If you are a bottom-feeder (or even swimming slightly below mid-current) then Natz and Act are not your friends!
This point needs to be shouted loudly all over this country, and repeated ad nauseam until it becomes, like all lies repeated and repeated, accepted truth.
One of the myths (lies) that Luxon is perpetuating, is that Natz are better managers of the economy.
They are not: Key’s so-called ‘rock star’ economy was based on a house price boom, almost unlimited immigration and little expenditure on infrastructure.
Labour (I’d like to think, hampered by the dead anchor of NZ First in their first term), had much to do to remedy the harm caused by Natz.
Under Luxon, the Natz will just be ‘managers’ not in any way innovators.
Management will centre around cutting spending, ‘to balance the books.’
This approach will, inevitably, play right into the hands of their coalition partners – the ultimate, failed neo-liberal, small government party – Act.
Under Key the Natz did very little to ‘improve’ NZ as a place to live – our rivers became ‘wadeable,’ our education system was downgraded to ‘national standards’ and charter schools, our hospitals were underfunded, our public housing stock was sold off, or ‘methed’ out of use and police stations were closed.
Key sold off our assets to so-called ‘mum and dad’ investors (read large overseas hedge funds) and even tried to set NZ up as a tax haven for the ultra-wealthy.
Luxon hasn’t Key’s ‘vision,’ though he’s still to the moral right of Genghis Khan.
The real agenda will be Acts, and their agenda is frankly frightening.
Their cuts to public services include:
Climate Change Commission, Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, Freshwater and Land Use Programme, Forestry Programme
Climate Emergency Response Fund's operating and capital expenditure
Contributions to Superannuation Fund halted, and the age of eligibility increased at a rate of two months per year until it reaches age 67, at which point it would be indexed to life expectancy
Human Rights Commission, Office for Crown-Māori Relations abolished
Ministries for Women, Māori Development, Pacific Peoples and Ethnic Communities abolished
Fees-free programme for university
KiwiSaver subsidies removed
Winter Energy payment would be restricted to beneficiaries and Community Service Card holders
First Home Grants and Progressive Home Ownership schemes
R&D Tax Credit, Callaghan Innovation, Covid-19 Horticulture Subsidies, Growth and Development Spending, the Provincial Growth Fund, the Cultural Sector Regeneration Fund, New Market Operations Spending, Cultural Sector Regeneration Fund
Domestic and international film subsidies
Jobs for Nature, Biodiversity Jobs, Pest Control Jobs, Waterways Jobs, Pine Control Jobs and He Poutama Rangatahi
Regional Skills Leadership Groups
Workforce Development Councils
"Shovel-Ready" infrastructure projects
The party also proposes selling off 49 percent of shares in various government state-owned enterprises, including New Zealand Post, KiwiRail, Transpower, Kordia, KiwiBank and its subsidiaries, and food testing and inspection organisation AsureQuality.
This country (as with the rest of the world) will face increasing and escalating crises in the coming years. The absolute last thing we can afford is a ‘hands-off’ ‘small government’ sort of administration.
Natz and Act would/will be a total disaster (as they would have been had they been in power during the covid pandemic!)
We must do all we can to make certain there is no change of government next year!
And the 'upside' for the demolition of all the agencies, the great trickle up (sorry I mean flooded river up) of $$$$ to those who need this the most, according to ACT.
That's his job. He doesn't have to defend a record. He just needs to shit on the governments record and offer an alternative that he believes kiwis will buy into.
25.5%… wake up to reality. The status quo, "we know best NACT will suck" isn't working.
That's my point though, Luxon, (who has been a leader for a year), and National don't have an alternative, there's nothing for kiwis to buy into, hence the deflection.
"25.5% wake up to reality" yep, Jacindas labour party is now polling like labour did under Cunliffe and Shearer.
Labour is totally out of touch with mainstream New Zealand and has been all year and instead of listening Labour and it's supporters block their ears.
Instead of defending every dumb move Labour makes Labour members and lefty's should be self reflecting on why that is and then using their platforms to pressure the govt to be more focused.
Instead we get tribalists doubling down.
I like the standard, it used to give loads and loads of constructive criticism when labour was in opposition and polling like it is now, it should start giving the govt constructive criticism.
A lot of the parliamentary party reads this blog and they are the people who need to hear constructive criticism from the center left, not just endless defense.
It would not matter if Labour crashed below the 5% threshold, the tribalists would still fail to reconsider, still keep telling us how wonderful this govt is.
The core problem is that Labour has failed to deliver effectively on it's core mission – inequality, housing, tax reform and sustainable prosperity. Instead it has been captured by elitist woke agendas the public distrusts.
Literally 1 in 2 of the people who voted for them less than three years ago now regret that decision. That is a stunning loss of confidence.
Right now the most rational (yet I realise least likely) option, is for Labour to ditch it's woke and ethnic separatist activists, refocus on it's the core economic mission to save what they can – and then reach out to National after the election to form a centrist coalition govt that is not shackled by extremist agendas of both the left and right.
The activists and tribalists will of course hate this suggestion – even if it it might be the best option for the country.
The historic parallels between Ardern and Lange are stark; both came to power as charismatic and effective leaders – both undone by radical agendas in their caucus.
It would not surprise me if Ardern also resigns if the polls do not improve early in the New Year.
Not sure but she certainly sounded over it on the radio a few minutes ago.
She is undoubtably an effective leader but has been badly let down by the the policy formers and implementation…..5 years and apart from most of the covid response they can show little successful implementation and a myriad of failures…….the latest being contaminated aviation fuel.
but she certainly sounded over it on the radio a few minutes ago.
At one point I got to meet Lange – just months before he resigned. It was in a small social setting, and not an overtly political context. Back then I was very apolitical, but I did have the chance to have a conversation with him and listen to him talking with the others. I was a bit overawed to tell the truth and I probably came across as very naive to him, but it was a memorable day all the same.
Afterward I got home and told my partner of the overwhelming feeling I had that Lange was sick of not being his own person anymore, not being able to say what he really wanted to say. It was just a gut feeling that I could not have rationalised, but suffice to say events a few months later made sense of it.
Jacinda Ardern is not John key, she wouldn't do a runner mid term like he did and if you really believe he ran away because the job was not "fun" anymore, then I guess you believe in Santa Clause and the tooth fairy.
"The historic parallels between Ardern and Lange are stark"..yep, and I bet both will be remembered fondly, instead of taking the full brunt of the blame for their own records…look at Lange, most lay the blame of the disaster that unfettered Free Market Liberalism has been for our communities and the country as large at the feet of Douglas, and let Lange walk away still with his reputation largely intact..apart from her initial Covid response, Ardern would have to be regarded as one of the most ineffectual political leaders in New Zealand’s modern history…more of a manager than leader really.
Captured by an affluent, profoundly un-democratic & (despite all the ostentatious moral posturing) ruthlessly self-interested Pakeha Woke cadre … together with an equally ruthless & authoritarian ethno-nationalist Maori caucus.
The phoney virtue-signalling isn't working anymore.
Two major parties are simply rival factions of the same self-interested Establishment.
One’s keen, as always, on making life economic hell for low & low-middle income groups in general … the other’s very excited about viciously scapegoating the Non-Maori majority within that social strata, formally transforming them into second-class citizens, seemingly with the hope that large numbers will start dying early … thus achieving the enormous moral victory of evening up the life expectancy stats.
ruthlessly self-interested Pakeha Woke cadre … together with an equally ruthless & authoritarian ethno-nationalist Maori caucus.
