"That sounds pretty clear. So, Māori did cede sovereignty by signing Te Tiriti?
No. The Waitangi Tribunal has been clear that Māori did not give up their sovereignty by signing Te Tiriti. In its 2014 report, He Whakaputanga me Te Tiriti,the tribunal found that:
“The rangatira who signed te Tiriti o Waitangi in February 1840 did not cede their sovereignty to Britain. That is, they did not cede authority to make and enforce law over their people or their territories.”
“But Ngata is an important and respected person, living at a time much closer to 1840 than we are. Shouldn’t we take his views seriously?
Yes, Ngata is an important figure and one of significant mana. We should not dismiss his views out of hand. But, respected figure though he is, he is only one person, and we should not uncritically accept his views without any other context.”
In the face of 200 years building a modern state with complex bureaucracies, vast legal structures, and a completely intermarried population, "sovereignty" granted or not is so pointless.
Indeed! as we have discovered with 3 Waters, Foreshore and Seabed and provisions in the original TPPA fine print over Rongoā Māori etc.
Act and others “one people” appeal is majorly about removing Māori and ultimately everyone else's ability, to keep international capital and corporates at arms length.
Depends whose "sovereignty" you're talking about – not mine, thank providence.
The myth of the cession of Māori sovereignty [3 Feb 2024]
Part 1 of a 3 part series ahead of Waitangi Day: Believing Māori ceded sovereignty in 1840 requires a suspension of disbelief – and also a suspension of humanity
If you do nothing else this Waitangi Day, my plea would be this – try to think about Te Tiriti and Māori sovereignty on a more personal level every now and then. I think the logic that sovereignty was ceded in 1840 might start to unravel pretty quickly once you do.
Waitangi, as the dust settles [13 Feb 2024]
For all the talk of debate and protest, last week at Waitangi was an incredible display of unity and kotahitanga. If we really want to honour Te Tiriti – the time is now.
Thanks for putting up these two links to some of Luke Fitzmaurice-Brown's posts over the last week or so. I would highly recommend people read all of them to get the full picture. They are short and easy reads. This link provides the full series:
In the face of 200 years building a modern state with complex bureaucracies, vast legal structures, and a completely intermarried population, "sovereignty" granted or not is so pointless.
This is close to the view that Māori should assimilate into Pākehā society. How archaic.
I think that over the last 200 years of building our state and society there has been considerable assimilation between Māori and Pākehā societies. The reality is that this assimilation has been bi-directional, particuarly in the last 20 years, and now Pākehā are fast becoming much more Māori.
Hence the current blow-back from some conservative circles.
hard agree on that. The mainstreaming of some te Ao Māori concepts, more Māori in positions of power and thus influence, that Māori are at the forefront of environmental protection, and that the NZ population will be increasingly Polynesian. The neolib right can't win other than by fascism. I expect they're having the same fear based reaction to the climate crisis too, where progressives want transition and reactionary right want power, money and resources while they still can.
I expect they're having the same fear based reaction to the climate crisis too, where progressives want transition and reactionary right want power, money and resources while they still can.
I like that phrasing. Reminds me of a time, long ago, when a prominent Nat MP (none of the present lot) stuck up a PQ asking what was being done "to support vandalism in schools".
The left will want to add something about "debt slavery" and the right will immediately veto that. After all, National doesn't agree with Labour's laws on loan sharks and is set to repeal them.
If any bill gets through the political brinkmanship it will probably be a watered down piss poor symbolic bill that does no-one any good.
At the moment blocking the military aid to Israel in any separate legislation is about the only leverage Biden has to get the Senate approved wider aid package through the House.
I believe God had something to say about how it's a bad thing to help the poor?
Proverbs 19:17 Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed. Proverbs 22:9 The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor. Proverbs 22:16 Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth, or gives to the rich, will only come to poverty. (quick google search, plenty more out there)
Proverbs 22:16 seems eerily similar to cutting benefits to pay for tax cuts. I look forward to the instigators being cast into poverty.
We have been told, almost ad nauseum, that when we consider what the TOW says we must use the Maori version. Surely, when we are looking at what God said we should only look at the words he used. In that case we should only us the words that he gave us in Hebrew via Solomon when we look at the book of Proverbs.
What did God really say? Knowledge of ancient Hebrew will first be required.
Personally I think you may be using a faulty translation but of course what would I know?
Alwyn – use, or acquire if you don't have one, your kindness lens to understand the world. They come in several colours: benevolence, generosity, altruism and more.
