“The Salvation Army State of the Nation report reveals Kiwis struggle with rents and wages.
An estimated 70,000 New Zealand children— or 7% of the under 17-year-old population— are living in severe material deprivation.
Rents continue to rise faster than wages and salaries. In December 2017, it took 13.0 hours of pay at the average wage to pay the average rent. In December 2015 it was 12.4 hours.
The prison population has grown 30 per cent from 8000 in 2008 to 10,470 at the end of September 2017.
During 2016/17, average household debt rose 3.1% in inflation adjusted terms to $151,900 per household.
The number of food parcels being handed out at the Salvation Army’s foodbanks has jumped 12 percent in the last year.”
There’s some of that ‘brighter future’ middle NZ got sucked in over.
I’d like to see the govt combine the asset flogging and environmental vandalism into a message that reminds people this is the reality of 3 terms of national.
Now is the time whilst they have this sham leadership contest to hang the albatross firmly around their necks and ensure the association isn’t missed by anyone.
If it was good enough for them to sit back while key and blinglish spun and BS’d their way through govt then they can wear the consequences.
30 years of neoliberalism created this.
Douglas should be put on trial for destroying this country.
“Stagnant incomes and rising living costs are pushing more and more Kiwis into poverty, the Salvation Army says.
In its State of the Nation Report, released Wednesday, the charity paints a damning picture of poorer Kiwis being left behind despite economic growth.
This year’s report Kei a Tātou – It is us showed pay packets for families on the breadline were being swallowed by rising living costs.”
how about focusing on the ‘brighter future’ instead of going back to an era most voters don’t identify with as either being not old enough or not living in NZ at the time.
Clark/Cullen stabilised many areas (so the slide ceased) however it’s Key/Blinglish that inherited nett zero crown debt and proceeded to plunder assets, give the rich a tax cut, rack up debt, hobble health, education, housing etc
Lest we forget as the MSM will have their nat-goggles on pimping for blue at every turn relying on good old kiwi apathy and ignorance come polling day.
Welfare – Pretty much all political parties have focused on family support, not individual NZers, they look at the family needs but never address unemployment support, training or getting adults into a stable financial situation though employment.
If you have Kids there are alot of programs and support to assist you and your kids, from discounted or free healthcare, pregnancy support, early childhood, subsidised housing (when available) to working for families financial support (which in a lot of cases makes you tax neutral) and may of these programs have almost no impact (as when families get more, things cost more so you end up with no gain – Like WFF)
IF your an individual there is only unemployment, Which works out to be around $10 – $14k per year, many sick/disabled fall into this category (there’s a little more additional support if your condition is recognised, but not much, I know this personally. My cluster headaches, are not recognised and not considered debilitating, which is insane.)
So are we surprised that inequality and poverty is growing? if your unemployed support, you can be trapped in a cycle of dependency, trapped in a system with little/no support and no re-training. with rising costs (rents/food) and almost no rise in unemployment you get people in need, who have to choose between basic needs, we live in a first world nation and we have people who have to choose between hot water and food, who can only barely afford to eat and have no contingency if things go wrong.
Studies show that a 6 month or more gap in employment history is a big problem for finding future employment, there are a myriad of advice columns that advise from glossing over or filling in that time with volunteer works to simply lying about work gaps to hide that fact you might have needed help.
How did this happen? Well, we let it. We believe stories about drug use, crime, Iphones… but the data was never supported, we listen to leaders who called benafieries “bludgers” when the reality of how our economy works is that we need a certain level of unemployment (if unemployment gets too low, works get too much power this means rising wages/perks which in turn drives up product prices, which then reduced global exports, etc, etc, its a domino effect.) but we blame these people for being part of the system we support/created? and refuse to offer then basic living conditions and simple human rights.
So we take away the one thing these people have left, hope and then wonder why drug use increases, depressions, suicide (I would dearly love to see figures on the number of people on benefits who commit suicide, but this stat is not tracked, in fact MSD has no record of the reason why people leave benefits, it is assumed they find employment.)
If we want change, I think we need to make “beneficiary bashing” a crime (this includes our leaders) like any “hate speech” it needs to be treated the same.
And we need to seriously look at how we treat our most vulnerable and take immediate steps to change the public perception (this is the only way to get them they help they need)
Really appreciate you taking the time to write this comment Leonhart, it spells out clearly the folly in designing systems or solutions that do not address underlying causes – and most importantly, the impact on individual humans.
I cannot find one for 2000+ so this is 18 years out of date (so these figure if the same study was concluded would be much higher)
Document Page 27, PDf page 37 – Excerpt – unemployed and non-active 25−44 and 45−64ñ year-old males had suicide rates usually two to three times greater than employed males in all four cohorts
Unemployed 18−24-year-old males had elevated suicide rates compared to the employed during 1981−84 (SRR 4.25, 95 percent confidence interval 2.10−8.60) and 1991−94 (1.65, 1.04−2.61), but not during the two other periods.
You are absolutely correct this is a significant problem. Unfortunately its actually worse, because a certain level of unemployment is built into economic policy around the economy.
The government could achieve zero involuntary unemployment (involuntary unemployment is when there are not actually enough jobs to go around). This could be most simply achieved by the government providing a minimum wage job available to any takers, up to say 40 hours per week. It doesn’t do this because economic management indicates a trade off between a statistic called the Non-Accelerating Inflation Rate of Unemployment (NAIRU). Supposedly if unemployment falls below the NAIRU rate then inflation should accelerate in the economy. Presently the treasury estimates the NAIRU rate to be 4.25% unemployment and the reserve bank appears to put it even higher and closer to 4.7% unemployment.
Estimates of the NAIRU are frequently vague and multiple natural experiments where unemployment has fallen below NAIRU have indicated its not a realistic theory of what happens in the economy. Even on any reasonable theoretical grounds the NAIRU is pretty nebulous concept but it remains part of the practice of economic management never the less.
Even if there is a trade-off between inflation and unemployment its horribly unfair to use unemployment to the benefit largely of wealthy individuals who don’t suffer from unemployment at all and massively benefit from low inflation. A better policy (as I indicated above) would be to balance between government created job-guarantee jobs and other jobs, for the purposes of economic management. Allowing people to participate in work would as you indicate be better for their self esteem, better for their income and make it easier for them to find work from a position of being in work (even job-guaranteed work).
This policy is entirely within the abilities of the government of NZ to implement. Unemployment due to not enough jobs is a choice and the present government chooses it just as much as the previous one did.
One way to act and stop tinkering.
Nationalise the banks.
Obscene profits over $5 billion sucked out of our country and stashed overseas.
$5 billion in one year.
Just imagine what could be done with that.
No, you are the one proposing something be done so you should say what you mean by “Nationalise”. If you mean just seizing assets, well this usually leads to being invaded or at the very least strict trade embargoes.
If you mean that banks would be forced to sell then how do we pay them? Do we borrow this money? Is that really an improvement to create huge state debt? Do we ‘print’ the money? If we create the money how could we reasonably expect the banks to accept our then deflated currency? In this scenario we are basically back to taking it from them. Even if we pay them in currency that is worth something we would still need to withdraw from all our trade deals including CER.
You remind me of a flatmate when at uni. He always used to say “but we could just have a revolution” somehow oblivious to the fact that that doesn’t usually turn out too well.
What he might mean is that banks should be state owned, not for profit organizations that exist to assist us with day to day transactions and to help us manage our finances, they should only cover their costs to taxpayers, not make a profit.
I see, Ed, that our good friend “Stunned mullet” is living up to his moniker and resorting to the passive-aggressive non-answer. Well done for humoring him, but don’t let him upset you; serious readers will have taken in your excellent point about bank profiteering.
Thank you Morrissey. Your support is most welcome.
I am under regular attack from James, stunned mullet, chuck and others for proposing socialist policies on a left wing blog.
I propose nationalising the banks.
It has been done before in many countries.Look up how they did it.
There are many ways to force foreign private profit gouging banks out. Look at the techniques that have been used.
I sense too many posters are scared of banks and won’t take them on. What is lacking is courage and will,
Google loves me very much but doesn’t tell me how NZ could nationalise Australian banks without first withdrawing from CER and without getting into a huge scrap with the Aus government, which would be an economic disaster on a scale that makes the $5 bil going to Aussie banks look trivial. Maybe it’s the search terms I’m using?
No need to nationalise the aussie banks,just promote Kiwibank harder,give it an edge.
All Govt business would be a good start
.The big 4 aussie banks here have 1 rule for their Australian customers and another for Kiwis.In aussie they have deposit insurance cover,in NZ we have the opposite, the OBR.A number of fees to customers have been dispensed with in aussie,that remain for Kiwi customers.
They do it,because they can.
Exporting profits overseas is our biggest growth industry.
“• KiwiBank: Investigate KiwiBank’s capabilities to become the Government’s banker when that contract is next renewed.”
This is part of the Labour/NZF agreement. Great idea!
Same here Molly, my personal and business banking is with Kiwibank, I support the country that is educating my child and set my broken arm.
I think Kiwibank could create more compelling reasons for most of us to support them….I guess they need to be wary of the big Aussie banks making an anti-competition case against them. I still think there are many sweeteners Kiwibank could be putting on offer.
@DV +100 – when profits are now our 2nd biggest exports and our BIG exporters like Fonterra have had the farmers double milk production but essentially receive little from their productivity gain through poor management practises and siphoning off profits (overseas bought CEO getting 8 million plus salaries for example of the discrepancy) then you have to look how to tax the actual money which is disappearing overseas or into individuals through companies etc.
Globalism has meant it is now vitally important for our government to implement a Tobin tax or similar to get the people that are exporting money out using loopholes and our increasing overseas owned assets having money funnelled out through ‘IP’ payments and complicated debt structures like Mondelez has made from Cadbury in NZ. http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/201843153/business-commentator-rod-oram
savenz
Tobin tax – doesn’t have to be even 1% but should be in a band like inflation is presently. Tobin say between 1% – 0.33%, that would be unwelcome at the first but would not be too hard to adjust to, and not too costly apart from the fact that wealth tends to want a free ride, being spoken of as a natural ‘good’.
$5 billion sounds good. And while some may leave NZ with a Tobin tax, it will encourage more ethical business and individuals to come here.
The trusts that came to NZ with John Key’s, 0% tax haven no questions about who owns the money, and now that’s been slightly amended many of the trusts have left. We are better off without those trusts!!!
I’d like there to be a .5 or 1% tax on EVERY financial transaction made in this country. Everything, mortgages, wages, any transaction going through a bank into NZ and move to a cashless society. Most people wouldn’t even notice it and those that do and don’t like it, can more on out of NZ, freeing up whatever asset they are holding onto, for some more ethical person to acquire. We might even get our country back from the scam city money laundering nation, it has become.
They government could either lower PAYE taxes, get rid of debt, look at a partial UBI or decide to have the best schools, healthcare and so forth in this country.
Those that earn, $1,000 p/w can afford that $10 per week for the privilege.
Those who transact $500 million through Sky City or through real estate for example can also afford to pay the government the small change of $50,000 transaction charge for the privilege of gambling or buying here. Sell it to their friend, no worries, that will be another 1% please straight away to the government and all monitored through the banks and titles being changed, to make sure no cheating.
Some properties in west Auckland were being sold every 3 months and going up 100k each time.
There is no worry about litigation from IRD about the speculation tax, capital gains etc and 20 year fights, this way, its cut and dry – everyone just has to pay a little something to the government and the NZ taxpayers to transact here.
I’m all for micro taxes that NOBODY can avoid in particular those that make a global living out of avoiding taxes.
Ha, my apologies Dv, I have severely shortchanged you and discovered that my iPhone calculator runs out of space at 500,000,000 and didn’t accept the last ‘0’ I tapped in. So not batteries Planet Earth but yeah, my calculator.
One way to act and stop tinkering.
Set up housing cooperatives.
And give government tenders to them.
Cheaper houses.
The crooked cartel in building over.
Better wages.
Improved workers’ conditions.
More accountable management.
And the building materials where would they be purchased from ? ….. how about the workforce ? Who do you propose would have quality and managerial oversight ?
You’ve got it. Now follow up on your suggestion and stop being too lazy to find out the simple solutions to foreign private banks and the solutions to expensive housing.
We seem to have the raw materials in NZ for building (wood, steel, cement, wool insulation etc) and plenty of un and underemployed people so it seems that our industry (through the NZ ideology and corporate control by accountants, economists and lawyers,) now have one of the highest building costs per square meter, but also has one of the biggest square footage meter of housing as well.
Go figure! Who are we building these houses for (not many locals by the looks of things) and why are they so expensive and malfunctioning aka leaky or designed wrong.
