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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
@ 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.
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.
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.
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)
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 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?
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
“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.
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”………
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?
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
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
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 ??
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.
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.
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.
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 ?
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.
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.
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.
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…
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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…
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.
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.
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
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Children used in this study were from Lintingkou town (a normal-fluoride/control area) and Dakoutun town (a high-fluoride area) in Baodi district of Tianjin, China. The towns are 25 km apart. Anti-fluoridation activists on ...
When we see how the pandemic is being handled in the rest of the world, we can thank our lucky stars that we live here, in New Zealand, and under our current government, led by Jacinda Ardern. The latest polls suggest that this is exactly how Kiwis feel. But the ...
Prof Nick Wilson, Dr Sophie Febery, Dr Ling Chan, Dr Jennifer Summers, Prof Michael BakerThe concepts of an Alert Level system, household “bubbles”, and social event size limits are all valuable pandemic control measures. Nevertheless, better “source control” of COVID-19 at various Alert Levels by requiring masks in ...
This is a repost from the Climate Science Legal Defense Fund blog, by CSLDF Executive Director Lauren Kurtz The COVID-19 pandemic illuminates the crucial role scientists at university, state, and local laboratories in the United States and abroad play in protecting public health and safety—and shows that global research must be done ...
Arguments by religious folk that they are being discriminated against under the Level 2 pandemic restrictions in NZ, which limit church services to ten people or less when schools, restaurants, malls and other service outlets are allowed to host many more people under voluntary self-distancing protocols, got me to think ...
Now that the initial wave has passed, and we are (hopefully) safe in our national bubble, the government is thinking about how to keep the economy ticking over, and how to salvage the bits (like tourism) that are now useless. And for that particular industry, she has mentioned a great ...
There’s been a lot of conjecture concerning the reasons behind the National Party’s fall to 30% in the latest Newshub-Reid Research poll. Some commentators have correctly ascertained that the current leader, Simon Bridges, has been consistently getting his tone wrong! Others believe that the shift in support is all about ...
It probably was too good to last. The blessed peace on the roads that I wrote about here began eroding even before we left Level 4 of the Covid-19 restrictions – and on day one of Level 3, with the tradies rushing to catch upon their work, the double-cab utes ...
Missing From The Electoral Action: The radical Left's last forlorn hope, the "Missing Million", is generally despised by mainstream New Zealand and mistrusted by the respectable members of their own communities. They have moved well beyond the reach of conventional electoral politics.TO SAY the Left’s reaction to Grant Robertson’s “Recovery ...
by Don Franks As we face new unknowns against Covid 19, there’s something reassuring about level 2’s basic rules. “Physical distancing- keep your distance when out and about. Two metres in public and in retail stores, like supermarkets. One metre in most other environments like workplaces, cafes, restaurants, and gyms.” ...
Richard Shaw, Massey UniversityOnce upon a very different time, British cabinet minister Michael Gove sneered that “people have had enough of experts from organisations with acronyms saying that they know what is best and getting it consistently wrong.” But that was then and this is now. One or two ...
From its name, you would think the Environmental protection Authority was there to protect the environment. But we've had another reminder that nothing could be further from the truth, with its decision to allow a toxic, burned-out Korean fishing boat to be dumped at sea: The ship's owner, Dong Won ...
Story of the Week... El Niño/La Niña Update... Toon of the Week... Graphic of the Week... Climate Feedback Article Review... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Review... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week... Story of the Week... The Largest Arctic Science Expedition in History Finds Itself on Increasingly ...
It was just a month ago that the chief executive of Rotorua Lakes Council, Geoff Williams, described suggestions his executive team should consider taking pay cuts as “immoral”. Williams told the NZ Herald: “I am very fortunate to have around me an extremely committed, dedicated and hardworking executive team who ...
“Every day, we see the powers that promulgate laws that oblige one to take certain routes and [those] that do not follow these indications or do not want them to be part of their legislation, are accused and politely persecuted” – Pope Francis What does the Government’s decision to limit ...
