Kiwis trust in Government surges

Written By: - Date published: 12:55 pm, June 13th, 2018 - 61 comments
Categories: Deep stuff, labour, national, Politics, same old national, Simon Bridges, uncategorized - Tags:

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A recent poll conducted by Colmar Brunton indicates that trust in the Government to do what is right for New Zealand is now 65% compared to 48% two years ago.  I wonder what happened to cause this significant change?

From Victoria University’s website:

A new study commissioned by Victoria University of Wellington’s Institute for Governance and Policy Studies (IGPS) shows the number of New Zealanders who trust government has risen substantially since 2016.

The Colmar Brunton survey asked 1,000 people across the country how much they trust key groups such as government ministers, police, medical practitioners, churches, charities, small businesses, the media and bloggers.

Asked whether they trust the government to do what is right for New Zealand, 65 percent now answer yes, compared with 48 percent in 2016. A total of 59 percent say they trust government to deal successfully with national problems, up from 47 percent in 2016, and 49 percent think New Zealand citizens’ interests are equally and fairly considered by the government, up from 39 percent.

“This large boost in trust surrounding government was unexpected and really positive,” says Dr Simon Chapple, IGPS Director. “In other countries we are seeing a decline in trust in democratic political institutions, so it’s interesting that we seem to be going in the other direction. The test will be whether those levels of trust can be sustained.”

Dr Chapple notes that trust in the police and courts is also significantly up.

“On the down side, there was a statistically significant decline in trust in both churches and charities. Trust in other social institutions was broadly stable.”

Simon Chapple, IGPS Director, was interviewed by Suzy Ferguson in this interview.

Contrast this result to business confidence, National’s favourite go to statistic. During the winter of discontent in the first term of the last Labour government something similar happened when businesses talked themselves into a funk which only disappeared when the economic fundamentals showed that despite the doom and gloom things were going along quite well.

Rod Oram describes the background to the winter of discontent in this article and specifically in this way:

Eighteen years ago, the political challenge for Prime Minister Helen Clark and Finance Minister Michael Cullen was to roll back some of the most unpopular parts of economic reforms while leaving the main beneficial changes intact.

As veterans of the Lange government, they were battered and bruised by the reforms it that had pushed through. They focused particularly on replacing the Employment Contracts Act, which was heavily tilted to employers, with the Employment Relations Act. This gave some rights back to employees, but employers remained strongly in control of the relationship.

The neo-liberal Business Roundtable, led by hard-liner Roger Kerr, fiercely opposed the law changes. It was impossible that the government could reach a constructive agreement on the issues with Kerr. But Cullen only made matters worse. As Hansard recorded, he declared in parliament on August 9, 2000: “Eat that! You lost, we won, it [the ECA] goes! It is as simple as that!”

Cullen’s triumphalism reinforced the belief of many in business that the new government wasn’t interested in working with them. Indeed, Clark and Cullen also overturned two other business favourites among the previous National government’s policies – partial privatisation of ACC’s workplace insurance, and further privatisations of State Owned Enterprises. The government also hiked the top personal tax rate from 33 percent to 39 percent.

Clark and Cullen’s judgement was right. Almost all corporate leaders were letting the Business Roundtable do their thinking for them, even though its sway over government and business had diminished from its heyday in the 1980s. There were essentially no independent, future-focused leaders in business the new government could work with.

Government-business animosity deepened severely during 2000.

“There was something close to a strike by capital,” Cullen recalled later.

Eventually the government had to hold a “summit” to try to reach a working relationship with business.

Gradually the two sides’ confidence in each other improved. But neither became great fans of the other during the nine years of Clark’s government. Only the Key government achieved that for most of its three terms. But even so, business was beginning to grouse about the Key government’s lack of strategy and inability to tackle big issues in its last couple of years.

And there are two basic rules of New Zealand politics, business confidence will be lower under Labour than under National and economic growth will be higher under Labour than under National.

David Cunliffe in this speech detailed the reasons why.

If you take a 30-year history of data and compare economic growth under Labour Governments with economic growth under National Governments, guess which comes out higher? Labour, by over 0.5 percent per annum, has a higher economic growth rate record than occurred under National Governments. As if that were not rich enough, there is another lovely statistic that goes with it that despite that, sometimes business confidence is higher under National. That is because it is purely tribal and because certain wealthy members of the community are able to rip off the system under National and feather their own nests. New Zealanders have had enough of it.