State built and rented housing is a primary requirement – but not the only one – to solving the housing crisis.
Ed, is quite right. To continue as we are, is to continue to fail.
NZers needed secure access to housing ten years ago, the problem requires an immediate and radical solution.
The Nats completely restructured Ministries and created new ones.
This coalition, if it wanted, could act innovatively. Create a Ministry of Works and link it to apprenticeships in the trades. This could be in conjunction with regional spending. The supervision is provided by those tradies now near retirement age, that had the benefit of the old apprenticeship schemes and whose long experience gives their knowledge value. Employ them to train apprentices from foundation to final fitting, and we have a scheme that delivers training, housing and regional development and local economy boost all at once.
Housing NZ used to provide housing loans to NZers. The only thing stopping them doing the same is a lack of political will.
Cooperative housing could be encouraged by providing specialised cooperative development advisors, and oversight and management of government start up loans, which can then be replaced with the usual options when the developments are completed. The repaid start ups can then be reused for another community.
Imagine what the current outgoings for the America’s Cup could do if redirected.
Also how have our workers gone from being extremely well regarded and full of initiative to be labeled ‘hopeless drug users’ in the last 20 years? Even the B and C overseas executives are being flown in, because apparently Kiwi executives aren’t good enough. Even if they were, it’s all the same tired executives (Paula Rebstock types) being used in the same companies, accountants, politicians and lawyers who are not exactly used to having ideas, making stuff and innovating.
NZ has to dramatically look at how the Rogernomics and the Ruth Richardson mentality that has crippled NZ business and individuals in the last few decades and created poorly performing companies (Fletchers, Fonterra, Silver Fern farms) that strip out wealth from the country, rely on paying lower and lower wages with poorer conditions for most employees (apart from execs of course) and actually become basket cases that can’t compete globally, along with a nation of precariat workers.
NZ as a country, is like a farmer going bankrupt, so keeps on selling little parts of the farm to get the cashflow in, and then goes to the bank to borrow more and more money, while appearing really wealthy and knowledgable and telling everyone what a great farmer he is. He’s too lazy and unwilling to invest in his children or community so just brings in the cheapest unquestioning workers to keep the farm going.
Of course there’s not much left of the farm for the next generation to inherit and the bank effectively starts to control his farm, but who cares about the next generation.
Regarding the Report. At least this government is not in denial. They are not saying “It is a Rock Star Economy”
By getting a clear picture of the struggle, plans can be formed and progress measured.
We need to give this government support to implement the changes in an electorate where 44% aprox, like the status quo.
There are only so many hours in a day, and what is already in the pipeline is more than most could have hoped for just 6 months ago.
Yes some things we are unhappy about, but others far exceed our expectations.
For those who have yet to see an improvement in their situation, personally visit your MP’s office, go to party meetings, write emails and letters, as well as blogging.
These representatives have hit the ground running, but find infrastructure underfunded, the Public Service in tatters and the “rosy picture” painted on a rotten apple. Give them support to turn this around.
We have a great coalition, which is a cross section of the community at large. It has good leadership, and so far good teamwork, setting targets to achieve.
The opposition is entering new and uncharted waters. They will find there is less money in opposition, just as there is less power and a deal of internal ructions.
The “boat” looks a little rudderless at present, and the running “team” in disarray.
Some in the previous government have been self serving to an unprecedented degree, doing things to improve their own lives while performing very poorly in highly paid positions.
We are now seeing a huge political shift away from denial to open government. Some of the information won’t be pretty.
As opposed to to 51%that didn’t like National.
It looks like someone in national wanted Bill English toppled so did the dirty on Winston Peters so national wouldn’t have a coalition partner even with the largest single block of votes. Waiting for another 3 years for your ambition to arrive was too much for Collins crushing Double Dipper to become National leader her only option!
“They are not saying “It is a Rock Star Economy””
Neither did the last Government say it Patricia.
It was outside observers who did so.
It is the outside observers who have stopped saying it today. They have seen the confusion the Government is in, the incompetence of the Minister of Finance and the stupidity of the CIC, The Right Honourable Winston the First, and decided that the Economy will steadily decline.
Ed I agree there is to much money being spent on management in all the companies around Papatuanukue and not enough on the people who do the work /generate there income I think management should costs 10% not 45% for shuffling paper.
I vote for Mike King for Kiwis Bank person of the year Ka pai Kiwi Bank.
Morning Breakfast good win Black Caps.
I was not impressed by the way some people in the media Treat you over the last couple weeks Kia Kaha Men.
I give my condolences to all the people of Tonga and I won’t use there miss fortune to highlight one of my cause.
Ka kite ano P.S I figure out what bank I’m charging to.????
The successful Mondragon cooperatives model would show that Ed, more accurately might have said no ridiculously inflated management costs, but he was right that cooperative models offer an alternative.
Fonterra is only a coooperative in name now, not in practice. And even previously to floating, it was limited in terms of entrenched cooperative practice, such as that practised by Mondragon.
Morning Rock Rumble radio I won’t say to much mite cause to come out of some people _______and you get problems with your hard ware or soft wear I wonder if the sandflys are going to play games on the road today after what happened yesterday Ana to kai. Ka kite ano
The Tauranga sandflys are swarming today the think they own Atoearoa there is a lot of Maori history right here in the mount Maunganui like water of a duck back
Ka kite ano
My understanding is that he’s made one or two attempts to comment here since the ban period ended … and yet his comments haven’t made it through.
Any particular reason ?
————————————————————————————————————- The Standard
Rules
We encourage robust debate and we’re tolerant of dissenting views.
————————————————————————————————————-
Personally, (and here I very much echo the policy of The Standard) I greatly favour open, candid, robust debate over any pernicious censorship, enforced ideological conformity or echo chamber tribalism. The latter is extremely unhealthy for the Left in my ever so humble opinion.
(Note: Just off out the door … so won’t see any replies … whether well-meaning or sarky … until this evening. But I can assure you, here and now, that I’m certainly looking forward to them 🙂 )
[Your ‘understanding’ would appear to be incorrect]- Bill
[CV’s historical bans were for his behaviour, not his political views. If he were being banned for his political views he wouldn’t have made it through the US election. Probably the ‘Hitler did some good things’ comment would have been an obvious point to step in, but it didn’t happen.
If you want to talk about this I suggest you take more care in how you represent moderation on this site, and how you critique moderators, especially as at least one of your criticisms in the past has been utterly inaccurate. I’m not in the mood for another round of commenters disrespecting how this site is run. If you are unclear on where the boundaries are, ask. – weka]
Andre
Caught you “Sexist”; don’t make fun of the Batley Townswomens Guild wherever they may be, even in your mind. Remember Jimmy Carter who committed indecencies in his mind and was ashamed. You have to answer for such transgressions eventually.
I am sooo busted. Guilty as charged. All I’ll plead in mitigation is I did look for something else I could link as visual imagery, like mud wrestling men, but all the hits seemed to be gay porn or otherwise inappropriate, whereas the Batley Townswomen’s Guild hit exactly the right note I was looking for.
I understand you did your best. But in fact too many town guilds are out there waiting to be used as awful examples. I hope I am learning better methods of discussing and critiquing ideas here after sitting through some meetings that became bogged down and circular.
In the case of the re-enactment, bogged down fer sure. But I wouldn’t describe it as circular. Especially not with the pig trotting nonchalantly across the field at the end of it.
I enjoyed CV’s comments.
They were a lot more informed , a lot more radical and a lot more thought provoking than those from James, chuck, bm and others who come on this site for kicks.
I like a lot of CV’s comments, and if there starts to be a long winded debate that I’m not interested in, then I just scroll down.
If everyone thinks the same and has the same solutions to every problem, then the site is dead.
One of NZ biggest problems is that the neoliberal views have become the dominant ideology that is still unquestioned and championed by the global media. The lefties (in my view) have taken many of the right wing views (aka TPPA) and just added more taxes as a view to ‘redistribute’ the wealth being taken by a few. There are so many issues and stupidity in this approach (hard to stop climate change and environment degradation, inequality is growing fastest in places with major taxes like UK so it’s not working at all etc).
Labour lost touch and were not elected for nearly a decade, Greens nearly didn’t make it back last election. Even if some commentators are critical, then it’s still valuable, because politicians must stay in touch and that mean’s listening to a range of views and positions and then SHOCK maybe changing one’s mind before it’s too late could save themselves from themselves (and the rest of the planet from the faster tracked destruction via the Natz, plunder now, think later, approach).
I wonder if CV needs to log in for his comments to go through. I know that is the case for me – I have not been banned but I have become an infrequent commentator.
There is a work around, can’t quite remember what it is. I’ll see if I can do a test later and figure it out. Feel free to remind me if I forget.
I think it will resolved if I delete your login too, if that helps (I might check with Lynn on any issues with that). You won’t be able to set it up again though.
Thanks Weka. I am OK with having to log in – it is a very small step and just a matter of remembering to do it. But if there is a way of getting round it, it would be nice to know what it is.
This should work. It’d be great if you could try it out and let me know.
– Make sure you are logged out
– Delete browser cookies
– Restart browser
– Make a comment with same user name but a different email address (make one up, or put 2 after your email name before the @, so you can tell them apart. TS doesn’t require valid email addresses)
– First comment will go into spam, because you are considered a new user
– Subsequent comments should go through ok
Thanks Weka. I have an alternative email connection that have accidentally used in the distant past. Would that do, or would it be better to fulfill the whole instruction, so you can see what results?
After saying that, I have followed the full instruction, so we can both see the result. I see it hasn’t gone into spam, so it seems that I can now either choose the alternative address OR log in.
“Aware of their customers’ needs before they ask for them.”
“Complimentary case of Spy Valley chardonnay with every purchase.”
“Great store security. The man at the gate even notes your car rego should you forget where you left it under the two all-weather domed car parks.”
“Full country hospitality.”
“Owned by the Great Connections Sounds Board, they have sister service centres throughout the world.”
” The Five Eye brand not only encompasses four-eyed computer viewing geeks but the fifth eye cleverly embraces the totality of their knowledge of audio-visual home-based systems.”
mac1
That is such a good comment and link to put up. Very clever.
I was pleased to see in the comments under the item, that someone had put up the traditional line:
B.p.c.t.s
there is nothing wrong with it if you have nothing to hide
This from, I imagine, someone called Be pure citizens, trolls suffer.
Big fan of Lissa Lucas, she got up and named the politicians taking bribes, so they stopped her from talking. Then manhandled her off the stage. Corruption is insidious, one small step at a time.
Sir Ralph Norris has stood down from his chairmanship of Fletchers after its building division announced revised losses of $660 million. Sir Ralph said he wanted to show he was accountable for the company’s position. RNZ business editor Gyles Beckford tells Guyon Espiner the company has cashflow to cover debts, but shareholdes will be forgoing dividends.
They have weakened the market by trying to undercut everyone and now they have managed to reach the probably forecast result, they have skewed the whole sector and other firms would struggle to get up to speed. Bastard Fletchers.
Fletchers’ could make a good profit and show social leadership if they got into home construction for affordable prices.
As they did. Their quality was a such that “the first house they built together, in 1909, still stands and is open to the public in Dunedin.”
At least what they build will be more profitable than chasing the big dollars.
Interesting to note their current losses are about the same size as the extra revenue above budget projections announced by Finance Minister Robertson in the House yesterday.
How can a building company lose money when the economy is doing better than Treasury projections and there are a 100,000 houses to be built?
“How can a building company lose money when the economy is doing better than Treasury projections and there are a 100,000 houses to be built?”
Poor management hiring other bad workers, bad company culture, loss of focus, can’t make the right decisions in a timely manner or can’t make any decision , can’t look forward to the future.
Fletcher’s under quoted to help the National Party look good in ChCh and with Auckland’s sky tower convention centre.
The cost,s had already blown out, John Key negotiated the Deal which was seen as Dodgy at the time.
So John Key rides off into the sunset while The Govt no doubt pick up the bill.
https://www.nbr.co.nz/article/fletcher-break-talk-resurfaces-after-recent-share-slump-b-202003
April 18 2017 NBR won’t let me copy so –
Shares sank 21% wiping $1.52 billion off Fletchers group\construction division earnings weak.
Construction division had been caught out by a rapid increase in
labour costs’… generating 10% of earnings on 20% of revenue.
JBWere R Ward said “It’s a division in the company that’s low margin but important to win contracts…”
Construction division valued at $341 million with earnings multiple of four, compared to 8.1 across entire group.
