Where are the shareholders of Briscoes, Sommerset, The Warehouse, Hallenstiens, insisting that their ill gotten gains be returned to the taxpayers of Aotearoa?
This was on the tranny a few days ago and had my blood boiling.
From what I recall (does that stop me/TS being sued?), Briscoes paid out a dividend to its shareholders, one indivdual received 75% of those dividends.
Sommerset paid a dividend even though they did not make a profit, so had reserves from which wages could be paid.
I get the onus on directors to maximise profit. This naked greed and immorality hopefully will impact on future trading when the good folk of NZ decide to boycott these parasites.
Fair enough with the greedybastardy n'all, but the government put fuckall safeguards to ensure they could lever the money back. Which would not have been hard.
Absolutely, hindsight should inform future action however. This issue could have been avoided if the 'helicopter cash' went to individuals instead of employers.
And I'd agree with Robertson at the outset but a better system needed to be planned and implemented shortly after rather than extending that bait for the corporate kleptocracy.
"Foodstuffs says New World stores that have applied for the Government's wage subsidy will withdraw their applications.
The Government database of employers who have applied for the wage subsidy – which has now topped $6.6 billion in payouts for more than a million workers – shows a New World Metro with 71 employees was paid $482,124 and Waikanae New World was paid $140,592 for 20 employees."
But ONLY after some intense "feedback". Greedy pricks….
And yet supermarket Staff…even with the Covid stress, customer abuse etc; are still fighting for a Living Wage. Food Essential Service. And Workers Essential too….
You will find that these are distinct individuals, often chairs on several boards spreading the greed mantra of yesteryear, behaving not unlike the virus itself.
Warehouse declared a dividend prior to lockdown but cancelled it when lockdown came into effect. They posted a loss for the year and are now declining to pay a final dividend. They say, also, that the staff layoffs that occurred later were planned well before the pandemic started.
Since late March just over 750,000 businesses have claimed $14 billion worth of wage subsidies, of which about $440 million has been paid back in refunds by roughly 15,000 companies.
My bold.
I'm actually impressed by these companies honesty.
Now, the question is how many should have paid back.
Of course, it would have been better just to give everyone a decent unemployment benefit so as to maintain spending and put in place protections so that people wouldn't lose their homes during lockdown.
At the risk of seeming provocative, someone oughta suggest that Labour establishes a commissar of subsidy reclamation, to head up a team of ex-gang heavies for doing the collection. After the election, of course…
yes, could co-opt some of the nats raptor strike force. break down a few doors, kick a few heads,,,, pictures at eleven….would make the revenge lovers happy, for about a minute!
Of course, it would have been better just to give everyone a decent unemployment benefit so as to maintain spending and put in place protections so that people wouldn’t lose their homes during lockdown.
No, it would not have been better because you’re comparing apples with oranges.
As I saw it, the Wage Subsidy was an emergency measure to helicopter cash out as quickly as possible with few restraints and with a clear purpose in mind, at the time, albeit untargeted and general by ‘design’. That purpose was not primarily to maintain spending (in order to keep the economy going) and/or to avoid people losing their homes.
Wage subsidy schemes
Financial support for businesses and workers who are financially impacted by COVID-19 to maintain an employment connection and ensure an income for affected employees.
What Robertson did was good – for a short time but it can't be maintained over the entire time of the pandemic thus something else needs to be done. That would either have to be a fairly high unemployment benefit to maintain spending or a jobs guarantee within the public sector that paid the Living Wage.
IIRC, one of the few criteria for receiving the Wage Subsidy and passing it on to employees was a marked demonstrable loss of income compared to some previous period. Nobody knew what was happening at the time. The fact that some (?) businesses have apparently enjoyed a post-lockdown rebound and strong surge in business and therefore in profits does not make it morally wrong to have claimed the subsidy in the first place. I think this makes the accusation misguided and misleading. The Professor’s field is not ethics, is it?
I also note that the Professor’s ‘research’ was highly selective in that it only looked at “the top 50 companies on the NZX”, which is a minute fraction of all businesses in NZ – 10 out of 750,000 is only 0.00133%.
Your business must have experienced a minimum 30% decline in actual or predicted revenue over the period of a month, or 30 days, when compared with the same month, or 30 days, last year, and that decline is related to COVID-19.
There's also a requirement that you have to do everything you can to mitigate the impact
Your business must have taken active steps to mitigate the financial impact of COVID-19.
This could include:
drawing from your cash reserves (as appropriate)
activating your business continuity plan
making an insurance claim
proactively engaging with your bank
This last bit could prove interesting in an audit and I'm of the understanding that audits are occurring. This could be a shot across the bows to induce voluntary repayment
In a lot of cases profit could less affected than revenue over the period because expenses went down due to the business being closed, so reduced power and telecom, depending on the lease no or reduced rent and lots of other incidentals would have dropped of for a while.
I am not saying they shouldn't have applied for the subsidy. What I am saying is they should have refunded the subsidy before paying a dividend to shareholders.
The shareholders must take the good with the bad.
As to the professor not being an expert in ethics, you don't have to be qualified to see that a lot of this behaviour is unethical.
The top 50 companies on the NZX is a good place to start. Potentially larger numbers to focus on/seek repayment from. Alas these 'leaders' of commerce are setting an example for other aspirational business folk to follow.
University of Auckland accounting professor Jilnaught Wong says his investigation shows 10 of the top 50 companies on the NZX claimed the wage subsidy and morally some companies should not have. [my italics]
There's the rub. The government did one really dumb thing – they took an approach of trusting people.
Had they not, the scalpers would have been in the raucous mob complaining about not being trusted and being treated like children.
So, the choices: To treat people as mature, having a sense of civic responsibility, untrustworthy, as children or scum? Whatever, some took the scum road.
It will be interesting to see a wash up of the high trust, publicly open information model used for the wage subsidy compared to the zero trust, confidential model used in most other welfare government assistance situations.
Was there any difference in false claim and payment rates? Did the greater spend on administration compensate for any reduction in fraud in the zero trust model. Did the speed of the high trust model give less negative outcomes that would have been the result of delays due to approval of applications in the zero trust model?
I've got a feeling that the high trust model may turn out to be a lot more efficient was of distributing government assistance.
Yes good post Graeme, and Peter too. Rather than criticising the wage subsidy on the basis that some took advantage, we might wonder if it is in fact an efficient and more equitable model for other forms of welfare.
I thought of this when during one of the debates Ardern said she didn't need a tax cut and Collins replied, well then you can give it back – ie she was comfortable with giving the better off choices, but not beneficiaries or the low paid. Might the same argument be applied to welfare or the minimum wage – make these generous and if it turns out those benefitting didn’t need assistance after all, they can give it back …
Jacinda Ardern’s popularity may have dropped in last night OneNews Colmar Brunton poll, but her Labour Party is now powering its way to an overwhelming victory in the election.
Meanwhile there is international speculation that Ardern may tonight win the Nobel Peace Prize. Time magazine has her in their top three picks to win. if she won, that would give Labour’s campaign another boost.
The minor parties battled it out on TVOne last night with divisions opening up about our relationship with China. On the campaign trail, both Advance NZ and ACT have been calling for a re-calibration of New Zealand’s foreign and trade policies away from China. “What we’ve also done is put too many eggs in the China basket,” said AdvanceNZ co-leader, Jami Lee Ross. “We need to expand our trade agreements to our more traditional trading partners. “And I think we should also need to come down hard on China and not be afraid of them.”
Maori Party co-leader, John Tamihere, took another view. “They’re an outstanding and huge economy, and we need to trade with them.”
NZ First Leader, Winston Peters is also Foreign Minister and has been subtly shifting New Zealand’s foreign policy emphasis away from China and closer to the United States and Australia. Peters agreed with Ross the Chinese money was coming into New Zealand politics. “I don’t see it in the media, and I don’t see it in the serious fraud office,” he said. “I think this is catastrophically bad.” “We’ve got too much dependence on one market. “And they(the National Government) walked into it without their wise eyes wide open. “They were always going to be outsmarted by the Chinese. “Don’t blame the Chinese; blame our past leadership.”
Quite so. However they were simply following Bilderberger instructions from the 1990s globalist agenda. That's requisite for mainstream political leaders. Left or right brand differentiation is irrelevant in geopolitics. I presume the Bilderbergers will pivot away from China now, anyway, since a resilient global economy can only embed via a diverse trading strategy post-pandemic.
Goodness – Ardern in the running for a Nobel Peace Prize! She would no doubt accept it on behalf of all NZers, many of whom will have Ardern in their thoughts, and prayers.
If she does accept it on that basis, I'd like to see her specify the political common ground that made it possible:
"The peaceful state of mind in Aotearoa has been achieved by going hard and going early on the pandemic response. Getting that right has enabled kiwis to maintain complacency – our traditional pacific state of mind. Our people have resisted the rightist siren call of division and separatism: we are united in our addiction to neoliberalism!"
"We will keep trading with China because money is more important than ethnic tribes in concentration camps: that's what Labour stands for! We embrace this bipartisan stance because it has become traditional, and we like conservatives – that's why we made peace with them. Progress can be made if we do the same old stuff forever. Labour remains a party of the establishment!"
Dennis, our PM will surely give your considered opinion the attention it deserves; I look forward to her extraordinary Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech.