Not however confined to just the Labour and Green parties. The same cadres have over the past two decades steadily infiltrated and entrenched themselves in all of our key institutions – education, law, media, public service and increasingly various power nodes in our commercial world.
No ordinary govt can effectively defy this. Which is why I suggested above – despite some obvious objections around why National might be motivated to co-operate – an extraordinary coalition as the alternative.
“Labour has failed to deliver effectively on it’s core mission – inequality, housing, tax reform and sustainable prosperity.”
Setting aside the meaningless word "woke" and the exaggeration of "ethnic separatists" in the rest of your post – I agree totally. Public broadcasting and 3 Waters are worthy but peripheral objectives. The pandemic was an opportunity to initiate a radical and colour-blind downward redistribution of wealth and power. Do things that are popular with the public and that National loathe. Then do more of them.
The terms woke and ethno-separatist are I accept, jargon words that are useful in that they concisely convey a complex political meaning. I can though understand your discomfort and objection to them. Yet I absolutely concur when you say:
The pandemic was an opportunity to initiate a radical and colour-blind downward redistribution of wealth and power.
The problem is that no-one really has a clue what the root causes of inequality is, and thus have failed to deliver convincing cures. And the more radical the proposal, the less people will trust it.
Yes I fully understand the emotional attachment people have to their homes. Yet somehow the resources needed to provide them still need to be allocated somehow. And that means free houses is a delusion.
Meanwhile back in the real world, very few people are fortunate enough to be able to pay cash in full for their first home. They have to borrow a large fraction of the money needed; and it is all the same whether they do that directly from the bank, or indirectly via a landlord who has provided the equity and credit worthiness the tenant lacks.
Turangawaewae. I don't know how to do the macron over the u.
" It literally means standing place (tūranga) and feet (waewae); and is often translated as 'a place to stand'. Tūrangawaewae are places where we feel empowered and connected."
Why have an election at all then? It is not just Labour that wouldn't form a govt with National after the election, National wouldn't hear of that either.
A lot of the parliamentary party reads this blog and they are the people who need to hear constructive criticism from the center left, not just endless defense.
Quite a few of those entities mentioned would not be missed by the public if they fell off a cliff.
Most however you'd miss when a bank closed, or a SuperFund went belly up, or the grid blacked out, and the regulators are effectively only open to the very rich who can afford High Court proceedings.
If Labour manage to get back in we are well overdue to have the nationalisation+recentralisation debate that Labour forgot to have over the last two terms.
"And to a degree, the distinction between taxpayers or ratepayers being responsible for Three Waters debt overlooks an important feature of the reforms: the defining shift to a commercial utility model."
It is worth noting that nobody has any idea of the cost or even the functionality of this proposal as it enters its final reading in Parliament. Hardly the basis for good decision making.
Despite the cherry picked sentence from Pat the report is an interesting and informative read, especially the discussion on the type of structure that is most supported by capital markets etc
'And again, let's be blunt. The reduced influence of local politicians and civic managers is not an unfortunate effect of balance sheet separation, as far as the capital markets are concerned. It the whole idea. Given local authorities track record in under-investing in water infrastructure, they won't trust any new utility that has too much council control.'
To that extent, 50/50 iwi membership of the regional representative bodies is seen as commercially desirable, because it lessens the influence of councils, with the perverse, short-term political incentives described by Hamiora Bowkett.
It will be difficult to reassure investors and the ratings agencies, though, when the water assets are still wholly owned by councils, and when councils are expressing their intent to influence the new water entities as much as possible through representation on the regional bodies, appointing the directors and scrutinising the strategic plans.
That's why ultimately, the Government will ensure its bottom line of balance sheet separation is achieved through legislation. Councils will be prohibited from providing any financial support to the new three water entities and constrained from selling or transferring their shares. Three water entities will not be able to pay any dividends to shareholders. This makes the council ownership structure more nominal than real. In essence, councils' only input will be through the regional representative group.'’
And as an extra, we get to see that Pat's support for a govt department like the old MoW is a take from TOP policy.
'So there's something more – and this reinforces Hamiora Bowkett's point at the start of this article. These reforms are not just about who picks up the tab; fundamentally, they're about ensuring critical work is actually done. Because in many parts of the country, for many years, it hasn't been.
Amelia East says extensive overseas experience shows that the utility model enables operating and investment efficiencies, and opportunities to spread the burden of debt among customers, that are not readily achievable under a council-operated model.
So to reduce the Three Waters debate to a question of who services the debt would, she says, completely overlook the fundamental need to provide better, safer, more efficient water services.'
Well worth the read if just for the plain, not pushing a political barrow writing that has passed for discussion recently in media.
A few more cherries for you (and anyone else interested)
"The status of the Three Waters Reform and its final features, in terms of the timing of the execution of the reform, asset transfers, relative impact across local government bodies and funding responsibilities, remain unclear," says John Manning, the Vice President and Senior Credit Officer for Moody’s Investors Service."
"These issues won’t be solved only by improving access to finance," he warns. "It’s a lack of preparedness to charge sufficiently for the cost of delivering services, and a tendency to shift the cost of infrastructure upgrades onto future generations."
"As inflation soars and interest rates rise, Cymru’s experience is again educational: Its financing costs leapt from £134m to £277m in interest payments this year, because of its inflation index-linked debt. Its auditors say increasing costs and inflation are the risks most likely to adversely affect the company’s liquidity.
This just highlights the extraordinary cost of a nation's public infrastructure."
If the good people of NZ were unwilling/unable to fund the required 3 waters infrastructure under the existing model what makes anyone think they will/can when the the costs have been increased?
So to reduce the Three Waters debate to a question of who services the debt would, she says, completely overlook the fundamental need to provide better, safer, more efficient water services.'
And strangely this is what Council reps believe too. McNulty said he asked over 100 councils if they saw a need to reform Three Waters. They all said, "Yes."
And strangely this is what Council reps believe too. McNulty said he asked over 100 councils if they saw a need to reform Three Waters. They all said, "Yes."
I’m not entirely sure what is meant with “Council reps” given that we had a change of the guard in October. However, not everything that is going or has gone wrong can be fully pinned on Government:
“There’s been a number of elements where it’s been easy, I think, for the issue to be muddied,” Ardern tells Newsroom.
“We have to accept where that may have been [and] where our role is.
“But equally, just this morning I had someone say, 'local government doesn’t support it' – well actually, local government has supported reform, it’s just had different views on what that looks like. There’s been lots of parts of this debate for lots of reasons that have been very fraught and difficult.”
This interview with Ardern has attracted an uncharacteristically high number of comments of uncharacteristically low quality and reads more like the ‘discussion’ you’d expect to find on some of the NZ political blog sites with even a Mod giving a warning shot.
I suspect the councils want the government to hand over the billions of dollars without any scrutiny on what the money will actually be spent on. In other words "just give us the money and then p… off!"
If the Labour government hands over vast amounts of money to fix public services then I think it has a right to make sure the improvements stay in public ownership and not sold off as a NACT government would very likely do.
in reply to Shanreagh, last weeks announcement that the Christchurch rebuild entity, I also can’t remember what name it goes by this week either, but it has been morphed into the new role which is essentially the old MOW so as not to lose all the skills and knowledge contained there. It may well be aTOP idea, just the same as most peoples on here and elsewhere.
