A government doing its job would never have allowed these practices to occur.
Our housing system is being played to launder dirty foreign money and to satisfy reckless speculation.
1. Property laundering
someone elses text
Police research concludes a loophole is seeing lawyers, accountants and real estate agents being increasingly used to launder $1.6 billion in dirty money annually – including into New Zealand’s booming property markets.Lawyers, accountants and real estate agents being increasingly used to launder $1.6 billion in dirty money annually – including into New Zealand’s booming property markets.
“Recent police investigations have exposed the fact that professional services and the real estate sector are closely linked to organised crime and drug offending,” officials said.
That research, sampling freezing orders obtained to seize the proceeds of crime, found 26 per cent of cases involved unpicking the work of accountants and lawyers, and more than half (56 per cent of cases) involved property deals where “offenders were ultimately successful in integrating criminal proceeds by purchasing real estate”.
Reports released under the Official Information Act – and only provided to the Weekend Herald following a complaint to the Ombudsman – show Justice Minister Amy Adams was briefed last June about police concerns but substantive policy work to close the loophole was only begun a year later.
2. Auckland speculators flipping homes on same day of purchase.
With the average Auckland house price now tipping $1 million, frenzied property speculation is helping drive up prices and locking thousands of Auckland families out of home ownership.
But one investor who buys and sells Auckland properties – sometimes on the same day – has defended the practice, labelling it “easy money” in a rising market.
“If you can swing a property deal once a week and make 20 or 30 grand, why would you not do that?” said seasoned Tauranga-based investor Ian Stevenson.
“Big money is chasing good profit here but it’s the market’s rise that’s driving it because they’re not fixing the Auckland problem.”
“If you can swing a property deal once a week and make 20 or 30 grand, why would you not do that?” said seasoned Tauranga-based investor Ian Stevenson.
Because it’s detrimental to society which is why such speculators used to be hung. After all, they’re not actually doing anything for that money (as he said) which essentially makes it theft.
Personally, I’d got 110% tax on anything that’s turned over that fast, makes a profit that big and does nothing to develop the economy.
And it ignores resources and development which means to say that it’s not even remotely economic no matter what the economists and politicians say. Which, of course, means that it actually does need to be banned/regulated out of existence.
We get it we don’t need a to be reminded of your views day in day out, capitalism bad, Neo liberalism bad, fiat money bad it’s all going to end in tears, Revolution good, Stalinist reckoning good, we got it, ok
Leftie i got what i didnt want thanks to those selfish arses who voted for these morons ! three times in a row and will vote for them again in a years time.
Thats dictatorship with a smile and an easy going manner.
Then mosa I assume you are going to volunteer your time next year for which ever party you want to support, so to maximize that parties vote? its called democracy.
Win the hearts and minds of the voters, and you will have your wish…its that simple.
Forget trying to blame so called dirty politics…they all do it left or right.
Why do you think the attack line of Labour for so long has been to try and dig up dirt on John Key?
Hager timed his book for the last election, thinking it would cause a massive landslide against National. The public looked and then voted, giving Hager the middle finger.
Obviously not that simple at all Chuck. There is nothing “so called” about the dirty politics National rely on to stay in power. Maybe you should stop using the false meme of “they all do it too” since no party has used dirty Americanized politics like its puppet John key.
There is plenty of dirt on the compulsive liar & traitor John key, whose only interests are to abuse his prime ministerial position, build tax havens for the off shore elites, to launder dirty money by making our own people homeless, and to harass and abuse a young waitress at her place of employment. Key has been fortunate to have such a gutless, compliant and complicit msm on board.
History will not look kindly on John key, who will go down as the worst self serving PM this country has had the misfortune to have.
National et al has never proved Nicky Hager wrong, and I think the public are taking more notice now, it’s getting harder for the arrogant Nats to hide it’s obvious disdain for this country and its people.
Leftie properly the only thing we can agree on is that is disagree!
“There is plenty of dirt on the compulsive liar & traitor John key, whose only interests are to abuse his prime ministerial position, build tax havens for the off shore elites, to launder dirty money by making our own people homeless, and to harass and abuse a young waitress at her place of employment. Key has been fortunate to have such a gutless, compliant and complicit msm on board.”
How then can you explain the wall to wall coverage given by the MSM on “ponytail gate” or when they brought in the “big gun” Hager to lead a team of MSM journos on the Panama papers?…every voter in NZ was exposed to these stories…and still National is polling around the vote they received in the 2014 election.
Its easy to blame others…the left need to look in the mirror and realise they need to lift there game big time.
”and still National is polling around the vote they received in the 2014 election.”
that doesn’t actually prove that the nats aren’t scum , it just proves that people either don’t care , don’t believe it or think it’s ok to climb into the gutter to win,.
I just don’t get it, politics is all about selling concepts and ideas, yet the left makes no effort to actually sell or convince the voter that what they’re offering is good.
It’s all “This is what is good for you silly voter person, do what we say”, then look all confused when the voter tells them to fuck off.
None of which was in the headlines for long before National’s attack bloggers and msm kicked into gear with excuses and victim blaming. Since you obviously believe in opinion polling, I guess John key’s most preferred/popularity plummeting from the unrealistic heady heights of 63% down to 36.7% in such a very short space of time pretty much shows he’s on the way out.
@BM All John Key has sold NZ was lies and deceit. You have actually described John key and his supporters like yourself. Remember, John key said he was right and the Law Society, Privacy Commissioner and the Human Rights Commissioner were all wrong.
so when exactly were labour running a secret hit squad out of the leaders office?
getting sick of this repetitive deliberate ignorance that tries to pretend that openly digging for dirt like every party has done forever is the same as running a secret campaign, that sailed pretty close to illegality, out of the leaders office
“so when exactly were labour running a secret hit squad out of the leaders office?”
Since long ago…if they want to do a “hit” on say a Nat MP they can tap a journo on the shoulder and feed them the story.
“getting sick of this repetitive deliberate ignorance that tries to pretend that openly digging for dirt like every party has done forever is the same as running a secret campaign”
Not much will be done in the “open”. It defeats the purpose to a large extent.
“that sailed pretty close to illegality, out of the leaders office”
Nothing illegal was done end of story. However that’s not the case for whoever stole Slaters emails…
The voting public gave their verdict on the day of the election…end of story.
A government doing its job would never have allowed this to occur.
Kiwi mother of five shares struggle with homelessness after addressing MPs.
A Wellington mother of five spoke to MPs this week about her family’s years-long struggle to find a home. SAM SACHDEVA spoke to Sarah about going back and forward between cars, friends’ houses and “squished into one bed”.
The family’s unstable living conditions have taken a toll in many different ways.
Sarah’s family have all had pneumonia – one son nearly died and had to be hospitalised – along with constant colds and other illnesses.
They’ve suffered emotionally too: all but her youngest son have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress and anxiety disorders.
Yest, that too. But lots of cash from all over the place. Say “boo” to it in the form of actual policing of our markets (har, har with FJK in charge) and it’ll all scamper off to to other banana republics!
@Paul
In the first article I love Bill English’s “Oh well, it’s quite possible.”
