Even more proof that Conservatives are not good economic managers

Written By: - Date published: 11:44 am, September 29th, 2022 - 61 comments
Categories: Christopher Luxon, Economy, national, paul goldsmith, treasury, uk politics, uncategorized - Tags:

There has been this carefully crafted illusion that conservative politicians are somehow better with the finances than progressive politicians.

Locally last election this illusion was shattered, thanks in part to some extraordinary blunders by National’s then Finance Spokesperson Paul Goldsmith.

It transpired that there was a $4 billion dollar hole in National’s alternative budget because Goldsmith had used the incorrect figure for “savings” to be made by stopping contributions to the Cullen fund.

Then another hole appeared, this a relatively more modest $88 million hole.  This mistake arose because it used the wrong figure for the capital allowance.

It then emerged that National had double counted a $3.9 billion contribution from the National Land Transport Fund.  Its solution was to just say that the NLTF would have to pay this sum twice.  What fiscal geniuses National has.  Imagine being able to get funding this way by drawing twice on a fund in the future even though you have no idea if it will be able to afford this.

And then another $2 billion hole appeared because National, fiscal geniuses that they are, thought they could cut contributions from the Cullen Fund but still collect the tax earned by these further investments that were not made.  Wow.  Tax income out of nothing.  And they complain that the left believes in magical money trees.

These blunders no doubt led to the size of the left’s victory and also to the left for the first time in living memory being considered to be better managers of the economy than the right.

Overseas National’s UK contemporaries the Conservative Party has made an extraordinary blunder in proposing to remove the top tax bracket completely and to fund this by increasing debt.

The markets have responded dramatically.  The Pound has slumped and the markets have clearly been spooked by the thought of an ever increasing interest bill hit by both massive new borrowing as well as increasing interest rates.

And Tory MPs are sensing the panic and are starting to revolt.  It is not inconceivable that Truss’s short reign could be at stake and Kwarteng looks like he will have to be sacrificed.

From the Guardian:

Tory MPs expressed disbelief at how sterling had slumped after the government’s mini-budget sparked market turbulence, compounded by the chancellor’s subsequent remarks, at a time when households across the country were already struggling with the cost of living.

They said [Chancellor Kwasi] Kwarteng would have to resign for the party to survive the financial crisis, as they urged the prime minister to reverse her plan to scrap the top 45p tax rate, which they said had been received badly in their constituencies.

Simon Hoare, the Tory MP for North Dorset, tweeted: “In the words of Norman Lamont on Black Wednesday: ‘Today has been a very difficult day’. These are not circumstances beyond the control of govt/Treasury. They were authored there. This inept madness cannot go on.”

Yet Downing Street insisted the prime minister was standing by her chancellor. A spokesperson told the Guardian: “The PM and the chancellor are working on the supply-side reforms needed to grow the economy, which will be announced in the coming weeks.”

Neither Kwarteng nor Truss was prepared to comment publicly to calm the markets and reassure the public. Instead, they sent out the Treasury financial secretary, Andrew Griffith, who argued that “all major economies” were experiencing the same volatility as the UK as a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Earlier this week Christopher Luxon was questioned about this.  National has its own proposal to cut taxes and has not explained how this can be afforded or what will be done.  From Radio New Zealand:

National has said it would take a tax cut plan to the 2023 election and Luxon said that had not changed despite some markets seeing tax cuts as adding to inflation problems.

“The UK is incredibly different from our own plan.

“What you’ve got in the UK is a more challenged economy, frankly, as a starting point. You’ve got massive amount of stimulus spending going on and you’ve got massive wholesale tax change going on as well.”

Luxon said National was focused on adjusting tax brackets for inflation, and making sure there was less wasteful spending.

Asked repeatedly by Morning Report if his government would consider borrowing to fulfil its tax cut plans, Luxon said it was a separate issue.

“We’re saying very clearly that we think there’s a way in which we can give tax relief so that people can keep money in their own pocket.”

Borrowing was “a separate issue,” he said, and National would come to an election with a fully costed plan and would look hard at cutting spending.

