Is free trade worth it?

Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, December 18th, 2010 - 24 comments
Categories: Economy, exports - Tags:

Is free trade worth it?

For the past few decades, since the NeoLiberal revolution, our government has aggressively pursued a policy of free trade. Since 2000 we have signed bilateral free trade agreements with Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, and China, and we are currently negotiating with the US, Japan, South Korea, the Gulf Cooperation Council, India, Peru, Vietnam, Russia, Kazhakstan and Belarus (yes, Europe’s last dictatorship). We are told that these deals will deliver enormous economic benefits to New Zealand. But the evidence from Australia shows that that may not be true, and that these agreements may in fact cost us money:

A YEAR-long investigation of Australia’s free trade agreements has found they are often nothing of the kind. The Productivity Commission has told the government there is little evidence to suggest Australia’s six free-trade agreements have produced “substantial commercial benefits”.

Some may have actually reduced trade by introducing complex rules that make it difficult to sell goods made with products imported from countries not in the agreements.

The extra cost imposed by these “rules of origin” could amount to 8 per cent of the value of each export shipment.

As an example, the US-Australia FTA meant a 25% increase in copyright royalties – effectively a “Hollywood tax” – and enshrined anti-competitive rules such as DVD regionalisation. And it means more expensive drugs due to restrictions on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (Australia’s equivalent of Pharmac). These seem to outweigh the benefits of the deal, and result in a net loss for Australia.

The report also criticises the Australian government for assessing FTAs in secret, and “oversell[ing] the likely benefits”. It suggests that future deals be subjected to an independent public assessment to avoid this problem. New Zealand could benefit from the same approach. But given how entrenched the dogma of free trade is in political and business circles, I don’t see that happening anytime soon. No-one in power wants to find out if the emperor is in fact wearing clothes.

24 comments on “Is free trade worth it? ”

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  1. Bored 1
    18 December 2010 at 1:08 pm

    Anybody here who has tried exporting to countries like the USA and Britain will know that “free trade” is a term that could be translated as “we the big fish are free to trade on our terms with anything and everything in your economy BUT you little fish are free to pay these tariffs or go away”.

    • lprent 1.1
      18 December 2010 at 3:03 pm

      It is certainly complicated selling to the US, every company that I have been in over the last few years that does spends an inordinate amount on lawyers. Somehow I don’t think that a FTA is going to change that because there are so many different impediments.

      Selling to Aussie is easy. So for that matter is China and even India. The latter is a really big change from the early 80’s when doing anything with India was like trying to walk through sump oil.

      I’m told that it is pretty straight forward to sell to us. Just make sure of the biosecurity and have fully filled out paperwork.

      I really don’t see too many benefits in FTA’s for NZ. With the extent of some agricultural products and other raw materials, most of the IP we sell is not that price sensitive. What is of more use is getting help when marketing offshore. For startups, after the lack of development capital, then that is the biggest pain.

  2. Bill 2
    18 December 2010 at 1:38 pm

    If we separated out the rhetoric and the reality, we’d see that free trade works just fine for those it is intended to benefit. But can you imagine those actors being honest and advocating free trade on the basis that only they and their interests will benefit?

    What I wonder about is whether naivety and gullibility, or deliberate dishonesty and a desire to hide their culpability, is the reason for governments pursuing free trade deals. I honestly don’t get it. No half way intelligent person…not even a politician… could possibly (could they?) advocate free trade on the premise that it will somehow benefit the lesser economic power or benefit any make up of a majority of people anywhere.

    What’s the likely consequences for NZ if a free trade deal is signed off with the US?

    Apart from ‘bye-bye pharmac’? Oh, do we get to import GE corn ’cause trade is free from social control? And could we maybe get some of those heavily subsidised US milk products that are contaminated with genetically-engineered bovine growth hormones (Banned in Europe, last I heard.)? That’d be good, wouldn’t it? Feed us on dodgy cheap milk products leaving NZ dairy products to attract a premium in export markets.

    But since NZ has already presented its uplifted and unprotected arse for the world to deal with as it see fit, we got the following. The UK dumped its BSE infected protein food supplements on the world market. Gelatine subsequently produced in those countries was subject to an industry self regulatory certification regime. Those countries then exported quantities of certified said gelatine to NZ…..Ah, trade, free from pesky constraints that might impact on profit. Lolly, anyone?

    • Bored 2.1
      18 December 2010 at 1:44 pm

      That Bill is exactly my point laid out in detail, if you are small you have to accept that there is a cost to trading with the big players. Regulating the trade to ensure it meets fairness criteria is the best approach in my mind.

    • Draco T Bastard 2.2
      18 December 2010 at 2:28 pm

      What I wonder about is whether naivety and gullibility, or deliberate dishonesty and a desire to hide their culpability, is the reason for governments pursuing free trade deals. I honestly don’t get it. No half way intelligent person…not even a politician… could possibly (could they?) advocate free trade on the premise that it will somehow benefit the lesser economic power or benefit any make up of a majority of people anywhere.

      The politicians just do what the experts say and the “experts” are economists that couldn’t even predict a global financial meltdown while it was happening. They have a theory that “works” but refuse to accept that the theory doesn’t actually apply in reality. Hell, while at uni studying economics I even had a professor put up a chart explaining why free trade was bad for small economies and then justified by saying “but the global economy will be bigger as a whole”. NZ is a small economy and free-trade is harming our society.