Largest shareholder US based fund manager BlackRock with 6%, and the top 100 hold 84% out of 37,630 shareholders.l
ODT 26/10/2017 https://www.odt.co.nz/business/apology-fletcher-shareholders For its year trading to June, the portfolio of B+I projects, most of which were on fixed price contracts, delivered a $292million loss, while guidance released yesterday for 2018 estimated a further $160 million B+I loss – $125 million in project losses and $35 million overhead costs.
Because of ongoing ”uncertainty”, Fletcher has separated B+I guidance from the rest of Fletcher group earnings.
Of last year’s $292 million
loss, Auckland’s international convention centre and
Christchurch’s Justice Precinct represented about $195 million of the total, while of the estimated $125 million 2018 project losses, those two projects represent about $100 million.
Do you have any evidence for this or is it just as much a product of your imagination as your claim that Robertson had an Economics degree.
Found any evidence of that little fantasy by the way?
Please provide it.
“I have been saying for some time .
We are on the brink of a crash.”
Have you ever considered learning something new and studying a bit of Economics?
Paul Samuelson, who was one of the most influential economists of the 20th century once came out with this.
“To prove that Wall Street is an early omen of movements still to come in GNP, commentators quote economic studies alleging that market downturns predicted four out of the last five recessions. That is an understatement. Wall Street indexes predicted nine out of the last five recessions! And its mistakes were beauties.”
I think you come into the category of someone who keeps repeating his predictions until someday one of them comes true. Like a stopped clock that tells the right time twice a day.
I wonder if the Act Party will survive the next few years.
It’s likely the new National Party leader will move the Nats further to the right and the Act party may loose their already tiny support base. Will National need or want David Seymour to win Epsom in 2020? When Seymour realises he’s got no mates and no real voter support, will he simply resign and leave Epsom to National?
Radionz good interview with intelligent informed person – perhaps we can take notice of what he says and act promptly.
health
Toxic foam: Officials underplaying risks – US expert
From Morning Report, 8:42 am today
Listen duration 4′ :19″
An American expert in public health says New Zealand officials are deliberately underplaying risks from firefighting foam that’s contaminated water supplies near air force bases.
On Morning Report the Environment Ministry was asked about the health impacts. Howard Freed was the director of the New York Department of Health’s Center for Environmental Health from 2008 to 2012 while that state grappled – and is still grappling – with the impacts of foam contamination on water supplies.
Of course a lot of German wealth is based on their manufacturing and highly skilled focus, not the low wage economy to compete with Asian at $3p/h that NZ adopted.
Not too late for NZ, hopefully to give up Bill n John’s low wage precariat dream for NZ and adopt a more German, local jobs, local manufacturing, high wage, high conditions, high skill and training, highly accountable industry, approach.
With regards the public transport, NZ needs to actually get the public transport working and available and useable.
Got on a bus the other day, strong smell of chemicals coming from the upholstery/interior materials of the bus, a leak from the window meant the unfortunate person who sat there got their bum soaked and an animal was trapped at the back of the bus. The driver looked downtrodden and smelt of BO. It was a newish bus.
NZ does not seem to believe in quality anymore or even seems to know what is going on in their own industries.
John Minto stood for the mayor of Christchurch with, among others, a platform of ‘Free and Frequent’ public transport in the city.
And that fw Brownlee said that a ‘business case’ couldn’t be made for trains from Rangiora to Rolleston!
Well, a ‘business case’ probably couldn’t be made for saving the planet (or at least the human part of it) but that’s just what we have to do – think outside the box, be innovative and to hell with the dollars and cents!
If Germany exported steel and aluminum ingots rather than BMWs and Fokkers they wouldn’t be able to afford free public transport. We export sacks of milk powder and logs.
I see that Winston Peters has cracked the whip again and the Coalition parties are into backflip mode.
Stuart Nash looks like backing down on ensuring cameras are installed on fishing boats in order to monitor their activities, like dumping fish and so on.
Was this another one of the secret parts of the Labour/New Zealand support agreement?
Did Winston or Shane demand that Nash behave himself and stop making life difficult for the Winston First Parties financial backers? https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/350382/govt-considering-ditching-fishing-boat-camera-plans
Forest and Birds CEO Kevin Hague is not at all impressed.
I suppose the Green Party will go along with it. After all if Winston wants something Winston gets it.
But in November he put the camera rollout on hold on cost and systems issues. Again, in order to “backtrack” he needs to have supported it or advocated for it.
That’s not necessarily inconsistent. Fixed cameras aren’t particularly good for collecting evidence of the kind you need for fisheries prosecutions. They don’t necessarily allow species or quantities to be identified with certainty.
Increased use of observers and genuine commitment from industry to reducing endangered species kills and discarding are needed. It’s too easy to have a camera malfunction while the sealion is coming aboard or the damaged fish is going over the side.
The authors of the Government’s own housing stocktake argue it lacks the ambition to truly solve a multi-generational crisis because of a self-imposed debt limit. Bernard Hickey reports.
CTU President Richard Wagstaff said he would welcome a fresh debate about slowing down the pace of debt reduction, given the Government was now confronting much bigger infrastructure, social and environmental deficits than expected before it came into Government. See link above.
Where are the Greens on this?
Are the Greens considering a revision of their stance? Would they join the CTU in welcoming a debate?
You are far too polite.
Johnson’s real statement, if applied to the Greens would be
The Greens are so dumb they can’t fart and chew gum at the same time.
Not very nice is it? Or fair perhaps.
“The Government’s Families’ Package is a start but it cannot be the end of our work.
“As part of our confidence and supply agreement, the Green Party and the Labour Party will be undertaking a review and overhaul of the welfare system.
“Today’s report from the Salvation Army shows just how crucial and urgent that work, to lift the incomes of our poorest families, is… “ says Jan Logie.
One can’t help but notice the use of the word “families”, which rules out individuals (a number of the sick, disabled and unemployed) and couples without young kids.
As we already know the Greens and Labour will be undertaking a review and overhaul of the welfare system, looking at the service and care provided. This announcement/press release is just a recycling of their initial intent.
Unless, of course, it will also look at increasing the income of all beneficiaries as was kind of vaguely implied (or at least the need for it) in the Greens release. But it was far from clearly stated. Was this intentional?
Moreover, while urgency was noted, what was also missing was an announcement or at least a calling to bring forward the review.
So two points for the Greens. Better communicate your intentions. And when calling something urgent, at least call for action to be taken more urgently.
On a side, as Treasury is reporting better government books, use that as a leverage in this review to encourage Labour to do more on lifting the income of all beneficiaries. And call for it publicly.
Lets hope the Greens can come up with something a little more constructive and start bringing their A game.
The Salvation Army release their annual State of the Nation report and this (recycling of their initial intent) is the best the Greens decide to leverage off it?
Come on, surely even you must concede they can and should be doing better than that?
So do you think they should give their coalition partners a heads-up before caucus unilaterally changes party policy?
When should they have started the democratic process to change their policy, given the recent nature of the fiscal news and the content of the Salvation Army report? Should they do nothing until the policy has been changed?
And even if the country is collecting more tax, there’s still the 21billion dollar hole Joyce left the new govt.
In short: fuck off, concern-o-bot.
You can sketch out fancy plans, but in the real world politics isn’t a chess game played by two masterminds, in revolves around cooperation and consensus just as much as it involves competition. On the plus side, now we know you can find out what the Greens are doing on poverty, so any future questions you ask along those lines will just be intentional stupidity on your part.
I’ve been following the Greens press releases for years, thanks. So don’t take that disingenuous, condescending tone with me.
Moreover, it’s their lack of effort judged on their lack of releases coupled with the minimal effort within their releases (as highlighted above) in this regard that is resulting in beneficiaries feeling of abandonment. As highlighted the other day.
“When should they have started the democratic process to change their policy,”
What, you have the monopoly on disingenuous condescension?
Was it yesterday or the day before you were asking what the greens were doing about poverty – do you need me to link to the comment, or do you recall it?
As for the change in policy, the current policy is the review and overhaul of the system, and you’re looking for the Greens to suddenly call for a specific benefit hike funded by treasury’s inability to predict its books a few months out. Even if that’s consistent with green policy, is it consistent with the coalition negotiations?
They can indeed work to achieve more, but it might be balanced against putting their allies on the spot. (look up “working with others” and “professional courtesy” and “don’t be a dick”). Or maybe reinforcing their position serves a purpose of which you are unaware – keeping focus on the Sally army report, rather than making it a political football.
Not to mention that publicly concern-trolling the government of which you are a part simply provides succour to an enemy in disarray.
As for you looking for non-public information, you want the greens’ reputation to be improved by leaking? That’s a new one.
Most things in life are a balance. And according to Labour and the Greens, they have a robust relationship which can withstand disagreements.
Nevertheless, it’s not always about putting allies on the spot.
Therefore, it seems you’re the one that needs to look up working together.
The Greens are barley above the 5% threshold. Therefore, if Labour wants friends next election, it’s in their own best interest to give the Greens a win or two.
The Greens leveraging off the report would also keep the focus on it. And as the review is already planned, calling for it to be urgently brought forward is unlikely to see the report become a political football.
If the Greens don’t keep the commitment to the cause, the fallout within will give National plenty to work with. And I’m sure the Greens would rather put this to bed now than have it airing in the run up to the next election.
I wasn’t seeking party sensitive info, just anything that could be openly shared.
OK, you wanted insider info that wasn’t publicly available, but you wanted insiders to decide what should be publicly available. And it’s not leaking lol
Basically, you’re repeating the common criticism that sticking to what a party announced is somehow a disappointment. Basing it on an assumption that the polls now will be the polls in 28 months time unless the greens and labour follow your concerns.
The Greens have nothing to put to bed. They’re fine. They don’t need your advice. Three out of four polls since the election have them above their election result, and some of those would be well outside the MoE@6-10%. But if Greens listened to you, they’d be thinking that 6.3% was their normal vote share, rather than an aberration.
But here’s the thing: you’re not going to succeed in depressing people and discouraging them. You actually make me want to vote green again, except when your concerned about Labour, in which case you make me want to vote for them. Your concern trolling actually praises with faint damnation.
Depressing people and discouraging them isn’t my goal. Moreover, the Greens don’t need help in that respect, they are doing a fine job of that by themselves.
They made a commitment to continue the cause, yet people aren’t seeing that. One only has to look at their press releases to see the evidence for that.
Now that could merely be their communications is lacking, which is why I asked if there was anything more. But as you can see, nothing further has been presented.
And with little more up their sleeves, it is highly unlikely their support will grow.
The Greens have largely outlined their plans for this term, however, it’s failed to inspire growth in their support. This is the most the party has ever accomplished in respect to having political power, yet they aren’t getting a surge in support. Whereas, after Meteria’s announcement, their support surged to one of their highest ratings.
Therefore, if the Greens want to grow their support, they are going to have to do more than what they have already outlined. And honouring their commitment would be the place to start. Failing to do so will only depress and discourage more.
lol
It’s not your goal, but it still seems to be the main content of your comment.
Again, you’re advertising “doing what they agreed” as “shortcoming”. I don’t see much evidence the greens in parliament or outside are depressed at all. The shouldn’t be. They took a hit for doing the right thing, but they survived. That hit had bad timing for them, so they’ll put up with helpers like you for three years, but really I think it’s made them stronger. If someone doubts whether their politicians have guts as wussy wishy washy hippies, there’s the evidence.
But the other question revolves around why the Greens should take advice on popularity from someone who has less than they do…
Unless you’re determined to be as ignorant as the likes of Nick Cohen, Dan Hodges, John Rentoul and the rest of Britain’s mediocracy, you will want to read this book….
Finally the Canadian (former) Defense minister has come out of the closet and confessed the “Illuminati movement to control the world and use “agenda 21” to push for One world governance and we need to realise that this TPP11 and all other falsely termed “free trade” agreements are made to link up together so it becomes one big elite controlled vehicle to run the world.
Aww, damn, it’s just a secret group of humans pulling all the strings controlling the world? Bugger, I was hoping it really was shapeshifting reptilian aliens.
Hillary & Jeremy I thank Garth Morgan for waking up my political Wairua it was his policy and him being a down to earth KIWI that got me blogging about politics and politicians he just got his humerus line wrong.
The words he used were not a personal attack on Jacinda they were a attack on the establishment of NEW ZEALAND Ka kite ano
Eco Maori says there is nobody in Aotearoa that can out shine Jacinda Mana as OUR Prime Minster .
That said does not mean I will hold my tongue when I see her being lead down the wrong path Kia Kaha . Ka kite ano
I have just signed the petition to protest against the tpp from Penny Brights post and made a donation to the givealittle page here is the link
https://givealittle.co.nz/org/itsourfuture/donations
If you cannot make it to the venues or protest please make a donating to help these good people stop or change this bull_______ tpp11
Ana to kai ka kite ano
Dont waste any of your time worrying about the trolls Lydia Ko they are just jealous people that don’t have a life .