In a previous post I noted that futures thinking usually tries to identify what people think will change and what they think needs to change. As lockdown constraints ease, we are seeing a lot of opinions about both. There is no shortage of shovel ready points of view ...
And so it came pass that a great plague swept the face of all the Earth. Some say it came from the East, others say it came from gloomy caverns of the bat or jungles of the civet. From whence it came, who can say? But come it did.In the ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, May 10 through Sat, May 16, 2020Editor's ChoiceThese 6 books explore climate change science and solutionsRecent books about climate change tackle science and offer visions of the ...
How radical or transformative is Grant Robertson’s 2020 Budget? Opinions are divided over this week’s landmark economic package. Some are viewing the big spend as a return to traditional Labour – or even socialist – politics, while others see it as “business as usual”, albeit on a grander scale. Seeing ...
The Green Party says major freshwater reforms announced today provide the strongest ever protections of our waterways, to help ensure the next generation can swim in the rivers of Aotearoa. ...
The Green Party has begun the process for a Select Committee inquiry into student accommodation, which has been exposed during COVID-19 as an under-regulated sector that straddles students with unfair debt. ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hon Megan Woods, Minister of Research, Science and Innovation Hon Dr David Clark, Minister of Health Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters, Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods, and Health Minister David Clark today announced a COVID-19 vaccine strategy, ...
Budget 2020 is about rebuilding together, supporting jobs, getting business moving and the books back into the black. It’s an integral part of our COVID-19 economic response, and our plan to grow our economy and get New Zealand moving again.Here’s a quick look at the five top things you ...
The Coalition Government has approved $206 million in essential upgrades at Ōhakea Air Base. Defence Minister Ron Mark said the money would be spent on improving old infrastructure. He said safety issues would be addressed, as well as upgrades to taxiways, accommodation and fresh, storm and waste water systems. "This ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First “I am not persisting with this case just for myself, but for all people who have had their privacy breached. Privacy of information is a cornerstone of our country’s democracy. Without it our society truly faces a bleak future. We now ...
Forestry Minister Shane Jones has introduced a Bill to Parliament that he says will "force more transparency, integrity and respect" for the domestic wood-processing sector through the registration of log traders and practice standards. The Forests (Regulation of Log Traders and Forestry Advisers) Amendment Bill had its first reading in ...
Green MP Golriz Ghahraman is joining over 300 lawmakers from around the world in calling on the big banks and the IMF to forgive the debt of developing countries, in the wake of the COVID crisis. ...
Forestry Minister Shane Jones says concerns that carbon foresters are planting pine trees that will never be harvested are the result of "misinformation". "The billion tree strategy is an excellent idea, unfortunately from time to time it's tainted by misinformation spread by the National Party or their grandees, hiding in scattered ...
The Green Party welcomes funding in the budget to reunite more refugees with their families, ensuring they have the best chance at a new life in Aotearoa New Zealand. ...
This year’s Budget is about rebuilding New Zealand together in the face of COVID-19. Jobs are central to how we’re going to do that.There’s a lot of targeted investment for employment in this year’s Budget, with announcements on creating new jobs, training people for the jobs we have, and supporting ...
Speaking to Stuff's Coronavirus NZ podcast, Foreign Minister Winston Peters revealed China tried to dissuade New Zealand from going into lockdown.“Without speaking out of turn, they wanted a discussion as to why we were doing it, because they thought it was an overreaction,” Mr Peters told Stuff’s Coronavirus NZ podcast.He also ...
The Coalition Government is making changes to the Overseas Investment Act to ensure New Zealand assets don't fall into the hands of foreign ownership in the economic aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Associate Minister of Finance David Parker announced the Act will be amended to bring forward a national interest ...
A quick start to a trans-Tasman bubble could see the tourism industry make a swift recovery, according to Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters. "I believe tourism will turn around dramatically faster than people think," Mr Peters told reporters after Thursday's Budget. "Why? Because I think the Tasman bubble is [going ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First Please check against deliveryhttps://vimeo.com/418303651 Budget 2020: Jobs, Business and Balance Introduction Acknowledgements to all Cabinet colleagues, and party ministers Tracey Martin, Shane Jones and Ron Mark, Under-Secretary Fletcher Tabuteau and to caucus colleagues. Thank you for your support, your ...
