I see that Greens candidate Ricardo Menéndez March has started coalition negotiations on Twitter with respect to the wealth tax. It might be a good idea if he shut for a bit and let his leadership do what they have to do to get the the party over the line on Saturday. Otherwise there will be no coalition negotiations period.
And another day labour say it's not happening and everyone thinks national look totally desperate, pinning the slimmest of hopes their final minute hail mary pass is caught by dullards who can't think for themselves.
There are traps set, and there are natural hazards. National aren’t capable of getting through either.
Err, that's what political parties do in election campaigns, push and promote their policies – And why should they not? Especially if by doing so it gives labour a free hit at the dopey nats who keep trying to push the same shit up the hill to nowhereville.
I think the advice the right are giving is lie about your intentions, and then once in power bring out the slippery stuff, ie what political parties have been doing forever. The Greens are telling us what they want to do, us as voters can choose to vote for that, or not. I party voted Greens.
Yeah Alan, if you think distorting the amounts involved and putting out a maybe, could be etc is the kind of party you want to vote for.
But I am glad for you that you can find one thing Nats and Act have done right. Mostly the Nats have been,, dare I say it a shambles. In fact a complete shambles.
Act being completely opportunist again trying to get the gun vote…………I guess that has worked for them to an extent. But what a thing to try and win votes on. Right to more sophisticated guns. Fuck
Pressure on this has succeeded in Jacinda ruling it out completely effectively shutting the door on a key GP policy before coalition negotiations start… some would regard that as a success.
It's the baby bird syndrome. All the nestlings know is to watch for the parent bird with the food and their mouths open wide and are lined with yellow so the feeder can't miss the target with the gobstopper. All the fervent workers in the poverty stratum of need of money, goods, homes and livings, know there is great need and can't shut up even when it would be strategic to do so, or adopt another approach.
He's an out-there leftist doing his thing. Can't expect such folk to see the big picture even, let alone be sensible. Young, keen & naive is all that matters…
Are we supposed to trust in the 'Little Father', or mother in this case, who knows and loves us, secretly. The Left are rationalists not superstitionists. Trying to discern the hearts of the blessed Grant and the holy Jacinda is not in my playbook nor should it ever be for demo-crats.
ScottGN – I've been uneasy for some time watching March use AAAP as a blunt weapon against WINZ this last year. AAAP used to provide great advocacy for clients but over recent months it has become a political vehicle for March. He will lose the Greens votes if he continues on this journey.
I may be wrong . This morning on my Facebook is a DENISE LEE add saying she will spend $6.2 billion on Onehunga transport, Google tells me Auckland will spend $1.42 billion something doest sound right. national also gets a mention.
Some good articles on Newsroom today, including an insight into on-the-ground campaigning in Manurewa (should be read by anyone who thinks elections are won in armchairs!).
And the news that Collins has been endorsed by … Todd Barclay. That sums up National's mess.
Jacinda has shown paranoia and a serious lack of judgement in refusing to discuss the Wealth Tax (or any Wealth Tax option) with the Greens in coalition negotiations. So much for transformation, alleviating poverty and a fairer NZ.
I think it's a good policy too (party voted green), but I accept that some in labour and the wider electorate don't, so it's been ruled out as a policy too far.
The crux of the matter comes down to what I view as the issue of the campaign. A couple of days ago there's a media bit from Collins saying about the PM "I don't believe a word she says" and then another from her urging us to believe her when she says "you can trust me". Clearly at 47% in the polls, the people are rejecting Judith.
So again, for the nats to keep putting it front and centre, when people hear Jacinda say no, then it smacks of desperation and must be counter productive.
Or labour could grow a pair and actually address tax reform to end poverty and create a fairer society, but I know that won't happen when the policies needed are unpopular with voters, even though their best interests in the long term, and not many governments wilfully choose to vote themselves out.
No need for a tax referendum, the argument just needs to be won in the wider public, so it's not a bottom line in future negotiations but a minimum standard adopted by both leftish parties.
At the risk of seeming vaguely Marxist, I see it as a class issue. Simple: middle class has wealth to pass on to children, lower class doesn't.
I agree with the wealth tax as a semi-plausible method of reducing wealth inequality. Laudable, but history will pronounce a verdict on saturday. That verdict may turn out to be that it was mere virtue-signalling.
If those for whom the Greens policy wonks designed the policy to benefit refuse to actually vote for it, then nobody will be able to claim that it worked as intended, eh?
Politically-correct Greens, operating on auto-pilot as usual with tiny brains disengaged, will flounder around in search of some feeble excuse for failure. Other Greens will get real. The upshot will be that the Greens will have to re-evaluate their raison d'être.
If they still want to bridge middle & lower classes via policy, they will only survive via more sophisticated marketing of that policy!!
