Open mike 05/06/2024

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 6:00 am, June 5th, 2024 - 31 comments
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31 comments on “Open mike 05/06/2024 ”

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bwaghorn 1

5 June 2024 at 6:06 am

https://businessdesk.co.nz/article/primary-sector/ruth-richardson-out-as-synlait-director

Ruthless ruth is useless ruth it would appear
- PsyclingLeft.Always 1.1
  
  5 June 2024 at 8:32 am
  
  Well sometimes those who live by the Economic Sword…die by it.
  
  here is an extra link..from the…Herald !
  
  China’s Bright Dairy has given notice to Synlait Milk that Leon Fung will be appointed as one of Bright’s appointed directors, replacing former Finance Minister Ruth Richardson.
  
  Richardson, a lawyer by profession, served as Finance Minister with the then National Government from 1990 to 1993.
  
  Her 1991 Budget, which focused on heavy cost-cutting, was dubbed “the Mother of all Budgets”.
  
  https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/bright-dairy-replaces-former-finance-minister-ruth-richardson-with-leon-fung-on-synlait-board/223PWCIP2RDPHK2F454VIHVHAE/
  
  Oh and on Useless,Ruthless….and Economic Swords there was that "dame"…
  
  Former prime minister Dame Jenny Shipley has failed in her bid to get the Supreme Court to throw out an award of more than $6 million in compensation against her for her role in the collapse of construction company Mainzeal.
  
  Mainzeal was put into liquidation in February 2013 while Shipley was chairperson of its board, owing creditors, including many smaller New Zealand building companies, just over $110m.
  
  https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/132799391/former-prime-minister-dame-jenny-shipleys-mainzeal-supreme-court-appeal-fails
  - bwaghorn 1.1.1
    
    5 June 2024 at 1:00 pm
    
    I'll bet you 5 chocolate fish that one of these stories will be written about witless willis one day.
PsyclingLeft.Always 2

5 June 2024 at 8:48 am

Boomers, farmers – who's doing well, despite the recession?

Power companies ,Dairy farmers, Baby Boomers, Banks.

banks – have also weathered the storm better than some. Banking net profits after tax held at record levels of a combined more than $7 billion in 2023, according to KPMG.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/518662/boomers-farmers-who-s-doing-well-despite-the-recession

They left out landlords ?
- Maurice 2.1
  
  5 June 2024 at 9:43 am
  
  They left out landlords ?
  
  The landlords are all Boomers?
  - Drowsy M. Kram 2.1.1
    
    5 June 2024 at 11:21 am
    
    They left out landlords ?
    
    Who's doing well? Power companies, dairy farmers, boomers, Queenstown, crypto funds, banks, landLords…
    
    The landlords are all Boomers?
    
    All? Very unlikely – why do you ask?
    
    "Boomers are doing fine," Zollner said. "They are more likely to have term deposits and be really pleased that term deposit rates are high."
    …
    She said while those households would also be affected by wider inflation, anyone with savings would have benefited from higher interest rates. Those with a mortgage-free home would also have avoided the rent inflation of recent years.
    
    "We sometimes forget about savers because they are outnumbered but not everyone loses when interest rates go up."
    
    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/518662/boomers-farmers-who-s-doing-well-despite-the-recession
    - Descendant Of Smith 2.1.1.1
      
      5 June 2024 at 12:52 pm
      
      "savers"
      
      As if they are somehow virtuous. I know an awful lot of boomers who were inheritors or capital gains beneficiaries rather than savers.
      - KJT 2.1.1.1.1
        
        5 June 2024 at 8:16 pm
        
        That is now wealthy boomers children.
- Descendant Of Smith 2.2
  
  5 June 2024 at 11:11 am
  
  Banks never weathered a storm at all. The reserve bank gifted them increased profits deliberately by lifting interest rates.
  
  They moved mine and many others real life spending from shops, and living costs to banks. I fail to understand why retailers were not upset about this. The increase in interest rates took loads and loads of money out of the retail economy.
  