Yes I do appreciate that growth is and should not be the be all and the end all of measurements but most businesses would believe that it is highly relevant.

Still the same old rhetoric, and misrepresentation, continues from National.

From Tracy Watkins in Stuff:

[National leader Simon] Bridges said the Government’s lack of consultation on the oil and gas decision, and its work place reforms – potentially the biggest shake up in industrial relations in decades – were all taking their toll on business confidence.

An Auckland Chamber of Commerce Survey shows business confidence in “freefall”, with nearly half believing the economy will deteriorate over the rest of this year. Only 15 per cent expected an improvement, compared to 12 months ago when a third of businesses thought the economy was going to get better, and 8 per cent believed it would get worse.

Bridges said no one should under estimate the “corrosive” effect of falling business confidence on the economy and the Government.

“It is bloody serous. If they don’t turn it around it’s kind of like nothing else matters,” Bridges said.

“If it stays where it is in a year’s time people will really notice it…it will affect their pay round, their jobs, and the costs they’re facing at the supermarket.”

The Chamber of Commerce’s figures are based on electronic returns from small businesses. Think Horizon polling but less accurate.

A more statistically relevant analysis conducted by ANZ suggests that although confidence plunged immediately after the election it has improved and stabilised at a consistent, albeit negative, level.

Business confidence nz.jpeg

I am sure that business will continue to be threatened by any action designed to improve the plight of workers.  And that the population as a whole will support it.  Maybe it is time for business to realise that what is good for all of us is actually better for them.

61 comments on “Kiwis trust in Government surges ”

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  1. Draco T Bastard 1
    13 June 2018 at 5:45 pm

    Yes I do appreciate that growth is and should not be the be all and the end all of measurements but most businesses would believe that it is highly relevant.

    Of course they do. Without growth and inflation they wouldn’t be able to pay the interest that the parasitical banks charge and the banks wouldn’t be able to pay their bludging shareholders any of those record profits that they’ve been getting.

    Bridges said no one should under estimate the “corrosive” effect of falling business confidence on the economy and the Government.

    We actually need to start ignoring business and simply do, as a nation, what needs to be done. It is not up to the government to ensure that business makes a profit but it is up to government to ensure that everyone living in NZ is not in poverty and that the economy works.

    Business actually increases poverty and breaks the economy. That is the lesson that we need to take from 5000 years of recorded history and other studies.

    • WILD KATIPO 1.1
      13 June 2018 at 7:44 pm

      … ‘ We actually need to start ignoring business and simply do, as a nation, what needs to be done. It is not up to the government to ensure that business makes a profit but it is up to government to ensure that everyone living in NZ is not in poverty and that the economy works ‘ …

      ^^^

      THIS .

      … ‘ Without growth and inflation they wouldn’t be able to pay the interest that the parasitical banks charge and the banks wouldn’t be able to pay their bludging shareholders any of those record profits that they’ve been getting ‘ …

      ^^^

      AND THIS.

  2. Kat 2
    13 June 2018 at 5:55 pm

    “……….sometimes business confidence is higher under National. That is because it is purely tribal and because certain wealthy members of the community are able to rip off the system under National and feather their own nests. New Zealanders have had enough of it”.

    That is it in a nutshell.

    The question now is how long before we see that 44% voter support for the National opposition start to erode.

  3. Observer Tokoroa 3
    13 June 2018 at 6:01 pm

    New Zealanders, have now realised that Wealthy Employers, Farmers, Orchardists, and Small Businesses have brought nothing but humiliating decline to the living conditions and income of Millions of New Zealanders.

    It was evident that the Capitalist Cult set out to do this to the bulk of new Zealanders, when John Key on becoming PM shot GST up to 15%.

    He got his little left hand man Billy English to sell off Assetts that belonged to New Zealanders for many decades, and virtually gave them to the wealthy graspers and friends here and abroad. A violation of trust made by Key and English look like two traitors.

    So the banks, had been flogged off to Australians. Not Kiwi Bank, which the people fought for and Taranaki. New Zealanders can’t count money.

    Parking Stations sold to Wilsons – Asia. Because NZ People can’t park cars. But Key and English can make lots of money for their friends when they sell things off. They Both openly stated they loathe NZ Workers particularly the young.

