Turns out the gun for hire who wrote the piece forgot to note that the French wealth tax was recently modified and now resembles that which the Greens propose.
(new) Labour + National two side of the same Liberal coin….
Interesting that the only time the beloved Ardern loses her much touted pragmatism and draws a firm line in the sand is when it comes to NOT having capital gains tax and NOT taxing the super wealthy…but I guess when you come from the Tony Blair side of the Labour ideology this should come as no surprise.
Internal Green Party polling provided to The Spinoff suggests that the massive number of advance votes are running against legalising cannabis, but it’s likely to be close. The poll, conducted between October 9-12, asked people if the election was held tomorrow how they would vote on the Cannabis Legalisation and Control bill.
The poll did not ask any of the respondents how they had voted. However, out of the 1,286 people asked, 278 people said they had already voted. Of that second group, 50% said they did not support the bill, compared to 47% in favour. In the other group of 1,008 people who had not yet voted, 45% supported the bill, 41% were opposed, and 14% were undecided.
I think it's amusing that Collins keeps trying to scare voters off Labour by using the wealth tax – poll tonight will show if paranoia is that contagious. She needs a 5% shift.
Had a bunch of commentators here yesterday riled by my reference to the tax being designed to help losers. Telling the truth seems non-pc to some. I just think they are being weak in yielding to that sociopathic attitude.
Obviously the system was set up to divide the electorate into winners and losers: representative democracy has always been based on binary division and competition. The winner gets to be govt, the loser doesn't. The ruling class always wins, the lower class never wins. That's why Labour doesn't want the wealth tax. Wannabe winners.
Trying to pretend that history never happened just makes those commentators delusional. They ought to spit the dummy & get real.
Had to laugh at Emma Mellow jumping on the bandwagon.
Surely Auckland Central is the last place National want to drive votes from the Greens to Labour.
Then I went in search of what Mellow's place on the list is and found this (15/10/2020, 12pm):
In the 2020 election Mellow defeated Helen White of the Labour Party and Chlöe Swarbrick of the Green Party in a tight three-way race.
Misrepresenting other commenters is not getting you any closer to the truth and is thus an act of delusion.
Name-calling is your MO to lay down the truth as you see it and silence anybody who disagrees with you. Deliberately using language that rubs people the wrong way and demeans others is neither constructive nor inclusive, believing it so is delusional.
Stubbornly sticking to your guns and putting your own truth above that of others is delusional and does not make for positive debate.
This site encourages robust debate and your obtrusive commenting style and egotistic attitude are counter-productive.
The Wealth Tax won't shift people from greens to labour, it has been around long enough that there would be a very small number of green supporters that don't like the wealth tax or what it represents. Talking it up by the Greens may pull more left voters from Labour to the Greens.
Judith is trying to push some labour voters to NZF, but not too many (enough to take them to 4.95%), and thus wasting them. That drops labour to midish 40's, which may be close enough if Greens do dip under 5%
Nothing about talking up the wealth tax by Greens or National drops the green vote
The optics of making the rich pay their fair share is what is important here, and it is the sort of optics that The Greens need to push harder…cos Labour sure as hell are not going to.
Sweet Mary mother of Jesus, the Greens are such a fucking political liability.
Would they kindly just STFU and stop constantly talking about their wealth tax TWO DAYS OUT FROM A POTENTIALLY HISTORIC CENTRE LEFT WIN?
What a bunch of morons.
Their ill-thought out and high handed approach to the anti-smacking legislation cost Labour nine years in opposition and by the look of things they haven't learnt a single thing.
I hope Labour can govern alone and those political idiots in the Greens get to see their party drop below the threshold so they can spend three years thinking about how being a bunch of political dilettantes cost them their place in parliament.
Yes Sanctuary let us all just go along with Labour's steady as she goes asinine policies where the top 5% continue to hold more and more of the wealth while 235,000 kids are living in poverty.
Labour's 39% tax on over $180k raises bugger all-$500m. The Greens' WT raises SIXTEEN times that to alleviate poverty-that is transformative. And 94% are totally unaffected by the WT.
Personally I think the Green WT should be modified to target the top 4% rather than the top 6% but it is the Labour pro-establishment centrists who need to STFU.
I'm not against some sort of wealth tax. Geez… just look what the wine-boxers got away with back in the 90s.
But having made sure everyone knows they plan to push for such a tax – or a derivation of it – just shut up and stop giving Collins more opportunities to spread false information. All its doing is causing unnecessary panic among the voters.
The Greens will be the losers because many voters are vulnerable to misinformation when they are lead to believe a policy is going to negatively affect them.
Not sure if anyone is listening any more to the bollocks, sorry misinformation, that Collins is spouting. I guess we will find out on Saturday. The poll tonight may give us a pointer.
A few journalists have been repeating it, instead of doing their jobs. All over bar the shouting anyway – those who trust JC, or JA, are unlikely to change their minds in time absent a significant event.
A government serious about increasing tax revenue could do worse than to patch up some of the deliberately formed loopholes that let people pretend that they, or their money are really somewhere else.
A centre-left win that delivers nothing (to be fair – will deliver a better outcome than more active wrecking by NAct)? We need to deal with corrosive inequality and child poverty – and we need to stop a handful of rich people controlling our government and society. The Green's wealth tax is a step in the right direction and creates discussion on what really needs to be fixed.
yes, time the greens looked at the big picture, and that picture is, if you want change, you need power, to get power, you have to play the political game, which is, when you have a scab, someone else will pick it.
In assembling her unbeatable electoral coalition, and holding it together, Jacinda has had to give an explicit promise not to enact the sort of urgent fiscal programme the country requires.
This will be the new government’s dilemma. How to do what needs to be done without breaking its word, and without breaking up the cross-class alliance of voters that brought it to power.
To overcome this dilemma, the prospective Labour-Green Government will have to devise some way of persuading its working-class, middle-class and ruling-class supporters to pursue change together.
Creating a common-ground basis for a Labour-Green Government is an intellectual challenge in an era where intellectuals are deemed irrelevant. Muddling has pushed its way to the forefront of the political scrum. Common interests of those three classes? Players will be consternated. Eyes will glaze over. An heroic saga awaits…
They're not keen on Covid – so they're united against a common enemy. But the reigning economic narrative of the last few decades has led them up the garden path.
Avoiding a violent revolution might be a common interest. Better a negotiated one if you face the prospect of your backs against the wall. And less messy and fatal all round for the rest of us.
The numbed sensibilities of the oligarchs that benefited from the great Rogergnomic ripoff cannot be protected forever – however desperately the liars trying to peddle it as success pretend otherwise.
Plenty of common interests, if you look at them from an individuals perspective.
That my children get good education. That my housing is warm, dry, and affordable. That my water is clean. That my air is clean. That my food is healthy. That I have amenities to enjoy. That I have opportunity. That I have a place in my community.
No class divide in that lot. Just that for some, much of the list is simply assumed.
To be part of something greater than ourselves. Actual progress and working toward a better world. Only one class of people don't want that: they're called assholes. You can find assholes in trailer parks, leafy suburbs, and boardrooms.
I could be wrong, but I always thought that was the american version of the english term (but both have currency here).
I like your identification of common ground elements. Resonates as common sense, I suspect. Although people do say common sense ain't all that common these days…
The main class problem is that the Greens get the great majority of their votes from central city Auckland and Wellington – the areas most affected by the Green wealth tax because of expensive housing.
So Ardern signalling that the tax is dead on arrival is doing the Green voters in those areas a huge favour.
And of course also signaling that the really rich will pay more tax. Which is as it should be.
Other than that they want just slightly more than Labour on most things. It's going to be the easiest coalition discussion we've ever had.
It's going to be the easiest coalition discussion we've ever had.
Strikes me the numbers will hinge on the perception problem. No amount of calm dispassionate advocacy of the policy by James & Marama can prevail against the wilful reluctance of many in the target market to do the math.
