Grant Robertson’s speech to the 2015 Labour Conference
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11:43 am, November 7th, 2015 - 68 comments
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It is a pleasure to be back in Palmerston North, the city of my birth. It is true to say that my family left Palmy reasonably soon thereafter, but there is no truth to the rumour that as a 16 month old I went to my mother to request a transfer!
Coming to Palmerston North these days is to see a city and region that is bursting with potential. A strong university, science organisations to build on on the primary industry base, the potential for new and innovative businesses. Now, if we could just get a government that backs the regions!
Delegates, it is school prize giving season. For anyone cynical about future generations, attendance at these is a life-affirming experience. They are heart-warming celebrations of success, albeit a bit of a marathon for parents and unsuspecting MPs.
Success comes in many forms at these prizegivings. From the students winning subject prizes, to the awards for leadership, sporting and cultural achievements, to the students who have proudly made it through five years of school. All of them are celebrated, because as one principal put it to me, we don’t judge our success on the marks our dux gets, we judge our success on producing a cohort of confident, resilient young people.
But how do we judge the success of the economy? There are many people devoting many column inches every day to opining on this. Every morning we hear or read of the rises and falls of stocks and the trade weighted index.
We hear about businesses that do well, and not so well, we hear about who is and isn’t on this year’s Rich List and what they are worth.
They are all measures that tell us something about our economy, but are they adequate to measure its success?
From this government – we hear about the surplus. The yardstick they set to decide if they are good managers of the economy. Success has been declared, and job done so far as Bill English is concerned.
Well, if you ever wanted evidence that some measures of success in our economy might not be all that they appear, then this is it. Having set the political target of a surplus in 2014/15, a political solution was found to make it happen.
The Earthquake Commission returned nearly half a billion dollars to the Crown accounts this year because they decided they did not need it for Canterbury. Just ask the people of Christchurch if all the claims are settled and that money is not needed. It was a cynical ploy to meet a political target.
And worst of all, there is no consideration of making these surpluses sustainable. In the Labour Party we know about sustainable surpluses. We had one. Every single year when we were last in government. But not even Bill English is predicting that there will be a surplus in coming years. It was plain and simple – manufactured for one year to meet the propaganda needs of the National Party.
But, beyond the manufactured surplus, can we judge the economy a success when
– 151,000 New Zealanders are out of work, and the rate of unemployment is six per cent, with projections that it will head towards seven per cent next year. 151,000 people. Think about that. It is nearly twice the population of this city out of work. It is nearly 50,000 more than when National took office. In Gisborne one in every ten people is out of work. It is clear that John Key and Bill English see levels of unemployment like this as collateral damage in their blinkered economic vision.
– Where exports as a percentage of GDP are now the lowest they have been since 1997, coincidentally the last time Bill English was given the keys to the car.
– When wage growth is the weakest it has been since the depths of the GFC five years ago, and in the coming year working people are expecting the smallest wage increases in over a decade.
– Where there is such a disparity of wealth in our country that we see some corporate CEOs paid salaries of four or five million dollars a year, while 115,000 Kiwis survive on a wage of $14.75 per hour.
– Where 305,000 children grow up in homes where fridges are often empty or where their parents cannot earn enough money to buy the shoes and clothes they need.
– Where the house price to income ratio for housing in our biggest city is 9:1,there is the lowest home ownership rate in 60 years, and where thousands of New Zealand families live in cold, damp, overcrowded rental accommodation, or worse in garages and sheds.
That is not success.
If Dan Carter got World Rugby Player of the Year, but the All Blacks lost the Rugby World Cup, would we be hailing the year a success?
As American businessman and philanthropist John Paul DeJoria has said, ‘success unshared is failure’.
And this is not just because of our inherent sense of fairness. It makes economic sense as well. The OECD has recently joined the chorus of those who are acknowledging that a fair go for everyone means a more wealthy society. They said that the increase in income inequality in New Zealand over two decades from the 1980s had reduced our growth rate by more than 10%.
And income inequality is only part of the picture. Those statistics do not take into account wealth inequality- the assets, like houses some of us are lucky to own, and the security and choices they provide. These assets, this wealth, are now concentrated in the hands of fewer and fewer New Zealanders.
Addressing wealth and income inequality is fundamental to our future well-being as a society. As a recent report from the Centre for American Progress said “for democracies to thrive rising prosperity must be within the reach of all citizens.”
That is the challenge we must meet.
So what is a successful economy? Of course it needs careful management. Remember, while I started life here, I grew up in Dunedin and I’m from a long line of parsimonious Scottish Presbyterians. I have also taken the extra pre-caution of having the Rev Dr David Clark as my Associate Spokesperson in case I get too profligate.
In government we must be disciplined and treat each tax payer dollar with the respect for the hard work that went into earning it.
But that cannot be the end of the line. The economy does not exist for its own purposes.
The economy is not a person with feelings that we need to protect. It’s there to serve the interests of people, to be the means to a better life for all our people. It’s not an end in itself.
Many New Zealanders have expressed their concerns about the TPPA. When I listen to those concerns I hear the overwhelming feeling that the corporation matters more now than the citizen. Companies got the inside word on the negotiations and the special briefings, while ordinary people were kept in the dark with our interest treated as an irritant.
