Labour’s Targeted Families Package

Written By: - Date published: 1:54 pm, July 11th, 2017 - 101 comments
Categories: families, labour, leadership, socialism - Tags: , , , ,

Labour’s announcement is here. As covered by Vernon Small on Stuff:

Labour to prioritise families and scrap Budget tax cuts

Labour is promising to scrap National’s Budget tax cut plan. Instead it will funnel the cash into higher Working for Families payments and extra help for those with young children. It’s a package it says will deliver up to $48 a week extra to middle income families.
…
The flagship policy, announced by leader Andrew Little in Auckland on Tuesday, aims to contrast Labour’s targeted help for middle income families with the extra cash the wealthier receive under National’s tax package.
…
Leader Andrew Little said the “targeted Families Package” would cost $890 million in 2018/19, but scrapping National’s tax cuts would free up $1.5 billion.”This creates more than $2b over four years of net savings. These savings, together with new spending to be set out in Labour’s Fiscal Plan, will be prioritised towards rebuilding New Zealand’s social foundations by investing in essential public services and our future infrastructure needs.”

The package would give more than 70 per cent of families with children a bigger income boost than the Budget 2017 package.

“By not spending $1.5 billion a year on tax cuts, Labour is able to do more for lower and middle income families and people in need, while investing in the priorities Kiwi families care about: housing, health, education and infrastructure,” Little said.

He said the September election was a clear a choice between Labour’s priority  of investing in services for those in need and boosting the incomes of low and middle income families against National’s priority of  “an election tax bribe aimed at those at the top” which gave a disproportionate amount to the wealthiest households..

“At a time when we have crises in mental health and housing, now is not the time for tax cuts.”
…
Nearly 60,000 families a year would be eligible for the $60 a week payment for each baby. Families on low and middle incomes would continue to receive the payment until their child turned three.

Little said the winter energy payment would help a million people keep warm in winter. Together with grants for insulation and heating upgrades, it would help them avoid getting sick.  …

There’s plenty more in the full piece. Lots to like here!

Coverage:
New Labour policy promises an extra $48 per week for low and middle income families
Labour rules out tax cuts, promises cash for families with children
Labour’s fiscal package to ‘benefit more middle and lower income families’

101 comments on “Labour’s Targeted Families Package ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Draco T Bastard 1
    11 July 2017 at 1:58 pm

    It’s a package it says will deliver up to $48 a week extra to middle income families.

    Question: If a family needs an extra $48 per week are they really middle income?

    He said the September election was a clear a choice between Labour’s priority of investing in services for those in need and boosting the incomes of low and middle income families against National’s priority of “an election tax bribe aimed at those at the top” which gave a disproportionate amount to the wealthiest households.

    Tax cuts always go to the wealthy as they’ll use their market power to capture the increased money going to the poor.

    • Enough is Enough 1.1
      11 July 2017 at 2:16 pm

      Where are the tax increases as well.

      There are clearly people in this country drawing more income than they will ever need while the majority suffer. This package should be targeting that issue.

      • Stunned Mullet 1.1.1
        11 July 2017 at 2:31 pm

        Witches !

        Burn Them !

      • Draco T Bastard 1.1.2
        11 July 2017 at 2:44 pm

        There are several things that Labour could do with ‘taxes’. The one I’d like to see is them having the government take ownership of all the resources that are extracted and then sell them off via auction. If the sale price isn’t high enough then they simply stockpile them instead. The private contractors presently extracting them would be paid a fixed sum for doing so or the government itself would take over the extraction.

        This should result in an increased income for the government of several billion per year.

        That’s just one thing they could do. There are others.

        • Stunned Mullet 1.1.2.1
          11 July 2017 at 3:54 pm

          Ha ha magnificent – it’s a great pity you’re not running the country – what laughs we’d all have.

    • Herodotus 1.2
      11 July 2017 at 2:40 pm

      Agreed, if there are 10,000 full time new jobs being created per month
      http://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2017/07/66_more_jobs_an_hour.html
      CPI Inflation 2.2% and GDP growth around 2.7% http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/90495020/nz-economy-records-weakest-growth-since-start-of-2015
      http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/economic_indicators/GDP/GrossDomesticProduct_MRDec16qtr.aspx
      With all this success why is there a need for a potential new govt. to offer to increase WFF ? Should not the ” free market economy” be seen to lifting pay rates by a level that corporate subsidies/welfare are being reduced, NOT for a need that such things as WFF being needed to increase, perhaps this free market system is not working 🤑 And some out there are saying that we need to reduce corporate tax …. really
      Just an observation 😜

      • DoublePlusGood 1.2.1
        11 July 2017 at 3:50 pm

        10,000 doesn’t even cover the population increase of 80,000 a year, does it?

      • Draco T Bastard 1.2.2
        11 July 2017 at 4:32 pm

        With all this success why is there a need for a potential new govt. to offer to increase WFF ?

        Because all the success that’s happening is going to the bludging shareholders.

        Should not the ” free market economy” be seen to lifting pay rates…

        That’s what we’ve been told will happen since the time of Adam Smith. Hasn’t worked that way yet. In fact, the exact opposite has always occurred under capitalist systems with the inevitable result that society collapsed.

  2. patricia bremner 2
    11 July 2017 at 2:01 pm

    So now there is a real choice.

  3. Cinny 3
    11 July 2017 at 2:26 pm

    Great work by Labour, this sounds like a fantastic package for those who really are struggling.

    Some people will vote for their own interests and some will vote to ease the suffering of others because to them everyone is important.

    Add the home heating in there and I can really start to see an improvement to the lives of others, the kids and the elderly, the flow on effects will help to ease up the overburdened health sector especially in the winter months.

    • mickysavage 3.1
      11 July 2017 at 9:08 pm

      Agreed. Better that Bill English loses $1k a year so that poorer families can receive more.

      The policy is quite radical and sets a clear division, help the poor or help the rich.

      Take your pick …

  4. Ad 4
    11 July 2017 at 2:32 pm

    Here’s a quick comparison of Labour and National’s efforts, from the NZHerald:

    What Labour will do compared to National.
    INCOME TAX:

    Labour will scrap National’s changes to the bottom two income tax thresholds, which would deliver tax cuts of up to $20 a week to all earners on more than $14,000. It will keep the Independent Earners’ Tax Credit ($10 a week for those on less than $48,000 a week who did not get Working for Families or a benefit.)
    Savings: $1.9 billion a year.

    WORKING FOR FAMILIES

    Increase Family Tax Credit from $5303 to $5878 for eldest child. Keep National’s Budget increase in the rate for younger children from $4822 to $5303.

    Life abatement threshold from $36,350 to $42,700- estimated to mean 30,000 more families get Working for Families. National will drop it to $35,000 but the higher payment rates mean most people will still get Working for Families for as long as now.

    Total cost: $743 million more a year (combination of National’s Budget changes and $370 million for Labour’s extras).

    BEST START:

    ‘Best Start’ payments of $60 a week to all parents of newborns once paid parental leave runs out. Families on less than $79,000 will get the $60 until their children turn 3, and it will abate at a rate of 20.8c per dollar for those earning more than that.

    Cost: $303 million, partly offset by dropping Working for Families parental tax credit.

    SUPERANNUITANTS:

    Superannuitant couples will get $13.10 a week more ($681 a year) as a result of National’s tax cuts and singles $8.50 a week ($442 a year). Labour will offer subsidies for heating in winter worth $700 to a couple and $450 for a single.
    Beneficiaries will also get the

    ACCOMMODATION SUPPLEMENT:

    Labour will go ahead with National’s proposed increases in the supplement, costed at $380 million a year.