The 2020 Budget includes significant support to stabilise New Zealand’s family violence services, whose work has been shown to be so essential throughout the COVID-19 lockdown. ...
The Green Party says huge new investment in public and transitional housing will get thousands more families into the warm, safe homes they deserve. ...
The Green Party says the $1.1 billion environmental investment in this year’s budget to create thousands of green jobs will help jump start a sustainable recovery from the COVID crisis. ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters said today the Coalition Government told foreigners at the start of the Covid-19 crisis that if their circumstances had changed dramatically, they should go home. "And 50,000 did," Mr Peters said. Official advice to Cabinet revealed there is potentially 380,000 foreigners and migrant workers in ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, Leader of New Zealand First New Zealand First welcomes the decision today to go to Alert Level 2 from midnight Wednesday, says Leader Rt Hon Winston Peters. Alert Level 2 will mean a return to work for the vast majority of New Zealand’s businesses. A return ...
Nurses now look set to get more protection from violence at work, under a proposed new law.This after NZ First MP Darroch Ball's "Protection for First Responders Bill", which introduces a six-month minimum sentence for assaults on first responders, will now also cover emergency department healthcare workers. The ...
Darroch Ball MP, New Zealand First Law and Order Spokesperson An amendment to the ‘Protection of First Responders Bill’ is being tabled which will see emergency department healthcare workers included in the legislation. “During this COVID-19 crisis we have seen reports of violence and specifically increased incidents of spitting towards ...
Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones is breathing new life into the proposal to move Auckland's port to Whangārei to help in the economic recovery post Covid-19 pandemic.If New ZealandFirst was returned in the September general election, Minister Jones said a priority would be development of an "economic haven" at Northport, ...
The plan to build a memorial to the SS Ventnor, and those who were lost when it sank off the Hokianga coast in 1902, has been granted $100,000 from the Provincial Growth Fund.Originally planned for a site near Rāwene cemetery, the memorial will now be built at the new Manea ...
Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand First LeaderLeader of New Zealand First, Rt Hon Winston Peters said: “Today is the 75th anniversary of VE Day – marking the end of World War II in Europe."Millions died in the six years of war, and families were torn apart. 75 years ...
From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, our Government has committed to providing calm, clear, and consistent communication, including regular press conference updates from the Prime Minister. While New Zealand is at Alert Level 3, we're making sure that New Zealanders are kept informed and up-to-date with all the latest ...
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters spoke to The Country's Jamie Mackay. A day earlier, National Party leader Simon Bridges was on the radio show and referred to the Deputy Prime Minister as, "my sweetheart Winston". Mr Peters swiftly dismissed the question of whether Bridges had changed his mind about ...
The Government is on the verge of reaching its target of state sector boards and committees made up of at least 50 percent women, says Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter and Minister for Ethnic Communities Jenny Salesa. For the first time, the Government stocktake measures the number of Māori, ...
The Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister and Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media Minister, Kris Faafoi, has today announced the appointment of Tristan Gilbertson as the new Telecommunications Commissioner and member of the Commerce Commission. “Mr Gilbertson has considerable experience in the telecommunications industry and a strong reputation amongst his peers,” ...
The Ministry of Education and NZEI Te Riu Roa have agreed to settle the pay equity claim for teacher aides, Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced today. This will see more than 22,000 teacher aides, mostly women, being valued and paid fairly for the work they do. “Teacher aides are frontline ...
Subcontractors will have greater certainty, more cashflow support and job security with new changes to retention payments under the Construction Contracts Act says Minister for Building and Construction, Jenny Salesa. A recent review of the retentions money regime showed that most of the building and construction sector is complying with ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong have marked the first anniversary of the New Zealand-Singapore Enhanced Partnership with a virtual Leaders’ Meeting today. The Enhanced Partnership, signed on 17 May 2019, provides the framework for cooperation across the four main areas of trade, defence and ...
