Even simple steps in going green can have unexpected problems. Change wiring insulation to something soy-based, and rats are even happier to chew on it.
I gotta admit that when it comes to causing problems in new cars, it’s mostly just a “heh” moment for me. But if that problem spreads to wiring in buildings … well … vermin-damaged wiring is already a significant cause of fires with nasty toxic PVC insulation, so making the insulation more snackable is a definite worry.
Good to hear, take a stand NZ and remove the Israeli ambassador, through all the carnage during the conflicts of 2014, john key did diddly squat about it.
Meanwhile, Israel is celebrating today and those in Gaza are burying their dead (including children) the hospitals in Gaza are currently at breaking point.
Do we have an ambassador in Israel? I see that South Africa and Turkey have removed theirs.
Meanwhile the US has vetoed a UN call for an independent investigation into the cause of the Gaza killings.
Mind you we all know what caused it…
Some stupid prick had the bright idea that he should move the US Embassy to Jerusalem – I mean what could possibly go wrong? Now I hear 7 Republican Governors have endorsed him for a Peace Prize!
If, and it’s a big if, Trump’s payback by the Israelis for dropping the Iran deal and moving the embassy to Jerusalem is for them to cease all settlement building immediately then he deserves a nomination.
“Let’s call for restraint on both sides given where we’re at”.
So No Bridges wants the Palestinians to stop throwing rocks and the Israelis to stop killing people with shots from high-powered sniping rifles, reportedly to the head and genitals.
on the subject of rnz…
i have sworn off ‘the panel’ for a while now, however, while in the workshop yesty, my i pod went flat.
so i tuned into rnz, just in time to hear david farrar, excuse,diminish and celebrate the goings on in palestine.
i eventually calmed myself down from both the comments and the way an opposing point of view (allie jones from christchurch) was interupted.
it then became open season on the government performance for the national party pollster, advisor and princess party organiser. he was joined by a commenter who seemed to to be singing from the same songsheet.
i get the government is due to get criticised, but by a person holding such vile opinions is getting too much for me.
No I don’t agree with Farrar’s opinion re the current deaths in palestine.
I also didn’t agree with Jones views on the same show on Labour’s lack of preparedness when coming into govenment.
But I do agree with their right to express their opinions; even though I don’t agree with them.
This is an enduring principle of democracy, like all of the others; and one that is not time bound. Or do you consider this principle (and others) to be ‘so last century’. If so how do justify calling yourself a ‘democrat’? If in fact you do.
But I do agree with their right to express their opinions;
I don’t when those ‘opinions’ are manifestly wrong and supporting Israel’s slaughter of Palestinians is manifestly wrong on a public broadcast. There is neither right nor logic to Israel’s slaughter.
To paraphrase J M Barrie: Every time a National/ACT supporter says “silly little girl” somewhere a little girl resolves to never, ever, ever vote for them.
Being killed in Palestine, Being killed in Yarmouk refugee camp, being killed in Latakia refugee camp, dying in the Mediterranean
The International Organization for Migration has called the Mediterranean “by far the world’s deadliest border,” as more than 33,000 migrants have died at sea trying to enter Europe since 2000.
For an authentic voice on the crisis in Palestine you won’t get anywhere else in New Zealand.
Ramzy Baroud New Zealand Tour
AUCKLAND: FRIDAY 18 MAY
9:35am: Listen to 95bFM radio for Mikey Havoc’s live studio interview with Ramzy Baroud
10:30am book signing event at UBIQ Auckland University Bookshop, 2 Alfred Street, Student Commons (off Princes Street, City.)
AUCKLAND: SATURDAY 19 MAY
Ramzy will speak at the Nakba Rally, 2pm Aotea Square, Queen St, CBD.
AUCKLAND: SUNDAY 20 MAY
Free public talk: 7pm Freemans Bay Community Hall, 52 Hepburn St, Auckland.
HAMILTON: MONDAY 21 MAY
Free public talk: 7pm: Wintec, Room A2.05, City Campus, Hamilton.
Access via Gate 3 or Gate 2 on Tristram Street. Free parking.
WELLINGTON: TUESDAY 22 MAY
Book signing from 12pm to 1pm: Vic Books, Easterfield Building, 1 Kelburn Parade, Wellington 6012. enquiries@vicbooks.co.nz
WELLINGTON: TUESDAY 22 MAY
Evening event: 6pm Free Public talk: St Andrews on the Terrace, 30 The Terrace, Wellington City 6011. (Wellington event book sales by Vic Books)
CHRISTCHURCH: WEDS 23 MAY
Free public talk: 7pm Christchurch Cardboard Cathedral, 234 Hereford St, Christchurch 8011
DUNEDIN: THURSDAY 24 MAY
Free public talk: 5:15pm Burns 2 Lecture theatre, Ground Floor Arts Building, Albany Street, University of Otago.
When the crimes of the Holocaust are discussed, the discussion almost immediately becomes two pronged: one of the Holocaust as a despicable crime against humanity, which should be duly remembered, as not to be repeated against any other nation, and the memory of those who perished in that most dreadful time in history also be recalled. But there is also another Holocaust discussion, one that is hardly concerned with the plight of humanity and the dignity of people. It’s not about remembrance and is scarcely pertinent to issues concerning human rights. The second reference to the Holocaust is always used in political contexts, often infused to justify vile human rights violations against other nations, mostly Palestinians and Lebanese, and utilized as a pretext to infringe about the sovereignty of other nations, like Iraq, and now Iran.
I wonder where you got your (apparently false) impression from. Care to share who’s been duping you?
Kieren Read echoes the entire country’s thoughts on the Christchurch rebuild. He says the lack of progress on an indoor stadium reflects the lack of progress in Christchurch. John Key, Bingles and the previous National government crowed about the Christchurch rebuild being one of their crowning achievements. They said Christchurch would never stand alone.
The reality of National governments sucks eh, Christchurch.
Gerry Brownlee, the incompetent nincompoop who was appointed “Tsar” of Christchurch is primarily, obsessed with his own towering, but somehow also fragile, ego. His pathological levels of arrogance means he becomes becomes “incensed” at any criticism of his time in government, thinks he can pick and choose who talks to and dismiss anyone he doesn’t agree with with a maximum of condescending and patronising language.
His highly flawed character and refusal to listen to anyone who says anything he doesn’t like has made the rebuild of Christchurch a fiasco.
If the nats wanted to keep their base happy they could have poached a piece of stadium land in the cbd or very close to it after the quakes, and had people dreaming of a Lancaster Park of the future. Then they could have had the temporary stadium in the right place to start with instead of the middle of nowhere.
The temporary stadium cost $30 million, it needs some roofs at either end of the ground and the roofs on the sides need to be extended a bit. $40 million I reckon and you have a stadium that’s waterproof.
Which shows the problem with NZ as a whole, there are certain things a city needs like museums, art galleries etc to be considered a city and not just a collection of people living in the same general area (IMHO) so the Dunedin stadium is a good idea as its adds to the city
Given the DCC was running around trying to close community things like bowling clubs, the stadium was ill-considered – in fact if you’re looking for ill-conceived projects world wide, stadiums are second only to convention centers for not paying their way.
Sure they don’t pay their way but neither do a lot of things a city requires, like museums and art galleries, however the Dunedin stadium seems to be doing good at putting Dunedin on the map in a positive way
True PR
I was agin it, it seemed OTT but literally having a roof over the top – which made it expensive – was a rational measure considering Dunedin’s cold weather. And with the change in climate and weather drops etc it could be wise in any of the big cities.
We have to realise that tourism and performances are businesses and keep the money flowing. There has to be lots of things happening for employment and money circulation, we aren’t just cows and houses.
So Dunedin will find it keeps them on the map. Even if it is a base investment that needs subsidising, it will be the ginger that keeps other business fizzing.
The point is, both convention centres and stadiums are unlikely to pay their way even using indicators like SROI (Social return on Investment), whereas other facilities such as libraries, and local sports clubs (and perhaps museums and art galleries) would.
I agree with the convention centre but i’d argue that the importance of rugby and/or other sports (whether some on here like it or not) and musical acts are as important to a city as an art gallary
Rugby is of national significance, but perhaps the funding of local sports clubs and investment at grassroots level would be a better return on investment – both economically and socially.
(Coming from a rugby mad household, I have no love for the game myself, so I can’t be bothered having a look for any comparative studies. Might be worth having a look at though, in terms of funding stadiums or grassroots clubs)
The Dunedin Stadium is doing its job bringing in anchor events and tens of thousands of visitors. How one determines that it ‘pays its way’ or indeed whether it needs to is a bureaucratic equation explained here:
regardless of whether it turns out to be a net good, it was essentially a gift by rugby-loving councillors to the ORFU that turned into a badly-organised white elephant that still hasn’t had its true costs released. And apparently the concert sound can be hit-or-miss.
At least they’re finally getting in acts that started well after I was born, though. For the first several years it was like the same rich small-town businessmen who voted for it on council (some of them profiting from the land sale) had their personal spotify playlist as a booking guide.
But that’s all water under the bridge. There seems to be a bit more honest consultation regarding the waterfront redevelopment.
Indeed not all Dunedin.
My household pays Dunedin, Otago, and Wanaka rates into that stadium, and there’s one side of my household that will not visit the ForsythBarr stadium on principle. There’s no pleasing such (ahem) people.
I have a mate who just won’t STFU about how awful the plan was. As in almost every mention of the DCC or whatever brings a snide comment about the stadium.
I’m tempted to watch Frozen just so I know the song “let it go” lol
edit:
although on the other side, when the most recent hotel was declined ISTR a letter to the editor moaning that we didn’t get a smelter at Aramoana, either. Whingers have looooong memories 🙂
What on earth did Bowling Clubs have to do with the City Council?
Surely the Council didn’t own the land and provide the workers to maintain the greens did they?
If not what the hell did it have to do with them? Bowling clubs may be dying but if the people who play it are willing to keep the clubs going at their expense what does it have to do with anyone else?
Both stuff and the herald have launched one of their bleeding hearts crusades against poverty. How long before they say “Job done, our conscience is salved for now, fuck the poor lets get back to pimping the property market”… ?
12yrs ago I rented a 3brm house in a fairly affluent suburb on the North Shore in Auck for $270 per week. No catches, it was advertised in the ‘paper and was the typical basic weatherboard ’70s house in tidy condition. The same house now would easily fetch $600 per week.
At 18 I was earning adult wage doing shift work in a factory. I was paid the absolute minimum award wage, take-home pay was $96 per week. I was flatting and four of us were renting a nice 4brd house in a reasonable suburb in Auck for $50 per week. A 3brm house could be rented for half the miminum (award) wage.
Why are there working poor? Because they’re being bled dry by extortionate rents. No-one wants to admit it because the solution to usury rents is to lower the price of houses and we can’t have that can we. So they just chuck the poor a few crumbs every now & then to shut them up for a while.
“The UST 10yr yield is now at 3.08%, up +9 bps on the American inflation prospect. The Chinese 10yr is at 3.72% (up +1 bp) while the New Zealand equivalent is at 2.77% (up +4 bps).”
Who thinks that having part ownership of a house and a mortgage of $400k is affordable and still live in Auckland ??
“There’s no way they could take on a $600,000 mortgage – a $400,000 mortgage, maybe, then you’d get a much bigger group of people.” https://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=12051840
The NZ dream of owning your own home has “officially” been declared dead and buried. Thanks you to BOTH Nats and Lab for policies that have led up to this.
It had initially promised to build houses for between $500,000 and $600,000. They will now be priced according to the number of bedrooms, and three-bedroom homes will be sold for $650,000 – higher than promised during the election.
No What was promised “The stand-alone KiwiBuild homes in Auckland will be priced at $500,000-$600,000 with apartments and TERRACED HOUSES UNDER $500,000. ” https://www.labour.org.nz/kiwibuild
I really feel for the current government, national left behind a huge mess, it’s like every day we learn more about the disaster of the last nine years.
The new government is doing everything they can. Looking forward to the budget tomorrow.
And “Amy Adams: Careless fiscal strategy will send nation into decline.”
A bit sad is Amy because she can only put out her plaintive Chicken Licken doom is nigh line as she struggles to be credible any more. A good example of unaccepting defeat.
@ Cinny, Yes but Rogernomics started it. Labour lit the fuse and National ignited it. Labour still find it hard to come to terms, that rogernomics and free trade and liberalisation has created the increasing inequality. All the government subsidies like WFF and accomodation allowance and all the handouts to developers isn’t working, because it is based on a profit model not a long term and practical social good model.
If the main driver of everything is low cost and profit and a business gets more rights as an entity than a person, an offshore person or business has the same rights as a Kiwi or a Kiwi business so someone who pays 50 cents an hour is competing against $16 p/h , then of course we are going to have leaky buildings, lowered wages and high house prices, increasing bio security risks, more pollution and drop to the bottom.
What National has done is despicable and the Ponzi scheme worked for a bit but the wheels are coming off. Labour is better but still suffer from similar ideology for the most part such as TPPA and PPP’s and a lack of analysis of what went wrong and why.
But providing financial support for families with children is nothing new and nothing to do with Neo-liberalism:
In 1946 universal family-benefit payments replaced means-tested family allowances, and each mother received some money each week to spend on her children. … Between 1945 and 1960 parents living on a mid-range wage with two children would receive through family benefit payments and income tax relief about 50% of what a single old-age pensioner received.
Yes but globalism and the rise of tax havens and use of vehicles to blur the assets someone owns, so rich can be poor, has changed the equation and criteria of who we should be supporting. See 14.1.1.
What is going to happen within one generation, if less and less people are actually working in NZ and more and more people qualify for welfare well beyond natural population growth.
Can’t see how your rant at 14.1.1 has any relevance to my point. If you actually read what i have quoted you will see that “in 1946 universal family-benefit payments replaced means-tested family allowances”, so wealthy people got this in the past. Likewise owning a house has never ruled someone out of receiving the DPD.
You are just a xenophobe who gets all wound up when immigrants and the children of immigrants get the same allowances as the rest of us.
Well I do when the rest of us actually work and pay the taxes. The end result will no welfare at all if this abuse is allowed to continue. Obviously that’s fine if you are the ‘fake’ poor but less fine if you are the ‘real’ poor.
We are a country of only 4.5 million people – where do you think the tipping point will be 1 million people accessing NZ welfare, 2 million, 3 million…
If there’s a progressive taxation system, there’s no reason 4.5million shouldn’t get some benefit if the math adds up.
Now, that’s a lot of math, and to my mind UBI proponents tend towards a bit of hand-waving in the gap ‘twixt money in and money out, but it’s a logical possibility that deserves more than a simple rhetorical escalation.
I don’t think you should call savenz names solkta.
The situation is difficult and there is no easy answer that will please everyone and it needs to be looked at from all perspectives. It might not please you to have one point looked at and questioned which you might favour. The same will apply to someone else and their preference.
The right way may put limits on you, or me but the hard work of thinking it through should be done by people who are concerned about we people. Otherwise things can get bad and all of a sudden it’s TINA and machine-minds from Treasury and haute finance impose their favourite theories.