The Greens say that they use consensus to make policy decisions and yet, despite being a Green Party member, I've never been asked if I support any policies before they become policy.
Or labour could grow a pair and actually address tax reform to end poverty and create a fairer society
The only way tax would do that is if PAYE went back to a high tax rate of 70% or more. High enough to effectively instituting a maximum income.
but I know that won't happen when the policies needed are unpopular with voters
Actually, I think a maximum income would probably be quite popular with the majority of people. Unfortunately, the way things are, they're not the ones that are going to get a say in it.
No need for a tax referendum, the argument just needs to be won in the wider public
But a referendum does have the benefit of finding out what the majority of people actually want and not just of those who have the resources to make a lot of noise.
I'm not overly worried about wealth vs cgt vs ftt, I just think that the people who have benefitted the most from the system should pay proportionately more for their disproportionate good fortune.
This is my preference, my current thinking is to get rid all the tax credit systems working for families etc etc.
Change the tax codes so that they work on a tax free threshold basis.
Ie Single Parent couple of kids your tax free threshold might be say 50k so you can earn what you can without worrying about abatements etc etc
All benefits ie unemployment would be tax free and earning income on his would be fine up till you reached your tax free threshold. Again making it viable for someone to find some work and not worry about abatements etc.
A single professional might only have a tax free threshold of only $5000.
Change the tax bands adding higher rates.
Reduce gst, enact a very broad but low rate cgt, look at a tax to discourage land banking and tax off shore holdings.
Wrong Mikesh-all she had to say was that during coalition discussions when a WT was raised it would be a Labour party bottom line that there would be no WT.
Having done two large dinner parties in two days among the old and wealthy of Dunedin in 3 days, they can hold their nose and vote Labour, but not if it comes with a Green Party tax. They simply don't believe the Greens understand how to hand wealth down through to your children. This is the haute-bourgeoisie in our most left-leaning cities.
We need to see the next Associate Finance and Minister of Revenue Ministers generate some think pieces for Cabinet on this, pronto. Whoever gets in.
Ardern hsimply must spend some of her ginormous political capital – Key failed to do so and she's smarter than him.
The problem they have isn't that the Greens don't know about inter-generational power, the Greens understand it too well, and how harmful it can be.
Dunedin being a case in point – far too long locked down by a cadre of unimaginative families seeking to preserve their personal wealth and businesses.
As I heard it Key didn't spend his political capital to put things right, Right-wise, because he understood his support was based on specifically not going Douglas/ Richardson.
Jacinda and Grant are cautious to their bones and probably don't believe to begin with, all nurtured in the norts Labour environment.
Still a little resentful at Grant, trying to establish his Left credentials in the Pub political programme, saying all the right shit and turning out just as we expected.
edit
Who or what can anyone trust in NZ? We must retain our present government as only with them can we hope to turn NZ around to be responsive to reality and need, rather than the speculators and those deep in comfy chairs, or bent on furthering the interests available to the wealthy.
…The Laura Fergusson Rehabilitation in Greenlane closed in August, with its board blaming financial problems. Now the Charities Services is investigating complaints about the way it has been run.
For 27 years, Josephine Cliff's son lived at Laura Fergusson. She says over the last five years, she witnessed the decline of services for residents like her son. "The maintenance, I mean just never appeared to be done. There was sort of rotten walls, buildings. My son's door fell off, a sort of french door thing just collapsed. There was no maintenance I could see going on at all," she said…
"I was told when I took my letter in by hand to the CEO, she actually came out and I said to her, I'd written a letter and here it is for the chairman of the board, wherever he hangs out now, and she said we were gagged, we were not allowed to speak to you because the Ministry of Health gagged us," she said.
The Ministry of Health denies it gagged the trust. Cliff said when she eventually got a reply, it said the funding wasn't enough to continue, even though other providers are still operating, she said.
Former board member John Wolk, an amputee, has also used the organisation's services. He says when the closure was announced last year he was told a plan would be released early this year.
I didn't click on the story but Stuff has yet another story about National saying what Labour will do and won't do.
They don't talk so much about their own list of what they will do and not. Not talk much past spraying about the multi-billions they'll spend, no details, or imply the promises they make are already achieved.
https://thegrayzone.com/2020/10/12/julian-assange-trial-freedom-speech/ Editor’s note: Fidel Narváez served as Ecuador’s consul in the UK from 2010 until July 2018. He helped get Julian Assange political asylum, and regularly communicated with the WikiLeaks publisher when he was trapped in the London embassy. In a previous article for The Grayzone, Narváez debunked 40 media lies and distortions about Assange. In this piece, he summarizes the key points from the British extradition hearings against Assange in September 2020.
California authorities have launched a criminal investigation into unauthorized ballot boxes that the Republican party has placed in several counties, with authorities warning that these set-ups are illegal.
