Goldsmith raises not extending the franchise to 16 year olds to youth crime. Doesn't Goldsmith think that practicing civics and letting them have a say might help empower some disempowered young people?
Government looks set to ditch Jacinda Ardern's attempt to lower voting age
Glenn McConnell05:00, Mar 08 2022
….it’s a distraction of officials’ time. Simply, they should be focused on violent crime, youth crime and delays in the court system.”
[Goldsmith]
I can almost hear. tough on crime torys like Goldsmith calling for harsher penalties for your offenders, chanting; 'if you can't do the time don't do the crime.'
Young people deserve adult punishment, but not the right to vote which might empower disempowered young people to lift their horizons above the immediate?
16 year olds are mostly still at school, have not finished their education,worked, or paid taxes. I do not want adult votes cancelled out by someone with a sense of me/me entitlement who gets all their information from social media.
votes cancelled out by someone with a sense of me/me entitlement who gets all their information from social media
Can you please explain how a 16 year old who is still at school, and will be part of a (presumed) civics curriculum if this happens, will be any different, or more of a threat to our democracy, than a very large portion of the current over 18 electorate.
I read a piece a couple of years ago around the start of the things arguing that civics curriculum and 16 were closely linked because it would be more relevant.
In my education we got a very good civics component (Upper form at Kelston Boys in early 70’s) and were engaged enough to see right through the Dancing Cossacks in 1975.
they should start teaching it now in depth whether the vote gets lowered or not. Start at the beginning of high school. It's such a basic for democracy.
I don't remember being taught it at all, but I might not have been paying attention either. I did vote the year I turned 18 in the general election.
Well, it all depends on what you mean by "Civics" – NZ government and comparative governmental systems are already covered in the NZ social studies curriculum – in several ways at several different ages/stages.
Here, for example in Level 5 (which is roughly equivalent to Year10)
Understand how systems of government in New Zealand operate and affect people’s lives, and how they compare with another system.
Understand how the Treaty of Waitangi is responded to differently by people in different times and places.
Understand how cultural interaction impacts on cultures and societies.
Understand that people move between places and how this has consequences for the people and the places.
Understand how economic decisions impact on people, communities, and nations.
Understand how people’s management of resources impacts on environmental and social sustainability.
Understand how the ideas and actions of people in the past have had a significant impact on people’s lives.
Understand how people seek and have sought economic growth through business, enterprise, and innovation.
Understand how people define and seek human rights.
Year 10 is the last year where AFAIK Social studies is mandatory – once kids are in Year 11 (what used to be 5th form), they are starting to make choices about subjects, and can opt away from soft sciences.
There were probably some enlightened secondary schools teaching Civics then. I recall it being suggested that it should be taught in all secondary schools and the then Prime Minister, Rob Muldoon vetoed it straight away as being an insidious communist plot.
I'd guess there are plenty of 16 year-olds who would think that's a good idea.
Although I am slightly uncomfortable about 16-year-olds voting, I'm not really convinced that the majority of them lack some necessary component that the majority of adults actually have – or that such a lack could be addressed by civics education.
In reality, civics education would become a contested space like the compulsory teaching of NZ history – ripe with culture war opportunities and filled with denunciations of 'wokeness'.
It's an academic argument anyway – most adults oppose it because they are scared that 16 year-olds would legislate to take their stuff away and stop them eating meat or flying on aeroplanes more than once a year.
I was thinking of the basics like how MMP works, and what local government does. Shouldn't be hard to teach that in a neutral way (assuming there was a will to neutrality!)
I'm relieved it's not a goer tbh. It's a complicated issue with lots of aspects factoring into it. For me it's mostly why 16 and not 17 or 14. Or 5, lol, to which one progresssive I know said he supported young children voting.
Yeah the thing about boundaries is a headache. It's a playground for reductio ad absurdum arguments that can run in all directions – "if 16, why not 10" or "if 18 why not 30", or "if we don't start till 18 why not stop at 60"?
It would be best to settle on an agreed age of adulthood and apply that everywhere. What cuts across that compromise though, is the idea of inter-generational fairness. If young people cannot vote – should there be some auditing of legislation for inter-generational fairness, just as there is for compliance with the BORA? (But the results of the BORA-compliance audits are often ignored I believe)
auditing for generational fairness makes sense. We should be doing this anyway. However I'm not convinced that people who have the right to vote get treated fairly in that regard eg Māori adults can vote but are outvoted by Pākehā interests. Wealthy mainstream people have more sway than poor and fringe people. And so on.
I'm in favour of increasing democracy by participatory means. One person one vote really is a low form of democracy.
Not sure about the age of adulthood. Sex, drinking, military, driving, leaving school, youth rates, lots of things don't match up neatly by age. How would we decide which ones to change?
edit to add: Admittedly I am unable to find the content also. All of the curriculum is undergoing a refresh that will be implemented fully in 2026 apparently.
Year 10 is the last year where AFAIK Social studies is mandatory – once kids are in Year 11 (what used to be 5th form), they are starting to make choices about subjects, and can opt away from soft sciences.
AFAIK there is nothing that tells a teacher how to teach a topic in the NZ curriculum.
It's outcome focused – and is deliberately designed to be non-specific.
"Understand how systems of government in New Zealand operate and affect people’s lives, and how they compare with another system."
So, at the end of the 'teaching' the student should be able to demonstrate that they understand how systems of government work in NZ – and compare these to those in other countries.
There are lots of different ways a teacher might approach teaching this topic – and lots of different resources they might use for the compare and contrast element.
When my son did this last year, they used print, online and film resources. And, were required to produce a report contrasting NZ political systems and their-country-of-choice (each one in the class had to choose a different one) – in a range of specific areas (from memory these included: Political structure (Democracy, Monarchy, Oligarchy, Autocracy, etc.); popular involvement (who can vote, does your vote make a difference); Decision-making structure (who runs the government, courts, etc.) — and a whole lot more – I think there were 10 questions which had to be covered.
This was IIRC about a 4-6 week block of work in the Social Studies curriculum.
Having said that – I'm sure there are lots of targeted resources on the Dept of Education sites – to assist with resourcing teaching in this area.
I recall the so called 'civic lessons' we had at my high school during election season. But not fondly.