Do you really think the current government weren’t able to work out from available information how much they would be able to build and sell “affordable” housing for?
Yes National did fuck all to control housing prices but Labour promised prices far below what could be achieved and as much as I hate to admit it I am pretty sure it was pointed out to them at the time.
Come on cinny all power to you been a COL supporter but don’t believe every thing your fed, judge government with an open mind on their actions and outcomes not words, inputs and excuses
Yeah but it’s like who knew the extent ChCh appeared to be screwed over by the last lot, or middlemore etc, for example, and did our new government have knowledge of those two big issues prior to the election?
And how about the cattle disease? Did the prior government know how much damage they had done by not doing enough and the cost of their negligence? Do they care?
I knew it would be bad, but dang I didn’t think it would be that bad.
It’s impossible to leave the current bubble intact and build truly affordable houses. The bubble precludes affordability for the majority.
Deflate the bubble by turning down the immigration tap and making owning houses you don’t live in yourself, and land that is rezoned as residential, really unattractive as investments.
2015-2017, comparatively recently – perhaps even since Serco years for those linked items.
Prisons have for some time been under pressure from poor overcrowded conditions and trying to cope with gang stresses
for some time. The state didn’t want to cope and are paying Serco to remove the problem to as great a distance as possible. Which they are doing but not well enough to keep the problem out of the limelight.
It is government that can improve things by getting rid of Serco and instituting single cells again, and not holding so many on bail. And possibly changing the whole arid sexless system, to one that goes for habilitation.
“Starting Wednesday, foreigners will pay the province a 20 percent tax on top of the listing value, up from 15 percent now, and a levy on property speculators will be introduced later this year, according to budget documents released Tuesday. The government will also crack down on the condo pre-sale market and beneficial ownership to ensure that property flippers, offshore trusts and hidden investors are paying taxes on gains.”
“The levy, she said, will also capture “satellite families” — a term with Chinese origins to describe those families where the breadwinner remains in the home country while the children and spouse reside abroad to take advantage of educational and employment opportunities.”
Yes, but NZ is completely blind to what’s going on. One family is just bringing in more and more relatives under whatever weird rules NZ has. This is a real example of people I know living in Auckland – note they are NOT Chinese – it’s NOT just a Chinese issue.
Wealthy family arrive in NZ with 3 children under some investor category about 20 years ago both not speaking English and buy up some property. Husband leaves NZ and wife files for ‘abandonment’ and goes on DPB with 2 children even though she has a million dollar house. Husband takes other child back to home country. NZ Children grow up as NZ citizens with dual passports and go to university here. They marry and new partners get NZ citizenship and they leave to get good jobs overseas while buying up property in NZ. Aged parents arrive in NZ to look after grandkids and can get residency. The child that went back with Father as a child, comes to NZ not speaking English with new partner and has two kids and they get residency and access WFF and various government welfare for their low wage job and they bring over their aged parents to look after the kids.
So now we somehow have a family who have been on NZ social welfare all their lives while being uber wealthy and working offshore, and at this stage we have 4 aged parents, the main person who originally got residency who never worked and was on the DPB living in the million dollar house who now will get super as well, and 3 adult kids, 3 adult partners of which only one works in NZ (the one that did not get educated in NZ and has a low wage job and gets WFF stayed in NZ) and the other two tertiary educated in NZ are offshore workers and their two young children going to school here.
All their assets are in companies so apparently they own nothing.
That’s just one family where one family that has never worked in NZ, is now somehow about 20+ people with marriages etc, who have accessed NZ welfare systems most of their lives and buy property here without ever working here! They need to urgently tighten up the laws!
Just how is anything “exposed”.
Suppose I simply reproduced this but claimed that the people were, say, “Pacific Islanders” but gave no real evidence would you jump in and say we should keep out all Pacific Islanders from coming here?
Such a story, without names doesn’t actually expose anything.
The difference up until 20 years ago it was much harder and more expensive to travel and people were not getting divorced at the drop of a hat. People don’t even marry now, they have multiple relationships and children through their lifetime with different partners.
It’s a whole new society now and the tax laws and residency laws are still working on 1 migrant comes and works in NZ and marries one person and has 2 kids that they support..like 20 years ago, no longer happening in society…
@alwyn. No it is NOT Pacific Islanders, it’s an Asian country – not China – but now the 2nd generation have married native Chinese then their Chinese parents and relatives can also come into NZ under what ever weird loop hole there is.
Does it really matter what race they are, satellite families is a recent world wide issue, that needs to be addressed as it is disproportionally affecting NZ as we have a low population.
Even the voting rights for example when you have more people not living in a country or even speaking the language but have full voting rights and able to access family welfare in NZ on a large scale through marriages etc.
Surely it should be of concern whether you are a righty or a lefty?
It’s one thing to be a migrant and for what ever reason you are poor but you battle on in NZ and may need to access welfare. But to be rich get all the benefits of NZ society without paying taxes, and NZ allows it to be a place to send your relatives who are poorly educated to work and access welfare top ups, free health, super and gold cared for your elderly relatives who don’t work and free health, education and so forth for all your children who don’t work, who when becoming successful go overseas.
How will a capital gains or higher taxes tax those people? They pay no taxes so higher taxes doesn’t work and they can avoid capital gains by putting the houses and assets into individual names of relatives as their primary residence.
So any new taxes enable those satellite families to become richer while taxing tax resident families more and giving more voting rights to them to continue.
@Alwyn – also Pacific Islanders have low population in their country so are hardly going to create a massive social change in NZ within a few decades which is currently happening. They have historically worked in NZ when they come here and retire back in the Pacific, I don’t think they really fit the profile of what is happening with the rise of satellite families mostly from Asia that clearly is hitting Canada for example.
Pacific Islanders are also are not generally buying up million dollar houses for their relatives to live in NZ or leaving them empty, so not creating a shortage of houses and a market for larger houses that cost more or have a government political strategy to execute here.
Canada’s plan to tax foreign investors is already working
HOUSE prices in Toronto have fallen dramatically after a new tax on foreign investors was introduced. Should Australia follow suit?
“Announcing the measure, the government of British Columbia said the tax was intended to help cool the province’s booming property market, where demand from foreign investors — many from China — had increased the cost of a detached home some 39 per cent in just 12 months.
“There is evidence now that suggests that very wealthy foreign buyers have raised the price of housing for people in British Columbia,” the province’s premier Christy Clark said at the time.
“The foreign buyer tax is intended to make sure we can keep home ownership within the reach of the middle class.
Can you please explain what a tax on foreign investors in British Columbia has to do with supposedly massive house price falls in Toronto?
Toronto is in Ontario and is about 4,000 km East of Vancouver. If house prices in Vancouver fell when a tax is introduced while at the same time prices fell even more in Toronto without such a tax surely it provides no evidence at all that the tax does any good?
Do you think that the person who wrote this doesn’t actually have any idea at all about the Geography of Canada?
I’m sure they meant Vancouver.
BC have introduced a tax on foreign investors, and yes it is having the desired effect of:
a. bringing house prices down and
b. stopping the crazy practice of investing in houses for monetary gain. Like the dutch and their tulip bulbs.
I visited Vancouver in 2014 and was amazed to see rows of houses boarded up – this was before the fall when Canadians board up their houses for the winter. These apparently were all investment houses bought by foreign investors and left empty – to be on sold later for Capital gain. Vancouver’s housing market (like Auckland’s Melbourne’s and Sydney’s) was going through the roof at the time. Vancouver was also experiencing the same problems with increasing homelessness, as locals – no longer able to afford the skyrocketing rentals from a reducing housing stock (the houses were being bought up and left empty) were forced out of their homes.
I understand that those overseas investors are now targeting Toronto. So I guess Ontario will be forced to follow BC’s lead and introduce a tax as well.
I’m really concerned about this idea of an interest free loan to first home buyers because of a number of reasons all to do with inflaming house price and rent extortion further.
If they do this it should go to people shut out if social housing due to disability needs not being met.
…but if its free, why wouldn’t you want it? Surely you cannot discriminate who you give free stuff to. It’s either free for all, nothing is free for anyone.
Finance wouldn’t be needed or considered for the real strugglers if there were more state housing for them. Stop playing around with the problem government. Provide plain but reasonable living accommodation and run it to some standards, with advantages for keeping to them, and loss of privileges for not.
One part of the problem is that some of the lowest strugglers aren’t coping at any level, and no-one is going to take them in, they need pastoral care. For the really poor and needy people have concrete apartments up to 3 stories high, two apartments of two bedrooms each at each level. These can be available for those who haven’t learned to manage their lives without drunkenness and kicking walls in etc. Give them somewhere to live, and then give them pastoral care to help them make their lives in a self-respecting way.
I lived in a concrete apartment block in Melbourne. Good, and strong, fit for the purpose of rental.
Finance is easier to magic into existence than 100,000 homes. The latter takes time, the former can be implemented within weeks of announcement if not sooner.
Doesn’t make it the right thing to do. In fact, it provides nothing at all in terms of living quarters for those unable to find a place to sleep tonight. Might as well focus on the right issue, and solve that, instead of identifying another instance and making a token gesture.
Agree. Yet that is the first horse from the gate, and gives an indication that housing is about getting the middle class into owning homes rather than recognising the real crisis is that many cannot find somewhere to live, renting or otherwise.
The fiscal responsibility restriction that they have committed themselves to is only part of the problem. I would like the government to indicate that they recognise the housing crisis is a crisis for more than just the disappointed home buyers. And this action keeps feeding the inflationary nature of house prices in NZ.
ISTR that they’re also building houses and making housingnz a housing provider rather than a profit generating exercise. I believe they’ve stopped the housing sell off and have committed to increasing the HNZ stock.
But as I said, finance is the easy to do quickly. So they’ve done that too.
The day before the budget. The budget which will signify the beginning of the transformation of our great country from the corporate run shit box it is today, to a truly wonderful country that works together for all.
The budget to end poverty and homelessness.
The budget to end the underfunding of schools and hospitals.
The budget to end corporate greed.
The budget to end the hopeless situation our working poor have been in for the past 9 years.
I am very very excited about what tomorrow will start.
To clarify PR – I don’t think tomorrow will result in ending all those issues, but it will show a change of direction which will begin the process of eliminating those things.
“Tax hikes imposed or announced under the Labour Government have hurt the poorest the most, and it is planning more regressive taxes in the years to come.”
Thanks for pointing out the article, ankerawshark.
Let’s have a look at Jacinda’s spin from the article.
The criticism being offered, Ardern continued, implies that all those families smoked. “The reference to excise [tax on petrol] if we’re talking about someone in regional New Zealand, would amount to 3 cents [per litre] Does $75 dollars [per week] make up for that? Yes, it does.”
First off, re the number of low income smokers, it was reported in the same article that it sits at around 30 to 40%. So on top of the 3 cents per litre, 30 to 40 percent will be impacted by tax increases on tobacco.
Now lets look at the 3 cents per litre claim.
Jacinda overlooked (intentionally or not) that the prices of all goods and services will also be impacted as the burden of the 3 cents per litre increase will be passed on. Will the $75 on average be enough to offset that?
Additionally, those struggling that don’t have kids or their kids are now adults don’t get to receive a Families Package. So there is no offsetting for them.
Next, lets look at the winter energy payment. They seem to be a front runner for what the Government has in the pipeline – see link provided below.
From the link below. “The industry’s solution is for taxpayers to subsidise electricity purchases by the poor, thereby underwriting the electricity industry’s profits in the same way as the Accommodation Supplement has enabled landlords to hold up rents.
“Woods duly refers to ‘the wider context of supporting New Zealanders to afford their energy bills'”
Respect for workers, even skilled ones, comes second to squeezing the utmost out of them and reducing labour costs, boosting profits. Even for air traffic controllers who keep us safe, and keep the height of confidence in airlines and airports high, so also keeping their share prices high.
Solo controllers take ”creative ways” to relieve themselves while managing air traffic
(And greedy share market expectations for high returns not met because of investment in business development cause a drop in A2 milk shares for that reason. They don’t want to invest in a solid forward-looking good business, they just want to spin the roulette wheel winning all the way.)
I wonder how much the Government Super Fund, now operating under their investment orders from the Government, have got invested in A2?
Actually, however much it is it would still be a better investment than putting money into the Auckland tram system that Goff and Genter are so keen on throwing money at. That will prove to be a good way to lose the lot.
The offending, which saw a huge amount of untreated dairy effluent put into the Manganui River, which feeds into the Wairoa River and the Kaipara Harbour was described as “blatant, ongoing and serious”, with one of the farms being “awash with dairy effluent”, resulting in “gross contamination”.
And this is why it keeps happening:
The companies agreed to provide all the requested information but only provided some. What it did provide revealed that the companies had no remaining assets.
The accountant said if there were any funds they were likely to be in other companies or trusts related to the Websters, and access to these funds would be “very unlikely”.
Property records show that the Clear Ridge farm sold for $4.56 million in January, 2016, but there is no record of when the farm owned by Beejay Stud property was sold, or the sale price.
They’ve done the crime, admitted to it even, and then structured their finances in such a way so as not to pay.
This is why the government needs to change the law so that the finances can be traced and all of it returned to the government. Leave these fuckers with nothing.
Agree strongly!, time and time again criminal acts which accrue large sums of $$ for the offenders fall into a hole when it comes to compensating victims or paying fines. Money is sequestered into trusts or other worm holes to different dimensions and after playing golf, doing a few courses or having adverse social talking points jewellery for a bit the crims still get to enjoy their ill gotten gains.
Quite rightly the police swoop on the likes of head hunters presidents etc and grab everything as proceeds of crimes (act) leaving it to the offenders to prove from whence all the toys came from.
Maybe it’s time the same tactics were employed on farmers like these two, and other white collar crims still enjoying being broke but driving the trusts bimmer and living in the trusts Parnell digs.
Do you feel the same way about the attempts of King Salmon to get the tax-payer to pay for cleaning up the mess they are making in the Marlborough Sounds?
As far as I can see the company is causing the mess, and has plenty of money to fix it.
What the hell are those bludgers up to? I like their product but I don’t see why I, as a taxpayer, should have to clean up after them.
Still I imagine Shane Jones will kick in from the slush fund. Winston likes seafood companies. http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/357367/thousand-tonnes-of-dead-fish-poses-problem-for-king-salmon
Well, almost – it’s more looking for a better way of disposing of waste and turning it into a product, rather than just cleaning it up.
So a 50/50 investment by the government would generate more tax revenue over time than was spent, rather than it simply being cleaning up after companies that ran cheap to strip profit and then wound up assetless before they got held to account.
But without looking more closely at the situation it’s difficult to tell whether the delays if the company doesn’t get the govt cash are real cashflow constraints, or just a bit of hopeful accounting looking for a subsidy.
King Salmon should build a fishmeal plant, that would take care of it.
Climate change strikes again, those rising sea temperatures, dead fish, high priced salmon, strains on those restaurants who use their product, due to inconsistency in availability, least that’s the word on the street.