Tbh, I haven’t perceived a lot of bipartisan political ‘peace and love‘ of late, but maybe the rancour is just a show for the gullible masses.
I'm moderatelyvery grateful to the Government for their decision to 'go hard and go early' in response to the serious health threat that the COVID-19 pandemic represents – getting that response right certainly saved lives, even if (as you suggest) that was only a collateral outcome, and it's done wonders for my immediate peace of mind. After all, we're all in this together.
Empress has fantabulous clothes on? So glamorous that nobody will notice the trading policy link? Close enough to trad Labour thinking that it could work.
I am sure you and the Greens can show how New Zealand can replace is 30% of exports to China and 40% of imports from China. Sometime about now since it's an election will do.
And those fantabulous clothes are all from China, and you're wearing them.
Meantime Labour is leading the country through the worst economic crisis in a century without the assistance of foolish preening from the Values wing of the Greens.
In principle, I agree. The principle being self-sufficiency (Jeanette F always called it self-reliance). In practice, however, trading seems hard-wired into human nature.
Trading networks are detectable throughout history and seem ubiquitous – perhaps only relatively so, since some indigenous cultures are collectively self-reliant. A comprehensive documentation of the extent by antropologists collaborating with sociologists would be enlightening (I haven't encountered one).
Barter can even happen naturally within a family. I have distant memories of doing a bit with my younger brothers from time to time. I suspect it is part of being a social animal. Other primates do sharing of food, and trading food for sex has been established as a common pattern of behaviour.
The principle being self-sufficiency (Jeanette F always called it self-reliance). In practice, however, trading seems hard-wired into human nature.
Self-sufficiency means each country producing what it needs to survive indefinitely. Trade between countries then becomes a nice to have which pretty much means luxuries that a country can't produce itself. Trade would still exist but would decrease from where it is now.
Thing is, as far as I can make out, the only reason why we have trade is so that the producers have a larger market to sell to which then makes them richer. This is, as we're learning, unsustainable.
Your description of a reslient economy is correct. Neoliberalism requires co-dependency (in mass psychology) as the tacit basis of the system. To explain this problem to politicians it would help if economists adept at mass psychology were facilitating the discourse. Silo thinking in academia still prevents such sophisticated culture from emerging…
It will be interesting to see in this election how close the final few weeks' polls are to the actual result. They could be expected to be closer than ever, especially as a good chunk of people answering pollsters’ questions at this stage will have actually already voted.
Cunning rightist plot to drop the Greens below threshold & out of parliament:
LIKE THE EXCLUSIVE BRETHREN in 2005, the Taxpayers’ Union is poised to launch a well-funded, last-minute attack on the Greens.
According to Richard Harman’s Politik website, the right-wing, anti-tax, lobby group is about to send a personalised letter to every homeowner whose property is valued at more than a million dollars. The letter “explains” how the Green’s proposed 1 percent Wealth Tax on property valued at more than one million dollars will apply to them.
When questioned by the veteran broadcaster and journalist about the source of the sizeable funds required, the Union would say only that the money had been raised in response to a special appeal for financial support.
Harman also makes clear that the Taxpayers’ Union has registered itself with, and obtained all the required approvals from, the Electoral Commission. The latter has duly authorised the Union to spend up to $338,000 on its “political campaign” against the Greens’ tax policy.
Given the polls and the fact that Labour have ruled such a tax out, won't that just encourage those homeowners to vote Labour? Pushing Labour towards 50% is the only way to ensure this tax won't happen.
I doubt any Green voters owning homes worth $1M will be swayed by a letter from the Taxpayers' Union, so don’t see how this campaign would help push the Greens under 5%. In that case, voting Nats-Act only makes a Lab-Green coalition more likely.
I am predicting the National Party vote to collapse this week for that very reason. There are now only two scenarios come election night. Labour majority government, or Labour Green coalition government.
Which one do you think traditional National voters would prefer?
This is the problem, spelt out in the article linked by Dennis above, and is the reason that Labour voters need to strategically vote Green.
"For most strategic thinkers on the right, the only viable path to victory for National is over the dead body of the Green Party. If the Greens can be driven below the 5 percent MMP threshold, and the so-called “Trash Vote” pumped up to something approaching 10 percent, then a combined tally of National and Act votes of around 45 percent should be enough to reclaim the Treasury Benches. Assuming Act stands firm on 8 percent, National need only lift its Party Vote to around 37 percent for it to be “Game On!
Is that funding from the money they received from the Government's $60 000 to keep them afloat? They have $300 000 to waste on this? Paid by???? Nats????
Yes for some reason I received said letter. Have no idea how they got my address. Hubby wrote a hilarious letter back saying thanks for pointing out the Greens policy. We are not Green voters, but are now considering voting for them
tempted to also write asking them how do they expect the country to afford the wage subsidy Tax union received without finding new avenues of income for the govt……arseholes
I would think that anyone owning a million dollar plus home would probably not be a green supporter, and in any case would be well aware of how the wealth tax would affect them.
mikesh….the tax is based on NET assets above $1m, so if you had a home worth $1.2m and a mortgage of $200k, even though you have an asset worth $1.2m you pay no Wealth Tax at all.
The Wealth Tax proceeds are proposed to alleviate poverty in NZ.
But will the proven liars in the Taxpayer Union explain any of this?
Nasty campaigns like this can have the opposite effect to that hoped for when the media gets hold of it and may push votes to the Greens.
The greens probably won't get this through, and there will be no CGT either, so implement a wealth tax on portfolio and overseas owners instead. The more houses you own, the more tax you pay. Bought property from overseas and don't live in it, tax it hard, and again, rising with the more you own.
this letter writing campaign should be given as much publicity as possible AND should also be publically compared to exclusive brethren dirty tricks. that alone would make taxrorters hide in shame.
I dunno, drive around Rocks Road from Nelson to Tahunanui where the houses are more expensive than Paratai Drive ( well, almost ) and count the number of Green hoardings.
I would think that anyone owning a million dollar plus home would probably not be a green supporter
Speculating from a position of complete ignorance? They do exist, and if my circles are any indication (which they likely aren't), they likely make up a significant portion of Green support. Or used to, anyways.
When considering the impact of a policy like the wealth tax, it won't just influence those that are directly hit. It will also influence those that see themselves moving into the bracket in the near future, those that aspire to move into the bracket, and those with family and friends in the bracket.
The usual mindless repetition of the Green line that they can defer the tax coming in 3 … 2 … 1 …
Which completely ignores the many explanations already given of how a mounting debt affects the psychological well being of those people at a life-stage where debt-free financial independence is of high importance.
Take a drug test and show us the results before starting to debate!
A deferred wealth tax payable on death is not an estate tax. It's an ill-conceived tax that in some situations bears a passing resemblance to an estate tax. If an estate tax is wanted, then propose an honest upfront estate tax instead of trying to backdoor one by pretending something else is one.
Personally, I'm of the view that an estate tax and a gift tax and a capital gains are all needed to reintroduce some much needed fairness and equity into our tax system and broader society. But to me the Greens' proposed wealth tax is so badly designed, and it will produce harmful distortions in investment and life choices generally, that I don't want anyone so clueless that they get behind it to be anywhere near the levers of power.
I'm also unimpressed by the argument that it doesn't really matter because Labour will never agree to it. If you're going to make noise about something that's never going to happen, at least make it something that would be sensible and work well if it were implemented. Greens do that on other issues, so it's not like they're incapable of it.
A deferred wealth tax payable on death is not an estate tax.
Not in name, but it achieves much the same – but for only those with real wealth.
90% of New Zealanders would not be impacted – whereas they would with an estate tax.
A gift and estate tax system would not work in an era where parents are the bank of childrens equity in homes. Your alternative is worse and will never get electoral support. This is the best and only way.
Not sure how anyone paying a wealth tax on equity/wealth over $1m single or $2m couple would feel insecure about a mounting unpaid wealth tax bill they chose to defer against the estate.
In most periods the asset wealth would be rising much more quickly than this "debt".
For a lot of people that have made their lives and put down roots in a particular place, debt-free financial independence has an outsize importance. Any kind of deferred payment is equivalent to going back into debt, and takes away that sense of independence and replaces it with a feeling of being beholden to and under the control of someone else.
I've seen it happen with an elderly neighbour forced into deferring her property taxes in the US, I've heard reports of people completely losing their peace of mind after taking out a reverse mortgage.
In all cases, it would be easy to say it is irrational, because their offspring were all successful and were already significantly well off quite a ways beyond the small top up they would get from the eventual inheritance. As it happened, the deferred taxes case was finally resolved by her son paying off the deferred taxes, at the cost of a significant rift in the relationship because she felt her independence was being disrespected by her son. So it's easy to say it's irrational, and may be difficult to understand if you've never seen it happen, but it's also very lacking in empathy.
Deferred tax debt does not necessitate a need to reverse mortgage a property.
Where property values are rising, not necessarily so in the USA, some/many homeowners are considering leveraging lower debt to buy a rental – get more debt. Debt is not feared.
Older people worth over a $M not required to pay a penny in wealth tax until they die (if this is introduced) ARE not become my first concern as to well being.
Those without home ownership over 65, those without housing for their age mobility, those without home support, or access to pallitative care, Pharamac drugs, medical procedures to maintain well-being
You're sounding like Chris T over at The Daily Blog not supporting CGT on the farmers and other aspirational success stories of his generation. Or Collins full of compassion for farmers and landlords … .