On 17 May 2019, New Zealand and Singapore established an Enhanced Partnership to elevate our relations. The Enhanced Partnership – based on the four pillars of trade and economics, security and defence, science, technology and innovation, and people-to-people links – has seen the long-standing relationship between our countries strengthen over the ...
State-Owned Enterprises Minister Winston Peters has welcomed KiwiRail’s announcement that it is seeking a preferred shipyard to build two new rail-enabled ferries for the Cook Strait crossing. “This Government is committed to restoring rail to its rightful place in New Zealand. Bigger, better ships, with new technology are yet another ...
Better protection for seabirds is being put in place with a new National Plan of Action to reduce fishing-related captures, Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash and Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage announced today. The National Plan of Action for Seabirds 2020 outlines our commitment to reduce fishing-related captures and associated seabird ...
Almost $1 billion in interest-free loans for small businesses More than 55,000 businesses have applied; 95% approved Average loan approx. $17,300 90% of applications from firms with ten or fewer staff A wide cross-section of businesses have applied, the most common are the construction industry, accommodation providers, professional firms, and ...
Thousands of children will have healthier lungs after the Government’s ban on smoking in cars with kids becomes law, says Associate Minister of Health Jenny Salesa. This comes after the third reading of Smoke-free Environments (Prohibiting Smoking in Motor Vehicles Carrying Children) Amendment Bill earlier today. “This law makes it ...
The special Epidemic Response Committee (ERC) has successfully concluded its role, Leader of the House Chris Hipkins said today. The committee was set up on 25 March by the agreement of Parliament to scrutinise the Government and its actions while keeping people safe during levels 4 and 3 of lockdown. ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters today announced four diplomatic appointments: New Zealand’s Ambassador to Belgium, High Commissioners to Nauru and Niue, and Ambassador for Counter-Terrorism. “As the world seeks to manage and then recover from COVID-19, our diplomatic and trade networks are more important than ever,” Mr Peters said. “The ...
New Zealanders will be better protected from online harm through a Bill introduced to Parliament today, says Internal Affairs Minister Tracey Martin. “The internet brings many benefits to society but can also be used as a weapon to spread harmful and illegal content and that is what this legislation targets,” ...
New Zealand’s world-first plan to eradicate the cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis is on track the latest technical data shows, says Agriculture and Biosecurity Minister Damien O’Connor. “Two years ago the Government, DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb New Zealand and industry partners made a bold decision to go hard and commit ...
Further support for New Zealanders affected by 1-in-100 year global economic shock 12-week payment will support people searching for new work or retraining Work programme on employment insurance to support workers and businesses The Government today announced a new temporary payment to support New Zealanders who lose their jobs due ...
The Provincial Growth Fund will play a vital role in New Zealand’s post-COVID-19 recovery by creating jobs in shorter timeframes through at least $600 million being refocused on projects with more immediate economic benefits, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. The funding is comprised of repurposed Provincial Growth ...
Government exempts some home improvements from costly consents Homeowners, builders and DIYers will soon have an easier time making basic home improvements as the Government scraps the need for consents for low-risk building work such as sleep-outs, sheds and carports – allowing the construction sector to fire back up quicker ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says the New Zealand Government has reacted with concern at the introduction of legislation in China’s National People’s Congress relating to national security in Hong Kong. “We have a strong interest in seeing confidence maintained in the ‘one country, two systems’ principle under which Hong ...
The Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio, says the theme for the 2020 Samoa Language Week is a perfect fit for helping our Pacific communities cope with the unfolding COVID-19 crisis, and to prepare now for the journey ahead as New Zealand focuses on recovery plans and rebuilding New ...
A nearly 40-year programme to protect one of New Zealand’s most critically endangered birds is paying off, with a record number of adult kakī/black stilt recently recorded living in the wild, the Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage announced today. “Thanks to the team effort involved in the Department of Conservation’s ...
The story of the Waikato-Tainui Treaty process and its enduring impact on the community is being told with a five-part web story launched today on the 25th anniversary of settlement, announced Associate Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Carmel Sepuloni. “I am grateful to Waikato-Tainui for allowing us to help capture ...