The boxes have appeared in Fresno, Los Angeles and Orange counties at locations including political party offices, campaign headquarters and churches, according to the California secretary of state. The GOP admitted Monday that it owned the boxes and defended the practice.
As for what happens to ballots deposited in these fake dropboxes, who knows? But it probably involves an incinerator, at least for all those voting Democrat.
I have never pretended to understand the US's electoral system, but isn't it a bit irrelevant when each side does dodgy shit, when the whole thing seems to be decided by Electoral College votes?
No the votes determine how the electoral college votes for a state. And the "dodgy shit" is pretty much republican – no false equivalence and blaming both sides.
No Right Turn:California authorities have launched a criminal investigation into unauthorized ballot boxes that the Republican party has placed in several counties, with authorities warning that these set-ups are illegal.
The boxes have appeared in Fresno, Los Angeles and Orange counties at locations including political party offices, campaign headquarters and churches, according to the California secretary of state. The GOP admitted Monday that it owned the boxes and defended the practice.
All of the recent (this century) instances of deliberate voter fraud and electoral fraud I've ever seen documented have been perpetrated by Repugs. So yeah, all this noise about voter fraud is them projecting again, and the reason they know it happens because they're the ones doing it.
Since we are having a election. There is much not to admire about the system in the USA but I am interested in their "town halls" that elected members run.
I have wondered if doing something similar in electorates here from both list and electorate MP's might be beneficial in that voters can make their views known , meet others of a like mind and give wider feedback rather than professional lobbying capturing the system.
The wealth tax will possibly cost the Greens 1 or 2 percent , it may even stop them from getting back in at all. the Greens don't seem to understand that political maxim of the "optics ". Yes a WT sounds good but the "öptics"of an 80 + year old recent widow being slugged with a huge bill for a modest house that just happens to be in a suburb that has rocketed and that she has lived in all her life is not very good "optics ". Bereft and Stressed Grieving Widow Forced Out Of Family Home stories are political suicide.
Jacinda knows that and that there are better ways to extract tax.
Adrian-the WT is a genuinely transformational policy that will shift wealth from the mega rich to the desperately poor. It will attract as many people to the Greens as it will lose.
I have said a couple times on TS that no policy is set in stone-the Greens could modify the WT to target the top 4% rather than the top 6%. This would make it more palatable to some people and it would still bring in plenty of revenue to alleviate poverty.
If the wealth tax thresholds aren't the hard priorities the Greens have made them out to be, but are negotiable, then it's political malpractice to have set them so low. Because so many people can see themselves hit by it, and considering the price of real estate, it kicks in at a level most people don't really consider "wealthy".
Which is one reason why Elizabeth Warren pitched her wealth tax at levels over $50 million, which would only affect 0.05% of US households. But even that attracted very few voters that weren't already with her.
Thank you Bearded Git, my link was Auckland Medium prices. "Middle Class" (for want of a better term) who live in Auckland (not me, by the way) shouldn't be charged or punished for a mistake of Geography. I can only take your word for the 94% claim. Auckland's large population may or may not skew those figures.
No worries Red Blooded…btw it's what the Green policy says…6% are affected by WT….my 10 years as an accountant did the rest.
The other thing everyone seems to miss (on purpose?) is that as a couple the assets are split, so you can have net $2 million in assets and would pay no WT.
People happy to quietly take the geographic benefit of living in central Auckland through rampant house price inflation for decades, but as soon as a tiny fraction of that unearned wealth might be taxed they are being "punished". FFS. This is why inequality is going to continue to get worse over the next three years regardless of the outcome on Saturday. We are just voting on how much worse it will get.
I understand what you're saying, but someone who's owned their home in Auckland for decades isn't taking any financial benefit, well not until they sell or die. Transformational Tax Changes just aren't that simple.
While the odds are pretty heavily against it … I'm still not entirely ruling out NZF just managing to scrape over the 5% threshold. There are one or two sound reasons that no-one has adequately explored in analyses to date (in fact, hardly anyone's touched on them at even the most basic level).
Equally, the Greens are by no means a dead cert … odds are in their favour, but certainly not overwhelmingly so. In fact, as close as 60/40. (perhaps I’m stating the bleedin obvious there ?).
Final Polls should clarify.
(these points only slightly qualified by heavy advance voting … not least because fieldwork for the final polls has been taking place at the same time as bulk of early votes)
I love a bit of condescension and stereotyping on a Tuesday. A wonderfully talented and imaginative 20-year old relative of mine (doesn't drink, never touched dope) voted for the first time last week. And yes it was Green. So I'll take your stereotype and raise it with my anecdata.
If this anything to go on, Nelson could well turn red and dr custard will be no more.
Nick smith and his supporters were busy on the side of a main road, waving around signs, the problem was no one was tooting or waving, no one, how embarrassing.