Warning sounded over China’s ‘debtbook diplomacy’
Academics identify 16 countries loaned billions that they can’t afford to repay
“China’s methods were “remarkably consistent”, the report said, beginning with infrastructure investments under its $1tn belt and road initiative, and offering longer term loans with extended grace periods, which was appealing to countries with weaker economies and governance.
Construction projects, which the report said had a reputation for running over budget and yielding underwhelming returns, make debt repayments for the host nations more difficult.
“The final phase is debt collection,” it said. “When countries prove unable to pay back their debts, China has already and is likely to continue to offer debt-forgiveness in exchange for both political influence and strategic equities.”
Yes you can vote an administration out.Unfortunately you can not vote the debt out.Private bondholders especially are insistent and persistant in wanting their pound of flesh.
Maybe we should learn a trick or two from our national bird, and use camouflage against super powers…
the reality of what happens to natives, have a look at what’s happened over the years to our native birds – marooned onto smaller and smaller places like Tiritiri Matangi Island …
Dr Roger Blakeley is a former Secretary for the Environment. Bob Norman is a former Commissioner of Works. Alex Gray is a professional civil engineer and Senior Project Manager. Keith Flinders is an Electrical Services Consultant.
4 Points –
1. Costs of Diesel v Electric Locomotives.
2. Reliability and Time performance
3. Greenhouse gas emissions
4. Towards Full Electrification of the North Island Main Trunk
Dr Blakely was also the chief planning officer for Auckland Council to help negotiate it through the Unitary Plan process, after he had worked with Porirua District Council (IIRC), noted for it’s community planning processes.
I spoke to him at one of the last Auckland conversations I attended, and he said he was looking forward to going back to Wellington and working on national issues there.
TBH, reading the article it seems that Kiwirail (by continuing to misuse figures and conclusions found to be flawed) is positioning itself for a subsidy if the government decides to follow through on its transition policy. There may be another reason for such determined adherence to diesel, but I’m thinking that is probably the most likely.
Molly, as you say-follow the money. I wonder whether there are other money-driven motives in the deals which would be struck with the suppliers of the trains, as to whether they be electric or diesel.
Whatever it is, this debate has been going on for years about the diesel versus electric options, and also about the quality of the Chinese diesels. I just googled ‘trains purchase from China’ and got good media coverage. The issue is not new but may be for the new Minister.
When the Labour government is in power they spent a bit more on service and social services the people who receive this income don’t invest it in shears or property they spend it so the reality is a labour lead government allways gets more revenue flowing in our tax system that’s a fact. Ka kite ano.
Does the Govt have the money? Yes
EXPLAINER: Cutting through the spin on how much money the Government has to spend this year.
NewsHub Nation has launched a new podcast, "Supplementary Question". Their inaugural episode is about the OIA, and asks "is our most important transparency law fit for purpose?" While they interviewed Justice Minister Andrew Little and Ombudsman Peter Boshier for this, there's not actually a lot of them in there, and ...
Remember the Ruataniwha dam? The Hawke's Bay Regional Council wasted $14 million trying to push this environmental disaster through before the Supreme Court ruled that the land swap it relied on with DoC was illegal. At the end of it, they wrote off the money and sold the existing consents ...
For years we've had a housing crisis in New Zealand, driven by immigration-driven population growth and the market refusing to build enough houses (and enough of the right sort of houses) to meet it. As a result, people can't get homes, while Boomer landlords leech away their income and parasitical ...
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Drawdown Review 2020: How To Address Global Warming In A Responsible Manner Source: Project Drawdown Project Drawdown is a non-profit organization that relies ...
Dr Tim Chambers, Prof Nick Wilson, Jayne Richards, A/Prof Simon Hales, Dr Mike Joy, Prof Michael Baker (author affiliations*)Increasing water-related health threats, notably the waterborne campylobacter outbreak in Havelock North, have highlighted failings in NZ’s regulatory system for drinking water. In this blog we consider how the new Water ...
Yes, an election is in the offing – and we all know that elections can be polarising, as parties of the left and right square off against each other. But we should not allow our party and political allegiances to obscure the fact that, in a properly functioning democracy like ...
Dr Sommer Kapitan, Auckland University of Technology, and Dr Patrick van Esch, Auckland University of TechnologyThe Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Vaping) Amendment Bill will limit vape sales at dairies and service stations to only three flavours, and make vaping illegal in smokefree areas. Vaping laws will be more ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Aug 2, 2020 through Sat, Aug 8, 2020Editor's ChoiceFive Years After Speaking Out on Climate Change, Pope Francis Sounds an Urgent AlarmThe encyclical ‘Laudato Si’ motivated many people ...
From some quarters, incessant scaremongering. From others, it’s a full-on tilt into touching the alarmist buttons a little too readily (uncertain times make for very captive audiences with this angle of attack). The (so-called) Opposition (and merely regarding them as that seems to be a far looser term now ...
National Party leader - Judith CollinsElections often bring out the best and worst in politicians. Some rise to the occasion and provide us with a clear vision for the future. While others wallow in resentment and controversy, over-relying on attack politics to try to attain the interest of voters.That’s been ...
The attempts to sabotage Corbyn's leadership seems likely to do more damage than Corbyn supposedly ever could have done, even if all the stories about him were true:I was reluctant to say anything but this is too important, the full story needs to be told.Don’t let anyone ever tell ...
Good day to everyone. I’ve been asked by Mr Thinks to come here and talk to you all about my concerns regarding the government response to Covid-19. We’ve been living through this pandemic for, what seems like, years. Years and years and years. Why else would the National Party have ...
‘Good Economics for Hard Times’ should be on your reading list. New Zealand does not have a Minister of Labour. It has Ministers of Immigration and Workplace Relations and Safety but there is no minister with responsibility for the labour market. That responsibility was abolished in 2012 when ...
Back in the Kyoto era, the international climate change regime included a Clean Development Mechanism to fund emissions reduction projects in developing nations. Essentially someone would certify that a project - e.g. building a windfarm, or installing energy-efficient lightbulbs - would reduce emissions over and above "business-as-usual". The project would ...
As the classic MMP cartoon goes, just look at who is against it. Yesterday, the Hamilton City Council voted to use STV for its next two local body elections. The move was initially opposed by deputy mayor Geoff Taylor. The reason? Because a voting system which provided accurate representation and ...
On Wednesday evening (which in Parliament’s weird world technically was still Tuesday because urgency had been taken and so time stood still), MPs united to remove a pretty terrible piece of law from our statute books. No real fanfare or fireworks accompanied this action. Indeed, I didn’t even know about it ...
By Geoffrey Miller Prominent refugee advocate Murdoch Stephens says he is disappointed by Judith Collins’ reaction to Immigration New Zealand’s decision to grant refugee status to Kurdish-Iranian writer Behrouz Boochani. Judith Collins told media last month that “there’s a lot of concern in New Zealand about what they see as ...
Hello all. Judith here to talk about how National are going to take the election in September. The National Party prides itself its unity and cohesion. We are working together to deliver for New Zealanders. First of all, ee are a strong team. We are a very strong team. Our ...
Parliament has just begun the adjournment debate, signalling the effective end of this Parliament. So it seems like an appropriate time to assess Labour's term in office. Unfortunately, its a pretty dismal assessment. Labour campaigned on one thing: change. Not just a change in who got the top jobs and ...
Our climate change policies are insufficient to achieve our goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, according to independent assessor Climate Action Tracker: New Zealand won’t be carbon neutral by 2050 without much stronger policies, says an independent analysis by Climate Action Tracker. The non-profit highlighted a lack of active ...
That was clearly a huge explosion. Just after the explosion, we see a cloud of ‘fog’ moving outwards at high speed. This is a shockwave, rather similar to that which causes a sonic boom. The ‘fog’ is caused by water condensing from the atmosphere in areas of intense low pressure ...
Can we postpone this year’s election? Quite frankly, the political parties don’t seem ready for it, and aren’t about to offer voters the necessary policy choices for the unprecedented times we’re in. We’ve ended up with a campaign focused on scandal, personality and leadership, with a policy void that’s worse ...
It is the last sitting day of Parliament, and the last question time before the House is dissolved. So, are there any questions about the damning findings of the Hit and Run inquiry, and how the government plans to bring the military back under democratic control? Of course not. ...
Property speculator - John KeyThe National Party must be in dire straits to have to rely on John Key to campaign on their behalf. Not only has the former PM been in the news claiming the recently released unemployment figures aren’t accurate, the fool has also been promoting the opening ...
Nothing Too Drastic: Few would dispute that the Left, today, are few in number. Is their failure to make the public aware of and act upon the manifest failures of the present system attributable to their lack of active energy and intelligence? Or, is it simply because the Left’s ideas ...
by Don Franks This talk was given to the Wellington Anti Capitalist Alliance, fifteen years ago. The ultimate weapons of mass destruction so far seen on this planet have been used just twice, 60 years ago this month. August 6 and August 9 1945 witnessed the US atomic bombing ...
After I noticed that my name had been taken yet again in vain by my friendly antagonist Tom Hunter over at No Minister, I went over to see what the fuss was about. Nothing much, but then I discovered a post about the Operation Burnham Inquiry by Psycho Milt. I ...
The COVID-19 Public Health Response Act 2020 was extended today, until December 1st or the tenth sitting day following the resumption of Parliament after the election. It seems like a necessary extension. While we currently have eradicated the virus in New Zealand, it is still banging at the door, and ...
One of the government's key policies - extracted by NZ First as part of its coalition agreement - is the "Provincial Growth Fund": $1 billion a year spent on creating jobs in rural New Zealand. Yesterday the Auditor-General issued a report on the fund, finding that it lacks transparency, and ...
The Warehouse, one of New Zealand's biggest retailers, has decided to stop selling coal. Good. Coal is a dirty, polluting fossil fuel, and the less of it we have out there, the better. Retailers choosing not to sell it sends a clear message that this is not a fuel we ...
The labour market statistics have been released, and they show that unemployment actually dropped last quarter. All told, there are 111,000 unemployed - 15,000 fewer than when the government took office. But before anyone thinks that the pandemic hasn't put people out of work, remember that this is for ...
Judy KavanaghI’m OK with wearing a CovidCard. But are you? There’s no point me doing it alone.The author modelling a (fake) CovidCard. I didn’t know much about the CovidCard proposal until I read Dave’s latest blog post. You would wear the card visibly on your person. It ...
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change.If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nzWhy can’t I use the battery from my electric car ...
As many good things come in threes (as the saying goes), we are happy to announce a third partnership between Skeptical Science and other websites. Fakebook.eco in Brazil is joining Klimafakten.de in Germany and Nauka o Klimacie in Poland to leverage translated rebuttal material and to make the information readily available in other ...
This interview on RNZ with Ross Tucker, the scientist who headed a review of transgender athletes playing in women’s rugby, discusses the findings of the review and what it means for women in sports. The review that World Rugby undertook had a broad range of independent experts and included a ...
Siouxsie WilesThe restrictions in place for metropolitan Melbourne now are in some ways stricter than those that were in force during New Zealand’s COVID-19 lockdown. A curfew is in place and most people have to wear masks when they leave their home – neither of which happened in New ...
On Friday the Hit and Run inquiry delivered a devastating report which found that NZDF had systematically misled Ministers over civilian deaths. The report called into question civilian control of the military (and indeed, military control of the military), a fundamental principle of our democracy. So you'd expect our politicians ...
Let's Do This Again: What else can Jacinda do in a political environment so bereft of imagination and courage but seek a continuance? If she trades upon the extraordinary personal qualities that she has, miraculously, carried with her into the office of Prime Minister, then I, for one, will offer ...
How corrupt are the New Zealand Police? This corrupt: On 10 February 2019, Police attended a family harm incident. The suspect attempted to run the attending officers over in a driveway with his car, narrowly missing them, before fleeing the scene. A short pursuit followed, ending when the suspect stopped ...
Parliament's triennial Review of Standing Orders was released today, and it contains a number of welcome, if minor, improvements. The ones that caught my are: A move to encourage "pre-legislative engagement" - the government consulting widely on legislation before it is introduced - by promising easier passage (e.g. with ...
Lauren Vargo, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of WellingtonGlaciers around the world are melting — and for the first time, we can now directly attribute annual ice loss to climate change. We analysed two years in which glaciers in New Zealand melted the most in at least four ...
Caroline Shaw, Anja MizdrakE-bikes are everywhere. Sales are booming and predicted to overtake sales of new cars in a few years. There were three times as many e-bikes and e-scooters imported into NZ in 2019 alone as there are e-cars in the entire country. You can’t go out in ...
New Zealand First is facing a difficult struggle to get re-elected, but Josh Van Veen, who was once a researcher for Winston Peters, argues that there is still a very significant section of cultural conservatives who oppose mass immigration and political correctness and might yet be won back over to ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Karin Kirk Many Americans these days seem unable to avoid controversy on practically any topic, so why not embrace the discord and wade into the especially volatile arena of nuclear energy? Advocates claim it’s the only way to meet global climate goals, ...
Can we trust New Zealand’s military? There must now be serious doubt, given the landmark report released on Friday concluding the investigation into allegations made in the book Hit and Run by Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson about a 2010 SAS killing raid in Afghanistan. The most recent Colmar Brunton ...
In New Zealand, we've just had the report of the Hit and Run inquiry, which found that a New Zealand led raid had accidentally killed civilians, including a child. meanwhile, around the same time, the British SAS was conducting its own raids in Afghanistan, and theirs were a hell of ...
In addition to establishing a process for setting emissions reductions plans, the Zero Carbon Act established a process for managing the risks of climate change. The first part of this is the preparation of regular risk assessments, looking at the risks to our economy, society, environment, and ecology. The first ...
Over on The spinoff, Amnesty International's Meg de Ronde has a response to Friday's release of the Hit and Run report. And in response to Attorney-General David Parker's claim that the government was being "transparent" by releasing the report, its titled "we shouldn’t have to work this hard to get ...
Story of the Week... Opinion of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Rising Seas Could Menace Millions Beyond Shorelines, Study FindsAs climate change raises sea levels, storm surges and high tides will ...
There's an election next month, so you'd be expecting political parties to be telling us what they stand for and what they'd do if they'd win. But while the Greens have given us a detailed policy platform, and National has talked about roads and austerity, Labour, currently leading the polls ...
"Who's youse accusin' of innference?" Without the timely intervention of a team of top American political consultants and campaign experts, Boris Yeltsin would never have won his second term as President of the Russian Federation. The Russians waited 20 years to return the favour.WHEN IT COMES to the disinformation game, ...
As polling day in the American presidential election draws closer, things are looking bad for Donald Trump. The polls show that he is tracking well behind his Democrat rival. Most people assume that the President will be striving might and main to avoid what looks increasingly likely to be a ...
Our health professionals do an amazing job. Image credit: Wikipedia – Cardiac surgery. Finally, I have got back to these rankings. A long period in hospital and computer problems meant the June 2020 rankings were abandoned. Now, with a new personal defibrillator implanted in my chest and a new hard ...
