National: we’ll borrow for tax cuts for the rich

Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, May 19th, 2008 - 77 comments
Categories: kremlinology, national, tax - Tags: ,

Discovering National’s policy is a bit like the old art of Kremlinology, when Western intelligence agencies would attempt to discover the inner workings of Soviet politics by looking at who stood next to whom in pictures, and what hand politburo members carried their briefcases in. The latest subtle signs from National regarding its tax policy are: they will average ‘north of $50‘ a week and will focus on the 14% of people with incomes over $60,000 a year. The only way to achieve those parameters (without a tax-free bracket or cut to GST both of which National oppose) is to create a flat tax of 16%. The average cut would be $50 a week, but it would be spread very unevenly: on $250,000 a year you would get $920 a week; on the median income of $27,000 you would get $12.50, half of New Zealand taxpayers, 1.6 million people, would get less than that.

$50 a week x 52 weeks x 3.2 million taxpayers means National’s tax cuts would cost over $8.6 billion a year, that would create a huge cash deficit of around $5 billion a year. The money can’t be found by silly little measures like capping the core public service that will deliver only $166 million a year by National’s own estimate. In fact, the only part of government spending to which National has not ruled out major cuts and is sufficiently large for cuts to fund such enormous tax cuts is superannuation. And even if it slashed superannuation, National would still need to borrow to fund the tax cuts. National has previously said it is prepared to increase gross government debt 50% (from 17% of GDP to 25%); it is now clear it would use that debt to fund tax cuts for the wealthy few.

A realistic projection of National’s tax cut plan sees most people worse off: they would get little or nothing from tax cuts, with most of the money going to the wealthy few. They would face a diminished social wage from less Government spending, and have to spend more of their income buying things that are now provided by the Government. And they would face skyrocketing inflation and interest rates resulting from National borrowing billions of dollars to fund irresponsible cuts. But, as we already know, Key and National will promise anything, anything, to win.

77 comments on “National: we’ll borrow for tax cuts for the rich ”

  1. Yay! I’m gonna get me one big taxcut! In fact by Steve’s calculations it’ll be worth a very comfortable long holiday in Hawaii every year! Or perhaps I’ll upgrade to a European car or increase my shareholdings, or buy some investment property, or start a coke habit…

  2. Robinsod:

    Very good idea to spend your tax cut on the sharemarket, like most ordinarily New Zealanders, you seem to want to get ahead and if you have cash to spare, instead of buying booze or cigarettes or gambling it on pokie machines, why not invest in a company?

  3. Billy 3

    Well, certainly, Brett, the idea of a coke habit for ‘sod in particular is a very bad one. God knows how he’d behave with any more self-confidence.

  4. erikter 4

    robinsond: with your tax cuts play some Russian roulette.
    The readers here may get lucky.

    [uncalled for. Go to Kiwiblog if you want to behave like that. SP]
    [lprent: Well it wasn’t the canned line I was talking about earlier. Maybe it is reading the notes. As SP says – still unacceptable]

  5. Brett – Nowadays I’m pretty well ahead as it is. To be honest I’m not sure why National thinks I need a tax cut at all. Especially when they’ll probably be offing sweet fu*k all to some of my mates who work their rings out for half of what I earn.

  6. T-rex 6

    ‘People get the governments they deserve’ – I saw a survey result over the weekend that said most people favoured tax cuts even if they lead to inflation and sustained high interest rates.

    Some people might get the governments they deserve, but it really bugs me that I might end up with the government that someone who’s bad at maths deserves.

    Deserves is probably unfair too. I don’t think people deserve a crap future just because they fall for a fantasy that’s carefully engineered to seduce them. Nationals message is “Life’s tough, fix it by borrowing, and worry about tomorrow tomorrow”. Well, today is yesterdays tomorrow, and unsustainable borrowing is the reason life is tough now. I can’t think of a stupider solution than borrowing even more. Except maybe selling off all our assets again.

  7. Tane 7

    Sod, agreed. The people who really need help are my family members who flip burgers and scrape shit off old people for $12 an hour. They’re the ones struggling with rising food and petrol prices. Why John Key thinks the likes of you and I need the money is a mystery.