We need an approach to the economy that turns this view on its head. One where we don’t just measure the health of the government’s books but also the health of the people.
We need to embrace a new economic order- people first. A focus on prosperity- not just for some, but a chance for all to share in it.
I come to the job of Finance Spokesperson with a clear mission.
It is time to reject the idea that our country will prosper by waiting for wealth to trickle down, and instead to embrace building wealth from the ground up- through our small businesses, iwi, our regions and our innovation.
It is time to reject the idea that the success for the 1% is the best we can hope for, and embrace the value to our economy and society of a fairer share for all.
It is time to reject the idea that the government should stand aside and let the market determine the opportunity of future generations, and embrace the transformational role of government to help New Zealanders build their dreams.
It is time to reject the ethos of success based on privilege, selfishness and greed, and replace them with a fair go, opportunity and a relentless pursuit of shared prosperity.
That is our mission. The economic goal of the next Labour government will be shared prosperity- an opportunity for everyone to meet their potential.
We are a fortunate country, blessed with tremendous natural resources, and talented and driven people. New Zealand businesses and workers work harder than most of their equivalents around the world. We are in many senses already a wealthy nation.
There is an opportunity to work with businesses and regions to be prosperous, to create decent work. Our record demonstrates that when we do this, the country grows.
There is an opportunity to build an economy and in turn a society that offers the quality of life to all its citizens that is the envy of the world.
I want New Zealanders to be proud of what we make possible in our country.
The economy that I will manage on your behalf in government will have specific goals to support New Zealanders to all have the chance to build the future they dream about.
I want our success in building the path to shared prosperity to be judged in five core areas:
– The opportunity for decent work wherever you live in New Zealand. Our goal will be to reduce unemployment to below 4% by the end of our first term in government. There are many changes ahead in the world of work. In the next few years we must continue to put the income, security and dignity that work provides at the forefront of our economic thinking. We must invest in our regions to create opportunities and to relieve that pressure on Auckland. We must support small business to thrive, to innovate and to provide decent work.
The dramatic drop in dairy prices and the slowdown in China point to the need for urgent and aggressive support for diversification- of products and markets. The government’s plan to wait for one industry to fail in order to see diversification happen is simply not good enough.
– Lifting incomes. We must lift wages. There is no single silver bullet to do this, but the government can play its part through investing in the infrastructure, innovation, research and development that will help create high wage work. We can do it by lifting the minimum wage and showing leadership by ensuring that anyone who works for the government is paid a living wage. We can do it by restoring rights of workers to bargain collectively. And we can do it by preparing for the new world of work, which I will return to shortly.
– Zero tolerance for child poverty. We will measure the success of our economy against how fast we can eliminate child poverty. Andrew will speak more about this tomorrow, but suffice to say that we will put that goal at the centre of our economic plan.
– Access to affordable and quality housing. This is vital to reducing wealth inequality and to building safe and stable communities. We need to harness the power of the government to invest to build affordable housing. We will crack down on the speculators who are shutting people out of buying their first homes. And we must improve the quality of our rental stock and the security of tenancy.
– Our ability to create a sustainable future. There is no point crowing about economic success if it comes at the cost of the environment or the well-being of future generations. Our economic approach will be dictated by what is good for the well-being of future generations, not the next news cycle. We must restart our contributions to the Super Fund as soon as possible, and build on the success of Kiwisaver. We must take urgent action to build an economy that transitions us to a low carbon economy and gets real on climate change.
This will mean moving beyond the simple measures of success that fuel the news cycle and the vanity of politicians. Measuring GDP has a place – it is a decent proxy for activity in the economy. But what does it say about the quality of that activity? The earthquakes in Canterbury were horrific events for the people who lived there- but by god they have been a boon for GDP. Earthquake recovery has contributed up to a third of the country’s growth in recent years. But waiting for natural disasters is not a plan.
We need to measure ourselves on the quality of life our economy can create, how it improves the environment, how many kids it lifts out of poverty and how we are building our prosperity for the future. They will be the benchmarks of the next Labour government.
Delegates, no issue highlights the importance of a government that is focused on shared prosperity than the Future of Work.
Massive change is underway. A report prepared by NZIER last month estimates that 45% of jobs currently in the New Zealand economy are at high risk from automation. The New Zealand Herald headline of 26 July this year was ‘Robots Cleaning Auckland Airport’. The change is happening and it is happening now.
There is no doubt that the future of work is full of opportunity. New technology is set to drive a wave of productivity and innovation that will generate significant wealth for those who seize the opportunities.
On the other hand it is also set to grow inequality and leave many behind, with work and income less secure and success more reliant than ever on having skills and expertise that you can apply widely.
In the face of this there are two paths to take. We could sit back and let the market dictate what happens to New Zealanders, we could be the passive recipients and let the wave of change sweep us along or drag us under at its will. Or we could lead the change, seize the opportunities and protect the values we hold dear while building a new path to decent work.
We have chosen the latter path The Future of Work Commission has now released all of the discussion papers that we outlined to you at regional conferences earlier this year.