Translation: we know dirty overseas money is being laundered through the NZ property market but we certainly won’t do anything about it (until we are caught out by a fine reporter like Matt Nippert) because my boss is a currency dealer/speculator.
BTW is anyone else out there getting fed up with Amy Adams’ weasel words?
National has allowed dirty money funneled through Jk’s shiny new tax avoidance and secrecy vehicles to prop up their speculators dream which citizens know as New Zealands housing crisis ………….
This laundry service for rich criminals is delevering record profits to National donars and property owning mp’s ……. while making New Zealand children and families homeless …. “contentious exemption of professional services firms – mostly lawyers, accountants and real estate agents – from being covered by anti-money laundering laws passed in 2009.” ….
“Police Association president Greg O’Connor yesterday said the exemption was unsatisfactory and the revelations in briefings to the Ministers should be no surprise………”O’Connor agreed opposition from the sector was the most likely cause: “Naturally enough, they’ll fight this tooth and nail.” http://m.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11706741
Sky city with its strong national party ties is also getting its cut with hundreds of millions of dirty money being washed clean through its gambling services …. “A wealthy businessman caught up in a money-laundering investigation gambled nearly $300 million in the VIP lounge of SkyCity casino. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11592619
Andrew Geddis has done a fine job (OIA needed again) working out how the ridiculous Airport Authorities (Publicising Lost Property Sales) Amendment Bill. came to be in the members ballot.
It turns out Simon Bridges was behind it, and it is clear the bill was included in the ballot to help keep the opposition from getting a bill in the ballot that might actually do something.
Geddis notes the reaction of a Ministry of Transport Official:
“What the hell is going on here? This is a completely stupid thing to do! If we’re going to the trouble of having an entire review of the legislation with an Amendment Act to follow, why on earth wouldn’t we include this incredibly trivial, easily made change in it? Honest to God – sometimes I despair of the morons who run this place and the petty political games that they are always playing. If this ever comes out in public, they are going to look like a bunch of right royal nitwits who deserve all the ridicule that will follow.”
So Bridges is a moron who plays petty political games. But we knew that.
This while young New Zealanders struggle to get their drivers licenses ….the fees are exorbitant for a young person or a working class family….and the testing is very very rigorous
…three levels of competency for a NZ drivers license
( which many young New Zealanders can’t complete for lack of money or for failing the tests which are nit-picking in the extreme)
1) theoretical knowledge of driver safety and road rules
2) learner licence..practical skills 6 months only driving with a licensed adult
3.) restricted license…can only drive by oneself or with a passenger with a license
4.) final full license ( very hard for a young New Zealander to get and many don’t)
….and to be without a licence is often to be without work and education opportunities in many cases
….condemning young New Zealanders to desperation, alcohol and drugs …the scrap heap Jonkey kindly talks about
(Bus driving in New Zealand should only be by New Zealanders…We should not be exporting our tourism jobs to Chinese or other foreigners who are unqualified…especially when New Zealanders are unemployed)
If you bring in Third Worlders, they bring the Third World with them. That’s inevitable, because we’re all products of our cultures. Call these scams “deliberate government policy,” because that’s what it amounts to.
Just come into Auckland for a few days after another work trip into SE Asia. Absolutely true.
While Ak still retains a layer of pre-colonial European heritage, it’s rapidly being overlaid by the exactly the architectures and behaviours I recognise from before I got on the plane in Asia.
Especially those driving the top of the range Audis and Porsche Cayennes.
We are being colonised by an uber rich elite from China.
There are also big US and European tycoons buying up NZ at an alarming speed.
We are being colonised.
It is more likely you’ll hear the words neo-liberalism ( and its condemnation) from NZ First than the Greens or Labour.
Why?
60% Of Migrants Not On Skill-Shortages List – Why John Key REALLY Wants More Immigration
The twin obvious justifications for why National continues to allow in thousands of migrant labourers who aren’t on the long-term skill shortages list thus ought to be plainly obvious.
It’s because our Government are working hand-in-glove with their economically exploitative employment-offering mates to attempt to artificially depress both pay and conditions in the broader New Zealand labour market – for everyone, not just migrant workers.
Ever since the roll-out of the Rogernomics economic “reforms” in the 1980s, take-home pay in real terms has been declining for workers in New Zealand. We have also witnessed ongoing attempts by successive Governments to corral and constrain Union power. But while they have evidently accomplished oh so much economic devastation for the ordinary person through direct legislative instruments, since the halting of the ‘mainstream’ Neoliberal ‘revolution’ in the mid-late 1990s following the running out of steam of Ruthanasia etc, more insidious means to further the same broad objectives have had to be pursued.
Paul anyone who watched Nigel latta, the hard stuff from last tuesday
on immigration, will know that you are telling porkies, but you probably know that too.
I saw a lot of it and Nigel asking someone high up from Immigration New Zealand to see if we have got immigration policy settings right isn’t exactly investigative journalism.
And it will be just as bad as the last colonisation that occurred here. Need to stop it before it gets that far.
You’d think we, of all people, would be able to figure that out. But I guess that, as the beneficiaries of that last colonisation, many White NZers struggle with the concept that it was a bad thing. At least most Maori get it, for obvious reasons.
and the police don’t think it is an isolated incident
“Police prosecutor Sergeant Grant Neal said: “These residents of China have come over without driver’s licences.
“They are operating as tour operators, driving without New Zealand driver’s licences and producing other residents’ driver’s licences. There are several prosecutions in relation to the one company.”
Given global warming and traffic congestion isn’t it about time we as a nation reintroduced carless days? It would encourage more use of public transport and there would be fewer cars on the road.
Come on, comrades! We simply can’t rely on the general public to voluntarily give up their cars!
Diesel and petrol powered road transport volumes do need to be slashed. There are different ways of doing this.
I had the pleasure of commuting across Auckland by car in peak traffic recently. That hundreds of thousands of vehicles do this every day, over and over again, is mindboggling.
That hundreds of thousands of vehicles do this every day, over and over again, is mindboggling.?
Yep. Just walked through Henderson at a greater pace than the traffic going through it.
Really can’t understand why these people can’t see just how idiotic that they’re being. Public transport for going to work and getting stuff delivered instead of going shopping is a much better option.
Carless days (as it was done in the 70s) not the way to reduce fossil fuel use. People with more than 1 car were able to get round it. Also led to stupid things happening, like a friend in a V8 driving to collect my mum because she wasn’t allowed to use her little car 1100cc. There was no public transport alternative she could use.
Better public transport has to be in place to encourage people to use it.
That and a carbon tax and dividend scheme.
And maybe rationing fossil fuels.
And where ever there is a rail alternative already, get those huge trucks off the road and get their cargo onto electric trains.
Carless days are an extremely effective means of bashing the poor without really affecting the better off in any way at all.
If your family owns one car you are going to have to walk or take public transport on your carless day. If you own several cars it becomes only a very minor inconvenience. There is always another car you can use.
It also means that older cars are kept on the road. They are usually less safe and pollute more than modern vehicles. It would be nice if they could be scrapped but people will keep them around as a spare vehicle. Because they are there they will probably continue to be used by other people so that fuel consumption will rise.
