I’m interested in other people’s thoughts on the fair way to tax capital. Ianmac yesterday linked to The Opportunity Party’s release on their proposed capital tax (which doesn’t have much detail). On the assumption that it’s similar to the Comprehensive Capital Income Tax that Gareth Morgan has proposed before, I’d be worried about the following unintended consequences. http://www.top.org.nz/top1?utm_campaign=top1_members&utm_medium=email&utm_source=garethmorgan
1) Social effects on the housing asset rich/cash poor. Suggested mitigations are unconvincing to me. While this is likely to be the focus of most debate, right now I’m more interested in other aspects listed below.
2) May cause collapse of businesses that would otherwise survive, from the ongoing extra cashflow required to service the capital tax.
3) Discourages foreign investment. Why would any business want to set up where they start getting taxed long before they earn a penny of profit?
4) Favours low-capital businesses, and discourages businesses from investing more capital per worker. This is already a problem causing low productivity in New Zealand, do we want to make it worse?
5) Because land is such a high-capital item, it would push farmers towards a high-intensity high-input farming model. Which is a high-pollution low-resilience model, exactly the opposite of what we want.
6) No models to learn from elsewhere. Canada had some (at much lower rates), but those seem to have been abolished.
7) Encourages the use of debt to reduce the amount of liable capital for taxation.
Personally I favour a capital gains tax on all assets (including the family home, but with a rollover provision for family homes), payable whenever there’s any kind of change of ownership of the asset. There’s plenty of examples from other jurisdictions to learn from. It’s not much of a hassle to comply (I paid Capital Gains Tax on my primary home in the US), and while it’s slow to start collecting revenue eventually it reaches the point of fairly catching income from capital.
Yes I’m keen for a UBI and then look at how to tax it as a secondary issue. So it seems crazy to me that UBI is not the main focus.
I think there needs to be a radical change to taxation to make sure that everyone has to pay their share. There are so many loop holes at present it makes it easy for those with more money and access to tax experts to avoid taxes. We need new ideas because the old ones only tax the middle and seem to avoid the super rich and global citizens.
We are having situations when banks are causing GFC being bailed out by tax payers and then being allowed to go on as usual and still make the rules on what’s fair to tax.
At the same time there seems to be a very punitive punishment approach to government taxation – at the end of the day it should be like a non profit co operative insurance scheme – you put money in – and then there is a basic level nobody is allowed to fall below (UBI) and then you need enough from everybody to make sure that the bills on health, education and so forth are met.
The whole premise of governments seem to be skewed with neoliberalism – that’s why we can afford Saudi sheep bribes for millions but put more and more hoops in for the most vulnerable to stop them getting a basic benefit. Wellington council can afford to pay Singapore airlines 8 million, Auckland wants to steal the harbour and put it into COO hands, but at the same time they are obsessed with cutting basic services like libraries, rubbish and keeping the berms mowed – because we can’t afford it.
Tax on the gain at sale, arbitrary taxes on capital can penalise many for holding over a long term gain with zero intent to gain from any sale or sell at all.
The funds exist from the sale and it clips the ticket as the punter has realised the profit. Effectively a transaction based tax, much easier to enforce as holdings can be hidden very easily.
Oz has had this type of CGT since the 80’s and you don’t see their right rushing to repeal it being a lot more mature in their economic management than ours.
Some other jurisdictions have loopholes that allow avoiding capital gains taxes by such means as gifting assets to a trust, gifting assets to a charity and claiming a tax credit for the full value of the asset. Which is why I said “payable whenever there’s any kind of change of ownership”.
I like it – it only charges tax for assets that aren’t already generating sufficient taxable income to meet the threshold, so people are encouraged to use capital better. Assuming GST or income tax are reduced to offset it, most people, including most homeowners, would be better off in terms of disposable income.
Agreed, though some provision would have to be made for businesses which, though they would normally run profitably, happen to make a loss, whether through bad luck or poor management. The trouble is, many will find ways of taking advantage of such provision to avoid the tax.
” it only charges tax for assets that aren’t already generating sufficient taxable income to meet the threshold”
Do you really think it’s good to further reinforce the idea that the only value anything has is for the income that can be generated from it?
I’m also aware of several farms and small businesses where the owners are running them in a low key way just generating enough income to keep happy and not really trying to maximise returns. They’re also unusually good at looking after their staff and surroundings. Under a capital tax regime, they would become totally non-viable as is and would either need to close or start operating in a much more ruthless manner.
Do we really want to force that choice? Particularly if the alternative CGT achieves the same result in the end of getting the beneficiaries of asset price growth to share some of the gains with the society that makes those gains possible?
I’ve only read his policy document Andre so I don’t know the finer points but it looks like typical Morgan to me where he gets a bee in his bonnet and takes it too far.
With houses he appears to be targeting freehold owner-occupiers rather than investors/landlords or even those with a mortgage. His basic premise is that living in a freehold house is a form of income and should be taxed because the capital invested in the house would be taxed in any other investment scenario.
Now for those who have a mortgage it would be rather complicated to work out what their capital actually is before you could tax it. The property itself isn’t the capital, they’ve borrowed to buy it. Their capital would either be the equity or the deposit plus principal paid off. Working out the equity would be a nightmare with oodles of loopholes that investors would exploit to minimise their tax…. like they do already.
I can’t see it solving anything and it would make the system messier. A capital gains tax levied annually on investment properties is all that’s required IMO.
“A capital gains tax levied annually on investment properties is all that’s required IMO.”
A higher rates calculation on investment properties could be used to provide a social housing fund at local government level, and would be fairly easy to implement. If the owner is not occupying the property, the rates kick in at a different level. Rates are already taxing property owners, what this would do is increase that tax in recognition of the capital gains that landlords benefit from, that single home buyers and renters do not.
The reason I would exclude the owner occupied property is that investors are able to claim maintenance and other expenses (including interest paid) on their properties that owner occupiers must meet out of their income.
Rate are already a tax on property ownership.
Increased rates on investment properties recognise the anomaly above, and provide a social housing fund that increases locally as number of renters increase.
The reason I would exclude the owner occupied property is that investors are able to claim maintenance and other expenses (including interest paid) on their properties that owner occupiers must meet out of their income.
Have you considered that being able to claim expenses for tax purposes is the problem?
If tenants had better security of tenancy, and a comprehensive method of ensuring that all maintenance needs are met in a timely manner – I’d consider agreeing with you. But the likelihood is that if maintenance and repairs were not able to be expensed then a large number of landlords (especially in this housing climate) would avoid paying out for as long as possible.
Not all homeowners are speculative purchasers.
My partner and I bought a home for reasons other than capital gain. Stability of housing for one ( had been moved on from rentals due to increased rents more than once).
But owning also provided the opportunity to do other things that are unable to be done in a lot of rented homes:
– Planting trees and gardens,
– Having several people staying with us over the years while they get on their feet,
– Looking after family pets for friends and family while they go away.
None of this would be possible in a rented home, unless we were very lucky to find a very relaxed and accommodating landlord.
Any more taxing on a household like ours (especially for capital gains that we have no practical or financial benefit from unless we sell and don’t require another home), and our precarious balance of finances would break.
But the likelihood is that if maintenance and repairs were not able to be expensed then a large number of landlords (especially in this housing climate) would avoid paying out for as long as possible.
They’re called slumlords and they already exist and are in NZ.
None of this would be possible in a rented home, unless we were very lucky to find a very relaxed and accommodating landlord.
And what if you had a state rental that was lifetime lease, allowed you to plant trees, gardens and do renovations as well as kept the place well maintained?
Again, all the problems that people have with rentals and the tax regime that allows a few to dodge paying tax is private ownership.
“And what if you had a state rental that was lifetime lease, allowed you to plant trees, gardens and do renovations as well as kept the place well maintained?
If that were possible Draco, I’d be living there.
But until we have a cross party consensus on the importance of affordable, healthy, secure housing, we will continue to have our communities broken up. For the moment, I – and many others do what we can with what we have.
I don’t think that’s necessary Molly. Simply assessing them for tax each year, and collecting it, would do the trick IMO.
As it stands investors are leveraging off their capital gains to borrow more money to buy more properties. If they had to pay tax on those gains they’d instead be borrowing a third of it to pay the tax. That would lower the demand for property and get the housing inflation down…. and boost the tax coffers.
Morgan’s scheme looks unworkable to me, can’t say I’m taken with the theory either but its the practice that looks unwinnable.
1. Seems reasonable to me.
2. Businesses are supposed to collapse if they can’t maintain themselves. That’s the whole point of capitalism. It’s not up to the rest of us to keep them going.
3. Foreign investment needs to be banned as it’s detrimental to society.
4. No it doesn’t. If anything, it encourages high capital investment as the high investment is more likely to return greater amounts. It’s our low wages that are encouraging low capital investment now.
5. We already have that happening now. The solution is proper regulation.
6. So we should never try new ideas?
7. I’m pretty sure that Morgan has an answer to that as well.
Personally I favour a capital gains tax on all assets
I think that Morgan’s CCT is a much better idea. Done well it would make it impossible to be asset rich, cash poor which would be good for the economy and our society.
There’s plenty of examples from other jurisdictions to learn from.
Yeah, there are. One of those lessons is that a standard CGT doesn’t really work.
To be honest Draco, I was expecting you to advocate getting rid of private ownership completely and then the question becomes moot. 🙂
“One of those lessons is that a standard CGT doesn’t really work.”
What do you mean by works? No, a CGT on it’s own doesn’t prevent bubbles. All I really see it doing is helping make sure the owners of capital eventually contribute something towards the society that helps those assets increase in value. Collecting it at time of sale (when the sellers have the cash in hand) doesn’t feel punitive in the way the proposed CCT (or the existing FIF tax) does feel punitive by demanding the payment whether or not you’ve got the cashflow to support it. ( I realise you would be all for setting up systems that made asset-holders feel punished regularly, but trust me very few people agree with you on that).
