Doledrums

Written By: - Date published: 10:08 am, July 18th, 2015 - 33 comments
Categories: benefits, Economy, exports, jobs, welfare - Tags: , , ,

New Zealand is steadily heading into economic and personal depression, according to data just released by the ANZ. Employment statistics have dropped for the fourth month in a row. Labour’s Grant Robertson is spot on when he says that ANZ’s figures showed the true state of the country’s ailing economy.

The collapse in milk powder prices has led to massive job losses at Fonterra, but it appears that employment in related business areas has already dropped. The Waikato region in particular has been hard hit by the decline in the dairy industry.

The Christchurch rebuild has either peaked, or is about to, depending on who you read.

The latest Roy Morgan poll is not just a wake up call for National on the political polling, it shows a dramatic drop in economic confidence. Gary Morgan, in his commentary on the poll results  says:

“Other indicators are also negative for Prime Minister John Key. The Roy Morgan Government Confidence Rating fell steeply in July – now at 118 (down 17.5pts) its lowest since September 2013 while ANZ-Roy Morgan New Zealand Consumer Confidence Rating fell to 113.9 in July – the lowest since October 2012. Consumer Confidence has now fallen for three straight months.”

So we are staring into the abyss. National have no answers. After squandering the positive economy they inherited from the last Labour Government, the Key Government is leading us into the doledrums. After 30 years of the neo-liberal economic consensus, we are not better off as a country. We are a country divided into the haves and the have nots. And even the haves are finding that they can’t afford a house in Auckland any more.

I don’t want a 2cheap country where exploitation is the norm. The gloss is coming off and DunnoKeyo’s strategy of a rockstar economy based on his selfies with celebrities is a flop. It simply doesn’t wash.

We have coasted for 7 years in a land of milk and insurance money. No more.

Something has to change. My suggestion is that the change should come from the top. Can we please have an early election? New Zealand can’t afford another two years of this mediocre and muddled leadership.

Put it to the people, John. If you’ve got the guts.

 

And now a song to cheer you all up:

 

 

33 comments on “Doledrums ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. marty mars 1
    18 July 2015 at 10:20 am

    The Gnat answer…

    Nothing’s Going to Happen
    maybe all the aunts in the world
    will sip sweetly
    at their cups of tea
    and almost say one word
    of anything but what they’ve learnt
    from all the uncles
    who raise horses laughs
    and hopeful stiff pricks in the general direction
    of anywhere but home

    Nothing’s Going to Happen(x2)

    maybe all the children in small rooms
    will fall silent
    at a wall or window
    and forget to breathe
    for just one minute
    because of some beauty
    that has not been altered, damned or pointed out
    by the clumsy dark oafs that train them

    Nothing’s Going to Happen (x2)

    then again
    all the time
    every minute
    neverending
    unrelenting
    all around us
    without pausing
    endless endless
    all pervading
    movement motion
    this way that way
    ticktock
    freefall
    love love kiss kiss
    me me do be
    is
    was
    I
    me
    b
    c
    d
    e
    f
    g
    h
    i think nothings going to happen ….

  2. weka 2
    18 July 2015 at 10:37 am

    oh come on trp (and marty!)

    There is no depression in New Zealand,
    There are no cows on our farms,
    There is no depression in New Zealand,
    We can all keep perfectly calm.

    Everybody’s talking about The GFC
    Everybody’s talking about The GFC
    But we’re as safe as safe can be,
    There’s no unrest in this country
    We have no hungry kids,
    We have no homelessness,
    We have no racism,
    We have no sexism, sexism, no, no

    There is no depression in New Zealand,
    There are no teeth in our heads
    There is no depression in New Zealand,
    We sleep in a well made bed
    Oh but everybody’s talking about the GCSB
    Yes everybody’s talking about the GCSB,
    But we’re as safe as safe can be,
    There’s no unrest in this country
    We have no SIS,
    We have no secrets,
    We have no rebellion;
    We have no valium, valium, no, no

    There is no depression in New Zealand;
    There are no cows on our farms,
    There is no depression in New Zealand;
    oh we can all keep perfectly calm,
    perfectly calm,
    perfectly calm,
    perfectly calm,
    perfectly calm…

  3. marty mars 3
    18 July 2015 at 10:56 am

    just because I can…

  4. maui 4
    18 July 2015 at 11:27 am

    All will be ok if we all choose the flag of the kiwi with the rainbow coming out it’s bottom come November. Combined with a successful name change would also have other countries forget who we are so we don’t have to own up to anything.