They presented well with Garner this morning. He's anti, but seemed respectful & quite muted in his sceptical questioning, and seemed to be listening.
A Land Tax might be easier to gain acceptance for and implement than a Wealth Tax….though we could have both.
The problem is the farmers who have a lot of land that, while it is much much less valuable per hectare than Ponsonby, a LT would arguably unfairly impinge on them and their profits. A lower rate for land above (say) 20 hectares in size might be the solution.
Exactly BG. Most agricultural land is valued at a far higher rate than its income generating value. It's value in NZ is often dictated by it's desirability as very wealthy persons bolthole. A Land Tax on a sheep or beef farmer could be many times ( to be worth collecting ) its real income so is counter productive if forcing on-sale to someone who really doesn't give a shit about about a 1 or2 % tax.
A lot, lot more work goes into the implications of taxes than wish fulfilment, just look at Piggy's dopey booze fueled reactionary tax ideas in the early 80s. His 20% tax on "luxury" NZ made goods that he plucked out of his arse proves the point. A lot of businesses went under and it failed to bring in anything because it killed the producers off including my own small boat building one. In fact it cost him money in higher unemployment. What he failed to realise was that the vast amount of customers were ordinary working class grafters saving a little bit a week to own a boat or home built car kit. They just said "Fuck you Piggy "and didn't buy anything
The last thing you want is a Land Tax that leads to even faster corporate ownership of our productive land.
Land taxes lead to better use of land as those who are land banking have to make an income to pay the tax.That would help urban land use but farming is very cyclical with no guaranteed income from year to year a Capital gains tax would be a better way of land tax for rural farming to become more productive and profitable .
But you would need to reduce income taxes by an equivalent amount for these type of taxes to be accepted.
CGT is very complicated to implement and the income raised is unpredictable.
That goes for any new tax.
All the 'easy' taxes are in place already, and those that aren't are because they are very complicated to implement and the income raised is unpredictable.
At least with a CGT you have an objective transaction to buy the asset and another to sell it. Where it gets complicated is deductions for expenses incurred between buying and selling, so privately held assets have to be treated like a business which gets into a huge can of worms.
Wealth taxes are completely subjective, and dependant on market conditions at the time. How do you value a business that could be overtaken by a new idea tomorrow, especially smaller businesses that are totally dependant on the owner's skills and knowledge. The art market verges on a scam and even property and shares are only a loss of confidence away from their value becoming meaningless.
The records and paperwork needed for a CGT are very similar to what is required for a wealth tax. But for a CGT you only need to sort it out and file it when you sell a liable asset which would be a rare event for most, whereas for the proposed wealth tax you would need to do it all every. single. fucking. year.
Yeah, and you'll be going through that valuation and return process every year from a point well below the threshold to prove you don't owe anything. And with the complexities of valuing businesses and art, probably requiring professional input, so a good addition to your costs for very little, if any tax paid.
I can see that you are warming towards a WT Andre. At least it has boosted the Greens profile to 8% (9.5% in Roy Morgan). Some people obviously like it.
A Land Tax is probably the easiest option to administer, with predictable and high revenue outcomes. Lower LT rates would be needed for genuine farming operations above 20 hectares.
The thing would be to implement CGT in stages – on housing, on small businesses, on farming, on trading and investment.
The complexities of each area not compromising the approach to others, so that small businesses are not taxed on goodwill they have developed, but are on land value appreciation for instance. Dividing the introduction would also divide the opposition to the tax, and let the public consider the issues in more detail.
It's value in NZ is often dictated by it's desirability as very wealthy persons bolthole.
This suggests that a risk-free-rate-of-return tax as suggested by Gareth Morgan could be appropriate – perhaps, but not necessarily, alongside a much lower land tax.
Exactly what I mean than more complicated and intricate than wish fulfilment would have you believe. For every clever or mostly not so clever bugger devising taxes there are 10 more working on getting around it. Simplicity is key.
Say what you like about Roger Douglas but when he was questioned about GST on food he said that he upped the benefits by the amount of GST on essentials but he had been to enough dinner parties in Remuera where the food cost $500 ( read $1500 today ) so fuck'em they can pay.
A very cleavour and articulate person on a very dangerous topic – And I do recommend all watch this
"Without aid from a teleprompter, he explains to whites that their privilege isn’t "saying your life hasn’t been hard – it’s saying your skin color hasn’t contributed to the difficulty."
One needs to be a little careful generalizing from the US to NZ – there is significant employer prejudice against kiwis here – access to cheap exploitable foreign labour has made it abundant.
I may have read you comments wrong if so excuse.me. What I meant was that this topic is so divisive and to hear anyone articulate these so well and thoughtfully with passion – It moved me and brought me to understanding and counter what has been peddled from those "against" this e.g. The counter to "All/White lives also matter" and why an African American can use Negr* and why others shouldn't and not even sing along using it. And I was first made aware of Emmanuel from a ESPN doco on American Football.
Judith Collins just interviewed on RNZ (will be available online in about 30 mins)….I have never heard a candidate forPM with so much ill informed vague policy 'reckons' in my life…think it safe to conclude that Nationals 'plan' is minimal involvement and oversight of the NZ economy and let the chips fall where they may.
What summed Collins up for me (amongst other things she said) was her casual, almost contemptuous dismissal of the doctors' union. 'Oh, union.'
She has no sympathy or understanding with or of the people uniting to achieve a goal. Even a well-heeled 'union' like the doctors. God help the poorer people.
Yes – I pricked up my ears when she said that Labour 'stopped' them from doing it when the previous National Govt. wanted to modify (destroy) the MRA. My memory is blank on this – can anyone explain how Labour 'stopped' them when the National Govt + ACT had a parliamentary majority and could simply outvote Labour whenever they wanted to?
Is this yet another example of Judith being 'less than honest'?
Yes as I understand it Nats and Act had enough MPs to have passed any legislation they wanted between 2008 and 2011 and again between 2014 and 2017. From 2011 to 2014 I think they would have needed votes from either Peter Dunne or the Maori Party.
Pat, Mum had lunch with some friends earlier this week, there were two ladies there who are true blue, they admitted they are so embarrassed of judith collins that they will NOT be voting national for the first time ever.
Blue women are turning off judith in droves, Mum is not the first person who has said such in recent weeks.
Fishing used to be a widespread occupation with considerable operator independence. The QMS, aside from having no merit as resource protection, granted a monopoly to quota holders, chiefly three or four companies, who exercise disproportionate power over the lives of their workers. Ostensibly independent contractors (to allow the companies to sidestep ACC), kiwi employees nevertheless can't even have a can of beer at the end of a shift, because it does not suit the whims of the oligarchs.
As for the slave fishermen – any pretense of progressive values by government is auto-debunked by them.
Okay, so with the fishing industry, vessels have to carry crew with certain qualifications who have done a certain amount of sea time in order to sail, especially on deep sea trawlers. Sure factory staff don't have to be qualified, but all the officers do.
Nelson has the only fishing school in NZ, it takes years to get qualifications for certain sea going roles.
Sealord have used and exploited foreign crew for years. Iwi are responsible for those decisions and for not using local workers. Sealord is half owned by Iwi and half owned by offshore interests. 20 yrs ago the exhusband worked as an officer on Sealord vessels, even he was surprised at the time of the amount of foreign workers onboard.
There was an attempt last century to open up places for Maori by having a quota of trainees to be Maori which was being encouraged by government. When Nelson Polytechnic tried to do this they were threatened with a legal challenge by Sanford. So the big companies were not encouraging the participation of Maori in fishing as was hoped for. The challenge was against reverse discrimination I think it was called. I felt that Sanfords felt that Maori were being advantaged and wanted to put a stop to it.
you missed the end of the sentence – at the dreadful wages and conditions offered.
Time to stop discrimination against New Zealand employees and Labour should have extracted a decent plan out of the companies to replace the labour force with kiwis . Starting this summer.