“We’re going to go through the spending line by line and make sure it’s not wasted and as a result we think we can deliver a much more effective spending that delivers outcomes.”

“We think we can give tax relief in a very simple principle which many countries around the world do, which is just inflation-adjusted tax thresholds.

To afford their cuts National has to either increase debt or cut spending significantly.  One possible source of funds is Luxon’s refusal to inflation proof health spending but to afford all of its proposed tax cuts the cuts to primary Government activity will have to be severe.

But Luxon cannot have it both ways and should be up front about National’s plans.  Although I expect he is looking very nervously at what is happening in the United Kingdom and wondering if the extraordinary events over there will affect local perception about whether or not National can actually manage anything, let alone a modern economy.

61 comments on “Even more proof that Conservatives are not good economic managers ”

  1. arkie 1

    The quality of management is great for those for whom they are actually ‘managing’ the economy:

    Prime Minister Liz Truss had hosted a dinner for hedge fund managers shortly before her spending plans sparked a selling frenzy in sterling and gilts. “They were all supporters of Truss and every one of them was shorting the pound,”

    https://fortune.com/2022/09/26/short-the-pound-uk-government-liz-truss-kwarteng-budget-hedge-funds-george-soros/

    • PsyclingLeft.Always 1.1

      A truism that most "managers" rarely have real competency. And makes you wonder how they ever got to become one. Oh.. of course! They generate astounding amounts of self promoting/serving BS. Seems to work for them world wide.

  2. tc 2

    Conservatives excel at not giving a rats arse and the UK media may as well be writing scripts for coronation street.

    Truss courted the markets who were in on the moves and profited from it. The brexit shit show rolls on.

  3. Poission 3

    We are in a slightly worse position now then the UK,with an overvalued currency,high current account deficit,and a budget with a substantive deficit,which will not decrease due to increased borrowing at higher rates.

    There is also substantive depreciation in the government books,with investments such as NZsuper and ACC taking hits,and housing depreciation affecting Housing corp with its increasing debt burden.( nearing 8 billion).

    There are good arguments now for the reversal of the fuel tax cut on petroleum now,due to sustained price destruction ( keeping the RU due to global diesel shortages) and keeping the PT subsidy.

    The superfund contribution is merely a tax refund,returning what they paid.

    • Ad 3.1

      I don't understand your comment on NZSuper. Can you expand?

      • Poission 3.1.1

        The NZ super contribution is around the tax received ie Tax paid last 10 yrs 7.57b,crown contribution 7.5b (last 12 months 2.4b tax 2.1b)

        NZ super would still pay tax and should have an investment return ( market meltdowns aside) even if contributions ceased.

        The transfer of around 1/2 the fund into low carbon investments is poorly thought out,as investment should be into value now growth at present.

  4. tsmithfield 4

    Providing tax cuts and borrowing seems a crazy solution given that the UK is facing huge inflation, and these measures will be like pouring fuel on the fire.

    But, from what I can see, there are no easy solutions. It looks to me that the UK will be facing massive stagflation, which is a very difficult problem to deal with.

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/money-mentor/article/stagflation/

    It is easy to criticise. But what would be a solution to deal with this problem? It seems to me that any measure to solve the problem through any form of stimulus is going to end up in the same situation, be it from the right or the left. Any solution that actually deals to the problem is going to be incredibly painful, and likely not politically survivable. So, no easy choices, and the leadership change was a bit of a poisoned chalice.

    As someone tweeted:

    https://twitter.com/Rob_Merrick/status/1575144324769120261

    LOL

    • Obtrectator 4.1

      "It looks to me that the UK will be facing massive stagflation, which is a very difficult problem to deal with."

      During the UK's big financial crisis in the mid-70s The Economist was briefly bandying around the word "slumpflation", which sounds even worse, and could well be what's about to happen there now.

  5. Kat 5

    Its all about perception, how could that nice man John who used to work at a big bank and the new man Christopher who used to run an airline not be good economic managers……….they have to be…….right…….