  5. garibaldi 5
    11 July 2017 at 3:26 pm

    Just more shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic. Is this a genuine game breaker or just a fiddle of the Nat budget? Looks like all the policy wonks can come up with is National lite. Underwhelming to say the least
    We need far more inspiration than this to get more votes.

    • Sigh 5.1
      11 July 2017 at 3:36 pm

      What would you do?

    • left_forward 5.2
      11 July 2017 at 4:04 pm

      Turning away from tax cuts and instead spending money on social support for people in need is indeed a game changer after nine years of National. The direction of motion is entirely different – do you not want this to happen?

      • garibaldi 5.2.1
        11 July 2017 at 4:41 pm

        Do you honestly believe this is a game changer? It won’t even register with most people let alone be understood.
        What would I do? Release Corbyn’s manifesto as ours for a start. Adopt “For the many, not the few”.

        • left_forward 5.2.1.1
          12 July 2017 at 8:42 am

          I would like that too garibaldi – but being pragmatic, the next best hope is a change of Government – I don’t know about you, but I will not enjoy three more years of the Ngatz.
          It is so easy to be critical of Labour right now – but joining the chorus only plays into the hands of the current Government – this is the change of game that I am looking for.

  6. Chris 6
    11 July 2017 at 3:45 pm

    So let’s get this straight

    Little complained that the Nat’s changing of the tax brackets included well off people, so was bad and now he still wants to give 60 dollars to people who have a child, which includes rich people, with the baby bonus, and this is good?

    Am I the only one that sees something a bit hypocritical there?

    • Sigh 6.1
      11 July 2017 at 3:51 pm

      Yeah, you are. He’s saving $1.5 billion as a result of cancelling National’s tax cuts. Best Start overwhelmingly benefits people on low to middle incomes.

      If you think a universal social programme is equivalent to a tax cut favouring the rich, you’ve got a lot of learning to do.

      • Chris 6.1.1
        11 July 2017 at 4:08 pm

        Changing the lower tax bracket while not changing the upper favours everyone the same.

        Giving money to everyone, including rich people who have children favours everyone the same.

    • DoublePlusGood 6.2
      11 July 2017 at 3:52 pm

      Abatement rates are what you have missed.

  7. Bill 7
    11 July 2017 at 4:05 pm

    Doubling down on the highly discriminatory WFF employer subsidy is “Lots to like here!”. Really?

    I mean, it’s fantastic if you happen to be deemed “deserving poor” (ie – working), or an employer seeking to hold wages down.

    Otherwise, unless I’ve missed something really obvious, nah. “Steady as she goes”, but with a different emphasis to National, is just bullshit.

    WFF needs to be extended out to include those not in employment now. And then scrapped as soon as, and as quickly as possible.

    • garibaldi 7.1
      11 July 2017 at 4:44 pm

      Thank you Bill. You are right ,it is just bullshit.

    • Enough is Enough 7.2
      11 July 2017 at 5:25 pm

      Exactly Bill

      There is nothing visionary or inspirational here. They are essentially saying more of what is already in place?

      How is this an improvement from the 2014 offering which was so soundly rejected by the electorate?

    • mickysavage 7.3
      11 July 2017 at 9:12 pm

      But Bill refusing to do anything until the socialist nirvana happens is not an option for too many people.

      At least this way kids will have a better life.

      • weka 7.3.1
        11 July 2017 at 9:31 pm

        I agree micky, but it also looks a bit different when your peers are long term beneficiaries. I did take heart from the other Labour policy directed at beneficiaries and pensioners (the winter power bill one). Good to see Labour now beginning to actually name beneficiaries as a class in need of help (not just the deserving poor like those with kids). That’s a good sign. I hope there’s more.

      • Bill 7.3.2
        11 July 2017 at 9:52 pm

        Big straw thingee jig there micky. (Where have I ever advocated doing nothing?)

        Within the context of voting, casting a vote for a party that pushes or pulls a NZ Labour led government will do much more for many more people than what a vote for NZ Labour will achieve.

  8. esoteric pineapples 8
    11 July 2017 at 4:23 pm

    I may be part of a very small minority of progressives who don’t believe in Working For Families. I do support targeted assistance of those who are struggling financially, whether single men or women on a low wage , poor professional painters and musicians, or couples with families, but I don’t think having children should automatically entitle one to government assistance to help get by..

  9. Policy Parrot 9
    11 July 2017 at 4:38 pm

    This announcement is a convoluted mess. Essentially a doubling-down on the baby bonus which got little or no traction last time.

    Labour should have announced at the very least an identical package (to the Nats) with a higher top bracket for the rich pricks (those that self-identify will immediately let me know below), and could have used that money generated by the 38% rate over say $100k to fund an increased student allowance.

    Easy justified by saying that those who will pay the tax will in the future likely have benefited from an increased allowance.

    I don’t understand why they didn’t do that. That’s what Kevin Rudd and the ALP did to come to power in Australia in 2007 (the tax part – the ALP was accused of “me-too”ism”)

    Its got to be credible and understandable to the punters out in punterland. This announcement fails this test. Where the hell is Opposition Research and how the F**k are they keeping their jobs?

  10. Michael 10
    11 July 2017 at 4:59 pm

    It’s really just tinkering with Working For Families – middle class welfare with the poorest people deliberately excluded. No “Labour” Party worth the name would even consider it.

  11. s y d 11
    11 July 2017 at 5:48 pm

    I’m sick of the acceptance that wages are so crap, that pretty much all workers need a top up from each others taxes to make ends meet.

    Labour. The name says it. There should be an absolute focus on ensuring wages and work conditions where, at the end of the working week you can have a worthwhile life.

    This is just like the accommodation supplement – a subsidy to employers and landlords.

    And we’re all supposed to get excited by this beige shit……

    • Draco T Bastard 11.1
      11 July 2017 at 5:58 pm

      Capitalism can only work with such subsidies to the rich. It’s what keeps it going for awhile until the whole lot collapses due to the greed of the rich.

      And Labour has always been a party for capitalism just like National.

    • Ethica 11.2
      11 July 2017 at 6:46 pm

      There’s a very good industrial relations policy recently announced.

      There is also money in today’s package for beneficiaries where it is most needed.

    • Nope 11.3
      11 July 2017 at 10:45 pm

      I assume you’ve missed Labour’s recent employment relations policy, the boldest since Kirk.

  12. greg 12
    11 July 2017 at 6:22 pm

    i don’t be leave there is any point in handing out more working for families or accommodation supplement unless they go after the rentiers first or they will take any extra cash that enters the economy although i know labour is going to go after them as part of there total policy package

  13. Craig H 13
    11 July 2017 at 7:56 pm

    I’d like to see a different framework over time, but for now, and taking into account other policies, this is a great alternative to National.

    Now I just hope Labour win the next election.

    • Michael 13.1
      11 July 2017 at 8:03 pm

      Don’t hold your breath. I get the feeling that not even the Labour High Command think they’ll win this time either. Of course, the MPs will all continue to score annual paypackets around 200K, so life in Opposition won’t be too hard for them.

  14. Jenny Kirk 14
    11 July 2017 at 8:41 pm

    Surprise, surprise – the majority of Standard posters having a grizzle about Labour again.
    I just came on here to see if any of your right-minded posters had anything complimentary to say about Labour doing away with the Nats proposed tax cuts and using those funds instead to help people who are struggling – and other than a couple of you, you have all degenerated down to the grizzling level and miserable-mindedness of the “well offs” !