I know several people who bought a second car when they introduced carless days in 1979. They could afford it and it was a real pain for some of them not to have a car available every day.
Trump campaign spokeswoman says that they thought Larry King interview was going to be on King's podcast — not RT.— Kevin Cirilli (@kevcirilli) September 9, 2016
Auckland speculators flipping homes on same day of purchase
“New data released exclusively to the Weekend Herald by free property valuation website homes.co.nz identifies about 30 properties that were re-sold on the same day of purchase in the last 17 months – often by ruthless investors chasing quick bucks.”
“However the Weekend Herald has identified other same-day transactions and the actual number is likely to be higher.”
[Quotation shortened and block quote added. Something being in the public domain doesn’t mean there is no copyright. The link clearly has the copyright established at the bottom of the page. Even for websites that given permission e.g. Creative Commons licences, on The Standard it is generally expected that people will quote a section rather than the whole thing, provide a link, and usually say why they are posting it. It is also better to use tags or other marks to show that the words are not yours – weka]
Being in the public domain doesn’t mean there is no copyright. Otherwise anyone who published a book would have no copyright rights. Please see my moderation note above.
The article, in a subtly recursive and mise-en-abîme fashion, suggests, I think, that not only the media but we all are complicit in this drivel being made in the first place and forced upon us, as if we are innocent bystanders or victims.
The same could be said about the NZ National Party and how’s this for a title: NZ National Party: We all share in the shame? It sounds pretty accurate, doesn’t it?
The question has to be asked as to why this is even happening and there are many possible answers that address the complexities of human behaviour. However, one answer might be that there seems to be no viable alternative, at least in the eyes of the people who make these decisions. Put differently, if there was a different ‘market’ out there it would lead to a different ‘product’ or vice versa the ‘market’ would respond and be attracted to a different ‘product’. [please note that “different” does not imply “better”]
So, why do so many (apparently) watch Real Housewives? Partly because there is nothing better to watch. I think this is also one of the reasons why politicians such as Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn get as much ‘attention’ as they do; they do offer and represent something new and different to the people. Ironically, both men are not the youngest and the values and ideas they stand for and advocate are by no means ‘new’ either!
If we want a change of Government in New Zealand – and there’s no doubt that we need a change – then there has to be an alternative worth getting interested in and voting for. It is here where we individually and collectively have to speak up and take control of our own lives and destiny and become the people and nation we want to be and the society we want to live in and share with others. As van Beynen puts it:
None of us should pretend we are not complicit in preparing the ground for the invasion.
The logical consequence of this is:
We all have a role to play in preparing the ground for a change. [my words]
The problem with having a few rich people choose what’s available for the populace rather than having the populace decide what should be available.
The problem is far worse! In general, some sections of the populace are trying to compete with and even shut out other sections. In fact, I have a comment ready for submission that also touches on this but given the late time and the AB game I will try to post on OM tomorrow.
There are far better reasons why both Real Housewives of Auckland and the National Party are so attractive. And they aren’t for comfortable reading, because the left have no idea how to counter them so far.
– People like aspiring to be rich. Because it’s liberating. And more interesting than the quotidian life of the proletariat. There’s a certain thrill in thoughtless waste and vain squabbles.
– People like aspiring to be powerful, especially when it is made easy through being rich. Getting to power through the left is ugly and fraught with unnecessary and distasteful micro-coalitions.
– The self-reinforcement and replication of class is actually fun as well as fraught for the rich. The right schools, right partners from the right families, riding and fencing lessons, right holidays – it takes quite a bit of work to orchestrate and plan. Good drama.
– People like aspiring. Society is geared to wanting, and wanting so easily slides into aspiring for more and better.
– Desire itself is seductive. For glamour, for beauty, for the thrill of getting into the image economy where you might get close to a power-couple. The new and powerful cars, the clothes, the suits, the champaign. It’s just one Party fundraiser after another.
The two are popular because of the nature of modern desire itself. If the left want to try and get elected just through the negative campaigns of more crises, and more hopelessness, they are going to struggle to get there.
I didn’t go into the reasons why Real Housewives or the National Party are “so attractive”. Rather, I argued the opposite that they are unattractive and pondered one reason why they are (still) around like a bad smell that one doesn’t try to or cannot shake off.
You made very sensible points but I’d like to provide a counter-view nonetheless – I believe you and I are actually closely aligned but let’s just see.
People like aspiring to be rich. Because it’s liberating.
No, materialism and consumerism are not liberating; on the contrary, they are trappings.
People like aspiring to be powerful, especially when it is made easy through being rich.
Power comes from (internal & personal) strength; buying ‘power’ and (political) influence are neo-liberal and capitalist (proverbial?) wet dreams.
The self-reinforcement and replication of class is actually fun as well as fraught for the rich.
Myopic and incestuous vicious circle; runs counter to Natural Selection.
People like aspiring. Society is geared to wanting, and wanting so easily slides into aspiring for more and better.
I think you have this back-to-front. We all need to aspire to something, and that something needs to be ‘higher’ and always (!) just out of reach or else we become self-indulgent, lazy, and complacent. To “want” something is like handcuffing your ego to it; it seems that many are into this kind of S&M.
Desire itself is seductive.
Yes, external desire is seductive and leads to wanting and the associated pain and suffering. On the other hand, intrinsic desire or purposeful motivation leads to ‘enlightenment’ or Maslow’s self-actualisation and self-transcendence – take your pick.
If the left want to try and get elected just through the negative campaigns of more crises, and more hopelessness, they are going to struggle to get there.
I couldn’t agree more here! To campaign on a negative, on the absence of something, is not a viable strategy!
A brutal Russian verdict on Syrian army: unable to reform, gets others to win its battles, unworthy of further help https://t.co/IfTGhoCJ58— Mark Urban (@MarkUrban01) September 9, 2016
The Colonel may very well be right; having said that the Colonel has not stated what will happen to the security of Russia’s ‘soft southern underbelly’ when Islamist flags get run up over Damascus.
“Reports released under the Official Information Act – and only provided to the Weekend Herald following a complaint to the Ombudsman . . .”
EVERY government tries to conceal its misdeeds by blocking public access under the Official Information Act.
One of the essential demands of overseas anti-neoliberal movements is transparency: the government MUST NOT be allowed hide official information from its rightful owners . . . the people.
This putrid stream of parliamentary corruption will never end until we take away parliament’s power to conceal our information from us. Electing a different party will NOT solve the problem.
Transparency: the people’s right which parliament cannot block.
“We thought it might never happen. But in the last few days, leaders in France and Germany have said that TTIP — the European equivalent of TPP — is over.
The French trade minister said “France is demanding the pure, simple and definitive halt of these negotiations.” In Germany — the biggest backer of TTIP — the Vice-Chancellor said “TTIP has failed, but nobody wants to admit it.”
For three years now, SumOfUs members have been a part of a huge, worldwide push to keep dangerous trade deals like TTIP at bay.
It was a truly global effort — and it worked. We can be pretty confident TTIP won’t come back.