As to drug use and revenues derived from – a billion in tax revenue would be nice.
So the wealth tax is unfair because a person it applies to chooses to behave irrationally, and that those who don't believe it unfair are lacking in empathy? Seems to me that you expect all governments to base their policies on whether or not this person will be disturbed by such policies.
Your comment reads like you think one small aspect of the many problems with the proposed wealth tax is the entire argument against it. I'm sure there's a specific name for that particular fallacy, but I can't be arsed looking it up.
CGT is very complicated and brings in far less revenue than the wealth tax proposed by the Greens, which applies to only the top 6% of the population. A CGT could apply to many more depending how it was framed.
The Greens WT could be amended so that it applied to (say) the top 4% rather than the top 6%.
Make it 10% then but the instant you have loop holes those you want to tax most will dodge it.
Shit if I had brought a house in auckland 8 years ago instead of taumarunui when i started living on the farms i worked on i would have made $500 k atleast tax free while i paid 20% +on the measly wage I've made in that time .
Yep – I've said before that the primary purpose of a wealth tax shouldn't be to raise revenue, but to limit the political power of the very wealthy – the vicious cycle where wealth produces power which produces more wealth.
It therefore needs to start at a higher threshold than the Greens propose and be at a much higher rate – effectively applying only to accumulations of wealth that cannot possibly be proportional to effort, innovation or contribution. It shouldn't apply to wealth that is a reasonable aspiration for fairly unexceptional people.
When we say that only 6% of people would be affected by the Greens' proposal, we mean 6% of those alive at the moment. More than 6% will be affected by the tax at some point in their lives. A better measure would be to look at everyone who has died in the last 5-10 years and see how many of them would have paid the tax (inflation-adjusted) at some point.
That said – I still voted for the Greens this time to help them get over 5% and I think they will probably refine this policy. To me it has the look of a slightly sour grapes over-reaction to the scuppering of CGT.
More like a feasible option, when Labour, for some unfathomable reason, took CGT totally off the table. And. It wasn't lack of public support. A large proportion of possible Labour/Green voters approved of CGT.
So, the only option going forward is either higher income and or consumption taxes, or something similar to the Greens wealth tax, or TOP's.
It is perfectly obvious that the Government share of the economy needs to be increased, or we will become, Seymour's third world libertarian "paradise".
The reason for the one million individual threshold, is that it excludes almost all "Family homes" even in Auckland. While including the million dollar beach mansions , laughably called, "family baches".
Not the best option, but doeable..
I don’t favour a tax on unrealised gains. Should be on sale, inheritance or other windfalls, but that seems currently off the table. Maybe after a few years of unrealised gains taxes, there will be more support for CGT and inheritance taxes.
It is perfectly obvious that the Government share of the economy needs to be increased, or we will become, Seymour's third world libertarian "paradise".
Under ACTS preferred policies we'd probably drop down to Fourth World status.
Aspirational – by sitting on a property title they can gain more in wealth in a year than most workers or business owners earn in a year or two or three …
Collectively NZers are wealthy – but how to redistribute a small percentage of that wealth more evenly? A wealth tax might contribute to maintaining and even improving public services, and helping citizens in times of need, e.g. during a pandemic.
I like the look of the Swiss wealth tax which generates a relatively large amount of revenue. It's not centrally administered, so regional variation offers choice.
"Wealth taxes appear to be losing, rather than gaining, political support: Table 1 shows that of the 14 OECD nations that raised recurrent taxes on wealth in 1995, only 5 still did so in 2014." https://www.nber.org/papers/w22376.pdf
Why might that be, I wonder? Could be informative to graph individual opinion (including politicians) of a wealth tax (favourable/unfavourable) against individual wealth.
The primary purpose of the proposed wealth tax is to generate revenue – can't rule out the possibility that a big "screw you" to the 'top' 6% was also a motivating factor.
Andre, re taxing wealth, could you and the orange shit gibbon be on the same page for once? Btw, nice Trump – Oompa-Loompa comparison.
Would be reassuring to know that those objecting to a wealth tax on the basis of design flaws might be comfortable paying a similar (presumed) increase in tax via a 'properly' redesigned tax regime. Proper redesign takes time, of course.
My favourite is "Like trying to solve a Rubik's cube with a baseball bat."
I've already said it a large number of times, including on this very thread.
Capital gains taxes are a much better answer to taxing the income from capital.
Estate taxes and gift taxes are a much better tool for tackling inequality.
In terms of my comfort level, I've paid about 4 times as much in capital gains taxes (to the US) as I have in what is effectively a wealth tax (to NZ) on my US retirement savings. But the capital gains taxes have never bothered me, because they are levied at a time when what used to be a significant part of my life had been turned into a mere financial instrument with the cash at hand to pay the tax. But the wealth tax fucks me right off every time, because it has nothing to do with any underlying cashflow, government contribution to success, it just feels like a mafia shakedown.
Paperwork associated with capital gains taxes are cited as a reason against them. But a wealth tax has pretty much the same paperwork burden every. single. fucking. year, as opposed to just the occasional instances for capital gains taxes.
As for an illustration of the difference in how wealth taxes and CGT operate, and get contributions back from those that benefit from government actions creating wealth, I gave examples here in my tale of three rich pricks: https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-24-09-2020/#comment-1753161
Got it – less ‘theft‘, more a “mafia shakedown.” And I get that they're rich, but why are they "pricks"? Ah, the rich – so hard on themselves, when life is 'so rich'.
Moriarty: Could I borrow a match? You see my gas has gone out and my batter pudding was just about to start browning.
Seagoon: Certainly, here… No, no, no… Keep the whole box, I have another match at home.
Moriarty: So rich! Well, thank you m'sieur, you have saved my batter pudding from getting cold. As you'll agree there's nothing quite so bad as being struck down with a cold batter pudding.
Thanks Dennis – The Goon Show is an enduring absurdist influence. I’d recommend "Lurgi Strikes Britain" to Johnson, and indeed Trump, Bolsonaro et al. in these uncertain times.
Capital gains taxes are a much better answer to taxing the income from capital.
No one is claiming that wealth taxes are an effort to tax capital gains.
In the lack of a CGT (see real world Ardern not while PM), there is only wealth taxes or gift and estate taxes.
Gift taxes will not gain support when the bank of parent loans out home equity to children. And most New Zealanders do not want the family home of the 90% not so weathy New Zealanders to be hit with an estate tax. No one seees Labour going from no CGT on the family home to an estate tax on family homes.
So its either this form of wealth tax or nothing but waiting for the 2030's for someone to lead the Labour government to election victory with a CGT policy. By then the average home will be worth over $1M on current trends.
Tax works best if it is simple, easy to understand and broad based.
You can see with current CGT how accountants can drive a bus through anything else.
Eh? How about we get rid of income tax on workers." It is a blunt tool at best".
Even Adam Smith thought labour should not be taxed. Unfair that those who work hard all year get taxed up to 33% while those who sit on their arse watching asset prices go up, mostly because of improvements in tax funded infrastructure, and immigration levels that require even more tax funded infrastructure and services, can escape tax.
Tax works best if it is simple, easy to understand and broad based.
That was, of course, how they justified GST despite how regressive it was. The income from GST was then used to cut the taxes from 66% despite the fact that such high tax rates weren't really about government income but to, effectively, put in place a maximum income and thus create a more egalitarian economy/society.
And, yes, that would require that the present tax loopholes that allow massive income to remain untaxed to be fixed. A capital tax is part of that.
Covid is making the resemblance ever stronger, with an ever more delightful colour contrast between the creepy withered bleached-white microscale raccoon paws and the dayglo orange modelling clay trowelled on up top.
Hadn't come across that one before. But we gotta give him credit, he's gotta be a contender for World's Most Tremendous Air Accordion Player like the world has never seen before.
More stuff you never knew you needed to know – it seems Merkin von BanKrupt has his very own sign language name. It's inspired by the appearance of the roadkill rodent perched atop his head about to get blown off in the breeze.
I thought that was some very positive work. Looking like quite a proportion of agriculture could already be carbon neutral, and maybe negative, with a slight (maybe) change in the definition of forest. Would have been nice if they'd gone into the nitty gritty of what has to change in the definition to show whether the idea's practical and economic from a farming sense.
Still be really good if we can get most sheep, beef, and probably deer, operations carbon neutral with not much more than changing some words. Would have some profound impacts on land and landscape management if that scrubby gully or face was making a positive contribution to the balance sheet, rather than being viewed as non-productive.
Also give those farmers something pretty cool to talk about in selling their produce.
Some of the more modern intensive dairy operations might find it a bit hard by comparison.
All the creeks and wetlands being fenced will be increasing the carbon storage, remnant bush areas would to especially If they get fenced off . Then get the deer population back under control( because it is exploding out here in the hills ) would massively increase storage in bush guts and gullies.
Good link. It may be sufficient to separate sheep and beef from big dairy to begin with.
It'd be nice to see a bit of oxygenation going on where nitrate levels are problematic – it takes 4.5 oxygen molecules to convert one molecule of animal pee ammonia to plant accessible and much less toxic nitrate – doesn't take much at that rate to degrade streams.
"The report also underlines previous independent work by the University of Canterbury that sheep and beef farmers are making an unparalleled contribution to NZ’s indigenous biodiversity."
