Sorta kinda yes, sorta kinda not really. The rate banks pay on their profits is the company tax rate, so it's different to the rates paid by individual savers (which vary depending on the saver's total income).
Banks pay tax on their profits. Profit is income less costs. Since the interest from borrowers is income for the bank, some of it ends up as profit and gets taxed. Along with income from account fees, various other charges. Costs include salaries and wages, buildings and software and other stuff needed to run the bank, regulatory costs, interest on money the bank has to borrow, writing off bad loans, various schemes to shift profits to offshore owners such as licensing and branding and intellectual property fees, etc etc.
I am firmly of the belief that taxing interest payments directly is the proper response and would give govt a direct means of regulating lending. Do Not be misled, The root of the problem is usury !
People have patiently tried to explain it to me, totally legitimately, but I still can't figure out why we don't tax businesses on gross revenue just like we tax people PAYE.
To do that you would need to make the tax rate much lower, and even then it would likely sink many small to medium businesses.
In my field a good year sees the company make 5 percent net profit onces expenses wages etc are all paid.
Revenue is somewhere around 5 million so 250k profit is a good year and that 250k is what we pay company tax on.
In a bad year we might have revenue of 4million meaning a small loss or at best break even and no company tax paid. If the tax was purely on revenue the only option would be to start letting people go or sinking the company into debt.
But isn't the peril of debt/downsizing/savings/folding exactly the same as that faced by people every day? Lose your job or get your hours cut, we all have the same choice to make.
Yes it is the same peril, but it would effect everyone in the company and one bad year would sink it meaning 40 staff are out of work. In the current system profit is left in the company so it can absorb 2 or 3 bad years and retain all the staff.
Now im lucky I work for a company that puts its staff first, everyone kept their jobs over covid, we were paid 80 percent and now we are busy the company is making 'catch up' payments to bring that 80 percent up to 100.
Plenty of employers (looking at you warehouse group) are short sighted and dont realize the people are what makes the whole thing work. Mine realizes that by retaining staff you save tonnes of money in recruitment and as soon as the market improves you are well placed to take advantage.
Whether or not the profit is left in the company is up to the shareholders. It seems to me the difference is that when a company makes a loss, it gets a tax break. But the net profit has many loopholes, from CER to the old "BrandNamenz is a subsidiary of brandNameglobal that makes no profit because various fees to brandNameglobal happen to match what would otherwise be net profit".
There's no reason similar tax breaks can't be done, maybe even targeted atr NZ-owned businesses. GST already does the tax reimbursement. PAYE does rebates.
The logic of business taxation is that revenue is taxed but that expenses which contribute to that revenue may be deducted in calculating the business' tax liability. Interest however is something of an oddball cost inasmuch as it does not contribute to the earning of revenue. Businesses don't borrow – proprietors borrow and invest in their businesses, but such borrowing is a personal expense rather than a business expense. I think the Income Tax Act has it wrong and interest should not be deductible for tax purposes.
Aren't business liabilities debts? Vouchers and holiday pay and so on?
And why are people taxed on the expenses that contribute to their income? Food and lodging, for example? Can I deduct my clothing that I wear to work, as opposed to just schlepping around the house?
Businesses don't borrow – proprietors borrow and invest in their businesses, but such borrowing is a personal expense rather than a business expense.
Tell that to my bank, they may well be requiring me to offer security over my personal assets and income, but if the business didn't exist there would be no loan.
The question you need to ask is, what is the purpose of this borrowing expense?
In McF's example, food and lodging, is an expense that would be incurred regardless of whether the person paying it was in business or not. The essential and broader purpose being to stay alive rather than necessarily operate a business.
ok, so what about my work clothes. Not uniform or ppe, just clothes I wear to work? I know if I was a contractor I could mark e.g. uniforms as an expense, why can't I do that as an employee?
Again the question comes down to purpose; ordinary street clothes that could be worn anywhere don't count as deductables, but uniforms that only have a work purpose do. (Usually uniforms will be provided to employees, while contractors will purchase their own … hence that small distinction.)
Every tax administration has to draw a line somewhere on this, otherwise you'd finish up with every expense, everywhere, being deductable and no-one would have any taxable income at all. Fun far right fantasy, but not very practical.
Although more widely I do agree with you. Australia rather generously allows quite a range of work related expenses to be claimed, that NZ does not.
So every expense a business makes to merely exist is deductible (cleaners, xmas functions, rent for admin space, cars for managers who only work on one worksite), but expenses I have for merely existing aren't.
Flipping it around, if individuals only paid tax on their annual "profit" in the same way businesses do, you can bet the farm that the government would close "tax avoidance" (not "evasion") schemes like "IP fees to global parent corporation based in the Caribbean".
In fact in some ways that's the Mossack Fonseca thing that got closed at the NZ end when they beefed up identification rules.
Flipping it around, if individuals only paid tax on their annual "profit" in the same way businesses do,
By definition profit exists only in the context of a business, and most proprietors would consider it the primary purpose of owning and running a business. And that profit is ultimately distributed to it's owners as a taxable activity.
By contrast what is the purpose of your life? A person earns money in order to spend it, not to have it sit idle in a bank. The idea of profit as the primary purpose of our personal lives is a form of degeneracy.
Or as others have pointed out, taxing the gross income of all businesses would lead to huge distortions as margins across different business sectors vary enormously. Some sectors, like supermarkets would pay massive amounts of tax on their turnover, while others like professional services much lower amounts.
Consider the situation when as a software engineer I work as a contractor, not an employee. I'd have a little company that would have relatively low costs, laptops, travel, a few software licenses, while the huge majority of the revenue would be paid out to me as as drawings. If the company paid tax on it's gross revenue, it would be taxed once as company income, and then almost all of it again as personal income. Effectively double taxing me on the same income.
By contrast, if gross revenue was taxed on a business that bought and sold capital items, for example multi-million dollar industrial equipment, would see the govt would be taking a chunk of every business to business transaction, again leading to massive distortions. A typical manufacturer/wholesaler/retailer chain might see the same item taxed at least three times before it got to the end user.
The tax system we have may be arcane in parts, but it has evolved over many decades to serve us reasonably well. It could certainly stand for improvement, but first we need to understand the machine we propose tinkering with. In my experience through a long career in heavy industry, the first step to make something go better was very rarely to just take a sledge hammer to it.
And nothing above says that the lines are set in concrete. Different tax administrations interpret these matters quite differently. For example in the USA (as far as I'm aware) householders can claim mortgage interest on the family home as a deductable expense.
I quite like this idea, as it would tend to put homeowners and investors on a more even footing.