Prosperity religion is related to the old concept that those with power and wealth are up their with God – raptured – to rule and reign over the poor folk.
Landlordism of the pre-democratic era restored via growing income and wealth inequality into a restoration of the old class system. In that one either inherited property or did not count as one of the establishment.
Why not just increase taxes to people over $100,000 instead? Im sorry, but imposing paperwork and forcing people to sell whatever they have to be able to get the pension is morally indefencible.
I dont want to have what we have in the USA where you have 90 year olds working at WalMart.
Benefit are means tested, and it is an absolute nightmare for people who have do the paperwork. I dont think we should impose means testing for the super, as it will create a nightmare for people. Perhaps just tax the rich pricks more.
Better still, forget about people with more than 100k IRD-declared income and focus on people with $20m+ wealth. That is where the real money is.
The $1.2b is only about 8% of the wealth of NZ’s richest person – ONE PERSON could fund it all for 10 years, and still have more money left than anyone could ever need.
Instead that one person donates money to right-wing political parties so they can hammer on the poor and the “IRD income” people – and leave the likes of him to carry on looting and corrupting our political system.
Good points, and I just picked $20m out of the air actually. My main concern is that the truly wealthy are often barely considered in some conversations – when their wealth in fact dominates things. And $100k IRD-income does not identify them.
A good way would be to tax the top 50% of national wealth – currently about the top 5-10%.
What about those receiving "investment income" from house hoarding?
Making super non-universal is a very dangerous slippery slope.
Of course if we taxed wealth acquisition from rentiers and capital gains tax farmers at the same rate as earnings from actual work, there would be a good deal more than 1.25 billion freed up, including money for welfare, public housing and our huge infrastructure deficit.
Making super non-universal is a very dangerous slippery slope
That is the sort of argument made by landlords – if one takes away their right to deduct mortgage interest payment as a cost against rent income – they will increase rents (when rents go up because of market conditions regardless).
Work testing super, is only doing to middle class people with good health and well above the median wage, what we do with benefits.
A government that would do it, is the same government that would look at
1. adding sickness to ACC
2. no deduction for mortgage interest payment as a cost for landlords, except for new builds (the revenue assists with state housing provision).
3. wealth tax for 10 years until superseded by a functional CGT and estate tax system.
4. progressive tax on companies – to bring in a form of windfall tax on large banks/supermarket duopoly.
It's not an either or, we need all of this if we are to remain a first world nation, rather than a place where some of the world's "propertied" class have gated community citizenship.
I wish you could persuade the IRD that this is the case. They tax you on the combined income from whatever you earn and the super. It is most definitely not tax free.
"NZ Super is a taxable payment. The amount of tax you pay depends on the tax code you use. If you only get NZ Super, your tax code will probably be 'M'. If you get other income as well, it may be a different tax code."
The amount of Super paid is the same regardless of other income/tax code.
A person may receive less because of deductions – such as Student Loan/not M tax code.
Variables, single living alone or couple.
The secondary income reflects the higher tax rate applying to the secondary income off the first base – thus super as base and assessing the tax rate for the wage after $25,000 super – 30 cents from the get go then to 33 cents.
You can't equate removing super from universality to the other things you mention.
It comes from the same suspects who want to privatise super altogether.
No, because it is based on the same principle they oppose, from those who have to those that do not.
It is just another middle class privilege being protected, having health and the sort of job one can do over age 65.
"Work testing super, is only doing to middle class people with good health and well above the median wage, what we do with benefits."
No it isn't. And if you do why not apply it equally to non-work income. Fairness after all.
And we should be aiming for more universal social wages, not less.
The undeniable fact is we do not pay universal income support to those with jobs (except by means test as per WFF tax credits), so why to those working after 65 should we pay super?
And it is a known that we encourage people to save to supplement their super payment, not to justify reducing it.
Interest, dividend and rent income is taxed before and after age 65.
Any extremity of wealth in that regard would/should be being taxed long before age 65 in CGT/wealth taxation and subsequent estate taxation – the orbit where it belongs, rather than impost on historic savings people make for retirement.
Rather incoherent justifications there you have for removing universal super.
I would have thought you would know better, than supporting the right wing in privatising and removing universal super.
If it is removed, later generations will never get it back. I am fighting to keep it for my Grandchildren.
It is not middle class privilege. Having three houses is. Super is a social contract which we paid for over decades. An investment we paid taxes for. It differs from Kiwi saver only in that it is State, not private, provision.
