As in Greece struggle between bailing out the bankers and financiers and cutting everywhere else, means that a victory of the wharfies takes on a greater significance.
From now on, a defeat for any organised workforce will mean less ability for working people to resist austerity.
Yes, of course they knew it was coming, and still they try to gild the lily:
But Mr English said New Zealanders “need to get conditioned to that”. “This kind of news about Europe is going to stay like this for a number of years. We don’t want to be overly focused on it because our prospects are still pretty good.”
And did anyone really believe the “Dutch” auction when Nat and Lab were out doing themselves to achieve a surplus around 2015?
Unfortunately it will we you and I who suffer from these fools false hopes.
As a note I saw on the news last night that 2/3 of the reduction in the armed forces is from uniformed servicemen and that the corporate office is still untouched at 70, and we were informed that there was to be no loss in front line serviceman.
I knew New Zealand would end up copping some form of austerity. The list of cuts is probably sitting in a drawer waiting to be dusted off.
Given that we are still feeling the effects of our last set of austerity measures, the 1991 budget, and to a lesser extent, the 1997-98 cuts in response to the Asian crisis, things arent going to be good.
And what is worse, is that the wealthy won’t be called upon to pay a single cent in extra tax. It will be everyone else who will bear the burden.
The group led by Sir Michael Fay behind a New Zealand bid for Crafar farms will today raise the stakes by promising to match or better the rival Chinese bidder on a raft of promises that helped swing the Government’s approval.
The move comes as Prime Minister John Key signals a law change is unlikely in response to a High Court ruling that potentially sets a high bar on future purchases by foreign investors.
Mr Key said any law change was unlikely to get the numbers in Parliament – and UnitedFuture leader Peter Dunne, on whose vote any law change is likely to hinge, confirmed yesterday his support was not guaranteed.
But the Government also appears to have little stomach anyway for a political battle over freeing up foreign investment rules in the face of loud opposition from Labour, the Greens and NZ First.
So, first cracks (or maybe the second after the Maori Party issues) in this “landslide” government. Good on the opposition for the early concerted pressure. I’ve liked the way in Pariament this week, that the opposition parties have come in with various supplementaries following a primary question on Crafar/assett sales by one of the parties – a concerted & fairly united approach to keeping the pressure on the government..
Michael Fay’s PR team have not yet put up a proposition to the seller Westpac. Any contract is willing buyer willing seller not a PR exercise.
They sort of talked about offer is $57 million below the Chinese, with all sorts of promises.
Crafer now says that he wants to buy back his onetime farms, which he disgracefully ran into the ground, and went bankrupt.
To cancel the Chinese bid would be a shocking look for New Zealand, but I assume that is what so many want ?
The James Cameron sale would have to be cancelled along with a number of other potential purchases currently with the IOI.
In Britain free labour from young people started with intern schemes for graduates, then community work for the dole schemes that are expanding quite rapidly into big high street firms, like Tescos
unpaid work – bad enough when it applied to supposed “interns”, but grim beyond belief when used on the unemployed – is now being built into what some people call The New Normal. Given the thousands involved, it clearly represents a boon to the kind of multinational giants whose profit margins must be creeping upwards thanks to the plentiful supply of people – and please, all you free-marketeers, read this bit slowly – effectively paid a pittance to work for them by the taxpayer.
Get that? The taxpayer is paying people to work in menial jobs at big firms – how can this reduce unemployment? or provide skills training? A revolving door of people being paid job-seekers allowance for 26 weeks to stack supermarket shelves and the like, will surely increase unemployment as big firms use free labour.
Probably, this government will do pretty much anything to boost the profits of the corporates. I’ve already heard of some businesses wanting a two week period to “see if you fit the culture” where you work for nothing. I wouldn’t be surprised if some people, desperate for work, are falling for it.
then community work for the dole schemes that are expanding quite rapidly into big high street firms, like Tescos
A British friend of mine (a retired economist!) is helping organise protests against Tescos this weekend…
I was reading a site about propaganda earlier today, and the guy has a list of ‘positive’ words Newt Gingrich was distributing to Republicans … the last word on the positive list (for candidates to use) was “workfare“.