“So we should never try new ideas?”. When we try to reinvent a wheel, it seems we regularly come unstuck with all kinds of unintended consequences. If there’s models from elsewhere we can learn from, why not copy the best aspects?
Doesn’t prevent bubbles and doesn’t prevent the rich from avoiding their obligations.
All I really see it doing is helping make sure the owners of capital eventually contribute something towards the society that helps those assets increase in value.
Do they truly increase in value?
Collecting it at time of sale (when the sellers have the cash in hand) doesn’t feel punitive in the way the proposed CCT (or the existing FIF tax) does feel punitive by demanding the payment whether or not you’ve got the cashflow to support it.
That’s part and parcel of our chosen market system. If you don’t have the cash then you just don’t have the item.
I realise you would be all for setting up systems that made asset-holders feel punished regularly
Completely wrong. I want to make it so that people can’t afford to have can’t assets in the first place.
If there’s models from elsewhere we can learn from, why not copy the best aspects?
I’d say that Morgan’s CCT is based upon the old CGT. What you’re saying is that we shouldn’t try this small change because it hasn’t been done before. Under such stupidity the wheel would never have been invented.
“I’d say that Morgan’s CCT is based upon the old CGT. What you’re saying is that we shouldn’t try this small change because it hasn’t been done before. Under such stupidity the wheel would never have been invented.”
Morgan’s CCT is very close to the Foreign Investment Fund tax introduced by Cullen, as far as I can tell. I pay it every year, and it’s a real pain and I certainly wouldn’t make any new investment into anything covered by it.
I’ve also paid Capital Gains taxes in the US (and will again in the future unless Trump manages to do away with them). It’s only a minor hassle, and doesn’t feel unfairly punitive the way the FIF tax does. Potential liability for CG taxes certainly wouldn’t stop me investing in something.
“Fake news” is a specific subset of the attempted deceptions around us all the time, but the pushers and beneficiaries of fake news are trying make the idea of fake news meaningless by calling everything fake news.
It all just reinforces the importance of fact-checking, researching the credibility of the source, keeping the bullshit detector on high alert at all times, looking at everything with a cynical view that some agenda is being pushed.
“On Twitter, some were quick to suggest the President Elect followed in the company of Hitler, Stalin and Putin who had also received the iconic title.
… The magazine’s annual award names the person who has had the “greatest influence, for better or worse, on the events of the year”.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, The Ebola Fighters, The Pope, President Obama, Mark Zuckerberg, Former President George W Bush, and Julian Assange have also won the title before.”
“On Twitter, some were quick to suggest the President Elect followed in the company of Hitler, Stalin, George W. Bush, Putin, and Obama who had also received the iconic title.”
—There you go, Marty, I’ve fixed up that first sentence to remove the reflexive self-censorship and dishonesty.
A near perfect summation – from an Australian, in a British newspaper – of John Key and John Key’s New Zealand.
“…Key was like a Tony Blair of the South Seas: a certain level of personal charisma and a socially inclusive façade allowed both Key and Blair to sell the nasty side of neoliberalism…”
You’d never get NZ political journalists with insight like this. As their reactions of shock indicate, most of them were firmly besotted by John Key’s cham right to the moment he basically told them to all fuck off.
So what was the nasty side of neo-liberalism he was selling?
High growth rate (3.4%)
Low unemployment (less than 5%)
Budget surpluses
NZers returning home
Infrastructure spending
Majority of NZers saying the country is going in right direction
So long as the Left are obsessed by the term “neo-liberalism,” they will loose. It shows a disconnect with the mood of the public.
If you want to win focus on the pragmatic, the things that actually influence voters, not ideological labels.
You really do talk tosh. You need to pay a lot more attention to world events Wayne.
The supporters of the neoliberal establishment have been in trouble all this year.
Heard of Brexit?
Heard of Trump?
Heard of the Italian referendum?
It is clearly the supporters of the neo-liberal establishment who have been shown in 2016 to have a disconnect with the mood of the public.
Here is some reading for you…on the assumption you are actually uninformed as opposed to willfully spinning on behalf of your masters.
Did you read the piece that Sanctuary linked? It not only critiques John Key’s leadership, it also briefly explores the prevailing narrative that fed his popularity, …they kept voting Key in because they believed in the equation that “good with money” equals “morally upstanding” and further suggested that the left will only gain traction when they are able to successfully counter this idea. According to the author, …this money story not only has currency, it is the currency of the reigning monetarist fiscal discourse.
One alternative story is to return “the broader public good’ to the position that “the monetarist fiscal discourse” now occupies. Your list suggests that the public good is being served within the current framework, but that is only true if you draw the line firmly behind the heels of the comfortable middle class, and accept that hardship and insecurity for those outside of the fold is “worth it.” And since you tend to dismiss those who privilege the public good as “hard left” you can hardly complain if they dismiss your lot as “neoliberal.”
NZers returning home – To do with the fact that the global economy is failing perhaps, or maybe they are returning home on student visas.
Infrastructure spending – Is it effective infrastructure spending, or appropriate? Doesn’t seem to be the case.
Majority of NZers saying the country is going in right direction
I don’t understand how often this is used as justification. If, as a teenager I hid the underage drinking and jumping out the window from my parents, and then listened to them praise me, then I wouldn’t use that as approval of my behaviour – just blissful ignorance.
The lack of transparency and information sharing (not withstanding Dirty Politics and journalist shaming) by this government has resulted in the same.
Nothing to be proud of, and definitely not something to to try pass off as informed support.
The nasty side of neo-liberalism is apparent to all who value humans over economic growth, and community and environment over short-term profit and long-term consequences.
Growth driven by excessive immigration, housing price rises, and earthquakes. The real measure, per capita, is negative.
Unemployment is only low, because National counts one hour a week as employment.
Budget fudges. With current account and social deficits increased to cover it.
Infrastructure spending. I wish. Roads of significance to the trucking industry is similar to spending on buggy whip factories.
“Country going in right direction”. I have to congratulate National on the effectiveness of their propaganda. Even the Neo-liberal cheer leaders in treasury think National is heading for disaster.
Lastly. Key has headed for the lifeboats before the ship sinks.
Where are the Headlines? Surely there should be ones like:
National Party Leadership Battle splits Caucus!
Angry MPs Dispute Leadership Plans.
Leadership Battles Rips Caucus Apart.
Will be Years Before National Party Revives Credibility After Bitter Infighting.
Probably because its going to be over rather quickly, which is smart thinking on Nationals part. How can you really have those type of headlines when the result is going to be known on Monday/
Sure the ructions after will prove to be more then interesting but theres simply not enough time for those type of headlines to be used.
Love Granny propaganda (sarc) – even when the Leader resigned it’s all good press for Natz candidates. Not a peep about Collins and all her transgressions and Double dipper English!!
“Bennett said her relationship with English was “fantastic” and described him as “awe-inspiring”. The two work together on finance and social housing, and they are part of the top tier of ministers, called the “Kitchen Cabinet”. But English has also worked closely with Bridges on Auckland’s transport problems.
In a sign of a potentially tense contest, Bridges said he would make a better deputy than Bennett because he marked a complete generational change. Bridges came into Parliament three years later than Bennett, in 2008.”
In spite of this they still have to run spiteful anti Labour articles such as Claire Trevett’s
“100 not out: Labour party battles for its political future”
Yes true, I’m assuming it will be sorted by Monday, like its a fait accompli kind of thing especially since the next budget surplus is supposed to be a whopper
It might not of course, however if I was a betting man I’d bet it’ll be over on Monday…the puckish side of me would like to see it continue on for a while though 🙂
Bill at the helm of a leaking, bloated tanker heading for the reefs. His crew! Oh dear! And First Mate! A cargo of rancid fat and snake oil. Oh dear, oh dear!
Fortunately (unfortunately) there’s just enough momentum for the good ship National to make it to the port of the 2017 election win, thanks to a budget surplus and the assistance of the tugboat of NZFirst and the tugboat of another bye-election Labour can’t afford
After that there may be some slight cause for concern 🙂
It’s as though the All Blacks were facing their most critical test match and were reliant on their one star player upon whom success depended, let’s call him, “John Richie”, when an hour before kick off, John declares that he is not going to play, he’s talking his ball and going home, because his girlfriend want to spend quality time with him.
Yeah imagine what would happen to the All Blacks if Richie, Dan, Kevin, Tony, Ma’a and Conrad left all at the same time taking over 700 caps and all that experience with them 🙂
what you are eluding to might be true , if it wasn’t for the fact that the rugby equivalents of parmjeet ,misa fia and tobbacy todd wouldn’t make the taumarunui eels team let alone the the all blacks up incomers
Well I was linking the tier 1 test record to a record fourth term for National but please tell me you aren’t suggesting Labour is like the Irish rugby team
Well, the Irish team currently has a 50% win record against the All Blacks in its past two encounters (aren’t stats wonderful- a bit like Treasury and Budget figures).
The Irish team has charm, wit and size.
It embraces the whole of Irish society, north and south, inclusively.
Like the Left in general the Irish have got the best songs.
And lastly, they especially despise the English!
So, Puckish Rogue, in the best sense of fun, some great parallels between the NZ Labour Party and the Irish Rugby team of very recent history! 😉
Disclaimer: though my moniker is Mac1 there is no blarney or bias in this summation, at all at all at all.
I was speaking to a CYFS worker just yesterday, and those in her office are spending much of their time coming up to the holidays looking for motels to place children. When I asked who was there to provide caregiving, she shrugged her shoulders and said “Who?”.
Molly it’s all about physical assets, such as motels and the buying and selling of them. The actual social part of it, does not appear in the neoliberal manuals so just sort of falls off the radar. People are not considered assets under neoliberalism they are just vehicles of loss .
Similar to the conference centres (to create jobs but the job bit is the fudge, in fact rather than create jobs for locals you just import workers in because they are cheaper, then you have a housing crisis to solve to house all the new people etc), the homeless crisis, (rezone land and then let the market do ‘it’s thing’, the immediate housing is irrelevant), etc etc.
