Open Mike 14/05/2018

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, May 14th, 2018 - 79 comments
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79 comments on “Open Mike 14/05/2018 ”

  1. Ed 1

    Shock horror.
    A union leader on RNZ this morning.
    But fear not faithful neoliberalism, he was there to face an inquisition to explain why the union is going on strike.
    At 6.45 we can look forward to the banks and business getting at 15 minutes advertorial courtesy of Giles Beckworth.
    The mainstream media is biased.

  2. adam 2

    It would appear that the far right groups are back in Syria, with the help of Turkey. Gotta love how the only group promoting democracy are going to get it in the neck.

    https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12269/turkey-syria-afrin-sharia

  3. Ed 3

    Rod Duke.

    Enough money to have a helipad in Herne Bay so he can play golf at exclusive golf clubs with his mates.
    Not enough money, it would appear, to pay for staff to attend meetings at Briscoe and Rebel Sport.

    As Draco says, we can’t afford the rich.

    • James 3.1

      Despite him saying it doesn’t happen and checking with his regional managers who confirmed – ed still prefers to take the word of a single anonymous person with no evidence offered.

    • patricia bremner 3.2

      Ed, you haven’t got that right. My son worked for Briscoes for 7 years, said Rod was a great person, who held his managers to high standards of staff relations, and personally helped staff in sticky situations. ie, my son’s dealings with IRD after making an error with his tax while working in Real Estate. At that time people were driven to suicide by IRD, Rod arranged a repayment schedule. He visits branches often, hence the helicopter.

      • savenz 3.2.1

        @ Patricia That is good to know. I think part of NZ issues on employment is that there is too much cheerleading to extract every last dollar from the quickest easiest ways (aka staff wages and higher prices of goods and services often with ‘confusalating’ pricing or promotion so people can’t tell), but not every manager or owner wants to do it. NZ employers have become a race to the bottom to compete with the worst of the worst practices from local and overseas companies operating here.

        Time to u turn and actually unite employers and workers which is probably going back to employment practises before neoliberalism… currently productivity is static and increasingly inequality is showing what NZ government is doing now is not making NZ a better place for people to live in.

        I personally don’t think a capital gains tax or a rise in income taxes will solve anything because countries that have both taxes have the same problems as NZ and actually more such as UK and USA. They are now showing all the division that that creates.

        What is needed is a totally new way to think about employment and income and residency and non residency and paying for public services, than what has been thought of before. Globalism has radically changed all the equations on how to collect tax and who gets welfare and how to get welfare without paying tax. UBI, Tobin tax or what have you should be looked at as a way to make tax fairer and make people who use NZ for business pay what they should and not actually be legally allowed to drain NZ resources while putting more strain on public services.

      • james 3.2.2

        Thats really nice to hear.

        of course some will continue to hate him because he has money.

        Envy is a horrible.

  4. Sanctuary 4

    Has anyone in NZ ever done any research on the number of truly double-generation long-term unemployed? And how many of them are third-generation?

  5. Kat 5

    On Q&A Richard “Mad Dog” Prebble reckoned since he rode a tram up Dominion Rd when he was a boy trams/trains are not the answer for Auckland transport. Sue Bradford couldn’t help a chuckle.

    • Anne 5.1

      Of course he forgot to mention they ran along the middle of the road… were rundown claptraps… the poles continuously came off the overhead rails… and every time they stopped to let people on and off the traffic had to stop too. We kids loved them because it was bit like going on a rough joy-ride but they were slow and cumbersome.

      In contrast the “light rail’ transport service (not trams) will be fast and run alongside the roads (not in the middle) and will not seriously impede traffic or pedestrian flows. Calling them trams is a deliberate attempt to create a negative image with an archaic system that existed many decades ago.

    • tracey 5.2

      A man who rip, shit and bust through our banking, infrastructure and essential services is still being asked his opinion on what is best for NZ? Good God (to quote Israel Falou)

      • Kat 5.2.1

        Yes its not just a case of scrapping the bottom of the barrel either, more that opinions are being sought from the wrong barrel…..mostly.

  6. Herodotus 6

    Nice to see no one is concerned that a pre election promise can now be altered/broken…
    Construction firms will be exempt from applying the existing labour market test to bring in up to 1,500 foreign tradespeople at any one time if employers promise to take on a local apprentice for every migrant under a new ‘KiwiBuild Visa’ proposed by Labour.
    To now “we expect, hopefully”
    http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/shows/2018/04/construction-minister-jenny-salesa-confident-kiwibuild-targets-will-be-met.html
    Just as well not many follow politics in NZ and this program is not heavily watched. Crap like this goes unnoticed. Or for some they are the 3 monkeys hear, see, speak no evil.

