Open mike 06/10/2019

Written By: - Date published: 9:17 am, October 6th, 2019 - 95 comments
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95 comments on “Open mike 06/10/2019 ”

  1. Blazer 1

    The knives are out for Orr.Love the way university academics back the banks.

    Why haven't the banks cited junior staffers views on the reserve ratio's ,after all according to the ANZ ,it was left to them regarding the previous 5 years.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/116163751/portrait-of-the-governor-as-a-strongman-the-complicated-heroics-of-adrian-orr

    • Pat 1.1

      "its a bit like lawyers really…you can get the opinion you pay for"

      https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/insight/audio/2018715866/adrian-orr-the-reserve-bank-governor-taking-on-the-aussie-banks

      and we can see who is paying

      • gsays 1.1.1

        And as David Lange said- Don't trust lawyers, half of them are always wrong.

        • Pat 1.1.1.1

          now theres a conundrum…Lange was a lawyer

          • JanM 1.1.1.1.1

            Which is why he could say it, of course. He was referring to the adversarial system the law operates as. Clever man 😉

            • Pat 1.1.1.1.1.1

              obviously…however it begs the question which half he was inhabiting at the time he said it

              • david lange back then was a champion of the disposessed.

                it mattered not if people needing him cd pay him..

                he was a giant of a man at that time – in all ways..

                i cd not respect him more for his work back then..

                • gsays

                  Can't argue with any of that Phillip, however…

                  Either in a biography or two or a doco from the time, I can recall it showed a flawed man as Prime minister. Either didn't like confrontation or would delay making hard decisions.

                  Also, under his leadership, Rogernomics was ushered in.

                  Still, he is remembered fondly in my heart.

              • Anne

                He was a defence lawyer who specialised in defending those at the bottom of the heap.

                To my way of thinking he was a victim of the political circumstance at the time he took over as PM. After nine years of Muldoonism the country was in desperate need of a major fiscal re-balance. He supported Roger Douglas in this endeavour until RD started to go too far, at which point he withdrew his support. It brought about his political downfall but he showed guts in taking the famous 'cup of tea' step in the first place.

                  • Anne

                    Why the sigh Pat? I'm not defending Rogernomics. In fact, I see it as a rort on the population as a whole. But that was the thinking of the day. Muldoon left a mess that needed to be cleared up and David Lange thought Roger Douglas was the man to do it. It didn't take him long to figure out he was wrong.

                    • Pat

                      it wasnt a serious comment….merely a reflection upon the irony …though you wouldnt know it with the response

                    • Anne

                      @ Pat.

                      If you're referring to the irony that as a lawyer he defended those at the bottom of the heap yet he supported Rogernomics. On the face of it, it is ironic, but I well remember the confusion that existed at the time and bear in mind the term Rogernomics wasn't coined until further down the track.

                      Few people – and I hazard a guess it included David Lange – had much of a clue where Douglas and co. were taking us until it was too late.

                    • Pat

                      no Anne I was not…I was observing that a lawyer who stated that lawyers are wrong half the time had a 50 % chance of being incorrect in his statement

                    • Anne

                      Thanks for the correction. 🙂

                      Methinks I should go back to the start of a thread before bursting into print.

  2. aj 2

    Yes also on RNZ this morning. Michael Reddell took part in a wide-ranging discussion. His take: He left, and since then the Reserve Bank has not had 'intellectual heft'. Look at me, I was good….

    • Dukeofurl 2.1

      What Reddell forgets is all those economic nostrums they believed in for so long that were supposed to be bad for the economy have be found to be pixie dust

      Gone is the idea that more government borrowing is bad

      Gone is the idea that printing money is really really bad

      Gone is the idea that government supporting economic development in picking winners is really really bad

      etc

    • alwyn 2.2

      Can you provide a link to Redell making that claim? I didn't hear him say that about the current Reserve Bank staff, and certainly with nothing like the emphasis you claim

      I also listened to that story but the person who was making the strongest criticism of the Reserve Bank's skill level was Professor MacColloch of Auckland University. He said

      "MacCulloch also says the central bank lacks intellectual firepower because an exodus of talent has left it with a "very weak" senior leadership team".