More grievous ignorance of sports history in the media. Morning Report, RNZ National, Thursday 8 December 2016, 8:25 a.m.
This morning featured a report from Indira Stewart of the Pacific Radio Network, stating that Joseph Parker and David Tua are the “only two New Zealanders to have ever fought for the World Heavyweight title.”
That is nonsense, of course. On Thursday 26 July 1928 Gisborne’s own Tom Heeney fought Gene Tunney for the title at Yankee Stadium. The fight was stopped in the 11th round.
Neither Susie Ferguson nor Guyon Espiner seemed to notice, and simply carried on with the next item.
Assuming you don’t have access to the same resources RNZ have its an easy error to make, unless you come from Timaru of course in which case there’s no excuse 🙂
Ok then we’ll just turn a blind eye to the frauds then because somebody is making a short term buck and it will expose the governments underfunding of education, so they are doing nothing and leaving the short term housing issues and longer term problem of all our fraudster residents to another government … from Granny
“Yet it seems no one can really tackle the student visa rort because we now depend on it.
The country makes $4.28 billion a year from international students, our fourth biggest industry behind dairy, tourism and meat. Put aside legitimate questions over how much of that money stays in New Zealand and circulates in the wider economy, as opposed to the immigrants themselves. If we turned off the tap tomorrow – the Government’s nightmare scenario after the sudden collapse of the Chinese market in 2003 – many office buildings would be half empty and central Queen St would become a ghost town. Even reputable education providers would go broke and most polytechnics and universities could not make ends meet with domestic students alone. Economic activity would also take a hit, as international students are doing the difficult, low-paid jobs that most New Zealanders avoid – at least until the students get their residence visa.
In short, fundamental changes are unlikely to come from the top because too many powerful interests are benefiting from the current system, despite its obvious flaws. The only hope is for more honest people within the student visa scam to stand up and be counted.”
If we turned off the tap tomorrow … many office buildings would be half empty and central Queen St would become a ghost town. Even reputable education providers would go broke and most polytechnics and universities could not make ends meet with domestic students alone.
Gosh, that would be a disaster! Good job there’s no proposal on the table to ban international education outright then, eh? Cleaning up the industry would make it worth less, but would still leave universities, polytechs and schools teaching a lot of international students.
The actual reason the government won’t do anything about the scam is in this bit:
…international students are doing the difficult, low-paid jobs that most New Zealanders avoid – at least until the students get their residence visa.
That is, the success of this scam to bypass our immigration standards and ensure a supply of cheap, easily-exploited labour for National’s constituents, with downstream effects on local pay and conditions, is the government’s main reason for not cleaning up the international education “industry.”
“many office buildings would be half empty and central Queen St would become a ghost town.”
What happened to the cherished Number 8 approach to solving problems with innovation? Empty office buildings in Queen Street + homeless in Auckland should = conversion to family apartments and a community revitalisation of Auckland central.
As for the other, fund education to sustainable levels.
Gareth Morgan tells Paul Henry the truth.
And Paul Henry hates being shown up for being the selfish git he is.
Morgan to Henry…
“You’re telling me that you don’t give a toss about New Zealand being fair. ‘Pull up the ladder, Jack, and the rest of you can get stuffed’. What sort of New Zealand values do you have, man?”
“You’re just a tax loophole cowboy, that’s all you are,”
“I’m about making New Zealand fair. You’re self-centred and you don’t give a toss about being fair in New Zealand.”
“Don’t tell an economist what a reverse mortgage is mate.”
“In media soundbytes are important, that’s why your sort of media is dying mate.”
And Henry’s retort, with his expensive house, European car and entitled lifestyle threatened.
Morgan is a communist.
Watch it. It’s great to see the tosser Henry being dealt to.
Morgan needs to become less defensive when he’s discussing his party’s policies.
I certainly support his Comprehensive Capital Tax. If you have an asset that returns some benefit then it should be taxed at the commensurate income of that benefit.
I agree Morgan did not help his case, loosing his cool, playing the man not the ball, never a good look unless your of a Paul persuasion and just want to see Henery abused
I do not totally agree with Morgan, but at least he has us discussing these things, and his heart is in the right place.
I don’t see what a CCT can do, that conventional inheritance, income and CGT combined, along with getting rid of private trusts immunity from claims, cannot.
Only someone as truely ignorant as Henry, can have such confidence.
I don’t blame Morgan for getting annoyed with the bumptious twit.
I don’t see what a CCT can do, that conventional inheritance, income and CGT combined, along with getting rid of private trusts immunity from claims, cannot.
1. Gets rid of land banking. The land will have to produce an income year to year else it’s just going to cost too much. A CGT may get the tax once the land is sold but it doesn’t prevent it.
2. Encourages people living in large, expensive houses to shift into smaller houses with smaller land thus freeing up more land for housing thus encouraging density increases.
I don’t blame Morgan for getting annoyed with the bumptious twit.
Neither do I but he shouldn’t have shown it. His sitting back, hands tightly crossed before him shows that he’s on the defensive and is exactly the reaction that Henry was going for.
He needs to be able to sit there, calm, arms open, answer the questions and, yes, call Henry a bumbling, selfish idiot.
If he can’t handle Henry how is going to handle the rest of the pressure that’ll come, its all well and good to say what you think should happen and get nice media fluff pieces but hes thrown his hat in the ring and now what he says is going to be picked over with a fine tooth comb and he’d better be ready with some answers
No he doesn’t. and he’s most definitely not a communist. He’s very much a capitalist – he’s just one that sees many of the limitations that the way capitalism operates and how it doesn’t pay it’s full costs and puts those costs on the poor instead.
I’d have thought he wouldn’t have been stupid enough to include the family home in this, I can’t imagine any political party thinking that’s an idea the voters will go for, not even the Greens
Yes I’ve seen first hand how paranoid and touchy the entitled property class is about their inflating asset values.
They expect to sit on their million dollar+ houses and bank capital gains of 80K per year for ever. If anyone suggests this model is neither sustainable nor fair then they are shouted out of the room.
This unreasonable, greedy behaiour is sowing the seds of class war. I suppose this is the ugly side of Pakeha culture. They stole Aotearoa in the first place and now (like some kind of landed gentry), they expect the serfs to slave away paying high levels of tax and rent. Wealthy boomers have come to expect a well paid retirement with no means testing or CGT.
Well the average house price is $600 000.00 but please go ahead and suggest to the voters that taxing the family home, the house the retired have worked for entire lives to own (while paying taxes) is a really good idea
Why should some people (who have also worked their whole lives) have to keep paying high rents for ever, while others who managed to climb into property ownership get free accommodation and tax breaks and full super without any form of means test?
Not sustainable, not fair, and kinda gross in the middle of a housing crisis
what about Maori land Ropata… how many Maori (or Pakeha for that matter) have the income to pay yearly taxes on their capital?
All that will happen is what is already happening, Kiwis can’t afford to live in their own country with all the taxes and the low wages and foreigners will buy us up cheap.
That’s where Morgan’s ideas falls down.
I’m more into the Sanders and Corbyn approaches on Robin hood taxes on banks and transaction style taxes.
I am not a policy analyst nor am I a spokesperson for Morgans TOP vehicle. I just think he talks a lot of sense and in principle I agree with his fair minded ideas.
Morgan’s tax is aimed at the top few% of wealthy property holders who are banking tax free capital gains. He reckons his LVT will be either neutral or advantageous for most people because he will also drop income taxes.
Anyway I think this party is just a way for him to get the ideas of his Foundation into mainstream media. In the current volatile economic climate his is a vital counter narrative to the standard capitalist dogma we swim in.
Remember this is in the context of an unprecedented housing crisis, Morgan’s ideas are not cooked up in a vacuum.
I think he got frustrated that Henry kept coming up with stupid examples, but there was no need for Morgan to stoop to Henry’s level of childish insults.
Wow! a strange thing happened, somehow, somewhere, someone came to the conclusion that for true comparison of two different systems, they need to be measured with the same criteria.
But our favorite hologram disagrees, seems if there’s money involved, and a contract to enforce well…………. it’s just a bit confusing for the average Joe/Jane and at that point we should bow out and leave it to him and the other “experts”.
I was going to put up a link to the interview on Natard this morning with Paula Bennett and how she will make a truly awesome Dep Leader of the Natzional Party but the website appears to be having access problems….but never mind, I’ll do a Morrissey and give y’all a transcript.
Ms. Bennett….what qualities do you believe you have for the Deputy Leaders role?
hahahahahahahahahahahah….pause for gurgling breathhahahahahahahahahahah
This is a fascinating article about how a gunman attacked a pizza parlour in Washington after conspiracy theorists claimed Hilary Clinton was running a child sex operation out of it. It argues that mis-information is being used as a political tool.
In 1938 President Roosevelt warned that “the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism.” The Democrats saw concentrated corporate power as a form of dictatorship. They broke up giant banks and businesses and chained the chainstores. What Roosevelt, Brandeis and Patman knew has been forgotten by those in power, including powerful journalists. But not by the victims of this system.
One of the answers to Trump, Putin, Orbán, Erdoğan, Salvini, Duterte, Le Pen, Farage and the politics they represent is to rescue democracy from transnational corporations. It is to defend the crucial political unit that is under assault by banks, monopolies and chainstores: community. It is to recognise that there is no greater hazard to peace between nations than a corporate model that crushes democratic choice.
Since the 1980s we’ve let the corporations rule and it’s become obvious that it’s detrimental to us as a community.
So true, the NZ government was seduced and subverted in 1984 and now it’s become a schizoid institution that purports to represent the people of New Zealand, but is instead complicit in their exploitation.
It’s not exactly secret, all this has been well documented (see cafca.org.nz), but since it has been a slow and ongoing process the sale of NZ piece by piece to foreign interests doesn’t make the news cycle.
Just read the whole thing — how depressing. Maybe democracy was just a temporary aberration and the natural state of the human race is feudalism and internecine tribal conflict.