Together, the SumOfUs community all around the world bought ads in Brussels, signed petitions, lobbied the European Commission, and spoke up to our leaders. Members in the USA sent messages halfway around the world for members in Germany to carry at one of the biggest protests against TTIP ever.
It’s great to have a breakthrough on a campaign this important, and we should take a moment to celebrate.
Now, we’re riding off this amazing breakthrough and stepping up the fight to defeat TPP, as well the things that make global trade deals so dangerous.
Just last week, the media exposed the terrible consequences of secret courts that corporations use to sue governments for laws that protect people and the environment, but hurt profits. This is allowed under a clause in many trade deals called Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS).
Check out our plans so far — we’re already working to:
Push big corporations to tell the truth about where they stand on trade negotiations, instead of hiding behind their lobbyists;
Support communities fighting the worst impacts of trade deals that have already been signed;
Back organisations in countries all over the world that challenge the trade agenda;
Make sure SumOfUs members know the facts about other dangerous trade deals, like TISA, CETA, and TPP, and find ways to stop those deals from happening where we can.”
TTIP has failed – but no one is admitting it, says German Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel
The discourse must be guided now to make a critical distinction between agreement-facilitated international corporatisation, and international democratic strengthening of a rule-based order rather than a military-force based order.
We’ve got to stop mashing together all kinds of globalization as bad.
And I still think, as long as Corporations like Apple are made to feel at home in places like Ireland…who REFUSE to accept Tax money owed for goodness sakes….then ‘we’ the people are on the losing side as our services, housing and employment status slides into disarray.
“Donald Trump is one of the most unorthodox presidential nominees in American electoral history. He is unpolished and very brash. But some of his foreign policy ideas are intriguing, even common sense. This terrifies and enrages the establishment.
CrossTalking with Nomi Prins, Stephen Yates and Alex Newman.”
“The Hillary Doctrine: If elected, what kind of foreign policy agenda can we expect? Does Clinton hold an extreme view of American exceptionalism? And is she now a neoconservative?
CrossTalking with Harlan Hill, Michael Maloof, and Matt Mackowiak.”
I went to the big Art and Object art auction this week. That’s the one where the McCahon work went for $1.35m + GST + Buyers Premium i.e. about $1.6m or so.
If you ever want to get in a room with a very specific brand of white people and inhale a really rarefied vibe, check it out. They are in professional classes e.g. judges or accountancy partners, they think hard about national identity and have a few degrees between them, they have really well decorated houses with big walls, and they aren’t necessarily National supporters. There’s a core as far as I could tell that still go with Labour (or at least donate), but plenty that float around considering elsewhere beyond National.
There’s a few lowly lecturers and ratty-looking Masters students getting a freebie art history expose, and of course the vendors and their family and friends, and the auction-house staff. Quite some evening when the bidding goes into full frenzy.
The record price of this piece, reminded me of a story I read in the NY Times…
The $179 Million Picasso That Explains Global Inequality
…The astronomical rise in prices for the most-sought-after works of art over the last generation is in large part the story of rising global inequality. At its core, this is the simplest of economic math. The supply of Picasso paintings or Giacometti sculptures (one of which sold for $141 million in the same auction this week) is fixed. But the number of people with the will and the resources to buy top-end art is rising, thanks to the distribution of extreme wealth….
lol…that guy looks like a real pill !…a fat ginger with glasses…if he thinks he is attractive and has sex appeal to most women (feminist or not ) he is deluded …most women would prefer to stay home with their cats rather than date him! (he is about as attractive as a Slater or Farrer )
“Men’s Rights Activists have taken flight with a new philosophy called “RED PILL” which aims to point out how derogatory, hypocritical and vindictive third-wave feminists can be.”
I can’t decide whether that was hilariously funny or just gross. I love this bit:
Men’s Rights Activists have taken flight with a new philosophy called “RED PILL” which aims to point out how derogatory, hypocritical and vindictive third-wave feminists can be.
That’s what it aims to do, huh? I guess that aim must have been too subtly expressed for me when I went there and read “HumanSockPuppet’s Guide to Teasing Bitches,” and learned I should “Talk to women as though they were children, because emotionally they are.”
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 cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
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 ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
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 ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
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 ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
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 ...
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 ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
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A government doing its job would never have allowed these practices to occur.
Our housing system is being played to launder dirty foreign money and to satisfy reckless speculation.
1. Property laundering
Police research concludes a loophole is seeing lawyers, accountants and real estate agents being increasingly used to launder $1.6 billion in dirty money annually – including into New Zealand’s booming property markets.Lawyers, accountants and real estate agents being increasingly used to launder $1.6 billion in dirty money annually – including into New Zealand’s booming property markets.
“Recent police investigations have exposed the fact that professional services and the real estate sector are closely linked to organised crime and drug offending,” officials said.
That research, sampling freezing orders obtained to seize the proceeds of crime, found 26 per cent of cases involved unpicking the work of accountants and lawyers, and more than half (56 per cent of cases) involved property deals where “offenders were ultimately successful in integrating criminal proceeds by purchasing real estate”.
Reports released under the Official Information Act – and only provided to the Weekend Herald following a complaint to the Ombudsman – show Justice Minister Amy Adams was briefed last June about police concerns but substantive policy work to close the loophole was only begun a year later.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11706741
2. Auckland speculators flipping homes on same day of purchase.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/property/news/article.cfm?c_id=8&objectid=11706163
Because it’s detrimental to society which is why such speculators used to be hung. After all, they’re not actually doing anything for that money (as he said) which essentially makes it theft.
Personally, I’d got 110% tax on anything that’s turned over that fast, makes a profit that big and does nothing to develop the economy.
Stevenson symptomatic of what is wrong with capitalism and its virulent strain neoliberalism.
The system is based on money, not people.
And it ignores resources and development which means to say that it’s not even remotely economic no matter what the economists and politicians say. Which, of course, means that it actually does need to be banned/regulated out of existence.
And the perpetrators and facilitators need to be tried.
We get it we don’t need a to be reminded of your views day in day out, capitalism bad, Neo liberalism bad, fiat money bad it’s all going to end in tears, Revolution good, Stalinist reckoning good, we got it, ok
I think the specific example was about damaging fraud and hyper-speculation in the Auckland property market.
Which I am sure you agree needs to be stamped out.
Unfortunately no political party is taking this issue seriously.
I sense you do need to be reminded.
If you elect a currency dealer (speculator) as PM what do you expect?
Exactly right Bearded Git. New Zealand most certainly got what it voted for, didn’t it?
Leftie i got what i didnt want thanks to those selfish arses who voted for these morons ! three times in a row and will vote for them again in a years time.
Thats dictatorship with a smile and an easy going manner.
Then mosa I assume you are going to volunteer your time next year for which ever party you want to support, so to maximize that parties vote? its called democracy.
Win the hearts and minds of the voters, and you will have your wish…its that simple.
yep Chuck i will give it my time and energy.
Is it that simple Chuck, when National use dirty politics and an equally dirty msm to cling to power?
Yes its that simple Leftie.
Forget trying to blame so called dirty politics…they all do it left or right.