In the '70's the Cold War was at its height and our teachers were earnestly trying teach us the value of democracy. In social studies class we were made to take part in a mock election. Not allowed to debate any real issues. Not allowed to take part in the real ballot we were given a fake ballot. The lesson I took,was no one cared what we thought. The whole thing was pointless and disempowering. We felt patronised and we let the teacher know it.
I hope things aren't done that way any more.
Because this is not how civics should be taught, or how civics is learnt.
Civics is learnt in the doing.
If you don't give people a voice, they never learn to use it.
If you don't give people choices they never learn to make them.
A large portion of over 16yr olds or "adult votes" get their sense of me/me entitlement from equally entitled radio and TV personalities. I don't think it's a policy worth dieing in a ditch over but there are equal arguments for and against. I'm not sure my vote preference would've changed between 16 and 18.
Mine certainly did. I was raised in a very middle class environment and the first political action I was involved with (at 17yo) was a demonstration IN FAVOUR of New Zealand's involvement in the Vietnam War. I had a placard with a quote from Churchhill! However, after the demo – my companion and I got talking with a couple of chaps from the PYM (Progressive Youth Movement) who were demonstrating on the other side of the road, and we decided that they had the better arguement. Next Friday evening we were on their side of the pavement – and that is where I have been ever since.
Where do people who grew up before homosexual law reform, still "remember the war" and whose parents called England "home" get their info from? Radio Rhema? Maybe their votes should be stripped as well.
How about immigrants? Maybe those that work in: <farming><arts><government> should be disenfranchised.
What about anyone that has Facebook – were the VFF nutters all 16yos?
I was 36 years old when Homosexual Law Reform came in – I remember the Vietnam War and I certainly do not listen to any religious radio. Nobody is talking about "stripping votes" I hope – this is about extending the franchise. The rest is hyperbole.
A few people make the argument for removing the vote from retirees. It's a piece of political inanity that demonstrates they don't understand the developmental differences between an old person and a child. Differences which are at the heart of why not that many people support lowering the age.
I know of quite a few 16 and younger that do pay income tax, let alone GST.
As for entitlement and selfishness being a barrier to voting, surely that includes landlords.
TBF, I would suggest most vote for their self interest, but we have elected and re-elected governments that have only paid lip service to CC. Perhaps having a few more idealists vote would be a circuit breaker.
An interesting discussion here between 10.30 min and 16.30 min on Australian aspiration culture, how it evolved politically post 90's to drive electorate decision-making. Now, in the last 6 months, particularly with the housing crisis, this aspirational viewpoint is switching to concern by many voters about their future financial security.
Think there are parallels in parts to our own political trends and messaging.
There are a great many young people today who are so much better informed and who are more intelligent and mature than their senior counterparts.
But on balance, I don't see any desperate need to lower the age to 16. Waiting two more years is nothing. My generation had to wait until we turned 21 and if – like me – you turned 21 soon after an election – tough bickies. I didn't get my first vote until I was closing in on 24.
To RosieLee at 1.1 : Your comment shows it's own me/me frame-of-reference. I am not a teenager taking umbrage, but in my tenth decade, acutely concerned for my greatgrandchildren ( one sixteen, more soon to be ) and their peers in their future.
I find much understanding of important issues in teenagers I know.
Please consult those teens in your own circle when you find a relaxed conversational moment. I think you might be surprised, even comforted.
A nasty generalisation and slur made against the young people of this country, by RosieLee
"I do not want adult votes cancelled out by someone with a sense of me/me entitlement…" RosieLee
Young people with no right to vote on the issue, will inherit from us a badly degraded biosphere. Not having the vote, they have rallied in their thousands in our cities' streets for real government action on climate change. Of course this generation would want young people's voices cancelled out, so we can carry on doing what we are doing..
I want youth voices cancelled out by someone with a sense of me/me entitlement….
There you go Rosie, fixed it for you. No don't thank me.
Rosie, I don't want to get my adult (retiree) vote cancelled by other older citizens who get their daily brainwashing from nothing more than ZB Newstalk and their Natz sycophants.
You don't want people with a me me entitlement who get most of their information from social media from voting ?
That describes the majority of voters on both the left and the right.
Also teenagers pay tax but if not paying enough tax should exclude people from voting there's a lot of people in NZ who shouldn't vote.
Why shouldn't the people who will have to pay for and live with the consequences of decisions made by today's governments get a vote when the citizens who won't live for the consequences or pay for the policies of today's governments get a vote.
If 16 year olds can't get a say, why should pensioners? Why should the rich or unemployed vote? In fact let's make it so noone can vote till they pay their student loans.
Next Should we require voting eligibility be granted only to those who pay more into the tax system than they get out? This would make many working class and working poor families and many who are on subsidized medications and regularly using subsidized healthcare ineligible for voting.
I wondered whether we could have 'youth' MPs, a couple of seats in the current Parliament set aside specifcally for 16-20 y voters, similar to the Māori seats. Like the Māori electoral roll, those 18-20 could opt either to join this roll or the main electoral roll.
I'm not convinced about lowering the voting age to 16, but this idea of a youth roll and seats in parliament is good. Not sure it would work because of the numbers, but I like the thinking. It's a transition, from childhood to adulthood. It would increase awareness of youth issues and encourage youth to stand in general seats/lists. It could up awareness of how MMP works. Lots to like.
I think lowering it to 17 makes sense. That includes 6th form and is an age when many people start to understand what is going on in the world and have opinions.
Oh please, no! An upper house strikes me as a layer of pigs in troughs we do not need, as we are not a federal democracy. Even worse, a crony-laden, bloated House of entitled Lords!
Keep it simple, and easily accountable. I like our government structure a lot, MMP, Māori seats and all. The only wobbly bit is the strategic stand-down of one party to safeguard a coalition partner, eg. Epsom.
RNZ morning report today covered the anomalous position of banks as the four largest profit-making concerns in NZ. This is not usual in other OECD countries. There is a push for a Commerce Commission enquiry to investigate how and why this happens. RNZ asked about the influence of ex-politicians in bank directorships as a contributing factor to their political power.
This is relevant also regarding windfall profit tax.