    Housing got tight. Billy English with the help of a strange Minister who refused to admit there was any crisis of housing in New Zealand ( MS Bennett) sold off countless Housing NZ Homes. Who did they sell to ? Well, not to the Poor.

    The Capitalist Cult members as, always sell to their hand rubbing friends.

    The Capitalist Cult members can look forward to going down as the most destructive parliament in the History of NZ Parliament. Greed and incompetence combined to tip honest decent millions of Kiwis into hardship.

    It should be possible to bring these Cult Capitalists before The High Court. Where Key, English and Bennett can explain their hatred for Aotearoa.

  5. One Anonymous Bloke 5
    13 June 2018 at 6:54 pm

    “Business confidence” is an odd metric. What exactly does it measure? Certainly not the business owner’s confidence in their own endeavour.

    As business owners, are we supposed to have special insight into the vagaries of the economy? All I know for sure is that this month’s figures are slightly up on last year, and so were last month’s. Does that make me confident? Erm, no.

    • Draco T Bastard 5.1
      14 June 2018 at 11:59 am

      As business owners, are we supposed to have special insight into the vagaries of the economy?

      That’s certainly how it’s portrayed in the MSM and by the business associations. Business owners are infallible heroes don’t ya know?

  6. David Mac 6
    13 June 2018 at 7:03 pm

    Geez I’d be up a creek without capitalists and businessmen. I’m happy to entertain alternatives but right now that’s where I get my housing, food, clothing, transport, energy, internet….almost every material thing I need currently comes from a businessman. I’m not comfortable accepting all he has to offer and then gobbing phlegm in his face. Maybe it will fizzle out in 5000 years, I’m cold and hungry tonight.

    • WILD KATIPO 6.1
      13 June 2018 at 7:40 pm

      Whys that ? – that business guy not paying a decent wage ?

      I wonder who enabled that?

    • Draco T Bastard 6.2
      14 June 2018 at 12:03 pm

      I’m happy to entertain alternatives but right now that’s where I get my housing, food, clothing, transport, energy, internet….almost every material thing I need currently comes from a businessman.

      That’s the way it’s portrayed.

      Of course, it’s a lie. Everything comes from the resources of the nation: Materials, schooling, roads and other infrastructure and even research.

      Business then utilises that to make a profit for themselves while denying that they needed all of that to even function.

  7. Ad 7
    13 June 2018 at 7:18 pm

    +100 Mickey

  8. patricia bremner 8
    13 June 2018 at 7:19 pm

    65%!! trust the Government means 35% either don’t trust the current Government, or don’t care.

    It will be interesting to see if there is a correlation between trust and support. That would indicate a 10% shift.

    Further, I found the 8.6% shift in the by- election interesting, especially in a blue seat.

    Perhaps finally, people are trusting business a little less, as they are so critical and often careless of their workers.

    More inspectors are uncovering abuses. Finally information is out there.!! It isn’t a long bow.

  9. WILD KATIPO 9
    13 June 2018 at 7:30 pm

    … ‘ An Auckland Chamber of Commerce Survey shows business confidence in “freefall”, with nearly half believing the economy will deteriorate over the rest of this year ‘….

    ———————————

    Notice how the operative word here is ‘ believe’.

    And notice how , among other things , as soon as ‘any action designed to improve the plight of workers ‘ is put on the table,… business confidence goes into ‘ free fall ‘ with half believing the economy will deteriorate …

    What a load of old tosh.

    I know , you know it , and they know it.

    Its akin to the same tired old mantra they have trotted out for the last 3 decades that an increase in the minimum wage to an actual LIVING WAGE would cause large scale unemployment. More complete and utter tosh derived from the Business Roundtable now calling themselves the NZ Initiative.

    Yes , there are other mitigating factors and yes , – perhaps it could be argued by some I am taking a simplistic view,.. but come on ! Most of those ‘ mitigating factors ‘ are mainly from overseas conditions over which we have no control, – but that is still a far cry from shrinking back and using any spurious excuse to get out of paying a person a decent wage here in prosperous NZ.

    There are no excuses for slave wages and being a corporate bludger in this country.

    Roger Kerr was one such corporate bludger. That’s right , – a filthy bludging bastard of the first order.