    • The Chairman 6.1

      It seems the pressure to deliver is becoming too much it’s compelling the Government to mislead.

      “Most of them are available now but we’re going to continue through the winter to meet that target of 1500,” said Mr Twyford.

      But figures released by Mr Twyford’s office show just 36 percent of the 1500 places are available now.

      http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/shows/2018/05/a-third-of-new-social-housing-ready-despite-govt-claims-most-were-available.html

      • Barfly 6.1.1

        Still seems a lot better than “there is no housing crisis” – last National Governments bullshit.

        • The Chairman 6.1.1.1

          It seems National have lowered the bar so low that instead of demanding more, some are appeased by a better level of bullshit.

          • Barfly 6.1.1.1.1

            The new government has committed to and is delivering more social housing unlike the previous who tried to sell off social housing – are you “concern trolling” TC?

            • tracey 6.1.1.1.1.1

              Have they are and are they on track to deliver more homes than nats promised or had in train?

            • The Chairman 6.1.1.1.1.2

              @Barfly

              No. Not trolling. The insufficient offerings of this Government (and Labour in particularly) has always been a genuine concern for me. But obviously I hold them to a higher expectation than those willing to accept better bullshit.

              • Barfly

                What I accept is progress to reverse 9 years of bullshit – the winter fuel allowance is already going to do more to benefit me than 9 long years of Nationals “beneficiary hunting season”.

                You state I am willing to accept better bullshit – I disagree with your argument – Do you feel a need to insult me because of that?

                • The Chairman

                  The Government made a big fanfare over a housing announcement, I highlighted it was largely bullshit.

                  Then you came along and instead of condemning their bullshit, you praised it for being better than the National’s bullshit.

                  Showing you are one of those who accept (without complaint) better bullshit.

                  Now you are trying to ride your high horse and accuse me of insulting you for highlighting this. Get real.

                  The winter fuel allowance is another insufficient offering. For some, it won’t even cover one power bill.

                  • Barfly

                    What you call bullshit I call progress.

                    “The winter fuel allowance is another insufficient offering. For some, it won’t even cover one power bill.”

                    It’s more benefit to me than anything National did in 9 years.

                    You say get real I say get over yourself precious.

                    • alwyn

                      You will also have noted that it is less than the amount pensioners would have received if National had been re-elected. Even then the much reduced amount this year will not be paid until after the worst of the winter is over.
                      But hey, they are your lot so everything is just peachy.

                    • The Chairman

                      If the measure of what you call progress is merely if this Government is offering more than the last in regard to housing and the winter energy payment, then yes, this Government is.

                      However, as National have lowered the bar so low, better outcomes in comparison is an easy achievement. Thus, you’re setting the bar far too low. Giving this Government an easy pass.

                      The reality is, we have so many major problems in this country, the downward spiral is compounding daily. Thus, the insufficient offerings of this Government isn’t enough to counter that. As I highlighted to ankerawshark re Kiwibuild and social housing.

                      It’s akin to trying to put out a bush fire with a garden hose.

                      Therefore, instead of progress, you can expect things to become worse.

          • tracey 6.1.1.1.2

            +1

          • ankerawshark 6.1.1.1.3

            Not a better level of bullshit, The Chairman” better outcomes……………..I await to see how Kiwibuild, social housing and homeless is going in two and a half years.

            Anyone who has ever undertaken a building project knows that there are delays, cost adjustments, altering plans etc. That is normal………….and on a large scale it is going to be even more the case. I am looking for outcomes and I wouldn’t expect to see them in the first 6 -8 mths. There is good evidence they are getting off their arses though.

            • The Chairman 6.1.1.1.3.1

              Sounds like you are living in a dream.

              Here’s a taste of reality for you to ponder.

              As National have lowered the bar so low, better outcomes in comparison is an easy achievement. Unfortunately, the nation needs far better than that.

              Kiwibuild is insufficient. Evident by the fact buyers will be required to enter into a ballot to purchases one. Therefore, coupled with growing demand, one can’t expect that to help free up rental capacity when it can’t even cater to current or future housing demand.

              The waiting list for social housing is quickly approaching 10,000 and the Government is struggling to commit to building more than 2000 annually. Thus, also vastly insufficient.

              Things are going to get worse, not better with this insufficient approach this Government is taking.

              • ankerawshark

                I may not be fully informed on this, if thats what you mean by living in a dream. However there is conflicting information about the figures.

                I want to see a significant improvement in housing in NZ for a range of people……………….I doubt anyone, living in a dream or not, would say this is an easy problem to fix………………….I believe the Coalition is working on it and I think action and results will speak louder than words……………..