Taita College in the Hutt Valley will be redeveloped to upgrade its ageing classrooms and leaky roofs, Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced today. “The work is long overdue and will make a lasting difference to the school for generations to come,” Chris Hipkins said. “Too many of our schools are ...
The Government is allocating $36.72 million to projects in regions hard hit economically by COVID-19 to keep people working, Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford and Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. Projects in Hawke’s Bay, Northland, Rotorua and Queenstown will be funded from the Government’s $100 million worker ...
A $35m boost to financial capability service providers funded by MSD will help New Zealanders manage their money better both day to day and through periods of financial difficulty, announced Social Development Minister Carmel Sepuloni. “It’s always been our position to increase support to key groups experiencing or at risk ...
Dunedin barrister Melinda Broek has been appointed as a District Court Judge with Family Court jurisdiction to be based in Rotorua, Attorney-General David Parker announced today. Ms Broek has iwi affiliations to Ngai Tai. She commenced her employment in 1996 with Scholefield Cockroft Lloyd in Invercargill specialising in family and ...
The Coalition Government has approved a business case for $206 million in upgrades to critical infrastructure at Royal New Zealand Air Force Base Ohakea, with the first phase starting later this year, Defence Minister Ron Mark announced today. The investment will be made in three phases over five years, and ...
Transport Minister Phil Twyford today released the Ministry of Transport’s review of the organisational culture at the Civil Aviation Authority. Phil Twyford says all employees are entitled to a safe work environment. “I commissioned this independent review due to the concerns I had about the culture within the CAA, and ...
Ensuring that Stats NZ’s direction and strategy best supports government policy decisions will be a key focus for a new Governance Advisory Board announced today by the Minister for Statistics, James Shaw. The new Governance Advisory Board will provide strategic advice to Stats NZ to ensure it is meeting New ...
Environment Judge David Kirkpatrick of Auckland has been appointed as the Principal Environment Judge, Attorney-General David Parker announced today. Judge Kirkpatrick was appointed an Environment Judge in February 2014. From December 2013 to July 2016 he was Chair of the Auckland Unitary Plan Independent Hearings Panel. Prior to appointment he ...
A programme to connect marae around the country to the internet has received $1.4 million to expand to include urban marae in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media Minister Kris Faafoi and Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones announced today. The funding for the Marae Connectivity Programme ...
The Government will provide $500,000 to the Hawke’s Bay Mayoral Drought Relief Fund to help farmers facing one of the worst droughts in living memory, says Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. “Yesterday afternoon I received a letter from Hawke's Bay's five local Government leaders asking me to contribute to the Fund. ...
Budget 2020 provides a major investment in New Zealand’s documentary heritage sector, with a commitment to leasing a new Archives Wellington facility and an increase in funding for Archives and National Library work. “Last year I released plans for a new Archives Wellington building – a purpose-built facility physically connected ...
Government Ministers are asking significant private enterprises to adopt prompt payment practices in line with the state sector, as a way to improve cashflow for small businesses. The Ministers of Finance, Small Business, Commerce and Consumer Affairs have written to more than 40 significant enterprises and banking industry representatives to ...
Maori Arts and Crafts will continue to underpin the heart of the tourism sector says Minister for Maori Development Nanaia Mahuta. “That’s why we are making a core investment of $7.6 million to Te Puia New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute, over two years, as part of the Government’s ...
The Government is funding more pathways to jobs through training and education programmes in regional New Zealand to support the provinces’ recovery from the economic impacts of COVID-19, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones and Employment Minister Willie Jackson have announced. “New Zealand’s economic recovery will be largely driven by ...
Minister for Veterans Ron Mark has announced the launch of a national conversation that aims to find out whether New Zealanders think there should be a formal agreement between service people, the Government, and the people of New Zealand. “This year marks the 75th anniversary of the end of World ...
The Government’s drive to improve the quality of early childhood education (ECE) is taking another step forward with the reintroduction of a higher funding rate for services that employ fully qualified and registered teachers, Education Minister Chris Hipkins has announced. “Research shows that high-quality ECE can improve young people’s learning ...