  8. Billy 8

    See what I mean.

  9. But Billy – I thought you liked my swagger!

    erikter – bite me wee man. I’ll think about you when I’m getting off the plane in Honolulu…

  10. rjs131 10

    If this is true, then isnt this electoral suicide for the Nats? Or are you suggesting that they think the NZ public are such big morons that they wont notice that those benefting under the tax cut proposals (as alleged) are a small minority and will vote for the Nats anyway?

  11. Robinsod:

    Your post seemed to be anti people who invest in the share market? Surly you will agree if you invest wisely, its a good idea to build a little nest egg for yourself.

    If ya dont want a big tax break, why not give the money away to a charity that needs it?

  12. Brett – I don’t mind if people invest ethically but bro, you put money in you can afford to lose. Not many people in NZ have much of that kinda money.

    Good point about the charity though – I’m thinking shining path – do you think I could get an NZ branch up and running?

  13. Tane 13

    No idea whether it’s true rjs – I doubt National would be this stupid. My suspicion is Key just saw the Fairfax poll that said people wanted tax cuts of at least $50 a week and thought he’d promise it to them before actually checking how much it’d cost.

    I honestly think Key’s not at all concerned about how he’s going to make good on his promises. The goal is purely to win at all costs, then worry about the day after the election when it comes.

  14. Phil 14

    … and he’ll be thinking of you when the gun is stuffed in his mouth

  15. rjs131. I’m trying to be part of the process of informing the public what National’s tax cuts would look like. I don’t think the people are stupid, I think they are smart, hence why I think there is a point in providing this information.

  16. T-rex 16

    John Key: “I think if you look out over the next 18 months to two years almost anyone would agree that with the downturn in the economy, inflationary impacts of tax cuts are unlikely to be a big problem.”

    A quote from the dom post article.

    Don’t worry everyone, good old John ‘Big Picture’ Key is on the case and looking out for our best interests – extrapolating the consequences of his actions as much as TWO YEARS into the future!!!

  17. Billy 17

    Especially when they’ll probably be offing sweet fu*k all to some of my mates who work their rings out for half of what I earn.

    Well if you gave them your tax cut instead of going on this selfish cocaine-fuelled trip to Hawaii, everyone would be happy.

  18. Phil 18

    “I’m trying to be part of the process of informing the public what National’s tax cuts would look like”

    While we’re at it, lets also inform the public that first $10,000 tax free gets you pretty close to “North of $50 on average” – that’s $37.50 a week, just from that component, for EVEYONE.

    From there, it’s not a stretch at all to get an average of $50 if you fiddle with the brackets and tick down the top rate by even one point.

    I dont think people are stupid … but your spin makes me think you think they might be.

  19. Pascal's bookie 19

    Phil, you missed this bit, from the post:

    (without a tax-free bracket or cut to GST both of which National oppose)

    Maybe key does want to introduce a tax free bracket at the bottom end to spread the love. I haven’t heard so, though I could well have missed it. A link would be nice if you have the time.

  20. Robinsod:

    Im not sure what shining path is???

    Secondly, you should invest money in the sharemarket to make money, Im guessing by the word ethically, you mean a Greenie base company.

    I would think medical research companies on the Australian market is pretty ethical.

    For people who cant afford to lose a lot of money, well you can always invest small amounts, maybe stop buying cigarettes/booze/lottotickets and invest that money into shares, there are plenty penny dreadfuls out there.

  21. Key has never proposed a tax-free bracket and says the bulk of benefits should go to those on more than $60,000. All their focus is on the 39 cent threshold and, to a lesser extent, on the 33 cent threshold.

  22. And Phil. That still doens’t address the ‘where the hell woudl the money come from?’ and ‘what’s that going to do for inflation and hence interest rates’ problems.

    it’s not just the way National is likely to spread tax cuts that is a problem, it is also the macroeconommic effects of cuts on that magnitude.

  23. I think I will give it a miss. But it seems to be right up Keith Lockes and Marion Hobbes alley.

  24. Lew 25

    This post is almost pure speculation. “North of $50” is a direct quote, but the linked article makes no mention of to whom this would apply, and the introduction of “focus on the 14% of people with incomes over $60,000 a year” appears to be entirely of Steve’s invention.