What????
Agriculture, with it's simplistic grass pastures and ravenous livestock has supplanted the bulk of New Zealand's indigenous biodiversity and now wants praise for returning snippets of it? Really???
Good question Robert G. However it was rhetorical wasn't it! If we had all neural pathways functioning well at least 75% of the time we wouldn't have our present theatre of farce and hypocrisy, self-centredness and materialism par excellence.
Points to ponder in this analysis – and the contrary commentary:
This week the New Zealand Initiative published their latest missive addressing the supposed “rot at the core of schooling in New Zealand”. Briar Lipson’s report titled New Zealand’s Education Delusion: How bad ideas ruined a once world-leading school system claims to explore “the origins and consequences of New Zealand’s unchecked adherence to child-centred orthodoxy, contrasts the scientific consensus about how children learn with the different and, in many ways, contradictory advice given to educators and policymakers, it exposes how parts of the research community confuse evidence with values, and uncovers how curriculum and assessment policy rest on a flawed philosophy”.
I see the two sides as a dialectic, finding myself in sympathy with both. Fostering narcissism was never likely to work as social policy – yet kids do need self-esteem to develop & flourish. How to do it is the key.
According to the New Zealand Initiative website, Lipson is a research fellow specialising in education. Before joining the group, she was a maths teacher and assistant principal in London, where she also co-founded the Floreat family of primary schools.
Lipson has worked for international education consultancy CfBT, the Westminster think tank Policy Exchange, and holds a Masters Degree in Economics from the University of Edinburgh.
During her time at London-based conservative think tank Policy Exchange, Lipson worked with Conservative Party MP and former UK Education Secretary Michael Gove. Lipson is clearly a right-leaning “researcher” who works for equally right-leaning conservative think tanks. Ironic that her report calls out “groupthink” when she clearly represents exactly that.
Quite so. Yet defenders of the education establishment fail to own their bias too! Centrists therefore must balance both. I hope govt will design an integral plan, so policy progress will emerge via synthesis.
The New Zealand Initiative (The New Zealand Initiative is a pro-free-market public-policy think tank and business membership organisation in New Zealand. It was formed in 2012 by merger of the New Zealand Business Roundtable and the New Zealand Institute)
They deliberately misunderstand what Child Centred Learning is. But rest assured the more any learner has a stake in their own learning and can see a relevance to their own lives, the more reason they have to read and write and add and explain. Powerful incentives. The NZI was party to the National Standards which might explain the fall off of standards.
In reality, NZ education is not doing so well due to an overkill on "standards", one size fits all, education as cannon fodder for industry and "bums on seats" tertiary institutions, rote based learning and too much summative assessment.
Imposed on teaching by right leaning idealogs, who ignore research, and Teachers insights into how we learn.
Collins today in a public meeting. The only way to stop the Greens is to two tick National. The Greens are now the bogey. They are also being used, she said, by Labour to bring in a Wealth Tax since Labour has eschewed a CGT. It's all to do with Grant Robertson machinating out the back.
All of you people with more than a million owned in assets will get taxed $7200; and if your assets aren't in cash, then the government would get it when you die……. It's all a hard left conspiracy to take all your hard-earned money, though she does believe in taxation. She said the difference was that National would not tax and waste.
She still believes in testing people before they get on planes to come here, and that people should pay for their own isolation.
180 in the venue. Reception was a stand up applause for her entry, applause at her digs at her opposition, tame questions but all a bit muted. Applause for her announcing that the local MP would make an excellent Cabinet Minister in her next government. One Nat stalwart in conversation with me, knowing my politics as he does, said that the election is a foregone conclusion. The concern for him was whether the Greens would be in government with Labour. He agreed that Labour might just be able to govern alone based on the numbers.
Her lengthy spell pushing technology went beyond people’s attention levels and she spoke often in generalisations and three times made accusations based on such generalisations and then had to withdraw a bit as she realised that her remarks could be critical of her audience- about Labour only having public servants experience, that Labour had to call on old hands to save their covid strategy and then realised the age of her audience, and third criticised Labour’s tax plans as being grabs at people’s wealth and then having to backtrack to say that National too believed in taxation- just not waste tax payers hard-earned money.
"They are also being used, she said, by Labour to bring in a Wealth Tax since Labour has eschewed a CGT. It's all to do with Grant Robertson machinating out the back."
I take it, Weka, that you don't like gold, don't have a garage full of petrol-guzzling classic cars and don't have assets of more than $2 clear million between yourself and your hardworking partner to so advocate for a wealth tax paying an extra $7200 in tax?
Not sure if I even know someone with a million dollars assets in the clear. I have farming relatives, so some of them possibly are, or they have debt on the farm.
The model for the net wealth tax is based on a combination of data from Stats NZ’s Household Economic Survey and the Reserve Bank’s Household balance sheet. Stats NZ’s data allows for a breakdown of assets, liabilities,and net wealth by various demographic indicators, however it tends to under-report the total value of net wealth in Aotearoa. The Reserve Bank’s data is an aggregate, so does not allow a breakdown but gives a more accurate overall figure of net wealth.
Dang, United Arab Emirates currently test all passengers before they fly, it's done bugger all to help.
Last I heard you had to give a clear test something like 72 hrs before boarding a UAE flight, with no isolation requirements in the hours after the test prior to boarding.
Good on you for checking it out and thanks for sharing. Sounds like jude was preaching to the converted and possibly losing a number of them in the process.
Where did the $7200 come from? Doesnt it matter how much more than $1m you own? For instance, if you own $1,000,001 your annual wealth tax would be one cent. To get taxed $7200 a year you would have to own $1,720,000. Just seems like a random number for Judith to pick out.
Maddow read some newly un-redacted excerpts last week and informed us that a judge had ordered a large tranche to be similarly released on or before the 3/11.
I don't know whether everyone has caught up with this. It may have been good advice from a doctrinal POV from Electoral Commission but hey the place would have turned to moosh by then.
And something I dislike is hearing foreign accents, especially 'American' or possibly Canadian when official announcements are made. I heard a spokeswoman for the Electoral Comm on Radionz this morning and got this cold feeling of possible Trump-virus symptoms.
Long deep breaths also help to reset the body and prepare it for deep sleep, he says.
But changing habits is also necessary to addressing mental adversity. “We like to run in neural pathways, so patterns of behaviour and these are very difficult to change. It was once said that it takes 21 days to break a habit. We now know that’s not true. It might be if it’s a small habit but it can take as much as 80 days.”…
He says writing lists, validating worries and working through these worries practically, amounts to self-induced neuro-plasticity.
“What we’re doing is using the brain’s natural positive chemicals to start working on things that were worrying us. We can do two things – work on worry or work on what’s worrying us.” Busy-brain syndrome, as Burdett calls, it is when the brain works too hard at resolving worry, becoming overwhelmed, leading to lack of memory and concentration in the present.
This stuff is gold. It all rings true, and making time to take it in and follow the guidelines could be a game changer in NZ. It could be as crucial as that while we are perched at the tipping-point of so many crucial matters.
I ran across a recent essay from The Brothers Krynn, which attempts to map common horror monsters onto the Seven Deadly Sins: https://canadianculturecorner.substack.com/p/horror-monsters-and-vice My interest, however, is not in the meat of the piece, but rather the opening paragraph: It is an interesting fact that in recent decades, Vampires have ...
Buzz from the Beehive Transport Minister Simeon Brown dutifully issued advice to all road users to keep safe on our roads during the Easter weekend. He encouraged them to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. ...
Oliver Hartwich writes – New Zealanders recently learned about a new feature film. It will be about former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – and taxpayers will subsidise it to the tune of NZ$800,000. Ardern had nothing personally to do with either the film or the subsidy. But her government’s ...
TL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above that was recorded yesterday afternoon above between and The Kākā’s climate correspondent : An independent review panel into the emergency response to Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawkes Bayconcluded “that ...
There are now only a few days left to give feedback on the Draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport 2024-34 (see our earlier post this week on GPS submission guides). As we’ve reported, the GPS is a disaster for Local Government, so we were particularly interested to hear ...
Willis has pledged to go ahead with the debt-funded tax cuts, despite growing opposition from her own supporters worried about appearing fiscally irresponsible. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for ...
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
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 ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
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The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
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Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
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Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
COMMENTARY:By Ronny Kareni Since the atrocious footage of the suffering of an indigenous Papuan man reverberates in the heart of Puncak by the brute force of Indonesia’s army in early February, shocking tactics deployed by those in power to silence critics has been unfolding. Nowhere is this more evident ...
Analysis - Nicola Willis is holding firm on tax cuts despite the economic outlook being worse than forecast and critics urging her to wait, writes Peter Wilson for The Week In Politics. ...
Opposition MPs and unions are criticising a proposal by New Zealand’s Ministry of Pacific Peoples to cut staff by 40 percent. The country’s largest trade union — The Public Service Association — says the ministry has informed staff that it is looking to shed 63 of 156 positions. Opposition MPs ...
A poem by Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 featured poet Carin Smeaton. Daughtr of the 90s when she gets promoted to usherette a baby blu eel carries her all the way up to mothership she’s hovering high she lets the underaged in to see keanu reeves she lets the only lonely ...
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From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
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Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
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Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
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RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
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Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
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The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
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Where are the shareholders of Briscoes, Sommerset, The Warehouse, Hallenstiens, insisting that their ill gotten gains be returned to the taxpayers of Aotearoa?