Tell that to my bank, they may well be requiring me to offer security over my personal assets and income, but if the business didn't exist there would be no loan.
If the business doesn't exist then the issue doesn't exist either. We are talking about a business that exists by dint of some investment, and suggesting that it makes no difference to that business whether the money so invested is borrowed, or whether it comes from the proprietor's own pocket.
The question you need to ask is, what is the purpose of this borrowing expense?
That is the question the Income Tax Act asks. I'm suggesting that this is the wrong question to ask. To me it seems senseless to suggest that the purpose of an expense is "the acquisition of taxable income" unless the expense contributes to that objective. Augmenting one's capital by borrowing puts one in the position of being able to invest – a personal benefit – but it is the investment itself that earns the taxable income.
The purpose of borrowing is the augmentation of capital.
All profits are taxable except on private homes owned for 5 yrs or more and Rentals of 10years ownership.The highly profitable big 4 Aussie banks pay no tax in NZ none ,under CER they can move profit to Australia which they do.So the Australian govt has been getting subsidized to the tune of $1.5 billion of tax on the $6 to$7billion profits the big 4 have been extracting out of NZ.
A reporter for the travel site, Gene Sloan, is aboard the SeaDream 1 and was meant to be documenting the new safety measures on the small vessel, which departed from Barbados on Saturday and is carrying 53 passengers and 66 crew.
The Herald specialises in reporting on the various outrages being perpetrated against the entitled Kens and Karens of our world, usually well groomed white middle class professional types with the ear of some reporter or another, who are shocked that they can't game the MIQ system or do as they please due the pandemic's suspension of the normal rules that advantage their wealth, class, privilege and connections.
That people who refuse to deal with the new reality would allow that denial to lead them to take a cruise is hardly surprising, but it is grimly funny.
Green Party co-leader James Shaw says the Government needs to use the levers it has to stop further over-heating in the housing market. He said these levers could be taxes on capital gains and wealth.
A subtle signal that he no longer believes in neoliberalism? Oft criticised here due to his corporate image, he has not advocated any economic ideology as far as I've seen.
Labour will no doubt respond with organised hand-wringing. The PM did declare herself unhappy with the market whoosh but carefully avoided any statement of intent to rectify the situation. Grant will be tempted to declare TINA as usual but then think that could be waving the red flag at the leftist bull so better to lay low say nuffin.
Shaw’s comments were very careful. They avoided direct criticism of what the Reserve Bank was doing, but said it was the Government’s job to rise to the occasion to mitigate the unwanted consequences of the central bank’s actions.
Govt actually do something? The notion is likely to ruffle complacent Labour feathers. Meanwhile the prospect of the Greens & Labour doing ritualised virtue-signalling at each other will have rightists salivating.
“We’ll be talking with Labour about what we can do to take the heat off the housing market, particularly now NZ First is not in the tent to slow or stop progressive policies that will improve the lives of New Zealanders,” he said.
Shaw’s comments join those from the National Party and ACT, which have gone further and criticised the Reserve Bank’s decisions and the rules that it uses to make them.
Puts the pressure on Labour to provide steerage to the economy, eh? To regulate or not to regulate. The threat: escalating media firestorm in direct proportion to emerging housing market stats increasing inequality.
I still believe all the focus on CGT is rather missing the mark however. Plenty of countries which have long standing CGT policies well before 2008 also had (or have) housing bubbles. A CGT policy does not therefore correct the price of housing. The LVR policy seemed to be doing something, however the recent data suggests that an increase in first home buyers was the biggest mover during the most recent period.
Overall I think that the problem is actually a low incomes issue. The policy preference of using monetary policy over fiscal policy has an effect of surpressing incomes and other goods price increases better than house price increases. What used to occur was that the house price increases vanished during 4-6% inflation years which were added to wages. These days that no longer occurs.
You're in good company with that focus on the question-mark over CGT efficacy. We need the govt to produce a well-designed solution. Sophisticated thinking, crowd-sourced, to give it a viable consensus base for leveraging. Experts who normally fly solo, get em flying in formation…
In the campaign the government did promise some measures to help people into homes: rent-to-own arrangements come to mind, as well as joint ownership arrangements, though I don't know the details of either.
These may help people into houses but won’t stop house prices rising.
Correct me if I am wrong but don’t we already have some form of Capital Gains tax? John key brought it in and labour extended it to five years.
mid so I wonder how much revenue it’s collected.
There's been one that long predated Key. For as long as I've had any interest in tax in NZ, any asset purchased with an intent to make a capital gain by selling it at some future date should be paying tax on the profit in that sale. Even if it wasn't the primary intent.
Of course, just about everybody that should have paid that tax easily evaded it by the simple expedient of saying the purchase intent was for the income stream and the thought of selling it for a gain in the future was never considered, honest. Even for negatively geared investments, which only make sense if you're expecting a huge capital gain.
Get the feeling the Greens have signed up to being part of a govt thats going to see inequality and poverty explode with no real power to do anything about it.
Urgent action is going to be needed to get a lid on house prices and leveraging and sadly I dont think Labour is interested in taking on that fight given the landord property owning class will fight tooth and nail.
Watch the waiting list for state housing continue to grow rapidly, rents to march upward leading to a big rise in accomodation suplements which in reality represent a massive wealth transfer to the landlord class from tax payers.
I guess though when you are a wealthy politician with a nice house or houses gaining in value far faster than the avg wage with no tax to pay is there really an incentive to make change….
Much easier to hand wring and say the right things…
God I can't stand the Greens sanctimony sometimes.
The Greens wouldn't shut the fuck up about taxes during the election campaign when National were strenuously trying to pin a tax scare moral panic on the government and their political idiocy on the matter of wealth/CGT taxes virtually forced Jacinda Ardern to stake her political reputation on NOT implementing any sort of tax.
Now the sanctimonious pricks are all "wah wah wah the government won't do anything about wealth taxes" – something they made impossible by shooting their mouths off about it before the election.
All they had to do was to exercise some message discipline before the election and then brought it up after the election for discussion. The Greens continually portray themselves as political ingenues, unable to see past their own self-righteousness.
edit: also, the government could simply close some loopholes (some – i feel generous today so not all) and collect a bit of revenue that way. You know all the money that the rich pricks (inclusive the critters in parliament) avoid paying in taxes with the steady aid of government created loopholes and good accountants. I wonder when James Shaw will advocate for that?
A broad-based tax system should include taxes on personal and business income, consumption and expenditure, pollution, and environmental resource use.
People with the least ability to pay tax should pay the least as a proportion of their income, while those who can pay more should do so to contribute to the welfare of society.