Why do you think the attack line of Labour for so long has been to try and dig up dirt on John Key?
Hager timed his book for the last election, thinking it would cause a massive landslide against National. The public looked and then voted, giving Hager the middle finger.
Obviously not that simple at all Chuck. There is nothing “so called” about the dirty politics National rely on to stay in power. Maybe you should stop using the false meme of “they all do it too” since no party has used dirty Americanized politics like its puppet John key.
There is plenty of dirt on the compulsive liar & traitor John key, whose only interests are to abuse his prime ministerial position, build tax havens for the off shore elites, to launder dirty money by making our own people homeless, and to harass and abuse a young waitress at her place of employment. Key has been fortunate to have such a gutless, compliant and complicit msm on board.
History will not look kindly on John key, who will go down as the worst self serving PM this country has had the misfortune to have.
National et al has never proved Nicky Hager wrong, and I think the public are taking more notice now, it’s getting harder for the arrogant Nats to hide it’s obvious disdain for this country and its people.
Leftie properly the only thing we can agree on is that is disagree!
“There is plenty of dirt on the compulsive liar & traitor John key, whose only interests are to abuse his prime ministerial position, build tax havens for the off shore elites, to launder dirty money by making our own people homeless, and to harass and abuse a young waitress at her place of employment. Key has been fortunate to have such a gutless, compliant and complicit msm on board.”
How then can you explain the wall to wall coverage given by the MSM on “ponytail gate” or when they brought in the “big gun” Hager to lead a team of MSM journos on the Panama papers?…every voter in NZ was exposed to these stories…and still National is polling around the vote they received in the 2014 election.
Its easy to blame others…the left need to look in the mirror and realise they need to lift there game big time.
They can’t because they believe they’re right and every one else is wrong.
Not just that everyone is simply “wrong” but that they are ignorant, uneducated, greedy, self-centred, cruel, racist, woman hating, red necks, etc.
It’s a real effort to win friends and influence people.
”and still National is polling around the vote they received in the 2014 election.”
that doesn’t actually prove that the nats aren’t scum , it just proves that people either don’t care , don’t believe it or think it’s ok to climb into the gutter to win,.
@ CV
And that attitude sticks out like dog nuts.
I just don’t get it, politics is all about selling concepts and ideas, yet the left makes no effort to actually sell or convince the voter that what they’re offering is good.
It’s all “This is what is good for you silly voter person, do what we say”, then look all confused when the voter tells them to fuck off.
None of which was in the headlines for long before National’s attack bloggers and msm kicked into gear with excuses and victim blaming. Since you obviously believe in opinion polling, I guess John key’s most preferred/popularity plummeting from the unrealistic heady heights of 63% down to 36.7% in such a very short space of time pretty much shows he’s on the way out.
@BM All John Key has sold NZ was lies and deceit. You have actually described John key and his supporters like yourself. Remember, John key said he was right and the Law Society, Privacy Commissioner and the Human Rights Commissioner were all wrong.
“I just don’t get it, politics is all about selling concepts and ideas,”
then why did national feel the need to resort to running a secret hit squad?
i mean if their ideas are sooo amazing why did they need to engage in deceit of that level?
the fact is national arent really that honest about their ideas
so when exactly were labour running a secret hit squad out of the leaders office?
getting sick of this repetitive deliberate ignorance that tries to pretend that openly digging for dirt like every party has done forever is the same as running a secret campaign, that sailed pretty close to illegality, out of the leaders office
its bullshit chuck
+1’s on both of your comments Framu.
“the fact is national arent really that honest about their ideas”
That’s right, National are so dishonest and secretive, that they don’t tell the public what they really intend to do at all.
“so when exactly were labour running a secret hit squad out of the leaders office?”
Since long ago…if they want to do a “hit” on say a Nat MP they can tap a journo on the shoulder and feed them the story.
“getting sick of this repetitive deliberate ignorance that tries to pretend that openly digging for dirt like every party has done forever is the same as running a secret campaign”
Not much will be done in the “open”. It defeats the purpose to a large extent.
“that sailed pretty close to illegality, out of the leaders office”
Nothing illegal was done end of story. However that’s not the case for whoever stole Slaters emails…
The voting public gave their verdict on the day of the election…end of story.
A government doing its job would never have allowed this to occur.
Kiwi mother of five shares struggle with homelessness after addressing MPs.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/83941349/kiwi-mother-of-five-shares-struggle-with-homelessness-after-addressing-mps
More proof the Auckland market is a dumping ground for illicit cash.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11706741
The tiniest bit of enforcement will chase this source of buyers away in a second.
And then this tidbit about flipping properties in a day:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/property/news/article.cfm?c_id=8&objectid=11706163
When the bubble goes pop it’s going to be spectacular.
Illicit foreign Chinese money.
Let’s be plain about this.
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/stolen-chinese-money-likely-spent-on-auckland-property-little-6198588
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11603201
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11586403
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/06/24/just-what-nz-needs-billions-more-in-chinese-property-speculation/
Yest, that too. But lots of cash from all over the place. Say “boo” to it in the form of actual policing of our markets (har, har with FJK in charge) and it’ll all scamper off to to other banana republics!
@Paul
In the first article I love Bill English’s “Oh well, it’s quite possible.”
Translation: we know dirty overseas money is being laundered through the NZ property market but we certainly won’t do anything about it (until we are caught out by a fine reporter like Matt Nippert) because my boss is a currency dealer/speculator.
BTW is anyone else out there getting fed up with Amy Adams’ weasel words?
National has allowed dirty money funneled through Jk’s shiny new tax avoidance and secrecy vehicles to prop up their speculators dream which citizens know as New Zealands housing crisis ………….
This laundry service for rich criminals is delevering record profits to National donars and property owning mp’s ……. while making New Zealand children and families homeless …. “contentious exemption of professional services firms – mostly lawyers, accountants and real estate agents – from being covered by anti-money laundering laws passed in 2009.” ….
“Police Association president Greg O’Connor yesterday said the exemption was unsatisfactory and the revelations in briefings to the Ministers should be no surprise………”O’Connor agreed opposition from the sector was the most likely cause: “Naturally enough, they’ll fight this tooth and nail.” http://m.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11706741
Sky city with its strong national party ties is also getting its cut with hundreds of millions of dirty money being washed clean through its gambling services …. “A wealthy businessman caught up in a money-laundering investigation gambled nearly $300 million in the VIP lounge of SkyCity casino. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11592619
http://i.stuff.co.nz/business/money/83450345/Court-orders-forfeiture-of-42-85-million-in-alleged-money-laundering-case
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11405494 “the fundraiser was actually a private dinner at Mr Liu’s $4.75 million home in Remuera, where a smiling Mr Key and Jami-Lee Ross, the MP for Botany, were photographed alongside Mr Liu and his young family.”
+100
Andrew Geddis has done a fine job (OIA needed again) working out how the ridiculous Airport Authorities (Publicising Lost Property Sales) Amendment Bill. came to be in the members ballot.
It turns out Simon Bridges was behind it, and it is clear the bill was included in the ballot to help keep the opposition from getting a bill in the ballot that might actually do something.
