“Minister for Small Things”

51 comments on ““Minister for Small Things” ”

• Comments are now closed

1. johnm 1

   1 March 2013 at 9:55 am

   Dunne is a tit feeder on whichever government is in power. YUK! No wonder we’re in a mess with the likes of him.
   • geoff 1.1

     1 March 2013 at 10:45 am

     I think we can all agree that Peter Dunne is a reptile who would sell his own grandmother if it helped his chances.
     • aerobubble 1.1.1

       1 March 2013 at 12:36 pm

       Greens should return the favor, if Labour want Greens in the tent, Dunne has to be ignored completely.
       • Colonial Viper 1.1.1.1

         1 March 2013 at 12:43 pm

         That’s smart thinking
         • mikesh 1.1.1.1.1

           2 March 2013 at 1:47 pm

           It’s “common sense”.
     • Tim 1.1.2

       1 March 2013 at 3:24 pm

       Indeed Geoff. Sincere condolences to his wife. It is of course a sign of how desperate he’s becoming.
       Not that long ago (hours), I was in Countdown J’ville (in the 12 items or less Express Queue).
       There, ahead of me, was someone with a blue rinse, all togged up with about 50 items she was expecting the cashier to process. As she did – she was engaging in political discourse – speaking as loudly as she possibly could with the cashier – in order to be heard by all. An obvious Dunne supporter. She exuded a sense of entitlement from her every pore. Behind me in the queue, about 20 people had built up were watching in amusement and with disdain.
       I’m hoping those 20 will turn up to vote come election day. The Blue Rinse lady had absolutely no idea of how she was being observed and judged by the 20 plus in the queue behind.
       I thought to myself …. the epitome of the current National Party.
       I’d actually wished I’d been standing in line with a Finlayson or someone of his ilk. An OK sort of fella but someone sat in a bugger’s muddle of a Party full of the likes of the social climbing wankers, wankeresses and snobbery of the important Mrs Blue Rinse.
       I wondered what Skeith Wholeyoak and others would be thinking – especially about the likes of Finlayson et al) – not that I’ve ever voted for such a incompetent political party (Neshnool).
       Then I thought to myslelf ….. this situation – the predicament, the attitude, the completely out-of-touch idea of the grande electorate is what a Labour ABC cabal is.
       UGLY, in every sense of the word.
     • Arfamo 1.1.3

       1 March 2013 at 3:35 pm

       Dunne is just another example of how in NZ today if you don’t stand for anything you can stand for Parliament.
       • Rogue Trooper 1.1.3.1

         1 March 2013 at 5:11 pm

         smiles and smiles
2. ropata 2

   1 March 2013 at 9:56 am

   the greens are right, as usual. but this will never happen as long as most voters are also property owners, and there’s easy money to be made. most of our fellow kiwis don’t understand that true wealth = assets, they are dazzled by dollar signs
   • Draco T Bastard 2.1

     1 March 2013 at 2:30 pm

     Actually, it seems that most voters agree with the Greens. The problem is that Labour and National don’t.
3. vto 3

   1 March 2013 at 9:56 am

   Calling for a ban on foreigners owning any property in NZ clearly covers all races so how on earth can it be racist?
   • Arfamo 3.1

     1 March 2013 at 10:13 am

     It’s not racist. And Dunne knows that. He just knows that making up and constantly repeating lies, especially big lies, works. Goebels was a master of the technique.
   • AsleepWhileWalking 3.2

     1 March 2013 at 3:15 pm

     The way TV3 portrayed it was certainly racist and they could have done better on this one.
4. vto 4

   1 March 2013 at 10:04 am

   There is no advantage to having foreigners own our land. It is solely detrimental. Hence why so many other countries, like China, don’t allow it.

