This is why Hipkins needs to go. He's now saying spending $1m on consultants for evaluating a tunnel is bad, whereas when Labour spent $51m on a cycle bridge over the harbour that was all ok?
"I think it's one of those kinds of flight of fancy, that is unlikely to ever happen, I park it up there probably with the cycle bridge across the Auckland Harbour," Hipkins said."
The polls are a meaningless waste of time at the moment. I will start to look at them some time in 2026. As they say, a week is a long time in politics, so even if they are showing Labour on 60% now, in a years time it could all change.
I agree Hipkins has to go. But McAnulty had better stop claiming his $36k allowance that he gives to his partner before he makes a leadership bid.
When are we going to stop hearing about the cycle bridge Jimmy. Let it go.
All governments make mistakes-the current government seems to screw-up every day. Yesterday it was not understanding that methane science is settled…far more important that a $51m bridge proposal that may anyway be useful in the future.
Because he is paying $650 a week off his wife's mortgage. This property is in her name so it's completely obvious that it isn't a shared asset and the payment only benefits her not him right..(uh huh…sounds totally believable).
So He's down $30,000 plus per annum and his wife is up $30,000 plus per annum and you can't say that together their position is unchanged except they have paid $30,000 off their mortgage because even though they are married that asset will never be a shared asset so only his wife had benefitted.
So then he claims that $30,000 plus back off taxpayers meaning he and his wife have stolen (legally) $30,000 off taxpayers, which has been paid off the mortgage of their Wellington property… sorry I mean HER property, not theirs of course.
Surely you can understand why this sort of greedy shit pisses voters off, even if it is all nice and legal?!
“But McAnulty had better stop claiming his $36k allowance that he gives to his partner before he makes a leadership bid.”
$650/w doesn't seem unreasonable for accommodation in Wellington. However, I don’t know whether he would have to declare it as afinancial interest if the ownership is not “arms length”
You miss the point Mikesh…it is the look….the image….McAnulty has to look whiter than white if he takes over as Leader of the Opposition.
The MSM will be all over him as a greedy grasping git if he doesn't stop taking the allowance (which he is paying to his wife) at the time when the cost of living is hurting many, especially those that support Labour.
Remember when those on the Left laughed when Luxon said the Tesla was owned by his wife and so claiming the clean-car discount was nothing to do with him.
"$650/w doesn't seem unreasonable for accommodation in Wellington."
Does a $160,000 (plus many expense claims and benefits) pa seem unreasonable for a backbench MP with no ministerial responsibilities in a country of only 5 million people with a very low income economy?
Hear, hear. I was pretty disappointed to see Kieran's name on that list. As BG says, it's the look.
As for Mr Costley, during his party's previous tenure in government, Waikanae was forced to lose a pub, two eateries and a market garden in the interests of commuters (by both road and rail). And now he has the effrontery not to even want to make use of the improved facilities!
If you are true to your logic, then Willis has to be gone-burger for cancelling the Cook Strait ferry build order at a tune of, well you tell me, you're the numbers man.
Make sure not to conflate the cost of building the new terminals with the cost of the ships.
The European Commission has been working on a response to government subsidy of EV production in China.
EV makers who co-operated with the investigation, which the EU's governing European Commission launched in October, will face an average 21% duty, while those who did not will face one of 38.1%.
Meanwhile, specific charges will apply to three companies:
BYD: 17.4%
Geely: 20%
SAIC: 38.1%
Non-Chinese car companies who produce some EVs in China, including EU-based ones like BMW, will also be affected.
The commission said Tesla may receive an "individually calculated duty rate" because of a specific request it had made.
These charges would come on top of the current rate of 10% tariff levied on all electric cars produced in China.
China alleged the tariffs violated international trade rules and described the investigation as "protectionism".
They have not been so bold in response to the USA move – probably because there is no opposition in the USA and there are still free trade ethos in the EU and a relationship with manufacturers there.
The WTO handles trade disputes, but has a backlog of cases … the USA has been claiming it needs to be reformed … so they obstructed its judicial capability … probably to discredit free trade (given their own move to protectionism).
The American and European car makers have been very slow to accept the need for cheap mass-produced EV's. China has taken them to the cleaners.
A 27% levy on BYD EV's (10 plus 17.4) will still make them cheaper than European models. American consumers will be livid that they aren't allowed to buy cheap and technically impressive Chinese EV's.
The UK will probably not put tariffs on Chinese EV's as it hasn't got much of a car industry to protect.
Meanwhile in the short term China has a vast market to satisfy in Asia, NZ/OZ, South America etc etc.
"Officials said Chinese-owned car plants in the EU, including a planned BYD factory in Hungary, were not included in the scope of this investigation, underlining the EU’s preferred trade strategy of creating jobs in the bloc."
BYD cars produced in Europe would not face the tariffs.
It does amuse me somewhat that protectionism is going to undermine what could actually make a meaningful difference to global emissions.
One one hand you could say the Chinese govt subsidizing the EV's making them ever cheaper is a gift to the world in the fight against climate change… One the other that they are trying to kill the European / USA auto industry by flooding the market. One mans freedom fighter I guess…
The cheapest BYD is around $15k brand new in China if we still had a clean car discount that meant you could get a brand new car for 10-15K we could get a heap of older vehicles off the road that would be a massive win.
What amuses me is those massive American and European vehicle makers with all their huge resources built up over many generations calling foul when China takes charge (haha) of the EV market and makes it work, mostly through the adoption of clever technology and economies of scale….with the odd subsidy thrown in. (American and European car makers have never sold cars at cut-down prices of course-perish the thought)
The vehicle makers sat back, complacently paying lip service to the EV market, producing some good but low volume and expensive EV's while continuing producing mostly ICE or hybrid vehicles.
The latest tactic, coming from the auto makers and big oil of course, is to flood the media with stories about the EV market being in trouble. The figures belie this. King Canute would have been proud of them.
Just to throw a spanner in the works, in this car industry korero has there been any consideration to the workers in the States vs the Chinese work force?
We've not long ago been hailing the emergence of an organised auto workers achievements in the US, now that could all be for nothing if China has it's way.
Let me guess… You think governments (taxpayers) massively subsidizing private companies production of goods sold for profit is fine when it comes to China but as for those damn NZ farmers…
(NZ farmers who receive ZERO subsidies as producers, despite what some people seem to think)
So not only are you happy for Chinese carmakers to get unfair advantages through government subsidies, you also want NZ taxpayers to subsidize these car manufacturers too!!!
You're pretty fast and loose with OTHER people's money..
One Barry Soper has written a media opinion (13 June) trumpeting the virtues of farmers.
He calls for them to be treated as treasures, not tyrants, and quotes one farmer who says they love the country and should just be allowed "to get on with it."