Geddis notes the reaction of a Ministry of Transport Official:
“What the hell is going on here? This is a completely stupid thing to do! If we’re going to the trouble of having an entire review of the legislation with an Amendment Act to follow, why on earth wouldn’t we include this incredibly trivial, easily made change in it? Honest to God – sometimes I despair of the morons who run this place and the petty political games that they are always playing. If this ever comes out in public, they are going to look like a bunch of right royal nitwits who deserve all the ridicule that will follow.”
So Bridges is a moron who plays petty political games. But we knew that.
It’s all here:
http://www.pundit.co.nz/content/worser-and-worser
Ha classic!
More corruption associated with this John Key Nactional Government
‘Chinese tour drivers had no licences, police allege’
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/84044806/chinese-tour-drivers-had-no-licences-police-allege
‘A 50 tonne bomb on the road fully loaded’ – alleged licence scam extends to truck drivers’
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/50-tonne-bomb-road-fully-loaded-alleged-licence-scam-extends-truck-drivers
This while young New Zealanders struggle to get their drivers licenses ….the fees are exorbitant for a young person or a working class family….and the testing is very very rigorous
…three levels of competency for a NZ drivers license
( which many young New Zealanders can’t complete for lack of money or for failing the tests which are nit-picking in the extreme)
1) theoretical knowledge of driver safety and road rules
2) learner licence..practical skills 6 months only driving with a licensed adult
3.) restricted license…can only drive by oneself or with a passenger with a license
4.) final full license ( very hard for a young New Zealander to get and many don’t)
….and to be without a licence is often to be without work and education opportunities in many cases
….condemning young New Zealanders to desperation, alcohol and drugs …the scrap heap Jonkey kindly talks about
(Bus driving in New Zealand should only be by New Zealanders…We should not be exporting our tourism jobs to Chinese or other foreigners who are unqualified…especially when New Zealanders are unemployed)
+100
If you bring in Third Worlders, they bring the Third World with them. That’s inevitable, because we’re all products of our cultures. Call these scams “deliberate government policy,” because that’s what it amounts to.
@PM
Just come into Auckland for a few days after another work trip into SE Asia. Absolutely true.
While Ak still retains a layer of pre-colonial European heritage, it’s rapidly being overlaid by the exactly the architectures and behaviours I recognise from before I got on the plane in Asia.
Especially the driving.
Especially those driving the top of the range Audis and Porsche Cayennes.
We are being colonised by an uber rich elite from China.
There are also big US and European tycoons buying up NZ at an alarming speed.
We are being colonised.
+1
And it will be just as bad as the last colonisation that occurred here. Need to stop it before it gets that far.
One upside.
Pakeha may gain some empathy and start to understand Maori grievances.
Actually, I think this colonisation may be worse.
Maybe they should anyway Paul. There is no better or worse just devastation if colonisation is occurring which imo it’s not.
It is more likely you’ll hear the words neo-liberalism ( and its condemnation) from NZ First than the Greens or Labour.
Why?
http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2016/09/09/60-of-migrants-not-on-skill-shortages-list-why-john-key-really-wants-more-immigration/
Paul anyone who watched Nigel latta, the hard stuff from last tuesday
on immigration, will know that you are telling porkies, but you probably know that too.
I didn’t watch it.
Well you should watch it, it was a surprise to me, we are being fed a lot of B/S about immigration and you are helping spread the B/S.
I saw a lot of it and Nigel asking someone high up from Immigration New Zealand to see if we have got immigration policy settings right isn’t exactly investigative journalism.
The only BS about immigration that we’re seeing is from the RWNJs.
he was actually making some pretty major errors. It wasnt all it was cracked up to be
(though that doesnt mean i disagree with SOME of what he had to say)
And it will be just as bad as the last colonisation that occurred here. Need to stop it before it gets that far.
You’d think we, of all people, would be able to figure that out. But I guess that, as the beneficiaries of that last colonisation, many White NZers struggle with the concept that it was a bad thing. At least most Maori get it, for obvious reasons.
where is the Maori Party in all this?
Good question Chooky.
+ 1 pm
No, it won’t be an isolated incident. There will be several such places around the country.
and the police don’t think it is an isolated incident
“Police prosecutor Sergeant Grant Neal said: “These residents of China have come over without driver’s licences.
“They are operating as tour operators, driving without New Zealand driver’s licences and producing other residents’ driver’s licences. There are several prosecutions in relation to the one company.”
Given global warming and traffic congestion isn’t it about time we as a nation reintroduced carless days? It would encourage more use of public transport and there would be fewer cars on the road.
Come on, comrades! We simply can’t rely on the general public to voluntarily give up their cars!
Diesel and petrol powered road transport volumes do need to be slashed. There are different ways of doing this.
I had the pleasure of commuting across Auckland by car in peak traffic recently. That hundreds of thousands of vehicles do this every day, over and over again, is mindboggling.
Hi CV.
I, too, have spent a bit of time in aucks traffic recently.
1 person per car seems to be the norm.
I agree with the carless day idea with a subtle difference; us choosing to have a carless day, or other such sacrifice.
Far more powerful and effective than any legislation.
Yep. Just walked through Henderson at a greater pace than the traffic going through it.
Really can’t understand why these people can’t see just how idiotic that they’re being. Public transport for going to work and getting stuff delivered instead of going shopping is a much better option.
Agreed.
We should make all public transport free, make bus lanes on all motorways and place a pollution and climate tax on fuel.
For certain folk on this site who may roll their eyes at that idea….It’s a thing already in these cities…https://farefreepublictransport.com/city/
“We should make all public transport free”
Ahh the sure sign of a hardcore left minded person!!
It’s not “free” someone has to pay for it!! I will give you a glue…anyone on PAYE or that pays tax foots the bill.
Nothing is FREE
Sure it is, you jump onboard and you get to use it without paying. That’s what “free” means.
Before Vino or OAB has a go at me…
I misspelled clue (used glue).
Chuck – you could have said,”Before Vino or OAB get stuck in to me…”
that will of gone so far of chucks head he won’t even be able to see the con trail
“will of” ??? Please – will’ve. No such thing as ‘will of’ !!
(Short for “will have”.)
Just cannot help myself…
I will have to work on it, and it will have ruined my point making such a grammatical error.
Not so sure about that – Chuck is the one with the terrible history… You generally shine forth like a beacon in the darkness for all to behold.
Wrong.
Or, to be more precise, it’s a question of available resources against the peoples priorities.
Public transport uses up less of those scarce resources, including personal time, than private transport does.
And yet the RWNJs still think that it’s possible to make a profit.
If we had an economic system connected to reality there’d be no profit and no private transport.
You should note that lots of successful cities have free public transport.
So we pay for free buses and trains by changing our whole financial system.
Carless days (as it was done in the 70s) not the way to reduce fossil fuel use. People with more than 1 car were able to get round it. Also led to stupid things happening, like a friend in a V8 driving to collect my mum because she wasn’t allowed to use her little car 1100cc. There was no public transport alternative she could use.
Better public transport has to be in place to encourage people to use it.
That and a carbon tax and dividend scheme.