    This would indeed be an amazingly stupid tax cut to implement, but so far I see no concrete evidence it’s planned, much less promised.

    L

    [In the eariler article, the one on the front of today’s Dompost, Key says it will average north of $50 which the Dom fairly takes to mean ” tax cuts worth at least $50 a week to the average worker”. And “Mr English made it clear that them priority would be workers earning $60,000-plus – in particular those pushed into the top 39 per cent tax bracket by wage rises.‘‘We need to keep faith with those people, that’s our top priority,”. SP]

  25. James Kearney 26

    the introduction of “focus on the 14% of people with incomes over $60,000 a year’ appears to be entirely of Steve’s invention.

    Meanwhile on Stuff:

    Mr English made it clear that them priority would be workers earning $60,000-plus – in particular those pushed into the top 39 per cent tax bracket by wage rises.

    http://stuff.co.nz/4552716a6160.html

    Steve’s simply working with what National has put forward. Like he says it’s an exercise in Kremlinology and if National aren’t going to release their policies then we’ll have to work them out for ourselves. As far as things go he’s done a bloody good job.

  26. James Kearney 27

    btw- “clear that them priority” ????

    Appears they need some more subs at Fairfax Digital.

  27. higherstandard 28

    Lew

    As a political scientist you must know that National will wait for the budget and then firm up what they will or won’t offer based on the public reaction to the budgeted Tax Cuts and other policy releases.

  28. Tane 29

    Lew:

    the introduction of “focus on the 14% of people with incomes over $60,000 a year’ appears to be entirely of Steve’s invention.

    I’ve added a link to the source into the post.

  29. TomS 30

    14% of New Zealanders earn above $60,000. Unfortunately, this group has convinced itself it is “struggling middle New Zealand”, and as it also controls most of the levers of power this is the group that frames the debate.

  30. Lew 31

    SP/Tane: Ok, not speculative, then. Thanks for the link to the article.

    HS: Yeah, I know that. But I also believe people ought to be held to things they say, and if they’re saying things too early, they deserve to pay some political price for that.

    L

  31. It never ceases to amaze me the way you brilliantly dog whistle up a response with a ridiculous assertion.
    For balance why not actual detail the amount of tax people are paying on the different income levels you used.
    How much tax does a rich prick on 60, 70, 80 or 90 k actually pay Steve.
    How much personal tax is enough or even too much?
    People earning the top amounts structure themselves out of it anyway.
    As usual it is the middle that is getting spit roasted by labour and National. And the enormous levels of efforts that many thousands of us go to avoidance is despite the doubling of the staff roll in IRD.
    I am heartily sick of hearing the greedy and selfish tag being applied to anybody who disagrees with Cullen. The opposite is true, get your hands of our money. Go and earn your own.

  32. higherstandard 33

    Lew

    Politicians held to things they say …….. sadly wishful thinking, maybe if we increased the electoral cycle to five years and introduced some sort of stocks and public humiliation for them if they played up?

  33. darryl p 34

    Brett Dale, I wish I hadn’t invested in RAU 🙂 although MNM has been good to me.

  34. barnsley. We’re talking the real world here, we already live in a world with a progressive tax ssytem system and while I’m happy to defend that system, that’s not what this debate is about, it’s about a change form what we ahve have now to something else.

    A tax cut is a change from the status quo and I’m looking at what that change would mean for people at different income levels.

    the kinds of tax cuts National is looking at mean bugger all for most people and piles for those who already have the most

    (and don’t give me the ‘you can be rich if you want to be bull’, this is the real world not some Rynd fantasy)

    [lprent: Huh – I provide all of editing toolkit, and a poster doesn’t use it 🙂
    You now get 5 minutes to fix the editing and punctuation errors]

  35. darryl P:

    I wish I hadn’t invested in RAU either!!! Glad MNM has been good to you.

    STX and NSL is earning me some nice extra cash!

  36. Lew 37

    HS: I don’t know. I think Labour have been held pretty well to the things they’ve said (and some things they’ve not said) in the past decade.