We've heard this before – a plea for an unregulated industry. But the way some farmers treat our waterways shows strict regulation is a must if farming is to maintain a social licence.
IMO farmers are the same as any other segment of society; most are good, some are bad and a tiny minority are completely impossible.
And those farmers ,(industrial and otherwise) "some that are bad" and that "tiny minority" have a cumulatively massive impact effect on our NZ Environment, measurably toxic and harmful .
Educating them ? Waste of time.
They definitely need monitored and prevented from doing so.
Absolutely. In one of my past employments I had access to a regular synopsis of Environment Court decisions. I was very concerned with the number of instances where finally, a Council had been pushed by repeated infringements of Land Use Consents for discharges to prosecute a farming enterprise.
The number of farming companies who were prepared to allow employees to ignore the requirements for containment of waste, and to release the noxious byproducts of their enterprise to waterways on a repeated basis was considerable.
The prosecutions were always for repeated and blatant infringements, and there has often been prior prosecutions as well.
"Get on with it" is one of those phrases like "Getting things done". Both blissfully leave out key definitions – in the first case the definition of "it" and in the second case the definition of "things". They are laughable nonsense – anyone using either of them has an agenda that they're intent on hiding.
And of course everyone should be treated as "treasures", not just farmers. But being a treasure doesn't mean that any old "it" and any old "things" that you do are all fine and dandy.
Yesterday I responded to Ad on OM who suggested it would be good for NZ to have more millionaires not less. I agreed saying that the ideal way to solve the intractable problem of poverty would be a policy that would create as much wealth as possible for as many as possible.
Weka responded with the question How that would end poverty.? Great question and I spent some time thinking of a response.
For the first time in my adult life I have some time to read books and blogs and realise I have a real interest in our politics. Sometimes it's grubby and messy and partisan but it is actually the engine room of change for society.
To your question Weka I don't think we will ever eliminate poverty or inequality. But I believe we could design a way to lift the economic fortunes of all New Zealanders.
Rather than engaging in my existing kneejerk way with The Standard commentary I would like to attempt to frame and write ideas toward such a policy and have the community comment to test and polish or reject those ideas.
If you can't alleviate poverty then the next best is mitigate,
Top quality child care, schools , Healthcare, food in schools,and abundant affordable housing is the only path, making more multi millionaires will achieve none of that.
In our korero yesty evening you asked if I thought you should pay more tax.
I had retired for the night before I saw your question.
To answer it I don't know how much tax you pay. The rule of thumb is the more one earns the more likely one has others organize their affairs to minimize the tax obligations.
I don't think increasingly taxing wages or salaries is the way forward but bringing currently untaxed transactions under the tax umbrella would be a start.
A financial transaction tax or Robin Hood tax would target all the currency trading that goes on.
What I do know is that the promises by the well off and employers that things will get better for everyone if you lower taxes are not true.
In my lifetime taxes have been lowered for the well off on:
1. Company tax
2. Expensive items
3. Personal tax
4. Stamp duty
5. Trust tax
Electricity costs have been shifted from business to households, benefits became taxed to claw back some of the cost while you are working and benefit rates which once used to be the same as NZS are now much lower, young people pay the direct cost of their education while the people who got it for free didn't pay it back through tax rates during their peak earnings capacity as was originally intended.
The well off have benefitted from a massive reduction in taxation ever since 1985.What I see and what evidence shows is this has resulted in increased disparity for which many want to blame the victims rather that accept that it has been deliberately designed that way.
I suggest you read Marx to understand the relationship between capital and labour. You don't have to agree with him but it is likely the best explanation of this you will get at least in helping form your own thinking.
Picketty is also a good read and to illustrate the point about the deliberate engineering of things to suit the well off interests of capitalism Citibanks plutonomy memo.
Many of us believe, I suspect, in a mixed capital/socialist model that looks after the whole population not just the well off. In the same way that most of us view democracy a division of labour exercise to elect good leaders who will govern for everyone and as protecting minority rights rather than what some on the right see it as – our side won so we can do what we want. The use of urgency is a particularly egregious use of this attitude.
On Marx I have tried to understand his thinking. Especially as I joined the Communist Party when I was 17. But today it seems so first industrial revolution. Coal mines and mills and employees with few options. Capital and labour in a permanent antagonistic stance. One day it's going to blow.
If he was writing today with the benefit of the past 200 years of economic activity I think his conclusions would have been a lot different.
My experience as an employee and an employer has not been at all like that.
One thing that I always thought interesting is that the communist type revolutions didn't occur in the capitalist countries as Marx predicted. But in backward economies where wealth was held by a tiny minority.
MScott, I want to recommend you read Vulture Capitalism, a 2024 left-leaning critique of the capitalist system. Just finished the last, densely-filled chapter today. Well-written, fact-filled, and completely understandable description and leftist analysis of the relationships between central planning, states and corporations, and the mirage of the free market.
Plus describes non-centralised, worker and user-led options been set up around the world that counter the increasing trend to central control.
"It seems to me that our current tax system is working OK.."
Really? When tax has to be paid on income from labour (40+ hrs hard work per week) but not on unearned income? ( capital gain on property for example)
I'm confident that most people would fairly happily accept any income tax system if it is fair.
As an easy to understand (and yes figures are simplistic to make it easy) example.
John works hard 40 hours per week and gets paid $1,000 per week before tax for his labour. John's income is subject to income tax and the government takes 25% of his income leaving him with $750 per week after tax.
There are only 50 weeks per year in this world so John's hard work means he gets $50,000 for a whole years work and after tax ends up with $38,500 in his pocket. So for 2 years hard work John gets $77,000 profit on his labour.
Jim next door is lucky enough to have capital. He was left an inheritance when his father died. Jim buys a house for $900.000 and two years later sells it for $1,000,000. He spent nothing on the property in those 2 years, house prices went up. (As they do).
So Jim gets $100,000 in his pocket for doing nothing (as opposed to John's 40+ hours a week hard work). Not only that, but Jim doesn't even have to pay any income tac on that $100,000 of income (profit) because the tax laws say that the income is not income for income tax purposes.
Obviously this isn't fair. At the very least, Jim's income (profit) should be subject to income tax just like John's income is. IMO, Jim should be paying a higher rate of income tax than John and ideally John wouldn't be taxed at all on his labour.
We should be shifting the tax burden away from work and onto wealth.
And the article you linked to is very misleading because it is talking about earners or those on high incomes.
Remember. the very wealthy usually have very low incomes for income tax purposes.
The huge report David Parker released 2 years ago showed that the 500 of the wealthiest NZ families or individuals (meaning at least $50,000,000 worth each!!) paid on average an income tax rate of only around 9% because they declared very low incomes.