And maybe rationing fossil fuels.
And where ever there is a rail alternative already, get those huge trucks off the road and get their cargo onto electric trains.
Carless days are an extremely effective means of bashing the poor without really affecting the better off in any way at all.
If your family owns one car you are going to have to walk or take public transport on your carless day. If you own several cars it becomes only a very minor inconvenience. There is always another car you can use.
It also means that older cars are kept on the road. They are usually less safe and pollute more than modern vehicles. It would be nice if they could be scrapped but people will keep them around as a spare vehicle. Because they are there they will probably continue to be used by other people so that fuel consumption will rise.
I know several people who bought a second car when they introduced carless days in 1979. They could afford it and it was a real pain for some of them not to have a car available every day.
wasnt carless days the catalyst for the two car family?
We wuz tricked!
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11706831
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/property/news/article.cfm?c_id=8&objectid=11706163
[Quotation shortened and block quote added. Something being in the public domain doesn’t mean there is no copyright. The link clearly has the copyright established at the bottom of the page. Even for websites that given permission e.g. Creative Commons licences, on The Standard it is generally expected that people will quote a section rather than the whole thing, provide a link, and usually say why they are posting it. It is also better to use tags or other marks to show that the words are not yours – weka]
…and the rot is spreading to Christchurch
‘Ray White Real Estate’ has Chinese cold calling very elderly Christchurch residents asking if they want to sell their homes
New Zealanders should boycott Ray White Real Estate
Elderly New Zealanders need protection from them
We are being colonised.
+1’s Chooky and Paul.
please do not paste entire articles. it breaches copyright, for one thing.
It’s in the public domain and links have been provided.
Being in the public domain doesn’t mean there is no copyright. Otherwise anyone who published a book would have no copyright rights. Please see my moderation note above.
OK. Have already done what you have requested in another comment.
Cheers Leftie.
The NZ National Party and The Real Housewives of Auckland have something in common IMO.
No, it is not the money or the egocentric characters showing sociopathic and narcisitistic traits.
Martin van Beynen wrote a rather insightful piece on the TV show Real Housewives: We all share in the shame.
The article, in a subtly recursive and mise-en-abîme fashion, suggests, I think, that not only the media but we all are complicit in this drivel being made in the first place and forced upon us, as if we are innocent bystanders or victims.
The same could be said about the NZ National Party and how’s this for a title: NZ National Party: We all share in the shame? It sounds pretty accurate, doesn’t it?
The question has to be asked as to why this is even happening and there are many possible answers that address the complexities of human behaviour. However, one answer might be that there seems to be no viable alternative, at least in the eyes of the people who make these decisions. Put differently, if there was a different ‘market’ out there it would lead to a different ‘product’ or vice versa the ‘market’ would respond and be attracted to a different ‘product’. [please note that “different” does not imply “better”]
So, why do so many (apparently) watch Real Housewives? Partly because there is nothing better to watch. I think this is also one of the reasons why politicians such as Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn get as much ‘attention’ as they do; they do offer and represent something new and different to the people. Ironically, both men are not the youngest and the values and ideas they stand for and advocate are by no means ‘new’ either!
If we want a change of Government in New Zealand – and there’s no doubt that we need a change – then there has to be an alternative worth getting interested in and voting for. It is here where we individually and collectively have to speak up and take control of our own lives and destiny and become the people and nation we want to be and the society we want to live in and share with others. As van Beynen puts it:
The logical consequence of this is:
It is quite simple really …
^^ Guest post
The problem with having a few rich people choose what’s available for the populace rather than having the populace decide what should be available.
Thanks and be my ‘guest’!
The problem is far worse! In general, some sections of the populace are trying to compete with and even shut out other sections. In fact, I have a comment ready for submission that also touches on this but given the late time and the AB game I will try to post on OM tomorrow.
There are far better reasons why both Real Housewives of Auckland and the National Party are so attractive. And they aren’t for comfortable reading, because the left have no idea how to counter them so far.
– People like aspiring to be rich. Because it’s liberating. And more interesting than the quotidian life of the proletariat. There’s a certain thrill in thoughtless waste and vain squabbles.
– People like aspiring to be powerful, especially when it is made easy through being rich. Getting to power through the left is ugly and fraught with unnecessary and distasteful micro-coalitions.
– The self-reinforcement and replication of class is actually fun as well as fraught for the rich. The right schools, right partners from the right families, riding and fencing lessons, right holidays – it takes quite a bit of work to orchestrate and plan. Good drama.
– People like aspiring. Society is geared to wanting, and wanting so easily slides into aspiring for more and better.
– Desire itself is seductive. For glamour, for beauty, for the thrill of getting into the image economy where you might get close to a power-couple. The new and powerful cars, the clothes, the suits, the champaign. It’s just one Party fundraiser after another.
The two are popular because of the nature of modern desire itself. If the left want to try and get elected just through the negative campaigns of more crises, and more hopelessness, they are going to struggle to get there.
Hi Ad,
I didn’t go into the reasons why Real Housewives or the National Party are “so attractive”. Rather, I argued the opposite that they are unattractive and pondered one reason why they are (still) around like a bad smell that one doesn’t try to or cannot shake off.
You made very sensible points but I’d like to provide a counter-view nonetheless – I believe you and I are actually closely aligned but let’s just see.
No, materialism and consumerism are not liberating; on the contrary, they are trappings.
Power comes from (internal & personal) strength; buying ‘power’ and (political) influence are neo-liberal and capitalist (proverbial?) wet dreams.
Myopic and incestuous vicious circle; runs counter to Natural Selection.
I think you have this back-to-front. We all need to aspire to something, and that something needs to be ‘higher’ and always (!) just out of reach or else we become self-indulgent, lazy, and complacent. To “want” something is like handcuffing your ego to it; it seems that many are into this kind of S&M.
Yes, external desire is seductive and leads to wanting and the associated pain and suffering. On the other hand, intrinsic desire or purposeful motivation leads to ‘enlightenment’ or Maslow’s self-actualisation and self-transcendence – take your pick.
I couldn’t agree more here! To campaign on a negative, on the absence of something, is not a viable strategy!
Interesting read.
https://citeam.org/here-s-why-assad-s-army-can-t-win-the-war-in-syria/
The Colonel may very well be right; having said that the Colonel has not stated what will happen to the security of Russia’s ‘soft southern underbelly’ when Islamist flags get run up over Damascus.
I rather think that the Russians fear their neighbours, and their neighbour’s neighbours, to the south.
Hence the desire to keep the action in Syria going for as long as possible. And to export it even further, to Libya, possibly Nigeria.
@ Paul
“Reports released under the Official Information Act – and only provided to the Weekend Herald following a complaint to the Ombudsman . . .”
EVERY government tries to conceal its misdeeds by blocking public access under the Official Information Act.
One of the essential demands of overseas anti-neoliberal movements is transparency: the government MUST NOT be allowed hide official information from its rightful owners . . . the people.
This putrid stream of parliamentary corruption will never end until we take away parliament’s power to conceal our information from us. Electing a different party will NOT solve the problem.
Transparency: the people’s right which parliament cannot block.