Some one is a little upset there. The right wing are feeling threatened?
What it is telling us is that the RW fear that Jacinda now she has the space will go for bolder policies and show that the neo lib settings are basically stuffed. At which point countries like Australia and the Uk may be wanting more of what we have.
I am inherently lazy and enjoy successes that I could easily surpass if I tried harder. And yet, I feel that merely not having Judith Collins as PM, feels like setting the bar at a subterranean level.
Thanks for that Observer. As far as I can tell no government has moved up from the early 60% Confidence – until this year with this Government in the 70% range. Thanks for pointing that out as well.
Auckland University certainly doing right by their Vice Chancellor, 5 mill for a superior Parnell house, 1 thou a week in rent. They'll be pretty keen to get those foreign students back in I guess.
Hi,I wanted to check in and ask how you’re doing.This is perhaps a selfish act, of attempting to find others feeling a similar way to me — that is to say, a little hopeless at the moment.Misery loves company, that sort of deal.Some context.I wish I could say I got ...
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Alwyn Poole writes – After being elected to Parliament in 2008 the maiden speech of Hipkins was substantially around education policy. He was Labour’s spokesperson for education 2011 – 2017. He was Minister for Education from 2017 until February 2023. This is approximately 88% of the time Labour ...
Eric Crampton writes – A fashion industry group is lobbying for protections. They make the usual arguments and a newer one. None of it makes sense. An industry group says it pumped $7.8 billion into the economy last year – that’s 1.9 percent of New Zealand’s GDP. ...
In December 2006, Fiji's military leader Voreqe Bainimarama overthrew the elected government in a coup. He ruled Fiji for the next 16 years, first as dictator, then as "elected" Prime Minister. But now, he's finally been sent to jail where he belongs. Sadly, this isn't for his real crime of ...
Don't like National's corrupt Muldoonist "fast-track" law? Aotearoa's environmental NGO's - Greenpeace, Forest & Bird, WWF, Coromandel Watchdog, Coal Action Network Aotearoa, Kiwis Against Seabed Mining, and others - have announced a joint march against it in Auckland in June: When: 13:00, 8 June, 2024 Where: Aotea Square, Auckland You ...
Seymour describes sushi as too woke for school meals. There are no fish sushi meals recommended by the School Lunches programme. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: The Government will swap out hot meals for packaged sandwiches to save $107 million on school lunches for poor kids. MSD has pulled ...
I don't mind stealin' bread from the mouths of decadenceBut I can't feed on the powerless when my cup's already overfilled, yeahBut it's on the table, the fire's cookin'And they're farmin' babies, while slaves are workin'The blood is on the table and the mouths are chokin'But I'm goin' hungry, yeahSome ...
The Ardern Government’s chickens came home to roost yesterday with the news that the country is short of natural gas. In 2018, Labour banned offshore petroleum exploration, and industry executives say that the attendant loss of confidence by the industry impacted overall investment in onshore gas fields. Energy Resources Minister ...
Hi,If you’ve been digging through the newly launched Webworm store (orders are being dispatched worldwide as I type!) you’ll have noticed the best model we had was Calvin.This is Calvin.Calvin.Calvin is 7, and is the son of my producer over on Flightless Bird, Rob — aka “Wobby Wob”. Rob also ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). Climate change is everywhere. And when something's everywhere it can feel like it's nowhere. So how do we get our heads ...
Its a law like gravity: whenever a right-wing government is elected, they start attacking democracy. And now, after talking to their Republican and Tory and Fidesz chums at the International Democracy Union forum in Wellington, National is doing it here, announcing plans to remove election-day enrolment. Or, to put it ...
Yesterday Winston Peters focussed his attention on the important matter at hand. Tweeting. Like the former, and quite possibly next, orange POTUS, from whom he takes much of his political strategy, Winston is an avid X’er.His message didn’t resemble an historic address this time. In fact it was more reminiscent ...
Buzz from the Beehive A significant decline in natural gas production has given Resources Minister Shane Jones an opportunity to reiterate his enthusiasm for the mining and burning of coal. For good measure, he has praised an announcement from Genesis Energy that it will resume importing coal. He and Energy ...
“Follow the money” is the classic directive to journalists trying to understand where power and influence lie in society. In terms of uncovering who influences various New Zealand political parties and governments, it therefore pays to look at who is funding them. The political parties are legally obliged to make ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Here is my subjective ranking on a “most-left” to “most-right” scale of most of our major NZ Universities, with some anecdotal (and at times amusing) evidence to back up the claim.Extreme Left Auckland University of TechnologyEvidenceThe ...
Eric Crampton writes – I hadn’t thought about this one until a helpful email showed up in my inbox.It’s pretty obvious that income tax thresholds should automatically index with inflation – whether to anchor the thresholds in percentiles of the income distribution, or to anchor against a real ...
Jacqui Van Der Kaay writes – Parliament’s speaker had no option but to refer Green MP Julie Anne Genter to the Privileges Committee for her behaviour in the House last Wednesday evening. The incident, in which she crossed the floor to wave a book and yell at National ...
Gary Judd writes – The Dean of the law school at the Auckland University of Technology is someone called Khylee Quince. I have been sent her social media posting in which she has, over the LawNews headline “Senior King’s Counsel files complaint about compulsory tikanga Maori studies for ...
Cleo Paskal writes – WASHINGTON, D.C.: ‘Many of us have received phone calls from [the opposing camp] telling them if they join the camp they will be given projects for their wards and $300,000 [around US$35,000] each’, says former Malaita Premier Daniel Suidani. The elections in Solomon Islands aren’t ...
With hindsight, it was inevitable that (a) Hamas would agree to the ceasefire deal brokered by Egypt and Qatar and that ( b) Israel would then immediately launch attacks on Rafah, regardless. We might have hoped the concessions made by Hamas would cause Israel to desist from slaughtering thousands more ...
Today’s justification from the Minister for Children for scrapping protections for our tamariki was either a case of ignorance or deliberate deception. ...
The Green Party says the Government’s misguided policy on gangs will fail, following the announcement of the establishment of a national gang unit and district gang disruption units to target gang activities. ...
“With Police pay negotiations still unresolved after six months in Government, Mark Mitchell has today rolled the Commissioner out for a rebrand of their approach to gang crime,” Labour police spokesperson Ginny Andersen said. ...
The Government bringing back 50 charter schools will not increase achievement and is a distraction from the core mission of the education system, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Te Pāti Māori is showing extreme concern over the Environment Select Committees adoption of a lucky dip draw to determine hearings for the Fast Track Approvals bill. Of the 27,000 submissions, 2,900 requested to present. All organisations will be heard; however, the remaining 2,350 submitters will be subject to a ...
Today New Zealand First will introduce a Member’s Bill that will protect women’s spaces. The ‘Fair Access to Bathrooms Bill’ will require, primarily in the interest and safety of women and girls, that all new non-domestic publicly accessible buildings provide separate, clearly demarcated, unisex and single sex bathrooms. This Bill ...
The Green Party is welcoming Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ continuation of Hon. James Shaw’s cross-party work on climate adaptation, now in the form of a Finance and Expenditure Committee Inquiry. ...
The National Government plans to cut 390 jobs at ACC, including roles in the areas of prevention of sexual violence, road safety and workplace safety. ...
The Government has been caught in opposition to evidence once again as it looks to usher in tried, tested and failed work seminar obligations for job-seeking beneficiaries. ...
The Green Party is welcoming the announcement by the Minister Responsible for RMA Reform Chris Bishop to approve most of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan recommendations. ...
David Seymour has failed to get the sweeping cuts he wanted to the free and healthy school lunch programme, Labour education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
Hon Willie Jackson has been invited by the Oxford Union to debate the motion “This House Believes British Museums are not Very British’ on May 23rd. ...
Green Party MP Hūhana Lyndon says her Public Works (Prohibition of Compulsory Acquisition of Māori Land) Amendment Bill is an opportunity to right some past wrongs around the alienation of Māori land. ...