Meanwhile up the road a bit was Rachel and the Labour team with their signs waving at motorists, people were tooting their horns flat out and waving back. Yeah!!!!
It was always a matter of intense interest to consider how long she could maintain the mask of normality with the girlish "Hi Duncan" and "Oh – morning Suzie" before the whole malevolent contraption exploded.
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 27 were:1. The Minister for Ford Rangers strikes againTransport Minister Simeon Brown was again the busiest of the Cabinet ministers this week, announcing an ...
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Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
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Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
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This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
Te Rangi e tu nei (The sky above us) Te Papa e takoto nei (The land beneath us) Tatou katoa te hunga ora (To us all the living) Tena koutou katoa (Greetings) ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
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 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
From Lewis Clareburt in the swimming to the start of the rowing – the first seven days of Paris 2024 promise to be big for New Zealand. There are few events that bring the country together quite like an Olympic Games. Nothing quite matches the excitement of getting up in ...
Groundbreaking local science just showed up in the most surprising of places: the season finale of The Kardashians. In the season five finale of The Kardashians last night, several members of the family gathered together in one of their signature empty, cream-coloured rooms to hear test results that had been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Middle East is on the brink of a possibly devastating regional war, with hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reaching an extremely dangerous level. Washington has engaged in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Elizabeth Eades, Rheumatologist, Monash University Lupus is an inflammatory autoimmune illness, where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks itself. Lupus can affect virtually any part of the body, although it most commonly affects the skin, joints and kidneys. The symptoms ...
A law firm that specialises in working with survivors of abuse in State care is disappointed that the Government fails to recognise that its boot camps can be directly compared to previous boot camps from the 1990s and 2000s. ...
Dying is a natural part of life, like updating your Wof or seeing your hairdresser, but without the word-of-mouth recs that help guarantee a good service. What if we changed that? Dying Reviews received by The Spinoff have had the names of organisations redacted while Hospice NZ collects further data. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland Mike Lewinski/Flickr, CC BY On any clear night, if you gaze skywards long enough, chances are you’ll see a meteor streaking through the sky. Some nights, however, are better than others. At ...
Despite having no bars or other designated spaces for lesbians, Auckland boasts a small but mighty lesbian museum. So how did it get here? The past 18 months has brought increasing hostility towards the queer community across Aotearoa. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s anti-trans rally in Tamaki Makaurau last March led to a ...
Poneke Antifascist Coalition has invited Wellingtonians to stand in solidarity with the Kanak people at 12pm today outside the French Embassy in Wellington. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Layton, Visiting Fellow, Strategic Studies, Griffith University Drones are the signature technology of the Ukraine war. A few miniature aircraft designs were used in the war’s early days, but an incredible array of drones have now evolved. There are different types, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Slee, Associate Professor, Clinical Academic Neurologist, Flinders University Francisco Gonzelez/Unsplash Migraine is many things, but one thing it’s not is “just a headache”. “Migraine” comes from the Greek word “hemicrania”, referring to the common experience of migraine being predominantly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee White, Senior Lecturer and Horizon Fellow, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney Australia was slow to introduce minimum building standards for energy efficiency. The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) only came into force in 2003. Older homes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Sherwood, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW Sydney The past century of human-induced warming has increased rainfall variability over 75% of the Earth’s land area – particularly over Australia, Europe and eastern North America, new research shows. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Heynen, Program Coordinator, Sustainable Energy, The University of Queensland A temporary stadium in the Champ-de-Mars, ParisEkaterina Pokrovsky/Shutterstock As Paris prepares to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the sustainability of the event is coming under scrutiny. The organisers have promoted ...
A night of karaoke and community in a pub that feels like a memory. You’d barely even notice it, unless you knew to look. Tucked away behind a liquor store on busy Constable Street is the capital’s last great pub. Newtown Sports Bar is an emblem of the pub culture ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Wright, Professor in Marine Geology, University of Canterbury Louise Corcoran/Getty Images The decline in the number of doctoral candidates at New Zealand universities is a worrying sign for the country’s effort to build a knowledge-based economy. Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
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I see that Greens candidate Ricardo Menéndez March has started coalition negotiations on Twitter with respect to the wealth tax. It might be a good idea if he shut for a bit and let his leadership do what they have to do to get the the party over the line on Saturday. Otherwise there will be no coalition negotiations period.
Difficult to fault National and Act for concentrating on this issue when the Greens keep raising it like this.
And another day labour say it's not happening and everyone thinks national look totally desperate, pinning the slimmest of hopes their final minute hail mary pass is caught by dullards who can't think for themselves.
There are traps set, and there are natural hazards. National aren’t capable of getting through either.
That does not alter the fact that the Greens keep raising it. What would your response be if the boot was on the other foot?