    • Craig H 14.1
      11 July 2017 at 8:50 pm

      They’re just raging into the abyss again…

    • rhinocrates 14.2
      11 July 2017 at 9:08 pm

      That’s going to gain allies, complaining that you’re unappreciated and the voters are just not good enough for you. You really should get a puppy.

      • mickysavage 14.2.1
        11 July 2017 at 9:17 pm

        I think Jenny has a point. There is this beat up on Labour meme that is happening and it is not helpful. The right has been pushing this for years. When we (progressives) buy into it then we are doing their work for them.

        • Bill 14.2.1.1
          11 July 2017 at 9:35 pm

          It’s not a meme micky. And it’s not buying into any right-wing anything. NZ Labour fuck off a whole lot of people – and you can pick and choose between a plethora of damned good reasons for that being the case.

          People who want to vote for NZ Labour will. But between now and election day, that overall number simply isn’t going to go increase by some magically large amount – not with this kind of safe, “steady as she goes” type of policy, that is deeply embedded in a liberal framework that people, even if they can’t articulate what the framework is, intuitively reject.

          At best NZ Labour are ‘doing a Miliband’ – running on a strategy that under promises with the aim to over deliver. Remember how well that worked out for Milband and UK Labour?

          At least in NZ there are other options given MMP.

          NZF are going to do very well. The Greens will likely rise slightly. NZ Labour might rise a wee bit too.

          And there’s the NZ Labour led government.

          Any progressive would be quite happy for NZ Labour’s hand to be weakened in that mix. But meantime, die hard NZ Labour supporters run the very real risk of alienating all and sundry with attempts to spin damp dish rags as haute couture. (We want neither.)

        • rhinocrates 14.2.1.2
          11 July 2017 at 9:40 pm

          One can also point to the chronic entitlement infecting Labour, which Jenny epitomises with her shows of self pity when we don’t love her enough.

          Policies are nice, but talk is free. Frankly, “criticism is sabotage” is nonsense. Labour has let me down again and again. I’m not going to pretend that I trust them to show good faith or competence when they haven’t shown either for years.

          I do not consider a neoliberal party ‘progressive’ and one that stands a man who actively defends rapists and perpetuated rape culture in the police in Ohariu is telling progressives to go to Hell. I despise hypocrisy.

          • Bill 14.2.1.2.1
            11 July 2017 at 9:48 pm

            Hey! That’s not fair Rhinocrates. Willie Jackson was specifically wheeled out to distract attention away from that. And you noticed! Next you’ll be pointing to the list placings getting rid of one of the last “left” mps NZ Labour had (Moroney) – or did the Jackson act work on that occasion?

            • rhinocrates 14.2.1.2.1.1
              11 July 2017 at 9:51 pm

              Oh God, Jackson too… head/desk. Worst case of testosterone poisoning next to Mallard. I suppose that makes me a ‘Beta’ of a ‘Cuck’ or whatever.

    • mickysavage 14.3
      11 July 2017 at 9:15 pm

      I think it is brave. Bring on the next brave policy …

    • Anne 14.4
      11 July 2017 at 10:13 pm

      Hi Jenny Kirk,
      This ‘beat-up’ of Labour on TS is a relatively recent development. There were plenty of regular commenters who appreciated Labour’s endeavours even if they didn’t always agree with them. Most of them have gone now. I suspect they can’t be bothered arguing with the embittered zealots who seem determined to argue black is white and vice versa and to hell with reality.

      They play their role in ensuring NZ will continue with a Nat. government where the rich take all and the poor are left to perish because that will be the ultimate outcome of Labour’s demise.

    • Draco T Bastard 14.5
      12 July 2017 at 1:25 am

      Criticisms != a grizzle

      And Labour really do need to be criticised for their policies that really aren’t doing enough because they don’t want to scare the rich.

  15. McFlock 15
    11 July 2017 at 9:02 pm

    Personally I quite like the universal baby grant of $60/wk, having seen friends of mine struggle to adjust after breeding.

    Is there anything like it currently in nz?

    • Bill 15.1
      11 July 2017 at 9:17 pm

      Universal?

      From the article linked to for the post. (My emphasis)

      A $60 a week payment for each child in the first year after paid parental leave ends, which will be extended to age three for low and middle income families.

      Way I read that is, if you’re not in work, there’s no paid parental leave, and so no $60 per week payment. Maybe the article has couched it incorrectly?

      • mickysavage 15.1.1
        11 July 2017 at 9:23 pm

        So it is bad because it should be better?

        • McFlock 15.1.1.1
          11 July 2017 at 9:34 pm

          It’s worse than that: it’s bad because Vernon Small was writing to a word limit and had to cover a a pretty thorough and multifaceted policy.

        • Bill 15.1.1.2
          11 July 2017 at 9:42 pm

          No micky. I was questioning the universality of it. McFlock has cleared that up below (thanks McFlock).

          But if you think that any policy designed to aid the poor is acceptable, when and if it specifically excludes huge numbers of “undeserving” poor (as WFF does), then you and I have different ideas about right and wrong/ good and bad/ acceptable and unacceptable.

          • Karen 15.1.1.2.1
            12 July 2017 at 10:35 am

            Why don’t you ever go and look at the full policy before making assumptions based on a MSM article, Bill? You are obviously an intelligent man and you seem to have plenty of time to contribute to the Standard . So why don’t you do some basic research before you start writing?

            And just for the record – I’d like Labour to be much bolder, to increase all benefits and have a timed plan (within 2 years) to increase the minimum wage to a living wage.

            Your comment about Sue Moroney being drummed out because she was left wing and now there is nobody left shows a level of ignorance that is breath taking. How about you look at some of the candidates that will soon be in parliament. Start with Kiri Allan but don’t stop there. Google is your friend.

            • Karen 15.1.1.2.1.1
              12 July 2017 at 10:46 am

              I added the middle paragraph in a hurried edit – should have been last para.

            • Bill 15.1.1.2.1.2
              12 July 2017 at 11:15 am

              How many question marks and stated ‘benefits of the doubt’ do I need to put in a comment before it becomes obvious that something in a link is being questioned?

              A site where people have knowledge and/or insight, obviates the somewhat time consuming need to drill down to the bottom of everything in terms of commenting – as McFlock’s reply demonstates. (That drilling down when it happens, isn’t always appreciated by the way.)

              I also said Moroney had been one of the last recognisably “left” leaning MPs, not the last. (Nanaia Mahuta instantly springs to mind as recognisably “left” for example)

              If you want NZ Labour to be bolder, then why not vote for a party that will push them to be just that? I mean, it’s not as though casting a vote for a party besides NZ Labour will take away from the total vote count that leads to a NZ Labour led government.

              • Karen …
                12 July 2017 at 12:28 pm

                “How many question marks and stated ‘benefits of the doubt’ do I need to put in a comment before it becomes obvious that something in a link is being questioned?”

                My point was that you could have very easily gone to the policy first rather than posit a question about it on the Standard and you would have found out a lot faster. That way you could make an informed comment on the actual policy.

                Also, you are incorrectly assuming that I am going to party vote Labour. I can confirm I will be voting for my local Labour candidate, but I won’t be deciding whether my party vote goes Green or Labour until closer to the election. I definitely won’t be considering any other party, however.