When the USA was founded corporations were deliberately outlawed because the founders had seen what they did to Europe. Sadly that didn’t last long
Democracy does seem to be more of an aberration with dictatorships and oligarchies ruling most of the time. Of course, the oligarchies and dictatorships always collapse due to the hubris and greed of the rich. And when they do we go back to being a democracy which then builds up society which the rich then take over and destroy.
It seems to be an iterative process as we learn more our democracy gets better but, unfortunately, we haven’t learned to prevent people from getting rich yet.
Thanks for that, xanthe. Don’t expect anything on this to appear on our television news this evening. (Time constraints due to extended banter between the autocue readers and the sports guy and the weather guy.)
The report showed Vanguard Military School on Auckland’s North Shore and Te Kura Hourua O Whangarei Terenga Paraoa reported they had met their 2014 NCEA leaver targets – but when the figures were analysed, they did not.
Vanguard reported a 100 per cent pass rate for NCEA Level 2. However, when revised in line with NCEA standards it dropped to just 60 per cent. It met Level 1 standards.
At Te Kura Hourua, neither Level 1 or Level 2 NCEA standards were met once revised: Level 1 dropped from 82 per cent to 77.8 per cent, and Level 2 dropped from 80 per cent to 55.6 per cent.
Labour Education spokesperson Chris Hipkins, who obtained the documents, said they showed charter schools have been “massively overstating” their pass rates when compared with the rest of the country’s schools.
A trust with close ties to the Government – including former All Black and National Party supporter Michael Jones – was given a $500,000 charter school contract. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Trust given $500,000 charter school contract without going to tender
Minister of Education Hon Hekia Parata. Photo / Dean Purcell
Charter schools getting performance bonus despite not meeting targets
I hate the concept of charter schools, but then I met Alwyn Poole. Photo / Steven McNicholl
Peter Lyons: Charter schools deeply flawed, but not this one
“In one case a school reported a 93.3 per cent pass rate when the facts show only 6.7 per cent of leavers achieved NCEA Level 2,” he said.
“Brought into line” means there’s been a corrupt system working and now it’s been outed.
Hekia Pariah and the Epsom Idiot have been spinning crap about it today to try to make people with ordinary intelligence believe it is something it wasn’t. I didn’t need to go to a charter school to recognise bullshit when I see it.
Ok so Little was safe until the next election because, lets all be honest now, Little was going to lose to Key but that was keeping him safe because anyone else would have to lost to Key as well
Now Keys gone and English is in charge, English who has lost before, English who isn’t exactly Mr Charisma, English who is beatable…Little might win and that’ll mean six years and then National will be back in so that’s a long time to wait if you’re an MP
But Little hasn’t improved Labours numbers, in fact it’d be fair to say Labours numbers, being positive, stagnating and if National don’t drop below 40% and NZFirst stay above 10% then that’s another term for National
So in light of the new developments is there someone in Labour that will answer the call to arms?
On a completely unrelated matter, what are the chances Robertson is going to be firing up the ol’ BBQ over Summer? 🙂
If there’s one thing to be learned from the Trump, Key, Cameron phenomena it is that policy is totally irrelevant and in fact it switches people off. What people vote for is a smiley wavey confident snake oil sales person. Even Obama and Trudeau benefited from this mindless herd behaviour. (Scott Adams made some excellent observations of Trump’s persuasion techniques and NLP type shit)
Maybe Labour needs to put up All Blacks and TV personalities instead of serious candidates.
I kind of agree with this but you’d be hard pressed to find a Labour supporting All Black although Chris Laidlaw is probably still hanging around if you want to use him
Labour is appearing more solid by the day, all the dead wood is being pruned game on pucky , the planet key lotus eaters will awake from their stupor in time for the right man to be the next PM.
i think they are addicted to the property price inflation koolaid and will keep drinking it until NZ sinks into the sea. or some other unthinkable disaster happens like “interest rates”
CV will be delighted to learn Trump’s rumored pick for FDA director reckons big pharma should release new drugs, whether they work or not.
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O’Neill also could push the agency in new directions. In a 2014 speech, he said he supported reforming FDA approval rules so that drugs could hit the market after they’ve been proven safe, but without any proof that they worked, something he called “progressive approval.”
“We should reform FDA so there is approving drugs after their sponsors have demonstrated safety — and let people start using them, at their own risk, but not much risk of safety,” O’Neill said in a speech at an August 2014 conference called Rejuvenation Biotechnology. “Let’s prove efficacy after they’ve been legalized.”
Hosking’s done his “Best PM Ever” shit now he’s checking out the Blinglish (invented word) ‘rectalia’. He’s a bit shameless with his rat-up-drainpipe styles is Hosk’.
“You talking about me?”The neoliberal denigration of the past was nowhere more unrelenting than in its depiction of the public service. The Post Office and the Railways were held up as being both irremediably inefficient and scandalously over-manned. Playwright Roger Hall’s “Glide Time” caricatures were presented as accurate depictions of ...
Roger Partridge writes – When the Coalition Government took office last October, it inherited a country on a precipice. With persistent inflation, decades of insipid productivity growth and crises in healthcare, education, housing and law and order, it is no exaggeration to suggest New Zealand’s first-world status was ...
Rob MacCulloch writes – In 2022, the Curriculum Centre at the Ministry of Education employed 308 staff, according to an Official Information Request. Earlier this week it was announced 202 of those staff were being cut. When you look up “The New Zealand Curriculum” on the Ministry of ...
Chris Bishop’s bill has stirred up a hornets nest of opposition. Photo: Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: The six things that stood out to me in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate from the last day included:A crescendo of opposition to the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill is ...
Monday left me brokenTuesday, I was through with hopingWednesday, my empty arms were openThursday, waiting for love, waiting for loveThe end of another week that left many of us asking WTF? What on earth has NZ gotten itself into and how on earth could people have voluntarily signed up for ...
Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.State of humanity, 20242024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?Full story Share ...
Determining the hardest sport in the world is a subjective matter, as the difficulty level can vary depending on individual abilities, physical attributes, and experience. However, based on various factors including physical demands, technical skills, mental fortitude, and overall accomplishment, here is an exploration of some of the most challenging ...
The allure of sport transcends age, culture, and geographical boundaries. It captivates hearts, ignites passions, and provides unparalleled entertainment. Behind the spectacle, however, lies a fascinating world of financial investment and expenditure. Among the vast array of competitive pursuits, one question looms large: which sport carries the hefty title of ...
Introduction Pickleball, a rapidly growing paddle sport, has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions around the world. Its blend of tennis, badminton, and table tennis elements has made it a favorite among players of all ages and skill levels. As the sport’s popularity continues to surge, the question on ...
Abstract: Soccer, the global phenomenon captivating millions worldwide, has a rich history that spans centuries. Its origins trace back to ancient civilizations, but the modern version we know and love emerged through a complex interplay of cultural influences and innovations. This article delves into the fascinating journey of soccer’s evolution, ...
Tinting car windows offers numerous benefits, including enhanced privacy, reduced glare, UV protection, and a more stylish look for your vehicle. However, the cost of window tinting can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article provides a comprehensive guide to help you understand how much you can expect to ...
The pungent smell of gasoline in your car can be an alarming and potentially dangerous problem. Not only is the odor unpleasant, but it can also indicate a serious issue with your vehicle’s fuel system. In this article, we will explore the various reasons why your car may smell like ...
Tree sap can be a sticky, unsightly mess on your car’s exterior. It can be difficult to remove, but with the right techniques and products, you can restore your car to its former glory. Understanding Tree Sap Tree sap is a thick, viscous liquid produced by trees to seal wounds ...
The amount of paint needed to paint a car depends on a number of factors, including the size of the car, the number of coats you plan to apply, and the type of paint you are using. In general, you will need between 1 and 2 gallons of paint for ...
Jump-starting a car is a common task that can be performed even in adverse weather conditions like rain. However, safety precautions and proper techniques are crucial to avoid potential hazards. This comprehensive guide will provide detailed instructions on how to safely jump a car in the rain, ensuring both your ...
Graham Adams writes about the $55m media fund — When Patrick Gower was asked by Mike Hosking last week what he would say to the many Newstalk ZB callers who allege the Labour government bribed media with $55 million of taxpayers’ money via the Public Interest Journalism Fund — and ...
Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 ‘redesign of the welfare state’ – which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty – various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being ‘Working for Families’, introduced in 2005. ...
Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. ...
Chris Trotter writes – MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. The data is from February this ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications:Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. ...
Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blogIn 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
Citizen Science writes – Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
Karl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
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Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
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Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
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Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
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New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
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The Fast-track Bill, if passed, would allow three Ministers, unchallenged and unchecked, to approve the immediate extraction and exhaustion of one-off resources. ...
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In apparent defiance of the Biden administration, the Netanyahu government has now initiated missile strikes against Iran. Last Saturday night (Sunday morning in New Zealand) Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against Israeli military targets. With the assistance of US, UK and possibly French forces, ...
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When Thomas James was on his solo camp as part of Outward Bound, the keen outdoorsman didn’t find it too challenging, as others often do. In what might just be the perfect illustration of his character, he saw it as a great opportunity to solve a few problems. “I thought, ...
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Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
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The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
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With Shearer gone, who will be the contenders for the Mt Albert by-election early next year?
Will be good to see Little have a safe seat. Will he move to Auckland?
I’m interested in other people’s thoughts on the fair way to tax capital. Ianmac yesterday linked to The Opportunity Party’s release on their proposed capital tax (which doesn’t have much detail). On the assumption that it’s similar to the Comprehensive Capital Income Tax that Gareth Morgan has proposed before, I’d be worried about the following unintended consequences. http://www.top.org.nz/top1?utm_campaign=top1_members&utm_medium=email&utm_source=garethmorgan
1) Social effects on the housing asset rich/cash poor. Suggested mitigations are unconvincing to me. While this is likely to be the focus of most debate, right now I’m more interested in other aspects listed below.
2) May cause collapse of businesses that would otherwise survive, from the ongoing extra cashflow required to service the capital tax.
