English Labour will not vote against the Tory government’s welfare bill and should not oppose Tories limiting child tax credits to two children, the party’s interim leader, Harriet Harman, has said. Her remarks came as the shadow education secretary, Tristam Hunt, warned the party that it was becoming an irrelevance at a frightening speed.
Seemingly bennie bashing is how you become relevant.
Ha ha. You are so right. Unless, in the not to distant future, they invent a robot with a fourth law embedded in its neural net which axiomatically decrees – wipe bottom – Do Not Exterminate, Mr Octogenerian Infused will have to put up with the working poor taking care of his bodily functions.
But in saying that, he will receive generally excellent care.
The robot on the other will quickly and logically conclude – wiping bottom sucks – exterminate, exterminate.
Why bail out the bank directly, when you could bail out the country so it is more likely able to pay some money back to the bank? If you bail out the bank directly, Greece is left in no state to be able to recover and thus will require more lending. Bailing out the banks and not the country is short-term thinking.
If that’s the case, why lend money in the first place if they aren’t going to be able to pay it back? Oh, it’s so you have an excused to repossess all their assets. So they basically lend money so they could loot the country. Why should that behaviour be rewarded?
Did you that terrible interview on RNZ?
Good to hear listeners’ feedback supporting Twyford and slamming RNZ for its bias as well as the government for doing nothing about the crisis.
I’ve been reflecting on the kerfuffle over chinese investment in nz’s real estate. some random points:
it’s fairly easy to distinguish between who comes from the prc and who comes from.the diaspora because the communist state early on adopted a distinctive form of romanization of Chinese words called pinyin. I’m not sure if the salmond factored this in to his surprisingly underappreciated methodology.
Chinese are vulnerable in nz. any sort of negative press, such as what labour has been running, will probably result in more street level racial abuse. I doubt that Chinese associations in nz or any pakeha institutions would be well placed to pick up on such trends. liberal nz’s policy settings are based on the false premise that multiculturalism is easy, and so there isn’t an institutional depth around trying to grasp the lived experience of migrant communities -though I’d be interested to learn more about the tools that the race relations conciliator has available.
the Chinese state and local Chinese idiots are capable of truly horrific behaviour, and innocent Chinese are regularly caught up in the blowback. I’m thinking of the anti China riots in Vietnam recently when beijing plonked an oil rig in vietnamese waters, surrounding it with burly and aggressive ships. taiwanese businesses were attacked – pretty much anyone who was chineseish was in danger. even China’s immediate neighbours can be quite ignorant of the various communities that loosely come under the adjective “chinese”. also you get all sorts of outrageous behaviour from usually mainland businesspeople that gets the locals antsy about anyone who seems chinese. that’s mostly what’s behind the often strong anti-Chinese sentiment in africa. that and the success, and the numbers.
genuine question – where is the space in the public domain for people to say “I feel bad about these buggers moving in”. cos a lot of people are feeling that. I remember a couple of Myanmar refugees telling me in Wellington in 2007 something like “there are so many Chinese everywhere”. confusedly. it just seems to me that resentment is building up, and it’s dangerous to simply say “fuck off dumb racist”. cos the problem doesn’t fuck off.
political parties tend to be quite shit at engaging in migrant communities. to do it proper you need biculturalism – basically people who are conversant in the majority plus other cultures. and that takes yearsnyears of language learning, travel, lived experience, etc etc. essentially nzers lack the skills to be able to forge a coherent society out of a fractured one. we’ve got multiculturalism on the cheap, which turns out to be not good for much beyond the diversity of the shopping mall foodcourt.
The internet? And when you say “people” do those people include you? Whoever those people are, why, or what hurdles do they have to reaching an understanding of the things they think and how those things may or may not be threatened, or which things are threatened, or even why they think the way they do?
Are they happy to be against others because of race and leave it there?
From a pakeha perspective, is there a cultural reason (or of course, time, ability) that they cannot just pause for a moment and work back from “there are too many chinese everywhere” and figure out what scares them about that? As a European it’s “normal” for me to suggest this fairly clumsy method because my psychological heritage stands outside the subconscious looking in as a stranger. What is their cultural position, traditionally? What ideas are they carrying (beneficial or not) that they take for granted that holds them back from examining their beliefs like that? How are they resistent to Western thinking, if at all?
And more importantly, does it even matter? A pakeha racist might go from “too many Chinese” to “let’s attack the next one we see!” naturally. But if you were from Myanmar and a buddhist, you might think, “Ok so too many Chinese. Bastards.” and then go back to whatever you’re doing and nothing more comes of it, ever. If the problem is a negative personal experience (causing the ill-feeling), not much can be done in the “public domain” and at an early stage, internet-venting might actually make it worse.
my personal take is, people tend to be fearful of change, and large scale immigration is one kind of change.
people are also usually more comfortable dealing with their own kind…
so these are legitimate, human fears that are ubiquitous and easy to understand .
i live in china, suffer from racism quite a bit. i accept that a lot of it is coming from a very human place, so it doesn’t bother me. there are plenty of folk who can handle foreigners, and plenty who can’t so well. that’s all normal. i’ve also been attacked by groups of men a couple of times on racial grounds. i’d put that at the less legitimate end of the scale of behaviour around dealing with foreigners. but it’s really about them, not me, and i wish them well.
we live in a big diverse world and some people are better than others at handling that diversity turning up on their doorstep. but you need to appreciate the concept of “home”. this place is the home of others in a more intimate way than it is my home, so while i’m a local i’ll also always be a guest.
it’s sort of contradictory to espouse a cosmopolitanism that looks down on people who aren’t able to espouse it.
i come from a Christian angle, and the differences from liberalism re: racism are thus:
liberals believe that racism can be defeated. they believe in progress – things getting better and better. thus you hear phrases like “we have to move past racism”. what is racism grounded in according to this worldview? probably bad thinking, which can be educated away, and possibly bad attitudes such as selfishness, that can be dropped. ironically, in this worldview, you’re able to relatively easily become unracist, so if you don’t it means you are (choosing to be) inferior. so liberals look down on people for looking down on people. awesome.
i believe that racism will always be with us. “progress” does not exist. i believe it’s a question of character, and character runs deep and is not so easy to change. humans are morally weak and deserve greater empathy in their failings than liberals are generally disposed to afford them. jesus comes to a failing world in love, it’s satan who accuses (terry eagleton points out that the popular modern idea of the christian god actually fits the biblical idea of satan – the accuser who is out to get you if you screw up (the word satan is hebrew for accuser). point being, christians are required to practice empathy toward ‘bad people’, which is a world away from the snide liberal pooh pooing).
liberals follow tolerance and freedom, christians follow hospitality and the imperatives of love. for a liberal, it’s ok to allow people to immigrate, and let them do their thing without engaging with them at any serious level. for christians that’s not ok. we need to be inviting them into our homes, eating with them, and having our horizons expanded as we try to figure out how to support or simply be there for them, to live alongside them. for example: wellington refugee and migrant services was started by a group of churches – not the local atheists’ knitting club. for another example: my church ran free english classes for refugees and migrants. for a lot of them it was their only regular contact with new zealanders. new new zealanders cannot become new zealanders simply by dint of a change in citizenship status. hospitality is a vital part in becoming a local. i used to teach chinese students whose only interaction with kiwis was transactional – involving the handing over of money – be it the landlord, the esl teacher or the local shop keeper. there’s a lot of freedom and toleration in that, but it’s crap. and the chinese students knew it was crap. “come to new zealand and buy stuff!” yeah right.
when a migrant suffers from racism, they need to be able to talk it out with someone. if they’re only discussing that shit with other migrants, well that’s a recipe for brewing a world of resentment and bitterness. when migrants have actual born and bred kiwis to talk about their struggles with, it goes a huge way to making them feel accepted and part of things. new zealand is really doing this immigration thing too cheaply, and it opens the way for a toxic legacy down the track.
Racists look for “enablement”. It’s the prime principle of the dogwhistle. If someone prominent says something that they can use as justification for their behaviour, they’ll feel they’ve been let off the leash.
One of the most frequent mistakes politicians make is to assume that the only message people receive is the one they intend to send as text or subtext, not the one that people want to hear themselves.
Before it was the leakers like Goff and Robertson who wanted people to think that David Cunliffe was unfit to lead Labour when the message received was that Labour as a whole was unfit to govern. Now the message being received is that Labour says Chinese people are bad, and certainly National and Act have gleefully leapt at the opportunity to make use of this.
God only knows why I’m being so generous. Must be lingering sentiment.
Labour says that 9% of probable Chinese in a fraction of the population are probably not doing something bad for the economy, and 30% of probable Chinese in that fraction are probably doing something bad for it.
this is all about hot money inflows.
when you have the wrong end of the stick, best thing is to let it go and walk away.
Labour can say one thing and be heard another. Right now they’re defending themselves against charges of racism because some people construe their message as racist and because it’s being painted as racist. The facts are getting lost.
Mr Little said while some people had claimed it was racist, several Aucklanders had applauded it.
“If the feedback out of Auckland is anything to go by, I expect we’ll have a lot of support in the policy we’ve put up.
“We understood the risks but we thought that having got information that clearly highlights an issue that is consistent with what we’ve been saying, we made the judgment it should be disclosed. I think people need to know.”
He said Labour’s critics should be concerned about first-home buyers being squeezed out of the market.
“Our first moral duty is to those who live here, and that includes those of Chinese ethnicity who have chosen to live here, or whose parents or grandparents chose to live here. They are the people we care about.”
Except, you know, that is the Herald which is a national publication that is supposed to be neutral and the standard is a blog which openly comes from the left.
Shit. So that settles it then. They say they knew the risks. haha “the risks”? It’s not a “risk” when you chose to ring the race cowbell. That’s a choice. They knew the choices. Get it right, Andrew.
Is this a “dead rat” issue? Because stirring up racial tensions wil get a party elected, and the Left needs Labour unless the unthinkable happens and people flock to the Greens and Mana in a totally unforeseen landslide. But really, the ongoing cost of the race card, is it worth it? This is more like a “dead horse” issue, or a re-interred partially thawed and rotting ice-mammoth issue. Two years out, and The Greens are bolstering National’s anti-free speech laws and Labour are ringing the race bells. Christ. Can not wait for 2017. That year is clearly going to be insane.
And hasn’t he committed a bit of a general cultural faux pas by suggesting present day Chinese are not connected to anything past their grandparents? It’s like the “blame the parents for the kids” argument; or the “we decide who is Maori or not” bloodline/ratio approach. Colonial Viper is right, Labour need a better reflection of who it is they represent in their MPs.
In saying “first moral duty”, Little acknowledges the harm his party has done to people who are “second” or even lower ranked. Nice to know. The bus has a dog whistle for a horn. Beneficiaries, LBGTQ, now people with Chinese-sounding surnames – all acceptable collateral damage… I wonder if they’ll realise that chucking people under the bus won’t put diesel in the tank?