    Mickey Savage coined it right when he said this :

    ———————————

    … ‘ I am sure that business will continue to be threatened by any action designed to improve the plight of workers ‘ …

    ———————————

    And so did David Cunliffe when he stated :

    ———————————

    … ‘ If you take a 30-year history of data and compare economic growth under Labour Governments with economic growth under National Governments, guess which comes out higher? Labour, by over 0.5 percent per annum, has a higher economic growth rate record than occurred under National Governments ‘…

    ——————————–

    Good on you , David.

    There ARE no excuses.

  10. Ken 10
    13 June 2018 at 7:34 pm

    I certainly trust this government a lot more than I trusted the last one.

  11. David Mac 11
    13 June 2018 at 7:40 pm

    Business is not a dirty word. We just need to be better at working towards getting us all into comfortable homes instead of a few of us rolling in the honey of ridiculous excess.

    I’m hoping that small businesses of the future will provide many easily accessed opportunities for us to steer into our own destinies. With a 3D printer and a range of materials ‘Every door lock knob for every car ever made’ is no longer a matter of shelves and shelves of inventory, it will be all about owning the software to print every lock knob ever made. A business in a bedroom.

    • Draco T Bastard 11.1
      14 June 2018 at 12:18 pm

      With a 3D printer and a range of materials ‘Every door lock knob for every car ever made’ is no longer a matter of shelves and shelves of inventory, it will be all about owning the software to print every lock knob ever made. A business in a bedroom.

      True but it’s still inefficient for everyone to own a 3D printer. Much better to have community ones like the community library. In fact, there’s a few public libraries around the world that are making 3D printers available to the general public.

      And the software for the 3D design is free.

      There’s also still the need for resources to make stuff out of to be available. That’s going to require better recycling of used products, mining and even growing many and then the processing of those raw materials so that they can be used.

      And it all requires R&D – which small businesses can’t do as they simply don’t have the resources to do so. The government does though.

  12. Observer Tokoroa 12
    13 June 2018 at 7:55 pm

    About the Cult ….

    David why don’t you join the Capitalist Cult. Not that they will accept you. You will be expected to drag down every decent man woman and child that you possibly can. The Cult is at war with decent people.

    Ask The Leader. He is the guy with the nice overcoat. And multiple houses. And heating. and cash flow – rivers of it. He thinks he is very important. The Cult women are very important. As a result they are Ruthless. They live in Clusters as you would expect in the same parts of Cities.

    • David Mac 12.1
      13 June 2018 at 8:20 pm

      You see a Batman villain, I see a guy being hounded by his Mrs to lay enough cash on the turn of the century kitchen table each week to send the kids to the same school as Daphne’s.

      You’re right, your true blue fella doesn’t immediately warm to me. I drink from the bottle and have a text alert that is Siri chirping ‘We’ve shot the bankers Sir’. But I love a small business. One in the bedroom is ideal, gotta love a 1.5 second commute. Office attire: trash casual. Procrastination is the demon. Chatting in here when I should be grinding and my monkey dancing….later.

      • WILD KATIPO 12.1.1
        13 June 2018 at 8:33 pm

        Some poor bastards don’t have the priveldge of a 1.5 second commute to work. And if they procrastinate , they lose their income , their houses, and their family’s.

        https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/construction-worker-digging-trench-using-shovel-site-pipeline-wall-real-people-working-103863266.jpg

        • David Mac 12.1.1.1
          13 June 2018 at 8:45 pm

          I’ve never felt that I don’t have a degree of control over the outcomes in my life. I reap as I sow, isn’t that true for most of us? We get what we deserve.

          If I thought that someone else was controlling the outcomes in my life, I’d be reluctant to give anything a go.

          • WILD KATIPO 12.1.1.1.1
            13 June 2018 at 9:13 pm

            And yet through circumstance , there are many who feel that they have to provide for theirs and theirs only. And sometimes, because of those circumstances they feel trapped.

            Trapped into carrying on, feeling ripped off , their bodies wearing out at an earlier age than the professional classes who merely work up a sweat for an hour a day at the gym ,…

            As an example?

            The family whose parents BOTH worked full time, housed their family in a van and had a daughter studying – or trying to , – for an imminent exam in the next few days.

            Don’t you think working people deserve a break from the neo liberal narrative of successful people deserve their wealth whereas poor people choose poverty because of laziness or lack of intelligence…?

