constituents.
Interestingly, it seemed to me that right at the end of that interview Brian Edwards’ patience with bellicose Boag was running out, and Jim Mora (wanting to keep things nicy-nicy) rapidly shut down the conversation.
A pity – for far too long to my mind has Edwards kindly agreed to so much slanted stuff that Boag has uttered.
didn’t hear it but sounds like classic Mora.
Heard it. I quite enjoyed the thought of that tiny extra bit of Michelle Boag’s taxes that Metiria managed to obtain to feed her child baked beans or some other cheap staple. Perhaps they named each baked bean after some filthy rich National party grandee as they went down the hatch. The scabrous, judgmental old Boag was entirely repulsive.
Bit of a Boag-an then?
I’m not sure the Gnats understand her effect on the public – she was doing Bill’s PR when he led them to their worst defeat in living memory.
chris73’s comment is of great value to most commenters here, though it may not seem so at first reading. His comment that Metiria’s attitude “rubs him up the wrong way” is genuine and visceral and indicative of his “sort”; what Metiria has done and her follow-up comments on that have sorted the wheat from the chaff. It’s now blatantly obvious which side of the fence chris73, James, red et al sit on and there’s no point at all in trying to haul them over to the other side; they ain’t for haulin’. Let’s save our collective breath. Metiria has proved the Great Revealer, and those sizzling under the heat of her spotlight are those we have to dismiss as lost, not entertain as potential allies, so I say, come on wheat, blow off that chaff and let’s rally behind our flag-bearers; we’ll gain so much by combining our talents and keeping our eyes on the main prize and if you don’t know what that is, stay tuned to Metiria and her kind for further guidance.
+1
+2
I do enjoy reading your contributions so believe me when I say that I am genuinely sorry that you’re going to get a big surprise on election day (and not the kind you’re hoping for)
That’s very kind of you, Chris73, however, I’m pretty confident that you’re as hopeless at accurately predicting the future as I am, and face the possibility of a similar fate to that you’ve predicted for me, so why don’t we just enjoy the ride and while we’re doing that, spread a little more love than we have been, around. God knows, we could all use it. I’m giving Metiria all I can, across the etheric divide, on the airwaves, from my far-flung aerie; you could pitch in too and make someone’s burden just that little lighter, should you choose to express some of the milk of human kindness that doubtless swells your metaphoric breast.
Good point, I think Todd Barclay could use some love at the moment
I’m giving him heaps 🙂
At least she’s telling the truth which is more than some seem capable of!
Not only were the benefits reduced but Housing NZ house rents jumped to market rates. Shipley and Richardson will probably never know the damage they did to many families.
Doubt they cared.
Yep, and beneficiaries were treated like flotsam in the gutter by the WINZ staff even when our circumstances were NOT of our own making.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_of_all_Budgets
I have absolutely NO respect for Ruth Richardson and Jenny Shipley. They were happy to shaft people who needed the safety net of the social welfare system. They lacked the quality of compassion that makes Metiria Turia the courageous woman that she is. We need women of her caliber to change the mean spirited culture perpetuated by this (outgoing) government.
Putting the slipper into single mothers has long been a national sport so I expected the reaction to Metiria’s admission would be more of the same.
But wow, we’ve plumbed new depths with the disgusting levels of venom, spite and outright misogyny directed toward Meteria.
Too complicated and precious. You did her housework and she gave you cash and now you’re claiming you did it for the money. Is that how your “elderly family friend and Christian lady” saw it ? You and she might not have “broken the law” after all and now she can’t speak for herself.
An intellectually challenged rwnj but?
Ooops… GG has deleted the’ but!’ at the end of his dubious comment. Go back to school and learn ya grammar mate.
For your health, I recommend avoiding the Boag/Edwards pairing.
Listening to the comfortably off from Herne Bay lecturing the poor is bad for one’s digestion.
Actually it was only a stones throw from an out and out shouting match today. Edwards wasn’t going to have a bar of Boag’s distorted diatribes – especially over the Turei saga. Quite entertaining.
Michelle Boag does not have such a squeaky clean history herself. Remember the big fine over the Wine Box inquiry.
I can’t understand why all those rich people who have accountants to work out how to get out of paying as much tax as they can every year are making such a fuss about a few hundred dollars used to feed a baby two decades ago.