    If I have one criticism of this Labour govt it is how it keeps its safe and steady economic management the best secret in the country.

  6. joe90 6

    Marvelous.

    • tsmithfield 7.1

      I get that you don't like right wing policies. But, looking past all that, what is a better solution to the problem (I mean "better" not ''different'')?

      Given that UK government debt is around 100% of GDP, and that inflation could push 17% in the near future, and that it appears the economy is already in a technical recession:
      https://home.kpmg/uk/en/home/media/press-releases/2022/09/uk-economy-marred-by-uncertainty-while-high-inflation.html

      This mix is something that any finance minister would probably have a meltdown over I think.

      So, what is the way forward in this situation?

      • pat 7.1.1

        An acceptance that growth is ending and an adaption to an economy of decline is required….politically an oxymoron because the voters will not accept reality so the brown stuff will be spread by the whirly thing….popcorn optional.

      • Blazer 7.1.2

        I hope are not asking..'inane' questions!laugh

        Tax cuts for the rich and tanking the pound are what not to…do.

        • tsmithfield 7.1.2.1

          Don't tell me what not to do. Anyone can do that. What do you propose can be done that is better (not just different) to what they are doing now?

          • Blazer 7.1.2.1.1

            I am more concerned with 'inane ' questions.

            You accused me of making an inane question which btw was not even asked of you..this is it…'how does it play ..out'?

            As above you said…'

            'So, what is the way forward in this situation?'

            Now apply your vaunted deductive reasoning and tell me the distinctions..if you can.Thx in advance.

            • tsmithfield 7.1.2.1.1.1

              It is not an "inane" question because it emerges from research and identification of the problems.

              If I was able to provide an answer that saves the British economy I would probably earn a knighthood and be recognised as an international financial celebrity.

              But launch into it yourself if you want to. Perhaps you might come up with the magic answer.

              • Blazer

                So make your case for the difference in stating my question was…'inane'..the same criteria apply.

      • roblogic 7.1.3

        Step 1: turf out the pricks that caused Brexit and Austerity and the present collapse of the economy

        Step 2: restore worker protections, re-balance the tax system, regulate housing and landlords and banking

        Step 3: extirpate all legislation that grants the City of London and other private corporations sovereignty in British territory. Prosecute money launderers, fraudsters and corrupt politicians

        Step 4: Nationalise banks and utilities that are presently bleeding the UK dry. Ration power and gas if needed.

        Step 5: Restore proper funding to essential public services: the NHS. welfare. education. police. It is a shameful thing for Britain to have poverty worse than in Dickens time.

        Step 6: Try and normalise relations & trade with the EU. At the same time, stop the crazy immigration policies that are importing 1 million per year. This was the cause of Brexit and is an ongoing failure of the entire political class.

        Step 7: Rebuild infrastructure, restore environmental protections, reset the economy according to the ideas of Steve Keen and Kate Raworth. Invest in human flourishing rather than infinite GDP and endless corporate pillage.

        Step 8: Declare foreign policy independence from the EU and America, and denounce Russia. Try and rebuild friendly relations with other democracies. Emancipate Julian Assange (and any other political prisoners)

        • tsmithfield 7.1.3.2

          The problem with the steps you are proposing there is that it doesn't answer how the economic problems of high debt (around 100% of GDP), high inflation (possibly up to 17%), and a stagnant to shrinking economy will be solved.

          Whatever the structure that is set up, it needs to be either include a dose of austerity, (think of the pressure Germany put on Greece after the GFC) The idea being that the economy is stabilised by increasing income through raising taxes, and cutting government spending, with the aim of balancing the books and reducing debt.

          The problem is that economies can end up in a death spiral as growth shrinks and and tax revenue falls.

          Or, a stimulatory policy can be enacted. This means growing the economy by leaving more money in the economy, borrowing where necessary, and inflating debt away via inflation. This appears to be the strategy the UK is using.

          The method this is done (tax cuts, borrow and spend, or a combination) can be debated, but it all ends up in a similar outcome.

