NZ election 2020: Labour win is a watershed moment in the country’s history

Written By: - Date published: 12:27 am, October 20th, 2020 - 47 comments
Categories: act, capital gains, capitalism, Christchurch Attack, democratic participation, education, election 2020, elections, electoral systems, employment, greens, housing, jacinda ardern, labour, Maori Issues, MMP, national, nz first, Parliament, tax, terrorism, tertiary education, transport, workers' rights - Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Originally published on Nick Kelly’s blog

When I posted back in August about the New Zealand Labour Government, I was fairly confident that they would win this year’s election. I did not however think they would win by as much as they did.

On Saturday, the New Zealand Labour Party had its best election result in terms of percentage of the vote since the 1940s. On preliminary results Labour will have the numbers to govern alone and not need to form a coalition – something that has not happened since New Zealand changed to the Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) voting system in 1996.

The results are still provisional as special votes, including votes from overseas such as mine, will be counted ten days after the election so will not be expected until next week. Traditionally special votes favour the centre-left and in 2017 both Labour and the Green Party gained an extra MP each once special votes were added.

The 2020 election was more than just a victory for Labour and more than a crushing defeat for the National Party (New Zealand’s main centre-right political party). This result marks a significant watershed in New Zealand politics which will likely have implications long after this parliamentary term. The closest comparison would be the first New Zealand Labour Government. It was elected in 1935, then returned in 1938 with a significantly increased majority widely seen by historians as an endorsement of its progressive social democratic policies which included the creation of the Welfare State through the Social Security Act and building state housing to providing low to middle-income earners affordable housing. The first Labour Government remained in power until 1949 and remains one of the most influential governments in New Zealand history shaping the country’s domestic and foreign policy for decades.

NZ election 2020: Five experts on the final debate and the campaign's winners and losers ahead of the big decision | Stuff.co.nz
Above, NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Leader of the Opposition Judith Collins in the leader’s debate during the 2020 General Election.

Back in January this year I wrote a series of posts about why the UK Labour Party lost in 2019. Part of this analysis was that Britain was historically a conservative electorate where the Conservatives win more elections than they lose. Throughout the 20th century, New Zealand had very similar voting patterns. After losing power in 1949 Labour won only five of the following seventeen elections. The move to Proportional Representation has improved things for NZ Labour and the left, as Labour has managed to form a coalition government in four of the first seven MMP elections held since 1996. In the case of the 2017 election, it did so despite winning fewer votes than the National Party and relied on both The Green Party and the socially conservative NZ First Party. The latter party being blamed as a hand brake on Labour being able to deliver on its 2017 manifesto promises.

In politics, a crisis can present an opportunity. There can be no doubt that the New Zealand Labour Government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic has helped deliver this strong result. As too will have Jacinda’s strong response to the Christchurch terror attack. The reason countries like the UK and New Zealand tend to have right-leaning conservative governments, is largely due to people forming voting habits. People become used to the right being in power and so feel more comfortable voting that way. It is a mistake to assume most voters are deeply committed to an ideological viewpoint, more they form a habit of voting a particular way as it is more familiar or comfortable. For this to change, something dramatic needs to happen.

Normally the factors that influence an election are turn out and swing. High turnout historically favours the left, and in particular turnout from voters in lower socio-economic communities helps Labour. The other factor is swing voters who switch their votes regularly. The second group have historically been middle class and deemed ‘centrist’, though this characterisation of swing voters and the use of the term centrist should be used very cautiously. What we can say with certainty is that each party has a certain base level of support, and in most English-speaking democracies the main centre-right party tends to have a stronger core vote to rely upon.

Saturday’s result was a disaster for the National Party, and more generally for the right in New Zealand. National was polling near 40% prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and had for the previous 15 years enjoyed support at around that mark or higher. On Saturday they won only 26.8% of the vote, the Party’s second-worst result in 20 years (their worst being in 2002, but soon recovered a few years later). The rise in support for the soft libertarian Association for Consumers and Taxpayers’ Party (ACT) to 8% will give some comfort to the right. But with the Green Party also winning 7.6% of the vote this means with Labour’s 49% the NZ centre-left won 56% of the vote, where the combined National and ACT vote comes to only 34.8%. In terms of a swing from right to left 2020 has been both dramatic and unprecedented. This in part has been due to the petty, dishonest and frankly immature response by National to the COVID-19 pandemic. But it also reflects the fact that the style of politics and types of policies they support do not appeal to the New Zealand electorate any longer.