I can’t even remember where I saw or heard or read it but it disappeared without comment. Shit no, we can’t have any Labour good news out there.
I suspect it is going to have large roles in water infrastructure rebuilds and the construction of Lake Monroe and other big energy projects like the old MOW did.
The new nationwide agency is explicitly only for government projects run by departments without enough experience or expertise in large projects. Let's see who that includes.
Thanks for posting SPC. The same thing is happening in NZ. Look what happened to the Listener 7 when they wrote a very respectful letter to the Listener about Maturanga Maori and Science.
And of course Gender Critical feminists having their meetings shut down and having to go to the High Court so their meetings could proceed.
And so begins the process of a litany of convictions for the favoured GOP nominee for POTUS.
Donald J. Trump’s family real estate business was convicted on Tuesday of tax fraud and other financial crimes
The former president’s company had been accused of providing off-the-book benefits to executives. The testimony of its former chief financial officer proved crucial to the case.
Once upon a time in a strange land there was a referendum because of a widespread fear that parents would be criminalised. 87% of those who participated wanted government to prevent this by changing the law. The government said there was no need to, they were paranoid.
History does repeat – baseless hysteria over 'anti-smacking' in 2009 was itself a repeat of baseless hysteria over homosexual law reform in the 1980's. Rinse and repeat.
But the lesson will never be learnt. There is always baseless hysteria over even the mildest forms of progressive (i.e. humane and balanced ) change – because so much of what so many of us have internalised as 'common sense' is vicious, authoritarian bollocks.
However, Louisa Wall gave a lesson in how to build consensus across political parties, and across the country, with her Same-sex marriage bill.
But she says there was also disagreement within the caucus about the way the bill was promoted.
She says she wanted a simple message about discrimination and to seek cross-party support and to talk to all opponents, including churches.
"If I'm really honest, I think there were some Labour colleagues who were really upset I didn't leverage off civil unions, for example. I didn't emphasise it, I didn't highlight it, I didn't promote the work."
Wall says civil unions had been a compromise and she was selling equality and taking the time to build coalitions had been important.
"It wasn't just about achieving the law reform, it was how we did it. It was also about cementing it so that a political party in the future wasn't ever going to change it.
"I think I have challenged what Labour wanted me to do and it was right at the beginning.
"They tried to tell me how I should narrate it, what are the lines. I wasn't interested.
"In the end, the leader's office said, 'You either do it our way or you're on your own.' That's exactly what happened and I said 'Okay, I'm on my own.'"
It's a lesson which appears not to have been learned….
The question I have is this. Are Iwi part of the public sector or private sector? If part of the public sector (and subject to government accountability rules) does this mean the Government is using this law to assume ownership over Iwi?
If Iwi aren't part of the public sector, and should be considered private entities, isn't the result of the Three Water's Legislation as effectively privatising 50% of NZ water? What if you have an Iwi that falls into financial trouble (separate from Three Waters Co-Management).
As a result, their creditors chase them for repayment and use overt pressure for the Iwi to use their Co-management shareholding to increase financial return from the Three Waters entity to help finance their way out of trouble?
Isn't this effectively allowing rate payer/water users to pay for financial liability of private entities? Is this acceptable? I wouldn't have thought so.
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Back in 2020, the then-Labour government signed contracted for the construction and purchase of two new rail-enabled Cook Strait ferries, to be operational from 2026. But when National took power in 2023, they cancelled them in a desperate effort to make the books look good for a year. And now ...
The fragmentation of cyber regulation in the Indo-Pacific is not just inconvenient; it is a strategic vulnerability. In recent years, governments across the Indo-Pacific, including Australia, have moved to reform their regulatory frameworks for cyber ...
Welcome to the March 2025 Economic Bulletin. The feature article examines what public private partnerships (PPPs) are. PPPs have been a hot topic recently, with the coalition government signalling it wants to use them to deliver infrastructure. However, experience with PPPs, both here and overseas, indicates we should be wary. ...
Willis announces more plans of plans for supermarketsYesterday’s much touted supermarket competition announcement by Nicola Willis amounted to her telling us she was issuing a 6 week RFI1 that will solicit advice from supermarket players.In short, it was an announcement of a plan - but better than her Kiwirail Interislander ...
This was the post I was planning to write this morning to mark Orr’s final day. That said, if the underlying events – deliberate attempts to mislead Parliament – were Orr’s doing, the post is more about the apparent uselessness of Parliament (specifically the Finance and Expenditure Committee) in holding ...
Taiwanese chipmaking giant TSMC’s plan to build a plant in the United States looks like a move made at the behest of local officials to solidify US support for Taiwan. However, it may eventually lessen ...
This is a Guest Post by Transport Planner Bevan Woodward from the charitable trust Movement, which has lodged an application for a judicial review of the Governments Setting of Speed Limits Rule 2024 Auckland is at grave risk of having its safer speed limits on approx. 1,500 local streets ...
We're just talkin' 'bout the futureForget about the pastIt'll always be with usIt's never gonna die, never gonna dieSongwriters: Brian Johnson / Angus Young / Malcolm YoungMorena, all you lovely people, it’s good to be back, and I have news from the heartland. Now brace yourself for this: depending on ...
Today is the last day in office for the Governor of the Reserve Bank, Adrian Orr. Of course, he hasn’t been in the office since 5 March when, on the eve of his major international conference, his resignation was announced and he stormed off with no (effective) notice and no ...
Treasury and Cabinet have finally agreed to a Crown guarantee for a non-Government lending agency for Community Housing Providers (CHPs), which could unlock billions worth of loans and investments by pension funds and banks to build thousands of more affordable social homes. Photo: Lynn GrievesonMōrena. Long stories shortest:Chris Bishop ...
Australia has plenty of room to spend more on defence. History shows that 2.9 percent of GDP is no great burden in ordinary times, so pushing spending to 3.0 percent in dangerous times is very ...
In short this morning in our political economy:Winston Peters will announce later today whether two new ferries are rail ‘compatible’, requiring time-consuming container shuffling, or the more efficient and expensive rail ‘enabled,’ where wagons can roll straight on and off.Nicola Willisthreatened yesterday to break up the supermarket duopoly with ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 23, 2025 thru Sat, March 29, 2025. This week's roundup is again published by category and sorted by number of articles included in each. The formatting is a ...
For prospective writers out there, Inspired Quill, the publisher of my novel(s) is putting together a short story anthology (pieces up to 10,000 words). The open submission window is 29th March to 29th April. https://www.inspired-quill.com/anthology-submissions/ The theme?This anthology will bring together diverse voices exploring themes of hope, resistance, and human ...
Prime minister Kevin Rudd released the 2009 defence white paper in May of that year. It is today remembered mostly for what it said about the strategic implications of China’s rise; its plan to double ...
In short this morning in our political economy:Voters want the Government to retain the living wage for cleaners, a poll shows.The Government’s move to provide a Crown guarantee to banks and the private sector for social housing is described a watershed moment and welcomed by Community Housing Providers.Nicola Willis is ...
The recent attacks in the Congo by Rwandan backed militias has led to worldwide condemnation of the Rwandan regime of Paul Kagame. Following up on the recent Fabian Zoom with Mikela Wrong and Maria Amoudian, Dr Rudaswinga will give a complete picture of Kagame’s regime and discuss the potential ...
New Zealand’s economic development has always been a partnership between the public and private sectors.Public-Private-Partnerships (PPPs) have become fashionable again, partly because of the government’s ambitions to accelerate infrastructural development. There is, of course, an ideological element too, while some of the opposition to them is also ideological.PPPs come in ...