Taxes should discourage speculative investment in non-productive assets. A capital gains tax should be applied to property investment, excluding family homes.
Ecological tax reform should shift taxes away from income and enterprise and towards resource use, waste, and pollution.
Internationally, Aotearoa New Zealand should actively work to develop a financial transactions tax.
Also if should, would could we all be speculating and gambling.
So when Shaw advocates for 'closing current existing loopholes' that are 'currently' used to avoid paying taxes (something that will raise its head in news papers every other year – and i have linked to these articles on more then one occasion ) so that people who don’t pay taxes thanks to all the loopholes such as Gareth Morgan – who btw is also quite vocal about the fact tha the and his son don't pay taxes you can link to that. But you don’t? And that is telling, cause Shaw is not doing such a thing.
But to post this truly useless feel good statement currently is just i don't know, boring? Useless? Meaningless? Feel good for the faithful members which i am not?
And agian,
Would, could, should never paid taxes, Workers however who have their wages “docked or garnished” by the IRD DO pay taxes because its done before they ever lay hand on their money.
It was green party policy for the election…I seem to remember it was the media that focussed on that…sensing some conflict…but the greens forced ardern to do her (shooting her own foot) over-my-dead-body call..eh..?…heh..!…that's a bit of a stretch tiger…blaming the greens for arderns' totally unnecessary wrong-call…and of course a capital gains/wealth tax goes against the neoliberal polices ardern/robertson so cling to ..so tiger…what should be done..?..just more neoliberal incrementalism..?
What should be done? enforce that the current taxes that are levied are actually collected rather tehn written of thanks to generous loop holes provided by government.
How about that? or would that not sexy enough, not progressive enough, not grandstanding enough, and above all do-able. We don't need new taxes, we need the ones that we have collected from those that traditionally pay expensive accountants a huge amount to avoid paying any taxes over 70.000$ NZD per year. And that is costing us and has done so for years now.
All they had to do was to exercise some message discipline before the election and then brought it up after the election for discussion.
That's exactly what I – and many others – were thinking pre-election.
I voted for them too because they have a valuable contribution to make, but there are times when I wish they would exercise a little more political nous.
Read the quote I included! "Discussions" happen all the time among allied political parties… thrash it out behind closed doors and hopefully come to an agreed solution. And read what Sanctuary said @ 5.
Frightening the horses just before an election is downright stupid.
James Shaw is right. But you have to wait for the ignorant and gullible (half the voters at any one time) to catch up before you can progress a policy like CGT.
I would prefer an openess about policies….so does the nz electorate..you could argue the presentation/explanation should be clear as possible..so voters are not driven by uninformed ignorance..but blaming the greens for the timidity of our incrementalist-in-chief is a tad rich..
Look back three weeks and I bet no one can now remember a single policy this election was fought over (which should give us some pause for the substance of the entire process).
Even Ardern recognised that their manifesto cupboard was bare.
that is true that nothing much was fought over, considering that every one was afraid of the women and that party that would not even be elected dog catcher. Thus the Labour Party got no scrutiny from anyone, and anyone daring to against the grain was hounded of the page in one way or another.
Ardern and her crew will deliver nothing more then what they must. They did that the first round and they will do exactly the same on the second round. Willingly lame duck if you like. Kinder, gentler and lame as.
Just bring stamp duty back that Key removed. Simple to work out, collected at sale, not complicated at all. Make it 5% at least and if you really want to slow things down 10% or higher.
Maybe the Greens actually want to do something about poverty by reversing the massive redistribution of asset wealth to the top 5% that has taken place in the last 40 years.
One of the major (justified) complaints against the greens over the years has been their timidity…their trying to be all things to all people…and trying not to offend anyone…… Your claim they have a policy of polarisation is laugh-out-loud factually incorrect…
As just one example..they have policies of financial support for farmers to transition from the environment-visigoths that so many of them are ..how is that polarising..?….care to share a couple of examples of what you clearly see as polarising policies..?
Isn't there a law against with-holding mail from rightful recipients.
Kylie Atwood: New: A stack of messages from foreign leaders to President-elect Joe Biden are sitting at the State Department but the Trump admin is preventing him from accessing them, sources say. Traditionally State supports all communications for the President-elect.
I think the Greens will be taking the opportunity to show their supporters that they are not silenced by their agreement with Labour by shouting about CGT would do much at this stage.
This surely must be a bubble.
I wondered if another substantial rent freeze could help, banning ghost houses, banning investors from the market.????
Rent Freeze and a tax on any secondary house that is rentable and not rented. Yes. That would be a good start. But above all a Rent Freeze. People on no income, one income or the drags of benefits can not keep up, and feel good phrases with no support pay no bills.
I think the government need to make sure that there will be enough ministers around over the holidays and top health staff to manage whatever Covid will present. I cannot see a duty minister being adequate.
Should we have all Ministers sitting in Wellington 'just in case'?
I think Treetop’s comment was quite clear, read it again.
Since we’re still in the middle of a pandemic crisis I think that Ministers and Ministries’ top officials/managers who are involved in it need to be on deck most of the time. Leadership and crisis management cannot be done by Zoom and e-mail only, IMHO.
The Royal Family stayed on in England while the country was being bombed in WW2, actually at Buckingham Palace. In our trying times we expect the government to show an adequate interest in the country and a team should be on the job in Wellington.
The King [George VI) and Queen stayed at Buckingham Palace during World War Two, leaving the Palace during the evenings to spend them with their daughters, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, who had been moved to Windsor Castle for safety.
As the majority of bombing raids weren't carried out in daylight, especially after October 1940 when air superiority had been won by the RAF, spending nights in the country 'visiting the kids' isn't as laudable as you might think it was.
If I said I swam in the same pool as a great white shark, but it turns out only when the elasmobranch predator wasn't in it, it doesn't really carry nearly as much weight as a statement of courage.
One of the conditions it needed to fulfil before it was allowed to take on foreign crews, was advertising the positions here and showing that no New Zealanders were available to do these jobs.
An ad in October told prospective employees on the two Russian trawlers, they would be doing "the same repetitive task" the "entire time" they were out at sea.
They would need to be able to cope with the "continuous workload" that happened from the minute they left port to when they returned, and repeated the fact they would be at sea for six months, with no mention of any time off.
That reminds me of the sudden interest that the USA I think, took in the health and strength of its young male population when they called men up to go to war. So many were unfit, to go and fight (for freedom, and capitalism!).