Good to hear, at least the Brits protest injustice… It gets worse though. I’d read about the new assessment procedures for disability that, now, almost everyone acknowledges are faulty, but I’d not realised this was in the pipeline
The new policy, outlined by DWP officials in meetings with disabilities groups, is due to be announced after legal changes contained in clause 54 of the welfare reform bill have made their way through parliament.
So those with sometimes serious disabilities will be in work placements, as the healthy unemployed are, but without the 26 week time limit. A permanent free workforce for the corporates. Who cares about reduced productivity when you’re not paying them yourself.
The policy could mean that those on employment and support allowance who have been placed in the work-related activity group (Wrag) could be compelled to undertake work experience for charities, public bodies and high-street retailers. The Wrag group includes those who have been diagnosed with terminal cancer but have more than six months to live; accident and stroke victims; and some of those with mental health issues.
In official notes from a meeting on 1 December last year, DWP advisers revealed they were not intending to put a time limit on the work experience placements.
So a free permanent workforce for the corporates, without the 26-week limit. Who cares about productivity when you’re not paying for workers yourself.
That is totally unfair. He has worked backwards from – We need a surplus in year 2015: We have these income and these expenses = A deficit. Asset sales = deficit + $1b = $1b surplus. So aseet sales = X. Not a real guess just a means of balancingthe books 😉
If he is not taking responsibility for his portfolio and decisions made by the government, he must be dismissing himself from the government. Early election here we come.
Do you really think that English/Treasury do not have a very good idea of the partial sales share values.
They are not going to tell you, or me, as its commercially sensitive, as to offer price.
John Armstrong in the Herald today believes that there was a great deal of media dissing yesterday in English’s comments, and that he fooled them sucessfully, along with many others.
The other point being that the actual price, like any export product (sorry “mums & dads”, you don’t have the capital to be a player in this game), will vary wildly with the exchange rate at the time.
Which throws another flavour into the mix. 5-7bil is a best guess, 6bil is an arbitrary stab within that, and it’s all based on the entrails-reading that is economic prediction.
And the funny thing is that it’s so easy to determine what they’re actually worth – just calculate how much it would cost to build them at today’s prices. Anybody paying less than that isn’t paying enough and, I suspect, that price is far above the guessed $6b.
borrowing bungling blithering bills english double dipping double downgrader DIPstick from dipton,
Worst finance minister in modern New Zealand history!
Rebalancing the economy in favour of a few very well off.
“…The Decorah Bald Eagle Cam, last year’s runaway internet sensation, is back.
Go do whatever you need to for the next few months right now.
You might not get much done once the eaglets hatch.
Last year, more than 200,000 people from about 180 countries watched eagle parents hatch three eggs – brave bad weather – raise their chicks and teach them to fly in Decorah, Iowa.
The eagle cam, Wired Science’s most popular post of 2011 created our very own online community of eaglophiles.
So many people tuned in the traffic crashed our website more than once.
Simple see. We have to put an extra charge onto the ACC levy, a top up if you will, on account of how the private sector wouldn’t be able to compete with ACC because ACC doesnae have to make a profit. This means that ACC can provide the service for a lower cost to employers, obviously enough, so we oughtta make the ACC charge more so that employers will pay more in the new competitive era, which will be more efficient all round. Unfortunately, this might mean that the ACC will build up lots of money in its accounts, because we will be making it charge more than it needs to, so we’ll make them give any excess money they might build up to treasury. This is the only way we can make the new competitive model work and thereby deliver efficiencies to the economy.
.
So we have to pay more in order to allow competition, which is meant to result in us paying less.
Fuck, that is just fucking dopey dumb, brainless logic out the window, head in the clouds, looney tunes, crappola of the highest order.
Smith should be put in the stocks for public ridicule for the most brainless type of thinking EVER exhibited by a politician. Surely this cannot be so – someone please tell me it is not going to be…
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
So we have to pay more in order to allow competition, which is meant to result in us paying less.
You’d think the economists and politicians would be starting to wake up to reality by now wouldn’t you? Considering that all their theories are falling down and this (competition reduces prices) was a main one. Now, in the real world, we’re finding that it doesn’t – it raises costs but reduces profits.
This numbskull thinking must be rammed at the Nats….
…alongside the sideways glances the public are already throwing their way for the brainlessness of foreign landlords, asset sales, Crafar Farms decision and the like…
I am gobsmacked.