The Sport and Recreation sector will receive a multi-million dollar boost as part of the COVID-19 response funded at Budget 2020. Grant Robertson says the Sport and Recreation Sector contributes about $5 billion a year to New Zealand’s GDP and employs more than 53,000 people. “Sport plays a significant role ...
A major increase in funding and availability of support will improve the incomes and reduce the pressure on 14,000 caregivers looking after more than 22,000 children. Children’s Minister Tracey Martin says that caregivers – all those looking after someone else’s children both in and outside the state care system – ...
Vital conservation and visitor infrastructure destroyed by a severe flood event in Fiordland earlier this year is being rebuilt through a $13.7 million Budget 2020 investment, announced Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage. “This investment will mean iconic Great Walks such as the Routeburn track and the full length of ...
New Zealand Defence Force bases in Auckland are attacking their water use as the region battles one of the worst droughts in recent history. The taps are being turned off at Devonport Naval Base, RNZAF Base Auckland at Whenuapai, Papakura Military ...
The Kahui Wai Maori Advisory group welcomed the announcement made by the Hon David Parker, Minister for the Environment today of the new rules designed to clean up our waterways. At the heart of the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management ...
Water New Zealand says the Government’s Action for Healthy Waterways package provides a sensible and realistic way forward and will result in much-needed improvements in freshwater quality. Acting CEO John Mackie says it’s vital that there is no ...
When Claire Freeman became a wheelchair user at age 17, the questions she had about how she might enjoy sex were dismissed and she was made to feel like that part of her life was over. Here she flips the script with some advice on how to find pleasure on ...
As companies in New Zealand’s property development and building sectors digest opportunities presented by the Budget, what they need most urgently to move forwards is Resource Management Act and policy reform in order to rebuild together, says the ...
“We are pleased to see that the Government’s freshwater reforms announced today respond to some of the issues raised, and recommendations made, by the irrigation sector,” says Elizabeth Soal, Chief Executive of IrrigationNZ. “But there is ...
The government is imposing tough rules on water quality despite over 17,000 submissions, many of them complaining the move would impose a huge financial burden. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Helen Dickinson, Professor, Public Service Research, UNSW COVID-19 has had a significant impact on all Australians, but there are very good reasons why the impact might be more keenly felt by people with disability and their carers. Our new research on behalf ...
Freshwater campaigners are frustrated the Government has delayed a crucial decision on nitrogen pollution for a further 12 months until after the election. “We have urged the Government many times to put in place clear and unequivocal limits for ...
The government has just announced a whole lot of new rules and policies for freshwater with the aim of urgently stopping degradation and cleaning up rivers over the long term.What’s all this then? A massive package of work on freshwater quality has just been announced in an attempt to halt further ...
The Environmental Defence Society (EDS) has welcomed the announcement by Ministers David Parker, Damien O’Connor and James Shaw this morning of the much-awaited freshwater reforms. “This package of changes to the present regulatory settings largely delivers ...
Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) has welcomed the Government’s announcement of a set of targeted tools to improve the quality of freshwater. LGNZ is the peak body representing New Zealand’s 78 local councils, providing a unified voice for ...
Many families facing newfound financial hardship due to COVID-19 may not be seeking help – believing they should be able to manage on their own or unaware they qualify for support, according to Good Shepherd NZ. The charitable organisation provides ...
Changes to central government Essential Freshwater regulations reflect farmer feedback, Federated Farmers says. "While we’re still working through the detail, the high level policy decisions indicate the government has heeded some of the rural ...
The Council of Trade Unions is congratulating teacher aides in achieving an historic pay equity offer from the government to settle their long standing concerns. "What this offer from the government does is acknowledge the historic under valuation of ...
Freshwater reforms a significant step forward The Government's policy announced today is a significant step forward in reducing pollution in our rural and our urban waterways caused by intensive farming and through council's neglect. However, there ...
Thursday, 28th May: Greenpeace is today welcoming the Government’s move to place a cap on synthetic nitrogen fertiliser, but says more controls are needed to protect freshwater. The fertiliser cap was announced today as part of the Government’s ...