If our government had any brains it would advertise for young men who would join a group which might be called Backbone of New Zealand or some other meaningful and rousing title; does BONZ mean anything rude in current slang? They would be in a state of readiness for a job, would be paid well and expected to go to gym regularly, take polytech courses in down time, and generally be ready for what came up. They wouldn't be on the streets getting into trouble otherwise they would be bounced off the BONZ team. It wouldn't be something that a determined bloke or blokess would do. They would be ensured of a good wage, free transport, etc. and have an advocate looking after them making sure that they weren't being fleeced, and also the reverse. They would form teams of choice who got on well and were on a league-table as to their reliability, standards etc. Some of the teams might be hapu based. So all the cuzzies could work together and keep an eye on each other so as to not go down in their ratings. Less fodder for the gangs and more proud young men aware of their own value and setting standards for themselves – less domestic violence.
Then Sealord or other wants good workers, the answer would be we have a team ready to go.
Why not? Has anyone up there got the gumption to set this up? Someone with some pull and vision and practicality. It could even be run by a clued-up tribe like Ngai Tahu appears to be. And it would be multi-racial, with any jibes beyond some normal jostling being firmly dealt with, probably with out. And no possibility of someone getting paid millions for voicing their own prejudices – no folly like that!
Oh what a great thing it could be. I wish. A combination of social investment from the government in paying the guys and girls when not working without the creepiness so often seen of stand-downs, claw-backs, and managed as a robust nation-wide body of skilled, intelligent, onto-it people with tech ability but specialising in the hands-on jobs that we humans need to do to keep our society going. Not giving it up to them, the tech wizards who get fat bums from sitting, or who stand up and work because their thoughts of their own health and safety rules their lives.
More physical work may save our society. Less energy poured into mountain biking and other land ruining activities, or running marathons. Why? Go and have working holidays helping in poor countries where activity has a point of real value. Or help clean up after the latest weather emergency in NZ and see goodwill and trees blossom from your effort!
Your solution, and many others, could have worked, but for two things.
The fishing companies don't want it to work.
And the government is too lazy and too spineless to require them to obey the law.
They are totally onboard with foreign slave crews and every other scam to screw NZ workers. Complain and they will turn around and cry racism. That trick has stopped working for them however, so they're back to pretending it isn't happening.
No emperor's clothes. They can't still rely on that legerdemain, now are they really that shameless? It must be time at last for honesty – to quote the bible verity –
1 Corinthians 13:12 King James Version
12 For now we see through a glass, darkly;
but then face to face:
now I know in part;
but then shall I know even as also I am known.
The study's authors, Jorgen Randers and Ulrich Goluke of the Norwegian Business School in Oslo, used a reduced complexity earth system model (ESCIMO) to study the effect of different greenhouse gas emission reductions on changes in the global climate from 1850 to 2500 and created projections of global temperature and sea level rises. "The purpose of this article is to report that we have identified a point-of-no-return in our climate model ESCIMO – and that it is already behind us," the authors said…
But prominent scientists from around the world, including Victoria University of Wellington's head of school of geography, environment and earth sciences, professor James Renwick, have already challenged the report's conclusions… Renwick said the results presented in the paper were interesting but at odds with the science community's understanding of how the climate was changing.
"The latest round of climate model simulations, run in support of the 6th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, show that if greenhouse gas emissions were to stop immediately, there is likely to be very little further increase in temperatures and no sign of warming resuming in future," [Professor James] Renwick – who was a lead author for the IPCC 6th Assessment Report – said…
"If greenhouse gas emissions are reduced in line with the Paris Agreement, the climate would stabilise over the coming century. Some things, notably sea level rise and ice melt, would continue for longer, but at a reducing rate."
Although the title of the paper implied a full "earth system model" was used, the paper was actually based on a "low complexity model" that captured only the broadest features of the climate system, Renwick said.
This kind of bad science really annoys me and does a lot of harm. The fact it came from a business school should raise alarm bells anyway. This is the main takeaway from James Renwick. "In short, the results presented in this paper are very implausible and should not be seen as cause for alarm."
Yes confusing and not everyone would think about the likely mixed motives of a business school. Which in a matter as vital to us as this, shows a non existent set of values, or a keen desire to win brownie points that has cut across discretion and probity.
'A four-year-long investigation into "extremely serious" actions by Australian troops in Afghanistan is reported to recommend prosecutions or sanctions against more than 15 people.'
I'm looking forward to the Auckland Council meeting in which they discuss why their debt has been placed waaay over the current rate, sucking an estimated $1.4b of expenditure out of Council.
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Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. ...
Chris Trotter writes – MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. The data is from February this ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications:Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. ...
Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blogIn 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
Citizen Science writes – Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
Karl du Fresne writes – There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
David Farrar writes – The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time.A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Changes to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
In apparent defiance of the Biden administration, the Netanyahu government has now initiated missile strikes against Iran. Last Saturday night (Sunday morning in New Zealand) Iran launched more than 300 drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against Israeli military targets. With the assistance of US, UK and possibly French forces, ...
Māori representation brings a perspective that encompasses not only the interests of Māori communities but also a broader, holistic approach to environmental stewardship and community well-being, principles deeply embedded in Te Ao Māori (the Māori ...
This week in Auckland, a group of young people took over the microphone at a ministerial press conference, to explain why they oppose the Fast-Track Approvals Bill. One young woman said, ‘We’re here because we love Aotearoa New Zealand. We want to raise our children in an environment that’s thriving, ...
The summer was wonderful. Evie was wonderful, too; finally a teenager, finally worthy of long, hot days. She shaved her legs for the first time and bought cut-off shorts from the op-shop that made them look long. She got a Warehouse singlet so tight on her new shape that her ...
When Thomas James was on his solo camp as part of Outward Bound, the keen outdoorsman didn’t find it too challenging, as others often do. In what might just be the perfect illustration of his character, he saw it as a great opportunity to solve a few problems. “I thought, ...
From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, here’s our ranking of all the tunnels you can drive through in this country. The first tunnel seems to have been built in 2200BC in Babylonia, kicking off a global phenomenon for digging holes in order to get places more ...
Lucinda Bennett on the art of being greedy but resourceful. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. When I picture the market, it is always this time of year. Crisp air, dripping nose, counting coins with cold fingers. Sunlight pale, filtered through specks of dew still ...
Zoë Colling’s favourite piece in the ‘That’s So Last Century’ collection is a lubrication chart for a sewing machine from the ’60s. It’s about the size of a postcard, and carefully maintained. “I like it that this piece of ephemera highlights that manual and technical side of the skill involved ...
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
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Dumb question of the day.
Do banks pay tax on the interest they earn from borrowers. And is it the same rate savers pay . ?