      Hell, I think that the politicians and the economists have forgotten that we are a society and not just an economy.

      • Bill 2.2.1
        18 December 2010 at 2:51 pm

        “…we are a society and not just an economy.”

        Nope. We are an economy. A society would not comprise of ‘rationally optimising economic units’. ‘Units’ are people, by the way. Individual people, that is. Not groups of people. ‘Cause that would be an expression of society. And society doesn’t exist. Society is just a quaint wrong headed idea that would ( if it actually existed) tend to get in the way of the natural relations of the market.

        So, efficiency only has meaning when measured in purely monetary terms.
        Individual choice is the path to cornucopia for rationally optimising economic units.
        And the market must be given the freedom to determine the true costs associated with all interactions between rationally optimising economic units.

        This way lies the path to truly cost efficient happiness.

        • Bored 2.2.1.1
          18 December 2010 at 3:26 pm

          Good one Bill, perhaps the market will “find its level” of cost efficient happiness. It may be low but who am I to argue with the invisible hand, the force on Earth of the great God that is the Market? Hallelujah!

          • Colonial Viper 2.2.1.1.1
            18 December 2010 at 7:38 pm

            This way lies the path to truly cost efficient happiness.

            Yes, this and realising that spending money you don’t have to buy shit you don’t need in order to make an impression which won’t last, on people you don’t care about is plain stupid. There is much much more to life.

            • Bill 2.2.1.1.1.1
              18 December 2010 at 7:40 pm

              No it isn’t. No there’s not. You’re obviously in dire need of re-education. Can be arranged. For a cost, of course.

  3. Jenny 3
    18 December 2010 at 3:00 pm

    According to Professor Jane Kelsey the Trans Pacifice Partnership Agreement is not even a trade agreement in the accepted sense.

    The TPPA as it has been described by it’s critics, is a plan to give powers to foreign multi-nationals and investment companies to over ride government statutes and laws that impinge on the right of investors, this is likely to include exemption from environmental controls and/or any concept of indigenous rights over marine resources etc.

    Government drug purchaser Pharmac would be restricted in seeking the lowest prices and purchasing generic drugs, which would become illegal, as anti-competitive restriction on trade.

    The TPPA shares the same purpose as it’s previous failed incarnation, the Multilateral Agreement on Investment, or MAI.

    The MAI like the TPPA also sought to over rule the sovereign power of it’s signatory countries to regulate the power of big business.

    New Zealand Not For Sale

    “If this TPPA really is so good for us, why are they scared to release the draft text and open it to scrutiny?”, asked Professor Kelsey.

    “The challenge then is for Parliament to convene an inquiry before the process has reached the stage where irreversible commitments have been made where we can test out the arguments for and against a TPPA and New Zealanders, including MPs, can know what we are signing up to for the next century”.

    capcha – “severe”

  4. Gina 4
    18 December 2010 at 4:06 pm

    Free trade in NZ’s case is actually freedom to import slave labour goods from countries where workers live on wages that do not cover a lifesyle in any way similar to our own.

    The way I see free trade’s effect on our economy.

    1. We have lost most of our manufacturing jobs so we have more unemployed to pay the dole to.

    2. Our wages must remain low to compete with the incursion of chinese goods into almost every sector of our economy.

    3. Lowered wages mean we have a smaller tax take to cover our social services.

    4. Lowered wages = familes need welfare because their wages no longer cover living
    costs. This welfare for the working poor is costly but necessary due to free trade and with tax reductions for the wealthy the burden is falling more and more on the poor to covder those benefits.

    3. Lower wages mean mothers often have no choice but to go out to work. Hours worked by everyone have increased to meet necessities and a decent lifestyle.

    4. Lower wages means New Zealand businesss which are not export orientated find it difficult to survivie thus they need more debt because workers low wages cannot support their existance.
    This is the big opportunity for multi nationals to take over our retail and small business sector leaving us with supermarket duopolies etc and no competitiion.

    5. A low wage society means New Zealanders find it hard to afford accomodation and housing because of the other policy of increasing population. The increases in population continually moves house prices out of the reach of New Zealands working poor. The increase in population and subsquent increase in house prices increases mortgages which is great for the banks.

    My view is that accepting slave labour goods into the New Zealand market is a deliberate ploy promoted by the World Bank ( who are Wall Street ) and international bankers as a way of aquiring more and more of the worlds economy in multinational corporate hands ( the bankers)

    Its a step on their journey in aquiring everything ( consolidation ) as they have done in the case of the worlds media, now controlled by a small group of individuals.

    • Murray 4.1
      18 December 2010 at 4:39 pm

      And all these benefits to the NZ Worker brought to us by Helen Clarke and the Labour Party with their free trade deal with China

      • Colonial Viper 4.1.1
        18 December 2010 at 7:40 pm

        The insidious ones were Roger Douglas and his minions then Ruth Richardson. All right wing Chicago school neo-cons.

        Also Murray you conveniently forget the low unemployment under Clark and Cullen’s outstanding economic management.

        • Murray 4.1.1.1
          18 December 2010 at 8:55 pm

          So the free trade deal with china was another example of Cullens outstanding economic management and would further more low unemployment.

          • Colonial Viper 4.1.1.1.1
            18 December 2010 at 9:19 pm

            I’m not sure what your point is here. China is a very large market, and an increasingly affluent one. However, NZ business and NZ Govt still have to use smarts amd entrepreneurship to identify and enter specific markets in China. Making contacts, building relationships and demonstrating capability is crucial. No FTA will do those things for you off the starting blocksMurray.