A chronological listing of news articles linked to on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, July 26 through Sat, Aug 1, 2020Editor's ChoiceThe four types of climate denier, and why you should ignore them allThe shill, the grifter, the egomaniac and the ideological ...
Over the last few days, reports have emerged of people travelling from New Zealand and testing positive for Covid-19 upon arrival at their destination. First in South Korea and now in Australia. What might these positive tests mean?They’re false-positives As Toby Morris and I have explained before, there are ...
Former National Minister - Wayne MappYou could tell that the Hit and Run book by investigative journalists Nicky Hager and Jon Stephenson was right on the money by the way former National Party Minister of Defence, Wayne Mapp, reacted to its now largely vindicated claims.Even though the recent inquiry into ...
So, the Hit and Run inquiry has reported back, and found some appalling shit at NZDF and NZSIS. And while they quibble a few of the details - the name of a dead child - they basicly uphold Hager and Stephenson's version of events. The SAS went to those villages. ...
We are failing to think though the interdependencies in an economy. We miss economist Bryan Philpott (1921-2000). I miss him personally – we used to have such great discussions – but this column is about how the nation misses his economic experience and wisdom. We tend to ...
Michelle Boag - LeakerThe Heron report (PDF) was released yesterday, and it was a bit disappointing to say the least. It correctly found that former National Party president Michelle Boag and National Party MP Hamish Walker were politically motivated in leaking peoples private medical information, but didn’t look further into ...
Adam Smith, Massey UniversityA recent global assessment of shark populations at 371 coral reefs in 58 countries found no sharks at almost 20% of reefs and alarmingly low numbers at many others. The study, which involved over 100 scientists under the Global FinPrint project, gave New Zealand a good ...
On different trajectories and from different ends of the political spectrum, last night’s One News/Colmar Brunton poll has the Green Party and ACT converging around the five percent mark. And, as odd as it may sound, they head into the election campaign with a lot in common.Putting the Greens and ...
Janet Stephenson, University of OtagoA proposed multibillion-dollar project to build a pumped hydro storage plant could make New Zealand’s electricity grid 100% renewable, but expensive new infrastructure may not be the best way to achieve this. New Zealand’s electricity generation is already around 80% renewable, with just over half ...
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This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Government rulemakers looking to decide how much money to spend to avoid adding more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere need a good estimate of what a warming climate will cost in social damages, for example through more extreme weather events. That point makes ...
Below is the list of gender-critical material which appeared on Redline from October 1, 2019 to October 31, 2019. Rainbow Tick threatens to pull Massey’s tick if lesbians are allowed to speak Freer Lives – a gender-critical Marxist site Freer Lives on Violence, debate and Britain’s Gender Recognition Act British ...
Fact Check: New Zealand’s own relationship with China might, however, be salvageable if our own Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade was willing to equip its minister, Winston Peters, with a few facts. Legislating for the protection of national security – the very action our Foreign Minister is decrying – ...
I hope we can all agree that charging only certain returning expats for isolation costs is the right call. Instead of a blanket fee, which may have resulted in a small number of Kiwis deciding not to return home because of financial reasons, the Government has chosen to implement a ...
Back at the beginning of this government, the Greens made a foolish decision to support the Electoral Integrity Act - demanded by Winston Peters to keep his own backbench in line as part of his coalition deal with Labour - as an act of good faith within the coalition. It ...
We've announced that we will expand the Flexi-wage programme to support up to 40,000 more people into work, or to help them start their own business. It's yet another way we're helping keep our economy moving by getting people into work and training. Read on to find out more ...
Business subsidy of on average $7500, and up to $22,000, to hire unemployed New ZealandersUp to 40,000 jobs to be supported by $311 million investment in keeping New Zealanders off the unemployment benefitRing-fenced fund to help unemployed start their own business ...
This week was the last of the 52nd Parliament: a major milestone for our Government and a great opportunity to look back at all the progress we've made for New Zealanders. This week, we increased support for businesses to take on apprentices, improved access to hospital care in Northland, and ...
Kia orana and kia ora koutou katoa. It is a privilege to be able to speak in this adjournment debate and to mark and acknowledge the fact that we are now two years and 10 months into the conclusion of a parliamentary term that has been extraordinary in so many ...
On 1 August, we marked the anniversary of Jacinda Ardern becoming the Leader of the Labour Party. On that day in 2017, Leader Andrew Little nominated Jacinda Ardern to succeed him and lead the party to victory.Now, three years on, we look back at some of the key moments ...
With the June 2020 quarter showing underemployment increasing, the Green Party is calling for a Guaranteed Minimum Income and an increase to the abatement threshold to ensure everyone has a dignified income. ...
We went hard and we went early in our health response to COVID-19, and we did everything we could to cushion the economic impact too. In fact, we can fill every letter of the alphabet with the steps we took to fight COVID-19 and ensure we were in a position ...
Investing in our people, backing businesses, and upgrading infrastructure and housing throughout the country - it's been another week of progress for New Zealanders as we deliver our plan to recover and rebuild. ...
July was another busy month, packed with key investments aimed at progressing our economic recovery as we rebuild New Zealand. We extended support for businesses, helped create jobs through local infrastructure projects, and kept working to clean up our waterways so Kiwis can access safe clean water. Check out the ...
The Green Party is calling for the Defence Force Chiefs in place between 2010-2017 to front up and explain how dishonesty, process and policy failures within the Defence Force led to ‘a series of incorrect statements in briefings to ministers and public releases’ regarding alleged breaches of international torture prevention ...
Thanks to our strong health response, New Zealand’s economy is more open than many other countries. But as COVID continues to surge around the world, the economic consequences of the virus will continue to be a challenge, which is why we have a detailed plan to help New Zealand bounce ...
Thanks to our strong health response, New Zealand’s economy is more open than many other countries. But as COVID continues to surge around the world, the economic consequences of the virus will continue to be a challenge, which is why we have a detailed plan to help New Zealand bounce ...
The Government is stepping up action to deal with environmentally harmful products – including plastic packaging, tyres and e-waste – before they become waste. ...
The Green Party are ensuring that New Zealanders who were overseas when COVID-19 hit will not be charged for the cost of isolation or quarantine if they return home to live. ...
It's been another week of creating jobs, supporting local businesses, and investing in infrastructure up and down the country - all of which are helping to keep our economy moving post-COVID-19. ...
Law changes to end tenure review and provide for better management of Crown pastoral lands in the South Island high country were considered by Parliament today with the first reading of the Crown Pastoral Land Reform Bill says Minister for Land Information, Eugenie Sage. ...
The Green Party have secured legislative amendments in a bill expected to pass third reading this week, to ensure better rules for school teachers and staff, so they can de-escalate children with diverse needs and cognitive differences, such as autism, rather than using unnecessary and often traumatising force. ...
Managed isolation charges for returnees will come into force from 12.01am Tuesday 11th August, after they passed their last cabinet milestone today, Housing Minister Megan Woods said. “The new charging system balances the rights of New Zealanders to return home and helps reduce pressure on the managed isolation and quarantine ...
The Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands Henry Puna have welcomed the completion of phase one in the establishment of a travel bubble between New Zealand and the Cook Island. Negotiations on the text of an ‘Arrangement to Facilitate Quarantine-Free Travel ...
The Government has launched a new online, phone and onsite service to help New Zealanders connect to a range of employment support and products for workers and businesses affected by COVID-19, announced Minister of Education Chris Hipkins and Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni. Connected.govt.nz is a one-stop-shop for jobseekers, ...
Security guards contracted to the Ministry of Social Development will be paid at least the Living Wage from next month supporting the Government’s commitment towards fair pay and employment conditions, announced Minister for Social Development Carmel Sepuloni. “MSD was among the first government agencies to pay its employees the living ...
The Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage today launched Te Mana o te Taiao, the Aotearoa New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy - a way forward that envisions Aotearoa New Zealand as a place where ecosystems are healthy and resilient, and people embrace the natural world. “Many of New Zealand’s plants and wildlife species ...
“Pacific languages, cultures and identity are essential to the health, wellbeing and lifetime success of our Pacific peoples and their communities in Aotearoa. The strength and resilience of Pacific Aotearoa is not only vital to their own prosperity but integral to the prosperity of all New Zealanders, and is particularly ...
· $38 million to help schools cover unexpected costs related to COVID-19 · $69 million upgrade for online learning · $107 million contingency funding to support school construction suppliers facing additional costs due to the lockdown. The Government is releasing $214 million from the COVID-19 response and recovery fund to ...
Despite the Government installing safety upgrades around the country, people should still take care around rail crossings, said Transport Minister Phil Twyford launching Rail Safety Week. Phil Twyford said installing safety infrastructure is crucial, but we are encouraging people to be more careful around trains too. “We’re making good progress ...
The Government is providing a cash injection to help Palmerston North City Council complete a programme to provide 78 social housing units for vulnerable tenants. The $4.7 million to build 28 units in the Papaioea Place redevelopment comes from the $3 billion set aside for infrastructure in the Government’s COVID-19 ...
A pest free Banks Peninsula/Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū is one step closer with a $5.11 million boost to accelerate this project and create jobs, announced Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage in Canterbury today. “This is a game changer for this ambitious project to restore the native wildlife and plants on Ōtautahi/Christchurch’s doorstep ...
A Government grant of $6.4 million will expand the Pettigrew Arena in Taradale with new indoor courts of national standard. “The project is likely to take 18 months with approximately 300 people employed through the process,” Grant Robertson said. “The expansion will increase the indoor court space up to 11 ...
The Far North tourist destination of Mangonui is to receive Government funding to improve waterfront infrastructure, open up access to the harbour and improve water quality, Infrastructure Minister Shane Jones has announced. A total of $6.5 million from the $3 billion set aside in the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund ...
The Government has re-affirmed its commitment to supporting the hosting of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, which the ICC has delayed from 2021 to 2022. “This is obviously a disappointing decision for cricket players and fans around the world and for the White Ferns and their supporters here at ...
Cyclists and walkers will now have a safer way to get around Taupō, Tūrangi, and between Hamilton and Cambridge, with funding for shared paths and Te Awa River Ride, Associate Minister of Transport Julie Anne Genter announced today. “The Te Awa River Ride is the latest part of massive growth ...
Six major cycle routes will be completed in Christchurch thanks to funding from the Government’s investment in shovel-ready infrastructure as part of the COVID-19 recovery Associate Minister of Transport Julie Anne Genter announced today. $125 million will be invested to kick-start construction and fund the completion of the following cycleway ...
Plans are underway for a brand new state-of-the-art hub for Whanganui’s justice and social agencies, following confirmation the ageing Whanganui Central Police Station is to be replaced. Police Minister Stuart Nash has announced $25 million in new infrastructure spending to improve facilities for the wider community, and for staff who ...
An adjustment payment has been made to Waikato-Tainui and Ngāi Tahu under the relativity mechanisms in their 1995 and 1997 Treaty of Waitangi settlements, Minister for Treaty of Waitangi Negotiations Andrew Little announced today. The latest payments to Waikato-Tainui and Ngāi Tahu are $2,700,000 and $2,600,000 respectively to ensure the ...
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Transport Minister Phil Twyford today kicked off the start of the Auckland NZ Upgrade Programme rail projects which will support over 400 jobs and help unlock our biggest city. Both ministers marked the start of enabling works on the third main rail line project ...
The Provincial Growth Fund (PGF) investment of $3.78 million in Wairoa will create much needed economic stimulus and jobs, Under-Secretary for Regional Economic Development Fletcher Tabuteau announced today. PGF projects announced today include: $200,000 loan to Nuhaka Kiwifruit Holdings Ltd (operated by Pine Valley Orchard Ltd) to increase the productivity ...
Tenants in public and Māori housing may be benefiting from their own affordable renewable energy in future – a fund to trial renewable energy technology for public and Māori housing has today been announced by Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods and Associate Minister for Housing (Māori Housing) Nanaia Mahuta. ...
Hokianga will receive $2.7 million to redevelop four of its wharves and upgrade its water supply, Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones has announced. Far North District Council will receive $1.8 million from the Provincial Growth Fund for the work on the wharves. “The work will include the construction of ...
A $350 million Residential Development Response Fund is being established to support the residential construction sector and to minimise the economic impact from COVID-19, the Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods has announced. “The Residential Development Response Fund will help to progress stalled or at-risk developments that support our broader housing ...
As part of a broader plan to divert waste from landfill, the Government today announced $10.67 million for new infrastructure as part of the Resource Recovery Network across the Auckland region. “This key investment in Auckland’s community recycling network is part of the Government’s Infrastructure Reference Group ‘shovel ready’ projects ...
The Government is investing $45 million in the first stage of an ambitious urban development project for Tauranga that will employ up to 250 people and help the region grow, Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford announced today. Phil Twyford says the funding has been allocated out of the $3 billion ...
Getting low-emission trucks on the road is a step closer with investment in infrastructure to support hydrogen vehicles, the Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods has announced. The Infrastructure Reference Group has provisionally approved $20 million for New Plymouth company Hiringa Energy to establish a nationwide network of hydrogen-fuelling stations. ...
A new trades training centre to upskill the local workforce will be built in the South Waikato town of Tokoroa through funding from the Government’s COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund, Education Minister Chris Hipkins and Regional Economic Development Minister Shane Jones have announced. The Government will contribute $10.84 million from ...
The Government has agreed to repeal part of the Oranga Tamariki Act subsequent children provisions, Minister for Children Tracey Martin announced today. “There are times when children need to go into care for their safety – the safety and care of children must always be paramount,” Minister Martin said. “But ...
A $1.5 million boost to grow primary mental health and addiction services for Pacific peoples in Auckland, Hamilton and Canterbury will lead to better outcomes for Pacific communities, Associate Health Minister Jenny Salesa says. Pasifika Futures has received funding to expand services through The Fono, Aotearoa New Zealand’s largest by ...
Twenty-two projects to boost the sustainability and climate resilience of New Zealand’s food and fibres sector have been announced today by Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor. The $18m funding will deliver practical knowledge to help farmers and growers use their land more sustainably, meet environmental targets, remain prosperous, and better understand ...
Employment Minister Willie Jackson welcomes an initiative that assists employers to get mature workers into New Zealand small businesses. The disadvantages that older people face in the workplace was highlighted in the whole of Government Employment Strategy. In order to address this, a Mature Workers Toolkit has been developed and ...
New Zealand and Australia reaffirmed today the need for the closest possible collaboration as they tackle a global environment shaped by COVID-19, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters said. “In these challenging times, our close collaboration with Australia is more vital than ever,” said Mr Peters. Mr Peters and his Australian ...
The recovery and forensic examination of the loader driven by survivor Russell Smith means the underground team are now moving into an area of the Pike River Mine that has not been seen since the explosion, Minister Responsible for Pike River Re-entry Andrew Little said. “The fifth and last robot ...
The Government has confirmed a community-wide trial of CovidCard technology as it explores options for COVID-19 contact tracing. “Effective contact tracing is a vital part of the COVID-19 response,” Minister of Health Chris Hipkins said. “While manual processes remain the critical component for contact tracing, we know digital solutions can ...