          The problem in the UK scenario is that inflation is already high, and this sort of policy will make inflation a lot worse. Thus, UK citizens will be enduring the squeeze of rapidly rising prices for quite awhile.

          But they might be able to deal with the growth side of stagflation, even though inflation will likely run amok. Also, a lot of debt will be inflated away as a lot of UK debt is in GBP. However, the corresponding fall of the exchange rate will mean that imports will become much more expensive. This will, to a degree, help British exporters. But their imported input costs will be much higher.

          The reason for asking the question is because I don't think there are good answers. That is, as in a silver bullet that solves all problems without making other problems worse. But I am open hearing contrary points of view on that.

          Your suggestion of spending on infrastructure could be good if debt wasn't so high. But at 100% of GDP, there isn't a lot of headroom for further borrowing.

          • roblogic 7.1.3.2.1

            I profoundly disagree. The City of London and many other crime organisations hold incredible wealth that needs to be unlocked and shared with the rest of society. Actually implementing such a radical shift will require revolutionary fervour. But Truss seems intent on giving the working class no choice but violence and chaos in order to survive.

  7. newsense 8

    It’s just naked class warfare. In the case of Britain an agenda that the country absolutely didn’t vote for. Two years of it- remember that when any politician raises a 4 year term.

    Here the journalists need to call it what it is, on top of the housing market. It’s pay back for those who struggled through the pandemic only making millions of dollars on their increased property values, (but under a red government so it was stressy socialist millions) , need more money!

    . It’s funneling money to the rich.

    Gordon Campbell on tax cuts

  8. tsmithfield 9

    Further to my post above, I can actually see some logic in what the Brits are trying to do. Bearing in mind there is no perfect solution, and any attempt to solve the problem comes with huge downsides.

    Firstly, an advantage with tax cuts is that this measure will hopefully make the UK seem a lot more attractive for foreign investment. The more foreign investment, the more quickly that growth will be restored. So, I assume that is an outcome Truss et al will be hoping for. Whether that materializes is another matter.

    Secondly, I understand that most of the UK government debt is in British pounds from what I heard on a report the other day. Someone may be able to clarify that, because I haven't found a link that specifies the amount of debt according to currency. But, assuming that is the case, then inflation will actually inflate away a lot of government debt. So, to one extent, inflation will be positive for the UK in terms of debt reduction if a lot of debt is in GBP.

    Finally, looking at it from a traders play, the move would be to pick the bottom (if they can do that LOL) and, at that point borrow large in USD. Then, as the GBP recovers, the USD debt will also be reduced due to the exchange rate improving. But, it is a risky play, because if the GBP continues to decline….

    • AB 9.1

      Firstly, an advantage with tax cuts is that this measure will hopefully make the UK seem a lot more attractive for foreign investment

      When demand has been eviscerated by lowering real incomes for the bottom 80%, investment in anything productive (goods, services) is pointless because it does not produce the desired return on capital. There is a crisis of over-production. So all that windfall cash going to the wealthy from tax cuts will go into speculation causing asset price inflation (mostly in property).

      The only tax cut that might lead to growth is a re-balancing so that poorer people pay less and richer people pay more. But as you imply, under current conditions, that may also be inflationary in the short-term if it produces a sugar rush of consumption – allowing those with pricing power in the market to hike prices for no other reason than the fact that they can (and that they like money excessively).

      Secondly, I understand that most of the UK government debt is in British pounds

      Yes – Varoufakis was saying this morning (somewhere, can't remember exactly) that it is only this fact that means the UK is not Greece. The Bank of England is in effect 'printing' pounds now to buy government bonds in order to keep the price up. This is to prevent pension funds which have borrowed to buy government bonds – but now see them falling in value – from rushing to sell these bonds in order to minimise their exposure to risk. Because that panicked selling will cause them to drop further, so that those pension funds may not be able service debts and become insolvent. So yes – they can maybe create as many new pounds as they want, but it seems like uncharted territory if they do.