Scott's sentiments/fears and his wish that Richardo etc would shut up are well founded.
Err, that's what political parties do in election campaigns, push and promote their policies – And why should they not? Especially if by doing so it gives labour a free hit at the dopey nats who keep trying to push the same shit up the hill to nowhereville.
I think the advice the right are giving is lie about your intentions, and then once in power bring out the slippery stuff, ie what political parties have been doing forever. The Greens are telling us what they want to do, us as voters can choose to vote for that, or not. I party voted Greens.
Yeah Alan, if you think distorting the amounts involved and putting out a maybe, could be etc is the kind of party you want to vote for.
But I am glad for you that you can find one thing Nats and Act have done right. Mostly the Nats have been,, dare I say it a shambles. In fact a complete shambles.
Act being completely opportunist again trying to get the gun vote…………I guess that has worked for them to an extent. But what a thing to try and win votes on. Right to more sophisticated guns. Fuck
Pressure on this has succeeded in Jacinda ruling it out completely effectively shutting the door on a key GP policy before coalition negotiations start… some would regard that as a success.
It's the baby bird syndrome. All the nestlings know is to watch for the parent bird with the food and their mouths open wide and are lined with yellow so the feeder can't miss the target with the gobstopper. All the fervent workers in the poverty stratum of need of money, goods, homes and livings, know there is great need and can't shut up even when it would be strategic to do so, or adopt another approach.
He's an out-there leftist doing his thing. Can't expect such folk to see the big picture even, let alone be sensible. Young, keen & naive is all that matters…
Are we supposed to trust in the 'Little Father', or mother in this case, who knows and loves us, secretly. The Left are rationalists not superstitionists. Trying to discern the hearts of the blessed Grant and the holy Jacinda is not in my playbook nor should it ever be for demo-crats.
A political party pushing their policies, before an election.
How strange!
ScottGN – I've been uneasy for some time watching March use AAAP as a blunt weapon against WINZ this last year. AAAP used to provide great advocacy for clients but over recent months it has become a political vehicle for March. He will lose the Greens votes if he continues on this journey.
I may be wrong . This morning on my Facebook is a DENISE LEE add saying she will spend $6.2 billion on Onehunga transport, Google tells me Auckland will spend $1.42 billion something doest sound right. national also gets a mention.
She must be another one of them leftists Dennis gnosis all about.
The next nexus of gnosis and praxis will be instantiated through the problematising of left-right discontinuities.
That was glorious. I expect to see it appropriated as a corporate mission statement in the near future.
Some good articles on Newsroom today, including an insight into on-the-ground campaigning in Manurewa (should be read by anyone who thinks elections are won in armchairs!).
And the news that Collins has been endorsed by … Todd Barclay. That sums up National's mess.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/election-2020/good-day-bad-day-monday
In his capacity as …?
China is saying no to Ozzie coal. This will shake things up.
8 billion(NZ) a month in lost FX is going to hurt
ScoMo will be frothing at the mouth.
wonder if the mob he had to run from were Queensland miners
China using its position as a main buyer to force things to their liking – again.
Trade with China is not free – it comes with many hidden hooks and bindings.
Jacinda has shown paranoia and a serious lack of judgement in refusing to discuss the Wealth Tax (or any Wealth Tax option) with the Greens in coalition negotiations. So much for transformation, alleviating poverty and a fairer NZ.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/428115/ruling-out-conversation-on-wealth-tax-not-credible-shaw
Hey Alien, see what I mean?
The membership of the Green Party seem to think that the wealth tax is a brilliant idea and the membership makes the decisions right??
I think it's a good policy too (party voted green), but I accept that some in labour and the wider electorate don't, so it's been ruled out as a policy too far.
The crux of the matter comes down to what I view as the issue of the campaign. A couple of days ago there's a media bit from Collins saying about the PM "I don't believe a word she says" and then another from her urging us to believe her when she says "you can trust me". Clearly at 47% in the polls, the people are rejecting Judith.
So again, for the nats to keep putting it front and centre, when people hear Jacinda say no, then it smacks of desperation and must be counter productive.
Maybe the greens could go for referendum on tax next election as a coalition bottom line .
3 options
Keep tinkering .
A comprehensive cgt.
A wealth tax.
Or labour could grow a pair and actually address tax reform to end poverty and create a fairer society, but I know that won't happen when the policies needed are unpopular with voters, even though their best interests in the long term, and not many governments wilfully choose to vote themselves out.
No need for a tax referendum, the argument just needs to be won in the wider public, so it's not a bottom line in future negotiations but a minimum standard adopted by both leftish parties.
At the risk of seeming vaguely Marxist, I see it as a class issue. Simple: middle class has wealth to pass on to children, lower class doesn't.
I agree with the wealth tax as a semi-plausible method of reducing wealth inequality. Laudable, but history will pronounce a verdict on saturday. That verdict may turn out to be that it was mere virtue-signalling.