I don't really care about millionaires. Just everyone having a good chance to live without constant financial worries.
I was living in France before Macron scrapped the wealth tax in 2017 and remember how it backfired. I don't know enough about other new taxes to comment although if we were going to have one a CGT seems fairest
From memory lots of the wealthy went to Belgium from France who were no doubt very happy with all the the new tax.
So no wealth tax. Then you must agree that the income tax system would have to be radically changed to get rid of loopholes and ensure very wealthy people have high incomes that are taxed. In other words all income is subject to income tac, no more income that is not income for income tax purposes!
As it stands. the wealthy pay very low rates of income tax…..
They can avoid a CGT by borrowing against unrealised gains and pass it on to others – no gift duty or estate tax.
Efforts to reduce hiding the money in Trusts (increasing the tax on them) results in money flowing into PIE.
Similarly a higher income tax rate works, except where someone can receive the money within a company (consultants/contractors) – like PIE reducing tax liability.
Agree you can never get rid of poverty if it is used as a relative term. Even in our wealthy country we still have much poverty because the level of income which designates someone as being in poverty is so low compared with the rest of the population.
So someone on a benefit with kids to care for and no other income would (In my opinion) be living in poverty. Of course in many other countries that same income would mean that person is quite well off…
Ensuring everyone has a high standard of living (which would need to be defined) could end poverty??
Inequality is a good thing in our economic system but only to a certain level, only where individuals can reduce that gap in their personal regard by certain actions and you don't want the gap to increase. (a gap is fine, a decreasing gap is good, but a gap that is getting bigger and bigger is a ticking time bomb…)
As for more multi millionaires…. complete red herring. If their are 100 people in an economy, 10 are in poverty and 10 are multi millionaires then changing that to 12 multi millionaires will still leave you with 10 in poverty. In regards to income the only figure that really matters is the median income and it should be always increasing meaning everyone's incomes are increasing.
Rather than engaging in my existing kneejerk way with The Standard commentary I would like to attempt to frame and write ideas toward such a policy and have the community comment to test and polish or reject those ideas.
You got it 👍 It's a great place to test one's ideas and politics.
The head of France’s conservative party on Tuesday called for an alliance with the far right in upcoming snap elections, breaking a longstanding taboo and throwing his party into deep turmoil as the shock waves from President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to dissolve the lower house of Parliament coursed through the country.
No leader of any mainstream French political party has ever previously embraced a possible alliance with Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, or its predecessor, the National Front. But across Europe, barriers to what was long regarded as the extreme nationalist right have been falling as those parties have adjusted their positions and as a broader consensus has formed that large-scale illegal immigration across a porous European Union border must be curbed.
The announcement, by Éric Ciotti, the head of the Republicans, was a historic break with the party’s longstanding line and its ties to former President Charles de Gaulle. Mr. Ciotti’s call was immediately met with a chorus of angry disapproval from within his own ranks.
He also wrote this analysis of his voting intentions. Great points to ponder for many other situations.
Some thoughts on why I’d never vote for Le Pen or some of the other French so-called “extreme-right” parties as someone who’s generally very suspicious of liberalism and who can be called a “sovereignist”. Hopefully it can be useful to some who share my thinking.
Summary of just a few points from the Stuff Doc "The Long Game"
– A woman was kidnapped within NZ and put on a ship to China, and has vanished. Police were fully aware of this.
– A man was lured to sign a real-estate deal by a woman who believed Chinese security services when they told her that he was wanted for fraud in China, and apparently was unaware that it's illegal for Chinese police or security services to operate in NZ. This man was held at gunpoint by three men, violently assaulted, and ended up in hospital (the woman concerned called the ambulance). One of the men involved in the assault was on a plane to China the next day. Police were aware of this.
– Four Chinese dissidents were on a trip to parliament to deliver a petition outlining their concerns about CCP. A crash occurred in Tokoroa with another vehicle; three men died, and one was seriously injured. They were informed by the police that the crash had been fully investigated and there was no foul play. On investigation, it was found that the police fully investigated the wrong vehicle, and did not investigate the vehicle the dissidents were traveling in. No explanation was given.
That isn't a particularly good study. Basically it says those who earn the most pay the most then doubles down by adding tax credits etc back in and excludes GST and doesn't even consider things such as capital gains and death duties etc that other OECD countries have.
If it had any integrity it would say the higher income earners are really well off here compared to other OECD countries.
If it was fair it wouldn't say this:
"Those who earn most also have most discretion about how they earn. Wealthier individuals generally derive a greater share of their income from sources other than wages and are encouraged to take advantage of the different tax rates payable on income from companies, trusts, property and PIEs (portfolio investment entity).
That in itself is quite an incredible admission on how unfair it is and how it has been designed to be so.
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This video includes personal musings and conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Wherever you look, you'll hear headlines claiming we've passed 1.5 degrees of global warming. And while 2024 saw ...
Photo by Heather M. Edwards on UnsplashHere’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s politics and economy in the week to Feb 10 below. That’s ahead of live chats on the Substack App and The Kākā’s front page on Substack at 5pm with: on his column in The ...
Is there anyone in the world the National Party loves more than a campaign donor? Why yes, there is! They will always have the warmest hello and would you like to slip into something more comfortable for that great god of our age, the High Net Worth Individual.The words the ...
Waste and fraud certainly exist in foreign aid programs, but rightwing celebration of USAID’s dismantling shows profound ignorance of the value of soft power (as opposed to hard power) in projecting US influence and interests abroad by non-military/coercive means (think of “hearts and minds,” “hugs, not bullets,” “honey versus vinegar,” ...
Health New Zealand is proposing to cut almost half of its data and digital positions – more than 1000 of them. The PSA has called on the Privacy Commissioner to urgently investigate the cuts due to the potential for serious consequences for patients. NZNO is calling for an urgent increase ...
We may see a few more luxury cars on Queen Street, but a loosening of rules to entice rich foreigners to invest more here is unlikely to “turbocharge our economic growth”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate ...
Let us not dance daintily around the elephant in the room. Our politicians who serve us in the present are not honest, certainly not as honest as they should be, and while the right are taking out most of the trophies for warping narratives and literally redefining “facts”, the kiwi ...
A few weeks ago I took a look at public transport ridership in 2024. In today’s post I’m going to be looking a bit deeper at bus ridership. Buses make up the vast majority of ridership in Auckland with 70 million boardings last year out of a total of 89.4 ...
Oh, you know I did itIt's over and I feel fineNothing you could say is gonna change my mindWaited and I waited the longest nightNothing like the taste of sweet declineSongwriters: Chris Shiflett / David Eric Grohl / Nate Mendel / Taylor Hawkins.Hindsight is good, eh?The clarity when the pieces ...