The rest of NZ surely will be too when they read it.
Labour says the paper, prepared before the election, proposes introducing new four levies on insurers to meet the additional costs on ACC when it is opened to competition.
Its ACC spokesman Andrew Little said privatisation would create a huge new bureaucracy and was likely to increase costs to employers and workers.
“There is nothing efficient in this plan.”
Wow, really? Now, will you (Labour) get around to saying the same thing about telecommunications and power?
Meanwhile, inspite of having paid my ACC levies, most people who know how serious my injury was, and how far I am from full recovery can’t believe that, not only did ACC stopped giving me physio a while ago and are continuing to quibble about re-instating it, but people can’t believe I haven’t been given a regular long-term allowance for physio.
Cutting costs and services provided by ACC, and raising the levies so that parasitic businesses can make a profit from providing an even worse service for ordinary Kiwi levy-payers…..
So, ordinary tax & levy paying Kiwis, if you can’t stop this privatisation of ACC, be VERY careful that you don’t get injured in future, because you probably won’t get the care you need…..AND, watch out for those employers who try to get away with cutting Health and Safety provisions….
Not sure how I feel after watching that, many more people need to take 30 minutes out of their lives to watch it.
It is coming to a town near here in the very near future.
Thanks for posting the link.
For what its worth, many students resort to prostitution to pay for their studies. At least, that was the case in the late nineties when I interviewed some students who were doing so for a newspaper article. I also quoted the regional head of the Prostitutes’ Collective who confirmed that was the case.
Studying as a mature student is a waste of time and makes you poor and depressed.
No, really, it isn’t. Life is learning to meet new challenges – not giving up to make do with you already have. And it only makes you poor and depressed because our society likes to punish people for no reason.
In looking at her photo I do not think she would make a very good prostitute – she is “most” unattractive. A Greenpeace party stunt. And she gets $43,000 after tax -very good I believe.
Does she not get anything from the fathers of her children, assuming she knows who they are?
Well, if the ugliness of your comments is reflected in your face, you won’t be making a dime either. BTW, $43k isn’t a decent wage for a single person, let alone someone bringing up kids.
While not wanting to pass any comment on Ms. Wysocki’s looks, you would be surprised who gets paid for their services. As someone else has said “God gave men a brain and a penis, but only enough blood to run one at a time”.
Hold on you seem to be selective in how you believe the media, when it cam to the tea tapes you were ranting about that, but now you think the media are exaggerating in this case. I think you must wear rose coloured glasses.
fotran are you sure you are not the neanderthal red-neck King Kong
in drag!
It must make an emotionally aloof Bigoted red-neck misogynist feel good with that pathetic sexist comment.
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Back in 2023, a "prominent political figure" went on trial for historic sex offences. But we weren't allowed to know who they were or what political party they were "prominent" in, because it might affect the way we voted. At the time, I said that this was untenable; it was ...
I'm going, I'm goingWhere the water tastes like wineI'm going where the water tastes like wineWe can jump in the waterStay drunk all the timeI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayI'm gonna leave this city, got to get awayAll this fussing and fighting, man, you know I sure ...
Waitangi Day is a time to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi and stand together for a just and fair Aotearoa. Across the motu, communities are gathering to reflect, kōrero, and take action for a future built on equity and tino rangatiratanga. From dawn ceremonies to whānau-friendly events, there are ...
Subscribe to Mountain Tūī ! Where you too can learn about exciting things from a flying bird! Tweet.Yes - I absolutely suck at marketing. It’s a fact.But first -My question to all readers is:How should I set up the Substack model?It’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask since November ...
Here’s the key news, commentary, reports and debate around Aotearoa’s political economy on politics and in the week to Feb 3:PM Christopher Luxon began 2025’s first day of Parliament last Tuesday by carrying on where left off in 2024, letting National’s junior coalition partner set the political agenda and dragging ...
Half of Pacific children sometimes going without food is just one of many heartbreaking lowlights in the Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report. ...
The Salvation Army’s State of the Nation report is a bleak indictment on the failure of Government to take steps to end poverty, with those on benefits, including their children, hit hardest. ...
New Zealand First has today introduced a Member’s Bill which would restore decision-making power to local communities regarding the fluoridation of drinking water. The ‘Fluoridation (Referendum) Legislation Bill’ seeks to repeal the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Act 2021 that granted centralised authority to the Direct General of Health ...