If your employed help is not delivering the right harmonious winning environment for your success well move on and find the people that will help with your success .
Elon Mus is the same type of person anyone who is successful does not carry on making the same mistakes .
I have had employees that were costing me a lot of Mana /money I did not muck around with them I sacked them not a problem It is better for your career and theres .
Ka pai Lydia Kia Kaha .Ka kite ano
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The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
By Kaneta Naimatu in Suva Journalists in the Pacific region play an important role as the “eyes and ears on the ground” when it comes to reporting the climate crisis, says the European Union’s Pacific Ambassador Barbara Plinkert. Speaking at The University of the South Pacific (USP) on World Press ...
Aldora Itunu is back in the Black Ferns squad after a three-year absence. The last of her 24 internationals was an underwhelming loss to France (7-29) in Castres to conclude the disastrous 2021 Northern Tour. The powerhouse prop won a Rugby World Cup in 2017 and thought she was done. ...
The fight to control major transport policy and projects in Auckland has burst into the open again, with councillors rejecting Mayor Wayne Brown’s latest attempt to steer things more under his influence. Councillors from the left and right broke ranks on the mayor’s bid to control Auckland Transport more directly ...
Exhausted by the general election campaign, horrified by the twilight zone of coalition negotiations, distracted by the silly season and waiting for the honeymoon to begin, Raw Politics has been in hibernation since October. From today, we’re back. Our weekly political video show and podcast returns for ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk Authorities in the small town of Boulouparis have commemorated Armistice Day on May 8 with a new memorial honouring New Zealand soldiers who were stationed in New Caledonia during World War II. The ceremony took place in the township on the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sara Dehm, Senior lecturer, international migration and refugee law, University of Technology Sydney The High Court unanimously ruled today that the Australian government can keep asylum seekers in immigration detention indefinitely in cases where they do not “voluntarily” cooperate with their own ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Munro, Lecturer, Creative Industries and Digital Media, University of South Australia Twenty-four hours after the release of Macklemore’s pro-Palestine protest song Hind’s Hall on social media on May 7, the video had already notched up over 24 million views. In ...
Failing to anticipate the complexity of the consenting system is being cited as the the current builder's shortcomings, an Infrastructure Commission review says. ...
350 Aotearoa is calling the Environment Select Committee’s decision to allow oral submissions from just 40% of individual, unique submitters who asked to speak to the committee ‘a disgraceful blight to democracy’. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Helal, Assistant Dean (Sustainability), The University of Melbourne Dubai skylineAleksandarPasaric/Pexels Since ancient times, people have built structures that reach for the skies – from the steep spires of medieval towers to the grand domes of ancient cathedrals and mosques. Today ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Edward Musole, PhD Law Student, University of New England Girts Ragelis/ShutterstockRecent trends show Australians are increasingly buying wearables such as smartwatches and fitness trackers. These electronics track our body movements or vital signs to provide data throughout the day, with ...
Papua New Guinea experienced a significant earthquake on 24 March in East Sepik and there has also been recent flooding there and in surrounding provinces. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yousuf Mohammed, Dermatology researcher, The University of Queensland Maridav/Shutterstock You wake up, stagger to the bathroom and gaze into the mirror. No, you’re not imagining it. You’ve developed face wrinkles overnight. They’re sleep wrinkles. Sleep wrinkles are temporary. But as your ...
The Environment Select Committee has just announced that 60 percent of individuals who asked to speak at the hearings will not be heard. This equates to almost 700 people who made individual submissions and more than 1000 more who made a form submission. ...
The Royal New Zealand Ballet is performing Swan Lake around the country. What kind of dream does the ballet sell?Before going to see the Royal New Zealand Ballet perform Swan Lake, I had about as much familiarity with the plot of this ballet as could be expected from having ...
A new poem by Auckland poet Eamonn Tee. High Tide at Local Maxima It is only going to get worse. The streams will be narrow and fickle. The week will bend and buckle like a pot-bellied waist. You will make it to the weekend with one ...
The New Zealand entrepreneur behind beauty business Ethique is gearing up to launch a new eco-venture. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Our thirst for a tasty bevvy is insatiable, but it comes with a hefty plastic price for the planet: 580 billion ...
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 James by Percival Everett (Mantle, $38) A retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from ...
By Kamna Kumar in Suva Pacific Islands Forum Secretary-General Henry Puna stressed the importance of media freedom and its link to the climate and environmental crisis at the 2024 World Press Freedom Day event organised by the University of the South Pacific’s journalism programme. Under the theme “A Planet for ...
Tara Ward previews a new local TV series offering alternative visions of motherhood. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. A woman is clambering up the side of her two-story house, clinging desperately to a drainpipe. Nearby, her child is perched on the ...
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is supportive of the cross-party approach to climate adaptation announced by the Minister of Climate Change today. ...
The Sustainable Business Council (SBC) and Climate Leaders Coalition (CLC) welcome today’s announcement from Government around a bipartisan inquiry into an enduring climate adaptation framework for New Zealand. ...
The Free Speech Union welcomes the decision by the Department of Internal Affairs, and Minister Brooke Van Velden, to abandon proposals to further regulate online speech. ...
Its new building in Wellington will not be nearly big enough for all its records, and it has also run out of money to build its new storage facility in Levin. ...
BusinessNZ is congratulating the Minister of Climate Change for his work in achieving cross-party consensus for a way forward on climate adaptation. ...
Recent research reveals the repeal of smokefree measures is not only bad for our health, but also the economy. The Government has repealed various smokefree measures to ensure it keeps collecting $1.2 billion a year in tobacco taxes, in order to pay for tax cuts already being delivered to ...
The club’s surprisingly good season is built on the desire to prove a random A-League YouTuber wrong… and a few other factors.“There’s no way that Wellington Phoenix play finals this year. I can’t see it happening at all.” Those are the words of Lachlan Raeside, an Australian football content ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By César Albarrán-Torres, Senior Lecturer, Department of Media and Communication, Swinburne University of Technology Apple TV+ As one of billions of bilingual individuals in the world, it disappoints me when a film or TV show with characters of a non-English-speaking background is ...
The under-utilised course is a waste of space, and with a little political will, it could be turned into something better. For the duration of her stay in Wellington, my long-suffering cousin listened to me rant about golf courses. They’re bad for the environment: water intensive and pesticide heavy. They ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Leah Ruppanner, Professor of Sociology and Founding Director of The Future of Work Lab, Podcast at MissPerceived, The University of Melbourne Shutterstock A recent report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows US fertility rates dropped 2% in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Corderoy, Medical doctor and PhD candidate studying involuntary psychiatric treatment, School of Psychiatry, UNSW Sydney shop_py/Shutterstock Picture two people, both suffering from a serious mental illness requiring hospital admission. One was born in Australia, the other in Asia. Hopefully, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Treby, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, RMIT University P.j.Hickox, Shutterstock Peatlands store more carbon per square metre than any other ecosystem on Earth. These waterlogged, mossy bogs beat even dense rainforests for their ability to act as carbon reservoirs. Under the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Goss, Adjunct Associate Professor, Health Research Institute, University of Canberra Government spending on health has been growing so rapidly that a decade ago the then health minister Peter Dutton called it “unmanageable” and “unsustainable”. Health spending grew in real terms by ...
New Zealand's largest electricity distributor is warning the country to hurry up with controls around charging electric vehicles or face unnecessary bills running into the billions. ...
New Zealanders have been asked to conserve energy this morning to combat a possible electricity shortfall, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. A call to conserve power New Zealand is facing a possible electricity shortfall, with people up ...
Writer Rebecca K Reilly breaks down the national book awards. What are the Ockhams?The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are our annual national awards for books published for adults, and have existed in this form since 2016. There are four categories: Fiction, Poetry, General Non-fiction and Illustrated Non-fiction. There ...
Wellington City Council should keep its 34% ownership share in Wellington International Airport, argue Unions Wellington spokespeople Finn Cordwell and Ashok Jacob. Insanity, as the saying goes, is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Wellington City Council (WCC) is yet again proposing to dispose ...
New Zealand’s largest book publisher has undergone drastic changes this week, leaving its future role in local publishing uncertain. Two of the most recognisable local publishers in New Zealand are among those restructured out of Penguin Random House, it was announced this week. Head of publishing Claire Murdoch will leave ...
Successive governments have tried, and failed, to count Māori. But with the return of social investment, it’s more important than ever to get good data. The post Government looks for a better way to count Māori appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Experts in financing social investment initiatives say New Zealand is in a prime position to tackle social issues via a social investment approach The post What will Willis’ social investment fund look like? appeared first on Newsroom. ...
In 2021 the Public Interest Journalism Fund launched the Te Rito Journalism project, a $2.4 million initiative to boost diversity in New Zealand’s newsrooms. The initiative was in response to the decades-long shortage of Māori and Pacific journalists in the media industry. It was billed as New Zealand’s ...
The Black Ferns Sevens appeared to be a mile behind Australia at the halfway point of the 2023-24 SVNS international circuit. Winless in three tournaments, a cup quarter-final exit in Perth was one of their worst results. To add insult to injury, talismanic skipper Sarah Hirini had been ruled out ...
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By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist A former Tuvalu prime minister says while the New Zealand government’s oil and gas plans show it is concerned about its economy, he is more concerned about the livelihoods and survival of the Tuvalu people. Enele Sopoaga — who still serves as an MP ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Many people who follow federal budgets know about the magnificent “budget tree” in a parliamentary courtyard, which turns a glorious red in time for the May event. This week Treasurer Jim Chalmers posed by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samantha Bennett, Professor of Music, Australian National University Richard P J Lambert/flickr, CC BY The future belongs to the analogue loyalists. Fuck digital. As a tsunami of CDs, DAT tapes and samplers swept the recording industry in the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Catherine Strong, Associate professor, Music Industry, RMIT University This week American rapper Macklemore released a new track, Hind’s Hall, which has gained a lot of attention because of its explicitly political nature. The track is unapologetically pro-Palestine. It declares the artist’s ...
Explainer - The government from 2025 is mandating how state schools teach children to read. But what is structured literacy and how does it compare to other teaching methods? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Danica Jenkins, Lecturer in European Studies, University of Sydney On a freezing spring night in March, Georgia’s national soccer team beat Greece in a nail-biter penalty shootout to qualify for the Euro 2024 championships. The atmosphere on the streets of the capital ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam G. Arian, Lecturer (Accounting & Finance), Australian Catholic University Loic Manegarium/Pexels Imagine every ton of carbon dioxide a company emits is slowly inflating its costs — not just in terms of potential fines or fees but in the capital it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Somwrita Sarkar, Senior Lecturer in Design and Computation, University of Sydney The “latte line” is the infamous, invisible boundary that divides Sydney between the more affluent north-east and the south-west. Historically, people north of the line enjoy better access to jobs and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dowdy, Principal Research Scientist in Extreme Weather, The University of Melbourne Nomad_Soul/Shutterstock In media articles about unprecedented flooding, you’ll often come across the statement that for every 1°C of warming, the atmosphere can hold about 7% more moisture. This ...
RNZ Pacific Former Fiji Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has been sentenced to one year in prison, Fiji media are reporting. Bainimarama, alongside suspended Fiji Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho appeared in the High Court in Suva today for their sentencing hearing for a case involving their roles in blocking a police ...
Stop tinkering.
Act.
End neoliberalism.
“The Salvation Army State of the Nation report reveals Kiwis struggle with rents and wages.
An estimated 70,000 New Zealand children— or 7% of the under 17-year-old population— are living in severe material deprivation.
Rents continue to rise faster than wages and salaries. In December 2017, it took 13.0 hours of pay at the average wage to pay the average rent. In December 2015 it was 12.4 hours.
The prison population has grown 30 per cent from 8000 in 2008 to 10,470 at the end of September 2017.
During 2016/17, average household debt rose 3.1% in inflation adjusted terms to $151,900 per household.
The number of food parcels being handed out at the Salvation Army’s foodbanks has jumped 12 percent in the last year.”
http://www.salvationarmy.org.nz/sites/default/files/uploads/20180214stateofthenation2018handoutonline.pdf
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11991298
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/350347/demand-for-food-parcels-jumps-12-percent
There’s some of that ‘brighter future’ middle NZ got sucked in over.
I’d like to see the govt combine the asset flogging and environmental vandalism into a message that reminds people this is the reality of 3 terms of national.
Now is the time whilst they have this sham leadership contest to hang the albatross firmly around their necks and ensure the association isn’t missed by anyone.
If it was good enough for them to sit back while key and blinglish spun and BS’d their way through govt then they can wear the consequences.