How Australia funds development and defence was front of mind before Tuesday’s federal budget. US President Donald Trump’s demands for a dramatic lift in allied military spending and brutal cuts to US foreign assistance meant ...
Questions 1. Where and what is this protest?a. Hamilton, angry crowd yelling What kind of food do you call this Seymour?b.Dunedin, angry crowd yelling Still waiting, Simeon, still waitingc. Wellington, angry crowd yelling You’re trashing everything you idiotsd. Istanbul, angry crowd yelling Give us our democracy back, give it ...
Two blueprints that could redefine the Northern Territory’s economic future were launched last week. The first was a government-led economic strategy and the other an industry-driven economic roadmap. Both highlight that supporting the Northern Territory ...
Abortion care at Whakatāne Hospital has been quietly shelved, with patients told they will likely have to travel more than an hour to Tauranga to get the treatment they need. ...
Thousands of New Zealanders’ submissions are missing from the official parliamentary record because the National-dominated Justice Select Committee has rushed work on the Treaty Principles Bill. ...
Today’s announcement of 10 percent tariffs for New Zealand goods entering the United States is disappointing for exporters and consumers alike, with the long-lasting impact on prices and inflation still unknown. ...
The National Government’s choices have contributed to a slow-down in the building sector, as thousands of people have lost their jobs in construction. ...
Willie Apiata’s decision to hand over his Victoria Cross to the Minister for Veterans is a powerful and selfless act, made on behalf of all those who have served our country. ...
The Privileges Committee has denied fundamental rights to Debbie Ngarewa-Packer, Rawiri Waititi and Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, breaching their own standing orders, breaching principles of natural justice, and highlighting systemic prejudice and discrimination within our parliamentary processes. The three MPs were summoned to the privileges committee following their performance of a haka ...
April 1 used to be a day when workers could count on a pay rise with stronger support for those doing it tough, but that’s not the case under this Government. ...
Winston Peters is shopping for smaller ferries after Nicola Willis torpedoed the original deal, which would have delivered new rail enabled ferries next year. ...
The Government should work with other countries to press the Myanmar military regime to stop its bombing campaign especially while the country recovers from the devastating earthquake. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Government to scrap proposed changes to Early Childhood Care, after attending a petition calling for the Government to ‘Put tamariki at the heart of decisions about ECE’. ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill today that will remove the power of MPs conscience votes and ensure mandatory national referendums are held before any conscience issues are passed into law. “We are giving democracy and power back to the people”, says New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters. ...
Welcome to members of the diplomatic corp, fellow members of parliament, the fourth estate, foreign affairs experts, trade tragics, ladies and gentlemen. ...
In recent weeks, disturbing instances of state-sanctioned violence against Māori have shed light on the systemic racism permeating our institutions. An 11-year-old autistic Māori child was forcibly medicated at the Henry Bennett Centre, a 15-year-old had his jaw broken by police in Napier, kaumātua Dean Wickliffe went on a hunger ...
Confidence in the job market has continued to drop to its lowest level in five years as more New Zealanders feel uncertain about finding work, keeping their jobs, and getting decent pay, according to the latest Westpac-McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index. ...
The Greens are calling on the Government to follow through on their vague promises of environmental protection in their Resource Management Act (RMA) reform. ...
“Make New Zealand First Again” Ladies and gentlemen, First of all, thank you for being here today. We know your lives are busy and you are working harder and longer than you ever have, and there are many calls on your time, so thank you for the chance to speak ...
Hundreds more Palestinians have died in recent days as Israel’s assault on Gaza continues and humanitarian aid, including food and medicine, is blocked. ...
National is looking to cut hundreds of jobs at New Zealand’s Defence Force, while at the same time it talks up plans to increase focus and spending in Defence. ...
It’s been revealed that the Government is secretly trying to bring back a ‘one-size fits all’ standardised test – a decision that has shocked school principals. ...
The Green Party is calling for the compassionate release of Dean Wickliffe, a 77-year-old kaumātua on hunger strike at the Spring Hill Corrections Facility, after visiting him at the prison. ...
The Green Party is calling on Government MPs to support Chlöe Swarbrick’s Member’s Bill to sanction Israel for its unlawful presence and illegal actions in Palestine, following another day of appalling violence against civilians in Gaza. ...
The Green Party stands in support of volunteer firefighters petitioning the Government to step up and change legislation to provide volunteers the same ACC coverage and benefits as their paid counterparts. ...
At 2.30am local time, Israel launched a treacherous attack on Gaza killing more than 300 defenceless civilians while they slept. Many of them were children. This followed a more than 2 week-long blockade by Israel on the entry of all goods and aid into Gaza. Israel deliberately targeted densely populated ...
Living Strong, Aging Well There is much discussion around the health of our older New Zealanders and how we can age well. In reality, the delivery of health services accounts for only a relatively small percentage of health outcomes as we age. Significantly, dry warm housing, nutrition, exercise, social connection, ...
Shane Jones’ display on Q&A showed how out of touch he and this Government are with our communities and how in sync they are with companies with little concern for people and planet. ...
The Government’s new planning legislation to replace the Resource Management Act will make it easier to get things done while protecting the environment, say Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop and Under-Secretary Simon Court. “The RMA is broken and everyone knows it. It makes it too hard to build ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay has today launched a public consultation on New Zealand and India’s negotiations of a formal comprehensive Free Trade Agreement. “Negotiations are getting underway, and the Public’s views will better inform us in the early parts of this important negotiation,” Mr McClay says. We are ...
More than 900 thousand superannuitants and almost five thousand veterans are among the New Zealanders set to receive a significant financial boost from next week, an uplift Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says will help support them through cost-of-living challenges. “I am pleased to confirm that from 1 ...
Progressing a holistic strategy to unlock the potential of New Zealand’s geothermal resources, possibly in applications beyond energy generation, is at the centre of discussions with mana whenua at a hui in Rotorua today, Resources and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is in the early stages ...
New annual data has exposed the staggering cost of delays previously hidden in the building consent system, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “I directed Building Consent Authorities to begin providing quarterly data last year to improve transparency, following repeated complaints from tradespeople waiting far longer than the statutory ...
Increases in water charges for Auckland consumers this year will be halved under the Watercare Charter which has now been passed into law, Local Government Minister Simon Watts and Auckland Minister Simeon Brown say. The charter is part of the financial arrangement for Watercare developed last year by Auckland Council ...
There is wide public support for the Government’s work to strengthen New Zealand’s biosecurity protections, says Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard. “The Ministry for Primary Industries recently completed public consultation on proposed amendments to the Biosecurity Act and the submissions show that people understand the importance of having a strong biosecurity ...
A new independent review function will enable individuals and organisations to seek an expert independent review of specified civil aviation regulatory decisions made by, or on behalf of, the Director of Civil Aviation, Acting Transport Minister James Meager has announced today. “Today we are making it easier and more affordable ...
The Government will invest in an enhanced overnight urgent care service for the Napier community as part of our focus on ensuring access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown has today confirmed. “I am delighted that a solution has been found to ensure Napier residents will continue to ...
Health Minister Simeon Brown and Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey attended a sod turning today to officially mark the start of construction on a new mental health facility at Hillmorton Campus. “This represents a significant step in modernising mental health services in Canterbury,” Mr Brown says. “Improving health infrastructure is ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has welcomed confirmation the economy has turned the corner. Stats NZ reported today that gross domestic product grew 0.7 per cent in the three months to December following falls in the June and September quarters. “We know many families and businesses are still suffering the after-effects ...