    Five years is too long for NZ, unless we move to a bicameral system. But that’s by the by 🙂

    L

  37. Aj 38

    “Mr English made it clear that their priority would be workers earning $60,000-plus – in particular those pushed into the top 39 per cent tax bracket by wage rises.”

    On Agenda, Sunday morning, Mr English gave no such qualification when suggesting it would be $50 at least per taxpayer

  38. Policy Parrot 39

    “While we’re at it, lets also inform the public that first $10,000 tax free gets you pretty close to “North of $50 on average’ – that’s $37.50 a week, just from that component, for EVEYONE.”

    Phil, how do you get a $37.50 tax cut, if implementing a tax-free threshold on the first $10,000, when people only are only taxed 15% on all income below $9,500?

    I come up $29.42 p.w. Less than $30 is far less than $50, I think that would be obvious.

    Re: Other tax-haters. Piss off to Estonia for a fact-finding mission, live off their minimum wage, and then return and tell us how it went.

  39. Joker 40

    Policy parrot:

    “Re: Other tax-haters. Piss off to Estonia for a fact-finding mission, live off their minimum wage, and then return and tell us how it went”

    You sound like my Mum when she had dished up a crap tasting dinner “you should be thankful, some people in the world don’t have anything”.

    The thing is this is not Estonia this is New Zealand a first world country where a working class family should be able to buy a block of cheese without having to send out one of their daughters to work as a prostitute.

  40. Joker – you don’t get it. There ain’t gonna be anything in the Nats tax-cuts for a working class family. On the other hand I’ve always got cheese in the fridge (and some bloody nice cheese too – mmmm stilton) and now I’m gonna make out like a bandit if John gets in. Yay me!

  41. James Kearney 42

    If John Key gets in fuck eating Tasty or Colby. That’s peasant cheese. It’s camembert and blue vein all the way for me, and that’s on top of my coke habit.

    Man it rocks being on $60k plus with tax cuts on the way. I just feel sorry for all the poor suckers who have to pay for it.

  42. Joker. Working class families are better off because they’ve had increases to the minimum wage for 9 successive years, working for families, subsidised doctors’ visits, record low unemployment. Massive cuts to a wealthy few are not going to help.

    Policy Parrot cites Estonia because it’s one of the countries with flat tax that ACT says we should be emulating – it also has massive budget deficits, a yawning chasm between rich and poor, big EU subsidies, the advantage of having a cheap, well-educated workforce and cousins in the Finns who have high-tech products they can’t afford to make in their own country, and some of the prettiest ladies you ever did see.

  43. Joker 44

    Sod,

    I have a French wife so also have a good supply of cheese in the fridge. Really enjoying the Port Salut’s and goats cheeses at the moment.

    I was just trying out the compasionate tory thing for size but who am I kidding…screw the poor.

  44. erikter 45

    “Man it rocks being on $60k plus with tax cuts on the way. I just feel sorry for all the poor suckers who have to pay for it.”

    I don’t. Life is never a rose garden.

  45. You’re a wonderful human being, erikter.

    Eat the poor, eh?

  46. James Kearney 47

    Then shit them out and blame them for the mess.

  47. Phil 48

    “(and some bloody nice cheese too – mmmm stilton)”

    Stilton is the cheese you get when you mix english cooking and french engineering.

    However, there was some orgasmicly brilliant cheese at the Wellington Wine and Food show over the weekend.

  48. Phil 49

    PP,
    I worked off 19.5%… Doh!
    My mistake.

  49. National disgrace 50

    In our household we’re both in the top 1% of earners, and looks like we’ll be rolling in it even more if JK gets in. My overseas income will also rocket when the dollar plunges under his cluelessness (if he does pull off this giant con) The extra money won’t make up for the shame and embarrassment of being governed by those eejits though. Who would have thought someone could make me cringe more than Shipley?
    Got to feel sorry for those 86% of punters making less than 60k though… well, not those that are going to vote National (my maths tells me some of them must be??), they deserve everything coming their way.