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on UnsplashHere’s what we’re watching in the week to February 16 and beyond in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty:Monday, February 10The Kākā’s weekly wrap-up of news about politics and the economy is due at midday, followed by webinar for paying subscribers in Substack’s ...
A listing of 23 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, February 2, 2025 thru Sat, February 8, 2025. This week's roundup is again published soleley by category. We are still interested in feedback to hone the categorization, so if ...
Today, I stumbled across a Twitter Meme: the ending of The Lord of the Rings as a Chess scenario: https://x.com/mellon_heads/status/1887983845917564991 It gets across the basic gist. Aragorn and Gandalf offering up ‘material’ at the Morannon allows Frodo and Samwise to catch Sauron unawares – fair enough. But there are a ...
Last week, Kieran McAnulty called out Chris Bishop and Nicola Willis for their claims that Kāinga Ora’s costs were too high.They had claimed Kāinga Ora’s cost were 12% higher than market i.e. private devlopersBut Kāinga Ora’s Chair had already explained why last year:"We're not building to sell, so we'll be ...
Stuff’s Political Editor Luke Malpass - A Fellow at New Zealand IniativeLast week I half-joked that Stuff / The Post’s Luke Malpass1 always sounded like he was auditioning for a job at the New Zealand Initiative.Mountain Tui is a reader-supported publication. For a limited time, subscriptions are 20% off. Thanks ...
At a funeral on Friday, there were A4-sized photos covering every wall of the Dil’s reception lounge. There must have been 200 of them, telling the story in the usual way of the video reel but also, by enlargement, making it more possible to linger and step in.Our friend Nicky ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with members from our team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is methane the ...
The Government’s idea is that the private sector and Community Housing Providers will fund, build and operate new affordable housing to address our housing crisis. Meanwhile, the Government does not know where almost half of the 1,700 children who left emergency housing actually went. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong ...
Oh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youOh, home, let me come homeHome is wherever I'm with youSongwriters: Alexander Ebert / Jade Allyson CastrinosMorena,I’m on a tight time frame this morning. In about an hour and a half, I’ll need to pack up and hit the road ...
This is a post about the Mountain Tui substack, and small tweaks - further to the poll and request post the other day. Please don’t read if you aren’t interested in my personal matters. Thank you all.After oohing-and-aahing about how to structure the Substack model since November, including obtaining ...
This transcript of a recent conversation between the Prime Minister and his chief economic adviser has not been verified.We’ve announced we are the ‘Yes Government’. Do you like it?Yes, Prime Minister.Dreamed up by the PR team. It’s about being committed to growth. Not that the PR team know anything about ...
The other day, Australian Senator Nick McKim issued a warning in the Australian Parliement about the US’s descent into fascim.And of course it’s true, but I lament - that was true as soon as Trump won.What we see is now simply the reification of the intention, planning, and forces behind ...
Among the many other problems associated with Musk/DOGE sending a fleet of teenage and twenty-something cultists to remove, copy and appropriate federal records like social security, medicaid and other supposedly protected data is the fact that the youngsters doing the data-removal, copying and security protocol and filter code over-writing have ...
Jokerman dance to the nightingale tuneBird fly high by the light of the moonOh, oh, oh, JokermanSong by Bob Dylan.Morena folks, I hope this fine morning of the 7th of February finds you well. We're still close to Paihia, just a short drive out of town. Below is the view ...
It’s been an eventful week as always, so here’s a few things that we have found interesting. We also hope everyone had a happy and relaxing Waitangi Day! This week in Greater Auckland We’re still running on summer time, but provided two chewy posts: On Tuesday, a guest ...
Queuing on Queen St: the Government is set to announce another apparently splashy growth policy on Sunday of offering residence visas to wealthy migrants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, the top six things in our political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, February 7:PM Christopher ...
The fact that Waitangi ended up being such a low-key affair may mark it out as one of the most significant Waitangi Days in recent years. A group of women draped in “Toitu Te Tiriti” banners who turned their backs on the politicians’ powhiri was about as rough as it ...
Hi,This week’s Flightless Bird episode was about “fake seizure guy” — a Melbourne man who fakes seizures in order to get members of the public to sit on him.The audio documentary (which I have included in this newsletter in case you don’t listen to Flightless Bird) built on reporting first ...
National’s cuts to disability support funding and freezing of new residential placements has resulted in significant mental health decline for intellectually disabled people. ...
The hundreds of jobs lost needlessly as a result of the Kinleith Mill paper production closure will have a devastating impact on the Tokoroa community - something that could have easily been avoided. ...
Today Te Pāti Māori MP for Te Tai Tokerau, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi, released her members bill that will see the return of tamariki and mokopuna Māori from state care back to te iwi Māori. This bill will establish an independent authority that asserts and protects the rights promised in He Whakaputanga ...
The Whangarei District Council being forced to fluoridate their local water supply is facing a despotic Soviet-era disgrace. This is not a matter of being pro-fluoride or anti-fluoride. It is a matter of what New Zealanders see and value as democracy in our country. Individual democratically elected Councillors are not ...
Nicola Willis’ latest supermarket announcement is painfully weak with no new ideas, no real plan, and no relief for Kiwis struggling with rising grocery costs. ...
Half of Pacific children sometimes going without food is just one of many heartbreaking lowlights in the Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report. ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on benefits, including their children, hit hardest. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. “The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,” says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. “The change is part of the Government’s plan to unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of Kāinga Ora’s development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I’ve been a strong advocate for social housing on Kāinga Ora’s Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
The government should not set military style academies into youth justice law, the children's commissioner says, despite its first bootcamp getting a glowing report. ...
The infamous over-the-suit T-shirt worn by the PM at a Parliament barbecue has gone on sale to raise funds for children living in poverty, in a TradeMe auction. ...
MONDAYSheriff Seymour rode slowly down the main street of Dodge on his faithful white horse Atlas Network.He liked what he saw.Children were being fed free lunches prepared by kind people who collected the scraps from an offal rendering plant.“Very strongly flavoured liver, such as ox liver, can be soaked overnight ...
Once upon a time it was all about being an astronaut, a firefighter or doctor; but these days kids have their sights set on becoming vloggers or YouTubers.That’s according to a 2019 study by Lego that surveyed 3000 children between the ages of eight to 12 from the US, the ...
Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was. From the moment I started high school and realised almost every other girl in my year was at least partially interested in what the boys were up to, I realised that I would be single for life. The feeling wasn’t one of ...
The Pacific profiles series shines a light on Pacific people in Aotearoa doing interesting and important work in their communities, as nominated by members of the public. Today, Selina Alesana Alefosio.All photos by Geoffery Matautia.On a bright Sunday morning from her grandparent’s home in Pito-one, I spoke with ...