We have had thousands of responses to our on-line work survey, and hundreds of submissions on the discussion papers. Along with the Lead MPs for each of our workstreams, I have spoken to dozens of businesses, unions, LECs and community groups about the Commission, and the importance of a plan for the future of work.
I even managed to be on the panel at an event organised by the Chartered Accountants Association of Australia and New Zealand that was hosted by a hologram and had a drone and a driverless car taking the attention of attendees.
Why would the accountants care about the future of work- because accountancy is one of the most at risk professions that there is. This is not just about manual labour, it is a revolution in the nature and experience of work. The changes coming from the future of work have the potential to be scary, but the opportunities are vast as well.
The Commission will produce a final report at this conference next year which will include a range of policy proposals. It’s tempting to say that we know all the answers now, but it is important to us that we spend this year listening to what New Zealanders want, fear and hope for in the future of work.
I can say this – the work of the Commission has shown us already that there is a huge desire to continue to put work at the front and centre of our future. The Labour Party was born 100 years ago next year by people who wanted their contribution at work to be fairly valued and respected. Nothing has changed in terms of our values, but much has changed in the experience of workers. We know that the future of work will look very different from the 9-5 job of the past. We need to consider a future where many workers will hold down six to eight careers, and have multiple different employers at any one time. Where being your own boss is not only more possible it will become the default position.
Paul Mason, the economics editor of the Guardian newspaper, has written a book called the End of Capitalism, which foreshadows a future of work that redefines the economic order that has governed our lives. With technology breaking down barriers to old forms of employment, and the power enabled by access to information and data, there is the opportunity for working people to take more control of their lives- to develop a new system that is defined by a shared prosperity.
Imagine for a moment if we could find a solution to the poverty wages experienced by the cleaners at Parliament, by giving them the chance to be their own bosses based on a cooperative business model. Or to support more profit sharing or so that workers can have a real stake in the organisations they work for. Or supporting social enterprises that are productive, profitable and improves the well being of people and the planet.
This is an opportunity for us in the Labour movement to once again lead and innovate. We need to be at the forefront of ensuring the new economy develops with our values at heart. New models of business are sprouting up everywhere that use technology to break down barriers. This represents the so-called peer-to-peer capitalism or the sharing economy. We have to make that technology available and support the creation of those businesses.
There are legitimate concerns about the rights of workers in less formal working environments. What appears as flexibility can actually be a front for exploitation and a loss rights and conditions. Labour would never allow that. The flexibility we strive for is to allow you to build your work around your life- not the other way around.
To take the opportunities of the future of work we need to equip our people with the knowledge and skills to adapt and thrive, ensure income security and begin to value unpaid or non-traditional forms of work.
Some clear messages are already emerging from the Commission’s consultation. We urgently need to ensure that young people are equipped with the skills and knowledge to thrive in a rapidly changing world. Information is now so readily available to us, the real focus of education, and indeed what employers are telling us they want are the soft skills- collaboration, problem solving and critical thinking.
But employers also want school leavers to have the basics well covered – a driver’s license, digital and financial literacy, entrepreneurial skills and a sense of citizenship and civics. We also urgently need to professionalise careers advice and develop it as a partnership between students, schools, businesses and training providers.
We also need to turly create life-long learning. Alvin Toffler’s words from several decades ago, have come true, “ the illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”
Every worker is going to need training and re-training in the future. We need to work with businesses and workers to ensure this is possible for all, including those in small and medium businesses who traditionally struggle to fit training into their lives. We are investigating a range of options for this, but it is certain that this will be a significant outcome from the Commission.
Delegates, former Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam once said his country was faced with a choice between the habits and fears of the past and the demands and opportunities of the future.
As a country we face that choice today.
The challenges are real, but the opportunities enormous. Decent work, income security, lifelong learning, safe and warm homes for all and thriving and resilient regions are not only possible, but essential to a successful country.
The path to shared prosperity that we will take will be founded on opportunity and optimism. If we give every New Zealander a fair go, they will repay us many fold.
Over the coming two years together, we will develop our economic vision on that basis, and we will build for New Zealand a path to shared prosperity.
Thank you.
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History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...5 days ago
- Joe Biden's withdrawal puts the spotlight back on Kamala and the USA's complicated relatio...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...5 days ago - Why we have to challenge our national fiscal assumptions
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...5 days ago - Existential Crisis and Damaged Brains
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...5 days ago - A speed limit is not a target, and yet…
This is a guest post from longtime supporter Mr Plod, whose previous contributions include a proposal that Hamilton become New Zealand’s capital city, and that we should switch which side of the road we drive on. A recent Newsroom article, “Back to school for the Govt’s new speed limit policy“, ...5 days ago
- The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Monday, July 22
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...5 days ago - The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Monday, July 22
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...5 days ago - 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...6 days ago
- I'd like to share what I did this weekend
6 days ago - For the children – Why mere sentiment can be a misleading force in our lives, and lead to unex...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Order image, ...6 days ago - A friend in uncertain times
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...6 days ago - The Chaotic World of Male Diet Influencers
Hi,We’ll get to the horrific world of male diet influencers (AKA Beefy Boys) shortly, but first you will be glad to know that since I sent out the Webworm explaining why the assassination attempt on Donald Trump was not a false flag operation, I’ve heard from a load of people ...6 days ago - It's Starting To Look A Lot Like… Y2K
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...1 week ago - Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 20
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...1 week ago - Pharmac Director, Climate Change Commissioner, Health NZ Directors – The latest to quit this m...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...1 week ago - Flooding Housing Policy
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...1 week ago - A Voyage Among the Vandals: Accepted (Again!)