Why are you so worried? As far as I am aware there is only one former MP on a Bank Board in New Zealand. Just one.
I would think it would be more useful if we looked at the directors of some of the failing SOEs in New Zealand to see whether there would be something to gain by replacing former political party hacks on their boards. Railways might be a good place to start. What role have they played in not planning for the Cook Strait ferries to be replaced. Were they asleep at the wheel and didn't look at the ferries getting old to the extent that they are now collapsing regularly and spend most of their time moored in Wellington.
Were we right to put old political relics like Mike Williams and Maryan Street on the Board?
Who owns the ferries Alwyn? What do "Supply lines" mean to you? Do your homework. The new terminals are designed to take hybrid rail ferries from 2025, and are part of a planned programme to replace an aging fleet. Your slurs are just deflection of the poorest kind.
Banking needs to offer ten and fifteen year mortgages. The gouging has to stop.
NZ has Australian owned banks who cream it, aided by such as Key. 200+ points above the base, and slow to pass that to savers. A Commission of Inquiry, which in Australia showed many sharp and even unlawful banking practices, would reveal the same here no doubt.
Simon Power was working for the ANZ at one stage.The big 4 pay no tax in NZ and are pushing services in NZ that were deemed illegal by the Australian banking enquiry resulting in huge fines against all the big banks and AMP.NZ allows Cartels free reign in our unregulated markets .NZ has no real competition in any sector making NZ one of the most expensive countries to live in.The free market policies were supposed to free up competition the reverse has happened.NZ would be better served by having an economic union with Australia at least their SEC has the clout to make the banks do the right thing.NZ just gives the supermarkets,Banks,fuel cos,Power cos, a god telling off but the reality is that nothing changes.Just spin.
The big 4 banks pay enormous amounts of tax in New Zealand. ANZ in the year to 30/09/2021 paid $750 million and was New Zealand's biggest corporate taxpayer. WBC paid $A402 million in 2019 in NZ (about $420 million NZD). BNZ paid $514 million in the year to September 2021.
I really don't think that I can be bothered pointing out the rest of your fallacies. If you really think you are stating facts please supply your evidence
RNZ asked about the influence of ex-politicians in bank directorships as a contributing factor to their political power.
Or their employment sinecure. In the USA people leave the Pentagon for positions within the MIC.
Another example two National Party interns get their first job out of university in the same corporate affairs job with an international tobacco company. Then become MP's. The same company has connections to Mr Whale (CS) and presumably funding to certain friendly to vaping organisations/unions etc.
That's raising an entirely different issue – the question of whether any political retreads should be employed in the senior levels of the corporate sector or in the civil service – immediately after exiting parliament. Or whether there should be a mandatory stand-down period (as there is in many other countries)
Most recently (and blatantly) controversially involving Kris Faafoi setting up a political lobbying consultancy immediately after resigning from government.
And, pointing out again, that Simon Power was never a bank director – he was a senior employee on the management team – so his employment situation is entirely irrelevant to the RNZ story.
The RNZ interviewed Adrian Stubbs over the bank review, who has questioned ex-politico appointments to banks before. Most OECD countries have a sensible 'restraint of trade' period of at least 3 years before you can move into the finance sector at director level after leaving Parliament.
The story you link to has nothing to do with whether Key should be able to be a bank director because he had been an MP.
It was whether key, as the ANZ NZ Board chairman, along with the BNZ chairman should be able to be on the Main Boards of the ANZ and NAB, who own the BNZ, in Australia. Being on both boards could be a conflict of interest as the ANZ (NZ) and ANZ Group interests could differ. The same applies to BNZ and NAB
It was nothing to do with Key's previous occupation.
James Bolger Kiwi Bank (contrarian vs the others – the black mirror glass ones)
Jennifer Shipley NZ board of the China Construction Bank.
Don Brash ANZ
Simon Power Westpac
John Key ANZ Bank.
OK William English (just about everywhere not bank), so not all former party leaders (Todd Corporation Limited and Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets probably do as much investment in business as the retail property mortgage banks).
Who the bloody hell, decided to scrap a one of the Ferries instead of refitting her because it was cheaper to her scrap her?
Then fluffed around realising, oh shit we need a replacement but instead of doing the more sensible & smart thing to do & order new one RO/RO Rail Ferries!
Let's buy a one 2nd hand one trick lemon & delay the replacement process as much as possible?
Would you please explain what NZG was in power at the time & why they didn't want to spend a single cent on critical infrastructure such as new RO/RO Rail Ferries?
Obviously they saw no reason to do anything in haste and took three and a half years to order new ferries to replace those which are now almost worn out. that means only wasting about two and a half years I suppose.
It appears that they actually started the work in early 2017. I guess that was when National were the Government. Here was the announcement of their plans in 2018 when the then CEO said they had been working on the proposal for eighteen months.
In July 1941 the US decided they would build a single building for the military. Design was complete by September and construction started in September 1941. It was finished 16 months later in January 1943. Why does everything take so ling these days?
It's was Labour & the NZF Coalition that finally ordered the 2 new Ferries (should've been 3) but costs blew out because the Nat's fart ass about delaying like old women at Country Women's Association meeting!
If you want proof mate? I'll go back through my NZ Rail Observer, Oz Rail Digest Magazines & bombard you like Ukraine Artillery Fire Mission. Plus throw in Winnie's press releases before the election & after the election for shits & giggles.
Who were quite damming in National's stupidity & arrogance at delaying the ordering for the new Ferries but hey we aka National want to be better economic managers than Labour!
Just like National not wanting to invest in Defence Infrastructure & especially in new Defence Married Quarters & Living In Quarters for NZDF Personal. so let's cap NZDF Married Quarters Tenancy for 6yr to save money & boot service personnel after 6yr!!
The Muppets tired to do it on the cheap when they paid off one instead of putting it into a refit to get through until the new ones entered service, as it was cheaper to buy or lease a 2nd hand lemon that has KiwiRail & taxpayers more $$$ than the cost of the refit of the paid off ferry.
Now the lemon has finally been paid off, which should've never entered service in the first place because bastards (National & Treasury) didn't what to do the job properly & spend money to do it right in the 1st place.