There was no step to privatising and removing universal super, when in the past applying a surtax, increasing the age from 60 to 65, or reducing the increase in annual adjustment to the CPI.
Just as sames sex marriages were not sending us on the path to partnerships with pets and farm animals.
Those three were wrong. A surtax on savings discourages something this country needs more of. Increasing the age suddenly while unemployment was high led to a lot of people struggling on benefits in their 60's (they should have received super rate benefits). And the universal rate reduction caused those without other income hardship.
The change I suggested is equitable. From the top 10% – only the top 10% get over $100,000, let alone then super on top at age 65. And it funds those who need it.
It is a privilege to get $25,000 when on a top 10% income – those on benefits who get $15,000 can only earn $150 a week in part-time work (they pay tax on that) so a little over $20,000 all up.
How many people are earning over $100,000 at age 65 without owning their home and significant other assets?
How many people are earning over $100,000 at age 65 without owning their home and significant other assets?
More than a few given the number of people I know who are in the situation of heading for 65 with few assets, because they have only just got to that income in trades or other skilled employment, after decades of irregular employment due to re-structuring and redundancies. Heading for retirement renting or in substantial debt.
We don't need more savings, we need more investment in productive business, infrastructure and future capability. Mostly that requires more tax on wealth to pay for the necessary investment, for time frames beyond the ken of private capital
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New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
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New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...
Scout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...
Megan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...
A new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...
Newsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...
Tara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...
Working as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...
There’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...
Asia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...
Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...
Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...
Opinion by Lynley Hood. Forty years on from my 1985 Fulbright Grant, my disquiet over the war in Gaza evoked some troubling questions. The answer to my first question – What is the primary purpose of the Fulbright Programme? – was on the Fulbright NZ website. It says: US Senator, ...
The ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...
A brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...
A poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...
The Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes.Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImagesfatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...
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Analysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...
Tara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...
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The PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...
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The sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...
The government can't just rely on axing public sector jobs and has to do more to cut spending, says the chief economist at a free market think tank. ...
Rock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...
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FICTION 1 Take Two by Danielle Hawkins (Allen & Unwin, $36.99) There’s commercial fiction, like this book, and then there’s quality fiction, quality writers, quality literature; the forthcoming Auckland Writers Festival is full of quality, and ReadingRoom has two tickets to give away to the following events: Paul Lynch (Dublin ...
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You can’t have missed the Gallipoli story as the movies, documentaries, essays and books capture what it was like for New Zealand troops in their eight-month campaign on the Peninsula. But this Anzac Day the Auckland War Memorial Museum has published a book that sheds light on a little-known aspect of the ...
The Prime Minister has committed to resuming direct flights to Thailand. But it’s not a promise he will be able to deliver on anytime soon. The post Prime Minister jumps the gun in Thailand appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra In the free-for-all between the Australian government and Big Tech boss Elon Musk this week, the government had to be on a winner. Most people would have little sympathy with Musk’s vociferous opposition to ...
The Spinoff dissembles Ngata’s claims in a very readable manner:
https://thespinoff.co.nz/atea/05-02-2024/according-to-apirana-ngata-maori-ceded-sovereignty-by-signing-te-tiriti-is-he-right
"That sounds pretty clear. So, Māori did cede sovereignty by signing Te Tiriti?
No. The Waitangi Tribunal has been clear that Māori did not give up their sovereignty by signing Te Tiriti. In its 2014 report, He Whakaputanga me Te Tiriti,the tribunal found that:
“The rangatira who signed te Tiriti o Waitangi in February 1840 did not cede their sovereignty to Britain. That is, they did not cede authority to make and enforce law over their people or their territories.”
“But Ngata is an important and respected person, living at a time much closer to 1840 than we are. Shouldn’t we take his views seriously?
Yes, Ngata is an important figure and one of significant mana. We should not dismiss his views out of hand. But, respected figure though he is, he is only one person, and we should not uncritically accept his views without any other context.”
[link fixed – Incognito]
Such arcane anxiety.
In the face of 200 years building a modern state with complex bureaucracies, vast legal structures, and a completely intermarried population, "sovereignty" granted or not is so pointless.
Until it comes to decisions about resource exploitation.
Indeed! as we have discovered with 3 Waters, Foreshore and Seabed and provisions in the original TPPA fine print over Rongoā Māori etc.
Act and others “one people” appeal is majorly about removing Māori and ultimately everyone else's ability, to keep international capital and corporates at arms length.