                BTW “living in a dream” could be seen as a little bit of a put down, but I am choosing not to take it that way.

                • The Chairman

                  “I want to see a significant improvement in housing in NZ for a range of people……………….I doubt anyone, living in a dream or not, would say this is an easy problem to fix………………….I believe the Coalition is working on it and I think action and results will speak louder than words……………..”

                  I also want to see a significant improvement in housing in NZ for a range of people.

                  It is a big task and the Government has a plan of action. However, as I highlighted to you above (re Kiwibuild and social housing) the Government’s plan of action is insufficient to secure that aim (a significant improvement in housing).

                  One would be dreaming to think otherwise. Hence, my initial opening line in my last post to you. Hope that wasn’t too brash.

                  • Ankerrawshark

                    The chairman..no all good. I tend to be idealistic and hope for the best. I read the standard to become better informed. I did think their kiwi build aspirations were very ambitious.

                    I really hope and expect them to improve housing in NZ. I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t achieve a “cure”………

        • tracey 6.1.1.2

          I agree with The Chairman

          It is clear that Labour has embellished some of its promises to get the votes. Something Ad, from memory, used to advocate as you have to do what you have to do to get power, then make some changes.

          IF this were John Key or Judith Collins saying this stuff, how would we react? Isn’t that the true measure?

          • The Chairman 6.1.1.2.1

            “IF this were John Key or Judith Collins saying this stuff, how would we react? Isn’t that the true measure?”

            Indeed, Tracey.

            Some are happy to give this Government an easy pass, which doesn’t encourage them to up their game, leaving us shortchanged.

            If we want more out of this Government, we are going to have to hold their feet to the fire.

          • McFlock 6.1.1.2.2

            Fair point about the true measure. Twyford’s numbers seem to disagree with his claim. But we’ve yet to establish a pattern of complete inability and unwillingness to address problems, as we had with the nats.

            It’s funny that the link reporting Twyford’s apparent gaff repeats a gaff of the same flavour:

            But figures released by Mr Twyford’s office show just 36 percent of the 1500 places are available now, and most of those are in transitional housing.

            Only 306 of the 1071 new state housing places are ready, and 236 of the 416 transitional housing places.

            236 transitional housing places is less than 306 state housing places, so not “most” either. 43% not 36% of the 542 available places though, lol

    • cleangreen 6.2

      Yes Herodotus,

      Well the media is absent over many issues that don’t fit their ideology.

      So here they are happy with more and more imported workers over looking after Kiwis.

    • patricia bremner 6.3

      It is a target, and may take a year or two to achieve, where is the lie exactly?
      Impatience and dissing current efforts don’t help.

      • greywarshark 6.3.1

        patricia b
        +1

      • tracey 6.3.2

        If it may take a year or two to achieve, was labour, NZF Greens clear about that when they campaigned? Did they give us timelines and what if they dont deliver in a year or two?

        Already we have heard excuses, blaming last govt, which we railed against Nats for doing…

        For my money there is a pattern. There was the first 100 days and then… lag

        • Draco T Bastard 6.3.2.1

          If it may take a year or two to achieve, was labour, NZF Greens clear about that when they campaigned?

          Yes they were.

          And only idiots would expect any government to be able to go straight to their projected top build rate without some sort of capacity build up first.

          • Herodotus 6.3.2.1.1

            And an idiot would make this comment “The stand-alone KiwiBuild homes in Auckland will be priced at $500,000-$600,000 with apartments and terraced houses under $500,000. ”
            See now how the price ranges have moved UP !!!… and that the references to appartments and terraced houses has been removed. Now we have 1 bedroom being $500k
            http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2018/05/govt-hikes-cost-of-one-bedroom-kiwibuild-homes.html
            “One bedroom will go for $500,000, two bedrooms $600,000 and three bedrooms $650,000 – that’s $50,000 more than Labour promised in the election.”
            So what Labour campaigned on was NOT clear, or was it and they were less than truthful ??

            • tracey 6.3.2.1.1.1

              Yup

              20% deposit = $100,000
              If you are a low earner you qualify for kiwistart or whatever it is called but the lower your income the lower your deposit. A low earner’s kiwisaver is not large.

            • savenz 6.3.2.1.1.2

              They are going in the wrong direction. They should be looking at what they have now like the state houses and seeing what they can do there to get people into them. Apparently some are empty, need Reno, decontamination or what have you. Fix the fuckers up for the first thing! Then look at adding tiny housing or what have you on the site or making them into bigger flats.