The sealing of a 12-kilometre stretch of State Highway 43 (SH43) through the Tangarakau Gorge – one of the last remaining sections of unsealed state highway in the country – has been completed this week as part of a wider programme of work aimed at improving the safety and resilience ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters says relations between New Zealand and the United States are on a strong footing, as he concludes a week-long visit to New York and Washington DC today. “We came to the United States to ask the new Administration what it wants from ...
Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee has welcomed changes to international anti-money laundering standards which closely align with the Government’s reforms. “The Financial Action Taskforce (FATF) last month adopted revised standards for tackling money laundering and the financing of terrorism to allow for simplified regulatory measures for businesses, organisations and sectors ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour says he welcomes Medsafe’s decision to approve an electronic controlled drug register for use in New Zealand pharmacies, allowing pharmacies to replace their physical paper-based register. “The register, developed by Kiwi brand Toniq Limited, is the first of its kind to be approved in New ...
The Coalition Government’s drive for regional economic growth through the $1.2 billion Regional Infrastructure Fund is on track with more than $550 million in funding so far committed to key infrastructure projects, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. “To date, the Regional Infrastructure Fund (RIF) has received more than 250 ...
[Comments following the bilateral meeting with United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio; United States State Department, Washington D.C.] * We’re very pleased with our meeting with Secretary of State Marco Rubio this afternoon. * We came here to listen to the new Administration and to be clear about what ...
The intersection of State Highway 2 (SH2) and Wainui Road in the Eastern Bay of Plenty will be made safer and more efficient for vehicles and freight with the construction of a new and long-awaited roundabout, says Transport Minister Chris Bishop. “The current intersection of SH2 and Wainui Road is ...
The Ocean Race will return to the City of Sails in 2027 following the Government’s decision to invest up to $4 million from the Major Events Fund into the international event, Auckland Minister Simeon Brown says. “New Zealand is a proud sailing nation, and Auckland is well-known internationally as the ...
Improving access to mental health and addiction support took a significant step forward today with Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey announcing that the University of Canterbury have been the first to be selected to develop the Government’s new associate psychologist training programme. “I am thrilled that the University of Canterbury ...
Health Minister Simeon Brown has today officially opened the new East Building expansion at Manukau Health Park. “This is a significant milestone and the first stage of the Grow Manukau programme, which will double the footprint of the Manukau Health Park to around 30,000m2 once complete,” Mr Brown says. “Home ...
The Government will boost anti-crime measures across central Auckland with $1.3 million of funding as a result of the Proceeds of Crime Fund, Auckland Minister Simeon Brown and Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee say. “In recent years there has been increased antisocial and criminal behaviour in our CBD. The Government ...
The Government is moving to strengthen rules for feeding food waste to pigs to protect New Zealand from exotic animal diseases like foot and mouth disease (FMD), says Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard. ‘Feeding untreated meat waste, often known as "swill", to pigs could introduce serious animal diseases like FMD and ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held productive talks in New Delhi today. Fresh off announcing that New Zealand and India would commence negotiations towards a Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, the two Prime Ministers released a joint statement detailing plans for further cooperation between the two countries across ...
Agriculture and Trade Minister Todd McClay signed a new Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) today during the Prime Minister’s Indian Trade Mission, reinforcing New Zealand’s commitment to enhancing collaboration with India in the forestry sector. “Our relationship with India is a key priority for New Zealand, and this agreement reflects our ...
Agriculture and Trade Minister Todd McClay signed a new Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) today during the Prime Minister’s Indian Trade Mission, reinforcing New Zealand’s commitment to enhancing collaboration with India in the horticulture sector. “Our relationship with India is a key priority for New Zealand, and this agreement reflects our ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of two new Family Court Judges. The new Judges will take up their roles in April and May and fill Family Court vacancies at the Auckland and Manukau courts. Annette Gray Ms Gray completed her law degree at Victoria University before joining Phillips ...
Health Minister Simeon Brown has today officially opened Wellington Regional Hospital’s first High Dependency Unit (HDU). “This unit will boost critical care services in the lower North Island, providing extra capacity and relieving pressure on the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and emergency department. “Wellington Regional Hospital has previously relied ...
Namaskar, Sat Sri Akal, kia ora and good afternoon everyone. What an honour it is to stand on this stage - to inaugurate this august Dialogue - with none other than the Honourable Narendra Modi. My good friend, thank you for so generously welcoming me to India and for our ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton both agree Australia should react to US President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff regime by continuing to seek a special deal. They just disagree about which of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joanne Orlando, Researcher, Digital Literacy and Digital Wellbeing, Western Sydney University UK Prime Minster Keir Starmer met with Adolescence writer Jack Thorne to discuss adolescent safety at Downing Street on Monday. Jack Taylor/ GettyImages Netflix’s Adolescence has ignited global debate. ...
By Anneke Smith,RNZ News political reporter A stoush between the Chief Human Rights Commissioner and a Jewish community leader has flared up following a showdown at Parliament. Appearing before a parliamentary select committee today, Dr Stephen Rainbow was asked about his recent apology for incorrect comments he made about ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rakesh Gupta, Associate Professor of Accounting & Finance, Charles Darwin University US President Donald Trump’s new trade war will not only send shockwaves through the global economy – it also upsets efforts to tackle the urgent issue of climate change. Trump has ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa Toohey, Professor of Law, UNSW Sydney It had the hallmarks of a reality TV cliffhanger. Until recently, many people had never even heard of tariffs. Now, there’s been rolling live international coverage of so-called “Liberation Day”, as US President Donald Trump ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nick Fuller, Clinical Trials Director, Department of Endocrinology, RPA Hospital, University of Sydney mavo/Shutterstock In the ever-changing wellness industry, one diet obsession has captured and held TikTok’s attention: protein. Whether it’s sharing snaps of protein-packed meals or giving tutorials to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sebastian Maslow, Associate Professor, International Relations, University of Tokyo Two months into US President Donald Trump’s second term, the liberal international order is on life support. Alliances and multilateral institutions are now seen by the United States as burdens. Europe and ...
Starving public services of resources, gutting the workforce and then proposing private market solutions has been a key strategy of this government, says Vanessa Cole, spokesperson for Public Housing Futures. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hayley Geyle, Ecologist, Charles Darwin University Sarah Maclagan/Author provided The greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis) is one of Australia’s most iconic yet at-risk animals — and the last surviving bilby species. Once found across 70% of Australia, its range has contracted by ...
The government’s own Regulatory Impact Statement acknowledges that organic producers will bear the financial burden of adapting to the risks posed by GMO expansion. ...
The committee has "rammed it through with outrageous haste", with a report now expected tomorrow, but excluding thousands of submissions, Duncan Webb says. ...
The US president’s sweeping programme of global tariffs will hit every country abroad, including New Zealand, and dramatically raise prices at home. This is an excerpt from The World Bulletin, our weekly global current affairs newsletter exclusively for Spinoff Members. Sign up here.In a dramatic, flag-draped address from the White ...