Exactly
Without Maori input we're buggered
Happening right here , vultures circling just waiting for the fast tracking approvals to be put in place
Oh Joy! for the exploiters
Depends whose "sovereignty" you're talking about – not mine, thank providence.
Thanks for putting up these two links to some of Luke Fitzmaurice-Brown's posts over the last week or so. I would highly recommend people read all of them to get the full picture. They are short and easy reads. This link provides the full series:
https://newsroom.co.nz/author/luke-fitzmaurice-brown/
I was not sure whether Ad was "taking the micky "and forgot the sarc/ or was about to join ACT … LOL
This is close to the view that Māori should assimilate into Pākehā society. How archaic.
Nothing to do with it. Don't be tiring.
if you won't explain your thinking, people are going to interpret it in whatever way they can.
Weka – don't tire Ad!
I think that over the last 200 years of building our state and society there has been considerable assimilation between Māori and Pākehā societies. The reality is that this assimilation has been bi-directional, particuarly in the last 20 years, and now Pākehā are fast becoming much more Māori.
Hence the current blow-back from some conservative circles.
hard agree on that. The mainstreaming of some te Ao Māori concepts, more Māori in positions of power and thus influence, that Māori are at the forefront of environmental protection, and that the NZ population will be increasingly Polynesian. The neolib right can't win other than by fascism. I expect they're having the same fear based reaction to the climate crisis too, where progressives want transition and reactionary right want power, money and resources while they still can.
Especially this:
Clicking the first link gets me a page not found.
Removing the " at the end solves it.
Thanks, William.
Luxon said this:
“Something I feel very passionate about is modern slavery… that’s something that I think we could do a better job of”.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/350178210/newsable-whats-next-issue-pm-chris-luxon-would-march-streets
I like that phrasing. Reminds me of a time, long ago, when a prominent Nat MP (none of the present lot) stuck up a PQ asking what was being done "to support vandalism in schools".
Freedom of speech! Locked cupboards in retail outlets, begone!
They can be very dense.
Repealing Wood's discredited Accredited Employer Work Visa scheme would be a good place to start.
This led to Minister Little acknowledging comparisons to modern slavery.
(About links I'm on my fone @ work at the moment but I have posted on this a few times in the past.)
"(About links I'm on my fone @ work at the moment but I have posted on this a few times in the past.)"
Cool excuse, gsays – free pass!
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/496017/accredited-employer-work-visa-scheme-to-be-reviewed-after-whistleblower-s-allegations
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018853993/workplace-relations-minister-confirms-govt-review-of-rse-scheme
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/496059/immigration-nz-under-fire-for-flawed-principle-inadequate-visa-process-checks
If you are interested in slavery in Aotearoa (not just wanting to take pot shots at Luxon).
https://www.tearfund.org.nz/Blog-Article/ArtMID/1253/ArticleID/85/The-legislation-we-need-to-address-New-Zealand%E2%80%99s-migrant-exploitation-crisis
But they probably won't do a better job of it.
I can see it now.
The left will want to add something about "debt slavery" and the right will immediately veto that. After all, National doesn't agree with Labour's laws on loan sharks and is set to repeal them.
If any bill gets through the political brinkmanship it will probably be a watered down piss poor symbolic bill that does no-one any good.
Curious to see the US State Department really is researching war crimes against Israel.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/us-israel-gaza-international-law-war-crimes_n_65cb7662e4b065628a609e5c#
Let's see how Blinken plays this with the next military aid package.
At the moment blocking the military aid to Israel in any separate legislation is about the only leverage Biden has to get the Senate approved wider aid package through the House.
Am I still banned or what is the story on here?
you are out of the ban list but are in premod. Please let me know you have read this comment.
Yes, I have no, Thank you very much.
Luxon: “Cleaning up the ungodly mess the previous government left behind”
Ungodly?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/350178939/nz-politics-live-opposition-mps-slam-governments-changes-benefits
HA IMPLICATION
we will leave a godly mess.
Aka an almighty mess
I believe God had something to say about how it's a bad thing to help the poor?
Proverbs 19:17 Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed. Proverbs 22:9 The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor. Proverbs 22:16 Whoever oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth, or gives to the rich, will only come to poverty. (quick google search, plenty more out there)
Proverbs 22:16 seems eerily similar to cutting benefits to pay for tax cuts. I look forward to the instigators being cast into poverty.
I wouldn't hold my breath.