A senior, highly respected King’s Counsel with decades of experience in our law courts, Gary Judd KC, has filed a complaint about compulsory tikanga Māori studies for law students - highlighting the utter depths of absurdity this woke cultural madness has taken our society. The tikanga regulations will compel law ...
The Government needs to be clear with the people of the Nelson Marlborough region about the changes it is considering for the Nelson Hospital rebuild, Labour health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and President Emmanuel Macron of France today announced a new non-governmental organisation, the Christchurch Call Foundation, to coordinate the Christchurch Call’s work to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online. This change gives effect to the outcomes of the November 2023 Call Leaders’ Summit, ...
Distinguished public servant and former diplomat Sir Maarten Wevers will lead the independent review into the disability support services administered by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. The review was announced by Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston a fortnight ago to examine what could be done to strengthen the ...
Today’s announcement by Police Commissioner Andrew Coster of a National Gang Unit and district Gang Disruption Units will help deliver on the coalition Government’s pledge to restore law and order and crack down on criminal gangs, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. “The National Gang Unit and Gang Disruption Units will ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today expressed regret at North Korea’s aggressive rhetoric towards New Zealand and its international partners. “New Zealand proudly stands with the international community in upholding the rules-based order through its monitoring and surveillance deployments, which it has been regularly doing alongside partners since 2018,” Mr ...
Air Vice-Marshal Tony Davies MNZM is the new Chief of Defence Force, Defence Minister Judith Collins announced today. The Chief of Defence Force commands the Navy, Army and Air Force and is the principal military advisor to the Defence Minister and other Ministers with relevant portfolio responsibilities in the defence ...
Legislation to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act has been introduced to Parliament. The Bill’s introduction reaffirms the Coalition Government’s commitment to the safety of children in care, says Minister for Children, Karen Chhour. “While section 7AA was introduced with good intentions, it creates a conflict for Oranga ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins will this week travel to the UK and Italy to meet with her defence counterparts, and to attend Battles of Cassino commemorations. “I am humbled to be able to represent the New Zealand Government in Italy at the commemorations for the 80th anniversary of what was ...
The upcoming Budget will include funding for up to 50 charter schools to help lift declining educational performance, Associate Education Minister David Seymour announced today. $153 million in new funding will be provided over four years to establish and operate up to 15 new charter schools and convert 35 state ...
“The results of the public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has now been received, with results indicating over 13,000 submissions were made from members of the public,” Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “We heard feedback about the extended lockdowns in ...
Foreign Minister, Defence Minister, other Members of Parliament Acting Chief of Defence Force, Secretary of Defence Distinguished Guests Defence and Diplomatic Colleagues Ladies and Gentlemen, Good afternoon, tēna koutou, apinun tru It’s a pleasure to be back in Port Moresby today, and to speak here at the Kumul Leadership ...
Health, infrastructure, renewable energy, and stability are among the themes of the current visit to Papua New Guinea by a New Zealand political delegation, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Papua New Guinea carries serious weight in the Pacific, and New Zealand deeply values our relationship with it,” Mr Peters ...
The coalition Government is launching Roads of Regional Significance to sit alongside Roads of National Significance as part of its plan to deliver priority roading projects across the country, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The Roads of National Significance (RoNS) built by the previous National Government are some of New Zealand’s ...
A high-level New Zealand political delegation in Honiara today congratulated the new Government of Solomon Islands, led by Jeremiah Manele, on taking office. “We are privileged to meet the new Prime Minister and members of his Cabinet during his government’s first ten days in office,” Deputy Prime Minister and ...
New Zealand voted in favour of a resolution broadening Palestine’s participation at the United Nations General Assembly overnight, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The resolution enhances the rights of Palestine to participate in the work of the UN General Assembly while stopping short of admitting Palestine as a full ...
Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says. “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with your Board and team, for hosting me. I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States, Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us. Ladies and gentlemen - In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations. ...
The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston. “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
New research on the impacts of extreme weather on coastal marine habitats in Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay will help fishery managers plan for and respond to any future events, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. A report released today on research by Niwa on behalf of Fisheries New Zealand ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will lead a broad political delegation on a five-stop Pacific tour next week to strengthen New Zealand’s engagement with the region. The delegation will visit Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Tuvalu. “New Zealand has deep and ...
There has been a material decline in gas production according to figures released today by the Gas Industry Co. Figures released by the Gas Industry Company show that there was a 12.5 per cent reduction in gas production during 2023, and a 27.8 per cent reduction in gas production in the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins tonight announced the recipients of the Minister of Defence Awards of Excellence for Industry, saying they all contribute to New Zealanders’ security and wellbeing. “Congratulations to this year’s recipients, whose innovative products and services play a critical role in the delivery of New Zealand’s defence capabilities, ...
Welcome to you all - it is a pleasure to be here this evening.I would like to start by thanking Greg Lowe, Chair of the New Zealand Defence Industry Advisory Council, for co-hosting this reception with me. This evening is about recognising businesses from across New Zealand and overseas who in ...
It is a pleasure to be speaking to you as the Minister for Digitising Government. I would like to thank Akolade for the invitation to address this Summit, and to acknowledge the great effort you are making to grow New Zealand’s digital future. Today, we stand at the cusp of ...
New Zealand is urging both Israel and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire to avoid the further humanitarian catastrophe that military action in Rafah would unleash, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The immense suffering in Gaza cannot be allowed to worsen further. Both sides have a responsibility to ...
A new online data dashboard released today as part of the Government’s school attendance action plan makes more timely daily attendance data available to the public and parents, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. The interactive dashboard will be updated once a week to show a national average of how ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced Rosemary Banks will be New Zealand’s next Ambassador to the United States of America. “Our relationship with the United States is crucial for New Zealand in strategic, security and economic terms,” Mr Peters says. “New Zealand and the United States have a ...
The Government is considering creating a new tier of minerals permitting that will make it easier for hobby miners to prospect for gold. “New Zealand was built on gold, it’s in our DNA. Our gold deposits, particularly in regions such as Otago and the West Coast have always attracted fortune-hunters. ...
Minister for Trade Todd McClay today announced that New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will commence negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA). Minister McClay met with his counterpart UAE Trade Minister Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi in Dubai, where they announced the launch of negotiations on a ...
New Zealand Sign Language Week is an excellent opportunity for all Kiwis to give the language a go, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. This week (May 6 to 12) is New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) Week. The theme is “an Aotearoa where anyone can sign anywhere” and aims to ...
Six tertiary students have been selected to work on NASA projects in the US through a New Zealand Space Scholarship, Space Minister Judith Collins announced today. “This is a fantastic opportunity for these talented students. They will undertake internships at NASA’s Ames Research Center or its Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where ...
New Zealanders will be safer because of a $1.9 billion investment in more frontline Corrections officers, more support for offenders to turn away from crime, and more prison capacity, Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell says. “Our Government said we would crack down on crime. We promised to restore law and order, ...
The OECD’s latest report on New Zealand reinforces the importance of bringing Government spending under control, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The OECD conducts country surveys every two years to review its members’ economic policies. The 2024 New Zealand survey was presented in Wellington today by OECD Chief Economist Clare Lombardelli. ...
What happens when cash is king – and then your bank leaves. A businessman in a town that hasn’t had a bank for three years says the Reserve Bank’s plans to put more cash in the hands of its people and introduce digital cash could save hours of time. John ...
