Key’s speech bereft of vision
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- Date published:
9:05 am, January 26th, 2013 - 36 comments
Categories: john key, leadership -
Tags: boring, speeches
Key’s opening speech for the year is a dreary, dishonest, and vacuous affair, completely bereft of vision. I haven’t seen an enthustastic response reported anywhere yet. At time of writing:
3 News headlines one of National’s biggest problems “Will Key’s State of the Nation stem the flow?“.
One News gives the headline space to Labour’s response “Apprenticeship overhaul ‘too little, too late’“.
Stuff doesn’t headline it at all, but under the National news section the only mention again goes to Labour “Apprentice scheme attacked“.
The Herald (underneath the more important piece about the weekend weather) chooses to lead with Key’s attack on KiwiBuild “PM: KiwiBuild policy ‘dishonest’“.
No doubt some positive reviews will be rounded up for the weekend papers, but that is a terrible initial response to a speech that was supposed to set the agenda for the year, and give some hope to a country still wallowing in stagnation.
I meant to go on and pick apart some of the spin, and the tired old failed policies in the speech, but honestly, it’s putting me to sleep. So let’s crowdsource the exercise (i.e. I’m tired and lazy). Courtesy of The Herald, here’s the full text. Have at it…
Ladies and Gentlemen
I hope you all had a good Christmas break and that you’re starting 2013 eager and energised.
I know I am.
And I know the Government is, because there are a lot of things to get done this year.
We have a re-energised team of Ministers, which I announced earlier this week.
And we have a very busy agenda.
Whether it’s welfare reform, law and order, education, the rebuild of Christchurch, or continuing our improvements in public services, it’s full steam ahead.
But the big focus for New Zealand remains the economy.
The economy will be front and centre this year.
The Government has a very substantial programme of work ahead of it.
I have told Ministers I want them to get on with the job.
Article continues below
And I’ve told them to step up momentum, building on the work we’ve already done over the last four years.
That work has been substantial.
We’ve made a huge turnaround in the government’s books, we’ve brought in the biggest changes to the tax system in a generation, and we’re making significant changes to reform the welfare system and strengthen work obligations.
Among other things, we’ve introduced 90-day trials; set time limits for the consenting of large projects under the RMA; introduced a competitive new system for awarding oil and gas exploration permits; got ACC back into good financial shape; and kick-started a multi-billion dollar programme of infrastructure investment.
And throughout that time we’ve been dealing with three major challenges:
• an economy that was left unbalanced, and in poor shape, by the previous government
• the impact of the Global Financial Crisis
• and the Canterbury earthquakes.
Each one of those challenges is still with us.
Around the world, for example, the recovery from the financial crisis is proving the most difficult since the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Europe is struggling with high levels of government debt and poor productivity. The United States has well-known fiscal issues to deal with. And, only yesterday, the IMF again downgraded its expectations of world growth.
But I remain hugely positive about the future for New Zealand.
Our economy is robust.
Since the bottom of the recession, in mid-2009, the economy has grown at an average of just under 2 per cent a year, and economists are expecting that to strengthen further.
Our employment rate is very high in comparison to other countries, with over three-quarters of all New Zealanders aged 20 to 64 in work.
There are still too many people looking for work who can’t find it. But forecasts show employment continuing to increase and unemployment falling.
Interest rates are at 50-year lows. Prices for primary exports are holding up, and our terms of trade remain high.
That is helping to support a high New Zealand dollar, which is proving a head wind for other exporters and firms that compete with imports.
But the flipside of a high dollar is that goods priced on world markets are cheaper than they otherwise would be. This includes goods that are crucial to households like food, clothing and fuel. So inflation is running at less than one per cent a year, food on the whole costs less than it did a year ago, and businesses are taking advantage of cheaper capital goods to invest in plant and machinery.
Looking ahead, New Zealand faces some big opportunities.
Our trade and investment links are increasingly with Asia, which is the fastest growing region in the world. Over the last four years, our exports to China have trebled.
And New Zealand faces a domestic construction boom.
That will be centred, of course, on Christchurch, where the spend is now estimated to be around $30 billion.
But construction is also expected to pick up in other areas, and manufacturers across the country will be gearing up to supply materials.
The Government, for its part, is going to press on and expand its economic programme.
We’ve been very clear and consistent about that programme.
We’re managing the Government’s finances to get back to surplus and start reducing debt.
And we’re pressing ahead with a wide range of measures to build a more productive and competitive economy.
That’s an economy where growth is based on the solid foundations of investment, exports and savings.
Investment is crucial.
Because the truth is, you only get jobs and growth in the economy when people invest money, at their own risk, in setting up a business or expanding an existing business.
Why has Australia been doing so well over the last few years?
Because there has been massive investment in its economy.
Investment in Western Australia, for example, has seen the lowest unemployment rate, and highest population growth, of any Australian state.
Over this side of the Tasman, the Taranaki region has attracted significant oil and gas investment. It has a low unemployment rate and workers’ incomes have grown faster than anywhere else in the country.
The key factor is investment, and not just in oil and gas.
So here in New Zealand we have to be a magnet for investment.
That’s investment by individuals and small businesses as well as big businesses; and it’s investment by people from overseas as well as Kiwis.
The more investment we get, the more jobs will be created.
That’s not to say there won’t also be jobs lost.
In any three-month period in New Zealand, between 100,000 and 200,000 jobs disappear, and between 100,000 and 200,000 new jobs are created, as businesses start up, expand, contract and close altogether.
The labour market is a very dynamic place.
But the only way net new jobs can be created is by private investors putting their money into businesses in New Zealand.
Governments can encourage investment but they can also discourage investment.
A government can load up big costs and uncertainties onto business.
It can make people unwelcome because they are considered to be the wrong nationality to invest here, or in the wrong industry.
And it can lock up the resources of the country.
That would certainly discourage investment.
But as I said, we have to be a magnet for investment.
That’s why my Government is working hard to reduce costs and uncertainties for business.
That’s why we welcome investment that benefits New Zealand.
That’s why we are keeping our own costs down.
That’s why we are ensuring people have the right skills to contribute to the workforce.
That’s why we are ensuring the country has the infrastructure it needs to grow.
And that’s why we’re focused on opportunities to use our natural resources productively and sustainably.
This programme is set out in our Business Growth Agenda, which details a large number of initiatives in six main groupings: skilled and safe workplaces, infrastructure, natural resources, exports, capital markets and innovation.
There is a lot to that Agenda, but today I want to pick out a handful of things which are either new or where I really want us to step up this year.
Skilled workplaces
First, in terms of skilled workplaces, the big challenge for New Zealand over the next few years – especially in the context of Christchurch – is to have people in the right place to do the work that’s available, and to have people with the right skills.
Put simply, there is going to be a lot of work in Canterbury, and there are going to be people in other parts of the country who need that work and could do it, particularly if they get the right training.
The first element of that – getting people in the right place – is going to require some initiative from workers, but also a good deal of innovation from businesses involved in the rebuild, and from the Government.
We aren’t going to micro-manage that process, but we can help it. That’s what we’ve done – for example, with the new Canterbury Skills and Employment Hub, which provides a one-stop shop to link local employers with people looking for work, before turning to immigration.
We’re also looking closely at how we can encourage people to work in Christchurch.