  Same with benefit cuts – at least 50 local businesses closed in the six to eight months after the benefit cuts Ruth Richardson did. Loads of money taken out of local economies. Those on benefit spend all their money locally.
  
  Steven Joyce with his centralised procurement took away government income from local businesses and gave it to large (likely donor friendly) firms. Also reduced emergency resilience as hospitals etc gave up their kitchens and stopped doing meals on wheels etc. School lunches likely a repeat.
  
  These businesses do not get how they are shafted by neo-liberal all in the name of efficiency nonsense.
  - PsyclingLeft.Always 2.2.1
    
    6 June 2024 at 8:10 am
    
    Banks never weathered a storm at all.
    
    Of course ! My link was more about highlighting those who : "Storm ? What storm ? .."
    
    And yea re the Ruthless Ruth (and Rogernomic) cuts. Massive Economic and Culture shock and slash attacks were never going to lead to anything of long term value for NZ.. And of course the trickle-up effect which was : massive wealth siphoned upwards for the select few.
    
    And…as we know, the likes of Steven Joyce,Bill English, et al ;…just keep amassing more. Creeps.
    
    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/515880/auditor-general-criticises-way-university-of-waikato-contracted-steven-joyce
- KJT 2.3
  
  5 June 2024 at 8:15 pm
  
  As over 40% of boomers are getting to retirement without owning a house. And many more still with a mortgage on retirement, as well as having to help out kids. Including those who were "reformed" in the 80's and 90's and never managed to accumulate capital to recover since.
  
  It is more correct to say, "some Boomers", are doing well.
  - Descendant Of Smith 2.3.1
    
    5 June 2024 at 10:32 pm
    
    Homeownership rates for older people, while they have dropped are higher than 60%.
    
    Stats NZ 2018 census data
    
    60-64 79.5%
    65-69 80.9%
    70-74 81.1%
    75-79 79.1%
    80-84 77.4%
    
    Some drop off in the older age group will possibly be to residential villages – in saying that I'm not sure how licence to occupy is actually counted – and to rest homes.
    
    “Homeownership rates for younger people have seen significant falls since the 1990s; however, ownership rates for those aged 60 years and over have only fallen slightly,” Dr Goodyear said.
    
    https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/homeownership-rate-lowest-in-almost-70-years
    
    While people are talking about the great wealth transfer from the baby boomers and in New Zealand this won't be taxed this wealth won't always be reaching the children of the baby boomers. Some have already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on residential villages.
    
    In the US of course a lot will be taken up by medical costs later in life.
    
    It is more correct to say some boomers, particularly Maori and Pacific Island peoples have not done so well. The vast majority have with the last 30 years gains in capital values helping.
    
    I agree though others like my father laid off by Roger Douglas and his hatchet men did not do so well in terms of savings. His few shares from power company and insurance company that were issued as they privatised worth about $6,000 were all taken by public trust to cover their fees. My mother at least had a freehold house which was eventually sold for $140,000 which she still has in the bank having used the interest each year to supplement her NZS. Us kids will get a third each. Neither of my parents got any inheritance.
    
    On the other hand a friend of ours has one son who will inherit up to 10 properties depending on how many she sells between now and whenever. She has just turned 80. He's already said he has no desire to be a landlord and will sell them all.
  - PsyclingLeft.Always 2.3.2
    
    6 June 2024 at 8:22 am
    
    “Homeownership rates for younger people have seen significant falls since the 1990s; however, ownership rates for those aged 60 years and over have only fallen slightly,” Dr Goodyear said.
    
    “This may be because the baby boomer generation was more likely to get a foot on the property ladder earlier than young people today.”
    
    https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/homeownership-rate-lowest-in-almost-70-years
    
    And probably some boomers have become landlords…..
thinker 3

5 June 2024 at 10:01 am

https://parliamentarycatering.nz/bellamys

Bellamy's Restaurant menu and prices

Find the $3 nutritious lunch.

[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
- Belladonna 3.1
  
  5 June 2024 at 1:19 pm
  
  IIRC, Bellamy's is no longer subsidised for MPs (or anyone else for that matter).
  