The people have spoken, in their hundreds. Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton has been overwhelmingly voted the favourite New Zealand book of 2023 as nominated by ReadingRoom readers. The vote can informally be regarded as the People’s Choice award – ahead of tonight’s Ockham book awards, where Catton’s novel is competing ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matt Garrow, Editorial Web Developer The government has handed down its budget for 2024–25. It’s delivered a $9.3 billion surplus for the financial year just about to finish but is forecasting a $28.3 billion deficit for next year. Here’s the key points: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Jim Chalmers has produced a benign third budget aimed at soothing hard-pressed voters agitated about their high cost of living and punishing interest rates. At the same time he has walked a tightrope, trying ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Wes Mountain/The Conversation, CC BY-ND A $300 energy rebate for all households from July 1 and a 10% increase in Commonwealth Rent Assistance are key measures in a budget targeting cost-of-living relief that put ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra Treasurer Jim Chalmers promised an “inflation-fighting and future-making budget” and he has delivered by introducing measures aimed at directly bringing down inflation. Combined, his A$300-per-household energy rebate and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Senior Lecturer, Canberra School of Politics, Economics and Society, University of Canberra Treasurer Jim Chalmers promised an “inflation-fighting and future-making budget” and he has delivered by introducing measures aimed at directly bringing down inflation. Combined, his A$300-per-household energy rebate and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Bartos, Professor of Economics, University of Canberra Treasurer Jim Chalmers has been bitten by the giveaway bug. This budget contains not only the well-foreshadowed tax cuts for all taxpayers, but a range of new spending measures in health, education, infrastructure, aged ...
By Stephen Wright and Stefan Armbruster of BenarNews French authorities have imposed a curfew on New Caledonia’s capital Nouméa and banned public gatherings after supporters of the Pacific territory’s independence movement blocked roads, set fire to buildings and clashed with security forces. Tensions in New Caledonia have been inflamed by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Greste, Professor of Journalism and Communications, Macquarie University Governments and their agencies wield awesome power. At times, it is quite literally the power over life and death. That is why in any functioning democracy, we have robust checks and balances designed ...
As the world commemorates the 71st Everest Day, it's not just a celebration of human achievement but also a reflection of the enduring bond between New Zealand and Nepal. This day marks the historic feat of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa ...
Individuals in Wellington, led by City Councillor Nīkau Wi Neera, are working to use the ‘hecklers veto’ to shut down Inflection Point , a gender-critical event to be held at a Te Papa venue this weekend featuring speakers such as Bob McCoskrie ...
The transgender community, whānau & allies will rally outside Tākina/Wellington Convention Centre against anti-trans confederation “Inflection Point NZ,” who are hosting a conference to encourage parliamentarians to restrict trans people’s ...
A strategic asset for Auckland that has been fought over for years as either sacrosanct or a sacred cow looks certain to be sold and the proceeds of around $1.3 billion put in a new investment fund. A year after bitter political struggle ended in a compromise in which Auckland ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – the Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz)Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. The number of voices raising concerns about the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill is rapidly growing. This is especially apparent now that Parliament’s select committee is listening to submissions from the public to evaluate the ...
RNZ Pacific New Caledonians lined up in long queues outside shopping centres to buy supplies in the capital Nouméa today amid political unrest in the French territory Demonstrations, marches and clashes with security forces erupted yesterday and French High Commissioner Louis Le Franc told the public broadcaster he had called ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Samuel Chalmers, Senior Lecturer in Human Movement, University of South Australia The tragic death of Manly rugby league player Keith Titmuss in 2020 due to exertional heat stroke is a reminder of the life-threatening nature of the condition. Titmuss died after ...
Internet Governance Project founder Milton Mueller asked “is the Christchurch Call accomplishing anything?” Increasingly it seems the only thing it hopes to achieve is killing off free expression. ...
New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has cancelled his visit to New Caledonia due to pro-independence unrest throughout the French Pacific territory. Peters and a delegation of other ministers was due to visit the capital Nouméa later this week. Nouméa’s La Tontouta International Airport is expected to remain closed ...
Audition by Pip Adam and Lioness by Emily Perkins are both shortlisted for the fiction award at the 2024 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards. Here the authors discuss awards, writing, Selling Sunset, review culture, Zoolander and more.Pip Adam: Whenever I think about writers and our ambitions, I can’t help ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Susan Broomhall, Director, Gender and Women’s History Research Centre, Australian Catholic University Andrea Mantegna, Minerva (Athena) expelling Vices from the Garden of Virtue, from the Studiolo of Isabella d’Este, Palazzo Ducale, Mantua (c. 1499–1502).Louvre Museum/Wikimedia Commons Wartime has often presented opportunities ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olli Hellmann, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Waikato Getty Images The stories Aotearoa New Zealand tells itself about the history of Te Tiriti o Waitangi/the Treaty of Waitangi have evolved considerably over time. For many decades, starting with the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Carter, Associate Professor, RMIT University Aurora visible from Cope Cope, Victoria on May 11 2024.cafuego/Flickr, CC BY-SA On Saturday evening before Mother’s Day, Australians witnessed a rare celestial spectacle: a breathtaking display of aurora australis, also known as the southern ...
Tara Ward watches as TVNZ’s long-running current affairs show bows out with humility and grace.We have just 12 days left to view the final episode of Sunday on TVNZ+. In just over a week, there will be no more evidence of the award-winning current affairs show on the digital ...
To celebrate New Zealand Music Month, Sophie Ricketts wears a different band T-shirt every day. Here she picks her top 20. I love music. I love listening to it, I love seeing it live, and I love buying a T-shirt from the band or artist I’ve enjoyed. Every year, during ...
Research from AA Insurance reveals more and more people are taking pride in their garage. Meet three New Zealanders using their space in creative ways.If you think of a garage, you might picture a dark room with a parked car. There might be some tools on the wall, or ...
Government spending cuts have forced Scion, the dedicated Crown research institute charged with growing forestry exports, to propose shedding a significant number of scientists. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Yasir Arafat, Senior Research Associate, Edith Cowan University asharkyu, Shutterstock As electric vehicle (EV) demand accelerates, so does the need for lithium batteries. But these batteries contain valuable critical minerals, as well as toxic materials, so they should not be treated ...
NZDF personnel will support the New Zealand National Commemorative Service at the Cassino War Cemetery and a New Zealand Service of Remembrance at the Cassino Railway Station, next week. ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a masseuse tells us how much she earns and where she spends it. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here.Gender: Female Age: 33 Ethnicity: NZ EuropeanRole: ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Liam Byrne, Honorary Fellow, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne For many reasons, the 2024 US presidential election will be like no other. Republican nominee Donald Trump’s campaign is unprecedented. Never before has a former president who ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Meru Sheel, Associate Professor and Epidemiologist, Infectious Diseases, Immunisation and Emergencies Group, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney We know vaccines have been a miracle for public health. Now, new research led by the World Health Organization has found vaccines ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Chrissy Severinsen, Associate Professor in Public Health, Massey University Getty Images Becoming a mother is a significant identity shift, and many new mums struggle. Up to 18% of New Zealand mothers experience depression and anxiety after giving birth. The first ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Aaron Teo, Lecturer in Curriculum and Pedagogy, University of Southern Queensland ABC Much has been written and produced about white men’s fetishisation of Asian women (crudely nicknamed “yellow fever”). The ABC’s comedy series White Fever breaks new ground by exploring an ...
The children’s minister could have been legally brought before the tribunal after all, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. The end of ...
Seen comments on social media about eating bugs? Byron Clark explains the short history of our latest conspiracy. “No, Bill Gates nor Klaus Schwab has not funded the research done here,” reads an August 2023 Facebook post from Otago Locusts, the first farm in Aotearoa rearing insects for human consumption. ...
Rural post is essential but expensive, and residents are worried about its future. It’s 9.30am on a Monday morning in rural Manawatū, and farmer Mairi Whittle is on an all-terrain vehicle with her two young sons. After moving sheep from one slope to another, she swings by the letterbox. Opening ...
Remediating Mt Ruapehu if things go pear-shaped could cost more than $80m – and the new operators aren’t on the hook for any of it The post DoC responsible for $87.5m Ruapehu remediation appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Opinion: Unfortunately, the term ‘woke’ is back in the news and for the most stupid of reasons: Act leader David Seymour is now designating certain types of food as ‘woke’ or not. As the Government makes cuts to school lunches, let us consider what ‘woke’ might mean here. ...