Because they all had an Anti Rail Agenda until Kaikoura Earthquakes blew up in respective faces & realise Rail is part of NZ's Logistics Chain! But they still starved it of decent funding, which is still going to bite NZ in the ass in future regardless who's in Government!
So if polytechs are centralised now and run by the state, high school is run by the state, and intermediate and primary school is run by the state, and we already subsidise early childhood education up the wazoo, why is the early childhood sector in private hands and not run by the state?
It's time to nationalise early childhood education.
What and take money off the Wright family, so they cannot fund a right wing propaganda network … . National is a fan on private profit making from government funded/subsidised service delivery.
But given the government's former focus on fees free tertiary study it does seem an oversight.
Because this way we can pretend it's personal choice that both parents and or single parents don't have to be out working to survive, if we made them public we'd be admitting that work is more important than raising our kids personally.
When it was instituted FDR called for a minimum wage that is a living wage, since then the two have diverged in meaning and practice.
no business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country. By "business" I mean the whole of commerce as well as the whole of industry; by workers I mean all workers, the white collar class as well as the men in overalls; and by living wages I mean more than a bare subsistence level-I mean the wages of decent living.
– Franklin Roosevelt's Statement on the National Industrial Recovery Act, June 16, 1933
Does anyone know the maths of how our MMP parliament would be shaped in the event that a large party received the vast majority of their vote share as electorate votes?
I reran it with a more completed outline and this time there were only 7(!) overhang seats.
I used 2020 results and changed Labours party vote to 30% and upped te Pāti Māori, the Greens and ACTs. This meant Labour would have 46 seats plus the Greens 19 and Pāti Māori with 9. An enormous 74 seat government, which is probably highly unlikely too sadly.
Styles is great. The big, glaringly obvious difference between him and some other big act musicians trying to push the boundaries on gender norms, is that he looks like he's having a lot of fun and being real.
If representation were a criterion only the upper income quartile and Treasury wonks would pay tax – government doesn't pay any attention to anyone else.
Given the nature of the social media global village we live in this is not surprising
In the US Congress the new speaker Joseph McCarthy has formed a committee to stalk people in government positions on Capitol Hill (and is also removing some Democrat Reps from their committee positions).
And at the same time, they come for Campbell, Maharey and Dyson here …
It begins with mobs on the streets and ends with the installation of a government to complete the job (over there no more “stolen” elections).
Hope there's a proper investigation into the chemcouriers truck which went up in flames today.
Was it carrying what it shouldn't be ? Had incompatible categories of chemicals together ? Serious questions as that could've been alongside much denser population close to the motorway as it moved north.
The theme for this year's IWD, 'Embracing Equity', highlights this. What it's saying is that for women – as with every other group of people who face disadvantage, discrimination and bias – equality is not enough. It's also acknowledging that women – just like men – are not one homogenous group: there's intersectionality at play here, too. Giving everyone a pair of shoes is one thing; making sure everyone has a pair of shoes that fits is another.
International Women's Day, also known as IWD for short, grew out of the labour movement to become a recognised annual event by the United Nations (UN).
The seeds of it were planted in 1908, when 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter working hours, better pay and the right to vote. A year later, the Socialist Party of America declared the first National Woman's Day.
The idea to make the day international came from a woman called Clara Zetkin, communist activist and advocate for women's rights. She suggested the idea in 1910 at an International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen. There were 100 women there, from 17 countries, and they agreed on her suggestion unanimously.
It was first celebrated in 1911, in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. The centenary was celebrated in 2011, so this year we're technically celebrating the 111th International Women's Day.
Things were made official in 1975 when the United Nations started celebrating the day. The first theme adopted by the UN (in 1996) was; Celebrating the Past, Planning for the Future.
International Women's Day has become a date to celebrate how far women have come in society, in politics and in economics, while the political roots of the day mean strikes and protests are organised to raise awareness of continued inequality.
Hopefully our leaders will take note of stress within the hospitals and rethink the Dunedin rebuild, but then again the same people who have reduced the scope of Dunedin are still there. Perhaps the govt needs to think long term and to make better decisions, we can only hope 😢.
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Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
The government’s attack on Māori health this week is committing tangata-whenua to a premature death, says Te Pāti Māori. “The government have begun their onslaught on Māori health with the abolishment of the Māori Health Authority and smokefree laws in the same day” said health spokesperson and co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
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Extending the franchise.
Nah.
Goldsmith raises not extending the franchise to 16 year olds to youth crime. Doesn't Goldsmith think that practicing civics and letting them have a say might help empower some disempowered young people?
I can almost hear. tough on crime torys like Goldsmith calling for harsher penalties for your offenders, chanting; 'if you can't do the time don't do the crime.'
Young people deserve adult punishment, but not the right to vote which might empower disempowered young people to lift their horizons above the immediate?
16 year olds are mostly still at school, have not finished their education,worked, or paid taxes. I do not want adult votes cancelled out by someone with a sense of me/me entitlement who gets all their information from social media.
Can you please explain how a 16 year old who is still at school, and will be part of a (presumed) civics curriculum if this happens, will be any different, or more of a threat to our democracy, than a very large portion of the current over 18 electorate.
it's the presumed civics question that interests me. Is that an actual thing?
Can we make adults do it too?
I read a piece a couple of years ago around the start of the things arguing that civics curriculum and 16 were closely linked because it would be more relevant.
In my education we got a very good civics component (Upper form at Kelston Boys in early 70’s) and were engaged enough to see right through the Dancing Cossacks in 1975.
they should start teaching it now in depth whether the vote gets lowered or not. Start at the beginning of high school. It's such a basic for democracy.
I don't remember being taught it at all, but I might not have been paying attention either. I did vote the year I turned 18 in the general election.
looks like its voluntary in the school curriculum currently.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/ldr/443400/civics-and-citizenship-education-being-left-to-chance-academic
Well, it all depends on what you mean by "Civics" – NZ government and comparative governmental systems are already covered in the NZ social studies curriculum – in several ways at several different ages/stages.
Here, for example in Level 5 (which is roughly equivalent to Year10)
https://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/The-New-Zealand-Curriculum/Social-sciences/Achievement-objectives#collapsible5
Year 10 is the last year where AFAIK Social studies is mandatory – once kids are in Year 11 (what used to be 5th form), they are starting to make choices about subjects, and can opt away from soft sciences.