Sorta kinda yes, sorta kinda not really. The rate banks pay on their profits is the company tax rate, so it's different to the rates paid by individual savers (which vary depending on the saver's total income).
Banks pay tax on their profits. Profit is income less costs. Since the interest from borrowers is income for the bank, some of it ends up as profit and gets taxed. Along with income from account fees, various other charges. Costs include salaries and wages, buildings and software and other stuff needed to run the bank, regulatory costs, interest on money the bank has to borrow, writing off bad loans, various schemes to shift profits to offshore owners such as licensing and branding and intellectual property fees, etc etc.
Thats a no i think Andre
I am firmly of the belief that taxing interest payments directly is the proper response and would give govt a direct means of regulating lending. Do Not be misled, The root of the problem is usury !
People have patiently tried to explain it to me, totally legitimately, but I still can't figure out why we don't tax businesses on gross revenue just like we tax people PAYE.
To do that you would need to make the tax rate much lower, and even then it would likely sink many small to medium businesses.
In my field a good year sees the company make 5 percent net profit onces expenses wages etc are all paid.
Revenue is somewhere around 5 million so 250k profit is a good year and that 250k is what we pay company tax on.
In a bad year we might have revenue of 4million meaning a small loss or at best break even and no company tax paid. If the tax was purely on revenue the only option would be to start letting people go or sinking the company into debt.
Yeah, the rate could well be much lower.
But isn't the peril of debt/downsizing/savings/folding exactly the same as that faced by people every day? Lose your job or get your hours cut, we all have the same choice to make.
Yes it is the same peril, but it would effect everyone in the company and one bad year would sink it meaning 40 staff are out of work. In the current system profit is left in the company so it can absorb 2 or 3 bad years and retain all the staff.
Now im lucky I work for a company that puts its staff first, everyone kept their jobs over covid, we were paid 80 percent and now we are busy the company is making 'catch up' payments to bring that 80 percent up to 100.
Plenty of employers (looking at you warehouse group) are short sighted and dont realize the people are what makes the whole thing work. Mine realizes that by retaining staff you save tonnes of money in recruitment and as soon as the market improves you are well placed to take advantage.
Whether or not the profit is left in the company is up to the shareholders. It seems to me the difference is that when a company makes a loss, it gets a tax break. But the net profit has many loopholes, from CER to the old "BrandNamenz is a subsidiary of brandNameglobal that makes no profit because various fees to brandNameglobal happen to match what would otherwise be net profit".
There's no reason similar tax breaks can't be done, maybe even targeted atr NZ-owned businesses. GST already does the tax reimbursement. PAYE does rebates.
The logic of business taxation is that revenue is taxed but that expenses which contribute to that revenue may be deducted in calculating the business' tax liability. Interest however is something of an oddball cost inasmuch as it does not contribute to the earning of revenue. Businesses don't borrow – proprietors borrow and invest in their businesses, but such borrowing is a personal expense rather than a business expense. I think the Income Tax Act has it wrong and interest should not be deductible for tax purposes.
Aren't business liabilities debts? Vouchers and holiday pay and so on?
And why are people taxed on the expenses that contribute to their income? Food and lodging, for example? Can I deduct my clothing that I wear to work, as opposed to just schlepping around the house?
Businesses don't borrow – proprietors borrow and invest in their businesses, but such borrowing is a personal expense rather than a business expense.
Tell that to my bank, they may well be requiring me to offer security over my personal assets and income, but if the business didn't exist there would be no loan.
The question you need to ask is, what is the purpose of this borrowing expense?
In McF's example, food and lodging, is an expense that would be incurred regardless of whether the person paying it was in business or not. The essential and broader purpose being to stay alive rather than necessarily operate a business.
ok, so what about my work clothes. Not uniform or ppe, just clothes I wear to work? I know if I was a contractor I could mark e.g. uniforms as an expense, why can't I do that as an employee?
Again the question comes down to purpose; ordinary street clothes that could be worn anywhere don't count as deductables, but uniforms that only have a work purpose do. (Usually uniforms will be provided to employees, while contractors will purchase their own … hence that small distinction.)
Every tax administration has to draw a line somewhere on this, otherwise you'd finish up with every expense, everywhere, being deductable and no-one would have any taxable income at all. Fun far right fantasy, but not very practical.
Although more widely I do agree with you. Australia rather generously allows quite a range of work related expenses to be claimed, that NZ does not.
So every expense a business makes to merely exist is deductible (cleaners, xmas functions, rent for admin space, cars for managers who only work on one worksite), but expenses I have for merely existing aren't.
Flipping it around, if individuals only paid tax on their annual "profit" in the same way businesses do, you can bet the farm that the government would close "tax avoidance" (not "evasion") schemes like "IP fees to global parent corporation based in the Caribbean".
In fact in some ways that's the Mossack Fonseca thing that got closed at the NZ end when they beefed up identification rules.
Flipping it around, if individuals only paid tax on their annual "profit" in the same way businesses do,
By definition profit exists only in the context of a business, and most proprietors would consider it the primary purpose of owning and running a business. And that profit is ultimately distributed to it's owners as a taxable activity.
By contrast what is the purpose of your life? A person earns money in order to spend it, not to have it sit idle in a bank. The idea of profit as the primary purpose of our personal lives is a form of degeneracy.
Or as others have pointed out, taxing the gross income of all businesses would lead to huge distortions as margins across different business sectors vary enormously. Some sectors, like supermarkets would pay massive amounts of tax on their turnover, while others like professional services much lower amounts.
Consider the situation when as a software engineer I work as a contractor, not an employee. I'd have a little company that would have relatively low costs, laptops, travel, a few software licenses, while the huge majority of the revenue would be paid out to me as as drawings. If the company paid tax on it's gross revenue, it would be taxed once as company income, and then almost all of it again as personal income. Effectively double taxing me on the same income.
By contrast, if gross revenue was taxed on a business that bought and sold capital items, for example multi-million dollar industrial equipment, would see the govt would be taking a chunk of every business to business transaction, again leading to massive distortions. A typical manufacturer/wholesaler/retailer chain might see the same item taxed at least three times before it got to the end user.
The tax system we have may be arcane in parts, but it has evolved over many decades to serve us reasonably well. It could certainly stand for improvement, but first we need to understand the machine we propose tinkering with. In my experience through a long career in heavy industry, the first step to make something go better was very rarely to just take a sledge hammer to it.
And nothing above says that the lines are set in concrete. Different tax administrations interpret these matters quite differently. For example in the USA (as far as I'm aware) householders can claim mortgage interest on the family home as a deductable expense.