  5. Gina 5
    18 December 2010 at 5:32 pm

    Murray

    New Zealand had removed almost all our tarriffs by the time of our free trade agreement with china, anyway. The policies of National also support free trade and increasing our population. We actually need a new party that wont sell us out to the international Bankers. At least Labour have to a large extent stopped assett sales. Thats an improvement on National who are willing to sell them the whole damned lot.

    Both National and Labour are complicit in this. National are worse. They would have us all starving in the streets if they thought they could.

    So we have 2 evils in NZ, one a lesser evil and that is Labour for now.

  6. Murray 6
    18 December 2010 at 5:42 pm

    I agree Free Trade seems to be a downward spiral. But that seems to be the way the world is moving at the moment. so I guess we follow.

  7. Gina 7
    18 December 2010 at 5:55 pm

    Murray

    I think maybe if we don’t comply with the wishes of the elite then they will put the screws on us economically throught their banking instiutions. If we follow their prescription they will eventually take everything. The best chance I see for us for now is to wait it out and hope the international climate changes, hope that other larger countries rebel against this system. Then we might have a chance of following a new world direction. A larger green constituant in parliament might help fend off extreme policies for a while and we must keep MMP.

  8. Murray 8
    18 December 2010 at 6:21 pm

    I always look to the fishing industry as an example of this madness. Imagine what a healthy and vibrant industry we would have if all fish in NZ,s economic zone had to be caught by NZ owned and crewed boats. Instead we give most of it away

  9. SPC 9
    19 December 2010 at 5:42 pm

    We should restore tariffs on goods from countries we do not have free trade in agriculture with. They have no incentive to grant us free trade otherwise.

    The money from tariffs would be nice at the moment (it’s better than increasing GST on local necessities like food, rates and power to raise revenue).

    And our trade agreements should be focused on free trade in goods including agriculture.

    Basically we should lead a third world revolt against big economy bullying on free trade issues (such as free trade in the industrial goods supplied by the first world and or developing world, while allowing them to regulate agriculture – and only including agriculture if the third world allow foreign domination of the ownership and delivery of local utility services and allow foreign ownership of land and local business exporting agricultural products etc).

    Only when there is full free trade in goods including agriculture should there be a next phase of agreements on services and investments, including global rules regulating this business. And this stage should also include labour rules and environment rules and carbon tarrifs on goods exchanged across borders in global trade.

    In entering these last phase talks with those who have not yet allowed free trade in agriculture we have sold out our own best interest and we have sold out the third world.

  10. Jenny 10
    19 December 2010 at 7:51 pm

    .
    Congressional Research Service

    Note 44 – “Labor, Environmental Standards to be Same Across all Eight TPP Countries” International Trade Reporter, August 19, 2010.

    In August 2010, USTR officials announced that all TPP participants, despite differences in levels of development, would be required to meet the same labor and environmental conditions. Note 44

    Two weeks ago I attended a public meeting at St Mathew’s in the city on the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement.

    Here are some of my notes on this meeting. (any errors in notation are all my own)

    The meeting was called at St. Mathew’s, just across the road from the Sky City the venue for the secret negotiations on the TPP. A number of the speakers at Saint Mathew’s had been keeping up a permanent presence outside of this secret gathering, so as to be able to to attend the official press briefings given once a day outside the centre, and maintain outside this conference, a protest against the secretive nature of these talks. As Jane Kelsey told the attendees at the St. Mathew’s meeting, “who had ever heard about this meeting going on, before we started protesting against it.”

    On the secretive nature of this meeting she reported that “everyday we attend the briefing, where they tell us nothing.”

    “They haven’t even released the text of what they are discussing”

    Jane Kelsey said the St Mathew’s meeting is “designed to give information about what we do know about the TPPA.”

    Scoop has published audio here of the St. Mathew’s meeting, lead speakers, are, Jane Kelsey, Sanya Reid Smith, Mike Smith and Andrew Campbell the Green Party’s new political director.

    CTU economist Ron Kippenburger chaired the meeting.

    Jane Kelsey began her remarks by saying, “The TPPA, is an unusual kind of agreement”.

    She said:

    “The scale is unusual”

    “The scope is unusual”

    “The TPPA is not much about trade at all, as we understand it.”

    There are three reasons why this agreement is not about trade:

    Firstly: The nine countries involved in the talks, already have a raft of free trade agreements between them.

    Secondly: Many of the nine, like New Zealand have already moved all trade restrictions.

    Thirdly: Just as the Australian’s sought to get sugar into the US market in their free trade deal, New Zealand’s biggest trade concern, getting milk into the US market is off the table.

    The TPPA is the MAI revisited in a much bigger way and scarier form.

    At the Monday 6th Briefing it was admitted that “This is not an ordinary FTA”

    The purpose of the TPPA is to remove restrictions on multinationals to operate in the signatory countries.

    Once signed, if any future government deviates from the TPPA, we will be in danger.

    Any breaches of this agreement that impede multinational profitability will be decided in secret foreign court hearings, with the right to hand huge penalties to the offending countries.

    (As an example of how this will work: When the government of Uruguay legislated that cigarettes be sold in plain packaging. Phillip Morris sued Ururguay for unspecified damages for loss of profits at the World Bank which has the power to demand huge reparations from this third world country. Uruguay’s gross domestic product is half the size of Phillip Morris $66 billion in annual sales.)