   This is distinct from “foreign investment”. Don’t let the deceptive pricks mix the two issues up.
   • Draco T Bastard 4.1

     1 March 2013 at 2:31 pm

     And we don’t need foreign investment either which is also bad for our society. Really, why do we need foreign currency to use resources we already own?
5. jbug 5

   1 March 2013 at 10:20 am

   Thank goodness someone is actually delivering it to the National coalition in the House. About time! Good on the Labour hierarchy for finally starting to use the talent in the caucus for good effect!
   • Arfamo 5.1

     1 March 2013 at 10:26 am

     Yes but look at how empty the debating chamber is. He may be “delivering it” to the National coalition but nobody gets to know about it from the MSM.
6. prism 6

   1 March 2013 at 10:34 am

   Is it racist to worry about the effect of China on our economy when the majority of clothes and tools etc etc which we buy are made in China? It’s a cheap shot to condemn reasonable concern and discussion as ‘racist’. Property purchasing from overseas by people with access to riches beyond our own distorts our market in this small country. That’s a fact and to understand it we need to look at all nationalities, but China is constantly in our lives for many reasons including the actions of some Chinese businesspeople in bringing our main money earner, milk powder, into disrepute, temporarily this time.

   http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6368089/Who-is-really-buying-New-Zealand

   How to for overseas people wanting to buy property in NZ
   http://propertypanel.co.nz/blog/owning-a-slice-of-paradise/

   Another info piece for overseas investors looking at Auckland.
   http://www.escapeartist.com/OREQ13/Real_Estate_In_New_Zealand.html
   Right now we are spending a great deal of our time with the New Zealand market. In particular we are concentrating on the Auckland region that is proving to be an increasingly popular investment choice for many of our International investors. There are a number of reasons for this, growth is good, rental yields are relatively high, acquisition costs are low, taxes are low, foreign ownership is hassle free and the exchange rate for most foreign investors is particularly favorable.

   Compared to other similar developed cities across the world Auckland is offering excellent value and many suggest that in relative terms it is undervalued. Add to this its continued high projected population growth and limited supply of land and it is easy to see why many investors are excited about Auckland.
   In addition New Zealand has largely stayed out of world politics (post September 11), this plus its relative isolation is having many see it as a nice place to invest and possibly to live in the future as it is increasingly being seen as a safe haven. This article will look at some of the factors that make New Zealand, and in particular in and around Auckland a good place to invest and how as an international investor you can go about this process.

   http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/7810453/Property-linked-to-high-dollar
   “Fundamentally, New Zealand has a high exchange rate because we’re an attractive place for foreign investors to put their money,” Crampton says….
   But we still have a dollar worth almost US82 cents that is killing our exporters, as the New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association has been saying for years.

   And the International Monetary Fund says the kiwi is about 15 per cent overvalued. It has said that repeatedly, at least as far back as May 2010.
   The high exchange rate is making buying into NZ an attractive option for overseas investors, at the same time as it makes it more expensive to run manufacturing here providing employment to NZ.
   • karol 6.1

     1 March 2013 at 10:40 am

     Good to see you back commenting, prism, and with a very full and informative comment.

     This bit from the first link to stuff is especially interesting:

     Figures released by the Overseas Investment Office show that of the 872,313 hectares of gross land sold to foreign interests over the past five years, only 223ha were sold to Chinese.

     People from the landlocked principality of Liechtenstein had purchased 10 times more land than the Chinese – 2,144ha in the same period.

     The top buyers were the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and Israel. The United States had 194 purchases for a total of 193,208ha.
     • stargazer 6.1.1

       1 March 2013 at 10:51 am

       thanx carol. i was having this debate on facebook yesterday ie that there is no credible proof that chinese or asians are buying more land than other foreign nationals. i was really disappointed with the way tv3 news covered this story, which then allows the nonsense comments we got from peter dunne.
       • AsleepWhileWalking 6.1.1.1

         1 March 2013 at 3:22 pm

         +1
     • prism 6.1.2

       1 March 2013 at 11:03 am

       Yes karol that was interesting. I can understand, as I said earlier, why the Chinese came up in people’s sights, Crafar farms was such a big parcel of was it 16, farms. They would have had individual owners before the Crafar guy worked his magic to buy them probably with leverage provided from finagling banks. And there was so much publicity around this ‘brave little battler’.
       Many hoped that they would be able to be bought by keen NZ sharemilkers.