Until the final results are in one should be careful of going into too much detailed analysis of the numbers. But we can see a number of so-called safe National Party seats such as Ilam, Wairarapa, East Coast, Northcote and Whanganui where Labour won quite comfortably this year. Under MMP it is the party vote nationally rather than local electorate seats which determine who will win the election, but these local results do show a collapse in support for the right and conversely a strengthening in support for Labour. It is also clear that an on the ground campaign really made a difference and had built up Labour/left networks and infrastructure throughout the country at a time when the National Party machine was very openly crumbling.

Many lifelong National voters switched to Labour in 2020. Whether these voters return back to National in 2023 when the next election is due will be interesting. While old habits die hard when voters finally make the break it may be permanent. Or it may mean the size of New Zealand’s potential swing vote is about to grow considerably meaning there could be very large dramatic swings in future NZ elections.

The coming term will not be an easy one for Labour, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rumble on and the world plunges into the worst financial crisis in decades. On Saturday Labour were rewarded for their handling of the crisis so far, but the hard part is yet to come. On the one hand, they need to rebuild the NZ economy at a time when international tourism is dead and export markets are volatile. But even prior to this the New Zealand economy was unbalanced and in a precarious state. It is over-reliance on dairy exports has made it vulnerable if anything happens to this market and resulted in over intensive dairy farming which has harmed the environment – not a good look for a country that brands itself as clean and green. It also faces growing inequality with significant growth in homelessness and poverty in recent years.

Labour was elected in 2017 on the promise of moving away from Neo-Liberal economics. Whilst much of the policy offer was fairly moderate, in particular their commitment to stick to fiscal responsibility rules, the rhetoric from Jacinda was radical as the quote below illustrates:

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 122036855_3649734538393735_2571762267452246936_n.png

Yet for this and various other noises about making the system fairer, Labour has not made radical changes. The 2019 year of delivery promised by the Prime Minister did not see election promises such as Kiwibuild meet the targets for building new homes promised in the 2017 election. In policy areas such as employment legislation, Labour blamed NZ First for being a hand break. Many Labour supporters were disappointed to hear Jacinda rule out the introduction of a capital gains tax in 2019, and despite public support for tax increases for high-income earners, Labour’s progressive tax policy is still very modest and many of its supporters would have liked it to go further. Scaremongering by National about the Greens wealth tax policy seems not to have resonated. Some commentators claim moderate Tory voters switched to Labour to give them the numbers so they would not need to form a coalition with the Greens. Whilst this sort of strategic voting may have been at play, the significance of this is being overstated by the commentariat. Further, polling suggests that Labour could have taken a stronger position on taxation and increasing public spending and still won the election with a commanding majority. That instead it has jettisoned policies such as extending free tertiary education to second and third year students shows the fiscally conservative nature of this government. The economic crisis of course forced the government to make tough choices, but NZ Labour seems to have chosen the status quo when other progressive and electable alternatives were possible.

Over the next three years, Labour will have a strong majority. Labour will no longer have the excuse of NZ First holding them back. It is unclear whether Labour will continue in coalition with The Greens but given the result, Labour will have the numbers to push its policies through without needing to form a coalition. Labour has been given a strong mandate and they need to use it to deliver. In policy areas like housing, transport and reducing poverty this term needs to be about delivering. In opposition, these were key policy areas Labour criticised the previous government for, this term is their opportunity to really make significant changes in these areas.

Labour in New Zealand now has a strong mandate to deliver on its manifesto. If it can deliver on longstanding domestic policy issues whilst continuing to lead the world in the fight against COVID-19, Labour could remain in power for many years to come.