I quite like this idea, as it would tend to put homeowners and investors on a more even footing.
Tell that to my bank, they may well be requiring me to offer security over my personal assets and income, but if the business didn't exist there would be no loan.
If the business doesn't exist then the issue doesn't exist either. We are talking about a business that exists by dint of some investment, and suggesting that it makes no difference to that business whether the money so invested is borrowed, or whether it comes from the proprietor's own pocket.
The question you need to ask is, what is the purpose of this borrowing expense?
That is the question the Income Tax Act asks. I'm suggesting that this is the wrong question to ask. To me it seems senseless to suggest that the purpose of an expense is "the acquisition of taxable income" unless the expense contributes to that objective. Augmenting one's capital by borrowing puts one in the position of being able to invest – a personal benefit – but it is the investment itself that earns the taxable income.
The purpose of borrowing is the augmentation of capital.
Ta kinda obvious now I see it explained
All profits are taxable except on private homes owned for 5 yrs or more and Rentals of 10years ownership.The highly profitable big 4 Aussie banks pay no tax in NZ none ,under CER they can move profit to Australia which they do.So the Australian govt has been getting subsidized to the tune of $1.5 billion of tax on the $6 to$7billion profits the big 4 have been extracting out of NZ.
That's quite depressing,
Not so fast sunshine…….
https://nzbanks.com/tax-paid
All profits are taxable except on private homes owned for 5 yrs or more and Rentals of 10years ownership.
errm … either that's not quite right or I need a chat with my ex-IRD accountant.
undiluted idiocy
https://twitter.com/markhumphries/status/1325916262673731584
..couldn’t see that coming..
A reporter for the travel site, Gene Sloan, is aboard the SeaDream 1 and was meant to be documenting the new safety measures on the small vessel, which departed from Barbados on Saturday and is carrying 53 passengers and 66 crew.
https://people.com/travel/passenger-aboard-first-cruise-ship-to-return-to-sailing-in-caribbean-tests-positive-for-covid-19/
The Herald specialises in reporting on the various outrages being perpetrated against the entitled Kens and Karens of our world, usually well groomed white middle class professional types with the ear of some reporter or another, who are shocked that they can't game the MIQ system or do as they please due the pandemic's suspension of the normal rules that advantage their wealth, class, privilege and connections.
That people who refuse to deal with the new reality would allow that denial to lead them to take a cruise is hardly surprising, but it is grimly funny.
Lotsa grimly funny going on.
https://twitter.com/TinaSfon/status/1326886611364306945
A subtle signal that he no longer believes in neoliberalism? Oft criticised here due to his corporate image, he has not advocated any economic ideology as far as I've seen.
Labour will no doubt respond with organised hand-wringing. The PM did declare herself unhappy with the market whoosh but carefully avoided any statement of intent to rectify the situation. Grant will be tempted to declare TINA as usual but then think that could be waving the red flag at the leftist bull so better to lay low say nuffin.
Govt actually do something? The notion is likely to ruffle complacent Labour feathers. Meanwhile the prospect of the Greens & Labour doing ritualised virtue-signalling at each other will have rightists salivating.
Puts the pressure on Labour to provide steerage to the economy, eh? To regulate or not to regulate. The threat: escalating media firestorm in direct proportion to emerging housing market stats increasing inequality.
I still believe all the focus on CGT is rather missing the mark however. Plenty of countries which have long standing CGT policies well before 2008 also had (or have) housing bubbles. A CGT policy does not therefore correct the price of housing. The LVR policy seemed to be doing something, however the recent data suggests that an increase in first home buyers was the biggest mover during the most recent period.
Overall I think that the problem is actually a low incomes issue. The policy preference of using monetary policy over fiscal policy has an effect of surpressing incomes and other goods price increases better than house price increases. What used to occur was that the house price increases vanished during 4-6% inflation years which were added to wages. These days that no longer occurs.
agree sanctuary. Sick of 99% of these complaints. The Karen’s and Kens expecting bau.
and blah blah there was a fire alarm and people were mixing with people from managed isolation……
move yourself out of the way then.
[Fixed error in e-mail address]
Sorry mod.
You're in good company with that focus on the question-mark over CGT efficacy. We need the govt to produce a well-designed solution. Sophisticated thinking, crowd-sourced, to give it a viable consensus base for leveraging. Experts who normally fly solo, get em flying in formation…
In the campaign the government did promise some measures to help people into homes: rent-to-own arrangements come to mind, as well as joint ownership arrangements, though I don't know the details of either.
These may help people into houses but won’t stop house prices rising.
Correct me if I am wrong but don’t we already have some form of Capital Gains tax? John key brought it in and labour extended it to five years.
mid so I wonder how much revenue it’s collected.
We do, yes, and it was around before John Key. The problem is that it is, and always has been, nearly impossible to enforce.
There's been one that long predated Key. For as long as I've had any interest in tax in NZ, any asset purchased with an intent to make a capital gain by selling it at some future date should be paying tax on the profit in that sale. Even if it wasn't the primary intent.
Of course, just about everybody that should have paid that tax easily evaded it by the simple expedient of saying the purchase intent was for the income stream and the thought of selling it for a gain in the future was never considered, honest. Even for negatively geared investments, which only make sense if you're expecting a huge capital gain.
FWIW the ASB has slapped a 30% LVR on investment borrowers while the RB drags its feet.
Get the feeling the Greens have signed up to being part of a govt thats going to see inequality and poverty explode with no real power to do anything about it.
Urgent action is going to be needed to get a lid on house prices and leveraging and sadly I dont think Labour is interested in taking on that fight given the landord property owning class will fight tooth and nail.
Watch the waiting list for state housing continue to grow rapidly, rents to march upward leading to a big rise in accomodation suplements which in reality represent a massive wealth transfer to the landlord class from tax payers.
I guess though when you are a wealthy politician with a nice house or houses gaining in value far faster than the avg wage with no tax to pay is there really an incentive to make change….
Much easier to hand wring and say the right things…
God I can't stand the Greens sanctimony sometimes.
The Greens wouldn't shut the fuck up about taxes during the election campaign when National were strenuously trying to pin a tax scare moral panic on the government and their political idiocy on the matter of wealth/CGT taxes virtually forced Jacinda Ardern to stake her political reputation on NOT implementing any sort of tax.
Now the sanctimonious pricks are all "wah wah wah the government won't do anything about wealth taxes" – something they made impossible by shooting their mouths off about it before the election.
All they had to do was to exercise some message discipline before the election and then brought it up after the election for discussion. The Greens continually portray themselves as political ingenues, unable to see past their own self-righteousness.