This was on the tranny a few days ago and had my blood boiling.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018767274/wage-subsidy-research-looks-at-who-took-advantage
From what I recall (does that stop me/TS being sued?), Briscoes paid out a dividend to its shareholders, one indivdual received 75% of those dividends.
Sommerset paid a dividend even though they did not make a profit, so had reserves from which wages could be paid.
I get the onus on directors to maximise profit. This naked greed and immorality hopefully will impact on future trading when the good folk of NZ decide to boycott these parasites.
Fair enough with the greedybastardy n'all, but the government put fuckall safeguards to ensure they could lever the money back. Which would not have been hard.
That is setting a low bar there
JudithAd.Robertson clearly decided that the benefit of essentially helicopter cash at a time of crisis was worth the risk of some corporate kleptocracy.
In this scale and speed of crisis, some bits get a little rough around the edges. Hindsight is so pure.
Absolutely, hindsight should inform future action however. This issue could have been avoided if the 'helicopter cash' went to individuals instead of employers.
And I'd agree with Robertson at the outset but a better system needed to be planned and implemented shortly after rather than extending that bait for the corporate kleptocracy.
"Foodstuffs says New World stores that have applied for the Government's wage subsidy will withdraw their applications.
The Government database of employers who have applied for the wage subsidy – which has now topped $6.6 billion in payouts for more than a million workers – shows a New World Metro with 71 employees was paid $482,124 and Waikanae New World was paid $140,592 for 20 employees."
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/120876197/new-world-stores-will-withdraw-claims-for-wage-subsidies
But ONLY after some intense "feedback". Greedy pricks….
And yet supermarket Staff…even with the Covid stress, customer abuse etc; are still fighting for a Living Wage. Food Essential Service. And Workers Essential too….
You will find that these are distinct individuals, often chairs on several boards spreading the greed mantra of yesteryear, behaving not unlike the virus itself.
Maybe it is my age, I see a marked difference in business leaders and politician's from last century and the current crop coming through.
Agree. I will not shop at Briscoes any more… have emailed.
On behalf of other tax payers, Thank you Patricia.
I am not one to frequent red sheds or Briscoes.
Warehouse declared a dividend prior to lockdown but cancelled it when lockdown came into effect. They posted a loss for the year and are now declining to pay a final dividend. They say, also, that the staff layoffs that occurred later were planned well before the pandemic started.
The government initially had a cap on the size of the business eligible for the wage subsidy – but National wanted no such cap and so here we are.
So how did National force the gummint to do that?
When National sided with businesses excluded by the cap, they made the matter political.
Right, and the gummint always does what Nact and big business want eh.
Probably.
Doing what business wants is, after all, the whole meaning of neo-liberalism.
So true! The trickle down people are still waiting like a cheque in the mail.
National is now claiming the government was wasteful for doing what they said they would do, not have a cap, They are who they are.
National has no power at all. Are you suggesting Grant calls Goldie for approval?
They clearly had sufficient influence at the time (their poll ratings were higher then) that government changed their mind on having a cap.
1. It meant no political opposition to spending more on a wage subsidy
2. It meant more workers got their jobs protected
My bold.
I'm actually impressed by these companies honesty.
Now, the question is how many should have paid back.
Of course, it would have been better just to give everyone a decent unemployment benefit so as to maintain spending and put in place protections so that people wouldn't lose their homes during lockdown.
At the risk of seeming provocative, someone oughta suggest that Labour establishes a commissar of subsidy reclamation, to head up a team of ex-gang heavies for doing the collection. After the election, of course…
yes, could co-opt some of the nats raptor strike force. break down a few doors, kick a few heads,,,, pictures at eleven….would make the revenge lovers happy, for about a minute!
No, it would not have been better because you’re comparing apples with oranges.
As I saw it, the Wage Subsidy was an emergency measure to helicopter cash out as quickly as possible with few restraints and with a clear purpose in mind, at the time, albeit untargeted and general by ‘design’. That purpose was not primarily to maintain spending (in order to keep the economy going) and/or to avoid people losing their homes.
https://www.employment.govt.nz/leave-and-holidays/other-types-of-leave/coronavirus-workplace/wage-subsidy/
What Robertson did was good – for a short time but it can't be maintained over the entire time of the pandemic thus something else needs to be done. That would either have to be a fairly high unemployment benefit to maintain spending or a jobs guarantee within the public sector that paid the Living Wage.
IIRC, one of the few criteria for receiving the Wage Subsidy and passing it on to employees was a marked demonstrable loss of income compared to some previous period. Nobody knew what was happening at the time. The fact that some (?) businesses have apparently enjoyed a post-lockdown rebound and strong surge in business and therefore in profits does not make it morally wrong to have claimed the subsidy in the first place. I think this makes the accusation misguided and misleading. The Professor’s field is not ethics, is it?
I also note that the Professor’s ‘research’ was highly selective in that it only looked at “the top 50 companies on the NZX”, which is a minute fraction of all businesses in NZ – 10 out of 750,000 is only 0.00133%.
The initial Wage Subsidy also included the expectation of a 30% reduction in revenue.
There's also a requirement that you have to do everything you can to mitigate the impact
This last bit could prove interesting in an audit and I'm of the understanding that audits are occurring. This could be a shot across the bows to induce voluntary repayment
In a lot of cases profit could less affected than revenue over the period because expenses went down due to the business being closed, so reduced power and telecom, depending on the lease no or reduced rent and lots of other incidentals would have dropped of for a while.
I am not saying they shouldn't have applied for the subsidy. What I am saying is they should have refunded the subsidy before paying a dividend to shareholders.
The shareholders must take the good with the bad.
As to the professor not being an expert in ethics, you don't have to be qualified to see that a lot of this behaviour is unethical.
The top 50 companies on the NZX is a good place to start. Potentially larger numbers to focus on/seek repayment from. Alas these 'leaders' of commerce are setting an example for other aspirational business folk to follow.
I was commenting on this from your link @ 1:
Militant Protestors advocate breaking NZ Laws !
https://www.odt.co.nz/rural-life/rural-life-other/farmers%E2%80%99-freshwater-protest-message-gets-serious-traction
Were there any Pretty Communist signs?
There's the rub. The government did one really dumb thing – they took an approach of trusting people.
Had they not, the scalpers would have been in the raucous mob complaining about not being trusted and being treated like children.
So, the choices: To treat people as mature, having a sense of civic responsibility, untrustworthy, as children or scum? Whatever, some took the scum road.
It will be interesting to see a wash up of the high trust, publicly open information model used for the wage subsidy compared to the zero trust, confidential model used in most other welfare government assistance situations.
Was there any difference in false claim and payment rates? Did the greater spend on administration compensate for any reduction in fraud in the zero trust model. Did the speed of the high trust model give less negative outcomes that would have been the result of delays due to approval of applications in the zero trust model?
I've got a feeling that the high trust model may turn out to be a lot more efficient was of distributing government assistance.
Yes good post Graeme, and Peter too. Rather than criticising the wage subsidy on the basis that some took advantage, we might wonder if it is in fact an efficient and more equitable model for other forms of welfare.
I thought of this when during one of the debates Ardern said she didn't need a tax cut and Collins replied, well then you can give it back – ie she was comfortable with giving the better off choices, but not beneficiaries or the low paid. Might the same argument be applied to welfare or the minimum wage – make these generous and if it turns out those benefitting didn’t need assistance after all, they can give it back …
Harman considers the imminent Labour landslide: "never have the minor parties mattered less than they do this election." https://www.politik.co.nz/2020/10/09/fighting-for-political-relevancy/ | Politik
Quite so. However they were simply following Bilderberger instructions from the 1990s globalist agenda. That's requisite for mainstream political leaders. Left or right brand differentiation is irrelevant in geopolitics. I presume the Bilderbergers will pivot away from China now, anyway, since a resilient global economy can only embed via a diverse trading strategy post-pandemic.
Goodness – Ardern in the running for a Nobel Peace Prize! She would no doubt accept it on behalf of all NZers, many of whom will have Ardern in their thoughts, and prayers.
If she does accept it on that basis, I'd like to see her specify the political common ground that made it possible:
"The peaceful state of mind in Aotearoa has been achieved by going hard and going early on the pandemic response. Getting that right has enabled kiwis to maintain complacency – our traditional pacific state of mind. Our people have resisted the rightist siren call of division and separatism: we are united in our addiction to neoliberalism!"
"We will keep trading with China because money is more important than ethnic tribes in concentration camps: that's what Labour stands for! We embrace this bipartisan stance because it has become traditional, and we like conservatives – that's why we made peace with them. Progress can be made if we do the same old stuff forever. Labour remains a party of the establishment!"
Dennis, our PM will surely give your considered opinion the attention it deserves; I look forward to her extraordinary Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech.
Tbh, I haven’t perceived a lot of bipartisan political ‘peace and love‘ of late, but maybe the rancour is just a show for the gullible masses.
I'm
moderatelyvery grateful to the Government for their decision to 'go hard and go early' in response to the serious health threat that the COVID-19 pandemic represents – getting that response right certainly saved lives, even if (as you suggest) that was only a collateral outcome, and it's done wonders for my immediate peace of mind. After all, we're all in this together.You guys should STFU and concentrate on ensuring your actual political survival before you start linking Prime Minister Ardern to concentration camps.