      This was after he had commented that

      "the proposal will shake international confidence in the economy. He says Orr's style is part of the problem. "Usually the conservative central bank governor, like Alan Bollard or Graeme Wheeler, tried to avoid controversy. It's an institution which is meant to be quietly humming along without attracting great controversy, but there seems to be a new-found zeal to say things that frighten people – to get in the news, to shock the markets.".

      Orr, as he so often does described any criticism of his actions as being "rubbish"

      https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/insight/audio/2018715866/adrian-orr-the-reserve-bank-governor-taking-on-the-aussie-banks

      It is a minor point but one that makes me very doubtful about Espiner's ability to comment with any authority on this story, that Espiner repeatedly described Cameron Bagrie as having been the Chief Economist of BNZ. He was not. He was for 11 years the Chief Economist of the ANZ Bank and, at least as far as his published CV goes had never worked for BNZ. Their Chief Economist, for the last 25 years has been Tony Alexander.

      If Espiner knows so little about the organisations he is talking about can one really think he can possibly describe their actions accurately? After all, if someone was to refer to the New Zealand Minister of Finance as being Stuart Nash, on the basis that they didn't understand the difference between Finance and Revenue would you really trust the comment?

      • aj 2.2.1

        "MacCulloch also says the central bank lacks intellectual firepower because an exodus of talent has left it with a "very weak" senior leadership team".

        I apologise if this was the case. I was multi-tasking at the time and clearly not paying enough attention sad

  3. No How to Get There …yet. A double rainbow not there – what can it mean?

  4. joe90 4

    Resident repug's favourite journo reckons an atheist “theocracy” is attacking an alleged rapist.

    During an appearance on FOX News’ The Daily Briefing, Tucker Carlson told host Dana Perino that the push to punish Brett Kavanaugh for a sexual assault he allegedly committed in high school amounts to an atheist theocracy. Because when you have no argument, you just make up random phrases to scare gullible viewers.

    His argument goes like this: A Christian theocracy would probably involve conservatives punishing people for acts they deem immoral… therefore liberals going after the conservative Kavanaugh for anything he did in high school amounts to a “theocracy run by atheists.

    https://friendlyatheist.patheos.com/2018/10/04/tucker-carlson-brett-kavanaugh-backlash-is-due-to-a-theocracy-run-by-atheists/

  5. What number of members for each NZ political party? No clear information available.

    June 2008 by Bryce Edwards https://liberation.typepad.com/liberation/2008/06/party-members-4.html

    30/10/2018 by Liam Hehir (who talks about his former editor – I thought he was a lawyer?) https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/108177857/political-parties-benefit-from-having-a-broad-base-of-members

    National Party – Page 5. Party composition and organisation https://teara.govt.nz/en/national-party/page-5

    Labour Party – Page 5. Ideology and the role of unions https://teara.govt.nz/en/labour-party/page-5
    Page 6. Māori and women in the Labour Party https://teara.govt.nz/en/labour-party/page-6

  6. 21 mins on Brexit

    Will Johnsons Brexit plan work? Boris Johnson's Brexit plan ‘nearly impossible’, says leading EU politician

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuRaogmS5Vc

    • Dukeofurl 6.1

      By 'EU politician' , you mean The Irish PM. He desperately wants Brexit to be reversed as Ireland is bound strongly to Britain culturally and economically.

      The only 'plan' he is interested in is one for a new referendum, however its not for him to interfer in UK politics but he does.

      The jig is up for Ireland though as it can no longer act like Britains Luxembourg as tax shelter for major companies, with special rates even lower than the 12.5% nominal company tax rate. The London financial centre ? . The trading floors may be there but all the transactions are really processed in semi tax haven of Dublin. The gig is up for that scam too.

      • Hanswurst 6.1.1

        Oh come on, pull the other one. It's not like Varadkar is going out on a limb, as you imply. The Backstop was agreed under May, and Johnson's proposals have been viewed dimly by all European officials commenting either on or off the record, so much so that they told Johnson they couldn't be arsed negotiating this week-end, with a pointed statement that it's up to the UK to come up with further detail and changes regarding its latest proposal.