Some excerpts from an excellent article dispelling a few myths about this country’s healthy environment.
Struggling for a decent job, decent wage, decent life
‘……But, talk of ”record labour force participation” and a ”significant increase” in jobs is only telling part of the story.
Just below the surface, another darker picture emerges.
It does not take much digging in Statistics New Zealand’s latest Household Labour Force Survey to uncover a growing world of low-paid work, insufficient working hours, financial struggles and unfulfilled lives…..
…During the past nine years, the percentage increase in unemployment, underemployment and underutilisation has been two to three times higher than the increase in employment.
Let’s take those one at a time.
For the whole of New Zealand, over that period, the number of people unemployed has increased 49 per cent.
Then there are the underemployed. Those are the people who are employed for fewer than 30 hours a week and would like to be working more hours. Their number has increased 61 per cent.
And there are the underutilised. This is the grouping of people who are unemployed, underemployed and in the potential labour force. They have grown by 38 per cent.
Welcome to the precarious proletariat, aka, the precariat; the growing group of second-class citizens who struggle to get a decent job, a decent wage, a decent life.
In New Zealand today, there are 139,000 people unemployed and trying to find work. That includes 5500 unemployed people in Otago. But remember, ”unemployed” is not the whole picture. There are also 80,000 Kiwis wanting to work but who have given up looking, including 3600 in Otago. On top of that, there are 110,000 individuals in part-time work who need more hours, including 5400 in Otago. There are now 329,000 New Zealanders, including almost 15,000 in Otago, who cannot get any or enough work. That is one person for every eight people in the total work force.’
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11895299
There are so many stories of misery in 2017 neo-liberal state of New Zealand.
I just don’t understand why there isn’t a revolution in this country.
“I just don’t understand why there isn’t a revolution in this country.”
Well you’ve managed to make me feel bad for you that you really can’t get your head around this
‘There are now 329,000 New Zealanders, including almost 15,000 in Otago, who cannot get any or enough work. ‘
Isn’t that enough people to demand change?
And more…
‘Not only is underemployment increasing, but the length of time people are unemployed is also growing.Compared with 2008, the percentage of those unemployed who remain without work for more than a year has tripled. Now, more than 30 per cent of those looking for work remain ”between jobs” for more than 52 weeks.
On the underemployment front, Rosenberg says people are being forced off benefits when there are no suitable jobs for them. He points to recent research for the Ministry of Social Development that shows only a third of those who came off welfare benefits during the year to June, 2011, were in employment two years later.
”They find themselves having to take up insecure, part-time or short-term jobs and many end up unemployed again or underemployed.”
Even after the Government has backed away from zero-hour contracts, its employment laws still make it too easy for employers to hire people on low pay and bad conditions, he says, citing a recent OECD report, Back to Work: New Zealand.The report looks at ways to improve unemployed New Zealanders’ chances of getting work.
The summary states that ”in New Zealand most displaced workers find a new job again, largely due to a strong economy and a highly flexible labour market”.
”But,” says the report, ”many of them face large losses in terms of job quality and especially wages.”
New Zealand has the weakest job protection legislation of any job protection legislation of any OECD country, Rosenberg says.’
and more still.
…’Work and Income New Zealand is an organisation he tries to avoid. Dealing with the government agency is too much hassle, he says. So, as often as possible, Jefferies finds other ways to get by, even when things are tough.
The idea that he pays taxes and obeys the law, so the State has an obligation to protect and promote his wellbeing, is alien to his experience and his worldview.
Jefferies is a success because he is a survivor. He is a member of the precariat; one of hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders living on an economic knife-edge, who have been doing so for so long they think it is normal‘
Change maybe but revolution?
Revolutionary change.
I wasn’t meaning a violent revolution – just the sort of grassroots uprising that’s occurring in the UK.
I just don’t understand why there isn’t a revolution in this country.
Well, fucking educate yourself then. Information about what it was like in countries that did have revolutions is in plentiful supply and should clear up this mystery for you fairly quickly if you trouble yourself to locate and read it.
Psycho Milt
You don’t have to rip apart every off the cuff comment that Ed says in an emotional moment. When Ed wrote “I just don’t understand why there isn’t a revolution in this country.”, it was really a rhetorical question.
