Open mike 10/03/2021

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, March 10th, 2021 - 51 comments
Categories: open mike - Tags:

Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Step up to the mike …

51 comments on “Open mike 10/03/2021 ”

  • Comments are now closed

  2. CAnker the pig fucker 2
    10 March 2021 at 8:55 am

    Shocking Jester. Disgusting.

    Fall out from Meghan and Harry’s interview continues. Piers Morgan has left breakfast show after 40,000 complaints. The guy really had it in for Meghan, because apparently she went on one or two dates with him in the past, but then wasn’t interested. He got called out for his rant about the interview by a colleague and then stormed off the show.

    queen has come out and said she takes racism very seriously. Good. Their PR machine has backed themselves into a corner by saying they take bullying seriously, a week before the interview.

    if you didn’t watch the the interview, it is worth a watch. Even if your not interested in the monarchy, it is about how things get spun, by the firms PR and the British tabloids.

    I have nothing but respect for Meghan and Harry. The Queen comes out of it looking pretty impressive too.

  3. Jimmy 3
    10 March 2021 at 10:09 am

    I wonder if Mike Hosking will do a Piers Morgan and decide to leave One ZB?

  4. CAnker the pig fucker 4
    10 March 2021 at 10:14 am

    Jimmy re Mike Hoskng……….it sounds perfect!

  5. Byd0nz 5
    10 March 2021 at 10:30 am

    Nuh, take the whole ZB and jump into oblivion with him.

    • Rosemary McDonald 6.1
      10 March 2021 at 10:39 am

      Can the govt control what rocket lab send into space?

      That would require them having the soul to sense the wrongness of participating in war games.

      Sold their souls they have to the MIC.

    • Ad 6.2
      10 March 2021 at 11:04 am

      It's not a New Zealand company.

      • Andre 6.2.1
        10 March 2021 at 11:26 am

        So?

        Anything launched from Mahia Peninsula has to pass through New Zealand territory. The New Zealand government has the right to control what passes through New Zealand territory, by passing laws and regulations. I s'pose there are some carve-outs for stuff like diplomatic pouches and the like, but a satellite seems unlikely to fall into that category.

        Of course it's a lot easier to just shrug and say because it isn't already prohibited and there's not much national interest in urgently prohibiting it, no action will be taken. Given that it's claimed to be nothing more than a communications test satellite, I can't imagine there's much enthusiasm to whack a hornet's nest over it.

        • Ad 6.2.1.1
          10 March 2021 at 11:37 am

          You're right let's just stick to grass.

          Even if it was a full-fledged Star Wars satellite, what's the limit that would require regulation by the state?

          Before we fall over ourselves while some commie beardie from Otago reaches for relevance, here's the permits and licensing stuff we do:

          https://www.mbie.govt.nz/science-and-technology/space/permits-and-licences-for-space-activities/payloads-approved-for-launch/

          • Andre 6.2.1.1.1
            10 March 2021 at 11:49 am

            Thanks for that. It provides quite comprehensive info answering wags' question "Can the govt control what rocket lab send into space?"

            Payloads are permitted in line with the Outer Space and High-altitude Activities Act 2017(external link) and the Outer Space and High-altitude Activities (Licences and Permits) Regulations 2017(external link).

            Each payload has been approved by the Minister for Economic Development, on advice from officials across agencies. When approving payloads, the Minister needs to be satisfied that:

            • The applicant has taken and will continue to take all reasonable steps to safely manage the operation of the payload;
            • The proposed operation of the payload is consistent with New Zealand’s international obligations; and
            • The applicant has an orbital debris mitigation plan that meets prescribed requirements.

            Despite being satisfied of these matters, the Minister may nevertheless decline a permit if he is not satisfied that the proposed operation of the payload is in New Zealand's national interest. The Minister may grant a single payload permit authorising the launch of one or more payloads by the permit holder.

            Prior to the OSHAA, the contract with Rocket Lab allowed the Government to veto the launch of any payload that it determined was contrary to NZ law, regulations or policy, was contrary to NZ’s international obligations or would prejudice NZ’s national security or other national interests. Every payload launched by Rocket Lab under the contract was assessed against these interests.

            As for launching grass, space cows have rights and welfare needs, too.

            • McFlock 6.2.1.1.1.1
              10 March 2021 at 3:40 pm

              As for launching grass, space cows have rights and welfare needs, too.

              From the earth, to the mooooo-n!