        Furthermore, the question of how the Brexit issue is dealt with inevitably has direct implications for Ireland, and Varadkar is well within his rights to comment, besides which he was singularly restrained in his summary of five possibilities for where the negotiations may end up, as was Coveney in his characterisation of Johnson's latest plan in the Dáil. No interference there whatsoever.

  7. joe90 9

    Bernie should call it quits.

    /

    When Senator Sanders’ heart issues (now, finally, acknowledged as a heart attack in a 78-year-old man) were first announced, I commented that we were about to get an object lesson in unconscious sexism.

    And have we ever.

    https://hecatedemeter.wordpress.com/2019/10/05/a-crash-course-in-unconscious-sexism/

    • adam 9.1

      Says the h.r.c supporter….

      edit : if your mates had not rigged the election last time, we would not have trump. But hey centrest losers need somthing to moan about I suppose.

      • joe90 9.1.1

        Sanders is an old man who's suffered a major cardiac event and lived to tell the tale.

        He should quit and throw his weight behind Warren and he should do so while he retains his faculties.

        https://twitter.com/MediumBuying/status/1179403871229267974

        btw you embarrass yourself with your pathetic we wuz robbed caterwauling

        • Hanswurst 9.1.1.1

          He should quit and throw his weight behind Warren and he should do so while he retains his faculties.

          Ah yes, of course. The old man is about to lose his marbles because reasons.

          • joe90 9.1.1.1.1

            People in their late seventies are declining cognitively. Cardiac events exacerbate cognitive decline in the elderly. It's human physiology at work.

            • Hanswurst 9.1.1.1.1.1

              Ooh, I guess he'd better move within the next few months then, before he goes completely gaga 🙄.

              • Tiger Mountain

                Bernie has more heart in the figurative sense, and certainly more political understanding, than most in the Democratic camp. He cannot help the age he is, nor the fact that he has kept the flame flickering for those that know “sticking it to the man” is more relevant than ever in 2019, and 2020.

                Whoever gets the nomination, Bernie has been majorly responsible for a leftward shift in main stream US political debate.

                He should stay in the race and fight the bastards (Democratic National Committee, Super delegates and Corporate donors) till the end.

        • adam 9.1.1.2

          "Major cardiac event" – sheesh so the lies begin again about Bernie. He had two stents BFW.

          You know if you weren't such a broken record on your hate of Bernie it be laughable – as it is it's a sad sad joke.

          Mind you, you have a good track record on how to pick losers in politics.

    • Hanswurst 9.2

      I don't recall the Sanders campaign making much, if anything, of Clinton's health in 2016. The article you link doesn't provide any links to that, either, or any substantiation of the assertion that Sanders' health hasn't garnered the same scrutiny as Clinton's in light of his recent heart attack (how would we know? It's only been a few days, and it has been featured pretty prominently). I think it would be silly to assume that there won't be any unconscious sexism in how some people react to Sanders' health issues in comparison to Clinton's, but the article is basically just a rant on an hypothesis that is completely untestable at this point, accompanied by some fairly staid campaign reporting that, while informative, does nothing to back up that central hypothesis.

      To top it all off, of course, we have your single-sentence verdict that Sanders should call it quits, which one could charitably assume is because of his health, but which, on the basis of what you quote, suggests that he should call it quits because of his ‘unconscious sexism’.

    • Anne 10.1

      One of the signs of Malignant Narcissism:

      Tend to project their bad behavior onto others, meaning they may accuse you of the very behavior they are conducting.

      So he pins the blame onto someone who is leaving his administration in a couple of months and who has already been cleared by the Democrats of any involvement in the scandal.

  8. joe90 12

    The vile Tulsi Gabbard reminds us about her one core value, a hatred of Muslims.

    Londonderry, NH: October 5, 2019 — Answering a question at a recent campaign event in New Hampshire, US Congresswoman and presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard appeared to justify a 2002 pogrom against Indian Muslims in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is accused of complicity.