30 years of neoliberalism created this.
Douglas should be put on trial for destroying this country.
“Stagnant incomes and rising living costs are pushing more and more Kiwis into poverty, the Salvation Army says.
In its State of the Nation Report, released Wednesday, the charity paints a damning picture of poorer Kiwis being left behind despite economic growth.
This year’s report Kei a Tātou – It is us showed pay packets for families on the breadline were being swallowed by rising living costs.”
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/101394889/salvation-army-report-poor-kiwis-getting-left-behind-despite-economic-boom
how about focusing on the ‘brighter future’ instead of going back to an era most voters don’t identify with as either being not old enough or not living in NZ at the time.
Clark/Cullen stabilised many areas (so the slide ceased) however it’s Key/Blinglish that inherited nett zero crown debt and proceeded to plunder assets, give the rich a tax cut, rack up debt, hobble health, education, housing etc
Lest we forget as the MSM will have their nat-goggles on pimping for blue at every turn relying on good old kiwi apathy and ignorance come polling day.
Welfare – Pretty much all political parties have focused on family support, not individual NZers, they look at the family needs but never address unemployment support, training or getting adults into a stable financial situation though employment.
If you have Kids there are alot of programs and support to assist you and your kids, from discounted or free healthcare, pregnancy support, early childhood, subsidised housing (when available) to working for families financial support (which in a lot of cases makes you tax neutral) and may of these programs have almost no impact (as when families get more, things cost more so you end up with no gain – Like WFF)
IF your an individual there is only unemployment, Which works out to be around $10 – $14k per year, many sick/disabled fall into this category (there’s a little more additional support if your condition is recognised, but not much, I know this personally. My cluster headaches, are not recognised and not considered debilitating, which is insane.)
So are we surprised that inequality and poverty is growing? if your unemployed support, you can be trapped in a cycle of dependency, trapped in a system with little/no support and no re-training. with rising costs (rents/food) and almost no rise in unemployment you get people in need, who have to choose between basic needs, we live in a first world nation and we have people who have to choose between hot water and food, who can only barely afford to eat and have no contingency if things go wrong.
Studies show that a 6 month or more gap in employment history is a big problem for finding future employment, there are a myriad of advice columns that advise from glossing over or filling in that time with volunteer works to simply lying about work gaps to hide that fact you might have needed help.
How did this happen? Well, we let it. We believe stories about drug use, crime, Iphones… but the data was never supported, we listen to leaders who called benafieries “bludgers” when the reality of how our economy works is that we need a certain level of unemployment (if unemployment gets too low, works get too much power this means rising wages/perks which in turn drives up product prices, which then reduced global exports, etc, etc, its a domino effect.) but we blame these people for being part of the system we support/created? and refuse to offer then basic living conditions and simple human rights.
So we take away the one thing these people have left, hope and then wonder why drug use increases, depressions, suicide (I would dearly love to see figures on the number of people on benefits who commit suicide, but this stat is not tracked, in fact MSD has no record of the reason why people leave benefits, it is assumed they find employment.)
If we want change, I think we need to make “beneficiary bashing” a crime (this includes our leaders) like any “hate speech” it needs to be treated the same.
And we need to seriously look at how we treat our most vulnerable and take immediate steps to change the public perception (this is the only way to get them they help they need)
Really appreciate you taking the time to write this comment Leonhart, it spells out clearly the folly in designing systems or solutions that do not address underlying causes – and most importantly, the impact on individual humans.
+100
Additional this is the earliest report I could find stating unemployment and suicide rates.
https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/documents/publications/suicidetrendsandsocialfactors.pdf
I cannot find one for 2000+ so this is 18 years out of date (so these figure if the same study was concluded would be much higher)
Document Page 27, PDf page 37 – Excerpt – unemployed and non-active 25−44 and 45−64ñ year-old males had suicide rates usually two to three times greater than employed males in all four cohorts
Unemployed 18−24-year-old males had elevated suicide rates compared to the employed during 1981−84 (SRR 4.25, 95 percent confidence interval 2.10−8.60) and 1991−94 (1.65, 1.04−2.61), but not during the two other periods.
Very interesting data.
You are absolutely correct this is a significant problem. Unfortunately its actually worse, because a certain level of unemployment is built into economic policy around the economy.
The government could achieve zero involuntary unemployment (involuntary unemployment is when there are not actually enough jobs to go around). This could be most simply achieved by the government providing a minimum wage job available to any takers, up to say 40 hours per week. It doesn’t do this because economic management indicates a trade off between a statistic called the Non-Accelerating Inflation Rate of Unemployment (NAIRU). Supposedly if unemployment falls below the NAIRU rate then inflation should accelerate in the economy. Presently the treasury estimates the NAIRU rate to be 4.25% unemployment and the reserve bank appears to put it even higher and closer to 4.7% unemployment.
Estimates of the NAIRU are frequently vague and multiple natural experiments where unemployment has fallen below NAIRU have indicated its not a realistic theory of what happens in the economy. Even on any reasonable theoretical grounds the NAIRU is pretty nebulous concept but it remains part of the practice of economic management never the less.
Even if there is a trade-off between inflation and unemployment its horribly unfair to use unemployment to the benefit largely of wealthy individuals who don’t suffer from unemployment at all and massively benefit from low inflation. A better policy (as I indicated above) would be to balance between government created job-guarantee jobs and other jobs, for the purposes of economic management. Allowing people to participate in work would as you indicate be better for their self esteem, better for their income and make it easier for them to find work from a position of being in work (even job-guaranteed work).
This policy is entirely within the abilities of the government of NZ to implement. Unemployment due to not enough jobs is a choice and the present government chooses it just as much as the previous one did.
One way to act and stop tinkering.
Nationalise the banks.
Obscene profits over $5 billion sucked out of our country and stashed overseas.
$5 billion in one year.
Just imagine what could be done with that.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/101413524/new-zealand-banks-pulled-in-record-combined-profit-in-2017
How do you propose this would be achieved?
Google is your friend.
..but not yours apparently..
I’m not doing your work for you.
If you have questions, do the research.
🙄
No, you are the one proposing something be done so you should say what you mean by “Nationalise”. If you mean just seizing assets, well this usually leads to being invaded or at the very least strict trade embargoes.
If you mean that banks would be forced to sell then how do we pay them? Do we borrow this money? Is that really an improvement to create huge state debt? Do we ‘print’ the money? If we create the money how could we reasonably expect the banks to accept our then deflated currency? In this scenario we are basically back to taking it from them. Even if we pay them in currency that is worth something we would still need to withdraw from all our trade deals including CER.
You remind me of a flatmate when at uni. He always used to say “but we could just have a revolution” somehow oblivious to the fact that that doesn’t usually turn out too well.
What he might mean is that banks should be state owned, not for profit organizations that exist to assist us with day to day transactions and to help us manage our finances, they should only cover their costs to taxpayers, not make a profit.
That is obvious. The question is how he would achieve that transformation without destroying the economy.
I see, Ed, that our good friend “Stunned mullet” is living up to his moniker and resorting to the passive-aggressive non-answer. Well done for humoring him, but don’t let him upset you; serious readers will have taken in your excellent point about bank profiteering.
Moz me old chum how’s the blog going ?
Very good, thanks. Have a look. …..
http://morrisseybreen.blogspot.co.nz/
At least it keeps you occupied.
Lots of things keep me occupied, my friend. The blog takes a few minutes every few days.
Thank you Morrissey. Your support is most welcome.
I am under regular attack from James, stunned mullet, chuck and others for proposing socialist policies on a left wing blog.
If you are proposing policy then how about saying how you would achieve it..
My policy is World Peace and Happiness. We should just do it.
I propose nationalising the banks.
It has been done before in many countries.Look up how they did it.
There are many ways to force foreign private profit gouging banks out. Look at the techniques that have been used.
I sense too many posters are scared of banks and won’t take them on. What is lacking is courage and will,
It is your policy so it is up to you to give examples of how it has been done before. I gave you some questions in my previous post.
I propose world peace and happiness.
Google is your friend.
Google loves me very much but doesn’t tell me how NZ could nationalise Australian banks without first withdrawing from CER and without getting into a huge scrap with the Aus government, which would be an economic disaster on a scale that makes the $5 bil going to Aussie banks look trivial. Maybe it’s the search terms I’m using?
No need to nationalise the aussie banks,just promote Kiwibank harder,give it an edge.
All Govt business would be a good start
.The big 4 aussie banks here have 1 rule for their Australian customers and another for Kiwis.In aussie they have deposit insurance cover,in NZ we have the opposite, the OBR.A number of fees to customers have been dispensed with in aussie,that remain for Kiwi customers.
They do it,because they can.
Exporting profits overseas is our biggest growth industry.
100% yes re Kiwibank
“• KiwiBank: Investigate KiwiBank’s capabilities to become the Government’s banker when that contract is next renewed.”
This is part of the Labour/NZF agreement. Great idea!
You really must stop being such a nit-picker.
Ed says do it. Just do it!
Google is your friend is his new answer to “I have no idea how to back up my ridiculous statement”
James obviously doesnt give shit about $5 bill being sucked out of the country. I bet you voted for the blue and black feather too.
And I assume that 100% of the people here all bank entirely with Kiwibank?
And no – I don’t care – if kiwibank does not work for me then I go to a bank that can help. I don’t care where the profits end up.
I don’t care…ME ME ME…
I don’t care where the profits end up…
I was answering for me, nobody else.
So that’s the correct term to use.
Apologies if English is your second language.
English certainly was your language. Did you get the memo? He’s resigned.
You’ll need a new set of language learnings now (going forward)
“ I don’t care.”
In 3 words James summarises his world view.
Interestingly, my partner and I only looked at Kiwi owned banks for our banking requirements because we did care where the profits ended up.
Would you bank with a cooperative bank that actively promoted socialist policies if you would get a better deal?
Same here Molly, my personal and business banking is with Kiwibank, I support the country that is educating my child and set my broken arm.
I think Kiwibank could create more compelling reasons for most of us to support them….I guess they need to be wary of the big Aussie banks making an anti-competition case against them. I still think there are many sweeteners Kiwibank could be putting on offer.
He gets trolled a lot – no point posting links for folk who only come to kvetch.
Thank you
That is about $1250 per person PROFIT for the banks.
One way to claw back is a tobin tax.
1% would get about 50million.
The other advantage is that it would catch all the profit shift as well by the multiNats
Tobin tax
a proposed tax on international financial transactions, especially speculative currency exchange transactions.
@DV +100 – when profits are now our 2nd biggest exports and our BIG exporters like Fonterra have had the farmers double milk production but essentially receive little from their productivity gain through poor management practises and siphoning off profits (overseas bought CEO getting 8 million plus salaries for example of the discrepancy) then you have to look how to tax the actual money which is disappearing overseas or into individuals through companies etc.
Globalism has meant it is now vitally important for our government to implement a Tobin tax or similar to get the people that are exporting money out using loopholes and our increasing overseas owned assets having money funnelled out through ‘IP’ payments and complicated debt structures like Mondelez has made from Cadbury in NZ. http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/201843153/business-commentator-rod-oram
savenz
Tobin tax – doesn’t have to be even 1% but should be in a band like inflation is presently. Tobin say between 1% – 0.33%, that would be unwelcome at the first but would not be too hard to adjust to, and not too costly apart from the fact that wealth tends to want a free ride, being spoken of as a natural ‘good’.
dv at 1% Tobin tax on financial transactions would bring in more than $5 billion in taxes.
You just looking at banking profits.
Correct – that was just the banking profits.
$5 billion sounds good. And while some may leave NZ with a Tobin tax, it will encourage more ethical business and individuals to come here.
The trusts that came to NZ with John Key’s, 0% tax haven no questions about who owns the money, and now that’s been slightly amended many of the trusts have left. We are better off without those trusts!!!
I make 5 billion dollars divided by 4.5 million people about $111 each.
I’d like there to be a .5 or 1% tax on EVERY financial transaction made in this country. Everything, mortgages, wages, any transaction going through a bank into NZ and move to a cashless society. Most people wouldn’t even notice it and those that do and don’t like it, can more on out of NZ, freeing up whatever asset they are holding onto, for some more ethical person to acquire. We might even get our country back from the scam city money laundering nation, it has become.
They government could either lower PAYE taxes, get rid of debt, look at a partial UBI or decide to have the best schools, healthcare and so forth in this country.
Those that earn, $1,000 p/w can afford that $10 per week for the privilege.
Those who transact $500 million through Sky City or through real estate for example can also afford to pay the government the small change of $50,000 transaction charge for the privilege of gambling or buying here. Sell it to their friend, no worries, that will be another 1% please straight away to the government and all monitored through the banks and titles being changed, to make sure no cheating.