We have been told, almost ad nauseum, that when we consider what the TOW says we must use the Maori version. Surely, when we are looking at what God said we should only look at the words he used. In that case we should only us the words that he gave us in Hebrew via Solomon when we look at the book of Proverbs.
What did God really say? Knowledge of ancient Hebrew will first be required.
Personally I think you may be using a faulty translation but of course what would I know?
Alwyn – use, or acquire if you don't have one, your kindness lens to understand the world. They come in several colours: benevolence, generosity, altruism and more.
Get them while stocks last!
Proverbs 22:11
Prosperity religion is related to the old concept that those with power and wealth are up their with God – raptured – to rule and reign over the poor folk.
Landlordism of the pre-democratic era restored via growing income and wealth inequality into a restoration of the old class system. In that one either inherited property or did not count as one of the establishment.
https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/02/13/seafood-industry-donors-lobby-jones-over-wine-and-oysters/
Not even trying to hide it, is it cyruptiin or just money before environment?
It all comes down to money before environment.
I sometimes wonder if we should just nationalise the fishing industry, and force sustainabiltily on it that way.
https://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/news/national/kiwirail-cancelling-cook-strait-mega-ferry-contract-with-south-korean-shipyard/
Can't wait to see how many millions it's going to cost to break thos deal the short sighted fools
If we did not pay super to those receiving work income over $100,000, there would be $1.25B pa freed up.
1. Paying super rate benefits to those with long term disability.
2. Paying super rate benefits to those over 55/60 unable to work in their jobs because of sickness/age related decline
3. money for housing those over 65 no longer able to work and without home ownership.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/money/350177826/50000-people-earn-over-100k-get-pension-commission
Why not just increase taxes to people over $100,000 instead? Im sorry, but imposing paperwork and forcing people to sell whatever they have to be able to get the pension is morally indefencible.
I dont want to have what we have in the USA where you have 90 year olds working at WalMart.
In what way is that an intelligible response?
If Joe Biden wrote that he would be placed under evaluation by his own staff for dementia.
It requires no paperwork for IRD to identify someone is receiving wages over $100,000 and thus deny super.
How is a person on or over $100,000 a year having to sell anything because they do not get super at age 65?
Anyone not working over 65 gets super (even those working and on the median wage like most people are).
The $1.2B comes from the richest 10% in our society and helps those who need it.
Benefit are means tested, and it is an absolute nightmare for people who have do the paperwork. I dont think we should impose means testing for the super, as it will create a nightmare for people. Perhaps just tax the rich pricks more.
No CGT/wealth tax/estate tax coz of tax accountants … paperwork …
Only the top 10% earn over $100,000.
And there is no paperwork in IRD identifying a wage income over $100,000 and not paying out super.
PS Everyone applying for super does some basic paperwork anyhow. And they won’t apply if they know they do not qualify.
Means testing super will only mean that heaps of people will go without because they narrowly miss thresholds.
Better still, forget about people with more than 100k IRD-declared income and focus on people with $20m+ wealth. That is where the real money is.
The $1.2b is only about 8% of the wealth of NZ’s richest person – ONE PERSON could fund it all for 10 years, and still have more money left than anyone could ever need.
Instead that one person donates money to right-wing political parties so they can hammer on the poor and the “IRD income” people – and leave the likes of him to carry on looting and corrupting our political system.
The Greens wanted a wealth tax on those with over $2M, Labour said make it 4. You say $20M.
Not the top 10%, the top 5%, not the top 5% – the top 1% … when will anything be done if it is always something else …
Good points, and I just picked $20m out of the air actually. My main concern is that the truly wealthy are often barely considered in some conversations – when their wealth in fact dominates things. And $100k IRD-income does not identify them.
A good way would be to tax the top 50% of national wealth – currently about the top 5-10%.
What about those receiving "investment income" from house hoarding?
Making super non-universal is a very dangerous slippery slope.
Of course if we taxed wealth acquisition from rentiers and capital gains tax farmers at the same rate as earnings from actual work, there would be a good deal more than 1.25 billion freed up, including money for welfare, public housing and our huge infrastructure deficit.
That is the sort of argument made by landlords – if one takes away their right to deduct mortgage interest payment as a cost against rent income – they will increase rents (when rents go up because of market conditions regardless).
Work testing super, is only doing to middle class people with good health and well above the median wage, what we do with benefits.
A government that would do it, is the same government that would look at
1. adding sickness to ACC
2. no deduction for mortgage interest payment as a cost for landlords, except for new builds (the revenue assists with state housing provision).