Metiria Turei gave a much more intelligent and considered response. It’s early on in this clip:
Even making the generous assumption of good faith, Labour’s handling has been collosally (and predictably) stupid, handing ammunition to Smith and undermining its credibility on race. It’s a classic case of “Fire! Aim! Ready!” Even making the generous assumption that they didn’t anticipate this backlash, then whoever’s running their media strategy needs to put down their crayons for a while and let someone with at least the barest suggestion of competence take the role.
My extended family & I sincerely hope that Labour will put a hand out to pick us up, or to scrape us off the road, after Messrs Twyford & Little and the current issues leave town in the big red bus.
Perhaps its not surprising the Herald editorial this morning backs-up Labour’s call for proper data to be collected on just who is buying up big and speculatively in the Auckland housing market. After all, the Herald IS Auckland-based, and anecdotal “evidence” and people on the ground at Auckland auctions is what’s causing the concern, and it needs addressing. This is from today’s Herald :
” For many people, the leaked property sale figures reported in the Weekend Herald ……… They concluded some time ago that overseas Chinese buyers were behind the boom in the Auckland property market. ……”
Oh noes! Chinese at property auctions! Quick, where are the internment camps when we need them?! And what about Australians, Poms, Indians and the South Africans. Especially the South Africans. They’re sneaky bastards. You can only tell they’re South African when they open their mouths.
Geez I go away for a couple of days and everything goes ker-razy…so who decided that attacking Asians was the best way for Labour to get back into power?
Well PR you must be very upset to realise that it is not TrevM
perhaps you should go to Specsavers or even go back to where you have been and then we wouldn’t have to put up with your biased comments although, I must say that the SST actually beats you for bias in this instance.
Today’s NZ Herald editorial – ( Monday 13 July 2015) Business Section:
“Chinese role in the housing boom.
For many people, the leaked property sale figures reported in the Weekend Herald will have contained just one element of surprise.
They concluded some time ago that overseas Chinese buyers were behind the boom in the Auckland property market.
Anecdotal accounts from auctions had led them to discount a survey of real estate agents in 2013 that attributed only 8 per cent of purchases to this group.
Even so, many will have been astonished to learn that as many as 39.5 per cent of sales may be to buyers of Chinese descent.
That figure, whatever the question-marks surrounding it, raises issues that need to be addressed.
Deriding the finding as politically motivated and statistically unsound is easy, but essentially a red herring.
Compiling an estimate of the ethnicity of purchasers from their surnames, as Labour’s housing spokesman, Phil Twyford, has done, is not ideal.
But the basis, figures covering 3922 Auckland sales from one real estate firm from February to April this year, is reasonably comprehensive.
And it is better than anything else available.
Regrettably, there is an information vacuum because this country has no register of foreign buyers.
But perhaps we should not be totally surprised if Chinese buyers are, indeed, having a big influence.
The Beijing Government is allowing more of its citizens to buy overseas property, and interest rates in China are much lower than here.
This has led to Auckland housing being marketed aggressively to Chinese investors.
They have been alerted especially that this country has no land tax, stamp duty or other of the restrictions of the likes of Canada, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore.
So far, the Key Government has acted directly only to the extent of requiring overseas buyers to have an Inland Revenue number and a New Zealand bank account from October.
Mr Twyford’s finding will ramp up the pressure to do more.
To some, it will represent evidence that the extent of Chinese investment, and a readiness to pay over the odds, is, beside its ramifications for the economy, creating an untenable situation for local buyers, especially those seeking their first homes.
There needs to be a high degree of caution, however.
First, Mr Twyford’s finding has to be substantiated by statistics whose accuracy cannot be challenged.
In that context, figures made available by the new government requirements for overseas buyers need to be made available to the public.
Secondly, if these figures underline Mr Twyford’s conclusion, the response must be carefully calibrated.
It would be easy to follow Australia’s lead and require overseas investors to build new houses.
This makes some sense in increasing supply rather than adding to demand.
It is a stern step, however. New Zealanders certainly take a dim view when they are denied the right to buy a house in an overseas country.
Equally, some of the purchases by overseas Chinese buyers are for family members, perhaps students, living in this country for at least some of the time.
Even when reliable data is available, therefore, a knee-jerk response must be out of the question.”
Equally, some of the purchases by overseas Chinese buyers are for family members, perhaps students, living in this country for at least some of the time.
Well, they can just rent a flat, like all the other students in the whole flaming world!
Can you just link to articles in the future? Walls of text disrupt the flow of discussion and reposting articles without permission opens the site up to copyright claims.
“A former Goldman Sachs banker suggested Greece start legal action against his former employer over complex financial deals that helped the country hide its national debt in 2001 and continue borrowing despite its poor economy, the Independent reports.
The banking giant made as much as $500 million from the transactions known as “swaps”, which translated Greek debts issued in dollars and yens into euros, the British daily says. The figure is, however, disputed by Goldman, which refuses to state an exact number. The deals were prepared by Antigone Loudiadis, who reportedly received $12 million a year for the job….
Greece will have as much luck with that as their other brilliant idea of getting money of Germany because of the Nazis.
This is the government that some on here were calling “heros” the other day… and what have they done … Gone against the wishes of their people in the referendum which gave the response that they were championing.
Now because they have been shown to be untrustworthy the country is way worse off than it was just a few months ago.
Welcome to the National Government’s modus operandi – “While most other governments intend cutting emissions, New Zealand appears to be increasing emissions, and hiding this through creative accounting. It may not have to take any action at all to meet either its 2020 or 2030 targets.” http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/278582/nz%27s-climate-change-target-condemned
All those yelling “racist” at the top of their voices ( led by the ACT Party) have no valid explanation for the data.
That’s because there isn’t one, except for the conclusions Rob Salmon came to.
More interestingly, why why do some organisations seem so determined to shut this discussion?
Let’s look at who is benefiting from the status quo.
No surprise that you don’t know what racism is, PR. While you might be desperately hoping people are demonised, it’s not actually happening because most people can see past your faux outrage and focus on the facts. It must really be hurting you that Labour have got this issue right and have gazumped National so effectively!
Most people being Nats, Standardistas, and the twitteratti. Those being affected by the housing crises in Auckland are probably nodding their heads in agreement.
Again ISTM that many on the left would rather be ideologically pure and in permanent opposition.
There are many on this website (including me) who think this is a crisis caused by large numbers of non-doms buying up housing and property in the country.
” We do need to have a mature public debate about Chinese foreign investment in New Zealand real estate. Especially when the Government has refused to set up a register of foreign ownership and make it public.
Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and other nations have enacted restrictions on foreign buyers in recent years.
When the sales data also pointed to a big presence of offshore Chinese investors, Labour decided it was time to talk about this. However uncomfortable it may be, the sales data reinforces what so many Aucklanders have thought is going on.
It is simply not good enough to try to shut down an important public debate with allegations of racism.”
You’re the one trying to shut it down – have you even put up an argument about why it is not racism – check out what Little said – “We understood the risks…” What risk did he understand?
Twyford: Hey Andy, I have this idea about the housing crisis.
Little: What is it?
Twyford: The Chinese are the problem.
Little: Sounds risky. Sounds kinda racist. Would Winston say something like that?
Twyford: Probably.
Little: Could be a bad idea then. What else could we talk about that focussed on grass roots social issues we have policy for? Something a bit less negatively framed?
Twyford: Anything really, we could talk a lot about the things we’re doing right, but it’s like no one is listening.
Little: What evidence is there no one is listening?
Twyford: Just a hunch.
Little: Do you have wider figures for foreign buyers?
Twyford: I say just concentrate on what we do know about the Chinese. We have an email.
Little: That’s true. And I know several people in Auckland.
Twyford: Should we ask around first?
Little: Nah it sounds fairly solid. I guess we know the risk then, run with it.
Later that afternoon….
Twyford: Shit, that escalated quickly.
Little: I know. Did someone actually throw a trident at you?
Twyford: Yep.
Little: Let’s run with justification of a specific segment of Chinese people and try to cover the shit trail. And whatever you do, don’t mention the risk!
As an overseas born mixed ethnicity/Eurasian person from South East Asia (I am neither from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong nor Korea) with a Chinese family name, I do not think Twyford has initiated a “mature debate”.
My family has been here for about forty years. There are now three generations of us in the extended family, in this country we regard as home. The perception of NZ being principled about egalitarianism, social justice, inclusion & non-discrimination attracted the older family members to this country.
All of us voted Labour. Some of us are Labour Party members (if the Labour membership list is being checked, please do not assume we have the same surname, let alone a Chinese sounding surname or a pinyin version as I have used here). Has Labour asked us how we feel or what we would have thought before launching off during the weekend on TV3? How do you think my family & I feel now? Does Labour reckon they have strengthened their support from my family since Saturday? How has Labour demonstrated their principles since then?
Whatever the polling outcome or policy proposals that will eventuate from hereon, I genuinely hope what has been triggered will be worthwhile for Labour and the country. And please, to the Labour Party, don’t forget those of us with Chinese sounding names as well as Chinese looking ones when we are seen in public. We would like to continue voting for the Labour Party.
May I suggest that the Labour Party – MPs, supporters & members – spare a thought about repairing relationships at some stage really soon after whatever outcome, which was planned or intended, has been achieved please?
Who is saying anything except Twyford is a small-minded git?
Truly pitiful rhetoric calling everyone who hates Twyfords racism, an act supporter.
Who said here, anything apart from Twyford being a twit. A ninny and a school boy chauvinist?
Twyfords the great sectarian leader for bigots across NZ. Making a bid for the NZ first leadership is he?
That aside, you can have a go at his lack of humanity and talk about the housing issue – it’s not an either/or issue. I don’t believe myself or anyone else for that matter, has argued any other way.
Housing in Auckland is a problem, transnational investment is a problem, the quality of the housing is a problem, the Aussie banks are a problem, Over crowding is a problem, the government keeping the housing bubble going, because, if it doesn’t we are going to loss ten’s of thousands of jobs, is a problem. Twyford being a bigoted git, is a problem. Housing NZ, is a problem. No capital gain, death duty and a crushing g.s.t on the poor is a problem.
So many parts to this problem, but all you good’ ol boys run off to save the twit Twyford.
1.Do you think non-doms should be allowed to own housing in NZ?
2. Do you think the data about the sale and purchase of housing should be open and transparent?
And that’s why our resident trolls and the ACT Party are so determined to frame this conversation as racist.
They know that one of the quickest ways of shutting down debate is to accuse your opponent of being sexist or racist.
But, by and large, when either accusation is made about tories it’s generally supported by actual fact, and is a general conclusion on the merits of an argument or the trustworthiness of a commenter.