Some properties in west Auckland were being sold every 3 months and going up 100k each time.
There is no worry about litigation from IRD about the speculation tax, capital gains etc and 20 year fights, this way, its cut and dry – everyone just has to pay a little something to the government and the NZ taxpayers to transact here.
I’m all for micro taxes that NOBODY can avoid in particular those that make a global living out of avoiding taxes.
It’s back to charter school for you David Mac (or new batteries for your calculator) 🙂
4.5 million x 1000=4500 million
Which is 4.5 billion??
For those big no’s, I doo the calc in google
.
Ha, my apologies Dv, I have severely shortchanged you and discovered that my iPhone calculator runs out of space at 500,000,000 and didn’t accept the last ‘0’ I tapped in. So not batteries Planet Earth but yeah, my calculator.
Ok I am glad I am not a billionare, I would have too much trouble with the math.
One way to act and stop tinkering.
Set up housing cooperatives.
And give government tenders to them.
Cheaper houses.
The crooked cartel in building over.
Better wages.
Improved workers’ conditions.
More accountable management.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/101398374/fletcher-building-suffered-billions-in-wealth-loss
And the building materials where would they be purchased from ? ….. how about the workforce ? Who do you propose would have quality and managerial oversight ?
Google is your friend 🙂
You’ve got it. Now follow up on your suggestion and stop being too lazy to find out the simple solutions to foreign private banks and the solutions to expensive housing.
The solutions are simple.
And radical.
We seem to have the raw materials in NZ for building (wood, steel, cement, wool insulation etc) and plenty of un and underemployed people so it seems that our industry (through the NZ ideology and corporate control by accountants, economists and lawyers,) now have one of the highest building costs per square meter, but also has one of the biggest square footage meter of housing as well.
Go figure! Who are we building these houses for (not many locals by the looks of things) and why are they so expensive and malfunctioning aka leaky or designed wrong.
State built and rented housing is a primary requirement – but not the only one – to solving the housing crisis.
Ed, is quite right. To continue as we are, is to continue to fail.
NZers needed secure access to housing ten years ago, the problem requires an immediate and radical solution.
The Nats completely restructured Ministries and created new ones.
This coalition, if it wanted, could act innovatively. Create a Ministry of Works and link it to apprenticeships in the trades. This could be in conjunction with regional spending. The supervision is provided by those tradies now near retirement age, that had the benefit of the old apprenticeship schemes and whose long experience gives their knowledge value. Employ them to train apprentices from foundation to final fitting, and we have a scheme that delivers training, housing and regional development and local economy boost all at once.
Housing NZ used to provide housing loans to NZers. The only thing stopping them doing the same is a lack of political will.
Cooperative housing could be encouraged by providing specialised cooperative development advisors, and oversight and management of government start up loans, which can then be replaced with the usual options when the developments are completed. The repaid start ups can then be reused for another community.
Imagine what the current outgoings for the America’s Cup could do if redirected.
Molly
+100
Also how have our workers gone from being extremely well regarded and full of initiative to be labeled ‘hopeless drug users’ in the last 20 years? Even the B and C overseas executives are being flown in, because apparently Kiwi executives aren’t good enough. Even if they were, it’s all the same tired executives (Paula Rebstock types) being used in the same companies, accountants, politicians and lawyers who are not exactly used to having ideas, making stuff and innovating.
NZ has to dramatically look at how the Rogernomics and the Ruth Richardson mentality that has crippled NZ business and individuals in the last few decades and created poorly performing companies (Fletchers, Fonterra, Silver Fern farms) that strip out wealth from the country, rely on paying lower and lower wages with poorer conditions for most employees (apart from execs of course) and actually become basket cases that can’t compete globally, along with a nation of precariat workers.
NZ as a country, is like a farmer going bankrupt, so keeps on selling little parts of the farm to get the cashflow in, and then goes to the bank to borrow more and more money, while appearing really wealthy and knowledgable and telling everyone what a great farmer he is. He’s too lazy and unwilling to invest in his children or community so just brings in the cheapest unquestioning workers to keep the farm going.
Of course there’s not much left of the farm for the next generation to inherit and the bank effectively starts to control his farm, but who cares about the next generation.
Who cares about the next generattion? Fuck all from what I can see.
You raise so many good points Molly…..including the B and C execs.
Regarding the Report. At least this government is not in denial. They are not saying “It is a Rock Star Economy”
By getting a clear picture of the struggle, plans can be formed and progress measured.
We need to give this government support to implement the changes in an electorate where 44% aprox, like the status quo.
There are only so many hours in a day, and what is already in the pipeline is more than most could have hoped for just 6 months ago.
Yes some things we are unhappy about, but others far exceed our expectations.
For those who have yet to see an improvement in their situation, personally visit your MP’s office, go to party meetings, write emails and letters, as well as blogging.
These representatives have hit the ground running, but find infrastructure underfunded, the Public Service in tatters and the “rosy picture” painted on a rotten apple. Give them support to turn this around.
We have a great coalition, which is a cross section of the community at large. It has good leadership, and so far good teamwork, setting targets to achieve.
The opposition is entering new and uncharted waters. They will find there is less money in opposition, just as there is less power and a deal of internal ructions.
The “boat” looks a little rudderless at present, and the running “team” in disarray.
Some in the previous government have been self serving to an unprecedented degree, doing things to improve their own lives while performing very poorly in highly paid positions.
We are now seeing a huge political shift away from denial to open government. Some of the information won’t be pretty.
Agreed.
There has been a notable improvement in honesty.
an electorate where 44% aprox, like the status quo.
The Nats got 1,152,075 votes out of a possible 3,298,009.
That’s just under 35% of the electorate.
No need to inflate it 🙂
Sorry, You are correct.
As opposed to to 51%that didn’t like National.
It looks like someone in national wanted Bill English toppled so did the dirty on Winston Peters so national wouldn’t have a coalition partner even with the largest single block of votes. Waiting for another 3 years for your ambition to arrive was too much for Collins crushing Double Dipper to become National leader her only option!
To compare apples with apples, the coalition parties got 1,305,333 votes out of a possible 3,298,009: 39.6% of the electorate 🙂
“They are not saying “It is a Rock Star Economy””
Neither did the last Government say it Patricia.
It was outside observers who did so.
It is the outside observers who have stopped saying it today. They have seen the confusion the Government is in, the incompetence of the Minister of Finance and the stupidity of the CIC, The Right Honourable Winston the First, and decided that the Economy will steadily decline.
“Outside observers”? More like fawning right-wing spinners.
Outside observers like the banks,
Who’ve just made off with over $5 billion of our money.
They would say that, wouldn’t they?
Ed I agree there is to much money being spent on management in all the companies around Papatuanukue and not enough on the people who do the work /generate there income I think management should costs 10% not 45% for shuffling paper.
I vote for Mike King for Kiwis Bank person of the year Ka pai Kiwi Bank.
Morning Breakfast good win Black Caps.
I was not impressed by the way some people in the media Treat you over the last couple weeks Kia Kaha Men.
I give my condolences to all the people of Tonga and I won’t use there miss fortune to highlight one of my cause.
Ka kite ano P.S I figure out what bank I’m charging to.????
If we have cooperatives there are no management costs.
Just shared interests.
😆 no management costs in cooperatives 😆
Ed showing his financial genius
James showing he has nothing better to do.
Well it’s not like I’m wrong.
James is 48.
He has a barbecue.
He has a boat.
He flies business class.
He has lots of friends.
And he hangs around ALL DAY making smart comments on a left wing blog.
Any part of this story make no sense?
The successful Mondragon cooperatives model would show that Ed, more accurately might have said no ridiculously inflated management costs, but he was right that cooperative models offer an alternative.
Fonterra is a cooperative.
And a near monopoly.
Monopolies have a limited lifespan.
Monopolies get to greedy and inefficient.
Fonterra is only a coooperative in name now, not in practice. And even previously to floating, it was limited in terms of entrenched cooperative practice, such as that practised by Mondragon.
Fair point Molly.
You get the gist of what I was saying.
Morning Rock Rumble radio I won’t say to much mite cause to come out of some people _______and you get problems with your hard ware or soft wear I wonder if the sandflys are going to play games on the road today after what happened yesterday Ana to kai. Ka kite ano
The Tauranga sandflys are swarming today the think they own Atoearoa there is a lot of Maori history right here in the mount Maunganui like water of a duck back
Ka kite ano
When is a 2 Week Ban … Not a 2 Week Ban ?
Colonial Viper received a two week ban wayyyyy back on Nov 27.
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-27-11-2017/#comment-1419426
My understanding is that he’s made one or two attempts to comment here since the ban period ended … and yet his comments haven’t made it through.
Any particular reason ?
————————————————————————————————————-
The Standard
Rules
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Personally, (and here I very much echo the policy of The Standard) I greatly favour open, candid, robust debate over any pernicious censorship, enforced ideological conformity or echo chamber tribalism. The latter is extremely unhealthy for the Left in my ever so humble opinion.
(Note: Just off out the door … so won’t see any replies … whether well-meaning or sarky … until this evening. But I can assure you, here and now, that I’m certainly looking forward to them 🙂 )
[Your ‘understanding’ would appear to be incorrect]- Bill
[CV’s historical bans were for his behaviour, not his political views. If he were being banned for his political views he wouldn’t have made it through the US election. Probably the ‘Hitler did some good things’ comment would have been an obvious point to step in, but it didn’t happen.
If you want to talk about this I suggest you take more care in how you represent moderation on this site, and how you critique moderators, especially as at least one of your criticisms in the past has been utterly inaccurate. I’m not in the mood for another round of commenters disrespecting how this site is run. If you are unclear on where the boundaries are, ask. – weka]
I also would be interested to know if CV is still being “discouraged” somehow or if they just found somewhere more enlightened to participate
😆 “… enlightened … ” 😆
Aren’t CV and TRP on twitter, still carrying on the Batley Townswomen’s Guild Re-enactment of Pearl Harbour?
Andre
Caught you “Sexist”; don’t make fun of the Batley Townswomens Guild wherever they may be, even in your mind. Remember Jimmy Carter who committed indecencies in his mind and was ashamed. You have to answer for such transgressions eventually.
I am sooo busted. Guilty as charged. All I’ll plead in mitigation is I did look for something else I could link as visual imagery, like mud wrestling men, but all the hits seemed to be gay porn or otherwise inappropriate, whereas the Batley Townswomen’s Guild hit exactly the right note I was looking for.
I understand you did your best. But in fact too many town guilds are out there waiting to be used as awful examples. I hope I am learning better methods of discussing and critiquing ideas here after sitting through some meetings that became bogged down and circular.
In the case of the re-enactment, bogged down fer sure. But I wouldn’t describe it as circular. Especially not with the pig trotting nonchalantly across the field at the end of it.
Curiouser and curiouser said Alice.
Poor Alice. She didn’t have google to find the meaning behind Batley Townswomen’s Guild.
Justin and I like to call them Townswomanpersons.
I enjoyed CV’s comments.
They were a lot more informed , a lot more radical and a lot more thought provoking than those from James, chuck, bm and others who come on this site for kicks.
Agree totally there Ed. My own opinion is that much of his problem was that he didn’t fit in with the establishment left residing here.
I like a lot of CV’s comments, and if there starts to be a long winded debate that I’m not interested in, then I just scroll down.
If everyone thinks the same and has the same solutions to every problem, then the site is dead.
One of NZ biggest problems is that the neoliberal views have become the dominant ideology that is still unquestioned and championed by the global media. The lefties (in my view) have taken many of the right wing views (aka TPPA) and just added more taxes as a view to ‘redistribute’ the wealth being taken by a few. There are so many issues and stupidity in this approach (hard to stop climate change and environment degradation, inequality is growing fastest in places with major taxes like UK so it’s not working at all etc).
Labour lost touch and were not elected for nearly a decade, Greens nearly didn’t make it back last election. Even if some commentators are critical, then it’s still valuable, because politicians must stay in touch and that mean’s listening to a range of views and positions and then SHOCK maybe changing one’s mind before it’s too late could save themselves from themselves (and the rest of the planet from the faster tracked destruction via the Natz, plunder now, think later, approach).
There is no block on comments from CV.
I wonder if CV needs to log in for his comments to go through. I know that is the case for me – I have not been banned but I have become an infrequent commentator.
Yes I notice your absence Olwyn, good to see when you turn up.
Thanks greywarshark 🙂
If someone is not logged in their comments go to spam and get seen and released by any Author that is around.
I’ve never logged in and there was only a delay on the first couple of posts i made.
yes, the first post always gets held. There’s a bug that holds people with logins who aren’t logged in.