                My defence of Labour here on the Standard is because I actually do believe Labour is moving leftwards – it is frustratingly slow and will never be the kind of left wing party I would like it to be. However, there is some progress. There will only be at most 4 of the MPs that were in the Clark government after the election – more likely only 3 as I don’t think Mallard will make it back. One of those 3 is Mahuta.

                • Bill …
                  12 July 2017 at 1:36 pm

                  Easily gone to this, that or the other…or just questioned McFlock and their comment. Which I did after checking the link.

                  Can’t see how it’s possible for liberalism to move left btw. It’s oxymoronic.

                  • weka …
                    12 July 2017 at 2:11 pm

                    Labour isn’t wholly Liberal or neoliberal. There’s also the issue of possible and best ways to get from where we are now to left or socially democratic. I think that’s what’s being argued about here.

                    • Bill …
                      12 July 2017 at 2:27 pm

                      “Labour isn’t…..” A statement their policies of these past 30 years belies.

                      NZ Labour, given the current make up of its caucus allied with the structural lock-down that’s in place, has no path to social democracy. Not that they’re looking for one anyway.

                      That, and the ‘argument’ is about me asking a question of McFlock in light of info supplied in the link that accompanied the post instead of ‘rabbit-holing’ on policy documents..

                    • weka …
                      12 July 2017 at 2:34 pm

                      I was talking about the party itself. And I think it’s highly unlikely that all policies of the past 30 years are solely neoliberal (would be interested in how one would judge that for a start). And I don’t think that current Labour are responsible for Clark or Lange’s policy choices. etc.

                      “NZ Labour, given the current make up of its caucus allied with the structural lock-down that’s in place, has no path to social democracy. ”

                      But if I’m not mistaken, you thought they could a few years ago. I don’t think that much has changed in that time esp given you are talking about a 30 yr context.

                      I get it, you think Labour are a lost cause. Others don’t. Karen’s summation is pretty close to my own. I’m more interested in working with what we have rather than waiting for the revolution to come. The issue for me is strategy. What’s do we want and how are we going to get it. I thought Karen’s point about doing some rudimentary research before condemning Labour was valid, otherwise it all starts to look like bashing Labour for any excuse.

                    • weka …
                      12 July 2017 at 2:36 pm

                      And in the interests of that, I’m not saying your other critiques were wrong. I agree with you on the WFF thing for instance. Just that I think we are all allies here and I’m interested in where our objectives intersect.

                    • Bill …
                      12 July 2017 at 3:10 pm

                      In part, you’re reading things that simply aren’t there. There was a question asked about the applicability of a specific policy.

                      Yes. I thought Labour could be reformed or shifted. There was a move towards greater democratisation at around that time. But then the consequences of that 20/40/40 structural split were demonstrated for all to see, and at around the same time (not surprisingly) movement towards greater internal democratisation was terminated.

                    • weka …
                      12 July 2017 at 4:15 pm

                      So if that changed would you think it was possible for Labour to go left?

                      I guess I still don’t get it, because I think the argument you are making is that only the members can take Labour left. If the caucus, exec and power holders in Labour were shifting left why would that not be Labour shifting left generally (assuming the membership is left, which I’m not entirely convinced about)?

                      A bigger hurdle I would see is how politics now insists on politicians being professional people with careers. But that’s true across the board.

                    • Bill …
                      12 July 2017 at 4:59 pm

                      The caucus, exec and power holders in Labour aren’t shifting left. In fact, they’re happy for the internal structures of the party to be locked down as that prevents any shift and so leaves them secure (big fish in rapidly evaporating pond)

                      In some world that doesn’t exist, that wouldn’t be the case and nothing I’ve been saying would stack up.

                    • weka …
                      12 July 2017 at 5:39 pm

                      Little is patently to the left of Shearer as leader.

                    • Bill …
                      12 July 2017 at 5:49 pm

                      He’s certainly not in the same league the misanthropic mango skin mumbler. That’s a given.

                    • Karen …
                      12 July 2017 at 5:54 pm

                      Weka, if you want to know what is actually happening in the Labour Party then Bill is not the person to ask. He really does not seem to have much idea about the candidates, or about the policies, or about how the party works.

                      The bigger the party the more diverse the views within it and the various viewpoints within Labour cover quite a wide spectrum. Members are able to influence policy direction more than they used to be able to, but countering more conservative views can be hard work and so progress is slow.

                      My sense of Labour is that there has been a small leftwards shift over the last few years and the makeup of the next caucus is likely to increase the shift leftwards.

                    • weka …
                      12 July 2017 at 6:37 pm

                      True Karen, and I think there is a wide area between Bill’s position of Labour are unfixable because Liberal, and Labour are shifting left. What I get from Bill is the analysis of left wing being something distinct from Liberal, and I do find that useful. I wish he wasn’t so absolutist about it with Labour, and I agree with you that there have been small but significant shifts left. I also don’t agree with Bill that the internal structures mean that nothing can change further for Labour (and he hasn’t put up anything convincing on that that I’ve seen). But we do need people on the solid left pointing out what the solid left is. And Bill is willing to talk about social democracy within capitalism even though that’s not what he thinks is enough. I find the useful because it opens up pathways for where we could go instead of where we are now. The task then is to start building a map.

                      I’d love to know more about the various Labour MPs esp the newer ones/ones coming in. I see potential there for things to change.

                      Biggest problem I have with Labour currently isn’t policy, it’s the knife edge of waiting to see if Little will take the leap and go Corbyn for us. Not in a big social democracy move (it’s too late for that this election), but at the level of just being real and dropping so much of the managing of the message and instead telling the truth. He does it sometimes and it’s good when he does. Still, we’re not into the campaign proper yet, fingers crossed.

                    • Bill …
                      12 July 2017 at 7:05 pm

                      Not unfixable “because liberal”. Unfixable because of the internal dispersion of power that leaves caucus in the driving seat.

                      As I said before in another exchange on this, Corbyn would not – could not – have survived as leader of NZ Labour under the structural realities that put paid to Cunliffe. (I don’t know why you can’t get your head around that)

                      “Left wing” is distinct from liberalism. And it’s not just distinct, but it’s always sat in opposition to it. It simply isn’t possible to be liberal and left. Liberalism can’t express itself terms of left and right because it rejects the fundamental basis that informs “left” and from which “left” rises.

                      If you don’t like hearing that, then have it out with the history of political thought and political philosophy.

                      Karen’s right enough about my knowledge of current machinations within NZ Labour. I freely admit I largely extrapolate from what I knew for sure from a year or so back. On feed-back and snippets from worthwhile sources that I get from time to time these days, nothing has changed.

                      I’ll ignore the slight about my apparent ignorance or inability to understand policy and leave you both to it in a bit. But not before agreeing that it would be nice to see Little ‘call it’ (though I have no expectation on that front and so have no fingers crossed). Essentially he’s a good manager, and so has all the strengths and weaknesses of managers. Sadly, I suspect some people mistook his very competent management within the EPMU for leadership

                    • weka …
                      12 July 2017 at 7:31 pm

                      Not unfixable “because liberal”. Unfixable because of the internal dispersion of power that leaves caucus in the driving seat.

                      As I said before in another exchange on this, Corbyn would not – could not – have survived as leader of NZ Labour under the structural realities that put paid to Cunliffe. (I don’t know why you can’t get your head around that)

                      Yes, but assuming that is true for NZ Labour (and I can see ways in which it’s not), your position is predicated on NZ Labour ever being able to change its internal structures. I’ve not see a cogent explanation for why it’s impossible.