The final point about the election based on the provisional results is that of diversity and representation. Based on current numbers 55% of Labour MP’s are women, 70% of Green MP’s are women and the overall makeup of parliament is 48% women. In addition, there are many elected from the LGBTI community, there are 16 Maori MP’s and also Pasifika and ethnic Asian MP’s. NZ has elected its first African MP, a Sri Lankan and a Latin American MP. The point of representative democracy is that members of Parliament truly represent the population of the country. This parliament will in terms of gender, sexual identity and ethnicity be the most representative of the New Zealand population of any NZ parliament in history. This is a wonderful achievement and represents an important and fundamental shift in the country’s democracy.

47 comments on “NZ election 2020: Labour win is a watershed moment in the country’s history ”

  1. UncookedSelachimorpha 1

    I don't see the result as a swing from the right to the left, hardly at all. It is a swing from National to Labour and towards Jacinda Ardern, certainly.

    Labour has effectively promised not to address poverty or inequality, so Labour voters have not made a significant move towards progessive policies.

    Hopefully it does represent a small move in a progressive direction – and at least a desire to not go even harder neoliberal / river polluting etc.

    The idea in this post that people vote from habit and that habits have been broken this election is a good one, and could lead to better things in future!

    • PsyclingLeft.Always 1.1

      "The idea in this post that people vote from habit and that habits have been broken this election is a good one, and could lead to better things in future! "

      Aye…and it certainly got the attention of the kicked out nat MP's….albeit late. Ah well, Good Times.

    • Enough is Enough 1.2

      The right wing media is suggesting that Labour can't move to the left because the people who have given them their mandate are centrist voters.

      I will be extremely disappointed if Labour adopts that line of thinking.

      Now is the time. This is an historic win and it may be the only time in 50 years that Labour has an absolute majority. Will they waste that opportunity by having a business as usual Key/English approach to government. Or will they kill Rogernomics, inequality, and individual greed.

      Do it Labour

      • I Feel Love 1.2.1

        I do hope so Enough, they may never get this chance again, to show how good a left leaning parliament could be.

  2. froggleblocks 2

    Nick Smith and Gerry Brownlee both survived the 2002 20.9% drubbing.

    The fact that National lost so many electorates really should not be overlooked. This time it really is different, and the only question is whether Labour can capitalise on this and cement their gains in place. This win sets them up handily for 4 terms.

    I'm not sure the Greens are going to get any ministerial positions at all, much to Marama Davidson's chagrin I'm sure.

    • Robert Guyton 2.1

      You're not sure they are? You're not sure they aren't, either, froggleblocks.
      Edit: “But Labour still may want the Greens involved in some way, shape or form; if not because they require their support now, then because demonstrating that such a governing arrangement can work effectively may be important come the 2023 election campaign.”

      https://www.pundit.co.nz/content/what-sort-of-relationship-might-labour-and-the-greens-agree-on

      • froggleblocks 2.1.1

        There's more evidence suggesting they aren't than that they are, to be frank. Words from pundits are frankly irrelevant compared to words from Jacinda’s mouth.

        Jacinda openly talked about a "consultation agreement", after she'd mentioned confidence and supply agreements.

        I guess the spectrum is:

        Coalition (in cabinet) – Confidence and Supply (outside cabinet) – Consultation agreement – Memorandum of understanding – Nothing.

        On election night Marama said she wanted to be a minster inside cabinet.

        • Robert Guyton 2.1.1.1

          Whatever the final arrangement, The Greens win big, imo. Looking to 2023 is a wise thing to be doing right now. Between now and then, The Greens can shape the Government's behaviour through various actions; it's going to be very interesting to watch their progress over the next term.

        • gsays 2.1.1.2

          "On election night Marama said she wanted to be a minster inside cabinet."

          Can you please point to where Marama Davidson made that claim?