The government is proposing changes to aquaculture legislation to improve the process for allocating and transferring aquaculture assets to iwi. Fisheries Minister Stuart Nash has introduced the Maori Commercial Aquaculture Claims Settlement Amendment Bill to Parliament. It proposes a limited new discretionary power for Te Ohu Kaimoana Trustee Limited (ToKM). ...
The Minister of Justice has today introduced the Family Court (Supporting Children in Court) Legislation Bill – the next step in the ongoing programme of work to fix the failed 2014 Family Court reforms led by then Justice Minister Judith Collins. The Bill arises from the report of the Independent ...
A new Department of Conservation (DOC) action plan tackles the impacts of climate change on New Zealand’s biodiversity and DOC managed infrastructure including tracks, huts and cultural heritage. Minister of Conservation Eugenie Sage says extreme weather events around the country have really brought home our vulnerability to changing weather patterns. ...
A heavily scaled back international Antarctic season will commence this week, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Research, Science and Innovation Minister Megan Woods have confirmed. “Antarctica is the only continent that is COVID-19 free,” Mr Peters said. “Throughout the global pandemic, essential operations and long-term science have continued at ...
The Government is providing up to $30 million to help fund the NZ Campus of Innovation and Sport in Upper Hutt - an investment that will create 244 jobs. “The sports hub is designed to be a world-leading shared service for a range of sports, offering the level of facilities ...
Transport Minister Phil Twyford announced today transport projects currently in construction will continue at pace due to extra Government support for transport projects to mitigate the impact of COVID-19. To keep the $16.9 billion 2018-21 National Land Transport Programme going the Government has allocated funding from the COVID Response and ...
$50 million for further rural broadband digital connectivity has been allocated from the $3 billion infrastructure fund in the COVID Response and Recovery Fund has been announced by Shane Jones, Minister for Infrastructure and Kris Faafoi, Minister for Broadcasting, Communications and Digital Media. The investment will go to boosting broadband ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Uri Gal, Associate Professor in Business Information Systems, University of Sydney The recent questioning of the heads of Amazon, Facebook, Google and Apple in the US Congress has highlighted the threat their practices pose to our privacy and democracy. However these big ...
Good habits start young, and with Money Week this week, now is a great time to look at how we can support and nourish our kids’ financial journeys writes Banqer’s Simon Brown. For some reason, a lot of people see money as a boring topic. But the fact is, it’s a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Melbourne This week’s federal Newspoll, conducted August 5-8 from a sample of 1,509, gave the Coalition a 52-48 lead, a one-point gain for Labor since the last Newspoll, three weeks ago. ...
A tender for underwater inspection services at the abandoned oil field off the coast of Taranaki has shed light on the dubious state of its subsea infrastructure. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Plank, Professor in Mathematics, University of Canterbury Our latest modelling shows New Zealanders need to redouble their efforts to keep track of people they meet, if we are to have a chance of controlling any re-emergence of COVID-19. The director general ...
Local Government New Zealand’s (LGNZ) Regional Sector has today welcomed the launch of Te Mana o te Taiao, the Aotearoa New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy, citing robust collaboration with iwi, regional councils and private landowners and leadership from ...
The High Court has ruled today that Greenpeace is entitled to register as a charity and that the Charities Registration Board was in error for declining the environmental campaigning organisation’s application. In a summary of the judgement posted online ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Dobson, Professor and Dean of Education, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington The English language in education today is all-pervasive. “Hear more English, speak more English and become more successful” has become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Some say it’s already ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stuart Richards, Lecturer in Screen Studies, University of South Australia Review: Welcome to Chechnya, screening at the Melbourne International Film Festival Welcome to Chechnya, screening online as part of MIFF 68½, is a bracing documentary. This film is part of a queer ...
It’s become fashionable among some political circles to advocate for a laissez-faire approach to debt, on the basis that the government can issue as much debt as it likes – for as long as it likes. But there’s one big drawback to ‘just print more money’ argument, writes Pattrick Smellie ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Australia’s aged care sector was “underprepared” to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak and federal authorities had no specific plan for it, according to a stinging indictment from Peter Rozen QC, senior counsel assisting the royal ...
A Productivity Commission report finding was based on a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of disease transmission dynamics, and now that error has itself been transmitted in the media and into the election campaign, write Nic Steyn, Mike Plank, Alex James, Rachelle Binny, Audrey Lustig and Shaun Hendy of Te ...
Latest from the Beehive Here’s hoping the hundreds of millions of dollars pumped into Northland from the Provincial Growth Fund and other government programmes do much more to promote the region’s economic and social wellbeing than they are doing to enhance Shane Jones’ election prospects. He is bound to be ...
The first Auckland Central debate took place last night, despite the lack of a National candidate. Josie Adams went along to watch Helen White, Chlöe Swarbrick and the rest.The Auckland Central electorate stretches from the depths of Grafton across the Hauraki Gulf to Aotea (Great Barrier). Its residents are Waiheke’s ...
Kiwibank was right to refuse the business of sex-trade operators exploiting women and children, says Wahine Toa Rising, a newly-formed organisation led by survivors of the trade in New Zealand. Spokeswoman Ally Marie Diamond said "we were gutted ...
During the worst days of the Covid-19 outbreak in New Zealand, Matamata was right at the heart of it all. Alex Braae went to the Waikato town to ask people how they’re getting on now.On the signs heading out to the Hobbiton Movie Set about 10 minutes away from the ...
The government has announced a pay increase for security guards at the Ministry of Social Development as the Labour Party makes a commitment to government agency workers for fair pay and working conditions. ...
“As sure as God made little apples, she would have reinvented herself and she will be ripping someone off in England as we speak,” predicted a former colleague of Joanne Harrison. A new investigation reveals the charming fraudster, who stole ...
Lihir is the second mine in Papua New Guinea to report a confirmed covid-19 case as the national total of infections reached 214 at the weekend. Newcrest Mining Limited confirmed that a 30-year-old male, a mine employee who had flown in from the capital Port Moresby on July 30, had ...
E te rangatira, e te tohunga, e te Tiati, haere, haere, haere atu ra. Haere ki o tupuna, no ratou nga taonga i tuku iho ki a koe, hei whangai mai ki a matou. ...
Commitment from all political parties to implementing the new Te Mana o te Taiao - Aotearoa New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy is vital to protecting our future, says Forest & Bird. “The Strategy clearly says that New Zealand’s environment ...
The 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War will be acknowledged on 15 August, with a commemorative service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park in Wellington, Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage Chief Executive Bernadette ...
New Zealand's total fertility rate has reached an all-time low, with an average of 1.71 children per woman in New Zealand, well below population replacement level. “ Families: Ever Fewer or No Children , How Worried Should We Be? “ - a report ...
Joint Press Release: NextElection, Scoop.co.nz, ScoopCitizen NextElection , a technology platform empowering democracy and Government accountability, and Scoop Independent News have partnered to strengthen citizen participation in the 2020 New Zealand General ...
Since March 15 2019, a string of lone actor, far-right copycat atrocities provide important clues to the kind of transnational, online movement we now confront, writes Emanuel Stoakes.Before storming the Al Noor Mosque, the would-be killer dressed in military fatigues, attempted a livestream and signalled his intent on an image ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cordelia Fine, Professor, History & Philosophy of Science program, School of Historical & Philosophical Studies, University of Melbourne How useful are the well-known and hotly contested categories of “male brain” and “female brain”? Among experts, nobody really questions that anatomical sex differences ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Frank Bongiorno, Professor of History, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University Earlier this month, there were media reports that Liberal backbencher Craig Kelly had posted to Facebook advocating the anti-malarial drug, hydroxychloroquine, as a treatment for COVID-19. Kelly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carissa Bonner, Research Fellow, University of Sydney If the media is anything to go by, you’d think people who believe coronavirus myths are white, middle-aged women called Karen. But our new study shows a different picture. We found men and people aged ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Graeme Pearman, Professorial Fellow, Australian-German Climate and Energy College, University of Melbourne There is global interest in the potential for a hydrogen economy, in part driven by a concern over climate change and the need to move away from fossil fuels. This ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mehmet Aslan, Honorary Fellow, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong Australian universities are expected to lose billions of dollars in revenue due to the impacts of COVID-19. The estimated lost revenue from international students alone is A$18 billion by ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Owain Emslie, Senior Associate, Grattan Institute Grattan Institute research published today shows the average 25-year-old woman who goes on to have a child can expect to earn A$2 million less by the time she is 70 than the average 25-year-old man who ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Beck Wise, Lecturer in Professional Writing, The University of Queensland You might have scrolled right by Annastacia Palaszczuk’s recent quote posts if you saw them on Instagram – just another lifestyle influencer posting a “deep” quote – but when she (or her ...
Welcome to Election Live for August 10, bringing you the latest on election 2020 and other breaking news. For key dates in the election seasonclick here. For all you need to know about the cannabis referendum click here. For the assisted dying referendum click here. Policy launches tomorrow. Get ...
New Zealand First and leader Winston Peters are up against it this year in the general elections if the polls are to be believed, but the political veteran shows no sign of giving up yet. ...
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Labour launches campaign while National releases list, frantic final days at parliament wrapped, and new poll shows Shane Jones in trouble in Northland.Some would say the campaign has been underway for months in a proxy form, but officially, it’s now ...
Let's not delude ourselves, temporary migrant workers are being exploited in this country - and it's nothing new, writes Christina Stringer The reality of slavery, human trafficking and the exploitation of temporary migrant workers in New Zealand was exposed last month with the successful conviction of a 66-year-old man in the Napier ...
Belinda Cordwell remains New Zealand's highest-ranked singles tennis player, having climbed to No.17 in the world. But today you'll find her chasing sheep rather than a fuzzy green ball. You may remember Belinda Cordwell came within two victories of being New Zealand’s only woman Grand Slam tennis champion. But you might ...
How far away are vaccines which could end the pandemic and how many doses can be made quickly? Finding a vaccine which protects against the coronavirus which causes Covid-19 is seen as the best way to stop the continued spread of the disease. It's estimated around 70 percent of the ...
Kiwibank's initial plans to blacklist the adult entertainment industry ran into opposition from the New Zealand Prostitutes' Collective, but the bank is being urged to stick to its guns by Wahine Toa Rising - a new trans-Tasman group set up by ex-sex workers. Yvonne van Dongen reports Last month Kiwibank rolled ...
The wife of a Chinese dissident killed in a recent car crash says she’s struggling to raise her children without the support of her husband - the family’s sole income earner Xi Weiguo (48) died in a car crash in Tokoroa on July 21, along with fellow pro-democracy campaigner Wang ...
Paula Morris on her former writing student, now the author of a worldwide smash, Auckland novelist Rose Carlyle On a mild Wednesday evening last week, I attended the launch for a debut novel. There were more than 100 guests crowding the ground floor of the National Library in Auckland. There ...
The Ministry of Health; "The term unborn child is not a scientific term and does not have a commonly accepted definition." The Prime Minister said in September 2018, "If you ask me why I'm in politics, my answer will be simple: children." ...
We do not have to roll along with the status quo. We are asking New Zealanders to choose help over handcuffs, prevention over prisons, and healing over punishment, writes Laura O’Connell Rapira.It is said that the first Pacific voyagers to sail to these lands visualised this place before they reached ...
In the blur of the last week of this parliament, a law that discriminated against family disability carers was torn from the books. It’s one of those moments when we can see why political activism of all kinds actually matters, writes Andrew Geddis.Last week, on Wednesday evening (which in parliament’s ...
Binge-drinking in teenagers has dropped dramatically in the past 20 years - but the reasons for that are complex Teenage binge-drinking has "dropped off the cliff" in the last 20 years but until now, no one really knew why. A new paper, What explains the decline in adolescent binge-drinking in New ...
A senior journalism lecturer is urging the foreign media to respect New Zealand’s strict reporting restrictions for the sentencing of the gunman who carried out the Christchurch mosque attacks last year. Brenton Tarrant will be sentenced in the High Court in Christchurch beginning on Monday, August 24. Eighteen overseas and ...
Celebrity agent Ryan Serhant is promoting the sale, a snip at $24 million. It looks so good, why let pesky details like closed borders and foreign buyer bans stop you?Along with panoramic views, adventure sports and fine wines, the New Zealand pitch for wealthy Americans now includes the lure of ...
The Green’s latest housing policy is a lot of wishful thinking, National’s Housing spokesperson Jacqui Dean says. “Blue-sky thinking has never been the Green’s problem, but delivery has. “The Government partners talked a big game on housing ...
Studying a Bachelor of Arts at AUT helped Guled Mire understand his place in the world, so that he can make a difference in his community. Video: AUTBy Simon SmithGuled Mire says his new Fulbright NZ scholarship to study at an Ivy League university in the United States ...
Kia ora everyone. Thank you all for coming here today. Thank you to the community for having us today, I’m proud that this is my neighbourhood! And thank you to the Housing Foundation for having us, as we announce the next exciting pillar of ...
The Green Party has unveiled its housing plan which aims to get the record-high number of people off the social housing waiting list, while improving the size and quality of the rental market. ...
In its third major policy announcement, the Green Party has revealed a suite of plans to subsidise community-provided rental housing and boost the state housing build programme, Marc Daalder reports Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic and global economic meltdown, New Zealand's housing crisis has continued unabated. House prices are still surging and the ...
By Patrick Makis in Buka Contact tracing has begun for the Autonomous Region of Bougainville’s first covid-19 case. The 22-year-old male, who had returned from Port Moresby on an Air Niugini flight on July 29, is stable and is being isolated in Arawa town. ABG’s Deputy Controller, Health Secretary Clement ...