3) Discourages foreign investment. Why would any business want to set up where they start getting taxed long before they earn a penny of profit?
4) Favours low-capital businesses, and discourages businesses from investing more capital per worker. This is already a problem causing low productivity in New Zealand, do we want to make it worse?
5) Because land is such a high-capital item, it would push farmers towards a high-intensity high-input farming model. Which is a high-pollution low-resilience model, exactly the opposite of what we want.
6) No models to learn from elsewhere. Canada had some (at much lower rates), but those seem to have been abolished.
7) Encourages the use of debt to reduce the amount of liable capital for taxation.
Personally I favour a capital gains tax on all assets (including the family home, but with a rollover provision for family homes), payable whenever there’s any kind of change of ownership of the asset. There’s plenty of examples from other jurisdictions to learn from. It’s not much of a hassle to comply (I paid Capital Gains Tax on my primary home in the US), and while it’s slow to start collecting revenue eventually it reaches the point of fairly catching income from capital.
tops plan sounds complicated and unsalable , he’s already lost my interest, i was hoping for a simplification of the tax system ,
It also seems he’s not going to try to push UBI this cycle. Which is what I would have been really interested in.
“As for a Universal Basic Income he hinted at earlier in the day, Morgan said it wouldn’t be on the cards this time.
“[That would be in] phase two, if we’re still about,” he said.”
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/87330737/gareth-morgans-divisive-policy-to-tackle-inequality
he just gave henry his pedigree in a mess of an interview , which was amusing but not helpful in selling his story.
Yes I’m keen for a UBI and then look at how to tax it as a secondary issue. So it seems crazy to me that UBI is not the main focus.
I think there needs to be a radical change to taxation to make sure that everyone has to pay their share. There are so many loop holes at present it makes it easy for those with more money and access to tax experts to avoid taxes. We need new ideas because the old ones only tax the middle and seem to avoid the super rich and global citizens.
We are having situations when banks are causing GFC being bailed out by tax payers and then being allowed to go on as usual and still make the rules on what’s fair to tax.
At the same time there seems to be a very punitive punishment approach to government taxation – at the end of the day it should be like a non profit co operative insurance scheme – you put money in – and then there is a basic level nobody is allowed to fall below (UBI) and then you need enough from everybody to make sure that the bills on health, education and so forth are met.
The whole premise of governments seem to be skewed with neoliberalism – that’s why we can afford Saudi sheep bribes for millions but put more and more hoops in for the most vulnerable to stop them getting a basic benefit. Wellington council can afford to pay Singapore airlines 8 million, Auckland wants to steal the harbour and put it into COO hands, but at the same time they are obsessed with cutting basic services like libraries, rubbish and keeping the berms mowed – because we can’t afford it.
Tax on the gain at sale, arbitrary taxes on capital can penalise many for holding over a long term gain with zero intent to gain from any sale or sell at all.
The funds exist from the sale and it clips the ticket as the punter has realised the profit. Effectively a transaction based tax, much easier to enforce as holdings can be hidden very easily.
Oz has had this type of CGT since the 80’s and you don’t see their right rushing to repeal it being a lot more mature in their economic management than ours.
“Tax on the gain at sale”
Some other jurisdictions have loopholes that allow avoiding capital gains taxes by such means as gifting assets to a trust, gifting assets to a charity and claiming a tax credit for the full value of the asset. Which is why I said “payable whenever there’s any kind of change of ownership”.
I like it – it only charges tax for assets that aren’t already generating sufficient taxable income to meet the threshold, so people are encouraged to use capital better. Assuming GST or income tax are reduced to offset it, most people, including most homeowners, would be better off in terms of disposable income.
Agreed, though some provision would have to be made for businesses which, though they would normally run profitably, happen to make a loss, whether through bad luck or poor management. The trouble is, many will find ways of taking advantage of such provision to avoid the tax.
” it only charges tax for assets that aren’t already generating sufficient taxable income to meet the threshold”
Do you really think it’s good to further reinforce the idea that the only value anything has is for the income that can be generated from it?
I’m also aware of several farms and small businesses where the owners are running them in a low key way just generating enough income to keep happy and not really trying to maximise returns. They’re also unusually good at looking after their staff and surroundings. Under a capital tax regime, they would become totally non-viable as is and would either need to close or start operating in a much more ruthless manner.
Do we really want to force that choice? Particularly if the alternative CGT achieves the same result in the end of getting the beneficiaries of asset price growth to share some of the gains with the society that makes those gains possible?
I’ve only read his policy document Andre so I don’t know the finer points but it looks like typical Morgan to me where he gets a bee in his bonnet and takes it too far.
With houses he appears to be targeting freehold owner-occupiers rather than investors/landlords or even those with a mortgage. His basic premise is that living in a freehold house is a form of income and should be taxed because the capital invested in the house would be taxed in any other investment scenario.
Now for those who have a mortgage it would be rather complicated to work out what their capital actually is before you could tax it. The property itself isn’t the capital, they’ve borrowed to buy it. Their capital would either be the equity or the deposit plus principal paid off. Working out the equity would be a nightmare with oodles of loopholes that investors would exploit to minimise their tax…. like they do already.
I can’t see it solving anything and it would make the system messier. A capital gains tax levied annually on investment properties is all that’s required IMO.
“A capital gains tax levied annually on investment properties is all that’s required IMO.”
A higher rates calculation on investment properties could be used to provide a social housing fund at local government level, and would be fairly easy to implement. If the owner is not occupying the property, the rates kick in at a different level. Rates are already taxing property owners, what this would do is increase that tax in recognition of the capital gains that landlords benefit from, that single home buyers and renters do not.
The reason I would exclude the owner occupied property is that investors are able to claim maintenance and other expenses (including interest paid) on their properties that owner occupiers must meet out of their income.
Rate are already a tax on property ownership.
Increased rates on investment properties recognise the anomaly above, and provide a social housing fund that increases locally as number of renters increase.
Have you considered that being able to claim expenses for tax purposes is the problem?
So?
If tenants had better security of tenancy, and a comprehensive method of ensuring that all maintenance needs are met in a timely manner – I’d consider agreeing with you. But the likelihood is that if maintenance and repairs were not able to be expensed then a large number of landlords (especially in this housing climate) would avoid paying out for as long as possible.
Not all homeowners are speculative purchasers.
My partner and I bought a home for reasons other than capital gain. Stability of housing for one ( had been moved on from rentals due to increased rents more than once).
But owning also provided the opportunity to do other things that are unable to be done in a lot of rented homes:
– Planting trees and gardens,
– Having several people staying with us over the years while they get on their feet,
– Looking after family pets for friends and family while they go away.
None of this would be possible in a rented home, unless we were very lucky to find a very relaxed and accommodating landlord.
Any more taxing on a household like ours (especially for capital gains that we have no practical or financial benefit from unless we sell and don’t require another home), and our precarious balance of finances would break.
I don’t think that would be an unusual scenario.
They’re called slumlords and they already exist and are in NZ.
And what if you had a state rental that was lifetime lease, allowed you to plant trees, gardens and do renovations as well as kept the place well maintained?
Again, all the problems that people have with rentals and the tax regime that allows a few to dodge paying tax is private ownership.
“And what if you had a state rental that was lifetime lease, allowed you to plant trees, gardens and do renovations as well as kept the place well maintained?
If that were possible Draco, I’d be living there.
But until we have a cross party consensus on the importance of affordable, healthy, secure housing, we will continue to have our communities broken up. For the moment, I – and many others do what we can with what we have.
It is possible if we all demand it.
But it will take a lot of work to bring it about.
I don’t think that’s necessary Molly. Simply assessing them for tax each year, and collecting it, would do the trick IMO.
As it stands investors are leveraging off their capital gains to borrow more money to buy more properties. If they had to pay tax on those gains they’d instead be borrowing a third of it to pay the tax. That would lower the demand for property and get the housing inflation down…. and boost the tax coffers.
Morgan’s scheme looks unworkable to me, can’t say I’m taken with the theory either but its the practice that looks unwinnable.
1. Seems reasonable to me.
2. Businesses are supposed to collapse if they can’t maintain themselves. That’s the whole point of capitalism. It’s not up to the rest of us to keep them going.
3. Foreign investment needs to be banned as it’s detrimental to society.
4. No it doesn’t. If anything, it encourages high capital investment as the high investment is more likely to return greater amounts. It’s our low wages that are encouraging low capital investment now.
5. We already have that happening now. The solution is proper regulation.
6. So we should never try new ideas?
7. I’m pretty sure that Morgan has an answer to that as well.
I think that Morgan’s CCT is a much better idea. Done well it would make it impossible to be asset rich, cash poor which would be good for the economy and our society.
Yeah, there are. One of those lessons is that a standard CGT doesn’t really work.
To be honest Draco, I was expecting you to advocate getting rid of private ownership completely and then the question becomes moot. 🙂
“One of those lessons is that a standard CGT doesn’t really work.”
What do you mean by works? No, a CGT on it’s own doesn’t prevent bubbles. All I really see it doing is helping make sure the owners of capital eventually contribute something towards the society that helps those assets increase in value. Collecting it at time of sale (when the sellers have the cash in hand) doesn’t feel punitive in the way the proposed CCT (or the existing FIF tax) does feel punitive by demanding the payment whether or not you’ve got the cashflow to support it. ( I realise you would be all for setting up systems that made asset-holders feel punished regularly, but trust me very few people agree with you on that).
“So we should never try new ideas?”. When we try to reinvent a wheel, it seems we regularly come unstuck with all kinds of unintended consequences. If there’s models from elsewhere we can learn from, why not copy the best aspects?
Doesn’t prevent bubbles and doesn’t prevent the rich from avoiding their obligations.
Do they truly increase in value?
That’s part and parcel of our chosen market system. If you don’t have the cash then you just don’t have the item.
Completely wrong. I want to make it so that people can’t afford to have can’t assets in the first place.