    “Modi, of course, back in 2002, was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, and many consider him to be complicit in the deadly ’02 Gujarat riots,” an audience member said to Gabbard during an Oct. 1 town hall in Londonderry, NH. Gabbard responded, “Do you know what instigated those riots?

    http://www.ofmi.org/us-presidential-candidate-tulsi-gabbard-justifies-2002-gujarat-pogrom/

    • being the clintonist you are – gabbard must terrify you…

      given as she views you as much as the republicans – as the enemy…

      ..the enemy within..

      gabbards’ politics/policies are nearest to bernies;

      which is why i want her as bernies’ v.p..

      • The Al1en 12.1.1

        But you're a self confessed Warren fanboy. Odd

        • phillip ure 12.1.1.1

          warren is my second choice after sanders..

          i wd also be totally relaxed about a warren/sanders pairing – and agnostic about who would do what..

          the fact that bernie now is the same as bernie always was..

          whereas warren used to be a republican..

          and bernie takes no money from billionaires..warren does..

          but i am quibbling..

          either wd be fine..

          and biden is the wrong answer to whatever question is being asked..

          that much is clear..

          (i presume joe 90 has morphed from a clintonist into a bidonista..moving with the times..)

          • The Al1en 12.1.1.1.1

            Republican or not, you Picked Warren ahead of Saunders last time out, and were supposedly an early adopter of her since 2010

            • phillip ure 12.1.1.1.1.1

              that wd have been because i saw the potency of a female candidate – and i wd have also said bernie as v.p…

              i was also agnostic on that then..

              and i have been a fanboy of both for a long time..

              and in that same vein..i see gabbard as a future president..

              she is still young..

              and does seem to be somewhat inexorable..

              • one thing rhat shows the qualities of the sanders man..

                is that despite wearing his democratic-socialist colours on his sleeve..

                he has long represented one of the most conservative states..

                and they love him – 'cos he has proven to them that everything he does he does for all..

              • The Al1en

                But you didn't say either of those things, instead, you went full Warren supporter.

                Its okay to change your mind, but you have to be honest about where you've come from, otherwise it just looks like a bandwagon to jump on to keep in with the cool kids.

                • i already told you why i supported warren..

                  is that all ya got..?

                  this is cgetting boring..

                  /to keep in with the cool kids.’..

                  you do say some weird shit..don’t you..?

                  • The Al1en

                    And I already replied that's not what you wrote on both counts.

                    As it was, you chose Warren over Sanders, and have now done a 180, which is fine, but let's not rewrite history.

                    Maybe you’re one of these people who choose the least likely candidate so you reserve the right to whine about it later.
                    And now you’re ‘early adopting’ Gabbard for next time. Close? Lol

                  • you in yr mx5..in yr cheesecutter hat..

                    you must be 'in with the cool kids'..eh..?

                    • The Al1en

                      Want some custard with all that jelly? cheeky

                    • do you favour the cravat..?

                      together with the cheesecitter and the mx5..

                      that could be a potent mix..

                    • Incognito []

                      You aren’t spiteful, are you Phil? Just walk away from it if it knots your knickers.

                    • The Al1en

                      Don't sweat it on my behalf, Incognito, I'm use to Philip getting arsey when I pull him up on something. In fact, the more snide the comeback, the surer I am I've found my mark.

                      But cheese cutter and cravat lol Like Fred from scoobydoo having a midlife crisis after Daphne left him for a younger man.

                    • Incognito []

                      When referring to a 30 year-old MX5 I’d have thought that Fred Flintstone would be a more appropriate comparison, more of a traditionalist IMO.

                    • @ incognoto..if mx5/cheesecutter/cravat is 'spiteful'..(?!)

                      what wd you call calling someone a 'one-eyed amoeba'..?..

                      on the spiteful-comment scale..?

                      (asking for a friend..)