3. wealth tax for 10 years until superseded by a functional CGT and estate tax system.
4. progressive tax on companies – to bring in a form of windfall tax on large banks/supermarket duopoly.
It's not an either or, we need all of this if we are to remain a first world nation, rather than a place where some of the world's "propertied" class have gated community citizenship.
It is taxed so there is some balance.
Those still working, on over 100k, are contributing both skilled work and paying tax.
Those living off rents, however!
After about $30,000 – not sure of the exact amount – the pension is reduced. They do not get the full pension.
If you are working and getting super it is taxed at your marginal tax rate. The base amount before tax, is the same.
What they pay in income tax they receive back in super.
At 64 they pay tax, at 65 it is basically tax free income.
"t is basically tax free income"
I wish you could persuade the IRD that this is the case. They tax you on the combined income from whatever you earn and the super. It is most definitely not tax free.
Age 64
$100,000 – tax
Age 65
Tax free Super $25,000, then 100,000 taxed at the rate applying after $25,000.
30 cents to $48,000 is $ 6600 and 33 cents on the rest (77,000) is 25,666
Thus $25,000 super and paying 31,266 in tax.
Or net tax of $6266.
"NZ Super is a taxable payment. The amount of tax you pay depends on the tax code you use. If you only get NZ Super, your tax code will probably be 'M'. If you get other income as well, it may be a different tax code."
https://www.workandincome.govt.nz/eligibility/seniors/superannuation/how-much-you-can-get.html#:~:text=NZ%20Super%20is%20a%20taxable,be%20a%20different%20tax%20code.
The amount of Super paid is the same regardless of other income/tax code.
A person may receive less because of deductions – such as Student Loan/not M tax code.
Variables, single living alone or couple.
The secondary income reflects the higher tax rate applying to the secondary income off the first base – thus super as base and assessing the tax rate for the wage after $25,000 super – 30 cents from the get go then to 33 cents.
You can't equate removing super from universality to the other things you mention.
It comes from the same suspects who want to privatise super altogether.
"Work testing super, is only doing to middle class people with good health and well above the median wage, what we do with benefits."
No it isn't. And if you do why not apply it equally to non-work income. Fairness after all.
And we should be aiming for more universal social wages, not less.
No, because it is based on the same principle they oppose, from those who have to those that do not.
It is just another middle class privilege being protected, having health and the sort of job one can do over age 65.
The undeniable fact is we do not pay universal income support to those with jobs (except by means test as per WFF tax credits), so why to those working after 65 should we pay super?
And it is a known that we encourage people to save to supplement their super payment, not to justify reducing it.
Interest, dividend and rent income is taxed before and after age 65.
Any extremity of wealth in that regard would/should be being taxed long before age 65 in CGT/wealth taxation and subsequent estate taxation – the orbit where it belongs, rather than impost on historic savings people make for retirement.
Rather incoherent justifications there you have for removing universal super.
I would have thought you would know better, than supporting the right wing in privatising and removing universal super.
If it is removed, later generations will never get it back. I am fighting to keep it for my Grandchildren.
It is not middle class privilege. Having three houses is. Super is a social contract which we paid for over decades. An investment we paid taxes for. It differs from Kiwi saver only in that it is State, not private, provision.
There was no step to privatising and removing universal super, when in the past applying a surtax, increasing the age from 60 to 65, or reducing the increase in annual adjustment to the CPI.
Just as sames sex marriages were not sending us on the path to partnerships with pets and farm animals.
Those three were wrong. A surtax on savings discourages something this country needs more of. Increasing the age suddenly while unemployment was high led to a lot of people struggling on benefits in their 60's (they should have received super rate benefits). And the universal rate reduction caused those without other income hardship.
The change I suggested is equitable. From the top 10% – only the top 10% get over $100,000, let alone then super on top at age 65. And it funds those who need it.
It is a privilege to get $25,000 when on a top 10% income – those on benefits who get $15,000 can only earn $150 a week in part-time work (they pay tax on that) so a little over $20,000 all up.
How many people are earning over $100,000 at age 65 without owning their home and significant other assets?
More than a few given the number of people I know who are in the situation of heading for 65 with few assets, because they have only just got to that income in trades or other skilled employment, after decades of irregular employment due to re-structuring and redundancies. Heading for retirement renting or in substantial debt.
We don't need more savings, we need more investment in productive business, infrastructure and future capability. Mostly that requires more tax on wealth to pay for the necessary investment, for time frames beyond the ken of private capital