       Of course the problem is that we are well trained dogs in NZ – anybody wealthy from overseas can offer us a flavoursome money treat and we’ll extend our paw for a shake and roll over to have our tummies tickled instead of showing our teeth to ensure proper respect for us as we guard our territory.
     • Poission 6.1.3

       1 March 2013 at 11:05 am

       Liechtenstein is a tax haven that uses the same methodology of hidden foreign trusts as NZ to hide assets and avoid tax
7. fenderviper 7

   1 March 2013 at 11:10 am

   Dunne has obviously been getting too involved in the new ‘legal high’ testing. He must have a cocktail of chemicals flowing through his blackened blood and it’s also making his hair fall out. What the people of Ohariu see in this fool needs explaining, I know he’s apparently present everywhere in the electorate but can’t people there see he’s nothing but a flake. The answer may lie in the electorate I guess, as from my experience these folk would probably vote for Colin Craig if Dunne was to admit he has nothing to contribute and retire.
   I look forward to the end of UF and Act sooner rather than later, they are both irrelevant in these times and are only around thanks to modern medicine and blue rinse hair dye.
   • prism 7.1

     1 March 2013 at 11:38 am

     fenderviper
     😀
     • Rogue Trooper 7.1.1

       1 March 2013 at 12:03 pm

       missed your colour; rural / residential / commercial property contrasts though.
8. Poission 8

   1 March 2013 at 11:39 am

   The minister for money laundering and tax evasion also decided that Hollywood needed a gst break

   http://taxpolicy.ird.govt.nz/news/2012-04-23-minister-introduce-new-gst-measures
   • aerobubble 8.1

     1 March 2013 at 12:50 pm

     Hard on citizens, ease up on business. This has breed lazy boardrooms and exodus of skilled kiwis.

     The role of government is to create a happy content society, and breed hard nosed boardrooms, but Dunne has consistently does the opposite.

     When we train rugby players, we don’t lower the bar, cut the weight they have to lift, we don’t losen the rules, in fact as the numbers of lean motivated rugby players increases we raise standards of training, we create clearer rules, and consistently review.

     Business in NZ does not need more investment (to pay down debt or cover interest on debt), it doesn’t need less rules around health and safety, we need better engaged government that punishes those in debt who act as a drag on our economy.

     Oh, wait, Key has borrowed us into a huge mess, and lowered taxes on those who are most indebted.
     • Draco T Bastard 8.1.1

       1 March 2013 at 2:43 pm

       The role of government is to create a happy content society, and breed hard nosed boardrooms, but Dunne has consistently does the opposite.

       That’s normal for neo-liberal governments. Make it easier on the rich and harder on everyone else.
9. Rogue Trooper 9

   1 March 2013 at 12:29 pm

   an “IGT” yarn from across the smoko room table;
   man works entire life as Diesel Mechanic (almost obsessively)
   abrasive personality, few friends and peers
   lonely wife (yes, she told me)
   6 Days a week, on-call, for the man
   last year, both hips replaced; this year spurs will be placed to fuse spine (“won’t make old bones”)
   has diabetes and high blood pressure (investment properties to leave though)
   this man will be 70 years old on the job this year. Oil-fueled Capitalism : Lovin it!

   (and for you soft-cocks running this country? Try being a Diesel Mechanic for two or three decades,
   yet carry on, plenty of limestone chips to soak up the spills)
   • Colonial Viper 9.1