            We could start by paying them a realistic LIVING WAGE.

            Now lets just sit back and watch all the neo lib aligned business community squawk long and loud.

            True colours, don’t you agree?…

          • Draco T Bastard 12.1.1.1.2
            14 June 2018 at 12:22 pm

            I reap as I sow, isn’t that true for most of us? We get what we deserve.

            No. Most of us are held back through the machinations of the rich as they control the wealth of the nation to prevent the rise of competition.
            Most of us realise that what we actually want to do requires far more resources than a small business will ever have available.

  13. WILD KATIPO 13
    13 June 2018 at 7:56 pm

    … ‘ Business is not a dirty word ‘…

    No , … its not , – but it HAS become tarnished by the pirates among that group. And if you want to ‘ be better at working towards getting us all into comfortable homes instead of a few of us rolling in the honey of ridiculous excess ‘ … then that means regulations to curb the excessive behaviors of those opportunists who put light gravity on the plight of others.

    And to do that means BIG GOVERNMENT.

    * Paid for by TAXES , with the benefits thereof perculating through to the large majority in such tangible mediums as a world class health and education system – and housing , – which we once enjoyed pre 1984.

    That’s why we have laws. To protect people. And that doesn’t just include from physical harm, either. Yet over the last 3 decades there has been an ideology that has enabled financial harm of others and as a result , actual physical harm in an oblique fashion. Young children and adults dying from wholly preventable third world respiratory diseases , for example in cold damp moldy state houses.

    And perhaps there will one day be a utopia when 3d printing comes of age. Hopefully it will alleviate the housing issues. Until then , someones still got to slit that carcass in the freezing works, someones still got to collect the garbage, and someones still got to clean up after the chronically ill person vomits all over the floor in the hospital.

    There are some very , very human activity’s that technology NEVER will be able to replace.

    And they need to be paid a decent bloody wage.

    • David Mac 13.1
      13 June 2018 at 8:57 pm

      A decent wage is not just a reason for rejoicing, it’s a reason to put the rent up.

      Of course I hear you, we all know the comfort and security of a few Rutherfords in our pocket.

      I wonder if the best pay rise we could get is $200,000 homes and $15k electric cars with balcony mount wind turbines to top them up.

      Such a measure would make Justin Trudeau feel impotent.

  14. David Mac 14
    13 June 2018 at 9:20 pm

    When a social democracy is working as I’d like it to my Kiwibuild builder wouldn’t be talking to ITM about a good deal on 4 pallets of plasterboard. Winston Peters would be talking to the Chinese factory about a half million sheet purchase. The lion share of savings kicked along to the end user, the family moving in.

    On those scales, $200k comfy homes can be real. Individual flat-pack kitchens get cheap when you’re buying 10,000 of them.

  15. WILD KATIPO 15
    13 June 2018 at 9:21 pm

    Fine.

    As long as those ‘ $15k electric cars with balcony mount wind turbines to top them up’ are govt subsidized and paid for by a graduated taxation system that enable the poor to partake of those advantages, – and not just become a plaything of the wealthy.

    Talk to a few family’s in South Auckland .

    They may be interested if you present the full package.

    $200,000.00 homes?

    Where is this great technology that threatens to displace the oligarchs currently riding shotgun in this country ?

    The year 2075?

    People will have died of painful respiratory diseases common to the third world in large numbers if they cant even afford the electricity prices by then.

    Give them a LIVING WAGE.

    Technological benefits and realistic wages go hand in hand.

    You cannot have one without the other.

    • David Mac 15.1
      13 June 2018 at 10:14 pm

      You seem very skilled at identifying reasons to be leading a horrible life. Maybe it’s selfish of me but I seek what warms me. Do you want to feel content and satisfied Wild K?

      I’ve found things go better for me when I’ve got a grin on my mug, a spring in my step and a story about a bright new tomorrow. I do that. Works for me.

      • WILD KATIPO 15.1.1
        14 June 2018 at 1:46 am

        Nah ,… I lack your propensity for indulging in a Pollyanna type of mentality,.

        Cursed with a sense of social justice , I gave up being an air-headed optimist when I was around 6. Maybe that’s because I moved out to the country at that age with my family and saw just how brutal life can be.