+1
edit: also, the government could simply close some loopholes (some – i feel generous today so not all) and collect a bit of revenue that way. You know all the money that the rich pricks (inclusive the critters in parliament) avoid paying in taxes with the steady aid of government created loopholes and good accountants. I wonder when James Shaw will advocate for that?
https://www.greens.org.nz/economic_policy
i asked about 'closing loopholres'.
Not a statement on taxes.
Also if should, would could we all be speculating and gambling.
So when Shaw advocates for 'closing current existing loopholes' that are 'currently' used to avoid paying taxes (something that will raise its head in news papers every other year – and i have linked to these articles on more then one occasion ) so that people who don’t pay taxes thanks to all the loopholes such as Gareth Morgan – who btw is also quite vocal about the fact tha the and his son don't pay taxes you can link to that. But you don’t? And that is telling, cause Shaw is not doing such a thing.
But to post this truly useless feel good statement currently is just i don't know, boring? Useless? Meaningless? Feel good for the faithful members which i am not?
And agian,
Would, could, should never paid taxes, Workers however who have their wages “docked or garnished” by the IRD DO pay taxes because its done before they ever lay hand on their money.
It was green party policy for the election…I seem to remember it was the media that focussed on that…sensing some conflict…but the greens forced ardern to do her (shooting her own foot) over-my-dead-body call..eh..?…heh..!…that's a bit of a stretch tiger…blaming the greens for arderns' totally unnecessary wrong-call…and of course a capital gains/wealth tax goes against the neoliberal polices ardern/robertson so cling to ..so tiger…what should be done..?..just more neoliberal incrementalism..?
What should be done? enforce that the current taxes that are levied are actually collected rather tehn written of thanks to generous loop holes provided by government.
How about that? or would that not sexy enough, not progressive enough, not grandstanding enough, and above all do-able. We don't need new taxes, we need the ones that we have collected from those that traditionally pay expensive accountants a huge amount to avoid paying any taxes over 70.000$ NZD per year. And that is costing us and has done so for years now.
So yeah, what ever.
Don’t let facts get in the way of you scapegoating the Greens for Labour’s actions.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/112099876/live-capital-gains-tax-ruled-out-by-government-prime-minister-jacinda-ardern-tax-working-group
That's exactly what I – and many others – were thinking pre-election.
I voted for them too because they have a valuable contribution to make, but there are times when I wish they would exercise a little more political nous.
So they should have kept the policy secret…and then sprung it after the election..?..yeah..that would have gone down well..eh..?
Read the quote I included! "Discussions" happen all the time among allied political parties… thrash it out behind closed doors and hopefully come to an agreed solution. And read what Sanctuary said @ 5.
Frightening the horses just before an election is downright stupid.
James Shaw is right. But you have to wait for the ignorant and gullible (half the voters at any one time) to catch up before you can progress a policy like CGT.
I would prefer an openess about policies….so does the nz electorate..you could argue the presentation/explanation should be clear as possible..so voters are not driven by uninformed ignorance..but blaming the greens for the timidity of our incrementalist-in-chief is a tad rich..
Look back three weeks and I bet no one can now remember a single policy this election was fought over (which should give us some pause for the substance of the entire process).
Even Ardern recognised that their manifesto cupboard was bare.
So that's what they're delivering.
that is true that nothing much was fought over, considering that every one was afraid of the women and that party that would not even be elected dog catcher. Thus the Labour Party got no scrutiny from anyone, and anyone daring to against the grain was hounded of the page in one way or another.
Ardern and her crew will deliver nothing more then what they must. They did that the first round and they will do exactly the same on the second round. Willingly lame duck if you like. Kinder, gentler and lame as.
Just bring stamp duty back that Key removed. Simple to work out, collected at sale, not complicated at all. Make it 5% at least and if you really want to slow things down 10% or higher.
Its called polarisation , its how the greens campaign, its destructive, sad, and stops good stuff from happening.
Edit… response to #5 this tablet wont “reply” for some reason
Polarisation or principles xanthe?
Maybe the Greens actually want to do something about poverty by reversing the massive redistribution of asset wealth to the top 5% that has taken place in the last 40 years.
polarization! Its a campaign strategy, nothing to do with principles.
It is also unethical and destructive.
One of the major (justified) complaints against the greens over the years has been their timidity…their trying to be all things to all people…and trying not to offend anyone…… Your claim they have a policy of polarisation is laugh-out-loud factually incorrect…
LOL
As just one example..they have policies of financial support for farmers to transition from the environment-visigoths that so many of them are ..how is that polarising..?….care to share a couple of examples of what you clearly see as polarising policies..?
Ahh the old switcheroo tactic. I believe I was discussing the manner of the Greens campaigning
Examples..?
Orchardists/Vineyards still dont get it…(well, its in their DNA, so never)
'Mr Tibble said the industry was the primary leader in finding workers and developing a future sustainable workforce'
https://www.odt.co.nz/rural-life/horticulture/ministry-responds-labour-shortages
$3.8 Billion Exports…and $18.90 pay offered
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/kiwi-fruit-pickers-have-simple-message-growers-cry-labour-pay-us-more
Isn't there a law against with-holding mail from rightful recipients.
Would it help the housing market if a person could only borrow again once the loan for a home had been paid in full?
I think the Greens will be taking the opportunity to show their supporters that they are not silenced by their agreement with Labour by shouting about CGT would do much at this stage.
This surely must be a bubble.
I wondered if another substantial rent freeze could help, banning ghost houses, banning investors from the market.????
I am no expert, but surely more can be done?
Rent Freeze and a tax on any secondary house that is rentable and not rented. Yes. That would be a good start. But above all a Rent Freeze. People on no income, one income or the drags of benefits can not keep up, and feel good phrases with no support pay no bills.
I think the government need to make sure that there will be enough ministers around over the holidays and top health staff to manage whatever Covid will present. I cannot see a duty minister being adequate.
2pm on TV 1 today the latest on Covid.
There are things called video conferences and phones and all sorts. Should we have all Ministers sitting in Wellington 'just in case'?
I think Treetop’s comment was quite clear, read it again.
Since we’re still in the middle of a pandemic crisis I think that Ministers and Ministries’ top officials/managers who are involved in it need to be on deck most of the time. Leadership and crisis management cannot be done by Zoom and e-mail only, IMHO.
They got a mandate to lead.
The Royal Family stayed on in England while the country was being bombed in WW2, actually at Buckingham Palace. In our trying times we expect the government to show an adequate interest in the country and a team should be on the job in Wellington.