When the accusation is made by tories, it’s generally (as you call it) a “little trick”, usually tenuous and made with the objective of derailing further analysis, however valid that analysis may be.
But being a moral vacuum, you are incapable of understanding the difference between the two.
Well I sure as shit wouldn’t want your worldview, where politics is merely a vicious game played by sociopaths who care not a jot for the real pain in the world and where all appeals to decency and calling-out of injustice are mere cynical ploys to score points. Surely humanity is more than just a pack of rabid dogs feasting on their weak?
fuck, it’s a wonder you didn’t slit your wrists years ago.
To believe that the only difference between political perspectives is simply that one side is better at being cynically manipulative than the others would be a fair approximation of hell. No hope of change. Ever.
“And that’s why our resident trolls and the ACT Party are so determined to frame this conversation as racist.”
“If your not for us your against us.”
Paul using good old George Bush Jr. rhetoric, what a find. You are a charmer mate. Or just another middle of the road lefty, who is in reality, an Ike style Republican.
If you can not divide up the debate – sorry for you. How about you read this, then we will talk as adults. The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley.
I am just trying to point out that a lot of the people jumping up and down yelling ‘racist’ are folk like pr, BM, clean power etc etc.
Yes, there are left wing voices saying the same, but shouldn’t your bedfellows concern you Adam?
It is foreign overseas wealth that is the issue, American, German, British and Chinese. And our pathetic rules that allow wealthy overseas investors trump the civil right of residents in this country to affordable housing.
The reason why the rwnjs are yelling so loudly is that they support the unhindered access to ‘markets’ by the wealthy global elite. They support the looting of this country.
Can’t you see that?
The problem is that the Labour Party has been complicit in this since the 1980s and so, I, and many others are sceptical of whether they will really stand up for the rights of workers against foreign capital.
No, what worries me is so called left wing people like you Paul who are defending racists. That’s what is worrying me. And not all right wing people are racists.
To your other points you have not read a damn thing I’ve said – so go back and try again.
Now your worried that labour having now raised China to the level of spectre, they will back down.
Sheesh, and you only way to keep pressure up is to go lalalalala Twyford is not a chauvinist small minded git. Great politics, up lifting and inclusive – no wait, if you did that sort of politics, it be left wing…
But maybe that’s what we’re doing wrong – we don’t go for uplifting and inclusive
To Clean-power – Devoy is muddled. She’s mixing local Chinese resident in NZ with the group that Phil Twyford is targetting – the non-resident Chinese who come in briefly for a few nights, go to the Auckland auctions, bag a few properties (using cheap finance), and fly off again.
Two totally different groups – and the local Chinese should be just as concerned at what their country-people are doing – because they’re also pushing them out of the Auckland housing market.
And to BM – Wikipedia is talking about the entire Asian population in Auckland – that would include Korean, Indian, and other nations as well as China. Twyford probably had his ethnic population figures from a more reliable source – NZ Stats Dept and the Auckland Council.
[Removed duplicate comment, Jenny, and added your edit about the council. TRP]
I imagine they both know what you have told them already.
Remember there are here as shills for the government and its powerful lobbyists, not to engage in rational discussion.
Trolls don’t debate.
I’m getting thoroughly sick of all this – she’s just making cheap shots burbling on about how it’s not fair to ‘Chinese New Zealanders’; when anyone with an IQ of above 60 knows perfectly well that the discussion is not about them; it’s about people without residency buying large amounts of property and distorting the market. In. fact, I’m getting really angry that people like my daughter-in-law and her family are being used by people to make what appear on the surface to be supportive arguments, but are really just a cynical tilt at the Labour Party. My family deserve better than this
Hang on, are you demanding Twyford provide a reference for a stat reported by Weepus Beard as being what Twyford said on morning report, when even if it were an undercount then the figure of 21% still suggests either disproportionate purchases by a specific residential demographic, or non-resident purchases?
That seems to be a somewhat pointless exercise.
Which is probably why you’ve got your knickers in a twist about it.
I fixed some of the issues I was having with the duplicating RSS feeds. I just have to figure out a better solution to bloody google feeds duplicating (ie mostly blogger). Now I have to figure out a better fix.
I’ll correct this comment issue. But generally the best immediate fix is to pull the comment from Trash
Hooton kept repeating the term ‘international activist groups’ as if people advocating for changes to climate change policy and Zero Hours contracts were part of some evil conspiracy.
Sounded like the reds under the bed nonsense.
And yet the host challenged one of these nonsensical ideas.
RNZ going downhill.
In fact, Paul, the host (Lynn Freeman) contradicted Hooton and exposed his crude methodology. It was Mike Williams, as useless as ever, who failed to challenge Hooton.
I’ve done a transcript of the last four minutes of the programme—humiliating for Hooton—and I’ll put it up on Open Mike tomorrow morning.
Hello JanM (on iPad & cannot reply under your comment).
Thanks & sorry to hear that.
This is why Phil Twyford had to be more careful & skilful in raising the issues & when discussing that ‘research’.
On my part, how do people here think I feel when I will be at the next open home?
Huang Y.G’s plight at his next auction does not affect my family one bit. That’s the world that the Nazional party lead government and ACT type people have fostered upon us, is it not?
One where it’s every man for himself. A dog-eat-dog world?
I’ve never been to a house auction so he or she will get no sympathy from me, thanks very much.
I really couldn’t give a stuff when the likes of Winston runs an anti-Asian campaign, but when a self styled broad church like Labour acts this politically inept and knowingly burns a couple of hundred thousand voters due to moves explained by an utter lack of Asians in its caucus and senior hierarchy, as well as a total lack of understanding the local Chinese community and its history, its time to escalate the push back.
The Labour caucus should be demographically representative (or at the very least make specific and explicit efforts to address the concerns of less powerful groups iin society). Labour, and society as a whole, will be stronger for it.
I am a renter with a young family, shut out of ever owning a house in the place I was born in and grew up in because of cheap foreign money propping up the current government’s economic policy, as hinted at by Phil Twyford, in the absence of much asked for buyers’ data.
You be ashamed of him for fighting for his family’s future against this volatile tide of cheap money which is distorting NZ’s delicate residential infrastructure?
I am a renter with a young family, shut out of ever owning a house in the place I was born in and grew up in because of cheap foreign money propping up the current government’s economic policy, as hinted at by Phil Twyford, in the absence of much asked for buyers’ data.
the Auckland property bubble has been blowing up big since 2001/2002, Helen Clark and Michael Cullen loved the wealth effect “propping up” their government’s finances too, foreign money has played a role in this, but there are a shit load of other factors as well, go blame Westpac, BNZ and ANZ for starters.
A typical Auckland house went from $300,000 to $600,000 under Helen Clark’s watch. Lots of property owning middle class Aucklanders got suddenly rich – at least on paper. Buying houses for investments and capital gains became a Kiwi middle class past time. Lots of money from ever expanding mortgage debt was flooding the economy. Labour was fine with this. Cullen built his budget surpluses on it.
Now we find that the Auckland middle class are getting seriously priced out of the market by foreign money. All of a sudden, Labour wants to make a big media hoopla about how big a problem the Chinese are causing.
None of this is about helping the average Kiwi worker earning $50K pa get into an Auckland house.
I say get the data, restrict foreigners from residential property, and slow immigration until Auckland infrastructure can catch up. That’s a socially responsible viewpoint.
You say don’t be so racist, supply is the problem, and Labour did it too. That’s a National party troll viewpoint.
I say get the data, restrict foreigners from residential property, and slow immigration until Auckland infrastructure can catch up. That’s a socially responsible viewpoint
That approach won’t sort out affordable housing in Auckland for 20 to 30 years, if even by then.
I’m more radical than you are on this topic by a million miles. You don’t even know it.
And the 3pm news headlines with a BNZ economist calling for a ban on foreign ownership of New Zealand property.
Means to an end Marty. You really need to get that chip off your shoulders that you hold against Labour. Mana/one trick pony Hone sold out and it was their choice 🙂
you’re right about one thing (I know, surprised me too) it is a means to an end but the end will not be the end rather the end of the end and then we’ll see what happens…
And the 3pm news headlines with a BNZ economist calling for a ban on foreign ownership of New Zealand property.
As I mentioned in another comment, you must always analyse why a bank economist is saying what they are saying, on behalf of their employer. In this case, BNZ would love to have these rich Chinese and other foreign buyers banned out of the market, because they are wealthy buyers who bring their own cash to the table – they do not need mortgages from the BNZ.
TL/DR: Every house bought using Chinese cash is a lost mortgage origination for the BNZ.
As I mentioned in another comment, you must always analyse why a bank economist is saying what they are saying, on behalf of their employer. In this case, BNZ would love to have these rich Chinese and other foreign buyers banned out of the market, because they are wealthy buyers who bring their own cash to the table – they do not need mortgages from the BNZ. Every house bought using Chinese cash is a lost mortgage origination for the BNZ.
Brave man, Twyford. Finally some facts emerging about this crazy house price bubble. Brave leaker from the Ak property company too, I bet there’s a witch hunt going on there right now too. Hope the leaker stays hid.
Yes there is a witch hunt going on over this story and I hate the potential for victimising NZ Chinese citizens.
But the facts that are emerging are real. If the stock market in China can lose trillions dropping back to earlier levels of just a few months ago meaning vast amounts of money was invested there, money that dwarfs NZs entire GDP, and the Chinese government is about to facilitate their citizens’ investment in foreign countries, and little old NZ still has no controls tax or other defences to restrict that, then we are fucked.
Brave man Twyford, thank Christ some people actually care about whether my daughters will ever be able to afford to buy a house in a NZ city in the next few years. Or whether go down the biggest depression hole we have ever seen. NZ doesnt have trillions of dollars, we have fuck all.
You’re shitting me. This housing bubble has been blowing up since 2001/2002, a $300K house in 2001 is now worth over a million dollars 13 years later and suddenly fucking Twyford and Little and Labour figure out that its been the goddam Chinese all this time?
Talk about lazy rationalising of the Labour Government’s failures to control the money and debt flowing into the housing market and now the National Government’s failure to control money and debt flowing into the housing market.
As for your daughters buying houses in Auckland in a few years time, what are they, in the market for $700K houses? Because nothing Labour does to halt foreign ownership of NZ land has a shit show of lowering house prices back to even that level, let alone back to an actually affordable sub-$400K level.
Other cities too. The housing bubble trajectory in Auckland isnt going to stop it’s just going to get worse and spread to other cities and the eventual crash which bubbles foretell will be devastating for NZ citizens who mortgage up to try to get what we always thought a kiwi dream.
This speculative bubble is bigger than who is driving up the prices, it’s en route to tragedy unless our useless governments do something to control it.
Every recent NZ govt has believed in the free flow of financial capital, no recent NZ government has believed in limiting capital flows.