  50. randal 51

    cut to the chase…key can promise anything and dah da dah dah…he will!!! he will promise anything and everything because he wants a go. johnny wants his go. dont think so. the crunch is coming and nobody wants any weird social ideological experiment in progress if everything gets weird. whatever it is so called thinking men in pubs and clubs are saying give john key a go and its all a load of crap. just sharp talk. you bettah believe it.

  51. Fred 52

    Neither party’s tax cut has been announced and when it is, will it really just be a matter of my tax cut is bigger than your tax cut? At what point does Cullen’s tax cut which presumably will be OK becomes Key’s unaffordable, inflationary, damaging etc etc. We’ve had a housing bubble which was unnecessary and avoidable, credit funded consumption, and we can expect an impact as the exchange rate drops and credit tightens up, so the real question is what is the best way to weather the storm.

    Tax cuts will be irrelevant to those joining the dole queue (as a result of Labour’s policies). (No point in arguing that Cullen is only giving a tax cat because Key will)

  52. Draco TB 53

    I am heartily sick of hearing the greedy and selfish tag being applied to anybody who disagrees with Cullen. The opposite is true, get your hands of our money. Go and earn your own.

    You’re the one being greedy barnsleybill. Taxes are the agreed upon amount you pay for services rendered (Silly little things like police, defense forces etc) but it appears you don’t want to pay for them even though you use them.

    How do I know you agreed to pay them? Because you’re living in NZ.

  53. AncientGeek 54

    Fred: It kind of got lost in the mix during the weekend. But somewhere there higherstandard raised the idea of a Capital Gains Tax. I meant to get back to it – but I had others things to do.

    Now the bubble in the housing market has burst. This is the right time to start talking about bringing on in so we don’t have this stupid avoidable problem yet again in another decade.

    Now that is a policy that I could really sink my teeth into arguing.

    The tax-cut stuff is going to happen, and logically it should go across the whole of society. But it isn’t a systemic problem, that the bloody housing market bubbles and the skewed investment patterns it causes, are.

  54. RedLogix 55

    Randal is kind of right in a weird way… it’s all sharp talk.

    All this crud from Key today is just pre-positioning for Thursday’s budget. What he has done is talked up an expectation that any tax cut ‘averaging’ less than $50 pw will not be good enough.

    He know perfectly well that the Cullen would not, could not be so insanely reckless. He also knows perfectly well that even if he did, the 50% of people on less than the MEDIAN income would be very dissapointed by their tax cut anyhow. In other words all he is doing is playing mind games. At least I hope that is what he is doing.

    The other possibility is that he really does intend to cut taxes by $40-50pw (pick a figure, he’s slipped around all day on this one). There is only one way to fund the resulting $4-6b cash deficit…either printing it (directly driving inflation) or borrowing it (indirectly driving inflation by massively increasing NZ’s current account deficit, dropping the value of the NZ dollar, and/or upping interest rates.)

    Lets assume he will borrow to fund the deficit to the tune of about $5b pa, rising to say $10b pa after say two terms in govt. Thats another $40-50b of govt debt, that will come with an interest bill of about $3b pa. This is not only nice business for John’s REAL employers, but crucially sets up the necessary fiscal crisis that will require JK to regretfully announce that major and urgent asset disposal (at fire sale prices of course) have become essential in order to bail us out of the mess we are in because “we have been spending more than we earn” and NZ is broke again.

    It’s bog standard stuff from the money party playbook.

  55. RedLogix 56

    AG
    It was here:

    http://www.thestandard.org.nz/?p=1936

    At the time I made the following response, excuse me if I requote myself, but it’ll save me some typing.:

    Overseas markets with CGT’s have experienced the same explosive growth over the last property cycle as those without. This link details the huge range of diverse tax arrangements that exist in different countries:

    http://www.globalpropertyguide.com/guide-taxes

    Besides as the Australians know, CGT’s are very easy to avoid, by simply rearranging the nature of the investment. And in a falling market do you get a tax credit?

    If the CGT is applied to undrealised gains it hugely impacts on the cash flow with a whole range of perverse effects on all sorts of perfectly legitimate investors. We tried this for a while under Muldoon and it was a disaster. And if you make the CGT applicable to realised gains only, you simply create an even bigger incentive for investors to NEVER sell, thereby reducing market supply and driving prices up even further.