    Under the TPPA if National privatised ACC Labour would be unable to take it back, without incurring huge fines and compensation for loss of profits.

    Maori Activist Mike Smith spoke after Jane Kelsey.

    “The TPPA is a vampiric trade agreement.” “It sucks the life out of our democracy.”

    “Our children’s futures are being traded away, rights to water and natural resources and the environment.”

    Politician’s play the race card, painting Maori as usurpers of natural resources while mineral rights to seabed and foreshore are being handed to foreign multinationals.

    “The hypocrites of the Coastal Protection Coalition support this.”

    Mike Smith challenged the Maori Party to make a stand against the TPPA.

    “This agreement, (the TPPA) is in contradiction with the International Declaration on Indigenous Peoples.”

    “What they want is much stronger intellectual property rights and patent exclusivity to be increased to 25 years. The difference in price between anti-AIDS drugs under patent and their generic replacement is $1,300 per year vs. $80 per year.”

    “Copyright to be increased from 50 years to 70 or even 100 years.”

    “Same as Australia the TPPA will constrain Pharmac’s preference pricing scheme which allows us to get medicines much cheaper, as well as Pharmac’s ability to buy cheaper generic drugs.

    In Quatmala costs went up 1000% when the government monopoly on buying medicines was overturned.

    “The TPPA is a Free Trade Agreement on steroids.

    “The US have got their demands. Can New Zealand hold firm?

    If a future New Zealand government acts against the constraints imposed under the TPPA, huge fines and taxes can be levied on our exports.

    (So much for free trade).

    Andrew Campbell for the Green party spoke next.
    ( the only parliamentary party represented)

    The government have defended the secrecy around these talks (as being commercially sensitive).

    “But this is not a private business contract. This is a public contract. The same as it is for all the other countries.”

    We call for transparency.

    At the press briefing we were told “If it were made public it would derail the agreement.”

    “Dishonesty is the motivation for the secrecy.”

    “There is a consensus between the two main parties over Free Trade.”

    “Global capitalism brought itself to it’s knees. Now it wants to lock in rules that cannot be changed.”

    “How do we respond?”

    “I wish to challenge the Labour Party to break the consensus.”

    “I think that this would be hard for Goff. But it would be for the best . Labour’s position holds Labour back.

    “Labour say there are bigger issues like jobs”

    “But rejecting the TPP will protect jobs.”

    In discussions after the meeting Andrew expressed his opinion that it would be easier to move the Maori Party away from supporting the TPP than the Labour Party.

    TPPA No Good For Maori

    capcha – “account” as in “my”

  11. Gina 11
    19 December 2010 at 11:32 pm

    Thanks for all that information Jenny. I think we have no alternative but to act as you say. They will continue to push our govenments around untill we are all slaves in NZ. There might be economic consequences but we will at least remain sovereign rulers and owners of NZ.

    Maybe we need an anti free trade website?

  12. Draco T Bastard 12
    24 December 2010 at 5:47 pm

    More Wikileaks, this time about the TPPA.

    As recently as February this year, New Zealand’s own chief negotiator Mark Sinclair conceded to US officials there was little in a TPP Agreement for New Zealand. The only real “pay-off” was a remote long-term prospect to “put the squeeze” on Japan and Korea to stop protecting their agricultural markets.

    Sinclair reportedly pointed to “a public perception that getting into the US will be an ‘El Dorado’ for New Zealand’s commercial sector. However, the reality is different.’”

    Professor Kelsey observed that this “false perception” has been scripted by the government itself.

    According to the government we will get no benefit from the TPPA. So, why are they even bothering with it?

    A second set of cables from 2004 analysed by the New Zealand Herald show the US diplomatic post has been working with its pharmaceutical companies to undermine the world-leading Pharmac drug purchasing regime that makes medicines affordable to New Zealanders, claiming this would enhance New Zealanders’ access to health care.

    The cable suggests the US drug industry helped foment the furore over Herceptin and Alzheimers medicines as part of campaign to “fire up pressure from below”.

    So, the US is trying to push prices up for medicines in NZ at the behest of their corporates.

    “That’s not good enough. It is time the government came clean to Kiwis that it sees no tangible gains from a deal and justify why it is continuing with negotiations that have potentially serious costs for our health system, consumer laws, ultimately for our sovereignty”, Professor Kelsey said.

    This. We really need to know what the pros and cons about such deals are before the politicians sign them. Hell, such agreements should probably be put through a referendum before being ratified.

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  • Forty Years Of Remembering To Forget.

    The Beginning of the End: Rogernomics became the short-hand descriptor for all the radical changes that swept away New Zealand’s social-democratic economy and society between 1984 and 1990. In the bitterest of ironies, those changes were introduced by the very same party which had entrenched New Zealand social-democracy 50 years earlier. ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago
  • Kōrero Mai – Speak to Me.