Empress has fantabulous clothes on? So glamorous that nobody will notice the trading policy link? Close enough to trad Labour thinking that it could work.
I am sure you and the Greens can show how New Zealand can replace is 30% of exports to China and 40% of imports from China. Sometime about now since it's an election will do.
And those fantabulous clothes are all from China, and you're wearing them.
Meantime Labour is leading the country through the worst economic crisis in a century without the assistance of foolish preening from the Values wing of the Greens.
Developing the economy would work.
Developmentalism would put all those non-performing hacks in Treasury out on the street. Doing that to everyone else never seemed to trouble them.
Keep telling yourself that. As Labour adopts more and more Green policies.
Prefacing
ordersadvice with "STFU" may not have the desired effect – oh look!No.
A resilient global economy can only come about if trade is not needed.
In principle, I agree. The principle being self-sufficiency (Jeanette F always called it self-reliance). In practice, however, trading seems hard-wired into human nature.
Trading networks are detectable throughout history and seem ubiquitous – perhaps only relatively so, since some indigenous cultures are collectively self-reliant. A comprehensive documentation of the extent by antropologists collaborating with sociologists would be enlightening (I haven't encountered one).
Barter can even happen naturally within a family. I have distant memories of doing a bit with my younger brothers from time to time. I suspect it is part of being a social animal. Other primates do sharing of food, and trading food for sex has been established as a common pattern of behaviour.
Self-sufficiency means each country producing what it needs to survive indefinitely. Trade between countries then becomes a nice to have which pretty much means luxuries that a country can't produce itself. Trade would still exist but would decrease from where it is now.
Thing is, as far as I can make out, the only reason why we have trade is so that the producers have a larger market to sell to which then makes them richer. This is, as we're learning, unsustainable.
Your description of a reslient economy is correct. Neoliberalism requires co-dependency (in mass psychology) as the tacit basis of the system. To explain this problem to politicians it would help if economists adept at mass psychology were facilitating the discourse. Silo thinking in academia still prevents such sophisticated culture from emerging…
As transparent and honest as S#!t, Bunch of thieves.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300127263/election-2020-ginny-andersen-tells-voters-shes-been-cleared-by-commission-but-labour-hasnt
It will be interesting to see in this election how close the final few weeks' polls are to the actual result. They could be expected to be closer than ever, especially as a good chunk of people answering pollsters’ questions at this stage will have actually already voted.
Cunning rightist plot to drop the Greens below threshold & out of parliament:
So cunning they're leaving it until at least 25% of votes are cast before they drop it.
Thus exposing themselves as a front for the interests of the most wealthy New Zealanders.
They should be "the tax avoidance union" instead !
I'm sure that the people who support them understand that already.
Given the polls and the fact that Labour have ruled such a tax out, won't that just encourage those homeowners to vote Labour? Pushing Labour towards 50% is the only way to ensure this tax won't happen.
I doubt any Green voters owning homes worth $1M will be swayed by a letter from the Taxpayers' Union, so don’t see how this campaign would help push the Greens under 5%. In that case, voting Nats-Act only makes a Lab-Green coalition more likely.
I am predicting the National Party vote to collapse this week for that very reason. There are now only two scenarios come election night. Labour majority government, or Labour Green coalition government.
Which one do you think traditional National voters would prefer?
AND the threshold of 1$m is really 2$m for a couple.
So, excluding almost all "Family homes".
Yes I think so.
Seems a lot of scaremongering in my view.
This is the problem, spelt out in the article linked by Dennis above, and is the reason that Labour voters need to strategically vote Green.
"For most strategic thinkers on the right, the only viable path to victory for National is over the dead body of the Green Party. If the Greens can be driven below the 5 percent MMP threshold, and the so-called “Trash Vote” pumped up to something approaching 10 percent, then a combined tally of National and Act votes of around 45 percent should be enough to reclaim the Treasury Benches. Assuming Act stands firm on 8 percent, National need only lift its Party Vote to around 37 percent for it to be “Game On!
NATS&ACTS will not get 40%
[Removed text from user name]
Is that funding from the money they received from the Government's $60 000 to keep them afloat? They have $300 000 to waste on this? Paid by???? Nats????
Yes for some reason I received said letter. Have no idea how they got my address. Hubby wrote a hilarious letter back saying thanks for pointing out the Greens policy. We are not Green voters, but are now considering voting for them
tempted to also write asking them how do they expect the country to afford the wage subsidy Tax union received without finding new avenues of income for the govt……arseholes
Presumably if they’ve had such large donations they’ll be paying back the wage subsidy?
I would think that anyone owning a million dollar plus home would probably not be a green supporter, and in any case would be well aware of how the wealth tax would affect them.
mikesh….the tax is based on NET assets above $1m, so if you had a home worth $1.2m and a mortgage of $200k, even though you have an asset worth $1.2m you pay no Wealth Tax at all.
The Wealth Tax proceeds are proposed to alleviate poverty in NZ.
But will the proven liars in the Taxpayer Union explain any of this?
Nasty campaigns like this can have the opposite effect to that hoped for when the media gets hold of it and may push votes to the Greens.
The Green Party Wealth Tax explained.
https://www.facebook.com/nzgreenparty/videos/689344815326033/
The greens probably won't get this through, and there will be no CGT either, so implement a wealth tax on portfolio and overseas owners instead. The more houses you own, the more tax you pay. Bought property from overseas and don't live in it, tax it hard, and again, rising with the more you own.
this letter writing campaign should be given as much publicity as possible AND should also be publically compared to exclusive brethren dirty tricks. that alone would make taxrorters hide in shame.
Don't hold your breath on that with our media who have shown time and again they are part of this cycle.
The rorters have no shame so I wouldn't rely on that either.
They would love you for that.
AND for a couple that is 2M$, $1m each.
I dunno, drive around Rocks Road from Nelson to Tahunanui where the houses are more expensive than Paratai Drive ( well, almost ) and count the number of Green hoardings.
At least we are still a little bit egalitarian.
I would think that anyone owning a million dollar plus home would probably not be a green supporter
Speculating from a position of complete ignorance? They do exist, and if my circles are any indication (which they likely aren't), they likely make up a significant portion of Green support. Or used to, anyways.
When considering the impact of a policy like the wealth tax, it won't just influence those that are directly hit. It will also influence those that see themselves moving into the bracket in the near future, those that aspire to move into the bracket, and those with family and friends in the bracket.
and considering a 1m dollar home is a pretty normal dwelling in NZ …
It will also be a major consideration for elderly couples who are not liable currently but will become liable when one of them passes away.
Go the caring greens, heaping financial anxiety on top of grief.
The usual mindless repetition of the Green line that they can defer the tax coming in 3 … 2 … 1 …
Which completely ignores the many explanations already given of how a mounting debt affects the psychological well being of those people at a life-stage where debt-free financial independence is of high importance.
A deferred tax makes it an estate tax. There should be an estate tax.
My IQ and thoughtfulness is higher than yours and any reply to my post proves you have every right to your inferiority complex.
My IQ and thoughtfulness is higher than yours …
Take a drug test and show us the results before starting to debate!
A deferred wealth tax payable on death is not an estate tax. It's an ill-conceived tax that in some situations bears a passing resemblance to an estate tax. If an estate tax is wanted, then propose an honest upfront estate tax instead of trying to backdoor one by pretending something else is one.
Personally, I'm of the view that an estate tax and a gift tax and a capital gains are all needed to reintroduce some much needed fairness and equity into our tax system and broader society. But to me the Greens' proposed wealth tax is so badly designed, and it will produce harmful distortions in investment and life choices generally, that I don't want anyone so clueless that they get behind it to be anywhere near the levers of power.
I'm also unimpressed by the argument that it doesn't really matter because Labour will never agree to it. If you're going to make noise about something that's never going to happen, at least make it something that would be sensible and work well if it were implemented. Greens do that on other issues, so it's not like they're incapable of it.
Not in name, but it achieves much the same – but for only those with real wealth.
90% of New Zealanders would not be impacted – whereas they would with an estate tax.
A gift and estate tax system would not work in an era where parents are the bank of childrens equity in homes. Your alternative is worse and will never get electoral support. This is the best and only way.
perfect physical specimen
Not sure how anyone paying a wealth tax on equity/wealth over $1m single or $2m couple would feel insecure about a mounting unpaid wealth tax bill they chose to defer against the estate.
In most periods the asset wealth would be rising much more quickly than this "debt".
For a lot of people that have made their lives and put down roots in a particular place, debt-free financial independence has an outsize importance. Any kind of deferred payment is equivalent to going back into debt, and takes away that sense of independence and replaces it with a feeling of being beholden to and under the control of someone else.
I've seen it happen with an elderly neighbour forced into deferring her property taxes in the US, I've heard reports of people completely losing their peace of mind after taking out a reverse mortgage.
In all cases, it would be easy to say it is irrational, because their offspring were all successful and were already significantly well off quite a ways beyond the small top up they would get from the eventual inheritance. As it happened, the deferred taxes case was finally resolved by her son paying off the deferred taxes, at the cost of a significant rift in the relationship because she felt her independence was being disrespected by her son. So it's easy to say it's irrational, and may be difficult to understand if you've never seen it happen, but it's also very lacking in empathy.