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...1 week ago - The Kākā's Chorus for Friday, July 19
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...1 week ago - The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 19
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...1 week ago - Weekly Roundup 19-July-2024
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...1 week ago
- Weekly Climate Wrap: A market-led plan for failure
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...1 week ago
- Tobacco First
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...1 week ago - Trump’s Adopted Son.
Waiting In The Wings: For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...1 week ago - The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 19
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSA announced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...1 week ago - The Hoon around the week to July 19
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...1 week ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #29 2024
Open access notables Improving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society: To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...1 week ago
- Release: Charter schools to remove the rights of teachers
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...23 hours ago - Te iwi Māori will not stand for another Foreshore and Seabed
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...2 days ago
- Te Pāti Māori Acknowledge the Need for Fundamental Change in State Care
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...2 days ago
- Release: National disgrace for children in poverty
Shifting the goalposts on child poverty is a new low for the National-led government. ...2 days ago
- National disgrace for children in poverty
Shifting the goalposts on child poverty is a new low for the National-led government. ...2 days ago
- Government quietly waters down child poverty targets
The Government’s move to dilute child poverty targets is a reminder that it is actively choosing to preserve hardship for thousands of households. ...2 days ago - Release: National jumps on Labour’s trains
National is so short on ideas it is now announcing Labour’s rail announcement from a year ago, Labour transport spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...2 days ago
- Release: Opposition parties unite to protect ECE
Labour, the Green Party and Te Pāti Māori are uniting to stop the Government’s dangerous changes to the Early Childhood Education sector. ...2 days ago
- Release: Another step forward for survivors of abuse in care
Labour welcomes the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care’s final report and the government committing to a formal apology in November. ...3 days ago
- Govt must listen to experiences of abuse survivors
The Government must do all it can to bring abuse in care to an end following the release of the independent inquiry. ...3 days ago
- Release: Health New Zealand exposes Minister spinning in freefall
Health New Zealand contradicted the Government’s spin that back-office bureaucracy is the cause of overspend in the public health system. ...4 days ago
- Govt must act on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...4 days ago
- NZ Government Must Enforce ICJ Ruling
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...5 days ago
- Release: Listen PM, boot camps don’t work
Refusing to listen to evidence, experts or experience the Government is stubbornly marching ahead with its boot camps. ...7 days ago
- Release: Govt must act on ICJ ruling on illegal Israeli occupation
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...7 days ago
- Release: Rents up under National, promises fall flat
National Party policies which promised to put “downward pressure” on rents are having the opposite effect. ...1 week ago
- MSD figures show Govt determined to punish beneficiaries
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...1 week ago
- We need real solutions, not more failed boot camps – Willow-Jean Prime
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...1 week ago
- David Seymour is Unfit to Serve as Minister
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...1 week ago
- Renters suffer as soaring rents feed rising inflation
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...1 week ago
- National’s climate strategy undoes good progress
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...1 week ago
- Green Party releases executive summary of independent investigation
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...1 week ago
- Government back off track on climate action
Today’s Draft Emissions Reduction Plan shows the Government couldn’t care less about a liveable climate for all. ...1 week ago
- PM needs to step in over Shane Jones’ undeclared meeting
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...2 weeks ago
- Te Pāti Māori Opposes Three Strikes Amendment Bill
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...2 weeks ago
- Govt Determined to Make Aotearoa a Country of Disposable Renters
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...2 weeks ago
- Statement on retail crime Ministerial Advisory Group
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...2 weeks ago
- Statement from Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...2 weeks ago
- Govt Continues to Destructively Withhold Information
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...2 weeks ago
- Statement from Labour climate change spokesperson Megan Woods
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...2 weeks ago
- Eight ways National is making life harder for workers
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...3 weeks ago
- Waitlists up and workforce down under National
Health New Zealand’s recent quarterly performance report shows the public health system is going backwards under the National government. ...3 weeks ago
- Joint statement from the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...17 hours ago - AG reminds institutions of legal obligations
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...20 hours ago
- More young people learning about digital safety
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...20 hours ago
- Speech to the Conference for General Practice 2024
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...22 hours ago
- Employers and payroll providers ready for tax changes
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...1 day ago
- Experimental vineyard futureproofs wine industry
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...1 day ago
- Funding confirmed for regions affected by North Island Weather Events
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...1 day ago
- Indonesian Foreign Minister to visit
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...1 day ago
- Strengthening partnership with Ngāti Maniapoto
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...2 days ago
- Transport Minister thanks outgoing CAA Chair
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...2 days ago
- Test for Customary Marine Title being restored
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...2 days ago
- Opposition united in bad faith over ECE sector review
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...2 days ago
- Kiwis having their say on first regulatory review
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...2 days ago
- Government upgrading Lower North Island commuter rail