In terms of skill-matching, we are focusing in particular on young people and on vocational training.
This year we are launching five new vocational pathways that clearly signpost the subjects young people should take to prepare for vocational careers in construction, manufacturing, the primary sector, the service sector and social services.
This year there will be over 4000 places available in trades and services academies, allowing young people to explore vocational career opportunities while still at school.
And there will be around 8700 Youth Guarantee places for young people to study fees-free outside the school environment.
But the big changes we are making this year are to industry training and, in particular, to apprenticeships.
Under Labour’s wasteful management, up to 100,000 people a year listed as being in industry training were in fact “phantom trainees” who achieved no credits and in some cases were no longer alive.
So we have been streamlining this scheme, reducing the number of qualifications and putting the emphasis on achievement rather than token participation.
That has freed up some very significant funding to re-invest in expanding apprenticeships.
Currently, Modern Apprenticeships are only available for people who begin their training between the ages of 16 and 21 and they attract a significant top-up in funding to pay for advice and mentoring. The top-up is in fact greater than the subsidy that supports their learning programme.
So today I am announcing a new initiative to expand and improve apprenticeship training.
This has a number of parts to it:
1. From 1 January next year, we are going to combine Modern Apprenticeships and other apprenticeship-type training under an expanded and improved scheme called New Zealand Apprenticeships. These new apprenticeships will provide the same level of support, and the same level of subsidy, for all apprentices, regardless of their age. Fewer than half the people doing apprenticeship-type training are actually funded as proper apprentices, through the Modern Apprenticeship scheme, and we are going to change that.
2. We are going to boost overall funding for apprenticeships. The current top-up for Modern Apprentices will be redistributed across all apprentices, regardless of age, as an extension to their learning subsidy. In addition, overall subsidy payments will be increased by around $12 million in the first year, rising over time. Increased funding for apprenticeships will allow industry training organisations to invest in the quality of education for apprentices, lower fees for employers and encourage growth in the uptake of apprenticeships.
3. We are going to boost the educational content of apprenticeships. At a minimum they will require a programme of at least 120 credits that results in a level four qualification.
4. We are going to set clearer roles and performance expectations for ITOs, and give employers other options if their ITOs don’t perform; and
5. To lift the profile of, and participation in, apprenticeships, we are going to give the first 10,000 new apprentices who enrol after 1 April this year $1000 towards their tools and off-job course costs, or $2000 if they are in priority construction trades. The same amount will also be paid to their employers.
As a result of these changes, and stimulated by the boom in construction and other trades that is already underway in Christchurch, we estimate that around 14,000 new apprentices will start training over the next five years, over and above the number previously forecast.
The whole idea is to kick-start new apprenticeship opportunities ahead of the curve, so that thousands of New Zealanders get to learn a new trade that will last them a lifetime.
Infrastructure
Moving on to infrastructure, the Government will this year continue its significant programme of investment, which supports thousands of jobs across the country.
And we are doing so in a way that involves private sector disciplines as much as possible.
The first major public-private partnership ever undertaken in New Zealand will open this year, with the first group of students attending the new Hobsonville Point primary school.
A new secondary school at Hobsonville is also being developed through a PPP, as is the new prison at Wiri and the Transmission Gully project.
By the middle of this year, around 300,000 businesses and homes will be able to connect to ultra-fast broadband, and around 1300 schools and 30 hospitals will have fibre to the gate. In addition, almost 100,000 rural homes and businesses are expected to have access to faster broadband through the Rural Broadband Initiative.
The Government is also continuing to support the development of water infrastructure. Earlier this week we announced we would be establishing a new Crown-owned company to invest in commercial-scale water storage and irrigation projects, and set aside $80 million for the initial stages of its operation.
In terms of housing, the Government is itself planning to build more than 2000 houses over the next two financial years but, more importantly, wants to work with local councils on the underlying problems of land supply, building and resource consents and provision of infrastructure.
We need more houses built in New Zealand, at a lower cost.
That means we need more land available for building, more streamlined processes and less costly red tape.
This doesn’t require the Government to spend a lot of money. We are already a huge player in the housing market and I’m very wary of spending more of taxpayers’ money.
But there are plenty of private sector investors who want to invest in housing – if only we can remove the roadblocks that are slowing down the process and driving up costs.
It’s ridiculous, for example, that developers can wait six to 18 months for a resource consent.
It’s ridiculous that we allow councils to demand almost anything as a condition for the consent.
And it’s ridiculous that we allow them to charge whatever fees they want.
Unless these sorts of issues are dealt with there won’t be more affordable housing built.
Labour’s so-called ‘plan’ to build 100,000 houses doesn’t do anything to fix the actual cost of building – so will either fail miserably, deliver dwellings that people don’t want to live in, or require massive taxpayer subsidies.
It’s dishonest and it doesn’t stack up.
As I said, we want to work co-operatively with local councils and I believe our goals in the end are the same.
In particular we are keenly awaiting the Auckland Council’s spacial plan, and I’m expecting it to include multiple options for both greenfields and brownfields residential property developments.
But if councils aren’t able to change their planning processes, then the Government would have to get a lot more proactive, because we are very serious about resolving this issue.
Natural resources
In terms of natural resources, I think all New Zealanders are aware that our economy and natural resources are closely linked.
New Zealand is rich, for example, in minerals. The Greens and Labour oppose it, but we are going to continue to encourage development of our country’s oil, gas and mineral resources.
Looking across our resource base as a whole, what’s clear is that we need a much better system of planning and resource management – one that enables growth and provides strong environmental outcomes, and does so in a timely and cost-effective way.
We’ve already made changes to the resource management system and we’ve got more in the pipeline. There is a Bill already in Parliament to set a six-month time limit on the processing of medium-sized consents, and to establish a streamlined process for Auckland’s first Unitary Plan.
But as a country, we’re still not planning well enough for our future.
The RMA is constantly cited as a source of frustration, both by investors wishing to develop on their land, and by communities left waiting for years to know the outcome of a project.
There is not enough national consistency. Across New Zealand’s 78 local authorities there are over 170 resource management planning documents. Consistency is important because New Zealand is a small country and local decisions have significant effects on our national economy and national environment.
We also need to ensure that local plans aren’t overly restrictive and that consent processes are proportionate to the scale of the activity.
Public participation on whether an individual builds a deck on their property, for example, is profoundly different from a decision affecting water quality in a lake.
So the Government is working on a comprehensive package of reforms to the resource management system, which we’ll release in the next few months.
I want to see big improvements in this area and it’s going to be a high priority for the Government this year.
Export markets
In terms of developing export markets, the Government is currently negotiating free trade agreements with 11 countries in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, including the United States, and separately with a number of other countries including India, Russia and Korea.
We’re also about to begin negotiations for a new 16-nation regional free trade agreement across Asia and the Pacific.
Trade agreements can take a long time. But the TPP negotiations are well advanced and negotiators have been asked to try to conclude the broad outline of an agreement by October this year.
The Greens and their fellow travellers say the TPP is anti-democratic. That is nonsense.
A high-quality free trade agreement with the world’s biggest economy, that includes agricultural exports, would be a significant achievement.
The Government has also been ramping up its engagement with Asia, because we see there are huge opportunities there for New Zealand businesses.