    Besides where do you draw the line? Do you apply a CGT to commercial or industrial property for instance? How do you distinguish between these types in the very common case of where the tenant both runs their business and lives on the same premises? CGT’s are VERY complex (read expensive) to administer, the current system has the great merit of treating residential property investment EXACTLY the same as most other business investment. The IRD studied this issue a few years ago and recommended doing nothing.

    In other words AG, CGT’s really only attempt to treat the symptoms of land speculation, and in practise they are only a short-term palliative, or have entirely perverse effects.

  56. Fred 57

    Ancient, we already have a capital gains tax, and of course the IRD are only now trying to apply the rules (too late) and as Catcus Kate points out (see her 10th May post), the law as written is toothless so possibly a small change is all that is required. Generally it’s a good thing that we, as a country, were seen as creditworthy, I think the issue has been that been that the banking system has been too focussed on the residential mortgage market (because it’s easy) (count the number of mortgage brokers in your area) rather than business (risky and more difficult) so that credit ended up in the wrong place. Check out Bruce Sheppard’s blog on stuff as well.

  57. Fred 58

    Redlogix, a level playing field for all types of investment is important, and property developers perform a vital role. No point in picking on them.

  58. RedLogix 59

    Fred,

    You are partially right. The Income Tax Act has always contained a provision that people who reguarly buy and sell property should declare capital gains on that property as part of their income.

    http://www.ird.govt.nz/toii/property/check/property-check-pay-tax.html

    Under the 90’s National govt these rules were very vague and laxly enforced. Hardly anyone paid them, mainly because the kind of people usually involved in this sort of activity in that decade were often fine upstanding National Pary supporters.

    In the last few years IRD has been directed to look a lot more closely at the rules. They have been considerably tightened, and a special team has been very active enforcing them.

    However there is also a completely different class of residential property investor, whose primary business purpose revolves around providing residential rentals. Typically these investors have NOT been charged CGT because usually they sell property quite rarely. Their purpose in purchasing the property was to derive a rental income from it, not to make a profit by reselling it. Usually if the property has been owned for at least 10 years IRD will not count any profit as taxable.

    What this investor WILL be liable for however, is that at the time of any sale, they will have to pay back any depreciation that they have claimed on the building and assets (but not land value). By contrast land speculators, developers and builders rarely hold a building long enough to claim significant depreciation.

  59. AncientGeek 60

    I’m aware of the rather toothless cgt that we do have – it was a populist pallative the Muldoon put in. They finally got around to enforcing some of it about 25 years later. Expect to see it go through a court near you soon.

    Yeah I was reading Keith Ng’s piece in OnPoint Media beat-off

    But one conclusion can be clearly drawn from the analysis: Mortgage, mortgage, mortgage. The biggest change in the four years is the cost of servicing the mortgage.

    In 2004, spending on food was 15.6% of after-tax income. In 2008, spending on food was 15.4%. Expenditure on food has not grown faster than income. Petrol has, but remains small: from 4.4% in 2004 to 6.1% in 2008.

    Mortgage costs, on the other hand, has risen from 24.7% of after-tax income in 2004 to 29.8% in 2008, according to Hickey’s figures.

    The upshot is that, before we start going on about food prices, GST and so on, let’s keep our eye on the ball here: Housing cost is the biggest and has risen the fastest. So let’s talk about interest rates, not bloody cheese.

    The rise in interest rates is a question of demand. A large part of that demand comes from buying more expensive houses on what is effectively a speculative boom.

    Part of the problem is that people are used to using property as an investment system. They rely on rising property prices rather than rental income. Therefor they trigger periodic bubbles before the inevitable crunch.

    It simply isn’t that rational now that the local stock market has been cleaned up and is functional. Besides you can always use the overseas markets.

    Part of the problem is the rising population in NZ as part of the global population problem. You have to live somewhere.

    But it is a clear distortion in the market, which amongst other things means that investment money is funneled into something non-productive for the country, and away from things that earn us income as a country.