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...2 days ago
- Government moves to ensure flood protection for Wairoa
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...3 days ago
- PM speech to Parliament – Royal Commission of Inquiry’s Report into Abuse in Care
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...3 days ago
- Government acknowledges torture at Lake Alice
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...3 days ago
- Government acknowledges courageous abuse survivors
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...3 days ago
- Half a million people use tax calculator
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...3 days ago
- Paid Parental Leave improvements pass first reading
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...3 days ago
- Rebuilding the economy through better regulation
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...3 days ago
- ‘Open banking’ and ‘open electricity’ on the way
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...3 days ago
- Charity lotteries to be permitted to operate online
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...4 days ago
- Accelerating Northland Expressway
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...4 days ago
- Sir Don to travel to Viet Nam as special envoy
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...4 days ago
- Grant Illingworth KC appointed as transitional Commissioner to Royal Commission
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...4 days ago
- NZ to advance relationships with ASEAN partners
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...4 days ago
- Backing mental health services on the West Coast
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...4 days ago
- NZ support for sustainable Pacific fisheries
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...4 days ago
- Students’ needs at centre of new charter school adjustments
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...4 days ago
- Commissioner replaces Health NZ Board
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...5 days ago
- Minister to speak at Australian Space Forum
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...5 days ago
- Climate Change Minister to attend climate action meeting in China
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...5 days ago
- Oceans and Fisheries Minister to Solomons
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...7 days ago
- Government launches Military Style Academy Pilot
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...7 days ago
- Nine priority bridge replacements to get underway
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...1 week ago
- Update on global IT outage
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...1 week ago
- New Zealand, Japan renew Pacific partnership
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...1 week ago
- New infrastructure energises BOP forestry towns
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...1 week ago
- 'Pacific Futures'
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...1 week ago
- 'Enough is enough' – Chris Hipkins blasts government over Māori policies
Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins says the coalition government is unfairly targeting Māori: "Each week they find new ways to keep Māori down." ...1 hour ago - Focus on Politics: Abuse in care report delivers demands for justice
The government has promised to listen to survivors, but how it responds and whether justice is served remains to be seen. ...6 hours ago
- Green AGM: Party processes will be respected on Darleen Tana issue, Chlöe Swarbrick says
A Green Party member is concerned that proper process will not be followed - but the party's co-leader says a vote will not be forced. ...6 hours ago
- Short story: Fire Engines, by Gina Butson
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...6 hours ago - Alice Munro’s shocking silence
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...6 hours ago
- Re-writing the timeline of the universe
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...6 hours ago
- Anne Salmond: What track was that?
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...6 hours ago
- The Secret Diary of .. NZ’s Olympics hopefuls
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...6 hours ago
- Finally heard, seen – and believed
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Good speech. A couple of highlights …
“We will measure the success of our economy against how fast we can eliminate child poverty. Andrew will speak more about this tomorrow, but suffice to say that we will put that goal at the centre of our economic plan.”
And …
“There is no point crowing about economic success if it comes at the cost of the environment or the well-being of future generations. Our economic approach will be dictated by what is good for the well-being of future generations, not the next news cycle. We must restart our contributions to the Super Fund as soon as possible, and build on the success of Kiwisaver. We must take urgent action to build an economy that transitions us to a low carbon economy and gets real on climate change.”
And about TPP
“Many New Zealanders have expressed their concerns about the TPPA. When I listen to those concerns I hear the overwhelming feeling that the corporation matters more now than the citizen. Companies got the inside word on the negotiations and the special briefings, while ordinary people were kept in the dark with our interest treated as an irritant.
We need an approach to the economy that turns this view on its head. One where we don’t just measure the health of the government’s books but also the health of the people.”
Oh dear.
I did try to read through that entire post. But remember that scene from ‘The Simpsons’ where Bart is talking to Santa’s Little Helper and all the dog can hear is “blah, blah, blah”?
These speeches where people tell me that they’re good guys and inform me that they will do ‘x, y and z’, all the while talking at me and never to me (just like all royalty tends to do)… where they address abstracted ideas or notions that inhabit bubbles in the air instead of directly addressing all of us people down here with our feet on the ground.
Their real world, or day to day life concerns and experiences, aren’t the same as mine. And it shows. They abstract mine into a mix within that bubble in the air, to be dealt with from a distance by a benevolent royal ‘we’ that doesn’t include me.
Bill
It presses my buttons and I feel good (lasts for about five seconds.)
So what are you wanting them to do or say, then?
It’s not the ‘what’, it’s the ‘how’. (See below in response to Ad. 2.1.1)
Ahh, I see. I agree.
I feel the same way. A disappointing speech from someone who has had long enough to get his head around economic ideas and develop a credible plan. Grant’s goals are laudable and his diagnoses of New Zealand’s economic challenges are impeccable but he fails to propose a credible plan to deal with them. The only positive is that Robertson – and Labour – will have many more years in opposition to ponder the missing ingredients.
Robertson in TPPA:
“Companies got the inside word on the negotiations and the special briefings, while ordinary people were kept in the dark with our interest treated as an irritant.”
Wrong! 1,000% Wrong! Corporations WROTE the TPPA.
How can Labour MPs fall prey to the extraordinary belief that the nastiest men with the nastiest of motives wrote TPPA for the good of all?