  Gonzalez-Montero has since told RNZ the bar would remain open and the cafe's opening hours remain unchanged but the 30 percent MP subsidy at Bellamy's restaurant is no longer offered.
  
  https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/484482/parliament-food-prices-spike-after-mps-reject-3-point-5m-plea
  
  So I don't see why the menu is at all relevant.
  It seems entirely comparable with other high-end(ish) restaurants in price.
  - adam 3.1.1
    
    5 June 2024 at 1:54 pm
    
    So I don't see why the menu is at all relevant.
    
    Because it's in parliament.
    
    It's a meme.
    
    It's where people know MP's eat.
    
    It's expensive, some might even say exclusive.
    
    Show up out of touch people in Wellington are.
    
    I could go on…
    - alwyn 3.1.1.1
      
      5 June 2024 at 2:58 pm
      
      I've actually eaten there four times this year.
      
      I've never seen an MP there. At least not one I recognized. Everyone there appeared to be, like me, a member of the public. You have to book and give the names of all the visitors but anyone can go there
      - adam 3.1.1.1.1
        
        5 June 2024 at 5:16 pm
        
        Thanks for proving the whole exclusive/out of touch wellington point.
      - bwaghorn 3.1.1.1.2
        
        5 June 2024 at 5:31 pm
        
        Is it good?
        
        alwyn 3.1.1.1.2.1
        
        5 June 2024 at 5:57 pm
        
        It is OK but frankly it isn't worth the money. I was only there because we were entertaining Aucklanders on each occasion who wanted to see the place.
        
        It is run by Logan Brown but the food isn't as good as at their main restaurant. The service is good though. If you are in Wellington go to Ortega Fish Shack.
        
        alwyn …
        
        5 June 2024 at 6:11 pm
        
        Correction. It WAS run by Logan Brown. I realised I had mistyped this just after my edit time expired.
tWig 4

5 June 2024 at 10:56 am

Interesting longform interview by BHN with Chris Hipkins last night on their youtube channel (from 6 min on).

Talking about Labour regrouping, election promises, etc.
Anne 5

5 June 2024 at 11:35 am

Puerile, pathetic vindictiveness from a puerile, pathetic, vindictive government:

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/518667/terrorism-and-violent-extremism-research-funding-cut-by-two-thirds

This research agency was set up under Andrew Little’s watch, and was a response to the Christchurch Massacre. The amount of funding it requires is peanuts compared to most government agencies but the work it undertakes is sorely needed, especially for ethnic groups who are targeted by right wing extremists.

From the link:

“New Zealand's reliance on skewed intelligence from offshore prior to the March 2019 attacks was starkly shown up by a Royal Commission finding that out of more than 7500 reports to spy agencies in a three-month period, not a single one was about right-wing extremism.

Did “Christopher Luxon” precipitate this decision?
Drowsy M. Kram 6

5 June 2024 at 12:00 pm

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/513461/government-funding-ends-for-15-year-long-growing-up-in-new-zealand-project

https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/04/04/stats-nz-scraps-survey-gathering-key-child-poverty-data/

How to get cross-party support for funding these crucial longitudinal studies? A reckon-based, ideological approach to reducing child poverty is simply poor governance, imho.

Latest official child poverty measures: 2022/23
(February 2024; updated 28 April)
When I originally concluded this year’s update to the child poverty statistics on March 19th, I hoped that data collection and, therefore, research on social issues would remain protected. Quality data is the cornerstone of informed policy-making. However, only a little over a month later, we witnessed the scrapping and fund withdrawal from critical longitudinal studies, Living In Aotearoa (Walters, 2024) and Growing Up in New Zealand (Gerritsen, 2024) , that would provide critical insights into child poverty. The (financial) dismantling of these vital studies debilitates the capacity to generate evidence-based and actionable policy recommendations and assist the Government in achieving its short- and long-term goals, such as school attendance, education outcomes, child poverty reduction, and improvement to people’s overall well-being (Rashbrooke, 2024; RNZ, 2023; also see GUiNZ's research outputs to see the amount of insights that are generated from this longitudinal study).
Incognito 7

5 June 2024 at 12:16 pm

What’s good for the Government [books] is not necessarily good for the country.