    I agree with redlogix that a cgt will cause distortions. I’m unconvinced that it will more of a distortion than what we have now.

    [lprent: I think I fixed the quotes – tell me if it is incorrect]

  60. AncientGeek 61

    oopps – the quoting is fouled in the above comment.

    red: In Auckland where I live, most property owners with rentals don’t recover their mortgage costs (let alone any others) from the rents. Typically they top it up themselves. Thats because most of those properties are leveraged to the hilt.

    Therefore they are virtually all speculators when you consider alternative investments. The only way that they can make money compared to alternative investments is to have a rise in prices.

    It is a daft pattern – but very traditional. I’m interested in anything that would break the tradition and stop these damn bubbles.

  61. Jon 62

    Heck $900 per week. That’s 10 times what every credible media has indicated it’s likely to be
    “Back then, they ranged from $10 a week for lower income earners up to $90 a week for those at the top’, inflation adjusted you’d be at most $103 max.
    How on earth did you come up with $900 per week for the top earners?

    You’re not telling porkpies are you??

    I seem to recall someone on Kiwiblog recently saying of the Standard

    “But I care about behaviour a great deal, because constructive and informed comments are often the most interesting part of a blog. It is an area that the rubbish comments can drive out the interesting very easily.’

    Please tell me what’s ‘informed’ about that post?

    [lprent: Thats what the comment area is for. You can dispute the opinions of the poster and other comments. People take more notice if there are links to supporting material.]

  62. RedLogix 63

    In Auckland where I live, most property owners with rentals don’t recover their mortgage costs (let alone any others) from the rents. Typically they top it up themselves.

    It’s pretty much the same everywhere. Most rentals are running at between 3-5% returns. With mortgages around 9-10% this is unsustainable. Essentially they are kept afloat because the landlord is able to claim costs such as mortgage interest, rates, insurance and repairs as well as depreciation against their OTHER income. This is perfectly valid because such business are usually very “tightly held” by one person or small family group, meaning that it is neither simple, nor reasonable to seperate out (or “ring fence”) the tax position of their rental business from any other income they may have.

    The only way that they can make money compared to alternative investments is to have a rise in prices.

    Yes in the long run property can be counted on to rise at about 4-5% pa, bubbles included, aand that is all that is needed for the business to be profitable. That is why such investors rarely sell.

    The other aspect is that rents are WAY behind where they should be, and will be rising somewhat over the next 3-5 years to match rising costs. Most landlords (unless they are over leveraged) will simply hold onto their properties as long as they can sustain the nett cash flow (which is why the LAQC cash flow smoothing mechanism is helpful).

    But if the rules are changed to attempt to ring fence losses, abolish the LAQC or charge an unrealised CGT, then the already tight cash flow will simply be restored by hiking rents. The effect is simple but brutal…. change the rules and you will hit ALL landlords pretty much the same, and they will ALL react pretty much in unison. A few tenants will be lucky to have a landlord who is cash flow positive, and they will stay put… but the rest will have no choice to pay. Watch the political backlash from that.

  63. James Kearney 64

    Tax cuts will be irrelevant to those joining the dole queue (as a result of Labour’s policies).

    Unemployment is at record lows and is half of what it was under National. Is that also a result of Labour’s polices and was the high unemployment under National a result of theirs?

    Jon- look at the graph. If you reduce the top tax bracket the gains continue the more you earn – there is no cap on the tax cut for high income earners. Why don’t you do some basic logic before accusing people of lying? Taking your talking points from somewhere other than Kiwiblog might also be a good start.

  64. RedLogix 65

    How on earth did you come up with $900 per week for the top earners?

    Lets do a simplified estimate of the income tax for a person on say $250,000.

    About $190,000 of this will be taxed at the 39% rate, ie about $74,100 of PAYE tax pa.

    If we assume that JK introduced a flat 16% tax rate (which was the premise of the original post) this amount reduces to $30,400 pa.

    The tax reduction on this portion of their income is $43,700 pa or about $840 per week.

    If we then include the aproximately $30,000 portion of their income that drops from the 25% tax rate to the proposed 16%, the remaining $60 per week, totalling $900 pw, is similarly accounted for.