    Good morning all you lovely people. 🙂I woke up this morning, and it felt a bit like the last day of school. You might recall from earlier in the week that I’m heading home to Rotorua to see an old friend who doesn’t have much time. A sad journey, but ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Winning ways

    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on anything you may have missed. Street architecture adjustment, KolkataShare Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • 48 seconds on a plan that would reverberate for a million years

    Despite fears that Trump presidency would be disastrous for progress on climate change, the topic barely rated a mention in the Presidential debate. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Using blunt instruments and magical thinking to ignore evidence of harm

    The abrupt cancellations and suspensions of Government spending also caused private sector hiring, spending, and investment to freeze up for the first six months of the year. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāThis week we learned:The new National/ACT/NZ First Coalition Government ignored advice from Treasury that it didn’t have to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Is This A Dagger Which I See Before Me: A Review and Analysis of The Rings of Power Episode 5 (Seaso...

    Another week of The Rings of Power, season two, and another confirmation that things are definitely coming together for the show. The fifth Episode of season one represented the nadir of the series. Now? Amid the firmer footing of 2024, Episode Five represents further a further step towards excellent Tolkien ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    4 days ago
  • In Open Seas; A Book

    The background to In Open Seas: How the New Zealand Labour Government Went Wrong:2017-2023Not in Narrow Seas: The Economic History of Aotearoa New Zealand, published in 2020, proved more successful than either I or the publisher (VUP, now Te Herenga Waka University Press) expected. I had expected that it would ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 13

    The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts and talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate science on rising temperatures and the climate implications of the US Presidential elections; and special guests Janet ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Do or do not. There is no try

    1. Upon receiving evidence that school lunches were doing a marvellous job of improving outcomes for students, David Seymour did what?a. Declared we need much more of this sort of good news and poured extra resources and funding into them b. Emailed Atlas network to ask what to do next c. Cut ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Dangerous ground

    The Waitangi Tribunal has reported back on National's proposed changes to gut the Marine and Coastal Area Act and steal the foreshore and seabed for its greedy fishing-industry donors, and declared it to be another huge violation of ti Tiriti: The Waitangi Tribunal has found government changes to the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Climate Change: National wants to cheat on Paris

    In 2016, the then-National government signed the Paris Agreement, committing Aotearoa to a 30 (later 50) percent reduction in emissions by 2030. When questioned about how they intended to meet that target with their complete absence of effective climate policy, they made a lot of noise about how it was ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Treasury warned Govt lower debt limits meant less ‘productivity-enhancing investment’

    Treasury’s advice to Cabinet was that the new Government could actually prudently carry net core Crown debt of up to 50% of GDP. But Luxon and Willis instead chose to portray the Government’s finances as in such a mess they had no choice but to carve 6.5% to 7.5% off ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Is the Media Complicit?

    This is a long read. Open to all.SYNOPSIS: Traditional media is at a cross roads. There is a need for those in the media landscape, as it stands, to earn enough to stay afloat, but also come across as balanced and neutral to keep its audiences.In America, NYT’s liberal leaning ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Black Friday

    It's Black Friday, the end of the weekYou take my hand and hold it gently up against your cheekIt's all in my head, it's all in my mindI see the darkness where you see the lightSong by Tom OdellFriday the 13th, don’t be afraid.No, really, don’t. Everything has felt a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 13-September-2024

    Ooh, Friday the thirteenth. Spooky! Is that why certain zombie ideas have been stalking the landscape this week, like the Mayor’s brainwave for a motorway bridge from Kauri Point to Point Chev? Read on and find out. This roundup, like all our coverage, is brought to you by the Greater ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #37 2024

    Open access notables Early knowledge but delays in climate actions: An ecocide case against both transnational oil corporations and national governments, Hauser et al., Environmental Science & Policy: Cast within the wide context of investigating the collusion at play between powerful political-economic actors and decision-makers as monopolists and debates about ‘the modern ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago
  • What it is

    I liked what Kieran McAnulty had to say about the Treaty Principles bill this morning so much I've written it down and copied it out for you. He was saying that rather than let this piece of ordure spend six months in Select Committee, the Prime Minister could stop making such ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • A government-funded hate campaign

    Cabinet discussed National's constitutionally and historically illiterate "Treaty Principles Bill" this week, and decided to push on with it. The bill will apparently receive a full six month select committee process - unlike practically every other policy this government has pushed, and despite the fact that if the government is ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • How Substack works to take (some) craziness out of America’s elections

    I spoke with Substack co-founder yesterday, just before the Trump-Harris debate, about how Substack is doing its thing during the US elections. He talks in particular about how Substack’s focus on paid subscriptions rather than ads has made political debate on the platform calmer, simpler, deeper and more satisfying ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Kamala Harris Did Something Unthinkable

    Hi,Yesterday me and a bunch of friends gathered in front of the TV, ate tortillas, drank wine, and watched the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.Some of you may have joined in on the live Webworm chat where we shared thoughts, jokes and memes — and a basic glee ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • Kamala Harris Did Something Unthinkable

    Hi,Yesterday me and a bunch of friends gathered in front of the TV, ate tortillas, drank wine, and watched the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.Some of you may have joined in on the live Webworm chat where we shared thoughts, jokes and memes — and a basic glee ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • Kamala Harris Did Something Unthinkable

    Hi,Yesterday me and a bunch of friends gathered in front of the TV, ate tortillas, drank wine, and watched the debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.Some of you may have joined in on the live Webworm chat where we shared thoughts, jokes and memes — and a basic glee ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • David Seymour is such a loser

    For paid subscribersNot content with siphoning off $230,000,000 of taxpayers money for his hobby projects - and telling everyone his passion is education and early childcare - an intersection painfully coincidental to the interests of wealthy private families like Sean Plunkett’s1 backers, the Wright Family, Seymour is back in the ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Cross-party consensus: there’s no pipeline without good faith