BTW provincial towns all across NZ (excluding the likes of Wanaka and Greytown) have flat to declining house prices (esp once inflation is taken into account).
The answer is really quite simple. Give people a reason to move back to provincial NZ which is crying out for more population and more economic activity.
And yeah, ban foreign ownership of NZ land. Not just houses, all land.
How many people know that right NOW – at the Auckland Sky City Convention Centre, there is a great big fat ‘conference’ happening on combatting ‘money-laundering’?
Timing?
VENUE !?
Who would have thought …… !
“APG ANNUAL MEETING AND FORUM ON TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING 2015
1 August 2014
The 2015 APG Annual Meeting and Technical Assistance and Training Forum will be held in Auckland, New Zealand in the week of 13-17 July 2015.
The APG Annual Meeting is the primary policy and decision-making vehicle for the APG. Decisions made at the Annual Meeting will set the course for the APG’s work over the next year.”
Wonder what their recommendations are going to be regarding the prevention of real estate / property market being used for ‘money-laundering’?
Railway thinkers. I’ve noticed that a book featuring the historic past to much of our infrastructure is on Trademe. Big Ideas: 100 Wonders of NZ Engineering by Matthew Wright published in 2009. Closes this Saturday buynow at $33
There’s also Rails Across NZ, only $12 closes Tuesday morning so be quick,
and NZ on the move: 100 Transport Icons, Buy now $15 closes Wed.
Looking at the review of Big Ideas: 100 Wonders…in North and South October 2009,
It has great photos on early power-generating and road and rail building projects and ‘for a tin-pot colony at the bottom of the world” says Wright, the eingineering and technology applied were remarkable.
Photos: Laying underwater sections of the high-voltage direct-current cable in early 1960s.
Early Hamilton marine=jet units under construction. A Kiwi invention, the jet boat was a water-borne application of the axial-flow, impeller principle adopted in WW2 for jet engines.
Benmore hydro station 1958-1964. (I heard from people there that a Swiss company was called in eventually to assist.)
The Denniston self-acting incline.
John Britten’s V-twin motorcycle, built in 1992, wa the most stylish machine of its day – and the fastest.
Now the fleas on the back of giants are sucking up all the benefit that is still present in these projects and selling off the family silver so they can proceed, like all decadent children, to gamble away the family’s wealth and estate.
Yeah you’re exercising in the wrong place Clean power. You should be at the gym building those abs and shoulders to do the physical heavy lifting. The exercise of brain requires a different sort of robust energy beyond your innate capacity. Stick to what you’re made for man.
An eight-mile convoy of pickups, motorcycles and cars wound through a central Florida town on Sunday in a show of support for the Confederate flag, as a backlash against its banishment from public landmarks across the South picks up steam.
Horns blared and hundreds of the rebel flags fluttered as more than 1,500 vehicles and some 4,500 people turned out for the “Florida Southern Pride Ride” in Ocala, according to police estimates. Vehicles from states across the South and as far away as California participated.
“That flag has a lot of different meanings to a lot of different people,” said David Stone, 38, who organized the event. “It doesn’t symbolize hate unless you think it’s hate – and that’s your problem, not mine.” ….
You would think money man Key would take a leaf out of American multi billionaire Warren Buffet’s book. There is money in freighting and like Prebble says the Rail corridors are already in place in most city’s in New Zealand.
I have to agree the gridlock on Auckland’s Roading network is beyond a joke, as I ponder should I travel to Auckland early tomorrow morning for a meeting at 10.30 am
or drive later this afternoon? Either way it means being stuck in traffic.
“We purchase a substantial amount of eggs a year – nearly 13 million – so in order to keep up with demand, our egg suppliers will be investing significantly in new farms and farming systems. This is why the rollout will happen over 18 months – it needs to be sustainable for our suppliers,” says Mr Wilson.
Who are the 1% exactly? Are they the Taxpayers of Estonia, Latvia and Finland who will be the ones called upon to make sacrifices for the Greeks so they can continue spending far more than they earn? Have you ever wondered why the Finn’s, Latvian’s and Estonians’s (Not to mention the Dutch and Germans) on the whole are very resistant to both debt relief and giving Greece even more support? The Latvian’s and Estonian’s are not very wealthy. In fact an average pensioner in Latvia apparently earns less than their Greek counterpart.
The National lead government being put under pressure by the opposition parties’ policies and calls for action on issue that infect the working poor, so much so that the National lead government waits a few months only to release a watered-down version of the same opposition policy and trumpet it as new legislation.
Sufficiently watered down, one might say, to try to please everybody. Mostly, however, it just pleases their business buddies while the worker, or the freezing tenant just has to suck it up in the name of flexibility of the labour market, or listen while being told to how to clean that black mould of your sick kids’ bedroom walls while on a budget.
Let’s look at four instances of this:
– The capital gains tax that is not a tax driven by David Parker.
– The rental housing WOF, which now just asks for smoke alarms and ineffectual polystyrene floor insulation, driven by the Green party.
– The data collection for house and land sales to foreign buyers that doesn’t collect any data, driven by Phil Twyford.
– The dismantling of zero-hour contracts (thanks Helen Kelly), which ended up as an weak appeasement to shonky employers.
This new and hurried legislation from the Nazional government only just tip-toes around the edges of something which will actually work for workers and their families, but none the less would not have happened at all if it were not for the brave people in opposition who come up with solutions for the increasingly disenfranchised every day.
My question is:
Are Labour and the Greens governing this country from the opposition benches?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/70184652/doctors-helping-patients-die-as-assisted-death-debate-rolls-on
”More than one in ten doctors have helped a patient die despite potentially breaking the law, a survey suggests.
In a fax poll of general practitioners, conducted by magazine New Zealand Doctor and IMS Health, nearly 12 per cent of respondents said they had helped a patient die. About two out of five doctors also said they had been asked to help a patient die, although most had refused.”
This creates an unsafe level of pressure and stress for the doctors who are prepared to do this to help their patients. Apart from the risk to their career, there is no avenue for them to receive the counselling anyone would require (whether what they are doing is permitted or not) to cope with the emotional burden of assisting someone to end their life.
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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. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
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. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
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. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
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 ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis.AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, ParramattaPhoto: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
The ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...
Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
PNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...
The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Kemish, Adjunct Professor, School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, The University of Queensland There can be no more powerful symbol of the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea than the prime ministers of these neighbouring countries walking together on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sharon Robinson, Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong Andrew Netherwood Over the last 25 years, the ozone hole which forming over Antarctica each spring has started to shrink. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Viktoria Kahui, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Economics, University of Otago Getty Images/Amy Toensing Biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history. This suggests the ways we currently use to manage our natural environment are failing. One emerging concept focuses on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Timothy Colin Bednall, Associate Professor in Management, Swinburne University of Technology marvent/Shutterstock Finding the best person to fill a position can be tough, from drafting a job ad to producing a shortlist of top interview candidates. Employers typically consider information from ...
Wondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julien Cooper, Honorary Lecturer, Department of History and Archaeology, Macquarie University Julien Cooper The hyper-arid desert of Eastern Sudan, the Atbai Desert, seems like an unlikely place to find evidence of ancient cattle herders. But in this dry environment, my new ...
The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
Nearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...
What does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...
The Prime Minister has committed to resuming direct flights to Thailand. But it’s not a promise he will be able to deliver on anytime soon. The post Prime Minister jumps the gun in Thailand appeared first on Newsroom. ...
It’s not that long ago Eliza McCartney was seriously wondering if the Paris Olympics would be her pole vaulting swansong. After years of being hounded by injury after injury, the Rio Olympics bronze medallist was still confident she would compete at her second Olympics in Paris in July, unless something ...
FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
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You can’t have missed the Gallipoli story as the movies, documentaries, essays and books capture what it was like for New Zealand troops in their eight-month campaign on the Peninsula. But this Anzac Day the Auckland War Memorial Museum has published a book that sheds light on a little-known aspect of the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
English Labour will not vote against the Tory government’s welfare bill and should not oppose Tories limiting child tax credits to two children, the party’s interim leader, Harriet Harman, has said. Her remarks came as the shadow education secretary, Tristam Hunt, warned the party that it was becoming an irrelevance at a frightening speed.
Seemingly bennie bashing is how you become relevant.
Labour is reinforcing predjudices about family size being the cause of poverty. Bear in mind these tax credits are for working families. The English Labour Party is in disarray and air heads like Harman and Hunt are joining the Tories in slapping the working class for daring to have families.http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/jul/12/harman-labour-not-vote-against-welfare-bill-limit-child-tax-credits
Having a bigger family doesnt excatly jelp does it?
“If we can’t get them out, we’ll breed them out”
Help with what?
The rich get richer.
infused, who is going to wipe your arse when you are too old and decrepit to do it yourself? Just curious.
Kiaora, weka
Ha ha. You are so right. Unless, in the not to distant future, they invent a robot with a fourth law embedded in its neural net which axiomatically decrees – wipe bottom – Do Not Exterminate, Mr Octogenerian Infused will have to put up with the working poor taking care of his bodily functions.
But in saying that, he will receive generally excellent care.
The robot on the other will quickly and logically conclude – wiping bottom sucks – exterminate, exterminate.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-07-12/greece-may-sue-goldman-over-banks-role-greek-collapse
Good. It’s about time they were held to account.
Must hand over Sovereignty? 90% of the loans went to bail out banks, not to the Greek people.
http://investmentwatchblog.com/eurogroup-fails-to-reach-deal-gives-greece-24-hours-to-accept-draconian-terms-must-pass-whole-package-to-start-aid-talks-cant-greek-do-what-iceland-has-done/
The banks that Grecee owed money too? Well duh.
Why bail out the bank directly, when you could bail out the country so it is more likely able to pay some money back to the bank? If you bail out the bank directly, Greece is left in no state to be able to recover and thus will require more lending. Bailing out the banks and not the country is short-term thinking.
Why bail out the country at all when their spending habits are not going to change?
If that’s the case, why lend money in the first place if they aren’t going to be able to pay it back? Oh, it’s so you have an excused to repossess all their assets. So they basically lend money so they could loot the country. Why should that behaviour be rewarded?
This was posted on the SMH site a few days before Phil Twyford raised the issue in NZ.
Fyi,
http://webmail.clear.net.nz/deferrer.html?redirectUrl=%2Fwebmail.cgi%3Fcmd%3Durl%26url%3Dhttp!3A!2F!2Fnews.domain.com.au!2Fdomain!2Freal-estate-news!2Fchinese-share-market-offshore-investors-will-flock-to-australian-real-estate-20150708-gi7hcv.html!3Futm_source%3DSMH!26utm_medium%3Dlink!26utm
Did you that terrible interview on RNZ?