Alex Casey talks to Bariz Shah and Saba Afrasyabi, the couple who launched a project to change 51 lives in honour of those lost in the Christchurch mosque attacks. When Bariz Shah and Saba Afrasyabi walked into Naeem’s house in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, they knew immediately that he needed their help. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Deane, Professor of Trade Law, Taxation and Climate Change, Queensland University of Technology US President Donald Trump has imposed a range of tariffs on all products entering the US market, with Australian exports set to face a 10% tariff, effective April ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra US President Donald Trump singled out Australia’s beef trade for special mention in his announcement that the United States would impose a 10% global tariff as well as “reciprocal tariffs” on many countries. In ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hayley Geyle, Ecologist, Charles Darwin University Sarah Maclagan/Author provided The greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis) is one of Australia’s most iconic yet at-risk animals — and the last surviving bilby species. Once found across 70% of Australia, its range has contracted by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra US President Donald Trump singled out Australia’s beef trade for special mention in his announcement that the United States would impose a 10% global tariff as well as “reciprocal tariffs” on many countries. In ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Shutterstock Recent media coverage in the Nine newspapers highlights a surge in non-medical ultrasound providers offering “reassurance ultrasounds” to expectant parents. The service has resulted in serious harms, such as misdiagnosed ectopic pregnancies and ...
The three MPs whose rule-breaking haka caught the world’s attention didn’t attend their scheduled hearing yesterday. Constitutional law expert Andrew Geddis has the rundown of what happened, why, and what’s likely to come next. I see Te Pāti Māori and the privileges committee are in some sort of stand-off – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Turner, Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University The Eurasian and North American tectonic plates in Thingvellir National Park, Iceland.Nido Huebl/Shutterstock Earth is the only known planet which has plate tectonics today. The constant movement of these giant slabs of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra US President Donald Trump singled out Australia’s beef trade for special mention in his announcement that the United States would impose a 10% global tariff as well as “reciprocal tariffs” on many countries. In ...
Meta has stolen millions of books to train its AI, including books by kaituhi Māori. What does that mean for mātauranga and its status as taonga? New Zealand authors are among the millions whose books have been pirated and scraped by Meta to train its AI. The New Zealand Society of ...
Some hoped the open of the New Zealand markets would open with a bounce as certain tariffs fell short of the worst-case scenario, but investors were met with a deflated thud.The New Zealand market fell immediately as stock market darling Fisher & Paykel Healthcare’s shares were punished, with no update ...
Healthcare dominated the debate in an unusually sober and serious question time. “Hey David!” a group of high school students in the public gallery called out as Act leader David Seymour entered the debating chamber. Standing in the middle of the floor, before any other MPs had arrived, he happily ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Heaslip, Senior Lecturer in Naval History, University of Portsmouth How the Shuqiao barges may be used to ferry troops ashore. X (formerly Twitter) China’s intentions when it comes to Taiwan have been at the centre of intense discussion for years. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kiera Vaclavik, Professor of Children’s Literature & Childhood Culture, Queen Mary University of London This spring, Babe is returning to cinemas to mark the 30th anniversary of its release in 1995. The much-loved family film tells the deceptively simple but emotionally powerful ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sophie King-Hill, Associate Professor at the Health Services Management Centre, University of Birmingham Netflix television series Adolescence follows a 13-year-old boy accused of the murder of his female classmate. It touches upon incel online hate groups, toxic influencers and the misogynistic online ...
I don’t want my neuroses about someone being ‘good enough’ to keep me from finding love. But choosing to be with someone who isn’t quite right seems like a death sentence.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,I’m a straight single woman in my late 20s ...
If you are a bottom-feeder (or even swimming slightly below mid-current) then Natz and Act are not your friends!
This point needs to be shouted loudly all over this country, and repeated ad nauseam until it becomes, like all lies repeated and repeated, accepted truth.
One of the myths (lies) that Luxon is perpetuating, is that Natz are better managers of the economy.
They are not: Key’s so-called ‘rock star’ economy was based on a house price boom, almost unlimited immigration and little expenditure on infrastructure.
Labour (I’d like to think, hampered by the dead anchor of NZ First in their first term), had much to do to remedy the harm caused by Natz.
Under Luxon, the Natz will just be ‘managers’ not in any way innovators.
Management will centre around cutting spending, ‘to balance the books.’
This approach will, inevitably, play right into the hands of their coalition partners – the ultimate, failed neo-liberal, small government party – Act.
Under Key the Natz did very little to ‘improve’ NZ as a place to live – our rivers became ‘wadeable,’ our education system was downgraded to ‘national standards’ and charter schools, our hospitals were underfunded, our public housing stock was sold off, or ‘methed’ out of use and police stations were closed.
Key sold off our assets to so-called ‘mum and dad’ investors (read large overseas hedge funds) and even tried to set NZ up as a tax haven for the ultra-wealthy.
Luxon hasn’t Key’s ‘vision,’ though he’s still to the moral right of Genghis Khan.
The real agenda will be Acts, and their agenda is frankly frightening.
Their cuts to public services include:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/466730/act-s-alternative-budget-cuts-to-taxes-and-public-services
And make no mistake about this – Act would ‘privatise’ water – in the form of that failed model – private-public partnerships.
This country (as with the rest of the world) will face increasing and escalating crises in the coming years. The absolute last thing we can afford is a ‘hands-off’ ‘small government’ sort of administration.
Natz and Act would/will be a total disaster (as they would have been had they been in power during the covid pandemic!)
We must do all we can to make certain there is no change of government next year!
Good work Tony. Thanks.
Ta da!!!!
And the 'upside' for the demolition of all the agencies, the great trickle up (sorry I mean flooded river up) of $$$$ to those who need this the most, according to ACT.
Clue: it ain't life's battlers.
When you can't defend your own record, attack the opposition.
Great strategy that I'm sure will resonate…
MickeyBoyle Is that why Luxon always attacks Labour, even when asked what will National do?
That's his job. He doesn't have to defend a record. He just needs to shit on the governments record and offer an alternative that he believes kiwis will buy into.
25.5%… wake up to reality. The status quo, "we know best NACT will suck" isn't working.
That's my point though, Luxon, (who has been a leader for a year), and National don't have an alternative, there's nothing for kiwis to buy into, hence the deflection.
"25.5% wake up to reality" yep, Jacindas labour party is now polling like labour did under Cunliffe and Shearer.
Labour is totally out of touch with mainstream New Zealand and has been all year and instead of listening Labour and it's supporters block their ears.
Instead of defending every dumb move Labour makes Labour members and lefty's should be self reflecting on why that is and then using their platforms to pressure the govt to be more focused.
Instead we get tribalists doubling down.
I like the standard, it used to give loads and loads of constructive criticism when labour was in opposition and polling like it is now, it should start giving the govt constructive criticism.
A lot of the parliamentary party reads this blog and they are the people who need to hear constructive criticism from the center left, not just endless defense.
It would not matter if Labour crashed below the 5% threshold, the tribalists would still fail to reconsider, still keep telling us how wonderful this govt is.
The core problem is that Labour has failed to deliver effectively on it's core mission – inequality, housing, tax reform and sustainable prosperity. Instead it has been captured by elitist woke agendas the public distrusts.
Literally 1 in 2 of the people who voted for them less than three years ago now regret that decision. That is a stunning loss of confidence.
Right now the most rational (yet I realise least likely) option, is for Labour to ditch it's woke and ethnic separatist activists, refocus on it's the core economic mission to save what they can – and then reach out to National after the election to form a centrist coalition govt that is not shackled by extremist agendas of both the left and right.
The activists and tribalists will of course hate this suggestion – even if it it might be the best option for the country.