          • AB 6.2.1.1.2
            10 March 2021 at 6:25 pm

            "commie beardie"

            None of the online images of Prof Clements that I could see in about 3 seconds of looking (about as much interest as I could summon) show him with a beard. So clearly a "beardless commie" – though as yet we have evidence for only the first word of that pejorative. The merging of pogonophobia and hysterical anti-communism was a 1960's/70's phenomenon – and we really need to keep our insults contemporary.

  7. Barfly 7
    10 March 2021 at 10:34 am

    Please may we get a referendum on a "wealth tax" – just one a bit less severe than the Green Party proposed

    [TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]

    • Andre 7.1
      10 March 2021 at 12:09 pm

      I'd rather it was a referendum on a proper formal capital gains tax. Which really is the much better answer to bringing income from wealth into the tax system.

    • Bearded Git 7.2
      10 March 2021 at 1:50 pm

      That would be the wealth tax proposed by the Greens where if a couple had two million dollars in net assets they paid nothing?

      Sounds far from radical to me.

      • Jimmy 7.2.1
        10 March 2021 at 2:35 pm

        So if their house in Auckland is worth $2m, when one passes away, does the surviving spouse end up with a $10k annual tax bill each year for the rest of their life?

        • Andre 7.2.1.1
          10 March 2021 at 3:01 pm

          Yup.

          Just one of the many reasons a capital gains tax is better. Because a CGT doesn't hit until what was a home gets turned into a mere financial instrument at time of sale.

          • Jimmy 7.2.1.1.1
            10 March 2021 at 3:06 pm

            I agree, I think a CGT is better, wealth tax really seems like an envy tax to me.

            • Incognito 7.2.1.1.1.1
              10 March 2021 at 4:05 pm

              Under almost all circumstances, the family home is exempt from tax such as bright-line tested income tax or CGT. This is unjust, unfair, and excludes a major factor (and awful lot of wealth) in the housing market, IMO. Inherited property is also exempt.

              https://www.ird.govt.nz/property/buying-and-selling-residential-property/the-brightline-property-rule/exclusions-to-the-brightline-rule

              • Andre …
                10 March 2021 at 4:16 pm

                That's a flaw in the implementation of the CGT, not an inherent flaw in the general concept. Whereas the wealth tax concept has many flaws beyond just the effects on the asset-rich/income poor, mostly to do with how it would affect investment and asset-management decisions.

                Furthermore, any jurisdiction that is inclined to exempt family homes from CGT is very likely to also exempt family homes from a wealth tax. New Zealand probably even more so, because of the grossly inflated prices of our homes and the high numbers of people that would be liable or see themselves liable, purely because of the family home.

                edit: Estate and gift taxes really should also be reinstated. We used to have them, and at least some of our peer nations have them, and they directly act to reduce one of the major causes of inequality.

            • mikesh 7.2.1.1.1.2
              10 March 2021 at 4:20 pm

              A wealth tax has the advantage of being able to be levied on a regular basis: annually, say or half-yearly, or even quarterly. A CGT is taxed only occasionally, ie when the asset is sold, which seems unfair since most assets – remaining unsold – don't get taxed. However, by far and away the best tax on property would be a land tax.

              A land tax is fair because the land ultimately belongs to all of us, and anyone claiming private ownership should be paying for the privilege. It can also be collected on a regular basis. And, as if that were not enough, it also picks up any capital gain since the tax take increases as land prices increase. It should be noted that most capital gain, within the property market, seems to be associated with land.

              And on top of all that, a land tax would encourage an efficient use of land.

            • Barfly 7.2.1.1.1.3
              10 March 2021 at 4:44 pm

              CGT would likely be removed by an eventual National government and as it takes quite a while for a CGT to wind up to a decent size there would be little apparent benefit to society – whereas a wealth tax would collect a significant amount early allowing for noticeable change for the better for the majority of nz society which would make it far harder to cancel

              • Andre …
                10 March 2021 at 4:48 pm

                Errrm, exactly why do you think most countries have capital gains taxes, but don't have wealth taxes (many countries had wealth taxes but eliminated them), and why do you think New Zealand would be immune to the pressures that brought that about?

                • Barfly …
                  10 March 2021 at 5:10 pm

                  If the revenue from a wealth tax is returned to society in the form of reduced income taxation at the lower % end the benefit to the many would make it harder to reverse in favour of the few

                  • KJT …
                    11 March 2021 at 11:37 am

                    Didn't prevent the great reversal in the 80's and 90's from progressive taxation on high incomes, and some wealth taxes such as stamp duty and inheritance taxes, to GST on low incomes. Plus the "paperboy tax", later on.