There is a work around, can’t quite remember what it is. I’ll see if I can do a test later and figure it out. Feel free to remind me if I forget.
I think it will resolved if I delete your login too, if that helps (I might check with Lynn on any issues with that). You won’t be able to set it up again though.
Thanks Weka. I am OK with having to log in – it is a very small step and just a matter of remembering to do it. But if there is a way of getting round it, it would be nice to know what it is.
ok, I’ve been meaning to get that clear in my head anyway, so will have a play and see what works.
This should work. It’d be great if you could try it out and let me know.
– Make sure you are logged out
– Delete browser cookies
– Restart browser
– Make a comment with same user name but a different email address (make one up, or put 2 after your email name before the @, so you can tell them apart. TS doesn’t require valid email addresses)
– First comment will go into spam, because you are considered a new user
– Subsequent comments should go through ok
Thanks Weka. I have an alternative email connection that have accidentally used in the distant past. Would that do, or would it be better to fulfill the whole instruction, so you can see what results?
After saying that, I have followed the full instruction, so we can both see the result. I see it hasn’t gone into spam, so it seems that I can now either choose the alternative address OR log in.
Perfect! If that stops working again, please let me know.
Will do.
“Best listeners in the country.”
“Aware of their customers’ needs before they ask for them.”
“Complimentary case of Spy Valley chardonnay with every purchase.”
“Great store security. The man at the gate even notes your car rego should you forget where you left it under the two all-weather domed car parks.”
“Full country hospitality.”
“Owned by the Great Connections Sounds Board, they have sister service centres throughout the world.”
” The Five Eye brand not only encompasses four-eyed computer viewing geeks but the fifth eye cleverly embraces the totality of their knowledge of audio-visual home-based systems.”
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/101351522/google-maps-lists-waihopai-spy-base-as-best-audio-visual-rental-service-in-nz?cid=edm:stuff:marlboroughexpress&bid=597826584
One bad customer review said, “Their know-it-all staff have a ‘we’ve heard it all before’ attitude.”
mac1
That is such a good comment and link to put up. Very clever.
I was pleased to see in the comments under the item, that someone had put up the traditional line:
This from, I imagine, someone called Be pure citizens, trolls suffer.
Thanks for the belly laughs mac1.
Tell me though. Is the photo of the
cowboyssecurity guys at the base entrance for real? Or did someone include it for a joke?“Thanks for the belly laughs”.
“I’m an old Wobbly from way back…. 🙂
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Industrial-Workers-of-the-World (Anne, I know you know what a Wobbly is- this is for the education of trolls.)
As for more belly laughs, Simon Bridges has put his hand up for National’s leader as I type.
Anne, the local paper has the photo captioned “although police in the driveway, right, would say otherwise.”
Oh dear,
That’s me for the latest list of subversives. Suspect I’ve been on it in days gone by – in my more ‘wobbly’ days.
Big fan of Lissa Lucas, she got up and named the politicians taking bribes, so they stopped her from talking. Then manhandled her off the stage. Corruption is insidious, one small step at a time.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2018/02/12/she-was-naming-lawmakers-who-took-oil-and-gas-money-so-they-barred-her-from-the-public-hearing/?utm_term=.a3fe41f5bc69
So obviously I’m back on the payroll:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/101421924/simon-bridges-likely-to-announce-national-party-leadership-bid-to-replace-bill-english-today
Judith Collins has announced a bid to replace Bill English as leader of the National Party.
She said on Twitter National needed strong leadership to win in 2020.
“I am that person.”
This is a good move by Jude, as I told her yesterday its likely she wouldn’t get supported after the 2020 election so her only time is now
🙂
Question please PR…
Do all caucus members have to vote, or if you don’t like any of the leadership choices can one abstain?
Thats a good question, I don’t know
Thanks PR, would you please let me know if you find out, will do the same.
According to Stuff, there is no procedure laid down in the National Party’s constitution, so the rules will be decided by caucus.
They’ll probably have to convene a special Shadow Cabinet Club to get instructions.
A Spinoff piece on ‘thrifty’ travellers – if you didn’t catch it before. Apparently it was from 9 February though I couldn’t see date on page.
https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/09-02-2018/eat-at-the-soup-kitchen-why-stop-there-10-more-money-saving-hacks-for-the-frugal-traveller/
Nice
The Spinoff piece was written by Madeleine Chapman – good, clever writing. She might turn out to be someone to read regularly.
Fletcher Building are now no longer bidding on any large new jobs.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11994129
This is a devastating blow to industry capacity when Twyford desperately needs industry capacity to deliver his housing and transport policies.
It’s like Fonterra saying they will stop entry into all new markets.
This is an industry earthquake.
You have to squint through some really tinted glasses to see the upside for this.
Radionz
business economy
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018632001/fletcher-building-announces-660m-loss-ralph-norris-quits
Fletcher Building announces $660m loss, Ralph Norris quits
From Morning Report, 8:57 am today
Listen duration 3′ :15″
Sir Ralph Norris has stood down from his chairmanship of Fletchers after its building division announced revised losses of $660 million. Sir Ralph said he wanted to show he was accountable for the company’s position. RNZ business editor Gyles Beckford tells Guyon Espiner the company has cashflow to cover debts, but shareholdes will be forgoing dividends.
They have weakened the market by trying to undercut everyone and now they have managed to reach the probably forecast result, they have skewed the whole sector and other firms would struggle to get up to speed. Bastard Fletchers.
Fletchers’ could make a good profit and show social leadership if they got into home construction for affordable prices.
As they did. Their quality was a such that “the first house they built together, in 1909, still stands and is open to the public in Dunedin.”
At least what they build will be more profitable than chasing the big dollars.
Interesting to note their current losses are about the same size as the extra revenue above budget projections announced by Finance Minister Robertson in the House yesterday.
How can a building company lose money when the economy is doing better than Treasury projections and there are a 100,000 houses to be built?
“How can a building company lose money when the economy is doing better than Treasury projections and there are a 100,000 houses to be built?”
Poor management hiring other bad workers, bad company culture, loss of focus, can’t make the right decisions in a timely manner or can’t make any decision , can’t look forward to the future.
Fletcher’s under quoted to help the National Party look good in ChCh and with Auckland’s sky tower convention centre.
The cost,s had already blown out, John Key negotiated the Deal which was seen as Dodgy at the time.
So John Key rides off into the sunset while The Govt no doubt pick up the bill.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11992622
The latest from the Herald showing a falling line on the graph.
The NBR article from 2017 indicated concern then, and the graph showed that there has not been much improvement throughout 2017 and now it is lower still.
https://www.nbr.co.nz/article/fletcher-break-talk-resurfaces-after-recent-share-slump-b-202003
April 18 2017
NBR won’t let me copy so –
Shares sank 21% wiping $1.52 billion off Fletchers group\construction division earnings weak.
Construction division had been caught out by a rapid increase in
labour costs’… generating 10% of earnings on 20% of revenue.
JBWere R Ward said “It’s a division in the company that’s low margin but important to win contracts…”
Construction division valued at $341 million with earnings multiple of four, compared to 8.1 across entire group.
Largest shareholder US based fund manager BlackRock with 6%, and the top 100 hold 84% out of 37,630 shareholders.l
ODT 26/10/2017
https://www.odt.co.nz/business/apology-fletcher-shareholders
For its year trading to June, the portfolio of B+I projects, most of which were on fixed price contracts, delivered a $292million loss, while guidance released yesterday for 2018 estimated a further $160 million B+I loss – $125 million in project losses and $35 million overhead costs.
Because of ongoing ”uncertainty”, Fletcher has separated B+I guidance from the rest of Fletcher group earnings.
Of last year’s $292 million
loss, Auckland’s international convention centre and
Christchurch’s Justice Precinct represented about $195 million of the total, while of the estimated $125 million 2018 project losses, those two projects represent about $100 million.
What I see in listings online here doesnt match with other info so can’t comment.
I don’t understand it of course so not sure what, how to compare. The overview in this morningstar report of Fletcher Building Ltd shows that Institutions and Mutual funds are major shareholders.
Here is table which looks as if it is just USA.
https://investors.morningstar.com/ownership/shareholders-overview.html?t=XBER:FLQ®ion=deu&culture=en-US&ownerCountry=USA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fletcher_Building
Do you have any evidence for this or is it just as much a product of your imagination as your claim that Robertson had an Economics degree.
Found any evidence of that little fantasy by the way?
Please provide it.
sounds like a candidate for some synergistic nationalisation 😉
Ooh er, the ‘n’ word. Is that allowed?
I have been saying for some time .
We are on the brink of a crash.
“I have been saying for some time .
We are on the brink of a crash.”
Have you ever considered learning something new and studying a bit of Economics?
Paul Samuelson, who was one of the most influential economists of the 20th century once came out with this.
“To prove that Wall Street is an early omen of movements still to come in GNP, commentators quote economic studies alleging that market downturns predicted four out of the last five recessions. That is an understatement. Wall Street indexes predicted nine out of the last five recessions! And its mistakes were beauties.”
I think you come into the category of someone who keeps repeating his predictions until someday one of them comes true. Like a stopped clock that tells the right time twice a day.
I think it’s what they call “a gap in the market”. Other contractors will be looking to expand and take on more work.
I wonder if the Act Party will survive the next few years.
It’s likely the new National Party leader will move the Nats further to the right and the Act party may loose their already tiny support base. Will National need or want David Seymour to win Epsom in 2020? When Seymour realises he’s got no mates and no real voter support, will he simply resign and leave Epsom to National?
Join the Army—get Ahed.
Her secret “trial” begins today. What is our government doing about this? Has the Prime Minister said a word about it?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/global-opinions/wp/2018/02/13/im-ahed-tamimis-cousin-israel-needs-to-stop-imprisoning-kids-like-her/?utm_term=.f31ae6163dd1
http://normanfinkelstein.com/2014/07/28/idf-courage-under-fire-the-cowardly-lion-was-very-impressed/
Radionz good interview with intelligent informed person – perhaps we can take notice of what he says and act promptly.
health
Toxic foam: Officials underplaying risks – US expert
From Morning Report, 8:42 am today
Listen duration 4′ :19″
An American expert in public health says New Zealand officials are deliberately underplaying risks from firefighting foam that’s contaminated water supplies near air force bases.
On Morning Report the Environment Ministry was asked about the health impacts. Howard Freed was the director of the New York Department of Health’s Center for Environmental Health from 2008 to 2012 while that state grappled – and is still grappling – with the impacts of foam contamination on water supplies.
He says government agencies usually respond to public health problems in one of two ways – they either try to persuade the public the risk is minimal, or they take a precautionary approach and begin acting immediately. And after listening to Vicky Robertson’s interview, Dr Freed says New Zealand is going down the path of trying not to alarm people.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018632000/toxic-foam-officials-underplaying-risks-us-expert
Germany is proposing making public transport completely free, in five cities.
Good and bold.
http://www.dw.com/en/germany-considering-free-public-transportation-to-take-on-air-pollution/a-42574053
@ AD, good link.
Of course a lot of German wealth is based on their manufacturing and highly skilled focus, not the low wage economy to compete with Asian at $3p/h that NZ adopted.
Not too late for NZ, hopefully to give up Bill n John’s low wage precariat dream for NZ and adopt a more German, local jobs, local manufacturing, high wage, high conditions, high skill and training, highly accountable industry, approach.
With regards the public transport, NZ needs to actually get the public transport working and available and useable.
Got on a bus the other day, strong smell of chemicals coming from the upholstery/interior materials of the bus, a leak from the window meant the unfortunate person who sat there got their bum soaked and an animal was trapped at the back of the bus. The driver looked downtrodden and smelt of BO. It was a newish bus.
NZ does not seem to believe in quality anymore or even seems to know what is going on in their own industries.
Thats a smart move and the only way that public transport can be sustainable IMHO
John Minto stood for the mayor of Christchurch with, among others, a platform of ‘Free and Frequent’ public transport in the city.
And that fw Brownlee said that a ‘business case’ couldn’t be made for trains from Rangiora to Rolleston!
Well, a ‘business case’ probably couldn’t be made for saving the planet (or at least the human part of it) but that’s just what we have to do – think outside the box, be innovative and to hell with the dollars and cents!
Brilliant news.
Stunned mullet would tell them it wasn’t possible and how could they afford it?
Where there’s a will, there’s a way.
In Germany they have a will.
In the neoliberal slave state of New Zealand, they don’t.
Courage.
Willpower.
Action.
Has Germany nationalised their banks?
If Germany exported steel and aluminum ingots rather than BMWs and Fokkers they wouldn’t be able to afford free public transport. We export sacks of milk powder and logs.