New Zealand First has introduced a Member’s Bill aimed at preventing banks from refusing their services to businesses because of the current “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Framework”. “This Bill ensures fairness and prevents ESG standards from perpetuating woke ideology in the banking sector being driven by unelected, globalist, climate ...
Erica Stanford has reached peak shortsightedness if today’s announcement is anything to go by, picking apart immigration settings piece by piece to the detriment of the New Zealand economy. ...
Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. The intention was to establish a colony with the cession of sovereignty to the Crown, ...
Te Whatu Ora Chief Executive Margie Apa leaving her job four months early is another symptom of this government’s failure to deliver healthcare for New Zealanders. ...
The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to show leadership and be unequivocal about Aotearoa New Zealand’s opposition to a proposal by the US President to remove Palestinians from Gaza. ...
The latest unemployment figures reveal that job losses are hitting Māori and Pacific people especially hard, with Māori unemployment reaching a staggering 9.7% for the December 2024 quarter and Pasifika unemployment reaching 10.5%. ...
Waitangi 2025: Waitangi Day must be community and not politically driven - Shane Jones Our originating document, theTreaty of Waitangi, was signed on February 6, 1840. An agreement between Māori and the British Crown. Initially inked by Ngā Puhi in Waitangi, further signatures were added as it travelled south. ...
Despite being confronted every day with people in genuine need being stopped from accessing emergency housing – National still won’t commit to building more public houses. ...
The Green Party says the Government is giving up on growing the country’s public housing stock, despite overwhelming evidence that we need more affordable houses to solve the housing crisis. ...
Before any thoughts of the New Year and what lies ahead could even be contemplated, New Zealand reeled with the tragedy of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming losing her life. For over 38 years she had faithfully served as a front-line Police officer. Working alongside her was Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson will return to politics at Waitangi on Monday the 3rd of February where she will hold a stand up with fellow co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick. ...
Te Pāti Māori is appalled by the government's blatant mishandling of the school lunch programme. David Seymour’s ‘cost-saving’ measures have left tamariki across Aotearoa with unidentifiable meals, causing distress and outrage among parents and communities alike. “What’s the difference between providing inedible food, and providing no food at all?” Said ...
The Government is doubling down on outdated and volatile fossil fuels, showing how shortsighted and destructive their policies are for working New Zealanders. ...
Green Party MP Steve Abel this morning joined Coromandel locals in Waihi to condemn new mining plans announced by Shane Jones in the pit of the town’s Australian-owned Gold mine. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to strengthen its just-announced 2030-2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement and address its woeful lack of commitment to climate security. ...
Today marks a historic moment for Taranaki iwi with the passing of the Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill in Parliament. "Today, we stand together as descendants of Taranaki, and our tūpuna, Taranaki Maunga, is now formally acknowledged by the law as a living tūpuna. ...
Labour is relieved to see Children’s Minister Karen Chhour has woken up to reality and reversed her government’s terrible decisions to cut funding from frontline service providers – temporarily. ...
It is the first week of David Seymour’s school lunch programme and already social media reports are circulating of revolting meals, late deliveries, and mislabelled packaging. ...
The Green Party says that with no-cause evictions returning from today, the move to allow landlords to end tenancies without reason plunges renters, and particularly families who rent, into insecurity and stress. ...
The Government’s move to increase speed limits substantially on dozens of stretches of rural and often undivided highways will result in more serious harm. ...
In her first announcement as Economic Growth Minister, Nicola Willis chose to loosen restrictions for digital nomads from other countries, rather than focus on everyday Kiwis. ...
The Government’s commitment to get New Zealand’s roads back on track is delivering strong results, with around 98 per cent of potholes on state highways repaired within 24 hours of identification every month since targets were introduced, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “Increasing productivity to help rebuild our economy is ...
The former Cadbury factory will be the site of the Inpatient Building for the new Dunedin Hospital and Health Minister Simeon Brown says actions have been taken to get the cost overruns under control. “Today I am giving the people of Dunedin certainty that we will build the new Dunedin ...
From today, Plunket in Whāngarei will be offering childhood immunisations – the first of up to 27 sites nationwide, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. The investment of $1 million into the pilot, announced in October 2024, was made possible due to the Government’s record $16.68 billion investment in health. It ...