              • mikesh …
                10 March 2021 at 6:52 pm

                National would not remove a CGT since the banks love this tax. What the banks hate is a land tax.

        • RedLogix 7.2.1.2
          10 March 2021 at 4:02 pm

          Or in asset rich, cash poor cases like this you simply defer the tax until it's eventually sold or passed on in the estate.

    • Ad 7.3
      10 March 2021 at 4:05 pm

      Or we could do nothing with the main tax levels and wait for investment classes other than property to become more attractive. Sharesies and Kiwisaver for example.

      • Incognito 7.3.1
        10 March 2021 at 4:10 pm

        I can’t wait for a low-risk, high-return, and tax-free investment option other than property that pays off bigly in the short-, medium, and long-term. Bitcoin?

        • Andre 7.3.1.1
          10 March 2021 at 4:28 pm

          If you're in the right classes, buying politicians seems to fit the bill.

          • Nic the NZer 7.3.1.1.1
            10 March 2021 at 5:48 pm

            Thats the actual argument behind the Greens wealth tax. As a society you probably need to tax away vast fortunes before they acrue enough to buy both sides of the political system.

        • Ad 7.3.1.2
          10 March 2021 at 5:10 pm

          About 40% of New Zealand should keep saving but forget about ever owning a house.

          Kiwisaver on high growth is pretty good.

          Sure it's the K shaped economy. That's Gen C for you.

    • Nic the NZer 7.4
      10 March 2021 at 5:42 pm

      There is actually quite a long history of Colonial Hut Taxes. Maybe something can be learned from it?

      https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hut_tax

      One of the main desired effects (yes, it worked) was to get the native population to work for the colonists.

      http://neweconomicperspectives.org/2014/06/tax-bads-goods.html

  8. McFlock 8
    10 March 2021 at 4:08 pm

    Scomo thinks NZ quarantine is about limiting tourists going to Queenstown lol.

    “If the New Zealand Government doesn’t wish Australians to visit New Zealand and spend money in Queenstown or Wellington or other parts of the country, that's a matter for them. It’s always been a matter for them,” Morrison said.

    Although to be a bit more fair, asking the Aussie PM about the latest NZ opposition stupidity relating to NZ govt policy is just lazy gotcha journalism. I guess the press conference was boring as muck and they needed some dramas..

    • Ad 8.1
      10 March 2021 at 5:12 pm

      Good to see pressure put on that supports our tourist, hotel and hospitality industry. And we need better snow than last year if we are going to compete against Japan's winter offering.

      • McFlock 8.1.1
        10 March 2021 at 9:44 pm

        Because a tourist outbreak putting otago into L4 again will be better for the Q'town tourism industry than the current situation?

        Hospo and tourism venues around the country are on bare life support relying soleley on local tourism. Everyone gets that.

        But the rest of the world experience seems to indicate that trying to live with covid is worse for people in an economy than keeping covid out.

    • Drowsy M. Kram 8.2
      10 March 2021 at 5:55 pm

      "Open the borders, LET PEOPLE IN" – Collins

      The leader of the opposition National party is either deliberately putting the safety of NZers at risk, or she is a fool. Probably both.

      National party MPs love local COVID-19 outbreaks; prudent management during a global pandemic not so much. Collins would take zero responsibility for any local outbreaks and other consequences of open borders – what a ghastly creature.

      Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern faces trans-Tasman bubble pressure from Collins and Scott Morrison
      "I don't understand why New Zealand is being held back from being able to actually access Australia and to be able to get that money off the Australians and keep our tourist industry going,"

      "I don't understand" and "…get that money…" is Collins in a nutshell; good Lord!

      Maybe wait until the vaccine roll-out is more advanced in Australia, and NZ.

      https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-02/charting-australias-covid-vaccine-rollout/13197518?nw=0

  9. Ad 9
    10 March 2021 at 5:22 pm

    Good to see our first AC36 win.

    Would like to see the wind at 15knots.

  10. RP Mcmurphy 10
    10 March 2021 at 5:59 pm

    Kris Faafoi said in the Dompost this morning that cannabis needs a champion. someone to write a proper bill and whip it through parliament. Andrew Little who never ever made it clear why he didn't support the referendum and then wimped out should be ashamed of himself. he let the fake christians and the ignorati get the better of him if he ever had any principles in the first place.