Google.
What did you find?
Of course they can do it..and they probably will.
Very efficient the Germans just a matter of getting the all the respective levers right and they’ll be fine.
I’m pretty sure they have a word for “argument based on ethnicity”, too.
If you’ve been to Germany and travelled on their trains you’ll understand what I mean.
John Banks in his element
I see that Winston Peters has cracked the whip again and the Coalition parties are into backflip mode.
Stuart Nash looks like backing down on ensuring cameras are installed on fishing boats in order to monitor their activities, like dumping fish and so on.
Was this another one of the secret parts of the Labour/New Zealand support agreement?
Did Winston or Shane demand that Nash behave himself and stop making life difficult for the Winston First Parties financial backers?
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/350382/govt-considering-ditching-fishing-boat-camera-plans
Forest and Birds CEO Kevin Hague is not at all impressed.
I suppose the Green Party will go along with it. After all if Winston wants something Winston gets it.
Oh i’m sure the Greens have managed to make some changes to the plans and everything will be hunky dory 🙂
fishy pun
better hunky dory than funky dory.
ha ha, maybe we should give PR that as a new nickname, for when his comments are off.
A good pun is its own reward 🙂
this is true.
Let’s hope they don’t flounder.
“Backing down”?
When was Nash in favour of the plan?
As recently as a month ago he was assuring the public that the video footage would be made available to them and that it would be subject to the OIA
http://home.nzcity.co.nz/news/article.aspx?id=262770&cat=976&fm=newsmain%2Cnarts
Now he seems to be going to scrap the whole scheme
The existing footage.
But in November he put the camera rollout on hold on cost and systems issues. Again, in order to “backtrack” he needs to have supported it or advocated for it.
That’s not necessarily inconsistent. Fixed cameras aren’t particularly good for collecting evidence of the kind you need for fisheries prosecutions. They don’t necessarily allow species or quantities to be identified with certainty.
https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/350382/govt-considering-ditching-fishing-boat-camera-plans
Increased use of observers and genuine commitment from industry to reducing endangered species kills and discarding are needed. It’s too easy to have a camera malfunction while the sealion is coming aboard or the damaged fish is going over the side.
The QMS needs a significant review too.
The authors of the Government’s own housing stocktake argue it lacks the ambition to truly solve a multi-generational crisis because of a self-imposed debt limit. Bernard Hickey reports.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2018/02/12/88442/the-case-to-throw-off-the-fiscal-straitjacket
CTU President Richard Wagstaff said he would welcome a fresh debate about slowing down the pace of debt reduction, given the Government was now confronting much bigger infrastructure, social and environmental deficits than expected before it came into Government. See link above.
Where are the Greens on this?
Are the Greens considering a revision of their stance? Would they join the CTU in welcoming a debate?
Nothing from the Greens on this?
What happen to walking and chewing gum?
You are far too polite.
Johnson’s real statement, if applied to the Greens would be
The Greens are so dumb they can’t fart and chew gum at the same time.
Not very nice is it? Or fair perhaps.
I see The Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report spurred this (link below) from the Greens.
https://www.greens.org.nz/news/press-release/salvation-army-report-highlights-need-urgent-action-lifting-incomes
“The Government’s Families’ Package is a start but it cannot be the end of our work.
“As part of our confidence and supply agreement, the Green Party and the Labour Party will be undertaking a review and overhaul of the welfare system.
“Today’s report from the Salvation Army shows just how crucial and urgent that work, to lift the incomes of our poorest families, is… “ says Jan Logie.
One can’t help but notice the use of the word “families”, which rules out individuals (a number of the sick, disabled and unemployed) and couples without young kids.
As we already know the Greens and Labour will be undertaking a review and overhaul of the welfare system, looking at the service and care provided. This announcement/press release is just a recycling of their initial intent.
Unless, of course, it will also look at increasing the income of all beneficiaries as was kind of vaguely implied (or at least the need for it) in the Greens release. But it was far from clearly stated. Was this intentional?
Moreover, while urgency was noted, what was also missing was an announcement or at least a calling to bring forward the review.
So two points for the Greens. Better communicate your intentions. And when calling something urgent, at least call for action to be taken more urgently.
On a side, as Treasury is reporting better government books, use that as a leverage in this review to encourage Labour to do more on lifting the income of all beneficiaries. And call for it publicly.
🙄
🙄 🙄
Lets hope the Greens can come up with something a little more constructive and start bringing their A game.
The Salvation Army release their annual State of the Nation report and this (recycling of their initial intent) is the best the Greens decide to leverage off it?
Come on, surely even you must concede they can and should be doing better than that?
So do you think they should give their coalition partners a heads-up before caucus unilaterally changes party policy?
When should they have started the democratic process to change their policy, given the recent nature of the fiscal news and the content of the Salvation Army report? Should they do nothing until the policy has been changed?
And even if the country is collecting more tax, there’s still the 21billion dollar hole Joyce left the new govt.
In short: fuck off, concern-o-bot.
You can sketch out fancy plans, but in the real world politics isn’t a chess game played by two masterminds, in revolves around cooperation and consensus just as much as it involves competition. On the plus side, now we know you can find out what the Greens are doing on poverty, so any future questions you ask along those lines will just be intentional stupidity on your part.
I’ve been following the Greens press releases for years, thanks. So don’t take that disingenuous, condescending tone with me.
Moreover, it’s their lack of effort judged on their lack of releases coupled with the minimal effort within their releases (as highlighted above) in this regard that is resulting in beneficiaries feeling of abandonment. As highlighted the other day.
“When should they have started the democratic process to change their policy,”
What change in policy are you on about?
What, you have the monopoly on disingenuous condescension?
Was it yesterday or the day before you were asking what the greens were doing about poverty – do you need me to link to the comment, or do you recall it?
As for the change in policy, the current policy is the review and overhaul of the system, and you’re looking for the Greens to suddenly call for a specific benefit hike funded by treasury’s inability to predict its books a few months out. Even if that’s consistent with green policy, is it consistent with the coalition negotiations?
The reason I was asking was because they have put little info out there.
So while I’m aware of what they have publicly released, I was seeking to see if anybody had any further (insider) knowledge.
As for the change in policy, I wasn’t calling for one in this regard. As you are aware, increasing benefits is consistent with Green policy.
Moreover, just because they have a negotiation agreement, doesn’t mean they can’t honour their commitment and work on achieving more.
They can indeed work to achieve more, but it might be balanced against putting their allies on the spot. (look up “working with others” and “professional courtesy” and “don’t be a dick”). Or maybe reinforcing their position serves a purpose of which you are unaware – keeping focus on the Sally army report, rather than making it a political football.
Not to mention that publicly concern-trolling the government of which you are a part simply provides succour to an enemy in disarray.
As for you looking for non-public information, you want the greens’ reputation to be improved by leaking? That’s a new one.
Most things in life are a balance. And according to Labour and the Greens, they have a robust relationship which can withstand disagreements.
Nevertheless, it’s not always about putting allies on the spot.
Therefore, it seems you’re the one that needs to look up working together.
The Greens are barley above the 5% threshold. Therefore, if Labour wants friends next election, it’s in their own best interest to give the Greens a win or two.
The Greens leveraging off the report would also keep the focus on it. And as the review is already planned, calling for it to be urgently brought forward is unlikely to see the report become a political football.
If the Greens don’t keep the commitment to the cause, the fallout within will give National plenty to work with. And I’m sure the Greens would rather put this to bed now than have it airing in the run up to the next election.
I wasn’t seeking party sensitive info, just anything that could be openly shared.
OK, you wanted insider info that wasn’t publicly available, but you wanted insiders to decide what should be publicly available. And it’s not leaking lol
Basically, you’re repeating the common criticism that sticking to what a party announced is somehow a disappointment. Basing it on an assumption that the polls now will be the polls in 28 months time unless the greens and labour follow your concerns.
The Greens have nothing to put to bed. They’re fine. They don’t need your advice. Three out of four polls since the election have them above their election result, and some of those would be well outside the MoE@6-10%. But if Greens listened to you, they’d be thinking that 6.3% was their normal vote share, rather than an aberration.
But here’s the thing: you’re not going to succeed in depressing people and discouraging them. You actually make me want to vote green again, except when your concerned about Labour, in which case you make me want to vote for them. Your concern trolling actually praises with faint damnation.
Depressing people and discouraging them isn’t my goal. Moreover, the Greens don’t need help in that respect, they are doing a fine job of that by themselves.
They made a commitment to continue the cause, yet people aren’t seeing that. One only has to look at their press releases to see the evidence for that.
Now that could merely be their communications is lacking, which is why I asked if there was anything more. But as you can see, nothing further has been presented.
And with little more up their sleeves, it is highly unlikely their support will grow.
The Greens have largely outlined their plans for this term, however, it’s failed to inspire growth in their support. This is the most the party has ever accomplished in respect to having political power, yet they aren’t getting a surge in support. Whereas, after Meteria’s announcement, their support surged to one of their highest ratings.
Therefore, if the Greens want to grow their support, they are going to have to do more than what they have already outlined. And honouring their commitment would be the place to start. Failing to do so will only depress and discourage more.
lol
It’s not your goal, but it still seems to be the main content of your comment.
Again, you’re advertising “doing what they agreed” as “shortcoming”. I don’t see much evidence the greens in parliament or outside are depressed at all. The shouldn’t be. They took a hit for doing the right thing, but they survived. That hit had bad timing for them, so they’ll put up with helpers like you for three years, but really I think it’s made them stronger. If someone doubts whether their politicians have guts as wussy wishy washy hippies, there’s the evidence.
But the other question revolves around why the Greens should take advice on popularity from someone who has less than they do…
That nice Mr English who has given such wonderful service to the country is on TV at the moment in the House.
Fortunately he’ll have time on his hands to take the lead role in the movie when they make it – “Scumbag Dogs.”
Unless you’re determined to be as ignorant as the likes of Nick Cohen, Dan Hodges, John Rentoul and the rest of Britain’s mediocracy, you will want to read this book….
http://normanfinkelstein.com/2018/02/12/alex-nunns-on-jeremy-corbin-dont-miss-it/
Thanks Morrissey looks excellent.
Spot on zorb6, all government departments to bank with kiwibank.
Kiwibank can sub-contract to other locally owned banks/co-operatives.
A tax or levy on foreign bank transactions.
When the courage arises, introduce a financial transaction tax with a higher rate for the foreign owned institutions.
$5B, imagine the shopping/wish list
Has Asperger’s but keeps getting locked up. When will we understand that jailing people with disabilities or who are unwell doesn’t help?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/101433253/recidivist-tinder-stalker-jailed-again
Breaking news,; – 13/2/2018.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2018/02/canada-s-ex-defence-minister-says-illuminati-is-real.html
Finally the Canadian (former) Defense minister has come out of the closet and confessed the “Illuminati movement to control the world and use “agenda 21” to push for One world governance and we need to realise that this TPP11 and all other falsely termed “free trade” agreements are made to link up together so it becomes one big elite controlled vehicle to run the world.
Now thats some expert-level trolling
Aww, damn, it’s just a secret group of humans pulling all the strings controlling the world? Bugger, I was hoping it really was shapeshifting reptilian aliens.
“use “agenda 21” to push for One world governance”
The article doesn’t say this at all. It reads like a big enough pile of crap without you adding to it.
“Mr Hellyer is hopeful the aliens will be able to help us if the Earth is ever in serious strife.”
Why aren’t they here now then?
Hillary & Jeremy I thank Garth Morgan for waking up my political Wairua it was his policy and him being a down to earth KIWI that got me blogging about politics and politicians he just got his humerus line wrong.
The words he used were not a personal attack on Jacinda they were a attack on the establishment of NEW ZEALAND Ka kite ano
Eco Maori says there is nobody in Aotearoa that can out shine Jacinda Mana as OUR Prime Minster .
That said does not mean I will hold my tongue when I see her being lead down the wrong path Kia Kaha . Ka kite ano
I have just signed the petition to protest against the tpp from Penny Brights post and made a donation to the givealittle page here is the link
https://givealittle.co.nz/org/itsourfuture/donations
If you cannot make it to the venues or protest please make a donating to help these good people stop or change this bull_______ tpp11
Ana to kai ka kite ano
Dont waste any of your time worrying about the trolls Lydia Ko they are just jealous people that don’t have a life .
If your employed help is not delivering the right harmonious winning environment for your success well move on and find the people that will help with your success .
Elon Mus is the same type of person anyone who is successful does not carry on making the same mistakes .
I have had employees that were costing me a lot of Mana /money I did not muck around with them I sacked them not a problem It is better for your career and theres .
Ka pai Lydia Kia Kaha .Ka kite ano