If those for whom the Greens policy wonks designed the policy to benefit refuse to actually vote for it, then nobody will be able to claim that it worked as intended, eh?
Politically-correct Greens, operating on auto-pilot as usual with tiny brains disengaged, will flounder around in search of some feeble excuse for failure. Other Greens will get real. The upshot will be that the Greens will have to re-evaluate their raison d'être.
If they still want to bridge middle & lower classes via policy, they will only survive via more sophisticated marketing of that policy!!
Do you think it is possible that the Greens develop policy that is right to do rather than to buy votes?
The Greens say that they use consensus to make policy decisions and yet, despite being a Green Party member, I've never been asked if I support any policies before they become policy.
Are you on the mailing lists.
Draft policies are open to all members for comment and input.
Yes, and I have put in such input. But, at no point, have I been asked to vote for the final policy.
The only way tax would do that is if PAYE went back to a high tax rate of 70% or more. High enough to effectively instituting a maximum income.
Actually, I think a maximum income would probably be quite popular with the majority of people. Unfortunately, the way things are, they're not the ones that are going to get a say in it.
But a referendum does have the benefit of finding out what the majority of people actually want and not just of those who have the resources to make a lot of noise.
PAYE does not redistribute capital. That is the beauty of a Wealth Tax.
I tend to be in favour of a wealth tax. Done properly nobody would be able to afford to own excessive amounts.
Of course, that would get the bludgers truly whinging.
I'm not overly worried about wealth vs cgt vs ftt, I just think that the people who have benefitted the most from the system should pay proportionately more for their disproportionate good fortune.
…or Land Tax?
Yeah. They're all different ways of skinning the same fat cat.
4th option: Design a completely new tax system from the ground up.
5th option tax interest received at 99%
This is my preference, my current thinking is to get rid all the tax credit systems working for families etc etc.
Change the tax codes so that they work on a tax free threshold basis.
Ie Single Parent couple of kids your tax free threshold might be say 50k so you can earn what you can without worrying about abatements etc etc
All benefits ie unemployment would be tax free and earning income on his would be fine up till you reached your tax free threshold. Again making it viable for someone to find some work and not worry about abatements etc.
A single professional might only have a tax free threshold of only $5000.
Change the tax bands adding higher rates.
Reduce gst, enact a very broad but low rate cgt, look at a tax to discourage land banking and tax off shore holdings.
Inheritance tax should he on the table as well.
I too think it is a referendum matter.
Or perhaps Jacinda is just doing what anyone with a bare minimum of political nous would do.
Jacinda is only doing what she has to to counter Judith's lying dogwhistle.
Wrong Mikesh-all she had to say was that during coalition discussions when a WT was raised it would be a Labour party bottom line that there would be no WT.
Having done two large dinner parties in two days among the old and wealthy of Dunedin in 3 days, they can hold their nose and vote Labour, but not if it comes with a Green Party tax. They simply don't believe the Greens understand how to hand wealth down through to your children. This is the haute-bourgeoisie in our most left-leaning cities.
We need to see the next Associate Finance and Minister of Revenue Ministers generate some think pieces for Cabinet on this, pronto. Whoever gets in.
Ardern hsimply must spend some of her ginormous political capital – Key failed to do so and she's smarter than him.
Ad-agreed re the political capital…..in the long-term people will see this as a principled approach
The problem they have isn't that the Greens don't know about inter-generational power, the Greens understand it too well, and how harmful it can be.
Dunedin being a case in point – far too long locked down by a cadre of unimaginative families seeking to preserve their personal wealth and businesses.
As I heard it Key didn't spend his political capital to put things right, Right-wise, because he understood his support was based on specifically not going Douglas/ Richardson.
Jacinda and Grant are cautious to their bones and probably don't believe to begin with, all nurtured in the norts Labour environment.
Still a little resentful at Grant, trying to establish his Left credentials in the Pub political programme, saying all the right shit and turning out just as we expected.
If 'paranoia' is now to be applied to that situation I presume there is a pandemic of paranoia about that just hasn't been called that.
It's good rhetoric the Greens have a point of difference so it's up to the Greens to gain enough seats to put their policies into action.
yes, time for the greens to stop phucking around and nail down an electorate seat, get a fulltime seat at the top table.
edit
Who or what can anyone trust in NZ? We must retain our present government as only with them can we hope to turn NZ around to be responsive to reality and need, rather than the speculators and those deep in comfy chairs, or bent on furthering the interests available to the wealthy.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/428209/parents-say-trust-for-the-disabled-was-deliberately-run-down
…The Laura Fergusson Rehabilitation in Greenlane closed in August, with its board blaming financial problems.
Now the Charities Services is investigating complaints about the way it has been run.