Open Mike 16/05/2018 
NewsHub Nation has launched a new podcast, "Supplementary Question". Their inaugural episode is about the OIA, and asks "is our most important transparency law fit for purpose?" While they interviewed Justice Minister Andrew Little and Ombudsman Peter Boshier for this, there's not actually a lot of them in there, and ...1 hour ago
Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... Story of the Week... Drawdown Review 2020: How To Address Global Warming In A Responsible Manner Source: Project Drawdown Project Drawdown is a non-profit organization that relies ...8 hours ago
Dr Tim Chambers, Prof Nick Wilson, Jayne Richards, A/Prof Simon Hales, Dr Mike Joy, Prof Michael Baker (author affiliations*) Increasing water-related health threats, notably the waterborne campylobacter outbreak in Havelock North, have highlighted failings in NZ’s regulatory system for drinking water. In this blog we consider how the new Water ...9 hours ago
Yes, an election is in the offing – and we all know that elections can be polarising, as parties of the left and right square off against each other. But we should not allow our party and political allegiances to obscure the fact that, in a properly functioning democracy like ...9 hours ago
Today’s content Labour Party Henry Cooke (Stuff): Labour launch an extremely centrist campaign Audrey Young (Herald) Labour launch is a deliberately understated affair from Jacinda Ardern (paywalled) Audrey Young (Herald): Jacinda Ardern’s decision to ditch Labour manifesto carries risk (paywalled) Anna Bracewell-Worrall (Newshub): Labour planning to revisit coalition Government policy casualties Simon Wilson (Herald): Election diary: Happy ...10 hours ago
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From some quarters, incessant scaremongering. From others, it’s a full-on tilt into touching the alarmist buttons a little too readily (uncertain times make for very captive audiences with this angle of attack). The (so-called) Opposition (and merely regarding them as that seems to be a far looser term now ...2 days ago
National Party leader - Judith CollinsElections often bring out the best and worst in politicians. Some rise to the occasion and provide us with a clear vision for the future. While others wallow in resentment and controversy, over-relying on attack politics to try to attain the interest of voters.That’s been ...2 days ago
The attempts to sabotage Corbyn's leadership seems likely to do more damage than Corbyn supposedly ever could have done, even if all the stories about him were true: I was reluctant to say anything but this is too important, the full story needs to be told.Don’t let anyone ever tell ...2 days ago
Good day to everyone. I’ve been asked by Mr Thinks to come here and talk to you all about my concerns regarding the government response to Covid-19. We’ve been living through this pandemic for, what seems like, years. Years and years and years. Why else would the National Party have ...2 days ago
‘Good Economics for Hard Times’ should be on your reading list. New Zealand does not have a Minister of Labour. It has Ministers of Immigration and Workplace Relations and Safety but there is no minister with responsibility for the labour market. That responsibility was abolished in 2012 when ...3 days ago
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by Don Franks This talk was given to the Wellington Anti Capitalist Alliance, fifteen years ago. The ultimate weapons of mass destruction so far seen on this planet have been used just twice, 60 years ago this month. August 6 and August 9 1945 witnessed the US atomic bombing ...4 days ago
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Below is the list of gender-critical material which appeared on Redline from October 1, 2019 to October 31, 2019. Rainbow Tick threatens to pull Massey’s tick if lesbians are allowed to speak Freer Lives – a gender-critical Marxist site Freer Lives on Violence, debate and Britain’s Gender Recognition Act British ...2 weeks ago
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Uri Gal, Associate Professor in Business Information Systems, University of Sydney The recent questioning of the heads of Amazon, Facebook, Google and Apple in the US Congress has highlighted the threat their practices pose to our privacy and democracy. However these big ...18 mins ago
Good habits start young, and with Money Week this week, now is a great time to look at how we can support and nourish our kids’ financial journeys writes Banqer’s Simon Brown. For some reason, a lot of people see money as a boring topic. But the fact is, it’s a ...39 mins ago
A Ministerial Services inquiry has found no evidence of inappropriate spending by former government minister Iain Lees-Galloway. ...59 mins ago
Latest from the Beehive Here’s hoping the hundreds of millions of dollars pumped into Northland from the Provincial Growth Fund and other government programmes do much more to promote the region’s economic and social wellbeing than they are doing to enhance Shane Jones’ election prospects. He is bound to be ...4 hours ago
The company reporting season begins, a local takeover concludes and Freightways extends its emergency air freight services to Australia ...11 hours ago
Let's not delude ourselves, temporary migrant workers are being exploited in this country - and it's nothing new, writes Christina Stringer The reality of slavery, human trafficking and the exploitation of temporary migrant workers in New Zealand was exposed last month with the successful conviction of a 66-year-old man in the Napier ...12 hours ago
Belinda Cordwell remains New Zealand's highest-ranked singles tennis player, having climbed to No.17 in the world. But today you'll find her chasing sheep rather than a fuzzy green ball. You may remember Belinda Cordwell came within two victories of being New Zealand’s only woman Grand Slam tennis champion. But you might ...12 hours ago
How far away are vaccines which could end the pandemic and how many doses can be made quickly? Finding a vaccine which protects against the coronavirus which causes Covid-19 is seen as the best way to stop the continued spread of the disease. It's estimated around 70 percent of the ...12 hours ago
Kiwibank's initial plans to blacklist the adult entertainment industry ran into opposition from the New Zealand Prostitutes' Collective, but the bank is being urged to stick to its guns by Wahine Toa Rising - a new trans-Tasman group set up by ex-sex workers. Yvonne van Dongen reports Last month Kiwibank rolled ...12 hours ago
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Common wisdom says an outright majority is all but impossible under MMP - could that change in 2020? ...12 hours ago
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Binge-drinking in teenagers has dropped dramatically in the past 20 years - but the reasons for that are complex Teenage binge-drinking has "dropped off the cliff" in the last 20 years but until now, no one really knew why. A new paper, What explains the decline in adolescent binge-drinking in New ...13 hours ago
In its third major policy announcement, the Green Party has revealed a suite of plans to subsidise community-provided rental housing and boost the state housing build programme, Marc Daalder reports Amidst the Covid-19 pandemic and global economic meltdown, New Zealand's housing crisis has continued unabated. House prices are still surging and the ...1 day ago
Even simple steps in going green can have unexpected problems. Change wiring insulation to something soy-based, and rats are even happier to chew on it.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/nation-now/2018/05/07/rats-love-car-wiring-soy-based-insulation/588638002/
I gotta admit that when it comes to causing problems in new cars, it’s mostly just a “heh” moment for me. But if that problem spreads to wiring in buildings … well … vermin-damaged wiring is already a significant cause of fires with nasty toxic PVC insulation, so making the insulation more snackable is a definite worry.
Israeli war criminals still not being held to account by the media.
It wasn’t a clash.
It was a massacre.
Stop lying media.
Stop lying.
Headlines in the Herald!
New Zealand roundly condemns Israeli action in Gaza and calls in Israel’s ambassador for dressing down!
Nah, only kidding. We’d never do something so morally uplifting, would we?
I refuse to read that scum rag.
Roundly condemned, yes.
New Zealand to call in Israeli ambassador over Gaza deaths, yes.
You were saying?
Well, knock me down with a feather!
Perhaps there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon! Well done, this government.
Good to hear, take a stand NZ and remove the Israeli ambassador, through all the carnage during the conflicts of 2014, john key did diddly squat about it.
Meanwhile, Israel is celebrating today and those in Gaza are burying their dead (including children) the hospitals in Gaza are currently at breaking point.
Do we have an ambassador in Israel? I see that South Africa and Turkey have removed theirs.
Those two bastions of
democracy
No doubt you were an avid supporter of apartheid South Africa and cheered on as the racist regime massacred people at Sharpeville and Soweto.
Amazing you can defend the actions of the Israelis.
Comtemptible.
Tuppence will be an immigrant pom of the Thatcher loving type. He’ll think apartheid benefitted blacks and ended too soon.
Meanwhile the US has vetoed a UN call for an independent investigation into the cause of the Gaza killings.
Mind you we all know what caused it…
Some stupid prick had the bright idea that he should move the US Embassy to Jerusalem – I mean what could possibly go wrong? Now I hear 7 Republican Governors have endorsed him for a Peace Prize!
If, and it’s a big if, Trump’s payback by the Israelis for dropping the Iran deal and moving the embassy to Jerusalem is for them to cease all settlement building immediately then he deserves a nomination.
I doubt that will be the case though.
No Trump’s payback will be a theme park next to a Trump hotel like the one in Indonesia.
https://thinkprogress.org/white-house-chinese-financing-trump-project-violate-constitution-76456a21225a/
“Let’s call for restraint on both sides given where we’re at”.
So No Bridges wants the Palestinians to stop throwing rocks and the Israelis to stop killing people with shots from high-powered sniping rifles, reportedly to the head and genitals.
Well throwing rocks doesn’t seem to be working out too well does it greysie.
They don’t have much else to throw.
And expected someone treated like that to throw nothing is as callous as treating them like that in the first place.
Nothing callous about it. That makes no sense. Thinking you can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs would be callous.
Did you just call 58 dead “eggs”?
Your point is? You seem to have missed mine.
My point is that hamas isn’t averse to creating victims greysie.
Radio New Zealand please explain why you repeat the pr of dairy farming as news.
on the subject of rnz…
i have sworn off ‘the panel’ for a while now, however, while in the workshop yesty, my i pod went flat.
so i tuned into rnz, just in time to hear david farrar, excuse,diminish and celebrate the goings on in palestine.
i eventually calmed myself down from both the comments and the way an opposing point of view (allie jones from christchurch) was interupted.
it then became open season on the government performance for the national party pollster, advisor and princess party organiser. he was joined by a commenter who seemed to to be singing from the same songsheet.
i get the government is due to get criticised, but by a person holding such vile opinions is getting too much for me.
Go and have a nice cup of tea then if its all too much for you..
I listened too, and Allie Jones, representing the red team, was just as strong in presenting her point of view.
Its called debate where you contest ideas. This is what happens in a democracy. I presume you believe in democracy?
ha ha ha, believe in democracy.. excellent.
thigh slapping stuff.
i will take democracy without the lies, spin, lobbying and obfuscation thanks.
your view of red and blue, as ‘views’ is so last century.
do you agree with and share farrar’s view of the most recent deaths in palestine?
No I don’t agree with Farrar’s opinion re the current deaths in palestine.
I also didn’t agree with Jones views on the same show on Labour’s lack of preparedness when coming into govenment.
But I do agree with their right to express their opinions; even though I don’t agree with them.
This is an enduring principle of democracy, like all of the others; and one that is not time bound. Or do you consider this principle (and others) to be ‘so last century’. If so how do justify calling yourself a ‘democrat’? If in fact you do.
I don’t when those ‘opinions’ are manifestly wrong and supporting Israel’s slaughter of Palestinians is manifestly wrong on a public broadcast. There is neither right nor logic to Israel’s slaughter.
….he was joined by a commenter who seemed to to be singing from the same songsheet. “He” being David Farrar.
And by sheer chance (?) the guest commenter was Farrar’s favourite journalist, Richard Harman.
https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2016/05/why_richard_harman_is_the_best_political_journalist_in_nz.html
To paraphrase J M Barrie: Every time a National/ACT supporter says “silly little girl” somewhere a little girl resolves to never, ever, ever vote for them.
Sanctuary …100+++++
We could do an add like the “a little girl waits” ad”…………
Being killed in Palestine, Being killed in Yarmouk refugee camp, being killed in Latakia refugee camp, dying in the Mediterranean
The International Organization for Migration has called the Mediterranean “by far the world’s deadliest border,” as more than 33,000 migrants have died at sea trying to enter Europe since 2000.
http://syriadirect.org/news/history-is-repeating-itself-for-palestinian-refugees-displaced-for-second-time-in-south-damascus-evacuations/
“Gaza bleeds alone as liberals and progressives go mute”
Ramzy Baroud May 2, 2018
“Ramzy Baroud: bringing the voices of Palestine to NZ”
Kia Ora Gaza May 8, 2018
‘A horrific situation’: Dozens killed as US opens Jerusalem embassy
Ramzy Baroud May 15, 2018
For an authentic voice on the crisis in Palestine you won’t get anywhere else in New Zealand.
Ramzy Baroud New Zealand Tour
AUCKLAND: FRIDAY 18 MAY
9:35am: Listen to 95bFM radio for Mikey Havoc’s live studio interview with Ramzy Baroud
10:30am book signing event at UBIQ Auckland University Bookshop, 2 Alfred Street, Student Commons (off Princes Street, City.)
AUCKLAND: SATURDAY 19 MAY
Ramzy will speak at the Nakba Rally, 2pm Aotea Square, Queen St, CBD.
AUCKLAND: SUNDAY 20 MAY
Free public talk: 7pm Freemans Bay Community Hall, 52 Hepburn St, Auckland.
HAMILTON: MONDAY 21 MAY
Free public talk: 7pm: Wintec, Room A2.05, City Campus, Hamilton.
Access via Gate 3 or Gate 2 on Tristram Street. Free parking.
WELLINGTON: TUESDAY 22 MAY
Book signing from 12pm to 1pm: Vic Books, Easterfield Building, 1 Kelburn Parade, Wellington 6012. enquiries@vicbooks.co.nz
WELLINGTON: TUESDAY 22 MAY
Evening event: 6pm Free Public talk: St Andrews on the Terrace, 30 The Terrace, Wellington City 6011. (Wellington event book sales by Vic Books)
CHRISTCHURCH: WEDS 23 MAY
Free public talk: 7pm Christchurch Cardboard Cathedral, 234 Hereford St, Christchurch 8011
DUNEDIN: THURSDAY 24 MAY
Free public talk: 5:15pm Burns 2 Lecture theatre, Ground Floor Arts Building, Albany Street, University of Otago.
Thanks Jenny
+1
Malcolm Evans
https://thedailyblog.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Screen-Shot-2018-05-15-at-9.40.43-PM-768×502.png
Allowing holocaust deniers into New Zealand as they’re Palestinian supporters?
This is a new low
You’re saying Ramzy Baroud is a holocaust denier? Why?
Does this sound like Holocaust denial?
I wonder where you got your (apparently false) impression from. Care to share who’s been duping you?
Defending the massacre of unarmed civilians.
Shameful.
Kieren Read echoes the entire country’s thoughts on the Christchurch rebuild. He says the lack of progress on an indoor stadium reflects the lack of progress in Christchurch. John Key, Bingles and the previous National government crowed about the Christchurch rebuild being one of their crowning achievements. They said Christchurch would never stand alone.
The reality of National governments sucks eh, Christchurch.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/sport/2018/05/rugby-kieran-read-slams-lack-of-development-for-new-christchurch-stadium.html
Gerry Brownlee, the incompetent nincompoop who was appointed “Tsar” of Christchurch is primarily, obsessed with his own towering, but somehow also fragile, ego. His pathological levels of arrogance means he becomes becomes “incensed” at any criticism of his time in government, thinks he can pick and choose who talks to and dismiss anyone he doesn’t agree with with a maximum of condescending and patronising language.
His highly flawed character and refusal to listen to anyone who says anything he doesn’t like has made the rebuild of Christchurch a fiasco.
If the nats wanted to keep their base happy they could have poached a piece of stadium land in the cbd or very close to it after the quakes, and had people dreaming of a Lancaster Park of the future. Then they could have had the temporary stadium in the right place to start with instead of the middle of nowhere.
The temporary stadium cost $30 million, it needs some roofs at either end of the ground and the roofs on the sides need to be extended a bit. $40 million I reckon and you have a stadium that’s waterproof.
Dunedin is fine with it.
Dunedin has already established itself as the premier entertainment venue for sport and music in the South Island.
The Christchurch one won’t be seen for at least a decade.
In fact, but for the Christchurch disaster, Dunedin’s stadium project would have ended a few political careers.
Which shows the problem with NZ as a whole, there are certain things a city needs like museums, art galleries etc to be considered a city and not just a collection of people living in the same general area (IMHO) so the Dunedin stadium is a good idea as its adds to the city
Given the DCC was running around trying to close community things like bowling clubs, the stadium was ill-considered – in fact if you’re looking for ill-conceived projects world wide, stadiums are second only to convention centers for not paying their way.
Sure they don’t pay their way but neither do a lot of things a city requires, like museums and art galleries, however the Dunedin stadium seems to be doing good at putting Dunedin on the map in a positive way
True PR
I was agin it, it seemed OTT but literally having a roof over the top – which made it expensive – was a rational measure considering Dunedin’s cold weather. And with the change in climate and weather drops etc it could be wise in any of the big cities.