This year, for example, we will continue to focus on Chinese tourism.
Before Christmas, some of our opponents thought it was a tremendous scandal that high-value, low-risk and well-travelled Chinese were able to get a New Zealand visa with a little less red tape.
I thought it was a scandal that we hadn’t done this earlier, because Chinese tourism has the potential to be huge for New Zealand.
Finally, on tourism, the best thing we can do to increase high-value tourist numbers – as I’ve said time and time again – is to facilitate the development of a national convention centre in Auckland. The sooner that can happen the better.
Capital markets
When it comes to capital markets, the biggest thing happening this year is the Government’s offer of shares in state-owned energy companies.
Subject to the Supreme Court’s decision, this will start in the first half of the year with our offer of up to 49 per cent of the shares in Mighty River Power.
We also want to proceed with another IPO later this year.
The whole share offer programme will be a shot in the arm for New Zealand’s capital markets.
It will give New Zealand savers an opportunity to invest in big New Zealand companies, and the companies themselves will benefit from better monitoring and market disciplines.
At the same time, the Government will maintain majority ownership of the companies, and will use the proceeds to invest in other public assets, like schools and hospitals.
New Zealanders will be at the front of the queue for shares in these particular companies, but in general we continue to welcome foreign investment in New Zealand.
That’s because overseas investment in New Zealand adds to what New Zealanders can invest on their own.
It creates jobs, boosts incomes, and helps the economy grow.
Overseas capital can make things happen here that wouldn’t otherwise happen, grow businesses that wouldn’t otherwise have the means to grow, create jobs that otherwise wouldn’t exist, and pay wages that are higher than they would otherwise be.
So it’s sad to see the Labour Party that was such an advocate of trade and investment in the past somehow turning into the number one defender of Fortress New Zealand.
Innovation
Finally, despite tight times, the Government is continuing to put a real priority on science and innovation.
Research funding will be greater this year than it ever has been, because new ideas are a key driver for a modern economy.
In particular, this year will see Callaghan Innovation, the new advanced technology institute, up and running, and working with firms involved in high-tech manufacturing and services.
The National Science Challenges will be finalised in the next few months, and a greater proportion of resources put towards addressing these challenges.
So as you can see, we’ve got plenty on.
But I can guarantee you one thing – Labour will oppose almost all of it.
And the few things they might find to like, Russel Norman or Winston Peters will vehemently oppose.
And that’s the irony of the New Zealand Opposition in 2013.
They criticise the Government for being too hands-off; and yet between each of the Opposition parties they oppose every hands-on change we make to encourage investment, growth and jobs.
Tax changes – they oppose.
Major roading projects – they oppose.
A free trade agreement with the US – they oppose.
RMA changes – they oppose.
90 day trials – they oppose.
Work expectations for beneficiaries – they oppose.
Oil and gas exploration – they oppose.
The Hobbit legislation – they oppose.
A national convention centre – they oppose.
Every piece of legislation or policy we have developed to encourage growth and jobs they have opposed.
And that’s because there is only one type of activist government they know – the big-spending and big-borrowing kind that we know so well from the Labour Party and the Greens.
It’s called “chequebook activism” and New Zealanders know it well because they’ve seen it before.
As a country we are still paying for it – literally.
It means big, wasteful and unaffordable spending, charged to the taxpayer’s bill. And it means Labour and the Greens meddling and choking off private sector investment.
As for the National-led Government, our plan will encourage investment, strengthen the economy and boost jobs.
People know what that plan is, we have stuck to it and we will continue to stick to it.
And New Zealand is heading in the right direction.
The Government’s economic programme is laying the foundations for a stronger economy, sustainable jobs and higher incomes.
The world is full of opportunities for New Zealand over the next few years.
We need to seize those opportunities with both hands.
That’s why the Government is getting on with the job.
Thank you.
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The Justice Committee has called for submissions on National's racist and constitutionally radical Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill. Submissions can be made at the link above or by post, and are due by Tuesday, 7 January 2025. But I'd get in quick, in case National grows a spine ...5 days ago
- We need to talk about Kevin
All happy families are alike; each unhappy family has a Drunk Uncle Kevin in there somewhere. If your Kevin is anything like the ones I know, he was getting along happily enough without having to think too much about the Treaty Principles Bill apart from bloody good job, onya guys ...5 days ago - The hikoi
Like everyone else (everyone who wasn't there, anyway), I've spent the morning watching the hikoi march on Parliament. The pictures are astounding: parliament grounds and the surrounding streets are full, and there are still people backed up along Lambton Quay. The police are estimating 35,000 people, and that's a floor ...5 days ago
- Why Govt & NZ Inc should boycott & regulate Facebook
5 days ago - How should we talk about change?
A better world isn’t just possible, it’s desirable. And that’s how we should frame a lot of our conversations around making a greater Auckland. As an example take urban climate action. A climate friendly Auckland: Is free from congestion Enables people to travel how they choose Is filled with ...5 days ago
- AMA + Holiday Webworm Merch!
5 days ago - Discount Code for Webworm Merch!
Hi,So there’s a bunch of new stuff on the Webworm store (www.webworm.store) — just in time for the Holidays. Read more ...5 days ago - Trying to defuse the tension
There were urgent moves yesterday at Parliament to try and defuse the tension building up over ACT’s Treaty Principles Bill. The Bill’s author, ACT leader David Seymour, told reporters that he understood the Justice Select Committee met yesterday to discuss how long it should take to consider submissions on the ...5 days ago
- An Irritable NZ Pawn – David Seymour Admits Treaty Principles Bill will clear the way for deve...
6 days ago - Gordon Campbell On The Hikoi Arrival, And Tyler Childers
Politicians like to bang on all about the need to heal society’s racial/economic divisions, but in their actions they’re more keen on stoking those divisions, with the Treaty Principles Bill being the classic example. The Bill seeks to dilute the Crown’s responsibilities to Māori at the same time as it ...6 days ago
- Socially Backwards and Fiscally Forwards: the False Ideological Divide and the “Conservative” Li...
6 days ago - Kaamos: Accepted
I appreciate that A Phuulish Fellow has been fairly quiet recently. That’s a combination of two things – comparatively little in the way of relevant material to discuss (at least until The War of the Rohirrim comes out next month), and my general work on The Secret Non-Fiction Writing Project. ...6 days ago - Here’s how governments could fix their Paris climate commitment failures
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Governments around the world face a conundrum. Virtually none are on track to meet their Paris climate commitments. That includes the United States, which committed to cut its emissions at least 50% below 2005 levels by 2030 but is only on track for 32-43% cuts ...6 days ago
- Unstoppable.
6 days ago
- Katherine Trebeck – An Alternative Economic Narrative
The era of neoliberalism has been destructive on so many levels, with a huge growth in wealth and privilege for the one percent. A hollowing out of the state; fraying of the safety net; inadequate government investment in infrastructure; and continued environmental degradation has resulted in damage on a vast ...6 days ago - In a Manner of Speaking
In a manner of speakingI just want to sayThat I could never forget the wayYou told me everythingBy saying nothingOh, give me the wordsGive me the wordsThat tell me nothingOh, give me the wordsGive me the wordsThat tell me everythingSongwriter: Winston TongNext Tuesday, the subscription price for Nick’s Kōrero will ...6 days ago - Monday 18 November 2024
The NZNO have announced a nationwide strike for December over its pay dispute with Health NZ, who have put a 1 per cent cap on pay rises. The Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti and Treaty Principles Bill remain front and centre in the media, with the impacts of the Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke-led ...6 days ago
- Shipley warns Seymour’s bill is ‘inviting civil war’
The divisive Treaty Principles Bill is not just a risk for the National Party, it’s a risk to civil order and unity, warns a National Party grandee. Photo: Getty ImagesKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on ...6 days ago - A clearer network for the City Rail Link?