                    • Incognito []

                      I’d call it lame or funny, depending on your sense of humour. NB, I referred to “amoebas”, plural. Amazing what difference a single “s” can make, don’t you agree? Amoebas don’t wear shoes AFAIK but if the shoe fits …

                    • yr attempts at humour – ive noticed..really put the 'labour' in laboured…don't they..?

                      that pile-in on the 5th you so enthusiastically participated in couldn't be a clearer example of that..could it..?

                      a groan a minute – as it were…

                    • Incognito []

                      Groan-up men don’t groan, they grunt!

                    • The Al1en

                      All I'll say, incognito, is a cravat and flat cap is a yabbadabbadont

                    • i had more of a toad of toad hall image going on..

                    • The Al1en

                      And you would have got away with it if it wasn't for those pesky kids and their dog

          • joe90 12.1.1.1.2

            (i presume joe 90 has morphed from a clintonist into a bidonista..moving with the times..)

            Warren/Castro, actually.

  9. Eco maori 13

    The American taonga Sequoia trees they are thousands of years. Like Aotearoa Kauri trees. Please make generous donations to wonderful not-for-profit conservation group Save the Redwoods as we need to preserve all our trees and plant many more of them. In my opinion they have as much rights to live as humans. We are there Guardian we are only present in Te Papatuanuku for a fraction of time let's not make a big mess of OUR Papatuanuku let's care for Papatuanuku and her creature for the rest of our future to see and appreciate.

    Once they're gone, they're gone': the fight to save the giant sequoia

    A conservation group plans to buy the largest privately owned sequoia grove as the climate crisis threatens the species’ future

    Giant sequoia trees in Sequoia national park, Sierra Nevada, California.

    Few living beings have experienced as much as the giant sequoias. With ancestors dating back to the Jurassic era, some of the trees that now grow along California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains been alive for thousands of years, bearing witness to most of human history – from the fall of the Roman empire to the rise of Beyoncé.

    But a couple hundred years of human encroachment on to the sequoias’ habitat, combined with the climate crisis, increasingly intense wildfires, and drought have threatened the species’ future. The last of the world’s most massive trees now live on just 73 groves scattered across the Sierras. Most lie within protected national parks such as Sequoia national park, where visitors flock from around the world to marvel at General Sherman, the world’s most massive tree.

    The Rouches agreed to sell their land for $15m, which the organization hopes to raise by the end of this year. Once they acquire the land, the group plans to work with ecologists to help the forest build resilience against global heating and its catastrophic consequences

    Rouch’s grandfather and father ran a logging business, and although they chopped down many fir, sugar pine and cedar trees to feed the family’s lumber mill, they left most of the sequoias to stand. “Nobody in the family ever really wanted to cut them down,” Rouch said. “For one, they’re not very good, structural wood. And the other thing is you just have to look at them. They’re so beautiful, and you realize once they’re gone, they’re gone Ka kite Ano link below.

    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/oct/06/california-giant-sequoia-grove-alder-grove

  10. Eco Maori 14

    This is why I detest chemical especially chemical that our Taonga Wildlife are exposed to. We have seen how they have a detrimental effect living organisim we muct ban the use of dangerous chemicals they can keep on killing our selves and our wildlife for many years after the first exposure.

    Wildlife

    Insecticide blamed for the deaths of 200 native birds, including wedge-tailed eagles

    Environment officials are unsure whether the poisoning of the birds in north-east Victoria was an accident

    A wedge-tailed eagle

    An insecticide is likely to be behind the deaths of almost 200 native birds in north-east Victoria, environment officials believe.

    Dead wedge-tailed eagles found near Violet Town in August led the state’s environment department to find more – along with hawks and falcons – on a nearby property Ka Kite Ano link below.

    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/07/insecticide-blamed-for-the-deaths-of-200-native-birds-including-wedge-tailed-eagles#img-1

  11. Eco maori 15

    Kia Ora Newshub

    Condolences to Sophia whanau for the loss of their tamariki.

    That's is cool Pharmac buying more drugs to treat cancers and other ailments.

    Aotearoa needs to implement online voting if we want more people to participate in voting.

    The Americans Cup race in Aotearoa will be awesome.

    Ka kite Ano

  12. Eco maori 17

    Kia Ora The Breakfast Show

    Our futures Climate is very important to me.