I’d say that Morgan’s CCT is based upon the old CGT. What you’re saying is that we shouldn’t try this small change because it hasn’t been done before. Under such stupidity the wheel would never have been invented.
“I’d say that Morgan’s CCT is based upon the old CGT. What you’re saying is that we shouldn’t try this small change because it hasn’t been done before. Under such stupidity the wheel would never have been invented.”
Morgan’s CCT is very close to the Foreign Investment Fund tax introduced by Cullen, as far as I can tell. I pay it every year, and it’s a real pain and I certainly wouldn’t make any new investment into anything covered by it.
I’ve also paid Capital Gains taxes in the US (and will again in the future unless Trump manages to do away with them). It’s only a minor hassle, and doesn’t feel unfairly punitive the way the FIF tax does. Potential liability for CG taxes certainly wouldn’t stop me investing in something.
“Fake news” is a specific subset of the attempted deceptions around us all the time, but the pushers and beneficiaries of fake news are trying make the idea of fake news meaningless by calling everything fake news.
http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2016/12/stop_calling_everything_fake_news.html
It all just reinforces the importance of fact-checking, researching the credibility of the source, keeping the bullshit detector on high alert at all times, looking at everything with a cynical view that some agenda is being pushed.
sometimes I wish the news was fake
“On Twitter, some were quick to suggest the President Elect followed in the company of Hitler, Stalin and Putin who had also received the iconic title.
… The magazine’s annual award names the person who has had the “greatest influence, for better or worse, on the events of the year”.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, The Ebola Fighters, The Pope, President Obama, Mark Zuckerberg, Former President George W Bush, and Julian Assange have also won the title before.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11762705
funny one that ‘TIME Person of the year’.
“On Twitter, some were quick to suggest the President Elect followed in the company of Hitler, Stalin, George W. Bush, Putin, and Obama who had also received the iconic title.”
—There you go, Marty, I’ve fixed up that first sentence to remove the reflexive self-censorship and dishonesty.
http://www.curmudgeon-alley.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ywc-logo-design.png
Just quoted not dishonest thanks
So if its a “quote” its not dishonest. That sums up how the media deliberatly lies and misleads. Its bullshit.
Nice, still being classy too…
You quoted it without mentioning your reservations about its extreme bias. That’s tantamount to endorsing its propaganda.
Says you. Hint – don’t tell me what I think – your brain or thoughts aren’t big enough.
So why did you quote it without mentioning its crude political bias?
thank god you were there to save us, morrissey /sarc
Always happy to help, McFlock. (No sarcasm.)
and one day you might provide that help.
One day.
I thought people could work it all out themselces. Pity you let the side down.
A near perfect summation – from an Australian, in a British newspaper – of John Key and John Key’s New Zealand.
“…Key was like a Tony Blair of the South Seas: a certain level of personal charisma and a socially inclusive façade allowed both Key and Blair to sell the nasty side of neoliberalism…”
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/dec/07/john-key-was-known-as-the-smiling-assassin-and-people-still-liked-him?CMP=share_btn_fb
You’d never get NZ political journalists with insight like this. As their reactions of shock indicate, most of them were firmly besotted by John Key’s cham right to the moment he basically told them to all fuck off.
Spot on Sanctuary!
So what was the nasty side of neo-liberalism he was selling?
High growth rate (3.4%)
Low unemployment (less than 5%)
Budget surpluses
NZers returning home
Infrastructure spending
Majority of NZers saying the country is going in right direction
So long as the Left are obsessed by the term “neo-liberalism,” they will loose. It shows a disconnect with the mood of the public.
If you want to win focus on the pragmatic, the things that actually influence voters, not ideological labels.
Have you ever been for a drive through our less affluent suburbs?
You would expect more informed comment from someone who sat on the government benches.
Would you? Nah droppings are always droppings.
You really do talk tosh. You need to pay a lot more attention to world events Wayne.
The supporters of the neoliberal establishment have been in trouble all this year.
Heard of Brexit?
Heard of Trump?
Heard of the Italian referendum?
It is clearly the supporters of the neo-liberal establishment who have been shown in 2016 to have a disconnect with the mood of the public.
Here is some reading for you…on the assumption you are actually uninformed as opposed to willfully spinning on behalf of your masters.
https://www.opendemocracy.net/alfredo-saad-filho/end-of-road-global-crisis-and-disintegration-of-neoliberalism
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/17/american-neoliberalism-cornel-west-2016-election
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/nov/15/trumpism-solution-crisis-neoliberalism-robert-skidelsky
https://boingboing.net/2016/12/06/italys-referendum-a-vote-ag.html
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/oct/10/end-of-neoliberalism-left-theresa-may-migrants-labour
https://www.opendemocracy.net/john-boland/trumping-brexit-growing-failure-of-neoliberal-consensus
Did you read the piece that Sanctuary linked? It not only critiques John Key’s leadership, it also briefly explores the prevailing narrative that fed his popularity, …they kept voting Key in because they believed in the equation that “good with money” equals “morally upstanding” and further suggested that the left will only gain traction when they are able to successfully counter this idea. According to the author, …this money story not only has currency, it is the currency of the reigning monetarist fiscal discourse.
One alternative story is to return “the broader public good’ to the position that “the monetarist fiscal discourse” now occupies. Your list suggests that the public good is being served within the current framework, but that is only true if you draw the line firmly behind the heels of the comfortable middle class, and accept that hardship and insecurity for those outside of the fold is “worth it.” And since you tend to dismiss those who privilege the public good as “hard left” you can hardly complain if they dismiss your lot as “neoliberal.”
Of course we are turning a blind eye to the fake students, earthquakes and other scams that are making the governments figures look better…
So what was the nasty side of neo-liberalism he was selling?
High growth rate (3.4%) – due to earthquakes, record immigration, badly designed student visa programme and the problem invisible to National Party members of inflated housing costs and the overseas investments that it attracts.
Low unemployment (less than 5%) – In other words, if you don’t get the numbers then change the system so you don’t count.
Budget surpluses – Tom Waits… along with the rest of us
NZers returning home – To do with the fact that the global economy is failing perhaps, or maybe they are returning home on student visas.
Infrastructure spending – Is it effective infrastructure spending, or appropriate? Doesn’t seem to be the case.
Majority of NZers saying the country is going in right direction
I don’t understand how often this is used as justification. If, as a teenager I hid the underage drinking and jumping out the window from my parents, and then listened to them praise me, then I wouldn’t use that as approval of my behaviour – just blissful ignorance.
The lack of transparency and information sharing (not withstanding Dirty Politics and journalist shaming) by this government has resulted in the same.
Nothing to be proud of, and definitely not something to to try pass off as informed support.
The nasty side of neo-liberalism is apparent to all who value humans over economic growth, and community and environment over short-term profit and long-term consequences.
Look again Wayne.
The real story can no longer be swept under the carpet
http://www.noted.co.nz/currently/social-issues/a-year-of-living-shamefully-new-zealands-dirty-secrets/#
Growth driven by excessive immigration, housing price rises, and earthquakes. The real measure, per capita, is negative.
Unemployment is only low, because National counts one hour a week as employment.
Budget fudges. With current account and social deficits increased to cover it.
Infrastructure spending. I wish. Roads of significance to the trucking industry is similar to spending on buggy whip factories.
“Country going in right direction”. I have to congratulate National on the effectiveness of their propaganda. Even the Neo-liberal cheer leaders in treasury think National is heading for disaster.
Lastly. Key has headed for the lifeboats before the ship sinks.
Good work The Green Party – potential candidates stepping forward early – this is good – get them sorted and then onward to victory!!!
Matt would be a good candidate I think
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/87298578/nelson-city-councillor-matt-lawrey-seeks-green-party-candidacy
Where are the Headlines? Surely there should be ones like:
National Party Leadership Battle splits Caucus!
Angry MPs Dispute Leadership Plans.
Leadership Battles Rips Caucus Apart.
Will be Years Before National Party Revives Credibility After Bitter Infighting.
Probably because its going to be over rather quickly, which is smart thinking on Nationals part. How can you really have those type of headlines when the result is going to be known on Monday/
Sure the ructions after will prove to be more then interesting but theres simply not enough time for those type of headlines to be used.
Love Granny propaganda (sarc) – even when the Leader resigned it’s all good press for Natz candidates. Not a peep about Collins and all her transgressions and Double dipper English!!
“Bennett said her relationship with English was “fantastic” and described him as “awe-inspiring”. The two work together on finance and social housing, and they are part of the top tier of ministers, called the “Kitchen Cabinet”. But English has also worked closely with Bridges on Auckland’s transport problems.
In a sign of a potentially tense contest, Bridges said he would make a better deputy than Bennett because he marked a complete generational change. Bridges came into Parliament three years later than Bennett, in 2008.”
In spite of this they still have to run spiteful anti Labour articles such as Claire Trevett’s
“100 not out: Labour party battles for its political future”
It starts on Monday.
fence
post
Yes true, I’m assuming it will be sorted by Monday, like its a fait accompli kind of thing especially since the next budget surplus is supposed to be a whopper
It might not of course, however if I was a betting man I’d bet it’ll be over on Monday…the puckish side of me would like to see it continue on for a while though 🙂
Bill at the helm of a leaking, bloated tanker heading for the reefs. His crew! Oh dear! And First Mate! A cargo of rancid fat and snake oil. Oh dear, oh dear!
Fortunately (unfortunately) there’s just enough momentum for the good ship National to make it to the port of the 2017 election win, thanks to a budget surplus and the assistance of the tugboat of NZFirst and the tugboat of another bye-election Labour can’t afford
After that there may be some slight cause for concern 🙂
It’s as though the All Blacks were facing their most critical test match and were reliant on their one star player upon whom success depended, let’s call him, “John Richie”, when an hour before kick off, John declares that he is not going to play, he’s talking his ball and going home, because his girlfriend want to spend quality time with him.
The crowd goes wild.