There were probably some enlightened secondary schools teaching Civics then. I recall it being suggested that it should be taught in all secondary schools and the then Prime Minister, Rob Muldoon vetoed it straight away as being an insidious communist plot.
I'd guess there are plenty of 16 year-olds who would think that's a good idea.
Although I am slightly uncomfortable about 16-year-olds voting, I'm not really convinced that the majority of them lack some necessary component that the majority of adults actually have – or that such a lack could be addressed by civics education.
In reality, civics education would become a contested space like the compulsory teaching of NZ history – ripe with culture war opportunities and filled with denunciations of 'wokeness'.
It's an academic argument anyway – most adults oppose it because they are scared that 16 year-olds would legislate to take their stuff away and stop them eating meat or flying on aeroplanes more than once a year.
I was thinking of the basics like how MMP works, and what local government does. Shouldn't be hard to teach that in a neutral way (assuming there was a will to neutrality!)
I'm relieved it's not a goer tbh. It's a complicated issue with lots of aspects factoring into it. For me it's mostly why 16 and not 17 or 14. Or 5, lol, to which one progresssive I know said he supported young children voting.
thinking about it you are probably right. How to teach Te Tiriti without making some people's heads explode.
Yeah the thing about boundaries is a headache. It's a playground for reductio ad absurdum arguments that can run in all directions – "if 16, why not 10" or "if 18 why not 30", or "if we don't start till 18 why not stop at 60"?
It would be best to settle on an agreed age of adulthood and apply that everywhere. What cuts across that compromise though, is the idea of inter-generational fairness. If young people cannot vote – should there be some auditing of legislation for inter-generational fairness, just as there is for compliance with the BORA? (But the results of the BORA-compliance audits are often ignored I believe)
auditing for generational fairness makes sense. We should be doing this anyway. However I'm not convinced that people who have the right to vote get treated fairly in that regard eg Māori adults can vote but are outvoted by Pākehā interests. Wealthy mainstream people have more sway than poor and fringe people. And so on.
I'm in favour of increasing democracy by participatory means. One person one vote really is a low form of democracy.
Not sure about the age of adulthood. Sex, drinking, military, driving, leaving school, youth rates, lots of things don't match up neatly by age. How would we decide which ones to change?
We learned all that stuff at school in the 60's – even practised mock court sessions to understand how the legal system worked as well.
Even learned about tsunami's even though we lived hundreds of miles from the sea.
Didn't realise they'd stopped teaching this stuff.
apparently something is in the curriculum, in Social Studies, but it's voluntary (for the school I guess?). I couldn't find the actual content.
This is the online portal: https://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/The-New-Zealand-Curriculum/Social-sciences
edit to add: Admittedly I am unable to find the content also. All of the curriculum is undergoing a refresh that will be implemented fully in 2026 apparently.
Try this one
Here, for example in Level 5 (which is roughly equivalent to Year10)
https://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/The-New-Zealand-Curriculum/Social-sciences/Achievement-objectives#collapsible5
Year 10 is the last year where AFAIK Social studies is mandatory – once kids are in Year 11 (what used to be 5th form), they are starting to make choices about subjects, and can opt away from soft sciences.
where’s the bit that tells the teacher how to teach this,
AFAIK there is nothing that tells a teacher how to teach a topic in the NZ curriculum.
It's outcome focused – and is deliberately designed to be non-specific.
"Understand how systems of government in New Zealand operate and affect people’s lives, and how they compare with another system."
So, at the end of the 'teaching' the student should be able to demonstrate that they understand how systems of government work in NZ – and compare these to those in other countries.
There are lots of different ways a teacher might approach teaching this topic – and lots of different resources they might use for the compare and contrast element.
When my son did this last year, they used print, online and film resources. And, were required to produce a report contrasting NZ political systems and their-country-of-choice (each one in the class had to choose a different one) – in a range of specific areas (from memory these included: Political structure (Democracy, Monarchy, Oligarchy, Autocracy, etc.); popular involvement (who can vote, does your vote make a difference); Decision-making structure (who runs the government, courts, etc.) — and a whole lot more – I think there were 10 questions which had to be covered.
This was IIRC about a 4-6 week block of work in the Social Studies curriculum.
Having said that – I'm sure there are lots of targeted resources on the Dept of Education sites – to assist with resourcing teaching in this area.
are you saying that this is literally the only guidance given?
What guidance do you need?
It's an outcome – which is intended to be able to be objectively measured.
The curriculum gives deducational outcomes which have to be achieved/demonstrated – it doesn't tell a teach how to teach.
I recall the so called 'civic lessons' we had at my high school during election season. But not fondly.
In the '70's the Cold War was at its height and our teachers were earnestly trying teach us the value of democracy. In social studies class we were made to take part in a mock election. Not allowed to debate any real issues. Not allowed to take part in the real ballot we were given a fake ballot. The lesson I took,was no one cared what we thought. The whole thing was pointless and disempowering. We felt patronised and we let the teacher know it.
I hope things aren't done that way any more.
Because this is not how civics should be taught, or how civics is learnt.
Civics is learnt in the doing.
If you don't give people a voice, they never learn to use it.
If you don't give people choices they never learn to make them.
The answer is an emphatic, No!
A large portion of over 16yr olds or "adult votes" get their sense of me/me entitlement from equally entitled radio and TV personalities. I don't think it's a policy worth dieing in a ditch over but there are equal arguments for and against. I'm not sure my vote preference would've changed between 16 and 18.
Mine certainly did. I was raised in a very middle class environment and the first political action I was involved with (at 17yo) was a demonstration IN FAVOUR of New Zealand's involvement in the Vietnam War. I had a placard with a quote from Churchhill! However, after the demo – my companion and I got talking with a couple of chaps from the PYM (Progressive Youth Movement) who were demonstrating on the other side of the road, and we decided that they had the better arguement. Next Friday evening we were on their side of the pavement – and that is where I have been ever since.
Not wanting people with a sense of me me entitlement cuts most voters out!!!
Where do people who grew up before homosexual law reform, still "remember the war" and whose parents called England "home" get their info from? Radio Rhema? Maybe their votes should be stripped as well.