    There’s been a lot of talk recently about a cross-party agreement to develop a pipeline for infrastructure, including transport. Last month, outgoing CRL boss Sean Sweeney talked about the importance of securing an enduring infrastructure programme. He outlined the high costs of the relentless political flip-flopping of priorities, which drives ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    5 days ago
  • Voters love this climate policy they’ve never heard of

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk The Inflation Reduction Act is the Biden administration’s signature climate law and the largest U.S. government investment in reducing climate pollution to date. Among climate advocates, the policy is well-known and celebrated, but beyond that, only a minority of Americans ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago
  • ACC wants to administer inflation at more than double the RBNZ’s target rate

    ACC levies are set to rise at more than double the inflation rate targeted by the RBNZ. Photo: Lynn GrievesonKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, September 12:The state-owned monopoly for accident insurance wants ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Harris vs Trump

    We’ve been selected to rock your asses 'til midnightThis is my term, I've shaved off my perm, but it's alrightI solemnly swear to uphold the ConstitutionGot a rock 'n' roll problem? Well we got a solutionLet us be who we am, and let us kick out the jams, yeahKick out ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Treaty Bill “a political stunt”

    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon appears to have given ACT Leader David Seymour more than he has been admitting in the proposals to go forward with a Treaty Principles Bill.All along, Luxon has maintained that the Government is proceeding with the Bill to honour the coalition agreement.But that is quite specific.It ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • An average 219 NZers migrated each day in July

    Kia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, September 11:Annual migration of New Zealanders rose to a record-high 80,963 in the year to the end of July, which is more than double its pre-Covid levels.Two ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • What you’re wanting to win more than anything is The Narrative

    Hubris is sitting down on election day 2016 to watch that pig Trump get his ass handed to him, and watching the New York Times needle hover for a while over Hillary and then move across to Trump where it remains all night to your gathering horror and dismay. You're ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • National’s automated lie machine

    The government has a problem: lots of people want information from it all the time. Information about benefits, about superannuation, ACC coverage and healthcare, taxes, jury service, immigration - and that's just the routine stuff. Responding to all of those queries takes a lot of time and costs a lot ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Christopher Luxon: A Man of “Faith” and “Compassion” Speaks on the Treaty Pr...

    Synopsis: Today - we explore two different realities. One where National lost. And another - which is the one we are living with here. Note: the footnote on increased fees/taxes may be of interest to some readers.Article open.Subscribe nowIt’s an alternate timeline.Yesterday as news broke that the central North Island ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • Member’s Day

    Today is a Member's Day. First up is the third reading of Dan Bidois' Fair Trading (Gift Card Expiry) Amendment Bill, which will be followed by the committee stage of Deborah Russell's Family Proceedings (Dissolution for Family Violence) Amendment Bill. This will be followed by the second readings of Katie ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Northern Expressway Boondoggle

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has been soaring high with his hubris of getting on and building motorways but some uncomfortable realities are starting to creep in. Back in July he announced that the government was pushing on with a Northland Expressway using an “accelerated delivery strategy” The Coalition Government is ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    6 days ago
  • Never Enough

    However much I'm falling downNever enoughHowever much I'm falling outNever, never enough!Whatever smile I smile the mostNever enoughHowever I smile I smile the mostSongwriters: Robert James Smith / Simon Gallup / Boris Williams / Porl ThompsonToday in Nick’s Kōrero:A death in the Emergency Department at Rotorua Hospital.A sad homecoming and ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Question Two of The Kākā Project of 2026 for 2050 (TKP 26/50)

    Kia ora.Last month I proposed restarting The Kākā Project work done before the 2023 election as The Kākā Project of 2026 for 2050 (TKP 26/50), aiming to be up and running before the 2025 Local Government elections, and then in a finalised form by the 2026 General Elections.A couple of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Why is God Obsessed with Spanking?

    Hi,If you’ve read Webworm for a while, you’ll be aware that I’ve spent a lot of time writing about horrific, corrupt megachurches and the shitty men who lead them.And in all of this writing, I think some people have this idea that I hate Christians or Christianity. As I explain ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Inside the public service

    In 2023, there were 63,117 full-time public servants earning, on average, $97,200 a year each. All up, that is a cost to the Government of $6.1 billion a year. It’s little wonder, then, that the public service has become a political whipping boy castigated by the Prime Minister and members ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • New Models Show Stronger Atlantic Hurricanes, and More of Them

    This is a re-post from This is Not Cool Here’s an example of some of the best kind of climate reporting, especially in that it relates to impacts that will directly affect the audience. WFLA in Tampa conducted a study in collaboration with the Department of Energy, analyzing trends in ...
    Skeptical Science
    7 days ago
  • Where ever do they find these people?