          • froggleblocks 2.1.1.2.1

            https://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/107594/hayden-wilson-and-linda-clark-dentons-kensington-swan-assess-what-weekends-election

            Thanks to those ‘new’ voters, Labour’s dominance means that the Greens, despite their own strong turn-out, may find themselves excluded from any meaningful power. On election night Greens coleader Marama Davidson was talking up her own preference to serve as a Cabinet Minister in an Ardern-led Government. But Davidson is getting ahead of herself.

            On election night I watched the RNZ stream solely, no channel flipping, and I recall her saying this in an interview. I think it was about 15 minutes after her speech in which she rudely denied James Shaw a chance to speak, during which an audience member was hysterically screaming like a lunatic making it hard to hear what Marama was saying.

            Unfortunately despite being streamed on Youtube at the time, RNZ seem not to have archived the stream, so I can't give you a video link to Marama saying this.

            • gsays 2.1.1.2.1.1

              Ok, thanks. So that is someone else's reckons on what Marama Davidson said.

              I am just a bit suspicious when I read your comments, Davidson "rudely" denying, "Davidson's chagrin"…

              Fwiw, I thought Marama Davidson had a great campaign and her comments on the night were measured considering the delirium around her.

              Just opinions.

              • froggleblocks

                Ok, thanks. So that is someone else's reckons on what Marama Davidson said.

                No, its reporting of what Marama Davidson said. I heard her say it also.

                • Drowsy M. Kram

                  What did Davidson actually say? Quotes are preferable to recollections and reckons. Here it seems that Davidson is saying the Greens (collectively) want at least a continuation of "some ministerial responsibility" – doesn't mean they get that, but here's hoping.

                  From 18 October 2020:
                  "We would want to see roles that would progress [our work] programme, and yes, it would involve some ministerial responsibility at that level," she says.

                  "Across all of our MPs, we will be looking at aligning potential roles with the work programme, as a whole not just down to one person."
                  https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/green-party-ambitious-executive-roles-in-next-government

                  From 2017:
                  The Green Party has announced the four people who will get government roles in the new administration.

                  They are its leader James Shaw, transport spokesperson Julie-Anne Genter, environment spokesperson Eugenie Sage and social development spokesperson Jan Logie.

                  Three will be ministers outside cabinet and one will be a parliamentary under-secretary.
                  https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/342074/green-party-announces-ministers

                  • froggleblocks

                    We're talking about what specific words she said on election night.

                    What she said on October 18 or 2017 is not relevant.

                    • Drowsy M. Kram

                      To summarise:

                      froggleblocks – "On election night Marama said she WANTED to be a minster inside cabinet."

                      Wilson & Clark – "On election night Greens coleader Marama Davidson was talking up her own PREFERENCE to serve as a Cabinet Minister in an Ardern-led Government."

                      Philip ure – "marama said her years as an mp meant she was READY to be a minister…"

                      I can accept it all, but I'd also really like to know what Davidson actually said, in her own words, so that I can make up my own mind. For example, did she refer specifically to a cabinet role, which would be a step up from how Green MPs served during the previous term.

                      Apologies; just being pernickety.

          • Phillip ure 2.1.1.2.2

            I saw/heard it on the feed from rnz….it was in the victory speech (at the beginning) where marama said her years as an mp meant she was ready to be a minister…(I thought it a tad ill-spoken..if only as a pre-negotiation tactic)…she then went on to give a ripper of a speech….and her appearance on rnz the following morning was also solid…if rnz have saved their feed..it will be found there..

  3. Anker 3
    • People seem to think the only way to tackle poverty is the Greens policy, eg the wealth tax and a capital gains tax. We already have a capital gains tax and that did nothing re house prices.
      I have already read that employers may look to find ways to get around labour’s new upper paye tax, and guess what, I believe it.
    • i also read an article about a young couple in the Hawkes bay who managed to buy their first home. They earn near the minimum wage, no help from parents, but used KiwiSaver and a grant from one of the new schemes to do it…green shots
    • labour will be in a great position to hit the ground running having learned from mistakes last term. I really hope they keep going with kiwi build as well as building more state houses.
      btw I read up on Dirty Politics last night. Six years since published so some details hazy in my mind. What a filthy bunch the Nats are. Collins needs to go, in fact a total reboot. Think they are dirty to the core
    • Riff.s 3.1

      Fully agree. Tax and pay benefits is one way to improve inequalty but it risks blow back from the workers who are also struggling and the extra money will mostly drive up rents.