      Ironically, it seems that the terrorist sympathiser, anti-Semite and enemy of the British way of life – Jeremy Corbyn – would never have been so reckless. Maybe he understood who gets hurt most when this absurd financialised house of cards starts to wobble.

  9. SPC 10

    And yet it still leaves their top rate of tax at 40%. And they continue to have a CGT and an inheritance tax.

    Their home ownership rate is 65.2%, ours is 64.6%.

  10. Incognito 11

    Bring Back BoJo!

    Truss proves the wisdom of the saying that you have to be careful what you wish for.

    I cannot truss Luxon and his cronies to manage the economy any batter than Truss and hers and he’ll stick to his guns mantra of tax cuts for the better-offs giving us glib platitudes about inflation and all that blahblah.

  11. tsmithfield 12

    I think a whole new economic model is going to emerge after the pandemic and the war are over.

    Peter Zeihan gives excellent analysis of the rationale for this. Amongst other things, current economic models are based on an assumption of unending growth. However, declining demographics around the world are going to upend that assumption.

    Well worth a watch.

    • Blazer 12.1

      I know you're a bit of a frantic vlogspotter,but think about what you really mean when you cite 'declining demographics'….don't be vague,be specific or people will start to wonder about your self professed academic..credentials.

      • tsmithfield 12.1.1

        Think "baby boomers". It is an issue that countries have been aware of for decades.

        To understand that, have a look at demographic pyramids. For instance, Germany is in really bad trouble in that respect as is most of the rest of Europe. Russia is in even worse shape, not helped by killing off large numbers of the most critical age group in a stupid war. And China, with its decades of the one-child policy is terrible.

        The point is, many of these populations are in decline. According to projections, China is due to halve its current population by 2100. And according to Peter Zeihan, errors discovered in a recent census suggest the decline could be much faster so that China halves its population by 2050.

        Hence why growth driven models are going to be unsustainable going forward.

        • Blazer 12.1.1.1

          Yes as a vlogspotter extraordinaire you can be relied on to come up with what Peter Zeihan and a host of other commentators think…how about you trying to formulate your own…opinion….it's not too hard ..is it?

          • Descendant Of Smith 12.1.1.1.1

            I was pointing this out a few years back. That the economy had a great time with the baby boomers having paid off their mortgages ages ago, kids had left home and most often both working had so much surplus money to spend that if you couldn't run a business in the previous twenty years and take advantage of that you likely weren't a very good businessperson.

            But as they retired and retirement villages and rest homes took their money their spending would reduce. This all by itself would cause a recession.

            It is why putting our eggs in low paid crap like tourism was never going to work. Miles insufficient to offset the loss of baby boomer spending.

            The increasing death rate of the baby boomers coming likely means funeral parlors will be a good investment though you are likely too late. I know one US investment firm was going around the OECD countries over 10 years ago buying them all up where they could.

            The facts is is that the baby boomers are spending less, much of their wealth is going to retirement villages and this will continue to accelerate. This at the same time as their burden on the state will also rapidly increase, particularly in health and welfare.

            The thing is, is that we all know this and it is pretty immutable as you cannot control the current age of the population.

            On the other side we need to be looking after our young people and reducing poverty because that is our future workforce many of whom will be needed to look after these baby boomers and to keep the economy running.

            Any tax cuts now are only creating a downstream problem. We should likely be encouraging young people to have children now and make sure they are well supported.

            • Blazer 12.1.1.1.1.1

              Agree with what you say.

              But is so called 'inter generational theft'…real?

              Seems to be.Why would any young person hang around NZ given their prospects of owning their own home are not good at all.

              A giant retirement home ,a hollowed out middle class..and state beneficiaries…the future looks ..bleak.

              • Descendant Of Smith

                Benefit numbers were declining pre-COVID and are declining again now. Any growth areas I suspect are at the older unwell end. I tried to find out but the MSD site doesn't break the numbers down to enough detail.

                That's why Luxon is a moron – dog whistling about young people when the problem is his generation. Sanction the fuck out of them – lazy early retiring bastards.