Analysis: The Government’s decision to return to a mega-style prison seems to be missing a clear business case The post Mega-prison’s missing business case appeared first on Newsroom. ...
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https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/300132298/tax-the-wealthy-i-dont-think-so
Turns out the French tried a wealth tax and guess what it didnt work .
The wealthy dodged it .
Let this dog of policy go .
yeah, lets only tax the poor
ffs
the plot has been lost
Turns out the gun for hire who wrote the piece forgot to note that the French wealth tax was recently modified and now resembles that which the Greens propose.
https://www.moore-global.com/insights/articles/french-wealth-tax-for-non-residents
The vested interests arnt going to roll over and pay without a fight….they dont even care who runs things as long as they get the settings they want.
Exactly.
They're quite happy that governments around the world keep rewarding them for being bludgers.
(new) Labour + National two side of the same Liberal coin….
Interesting that the only time the beloved Ardern loses her much touted pragmatism and draws a firm line in the sand is when it comes to NOT having capital gains tax and NOT taxing the super wealthy…but I guess when you come from the Tony Blair side of the Labour ideology this should come as no surprise.
Liberalism and Fascism: Partners in Crime
https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/10/14/liberalism-and-fascism-partners-in-crime/
The correct response isn't to drop the policy but make sure that people can't dodge it.
Polls are oscillating but the race is tight:
Good wishes Barfly.
Thanks
I think it's amusing that Collins keeps trying to scare voters off Labour by using the wealth tax – poll tonight will show if paranoia is that contagious. She needs a 5% shift.
Had a bunch of commentators here yesterday riled by my reference to the tax being designed to help losers. Telling the truth seems non-pc to some. I just think they are being weak in yielding to that sociopathic attitude.
Obviously the system was set up to divide the electorate into winners and losers: representative democracy has always been based on binary division and competition. The winner gets to be govt, the loser doesn't. The ruling class always wins, the lower class never wins. That's why Labour doesn't want the wealth tax. Wannabe winners.
Trying to pretend that history never happened just makes those commentators delusional. They ought to spit the dummy & get real.
Stop complaining and find a more popular policy.
Collins is trying to scare votes from Greens to Labour.
And everyone else is wrong about you.
Had to laugh at Emma Mellow jumping on the bandwagon.
Surely Auckland Central is the last place National want to drive votes from the Greens to Labour.
Then I went in search of what Mellow's place on the list is and found this (15/10/2020, 12pm):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_New_Zealand/politics/New_MPs/Emma_Mellow
So all is good ahaha
Heh. Wonder how many other righties are declaring success while they can?
the phrase 'winners and losers' disappeared (publicly) with Key….it was starting to have the opposite to its desired effect
Misrepresenting other commenters is not getting you any closer to the truth and is thus an act of delusion.
Name-calling is your MO to lay down the truth as you see it and silence anybody who disagrees with you. Deliberately using language that rubs people the wrong way and demeans others is neither constructive nor inclusive, believing it so is delusional.
Stubbornly sticking to your guns and putting your own truth above that of others is delusional and does not make for positive debate.
This site encourages robust debate and your obtrusive commenting style and egotistic attitude are counter-productive.
if we dont have a wealth tax
does that mean
we are left only with poor taxes?
think about it
reduce the poor taxes I say
talk about the poor tax
poor tax
poor tax
poor tax
Oh horseshit.
Our most regressive tax is GST. They could bring that back to 5%.
The Greens insisting on this "discussion" is just pushing votes from them to Labour.
Yep, not strategic enough to see what Collins wants. Zipping it now would be the smart move.
The Wealth Tax won't shift people from greens to labour, it has been around long enough that there would be a very small number of green supporters that don't like the wealth tax or what it represents. Talking it up by the Greens may pull more left voters from Labour to the Greens.
Judith is trying to push some labour voters to NZF, but not too many (enough to take them to 4.95%), and thus wasting them. That drops labour to midish 40's, which may be close enough if Greens do dip under 5%
Nothing about talking up the wealth tax by Greens or National drops the green vote
Right on ! @you_fool
The optics of making the rich pay their fair share is what is important here, and it is the sort of optics that The Greens need to push harder…cos Labour sure as hell are not going to.
The game Monopoly has pay a poor tax but not pay a rich tax.
The winner always ends up with all the properties as well.
In the Sixties we played socialist Monopoly. At the end of the game, all profits were divided equally amongst all the players.
We also played cards, gambling for money, and the winners were the ones who got the fast food in.
Sounds like fun nights at yours….our games of Monopoly usually ended in some sort of ugly fracas!
Yup, always one ended up having the pip, usually not the ‘winner’.
Sweet Mary mother of Jesus, the Greens are such a fucking political liability.
Would they kindly just STFU and stop constantly talking about their wealth tax TWO DAYS OUT FROM A POTENTIALLY HISTORIC CENTRE LEFT WIN?
What a bunch of morons.
Their ill-thought out and high handed approach to the anti-smacking legislation cost Labour nine years in opposition and by the look of things they haven't learnt a single thing.
I hope Labour can govern alone and those political idiots in the Greens get to see their party drop below the threshold so they can spend three years thinking about how being a bunch of political dilettantes cost them their place in parliament.
Yes Sanctuary let us all just go along with Labour's steady as she goes asinine policies where the top 5% continue to hold more and more of the wealth while 235,000 kids are living in poverty.
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2020/10/11/new-zealand-elections-4/?fbclid=IwAR1B_srPjVuVDMsvLhDbS1q7QdlCxit16urBhl5yOo3DNlJRL-bRw6jNefo
Labour's 39% tax on over $180k raises bugger all-$500m. The Greens' WT raises SIXTEEN times that to alleviate poverty-that is transformative. And 94% are totally unaffected by the WT.
Personally I think the Green WT should be modified to target the top 4% rather than the top 6% but it is the Labour pro-establishment centrists who need to STFU.
Timing.
So a political party should keep quiet about its key policies during an election campaign Sacha. Brilliant; just brilliant.
Easily goaded?
No Bearded Git.
I'm not against some sort of wealth tax. Geez… just look what the wine-boxers got away with back in the 90s.
But having made sure everyone knows they plan to push for such a tax – or a derivation of it – just shut up and stop giving Collins more opportunities to spread false information. All its doing is causing unnecessary panic among the voters.
The Greens will be the losers because many voters are vulnerable to misinformation when they are lead to believe a policy is going to negatively affect them.
Look at Trump Land.
Not sure if anyone is listening any more to the
bollocks, sorrymisinformation, that Collins is spouting. I guess we will find out on Saturday. The poll tonight may give us a pointer.Hope you're right but there's some pretty thick creatures out there who will believe anything.
A few journalists have been repeating it, instead of doing their jobs. All over bar the shouting anyway – those who trust JC, or JA, are unlikely to change their minds in time absent a significant event.
A government serious about increasing tax revenue could do worse than to patch up some of the deliberately formed loopholes that let people pretend that they, or their money are really somewhere else.
I put up a post about it.
https://thestandard.org.nz/about-the-greens/
Why should they shut up? They're a political organization with their own policies that they believe will be to the betterment of NZ.
Surely they aren't just there to be Labour lapdogs.
Timing.
OK, let's look at that.
If JuCo goes berserk about communism and Labour tanks to, say, 46%, Labour would probably need the Greens, so more leverage for Green policies.
Worst case, Labour get a boost from nats who are scared of Greens.
If polling is at all relevant, a NACT government is an extremely slim possibility.
If anything, with half of votes already cast, the Greens should have gone "People's Flag" a couple of weeks back and kept the momentum up, lol.
Hey welcome back Sanctuary.
Make sure you come along to the westie Labour party with me on Saturday night.