The White Lotus star reflects on her life in TV, including the local ad reference that doesn’t work in Australia, and her bananas co-star on Neighbours.Morgana O’Reilly was scrolling her phone next to her sleeping son on an idle Saturday morning when she got the call confirming that she ...
Claire Mabey explores the pros and cons of puff quotes on book covers.In January, Publishers Weekly put out an article by Sean Manning – publisher of Simon & Schuster’s flagship US imprint – in which he said he’d “no longer require authors to obtain blurbs for their books”.The ...
New Zealand’s Entomological Society is hosting its annual bug of the year contest. Here are some of the insects in the running. For some reason – perhaps humans’ inherent competitiveness, the idealisation of democracy, the need to demarcate winners and losers – one of the best ways to get people ...
A journey along the border, with words and illustrations by Bob Kerr.The Spinoff Essay showcases the best essayists in Aotearoa, on topics big and small. Made possible by the generous support of our members.The Sunset Limited leaves Union Station New Orleans on time at nine in the morning. We ...
Neville Peat is the 2024 recipient of the Prime Minister’s Award for Literary Achievement in nonfiction. He’s written 56 books, mostly on natural history; this excerpt is from The Falcon and the Lark: A New Zealand High Country Journal, first published in 1992. The falcon wintering on the Rock and ...
It was a light-hearted gesture Greta Pilkington will be forever grateful for – thanks to an Aussie rival who jumped in when the Olympic sailor couldn’t be at her own graduation.Pilkington, then 20, had been leading a double life – while qualifying for the 2024 Paris Olympics in the ILCA ...
I was born in the back of my grandfather’s ute, by an overgrown windbreak in a remote place called Wahi-Rakauyou can’t find on a map. I was born a girl but given the man’s name Harvey, as my dad always wanted a violent-minded boy to one day help him ...
“We’re not here to interfere in people’s property rights,” Ngāi Tahu’s Te Maire Tau has told the High Court.Tau, a historian, Upoko (traditional leader) of Ngāi Tūāhuriri, and a university professor of history, is the lead witness in a case designed to force the Crown to recognise the tribe’s rangatiratanga ...
Pacific Media Watch Trump administration officials barred two Associated Press (AP) reporters from covering White House events this week because the US-based independent news agency did not change its style guide to align with the president’s political agenda. The AP is being punished for using the term “Gulf of Mexico,” ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific Presenter/Bulletin editor France’s top diplomat in the Pacific region says talks around the “unfreezing” of New Caledonia’s highly controversial electoral roll are back on the table. The French government intended to make a constitutional amendment that would lift restrictions prescribed under the Nouméa Accord, which ...
By bringing these global voices to the fight for free expression in New Zealand, we’ll continue to protect and expand our culture of free speech, says Nathan Seiuli, the Free Speech Union's Events Manager. ...
The issue is no longer a hypothetical one. US President Donald Trump will not explicitly suggest death camps, but he has already consented to Israel’s continuing a war that is not a war but rather a barbaric assault on a desolate stretch of land. From there, the road to annihilation is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cecelia Cmielewski, Research Fellow, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University To be selected as the artist and curator team to represent Australia at the Venice Biennale is considered the ultimate exhibition for an artistic team. To have your selection rescinded, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steve Turton, Adjunct Professor of Environmental Geography, CQUniversity Australia Severe Tropical Cyclone Zelia is bearing down on the northwest coast of Australia and is likely to make landfall early Friday evening. It’s a monster storm of great concern to Western Australia. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Danielle Ireland-Piper, Associate Professor, ANU National Security College, Australian National University A Victorian government decision to allow dingo culling in the state’s east until 2028 has reignited debate over what has been dubbed Australia’s most controversial animal. Animals Australia, an animal welfare ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hassan Vally, Associate Professor, Epidemiology, Deakin University Overnight, Robert F. Kennedy Jr was confirmed as the secretary of the US Health and Human Services Department. Put simply, this makes him the most influential figure in overseeing the health and wellbeing of more ...
Everything you missed from day five of the Treaty principles bill hearings, when the Justice Committee heard eight hours of submissions.Read our recaps of the previous hearings here.It was another work from home day for the Justice Committee, the only people in Room 3 being security guards, committee ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milad Haghani, Associate Professor & Principal Fellow in Urban Risk & Resilience, The University of Melbourne Juris Teivans/Shutterstock In Australia, fatal road crashes are climbing again, especially since the pandemic, and despite years of attempts to reduce road trauma, the numbers ...
In its eagerness to appease supporters of Israel, the media is happy to ride roughshod over due process and basic rights. It’s damaging Australia’s (and New Zealand’s?) democracy.COMMENTARY:By Bernard Keane Two moments stand out so far from the Federal Court hearings relating to Antoinette Lattouf’s sacking by the ...
“The reality is we’re getting poorer. The government this year is leaning heavy on chasing economic growth, which is absolutely the right thing to do.” ...
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 The Vegetarian by Han Kang (Granta, $28) Han Kang’s astounding novel was based on an ...
This new docuseries about two single comedians looking for love is also a joyful celebration of female friendship. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. “How many people do you think are boning right now?” Kura Forrester asks Brynley Stent as the bright ...
A new poem by Freya Turnbull. Hunger Song – After Kaveh Akbar (Untitled With Hunger And Matcheads) I hold my age in ripped fishnet hold an empty vessel oldyoung body cracks like gunshot like killa i was a father ...
This is why Hipkins needs to go. He's now saying spending $1m on consultants for evaluating a tunnel is bad, whereas when Labour spent $51m on a cycle bridge over the harbour that was all ok?
"I think it's one of those kinds of flight of fancy, that is unlikely to ever happen, I park it up there probably with the cycle bridge across the Auckland Harbour," Hipkins said."
Hipkins says Govt's million-dollar spend on consultants for Wellington long tunnel not justified (msn.com)
You can tell when polls are getting to those who voted in the Cof C, when they insist the next government has to change leaders asap.
The polls are a meaningless waste of time at the moment. I will start to look at them some time in 2026. As they say, a week is a long time in politics, so even if they are showing Labour on 60% now, in a years time it could all change.
I agree Hipkins has to go. But McAnulty had better stop claiming his $36k allowance that he gives to his partner before he makes a leadership bid.
When are we going to stop hearing about the cycle bridge Jimmy. Let it go.
All governments make mistakes-the current government seems to screw-up every day. Yesterday it was not understanding that methane science is settled…far more important that a $51m bridge proposal that may anyway be useful in the future.
Why? MP's can claim the allowance for property they are paying a mortgage on, so why not rent to a partner?
Why?
In case you hadn't noticed, 1000s of people have lost their jobs because 'economy'.
If McAnulty is to lead the Labour party, he would maximise his man of the people vibe.
Part of that appeal would be distancing himself from those who maximize their entitlements.