          • tsmithfield 12.1.1.1.2

            “how about you trying to formulate your own…opinion…”

            Have you ever studied at university? If you have, you should realise that personal, uninformed opinion has the value of used toilet paper. Perhaps if you started from that perspective the quality of your posts might improve.

            • Blazer 12.1.1.1.2.1

              A tad surprised at your reluctance to offer your own opinion.

              I took it as being an informed one for…granted.Que sera.

              • tsmithfield

                Because my own opinion isn't worth anything, especially if it doesn't relate to an area I have any specific training in. So it is just wasting people's eyeballs offering it.

                However, a position supported by evidence and the reasoning of people who know what they are talking about is worth a lot more.

                • Blazer

                  Interesting attitude.So you see your role on an inter active forum like this as a conduit to various vlogs you…stumble across.Very good.

    • roblogic 12.2

      Cheers. Zeihan is always worth a watch. Some people are missing out…

  12. AB 13

    How long till Rupert gives Sir Keir the nod of approval – thus permitting the end of Tory rule for a limited period of time?

    • tc 13.1

      Next election probably, Sir Rodneys purged those pesky types and their 'for the many not the few' so very electable to the powers that be now.

  13. Tony Veitch 14

    There's no difference between the Truss plan and the Luxon plan – both will prove disastrous for their countries!

    https://twitter.com/g_reweti/status/1574913903141654530

    • tc 14.1

      I don't think Luxon thinks we're all stupid it just illustrates how welded to disproven neoliberal dogma they are with media playing their part by not asking him how he pays for it.

      But hey he's run an airline and paul goldsmith's probably re-visited his high school maths so should be fine.

  14. Bearded Git 15

    Starmer's Labour has been pushed to the Left by Miliband and friends, as the Tories crumble.

    Roll on the next UK election.

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/sep/28/keir-starmer-no-10-liz-truss-labour

    • SPC 15.1

      The policy writes itself, we'll finance our green economy programme by reversing these tax cuts.

    • tc 15.2

      I'm not buying any of that, this is all orchestrated IMO as Starmers made labour more palatable to the establishment now.

      So he's gone and got some bold policies, predictable with the al jazerra doco out there for all to see what UK labour is really about. I've a brochure for Fiji doesn't mean I'm going.

      • Bearded Git 15.2.1

        I agree tc. Starmer's behaviour in relation to Corbyn is reprehensible and disgusts me. Singing the National Anthem at the start of the Labour conference must have been endorsed by Starmer and is, frankly, embarrassing.

        But at least people like Miliband have forced some decent policies into the mix.

        Lets hope the introduction of a PR electoral system makes it into that list of policies (it has been supported by the conference but Starmer the dinosaur has ruled it out) then the UK would no longer be ruled by the elite privileged empire-loving toss-pots currently in charge but instead by a government more representative of the population including the Greens.

  15. Poission 16

    Truss in first media response,says business as usual,tax cuts will see growth in future.

    Markets react with growth in gilt yields coming up 10-15 bp across spreads meaning growth in higher interest rates will hold,and market commentators suggesting a growth in the BOE hike from .50 to .75.

    The pound also depreciated 1.1% (around .1% per paragraph) confirming growth in inflation.There will also be growth in the current account deficit.

    https://twitter.com/BloombergUK/status/1575385645354303493?cxt=HHwWioC–bm58twrAAAA

    • Ad 16.1

      Many of those same bankers will be at the Conservative Party conference this weekend. Smiling into their bonuses and tax cuts. Up or down that's London's biggest industry.

      Call me bonkers but the Pound crashing is surely going to drive more and more local substitution for imported energy. UK only brings in about 11% of its oil and petroleum.

      At some point Brexit and internal resilience are going to intersect.

      • Poission 16.1.1

        They need to import gas for electricity generation,(and they also import and export electricity) there is little onshore storage for gas (since contracting out).

        Oil and petroleum substitution has already seen demand destruction,and new generation in the UK (for baseline) is to be very expensive,although storage batteries etc have some new developments with lowering price points.