+1
TTIP: have we won?
“We thought it might never happen. But in the last few days, leaders in France and Germany have said that TTIP — the European equivalent of TPP — is over.
The French trade minister said “France is demanding the pure, simple and definitive halt of these negotiations.” In Germany — the biggest backer of TTIP — the Vice-Chancellor said “TTIP has failed, but nobody wants to admit it.”
For three years now, SumOfUs members have been a part of a huge, worldwide push to keep dangerous trade deals like TTIP at bay.
It was a truly global effort — and it worked. We can be pretty confident TTIP won’t come back.
Together, the SumOfUs community all around the world bought ads in Brussels, signed petitions, lobbied the European Commission, and spoke up to our leaders. Members in the USA sent messages halfway around the world for members in Germany to carry at one of the biggest protests against TTIP ever.
It’s great to have a breakthrough on a campaign this important, and we should take a moment to celebrate.
Now, we’re riding off this amazing breakthrough and stepping up the fight to defeat TPP, as well the things that make global trade deals so dangerous.
Just last week, the media exposed the terrible consequences of secret courts that corporations use to sue governments for laws that protect people and the environment, but hurt profits. This is allowed under a clause in many trade deals called Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS).
Check out our plans so far — we’re already working to:
Push big corporations to tell the truth about where they stand on trade negotiations, instead of hiding behind their lobbyists;
Support communities fighting the worst impacts of trade deals that have already been signed;
Back organisations in countries all over the world that challenge the trade agenda;
Make sure SumOfUs members know the facts about other dangerous trade deals, like TISA, CETA, and TPP, and find ways to stop those deals from happening where we can.”
TTIP has failed – but no one is admitting it, says German Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel
<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ttip-trade-deal-agreement-failed-brexit-latest-news-eu-us-germany-vice-chancellor-a7213876.html
France to call for an end to EU-US free trade talks
<a href="http://www.dw.com/en/france-to-call-for-an-end-to-eu-us-free-trade-talks/a-19512025
US to blame for trade talks failure: French minister
<a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2016/08/29/us-to-blame-for-trade-talks-failure-french-minister.html
Yes I did a post on this a week back.
The discourse must be guided now to make a critical distinction between agreement-facilitated international corporatisation, and international democratic strengthening of a rule-based order rather than a military-force based order.
We’ve got to stop mashing together all kinds of globalization as bad.
Sorry Ad, I missed that. For some reason I can’t do a search.
Good work Leftie.
Thanks Mosa.
This was an interesting if somewhat depressing read in The Guardian, in regards to CETA
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/may/30/ttip-trade-deal-agreements-ceta-eu-canada
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/sep/06/transatlantic-trade-partnership-ttip-canada-eu
And I still think, as long as Corporations like Apple are made to feel at home in places like Ireland…who REFUSE to accept Tax money owed for goodness sakes….then ‘we’ the people are on the losing side as our services, housing and employment status slides into disarray.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/84125721/judge-could-lose-job-for-berating-rape-victim-why-couldnt-you-just-keep-your-knees-together
Wow…just wow
heh
http://stupidpartymathvmyth.com/1/post/2016/08/yes-back-kansas-dorothy-can-kansas-lead-way-home.html
And coincidentally Trump has a massive lead in Kansas
I don’t envy the choice of voters in the good old USA…
“Hillary is either criminal, or criminally incompetent. Or maybe both.”
http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2016/09/06/emails-fbi-hillary-crooked-blackberry-lost-phones-laptop-server-classified-glenn-reynolds/89881664/
re choice:
‘The Trump doctrine’
https://www.rt.com/shows/crosstalk/358759-trump-most-unorthodox-nominee/
“Donald Trump is one of the most unorthodox presidential nominees in American electoral history. He is unpolished and very brash. But some of his foreign policy ideas are intriguing, even common sense. This terrifies and enrages the establishment.
CrossTalking with Nomi Prins, Stephen Yates and Alex Newman.”
…and
‘The Hillary doctrine’
https://www.rt.com/shows/crosstalk/358498-clinton-foreign-policy-exeptionalism/
“The Hillary Doctrine: If elected, what kind of foreign policy agenda can we expect? Does Clinton hold an extreme view of American exceptionalism? And is she now a neoconservative?
CrossTalking with Harlan Hill, Michael Maloof, and Matt Mackowiak.”
I went to the big Art and Object art auction this week. That’s the one where the McCahon work went for $1.35m + GST + Buyers Premium i.e. about $1.6m or so.
If you ever want to get in a room with a very specific brand of white people and inhale a really rarefied vibe, check it out. They are in professional classes e.g. judges or accountancy partners, they think hard about national identity and have a few degrees between them, they have really well decorated houses with big walls, and they aren’t necessarily National supporters. There’s a core as far as I could tell that still go with Labour (or at least donate), but plenty that float around considering elsewhere beyond National.
There’s a few lowly lecturers and ratty-looking Masters students getting a freebie art history expose, and of course the vendors and their family and friends, and the auction-house staff. Quite some evening when the bidding goes into full frenzy.
…and Colin McCahon led the humble life of a New Zealand artist…never very rich
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_McCahon
Not well rewarded until he was well on the way to being a real alcoholic.
They are Global Women. National identity is a career-enhancing freebee.
Great word picture Ad.
The record price of this piece, reminded me of a story I read in the NY Times…
The $179 Million Picasso That Explains Global Inequality
…The astronomical rise in prices for the most-sought-after works of art over the last generation is in large part the story of rising global inequality. At its core, this is the simplest of economic math. The supply of Picasso paintings or Giacometti sculptures (one of which sold for $141 million in the same auction this week) is fixed. But the number of people with the will and the resources to buy top-end art is rising, thanks to the distribution of extreme wealth….
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/14/upshot/the-179-million-picasso-that-explains-global-inequality.html?_r=0
Knob end writes about why he’ll never date a feminist. Wonkette pulls his wings off.
http://wonkette.com/606394/women-abandoning-feminism-in-droves-in-hopes-of-winning-heart-of-this-guy
Seems like both parties are going to be perfectly happy staying the fuck away from each other. Win-win.
lol…that guy looks like a real pill !…a fat ginger with glasses…if he thinks he is attractive and has sex appeal to most women (feminist or not ) he is deluded …most women would prefer to stay home with their cats rather than date him! (he is about as attractive as a Slater or Farrer )
“Men’s Rights Activists have taken flight with a new philosophy called “RED PILL” which aims to point out how derogatory, hypocritical and vindictive third-wave feminists can be.”
oblivious and excellent snark, I reckon
I can’t decide whether that was hilariously funny or just gross. I love this bit:
Men’s Rights Activists have taken flight with a new philosophy called “RED PILL” which aims to point out how derogatory, hypocritical and vindictive third-wave feminists can be.
That’s what it aims to do, huh? I guess that aim must have been too subtly expressed for me when I went there and read “HumanSockPuppet’s Guide to Teasing Bitches,” and learned I should “Talk to women as though they were children, because emotionally they are.”
I wonder which pseudonym on there is Hon’s…
What’s the connection between Paul Foster-Bell and the Len Brown scandal?