Exactly Gsays…it is a weird day indeed when I agree with you and not SPC.
Heh, even a stopped clock is right twice a day…
Why?
Because he is paying $650 a week off his wife's mortgage. This property is in her name so it's completely obvious that it isn't a shared asset and the payment only benefits her not him right..(uh huh…sounds totally believable).
So He's down $30,000 plus per annum and his wife is up $30,000 plus per annum and you can't say that together their position is unchanged except they have paid $30,000 off their mortgage because even though they are married that asset will never be a shared asset so only his wife had benefitted.
So then he claims that $30,000 plus back off taxpayers meaning he and his wife have stolen (legally) $30,000 off taxpayers, which has been paid off the mortgage of their Wellington property… sorry I mean HER property, not theirs of course.
Surely you can understand why this sort of greedy shit pisses voters off, even if it is all nice and legal?!
All out of town MP's get an allowance for accommodation in Wellington.
It is irrelevant who they pay the money to.
Those who own (or whose partners own) property would be renting it out to someone else if the MP was not the tenant.
“But McAnulty had better stop claiming his $36k allowance that he gives to his partner before he makes a leadership bid.”
$650/w doesn't seem unreasonable for accommodation in Wellington. However, I don’t know whether he would have to declare it as afinancial interest if the ownership is not “arms length”
It's known because he declared it.
You miss the point Mikesh…it is the look….the image….McAnulty has to look whiter than white if he takes over as Leader of the Opposition.
The MSM will be all over him as a greedy grasping git if he doesn't stop taking the allowance (which he is paying to his wife) at the time when the cost of living is hurting many, especially those that support Labour.
Remember when those on the Left laughed when Luxon said the Tesla was owned by his wife and so claiming the clean-car discount was nothing to do with him.
"$650/w doesn't seem unreasonable for accommodation in Wellington."
Does a $160,000 (plus many expense claims and benefits) pa seem unreasonable for a backbench MP with no ministerial responsibilities in a country of only 5 million people with a very low income economy?
Hear, hear. I was pretty disappointed to see Kieran's name on that list. As BG says, it's the look.
As for Mr Costley, during his party's previous tenure in government, Waikanae was forced to lose a pub, two eateries and a market garden in the interests of commuters (by both road and rail). And now he has the effrontery not to even want to make use of the improved facilities!
Speaking of fiscal irresponsibility…
If you are true to your logic, then Willis has to be gone-burger for cancelling the Cook Strait ferry build order at a tune of, well you tell me, you're the numbers man.
Make sure not to conflate the cost of building the new terminals with the cost of the ships.
The European Commission has been working on a response to government subsidy of EV production in China.
They have not been so bold in response to the USA move – probably because there is no opposition in the USA and there are still free trade ethos in the EU and a relationship with manufacturers there.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd11ze1k9r0o
The WTO handles trade disputes, but has a backlog of cases … the USA has been claiming it needs to be reformed … so they obstructed its judicial capability … probably to discredit free trade (given their own move to protectionism).
The American and European car makers have been very slow to accept the need for cheap mass-produced EV's. China has taken them to the cleaners.
A 27% levy on BYD EV's (10 plus 17.4) will still make them cheaper than European models. American consumers will be livid that they aren't allowed to buy cheap and technically impressive Chinese EV's.
The UK will probably not put tariffs on Chinese EV's as it hasn't got much of a car industry to protect.
Meanwhile in the short term China has a vast market to satisfy in Asia, NZ/OZ, South America etc etc.
I just noticed this:
"Officials said Chinese-owned car plants in the EU, including a planned BYD factory in Hungary, were not included in the scope of this investigation, underlining the EU’s preferred trade strategy of creating jobs in the bloc."
BYD cars produced in Europe would not face the tariffs.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/jun/12/eu-import-tariffs-chinese-evs-electric-vehicles-trade-war
BYD is also looking at opening a factory in Mexico which is likely to get around the the US 100% tariffs-the US has a free trade deal with Mexico.
There are more holes in these tariff barriers than in a Swiss cheese.
It does amuse me somewhat that protectionism is going to undermine what could actually make a meaningful difference to global emissions.
One one hand you could say the Chinese govt subsidizing the EV's making them ever cheaper is a gift to the world in the fight against climate change… One the other that they are trying to kill the European / USA auto industry by flooding the market. One mans freedom fighter I guess…
The cheapest BYD is around $15k brand new in China if we still had a clean car discount that meant you could get a brand new car for 10-15K we could get a heap of older vehicles off the road that would be a massive win.
Agreed Crick.
What amuses me is those massive American and European vehicle makers with all their huge resources built up over many generations calling foul when China takes charge (haha) of the EV market and makes it work, mostly through the adoption of clever technology and economies of scale….with the odd subsidy thrown in. (American and European car makers have never sold cars at cut-down prices of course-perish the thought)
The vehicle makers sat back, complacently paying lip service to the EV market, producing some good but low volume and expensive EV's while continuing producing mostly ICE or hybrid vehicles.
The latest tactic, coming from the auto makers and big oil of course, is to flood the media with stories about the EV market being in trouble. The figures belie this. King Canute would have been proud of them.
https://www.statista.com/outlook/mmo/electric-vehicles/worldwide#unit-sales
Just to throw a spanner in the works, in this car industry korero has there been any consideration to the workers in the States vs the Chinese work force?
We've not long ago been hailing the emergence of an organised auto workers achievements in the US, now that could all be for nothing if China has it's way.
Let me guess… You think governments (taxpayers) massively subsidizing private companies production of goods sold for profit is fine when it comes to China but as for those damn NZ farmers…
(NZ farmers who receive ZERO subsidies as producers, despite what some people seem to think)
"if we still had a clean car discount…"
So not only are you happy for Chinese carmakers to get unfair advantages through government subsidies, you also want NZ taxpayers to subsidize these car manufacturers too!!!
You're pretty fast and loose with OTHER people's money..
Late night on the beersies was it?
"American consumers will be livid that they aren't allowed to buy cheap and technically impressive Chinese EV's."
HaHaHaHaHaHaHa !!!
Yea……Nah
One Barry Soper has written a media opinion (13 June) trumpeting the virtues of farmers.
He calls for them to be treated as treasures, not tyrants, and quotes one farmer who says they love the country and should just be allowed "to get on with it."
We've heard this before – a plea for an unregulated industry. But the way some farmers treat our waterways shows strict regulation is a must if farming is to maintain a social licence.
IMO farmers are the same as any other segment of society; most are good, some are bad and a tiny minority are completely impossible.
And those farmers ,(industrial and otherwise) "some that are bad" and that "tiny minority" have a cumulatively massive impact effect on our NZ Environment, measurably toxic and harmful .