This post was originally published on Linked In by Nicolas Reid. It is republished here with permission. Auckland is now just a year or so away from having the keystone of its urban rail network complete. As I wrote about here, the City Rail Link will be a literal game changer for ...6 days ago
- National’s support base is wobbling
If ACT leader David Seymour intended the Treaty Principles Bill to drive a wedge into National’s support base, he may well already be succeeding. By midnight on Thursday after the Maori Party haka in Parliament, National MPs were being deluged with emails and messages from their members calling them out ...6 days ago
- 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #46
A listing of 33 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, November 10, 2024 thru Sat, November 16, 2024. Story of the week Our Story of the Week is completely "meta" (no, not that Meta). It's about our exploring how ...7 days ago
- Grifter Eftpos Tamaki at it again
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Self-appointed “Bishop” and proto-fascist, Brian Tamaki was at it again on 16 November, blocking Auckland’s southern motorway, SH1.This time, the target of his ire wasn’t the Civil Unions Act; covid lock-downs; mask mandates; or ...7 days ago - Rip up a bill, lead a haka are words to live by
I cannot stop grabbing people by the lapels, or shoulders, or similar, and raving at them about the tiny miracles in my ears.I can hear again! There could not be a more satisfied customer in all the world.In a noisy cafe I am even catching words that Karren cannot, she ...1 week ago - Unintended Consequences
Take the baitYou pay the priceIt's much too lateFor good adviceYou know and I know that our good things' throughBecause there's consequences for what we doConsequences for me and youWriters: Kevin Robert Hayes, David Nagier, Bonnie Adele Hayes.Fallout from the first readingOne News began last night by saying that tens ...1 week ago - Thank you, driver!
Today, Saturday 16th of November, is Auckland Transport’s Bus Driver Appreciation Day! Saturday 16 November marks the third annual Auckland Transport (AT) ‘Bus Driver Appreciation Day’, and this year we are encouraging all of New Zealand to thank their driver or let the bus go first if you are in ...1 week ago
- Totally Normal: Holiday Edition
Hi,If I was to accurately sum up my mental state over the week, I’d just say that I got a huge fright from my own shadow.I’d nipped out for an 11pm neighborhood stroll, just to calm down after a day of stress and screens. The Cure and Fazerdaze’s new record ...1 week ago - We Are Not Listening
The current rise of populism challenges the way we think about people’s relationship to the economy.We seem to be entering an era of populism, in which leadership in a democracy is based on preferences of the population which do not seem entirely rational nor serving their longer interests. ...
1 week ago - More lawlessness from National
On Tuesday, sick of government stonewalling, the Waitangi Tribunal issued a rare court order, ordering the Minister of Health to release unredacted documents within 48 hours showing its reasoning for disestablishing Te Aka Whai Ora, the Māori Health Authority. The government's response to the lawful order of a court? Yeah, ...1 week ago
- National’s tyrannical “foreign interference” law
Yesterday, under cover the the biggest political fight of the year, National quietly - covertly, even - introduced anti-foreign interference legislation. The bill is the product of a years-long work-program aimed at countering shit like this and this, and there's unquestionably a need to do something to counter foreign states' ...1 week ago
- The Haka Represents The Best Of Us
A few months ago, I was in an audience watching a Haka-Kapa and as I watched children dance and sing and sway and shout and beat, I couldn’t help but think “The Haka represents the best of us.”Yes, yes - there will be a thousand voices that rush forth to ...1 week ago
- Adding up the climate cost
St Mary’s Bay housing left hanging: Climate risk is systemically underestimated in the climate scenarios used by central banks, and a new report warns 10,000 houses are set to become uninsurable in Aotearoa. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in ...1 week ago
- Auckland chafing at Bishop’s housing intensification orders
One of the major problems the Government has in implementing its ‘going for housing growth’ strategy is that it isn’t giving much funding help to councils. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and ...1 week ago - Friday 15 November 2024
The Treaty Principles Bill continues to dominate political news, with it passing its first reading in the House. Parliament was briefly suspended and Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke suspended for 24 hours after leading a haka that was joined by opposition MPs and the public in the gallery. Willie ...1 week ago
- Weekly Roundup 15-November-2024
Happy Friday, welcome to another round-up of interesting stories about what’s happening in Auckland and other cities. Feel free to add your links in the comments! This post, like all our work, is brought to you by a largely volunteer crew and made possible by generous donations from our readers ...1 week ago
- Are We The Waiting?
And screamingAre we we are, are we we are the waitingAnd screamingAre we we are, are we we are the waitingForget me nots, second thoughts live in isolationHeads or tails and fairy tales in my mindAre we we are, are we we are the waiting unknownThe rage and love, the ...1 week ago - The Hoon around the week to November 15
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate news, including from COP29 this week; on the US Presidential elections, Israel vs Gaza/Iran/Lebanon, Ukraine/Nato vs Russia/North ...1 week ago
- First Tea and Toast, now Milo — why do NZ’s best beverages need so much defending?
Only two months ago, Nicola Willis had to step in to stop Health New Zealand cutting tea and toast for post-birth parents, and now Lester Levy is riding to the rescue with a welcome message for all: our health workers can once again drink Milo, and will no longer need ...1 week ago - Gordon Campbell on the folly of making apologies in a social vacuum.
Day One of the Treaty Principles Bill…and everyone got what they wanted, and did what they liked. Heated words were exchanged. Culturally appropriate acts of outrage were performed. David Seymour got to play the victim card. Willie Jackson got kicked out of class. A comically red-faced Mr Speaker bellowed “Order, ...1 week ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #46 2024
Open access notables Microbial solutions must be deployed against climate catastrophe, Peixoto et al., Nature Communications [comment]: The climate crisis is escalating. A multitude of microbe-based solutions have been proposed, and these technologies hold great promise and could be deployed along with other climate mitigation strategies. However, these solutions have ...1 week ago
- The PM gets some extremely valuable legal advice for free
You can pay a great deal of money for the services of a KC. So just what would some peerless legal writing from 40 or so of them be worth, do you reckon?Priceless, that’s what. It’s not even the half of it, but this is my favourite part of the ...1 week ago - D-day for the government
The government's Treaty Principles Bill is up for its first reading today - bought forward in a rush in a desperate effort to avoid the hikoi which is currently marching on Wellington. But the Prime Minister won’t be there for it – he’s literally running away to Peru! But he ...1 week ago
- 97% of submissions did not want no-cause evictions, Trump chooses a Russian spy for US Intelligence ...