  5. ruup 5
    18 July 2015 at 11:44 am

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsjjE8jXDts

    as “The Boss” says.

    “Death To My Hometown”

    Well, no cannon ball did fly, no rifles cut us down
    No bombs fell from the sky, no blood soaked the ground
    No powder flash blinded the eye
    No deathly thunder sounded
    But just as sure as the hand of God
    They brought death to my hometown
    They brought death to my hometown

    Now, no shells ripped the evening sky
    No cities burning down
    No army stormed the shores for which we’d die
    No dictators were crowned
    I awoke on a quiet night, I never heard a sound
    The marauders raided in the dark
    And brought death to my hometown
    They brought death to my hometown

    They destroyed our families, factories
    And they took our homes
    They left our bodies on the plains
    The vultures picked our bones

    So, listen up my sonny boy, be ready when they come
    For they’ll be returning sure as the rising sun
    Now get yourself a song to sing
    And sing it ’til you’re done
    Sing it hard and sing it well
    Send the robber barons straight to hell
    The greedy thieves who came around
    And ate the flesh of everything they found
    Whose crimes have gone unpunished now
    Who walk the streets as free men now

    They brought death to our hometown, boys
    Death to our hometown
    Death to our hometown, boys
    Death to our hometown

    • Jenny Kirk 5.1
      18 July 2015 at 9:20 pm

      Love it !

    • North 5.2
      18 July 2015 at 10:13 pm

      Thanks for that link Ruup……many, many thanks ! A stirring song of protest if ever there was one…….there’s the pain of the Irish in there. In fact I’m gonna watch it again !

      Thanks too TRP for the post so aptly titled “Doledrums”. Most people I know in my life, private and professional, know what that’s about.

      Meanwhile the Cock Star’s over in Hawaii scheming on how to get the Obamas to the fucking family wedding. And driving the hardest bargain with the E! Channel……Fuck Me ! Rome burns…..

  6. cogito 6
    18 July 2015 at 11:47 am

    “change should come from the top”

    Real change comes when ordinary people rise up and demand it.

    On Tuesday this week – 14th July – it was Bastille Day and I was delighted to see the French flag flying high in commemoration, right here in NZ. The French people rose up on that fateful day in 1789 under the banner of Liberté, égalité, fraternité and created momentous change.

    In today’s terms the 99% took on the 1% and changed a nation.

    It needs to happen again…

  7. infused 7
    18 July 2015 at 11:57 am

    So we are staring into the abyss. National have no answers. After squandering the positive economy they inherited from the last Labour Government

    This is why no one takes you seriously.

    • Macro 7.1
      18 July 2015 at 12:35 pm

      If you think anyone takes you seriously……..
      You really are confused.

    • Lanthanide 7.2
      18 July 2015 at 12:53 pm

      The worst thing National did was cut taxes. Everything that has come afterwards, has been because of their self-imposed budget constraints.

      I am confident that Helen and Cullen would have steered NZ through the GFC and the earthquakes better than National did.

    • Draco T Bastard 7.3
      18 July 2015 at 1:55 pm

      Even Bill English said that the economy was in excellent position to withstand the GFC when National first got into power. Of course, as the truth doesn’t fit National’s narrative, they’ve been blaming Labour ever since for their own failings.

  8. red-blooded 8
    18 July 2015 at 12:09 pm

    Except you, apparently, Sabine. One wonders why you visit and comment so frequently if there’s nothing worth thinking about or any opinions worth valuing being explored on this site…

  9. Lanthanide 9
    18 July 2015 at 12:49 pm

    “in a land of milk and insurance money.”
    Nice line.

  10. Scintilla 10
    18 July 2015 at 1:44 pm

    I think the farming vote is up for grabs. The traditional farmers are not happy about corporate farms and their practices; they will be viewing the prospect of more corporate take-overs as they swoop on mortgagee/must go sales, with horror.