              After that they should be looking at using non profit corporations and employ people themselves to create the housing using firms like Habitat for Humanity. These firms build with unskilled labour and do it cheaply. It is complete lies that normal people can’t build housing, most of them will do a better job under registered supervision that the what’s going on at building sites at present with massive profiteering and waste.

              State houses were not built by builders but often by returned service men. Programs like ‘The block’ show how ordinary aspiring home owners with help can very quickly create quality housing.

              The reason we are all hearing we need all these ‘skilled’ workers which apparently we don’t have in NZ (apart from seemed to work cheaply and quickly in the previous examples) is to do immigration routs and force housing prices upwards which helps construction and finance firms make more profits.

          • tracey 6.3.2.1.2

            “Yes they were”

            I only had a quick read of your link but no it is not clear what the timelines for measuring progress are. A 10 year goal to achieve the whole thing but no breakdown of the measures along the way. I don’t expect them to have built them all by now. I do expect a timeline showing the stages of reaching that target. Robertson’s slavish devotion to a Cullenesque budget don’t fill me with confidence about many things either.

            We saw what happened in late 2008/2009 when the “oh no it was worse than we thought” mantra came out. Labour has already backed down, with their biggest back down being tying their own hand son tax pre election day.

            Idiots are everywhere Draco.

      • Herodotus 6.3.3

        Part of my comment was regarding what building coys will have to do to enable overseas workers to obtain a working visa. That they will have “…if employers promise to take on a local apprentice for every migrant under a new” Now it has become “we expect, hopefully” Minister Salesa totally contradicted what was given pre election.
        Is that a moving target now, that builders and developers will NOT have to take on apprentices and still be able to access labour offshore ?

        • tracey 6.3.3.1

          I thought it was a good idea to start our companies understanding they have an obligation to train workers too, not just taxpayers subsidising them by paying for it all at polytechs etc.

          Too many bosses are looking to University and Polytech to produce perfectly fitting/working cogs for their machines. instead of taking on some burden of training.

        • savenz 6.3.3.2

          Plenty of examples where you use unskilled labour of which we have plenty sitting idle in NZ and what is actually going on in the building sites.

          Fletcher’s losing so much money is typical of construction nowadays which is completely out of control. it’s subcontractor after subcontractor all taking a cut and as much profit as possible at the top, which often means using not only unskilled labour, but also labour that is exploited or illegal.

          The recent Malaysian stoppers had been working happily illegally for years and at better rates than most tax paying sub constructer tradies!

          Who are cheerleading the most for these ‘skilled’ people, immigration lawyers and businesses that want keep wages down and constructions costs booming.

    • tracey 6.4

      Hmm Labour misspoke? Surely you jest?

    • Sacha 6.5

      Didn’t Labour say all along that they would be treating the construction sector differently to help deliver more homes like they’ve promised? No surprise here, surely.

      • tracey 6.5.1

        A bit disingenuous then because that is the sector where there has been a lot of immigration.

        Where will the 1500 workers live, for example? In the houses being built?

        • savenz 6.5.1.1

          Apparently the workers are ghost workers who don’t actually take up housing in the crisis… they don’t take up transport or even ever need medical support in our hospitals. They don’t start having families while they are here…

  7. John G 7

    This story about workers not getting paid for meetings etc is going to get huge. My daughter worked for a hairdresser for 4 years. They insisted they started work an hour earlier to setup the day (unpaid of course) It will also be interesting how this affects unpaid internships, which I have always felt was another way of getting workers without paying for them.

    • james 7.1

      “This story about workers not getting paid for meetings etc is going to get huge”

      As it should – if they are there working – they should be paid.

    • Draco T Bastard 7.2

      Unpaid work should be illegal no matter what. Calling it an ‘internship’ shouldn’t change that.

      • ianmac 7.2.1

        Mind you those on a salary tend to work odd hours. A teacher for instance might have a 9 hour day or more if you add in weekends and marking etc.
        But if paid by the hour workers should get paid for the time worked or get overtime or time and a half for the extra times.

        • DB Brown 7.2.1.1

          I was TA at Uni and we had staff meetings I’d always billed for. I was asked to TA a different class the next year and I billed the staff meetings as usual. Then it was brought up in a meeting that there were ‘inconsistencies’ in the billing, namely, nobody else was being paid for the meetings in that department. There were ladies there who’d taught those labs for many years and my not folding made them very uncomfortable they were a bit scared to say boo on the matter. These meetings were not on the same days as the labs either. They were a separate thing so they had to travel both ways and attend on their own dime. I insisted we all got paid.

          I didn’t get asked back the next year, though I’m sure the other TA’s appreciated my visit.

          I’d rather fight for my right to party.