And this also begs the question that neither of you have noted that the change to neo liberalism amounted to a long-running, acid-drip revolution in NZ engineered by The Smugs of Labour 1984. Motto “We do it because we can”. That was a virtually silent revolution. But it turned us upside down so whether you look up or down it was a revolution all right.
That’s what I mean when I use the word revolution.
The Neoliberal changes were effectively a coup d’état.
And I don’t know why pm is so hostile.
But it turned us upside down so whether you look up or down it was a revolution all right.
Well, if we’re classing “elected government passes laws through Parliament” as a “revolution,” Ed’s wish has already come true – every parliamentary session sees a new revolution.
The countries in the western world that have had “revolutions” are Greece, Spain, Italy and France (did France actually have a revolution?). Their rates of unemployment and underemployment are typically double, or in the case of Greece and Spain, quadruple the rate of New Zealand.
There is simply no way that New Zealand can be compared to these European countries. Their economies (excepting France) have actually shrunk in the last decade.
In contrast New Zealand’s growth rate is near the top of the OECD. Our employment rate, even with very high immigration, is among the highest in the OECD. The conditions for “revolution”are simply not present.
Even the Greens and Labour have bought into the broad economic settings of the last few years with their MOU and Budget Rules.
So even if there is a change a govt, it is not going to herald a radical departure from the past. The Greens are the most radical of the alternative (Labour, NZF, and the Greens), but they will also have the smallest say in the alternative govt.
Wayne, you were part of the neoliberal revolution that turned New Zealand from a socialist country into the deregulated capitalist nirvana for billionaires it is today.
Proud of that?
ed – wayne doesn’t give a fuck – he just doesn’t care, never has, never will.
Revolutions are everywhere the result of pitiful corrupt governments.
NZ now leads the world in suicide and homelessness, the prospects for revolution are as high as they have ever been here.
Combine that with the blatant incompetence, corruption and vindictive attacks on the poor that characterize this government, and the only reason the incumbents aren’t tiger food is unprecedented generosity of spirit on the part of most New Zealanders.
We should be not so generous to the treacherous scum who steal our assets, it only encourages them.
You say all that like its a god thing Wayne.
Life in NZ is like a game of Monopoly. It gets increasingly more frustrating the more you are exploited by those who own the most property.
The great divergence
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DFiwK_KWsAIrvYN.jpg:large
Apparently there are WINZ investigators to investigate the doings of Metiria Turei.
Have they got enough investigators to check out the torture of grandparents by WINZ staff?
http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/CvU74EGsp8p4dNaDv4XE/full
“Experiences of grandparents raising grandchildren in getting income support from work and income offices in New Zealand.”
It is clear where their priorities lie.
q&A QUESTION 6
Rt Hon Winston Peters: Can he confirm the contents of a requested presentation by UBS AG, a Swiss investment bank giant, which details options to sell our national grid, worth billions of dollars—this document, marked confidential.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1707/S00401/questions-and-answers-july-26.htm
NZ engineering firm goes under after 150 years
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/95146763/a-hundred-jobs-lost-as-thames-ag-price-goes-into-liquidation
Well there you go, I didn’t know they were still operating until now as I thought they closed up or were brought out after the Thames branch line closed.
Another proud and great engineering firm gone what a blood shame!
In the early 90s when Metiria was going through these “issues” I too had a young family.
I worked around 50hrs a week plus travelled about an hour a day.
If I was on the benefit at that time our families income would have been similar to my wage, without travel and costs associated with working we would have been better off.
If we had pretended to seperate and my wife got the dpb we would have been much better off
(No WFF back then)
We didn’t do either of those, though we considered it, we didn’t want to break the law.
This is not about bene bashing, this not about woman or Maori bashing.
There are always tough times, some worse than others.
But while my family, and Matiria, worked hard and changed our families story… she did it by cheating and I don’t think that is acceptable.
She has bought daylight to inadequate behaviour by WINZ, and payment levels, but to me she has done so in the wrong way. She simply should have paid back the money first and apologised.
Many people are very very angry, tbh I’m one, not because I don’t think we need a safety net, because I don’t like cheats.
Thanks for the chance to post.
Lesson No.1
You don’t buy daylight, you bring it.
Buy/bought
Bring/brought.