     1 March 2013 at 12:54 pm

     Should’ve retired 10 years ago to let a young mechanic in to the workforce

     Maybe no life after work to retire to though?
     • Rogue Trooper 9.1.1

       1 March 2013 at 1:39 pm

       seems to be the case; PWE and all that millstone, still, refreshing to see the Gen “Z” wising up; Gr8 to see all their tattoos, piercings, and f*ck-u attitudes; can’t stop The Children of The Revolution, just sit back and enjoy the music (wailings). The Hand-brake certainly appears to be cultural (Storm in a tea-cup over Argo ref for example). The magic of “blogs” is that nobody reads them and they are outdated by the time they reach the market shelves.Having seen Lynns FB page, it is encouraging that the Alternative is gettin’ thrown about the joint.Have a good day. Off to read the paper and see what else has blown up; nothing like the power of exponentials.Victoria.
       Be Trailer Parks next; Everclear-“White Trash and proud of It”.(on less than 12K per annum)
       • prism 9.1.1.1

         1 March 2013 at 3:51 pm

         rogue T
         What do you reckon about living in trailer parks? Some people I’ve heard of, usually retired, enjoy the life. At least you can have a place of your own. There used to be one in South Auckland but the police closed it down because some crims lived there. Now they have to live elsewhere and are probably harder to keep control of. If the goverment is going to turn their backs on the ordinary citizen not getting up to $100 per hour and not even having their low minimum pay keep pace with inflation, perhaps it is time to choose a new paradigm.
         • Rogue Trooper 9.1.1.1.1

           1 March 2013 at 5:21 pm

           greatfull for any home, personally, and both times i have lived in motor camps i have been more than content; often great community, open space, trees, facilities like pools, wifi, sports courts, barbecues, etc, a variable cosmopolitan international clientele in season, out of season.Many folk retire to them, especially keen fishermen, and sometimes the locations can be beautiful (Higher Ground is always preferable), have even been offered opportunity to add to the vege gardens other residents have already established.
           Downsides; insulation from the elements, space to swing a cat (just joking, cats love me) and too many books 🙂 (and itinerant “temptations” for an old soak like me) 😉
           • prism 9.1.1.1.1.1

             1 March 2013 at 9:20 pm

             So principal problem is insulation. What about curved shell roofs that sit above the caravan roof on feet that are attached to it and create an insulating air gap and protection from the elements?
             • Rogue Trooper …

               1 March 2013 at 9:37 pm

               a semi-spherical polyhedra
     • Draco T Bastard 9.1.2

       1 March 2013 at 2:45 pm

       Maybe no life after work to retire to though?

       Yep, that was the case with my father. Without a job his life, as far as he was concerned, meant nothing.
10. Tim 10

    1 March 2013 at 3:55 pm

    Indeed DtB. It’s an attitude that still prevails tho’. The manner in which people derive their self-esteem these days though is not so much being able to just do an honest day’s work for which they’re fairly rewarded alongside others, but it’s their job title, their positions in relation to others, and their ability to jerk off at various afterwork functions. Many of them roll along thinking they’re invaluable getting an earn in their creatively invented job title positions, right up until the time a ‘restructure’ or an economic downturn sees them without an income. That’s right about the time they realise they shudd cudda wudda not spent so much on the daily latte or bought that second plasma TV for the bedroom.
    Within 6 months or so, they’re getting the dose of reality that increasing numbers of NZers are facing – with mortgages behind, power bills unpaid, and wondering why they ever thought that krismetuk John came across as such an esprayshnull slippery dick.
    It reminds me of the late 80’s. A time when the Class of 87 bought properties with an Evans Bay outlook, invested heavily in CISCO shares, cultivated their Masters of the Universe personas, then had the likes of me trying to convince them that they shouldn’t top themselves or take off overseas when their it all turned to shit.

    How history repeats! They’d deluded themselves that they’d arrived when they’d obtained a mansion, a car that compensated for the size of their penis, their darlin little Johnny was enrolled at St Markwhere they’d ensure their contemporaries would see them dropping the little’un off at 9am every morning, and that they were voting National.
    Didn’t take them long to realise that National wasn’t their best option and nor was it ever going to be, especially when after they’d cashed up and were bankrupt, along would come a Ruth Richardson.
    I’m thinking her husband Steven Joyce is waiting in the wings today.
    • Colonial Viper 10.1

      1 March 2013 at 4:09 pm

      The top 1%-2% always do fine in a major depression.