Following today’s announcements on the government’s response to the future of freshwater, it appears that despite the chorus of calls for a change in how the post-COVID future of Aotearoa is shaped - and following many months of engagement, consultation ...
Horticulture New Zealand says the Government’s decisions around freshwater recognise the importance of growing fresh fruit and vegetables in this country. ‘We applaud the Government for the pragmatic approach it is taking to meeting the long-term freshwater ...
NZ’s primary exports held up well in April, again proving the country’s farming industries are sustaining the economy despite many sectors being stricken by the Covid-19 pandemic. Almost coincidentally, a UMR probe of public opinion about farming revealed a sharp swing in perception. Instead of the negativity that had been ...
In a world where players have unfettered access to fans through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, it raises the question of whether traditional media still has a role to play. But as Scotty Stevenson explains, a player-driven model powered by social media can only go so far. Among the many weird and ...
Two statements from the Beehive yesterday were enlightening for taxpayers trying to keep tabs on the burgeoning billions being spent on facilitating the economic recovery. One statement told us how much is being handed out to small businesses. Correction. One statement told us how much is being loaned to small ...
Emily Writes celebrates wholesome shows and the rise of cosy television.The world is frightening right now. From Covid-19 to climate change, just watching the news can be overwhelming let alone going outside. This horror is the perfect environment for what I call Soft TV to flourish. Wholesome reality TV isn’t ...
While many areas of the workforce have been shaken by the effects of Covid-19, a Ngāi Tahu futures lab has been working to give rangatahi Māori the opportunity to decide their own futures.Futurists have thought up myriad strategies for how the world should look post-Covid. For all its hurt, the ...
Pacific Media Centre The dramatic daily increase of covid-19 coronavirus cases in West Papua poses a “great threat” to Papua New Guinea, says the country’s deputy emergency chief. State of Emergency Deputy Controller and Acting Secretary for Health Dr Paison Dakulala said the Indonesian-ruled Papua region had seen an increase ...
Recent public opinion polls are revealing some very interesting, if somewhat contradictory, insights into New Zealanders’ current thinking about the Covid19 crisis and the national response. The most recent 1News Colmar Brunton poll reported that 92% of ...
Trucking companies have missed out on the Government’s Covid-19 money lolly scramble and this will mean increased costs across the already damaged economy, Road Transport Forum (RTF) chief executive Nick Leggett says. "Despite working through the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Bowman, Professor of Pyrogeography and Fire Science, University of Tasmania Since last summer’s bushfire crisis, there’s been a quantum shift in public awareness of Aboriginal fire management. It’s now more widely understood that Aboriginal people used landscape burning to sustain biodiversity ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Geoff Hanmer, Adjunct Professor of Architecture, University of Adelaide A return to face to face teaching at universities and technical colleges “where possible” is one of the goals of the Morrison government’s three step framework for a COVIDsafe Australia. A look at ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hazel Easthope, Scientia Associate Professor, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW We’re building a lot of apartments in Australia. High-density precincts are being developed across our major cities. But these buildings and neighbourhoods are often not designed and managed in ways that meet ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Kaine, Associate Professor UTS Centre for Business and Social Innovation, University of Technology Sydney Workers everywhere are feeling the impact of COVID-19 and the restrictions necessitated by COVID-19. In Australia, retail and hospitality workers have been particularly hard hit. In other ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anthony Forsyth, Professor of Workplace Law, RMIT University Prime Minister Scott Morrison this week proposed a new deal in industrial relations, bringing together the government, employers and unions to agree on reforms to create jobs and lift the economy in the post-CIVD-19 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ray Markey, Emeritus Professor, Macquarie University In a bid to repair the economy, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced an industrial relations overhaul. Business groups and unions will be brought together to try to change a system that Morrison says is “not ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathon Hutchinson, Senior Lecturer Online Communication and Media, University of Sydney The constraints of coronavirus isolation have closed down most recreational activities, but some creative industries are responding in innovative ways. I have been researching “digital first personalities” – content producers who ...
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For official government advice, see here.The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this ...