      Another is to get rents down through mass building. State housing + kiwibuild intensification + rolling out new suburbs for spec builders. Build an oversupply of housing and the market will adapt.

      A third way is provision of quality and truly free health, education, and public transport so being poor is not such a big disadvantage. There is less risk of blow back from this approach because quality state services benefit everyone except the upper 10% who can afford private.

      • anker 3.1.1

        Thanks Riff. Like your ideas.

        Oversupply of housing is the way to drive prices down. We have a long way to go!

        Get building boys and girls

      • UncookedSelachimorpha 3.1.2

        " A third way is provision of quality and truly free health, education, and public transport so being poor is not such a big disadvantage. "

        Not sure how that works without looking at the revenue side of the equation…? And inequality leads to a small but powerful minority who actively fight the things you list. Tackling inequality isn't easy, but I don't think you can get that far by just looking the other way.

  4. Stuart Munro 4

    Diverse and representative are not synonymous, though that might appear the least of Labour's problems, it was failure to deliver to their core constituency that cost Labour power in 2008.

    We've seen posters pushing a comparison with Savage, but it is not just a matter of majorities. Savage was personally well to the right of his constituency, but he did deliver on housing. Delivering on housing would be a sound place to start for this government too, though it will require eschewing the failed market model that prevented Twyford getting anywhere with kiwibuild.

    Under neoliberalism NZ has become two countries – the wanker class, who got all the gains, and the workers, who lost ground with flat wages, crippling rents and house prices, and reduced and expensive services. NZ does better as one country.

  5. Ad 5

    This is s total misreading of this government over the last three years, and also a total misreading of the government in the next three years.

    The government has acted in a most radical manner over the last 9 months.

    We've not seen a government act with this scale and speed since 1985.

    We've also not seen a government spend with this scale and speed since 1939.

    You just don't notice the scale of the government action because Australia and China have sustained our export economy enough, and because you haven't compared us to any other developed country in the world to consider any counterfactual.

    We are a tiny, remote, narrow-based, indebted, vulnerable economy – who despite the chaos and anomie that 2021 and 2022 will bring – happens to be remarkably well managed.

    The very last thing we need right now is change on a scale that disrupts the benefits that have been gained by this government dropping $40+ billion of immediate response, and a further $20+ billion on infrastructure announced in February.

    So my message to Ardern is simple:

    Don't fuck it up.

    • Drowsy M. Kram 5.1

      Ad (to PM Ardern): "Don't fuck it up." So ‘kind‘ – that's telling her. Good on ya mate.

      She's a hArd road finding the perfect PM, boy.

    • Stuart Munro 5.2

      happens to be remarkably well managed

      Laughable. A well-managed country doesn't allow the creation of a housing crisis by property speculation and mass unskilled migration.

      There are decades of gross mistakes to undo before NZ could even dream of claiming to be well-governed.

      • Ad 5.2.1

        Only if you compare us to Denmark or Singapore. Denmark has 500 years of prosperity and Singapore is a class and ethnicity divided state with limited democracy and near-slavery.

        No developed nation bar Australia has gone through this year better. That's down to good government.

        • Stuart Munro 5.2.1.1

          That's down to good leadership – and you wrote her off as 'Sparkle Pony'.

          When we look at governance it is more a matter of the business as usual than firefighting crisies, and outside the crisisies New Zealand's long term management of numerous issues leaves plenty to be desired.

          Record suicide. Record inequality growth. Record decline in home ownership. Static poverty and child poverty. Corruption is so rife and poorly controlled that Brownlee's gross betrayal of the people of Christchurch goes unpunished – and there is no shortage of comparable rorts.

          If you mean to grapple with real issues you must face them squarely, not pretend that things like generational inaction on rivers is Green.

          • Ad 5.2.1.1.1

            Good government and good political leadership go hand in hand.