Good to hear listeners’ feedback supporting Twyford and slamming RNZ for its bias as well as the government for doing nothing about the crisis.
anyone screaming about racism over there!
I’ve been reflecting on the kerfuffle over chinese investment in nz’s real estate. some random points:
it’s fairly easy to distinguish between who comes from the prc and who comes from.the diaspora because the communist state early on adopted a distinctive form of romanization of Chinese words called pinyin. I’m not sure if the salmond factored this in to his surprisingly underappreciated methodology.
Chinese are vulnerable in nz. any sort of negative press, such as what labour has been running, will probably result in more street level racial abuse. I doubt that Chinese associations in nz or any pakeha institutions would be well placed to pick up on such trends. liberal nz’s policy settings are based on the false premise that multiculturalism is easy, and so there isn’t an institutional depth around trying to grasp the lived experience of migrant communities -though I’d be interested to learn more about the tools that the race relations conciliator has available.
the Chinese state and local Chinese idiots are capable of truly horrific behaviour, and innocent Chinese are regularly caught up in the blowback. I’m thinking of the anti China riots in Vietnam recently when beijing plonked an oil rig in vietnamese waters, surrounding it with burly and aggressive ships. taiwanese businesses were attacked – pretty much anyone who was chineseish was in danger. even China’s immediate neighbours can be quite ignorant of the various communities that loosely come under the adjective “chinese”. also you get all sorts of outrageous behaviour from usually mainland businesspeople that gets the locals antsy about anyone who seems chinese. that’s mostly what’s behind the often strong anti-Chinese sentiment in africa. that and the success, and the numbers.
genuine question – where is the space in the public domain for people to say “I feel bad about these buggers moving in”. cos a lot of people are feeling that. I remember a couple of Myanmar refugees telling me in Wellington in 2007 something like “there are so many Chinese everywhere”. confusedly. it just seems to me that resentment is building up, and it’s dangerous to simply say “fuck off dumb racist”. cos the problem doesn’t fuck off.
political parties tend to be quite shit at engaging in migrant communities. to do it proper you need biculturalism – basically people who are conversant in the majority plus other cultures. and that takes yearsnyears of language learning, travel, lived experience, etc etc. essentially nzers lack the skills to be able to forge a coherent society out of a fractured one. we’ve got multiculturalism on the cheap, which turns out to be not good for much beyond the diversity of the shopping mall foodcourt.
re: “…genuine question…”.
The internet? And when you say “people” do those people include you? Whoever those people are, why, or what hurdles do they have to reaching an understanding of the things they think and how those things may or may not be threatened, or which things are threatened, or even why they think the way they do?
Are they happy to be against others because of race and leave it there?
From a pakeha perspective, is there a cultural reason (or of course, time, ability) that they cannot just pause for a moment and work back from “there are too many chinese everywhere” and figure out what scares them about that? As a European it’s “normal” for me to suggest this fairly clumsy method because my psychological heritage stands outside the subconscious looking in as a stranger. What is their cultural position, traditionally? What ideas are they carrying (beneficial or not) that they take for granted that holds them back from examining their beliefs like that? How are they resistent to Western thinking, if at all?
And more importantly, does it even matter? A pakeha racist might go from “too many Chinese” to “let’s attack the next one we see!” naturally. But if you were from Myanmar and a buddhist, you might think, “Ok so too many Chinese. Bastards.” and then go back to whatever you’re doing and nothing more comes of it, ever. If the problem is a negative personal experience (causing the ill-feeling), not much can be done in the “public domain” and at an early stage, internet-venting might actually make it worse.
my personal take is, people tend to be fearful of change, and large scale immigration is one kind of change.
people are also usually more comfortable dealing with their own kind…
so these are legitimate, human fears that are ubiquitous and easy to understand .
i live in china, suffer from racism quite a bit. i accept that a lot of it is coming from a very human place, so it doesn’t bother me. there are plenty of folk who can handle foreigners, and plenty who can’t so well. that’s all normal. i’ve also been attacked by groups of men a couple of times on racial grounds. i’d put that at the less legitimate end of the scale of behaviour around dealing with foreigners. but it’s really about them, not me, and i wish them well.
we live in a big diverse world and some people are better than others at handling that diversity turning up on their doorstep. but you need to appreciate the concept of “home”. this place is the home of others in a more intimate way than it is my home, so while i’m a local i’ll also always be a guest.
it’s sort of contradictory to espouse a cosmopolitanism that looks down on people who aren’t able to espouse it.
doing some more thinking about it:
i come from a Christian angle, and the differences from liberalism re: racism are thus:
liberals believe that racism can be defeated. they believe in progress – things getting better and better. thus you hear phrases like “we have to move past racism”. what is racism grounded in according to this worldview? probably bad thinking, which can be educated away, and possibly bad attitudes such as selfishness, that can be dropped. ironically, in this worldview, you’re able to relatively easily become unracist, so if you don’t it means you are (choosing to be) inferior. so liberals look down on people for looking down on people. awesome.
i believe that racism will always be with us. “progress” does not exist. i believe it’s a question of character, and character runs deep and is not so easy to change. humans are morally weak and deserve greater empathy in their failings than liberals are generally disposed to afford them. jesus comes to a failing world in love, it’s satan who accuses (terry eagleton points out that the popular modern idea of the christian god actually fits the biblical idea of satan – the accuser who is out to get you if you screw up (the word satan is hebrew for accuser). point being, christians are required to practice empathy toward ‘bad people’, which is a world away from the snide liberal pooh pooing).
liberals follow tolerance and freedom, christians follow hospitality and the imperatives of love. for a liberal, it’s ok to allow people to immigrate, and let them do their thing without engaging with them at any serious level. for christians that’s not ok. we need to be inviting them into our homes, eating with them, and having our horizons expanded as we try to figure out how to support or simply be there for them, to live alongside them. for example: wellington refugee and migrant services was started by a group of churches – not the local atheists’ knitting club. for another example: my church ran free english classes for refugees and migrants. for a lot of them it was their only regular contact with new zealanders. new new zealanders cannot become new zealanders simply by dint of a change in citizenship status. hospitality is a vital part in becoming a local. i used to teach chinese students whose only interaction with kiwis was transactional – involving the handing over of money – be it the landlord, the esl teacher or the local shop keeper. there’s a lot of freedom and toleration in that, but it’s crap. and the chinese students knew it was crap. “come to new zealand and buy stuff!” yeah right.
when a migrant suffers from racism, they need to be able to talk it out with someone. if they’re only discussing that shit with other migrants, well that’s a recipe for brewing a world of resentment and bitterness. when migrants have actual born and bred kiwis to talk about their struggles with, it goes a huge way to making them feel accepted and part of things. new zealand is really doing this immigration thing too cheaply, and it opens the way for a toxic legacy down the track.
Cheers Vaughan Little; good to read your thoughtful perspective on this.
Racists look for “enablement”. It’s the prime principle of the dogwhistle. If someone prominent says something that they can use as justification for their behaviour, they’ll feel they’ve been let off the leash.
One of the most frequent mistakes politicians make is to assume that the only message people receive is the one they intend to send as text or subtext, not the one that people want to hear themselves.
Before it was the leakers like Goff and Robertson who wanted people to think that David Cunliffe was unfit to lead Labour when the message received was that Labour as a whole was unfit to govern. Now the message being received is that Labour says Chinese people are bad, and certainly National and Act have gleefully leapt at the opportunity to make use of this.
God only knows why I’m being so generous. Must be lingering sentiment.
“Labour says Chinese people are bad”
Labour says that 9% of probable Chinese in a fraction of the population are probably not doing something bad for the economy, and 30% of probable Chinese in that fraction are probably doing something bad for it.
this is all about hot money inflows.
when you have the wrong end of the stick, best thing is to let it go and walk away.
Read it again. Especially my second sentence.
Labour can say one thing and be heard another. Right now they’re defending themselves against charges of racism because some people construe their message as racist and because it’s being painted as racist. The facts are getting lost.
target selected
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11479813
Check out the photo they have used of little.
The wind has changed and now anybody can be chucked under the labour bus – for the first moral duty.
No different than the old fat photos of farrer thestandard still uses or the stupid ones of john key.
Except, you know, that is the Herald which is a national publication that is supposed to be neutral and the standard is a blog which openly comes from the left.
All media uses whatever means to grab attention though doesn’t it?
I’m not defending the papers either. They are all equally as shit… well most media in NZ.
Shit. So that settles it then. They say they knew the risks. haha “the risks”? It’s not a “risk” when you chose to ring the race cowbell. That’s a choice. They knew the choices. Get it right, Andrew.
Is this a “dead rat” issue? Because stirring up racial tensions wil get a party elected, and the Left needs Labour unless the unthinkable happens and people flock to the Greens and Mana in a totally unforeseen landslide. But really, the ongoing cost of the race card, is it worth it? This is more like a “dead horse” issue, or a re-interred partially thawed and rotting ice-mammoth issue. Two years out, and The Greens are bolstering National’s anti-free speech laws and Labour are ringing the race bells. Christ. Can not wait for 2017. That year is clearly going to be insane.
And hasn’t he committed a bit of a general cultural faux pas by suggesting present day Chinese are not connected to anything past their grandparents? It’s like the “blame the parents for the kids” argument; or the “we decide who is Maori or not” bloodline/ratio approach. Colonial Viper is right, Labour need a better reflection of who it is they represent in their MPs.
But thats how he looks and how he appears, whats he supposed to do?
In saying “first moral duty”, Little acknowledges the harm his party has done to people who are “second” or even lower ranked. Nice to know. The bus has a dog whistle for a horn. Beneficiaries, LBGTQ, now people with Chinese-sounding surnames – all acceptable collateral damage… I wonder if they’ll realise that chucking people under the bus won’t put diesel in the tank?
Metiria Turei gave a much more intelligent and considered response. It’s early on in this clip:
http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/mnr/mnr-20150713-0711-labour_cops_flak_over_chinese_surname_property_claim-048.mp3
Even making the generous assumption of good faith, Labour’s handling has been collosally (and predictably) stupid, handing ammunition to Smith and undermining its credibility on race. It’s a classic case of “Fire! Aim! Ready!” Even making the generous assumption that they didn’t anticipate this backlash, then whoever’s running their media strategy needs to put down their crayons for a while and let someone with at least the barest suggestion of competence take the role.
Hmmm, does my roof need painting?
Exactly rhino
My extended family & I sincerely hope that Labour will put a hand out to pick us up, or to scrape us off the road, after Messrs Twyford & Little and the current issues leave town in the big red bus.
Thanks MM.
I’d guessed that Twyford’s tack was approved by Andrew Little and the Leader’s office.
There’s something quite particular having a leader who is promising then really disappointing by turns.
Three attempts at trolling by infused already on this thread.
Coffee took longer than expected.