    My opinion is based on some informal research I did as a census collector in a rural area, where I met every occupier in that space, approx 200 houses/dwellings. An area that encompassed some grain, traditional beef , moving more into dairy; forestry, a few lifestylers. Some very large farms had been created by purchasing several blocks and turning them into dairy monoliths. This is on sand country with good underground water, not far from the coast. The monoliths got consent (how??) to drill for water, costing millions, that the local farmers were deeply worried about with regard to the health and longevity of aquifers. Drill too deep and you might strike seawater? One of these huge farms had cleared every tree from the coast back a few miles and effectively created a wind tunnel. They could afford to drop fert/water by helicopter, one was up all day doing it that I saw, and they were putting in massive irrigators. $8million worth. Sustainable? Don’t think so.

    It was plain that the incomers were not welcomed and they were getting flak in the community. A cup of tea, and being an interested listener enabled me to “take the temperature” of this area and it was pretty hot.

    National is not the traditional kiwi farmers’ party anymore.

  11. Sable 11
    18 July 2015 at 1:45 pm

    Sounds like their is nothing left to milk for the diary industry or Keys grubby government…..

  12. Clemgeopin 12
    18 July 2015 at 2:49 pm

    “New Zealand can’t afford another two years of this mediocre and muddled leadership”

    The poor buggers are trying hard in their own little dodgy ways using all their own crooked brainy powers.

    For example…

    McCully sells sheep,
    Joyce sells horseshit,
    Smith sells graveyards,
    Brownlee sells Christchurch,
    Bennett sells state houses,
    English sells spin and bullshit,
    Bridges sells lots of bridges,
    Parata sells charter schools,
    Tolley sells poor beneficiaries down the drain,
    Guy sells swamp kauri,
    Lotu Liga sells private prisons,
    Collins sells milk interests,
    Williamson sells nails to wealthy neighbours,
    Hudson sells copycat websites,
    Woodhouse sells too much immigration,
    Key sells this entire country and its soul hook, line and sinker!

    What a great team! What have we done to deserve them?

    • Stuart Munro 12.1
      18 July 2015 at 3:21 pm

      NZ never built its democracy from the ground up – we inherited a system from a more mature polity. While our leaders respected the conventions of Westminster democracy they could not do much harm.

      Now we have a generation of politicians who lie and steal and cheat with what they fondly imagine is impunity. Our garden has become overrun with noxious weeds, which must be eliminated root and branch. We have let the weeding get away on us – it’s time to put in a few hours of solid effort, and maybe a barrier mulch. Il faut cultiver notre jardin.

  13. Colonial Viper 13
    18 July 2015 at 2:59 pm

    Does Labour (and Grant Robertson as finance spokesperson) embrace an economic model which would allow them to spend more into the economy and hence hold off recession?

    Or will they follow the neoliberal track, believing that government spending into the economy must be cut if government revenues start to fall due to a slow down?

    Is Labour aware that eliminating the flow of private sector hot money into the Auckland housing market will severely dampen down economic activity in Auckland and compensatory spending will be required from the public purse?

  14. keyman 14
    18 July 2015 at 7:01 pm

    john has to held to account hes promised the brighter future time to delivery johnny the clock is ticking

  15. Lucy 15
    18 July 2015 at 8:01 pm

    We were on the cusp of something special!!! Yea at least a recession (if we are super lucky!)

    • keyman 15.1
      19 July 2015 at 8:39 am

      did you notice David Cameron used same something special during the British election a hollow statement from a hollow men

  16. Mike the Savage One 16
    19 July 2015 at 1:16 am

    Let the depression come, let more negative statistics rule the headlines in the media, let the people feel the pain, and let us wait a little, and we may get a vote that will be robust again, given the people will have become totally disillusioned with Key and his Natsies gang.

    Having an election now would not necessarily bring the result we need, so be patient is my advice, we are in for a perfect storm to hit the economy, and it will get even worse next year, I expect.

    So in the meantime, sting them with needles, prick them continuously, with hard questions in Parliament’s question time, and perhaps (for a change) drilling questions by the media, which will bare the nerves of the government members, they will sweat and shiver, every day, even before getting out of bed.

    This last week alone, with an intense debate about the housing disaster in Auckland, with shocking drops in dairy auction prices, with two to three days of leaked mobile phone pictures of inmates in a Serco run prison fighting, smoking dope and drinking booze, laughing, cracking jokes, and teasing guards via a radio they are not meant to have.

    Yes, the gloss is coming off fast now, off the ship being “captained” by John Key, the drunken sailor. It is going to hit an iceberg soon, all hell is loose.

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