I suspect it is all too late
The historic parallels between Ardern and Lange are stark; both came to power as charismatic and effective leaders – both undone by radical agendas in their caucus.
It would not surprise me if Ardern also resigns if the polls do not improve early in the New Year.
Not sure but she certainly sounded over it on the radio a few minutes ago.
She is undoubtably an effective leader but has been badly let down by the the policy formers and implementation…..5 years and apart from most of the covid response they can show little successful implementation and a myriad of failures…….the latest being contaminated aviation fuel.
At one point I got to meet Lange – just months before he resigned. It was in a small social setting, and not an overtly political context. Back then I was very apolitical, but I did have the chance to have a conversation with him and listen to him talking with the others. I was a bit overawed to tell the truth and I probably came across as very naive to him, but it was a memorable day all the same.
Afterward I got home and told my partner of the overwhelming feeling I had that Lange was sick of not being his own person anymore, not being able to say what he really wanted to say. It was just a gut feeling that I could not have rationalised, but suffice to say events a few months later made sense of it.
Its a bugger being human
How is contaminated fuel the fault of the govt? Looks like it was out of the govt's control.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/130690232/flight-disruption-likely-ahead-of-christmas-after-jet-fuel-contaminated
"little successful implementation and a myriad of failures?
100 things we’ve delivered this year
https://www.labour.org.nz/news-100_things_delivered_2022
Our achievements
https://www.labour.org.nz/our-record
"The Prime Minister says she has no plans to quit her job ahead of next year's election after rumours began swirling"
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2022/10/prime-minister-jacinda-ardern-responds-to-quitting-moving-to-new-plymouth-rumours.html
Not like John Key who quit because the job wasn't fun anymore.
Jacinda Ardern is not John key, she wouldn't do a runner mid term like he did and if you really believe he ran away because the job was not "fun" anymore, then I guess you believe in Santa Clause and the tooth fairy.
"The historic parallels between Ardern and Lange are stark"..yep, and I bet both will be remembered fondly, instead of taking the full brunt of the blame for their own records…look at Lange, most lay the blame of the disaster that unfettered Free Market Liberalism has been for our communities and the country as large at the feet of Douglas, and let Lange walk away still with his reputation largely intact..apart from her initial Covid response, Ardern would have to be regarded as one of the most ineffectual political leaders in New Zealand’s modern history…more of a manager than leader really.
.
Captured by an affluent, profoundly un-democratic & (despite all the ostentatious moral posturing) ruthlessly self-interested Pakeha Woke cadre … together with an equally ruthless & authoritarian ethno-nationalist Maori caucus.
The phoney virtue-signalling isn't working anymore.
Two major parties are simply rival factions of the same self-interested Establishment.
One’s keen, as always, on making life economic hell for low & low-middle income groups in general … the other’s very excited about viciously scapegoating the Non-Maori majority within that social strata, formally transforming them into second-class citizens, seemingly with the hope that large numbers will start dying early … thus achieving the enormous moral victory of evening up the life expectancy stats.
Not however confined to just the Labour and Green parties. The same cadres have over the past two decades steadily infiltrated and entrenched themselves in all of our key institutions – education, law, media, public service and increasingly various power nodes in our commercial world.
No ordinary govt can effectively defy this. Which is why I suggested above – despite some obvious objections around why National might be motivated to co-operate – an extraordinary coalition as the alternative.
“Labour has failed to deliver effectively on it’s core mission – inequality, housing, tax reform and sustainable prosperity.”
Setting aside the meaningless word "woke" and the exaggeration of "ethnic separatists" in the rest of your post – I agree totally. Public broadcasting and 3 Waters are worthy but peripheral objectives. The pandemic was an opportunity to initiate a radical and colour-blind downward redistribution of wealth and power. Do things that are popular with the public and that National loathe. Then do more of them.
The terms woke and ethno-separatist are I accept, jargon words that are useful in that they concisely convey a complex political meaning. I can though understand your discomfort and objection to them. Yet I absolutely concur when you say:
The problem is that no-one really has a clue what the root causes of inequality is, and thus have failed to deliver convincing cures. And the more radical the proposal, the less people will trust it.
I have a bit of a clue as to one of the drivers of inequality.
Landlording.
If someone wants a bigger piece of the pie, someone else must have less.
Free houses.
If that can work, great. In the meantime a downward redistribution of them.
I struggle to use the term resource as, like water, homes are so much more than that.
Yes I fully understand the emotional attachment people have to their homes. Yet somehow the resources needed to provide them still need to be allocated somehow. And that means free houses is a delusion.
Meanwhile back in the real world, very few people are fortunate enough to be able to pay cash in full for their first home. They have to borrow a large fraction of the money needed; and it is all the same whether they do that directly from the bank, or indirectly via a landlord who has provided the equity and credit worthiness the tenant lacks.
In the real world, homes are way more than an emotional attachment.
They are building blocks of communities.
A tuangawaewae.
Unless you can translate that into something concrete, we are back to the free houses fantasy.
Oops.
Turangawaewae. I don't know how to do the macron over the u.
" It literally means standing place (tūranga) and feet (waewae); and is often translated as 'a place to stand'. Tūrangawaewae are places where we feel empowered and connected."
I am very familiar with what the word means – I have had it explained to me first hand. I recognise the ideal it represents.
Why have an election at all then? It is not just Labour that wouldn't form a govt with National after the election, National wouldn't hear of that either.
As long as you are going to confine the definition of an election as a contest between a left and right wing block – this is a valid question.
What happens though when the contest shifts to become one between the centre and a swirling mess of extremists?
"election as a contest between a left and right wing block" that's the way it has always been.
would you be able to write a Guest Post Corey?
Are you talking about commenters here or authors?
100% Tony (1). Cheers
Yes agree it will be worth the fight.
Quite a few of those entities mentioned would not be missed by the public if they fell off a cliff.
Most however you'd miss when a bank closed, or a SuperFund went belly up, or the grid blacked out, and the regulators are effectively only open to the very rich who can afford High Court proceedings.
If Labour manage to get back in we are well overdue to have the nationalisation+recentralisation debate that Labour forgot to have over the last two terms.
Thanks Tony for a clear call to action.
Andrew Little summed the situation up very nicely in speech 1 General Debate today!
https://ondemand.parliament.nz/parliament-tv-on-demand/
Tony I think it was
https://ondemand.parliament.nz/parliament-tv-on-demand/?itemId=230525
Brilliant post Tony….pls repost every month updated for more Luxon/Seymour lies.
A tad of clarity in an opaque pool.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/qa-who-should-pay-for-desperately-needed-three-waters-work
"And to a degree, the distinction between taxpayers or ratepayers being responsible for Three Waters debt overlooks an important feature of the reforms: the defining shift to a commercial utility model."
It is worth noting that nobody has any idea of the cost or even the functionality of this proposal as it enters its final reading in Parliament. Hardly the basis for good decision making.
Despite the cherry picked sentence from Pat the report is an interesting and informative read, especially the discussion on the type of structure that is most supported by capital markets etc
'And again, let's be blunt. The reduced influence of local politicians and civic managers is not an unfortunate effect of balance sheet separation, as far as the capital markets are concerned. It the whole idea. Given local authorities track record in under-investing in water infrastructure, they won't trust any new utility that has too much council control.'
To that extent, 50/50 iwi membership of the regional representative bodies is seen as commercially desirable, because it lessens the influence of councils, with the perverse, short-term political incentives described by Hamiora Bowkett.