                      “Left wing” is distinct from liberalism. And it’s not just distinct, but it’s always sat in opposition to it. It simply isn’t possible to be liberal and left. Liberalism can’t express itself terms of left and right because it rejects the fundamental basis that informs “left” and from which “left” rises.

                      If you don’t like hearing that, then have it out with the history of political thought and political philosophy.

                      I think you missed my point. I was saying your argument re Liberal vs LW are useful.

                    • Bill …
                      12 July 2017 at 10:38 pm

                      Sorry Weka. My bad. Was hitting the ‘wound up’ stage and obviously not reading carefully.

                      Is it impossible for NZ Labour to change? No. After all, UK Labour did. But that was more by fuck up than by design. The liberals wanted rid of the union block vote. Milband delivered.

                      It’s an exemplary illustration of being “careful what you wish for”. And I’d suggest the liberals in control of NZ Labour won’t be making that same mistake.

                      edit. Worth pointing out that Scottish Labour is in much the same position as NZ Labour, and that it also doesn’t have the one member = one vote system of UK Labour – the Blairites are hanging on in there within Scottish Labour for grim death.

                    • weka …
                      12 July 2017 at 10:52 pm

                      all good 🙂

                      I don’t know enough about the individual MPs in any of those Labour Parties to be able to compare to NZ Labour. Or how the careerist vs Blairite/Rogernome vs leftie numbers fall. We do know that DC couldn’t pull it off in NZL. You think it’s the internal leadership rules, I think it’s that plus the number of neoliberals there. So theoretically as that number decreases, so long as the new people coming through are left wing or wiling to become more left wing, then it’s possible for Labour to change more. I have no idea if that will happen of course, but I do like the idea (Matt’s?) that the Greens on 20% would galvanise Labour like nothing else 😉

                      Or it falls apart and the Greens pick up even more. I don’t mind either way, although I still think the Greens aren’t the right cultural fit for the old trad Labour voters, so it’s hard to see how that would work exactly. Plus the non-vote. Maybe something will arise to the left, but parties don’t gain power suddenly and I’m not seeing much on the horizon. Another way to put that would be given the urgency of the world, we might be better off working with what we’ve got.

      • McFlock 15.1.2
        11 July 2017 at 9:25 pm

        From the Labour website:

        All families will receive the payment in their baby’s first year. For families receiving Paid Parental Leave, Best Start payments will begin after PPL payments end. Best Start will replace the Parental Tax Credit.

        edit: the real giveaway in the abridged versions is the reference to 60,000 families. We only have just under 60k births a year – but that’s pretty specialised knowledge, I guess.

      • Nope 15.1.3
        11 July 2017 at 10:47 pm

        You’ve read it wrong Bill

      • Craig H 15.1.4
        11 July 2017 at 11:47 pm

        Families which don’t qualify for Paid Parental Leave qualify for Parental Tax Credit instead. This policy takes that into account.

  16. Bob (Northland) 16
    11 July 2017 at 9:37 pm

    Whatever happened to all the “talk ” several years ago by a number of politicians and economists of a “Financial Transaction” Tax?
    Seems to have been dropped like a hot potato.
    Even Winston First was namedropping this excellent idea.
    A simple measure such as this, initially set at a low rate on every financial transaction, would capture the property speculators that have manipulated and caused such distress and “shortage” in the housing market.
    It would generate many many millions of dollars of extra revenue from the leaches such as those that reap tax free income using their “disposable income” playing with our currency value in ways that bear no reflection to our Countries productivity.
    The rate could be progressively increased to the point where GST is eliminated.
    This would address the rort whereby upper income earners and wealthy business owners recover/claim back (or never pay) their tax share through GST, while low and middle income earners pay GST on everything including from food to fuel, Doctors bills, medicine prescriptions, power bills and even land rates. (a tax upon a tax paid from taxed income)

  17. marty mars 17
    11 July 2017 at 10:24 pm

    Making me like labour – all the naysayers and others hating on them – not left enough, missing huge groups of people, gnat lite – yawn tell me something I don’t know – it’s all beside the point – election days coming and you are gonna have to make a call – if voting was today who would you vote for? Really?

  18. lloyd 18
    11 July 2017 at 11:39 pm

    One thing not mentioned is that the people and organisations that will receive the payments will almost certainly spend this money quickly in New Zealand. The money will have a multiplier effect on the NZ economy far greater than tax cuts to the rich where money is most likely to end up in savings accounts, foreign investment, foreign purchases (such as cars) and on overseas travel – all of which have minimal economic benefit or are a financial drag on the NZ economy.

    Education, health and welfare payments are a far better government investment than any tax cut. Labour’s proposal will give all taxpayers a far better long-term economic return than the pathetic National tax-cut bribe, and will result in a better tax return to the Government. This policy shows why a slightly socialist Labour government is always better at managing the economy than any Neo-liberal Nat. The Nat’s ideology blinds them to economic efficiencies.

    Labour must emphasize how multiplier effects like this make investments in education, health and welfare not only a good thing for those directly targeted for the benefits but are also beneficial to all New Zealanders, unlike the tax cuts aimed at the rich which are economically damaging to us all.

    Andrew Little is a kind and intelligent bloke investing in us all.

    Steve Joyce is working for Emirates, BMW and Jaguar and starves babies – what a bastard!

  19. patricia bremner 19
    12 July 2017 at 12:09 am

    Thank you Lloyd. 1000%

  20. millsy 20
    12 July 2017 at 7:16 am

    This policy isnt too bad. But I dont think it is too good either. I think governments are using cash transfers as a cheap way of getting votes without actually fixing the inherent issues within the economy. I think Howard and Blair were pioneers of this strategy.

    For starters, most of these payments will end up going on rent.

    What I would like to see is:

    1) Restoration of benefit levels to where they were in 1991. Given the insecure nature of work these days, I do not think people should lose everything because they lose their jobs

    2) Free doctors visits and scripts for community services card holders.

    3) A massive state housing building program. The down ward pressure of rents that results from a huge injection of houses into the market would do the job as any payment would.

    4) Incluide sickness in ACC.

    I would also do other sundry things, such as allow HNZ tenants to rent spare rooms on AirBNB,, etc..

  21. Zeroque 21
    12 July 2017 at 11:49 am

    I think it is better than what National are offering but agree with those who say it is hardly bold and distinguishable to anyone other than those who look closely. I guess the question is would a more bold and noticeable move, maybe in addition to this one, be popular enough to change Labours fortunes?

    The issue of inequality is now well out there and understood by many who may not have known about it 2 years ago but there don’t seem to be any well understood solutions coming forward that appeal, judging by the polls. Certainly more of the same isn’t going to reduce it.

    Probably the boldest LP policy we have seen yet that stands to lift wages is their employment relations package, but again it only seemed visible to people who look for such things and understand how they might work.

  22. patricia bremner 22
    12 July 2017 at 1:18 pm

    I trust Labour have done their homework and their policies will support and strengthen people’s lives. For Joyce to call it “Spaghetti” it must be tasty and nourishing.