We are going out to a posh hotel and spa/dinner package on Saturday but we could pop in 🙂
A centre-left win that delivers nothing (to be fair – will deliver a better outcome than more active wrecking by NAct)? We need to deal with corrosive inequality and child poverty – and we need to stop a handful of rich people controlling our government and society. The Green's wealth tax is a step in the right direction and creates discussion on what really needs to be fixed.
yes, time the greens looked at the big picture, and that picture is, if you want change, you need power, to get power, you have to play the political game, which is, when you have a scab, someone else will pick it.
Trotter nails the conundrum looming: http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/2020/10/lets-make-jacinda-break-her-promises.html
Creating a common-ground basis for a Labour-Green Government is an intellectual challenge in an era where intellectuals are deemed irrelevant. Muddling has pushed its way to the forefront of the political scrum. Common interests of those three classes? Players will be consternated. Eyes will glaze over. An heroic saga awaits…
Creating the common ground goes hand in hand with political engagement…and we know the propensity to vote correlates with having something to lose.
Common interests of those three classes?
They're not keen on Covid – so they're united against a common enemy. But the reigning economic narrative of the last few decades has led them up the garden path.
Avoiding a violent revolution might be a common interest. Better a negotiated one if you face the prospect of your backs against the wall. And less messy and fatal all round for the rest of us.
Poverty, for some, is violence already.
The numbed sensibilities of the oligarchs that benefited from the great Rogergnomic ripoff cannot be protected forever – however desperately the liars trying to peddle it as success pretend otherwise.
Arguably, the ruling-class has benefitted from Covid. Home ownership doesn’t seem to have suffered much either.
I imagine construction of new housing paused significantly with the lockdowns. Those with less than robust circumstances won't have saved much either.
Plenty of common interests, if you look at them from an individuals perspective.
That my children get good education. That my housing is warm, dry, and affordable. That my water is clean. That my air is clean. That my food is healthy. That I have amenities to enjoy. That I have opportunity. That I have a place in my community.
No class divide in that lot. Just that for some, much of the list is simply assumed.
To be part of something greater than ourselves. Actual progress and working toward a better world. Only one class of people don't want that: they're called assholes. You can find assholes in trailer parks, leafy suburbs, and boardrooms.
only one thing to disagree with there….the spelling of 'assholes'
I've always liked that version of the word as it has connotations of donkeys.
According to Webster's it's correct.
I could be wrong, but I always thought that was the american version of the english term (but both have currency here).
I like your identification of common ground elements. Resonates as common sense, I suspect. Although people do say common sense ain't all that common these days…
according to Websters it would be…but then Webster was a cowboy
The main class problem is that the Greens get the great majority of their votes from central city Auckland and Wellington – the areas most affected by the Green wealth tax because of expensive housing.
So Ardern signalling that the tax is dead on arrival is doing the Green voters in those areas a huge favour.
And of course also signaling that the really rich will pay more tax. Which is as it should be.
Other than that they want just slightly more than Labour on most things. It's going to be the easiest coalition discussion we've ever had.
It's going to be the easiest coalition discussion we've ever had.
Strikes me the numbers will hinge on the perception problem. No amount of calm dispassionate advocacy of the policy by James & Marama can prevail against the wilful reluctance of many in the target market to do the math.
They presented well with Garner this morning. He's anti, but seemed respectful & quite muted in his sceptical questioning, and seemed to be listening.
If a Wealth Tax is a third rail option, what about a Land Tax?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/118373157/should-new-zealand-just-tax-land
A Land Tax might be easier to gain acceptance for and implement than a Wealth Tax….though we could have both.
The problem is the farmers who have a lot of land that, while it is much much less valuable per hectare than Ponsonby, a LT would arguably unfairly impinge on them and their profits. A lower rate for land above (say) 20 hectares in size might be the solution.
Exactly BG. Most agricultural land is valued at a far higher rate than its income generating value. It's value in NZ is often dictated by it's desirability as very wealthy persons bolthole. A Land Tax on a sheep or beef farmer could be many times ( to be worth collecting ) its real income so is counter productive if forcing on-sale to someone who really doesn't give a shit about about a 1 or2 % tax.
A lot, lot more work goes into the implications of taxes than wish fulfilment, just look at Piggy's dopey booze fueled reactionary tax ideas in the early 80s. His 20% tax on "luxury" NZ made goods that he plucked out of his arse proves the point. A lot of businesses went under and it failed to bring in anything because it killed the producers off including my own small boat building one. In fact it cost him money in higher unemployment. What he failed to realise was that the vast amount of customers were ordinary working class grafters saving a little bit a week to own a boat or home built car kit. They just said "Fuck you Piggy "and didn't buy anything
The last thing you want is a Land Tax that leads to even faster corporate ownership of our productive land.
Agreed Adrian…farming is a major contributor to the economy (unlike rising house prices) and needs to be fostered, sustainably of course.
Land taxes lead to better use of land as those who are land banking have to make an income to pay the tax.That would help urban land use but farming is very cyclical with no guaranteed income from year to year a Capital gains tax would be a better way of land tax for rural farming to become more productive and profitable .
But you would need to reduce income taxes by an equivalent amount for these type of taxes to be accepted.
CGT is very complicated to implement and the income raised is unpredictable.
That goes for any new tax.
All the 'easy' taxes are in place already, and those that aren't are because they are very complicated to implement and the income raised is unpredictable.
At least with a CGT you have an objective transaction to buy the asset and another to sell it. Where it gets complicated is deductions for expenses incurred between buying and selling, so privately held assets have to be treated like a business which gets into a huge can of worms.
Wealth taxes are completely subjective, and dependant on market conditions at the time. How do you value a business that could be overtaken by a new idea tomorrow, especially smaller businesses that are totally dependant on the owner's skills and knowledge. The art market verges on a scam and even property and shares are only a loss of confidence away from their value becoming meaningless.
The records and paperwork needed for a CGT are very similar to what is required for a wealth tax. But for a CGT you only need to sort it out and file it when you sell a liable asset which would be a rare event for most, whereas for the proposed wealth tax you would need to do it all every. single. fucking. year.
Yeah, and you'll be going through that valuation and return process every year from a point well below the threshold to prove you don't owe anything. And with the complexities of valuing businesses and art, probably requiring professional input, so a good addition to your costs for very little, if any tax paid.
I can see that you are warming towards a WT Andre. At least it has boosted the Greens profile to 8% (9.5% in Roy Morgan). Some people obviously like it.
A Land Tax is probably the easiest option to administer, with predictable and high revenue outcomes. Lower LT rates would be needed for genuine farming operations above 20 hectares.
Does this work for you Andre?
The thing would be to implement CGT in stages – on housing, on small businesses, on farming, on trading and investment.
The complexities of each area not compromising the approach to others, so that small businesses are not taxed on goodwill they have developed, but are on land value appreciation for instance. Dividing the introduction would also divide the opposition to the tax, and let the public consider the issues in more detail.
It's value in NZ is often dictated by it's desirability as very wealthy persons bolthole.
This suggests that a risk-free-rate-of-return tax as suggested by Gareth Morgan could be appropriate – perhaps, but not necessarily, alongside a much lower land tax.
Personally I'd like to tax the bolt hole premium at say 100% per annum but might be difficult to implement.
I’m all ears for a wine cellar tax.
Exempt agricultural land then. Limit it to res and comm zoned.
I think you would find that plenty of one hectare lifestyle lots would suddenly be growing a few onions and peaches and claiming agricultural status.
Exactly what I mean than more complicated and intricate than wish fulfilment would have you believe. For every clever or mostly not so clever bugger devising taxes there are 10 more working on getting around it. Simplicity is key.
Say what you like about Roger Douglas but when he was questioned about GST on food he said that he upped the benefits by the amount of GST on essentials but he had been to enough dinner parties in Remuera where the food cost $500 ( read $1500 today ) so fuck'em they can pay.
Can I change my zoning by growing vege?
A very cleavour and articulate person on a very dangerous topic – And I do recommend all watch this
"Without aid from a teleprompter, he explains to whites that their privilege isn’t "saying your life hasn’t been hard – it’s saying your skin color hasn’t contributed to the difficulty."