It will be difficult to reassure investors and the ratings agencies, though, when the water assets are still wholly owned by councils, and when councils are expressing their intent to influence the new water entities as much as possible through representation on the regional bodies, appointing the directors and scrutinising the strategic plans.
That's why ultimately, the Government will ensure its bottom line of balance sheet separation is achieved through legislation. Councils will be prohibited from providing any financial support to the new three water entities and constrained from selling or transferring their shares. Three water entities will not be able to pay any dividends to shareholders. This makes the council ownership structure more nominal than real. In essence, councils' only input will be through the regional representative group.'’
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/qa-who-should-pay-for-desperately-needed-three-waters-work
And as an extra, we get to see that Pat's support for a govt department like the old MoW is a take from TOP policy.
'So there's something more – and this reinforces Hamiora Bowkett's point at the start of this article. These reforms are not just about who picks up the tab; fundamentally, they're about ensuring critical work is actually done. Because in many parts of the country, for many years, it hasn't been.
Amelia East says extensive overseas experience shows that the utility model enables operating and investment efficiencies, and opportunities to spread the burden of debt among customers, that are not readily achievable under a council-operated model.
So to reduce the Three Waters debate to a question of who services the debt would, she says, completely overlook the fundamental need to provide better, safer, more efficient water services.'
Well worth the read if just for the plain, not pushing a political barrow writing that has passed for discussion recently in media.
"And as an extra, we get to see that Pat's support for a govt department like the old MoW is a take from TOP policy.
"
One should never assume Shanreagh….it was a pleasant surprise to read that. I will now have to look more closely at TOP's manifesto.
A few more cherries for you (and anyone else interested)
"The status of the Three Waters Reform and its final features, in terms of the timing of the execution of the reform, asset transfers, relative impact across local government bodies and funding responsibilities, remain unclear," says John Manning, the Vice President and Senior Credit Officer for Moody’s Investors Service."
"These issues won’t be solved only by improving access to finance," he warns. "It’s a lack of preparedness to charge sufficiently for the cost of delivering services, and a tendency to shift the cost of infrastructure upgrades onto future generations."
"As inflation soars and interest rates rise, Cymru’s experience is again educational: Its financing costs leapt from £134m to £277m in interest payments this year, because of its inflation index-linked debt. Its auditors say increasing costs and inflation are the risks most likely to adversely affect the company’s liquidity.
This just highlights the extraordinary cost of a nation's public infrastructure."
If the good people of NZ were unwilling/unable to fund the required 3 waters infrastructure under the existing model what makes anyone think they will/can when the the costs have been increased?
Shanreagh re Amelia East :
And strangely this is what Council reps believe too. McNulty said he asked over 100 councils if they saw a need to reform Three Waters. They all said, "Yes."
I’m not entirely sure what is meant with “Council reps” given that we had a change of the guard in October. However, not everything that is going or has gone wrong can be fully pinned on Government:
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/thats-on-us-too-ardern-accepts-blame-for-info-vacuum-on-govt-reform
This interview with Ardern has attracted an uncharacteristically high number of comments of uncharacteristically low quality and reads more like the ‘discussion’ you’d expect to find on some of the NZ political blog sites with even a Mod giving a warning shot.
I suspect the councils want the government to hand over the billions of dollars without any scrutiny on what the money will actually be spent on. In other words "just give us the money and then p… off!"
If the Labour government hands over vast amounts of money to fix public services then I think it has a right to make sure the improvements stay in public ownership and not sold off as a NACT government would very likely do.
in reply to Shanreagh, last weeks announcement that the Christchurch rebuild entity, I also can’t remember what name it goes by this week either, but it has been morphed into the new role which is essentially the old MOW so as not to lose all the skills and knowledge contained there. It may well be aTOP idea, just the same as most peoples on here and elsewhere.
I can’t even remember where I saw or heard or read it but it disappeared without comment. Shit no, we can’t have any Labour good news out there.
I suspect it is going to have large roles in water infrastructure rebuilds and the construction of Lake Monroe and other big energy projects like the old MOW did.
Ōtākaro Ltd – https://www.newsroom.co.nz/earthquake-rebuild-agency-takes-over-govt-infrastructure-in-major-shake-up
That sounds very promising.
The new nationwide agency is explicitly only for government projects run by departments without enough experience or expertise in large projects. Let's see who that includes.
"There was no shock-horror, or surprise. Associate Local Government Minister Kieran McAnulty could be seen smiling at the successful vote."
Even David Parker did not agree with it.
This mess will probably start showing up in the next poll.
Make no mistake, Labour knew it was passing controversial Three Waters entrenchment clause | Stuff.co.nz
McNulty is always smiling. So what.
And jimbo is aways moaning and whinging
The threat to academic freedom.
https://twitter.com/colwight/status/1599692059127865344
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/a-culture-of-fear-has-taken-over-academia-and-the-arts/
Thanks for posting SPC. The same thing is happening in NZ. Look what happened to the Listener 7 when they wrote a very respectful letter to the Listener about Maturanga Maori and Science.
And of course Gender Critical feminists having their meetings shut down and having to go to the High Court so their meetings could proceed.
And so begins the process of a litany of convictions for the favoured GOP nominee for POTUS.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/12/06/nyregion/trump-organization-trial-verdict
Even day there several ads on face book
'Musk launched a new project that promises to help families become wealthier.
Turn 400$ into $11,000 mthly
and other similar schemes
SOUNDS SCAMY
Not prepared to link to it.
If it is anything to do with Eion Musk you just know its dodgy.
Once upon a time in a strange land there was a referendum because of a widespread fear that parents would be criminalised. 87% of those who participated wanted government to prevent this by changing the law. The government said there was no need to, they were paranoid.
https://teara.govt.nz/en/cartoon/36965/the-anti-smacking-referendum-2009
And in that same land, now an even stranger one some might say, history records that they were indeed paranoid without merit/cause.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/eight-prosecutions-for-smacking-in-six-years-of-law/OEQKBZA4EMNOHIBMOQMJA7UYAU/
Does history repeat ….
History does repeat – baseless hysteria over 'anti-smacking' in 2009 was itself a repeat of baseless hysteria over homosexual law reform in the 1980's. Rinse and repeat.
But the lesson will never be learnt. There is always baseless hysteria over even the mildest forms of progressive (i.e. humane and balanced ) change – because so much of what so many of us have internalised as 'common sense' is vicious, authoritarian bollocks.
However, Louisa Wall gave a lesson in how to build consensus across political parties, and across the country, with her Same-sex marriage bill.
It's a lesson which appears not to have been learned….
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/louisa-wall-on-quitting-politics-labours-tribalism-and-the-grief-of-leaving-parliament/RLFXSHDPWL7P4LFGKBX5FGAYRQ/
The question I have is this. Are Iwi part of the public sector or private sector? If part of the public sector (and subject to government accountability rules) does this mean the Government is using this law to assume ownership over Iwi?
If Iwi aren't part of the public sector, and should be considered private entities, isn't the result of the Three Water's Legislation as effectively privatising 50% of NZ water? What if you have an Iwi that falls into financial trouble (separate from Three Waters Co-Management).
As a result, their creditors chase them for repayment and use overt pressure for the Iwi to use their Co-management shareholding to increase financial return from the Three Waters entity to help finance their way out of trouble?
Isn't this effectively allowing rate payer/water users to pay for financial liability of private entities? Is this acceptable? I wouldn't have thought so.
No.