We have to realise that tourism and performances are businesses and keep the money flowing. There has to be lots of things happening for employment and money circulation, we aren’t just cows and houses.
So Dunedin will find it keeps them on the map. Even if it is a base investment that needs subsidising, it will be the ginger that keeps other business fizzing.
I’ll admit I have a bias in that I’m from Dunedin and a roofed stadium makes for better rugby 🙂
The point is, both convention centres and stadiums are unlikely to pay their way even using indicators like SROI (Social return on Investment), whereas other facilities such as libraries, and local sports clubs (and perhaps museums and art galleries) would.
I agree with the convention centre but i’d argue that the importance of rugby and/or other sports (whether some on here like it or not) and musical acts are as important to a city as an art gallary
Rugby is of national significance, but perhaps the funding of local sports clubs and investment at grassroots level would be a better return on investment – both economically and socially.
(Coming from a rugby mad household, I have no love for the game myself, so I can’t be bothered having a look for any comparative studies. Might be worth having a look at though, in terms of funding stadiums or grassroots clubs)
The Dunedin Stadium is doing its job bringing in anchor events and tens of thousands of visitors. How one determines that it ‘pays its way’ or indeed whether it needs to is a bureaucratic equation explained here:
http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/forsyth-barr-stadium/an-explanation-of-forsyth-barr-stadium-financials-september-2013
Dunedin is justifiably proud of its well conceived and highly effective stadium.
It’s a model that Auckland can but aspire to.
lol not all Dunedin, mate.
regardless of whether it turns out to be a net good, it was essentially a gift by rugby-loving councillors to the ORFU that turned into a badly-organised white elephant that still hasn’t had its true costs released. And apparently the concert sound can be hit-or-miss.
At least they’re finally getting in acts that started well after I was born, though. For the first several years it was like the same rich small-town businessmen who voted for it on council (some of them profiting from the land sale) had their personal spotify playlist as a booking guide.
But that’s all water under the bridge. There seems to be a bit more honest consultation regarding the waterfront redevelopment.
Indeed not all Dunedin.
My household pays Dunedin, Otago, and Wanaka rates into that stadium, and there’s one side of my household that will not visit the ForsythBarr stadium on principle. There’s no pleasing such (ahem) people.
I have a mate who just won’t STFU about how awful the plan was. As in almost every mention of the DCC or whatever brings a snide comment about the stadium.
I’m tempted to watch Frozen just so I know the song “let it go” lol
edit:
although on the other side, when the most recent hotel was declined ISTR a letter to the editor moaning that we didn’t get a smelter at Aramoana, either. Whingers have looooong memories 🙂
“close community things like bowling clubs”.
What on earth did Bowling Clubs have to do with the City Council?
Surely the Council didn’t own the land and provide the workers to maintain the greens did they?
If not what the hell did it have to do with them? Bowling clubs may be dying but if the people who play it are willing to keep the clubs going at their expense what does it have to do with anyone else?
Well, in one case the DCC owned the land, went to annual leases after the long term lease expired, and then sold the site.
Both stuff and the herald have launched one of their bleeding hearts crusades against poverty. How long before they say “Job done, our conscience is salved for now, fuck the poor lets get back to pimping the property market”… ?
12yrs ago I rented a 3brm house in a fairly affluent suburb on the North Shore in Auck for $270 per week. No catches, it was advertised in the ‘paper and was the typical basic weatherboard ’70s house in tidy condition. The same house now would easily fetch $600 per week.
At 18 I was earning adult wage doing shift work in a factory. I was paid the absolute minimum award wage, take-home pay was $96 per week. I was flatting and four of us were renting a nice 4brd house in a reasonable suburb in Auck for $50 per week. A 3brm house could be rented for half the miminum (award) wage.
Why are there working poor? Because they’re being bled dry by extortionate rents. No-one wants to admit it because the solution to usury rents is to lower the price of houses and we can’t have that can we. So they just chuck the poor a few crumbs every now & then to shut them up for a while.
+ yes rent exploited cannot thrive when they can’t get buy without charity.
Higher wages and subsidies only feed the rental beast.
https://i.stuff.co.nz/national/103761074/new-zealands-working-poor-and-the-push-to-understand-how-many-are-struggling
All many of us can do
QFT
Capitalism is based around unearned incomes. The ability of a few to own everything and thus live off of the work of everyone else.
The owners. the rentiers, are bludgers. Simple as that really.
The problem we have is that, as their bludging increases, it increases poverty and eventually collapses society. This is the path that the governments of the last thirty plus years have accelerated as they kowtowed to the rich.
“The UST 10yr yield is now at 3.08%, up +9 bps on the American inflation prospect. The Chinese 10yr is at 3.72% (up +1 bp) while the New Zealand equivalent is at 2.77% (up +4 bps).”
https://www.interest.co.nz/news/93747/dairy-prices-rise-us-inflation-jumps-canadian-house-prices-slump-china-electricity
Who thinks that having part ownership of a house and a mortgage of $400k is affordable and still live in Auckland ??
“There’s no way they could take on a $600,000 mortgage – a $400,000 mortgage, maybe, then you’d get a much bigger group of people.”
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=12051840
The NZ dream of owning your own home has “officially” been declared dead and buried. Thanks you to BOTH Nats and Lab for policies that have led up to this.
It had initially promised to build houses for between $500,000 and $600,000. They will now be priced according to the number of bedrooms, and three-bedroom homes will be sold for $650,000 – higher than promised during the election.
No What was promised “The stand-alone KiwiBuild homes in Auckland will be priced at $500,000-$600,000 with apartments and TERRACED HOUSES UNDER $500,000. ”
https://www.labour.org.nz/kiwibuild
I really feel for the current government, national left behind a huge mess, it’s like every day we learn more about the disaster of the last nine years.
The new government is doing everything they can. Looking forward to the budget tomorrow.
And “Amy Adams: Careless fiscal strategy will send nation into decline.”
A bit sad is Amy because she can only put out her plaintive Chicken Licken doom is nigh line as she struggles to be credible any more. A good example of unaccepting defeat.
@ Cinny, Yes but Rogernomics started it. Labour lit the fuse and National ignited it. Labour still find it hard to come to terms, that rogernomics and free trade and liberalisation has created the increasing inequality. All the government subsidies like WFF and accomodation allowance and all the handouts to developers isn’t working, because it is based on a profit model not a long term and practical social good model.
If the main driver of everything is low cost and profit and a business gets more rights as an entity than a person, an offshore person or business has the same rights as a Kiwi or a Kiwi business so someone who pays 50 cents an hour is competing against $16 p/h , then of course we are going to have leaky buildings, lowered wages and high house prices, increasing bio security risks, more pollution and drop to the bottom.
What National has done is despicable and the Ponzi scheme worked for a bit but the wheels are coming off. Labour is better but still suffer from similar ideology for the most part such as TPPA and PPP’s and a lack of analysis of what went wrong and why.
But providing financial support for families with children is nothing new and nothing to do with Neo-liberalism:
https://teara.govt.nz/en/family-welfare/page-4
Yes but globalism and the rise of tax havens and use of vehicles to blur the assets someone owns, so rich can be poor, has changed the equation and criteria of who we should be supporting. See 14.1.1.
What is going to happen within one generation, if less and less people are actually working in NZ and more and more people qualify for welfare well beyond natural population growth.
Can’t see how your rant at 14.1.1 has any relevance to my point. If you actually read what i have quoted you will see that “in 1946 universal family-benefit payments replaced means-tested family allowances”, so wealthy people got this in the past. Likewise owning a house has never ruled someone out of receiving the DPD.
You are just a xenophobe who gets all wound up when immigrants and the children of immigrants get the same allowances as the rest of us.
Well I do when the rest of us actually work and pay the taxes. The end result will no welfare at all if this abuse is allowed to continue. Obviously that’s fine if you are the ‘fake’ poor but less fine if you are the ‘real’ poor.
We are a country of only 4.5 million people – where do you think the tipping point will be 1 million people accessing NZ welfare, 2 million, 3 million…
If there’s a progressive taxation system, there’s no reason 4.5million shouldn’t get some benefit if the math adds up.
Now, that’s a lot of math, and to my mind UBI proponents tend towards a bit of hand-waving in the gap ‘twixt money in and money out, but it’s a logical possibility that deserves more than a simple rhetorical escalation.
I don’t think you should call savenz names solkta.
The situation is difficult and there is no easy answer that will please everyone and it needs to be looked at from all perspectives. It might not please you to have one point looked at and questioned which you might favour. The same will apply to someone else and their preference.
The right way may put limits on you, or me but the hard work of thinking it through should be done by people who are concerned about we people. Otherwise things can get bad and all of a sudden it’s TINA and machine-minds from Treasury and haute finance impose their favourite theories.
Do you really think the current government weren’t able to work out from available information how much they would be able to build and sell “affordable” housing for?
Yes National did fuck all to control housing prices but Labour promised prices far below what could be achieved and as much as I hate to admit it I am pretty sure it was pointed out to them at the time.
True but at least NZFLG admit there is a problem.
Come on cinny all power to you been a COL supporter but don’t believe every thing your fed, judge government with an open mind on their actions and outcomes not words, inputs and excuses
I certainly judged Ponyboy on his lies and fudging beewee.
Yeah but it’s like who knew the extent ChCh appeared to be screwed over by the last lot, or middlemore etc, for example, and did our new government have knowledge of those two big issues prior to the election?
And how about the cattle disease? Did the prior government know how much damage they had done by not doing enough and the cost of their negligence? Do they care?
I knew it would be bad, but dang I didn’t think it would be that bad.
It’s impossible to leave the current bubble intact and build truly affordable houses. The bubble precludes affordability for the majority.
Deflate the bubble by turning down the immigration tap and making owning houses you don’t live in yourself, and land that is rezoned as residential, really unattractive as investments.
Serco strikes again.
When will the rabid right accept that private industry cannot run core social services satisfactorily?
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2018/05/death-at-wiri-prison.html
Come on Muttonbird, the rabid ideologies of the right can’t even accept they are ideologies.
So how can they see their own failures?
So a prisoner dying is a sign that private industry can’t run core social services
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11764877
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/99184832/prisoner-stabbed-in-gangrelated-assault-at-maximumsecurity-auckland-prison
https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/76819718/Death-at-Auckland-Prison-in-Paremoremo
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11516982
Looks like the state isn’t up to it either
2015-2017, comparatively recently – perhaps even since Serco years for those linked items.
Prisons have for some time been under pressure from poor overcrowded conditions and trying to cope with gang stresses
for some time. The state didn’t want to cope and are paying Serco to remove the problem to as great a distance as possible. Which they are doing but not well enough to keep the problem out of the limelight.
It is government that can improve things by getting rid of Serco and instituting single cells again, and not holding so many on bail. And possibly changing the whole arid sexless system, to one that goes for habilitation.
Another right wing commentator on this site deliberately misrepresenting what I said.
Sheesh do you guys need reading glasses or somthing?
Ideologies of the right persuasion are completely, and deeply emotionally committed to it, it seems
The fact you have to lie to defend your bat shit crazy ideological position is at the end of the day, quite funny.
So once again that’s for proving my point Puckish Rogue, ideological purists are quite dangerous – thank goodness they are out of government.
Trump’s Nobel prize under threat.
http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/world/2018/05/north-korea-threatens-to-cancel-trump-meeting-after-military-drills-in-south-korea.html
Vancouver’s Hot Housing Market Gets Tougher for Wealthy Chinese
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-20/british-columbia-extends-housing-crackdown-with-tax-increases
“Starting Wednesday, foreigners will pay the province a 20 percent tax on top of the listing value, up from 15 percent now, and a levy on property speculators will be introduced later this year, according to budget documents released Tuesday. The government will also crack down on the condo pre-sale market and beneficial ownership to ensure that property flippers, offshore trusts and hidden investors are paying taxes on gains.”
“The levy, she said, will also capture “satellite families” — a term with Chinese origins to describe those families where the breadwinner remains in the home country while the children and spouse reside abroad to take advantage of educational and employment opportunities.”
Satellite families are here too. Been going on for ages.
Nat voters of course don’t see the problem as long as their property portfolios show gains.
Yes, but NZ is completely blind to what’s going on. One family is just bringing in more and more relatives under whatever weird rules NZ has. This is a real example of people I know living in Auckland – note they are NOT Chinese – it’s NOT just a Chinese issue.
Wealthy family arrive in NZ with 3 children under some investor category about 20 years ago both not speaking English and buy up some property. Husband leaves NZ and wife files for ‘abandonment’ and goes on DPB with 2 children even though she has a million dollar house. Husband takes other child back to home country. NZ Children grow up as NZ citizens with dual passports and go to university here. They marry and new partners get NZ citizenship and they leave to get good jobs overseas while buying up property in NZ. Aged parents arrive in NZ to look after grandkids and can get residency. The child that went back with Father as a child, comes to NZ not speaking English with new partner and has two kids and they get residency and access WFF and various government welfare for their low wage job and they bring over their aged parents to look after the kids.
So now we somehow have a family who have been on NZ social welfare all their lives while being uber wealthy and working offshore, and at this stage we have 4 aged parents, the main person who originally got residency who never worked and was on the DPB living in the million dollar house who now will get super as well, and 3 adult kids, 3 adult partners of which only one works in NZ (the one that did not get educated in NZ and has a low wage job and gets WFF stayed in NZ) and the other two tertiary educated in NZ are offshore workers and their two young children going to school here.
All their assets are in companies so apparently they own nothing.
That’s just one family where one family that has never worked in NZ, is now somehow about 20+ people with marriages etc, who have accessed NZ welfare systems most of their lives and buy property here without ever working here! They need to urgently tighten up the laws!
savenz
I have heard hints about this but not seen it exposed so brightly. Thanks we need to know this.
Just how is anything “exposed”.
Suppose I simply reproduced this but claimed that the people were, say, “Pacific Islanders” but gave no real evidence would you jump in and say we should keep out all Pacific Islanders from coming here?
Such a story, without names doesn’t actually expose anything.
Insert your own names to appreciate the scenario.
The difference up until 20 years ago it was much harder and more expensive to travel and people were not getting divorced at the drop of a hat. People don’t even marry now, they have multiple relationships and children through their lifetime with different partners.
It’s a whole new society now and the tax laws and residency laws are still working on 1 migrant comes and works in NZ and marries one person and has 2 kids that they support..like 20 years ago, no longer happening in society…
@alwyn. No it is NOT Pacific Islanders, it’s an Asian country – not China – but now the 2nd generation have married native Chinese then their Chinese parents and relatives can also come into NZ under what ever weird loop hole there is.
Does it really matter what race they are, satellite families is a recent world wide issue, that needs to be addressed as it is disproportionally affecting NZ as we have a low population.
Even the voting rights for example when you have more people not living in a country or even speaking the language but have full voting rights and able to access family welfare in NZ on a large scale through marriages etc.
Surely it should be of concern whether you are a righty or a lefty?