Good morning, and I’m sorry I’ve been away for a couple of days.I’ve been focusing on the Hikoi, and also testing out sentiment on the Treaty Principles Bill. It’s complicated, and the Treaty Principles Bill will be debated in the House today. The Government’s own lawyers have told them the ...1 week ago
- Release: Government should be transparent on live exports
Targeted consultation on reinstating live cattle exports by sea won’t allow the New Zealand public to have their say. ...2 days ago - NZ’s global climate rankings plummet as Govt removes agriculture from ETS
The Government has passed legislation to remove agriculture from the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) while Aotearoa’s reputation on climate action plummets. ...3 days ago - Failed boot camp experiment must end
As legislation to set up boot camps passed its first reading, the Green Party urged the Government to abandon this failed policy experiment for the good of our rangatahi. ...3 days ago
- Gender-affirming care must centre evidence and health needs, not political posturing
The Ministry of Health has today released an evidence brief regarding the use of puberty blockers in gender-affirming healthcare, amid moves by the government to limit access. ...3 days ago
- Release: National doesn’t care about manufacturing
The National Government is walking away from our manufacturing sector with constant reports of closures and job losses. ...3 days ago
- Release: David Parker speech – Piketty, Inequality and Climate Change
David Parker's speech from the University of Auckland's forum on Piketty, Inequality and Climate Change in September 2024. ...3 days ago
- Release: Youth mental wellbeing no longer a priority for Child Poverty Minister
Louise Upston has revealed her diminished vision for vulnerable youth against a backdrop of snubbed advice, scrapped priorities, shifted goal posts and thousands more children projected to fall into poverty. ...3 days ago
- Release: National’s lack of climate action taking NZ backwards
National Government’s backward-looking climate policy has seen New Zealand fall seven places on the Climate Change Performance Index to 41 out of 63 countries measured. ...3 days ago
- Release: Simple reason for drop in emergency housing
When the Government says it has reduced the number of people in emergency housing, what it means is it is stopping people from accessing it in the first place. ...3 days ago
- Govt’s child wellbeing strategy ‘shallow and shameful’
The Government is turning its back on children by not only weakening child poverty reduction targets, but also removing child mental wellbeing as a priority focus in their Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy. ...3 days ago
- Release: A historic win for Samoan communities
Labour warmly welcomes the Restoring Samoan Citizenship Bill as it passes its third reading, before becoming law. ...3 days ago
- Government plan to reinstate live animal exports a “national disgrace”
The Government has taken a giant step backwards by reinstating live animal exports. ...4 days ago
- Pasifika justice as Member’s Bill passes final reading
Teanau Tuiono’s Member’s Bill, the Citizenship (Western Samoa Restoration) Amendment Bill, has passed its third reading and will become law. ...4 days ago
- Release: Minister of Education thinks New Zealand ends at the Bombay Hills
The Minister of Education has shown complete disregard for rural communities and their school bus routes in Question Time today. ...4 days ago
- Economists sound alarm on Government’s slash-and-burn approach
A group of prominent economists has released an open letter to the Government, raising grave concerns about the far-reaching consequences of its fiscal policy. ...4 days ago
- Release: Smoking numbers up under Costello’s watch
National’s repeal of Labour’s smokefree legislation has taken New Zealand further away from achieving a Smokefree 2025 and a smokefree generation. ...4 days ago
- Release: Call for Palestine recognition by NZ, Australian and Canadian MPs
Parliamentarians from Australia, Canada and New Zealand have written an open letter to their respective Prime Ministers calling on them to recognise Palestine. ...4 days ago
- Justice Select Committee opens floor for Treaty Principles submissions
Today, the Justice Select Committee has decided to officially open submissions for the controversial Treaty Principles Bill. ...5 days ago
- Power of the people on full display as hīkoi approaches Parliament
Today, Hīkoi mō te Tiriti arrived in Wellington, with thousands gathering to march in unity against the divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...5 days ago
- Hypocrisy as Te Whatu Ora contractor bill balloons
Te Whatu Ora’s bill for contracting and consulting staff has ballooned by nearly 20 percent under the National Government, breaking a promise they made during the election campaign to cut contractors. ...6 days ago
- Release: Growing pressure to scrap Section 7AA Repeal Bill
The newly released Section 7AA Repeal Bill's select committee report is further evidence that the Government should scrap it. ...7 days ago
- Government’s move to monetise access to nature a slippery slope
The Green Party is voicing serious concerns over the Government’s proposal to charge for access to public conservation land, released today. ...1 week ago
- Green Party condemns the passage of Treaty Principles Bill
The Green Party condemns the passing of the Treaty Principles Bill at first reading, and is clear that the fight is not over. ...1 week ago
- Stand Up for Te Tiriti
Te Tiriti o Waitangi is our country’s founding document. It forms the basis of the relationship between Māori and the Crown – and the Aotearoa New Zealand we live in today. ...1 week ago
- Release: Over 15,000 sign Labour’s open letter to Luxon
As the hīkoi to Parliament continues, Labour has sent an open letter to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in a last-ditch attempt to get him to kill the Treaty Principles Bill. ...1 week ago
- Fast Track Bill threatens environment, climate and reputation
The fast-track legislation passing its second reading in Parliament is another step towards environmental ruin. ...2 weeks ago
- Greens join King’s Counsel in calling for Treaty Principles Bill to be abandoned
The Prime Minister must answer the call from a group of senior lawyers of the King’s Counsel to abandon the divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- Chris Hipkins’ apology statement to state and faith-based care survivors
...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour formally apologises to state and faith-based care survivors
Labour joins with the Government in unreservedly apologising for the abuse, neglect and trauma including torture in state and faith-based care and for ignoring the voices of survivors for too long. ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party stands in support of survivors of abuse in care
Today, the Green Party stands alongside the survivors of abuse in state care and faith-based care as the Government issues an historic apology. ...2 weeks ago
- Green Party calls for conscience vote on Treaty Principles Bill
The Green Party has written to the Speaker of the House requesting he enable a personal vote on the Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- Govt move to exclude journalist risks chilling effect
The Green Party is alarmed by the Government’s move to exclude a journalist from covering this week’s apology for the survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care. ...2 weeks ago
- Without action, an apology will be empty air
For tomorrow’s apology to survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care to hold any water, the Government must not pursue the same policies that drove the abuse in the first place. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Concerns remain over tobacco interference
Concerns about the tobacco industry’s ability to interfere in government policy making remain, despite the inability of the Office of the Auditor-General to investigate the Government’s decision to halve the excise tax on heated tobacco products. ...2 weeks ago
- Urgent wake-up call on climate
The Climate Change Commission’s latest advice indicates Aotearoa needs to be stepping up on climate action. ...2 weeks ago
- Green MP’s Meme-ber’s Bill set to save the world
Break out the punchlines and dust off your meme folder: Green Party MP Kahurangi Carter’s Copyright (Parody and Satire) Amendment Bill was pulled from the Ballot yesterday. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Poroporoaki: Ta Robert (Bom) Gillies
Kua hinga te manawa kairākau o Te Rua Tekau Ma Waru Tiwhatiwha te po! Kakarauru i te po! Ka rapuhia kei hea koe kua riro! Haere e te Ika a Whiro ki o tini hoa kua ngaro atu ki te Pō ...2 weeks ago
- Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori call on the Prime Minister to block the Treaty Principles Bill
The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori call on the Prime Minister to block the Treaty Principle...