Older people worth over a $M not required to pay a penny in wealth tax until they die (if this is introduced) ARE not become my first concern as to well being.
Those without home ownership over 65, those without housing for their age mobility, those without home support, or access to pallitative care, Pharamac drugs, medical procedures to maintain well-being
You're sounding like Chris T over at The Daily Blog not supporting CGT on the farmers and other aspirational success stories of his generation. Or Collins full of compassion for farmers and landlords … .
As to drug use and revenues derived from – a billion in tax revenue would be nice.
So the wealth tax is unfair because a person it applies to chooses to behave irrationally, and that those who don't believe it unfair are lacking in empathy? Seems to me that you expect all governments to base their policies on whether or not this person will be disturbed by such policies.
That's just batshit crazy
Your comment reads like you think one small aspect of the many problems with the proposed wealth tax is the entire argument against it. I'm sure there's a specific name for that particular fallacy, but I can't be arsed looking it up.
Fuck, how do you think parents going without food so that their kids can eat or have shoes affects psychological wellbeing? Cry me a river.
Yip it's a shit tax. A cgt is so much better ,its a pity Ardern let them corner her . But key proved you can lie about tax and get away with it.
CGT is very complicated and brings in far less revenue than the wealth tax proposed by the Greens, which applies to only the top 6% of the population. A CGT could apply to many more depending how it was framed.
The Greens WT could be amended so that it applied to (say) the top 4% rather than the top 6%.
Na you just make a cgt on all properties and shares and have the tax set a 5% or there abouts . Simple cheap to operate totally unavoidable.
The lowest rate of CGT in the world. The one you have when there is no effort to be serious about taxing capital gains as income.
Those paying tax under the brightline test would love it at 5%.
Make it 10% then but the instant you have loop holes those you want to tax most will dodge it.
Shit if I had brought a house in auckland 8 years ago instead of taumarunui when i started living on the farms i worked on i would have made $500 k atleast tax free while i paid 20% +on the measly wage I've made in that time .
A tax isn't always about how much it brings in. After all, as a currency issuer, the government doesn't actually need an income.
Yep – I've said before that the primary purpose of a wealth tax shouldn't be to raise revenue, but to limit the political power of the very wealthy – the vicious cycle where wealth produces power which produces more wealth.
It therefore needs to start at a higher threshold than the Greens propose and be at a much higher rate – effectively applying only to accumulations of wealth that cannot possibly be proportional to effort, innovation or contribution. It shouldn't apply to wealth that is a reasonable aspiration for fairly unexceptional people.
When we say that only 6% of people would be affected by the Greens' proposal, we mean 6% of those alive at the moment. More than 6% will be affected by the tax at some point in their lives. A better measure would be to look at everyone who has died in the last 5-10 years and see how many of them would have paid the tax (inflation-adjusted) at some point.
That said – I still voted for the Greens this time to help them get over 5% and I think they will probably refine this policy. To me it has the look of a slightly sour grapes over-reaction to the scuppering of CGT.
More like a feasible option, when Labour, for some unfathomable reason, took CGT totally off the table. And. It wasn't lack of public support. A large proportion of possible Labour/Green voters approved of CGT.
So, the only option going forward is either higher income and or consumption taxes, or something similar to the Greens wealth tax, or TOP's.
It is perfectly obvious that the Government share of the economy needs to be increased, or we will become, Seymour's third world libertarian "paradise".
The reason for the one million individual threshold, is that it excludes almost all "Family homes" even in Auckland. While including the million dollar beach mansions , laughably called, "family baches".
Not the best option, but doeable..
I don’t favour a tax on unrealised gains. Should be on sale, inheritance or other windfalls, but that seems currently off the table. Maybe after a few years of unrealised gains taxes, there will be more support for CGT and inheritance taxes.
Under ACTS preferred policies we'd probably drop down to Fourth World status.
Aspirational – by sitting on a property title they can gain more in wealth in a year than most workers or business owners earn in a year or two or three …
Collectively NZers are wealthy – but how to redistribute a small percentage of that wealth more evenly? A wealth tax might contribute to maintaining and even improving public services, and helping citizens in times of need, e.g. during a pandemic.
I like the look of the Swiss wealth tax which generates a relatively large amount of revenue. It's not centrally administered, so regional variation offers choice.
https://www.nber.org/papers/w22376.pdf
https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=REV
Personally don't understand all the fuss – it's not like a wealth tax is theft.
it is blunt tool at best
A hammer sometimes gets the job done.
Why might that be, I wonder? Could be informative to graph individual opinion (including politicians) of a wealth tax (favourable/unfavourable) against individual wealth.
A hammer sometimes actually gets a screw into a bit of wood. But mostly the result is a munted screw and a munted bit of wood.
A tool properly designed for the job at hand is a much better strategy.
Yes, it might be better to just screw rich people.
That does indeed appear to be the sole intent and purpose of the proposed wealth tax.
The primary purpose of the proposed wealth tax is to generate revenue – can't rule out the possibility that a big "screw you" to the 'top' 6% was also a motivating factor.
whatever
Andre, re taxing wealth, could you and the orange shit gibbon be on the same page for once? Btw, nice Trump – Oompa-Loompa comparison.
Would be reassuring to know that those objecting to a wealth tax on the basis of design flaws might be comfortable paying a similar (presumed) increase in tax via a 'properly' redesigned tax regime. Proper redesign takes time, of course.
My favourite is "Like trying to solve a Rubik's cube with a baseball bat."
I've already said it a large number of times, including on this very thread.
Capital gains taxes are a much better answer to taxing the income from capital.
Estate taxes and gift taxes are a much better tool for tackling inequality.
In terms of my comfort level, I've paid about 4 times as much in capital gains taxes (to the US) as I have in what is effectively a wealth tax (to NZ) on my US retirement savings. But the capital gains taxes have never bothered me, because they are levied at a time when what used to be a significant part of my life had been turned into a mere financial instrument with the cash at hand to pay the tax. But the wealth tax fucks me right off every time, because it has nothing to do with any underlying cashflow, government contribution to success, it just feels like a mafia shakedown.
Paperwork associated with capital gains taxes are cited as a reason against them. But a wealth tax has pretty much the same paperwork burden every. single. fucking. year, as opposed to just the occasional instances for capital gains taxes.
As for an illustration of the difference in how wealth taxes and CGT operate, and get contributions back from those that benefit from government actions creating wealth, I gave examples here in my tale of three rich pricks: https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-24-09-2020/#comment-1753161
Got it – less ‘theft‘, more a “mafia shakedown.” And I get that they're rich, but why are they "pricks"? Ah, the rich – so hard on themselves, when life is 'so rich'.
Just in case afficionados were wondering where you found it…
http://www.thegoonshow.net/scripts.asp
Thanks Dennis – The Goon Show is an enduring absurdist influence. I’d recommend "Lurgi Strikes Britain" to Johnson, and indeed Trump, Bolsonaro et al. in these uncertain times.
No one is claiming that wealth taxes are an effort to tax capital gains.
In the lack of a CGT (see real world Ardern not while PM), there is only wealth taxes or gift and estate taxes.
Gift taxes will not gain support when the bank of parent loans out home equity to children. And most New Zealanders do not want the family home of the 90% not so weathy New Zealanders to be hit with an estate tax. No one seees Labour going from no CGT on the family home to an estate tax on family homes.
So its either this form of wealth tax or nothing but waiting for the 2030's for someone to lead the Labour government to election victory with a CGT policy. By then the average home will be worth over $1M on current trends.
Tax works best if it is simple, easy to understand and broad based.
You can see with current CGT how accountants can drive a bus through anything else.
Eh? How about we get rid of income tax on workers." It is a blunt tool at best".
Even Adam Smith thought labour should not be taxed. Unfair that those who work hard all year get taxed up to 33% while those who sit on their arse watching asset prices go up, mostly because of improvements in tax funded infrastructure, and immigration levels that require even more tax funded infrastructure and services, can escape tax.
That was, of course, how they justified GST despite how regressive it was. The income from GST was then used to cut the taxes from 66% despite the fact that such high tax rates weren't really about government income but to, effectively, put in place a maximum income and thus create a more egalitarian economy/society.
And, yes, that would require that the present tax loopholes that allow massive income to remain untaxed to be fixed. A capital tax is part of that.
Covid is making the resemblance ever stronger, with an ever more delightful colour contrast between the creepy withered bleached-white microscale raccoon paws and the dayglo orange modelling clay trowelled on up top.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/james-corden-striking-contrast-in-trumps-new-video_n_5f7f150cc5b6e48b1684c0c4
he doesn't look well at all, def weekend at bernies.
Hehehe have you seen the piano accordion trump?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhDz8xMXU8s
Hadn't come across that one before. But we gotta give him credit, he's gotta be a contender for World's Most Tremendous Air Accordion Player like the world has never seen before.
Cracking up laughing here… too funny Andre.
Regeneron! Call NOW for special offer!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdAEtkjDO3k
Hahaha hadn't seen that one 🙂
Loving the Lincoln Project, they've put out some powerful pieces.
More stuff you never knew you needed to know – it seems Merkin von BanKrupt has his very own sign language name. It's inspired by the appearance of the roadkill rodent perched atop his head about to get blown off in the breeze.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/deaf-u-how-to-sign-donald-trump-netflix_n_5f7f5d82c5b6da9ba1ee5ac0
Oh no, dang! How perfect lolololz. Trying it out now, yup that works… Lmao!!!
https://farmersweekly.co.nz/section/beef/view/ghg-study-a-game-changer-for-sheep-beef-farms
If your going to tax it you need a truly accurate stock taking system that includes all carbon storage.