How about immigrants? Maybe those that work in: <farming><arts><government> should be disenfranchised.
What about anyone that has Facebook – were the VFF nutters all 16yos?
I was 36 years old when Homosexual Law Reform came in – I remember the Vietnam War and I certainly do not listen to any religious radio. Nobody is talking about "stripping votes" I hope – this is about extending the franchise. The rest is hyperbole.
A few people make the argument for removing the vote from retirees. It's a piece of political inanity that demonstrates they don't understand the developmental differences between an old person and a child. Differences which are at the heart of why not that many people support lowering the age.
I know of quite a few 16 and younger that do pay income tax, let alone GST.
As for entitlement and selfishness being a barrier to voting, surely that includes landlords.
TBF, I would suggest most vote for their self interest, but we have elected and re-elected governments that have only paid lip service to CC. Perhaps having a few more idealists vote would be a circuit breaker.
An interesting discussion here between 10.30 min and 16.30 min on Australian aspiration culture, how it evolved politically post 90's to drive electorate decision-making. Now, in the last 6 months, particularly with the housing crisis, this aspirational viewpoint is switching to concern by many voters about their future financial security.
Think there are parallels in parts to our own political trends and messaging.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/audio/2023/mar/08/guardian-essential-report-do-cost-of-living-pressures-change-how-people-vote
The other side of the coin:
There are a great many young people today who are so much better informed and who are more intelligent and mature than their senior counterparts.
But on balance, I don't see any desperate need to lower the age to 16. Waiting two more years is nothing. My generation had to wait until we turned 21 and if – like me – you turned 21 soon after an election – tough bickies. I didn't get my first vote until I was closing in on 24.
To RosieLee at 1.1 : Your comment shows it's own me/me frame-of-reference. I am not a teenager taking umbrage, but in my tenth decade, acutely concerned for my greatgrandchildren ( one sixteen, more soon to be ) and their peers in their future.
I find much understanding of important issues in teenagers I know.
Please consult those teens in your own circle when you find a relaxed conversational moment. I think you might be surprised, even comforted.
A nasty generalisation and slur made against the young people of this country, by RosieLee
"I do not want adult votes cancelled out by someone with a sense of me/me entitlement…" RosieLee
Young people with no right to vote on the issue, will inherit from us a badly degraded biosphere. Not having the vote, they have rallied in their thousands in our cities' streets for real government action on climate change. Of course this generation would want young people's voices cancelled out, so we can carry on doing what we are doing..
I want youth voices cancelled out by someone with a sense of me/me entitlement….
There you go Rosie, fixed it for you. No don't thank me.
Rosie, I don't want to get my adult (retiree) vote cancelled by other older citizens who get their daily brainwashing from nothing more than ZB Newstalk and their Natz sycophants.
And left wing don't want their vote cancelled by right wing, (and vice versa)
You don't want people with a me me entitlement who get most of their information from social media from voting ?
That describes the majority of voters on both the left and the right.
Also teenagers pay tax but if not paying enough tax should exclude people from voting there's a lot of people in NZ who shouldn't vote.
Why shouldn't the people who will have to pay for and live with the consequences of decisions made by today's governments get a vote when the citizens who won't live for the consequences or pay for the policies of today's governments get a vote.
If 16 year olds can't get a say, why should pensioners? Why should the rich or unemployed vote? In fact let's make it so noone can vote till they pay their student loans.
Next Should we require voting eligibility be granted only to those who pay more into the tax system than they get out? This would make many working class and working poor families and many who are on subsidized medications and regularly using subsidized healthcare ineligible for voting.
Fair is fair!!
I wondered whether we could have 'youth' MPs, a couple of seats in the current Parliament set aside specifcally for 16-20 y voters, similar to the Māori seats. Like the Māori electoral roll, those 18-20 could opt either to join this roll or the main electoral roll.
I'm not convinced about lowering the voting age to 16, but this idea of a youth roll and seats in parliament is good. Not sure it would work because of the numbers, but I like the thinking. It's a transition, from childhood to adulthood. It would increase awareness of youth issues and encourage youth to stand in general seats/lists. It could up awareness of how MMP works. Lots to like.
I think lowering it to 17 makes sense. That includes 6th form and is an age when many people start to understand what is going on in the world and have opinions.
also when many people start to have to think about adult shit like income and housing.
That is a great idea tWiggle.
After all, we tell them their future is bleak, but "hey keep waiting to have a say in our direction."
If we had an upper house we could do this, it wouldn't have the powers of the HoR but would be a start.
Oh please, no! An upper house strikes me as a layer of pigs in troughs we do not need, as we are not a federal democracy. Even worse, a crony-laden, bloated House of entitled Lords!
Keep it simple, and easily accountable. I like our government structure a lot, MMP, Māori seats and all. The only wobbly bit is the strategic stand-down of one party to safeguard a coalition partner, eg. Epsom.
RNZ morning report today covered the anomalous position of banks as the four largest profit-making concerns in NZ. This is not usual in other OECD countries. There is a push for a Commerce Commission enquiry to investigate how and why this happens. RNZ asked about the influence of ex-politicians in bank directorships as a contributing factor to their political power.
This is relevant also regarding windfall profit tax.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018880868/calls-growing-louder-for-inquiry-into-banks
"ex-politicians in bank directorships".
Why are you so worried? As far as I am aware there is only one former MP on a Bank Board in New Zealand. Just one.
I would think it would be more useful if we looked at the directors of some of the failing SOEs in New Zealand to see whether there would be something to gain by replacing former political party hacks on their boards. Railways might be a good place to start. What role have they played in not planning for the Cook Strait ferries to be replaced. Were they asleep at the wheel and didn't look at the ferries getting old to the extent that they are now collapsing regularly and spend most of their time moored in Wellington.
Were we right to put old political relics like Mike Williams and Maryan Street on the Board?
Who owns the ferries Alwyn? What do "Supply lines" mean to you? Do your homework. The new terminals are designed to take hybrid rail ferries from 2025, and are part of a planned programme to replace an aging fleet. Your slurs are just deflection of the poorest kind.
Banking needs to offer ten and fifteen year mortgages. The gouging has to stop.