Perhaps its not surprising the Herald editorial this morning backs-up Labour’s call for proper data to be collected on just who is buying up big and speculatively in the Auckland housing market. After all, the Herald IS Auckland-based, and anecdotal “evidence” and people on the ground at Auckland auctions is what’s causing the concern, and it needs addressing. This is from today’s Herald :
” For many people, the leaked property sale figures reported in the Weekend Herald ……… They concluded some time ago that overseas Chinese buyers were behind the boom in the Auckland property market. ……”
Oh noes! Chinese at property auctions! Quick, where are the internment camps when we need them?! And what about Australians, Poms, Indians and the South Africans. Especially the South Africans. They’re sneaky bastards. You can only tell they’re South African when they open their mouths.
Re the auck prices
Interestingly at 4% commission and average $700k house the real estate firm will have collected about $112 million in fees!!!!
The other observation was that many of the comments in NBR were positive re the release of the data.
Geez I go away for a couple of days and everything goes ker-razy…so who decided that attacking Asians was the best way for Labour to get back into power?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/70170890/housing-data-strongly-suggests-chinese-foreign-investment–twyford
At first i thought it was picture of T. Mallard
Well PR you must be very upset to realise that it is not TrevM
perhaps you should go to Specsavers or even go back to where you have been and then we wouldn’t have to put up with your biased comments although, I must say that the SST actually beats you for bias in this instance.
At least with me (unlike the MSM) you know I’m not pretending about my political viewpoints
This is an interesting attack add from the democrats. Commentary by TYT.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv_zIYXzsGo
https://youtu.be/bv_zIYXzsGo?t=198
familiar? hahahaha
Seen this?
Today’s NZ Herald editorial – ( Monday 13 July 2015) Business Section:
“Chinese role in the housing boom.
For many people, the leaked property sale figures reported in the Weekend Herald will have contained just one element of surprise.
They concluded some time ago that overseas Chinese buyers were behind the boom in the Auckland property market.
Anecdotal accounts from auctions had led them to discount a survey of real estate agents in 2013 that attributed only 8 per cent of purchases to this group.
Even so, many will have been astonished to learn that as many as 39.5 per cent of sales may be to buyers of Chinese descent.
That figure, whatever the question-marks surrounding it, raises issues that need to be addressed.
Deriding the finding as politically motivated and statistically unsound is easy, but essentially a red herring.
Compiling an estimate of the ethnicity of purchasers from their surnames, as Labour’s housing spokesman, Phil Twyford, has done, is not ideal.
But the basis, figures covering 3922 Auckland sales from one real estate firm from February to April this year, is reasonably comprehensive.
And it is better than anything else available.
Regrettably, there is an information vacuum because this country has no register of foreign buyers.
But perhaps we should not be totally surprised if Chinese buyers are, indeed, having a big influence.
The Beijing Government is allowing more of its citizens to buy overseas property, and interest rates in China are much lower than here.
This has led to Auckland housing being marketed aggressively to Chinese investors.
They have been alerted especially that this country has no land tax, stamp duty or other of the restrictions of the likes of Canada, Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore.
So far, the Key Government has acted directly only to the extent of requiring overseas buyers to have an Inland Revenue number and a New Zealand bank account from October.
Mr Twyford’s finding will ramp up the pressure to do more.
To some, it will represent evidence that the extent of Chinese investment, and a readiness to pay over the odds, is, beside its ramifications for the economy, creating an untenable situation for local buyers, especially those seeking their first homes.
There needs to be a high degree of caution, however.
First, Mr Twyford’s finding has to be substantiated by statistics whose accuracy cannot be challenged.
In that context, figures made available by the new government requirements for overseas buyers need to be made available to the public.
Secondly, if these figures underline Mr Twyford’s conclusion, the response must be carefully calibrated.
It would be easy to follow Australia’s lead and require overseas investors to build new houses.
This makes some sense in increasing supply rather than adding to demand.
It is a stern step, however. New Zealanders certainly take a dim view when they are denied the right to buy a house in an overseas country.
Equally, some of the purchases by overseas Chinese buyers are for family members, perhaps students, living in this country for at least some of the time.
Even when reliable data is available, therefore, a knee-jerk response must be out of the question.”
Penny Bright
Well, they can just rent a flat, like all the other students in the whole flaming world!
Can you just link to articles in the future? Walls of text disrupt the flow of discussion and reposting articles without permission opens the site up to copyright claims.
‘Goldman Sachs could face lawsuit for helping hide Greek debt – report’
http://rt.com/business/273208-greece-goldman-debt-lawsuit/
“A former Goldman Sachs banker suggested Greece start legal action against his former employer over complex financial deals that helped the country hide its national debt in 2001 and continue borrowing despite its poor economy, the Independent reports.
The banking giant made as much as $500 million from the transactions known as “swaps”, which translated Greek debts issued in dollars and yens into euros, the British daily says. The figure is, however, disputed by Goldman, which refuses to state an exact number. The deals were prepared by Antigone Loudiadis, who reportedly received $12 million a year for the job….
Greece will have as much luck with that as their other brilliant idea of getting money of Germany because of the Nazis.
This is the government that some on here were calling “heros” the other day… and what have they done … Gone against the wishes of their people in the referendum which gave the response that they were championing.
Now because they have been shown to be untrustworthy the country is way worse off than it was just a few months ago.
Excellent. The Greek government will only require 79 Billion Euros rather than 80 Billion when they win.
Well, that’s a good start!
Except they will still be bankrupt and economically hapless.
Welcome to the National Government’s modus operandi – “While most other governments intend cutting emissions, New Zealand appears to be increasing emissions, and hiding this through creative accounting. It may not have to take any action at all to meet either its 2020 or 2030 targets.”
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/278582/nz%27s-climate-change-target-condemned
-Twyford (again today on Morning Report)
I couldn’t agree more!
All those yelling “racist” at the top of their voices ( led by the ACT Party) have no valid explanation for the data.
That’s because there isn’t one, except for the conclusions Rob Salmon came to.
More interestingly, why why do some organisations seem so determined to shut this discussion?
Let’s look at who is benefiting from the status quo.
Its racist because a group is being demonised on the basis that their names sound Asian
Labour messed up (again) so now the best thing they could do is own up to it and apoligise
No surprise that you don’t know what racism is, PR. While you might be desperately hoping people are demonised, it’s not actually happening because most people can see past your faux outrage and focus on the facts. It must really be hurting you that Labour have got this issue right and have gazumped National so effectively!
You choose to make that interpretation of what has happened.
Most people don’t.
Most people being Nats, Standardistas, and the twitteratti. Those being affected by the housing crises in Auckland are probably nodding their heads in agreement.
Again ISTM that many on the left would rather be ideologically pure and in permanent opposition.
There are many on this website (including me) who think this is a crisis caused by large numbers of non-doms buying up housing and property in the country.
That’s not what Labour (Twyford and Little) said, though.
These are Twyford’s words.
” We do need to have a mature public debate about Chinese foreign investment in New Zealand real estate. Especially when the Government has refused to set up a register of foreign ownership and make it public.
Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and other nations have enacted restrictions on foreign buyers in recent years.
When the sales data also pointed to a big presence of offshore Chinese investors, Labour decided it was time to talk about this. However uncomfortable it may be, the sales data reinforces what so many Aucklanders have thought is going on.
It is simply not good enough to try to shut down an important public debate with allegations of racism.”
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11479817
You’re the one trying to shut it down – have you even put up an argument about why it is not racism – check out what Little said – “We understood the risks…” What risk did he understand?
I’m trying to keep the discussion open about Auckland’s housing crisis.
See that word 11 places in?
Here’s what we’re asked to believe:
One morning at breakfast…
Twyford: Hey Andy, I have this idea about the housing crisis.
Little: What is it?
Twyford: The Chinese are the problem.
Little: Sounds risky. Sounds kinda racist. Would Winston say something like that?
Twyford: Probably.
Little: Could be a bad idea then. What else could we talk about that focussed on grass roots social issues we have policy for? Something a bit less negatively framed?
Twyford: Anything really, we could talk a lot about the things we’re doing right, but it’s like no one is listening.
Little: What evidence is there no one is listening?
Twyford: Just a hunch.
Little: Do you have wider figures for foreign buyers?
Twyford: I say just concentrate on what we do know about the Chinese. We have an email.
Little: That’s true. And I know several people in Auckland.
Twyford: Should we ask around first?
Little: Nah it sounds fairly solid. I guess we know the risk then, run with it.
Later that afternoon….
Twyford: Shit, that escalated quickly.
Little: I know. Did someone actually throw a trident at you?
Twyford: Yep.
Little: Let’s run with justification of a specific segment of Chinese people and try to cover the shit trail. And whatever you do, don’t mention the risk!
nek minute…
Little: … and furthermore… we knew the risk… DOH!
As an overseas born mixed ethnicity/Eurasian person from South East Asia (I am neither from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong nor Korea) with a Chinese family name, I do not think Twyford has initiated a “mature debate”.
My family has been here for about forty years. There are now three generations of us in the extended family, in this country we regard as home. The perception of NZ being principled about egalitarianism, social justice, inclusion & non-discrimination attracted the older family members to this country.
All of us voted Labour. Some of us are Labour Party members (if the Labour membership list is being checked, please do not assume we have the same surname, let alone a Chinese sounding surname or a pinyin version as I have used here). Has Labour asked us how we feel or what we would have thought before launching off during the weekend on TV3? How do you think my family & I feel now? Does Labour reckon they have strengthened their support from my family since Saturday? How has Labour demonstrated their principles since then?
Whatever the polling outcome or policy proposals that will eventuate from hereon, I genuinely hope what has been triggered will be worthwhile for Labour and the country. And please, to the Labour Party, don’t forget those of us with Chinese sounding names as well as Chinese looking ones when we are seen in public. We would like to continue voting for the Labour Party.
May I suggest that the Labour Party – MPs, supporters & members – spare a thought about repairing relationships at some stage really soon after whatever outcome, which was planned or intended, has been achieved please?
Who is saying anything except Twyford is a small-minded git?
Truly pitiful rhetoric calling everyone who hates Twyfords racism, an act supporter.
Who said here, anything apart from Twyford being a twit. A ninny and a school boy chauvinist?
Twyfords the great sectarian leader for bigots across NZ. Making a bid for the NZ first leadership is he?
That aside, you can have a go at his lack of humanity and talk about the housing issue – it’s not an either/or issue. I don’t believe myself or anyone else for that matter, has argued any other way.
Housing in Auckland is a problem, transnational investment is a problem, the quality of the housing is a problem, the Aussie banks are a problem, Over crowding is a problem, the government keeping the housing bubble going, because, if it doesn’t we are going to loss ten’s of thousands of jobs, is a problem. Twyford being a bigoted git, is a problem. Housing NZ, is a problem. No capital gain, death duty and a crushing g.s.t on the poor is a problem.