            There's plenty who say this government should have been able to turn around intergenerational poverty and break and remake real estate capitalism. They are simply wrong. What's more, even though it is going to get worse in a year, it would have been catastrophic in 2021 if they had not intervened at the scale they did in 2020.

            What you are doing is just relitigating the election, where Ardern was pretty clear in her responses to all your listed issues. Your questions are the same as those from Collins, and were answered. The results of all those debates are clear.

            No one – certainly not this government – is "pretending".

            • Stuart Munro 5.2.1.1.1.1

              There's plenty who say this government should have been able to turn around intergenerational poverty and break and remake real estate capitalism. They are simply wrong.

              Failed perfectionism "We couldn't do it so we gave up" – indistinguishable from "We couldn't do it because we gave up".

              We have heard these excuses all our lives – but these declarations of impossibility never seem to be mustered against fatuous schemes from the right of the political spectrum.

              Nor need they remake real estate capitalism – they need merely contain it, instead of rolling over every time the speculators cough. Let us see a few more credible attempts at regulation like a CGT and we might humour a few more excuses.

        • Stuart Munro 5.2.1.2

          This is the sort of thing that constitutes poor governance – a power price saving engineered by government being glommed by the powercos instead of reaching the consumer. It takes a great deal of work to regulate markets so that they operate in the public interest – even when the Crown has significant power in that particular market.

          • Ad 5.2.1.2.1

            This new government doesn't have electricity regulation as a priority.

            The 2017 government tried it, and clearly it didn't work.

            https://www.russellmcveagh.com/insights/november-2017/labour-nz-first-coalition-agreement-includes-full-

            They also tried it last term with petrol prices: no effect.

            In this term they will also review grocery and construction materials prices.

            None of them will work, the reports will be shelved, and they will move on to something they have control over.

            • Stuart Munro 5.2.1.2.1.1

              It doesn't work because they choose not to regulate.

              If the market doesn't work for the public good, it should expect to be regulated.

              • Phillip ure

                'they choose not to regulate'……the most glaring example of this is the handwringing around obesity…whereas the solution is simple…just regulate the maximum amount of sugar/salt/fat permitted in anything peddled as food/drink..as it is now any clown can order a mountain of sugar..add water and flavouring…and this poisonous crap is allowed to be sold in food retailers…this must stop…not doing this makes any other 'education/awareness/taxation solutions a total nonsense…how can it not…?

    • anker 5.3

      Don't believe Ardern and her team of competent people, Robertson, Hipkins, Wood, Parker and now Asha Vernall (sorry if I got her name wrong, epidemiologist) plus many other new and existing MPs…..

      If Covid was a job application we would give them the position and pay them the maximum amount possible to get them to take the job

  6. Patricia Bremner 6

    Jacinda has also promised stable Government. In times of chaos stability is gold.

    The foundations of change starts with changing hearts and minds and gaining permission.

    The building of more houses is alone not sufficient. As Jacinda said "we need to build back better." Warmer drier using tech and design to create useful spaces for living in, not as a wealth chip. Our difficulty now will be returning Kiwis bringing wealth and different expectations possibly distorting the market even more.

    Planning for climate change in electricity and sea rise. Problems are looming.

    Distributing resources so life is good for all, not just a few. Agreeing the mechanisms.

    Recognition of the changes required to meet Maori aspirations. The need for graciousness and generosity.

    Improving and conserving the environment. That alone would be hard enough but…..we are still defeating the pandemic, and awaiting a vaccine!! Keep moving Labour.

  7. dv 7

    I don't really understand why Savage could sort out the housing problem ion the 30s. And we can't now.

    • Ad 7.1

      Needs its own post.

      I'll see if I have a day to draft it.

      • dv 7.1.1

        Thanks AD
        Look forward to it.

        • Patricia Bremner 7.1.1.1

          Me too!! Looking forward to reading it Ad. By the way, I sent another thank you to Andrew Little. He and Winston changed things completely.

      • gsays 7.1.2

        I don't have any stats, but landlording may be part of the problem.