Educating them ? Waste of time.
They definitely need monitored and prevented from doing so.
Absolutely. In one of my past employments I had access to a regular synopsis of Environment Court decisions. I was very concerned with the number of instances where finally, a Council had been pushed by repeated infringements of Land Use Consents for discharges to prosecute a farming enterprise.
The number of farming companies who were prepared to allow employees to ignore the requirements for containment of waste, and to release the noxious byproducts of their enterprise to waterways on a repeated basis was considerable.
The prosecutions were always for repeated and blatant infringements, and there has often been prior prosecutions as well.
I agree a small minority can have a highly damaging effect on our environment. Looks like NACT is hastening that process.
Mike Joy's 2015 paper "Squandered" (it's not too long) is worth reading: https://waterqualitynz.info/squandered-the-degradation-of-new-zealands-freshwaters/
"Get on with it" is one of those phrases like "Getting things done". Both blissfully leave out key definitions – in the first case the definition of "it" and in the second case the definition of "things". They are laughable nonsense – anyone using either of them has an agenda that they're intent on hiding.
And of course everyone should be treated as "treasures", not just farmers. But being a treasure doesn't mean that any old "it" and any old "things" that you do are all fine and dandy.
Yesterday I responded to Ad on OM who suggested it would be good for NZ to have more millionaires not less. I agreed saying that the ideal way to solve the intractable problem of poverty would be a policy that would create as much wealth as possible for as many as possible.
Weka responded with the question How that would end poverty.? Great question and I spent some time thinking of a response.
For the first time in my adult life I have some time to read books and blogs and realise I have a real interest in our politics. Sometimes it's grubby and messy and partisan but it is actually the engine room of change for society.
To your question Weka I don't think we will ever eliminate poverty or inequality. But I believe we could design a way to lift the economic fortunes of all New Zealanders.
Rather than engaging in my existing kneejerk way with The Standard commentary I would like to attempt to frame and write ideas toward such a policy and have the community comment to test and polish or reject those ideas.
If you can't alleviate poverty then the next best is mitigate,
Top quality child care, schools , Healthcare, food in schools,and abundant affordable housing is the only path, making more multi millionaires will achieve none of that.
More wealth would help to provide those services if tax was paid on the increasing income as people made their way becoming millionaires.
I think Norm Kirk said something like all we need is somewhere to live, someone to love, somewhere to work and something to hope for?
That sounds like real wealth to me except I would like the living to be in a home that is owned and not rented.
are suggesting a wealth tax?
No-not a wealth tax- just tax paid on income on our progressive scale.
Wealth taxes rarely raise the revenue predicted and sometimes countries that have introduced them have lost more revenue than they gained.
In our korero yesty evening you asked if I thought you should pay more tax.
I had retired for the night before I saw your question.
To answer it I don't know how much tax you pay. The rule of thumb is the more one earns the more likely one has others organize their affairs to minimize the tax obligations.
I don't think increasingly taxing wages or salaries is the way forward but bringing currently untaxed transactions under the tax umbrella would be a start.
A financial transaction tax or Robin Hood tax would target all the currency trading that goes on.
What I do know is that the promises by the well off and employers that things will get better for everyone if you lower taxes are not true.
In my lifetime taxes have been lowered for the well off on:
1. Company tax
2. Expensive items
3. Personal tax
4. Stamp duty
5. Trust tax
Electricity costs have been shifted from business to households, benefits became taxed to claw back some of the cost while you are working and benefit rates which once used to be the same as NZS are now much lower, young people pay the direct cost of their education while the people who got it for free didn't pay it back through tax rates during their peak earnings capacity as was originally intended.
The well off have benefitted from a massive reduction in taxation ever since 1985.What I see and what evidence shows is this has resulted in increased disparity for which many want to blame the victims rather that accept that it has been deliberately designed that way.
I suggest you read Marx to understand the relationship between capital and labour. You don't have to agree with him but it is likely the best explanation of this you will get at least in helping form your own thinking.
Picketty is also a good read and to illustrate the point about the deliberate engineering of things to suit the well off interests of capitalism Citibanks plutonomy memo.
https://delong.typepad.com/plutonomy-1.pdf
Many of us believe, I suspect, in a mixed capital/socialist model that looks after the whole population not just the well off. In the same way that most of us view democracy a division of labour exercise to elect good leaders who will govern for everyone and as protecting minority rights rather than what some on the right see it as – our side won so we can do what we want. The use of urgency is a particularly egregious use of this attitude.
National ended the estate tax 1993 and then later gift duty 2011.
I think all of us believe in a mixed model. No one ever suggests de socialising Health or Education. And even Act support the need for welfare.
It seems to me that our current tax system is working OK but we need more money for infrastructure and climate mitigation.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/488161/rich-paying-their-fair-share-of-tax-study-concludes
On Marx I have tried to understand his thinking. Especially as I joined the Communist Party when I was 17. But today it seems so first industrial revolution. Coal mines and mills and employees with few options. Capital and labour in a permanent antagonistic stance. One day it's going to blow.
If he was writing today with the benefit of the past 200 years of economic activity I think his conclusions would have been a lot different.
My experience as an employee and an employer has not been at all like that.
One thing that I always thought interesting is that the communist type revolutions didn't occur in the capitalist countries as Marx predicted. But in backward economies where wealth was held by a tiny minority.
MScott, I want to recommend you read Vulture Capitalism, a 2024 left-leaning critique of the capitalist system. Just finished the last, densely-filled chapter today. Well-written, fact-filled, and completely understandable description and leftist analysis of the relationships between central planning, states and corporations, and the mirage of the free market.
Plus describes non-centralised, worker and user-led options been set up around the world that counter the increasing trend to central control.
"It seems to me that our current tax system is working OK.."
Really? When tax has to be paid on income from labour (40+ hrs hard work per week) but not on unearned income? ( capital gain on property for example)
I'm confident that most people would fairly happily accept any income tax system if it is fair.
As an easy to understand (and yes figures are simplistic to make it easy) example.
John works hard 40 hours per week and gets paid $1,000 per week before tax for his labour. John's income is subject to income tax and the government takes 25% of his income leaving him with $750 per week after tax.
There are only 50 weeks per year in this world so John's hard work means he gets $50,000 for a whole years work and after tax ends up with $38,500 in his pocket. So for 2 years hard work John gets $77,000 profit on his labour.
Jim next door is lucky enough to have capital. He was left an inheritance when his father died. Jim buys a house for $900.000 and two years later sells it for $1,000,000. He spent nothing on the property in those 2 years, house prices went up. (As they do).
So Jim gets $100,000 in his pocket for doing nothing (as opposed to John's 40+ hours a week hard work). Not only that, but Jim doesn't even have to pay any income tac on that $100,000 of income (profit) because the tax laws say that the income is not income for income tax purposes.