    I agree new technology is impacting on relationships. I think one should have a set time of NO phones when the whanau are together in the whare. But the flipside is I can live off grid do my business transaction import things that are a 3rd cheaper than what I can get and afford in Aotearoa study most topics in Te Papatuanuku some are restricted and getting harder to get. All the entertainment I want Best of all I can reach Te Papatuanuku with my Huawei Phone.

    Te Maro was famous for being able to feed his tangata he was a taonga kaumara grower his Mana wairua was pushing him to become the Paramount Rangtira of Turangi Nui A Kiwa.

    I think that our government restarting the high income imagination policy is good rising the income bracket is logical IE we want new people to be able to support themselves.

    I can see all the extra investment our government has made in social services and logistics infrastructure Railway ECT some have biest views.

    Ka pai to the couple who are cycling around Japan and watching The Rugby World Cup.

    Ka kite Ano

  13. Eco maori 18

    My post is being mordrated why A

  14. Eco maori 19

    Kia Ora The Breakfast Show.

    Our futures environment is very important to me.

    I agree that that devices use needs to be mordrated may be when the whanau is together in the whare no devices.But the flipside is I can live off grid with a low carbon footprint I can do all my business transactions study almost any subject some are being blocked to me get heaps of entertainment I can import thing that are a 3rd cheaper than I can get in Aotearoa and best of all I can reach Te Papatuanuku with my Huawei Phone

    Te Maro was famous for being able to feed his tangata he was a taonga kaumara grower his Mana wairua was taking him to become the paramount Rangtira. of Turangi Nui A Kiwa

    The government is investing in Aotearoa more investment in social services and logistics infrastructure. Some people are biest

    I think it's great that our government has restarted the high income imagination program its logical to rise to income bracket we want the new people to be able to support themselves.

    Ka pai to the cupple cycling around Japan watching the Rugby World Cup match with a low traveling carbon footprint print.

    Ka kite Ano

  15. Eco maori 20

    We have to protect all Te Papatuanuku beautiful forest and wildlife that exist in the year 2019. I say that they have a right to exist just like humans we are there to protect our natural resources that the atua gives us to pass them on to our mokopuna.

    The lost tribes of the Amazon 1000 mile journey to protect their Amazon Forest.

    earing just shorts and flip-flop as he squats in the mud by a fire, Bruno Pereira, an official at Brazil’s government indigenous agency, cracks open the boiled skull of a monkey with a spoon and eats its brains for breakfast as he discusses policy. Pereira is an “indigenista”, a specialist in recently contacted and isolated indigenous people whose job for Funai, as the agency is known, includes monitoring these groups in the Javari Valley, a remote reserve the size of Austria. He also leads gruelling expeditions like this one – a 17-day journey by boat and on foot into thick Amazon jungle – which also demands a strong stomach. Pereira plays down the difficulties he and other indigenistas face in their work. But he admits a conservative government, influenced by an agribusiness lobby with its eyes on indigenous land, is depriving Funai of resources and making things harder.earing just shorts and flip-flop as he squats in the mud by a fire, Bruno Pereira, an official at Brazil’s government indigenous agency, cracks open the boiled skull of a monkey with a spoon and eats its brains for breakfast as he discusses policy. Pereira is an “indigenista”, a specialist in recently contacted and isolated indigenous people whose job for Funai, as the agency is known, includes monitoring these groups in the Javari Valley, a remote reserve the size of Austria. He also leads gruelling expeditions like this one – a 17-day journey by boat and on foot into thick Amazon jungle – which also demands a strong stomach. Pereira plays down the difficulties he and other indigenistas face in their work. But he admits a conservative government, influenced by an agribusiness lobby with its eyes on indigenous land, is depriving Funai of resources and making things harder.Neither Korubo nor Marubo use pesticides or fertilisers on the small plantations where they grow manioc, bananas, corn, melon and fruits like cupuaçu. Their minimal impact on the forest confirms reports such as a 2016 World Resources Institute study, which concluded that tenure-secure, indigenous forestlands have lower deforestation rates. Maintaining them is a cost-effective way for Brazil to mitigate climate change and meet its commitments under the Paris climate accord. Neither Korubo nor Marubo use pesticides or fertilisers on the small plantations where they grow manioc, bananas, corn, melon and fruits like cupuaçu. Their minimal impact on the forest confirms reports such as a 2016 World Resources Institute study, which concluded that tenure-secure, indigenous forestlands have lower deforestation rates. Maintaining them is a cost-effective way for Brazil to mitigate climate change and meet its commitments under the Paris climate accord Ka kite Ano link below