Mainfreight's revenues have risen since April 1 despite Covid-19 as it reports higher annual profit and stable dividend, and repays $10.6m wage subsidy. NZX 50 back to March 9 level ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Simon Lamb, Associate Professor in Geophysics, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Back in the 1970s, scientists came up with a revolutionary idea about how Earth’s deep interior works. They proposed it is slowly churning like a lava lamp, with ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Kiwibuild buyers left facing years of delays, calls for relaxation of alert levels and travel, and new details emerge in NZ First Foundation saga.Despite a reset of the policy last year, Kiwibuild is still proving to be problematic. A disastrous new ...
Dr Emily Henderson Last night, the Labour Party named Whangarei Family Court lawyer, Dr Emily Henderson, as its candidate to contest the Whangarei seat in the September general election. Emily has lived in Whangarei since she was seven years old, attending ...
Lockdown shut down an overseas couple's bid to walk the length of the country. When freed again, they returned from Auckland to the deep south to complete the task. Dressed in handmade ninja turtle costumes, hikers Becca Rolon and Diarmuid McInerney finally reached Bluff - finishing a 3000km walk the length ...
An essay by Martin Edmond in response to the monumental second volume by Peter Simpson on artist Colin McCahon.I. Bro Aspect I first met Peter Simpson at Sally and Alan’s place in Coromandel Street, Newtown, Wellington, 1988. Alan Brunton and Sally Rodwell, the founders of Red Mole. They ...
As we emerge from the last of lockdown and begin to look beyond our borders again, let’s not forget the vital role language skills play in strengthening our economic, political and cultural connections to the rest of the world, writes Sally Hill. This week is Vaiaso o le Gagana Samoa ...
Quarantine-free travel between NZ and Pacific Islands should be our priority, ahead of plans to extend our bubble to include Australia, writes the University of Auckland's Dr Collin Tukuitonga Much has been made of the desirability of a ‘trans-Tasman’ bubble with quarantine-free air travel as a priority. There are compelling reasons ...
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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.
At least we can breathe with relief that one major retailer isn’t still gypping their staff, I guess: http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/357206/briscoes-rejects-claims-over-unpaid-meetings
Ed 100%.
We fully we support democracy in NZ, unlike apparently as James does not seem too.
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
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.
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.
How do right wing facts get made again?
In fairness they rarely come from a single source – it takes quite a few righties to form a coherent sentence.
The employment court has ordered Smith City to pay for the meetings.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/357206/briscoes-rejects-claims-over-unpaid-meetings
Rod Duke is Briscoes, not Smith City.
oops
I misread the news item. Thankx Oab
Congratulations. You are that true rarity among commenters on Blogs.
You admit it when you make a slip.
How unpatronising and self aware of you alwyn
Yes. I am handsome, intelligent, witty and a pensioner.
Well one right out of four isn’t too bad.
dv;
Pity the right wing commentators don’t “admit their mistakes too”
They often are shown up but ignore their wrongs.
Good for you to admit a very small mistake here.
More power to you.
We will follow if it rubs off on the Right wing now……………….
I think you will find I have corrected my self and apologised on here a number of times.
Actually James I have found that about you at times
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.
@ 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.
Thats really nice to hear.
of course some will continue to hate him because he has money.
Envy is a horrible.
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?
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.
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.
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)
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.
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.
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
Still seems a lot better than “there is no housing crisis” – last National Governments bullshit.
It seems National have lowered the bar so low that instead of demanding more, some are appeased by a better level of bullshit.
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?
Have they are and are they on track to deliver more homes than nats promised or had in train?
@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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
+1
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.
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.
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.
“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.
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”………
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?
“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.
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:
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
chuckling
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.
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.
patricia b
+1
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
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.
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 ??
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.
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.
“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.
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 ?
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.
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.
Hmm Labour misspoke? Surely you jest?
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.
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?
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…
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.
“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.
Unpaid work should be illegal no matter what. Calling it an ‘internship’ shouldn’t change that.
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.
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.
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/
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.
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.
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
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
Ministerial interjection?….Prime Ministerial even?
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.
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.
komfort.
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
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