(Modified Chris Trotter quote)
So what exactly?
So Labour will cede NZ sovereignty to transnationals exactly like National would. A few of our 1% will profit handsomely, the rest of us will be sold out.
that doesn’t actually follow from:
it’s ambiuous though. What does it mean?
Well, to “turn that view on its head” would be for “ordinary people to get the inside word on the negotiations and the special briefings, while company interests are treated as an irritant” (given that companies are made up of people, they can’t be kept in the dark).
I don’t think it’s ambiguous. And it certainly doesn’t sound like “ceding NZ sovereignty to transnationals exactly like National would”, because national did it in secret.
Notice how few of the rightie trolls are in here kicking Little about like they did Cunliffe.
He’s speaking in a code they understand. (And I’d love nothing more than to be proved wrong … )
I think it’s more down to the idea that the tories are quite good at finding the most damaging buttons to push. Cunliffe was a hero-figure, so you attack the man. Shearer was more diplomatic than forceful, so you call him weak. They tried with the “angry andy” meme, but it never really took off. So now they’re working more on trying to create the illusion of schisms, eg King vs Ardern, Little vs Robertson, and the conference must be in bitter disarray with knives drawn. All bullshit.
And on the flipside, the self-loathing labourites aren’t gnashing their teeth quite so much as they were with Shearer, either. The tories love the polls at the moment, but it’s too early to worry about them yet. I’m just enjoying a period of stability in the parliamentary left…
You think that was a “good speech”?
The average voter would have simply heard one of those annoying white noise buzzing things after the first 30 seconds.
How about some real policies that would make a difference? 10 would be a nice round number. I’ll give you suggestions for the first 5. You can pass them on in Palmerston North.
1. Ensure that all young people achieve at education by serious education reform.
2. Stop middle class capture if early childhood education. Ge the best ECE services into South Auckland and Northland. I can tell you how to do it if you like.
3. Seriously embrace the NZPC report on housing affordability.
4. Progressively increase the NZ Super eligibility age to 70 over the next 20 years. Lots of time to adjust.
5. Adopt policies for older men to respond to labour market shocks and economic change through retraining opportunities.
6. (a bonus) Put a price on carbon by adopting an emissions trading scheme that works.
Now I know you love abusing me so go ahead. But instead of waffly rhetoric crap, Andrew and Grant could have announced an overarching strategy and 10 good policies. And they could do a lot worse than the ones I set out here. But they are paralysed.
If they want my phone numner I am happy to give them a quote on advice.
“seriously embrace” is your best at concrete policy?
Stick to your day job Srylands.
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawn
It’s vastly amusing that you think preventing ecological disaster is a “bonus”. That has to be the fundamental policy for any party that care about the lives of anyone under the age of 50.
If you read the post on kiwiblog, you will realise the whole ‘stopping climate change’ will never happen.
As I said many years ago on here. If China didn’t pull its head in, might as well forget it.
At least they had the opportunity to listen to a speech by someone who speaks English as a first language. Unlike the fuckwit in charge who speaks an advanced form of gibberish.
I think srylands’ recommendations are positive and later objections are really just hairsplitting. They are better than anything in Robinson’s speech.
That really isn’t a nice thing to say about Grant’s boss, Andrew Little.
On the other hand Little would probably best be described as speaking a primitive form of gibberish
Really positive stuff from Robertson. I think he’s enjoying the responsibility he’s been given to drive the Future of Work project. Really great to see the caucus members working well and in a genuinely united way.
And kudos to the Palmy Labour crew! What a fantastically well organised conference this is. I count 450 in the hall at the moment, which is up there with the best of recent conferences. I guess the turnout is helped by how easy it is to get to Palmy, with it being only a couple of hours drive for people in Welly, Hawkes Bay and the ‘naki and not much tougher for folks in the Waikato and Ak. It’s great that the LP are showing their commitment to the provinces in a really practical way.
Great to see you back TRP.
I really enjoyed that.
Bill, try to keep up with the pointy-headed kids will you?
Robertson does rather set himself up for a “but where’s my jetpack?” thing i.e. the future is generally more mundane than the projections, less scary because actually we got there, and less worrisome because we’re pretty adventurous and methodical as a species when it comes to facing the big ones.
Plus, I’ve never heard a futurist speech that could forecast the eradication of the need for politicians to blather on.
Good to hear Labour stretching into multi-syllable words and expect people to watch policy formation in action. Plenty of time for the ‘I-personally-wanted-more-of…” lists later.
I am personally buoyed to hear a good turnout.
I’ll try my best there Ad 😉
But see how academics can do the pointy-headed kid routine and that’s okay because we expect academics to be a wee bit pointy-headed and detached? And know how politicians are meant to connect?
This isn’t a go at Robertson – the following example, plucked readily and at random, seems fairly ubiquitous in Labour politican’s speeches.
and where thousands of New Zealand families live in cold, damp, overcrowded rental accommodation
Can you see the disconnect? Any politician worth their salt would be saying something like
and where thousands of us live in cold, damp, overcrowded rental accommodation
The entire speech – and I commented similarly on a previous Andrew Little one – is riddled with a kind of positioning that, when taken in totality, leaves an impression that reality (our reality) is being addressed as something akin to a piece of dog-shite on a pointy stick that they’d rather not touch, aren’t touched by, and would rather not, or can’t, identify with.