Yeah imagine what would happen to the All Blacks if Richie, Dan, Kevin, Tony, Ma’a and Conrad left all at the same time taking over 700 caps and all that experience with them 🙂
what you are eluding to might be true , if it wasn’t for the fact that the rugby equivalents of parmjeet ,misa fia and tobbacy todd wouldn’t make the taumarunui eels team let alone the the all blacks up incomers
They’d lose to Ireland?
Well I was linking the tier 1 test record to a record fourth term for National but please tell me you aren’t suggesting Labour is like the Irish rugby team
Well, the Irish team currently has a 50% win record against the All Blacks in its past two encounters (aren’t stats wonderful- a bit like Treasury and Budget figures).
The Irish team has charm, wit and size.
It embraces the whole of Irish society, north and south, inclusively.
Like the Left in general the Irish have got the best songs.
And lastly, they especially despise the English!
So, Puckish Rogue, in the best sense of fun, some great parallels between the NZ Labour Party and the Irish Rugby team of very recent history! 😉
Disclaimer: though my moniker is Mac1 there is no blarney or bias in this summation, at all at all at all.
No need for headlines, 2 days of discussions and it’s sorted, lessons to be learnt by other parties maybe?
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11763085
Who knew that motels were going to be a fundamental part of the “wrap around” service that the Ministry of Social Development were going to provide?
Used to house (and indebt) our ever increasing homeless, they are also a depository for our vulnerable children. ( Unless there is a free gang associate house available that is).
I was speaking to a CYFS worker just yesterday, and those in her office are spending much of their time coming up to the holidays looking for motels to place children. When I asked who was there to provide caregiving, she shrugged her shoulders and said “Who?”.
Molly it’s all about physical assets, such as motels and the buying and selling of them. The actual social part of it, does not appear in the neoliberal manuals so just sort of falls off the radar. People are not considered assets under neoliberalism they are just vehicles of loss .
Similar to the conference centres (to create jobs but the job bit is the fudge, in fact rather than create jobs for locals you just import workers in because they are cheaper, then you have a housing crisis to solve to house all the new people etc), the homeless crisis, (rezone land and then let the market do ‘it’s thing’, the immediate housing is irrelevant), etc etc.
Would agree with you there, saveNZ.
How and why to turn a turtle on its back,
https://thestandard.org.nz/the-standard-is-offering-to-the-national-party-leadership-contenders-guest-post-slots/#comment-1271775
Did anyone else see the awful add in the herald yesterday.
The solid energy add, Mansplaining at it’s worse. So condescending it was sickening.
For a so called open letter – noticed no signature. How cowardly can you get.
Funny anyone with half a brain realised it was out and out propaganda. Well I suppose solid energy will do anything for their political masters.
This government is such a bunch of wankers, hiding behind a so call private company to lie and spin to New Zealand public.
New low.
And published in the Herald where Westcoasters are sure to read it. Ha 🙁
More grievous ignorance of sports history in the media.
Morning Report, RNZ National, Thursday 8 December 2016, 8:25 a.m.
This morning featured a report from Indira Stewart of the Pacific Radio Network, stating that Joseph Parker and David Tua are the “only two New Zealanders to have ever fought for the World Heavyweight title.”
That is nonsense, of course. On Thursday 26 July 1928 Gisborne’s own Tom Heeney fought Gene Tunney for the title at Yankee Stadium. The fight was stopped in the 11th round.
Neither Susie Ferguson nor Guyon Espiner seemed to notice, and simply carried on with the next item.
For those who, unlike Indira Stewart, care to know something about boxing history, here’s a tape of the fight…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPCOxpECsgw
Also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Fitzsimmons
We can sort of claim him 🙂
Thanks Puckish Rogue. What an inattentive fool I am! In my haste to excoriate RNZ National, I merely show up myself.
Assuming you don’t have access to the same resources RNZ have its an easy error to make, unless you come from Timaru of course in which case there’s no excuse 🙂
Fitzsimmons having a fight reffed b ywyatt earp,and the famed fight on the sandbar in the rio grande organized by judge roy bean.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fitzsimmons-Maher_Prizefight#/media/File:BeanSign_small.JPG
Well that wins the internet for coolest thing I’ve read all year 🙂
I also think jimmy Peau thought for some non descript world title in Queensland a few years back
Yes I remember something along those lines. Whatever happened to Jimmy Peau?
I don’t know anything about him lately but 5 years ago he was pretty down on his luck
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/3481691/Thunder-Jimmy-Peau-on-the-canvas
Theres this from 2014:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/10524793/Jailbird-Peau-likely-to-be-deported-Down-Under
Thanks for that Alwyn.
MEET THE CANDIDATES
No. 3: Judith “Crusher” Collins
Possibly the nastiest and most immature political candidate in New Zealand’s history—though not the stupidest.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/87288904/nicky-hager-takes-on-aspirant-pm-judith-collins
“She has the integrity.”—Don Brash.
Ok then we’ll just turn a blind eye to the frauds then because somebody is making a short term buck and it will expose the governments underfunding of education, so they are doing nothing and leaving the short term housing issues and longer term problem of all our fraudster residents to another government … from Granny
“Yet it seems no one can really tackle the student visa rort because we now depend on it.
The country makes $4.28 billion a year from international students, our fourth biggest industry behind dairy, tourism and meat. Put aside legitimate questions over how much of that money stays in New Zealand and circulates in the wider economy, as opposed to the immigrants themselves. If we turned off the tap tomorrow – the Government’s nightmare scenario after the sudden collapse of the Chinese market in 2003 – many office buildings would be half empty and central Queen St would become a ghost town. Even reputable education providers would go broke and most polytechnics and universities could not make ends meet with domestic students alone. Economic activity would also take a hit, as international students are doing the difficult, low-paid jobs that most New Zealanders avoid – at least until the students get their residence visa.
In short, fundamental changes are unlikely to come from the top because too many powerful interests are benefiting from the current system, despite its obvious flaws. The only hope is for more honest people within the student visa scam to stand up and be counted.”
If we turned off the tap tomorrow … many office buildings would be half empty and central Queen St would become a ghost town. Even reputable education providers would go broke and most polytechnics and universities could not make ends meet with domestic students alone.
Gosh, that would be a disaster! Good job there’s no proposal on the table to ban international education outright then, eh? Cleaning up the industry would make it worth less, but would still leave universities, polytechs and schools teaching a lot of international students.
The actual reason the government won’t do anything about the scam is in this bit:
…international students are doing the difficult, low-paid jobs that most New Zealanders avoid – at least until the students get their residence visa.
That is, the success of this scam to bypass our immigration standards and ensure a supply of cheap, easily-exploited labour for National’s constituents, with downstream effects on local pay and conditions, is the government’s main reason for not cleaning up the international education “industry.”
“many office buildings would be half empty and central Queen St would become a ghost town.”
What happened to the cherished Number 8 approach to solving problems with innovation? Empty office buildings in Queen Street + homeless in Auckland should = conversion to family apartments and a community revitalisation of Auckland central.
As for the other, fund education to sustainable levels.
Couldn’t all the empty buildings be given to solve the housing crisis????
All solved. move on.
Gareth Morgan tells Paul Henry the truth.
And Paul Henry hates being shown up for being the selfish git he is.
Morgan to Henry…
“You’re telling me that you don’t give a toss about New Zealand being fair. ‘Pull up the ladder, Jack, and the rest of you can get stuffed’. What sort of New Zealand values do you have, man?”
“You’re just a tax loophole cowboy, that’s all you are,”
“I’m about making New Zealand fair. You’re self-centred and you don’t give a toss about being fair in New Zealand.”
“Don’t tell an economist what a reverse mortgage is mate.”
“In media soundbytes are important, that’s why your sort of media is dying mate.”
And Henry’s retort, with his expensive house, European car and entitled lifestyle threatened.
Morgan is a communist.
Watch it. It’s great to see the tosser Henry being dealt to.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/politics/tax-policy-bust-up-gareth-morgan-trades-insults-with-paul-henry-2016120808
Morgan needs to become less defensive when he’s discussing his party’s policies.
I certainly support his Comprehensive Capital Tax. If you have an asset that returns some benefit then it should be taxed at the commensurate income of that benefit.
I agree Morgan did not help his case, loosing his cool, playing the man not the ball, never a good look unless your of a Paul persuasion and just want to see Henery abused
zzzzzzzzzzzzz
I do not totally agree with Morgan, but at least he has us discussing these things, and his heart is in the right place.
I don’t see what a CCT can do, that conventional inheritance, income and CGT combined, along with getting rid of private trusts immunity from claims, cannot.
Only someone as truely ignorant as Henry, can have such confidence.
I don’t blame Morgan for getting annoyed with the bumptious twit.
1. Gets rid of land banking. The land will have to produce an income year to year else it’s just going to cost too much. A CGT may get the tax once the land is sold but it doesn’t prevent it.
2. Encourages people living in large, expensive houses to shift into smaller houses with smaller land thus freeing up more land for housing thus encouraging density increases.
Neither do I but he shouldn’t have shown it. His sitting back, hands tightly crossed before him shows that he’s on the defensive and is exactly the reaction that Henry was going for.
He needs to be able to sit there, calm, arms open, answer the questions and, yes, call Henry a bumbling, selfish idiot.
3. It could allow marginal land to remain as wilderness.
It does sow why trying to debate with the “Haves” is so difficult. Why would a “Have” like Henry be in the least concerned about the “Havenots”?
If he can’t handle Henry how is going to handle the rest of the pressure that’ll come, its all well and good to say what you think should happen and get nice media fluff pieces but hes thrown his hat in the ring and now what he says is going to be picked over with a fine tooth comb and he’d better be ready with some answers
Morgan wants retired people to get a reverse mortgage on their house so they can pay property taxes, he a communist arsehole.
No he doesn’t. and he’s most definitely not a communist. He’s very much a capitalist – he’s just one that sees many of the limitations that the way capitalism operates and how it doesn’t pay it’s full costs and puts those costs on the poor instead.