NZ has Australian owned banks who cream it, aided by such as Key. 200+ points above the base, and slow to pass that to savers. A Commission of Inquiry, which in Australia showed many sharp and even unlawful banking practices, would reveal the same here no doubt.
Simon Power was working for the ANZ at one stage.The big 4 pay no tax in NZ and are pushing services in NZ that were deemed illegal by the Australian banking enquiry resulting in huge fines against all the big banks and AMP.NZ allows Cartels free reign in our unregulated markets .NZ has no real competition in any sector making NZ one of the most expensive countries to live in.The free market policies were supposed to free up competition the reverse has happened.NZ would be better served by having an economic union with Australia at least their SEC has the clout to make the banks do the right thing.NZ just gives the supermarkets,Banks,fuel cos,Power cos, a god telling off but the reality is that nothing changes.Just spin.
Oh dear, where do I begin?
Simon Power never worked for ANZ.
The big 4 banks pay enormous amounts of tax in New Zealand. ANZ in the year to 30/09/2021 paid $750 million and was New Zealand's biggest corporate taxpayer. WBC paid $A402 million in 2019 in NZ (about $420 million NZD). BNZ paid $514 million in the year to September 2021.
I really don't think that I can be bothered pointing out the rest of your fallacies. If you really think you are stating facts please supply your evidence
https://www.anz.com/content/dam/anzcom/shareholder/2021-FY-new-zealand-full-year-results.pdf
https://www.westpac.co.nz/assets/About-us/sustainability-community/documents/Group-Tax-Transparency-Report-Westpac-NZ.pdf
https://blog.bnz.co.nz/2021/11/fy21-result-strong-and-stable-bnz-backing-business
https://www.interest.co.nz/news/56131/commerce-minister-simon-power-joining-westpac-heading-banking-services-its-wealthy
You did read what tricledrown wrote did you?
"Simon Power was working for the ANZ at one stage".
Well he didn't, which is what I said.
The topic at hand.
From your article, it seems clear that Power was an employee (albeit a senior one on the management team), not a board member.
Two very different things.
Or their employment sinecure. In the USA people leave the Pentagon for positions within the MIC.
Another example two National Party interns get their first job out of university in the same corporate affairs job with an international tobacco company. Then become MP's. The same company has connections to Mr Whale (CS) and presumably funding to certain friendly to vaping organisations/unions etc.
That's raising an entirely different issue – the question of whether any political retreads should be employed in the senior levels of the corporate sector or in the civil service – immediately after exiting parliament. Or whether there should be a mandatory stand-down period (as there is in many other countries)
Most recently (and blatantly) controversially involving Kris Faafoi setting up a political lobbying consultancy immediately after resigning from government.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/130147021/kris-faafois-unwelcome-move-into-lobbying
And, pointing out again, that Simon Power was never a bank director – he was a senior employee on the management team – so his employment situation is entirely irrelevant to the RNZ story.
It isn't just Key aiding and abetting.
Claire Matthews, RNZ's go-to on all things banks, thinks they make big profits 'coz they are big businesses…
No mention of creating credit/debt by entering keystrokes nor anything about fractional reserve banking.
Ugh?
https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/113222943/reserve-bank-governor-adrian-orr-questions-sir-john-keys-anz-directorship
The RNZ interviewed Adrian Stubbs over the bank review, who has questioned ex-politico appointments to banks before. Most OECD countries have a sensible 'restraint of trade' period of at least 3 years before you can move into the finance sector at director level after leaving Parliament.
The story you link to has nothing to do with whether Key should be able to be a bank director because he had been an MP.
It was whether key, as the ANZ NZ Board chairman, along with the BNZ chairman should be able to be on the Main Boards of the ANZ and NAB, who own the BNZ, in Australia. Being on both boards could be a conflict of interest as the ANZ (NZ) and ANZ Group interests could differ. The same applies to BNZ and NAB
It was nothing to do with Key's previous occupation.
James Bolger Kiwi Bank (contrarian vs the others – the black mirror glass ones)
Jennifer Shipley NZ board of the China Construction Bank.
Don Brash ANZ
Simon Power Westpac
John Key ANZ Bank.
OK William English (just about everywhere not bank), so not all former party leaders (Todd Corporation Limited and Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets probably do as much investment in business as the retail property mortgage banks).
Bank of China New Zealand Chairman Chris Tremain
OMFG,
Who the bloody hell, decided to scrap a one of the Ferries instead of refitting her because it was cheaper to her scrap her?
Then fluffed around realising, oh shit we need a replacement but instead of doing the more sensible & smart thing to do & order new one RO/RO Rail Ferries!
Let's buy a one 2nd hand one trick lemon & delay the replacement process as much as possible?
Would you please explain what NZG was in power at the time & why they didn't want to spend a single cent on critical infrastructure such as new RO/RO Rail Ferries?
Labour have been the Government for, if I remember correctly, five and a half years.
Obviously they saw no reason to do anything about getting new ferries to replace those which are now almost worn out.
Why on earth did they ignore reality?
I'd have thought you'd be better informed. New ferries have been ordered.
https://www.irex.co.nz/new-ferries
I shall correct the second sentence.
Obviously they saw no reason to do anything in haste and took three and a half years to order new ferries to replace those which are now almost worn out. that means only wasting about two and a half years I suppose.
It appears that they actually started the work in early 2017. I guess that was when National were the Government. Here was the announcement of their plans in 2018 when the then CEO said they had been working on the proposal for eighteen months.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/107729669/investing-in-interislander-fleet-crucial-to-future-of-nz-inc
In July 1941 the US decided they would build a single building for the military. Design was complete by September and construction started in September 1941. It was finished 16 months later in January 1943. Why does everything take so ling these days?
It's was Labour & the NZF Coalition that finally ordered the 2 new Ferries (should've been 3) but costs blew out because the Nat's fart ass about delaying like old women at Country Women's Association meeting!
If you want proof mate? I'll go back through my NZ Rail Observer, Oz Rail Digest Magazines & bombard you like Ukraine Artillery Fire Mission. Plus throw in Winnie's press releases before the election & after the election for shits & giggles.
Who were quite damming in National's stupidity & arrogance at delaying the ordering for the new Ferries but hey we aka National want to be better economic managers than Labour!