It’s one thing to be a migrant and for what ever reason you are poor but you battle on in NZ and may need to access welfare. But to be rich get all the benefits of NZ society without paying taxes, and NZ allows it to be a place to send your relatives who are poorly educated to work and access welfare top ups, free health, super and gold cared for your elderly relatives who don’t work and free health, education and so forth for all your children who don’t work, who when becoming successful go overseas.
How will a capital gains or higher taxes tax those people? They pay no taxes so higher taxes doesn’t work and they can avoid capital gains by putting the houses and assets into individual names of relatives as their primary residence.
So any new taxes enable those satellite families to become richer while taxing tax resident families more and giving more voting rights to them to continue.
@Alwyn – also Pacific Islanders have low population in their country so are hardly going to create a massive social change in NZ within a few decades which is currently happening. They have historically worked in NZ when they come here and retire back in the Pacific, I don’t think they really fit the profile of what is happening with the rise of satellite families mostly from Asia that clearly is hitting Canada for example.
Pacific Islanders are also are not generally buying up million dollar houses for their relatives to live in NZ or leaving them empty, so not creating a shortage of houses and a market for larger houses that cost more or have a government political strategy to execute here.
Canada’s plan to tax foreign investors is already working
HOUSE prices in Toronto have fallen dramatically after a new tax on foreign investors was introduced. Should Australia follow suit?
“Announcing the measure, the government of British Columbia said the tax was intended to help cool the province’s booming property market, where demand from foreign investors — many from China — had increased the cost of a detached home some 39 per cent in just 12 months.
“There is evidence now that suggests that very wealthy foreign buyers have raised the price of housing for people in British Columbia,” the province’s premier Christy Clark said at the time.
“The foreign buyer tax is intended to make sure we can keep home ownership within the reach of the middle class.
“I make no apologies for that.”
http://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/buying/canadas-plan-to-tax-foreign-investors-is-already-working/news-story/38af5331ef2fd9c9730dc5b24c8096e5
Can you please explain what a tax on foreign investors in British Columbia has to do with supposedly massive house price falls in Toronto?
Toronto is in Ontario and is about 4,000 km East of Vancouver. If house prices in Vancouver fell when a tax is introduced while at the same time prices fell even more in Toronto without such a tax surely it provides no evidence at all that the tax does any good?
Do you think that the person who wrote this doesn’t actually have any idea at all about the Geography of Canada?
I’m sure they meant Vancouver.
BC have introduced a tax on foreign investors, and yes it is having the desired effect of:
a. bringing house prices down and
b. stopping the crazy practice of investing in houses for monetary gain. Like the dutch and their tulip bulbs.
I visited Vancouver in 2014 and was amazed to see rows of houses boarded up – this was before the fall when Canadians board up their houses for the winter. These apparently were all investment houses bought by foreign investors and left empty – to be on sold later for Capital gain. Vancouver’s housing market (like Auckland’s Melbourne’s and Sydney’s) was going through the roof at the time. Vancouver was also experiencing the same problems with increasing homelessness, as locals – no longer able to afford the skyrocketing rentals from a reducing housing stock (the houses were being bought up and left empty) were forced out of their homes.
I understand that those overseas investors are now targeting Toronto. So I guess Ontario will be forced to follow BC’s lead and introduce a tax as well.
I’m really concerned about this idea of an interest free loan to first home buyers because of a number of reasons all to do with inflaming house price and rent extortion further.
If they do this it should go to people shut out if social housing due to disability needs not being met.
Yet another subsidy idea, while not addressing why they now need to subsidise so many people…
…but if its free, why wouldn’t you want it? Surely you cannot discriminate who you give free stuff to. It’s either free for all, nothing is free for anyone.
Finance wouldn’t be needed or considered for the real strugglers if there were more state housing for them. Stop playing around with the problem government. Provide plain but reasonable living accommodation and run it to some standards, with advantages for keeping to them, and loss of privileges for not.
One part of the problem is that some of the lowest strugglers aren’t coping at any level, and no-one is going to take them in, they need pastoral care. For the really poor and needy people have concrete apartments up to 3 stories high, two apartments of two bedrooms each at each level. These can be available for those who haven’t learned to manage their lives without drunkenness and kicking walls in etc. Give them somewhere to live, and then give them pastoral care to help them make their lives in a self-respecting way.
I lived in a concrete apartment block in Melbourne. Good, and strong, fit for the purpose of rental.
Finance is easier to magic into existence than 100,000 homes. The latter takes time, the former can be implemented within weeks of announcement if not sooner.
Doesn’t make it the right thing to do. In fact, it provides nothing at all in terms of living quarters for those unable to find a place to sleep tonight. Might as well focus on the right issue, and solve that, instead of identifying another instance and making a token gesture.
There’s no single right thing to do.
Agree. Yet that is the first horse from the gate, and gives an indication that housing is about getting the middle class into owning homes rather than recognising the real crisis is that many cannot find somewhere to live, renting or otherwise.
The fiscal responsibility restriction that they have committed themselves to is only part of the problem. I would like the government to indicate that they recognise the housing crisis is a crisis for more than just the disappointed home buyers. And this action keeps feeding the inflationary nature of house prices in NZ.
ISTR that they’re also building houses and making housingnz a housing provider rather than a profit generating exercise. I believe they’ve stopped the housing sell off and have committed to increasing the HNZ stock.
But as I said, finance is the easy to do quickly. So they’ve done that too.
It feels like Christmas Eve today.
The day before the budget. The budget which will signify the beginning of the transformation of our great country from the corporate run shit box it is today, to a truly wonderful country that works together for all.
The budget to end poverty and homelessness.
The budget to end the underfunding of schools and hospitals.
The budget to end corporate greed.
The budget to end the hopeless situation our working poor have been in for the past 9 years.
I am very very excited about what tomorrow will start.
Not sure if genuine or sarcasm…
Indeed, Puck.
To clarify PR – I don’t think tomorrow will result in ending all those issues, but it will show a change of direction which will begin the process of eliminating those things.
That is why I am excited.
Does it have to be either of those things? Does your radar not detect irony, despair, hope, faith…?
I was hoping for sarcasm otherwise Enough might be a little disappointed tomorrow
More good news for the poor – not.
“Tax hikes imposed or announced under the Labour Government have hurt the poorest the most, and it is planning more regressive taxes in the years to come.”
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/103942557/addiction-to-cigarette-taxes-rising-to-22b
the Chairman read Gordon Campbell latest article on the poor and regressive tax. I trust his view point 100%
Thanks for pointing out the article, ankerawshark.
Let’s have a look at Jacinda’s spin from the article.
The criticism being offered, Ardern continued, implies that all those families smoked. “The reference to excise [tax on petrol] if we’re talking about someone in regional New Zealand, would amount to 3 cents [per litre] Does $75 dollars [per week] make up for that? Yes, it does.”
First off, re the number of low income smokers, it was reported in the same article that it sits at around 30 to 40%. So on top of the 3 cents per litre, 30 to 40 percent will be impacted by tax increases on tobacco.
Now lets look at the 3 cents per litre claim.
Jacinda overlooked (intentionally or not) that the prices of all goods and services will also be impacted as the burden of the 3 cents per litre increase will be passed on. Will the $75 on average be enough to offset that?
Additionally, those struggling that don’t have kids or their kids are now adults don’t get to receive a Families Package. So there is no offsetting for them.
Next, lets look at the winter energy payment. They seem to be a front runner for what the Government has in the pipeline – see link provided below.
From the link below. “The industry’s solution is for taxpayers to subsidise electricity purchases by the poor, thereby underwriting the electricity industry’s profits in the same way as the Accommodation Supplement has enabled landlords to hold up rents.
“Woods duly refers to ‘the wider context of supporting New Zealanders to afford their energy bills'”
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/opinion/102708888/way-to-be-cleared-for-big-electricity-players-to-prey-on-lowincome-households
On top of all that, income tax (which is progressive) has been ruled out from the tax working group’s terms of reference.
So once we breakdown the spin we soon realise the touted benefits are unlikely to outweigh the mounting new costs the poor will face going forward.
Respect for workers, even skilled ones, comes second to squeezing the utmost out of them and reducing labour costs, boosting profits. Even for air traffic controllers who keep us safe, and keep the height of confidence in airlines and airports high, so also keeping their share prices high.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/headlines.cfm?c_id=3
BUSINESS
Nine-hour shift, no toilet break: Air traffic controllers fight for toilet change
16 May, 2018 9:56am
Quick Read
Solo controllers take ”creative ways” to relieve themselves while managing air traffic
(And greedy share market expectations for high returns not met because of investment in business development cause a drop in A2 milk shares for that reason. They don’t want to invest in a solid forward-looking good business, they just want to spin the roulette wheel winning all the way.)
A2 Milk’s share price crashes, pulls down entire market.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12052316
I wonder how much the Government Super Fund, now operating under their investment orders from the Government, have got invested in A2?
Actually, however much it is it would still be a better investment than putting money into the Auckland tram system that Goff and Genter are so keen on throwing money at. That will prove to be a good way to lose the lot.
This is why we have a deteriorating environment:
And this is why it keeps happening:
They’ve done the crime, admitted to it even, and then structured their finances in such a way so as not to pay.
This is why the government needs to change the law so that the finances can be traced and all of it returned to the government. Leave these fuckers with nothing.
+1 Draco.
+100 Draco
Agree strongly!, time and time again criminal acts which accrue large sums of $$ for the offenders fall into a hole when it comes to compensating victims or paying fines. Money is sequestered into trusts or other worm holes to different dimensions and after playing golf, doing a few courses or having adverse social talking points jewellery for a bit the crims still get to enjoy their ill gotten gains.
Quite rightly the police swoop on the likes of head hunters presidents etc and grab everything as proceeds of crimes (act) leaving it to the offenders to prove from whence all the toys came from.
Maybe it’s time the same tactics were employed on farmers like these two, and other white collar crims still enjoying being broke but driving the trusts bimmer and living in the trusts Parnell digs.
Putting a huge amount of effluent into a river would be a health hazard to everyone downstream, surely.
Forget environmental policy, do them under OSH. The managers/directors will be personally liable.
And the council dropped the personal charges, relying solely on the easily-dodged corporate ones. Muppets.
Do you feel the same way about the attempts of King Salmon to get the tax-payer to pay for cleaning up the mess they are making in the Marlborough Sounds?
As far as I can see the company is causing the mess, and has plenty of money to fix it.
What the hell are those bludgers up to? I like their product but I don’t see why I, as a taxpayer, should have to clean up after them.
Still I imagine Shane Jones will kick in from the slush fund. Winston likes seafood companies.
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/357367/thousand-tonnes-of-dead-fish-poses-problem-for-king-salmon
Well, almost – it’s more looking for a better way of disposing of waste and turning it into a product, rather than just cleaning it up.
So a 50/50 investment by the government would generate more tax revenue over time than was spent, rather than it simply being cleaning up after companies that ran cheap to strip profit and then wound up assetless before they got held to account.
But without looking more closely at the situation it’s difficult to tell whether the delays if the company doesn’t get the govt cash are real cashflow constraints, or just a bit of hopeful accounting looking for a subsidy.
King Salmon should build a fishmeal plant, that would take care of it.
Climate change strikes again, those rising sea temperatures, dead fish, high priced salmon, strains on those restaurants who use their product, due to inconsistency in availability, least that’s the word on the street.
Warning sounded over China’s ‘debtbook diplomacy’
Academics identify 16 countries loaned billions that they can’t afford to repay
“China’s methods were “remarkably consistent”, the report said, beginning with infrastructure investments under its $1tn belt and road initiative, and offering longer term loans with extended grace periods, which was appealing to countries with weaker economies and governance.
Construction projects, which the report said had a reputation for running over budget and yielding underwhelming returns, make debt repayments for the host nations more difficult.
“The final phase is debt collection,” it said. “When countries prove unable to pay back their debts, China has already and is likely to continue to offer debt-forgiveness in exchange for both political influence and strategic equities.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/15/warning-sounded-over-chinas-debtbook-diplomacy
This (link below) is well worth a look
Sounds exactly like what the West did.
Confessions of an economic Hitman
Pretty much.
The Chinese make better roads though, lol
Yes but I guess at least with the west you can vote them out, hopefully.
Yes you can vote an administration out.Unfortunately you can not vote the debt out.Private bondholders especially are insistent and persistant in wanting their pound of flesh.
Some would say that the slim hope is more a means of control than empowerment.
But all we can do is keep NZ dancing around the elephants’ feet, trying to avoid being trodden on.
Maybe we should learn a trick or two from our national bird, and use camouflage against super powers…
the reality of what happens to natives, have a look at what’s happened over the years to our native birds – marooned onto smaller and smaller places like Tiritiri Matangi Island …
There’s also an art to being one of the weaker members in the game of bullrush, as I recall.
The trains …
Radio comment reported in full on Scoop.
http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=109380
Dr Roger Blakeley is a former Secretary for the Environment. Bob Norman is a former Commissioner of Works. Alex Gray is a professional civil engineer and Senior Project Manager. Keith Flinders is an Electrical Services Consultant.
4 Points –
1. Costs of Diesel v Electric Locomotives.
2. Reliability and Time performance
3. Greenhouse gas emissions
4. Towards Full Electrification of the North Island Main Trunk
The facts in plain language – a must read.
Dr Blakely was also the chief planning officer for Auckland Council to help negotiate it through the Unitary Plan process, after he had worked with Porirua District Council (IIRC), noted for it’s community planning processes.
I spoke to him at one of the last Auckland conversations I attended, and he said he was looking forward to going back to Wellington and working on national issues there.
TBH, reading the article it seems that Kiwirail (by continuing to misuse figures and conclusions found to be flawed) is positioning itself for a subsidy if the government decides to follow through on its transition policy. There may be another reason for such determined adherence to diesel, but I’m thinking that is probably the most likely.
Molly, as you say-follow the money. I wonder whether there are other money-driven motives in the deals which would be struck with the suppliers of the trains, as to whether they be electric or diesel.
Whatever it is, this debate has been going on for years about the diesel versus electric options, and also about the quality of the Chinese diesels. I just googled ‘trains purchase from China’ and got good media coverage. The issue is not new but may be for the new Minister.
There is no sign yet of a national rail strategy from this government.
Easy to blame the Kiwirail Board, when it’s not now.
This government are very keen on electrified light rail funneled through NZTA.
But when it come to Kiwirail they show no sign of a single nationwide role and purpose, instead choosing to improve its network RLTP by RLTP.
When will OUR Labour leaders speak with similar forthrightness?
http://normanfinkelstein.com/2018/05/16/uk-shadow-foreign-secretary-condemns-israels-calculated-and-deliberate-policy-to-kill-and-maim-unarmed-protestors/
Good morning The AM Show
When the Labour government is in power they spent a bit more on service and social services the people who receive this income don’t invest it in shears or property they spend it so the reality is a labour lead government allways gets more revenue flowing in our tax system that’s a fact. Ka kite ano.
Does the Govt have the money? Yes
EXPLAINER: Cutting through the spin on how much money the Government has to spend this year.
P.S ECO MAORI has to choose his words Wisley Ka kite ano