    A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma, is how Winston Churchill described the Soviet Union in 1939.  How might the great man have described the 2024 government of New Zealand, do we think? I can't imagine he would have thought them all that mysterious or enigmatic. I think ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago
  • Motorway madness

    How mad is National's obsession with roads? One of their pet projects - a truck highway to Whangārei - is going to eat 10% of our total infrastructure budget for the next 25 years: Official advice from the Infrastructure Commission shows the government could be set to spend 10 ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago
  • Our transport planning system is fundamentally broken

    Ever since Wayne Brown became mayor (nearly two years ago now) he’s been wanting to progress an “integrated transport plan” with the government – which sounded a lot like the previous Auckland Transport Alignment Project (ATAP) with just a different name. It seems like a fair bit of work progressed ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    1 week ago
  • Thou Shalt Not Steal

    And they taught usWhoa-oh, black woman, thou shalt not stealI said, hey, yeah, black man, thou shalt not stealWe're gonna civilise your black barbaric livesAnd we teach you how to kneelBut your history couldn't hide the genocideThe hypocrisy to us was realFor your Jesus said you're supposed to giveThe oppressed ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • How mismanagement, not wind and solar energy, causes blackouts

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections In February 2021, several severe storms swept across the United States, culminating with one that the Weather Channel unofficially named Winter Storm Uri. In Texas, Uri knocked out power to over 4.5 million homes and 10 million people. Hundreds of Texans died as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago
  • The ‘Infra Boys’ Highway to Budget Hell

    Chris Bishop has enthusiastically dubbed himself and Simeon Brown “the Infra Boys”, but they need to take note of the sums around their roading dreams. Photo: Lynn GrievesonMōrena. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, September ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Media Link: “AVFA” on the politics of desperation.

    In this podcast Selwyn Manning and I talk about what appears to be a particular type of end-game in the long transition to systemic realignment in international affairs, in which the move to a new multipolar order with different characteristics … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 week ago
  • The cost of flying blind

    Just over two years ago, when worries about immediate mass-death from covid had waned, and people started to talk about covid becoming "endemic", I asked various government agencies what work they'd done on the costs of that - and particularly, on the cost of Long Covid. The answer was that ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Seymour vs The Clergy

    For paid subscribers“Aotearoa is not as malleable as they think,” Lynette wrote last week on Homage to Simeon Brown:In my heart/mind, that phrase ricocheted over the next days, translating out to “We are not so malleable.”It gave me comfort. I always felt that we were given an advantage in New ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Unstoppable Minister McKee

    All smiles, I know what it takes to fool this townI'll do it 'til the sun goes downAnd all through the nighttimeOh, yeahOh, yeah, I'll tell you what you wanna hearLeave my sunglasses on while I shed a tearIt's never the right timeYeah, yeahSong by SiaLast night there was a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Could outdoor dining revitalise Queen Street?

    This is a guest post by Ben van Bruggen of The Urban Room,.An earlier version of this post appeared on LinkedIn. All images are by Ben. Have you noticed that there’s almost nowhere on Queen Street that invites you to stop, sit outside and enjoy a coffee, let alone ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    1 week ago
  • Hipkins challenges long-held Labour view Government must stay below 30% of GDP

    Hipkins says when considering tax settings and the size of government, the big question mark is over what happens with the balance between the size of the working-age population and the growing number of Kiwis over the age of 65. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short; here’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Your invite to Webworm Chat (a bit like Reddit)

    Hi,One of the things I love the most about Webworm is, well, you. The community that’s gathered around this lil’ newsletter isn’t something I ever expected when I started writing it four years ago — now the comments section is one of my favourite places on the internet. The comments ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 week ago

  • Enabling rural recovery works in Hawke’s Bay

    Cabinet has approved an Order in Council to enable severe weather recovery works to continue in the Hawke’s Bay, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds and Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery Mark Mitchell say. “Cyclone Gabrielle and the other severe weather events in early 2023 caused significant loss and damage to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    39 mins ago
  • FamilyBoost childcare payment registrations open

    From today, low-to-middle-income families with young children can register for the new FamilyBoost payment, to help them meet early childhood education (ECE) costs. The scheme was introduced as part of the Government’s tax relief plan to help Kiwis who are doing it tough. “FamilyBoost is one of the ways we ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 hour ago
  • Prioritising victims with tougher sentences

    The Government has today agreed to introduce sentencing reforms to Parliament this week that will ensure criminals face real consequences for crime and victims are prioritised, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. "In recent years, there has been a concerning trend where the courts have imposed fewer and shorter prison sentences ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago
  • Targets data confirms rise in violent crime

    The first quarterly report on progress against the nine public service targets show promising results in some areas and the scale of the challenge in others, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “Our Government reinstated targets to focus our public sector on driving better results for New Zealanders in health, education, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago
  • Asia Foundation Board appointments announced

    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced the appointments of Hone McGregor, Professor David Capie, and John Boswell to the Board of the Asia New Zealand Foundation.  Bede Corry, Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade, has also been appointed as an ex-officio member. The new trustees join Dame Fran Wilde (Chair), ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • Endeavour Fund projects for economic growth

    New Zealand’s largest contestable science fund is investing in 72 new projects to address challenges, develop new technology and support communities, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins says. “This Endeavour Fund round being funded is focused on economic growth and commercial outputs,” Ms Collins says. “It involves funding of more ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Social Services Providers Whakamanawa National Conference 16 September 2024

    Thank you for the introduction and the invitation to speak to you here today. I am honoured to be here in my capacity as Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence, and Minister for Children. Thank you for creating a space where we can all listen and learn, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Parihaka infrastructure upgrades funded

    The Government will provide a $5.8 million grant to improve water infrastructure at Parihaka in Taranaki, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones and Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka say. “This grant from the Regional Infrastructure Fund will have a multitude of benefits for this hugely significant cultural site, including keeping local ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Serious assaults down 22% in Auckland CBD