Obviously this isn't fair. At the very least, Jim's income (profit) should be subject to income tax just like John's income is. IMO, Jim should be paying a higher rate of income tax than John and ideally John wouldn't be taxed at all on his labour.
We should be shifting the tax burden away from work and onto wealth.
And the article you linked to is very misleading because it is talking about earners or those on high incomes.
Remember. the very wealthy usually have very low incomes for income tax purposes.
The huge report David Parker released 2 years ago showed that the 500 of the wealthiest NZ families or individuals (meaning at least $50,000,000 worth each!!) paid on average an income tax rate of only around 9% because they declared very low incomes.
"protecting minority rights rather than what some on the right see it as – our side won so we can do what we want."
Really? So what minority rights used to exist but no longer do because this government has taken them away?
do you mean leaving the tax scale as it is and just having more millionaires?
I don't really care about millionaires. Just everyone having a good chance to live without constant financial worries.
I was living in France before Macron scrapped the wealth tax in 2017 and remember how it backfired. I don't know enough about other new taxes to comment although if we were going to have one a CGT seems fairest
From memory lots of the wealthy went to Belgium from France who were no doubt very happy with all the the new tax.
So no wealth tax. Then you must agree that the income tax system would have to be radically changed to get rid of loopholes and ensure very wealthy people have high incomes that are taxed. In other words all income is subject to income tac, no more income that is not income for income tax purposes!
As it stands. the wealthy pay very low rates of income tax…..
They can avoid a CGT by borrowing against unrealised gains and pass it on to others – no gift duty or estate tax.
Efforts to reduce hiding the money in Trusts (increasing the tax on them) results in money flowing into PIE.
Similarly a higher income tax rate works, except where someone can receive the money within a company (consultants/contractors) – like PIE reducing tax liability.
You’re conflating wealth and income.
The wealthiest New Zealanders pay a very low tax rate.
Given we become millionaires by owning the home we live in, there is no increase in tax revenue.
Or multi-millionaires by investing in rentals or farms, without paying any CGT or estate tax …
And more corporate profit is retained to grow shareholder value (no CGT off shareholders) than higher wages …
Lots of multi-millionares to be made providing those if there is enough "Top quality" leading to fat profits!
+100 bwag
Agree you can never get rid of poverty if it is used as a relative term. Even in our wealthy country we still have much poverty because the level of income which designates someone as being in poverty is so low compared with the rest of the population.
So someone on a benefit with kids to care for and no other income would (In my opinion) be living in poverty. Of course in many other countries that same income would mean that person is quite well off…
Ensuring everyone has a high standard of living (which would need to be defined) could end poverty??
Inequality is a good thing in our economic system but only to a certain level, only where individuals can reduce that gap in their personal regard by certain actions and you don't want the gap to increase. (a gap is fine, a decreasing gap is good, but a gap that is getting bigger and bigger is a ticking time bomb…)
As for more multi millionaires…. complete red herring. If their are 100 people in an economy, 10 are in poverty and 10 are multi millionaires then changing that to 12 multi millionaires will still leave you with 10 in poverty. In regards to income the only figure that really matters is the median income and it should be always increasing meaning everyone's incomes are increasing.
IMO.
You got it 👍 It's a great place to test one's ideas and politics.
Tl;dr, the Gaullists are playing footsie with people who would’ve been part of the collaborationist Vichy regime.
The great asparagus will be rolling.
The head of France’s conservative party on Tuesday called for an alliance with the far right in upcoming snap elections, breaking a longstanding taboo and throwing his party into deep turmoil as the shock waves from President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to dissolve the lower house of Parliament coursed through the country.
No leader of any mainstream French political party has ever previously embraced a possible alliance with Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, or its predecessor, the National Front. But across Europe, barriers to what was long regarded as the extreme nationalist right have been falling as those parties have adjusted their positions and as a broader consensus has formed that large-scale illegal immigration across a porous European Union border must be curbed.
The announcement, by Éric Ciotti, the head of the Republicans, was a historic break with the party’s longstanding line and its ties to former President Charles de Gaulle. Mr. Ciotti’s call was immediately met with a chorus of angry disapproval from within his own ranks.
https://archive.li/wwsu7 (nyt)
Macron was hoping for a grand alliance on the second vote to keep out the Marinestas.
A combo with the de Gaullists would make that a risk.
Ciotti and the other Italians are going to he asked to join Le Pens party, invited to leave.
Arnaud Bertrand sums the political circumstances in France:
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1801114239572328663.html?utm_campaign=topunroll
He also wrote this analysis of his voting intentions. Great points to ponder for many other situations.
https://x.com/RnaudBertrand/status/1800736479574147522
Summary of just a few points from the Stuff Doc "The Long Game"
– A woman was kidnapped within NZ and put on a ship to China, and has vanished. Police were fully aware of this.
– A man was lured to sign a real-estate deal by a woman who believed Chinese security services when they told her that he was wanted for fraud in China, and apparently was unaware that it's illegal for Chinese police or security services to operate in NZ. This man was held at gunpoint by three men, violently assaulted, and ended up in hospital (the woman concerned called the ambulance). One of the men involved in the assault was on a plane to China the next day. Police were aware of this.
– Four Chinese dissidents were on a trip to parliament to deliver a petition outlining their concerns about CCP. A crash occurred in Tokoroa with another vehicle; three men died, and one was seriously injured. They were informed by the police that the crash had been fully investigated and there was no foul play. On investigation, it was found that the police fully investigated the wrong vehicle, and did not investigate the vehicle the dissidents were traveling in. No explanation was given.
That isn't a particularly good study. Basically it says those who earn the most pay the most then doubles down by adding tax credits etc back in and excludes GST and doesn't even consider things such as capital gains and death duties etc that other OECD countries have.
If it had any integrity it would say the higher income earners are really well off here compared to other OECD countries.
If it was fair it wouldn't say this:
"Those who earn most also have most discretion about how they earn. Wealthier individuals generally derive a greater share of their income from sources other than wages and are encouraged to take advantage of the different tax rates payable on income from companies, trusts, property and PIEs (portfolio investment entity).
That in itself is quite an incredible admission on how unfair it is and how it has been designed to be so.
Food security is indeed a critical international issue. The world of back-door snaffling of food resources, reviewed by the Guardian.
‘The big story of the 21st century’: is this the most shocking documentary of the year?Six years in the making, jaw-dropping new film The Grab shows a secret scramble by governments and private firms to buy up global resources'
Farmers get ripped off by banks – National: Alert! Alert! This is outrageous! We can't have that! Must have an enquiry!
Whenever anyone else gets ripped off by banks – National: well that's the market for you folks, next time demand a better deal – heh heh!