New Zealand’s strong commitment to the rights of disabled people has continued with the response to an important United Nations report, Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has announced. Of the 63 concluding observations of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), 47 will be progressed ...
Resources Minister Shane Jones has launched New Zealand’s national Minerals Strategy and Critical Minerals List, documents that lay a strategic and enduring path for the mineral sector, with the aim of doubling exports to $3 billion by 2035. Mr Jones released the documents, which present the Coalition Government’s transformative vision ...
Firstly I want to thank OceanaGold for hosting our event today. Your operation at Waihi is impressive. I want to acknowledge local MP Scott Simpson, local government dignitaries, community stakeholders and all of you who have gathered here today. It’s a privilege to welcome you to the launch of the ...
Racing Minister, Winston Peters has announced the Government is preparing public consultation on GST policy proposals which would make the New Zealand racing industry more competitive. “The racing industry makes an important economic contribution. New Zealand thoroughbreds are in demand overseas as racehorses and for breeding. The domestic thoroughbred industry ...
Business confidence remains very high and shows the economy is on track to improve, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says. “The latest ANZ Business Outlook survey, released yesterday, shows business confidence and expected own activity are ‘still both very high’.” The survey reports business confidence fell eight points to +54 ...
Enabling works have begun this week on an expanded radiology unit at Hawke’s Bay Fallen Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital which will double CT scanning capacity in Hawke’s Bay to ensure more locals can benefit from access to timely, quality healthcare, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. This investment of $29.3m in the ...
The Government has today announced New Zealand’s second international climate target under the Paris Agreement, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand will reduce emissions by 51 to 55 per cent compared to 2005 levels, by 2035. “We have worked hard to set a target that is both ambitious ...
Nine years of negotiations between the Crown and iwi of Taranaki have concluded following Te Pire Whakatupua mō Te Kāhui Tupua/the Taranaki Maunga Collective Redress Bill passing its third reading in Parliament today, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “This Bill addresses the historical grievances endured by the eight iwi ...
As schools start back for 2025, there will be a relentless focus on teaching the basics brilliantly so all Kiwi kids grow up with the knowledge, skills and competencies needed to grow the New Zealand of the future, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “A world-leading education system is a key ...
Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson have welcomed Kāinga Ora’s decision to re-open its tender for carpets to allow wool carpet suppliers to bid. “In 2024 Kāinga Ora issued requests for tender (RFTs) seeking bids from suppliers to carpet their properties,” Mr Bishop says. “As part ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today visited Otahuhu College where the new school lunch programme has served up healthy lunches to students in the first days of the school year. “As schools open in 2025, the programme will deliver nutritious meals to around 242,000 students, every school day. On ...
Minister for Children Karen Chhour has intervened in Oranga Tamariki’s review of social service provider contracts to ensure Barnardos can continue to deliver its 0800 What’s Up hotline. “When I found out about the potential impact to this service, I asked Oranga Tamariki for an explanation. Based on the information ...
A bill to make revenue collection on imported and exported goods fairer and more effective had its first reading in Parliament, Customs Minister Casey Costello said today. “The Customs (Levies and Other Matters) Amendment Bill modernises the way in which Customs can recover the costs of services that are needed ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Department of Internal Affairs [the Department] has achieved significant progress in completing applications for New Zealand citizenship. “December 2024 saw the Department complete 5,661 citizenship applications, the most for any month in 2024. This is a 54 per cent increase compared ...
Reversals to Labour’s blanket speed limit reductions begin tonight and will be in place by 1 July, says Minister of Transport Chris Bishop. “The previous government was obsessed with slowing New Zealanders down by imposing illogical and untargeted speed limit reductions on state highways and local roads. “National campaigned on ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced Budget 2025 – the Growth Budget - will be delivered on Thursday 22 May. “This year’s Budget will drive forward the Government’s plan to grow our economy to improve the incomes of New Zealanders now and in the years ahead. “Budget 2025 will build ...
For the Government, 2025 will bring a relentless focus on unleashing the growth we need to lift incomes, strengthen local businesses and create opportunity. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today laid out the Government’s growth agenda in his Statement to Parliament. “Just over a year ago this Government was elected by ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour welcomes students back to school with a call to raise attendance from last year. “The Government encourages all students to attend school every day because there is a clear connection between being present at school and setting yourself up for a bright future,” says Mr ...