Just like National not wanting to invest in Defence Infrastructure & especially in new Defence Married Quarters & Living In Quarters for NZDF Personal. so let's cap NZDF Married Quarters Tenancy for 6yr to save money & boot service personnel after 6yr!!
Do you want some proof for as well?
Just buy the latest Nth & Sth Mag for that btw.
They didn’t ignore reality, Scud. Seems like the ones we have are on stopgap lease until new ones arrive in 1-2 years.
https://www.treasury.govt.nz/publications/information-release/official-information-regarding-kiwirails-purchase-new-ferries-information-release
The Muppets tired to do it on the cheap when they paid off one instead of putting it into a refit to get through until the new ones entered service, as it was cheaper to buy or lease a 2nd hand lemon that has KiwiRail & taxpayers more $$$ than the cost of the refit of the paid off ferry.
Now the lemon has finally been paid off, which should've never entered service in the first place because bastards (National & Treasury) didn't what to do the job properly & spend money to do it right in the 1st place.
Because they all had an Anti Rail Agenda until Kaikoura Earthquakes blew up in respective faces & realise Rail is part of NZ's Logistics Chain! But they still starved it of decent funding, which is still going to bite NZ in the ass in future regardless who's in Government!
So if polytechs are centralised now and run by the state, high school is run by the state, and intermediate and primary school is run by the state, and we already subsidise early childhood education up the wazoo, why is the early childhood sector in private hands and not run by the state?
It's time to nationalise early childhood education.
Good point well made.
What and take money off the Wright family, so they cannot fund a right wing propaganda network … . National is a fan on private profit making from government
funded/subsidised service delivery.But given the government's former focus on fees free tertiary study it does seem an oversight.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/cheaper-after-school-care-on-the-cards/UZPPHI7YSCQJVB3XY4ZKFZJAC4/#:~:text=Current%20costs%20of%20after%2Dschool,cent%20of%20the%20average%20wage.
https://www.live-work.immigration.govt.nz/live-in-new-zealand/education-and-schooling/before-and-after-school-care
Maybe free education 9-3 and subsidy for charging for pre school and after school care.
Agree.
Especially since we already have some state ECE in kindergartens.
That’s a drum I’ve been banging for a while.
Because this way we can pretend it's personal choice that both parents and or single parents don't have to be out working to survive, if we made them public we'd be admitting that work is more important than raising our kids personally.
A good counterpoint well made.
When it was instituted FDR called for a minimum wage that is a living wage, since then the two have diverged in meaning and practice.
https://docs.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/odnirast.html
That's closer to where I am at on this.
Like 'aged care', ECE is a euphamism for love. Best provided by whanau.
The crux of the issue is low wages, making it awkward for folk to give their time.
Yes.
Erin Brokovich flagged as a terrorist. What a sick little world we live in.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSY9mgj6kNI
At first there were thousands, then tens of thousands, then hundreds of thousands then millions under threat assessment watch.
https://www.dhs.gov/fusion-centers
She's been labeled with a bit more than, being a threat to watch.
Does anyone know the maths of how our MMP parliament would be shaped in the event that a large party received the vast majority of their vote share as electorate votes?
It wuz rigged!
https://elections.nz/stats-and-research/mmp-seat-allocation-calculator/
Ta.
Seems the calculator doesn't expect the results I was testing, it led to 27 overhang seats haha.
Did you account for the fact that there are only 72 electorates?
Yes, admittedly mine was initially broad and extremely unlikely
how many electorates did Labour win?
I reran it with a more completed outline and this time there were only 7(!) overhang seats.
I used 2020 results and changed Labours party vote to 30% and upped te Pāti Māori, the Greens and ACTs. This meant Labour would have 46 seats plus the Greens 19 and Pāti Māori with 9. An enormous 74 seat government, which is probably highly unlikely too sadly.
I hope Chris Trotter is surrounded by family today, he will need the support.
Think Styles was pipped, powerfully, by Danes
Alien Weaponry in Denmark heavy metal youtube
Hard to see Emma Tween and her anxious helicopter mum at that one…
Styles is great. The big, glaringly obvious difference between him and some other big act musicians trying to push the boundaries on gender norms, is that he looks like he's having a lot of fun and being real.
"No tax without representation." So perhaps persons 17 and under shouldn't have to pay tax if they are earning.
If representation were a criterion only the upper income quartile and Treasury wonks would pay tax – government doesn't pay any attention to anyone else.
Given the nature of the social media global village we live in this is not surprising
In the US Congress the new speaker
JosephMcCarthy has formed a committee to stalk people in government positions on Capitol Hill (and is also removing some Democrat Reps from their committee positions).And at the same time, they come for Campbell, Maharey and Dyson here …
It begins with mobs on the streets and ends with the installation of a government to complete the job (over there no more “stolen” elections).
Hope there's a proper investigation into the chemcouriers truck which went up in flames today.
Was it carrying what it shouldn't be ? Had incompatible categories of chemicals together ? Serious questions as that could've been alongside much denser population close to the motorway as it moved north.
Spray cans +
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/auckland-southern-motorway-truck-fire-south-auckland-residents-on-evacuations-fireballs-and-blast-zones/PYQ5C6ZG5ZFUPHJ4COTHQJ744U/
Sounds like the truck itself caught fire. Alot more common than folks think with the friction at high speed of steel on steel etc on longer hauls.
They don't even have to be carrying dangerous goods and boom up they go.
Today is International Womens Day:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/stories/2018880607/four-reasons-why-we-still-need-international-women-s-day
https://www.internationalwomensday.com/
https://www.internationalwomensday.com/theme
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-64723201
Hopefully our leaders will take note of stress within the hospitals and rethink the Dunedin rebuild, but then again the same people who have reduced the scope of Dunedin are still there. Perhaps the govt needs to think long term and to make better decisions, we can only hope 😢.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/local-government/131068018/fight-looming-over-proposed-cuts-to-dunedin-hospital-rebuild
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/emergency-departments-under-pressure-ambulance-staff-called-in-to-help-patient-beds-overflow-into-hospital-cafe/YK5D2XBGBBGE3CQMRUBAUXTMGE/