The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- NZ must pursue independent foreign policy
The Green Party says the need is greater than ever for Aotearoa New Zealand to pursue an independent foreign policy. ...2 weeks ago
- Child Protection Investigation Unit established
A new Child Protection Investigation Unit is being established to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children in care, Minister for Children Karen Chhour says. “The report released by the Royal Commission into abuse in state care shows us all the risk of not acting immediately when there are serious ...2 days ago - Speech at United States Business Summit 2024
Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Ka mihi ki te mana whenua ko Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei. Kia ora and good morning everyone. Thank you Fran and Simon for inviting me here today, and importantly your leadership of this forum over several years now. I want to acknowledge David Gehrenbeck, Deputy ...2 days ago
- Record number of submissions received on granny flat proposal
Nearly 2,000 submissions have been received on the Government’s proposals aimed at making it easier to build a granny flat of up to 60 square metres without a resource or building consent, RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk say. “This is the highest number ...2 days ago
- District Court Judge appointed
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Rebecca Guthrie as a District Court Judge. Judge Guthrie was admitted to the bar in 1997 following her graduation from the University of Canterbury in 1996 (LLB, BA). She commenced her legal career in Hastings in 1997 before moving to London in ...2 days ago
- Appointments strengthen Predator Free 2050
The latest Predator Free 2050 Board appointments will help to strengthen biodiversity efforts across Aotearoa New Zealand, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says. Mr Potaka today announced two appointments to the Board of Directors of Predator Free 2050 Limited, a key player in the wider Predator Free 2050 Programme. “The Predator ...2 days ago
- New facility in Christchurch will improve the lives of young New Zealanders
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey today opened Kahurangi, an innovative and much-needed facility for Canterbury’s Child, Adolescent, and Family Mental Health Services. “The new state of the art outpatient facility opened today will be a gamechanger for the way mental health is delivered for young people in Canterbury,” says Mr ...2 days ago
- Driver safety screens to be installed on Auckland buses
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed news from the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) that bus driver protection screens will be installed across Auckland’s bus fleet by 2026.“The Government is committed to improving the safety of working environments for bus drivers, and Budget 2024 allocated $15 million of Crown funding over ...2 days ago
- Government action provides Southland farmers more time to meet plan requirements
The Government is taking action to ensure Southland farmers and growers are not affected by unreasonable regional farm plan deadlines, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard say.“Cabinet has agreed to provide more time for farmers and growers to comply with regional rules ...3 days ago
- Bill reaffirms Government’s commitment to crack down on serious youth offending
The Oranga Tamariki (Responding to Serious Youth Offending) Bill had its first reading at Parliament today. The Bill reaffirms the Government’s commitment to crack down on serious youth offending, Minister for Children Karen Chhour says. “In recent years we have seen an unacceptable spike in youth offending. “This Bill makes ...3 days ago
- Critical milestones for earthquake buildings review
Fairer, more sensible rules about managing earthquake risks are a step closer with the passing of legislation and the appointment of an independent chair to provide expert advice, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The Government is committed to reinvigorating our cities and regions to support economic growth, ...3 days ago
- State of the art radiology machine for Auckland
People in Northland and Auckland will benefit from a new machine for cancer treatment installed at the Regional Cancer and Blood Service at Auckland City Hospital. The MV5 linear accelerator, or LINAC machine, officially opened today targets cancer tumours with pinpoint accuracy. Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says this new, ...3 days ago
- Foreign Minister to visit Europe
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Europe for high-level talks with France, Germany and the United Kingdom next week. "Since taking office almost a year ago, the Coalition Government has emphasised the importance we place on New Zealand's traditional and likeminded diplomatic and ...3 days ago
- First arrests made under gang patch ban
Police have made their first arrests under the new gang patch legislation, with two gang members arrested, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. “Just before 11 this morning, Police in Wairoa apprehended a gang member for wearing a patch to the supermarket. He has been arrested and will now face enforcement ...3 days ago
- Better support for victims of sexual violence
The Government is proposing two major changes to name suppression laws that will put the views of victims of sexual violence first, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “We are committed to restoring law and order and these two proposed changes will help ensure the victims of crime are put at ...3 days ago
- Government moving forward with Regional Deals
Cabinet has agreed to invite all regions to submit proposals for Regional Deals between central and local government that drive economic growth and deliver the infrastructure our country needs, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop say. Inviting all regions to propose a Regional Deal that boosts ...3 days ago
- MSA pilot participant update
One of the ten young men selected to participate in the Military-Style Academy Pilot has allegedly reoffended. Children’s Minister Karen Chhour is disappointed but says it would be naïve to think that none of these young men would reoffend. “I’m saddened that this young person has not taken this opportunity ...3 days ago
- Fighting for Kiwis in Trade
Delivered at Auckland Trade and Economic Policy School Good morning and thank you Deputy Vice Chancellor Lithander for your warm welcome and for inviting me to open Auckland Trade and Economic Policy School today. A Special thanks to the University of Auckland, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and ...3 days ago
- Attendance rates increase, again
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says that school attendance is continuing to rise. In Term 3 of 2024 51.3 per cent of students attended school regularly, an increase of 5.3 percentage points from 46 per cent in Term 3 of 2023. “This Government has prioritised student attendance and it is ...3 days ago
- Improving the lives of young New Zealanders
Ensuring New Zealand is the best place in the world for children and young people is the vision at the heart of the Government’s new Child and Youth Strategy, Child Poverty Reduction Minister Louise Upston says. “Childhood represents a huge opportunity to set people on a positive path towards living ...3 days ago
- Government continues work to reinstate livestock exports by sea
The Government is reinstating the trade of livestock exports by sea while ensuring the highest standards of animal welfare, says Associate Minister of Agriculture Andrew Hoggard.“The Government will introduce legislation changes to reinstate the trade, enhance oversight, and strengthen requirements for exporters to identify risks and manage the welfare of ...4 days ago
- Speech to the National Quality Forum 2024
Tēnā koutou katoa – it is a pleasure to be here today. I would like to begin by acknowledging the important leadership role you all play in ensuring a quality health system New Zealanders can trust. There is enormous clinical expertise in this room covering a wide range of disciplines. ...4 days ago
- New Zealand’s COP29 National Statement
Tēnā koutou katoa. Mr President, Excellencies, Delegates. New Zealand, and all nations represented here today, are already dealing with the impacts of climate change. Our households, businesses, and economies are bearing the costs of its effects. The choices we make now will shape the severity of these impacts for generations ...4 days ago
- Latest Quarterly Investment Report released
The Government has released its second Quarterly Investment Report (QIR) which shows substantial work still to be done by agencies to improve investment reporting and meet the Government’s expectations, Infrastructure and Acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “New Zealand has significant infrastructure and investment needs. The Government is determined to get ...4 days ago
- New Zealand supporting loss and damage fund
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced New Zealand will contribute NZ$10 million to the new Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage while at the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan. “New Zealand is joining the global effort to address the significant challenge of responding to ...4 days ago