        However, it was balanced by a secure childhood and growing up in a country pre Roger Douglas , 1984 neo liberalism.

        I was a hard headed laborer for most of my teens and early twenty’s. I worked out in the bush doing construction. In a work gang in the ARA. On the dams. I was proud of what I did. I earned around $18-20.00 an hour in 1984.

        And then there was foul air money , height money , tunnel money , gumboot money and on and on. Don’t believe me?… go out to the Waitakere dam and see the things we made… or the Huia dam , or the Upper Huia dam on open days… we were there. Our fingerprints are all over those places. As are the things we constructed.

        And that work was heavy and it was fucking dangerous. Got any idea of who maintained those pipelines in those tunnels ?… or who cleared the slips to keep the maintenance locomotive operative?

        It was yours truly and the gang of guys I served with.

        You wouldn’t even notice half the things we did such as re- vegetation because of the shoddy way its maintained today under private contacts, would you now…

        We also got paid extra for working on Sundays and public holidays and / or overtime. As we should have been. We aren’t / weren’t bloody slaves to no bastard.

        After that ? when I left in 1986 ? … I spent years on $10.00 per hour , then $12.00, … and just two – three years ago under the National govt ?

        A grand total of $13.50 an hour.

        Post 2008 I was working long hours in security and odd jobs ( qualified to be a security supervisor , now btw …) And that was because of the 2007 GFC. I lost a property in Karapiro worth over half a million. In 2007/ 2008. I had to close my painting business down and even parcel out my bloody dogs FFS.

        And just 2-3 years ago at the age of 51 working in security on night shift while YOU slept for a fucking miserable $ 13.50 an hour. Flat rate.

        You honestly think I’m impressed with your bullshit bright eyed bushy tailed I’m alright bloody Jack attitude?

        Fuck the hell off mate.

        And if any smarmy cunt tries to tell me Roger Douglas and his bullshit treasonous rip off crap was good for this country I’ve got news for them. And its all bad.

        The workers of this country should be DEMANDING a LIVING WAGE.

        • Richard McGrath 15.1.1.1
          14 June 2018 at 7:46 am

          “The workers of this country should be demanding a living wage.”

          I suggest a general strike, demanding $50 an hour as the minimum wage. Go for it!

          • John up North 15.1.1.1.1
            14 June 2018 at 10:34 am

            Typical nonsense reply from you Richard……… spray and walk away.

            Wild Katipo’s on the money here, workers need a living wage. Anything less is a continuation of profiteering by employers while socialising cost by foisting it upon the public in the form of wage subsidies (WFF and Accommodation Supplements etc).

            When we hear/see the amount of angst employers and their associations start to blow out of proportion when employees seek wage rises or the actions employers take such as refusing to negotiate, well seems time to shift gear from asking for a fair go to DEMANDING!

            Kia kaha Wild one

            • Richard McGrath 15.1.1.1.1.1
              14 June 2018 at 7:41 pm

              John I actually agree with a point you make there. Profits AND expenses should be privatised, not split. But not every business runs at massive profit, and the ones with small margins will not stand even relatively small wage increases without having to look at layoffs, casual contracts and the like. So by all means, DEMAND a wage increase – name your price. But don’t act shocked if business owners decide to retrench as a result.

              I haven’t walked away.

              • R.P Mcmurphy …
                14 June 2018 at 7:49 pm

                cant be much of a business if they cant pay decent wages. sounds like those people are in business for the psychological satisfaction of beating up on their employees

                • Richard McGrath …
                  19 June 2018 at 7:57 pm

                  I don’t think anyone is in business for that reason, it’s deranged and paranoid to even think that. What I’m saying is that margins are often small and increases in expenses can wipe profits.

        • One Two 15.1.1.2
          14 June 2018 at 11:41 am

          Statement!

  16. NZJester 16
    13 June 2018 at 10:02 pm

    Businesses have confidence in National governments as they know they will help them screw over the little guy. They don’t have confidence in Labour as they know they will put a stop to the outright blatant exploitation National lets them get away with.
    It is that stopping of the outright exploitation that gives a lot of people trust in the government again.

  17. David Mac 17
    13 June 2018 at 10:40 pm

    We need thousands of small business start-ups and they need our support. Down the tubes with Subway. 2 baskets of fabulous sandwiches into a few office buildings each working day = a Mum’s $2k a week income and she’s there for her kids.