For 27 years, Josephine Cliff's son lived at Laura Fergusson.
She says over the last five years, she witnessed the decline of services for residents like her son.
"The maintenance, I mean just never appeared to be done. There was sort of rotten walls, buildings. My son's door fell off, a sort of french door thing just collapsed. There was no maintenance I could see going on at all," she said…
"I was told when I took my letter in by hand to the CEO, she actually came out and I said to her, I'd written a letter and here it is for the chairman of the board, wherever he hangs out now, and she said we were gagged, we were not allowed to speak to you because the Ministry of Health gagged us," she said.
The Ministry of Health denies it gagged the trust.
Cliff said when she eventually got a reply, it said the funding wasn't enough to continue, even though other providers are still operating, she said.
Former board member John Wolk, an amputee, has also used the organisation's services. He says when the closure was announced last year he was told a plan would be released early this year.
It does have the look of a hijack about it. I'm sure there's a perfectly innocent and reasonable explanation yadayadyada.
I didn't click on the story but Stuff has yet another story about National saying what Labour will do and won't do.
They don't talk so much about their own list of what they will do and not. Not talk much past spraying about the multi-billions they'll spend, no details, or imply the promises they make are already achieved.
Witness Lawrence Yule and Matt King.
It’s a scare campaign, plain and simple.
Very mean-while Julian Assange trial hamster wheel turns round.
https://diem25.org/solidarity-actions-for-julian-assange-belgium/
We must defend whistleblowers because they reveal what governments are doing ‘in the public interest’.
That seems a reasoned and correct statement.
https://thegrayzone.com/2020/10/12/julian-assange-trial-freedom-speech/
Editor’s note: Fidel Narváez served as Ecuador’s consul in the UK from 2010 until July 2018. He helped get Julian Assange political asylum, and regularly communicated with the WikiLeaks publisher when he was trapped in the London embassy. In a previous article for The Grayzone, Narváez debunked 40 media lies and distortions about Assange. In this piece, he summarizes the key points from the British extradition hearings against Assange in September 2020.
From No Right Turn a story from the USA worthy of a film like Bewster's Millions.* (A you couldn't make this shit up sort of theme.) https://norightturn.blogspot.com/2020/10/a-new-low-in-american-democracy.html
As for what happens to ballots deposited in these fake dropboxes, who knows? But it probably involves an incinerator, at least for all those voting Democrat.
* Brewster's Millions trailer
In series. (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDDF75AF7D08771AF
I have never pretended to understand the US's electoral system, but isn't it a bit irrelevant when each side does dodgy shit, when the whole thing seems to be decided by Electoral College votes?
No the votes determine how the electoral college votes for a state. And the "dodgy shit" is pretty much republican – no false equivalence and blaming both sides.
Maybe it will be used to "prove" that ballot boxes are untrustworthy? Like a burglar complaining about burglary?
winwin for repugs.
If the votes in the illegal boxes are for them, then they get to argue "coup d'etat" when the votes are rejected en masse.
If the votes are for dems, then they're improperly returns and not counted.
They're not trying to win the election, they're trying to give their stacked scotus and their rambo-cosplay fringe an excuse to dispute the loss.
Bingo.
All of the recent (this century) instances of deliberate voter fraud and electoral fraud I've ever seen documented have been perpetrated by Repugs. So yeah, all this noise about voter fraud is them projecting again, and the reason they know it happens because they're the ones doing it.
Since we are having a election. There is much not to admire about the system in the USA but I am interested in their "town halls" that elected members run.
I have wondered if doing something similar in electorates here from both list and electorate MP's might be beneficial in that voters can make their views known , meet others of a like mind and give wider feedback rather than professional lobbying capturing the system.
The wealth tax will possibly cost the Greens 1 or 2 percent , it may even stop them from getting back in at all. the Greens don't seem to understand that political maxim of the "optics ". Yes a WT sounds good but the "öptics"of an 80 + year old recent widow being slugged with a huge bill for a modest house that just happens to be in a suburb that has rocketed and that she has lived in all her life is not very good "optics ". Bereft and Stressed Grieving Widow Forced Out Of Family Home stories are political suicide.
Jacinda knows that and that there are better ways to extract tax.
Adrian-the WT is a genuinely transformational policy that will shift wealth from the mega rich to the desperately poor. It will attract as many people to the Greens as it will lose.
I have said a couple times on TS that no policy is set in stone-the Greens could modify the WT to target the top 4% rather than the top 6%. This would make it more palatable to some people and it would still bring in plenty of revenue to alleviate poverty.
If the wealth tax thresholds aren't the hard priorities the Greens have made them out to be, but are negotiable, then it's political malpractice to have set them so low. Because so many people can see themselves hit by it, and considering the price of real estate, it kicks in at a level most people don't really consider "wealthy".