    https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/ng-interactive/2018/aug/20/lost-tribes-1000km-rainforest-mission-amazon-village-brazil

  16. Eco maori 21

    Here you go Whanau I did say that Aotearoa economy is doing great also that some people are biest

    The surplus for the year ended June was $7.5 billion, up $2b on the previous year, and a May budget forecast of $3.5b.

    The tax take was more than $6b above expectations at $86.5b, with increases in company, goods and services, and income tax driven by population growth and more people being in work.

    "The surplus and low levels of debt show the economy is in good shape. This allows the government to spend more on infrastructure and make record investments in health and education," Finance Minister Grant Robertson said.

    Government spending was up about $6.5b, which was due to large pay settlements in the health sector, settling historic holiday pay claims, and increased support for low income families

    Finance Minister Grant Robertson said the accounts showed economic fundamentals were strong and the country was outperforming much larger developed economies.

    "It is important that we don't talk ourselves into a downturn just because it suits some people's negative narrative… The economy (has) a solid platform to keep growing and face any global headwinds

    Mr Robertson said the government has already increased social spending and committed to capital spending.

    "Fiscal policy has a part to play alongside monetary policy as we manage these challenging global economic conditions."

    "I'm not seeing any evidence New Zealand is moving to a recession," he said.

    Mr Robertson refused to be drawn on whether tax cuts might be on the agenda next year, but said the government was not doing any work on a suggestion by the International Monetary Fund that a cut in the GST rate would offer stimulus.

    The May budget for the current year has forecast a surplus of $1.3b

    Ka kite Ano link below.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/400515/govt-surplus-increases-to-7-point-5-billion

  17. Eco maori 22

    Here you go Whanau the Australian government has been deporting there problems to Aotearoa.

    'Hostile' tactics of Strike Force Raptor crackdown in Sydney led to tactics of deporting gang leaders to New Zealand on '501' character grounds

    The 'hostile' tactics of Strike Force Raptor, an elite unit in the NSW police, led to gang members being deported to New Zealand.

    When a turf war between the Hells Angels and the Comancheros spilled into a Sydney Airport, the New South Wales police took action. A specialist team, Strike Force Raptor, came down hard in a crackdown with 'hostile' new tactics. Suspending drivers' licences, shutting down gang pads, even a ban on riding motorcycles together. Then Australian authorities realised they could deport them to New Zealand. Jared Savage reports on how the gang scene has changed forever Ka kite Ano link below.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12273289

  18. Eco maori 23

    Kia Ora 1 News

    I think our government is wize not spending the surplus we have to save for a rainy day one cannot tell what's around the corner in the Papatuanuku economy we are a exporters nation that will be affected if the Papatuanuku economy stalls.

    I want our future to have a good environment Daniel.

    The Australians looking at investing in trackless electricit trams is great technology let's hope it works in the real Papatuanuku I think they need to have 5G technology to get the electric trams running.

    Ka kite Ano

  19. Eco maori 24

    Kia Ora Te Ao Maori News.

    It looks like a good day in Turangi Nui A Kiwa Its great to see Tangata Whenua O Aotearoa Culture still going strong in Te Tairawhiti.

    Let's hope that the ahi in Te Wai Paunamu is put out for good.

    Tracie it awesome that the whenua that you have been advocateing to become protected and put into a reserve.

    Its good that Tamiki Makarau are taking to the Muslims community some lost love one in the Christchurch desaster.

    I think supporting others who have cancer is a great idea Te Mauri I have seen quite a few tangata pass because of cancer.

    Ka kite Ano

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