I’d have thought he wouldn’t have been stupid enough to include the family home in this, I can’t imagine any political party thinking that’s an idea the voters will go for, not even the Greens
Yes I’ve seen first hand how paranoid and touchy the entitled property class is about their inflating asset values.
They expect to sit on their million dollar+ houses and bank capital gains of 80K per year for ever. If anyone suggests this model is neither sustainable nor fair then they are shouted out of the room.
This unreasonable, greedy behaiour is sowing the seds of class war. I suppose this is the ugly side of Pakeha culture. They stole Aotearoa in the first place and now (like some kind of landed gentry), they expect the serfs to slave away paying high levels of tax and rent. Wealthy boomers have come to expect a well paid retirement with no means testing or CGT.
What a pack of spoiled brats
Well the average house price is $600 000.00 but please go ahead and suggest to the voters that taxing the family home, the house the retired have worked for entire lives to own (while paying taxes) is a really good idea
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/309978/average-nz-house-price-tops-$600k
Why should some people (who have also worked their whole lives) have to keep paying high rents for ever, while others who managed to climb into property ownership get free accommodation and tax breaks and full super without any form of means test?
Not sustainable, not fair, and kinda gross in the middle of a housing crisis
I actually support means testing by the way but the family needs to be exempt
Why not except a family home up to a certain value.
Exempting the family home is a loophole the wealthy will drive a bus through.
+100
what about Maori land Ropata… how many Maori (or Pakeha for that matter) have the income to pay yearly taxes on their capital?
All that will happen is what is already happening, Kiwis can’t afford to live in their own country with all the taxes and the low wages and foreigners will buy us up cheap.
That’s where Morgan’s ideas falls down.
I’m more into the Sanders and Corbyn approaches on Robin hood taxes on banks and transaction style taxes.
Don’t expect an answer, ropata jumped in with the chance to score a “hit” on a rightie and didn’t think through his reasoning
I am not a policy analyst nor am I a spokesperson for Morgans TOP vehicle. I just think he talks a lot of sense and in principle I agree with his fair minded ideas.
Morgan’s tax is aimed at the top few% of wealthy property holders who are banking tax free capital gains. He reckons his LVT will be either neutral or advantageous for most people because he will also drop income taxes.
Anyway I think this party is just a way for him to get the ideas of his Foundation into mainstream media. In the current volatile economic climate his is a vital counter narrative to the standard capitalist dogma we swim in.
Remember this is in the context of an unprecedented housing crisis, Morgan’s ideas are not cooked up in a vacuum.
I understand this is heresy against the national NZ religion of a quarter acre pavlova paradise.
Gareth Morgan has my full support for sticking it to that twit Henry. Watching that video clip made my day. I thought Morgan eviscerated the prick.
I think he got frustrated that Henry kept coming up with stupid examples, but there was no need for Morgan to stoop to Henry’s level of childish insults.
Henry is very gifted at twisting things according to his warped view of the world and dominated the interview in a very rude and hostile manner. For some reason he was much nicer to Ann Pettifor and allowed her a lot of time to express her position.
http://www.debtonation.org/2016/10/ann-pettifor-in-new-zealand-on-the-financialised-economy/
promising signs from gareth, perhaps he can come up with a public broadcasting policy as no one else seems to to sort that issue out.
Wow! a strange thing happened, somehow, somewhere, someone came to the conclusion that for true comparison of two different systems, they need to be measured with the same criteria.
But our favorite hologram disagrees, seems if there’s money involved, and a contract to enforce well…………. it’s just a bit confusing for the average Joe/Jane and at that point we should bow out and leave it to him and the other “experts”.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/319865/charter-school-ncea-reporting-to-be-brought-into-line
I was going to put up a link to the interview on Natard this morning with Paula Bennett and how she will make a truly awesome Dep Leader of the Natzional Party but the website appears to be having access problems….but never mind, I’ll do a Morrissey and give y’all a transcript.
Ms. Bennett….what qualities do you believe you have for the Deputy Leaders role?
hahahahahahahahahahahah….pause for gurgling breathhahahahahahahahahahah
gigglegigglegigglegigglegigglegigglegiggle
and so on, ad nauseum.
Here….http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201826881/bennett-or-bridges-for-national's-new-deputy
This is a fascinating article about how a gunman attacked a pizza parlour in Washington after conspiracy theorists claimed Hilary Clinton was running a child sex operation out of it. It argues that mis-information is being used as a political tool.
https://theintercept.com/2016/12/06/disinformation-not-fake-news-got-trump-elected/
InfoWars video in 5… 4… 3….
/
No country with a McDonald’s can remain a democracy
George Monbiot
Since the 1980s we’ve let the corporations rule and it’s become obvious that it’s detrimental to us as a community.
So true, the NZ government was seduced and subverted in 1984 and now it’s become a schizoid institution that purports to represent the people of New Zealand, but is instead complicit in their exploitation.
It’s not exactly secret, all this has been well documented (see cafca.org.nz), but since it has been a slow and ongoing process the sale of NZ piece by piece to foreign interests doesn’t make the news cycle.
Just read the whole thing — how depressing. Maybe democracy was just a temporary aberration and the natural state of the human race is feudalism and internecine tribal conflict.
When the USA was founded corporations were deliberately outlawed because the founders had seen what they did to Europe. Sadly that didn’t last long
Democracy does seem to be more of an aberration with dictatorships and oligarchies ruling most of the time. Of course, the oligarchies and dictatorships always collapse due to the hubris and greed of the rich. And when they do we go back to being a democracy which then builds up society which the rich then take over and destroy.
It seems to be an iterative process as we learn more our democracy gets better but, unfortunately, we haven’t learned to prevent people from getting rich yet.
“Representative Democracy” was bound to fail.
Putting that degree of power in the hands of a few people, is always going to be subverted.
Democracy, however!
Finally Assange is permitted to answer the slander against him on record.
It has taken six years for this to occur. An outrageous abuse of legal power and process!
https://justice4assange.com/IMG/html/assange-statement-2016.html
Thanks for that, xanthe. Don’t expect anything on this to appear on our television news this evening. (Time constraints due to extended banter between the autocue readers and the sports guy and the weather guy.)
Thanks xanthe. Pretty awful in this day and age. What next?
Some conservative Kiwis are very unhappy that the ugly side of their country’s Pacific history is being exposed: http://readingthemaps.blogspot.co.nz/2016/12/counting-victims.html
+1 fascinating and tragic tale. Absolutely should not be covered up. Love your work RTM and it deserves to be published widely.
What does brought in to line mean?
Are the Charter schools just lying about there pass rates?
Charter school pass rates plummet when brought in line with state schools
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11762756
“Brought into line” means there’s been a corrupt system working and now it’s been outed.
Hekia Pariah and the Epsom Idiot have been spinning crap about it today to try to make people with ordinary intelligence believe it is something it wasn’t. I didn’t need to go to a charter school to recognise bullshit when I see it.
A leaked memo from the Beehive 😉
Ok so Little was safe until the next election because, lets all be honest now, Little was going to lose to Key but that was keeping him safe because anyone else would have to lost to Key as well
Now Keys gone and English is in charge, English who has lost before, English who isn’t exactly Mr Charisma, English who is beatable…Little might win and that’ll mean six years and then National will be back in so that’s a long time to wait if you’re an MP
But Little hasn’t improved Labours numbers, in fact it’d be fair to say Labours numbers, being positive, stagnating and if National don’t drop below 40% and NZFirst stay above 10% then that’s another term for National
So in light of the new developments is there someone in Labour that will answer the call to arms?
On a completely unrelated matter, what are the chances Robertson is going to be firing up the ol’ BBQ over Summer? 🙂
That’s not what Key himself thought. He said said he didn’t like losing which is why he jumped ship.
Key is a coward and I believe he will be remembered for that.
If there’s one thing to be learned from the Trump, Key, Cameron phenomena it is that policy is totally irrelevant and in fact it switches people off. What people vote for is a smiley wavey confident snake oil sales person. Even Obama and Trudeau benefited from this mindless herd behaviour. (Scott Adams made some excellent observations of Trump’s persuasion techniques and NLP type shit)
Maybe Labour needs to put up All Blacks and TV personalities instead of serious candidates.
I kind of agree with this but you’d be hard pressed to find a Labour supporting All Black although Chris Laidlaw is probably still hanging around if you want to use him
Labour is appearing more solid by the day, all the dead wood is being pruned game on pucky , the planet key lotus eaters will awake from their stupor in time for the right man to be the next PM.
i think they are addicted to the property price inflation koolaid and will keep drinking it until NZ sinks into the sea. or some other unthinkable disaster happens like “interest rates”
Robertson has been sorting out things in the background and doesn’t have to
CV will be delighted to learn Trump’s rumored pick for FDA director reckons big pharma should release new drugs, whether they work or not.
/
O’Neill also could push the agency in new directions. In a 2014 speech, he said he supported reforming FDA approval rules so that drugs could hit the market after they’ve been proven safe, but without any proof that they worked, something he called “progressive approval.”
“We should reform FDA so there is approving drugs after their sponsors have demonstrated safety — and let people start using them, at their own risk, but not much risk of safety,” O’Neill said in a speech at an August 2014 conference called Rejuvenation Biotechnology. “Let’s prove efficacy after they’ve been legalized.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2016-12-07/trump-team-is-said-to-consider-thiel-associate-o-neill-for-fda
Who are you going to drool over now till the next election Puckerman? now that your beloved idol has spit the dummy.
I’m more curious whose leg the Hosk is going to hump now. It just won’t be the same if it’s English’s leg he latches onto.
@ Andre brilliant + 100
Hosking’s done his “Best PM Ever” shit now he’s checking out the Blinglish (invented word) ‘rectalia’. He’s a bit shameless with his rat-up-drainpipe styles is Hosk’.
FFS…….dork Max Snr. Couldn’t resist could he? http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11763286
I don’t mean the ‘doing’…….the “lonely backbencher” line weren’t half bad akshully (well done CT!)…….no, it’s more the studied ‘telling’.
No class. Aux Old Money must be immensely glad about The Leaving.