Late edit – Why not ‘New Zealanders’ in this bit? “like houses some of us are lucky to own“
Cmon bill if any politician said it they would be howled down and the media would focus for 2 weeks on the persons house… i dont know the answer so to that extent your idea cant hut.
Remember turia being slammed by collins and bennett… did it backfire or not?
So hang on Tracy! It’s fine to use the distancing or detached (‘Not us, not me!) language of ‘New Zealanders’ when talking of bad shit like crap rentals, but fine to use the all inclusive (‘Me and maybe you too!’) ‘us’ when talking of good shit like owning a house?
No bill… i get my comment was confusing. I was tryi g to work out if it works or doesnt…
Clearly saying i grew up in a state house got someone traction in a misleading way as we know.
I was genuinely musing whether turei came out better than the snipers cos if she did it is some support for your preferred phrasing?
Yeah, nah. It’s not about ‘back story’ or any such. It’s about how people talk and what their choice of phrase suggests about what or who they identify with.
As I said elsewhere, I reckon a montage of Corbyn, Sturgeon and others speaking – people who just naturally or effortlessly resonate – being put together and then contrasted or compared with the stand off-ish and somewhat cold language of Robertson, Little et al would be….interesting.
And OAB, if you’re reading this, I got your email. Lynn added a link to a programme I might be able to play around with.
can you link to 3 of the best speeches/interviews you have handy to give an example? It’d be useful to compare while Robertson’s speech is still fresh.
Sorry Weka, missed your comment. I have no ‘handy’ speeches.
Here’s a link to Sturgeon’s UK election launch. Now I know people will say Robertson and Labour aren’t launching policy etc and that makes a difference to tone and message. Here’s the thing though. I don’t think Sturgeon uses the term ‘Scots’ once. It’s ‘people’ or ‘ordinary people’ or ‘working people’ etc. I think there’s one mention of ‘the people of Scotland’ – a far broader and inclusive net than ‘Scots’. And when there is is talk of ‘we’ it is clear what ‘we’ she’s referring to…and it’s quite humble in spite of being strident.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/13210531.In_Full__Nicola_Sturgeon_s_SNP_manifesto_launch_speech/
Or here’s the one she gave at the last SNP conference.
http://newsnet.scot/?p=115813
cheers, will have a look.
Dropping in now I have proper computer access to add that I love everything Mhairi Black has ever said.
The accent probably helps a little …
https://bootstheory.wordpress.com/2015/10/18/mhairi-black-im-tired-of-being-told-that-pain-and-misery-are-necessary-for-a-stronger-economy/
Good 🙂
Reading and agreeing. Treating a constituency as an abstract rather than a family.
they are removed…good point
The provinces can NEVER thrive until they have local autonomy on critical issues.
This begins with:
1. Clear regional boundaries (like Australian states)
2. Clear regional responsibilities which central government cannot override.
3. A solid regional tax base. Examples: Per capita tax rebates to regional governments or a fixed percent of personal and corporate taxes remaining with the regions they came from.
Fine words and good intentions cannot overcome the reality that on a whim Parliament will ALWAYS interfere.
So you want more Auckland amalgamations?
The public have soundly rejected them.
Actually it sounds more like AmaKiwi wants to prevent things like the government takeover of ECan.
i like the fact labour are planning ahead for the wave of automation we already starting to see the changes with journalists being layed off why hasn’t the government with the awsomness of john key doing the long term planning what are we paying john key for its his job that john key is a fukwit and in the herald our rock star government has delivered 102 houses why are national fukwits. fukwit government lead by a fukwit leader in a time dymamic changes we have fukwits
Christ where to start?
“We must take urgent action to build an economy that transitions us to a low carbon economy and gets real on climate change.””
________
How exactly? The last Labour Government, in 9 years, and despite all the rhetoric, did nothing to reduce the trajectory of GHG output:
http://tinyurl.com/pj9ggco
How is Andrew Little going to succeed? He won’t.
We would do more for climate change mitigation by helping pay for low cost GHG reductions in other countries. It would be good for us and good for the climate. The last Labour Government refused to do that. So they achieved nothing. Which has been repeated by this Government. The marginal cost of GHG reduction in NZ is very high. It is the last country in the world to start doing it.
Fuck I have run out of energy to tackle the child poverty bullshit.
You’re still expecting something more than solid but non-revolutionary reform from any kind of alternative NZ government?
Just spend more time with your children rather than mindlessly spewing here. Theres a chance if you do that they may avoid the middle upperclass pitfalls of class a drugs idle self righteousness and smugness…
srylands is the only one talking sense here. These speeches are the same recycled bullshit.
It’s just a sell. That’s it.
Points from Graant Robertson’s speech that I noticed.
There is an opportunity to build an economy and in turn a society that offers the quality of life to all its citizens that is the envy of the world.
Goal of 4% unemployment
The opportunity for decent work wherever you live in New Zealand.