Links to post

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • Let Them Eat Sausage Rolls: Hipkins Tries to Kill Labour Again
    Sometimes you despair. You really do. Fresh off leading Labour to its ugliest election result since 1990,* Chris Hipkins has decided to misdiagnose matters, because the Government he led cannot possibly have been wrong about anything. *In 2011 and 2014, people were willing to save Labour’s electorate ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    3 hours ago

  • Clued Up: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    “But, that’s the thing, mate, isn’t it? We showed ourselves to be nothing more useful than a bunch of angry old men, shaking our fists at the sky. Were we really that angry at Labour and the Greens? Or was it just the inescapable fact of our own growing irrelevancy ...
    Bowalley Road
    8 hours ago

  • JERRY COYNE: A powerful University dean in New Zealand touts merging higher education with indigeno...
    Jerry Coyne writes –  This article from New Zealand’s Newsroom site was written by Julie Rowland,  the deputy dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Auckland as well as a geologist and the Director of the Ngā Ara Whetū | Centre for Climate, Biodiversity & Society. In other ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    12 hours ago

  • Ain't nobody gonna steal this heart away.
    Ain't nobody gonna steal this heart away.For the last couple of weeks its felt as though all the good things in our beautiful land are under attack.These isles in the southern Pacific. The home of the Māori people. A land of easy going friendliness, openness, and she’ll be right. A ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    17 hours ago

  • Speaking for the future
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.MondayYou cannot be seriousOne might think, god, people who are seeing all this must be regretting their vote.But one might be mistaken.There are people whose chief priority is not wanting to be ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    17 hours ago

  • How Should We Organise a Modern Economy?
    Alan Bollard, formerly Treasury Secretary, Reserve Bank Governor and Chairman of APEC, has written an insightful book exploring command vs demand approaches to the economy. The Cold War included a conflict about ideas; many were economic. Alan Bollard’s latest book Economists in the Cold War focuses on the contribution of ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 day ago

  • Willis fails a taxing app-titude test but govt supporters will cheer moves on Te Pukenga and the Hum...
    Buzz from the Beehive The Minister of Defence has returned from Noumea to announce New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting and (wearing another ministerial hat) to condemn malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government. A bigger cheer from people who voted for the Luxon ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago

  • ELIZABETH RATA: In defence of the liberal university and against indigenisation
    The suppression of individual thought in our universities spills over into society, threatening free speech everywhere. Elizabeth Rata writes –  Indigenising New Zealand’s universities is well underway, presumably with the agreement of University Councils and despite the absence of public discussion. Indigenising, under the broader umbrella of decolonisation, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the skewed media coverage of Gaza
    Now that he’s back as Foreign Minister, maybe Winston Peters should start reading the MFAT website. If he did, Peters would find MFAT celebrating the 25th anniversary of how New Zealand alerted the rest of the world to the genocide developing in Rwanda. Quote: New Zealand played an important role ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    2 days ago

  • “Your Circus, Your Clowns.”
    It must have been a hard first couple of weeks for National voters, since the coalition was announced. Seeing their party make so many concessions to New Zealand First and ACT that there seems little remains of their own policies, other than the dwindling dream of tax cuts and the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • Weekly Roundup 8-December-2023
    It’s Friday again and Christmas is fast approaching. Here’s some of the stories that caught our attention. This week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt covered some of the recent talk around the costs, benefits and challenges with the City Rail Link. On Thursday Matt looked at how ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    2 days ago

  • End-of-week escapism
    Amsterdam to Hong Kong William McCartney16,000 kilometres41 days18 trains13 countries11 currencies6 long-distance taxis4 taxi apps4 buses3 sim cards2 ferries1 tram0 medical events (surprisingly)Episode 4Whether the Sofia-Istanbul Express really qualifies to be called an express is debatable, but it’s another one of those likeably old and slow trains tha… ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • The Hoon around the week to Dec 8
    Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro arrives for the State Opening of Parliament (Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)TL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:New Finance Minister Nicola Willis set herself a ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • New Zealand’s Witchcraft Laws: 1840/1858-1961/1962
    Sometimes one gets morbidly curious about the oddities of one’s own legal system. Sometimes one writes entire essays on New Zealand’s experience with Blasphemous Libel: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2017/05/09/blasphemous-libel-new-zealand-politics/ And sometimes one follows up the exact historical status of witchcraft law in New Zealand. As one does, of course. ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    2 days ago

  • No surprises
    Don’t expect any fiscal shocks or surprises when the books are opened on December 20 with the unveiling of the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU). That was the message yesterday from Westpac in an economic commentary. But the bank’s analysis did not include any changes to capital ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #49 2023
    113 articles in 48 journals by 674 contributing authors Physical science of climate change, effects Diversity of Lagged Relationships in Global Means of Surface Temperatures and Radiative Budgets for CMIP6 piControl Simulations, Tsuchida et al., Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli-d-23-0045.1 Do abrupt cryosphere events in High Mountain Asia indicate earlier tipping ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Phone calls at Kia Kaha primary
    It is quiet reading time in Room 13! It is so quiet you can hear the Tui outside. It is so quiet you can hear the Fulton Hogan crew.It is so quiet you can hear old Mr Grant and old Mr Bradbury standing by the roadworks and counting the conesand going on ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • A question of confidence is raised by the Minister of Police, but he had to be questioned by RNZ to ...
    It looks like the new ministerial press secretaries have quickly learned the art of camouflaging exactly what their ministers are saying – or, at least, of keeping the hard news  out of the headlines and/or the opening sentences of the statements they post on the home page of the governments ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • Xmas  good  cheer  for the dairy industry  as Fonterra lifts its forecast
    The big dairy co-op Fonterra  had  some Christmas  cheer to offer  its farmers this week, increasing its forecast farmgate milk price and earnings guidance for  the year after what it calls a strong start to the year. The forecast  midpoint for the 2023/24 season is up 25cs to $7.50 per ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • MICHAEL BASSETT: Modern Maori myths
    Michael Bassett writes – Many of the comments about the Coalition’s determination to wind back the dramatic Maorification of New Zealand of the last three years would have you believe the new government is engaged in a full-scale attack on Maori. In reality, all that is happening ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • Dreams of eternal sunshine at a spotless COP28
    Mary Robinson asked Al Jaber a series of very simple, direct and highly pertinent questions and he responded with a high-octane public meltdown. Photos: Getty Images / montage: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR The hygiene effects of direct sunshine are making some inroads, perhaps for the very first time, on the normalised ‘deficit ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: Oh, the irony
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Appointed by new Labour PM Jacinda Ardern in 2018, Cindy Kiro headed the Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG) tasked with reviewing and recommending reforms to the welfare system. Kiro had been Children’s Commissioner during Helen Clark’s Labour government but returned to academia subsequently. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Transport Agencies don’t want Harbour Tunnels
    It seems even our transport agencies don’t want Labour’s harbour crossing plans. In August the previous government and Waka Kotahi announced their absurd preferred option the new harbour crossing that at the time was estimated to cost $35-45 billion. It included both road tunnels and a wiggly light rail tunnel ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 days ago

  • Webworm Presents: Jurassic Park on 35mm
    Hi,Paying Webworm members such as yourself keep this thing running, so as 2023 draws to close, I wanted to do two things to say a giant, loud “THANKS”. Firstly — I’m giving away 10 Mister Organ blu-rays in New Zealand, and another 10 in America. More details down below.Secondly — ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    3 days ago

  • The Prime Minister's Dream.
    Yesterday saw the State Opening of Parliament, the Speech from the Throne, and then Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s dream for Aotearoa in his first address. But first the pomp and ceremony, the arrival of the Governor General.Dame Cindy Kiro arrived on the forecourt outside of parliament to a Māori welcome. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • National’s new MP; the proud part-Maori boy raised in a state house
    Probably not since 1975 have we seen a government take office up against such a wall of protest and complaint. That was highlighted yesterday, the day that the new Parliament was sworn in, with news that King Tuheitia has called a national hui for late January to develop a ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago

  • Climate Adam: Battlefield Earth – How War Fuels Climate Catastrophe
    This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). War, conflict and climate change are tearing apart lives across the world. But these aren't separate harms - they're intricately connected. ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • They do not speak for us, and they do not speak for the future
    These dire woeful and intolerant people have been so determinedly going about their small and petulant business, it’s hard to keep up. At the end of the new government’s first woeful week, Audrey Young took the time to count off its various acts of denigration of Te Ao Māori:Review the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Another attack on te reo
    The new white supremacist government made attacking te reo a key part of its platform, promising to rename government agencies and force them to "communicate primarily in English" (which they already do). But today they've gone further, by trying to cut the pay of public servants who speak te reo: ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • For the record, the Beehive buzz can now be regarded as “official”
    Buzz from the Beehive The biggest buzz we bring you from the Beehive today is that the government’s official website is up and going after being out of action for more than a week. The latest press statement came  from  Education Minister  Eric Stanford, who seized on the 2022 PISA ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • Climate Change: Failed again
    There was another ETS auction this morning. and like all the other ones this year, it failed to clear - meaning that 23 million tons of carbon (15 million ordinary units plus 8 million in the cost containment reserve) went up in smoke. Or rather, they didn't. Being unsold at ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell On The Government’s Assault On Maori
    This isn’t news, but the National-led coalition is mounting a sustained assault on Treaty rights and obligations. Even so, Christopher Luxon has described yesterday’s nationwide protests by Maori as “pretty unfair.” Poor thing. In the NZ Herald, Audrey Young has compiled a useful list of the many, many ways that ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    3 days ago

  • Rising costs hit farmers hard, but  there’s more  positive news  for  them this  week 
    New Zealand’s dairy industry, the mainstay of the country’s export trade, has  been under  pressure  from rising  costs. Down on the  farm, this  has  been  hitting  hard. But there  was more positive news this week,  first   from the latest Fonterra GDT auction where  prices  rose,  and  then from  a  report ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    3 days ago

  • ROB MacCULLOCH:  Newshub and NZ Herald report misleading garbage about ACT’s van Veldon not follo...
    Rob MacCulloch writes –  In their rush to discredit the new government (which our MainStream Media regard as illegitimate and having no right to enact the democratic will of voters) the NZ Herald and Newshub are arguing ACT’s Deputy Leader Brooke van Veldon is not following Treasury advice ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Top 10 for Wednesday, December 6
    Even many young people who smoke support smokefree policies, fitting in with previous research showing the large majority of people who smoke regret starting and most want to quit. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Wednesday, December ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Eleven years of work.
    Well it didn’t take six months, but the leaks have begun. Yes the good ship Coalition has inadvertently released a confidential cabinet paper into the public domain, discussing their axing of Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs).Oops.Just when you were admiring how smoothly things were going for the new government, they’ve had ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • Why we're missing out on sharply lower inflation
    A wave of new and higher fees, rates and charges will ripple out over the economy in the next 18 months as mayors, councillors, heads of department and price-setters for utilities such as gas, electricity, water and parking ramp up charges. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Just when most ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • How Did We Get Here?
    Hi,Kiwis — keep the evening of December 22nd free. I have a meetup planned, and will send out an invite over the next day or so. This sounds sort of crazy to write, but today will be Tony Stamp’s final Totally Normal column of 2023. Somehow we’ve made it to ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago

  • At a glance – Has the greenhouse effect been falsified?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • New Zealaders  have  high expectations of  new  government:  now let’s see if it can deliver?
    The electorate has high expectations of the  new  government.  The question is: can  it  deliver?    Some  might  say  the  signs are not  promising. Protestors   are  already marching in the streets. The  new  Prime Minister has had  little experience of managing  very diverse politicians  in coalition. The economy he  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    4 days ago

  • You won't believe some of the numbers you have to pull when you're a Finance Minister
    Nicola of Marsden:Yo, normies! We will fix your cost of living worries by giving you a tax cut of 150 dollars. 150! Cash money! Vote National.Various people who can read and count:Actually that's 150 over a fortnight. Not a week, which is how you usually express these things.And actually, it looks ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Pushback
    When this government came to power, it did so on an explicitly white supremacist platform. Undermining the Waitangi Tribunal, removing Māori representation in local government, over-riding the courts which had tried to make their foreshore and seabed legislation work, eradicating te reo from public life, and ultimately trying to repudiate ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • Defence ministerial meeting meant Collins missed the Maori Party’s mischief-making capers in Parli...
    Buzz from the Beehive Maybe this is not the best time for our Minister of Defence to have gone overseas. Not when the Maori Party is inviting (or should that be inciting?) its followers to join a revolution in a post which promoted its protest plans with a picture of ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • Threats of war have been followed by an invitation to join the revolution – now let’s see how th...
     A Maori Party post on Instagram invited party followers to ….  Tangata Whenua, Tangata Tiriti, Join the REVOLUTION! & make a stand!  Nationwide Action Day, All details in tiles swipe to see locations.  • This is our 1st hit out and tomorrow Tuesday the 5th is the opening ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Top 10 for Tuesday, December 4
    The RBNZ governor is citing high net migration and profit-led inflation as factors in the bank’s hawkish stance. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Tuesday, December 5, including:Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr says high net migration and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • Nicola Willis' 'show me the money' moment
    Willis has accused labour of “economic vandalism’, while Robertson described her comments as a “desperate diversion from somebody who can't make their tax package add up”. There will now be an intense focus on December 20 to see whether her hyperbole is backed up by true surprises. Photo montage: Lynn ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • CRL costs money but also provides huge benefits
    The City Rail Link has been in the headlines a bit recently so I thought I’d look at some of them. First up, yesterday the NZ Herald ran this piece about the ongoing costs of the CRL. Auckland ratepayers will be saddled with an estimated bill of $220 million each ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    5 days ago

  • And I don't want the world to see us.
    Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • Cooking the books
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago

  • Most people don’t realize how much progress we’ve made on climate change
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The year was 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars was at the top of the music charts. Jurassic World was the most popular new movie in theaters. And decades of futility in international climate negotiations was about to come to an end in ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Of Parliamentary Oaths and Clive Boonham
    As a heads-up, I am not one of those people who stay awake at night thinking about weird Culture War nonsense. At least so far as the current Maori/Constitutional arrangements go. In fact, I actually consider it the least important issue facing the day to day lives of New ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago

  • Bearing True Allegiance?
    Strong Words: “We do not consent, we do not surrender, we do not cede, we do not submit; we, the indigenous, are rising. We do not buy into the colonial fictions this House is built upon. Te Pāti Māori pledges allegiance to our mokopuna, our whenua, and Te Tiriti o ...
    Bowalley Road
    5 days ago

  • You cannot be serious
    Some days it feels like the only thing to say is: Seriously? No, really. Seriously?OneSomeone has used their health department access to share data about vaccinations and patients, and inform the world that New Zealanders have been dying in their hundreds of thousands from the evil vaccine. This of course is pure ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • A promise kept: govt pulls the plug on Lake Onslow scheme – but this saving of $16bn is denounced...
    Buzz from the Beehive After $21.8 million was spent on investigations, the plug has been pulled on the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro electricity scheme, The scheme –  that technically could have solved New Zealand’s looming energy shortage, according to its champions – was a key part of the defeated Labour government’s ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER: The Maori Party and Oath of Allegiance
    If those elected to the Māori Seats refuse to take them, then what possible reason could the country have for retaining them?   Chris Trotter writes – Christmas is fast approaching, which, as it does every year, means gearing up for an abstruse general knowledge question. “Who was ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • BRIAN EASTON:  Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies. Brian Easton writes – The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Climate Change: Fossils
    When the new government promised to allow new offshore oil and gas exploration, they were warned that there would be international criticism and reputational damage. Naturally, they arrogantly denied any possibility that that would happen. And then they finally turned up at COP, to criticism from Palau, and a "fossil ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • GEOFFREY MILLER:  NZ’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    Geoffrey Miller writes – New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the government’s smokefree laws debacle
    The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    6 days ago