        The idea that you can rent a house as a business, demonstrate losses, thereby lowering your tax obligations.

    • mikesh 7.2

      It was John A Lee rather than Savage. He used Reserve Bank credit to finance the program, and, as he said in his book Simple on a Soapbox, there were at the time a lot of unemployed carpenters around that he could put to work.

    • PaddyOT 7.3

      This article I posted the other day might assist as it explores the history of NZ housing and

      "why Savage could sort out the housing problem in the 30s. And we can't now."
      At the end of this Policy Forum article are specific links to elaborate.

      Early history

      " Land in the colony was ‘commodified’ or considered an object whose paramount value was financial. Land and housing in the new settler society were objects for trade, and profit making rather than a collective resource to be shared for the security and wellbeing of all in the settler towns."

      Enter the state ( 1930s)

      "History also contains moments where the social value of housing has been prioritised and where the state has taken responsibility for increasing housing availability, quality, and affordability. "

      Mass ownership ( post WW11 )

      " Direct government supply of housing would, however, become a ‘residualised’ or less preferred form of housing tenure over time. Increasing living standards and canny political reframing saw private homeownership framed as the ‘norm’ in a time of post-war economic boom.[14] Over time, private homeownership took on a powerful ideological association with ‘freedom’ and ‘security’. Homeownership developed into a key tenet of the ‘Kiwi dream’.[15] Public policy and state finance were directed to support the expansion of private homeownership, including government supply of low-rate mortgage finance through the Housing Corporation and the ability to capitalise the family benefit towards a home deposit. State housing was recast as an option primarily for those who were not able to secure homeownership.[16] By the mid-1980s, homeownership rates reached as high as 74 percent while state rentals constituted only five percent of total housing stock; by 1991, the Housing Corporation (later Housing New Zealand and now Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities), which administered state housing, held 70,000 houses across New Zealand."

      Both National and Labour governments with successive policies then progressively aided the neoliberal housing markets to reign.

      "The rise of the unbridled market" ( 1980s)

      Today's housing market is engineered to now prioritise first the financial value of land and housing, a market good to capitalise on, while the social value of land and housing such as in earlier decades ( as a social good ) has not become a government's priorities.

      Perhaps now, whereby inequality and poverty are exposed as being largely underpinned by lack of housing, piecemeal efforts will be made but IMO, in a runaway housing grab, capitalism will remain.

      https://www.policycommons.ac.nz/2020/10/06/transformative-housing-policy-for-aotearoa-new-zealand/

  8. Brendan 8

    Nat voter here.

    Make changes so good that the other side are not going to make major changes. Otherwise they are low hanging fruit for the other side to take when the winds of politics change. And then you end up with legislative tag every time the govt changes, the law changes to suit their tastes.

    The Welfare state, and interest free student loans are examples of policy which were able to survive a change in govt. Muldoon's axing of the third Labour* govt's super was an example where it was not able to survive.

    * Kiwisaver was one of the best policies of the Clark years.

    • Stuart Munro 8.1

      Given the current state of the National party, using them as a yardstick for policy would be, at best ill-advised. And you might consider the counter position – how often in recent years were National's ill-considered excesses rammed through regardless of consequences?

      Little matters like appointing Brownlee as Czar of Christchurch, and sacking ECan show that, far from aiming for a golden mean, National consistently acted immoderately, often stupidly, and relied on lying their way out of the consequences. This makes their views singularly unfit for consideration by the government the electorate resoundingly rejected National for, even supposing the current shambles could muster a coherent opinion any time soon.

  9. left for dead 9

    Interesting post Nick,hope all is well over there for you,regards Alex Mac

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    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
    2 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
    3 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
    3 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 ...
    4 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
    4 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 ...
    5 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
    5 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
    6 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
    9 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
    9 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
    10 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
    10 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
    11 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
    12 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
    14 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 ...
    1 day 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
    3 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
    4 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
    4 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
    5 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
    5 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 ...
    5 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
    5 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
    3 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
    8 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
    10 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
    10 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
    24 hours 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. ...
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    1 day ago
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