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2020/06/05/emmanuel-acho-viral-video-george-floyd-eagles-texas-sam-white-black/3152632001/
One needs to be a little careful generalizing from the US to NZ – there is significant employer prejudice against kiwis here – access to cheap exploitable foreign labour has made it abundant.
just an aside, and curious this keeps popping up, https://newsone.com/3785854/stereotype-black-people-articulate-obama-cleveland-councilman-kevin-conwell/amp/
I'm sure it's an unconscious thing and I can't be bothered arguing with RL again but it needs repeating as it gets noticed. Rock on!
I may have read you comments wrong if so excuse.me. What I meant was that this topic is so divisive and to hear anyone articulate these so well and thoughtfully with passion – It moved me and brought me to understanding and counter what has been peddled from those "against" this e.g. The counter to "All/White lives also matter" and why an African American can use Negr* and why others shouldn't and not even sing along using it. And I was first made aware of Emmanuel from a ESPN doco on American Football.
Cheers Herodotus, that is the best 9 minutes I have had in a long time.
Why not using the n word, white privilege, BLM… lotsa learnings.
Judith Collins just interviewed on RNZ (will be available online in about 30 mins)….I have never heard a candidate forPM with so much ill informed vague policy 'reckons' in my life…think it safe to conclude that Nationals 'plan' is minimal involvement and oversight of the NZ economy and let the chips fall where they may.
I'm alright Jack personified
Any chance she'll be PM after the weekend? Well, since I ask:
FAT CHANCE
is an 'obese chance' less likely than a 'fat chance'?
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2018768450/election-2020-national-leader-judith-collins
For my sins, I listened to the full interview!
What summed Collins up for me (amongst other things she said) was her casual, almost contemptuous dismissal of the doctors' union. 'Oh, union.'
She has no sympathy or understanding with or of the people uniting to achieve a goal. Even a well-heeled 'union' like the doctors. God help the poorer people.
Yes – I pricked up my ears when she said that Labour 'stopped' them from doing it when the previous National Govt. wanted to modify (destroy) the MRA. My memory is blank on this – can anyone explain how Labour 'stopped' them when the National Govt + ACT had a parliamentary majority and could simply outvote Labour whenever they wanted to?
Is this yet another example of Judith being 'less than honest'?
Yes as I understand it Nats and Act had enough MPs to have passed any legislation they wanted between 2008 and 2011 and again between 2014 and 2017. From 2011 to 2014 I think they would have needed votes from either Peter Dunne or the Maori Party.
I think Peter Dunne refused to support it.
Not often I hear good of Peter Dunne, but Bravo if this is true.
Pat, Mum had lunch with some friends earlier this week, there were two ladies there who are true blue, they admitted they are so embarrassed of judith collins that they will NOT be voting national for the first time ever.
Blue women are turning off judith in droves, Mum is not the first person who has said such in recent weeks.
I've heard similar comments myself
"Is this yet another example of Judith being 'less than honest'?"
Is she ever anything else?
How did that advert start? "Let me be straight with you" Lol Lol haha really Judith?
Too little too late!!
Well looks like we can say goodbye to Labour focusing on training locals and demanding that companies have concrete plans to hire and train locals.
Border exemptions for several hundred machinery drivers and 500 hundred fishing boat crew. The fishing industry has made a promise to:
In return, the industry has promised to remove barriers to employing New Zealanders.
Where is the plan not just an empty promise – or didn't Labour insist on one.
These are visas for close to a 1000 adult jobs.
https://www.ruralnewsgroup.co.nz/rural-news/rural-general-news/the-calvary-arrives-finally
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/123082031/russians-jet-in-to-save-new-zealands-beleaguered-deepsea-fishing-industry
[Fixed errors in e-mail address]
The barriers are the industry themselves.
Fishing used to be a widespread occupation with considerable operator independence. The QMS, aside from having no merit as resource protection, granted a monopoly to quota holders, chiefly three or four companies, who exercise disproportionate power over the lives of their workers. Ostensibly independent contractors (to allow the companies to sidestep ACC), kiwi employees nevertheless can't even have a can of beer at the end of a shift, because it does not suit the whims of the oligarchs.
As for the slave fishermen – any pretense of progressive values by government is auto-debunked by them.
Okay, so with the fishing industry, vessels have to carry crew with certain qualifications who have done a certain amount of sea time in order to sail, especially on deep sea trawlers. Sure factory staff don't have to be qualified, but all the officers do.
Nelson has the only fishing school in NZ, it takes years to get qualifications for certain sea going roles.
Sealord have used and exploited foreign crew for years. Iwi are responsible for those decisions and for not using local workers. Sealord is half owned by Iwi and half owned by offshore interests. 20 yrs ago the exhusband worked as an officer on Sealord vessels, even he was surprised at the time of the amount of foreign workers onboard.
There was an attempt last century to open up places for Maori by having a quota of trainees to be Maori which was being encouraged by government. When Nelson Polytechnic tried to do this they were threatened with a legal challenge by Sanford. So the big companies were not encouraging the participation of Maori in fishing as was hoped for. The challenge was against reverse discrimination I think it was called. I felt that Sanfords felt that Maori were being advantaged and wanted to put a stop to it.
Used to be that you only got a job on a fishing boat if the cops were after you. Another job that Kiwis don't really want to do.
you missed the end of the sentence – at the dreadful wages and conditions offered.
Time to stop discrimination against New Zealand employees and Labour should have extracted a decent plan out of the companies to replace the labour force with kiwis . Starting this summer.
You must be joking – plenty of folk never wanted to do anything else.
Wow, Aussie 'journalist' Greg Sheridan certainly has a bee in his bonnet – is he simply bitter and twisted, harbouring a bad hangover, or perhaps he's part of ScoMo's comms team. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/election-2020-australian-columnist-greg-sheridan-criticises-jacinda-ardern-as-shabby-fraudulent/LCQMA6LQGXRPR5CFAEJCOVNQBQ/
He's a Murdoch man through and through. Almost even too right wing for many Aussies.
Thanks for that Prickles – it had occurred to me after posting that he could well be a Murdoch man. Sensitive wee sausage.
Some one is a little upset there. The right wing are feeling threatened?
What it is telling us is that the RW fear that Jacinda now she has the space will go for bolder policies and show that the neo lib settings are basically stuffed. At which point countries like Australia and the Uk may be wanting more of what we have.
Shedders invented a halo just so he could take potshots at it. Why can't she be a petball like our ScMofo?
I am inherently lazy and enjoy successes that I could easily surpass if I tried harder. And yet, I feel that merely not having Judith Collins as PM, feels like setting the bar at a subterranean level.
another 150k voted yesterday…now total 1,565,421
And 2,630,173 to catch 2017 total. 2,630,173 – 1,565,421 = 1,064,752 to go in 3 days + Specials. Wow!
The new Morgan poll will have a very short shelf life … overtaken by 6 pm today
But anyway – usual caveats, minor parties over-rated, scroll down for the real story: confidence rating. No mood for change.
http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/8543-nz-national-voting-intention-september-2020-202010142349
Thanks for that Observer. As far as I can tell no government has moved up from the early 60% Confidence – until this year with this Government in the 70% range. Thanks for pointing that out as well.
Auckland University certainly doing right by their Vice Chancellor, 5 mill for a superior Parnell house, 1 thou a week in rent. They'll be pretty keen to get those foreign students back in I guess.
Saw this book on trademe bwaghorn and wondered if you had read it.
Its called – Dining with the cats: An autobiography of a farm worker.
He's spent a lot of time in the high country.
https://www.trademe.co.nz/books/nonfiction/new-zealand/listing-2817458925.htm?rsqid=rmlwn-59d65d243f5b4b408c197b976c28ac63-001
An uncareful strong argument for reality can cruise for many a long mile through the bullsh fictive the strong rely on to manufacture consent to them.