  8. Morrissey 8

    Gaza Body Count-Journalists

    Journalists killed and wounded by IDF during the Great Return March, as of May 13, 2018…

    http://normanfinkelstein.com/2018/05/13/gaza-body-count-journalists/

  9. Mike Steinberg 9

    Iain Lees-Galloway,

    With housing and rental prices increasingly unaffordable for many, has the Government looked at adjusting the number of work visas issued each year? I’m sure Jacinda Ardern mentioned this in the Election Debates. Bill English childishly responded that there then wouldn’t be enough builders.

    In the early 1990’s around 20,000 new non-citizens a year was seen as quite high. Now the target is about 45,000 per year.

    Michael Reddell has noted that this is a major driver of housing demand. Would reducing the number to, say 20,000-30,000 per year be something the Government will consider?

    “From 1991 to 2013, non-New Zealand citizen immigration accounted for around 71 per cent of the change in the number of households (or dwellings required). For the last two intercensal periods the contributions of non-New Zealand citizen net immigration were as follows:

    •2001 to 2006 70 per cent
    •2006 to 2013 106 per cent”

    Trying to build more houses to meet this ever growing demand doesn’t appear to be working.

    • savenz 9.1

      How about only allow in highly paid workers over $100k+… we might actually get some homes built that don’t leak or rail tracks that don’t shear off and derail trains or some houses that aren’t condemned before people move in… No more free family residency or all the other ways that people are coming to NZ taking up housing/super and health care in particular and putting a huge burden on the increasingly fewer NZ workers many of whom have student loans as well and don’t qualify for some sort of government top up.

      And why they are about it, do what OZ used to do and make any business have to show $50k+ profit every year for 5 years AND employ 2 OZ citizens at decent wages to even be considered.

      Weirdly in NZ you seem to be able to be terrible at business and make pitiful profits or even losses, bring more migrant workers in on low wages, and you are welcomed with open arms.

      We need to seriously raise the bar! Make it 10 years for the profits and a maximum time they have to spend in NZ to continue to achieve permanent residency. Citizenship should only be granted to people born here. At present people can spend as little as 11 days and be a NZ citizen or get residency after 5 years and then never work another day in NZ or pay any taxes but still get super and free health and education for themselves and their future kids.

  10. savenz 10

    All the government has to do is plug the hole for immigration and lots of positive things will start of happen for Kiwi’s who are being discriminated against for jobs…

    Two Wellington hotels seeking autistic staff
    http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=109394

  11. savenz 11

    Sometimes you just don’t want to read the news and find out what the dinosaurs farting fossil fuels have decided…

    KiwiRail’s ‘kiss of death” for electrification of main trunk line

    http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=109378

  12. Philg 12

    The NZ government doesn’t do practical long term planning any more. They can’t. They are irrelevant. The country is largely ‘governed’ by big business interests and this is why the government doesn’t ( cannot) make plans for the public good, rather for NZ Inc. The coalition government is stuck, wading through the same corporate quagmire.

  13. Sumsuch 13

    Well, I must return this library book and I can’t find another theatre, realise it will die like lead dropped in the sea.

    Adam Hochschild ‘s book, ‘The Unquiet Ghost: Russians Remember Stalin’, published in 1994, from a trip in 1991. It was easy to escape from Stalin’s purges:move, the KGB didn’t do detective. ‘However people rarely tried; despite the mass arrests, almost everybody believed, ‘ it won’t happen to me”. People deny bad news because it implies worse news: If I’m about to be arrested, that would mean the whole system has gone mad.’

    We can talk freely about our challenges ‘hence we do not feel the intense fear produced by the NKVD’s knock on the door. That very lack of urgency is our form of denial, as foolhardy as the denials of fellow travelers. For the knock , from these things, will come.’

    Talk is taken to be solution near but no, the reverse. It can’t be more than 15 years before the gurgling sound from the bath-water of super-humanity emptying will fill our ears. It is too late bar the long odds gamble of H.s.s’s consciousness.

  14. Sumsuch 14

    komfort.

  15. eco maori 15

    Good evening Newshub every thing the previous Government was wrong here a link
    https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/103928695/former-earthquake-recovery-minister-incensed-by-reserve-bank-governors-rebuild-comments brownlee is just a – – – – – Ka kite ano PS my work schedule is all over the place at the minute look at this link
    https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/stuff-circuit/103932438/hopeful-christian-dies-what-now-for-gloriavale

    • eco maori 15.1

      This is the type of behavior that’s not on in the human rights commission. No wonder ECO MAORI can not get any action on my complaint the whole state sector under the last government has a culture of cover there M8s Asses – – – – – – –
      Ka kite ano