I thought that was some very positive work. Looking like quite a proportion of agriculture could already be carbon neutral, and maybe negative, with a slight (maybe) change in the definition of forest. Would have been nice if they'd gone into the nitty gritty of what has to change in the definition to show whether the idea's practical and economic from a farming sense.
Still be really good if we can get most sheep, beef, and probably deer, operations carbon neutral with not much more than changing some words. Would have some profound impacts on land and landscape management if that scrubby gully or face was making a positive contribution to the balance sheet, rather than being viewed as non-productive.
Also give those farmers something pretty cool to talk about in selling their produce.
Some of the more modern intensive dairy operations might find it a bit hard by comparison.
All the creeks and wetlands being fenced will be increasing the carbon storage, remnant bush areas would to especially If they get fenced off . Then get the deer population back under control( because it is exploding out here in the hills ) would massively increase storage in bush guts and gullies.
Good link. It may be sufficient to separate sheep and beef from big dairy to begin with.
It'd be nice to see a bit of oxygenation going on where nitrate levels are problematic – it takes 4.5 oxygen molecules to convert one molecule of animal pee ammonia to plant accessible and much less toxic nitrate – doesn't take much at that rate to degrade streams.
"The report also underlines previous independent work by the University of Canterbury that sheep and beef farmers are making an unparalleled contribution to NZ’s indigenous biodiversity."
What????
Agriculture, with it's simplistic grass pastures and ravenous livestock has supplanted the bulk of New Zealand's indigenous biodiversity and now wants praise for returning snippets of it? Really???
Reward good behavior there Bobbie boy and more will do it.
Are they children?
Where's the self-awareness and sense of responsibility to repair the damage?
Good question Robert G. However it was rhetorical wasn't it! If we had all neural pathways functioning well at least 75% of the time we wouldn't have our present theatre of farce and hypocrisy, self-centredness and materialism par excellence.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018767157/ben-macintyre-discusses-his-new-book-agent-sonya
sounds interesting.
I'm thinking that ayn rand was a sort of soviet device – an ied?
Interesting idea, that Ayn Rand was a Soviet plant to destroy the USA.
Certainly succeeding.
Though, in NZ, just as we were congratulating ourselves on being more sensible than the USA. Polling shows 8% are prepared to vote for a Randian twit.
That would be better than the ~25% of USians that voted for Trump or the ~50% that didn't vote at all.
Points to ponder in this analysis – and the contrary commentary:
I see the two sides as a dialectic, finding myself in sympathy with both. Fostering narcissism was never likely to work as social policy – yet kids do need self-esteem to develop & flourish. How to do it is the key.
Quite so. Yet defenders of the education establishment fail to own their bias too! Centrists therefore must balance both. I hope govt will design an integral plan, so policy progress will emerge via synthesis.
The New Zealand Initiative (The New Zealand Initiative is a pro-free-market public-policy think tank and business membership organisation in New Zealand. It was formed in 2012 by merger of the New Zealand Business Roundtable and the New Zealand Institute)
They deliberately misunderstand what Child Centred Learning is. But rest assured the more any learner has a stake in their own learning and can see a relevance to their own lives, the more reason they have to read and write and add and explain. Powerful incentives. The NZI was party to the National Standards which might explain the fall off of standards.
What the NZI claims is absolute rubbish.
In reality, NZ education is not doing so well due to an overkill on "standards", one size fits all, education as cannon fodder for industry and "bums on seats" tertiary institutions, rote based learning and too much summative assessment.
Imposed on teaching by right leaning idealogs, who ignore research, and Teachers insights into how we learn.
Collins today in a public meeting. The only way to stop the Greens is to two tick National. The Greens are now the bogey. They are also being used, she said, by Labour to bring in a Wealth Tax since Labour has eschewed a CGT. It's all to do with Grant Robertson machinating out the back.
All of you people with more than a million owned in assets will get taxed $7200; and if your assets aren't in cash, then the government would get it when you die……. It's all a hard left conspiracy to take all your hard-earned money, though she does believe in taxation. She said the difference was that National would not tax and waste.
She still believes in testing people before they get on planes to come here, and that people should pay for their own isolation.
Political wilderness, here she comes………
What's the turnout and reception like
180 in the venue. Reception was a stand up applause for her entry, applause at her digs at her opposition, tame questions but all a bit muted. Applause for her announcing that the local MP would make an excellent Cabinet Minister in her next government. One Nat stalwart in conversation with me, knowing my politics as he does, said that the election is a foregone conclusion. The concern for him was whether the Greens would be in government with Labour. He agreed that Labour might just be able to govern alone based on the numbers.
Her lengthy spell pushing technology went beyond people’s attention levels and she spoke often in generalisations and three times made accusations based on such generalisations and then had to withdraw a bit as she realised that her remarks could be critical of her audience- about Labour only having public servants experience, that Labour had to call on old hands to save their covid strategy and then realised the age of her audience, and third criticised Labour’s tax plans as being grabs at people’s wealth and then having to backtrack to say that National too believed in taxation- just not waste tax payers hard-earned money.
"They are also being used, she said, by Labour to bring in a Wealth Tax since Labour has eschewed a CGT. It's all to do with Grant Robertson machinating out the back."
Fuck, I hope so.
I take it, Weka, that you don't like gold, don't have a garage full of petrol-guzzling classic cars and don't have assets of more than $2 clear million between yourself and your hardworking partner to so advocate for a wealth tax paying an extra $7200 in tax?
Not sure if I even know someone with a million dollars assets in the clear. I have farming relatives, so some of them possibly are, or they have debt on the farm.
half of Auckland has that much, probably half of Wellington too.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/117257165/data-shows-there-are-185000-new-zealanders-whove-hit-international-millionaire-status
The article states there are 185000 millionaires in NZ and half the population have assets of at least $100,000 in 2018.
"New Zealand has 0.4 per cent of the world's top 1 per cent wealth-holders, despite only having 0.1 per cent of the global population.
Stats NZ said that between 2015 and 2018, the median household net worth in New Zealand increased from $289,000 to $340,000.
The richest 20 per cent of households had 70 per cent of total household net worth."
I would be astonished if more than a small fraction of those people. especially in Auckland, have a million in assets, debt free.
Yes, after subtracting debt is quite an important qualifier. Freehold millionaires are thin on the ground.
"half of Auckland has that much, probably half of Wellington too."
you just made that up right?
As opposed to, you know, actual data.
https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/beachheroes/pages/12689/attachments/original/1594876918/Poverty_Action_Plan_policy_document_screen-readable.pdf
Dang, United Arab Emirates currently test all passengers before they fly, it's done bugger all to help.
Last I heard you had to give a clear test something like 72 hrs before boarding a UAE flight, with no isolation requirements in the hours after the test prior to boarding.
Good on you for checking it out and thanks for sharing. Sounds like jude was preaching to the converted and possibly losing a number of them in the process.
Where did the $7200 come from? Doesnt it matter how much more than $1m you own? For instance, if you own $1,000,001 your annual wealth tax would be one cent. To get taxed $7200 a year you would have to own $1,720,000. Just seems like a random number for Judith to pick out.
yep. She's making shit up. Kind of like how National imply that a tax increase is on all income not just the top tax bracket.
heh
https://twitter.com/TheRealHoarse/status/1314375722459377664
Maddow read some newly un-redacted excerpts last week and informed us that a judge had ordered a large tranche to be similarly released on or before the 3/11.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018767157/ben-macintyre-discusses-his-new-book-agent-sonya
sounds interesting.
I'm thinking that ayn rand was a sort of soviet device – an ied?
I don't know whether everyone has caught up with this. It may have been good advice from a doctrinal POV from Electoral Commission but hey the place would have turned to moosh by then.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/427970/ardern-overrode-electoral-commission-s-advice-on-new-election-date
And something I dislike is hearing foreign accents, especially 'American' or possibly Canadian when official announcements are made. I heard a spokeswoman for the Electoral Comm on Radionz this morning and got this cold feeling of possible Trump-virus symptoms.
Mental health, managing stress and the dark thoughts from someone with experience and nous.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018767288/combatting-the-dark-thoughts-in-our-brains 😀 😀 😀 😀
Long deep breaths also help to reset the body and prepare it for deep sleep, he says.
But changing habits is also necessary to addressing mental adversity.
“We like to run in neural pathways, so patterns of behaviour and these are very difficult to change. It was once said that it takes 21 days to break a habit. We now know that’s not true. It might be if it’s a small habit but it can take as much as 80 days.”…
He says writing lists, validating worries and working through these worries practically, amounts to self-induced neuro-plasticity.
“What we’re doing is using the brain’s natural positive chemicals to start working on things that were worrying us. We can do two things – work on worry or work on what’s worrying us.”
Busy-brain syndrome, as Burdett calls, it is when the brain works too hard at resolving worry, becoming overwhelmed, leading to lack of memory and concentration in the present.
This stuff is gold. It all rings true, and making time to take it in and follow the guidelines could be a game changer in NZ. It could be as crucial as that while we are perched at the tipping-point of so many crucial matters.