      The bottom 10% poor just get poorer, but that’s what they were anyways.

      The huge section of people in the top half…i.e. the middle class who think they are doing so well, they get totally crushed.
      • Tim 10.1.1

        1 March 2013 at 7:37 pm

        I agree C.V.. But somehow, this time round, I think things are changing as far as that dynamic goes.
        It’s kind of why the agenda they subscribe to will be their demise. (i.e. – already WITHIN the “1% – there are signs of infighting – the 1% versus the .01%)
        Translated to a NZ context, that huge concrete slab you see around ChCh at every turn – holding up banks (penninsula), whilst the programme of demolition goes on and fuck all is actually built – (the slabs known as “brownlees”) means that the 90 (or 90.99%) realise they’re being royally ripped.
        Even IF this next election were to be lost to those with a social conscience (whether because of apathy, a recognition that the ‘alternative Labour’ party is utterly funked, or still this phenomenon that sees people seeing Jonky as krismetic and an image to “aspire” to) – WHATEVER – the eventual reality of a scorched earth NZ will kick in. IF it has to get to that stage – all the worse for the losers (NActs et al).
        Methmetuks et play – if only that.
        • Tim 10.1.1.1

          1 March 2013 at 7:42 pm

          No edit function: with a social conscience…. should read withOUT a social conscience

          Hey btw – where Gosman and the other evening’s distractions tonight?

          Do you think maybe they’re hard at Bomber Bradbury’s new venture?.
        • Colonial Viper 10.1.1.2

          1 March 2013 at 9:47 pm

          (i.e. – already WITHIN the “1% – there are signs of infighting – the 1% versus the .01%)

          Indeed…the scavenging top 0.01% realise that the bottom 50% have nothing left to give now.

          All the remaining wealth is in the top 10%. The parasitic vampire squid 0.01% is now going to start consuming them.

          And you can see it happening now. Doctors losing power and pay within their own health system. Lawyers losing money and options within our public defenders system. University lecturers on pay freezes unable to get grant funding for anything. Small and medium business owners going to the wall.

          The top 10%, too often Tory voting, are next in the queue.
    • prism 10.2

      1 March 2013 at 9:41 pm

      Joyces wife is called Suzanne. Best not to get us muddled about such matters.
11. vto 11

    1 March 2013 at 7:37 pm

    Peter Dunne is eerily similar to Pete George

    *shiver*
12. swan 12

    1 March 2013 at 8:41 pm

    They understand have been lead to believe that it is simply people from overseas that are driving up the price of property,”

    FTFY Russel
    • Draco T Bastard 12.1

      2 March 2013 at 9:52 am

      Supply and demand. There’s a very limited supply of NZ and a hell of a lot of foreigners wanting to buy here. This will, inevitably, push the price of property in NZ up beyond what NZers can afford especially as the governments since the 1980s have been working to lower NZ wages.
      • swan 12.1.1

        2 March 2013 at 12:57 pm

        Do you have any stats on that? The economist I have heard interviewed on this issue believe that foreign buyers will not be having a significant effect, and in any case it would only be due to restrictions on development on the supply side.
        • Colonial Viper 12.1.1.1

          2 March 2013 at 1:08 pm

          Great lets listen to the economists, that’s always worked out well for NZ.
13. newsense 13

    2 March 2013 at 1:40 pm

    what are the other Labour MPs doing? Isn’t Karol a green?
    • karol 13.1

      2 March 2013 at 5:33 pm

      I’m foremost a leftie. The last 2 or 3 elections I have party voted Green + Cunliffe for my electorate. Then I moved away for a little while, but am now back in New Lynn electorate, and will most likely vote Green + Cunliffe next year again (unless Mana looks a better option).

      I support Cunliffe. He’s a very good electorate MP, and has front bench abilities.
14. Cantabrian 14

    3 March 2013 at 7:56 pm

    Peter Dunne certainly got a free university education – perhaps we should ask him if he still supports the IRA?

• Comments are now closed

• Log in
• Donate
• Contribute post

• Articles RSS