So many parts to this problem, but all you good’ ol boys run off to save the twit Twyford.
1.Do you think non-doms should be allowed to own housing in NZ?
2. Do you think the data about the sale and purchase of housing should be open and transparent?
It would be a very weak minimum position, but yes we need both those points.
I also think we need a Capital gains tax. A death Tax. More houses.
A full investigation into the Aussie banks and their role in creating, and continuing the housing bubble here, and across the ditch.
More housing density, coupled with good public transport options.
No sale of the current social housing stock, with a massive improvement of the rights for tenants.
I also think the market can not solve this issue.
It needs a wholly new approach.
+1
The people benefiting from the status quo are the rich – everyone else is being screwed.
And that’s why our resident trolls and the ACT Party are so determined to frame this conversation as racist.
They know that one of the quickest ways of shutting down debate is to accuse your opponent of being sexist or racist.
We learned that little trick from the left…also helps to accuse your opponesnts as being trolls as well
But, by and large, when either accusation is made about tories it’s generally supported by actual fact, and is a general conclusion on the merits of an argument or the trustworthiness of a commenter.
When the accusation is made by tories, it’s generally (as you call it) a “little trick”, usually tenuous and made with the objective of derailing further analysis, however valid that analysis may be.
But being a moral vacuum, you are incapable of understanding the difference between the two.
Sorry but by and large the left are as bad and in some cases even worse than the right its just that the right are better at it
However I do see that the left now have a new weapon in their armoury with the new cyber bullying laws so we’ll see how that goes
Yeah, reread my last sentence above.
Well you keep on believing what you want to believe
Well I sure as shit wouldn’t want your worldview, where politics is merely a vicious game played by sociopaths who care not a jot for the real pain in the world and where all appeals to decency and calling-out of injustice are mere cynical ploys to score points. Surely humanity is more than just a pack of rabid dogs feasting on their weak?
fuck, it’s a wonder you didn’t slit your wrists years ago.
Suicide isn’t funny. Just sayin….
not a joke.
To believe that the only difference between political perspectives is simply that one side is better at being cynically manipulative than the others would be a fair approximation of hell. No hope of change. Ever.
Fuck.
I need to go for a cup of coffee.
“And that’s why our resident trolls and the ACT Party are so determined to frame this conversation as racist.”
“If your not for us your against us.”
Paul using good old George Bush Jr. rhetoric, what a find. You are a charmer mate. Or just another middle of the road lefty, who is in reality, an Ike style Republican.
If you can not divide up the debate – sorry for you. How about you read this, then we will talk as adults. The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley.
Simple question.
Are you concerned about non-dom ownership of housing in NZ?
I am and I don’t know why that concern should be twisted.
“If your not for us your against us.”
erm… Paul didn’t actually use that rhetoric, did he?
I am just trying to point out that a lot of the people jumping up and down yelling ‘racist’ are folk like pr, BM, clean power etc etc.
Yes, there are left wing voices saying the same, but shouldn’t your bedfellows concern you Adam?
It is foreign overseas wealth that is the issue, American, German, British and Chinese. And our pathetic rules that allow wealthy overseas investors trump the civil right of residents in this country to affordable housing.
The reason why the rwnjs are yelling so loudly is that they support the unhindered access to ‘markets’ by the wealthy global elite. They support the looting of this country.
Can’t you see that?
The problem is that the Labour Party has been complicit in this since the 1980s and so, I, and many others are sceptical of whether they will really stand up for the rights of workers against foreign capital.
No, what worries me is so called left wing people like you Paul who are defending racists. That’s what is worrying me. And not all right wing people are racists.
To your other points you have not read a damn thing I’ve said – so go back and try again.
Now your worried that labour having now raised China to the level of spectre, they will back down.
Sheesh, and you only way to keep pressure up is to go lalalalala Twyford is not a chauvinist small minded git. Great politics, up lifting and inclusive – no wait, if you did that sort of politics, it be left wing…
But maybe that’s what we’re doing wrong – we don’t go for uplifting and inclusive
According to this Asians make up 21% of the Auckland population
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Auckland
Apparently the data went to level2 ethnicity, so 21% Asian includes 9% “Asian (Chinese)”, 8% “Asian (Indian)”, etc.
Dame Susan takes Labour to task
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/70172739/use-of-halfbaked-housing-data-disappointing–devoy
And Twyford is acting Ethnic Affairs spokesman while Goff is overseas… you can’t make this shit up.
Someones decided to help Labour out:
http://howkiwiareyou.nz/
It sounds as plausible as Labours stats
To Clean-power – Devoy is muddled. She’s mixing local Chinese resident in NZ with the group that Phil Twyford is targetting – the non-resident Chinese who come in briefly for a few nights, go to the Auckland auctions, bag a few properties (using cheap finance), and fly off again.
Two totally different groups – and the local Chinese should be just as concerned at what their country-people are doing – because they’re also pushing them out of the Auckland housing market.
And to BM – Wikipedia is talking about the entire Asian population in Auckland – that would include Korean, Indian, and other nations as well as China. Twyford probably had his ethnic population figures from a more reliable source – NZ Stats Dept and the Auckland Council.
[Removed duplicate comment, Jenny, and added your edit about the council. TRP]
I imagine they both know what you have told them already.
Remember there are here as shills for the government and its powerful lobbyists, not to engage in rational discussion.
Trolls don’t debate.
I’m getting thoroughly sick of all this – she’s just making cheap shots burbling on about how it’s not fair to ‘Chinese New Zealanders’; when anyone with an IQ of above 60 knows perfectly well that the discussion is not about them; it’s about people without residency buying large amounts of property and distorting the market. In. fact, I’m getting really angry that people like my daughter-in-law and her family are being used by people to make what appear on the surface to be supportive arguments, but are really just a cynical tilt at the Labour Party. My family deserve better than this
C’mon Jenny. If Twyford sources are reliable, why doesn’t he disclose them and tell us who they are? The term “probably” is out of place here.
Hang on, are you demanding Twyford provide a reference for a stat reported by Weepus Beard as being what Twyford said on morning report, when even if it were an undercount then the figure of 21% still suggests either disproportionate purchases by a specific residential demographic, or non-resident purchases?
That seems to be a somewhat pointless exercise.
Which is probably why you’ve got your knickers in a twist about it.
shit that was to c_p. Must have missed the reply button
Something funny about the reply sequencing McFlock? I don’t know why I’m above the comment and not below. See where this one lands.
ok, someone’s deleted their comment and blown the threading, maybe.
[Might have been when I removed a duplicate comment halfway up. I’ll see if I can fix it. TRP]
[Yeah, CP’s reply to Anne’s duplicate comment is now an orphan. Must have been posted as I was trashing the dupe. Sorry about that. TRP]
I fixed some of the issues I was having with the duplicating RSS feeds. I just have to figure out a better solution to bloody google feeds duplicating (ie mostly blogger). Now I have to figure out a better fix.
I’ll correct this comment issue. But generally the best immediate fix is to pull the comment from Trash
Hooton kept repeating the term ‘international activist groups’ as if people advocating for changes to climate change policy and Zero Hours contracts were part of some evil conspiracy.
Sounded like the reds under the bed nonsense.
And yet the host challenged one of these nonsensical ideas.
RNZ going downhill.
In fact, Paul, the host (Lynn Freeman) contradicted Hooton and exposed his crude methodology. It was Mike Williams, as useless as ever, who failed to challenge Hooton.
I’ve done a transcript of the last four minutes of the programme—humiliating for Hooton—and I’ll put it up on Open Mike tomorrow morning.
Hello JanM (on iPad & cannot reply under your comment).
Thanks & sorry to hear that.
This is why Phil Twyford had to be more careful & skilful in raising the issues & when discussing that ‘research’.
On my part, how do people here think I feel when I will be at the next open home?
I don’t care how you feel at your next open home.
Not nice, Weepus beard
C’mon.
Huang Y.G’s plight at his next auction does not affect my family one bit. That’s the world that the Nazional party lead government and ACT type people have fostered upon us, is it not?
One where it’s every man for himself. A dog-eat-dog world?
I’ve never been to a house auction so he or she will get no sympathy from me, thanks very much.
Thanks for confirming that you’ve taken aspects of the right wing ethos to heart.
And you really seem to be more accepting of identity politics these days…
I really couldn’t give a stuff when the likes of Winston runs an anti-Asian campaign, but when a self styled broad church like Labour acts this politically inept and knowingly burns a couple of hundred thousand voters due to moves explained by an utter lack of Asians in its caucus and senior hierarchy, as well as a total lack of understanding the local Chinese community and its history, its time to escalate the push back.
I agree entirely.
The Labour caucus should be demographically representative (or at the very least make specific and explicit efforts to address the concerns of less powerful groups iin society). Labour, and society as a whole, will be stronger for it.
I am a renter with a young family, shut out of ever owning a house in the place I was born in and grew up in because of cheap foreign money propping up the current government’s economic policy, as hinted at by Phil Twyford, in the absence of much asked for buyers’ data.
You?
Same situation as my younger son, then, but I’d be ashamed of him if he carried on like this
Really?
You be ashamed of him for fighting for his family’s future against this volatile tide of cheap money which is distorting NZ’s delicate residential infrastructure?
No for having a go at someone without establishing where they’re coming from – you made an assumption and just went for it!. Read his 12.45 post
the Auckland property bubble has been blowing up big since 2001/2002, Helen Clark and Michael Cullen loved the wealth effect “propping up” their government’s finances too, foreign money has played a role in this, but there are a shit load of other factors as well, go blame Westpac, BNZ and ANZ for starters.
#labourdidittoo
A typical Auckland house went from $300,000 to $600,000 under Helen Clark’s watch. Lots of property owning middle class Aucklanders got suddenly rich – at least on paper. Buying houses for investments and capital gains became a Kiwi middle class past time. Lots of money from ever expanding mortgage debt was flooding the economy. Labour was fine with this. Cullen built his budget surpluses on it.
Now we find that the Auckland middle class are getting seriously priced out of the market by foreign money. All of a sudden, Labour wants to make a big media hoopla about how big a problem the Chinese are causing.
None of this is about helping the average Kiwi worker earning $50K pa get into an Auckland house.
I’m done conversing with you on this.
I say get the data, restrict foreigners from residential property, and slow immigration until Auckland infrastructure can catch up. That’s a socially responsible viewpoint.
You say don’t be so racist, supply is the problem, and Labour did it too. That’s a National party troll viewpoint.
I’m done.
That approach won’t sort out affordable housing in Auckland for 20 to 30 years, if even by then.
I’m more radical than you are on this topic by a million miles. You don’t even know it.
LOL mate, even the conservatives are more compassionate than you.
midday onenews – first item – labour getting smashed from all sides – thanks twyford and little you have really helped the gnats – wankers.