    Cross-government action to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour in Auckland is getting traction, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. “Our central cities should be great places to live and work, but in recent years they have become hot spots for crime and anti-social behaviour. In Auckland, businesses and residents suffered as ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Increased certainty for contractors coming

    Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says upcoming changes to the Employment Relations Act will provide greater certainty for contractors and businesses. “These changes to legislation are necessary to ensure businesses and workers have more clarity from the start of their contracting arrangement. It is an ACT-National coalition ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Draft critical minerals list released for consultation

    A draft list of minerals deemed essential to New Zealand’s economy and strengthening its mineral resilience has been released for consultation, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The draft Critical Minerals List identifies 35 minerals essential to economic functions, are in demand internationally, and face high risk of supply disruption domestically ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government eliminates $190 million in trade barriers to boost the economy

    The Government has successfully removed trade barriers affecting nearly $190 million worth of exports to help grow the economy, Minister for Trade and Agriculture Todd McClay today announced.  “In the past year, we have resolved 14 Non Tariff Barriers (NTBs), returning significant value to kiwi exporters. These efforts directly boost our ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Reo Māori the ‘beating heart’ of Aotearoa New Zealand

    From private business to the Paris Olympics, reo Māori is growing with the success of New Zealanders, says Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka. “I’m joining New Zealanders across the country in celebrating this year’s Te Wiki o te Reo Māori – Māori Language Week, which has a big range ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Need and value at forefront of public service delivery

    New Cabinet policy directives will ensure public agencies prioritise public services on the basis of need and award Government contracts on the basis of public value, Minister for the Public Service Nicola Willis says. “Cabinet Office has today issued a circular to central government organisations setting out the Government’s expectations ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister to attend Police Ministers Council Meeting

    Police Minister Mark Mitchell will join with Australian Police Ministers and Commissioners at the Police Ministers Council meeting (PMC) today in Melbourne. “The council is an opportunity to come together to discuss a range of issues, gain valuable insights on areas of common interest, and different approaches towards law enforcement ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • New Bill to crack down on youth vaping

    The coalition Government has introduced legislation to tackle youth vaping, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Bill (No 2) is aimed at preventing youth vaping.  “While vaping has contributed to a significant fall in our smoking rates, the rise in youth vaping ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Interest in agricultural and horticultural products regulatory review welcomed

    Regulation Minister David Seymour, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds, and Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard have welcomed interest in the agricultural and horticultural products regulatory review. The review by the Ministry for Regulation is looking at how to speed up the process to get farmers and growers access to the safe, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Bill to allow online charity lotteries passes first reading

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government is moving at pace to ensure lotteries for charitable purposes are allowed to operate online permanently. Charities fundraising online, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust and local hospices will continue to do ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Tax exempt threshold changes to benefit startups

    Technology companies are among the startups which will benefit from increases to current thresholds of exempt employee share schemes, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Revenue Minister Simon Watts say. Tax exempt thresholds for the schemes are increasing as part of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2024-25, Emergency ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Getting the healthcare you need, when you need it

    The path to faster cancer treatment, an increase in immunisation rates, shorter stays in emergency departments and quick assessment and treatments when you are sick has been laid out today. Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has revealed details of how the ambitious health targets the Government has set will be ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Targeted supports to accelerate reading

    The coalition Government is delivering targeted and structured literacy supports to accelerate learning for struggling readers. From Term 1 2025, $33 million of funding for Reading Recovery and Early Literacy Support will be reprioritised to interventions which align with structured approaches to teaching. “Structured literacy will change the way children ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Survivors invited to Abuse in Care national apology

    With two months until the national apology to survivors of abuse in care, expressions of interest have opened for survivors wanting to attend. “The Prime Minister will deliver a national apology on Tuesday 12 November in Parliament. It will be a very significant day for survivors, their families, whānau and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Rangatahi inspire at Ngā Manu Kōrero final

    Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini kē - My success is not mine alone but is the from the strength of the many. Aotearoa New Zealand’s top young speakers are an inspiration for all New Zealanders to learn more about the depth and beauty conveyed ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Driving structured literacy in schools

    The coalition Government is driving confidence in reading and writing in the first years of schooling. “From the first time children step into the classroom, we’re equipping them and teachers with the tools they need to be brilliant in literacy. “From 1 October, schools and kura with Years 0-3 will receive ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Labour’s misleading information is disappointing

    Labour’s misinformation about firearms law is dangerous and disappointing, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee says.   “Labour and Ginny Andersen have repeatedly said over the past few days that the previous Labour Government completely banned semi-automatic firearms in 2019 and that the Coalition Government is planning to ‘reintroduce’ them.   ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action on mpox response, widens access to vaccine

    The Government is taking immediate action on a number of steps around New Zealand’s response to mpox, including improving access to vaccine availability so people who need it can do so more easily, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti and Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. “Mpox is obviously a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Next steps agreed for Treaty Principles Bill

    Associate Justice Minister David Seymour says Cabinet has agreed to the next steps for the Treaty Principles Bill. “The Treaty Principles Bill provides an opportunity for Parliament, rather than the courts, to define the principles of the Treaty, including establishing that every person is equal before the law,” says Mr Seymour. “Parliament ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government unlocking potential of AI

    Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced a programme to drive Artificial Intelligence (AI) uptake among New Zealand businesses. “The AI Activator will unlock the potential of AI for New Zealand businesses through a range of support, including access to AI research experts, technical assistance, AI tools and resources, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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