If talking about paid work which I think he is, that misses the vast opportunity of getting people working as volunteers. Let them choose to work where they can get hours and travel and are wanted and then get approved for education for that role, so they can establish a CV.. People can add to the functions of the country instead of being despised bodies and statistics going to rot waiting for some flaky business to throw them some bones of hours. Volunteer work needs to be spelt out as a viable and acceptable option for any unemployed.)
Referred to – The New Zealand Herald headline of 26 July this year was ‘Robots Cleaning Auckland Airport’. The change is happening and it is happening now.
The Future of Work Commission has now released all of the discussion papers that we outlined to you at regional conferences earlier this year.
We know that the future of work will look very different from the 9-5 job of the past. We need to consider a future where many workers will hold down six to eight careers, and have multiple different employers at any one time.
We also need to create life-long learning. Mentions Alvin Toffler.
(I went back to education 40 years after leaving secondary, and now have a loan to repay. That extra training has been essential in keeping up with today’s hype, will this further ed be on the student’s shoulders? )
Lifting incomes – minimum hourly wage lift. Government living wage. Bargain collectively.
Zero child poverty – something will be done.
Affordable quality housing –
Various measures, rental housing must be improved.
More houses built. Developers not to shut out people.
Government not going to have any useful activity it seems in the rental housing stock.
100% behind you on the volunteering stuff. We’ve got a ton of work that needs doing in our communities, and a ton of people who can do it. Why can’t we put two and two together and have ~0% unemployment?
It’s not even a particularly original idea. Labour need to look back to their roots and programmes like PEP during the 80s. Expand on that to allow a certain level of decentralisation – empowering communities to recommend work that needs doing, be it painting the hall, looking after elderly or writing poetry.
Andrew Little said this:
“We need an approach to the economy that turns this view on its head. One where we don’t just measure the health of the government’s books but also the health of the people.”
__________
He must have missed this:
https://www.ssc.govt.nz/better-public-services
and this:
http://www.treasury.govt.nz/abouttreasury/higherlivingstandards
__________
Either he is ignorant and is actually unaware of the current Government’s policies, or he thinks he can lie and get away with it. I have no idea which is correct but either is concerning.
He was commenting about the political emphasis placed upon reaching an annual government budgetary surplus, as did Robertson. Not long term Treasury policy.
You need to understand a basic difference between Treasury policy and political emphasis.
Slylands needs to spend more time and energy deconstructing national who as the governing left wing party, in his opinion, must be more dangerous to his self interested view of how things should be.
Your last paragraph displays the most self awareness I can recall from you here, apart from referring to yourself in the third person that is.. But will you seek to change or carry on?
Except that it is clear from the way in which the public service has been functioning, that the SSC and the government are not interested in providing better public service. Similarly it is also clear that treasury and government are not interested in providing higher living standards.
Which is why participation in education centres needs to be free and encouraged.
It could be said about those Labour MPs and supporters who can’t unlearn neo-lib economics.
Can’t or don’t want to?
This looked interesting,
Imagine for a moment if we could find a solution to the poverty wages experienced by the cleaners at Parliament, by giving them the chance to be their own bosses based on a cooperative business model. Or to support more profit sharing or so that workers can have a real stake in the organisations they work for. Or supporting social enterprises that are productive, profitable and improves the well being of people and the planet.
Although Bill’s point above about language and positioning takes the shine off a bit. Other than that, how realistic is that the Future of Work Commission will actually result in these kinds of things?
ten to the power of six, against.
Labour will not upset the capitalist order of society, its purpose is to defend it.
Yeah, but he’s not talking about wholesale dismantling of the capitalist order, just supporting some selective socialist addons (acceptable to capitalism ones). I was just curious if that’s actually something the commission will be working on or if it’s just sounds nice.
The point is that the only way that we’re going to get society working for the majority of people while also being sustainable is to get rid of capitalism. The knowledge we now have of the physical limits of the Earth make that imperative.
True, but I was asking a more foreground question about the current Labour party, the commission and what Robertson said.
some pretty sadsack comments out there.
so this is the vision, and we can judge the party by how the policy platform stacks up against it.
as a vision I like it. I can’t think.of anything he’s left out.
Blairites vs Corbynites.
Labour has to be either one or the other otherwise they’ll never be successful, I think that’s Andrew Little most important job, get rid of the Corbynites otherwise they’ll destroy the party.
ABC.
Anyone but Corbynites.
Well said.
When I listen to Bernie Sanders, he just says No to TPPA…. No messing around with 5 bottom lines (which is just plain confusing and vague).
Oh hey. Someone saying what I said.
Labour doesn’t have any “Corbynites”. What it does have are a fair number of members who see the need for an alternative to the New Right status quo and most of its power holders (caucus and officials) committed to maintaining it. This is what hollowed-out democracy looks like in reality.
really labour is the only party where the members get a vote to elect the leader
not national, not nz first ,not the greens , and changes made at 2012 conference mean a Rodger Douglas neoliberal wanker can never hijack the party ever again they will be removed by the governing council by deselection
What labour need to do is to win the next election as a left wing party.
If they cant get at 40 % of the vote, nz will continue with trickle down economics, will continue to ignore climate change, and will continue with all the big brother stuff.
When i hear bernie sanders i hear someone who beleives what he is saying, wants things to get better for everyone, and understands normal people.
Weres our bernie sanders.