"In addition, claims for R&D (research and development) tax credits were less than expected and penalties and interest revenue were more than expected, which have both contributed to higher tax revenue."

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/518705/timely-boost-for-government-books-from-financial-markets-trust-tax-payments

R&D in NZ is under threat and soon will need S&R to survive.
- gsays 7.1
  
  5 June 2024 at 6:36 pm
  
  In regards to the 'books'.
  
  It irks me, when we have poverty, children living in cars and going to school hungry, governments of all stripes, aim for and boast about achieving surplus.
  
  It's like a storeman being proud of a full store.
Ad 8

5 June 2024 at 12:45 pm

Still not much 538 poll average movement for Biden or against Trump after conviction.

Biden has a mountain to climb if he's to win again.
- Bearded Git 8.1
  
  5 June 2024 at 1:42 pm
  
  Yep the conviction doesn't seem to have changed much at all on Real Clear Politics polling. Trump still holding a small 1.1% lead overall but crucially ahead in all of the battleground states. (Trump has never won the popular vote.)
  
  https://www.realclearpolitics.com/
observer 9

5 June 2024 at 2:50 pm

This is a serious problem for the Coalition, bubbling under but will soon come to the boil. The "fast track" legislation is unpopular, and not just with the predictable opposition. It's Muldoonism and alarm bells are ringing:

(no need to shoot the Greenpeace messenger, you can ignore their take if you want and go straight to the poll details provided in the link)

National Voters Concerned About Fast Track Bill | Scoop News
- Drowsy M. Kram 9.1
  
  5 June 2024 at 3:35 pm
  
  This is a serious problem for the Coalition, bubbling under but will soon come to the boil.
  
  Hope it becomes an extremely painful boil on our CoC govt's backside – they may have misjudged voter appetite for watering down environmental protections, but the economy, austerity, unemployment and the cost of living are powerful distractions.
  
  In 2010, the Key/National govt backed down on their proposal to mine in National Parks, and later went ahead with unpopular sales of public assets. They were re-elected for another term in 2014, increasing their parliamentary seats from 59 to 60.
  
  2013 New Zealand asset sales referendum
  John Key said that the Government intended to ignore the results of the referendum, as the 2011 general election gave them a mandate for the sell-off.
  …
  The referendum took place by postal ballot, opening on 22 November 2013 and closing on 13 December 2013. 45 cent of eligible voters took part. Of those, approximately two-thirds voted against asset sales.
  
  Despite the result of this referendum being not in favour of partial asset sales, Prime Minister John Key announced these partial asset sales would continue.
  
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_New_Zealand_asset_sales_referendum
  
  How much better off would our govt's financial position, and indeed that of most Kiwis, be now, if those asset sales hadn't gone ahead? Slow learners, short memories.
  
  Asset sales will leave Govt and economy worse off [21 May 2012]
  “BERL have found that a programme of asset sales leaves the Government accounts permanently worse off in terms of Government debt, debt ratio, net worth, and total assets,” said Green Party Co-leader Dr Russel Norman.
  
  “Not only is the news bad for the Government’s books, the effect of asset sales on the wider economy is even worse.
  
  “BERL have found that the flow of profits to foreign buyers will result in ‘a permanent deterioration in the external deficit and the level of external debt’.
  
  “Even Bill English accepts that our high levels of indebtedness to overseas lenders is our number one economic vulnerability.
  
  “His programme of asset sales would make that worse.”
Descendant Of Smith 10

5 June 2024 at 10:49 pm

I'm picking it won't cause them any problems.

They are following the process laid out by Roger Douglas from the Labour Party – say you are doing this for the person in the middle, pretend you have a vision of success, do lots of change all at once and do it quickly.

His problems with Lange mainly stemmed from the fact that Lange was worried about those at the bottom. They have no-one in any of the three party coalition worried about them.