Some are literally incoherent with anger that a successful female Maori MP cheated ‘the system’ while a new solo mum a couple of decades ago. The fact that she has voluntarily admitted her wrong doing and committed to repaying what she owes seems to make it that much worse.
Either the level and direction of their anger is disproportionate and biased, or they must be in a constant lather over those perpetrating more substantial rip-offs.
The BIG cheats, now as in the past, excel at concealing their behaviour, but occasionally they do get caught out…
http://www.ird.govt.nz/tax-crime/stop-tax-crime/
https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/white-collar-crime
Agreed, the ‘crime’ here I don’t mean to call significant in that respect.
I think the messaging here is the larger discussion
I hadn’t read awww properly at 9. This is from a male who had a wife and family that he had to work hard for. And he is comparing himself to one person trying to do the work of two, plus do training so she could get a job in the first place.
It shows the complete and wilful ignorance that bennie-bashers revel in. They build themselves up as heroes who stand proud above the hoi-polloi struggling at their feet. It’s just a form of self-gratification. Instead of thinking, this is hard-times for us all, good on her for getting training and a job and be a working mother, supporting herself, he just goes for the cheap sneer and superiority.
And probably it is very similar to the attitudes of those that voted for Trump and against Obamacare, which seems to be help to get cheaper Health Insurance. They haven’t got much themselves but they have their pride, not like those others they feel contempt for with their hand out to government. It’s white share-croppers in the USA looking down on blacks so they could feel superior even though they were known as ‘poor whites’ or ‘poor white trash’ – then they went along with the KKK.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poor_White
and
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/09/the-original-underclass/492731/
and
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/01/white-working-class-poverty/424341/
awww g-me a break – your claims haven’t the ring of truth about them, but giving you the benefit of the doubt, I wonder how it could be that someone like you who shared the same misfortune as Metiria (note spelling) even to the point of giving consideration to “cheating”, are so damning now in your comments, of someone who found themselves in a position so similar to your own. It seems very unlikely that someone who has given thought to cheating due to pressures such as both you (you say) and Metiria (note spelling) experienced, would bother to go to the trouble of going to a Metiria-friendly blogsite to condemn her for something you yourself were, you say, very close to doing yourself. Pretty unkind and lacking in empathy, I’d say, if I was believing your story (which, I don’t – my apologies if I’m wrong).
Why come here and share, because I want to understand the support she is getting.
If I live in my bubble and never get challenged I can’t learn.
Yes, my spelling is shite, always has been. No offence intended.
Your disbelief doesn’t offend, and you can take my word that it’s an honest account (or not)
BTW, I think looking at temptation and making a choice is the making (or undoing) of everyone.
so you’ve never paid a cashie or taken money under the table or anything like that?
Are you for real?
No I’m wasting an evening on morons named after a horse…
Thanks Robert for at least being good enough to respond, even if that was pretty fucking rude.
Anne and Ed, go fuck yourselves.
aww
Your pseudo implies that you don’t believe anything you hear or read.
We come here to try and get an understanding about what’s going on.
You say you have already experienced something and still don’t understand it – what can we say?
The main point is that it takes a great effort to study and learn and pass a university degree, plus be a good parent, and put regular good meals on the table, and pay the bills, and spend time with your child, be there when they are sick, get the washing dry and study,study. And the government doesn’t really get behind you. Back some decades ago they did try though the rules could be contradictory.
Oh dear oh dear… Awww didn’t last long. 🙁
And there I was… trying to kindly teach him something. 🙂
Anne
You’re a saint. 😀
I tend to think “there, but for the grace of god, go I”. Or would if I were religious.
If someone’s genuinely lying to get money they don’t need to buy luxuries, then fair enough I’d be pissed.
But people shouldn’t have to work 50 hours a week to get the same as a benefit, and people on a benefit shouldn’t have to struggle just to live. The law is one thing, but people being cheated by the system can’t cheat the system if they’re just getting their dues. Hell, a mate tonight said he was going through a review process because msd was fucking him out of cash.
As for paying back the cash, I doubt Turei knows specifically how much is at issue – I’m damned sure I played fast and loose with declarations once or twice back in the day, but am stuffed if I remember the details. There’s a even slim chance I actually did everything legitimately but by accident, lol.
Vandals throw in the towel.
http://globalnews.ca/news/3623401/36-billion-pacific-northwest-lng-project-dead/