- Gang crackdown begins at stroke of midnight
The free ride for gangs is over when the clock strikes midnight tonight, with tough new laws officially coming into effect, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Police Minister Mark Mitchell say. “Gang patches will no longer be able to be worn in public. To earn the right to wear a ...4 days ago
- LGFA increases borrowing capacity to support high growth councils
The Government is welcoming the decision by the Local Government Funding Agency to increase access to financing tools for fast growing councils to support greater investment in critical infrastructure, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown says.“Communities across the country are facing an infrastructure deficit and significant population growth is projected in ...4 days ago
- Temporary Traffic Management costs revealed
The Government has revealed that over the past three years, the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) has spent an eyewatering $786 million of taxpayers’ money on road cones and temporary traffic management (TTM), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“When I became Minister, I was surprised to learn that that NZTA did ...5 days ago
- Jurisdiction of Disputes Tribunal to double
Legislation that will double the financial jurisdiction of the Disputes Tribunal from $30,000 to $60,000 has passed first reading in Parliament today, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith. “We need to improve court timeliness and access to justice so that Kiwis and get on with their lives. Court delays affect everyone, the ...5 days ago
- Protecting New Zealand from foreign interference
Legislation that will specifically criminalise foreign interference and strengthen espionage offences has passed first reading in Parliament today, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “It is normal and appropriate for states to interact and work to influence one another. This encourages cooperation and can have mutually beneficial outcomes. “However, the reality ...5 days ago
- Significant milestone for Canterbury Road of National Significance
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed news that the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board has approved funding towards pre-implementation and early works on the State Highway 1 (SH1) Belfast to Pegasus Motorway and Woodend Bypass Road of National Significance (RoNS). “Reaching this significant milestone is a reflection of our Government’s ...5 days ago
- Health survey results to help drive change
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says findings from the annual Health Survey highlight the need to continue driving better health outcomes for New Zealanders. The New Zealand Health Survey is an annual snapshot of key metrics measured from July 2023 – July 2024. Findings released this morning include: In 2023/24, ...5 days ago
- Final push needed to get to Smokefree 2025
A renewed effort to get people to quit smoking will build on what has worked to date and target the groups who most need support, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said today. “The latest New Zealand Health Survey results show the daily smoking rate at 6.9 per cent and we ...5 days ago
- New diplomatic appointments
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced four new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign ...5 days ago
- Next steps for Regulatory Standards Bill
Regulation Minister David Seymour has today announced the next steps in the Government’s plan improve the quality of regulation by opening consultation on a proposed Regulatory Standards Bill. “New Zealand's low wages can be blamed on low productivity, and low productivity can be blamed on poor regulation,” says Mr Seymour. ...5 days ago
- Red Tape Tipline goes live
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The world is full of opportunities for New Zealand over the next few years.!!
Ah the ” brighter future”
If he was brutally honest, he would have said ” but I was conned by the IMF and Bill English 4 years ago and I have shit to show for our time in office until now”
Actually Slippery wasn’t conned by the IMF in 2008, the interim report from the IMF to that incoming National Government, (which i can no longer find online) directly advised the Government to seriously consider ‘quantitative easing’ as a means to shield the New Zealand economy from the adverse effects of the financial meltdown,
My understanding is that the IMF interim report is then referred to the Government for it’s comments after which the final report is produced,
This, the final IMF report was produced with NO reference to ‘quantitative easing’ after the input of the incoming National Government,
It’s pretty obvious that despite the IMF being okay with the National Government printing the 300 million dollars a week it now borrows, National, (presumably both Slippery and English) deliberately chose that borrowing so as to ‘kneecap’ any following Government…
Here is an excellent blow by blow analysis.
http://fmacskasy.wordpress.com/2013/01/25/john-keys-state-of-the-nation-speech-post-mortem/
Brilliant from Frankly Speaking. Shows what a lying, wilfully deceitful punk is John Key.
Yeah Frank does write well.
Oh gods, I hate this style of speech.
Vague, unconnected sentences which don’t build towards anything.
Engineered to make good soundbites.
That’s the kind of speech I hate.
A speech which has no ambition for New Zealand.
No continuity and no real overarching message.
Full of.
Significant.
Pauses.
The Plan is “Keep Selling it Off” ….
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10861510
And Shearer could stop the whole process in it’s tracks by uttering one word …”re-nationalisation”.
Sounds like that editorial was written by Fran. Did you catch Brian Fallow’s piece about how selling power company shares before the fate of the Bluff smelter is known is a ‘folly’
Maybe that’s why Key is continuing with the Kiwi share. Maybe he thinks we’re financially naive enough to buy anyway whereas overseas buyers would realise they might very well be had.
Shearer will find it very easy to declare the books are in an abysmal state (Key did), that the National
government were useless and that extreme measures are needed. Print money and re-nationalize the energy companies. In a world were lying about economics is the rule, that banks printing money from leveraging has not been the norm, its not in any way wrong for any future government, National or Labour to do so. I mean Labour brought us Rogernomics, so why can’t a future National do re-nationalization.
Key is in favour of “prostitution”, no doubt, he is one of the first lining up for the money!
RedLogix
Nationalisation worked so well for Muldoon – lets try it one more time with a red flag and pretend the outcome will be different this time.
I am no fan of Muldoons, especially the borrowing for election bribes, like the social welfare for sheep, (Many similarities with Key’s National there) but “think big” was one of his better ideas.
In fact, Burt, many of the think big projects gave excellent returns, for their private owners, after the rogernomes sold them off.
NZ Refinery, for example. 300 million sale price, 300 million spent on upgrades before sale. 300 million profit to the oil companies in the first year.
The returns would have made Muldoon a hero if oil prices had continued to rise, at the time, as most people expected them to.. New Zealanders were not privy to the US decision to overthrow regimes and go to war to keep oil prices low in the early 80’s.
The mistake was borrowing from the IMF, and possibly doing it at a time of high resources and labour demand, instead of using QA and waiting for a recession to free up resources, , like the first Labour Government.
burt Cullen saved Air NZ you Dumbarse
To summarise:
“It’s all Labour’s fault….Christchurch rebuild will save us…we need foreign investment…need to wreck the environment to make money….’encourage’ people to work…cut red tape…TPP…sell assets…Labour sucks.”
Jam-packed full of original ideas, then.
Why bother to reproduce this bullshit as if we could find some ‘vision’ to latch onto.
Key is the franchisee for US global capitalism. That is the vision that he projects. It is echoed by todays corporate granny hacks.
That vision is rip, shit and bust economics for the kumara republic.
The biggest ripoff is the property market, it shits on workers making them homeless or debt slaves to finance capital. It is the biggest bust looming. $630 billion in unproductive residential property while the NZX has only $66 billion. Of course the billions in secret trusts never pass through the books.
Key’s vision is to make workers produce more profits for the bosses on their path to destruction of the planet.
You should know that by now.
Think of what we propose to do about it and whether the Labour Party will be part of that plan.
I doubt it because it means taking direct action to close down fossil fuels and impose draconian taxes on greenhouse polluters and rent rorters.
Labour is far too committed to managing capitalism to imagine an alternative.
“Of course the billions in secret trusts never pass through the books.”
Maybe Shearer should grow a pair, and target these hidden assets for taxation just like the Americans are doing all over the world.
Lot of Rhectoric ,and response to criticism which suggests that Key and not an anticipator a bottom dweller in any food web.