Which is one reason why Elizabeth Warren pitched her wealth tax at levels over $50 million, which would only affect 0.05% of US households. But even that attracted very few voters that weren't already with her.
most people don't really consider "wealthy"
Isn't it about time you came back down from Planet Key?
With 1 Mill being a median price I agree with Andre, You don't have to be living on Planet Key to be pushed into this Wealth Tax.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/real-estate/122815218/median-auckland-house-price-tipped-to-hit-1-million-by-end-of-year
Good on Ms Ardern for ruling it out, and shame on Ms Collins for lying about it.
Criticism of the wealth tax certainly brings out the politics of inclusion and consideration of other views from Greens supporters here.
Red Blooded-The median house price in NZ was $675,000 in August 2020. This is why 94% of people are entirely unaffected by a WT.
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU2009/S00231/record-median-house-prices-for-half-of-nz-according-to-reinz-august-data.htm
Oops median is $685,000 they just said on RNZ-same difference
Thank you Bearded Git, my link was Auckland Medium prices. "Middle Class" (for want of a better term) who live in Auckland (not me, by the way) shouldn't be charged or punished for a mistake of Geography. I can only take your word for the 94% claim. Auckland's large population may or may not skew those figures.
No worries Red Blooded…btw it's what the Green policy says…6% are affected by WT….my 10 years as an accountant did the rest.
The other thing everyone seems to miss (on purpose?) is that as a couple the assets are split, so you can have net $2 million in assets and would pay no WT.
https://www.facebook.com/JamesShawMP/videos/689943011932880/
People happy to quietly take the geographic benefit of living in central Auckland through rampant house price inflation for decades, but as soon as a tiny fraction of that unearned wealth might be taxed they are being "punished". FFS. This is why inequality is going to continue to get worse over the next three years regardless of the outcome on Saturday. We are just voting on how much worse it will get.
"We are just voting on how much worse it will get."
Essentially, however even the RBNZ cannot keep a ponzi scheme solvent forever….it will end.
I understand what you're saying, but someone who's owned their home in Auckland for decades isn't taking any financial benefit, well not until they sell or die. Transformational Tax Changes just aren't that simple.
Yes, and you are allowed to pay the tax at that point.
they are…if the political will is there…its not
Final round of polling should be interesting.
While the odds are pretty heavily against it … I'm still not entirely ruling out NZF just managing to scrape over the 5% threshold. There are one or two sound reasons that no-one has adequately explored in analyses to date (in fact, hardly anyone's touched on them at even the most basic level).
Equally, the Greens are by no means a dead cert … odds are in their favour, but certainly not overwhelmingly so. In fact, as close as 60/40. (perhaps I’m stating the bleedin obvious there ?).
Final Polls should clarify.
(these points only slightly qualified by heavy advance voting … not least because fieldwork for the final polls has been taking place at the same time as bulk of early votes)
Latest UMR
https://twitter.com/henrycooke/status/1315857609161752576
That dope vote will bring the kids to the polls and get the Green Party over 5%.
Nah. They'll be too blazed or tending to their case of the munchies to go and vote.
For the whole pre-voting period ? Yeah…nah
Being stoned does not preclude you from voting, particularly when there is a reeferendum.
I love a bit of condescension and stereotyping on a Tuesday. A wonderfully talented and imaginative 20-year old relative of mine (doesn't drink, never touched dope) voted for the first time last week. And yes it was Green. So I'll take your stereotype and raise it with my anecdata.
So Act are not 11% ??? Probably not 7% either. LOL 29% +7?% = 36%
Millsy Relax!! Let's keep moving.. forward mate.
Hi Swordfish, how does that translate to seats?
If this anything to go on, Nelson could well turn red and dr custard will be no more.
Nick smith and his supporters were busy on the side of a main road, waving around signs, the problem was no one was tooting or waving, no one, how embarrassing.
Meanwhile up the road a bit was Rachel and the Labour team with their signs waving at motorists, people were tooting their horns flat out and waving back. Yeah!!!!
I hope so Cinny!! Got my bottle of NZ Lindauer bubbles ready and my millenium flute ready!! Boy I am going to enjoy this!!
It's going to be magic 🙂 I'll be thinking of you with the bubbles when it happens and raise a glass with you sista 🙂
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/election-2020-judith-collins-calls-jacinda-ardern-a-liar-over-covid-19/BFHQZB5DT5F7UINVVGKKCVT7BY/
She is really sounding unhinged now. The internal polls clearly aren't moving (at least not in the right direction).
EDIT: Swordfish’s post about the new UMR corporate poll would seem to bear that out.
"She is really sounding unhinged now"
It was always a matter of intense interest to consider how long she could maintain the mask of normality with the girlish "Hi Duncan" and "Oh – morning Suzie" before the whole malevolent contraption exploded.