  11. greywarshark 11
    10 March 2021 at 9:41 pm

    Unhappiness in Auckland – speaking for about 90% of them I feel sure. The rest of us against Auckland?

    http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=134625

    If the current trajectory continues – if there are another couple of lockdowns that target Tāmaki Makaurau while the rest of the country gets off scot-free – Labour will get destroyed in Auckland at the next election.

    Everyone wants the country to be safe; no-one wants COVID; everyone understands the need for lockdowns; and the Prime Minister’s leadership and mana is widely respected and well-deserved. But the latest episode shows there’s no longer any sense of common cause in Aotearoa; it feels like the rest of the country against Auckland, expecting us to carry the load whilst being insulted for our trouble. It’s not collective responsibility; it’s collective punishment. And no-one in their right mind is going to vote for the status quo in those circumstances.

    So it’s time for Wellington to step up. Things need to change – and fast.

    • Drowsy M. Kram 11.1
      10 March 2021 at 11:32 pm

      Things need to change – and fast.

      If, in Eden's opinion, no-one in their right mind is going to vote for the status quo, then please provide a viable (safe) alternative to lockdowns to prevent community transmission of COVID-19, and I'll vote for that. The idea that "lockdowns are a special form of torture" seems a bit OTT, but even if ‘torture‘ is accurate, I’d choose the ‘torture‘ of lockdowns in NZ over lockdowns almost anywhere else in the world. I wonder where Eden would choose to be?

      Alternatively, a year in to this global pandemic, we could continue to do the responsible and frankly decent thing and hold it together for a few more months until everyone who is sufficiently community-minded has been vaccinated.

      Could it be that Eden just doesn't know how lucky we are? Best not to foment unrest, imho – hang in there Kiwis.

      https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/covid-resilience-ranking/

      • McFlock 11.1.1
        11 March 2021 at 1:05 am

        It is a fair comment, though.

        The issue isn't lockdowns as such. The complaint seems to be that Auckland is bearing the brunt of the risks of a community outbreak because it has the majority of MIQ.

        There are outbreaks related to MIQ, for sure, but there are also outbreaks that seem to relate to Auckland as a port of entry, including for freight. So maybe having more MIQ facilities in wellington wouldn't shift much of the weight that Auckland is carrying.

        But they are carrying more weight than the rest of the country. We could be more mindful of that sometimes, maybe.

        • Drowsy M. Kram 11.1.1.1
          11 March 2021 at 6:44 am

          I believe opinion pieces such as Eden's "The rest of us against Auckland?" may exacerbate regional divisions that are unhelpful at this (or indeed any) time.

          To us, it’s no longer a team of 5 million – it’s a team of 1.75 million in Tāmaki Makaurau and big group of increasingly aggressive armchair theorists around the rest of the country who haven’t lived through multiple lockdowns, shooting their mouths off at our expense. It’s a bunch of people who don’t have any skin in the game throwing stones from the sidelines.

          Maybe Eden has his finger on the pulse of Auckland opinion, and is simply alerting "the rest of us" to existing widespread indignation stemming from a belief that other NZers are taking the 'COVID heavy lifting' of Aucklanders for granted. But, absent evidence of widespread indignation, current circumstances are certainly fertile ground for stoking resentment and division, and Eden's article contains a fair amount of inflammatory language, imho.

          It will be interesting to see the effect of this and any similar articles on public opinion, COVID alert level compliance, and the geographical distribution of MIQ hotels, bearing in mind that any redistribution would come with it's own risks.

          • greywarshark 11.1.1.1.1
            11 March 2021 at 11:29 am

            I think we have to take a hard look at ourselves in this country – not pussy-foot around everything controversial, that it doesn't suit some influential group to acknowledge. The feelings are there, they need to be recognised and that they are justified to an extent, and some measures taken to reduce the situation that is the background to them. 'Life happens when you are planning iother things'.'

    • Stuart Munro 11.2
      11 March 2021 at 8:28 am

      The division between Auckland and the rest has pretty deep foundations. There is a presumption, among the public faces of that city, that it is somehow more important or interesting than the rest of the country. This is odd, because in terms of education the city is not a leader, nor is it a frontrunner in the arts. Its media 'personalities' do it no credit either. Before it goes long on lifting its credibility however, it needs to address neglected critical infrastructure, the sewers, and the water supply.