And the 3pm news headlines with a BNZ economist calling for a ban on foreign ownership of New Zealand property.
Means to an end Marty. You really need to get that chip off your shoulders that you hold against Labour. Mana/one trick pony Hone sold out and it was their choice 🙂
you’re right about one thing (I know, surprised me too) it is a means to an end but the end will not be the end rather the end of the end and then we’ll see what happens…
As I mentioned in another comment, you must always analyse why a bank economist is saying what they are saying, on behalf of their employer. In this case, BNZ would love to have these rich Chinese and other foreign buyers banned out of the market, because they are wealthy buyers who bring their own cash to the table – they do not need mortgages from the BNZ.
TL/DR: Every house bought using Chinese cash is a lost mortgage origination for the BNZ.
– Colonial Viper, 13/07/15
Bookmarked.
I’m getting sick of this.
Brave man, Twyford. Finally some facts emerging about this crazy house price bubble. Brave leaker from the Ak property company too, I bet there’s a witch hunt going on there right now too. Hope the leaker stays hid.
Yes there is a witch hunt going on over this story and I hate the potential for victimising NZ Chinese citizens.
But the facts that are emerging are real. If the stock market in China can lose trillions dropping back to earlier levels of just a few months ago meaning vast amounts of money was invested there, money that dwarfs NZs entire GDP, and the Chinese government is about to facilitate their citizens’ investment in foreign countries, and little old NZ still has no controls tax or other defences to restrict that, then we are fucked.
Brave man Twyford, thank Christ some people actually care about whether my daughters will ever be able to afford to buy a house in a NZ city in the next few years. Or whether go down the biggest depression hole we have ever seen. NZ doesnt have trillions of dollars, we have fuck all.
Don’t worry. Nick Smith has got our backs. You can trust Nick Smith to deal with this can’t you? [/sarc]
“Brave man Twyford”
You’re shitting me. This housing bubble has been blowing up since 2001/2002, a $300K house in 2001 is now worth over a million dollars 13 years later and suddenly fucking Twyford and Little and Labour figure out that its been the goddam Chinese all this time?
Talk about lazy rationalising of the Labour Government’s failures to control the money and debt flowing into the housing market and now the National Government’s failure to control money and debt flowing into the housing market.
As for your daughters buying houses in Auckland in a few years time, what are they, in the market for $700K houses? Because nothing Labour does to halt foreign ownership of NZ land has a shit show of lowering house prices back to even that level, let alone back to an actually affordable sub-$400K level.
Other cities too. The housing bubble trajectory in Auckland isnt going to stop it’s just going to get worse and spread to other cities and the eventual crash which bubbles foretell will be devastating for NZ citizens who mortgage up to try to get what we always thought a kiwi dream.
This speculative bubble is bigger than who is driving up the prices, it’s en route to tragedy unless our useless governments do something to control it.
its the exact same story with our exchange rate.
Every recent NZ govt has believed in the free flow of financial capital, no recent NZ government has believed in limiting capital flows.
BTW provincial towns all across NZ (excluding the likes of Wanaka and Greytown) have flat to declining house prices (esp once inflation is taken into account).
The answer is really quite simple. Give people a reason to move back to provincial NZ which is crying out for more population and more economic activity.
And yeah, ban foreign ownership of NZ land. Not just houses, all land.
How many people know that right NOW – at the Auckland Sky City Convention Centre, there is a great big fat ‘conference’ happening on combatting ‘money-laundering’?
Timing?
VENUE !?
Who would have thought …… !
“APG ANNUAL MEETING AND FORUM ON TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING 2015
1 August 2014
The 2015 APG Annual Meeting and Technical Assistance and Training Forum will be held in Auckland, New Zealand in the week of 13-17 July 2015.
The APG Annual Meeting is the primary policy and decision-making vehicle for the APG. Decisions made at the Annual Meeting will set the course for the APG’s work over the next year.”
Wonder what their recommendations are going to be regarding the prevention of real estate / property market being used for ‘money-laundering’?
Penny Bright
Railway thinkers. I’ve noticed that a book featuring the historic past to much of our infrastructure is on Trademe. Big Ideas: 100 Wonders of NZ Engineering by Matthew Wright published in 2009. Closes this Saturday buynow at $33
There’s also Rails Across NZ, only $12 closes Tuesday morning so be quick,
and NZ on the move: 100 Transport Icons, Buy now $15 closes Wed.
Looking at the review of Big Ideas: 100 Wonders…in North and South October 2009,
It has great photos on early power-generating and road and rail building projects and ‘for a tin-pot colony at the bottom of the world” says Wright, the eingineering and technology applied were remarkable.
Photos: Laying underwater sections of the high-voltage direct-current cable in early 1960s.
Early Hamilton marine=jet units under construction. A Kiwi invention, the jet boat was a water-borne application of the axial-flow, impeller principle adopted in WW2 for jet engines.
Benmore hydro station 1958-1964. (I heard from people there that a Swiss company was called in eventually to assist.)
The Denniston self-acting incline.
John Britten’s V-twin motorcycle, built in 1992, wa the most stylish machine of its day – and the fastest.
Now the fleas on the back of giants are sucking up all the benefit that is still present in these projects and selling off the family silver so they can proceed, like all decadent children, to gamble away the family’s wealth and estate.
Chur GW
Yeah you’re exercising in the wrong place Clean power. You should be at the gym building those abs and shoulders to do the physical heavy lifting. The exercise of brain requires a different sort of robust energy beyond your innate capacity. Stick to what you’re made for man.
Not looking good for the Greeks now:
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jul/12/finlands-parliament-in-favour-of-forcing-greece-out-of-the-euro-says-report
Confederate flag supporters rise up to defend embattled symbol
OCALA, FLA. | BY BARBARA LISTON
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/12/us-usa-confederate-ride-idUSKCN0PM11Q20150712
An eight-mile convoy of pickups, motorcycles and cars wound through a central Florida town on Sunday in a show of support for the Confederate flag, as a backlash against its banishment from public landmarks across the South picks up steam.
Horns blared and hundreds of the rebel flags fluttered as more than 1,500 vehicles and some 4,500 people turned out for the “Florida Southern Pride Ride” in Ocala, according to police estimates. Vehicles from states across the South and as far away as California participated.
“That flag has a lot of different meanings to a lot of different people,” said David Stone, 38, who organized the event. “It doesn’t symbolize hate unless you think it’s hate – and that’s your problem, not mine.” ….
Continued…..
https://www.floridamemory.com/items/show/34009
I find it hard to believe but I agree with Prebble on something
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11480088
I can’t even find any ‘hoik it off to the lowest bidder’ hook in there O.o
You would think money man Key would take a leaf out of American multi billionaire Warren Buffet’s book. There is money in freighting and like Prebble says the Rail corridors are already in place in most city’s in New Zealand.
I have to agree the gridlock on Auckland’s Roading network is beyond a joke, as I ponder should I travel to Auckland early tomorrow morning for a meeting at 10.30 am
or drive later this afternoon? Either way it means being stuck in traffic.
‘Dat moment the crazy right wing guy looks moderate compared to the present govt. O_O
McDonald’s moving to cage free eggs in all stores within 18 months, by which time the company will account for 9% of the free range market.
http://www.voxy.co.nz/lifestyle/mcdonalds-nz-commitments-100-free-range-eggs/5/226386
“We purchase a substantial amount of eggs a year – nearly 13 million – so in order to keep up with demand, our egg suppliers will be investing significantly in new farms and farming systems. This is why the rollout will happen over 18 months – it needs to be sustainable for our suppliers,” says Mr Wilson.
Number of beneficiaries going in debt to WINZ increasing.
Another illustration why consumption inequality is an inadequate measure.
This Washington Post Online article points out how Syriza has failed abysmally.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/07/10/how-greece-went-from-victory-to-economy-destroying-defeat/
Do you ever support the people or are you always shilling for the 1%?
Who are the 1% exactly? Are they the Taxpayers of Estonia, Latvia and Finland who will be the ones called upon to make sacrifices for the Greeks so they can continue spending far more than they earn? Have you ever wondered why the Finn’s, Latvian’s and Estonians’s (Not to mention the Dutch and Germans) on the whole are very resistant to both debt relief and giving Greece even more support? The Latvian’s and Estonian’s are not very wealthy. In fact an average pensioner in Latvia apparently earns less than their Greek counterpart.
Seems just about everyone has gone off the Greek issue Gosman?
I thought they’d be lining up to concede that you have been pretty much on the money all the way through. sarc.
We have seen a lot of it recently.
The National lead government being put under pressure by the opposition parties’ policies and calls for action on issue that infect the working poor, so much so that the National lead government waits a few months only to release a watered-down version of the same opposition policy and trumpet it as new legislation.
Sufficiently watered down, one might say, to try to please everybody. Mostly, however, it just pleases their business buddies while the worker, or the freezing tenant just has to suck it up in the name of flexibility of the labour market, or listen while being told to how to clean that black mould of your sick kids’ bedroom walls while on a budget.
Let’s look at four instances of this:
– The capital gains tax that is not a tax driven by David Parker.
– The rental housing WOF, which now just asks for smoke alarms and ineffectual polystyrene floor insulation, driven by the Green party.
– The data collection for house and land sales to foreign buyers that doesn’t collect any data, driven by Phil Twyford.
– The dismantling of zero-hour contracts (thanks Helen Kelly), which ended up as an weak appeasement to shonky employers.
This new and hurried legislation from the Nazional government only just tip-toes around the edges of something which will actually work for workers and their families, but none the less would not have happened at all if it were not for the brave people in opposition who come up with solutions for the increasingly disenfranchised every day.
My question is:
Are Labour and the Greens governing this country from the opposition benches?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/70183404/cheaper-milk-prices-help-cut-the-household-grocery-bill
and now for some good news
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/70184652/doctors-helping-patients-die-as-assisted-death-debate-rolls-on
”More than one in ten doctors have helped a patient die despite potentially breaking the law, a survey suggests.
In a fax poll of general practitioners, conducted by magazine New Zealand Doctor and IMS Health, nearly 12 per cent of respondents said they had helped a patient die. About two out of five doctors also said they had been asked to help a patient die, although most had refused.”
This creates an unsafe level of pressure and stress for the doctors who are prepared to do this to help their patients. Apart from the risk to their career, there is no avenue for them to receive the counselling anyone would require (whether what they are doing is permitted or not) to cope with the emotional burden of assisting someone to end their life.
Turei, less smart than I thought. Disappointing from her.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/70186455/greens-accuse-labour-of-crude-racial-profiling-on-housing-sales
Labour fighting back over Devoy’s comments.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/70202394/labour-hits-back-at-dame-susan-devoy-over-claim-its-housing-data-was-halfbaked
Just going out for popcorn… back soon.