This a likely due to prior failures of predictive job creation in his prior occupation.In 1982 Merrill Lynch for example as a response to deregulation and a booming sharemarket created an additional 6000 positions,by april 1983 they has laid off 2500 due to decreased profits hence one should be wary of Hedeghogs (those with only one big idea) such as the market.
Well good ole DunnoKeyo really pulled this one out of his arse didn’t he ?
We need to seize those opportunities with both hands.
And of course they are such competent hands that NZ won’t want to …
“BURN THEM IN EFFIGY” every weekend.
As usual with the Gnats it’s all care but no responsibilty.
Incompetent people endevouring to be “Hands ON” = RIOTS IN THE STREETS
(Sorry should call them “Peacefull Protests” but the Gnats call them RIOTS M8!
In all honesty i have to give the empty suitcase of intellectual rigor we have as Prime Minister half a point for the apprenticeship scheme and it’s focus on the building trades,
It is as described ‘too little” but not i submit ‘too late’ perhaps the Slippery little Shyster would care to double the numbers as after November 2014 both Labour and Green policy would dictate the need for a far greater emphasis on the workforce needing qualifications in the building trades,
While Slippery is at it could He rearrange the immigration criteria so as to promote immigrants with those same building trades experience and qualifications ahead of others wishing to settle in New Zealand, doing it now will just make the ‘Kiwibuild” after November 2014 that much easier to get operational and save the Labour/Green coalition the need of one piece of legislation,
As far as the rest of that ones ‘grand vision’ goes it’s simply kick the poor to remind the middle class how ugly things get if your not on the ‘winners’ side and carry on with the enrichment of the already rich…
I tried to read Key’s speech, I really did, but a whole lot of my brain cells cried out all at once and were suddenly silenced.
Ha. I true to read it as well but nodded off at the bit about it being Labour’s fault.
LOLZ,as it was intended to do, it’s a series of ‘opium hits’ designed to put anyone who listens or reads the whole thing to sleep and when they awaken they only remember certain ‘catch-phrases’,
Clever newspeak!!!
I see a clinic full of cynics,
trying to twist the peoples wrists,
they watch everything we say,
all are included on their lists…
PS, in ‘newspeak’ the catch-phrases are important as Key during the year will keep using them in whatever context is relevant to the ‘message’ of the moment,
People having already had the phraseology inserted in their minds,(and who don’t actively despise the Slippery little Shyster and everything the National Party stand for),immediately get ‘re-connected’ via that particular phrase having been inserted into their psyches personal library…
Jeez what a tool..Seems written with primary school kids in mind.
i is feeling soooo dumbed down.
Catch the IPO comment in the speach about asset sales .
We also want to proceed with another IPO later this year.
Definition of ‘Initial Public Offering – IPO’
The first sale of stock by a private company to the public.
So does this mean that they have already decided to move beyond a 49% sales
He did not have to use the term Initial Public Offering for the 49% sales of shares. so why did he in a speach with everything written down so there are no mistakes?
Slippery’s intention is that Mighty River Power (who’s assets center on the hydro-dams across the Waikato river) be the first of the State assets to be flogged off,
Am not sure what comes next but can’t see that being the States mining company ‘Solid Energy’ as in the current economic climate it would fetch pea-nuts,
Then again as fully half the National Government benches seem to be occupied by some form of genetically inferior neanderthalic ape-like creatures perhaps pea-nuts is all they require…
I do ask – is John Key saying, he sees that Jenny Shipley made a huge mistake when she eliminated the apprenticeship scheme when she was Prime Minister.
NO, Slippery is simply playing reactionary politics, having been out-manouvered by Labour’s housing policy He had to do ‘something’ or lose the political initiative within which He has up to that point had a free hand,
Putting Nick Smith into the un-HousingNZ portfolio was His counter to the housing policy released by Labour, but He was then totally blindsided by the release of the Green Party housing policy and totally losing the political initiative that He has so far had free rein over the apprenticeship scheme announced yesterday was His reactionary means of attempting to seize back that initiative,
Obviously the apprenticeship scheme should have been upgraded as soon as the damage from the Christchurch earthquakes became apparent and god only knows who Slippery and National have had in mind since those earthquakes that was capable of undertaking the rebuild,
As an effort from National to provide a reposte to both the :Labour and Green Party’s housing policy it’s simply appalling and shows the Archilles heel of both Slippery’s leadership and the National government policy where they continue to cling to market economics which have FAILED in the housing market,
Other than that the National Government fronted by Slippery have nothing to give New Zeland in the form of affordable housing policy except their ‘Leader’ whining endlessly about the Auckland City Council taking 18 months to give them resource consent to bowl over what He calls a ‘few’ houses so the developer mates can build even more overly-large icons to over-consumption on the sections,
That of course is just more lies from those who Govern via the use of a continual pattern of untruths the ‘few’ houses talked of being a ‘few’ hundred State rental houses only a third of which will be replaced as the developers have no interest in building affordable housing and in all reality nor does the National Government or it’s ‘Leader’…
The CHC earthquake shambles is also owed to the 4th Labour government for dismantling the Ministry of Works and Development, and the resultant loss of expertise. A public service stacked with lawyers, accountants and professional managers is pretty much hopeless.
NOOOOOH –
He will blame Labour for not having fixed it again, before he came to power and NOW does (belatedly and only insignificantly) “fix it”!?
Iceland president had an interesting vision
John Key’s speech was essentially: Market good, state bad.
Key’s message in brief:
The economy is our focus, and it all hinges on the “mighty” Christchurch rebuild.
Train apprentices when the work they are supposed to be trained for is already being done by thousands of imported migrant workers, some of whom are employed under dubious conditions and terms, and working for low pay (even below the minimum wage).
Threaten local body administrations and councils: “Deliver us available, cheap land, to build affordable homes on, or we will pass laws to force you to make some available”. “Nick the Dick has been put in the job to deal to you”.
Now, that is really smart politics, I suppose, is it not?
All the rest is basically more of the same we have been told over the last 4 years, a bit of hyped up smart talk, little of substance and propaganda. Naturally lashing out at the opposition, who come up with some alternative ideas (even if they need a bit of enhancement and in the case of Labour a partial rethink), that is apparently the best Key can deliver.
While I think the apprenticeship program that is proposed is somehow constructive and a good idea, it comes far too late, and starting it next year makes it a ridiculous kind of measure to supposedly create the workforce that is already needed now for construction and related jobs.
It is a poor attempt to fix training, that was destroyed and neglected for many years, naturally primarily by National.
Now, there is a chance for Shearer, we will all be fixed to the radio and television, I am sure?! To be honest, I do not expect him to deliver the stuff that is needed and that I want to hear and see.
“Threaten local body administrations and councils: Deliver us available, cheap land, or we will pass laws to force you to make some available.”
While I am fully aware that he means zoning, etc, I thought land was owned privately? And perhaps farmers and other land owners dont actually want to sell?
Yes that one in particular boils my blood. It’s flat-out lies. Slimy, shitty filthy lies.
You could make an infinite amount of ‘free land’ available to developers and it would make very little difference to the price of retail sections. The cost of the raw land is only a small fraction (about 10-15%) of the price the builder pays for the section.
The only people who would benefit from ‘free land’ would be the developers. Key knows this and it’s why he’s happy to plug the lie.