    Feeling like we have a bearing on where our life is heading is empowering. A wholesome confidence boost.

    • AB 17.1
      13 June 2018 at 10:49 pm

      If you think a mum with kids can make $100k a year gross out of sandwiches you have no idea how brutally hard most small business is. That’s why the preferred kiwi way of getting ahead is speculation on asset bubbles.

      • David Mac 17.1.1
        13 June 2018 at 11:52 pm

        100k net, this gal has fancy taste.

        Wanna bet?

        • WILD KATIPO 17.1.1.1
          14 June 2018 at 2:06 am

          Yeah who is she… a member of the Tribal Huks or has access to automated assembly lines in her garage ?

          Fuck off.

          • Tamati Tautuhi 17.1.1.1.1
            14 June 2018 at 5:57 am

            WP is David Mac classified as a troll ?

            • David Mac 17.1.1.1.1.1
              15 June 2018 at 9:42 am

              Do you know what a troll is? I believe what I say, I’m not lying. I think that the entity that has the most control over the outcomes in my life is me. Give it a go, judge me all by yourself.

  18. AB 18
    13 June 2018 at 10:41 pm

    Time for a Confidence In Business survey, not just a Business Confidence survey.
    Ask the general public one simple question:
    “Are you confident that the business community has the interests of all NZers at heart?”

    The results from the Confidence in Business survey will determine what weight should be given to the results of Business Confidence surveys.

  19. Robert Guyton 19
    14 June 2018 at 7:46 am

    “…overall trust in the Government has surged. Why is this?”
    Because National are not Government.

  20. Tamati Tautuhi 20
    14 June 2018 at 8:02 am

    Nah now Winston is looking after the country, they know the country is in safe hands until Jacaranda comes back.

    I just hope she doesn’t suffer from post natal depression, like Helen Clarke did for 9 years ????

  21. Richard McGrath 21
    14 June 2018 at 9:34 am

    I can’t see any under-18-year-olds with alcohol in the photo.

    • John up North 21.1
      14 June 2018 at 10:37 am

      Dribble your spite elsewhere you hack.

      Love how the RWKJ all use the same playbook…………….. spray and walk away

      • Richard McGrath 21.1.1
        14 June 2018 at 7:44 pm

        I haven’t walked away, John. The mystery of how underage drinkers at a camp associated with the Labour Party were photographed with alcohol seems to have been swept under the carpet.

        I’m still here.

        • R.P Mcmurphy 21.1.1.1
          14 June 2018 at 7:47 pm

          wipe your chin mcgrath you are dribbling and it doesn’t look good.

          • Richard McGrath 21.1.1.1.1
            19 June 2018 at 8:00 pm

            So you don’t deny the impropriety of alcohol in the hands of minors at a Labour-run camp?

  22. Whispering Kate 22
    14 June 2018 at 10:29 am

    If you are wondering why there is a distrust of Business in NZ here is one good example why

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12069824

    • Draco T Bastard 22.1
      14 June 2018 at 12:42 pm

      That’s actually a really good example of someone being held to account in the wrong fashion. He obviously has permanent residency but not NZ citizenship. China doesn’t allow dual citizenship and so if he was headed back to China it means that he’s still got his Chinese citizenship.

      What should happen in this case is all his NZ assets be seized, his residency cancelled, his DNA collected and banned from ever entering NZ again and he gets sent back to China with a conviction against him.

  23. Philj 23
    14 June 2018 at 11:20 am

    The Trust survey was very limited in its size. Public Trust in the Media was again way down the bottom, which odly enough has not received any comment in the MSM, LOL. Why don’t the public trust the media? The public distrust of the MSM is a major factor in the socital malaise that we find ourselves in. the Minister of broadcasting has a monumental task Ahead, whoever it is.

  24. R.P Mcmurphy 24
    14 June 2018 at 7:42 pm

    I dont believe these surveys. the nationals party is rotten with deceit and this looks to be one of their dirty tricks cooked up by hooton at excletium corpse.
    The trust in the government is a no brainer.
    The people of new zealand were not going to stand idly by and let the nationals run the country’s infrastructure and institutions down to provide patronage to their pals and ideological nutbar friends.
    the nationals are dishonest and sneaky and concerned solely with their own pelf.
    look that one up in the dictionary!