        The city with its ability to raise capital has been a strong point,but when the City is essentially saying the tax cuts (funded by debt) are wrong by any macro analysis,(and the fact their tax cut wont cover their mortgage increase) that they are essentially unwinding positions (as hedges lose cover) there is now some capital flight.

        NZ is to some extent in a similar position,with a large current account deficit,High government deficit,increasing interest rates ( limited buyer interest in the NZ bond tenders) wasteful spending for limited outcomes,a decreasing gdp etc.

        • Ad 16.1.1.1

          Isn't petroleum demand destruction a good thing?

          UK has both a North Sea to Norway HDPV cable and a UK to France HDPV cable. We are through 2022 closer to a functioning European electricity grid than we have been. For sure it will be a tough winter, but with strengthened policy gains as a result.

          I do see the comparison to our housing situation. Essentially NZers have nothing else. Choking real estate and redirecting towards more productive sectors is surely what both countries want.

          Why a housing crash scares Britain like nothing else – POLITICO

          I find it hard to see capital flying to China or Russia, or even Frankfurt. Some expected the City of London to essentially decline after Brexit, but it didn't.

          • Poission 16.1.1.1.1

            Some went to Franfurt for the Porsche float.Mostly it is being transferred into liquid assets that are US denominated ( see US$ appreciation).There are such huge movements in the bond markets few want to take risks with the huge hedge costs.

            Demand destruction for petroleum is by both cost,and increased efficiency and replacement of ICE with EV.

            https://afdc.energy.gov/data/10562

            Europe imports of electricity are expensive ( last night Norwegian at 387e mw) and when wind fails as it does,the baseline with imported gas is needed,and cold weather coming fast.

            https://twitter.com/JavierBlas/status/1575396531536105472?cxt=HHwWgMC8qY6z99wrAAAA

            The UK and Europe energy subsidies are now around 5% of GDP all borrowed money.

  16. Jackel 17

    "Tory MPs expressed disbelief"….. Read em and weep, tory.

  17. Mat Simpson 18

    " These blunders no doubt led to the size of the left’s victory and also to the left for the first time in living memory being considered to be better managers of the economy than the right.

    WHAT LEFT ? It no longer exists. The nearest we got to " the left 'was the Alliance 1991-2002 and prior to that Kirk Rowling until 1983.

    There is only neoliberal kindness or the Nasty Natz.

    You do everyone a disservice by not being honest by talking like you actually believe the NZLP is socialist and represents real left polices and values. It doesn't and the political landscape has changed.

    • Ad 18.1

      This current government is easily the most interventionist we've had since the 1981 election.

      Also the most redistributive.

      Also the most nationalising/recentralising.

      Sure the 1950s aren't coming back, but who would want them?

      • arkie 18.1.1

        They obviously could still be more interventionist, redistributive etc etc. if they were concerned their actions were insufficient.

      • Mosa 18.1.2

        " This current government is easily the most interventionist we've had since the 1981 election "

        No intervention means something completely different if you are talking about 1981.

        And if they were serious about " intervening " we would have seen a hell of a lot more progress and real results after five budgets and nearly 1800 days in office.

  18. Chris 19

    Generally most conservative MPs are financially successful in their personal lives which feeds the attractive but illogical assumption that they'll be good financial managers for the country. Couple that with NZ's appallingly ignorant default position on who should govern which is "it's time to give the other side a go" means we have beneficiaries voting for the likes of John Key even though John Key's policies make the lives of the poor even more hellish than they are already.

    The reality is that conservative governments are "good with money", but only for a select few. Then a members of the select few enter politics, just like Chris Luxon, and the cycle continues.

    Labour, and this government in particular, is atrocious at communicating this to the voting public.

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  • Relentlessly negative
    Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 hours ago
  • Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    Bryce Edwards writes –  It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 hours ago
  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    3 hours ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    4 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    8 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    8 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    9 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    9 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    10 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    11 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    13 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
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