As the majority of bombing raids weren't carried out in daylight, especially after October 1940 when air superiority had been won by the RAF, spending nights in the country 'visiting the kids' isn't as laudable as you might think it was.
Nitpicky comment the alien
If I said I swam in the same pool as a great white shark, but it turns out only when the elasmobranch predator wasn't in it, it doesn't really carry nearly as much weight as a statement of courage.
Nothing nitpicky about debunking alleged bravery.
Heh..!..debunking vintage monarchist-spin..(it's a thing..)
Britches up, dude, your little revenge bitterness is showing 😆
I emphasize the word enough as there is usually only a duty minister.
And
When a minister is on leave and they are required can they decline a video conference or a phone call?
I doubt that ministers will be holidaying overseas, however they may be required if Covid gets out of control.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/430515/sealord-faces-criticism-over-hiring-process-for-staff-on-trawlers
One of the conditions it needed to fulfil before it was allowed to take on foreign crews, was advertising the positions here and showing that no New Zealanders were available to do these jobs.
An ad in October told prospective employees on the two Russian trawlers, they would be doing "the same repetitive task" the "entire time" they were out at sea.
They would need to be able to cope with the "continuous workload" that happened from the minute they left port to when they returned, and repeated the fact they would be at sea for six months, with no mention of any time off.
That reminds me of the sudden interest that the USA I think, took in the health and strength of its young male population when they called men up to go to war. So many were unfit, to go and fight (for freedom, and capitalism!).
If our government had any brains it would advertise for young men who would join a group which might be called Backbone of New Zealand or some other meaningful and rousing title; does BONZ mean anything rude in current slang? They would be in a state of readiness for a job, would be paid well and expected to go to gym regularly, take polytech courses in down time, and generally be ready for what came up. They wouldn't be on the streets getting into trouble otherwise they would be bounced off the BONZ team. It wouldn't be something that a determined bloke or blokess would do. They would be ensured of a good wage, free transport, etc. and have an advocate looking after them making sure that they weren't being fleeced, and also the reverse. They would form teams of choice who got on well and were on a league-table as to their reliability, standards etc. Some of the teams might be hapu based. So all the cuzzies could work together and keep an eye on each other so as to not go down in their ratings. Less fodder for the gangs and more proud young men aware of their own value and setting standards for themselves – less domestic violence.
Then Sealord or other wants good workers, the answer would be we have a team ready to go.
Why not? Has anyone up there got the gumption to set this up? Someone with some pull and vision and practicality. It could even be run by a clued-up tribe like Ngai Tahu appears to be. And it would be multi-racial, with any jibes beyond some normal jostling being firmly dealt with, probably with out. And no possibility of someone getting paid millions for voicing their own prejudices – no folly like that!
Oh what a great thing it could be. I wish. A combination of social investment from the government in paying the guys and girls when not working without the creepiness so often seen of stand-downs, claw-backs, and managed as a robust nation-wide body of skilled, intelligent, onto-it people with tech ability but specialising in the hands-on jobs that we humans need to do to keep our society going. Not giving it up to them, the tech wizards who get fat bums from sitting, or who stand up and work because their thoughts of their own health and safety rules their lives.
More physical work may save our society. Less energy poured into mountain biking and other land ruining activities, or running marathons. Why? Go and have working holidays helping in poor countries where activity has a point of real value. Or help clean up after the latest weather emergency in NZ and see goodwill and trees blossom from your effort!
Your solution, and many others, could have worked, but for two things.
The fishing companies don't want it to work.
And the government is too lazy and too spineless to require them to obey the law.
They are totally onboard with foreign slave crews and every other scam to screw NZ workers. Complain and they will turn around and cry racism. That trick has stopped working for them however, so they're back to pretending it isn't happening.
No emperor's clothes. They can't still rely on that legerdemain, now are they really that shameless? It must be time at last for honesty – to quote the bible verity –
What a great 'development' for Fiji.
A proposed development project featuring what could be the country's first casino, has been launched in Fiji.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/430527/multi-million-dollar-development-including-casino-set-for-fiji
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/430499/new-climate-report-with-concerning-findings-already-being-challenged-by-scientists
The study's authors, Jorgen Randers and Ulrich Goluke of the Norwegian Business School in Oslo, used a reduced complexity earth system model (ESCIMO) to study the effect of different greenhouse gas emission reductions on changes in the global climate from 1850 to 2500 and created projections of global temperature and sea level rises.
"The purpose of this article is to report that we have identified a point-of-no-return in our climate model ESCIMO – and that it is already behind us," the authors said…
But prominent scientists from around the world, including Victoria University of Wellington's head of school of geography, environment and earth sciences, professor James Renwick, have already challenged the report's conclusions…
Renwick said the results presented in the paper were interesting but at odds with the science community's understanding of how the climate was changing.
"The latest round of climate model simulations, run in support of the 6th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, show that if greenhouse gas emissions were to stop immediately, there is likely to be very little further increase in temperatures and no sign of warming resuming in future," [Professor James] Renwick – who was a lead author for the IPCC 6th Assessment Report – said…
"If greenhouse gas emissions are reduced in line with the Paris Agreement, the climate would stabilise over the coming century. Some things, notably sea level rise and ice melt, would continue for longer, but at a reducing rate."
Although the title of the paper implied a full "earth system model" was used, the paper was actually based on a "low complexity model" that captured only the broadest features of the climate system, Renwick said.
This kind of bad science really annoys me and does a lot of harm. The fact it came from a business school should raise alarm bells anyway. This is the main takeaway from James Renwick. "In short, the results presented in this paper are very implausible and should not be seen as cause for alarm."
Yes confusing and not everyone would think about the likely mixed motives of a business school. Which in a matter as vital to us as this, shows a non existent set of values, or a keen desire to win brownie points that has cut across discretion and probity.
Australian SaS….atrocities in Afghanistan.
'A four-year-long investigation into "extremely serious" actions by Australian troops in Afghanistan is reported to recommend prosecutions or sanctions against more than 15 people.'
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/430073/deeply-troubling-afghanistan-war-crimes-report-given-to-australia-s-defence-chief
Wonder if it was some of the fuckers here?. Flyin' the swastika
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-14/photo-shows-nazi-flag-flown-over-australian-army-vehicle/9859618
Shits……….
I'm looking forward to the Auckland Council meeting in which they discuss why their debt has been placed waaay over the current rate, sucking an estimated $1.4b of expenditure out of Council.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/auckland-council-loses-14-billion-in-interest-rate-bet/EJ4XGSXMJDVUYLGMRPIYBTINKE/
I suspect the government is simply going to have to bail them out.