  • Top 10 links at 10 am for Monday, December 4
    As Deb Te Kawa writes in an op-ed, the new Government seems to have immediately bought itself fights with just about everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Monday December 4, including:Palau’s President ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Be Honest.
    Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    6 days ago

  • Auckland rail tunnel the world’s most expensive
    Auckland’s city rail link is the most expensive rail project in the world per km, and the CRL boss has described the cost of infrastructure construction in Aotearoa as a crisis. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The 3.5 km City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel under Auckland’s CBD has cost ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • First big test coming
    The first big test of the new Government’s approach to Treaty matters is likely to be seen in the return of the Resource Management Act. RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal Labour’s recently passed Natural and Built Environments Act and its ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago

  • The Song of Saqua: Volume III
    Time to revisit something I haven’t covered in a while: the D&D campaign, with Saqua the aquatic half-vampire. Last seen in July: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/07/27/the-song-of-saqua-volume-ii/ The delay is understandable, once one realises that the interim saw our DM come down with a life-threatening medical situation. They have since survived to make ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    6 days ago

  • Chris Bishop: Smokin’
    Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    6 days ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate change Daily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • Affirmative Action.
    Affirmative Action was a key theme at this election, although I don’t recall anyone using those particular words during the campaign.They’re positive words, and the way the topic was talked about was anything but. It certainly wasn’t a campaign of saying that Affirmative Action was a good thing, but that, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago

  • 100 days of something
    It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • Look who’s stepped up to champion Winston
    There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today  – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • What's The Story?
    Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • The longest of weeks
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts to
    Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Under New Management
    1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • While we wait patiently, our new Minister of Education is up and going with a 100-day action plan
    Sorry to say, the government’s official website is still out of action. When Point of Order paid its daily visit, the message was the same as it has been for the past week: Site under maintenance Beehive.govt.nz is currently under maintenance. We will be back shortly. Thank you for your ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • Ministers visit Hawke’s Bay to grasp recovery needs
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon joined Cyclone Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell and Transport and Local Government Minister Simeon Brown, to meet leaders of cyclone and flood-affected regions in the Hawke’s Bay. The visit reinforced the coalition Government’s commitment to support the region and better understand its ongoing requirements, Mr Mitchell says.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • New Zealand condemns malicious cyber activity
    New Zealand has joined the UK and other partners in condemning malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government, Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau Judith Collins says. The statement follows the UK’s attribution today of malicious cyber activity impacting its domestic democratic institutions and processes, as well ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Disestablishment of Te Pūkenga begins
    The Government has begun the process of disestablishing Te Pūkenga as part of its 100-day plan, Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills Penny Simmonds says.  “I have started putting that plan into action and have met with the chair and chief Executive of Te Pūkenga to advise them of my ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Climate Change Minister to attend COP28 in Dubai
    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will be leaving for Dubai today to attend COP28, the 28th annual UN climate summit, this week. Simon Watts says he will push for accelerated action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, deliver New Zealand’s national statement and connect with partner countries, private sector leaders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • New Zealand to host 2024 Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins yesterday announced New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting (SPDMM). “Having just returned from this year’s meeting in Nouméa, I witnessed first-hand the value of meeting with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security and defence matters. I welcome the opportunity to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Study shows need to remove distractions in class
    The Government is committed to lifting school achievement in the basics and that starts with removing distractions so young people can focus on their learning, Education Minister Erica Stanford says.   The 2022 PISA results released this week found that Kiwi kids ranked 5th in the world for being distracted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Minister sets expectations of Commissioner
    Today I met with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to set out my expectations, which he has agreed to, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. Under section 16(1) of the Policing Act 2008, the Minister can expect the Police Commissioner to deliver on the Government’s direction and priorities, as now outlined in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • New Zealand needs a strong and stable ETS
    New Zealand needs a strong and stable Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that is well placed for the future, after emission units failed to sell for the fourth and final auction of the year, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.  At today’s auction, 15 million New Zealand units (NZUs) – each ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • PISA results show urgent need to teach the basics
    With 2022 PISA results showing a decline in achievement, Education Minister Erica Stanford is confident that the Coalition Government’s 100-day plan for education will improve outcomes for Kiwi kids.  The 2022 PISA results show a significant decline in the performance of 15-year-old students in maths compared to 2018 and confirms ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Collins leaves for Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins today departed for New Caledonia to attend the 8th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM). “This meeting is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security matters and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Pacific,” Judith Collins says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Working for Families gets cost of living boost
    Putting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Post-Cabinet press conference
    Most weeks, following Cabinet, the Prime Minister holds a press conference for members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. This page contains the transcripts from those press conferences, which are supplied by Hansard to the Office of the Prime Minister. It is important to note that the transcripts have not been edited ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme scrapped
    The Government has axed the $16 billion Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme championed by the previous government, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says. “This hugely wasteful project was pouring money down the drain at a time when we need to be reining in spending and focussing on rebuilding the economy and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • NZ welcomes further pause in fighting in Gaza
    New Zealand welcomes the further one-day extension of the pause in fighting, which will allow the delivery of more urgently-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of more hostages, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. “The human cost of the conflict is horrific, and New Zealand wants to see the violence ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Condolences on passing of Henry Kissinger
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters today expressed on behalf of the New Zealand Government his condolences to the family of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has passed away at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut. “While opinions on his legacy are varied, Secretary Kissinger was ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Backing our kids to learn the basics
    Every child deserves a world-leading education, and the Coalition Government is making that a priority as part of its 100-day plan. Education Minister Erica Stanford says that will start with banning cellphone use at school and ensuring all primary students spend one hour on reading, writing, and maths each day. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • US Business Summit Speech – Regional stability through trade
    I would like to begin by echoing the Prime Minister’s thanks to the organisers of this Summit, Fran O’Sullivan and the Auckland Business Chamber.  I want to also acknowledge the many leading exporters, sector representatives, diplomats, and other leaders we have joining us in the room. In particular, I would like ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Keynote Address to the United States Business Summit, Auckland
    Good morning. Thank you, Rosemary, for your warm introduction, and to Fran and Simon for this opportunity to make some brief comments about New Zealand’s relationship with the United States.  This is also a chance to acknowledge my colleague, Minister for Trade Todd McClay, Ambassador Tom Udall, Secretary of Foreign ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • India New Zealand Business Council Speech, India as a Strategic Priority
    Good morning, tēnā koutou and namaskar. Many thanks, Michael, for your warm welcome. I would like to acknowledge the work of the India New Zealand Business Council in facilitating today’s event and for the Council’s broader work in supporting a coordinated approach for lifting New Zealand-India relations. I want to also ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Coalition Government unveils 100-day plan
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has laid out the Coalition Government’s plan for its first 100 days from today. “The last few years have been incredibly tough for so many New Zealanders. People have put their trust in National, ACT and NZ First to steer them towards a better, more prosperous ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2023-12-09T11:18:44+00:00