  65. Jon 66

    but he’s not so why bother?

  66. Fred 67

    JK – I said joining! Remember it happened during Labour’s watch. (The analysis of median wages, employment etc taking the exact period of each party being in power, carried out here, is incorrect in that it takes many years for the effect of policies to be felt) I see it as reforms of the 80’s followed by pain of the 90’s and gains of the new century. Will the verdict be “good times wasted”? It will take time to confirm this but we shall see.

    AG & RL – so we agree that more should have been done to manage the housing bubble. Raising interest rates has finally kicked in but it’s a slam dunk and we are out on a limb. What would you do now to avoid seeing all our tradespeople head off to Aus as developers/builders close down? Tax cuts is one, Act’s 20 point plan looks very good (in general, not necessarily specific to the interest rate/exchange rate issue).

    No reply to my question on how to work out at what point tax cuts go bad.

  67. I see Key’s now talking about something like National’s 2005 taxcut package. My co-blogger Policy Parrot wrote a very good post about that particular package:

    does national know what hardworking means

    [lprent: cleaned up link]

  68. vto 69

    “Borrow for tax cuts for the rich”. Ha ha great spin there Mr Pierson.

  69. AncientGeek 70

    Fred: One thing that is usually forgotten in the debate about people moving to aussie is that there is effectively a common labour market.

    I’ve seen the movement of people both to and from aussie several times over the decades. They move to where the work is or for family reasons. People in my extended family have been doing it since the 60’s.

    This particular round doesn’t look much different. We do need to raise wages here as there is too high an imbalance. But that is going to happen now that we’ve hit effective full employment again. This time it is based on real economics. There aren’t hidden employment schemes that there were under Muldoon.

    Taxcuts will make bugger all difference. There is no way that a 30% difference in wage rates is going to even touched unless we went to go to a 0% tax. Anyone who thinks that it makes any difference needs to get some exercise on a calculator.

    red: Ok I think you’ve convinced me about the effects of a CGT in the short-term. That still leaves the original problem – the boom + bust in the housing market. Any ideas on how to limit the effects of that.

  70. Fred 71

    AG. And long may the common market last given family ties over there for most, there is also a danger that we take it for granted or are seen as a back door. The reason I mentioned builders was a news article, about 2 months ago, about the Aussie’s approach to housing affordability, 100,000 houses in one state alone and that they were looking for 16,000 builders. I have been keeping an eye out for more details but nothing since. Tax cuts – agreed wrt relativity, I think the marginal rate is the most important thing.

    Higher wages will be the result of education, skills and productivity. Our best and brightest achieve this already overseas, what could they do here and get paid the same?

  71. Ari 72

    You know, tax cuts as a policy really annoy me- they tend to frame ridiculously irresponsible policy in a positive light. If you asked people if we wanted to start unsustainable borrowing that decimates the national accounts balance to mitigate a recession, do you think they’d say yes? How about if we asked them if they wanted cuts to the health system, or its necessary support staff? Yet if you tell people you’re going to cut back on paper-pushers and give them tax cuts, you’re viewed as some sort of folk hero. =/

    vto: Spin? How so? John Key has publicly acknowledged that he wants to give out significant tax cuts, which are one of two major expenses I can recall him announcing. (the other is his no-obligations subsidy for broadband providers to build their infrastructure) He also publicly acknowledged that he will be looking to increase our national level of debt.

    The only area in which it is even possible to contest that statement is that the tax cuts are for the rich. Comparing Key’s tax cuts to the current system, it is highly likely that they will be relatively favourable to the rich- probably a linear reduction of tax rates. Whether you think that is appropriate or not, you can hardly deny then that Key wants to borrow for tax cuts that are much more beneficial to the rich than to the working-class.

Links to post

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • At a glance – Does CO2 always correlate with temperature?
    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 ...
    3 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 hours ago
  • Relentlessly negative
    Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 hours ago
  • Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    Bryce Edwards writes –  It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 hours ago
  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    6 hours ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    7 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    8 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    8 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    11 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    12 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    12 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    12 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    13 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    14 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    16 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;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:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-19T09:09:18+00:00