The Government is relaxing visitor visa requirements to allow tourists to work remotely while visiting New Zealand, Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis, Immigration Minister Erica Stanford and Tourism Minister Louise Upston say. “The change is part of the Government’s plan to unlock New Zealand’s potential by shifting the country onto ...
The opening of Kāinga Ora’s development of 134 homes in Epuni, Lower Hutt will provide much-needed social housing for Hutt families, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I’ve been a strong advocate for social housing on Kāinga Ora’s Epuni site ever since the old earthquake-prone housing was demolished in 2015. I ...
Trade and Investment Minister Todd McClay will travel to Australia today for meetings with Australian Trade Minister, Senator Don Farrell, and the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF). Mr McClay recently hosted Minister Farrell in Rotorua for the annual Closer Economic Relations (CER) Trade Ministers’ meeting, where ANZLF presented on ...
A new monthly podiatry clinic has been launched today in Wairoa and will bring a much-needed service closer to home for the Wairoa community, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.“Health New Zealand has been successful in securing a podiatrist until the end of June this year to meet the needs of ...
The Judicial Conduct Commissioner has recommended a Judicial Conduct Panel be established to inquire into and report on the alleged conduct of acting District Court Judge Ema Aitken in an incident last November, Attorney-General Judith Collins said today. “I referred the matter of Judge Aitken’s alleged conduct during an incident ...
Students who need extra help with maths are set to benefit from a targeted acceleration programme that will give them more confidence in the classroom, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Last year, significant numbers of students did not meet the foundational literacy and numeracy level required to gain NCEA. To ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced three new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and ...
Ki te kahore he whakakitenga, ka ngaro te Iwi – without a vision, the people will perish. The Government has achieved its target to reduce the number of households in emergency housing motels by 75 per cent five years early, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. The number of households ...
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A raft of proposed legislation changes to the media and screen industry have been announced this morning – we read through it all all so you don’t have to. What’s all this then? This morning the Ministry for Culture and Heritage released its draft proposed changes to media and screen ...
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Pretending they didn’t know this was coming.
The Nats. soften us for extreme austerity measures.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/6434093/Global-economy-may-hit-Budget
As in Greece struggle between bailing out the bankers and financiers and cutting everywhere else, means that a victory of the wharfies takes on a greater significance.
From now on, a defeat for any organised workforce will mean less ability for working people to resist austerity.
Yes, of course they knew it was coming, and still they try to gild the lily:
And did anyone really believe the “Dutch” auction when Nat and Lab were out doing themselves to achieve a surplus around 2015?
Unfortunately it will we you and I who suffer from these fools false hopes.
As a note I saw on the news last night that 2/3 of the reduction in the armed forces is from uniformed servicemen and that the corporate office is still untouched at 70, and we were informed that there was to be no loss in front line serviceman.
I knew New Zealand would end up copping some form of austerity. The list of cuts is probably sitting in a drawer waiting to be dusted off.
Given that we are still feeling the effects of our last set of austerity measures, the 1991 budget, and to a lesser extent, the 1997-98 cuts in response to the Asian crisis, things arent going to be good.
And what is worse, is that the wealthy won’t be called upon to pay a single cent in extra tax. It will be everyone else who will bear the burden.
Hmmm… maybe the hairpiece hasn’t totally backed off his original asset sales position?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/6434289/Fay-group-would-meet-Chinese-undertakings
So, first cracks (or maybe the second after the Maori Party issues) in this “landslide” government. Good on the opposition for the early concerted pressure. I’ve liked the way in Pariament this week, that the opposition parties have come in with various supplementaries following a primary question on Crafar/assett sales by one of the parties – a concerted & fairly united approach to keeping the pressure on the government..
Michael Fay’s PR team have not yet put up a proposition to the seller Westpac. Any contract is willing buyer willing seller not a PR exercise.
They sort of talked about offer is $57 million below the Chinese, with all sorts of promises.
Crafer now says that he wants to buy back his onetime farms, which he disgracefully ran into the ground, and went bankrupt.
To cancel the Chinese bid would be a shocking look for New Zealand, but I assume that is what so many want ?
The James Cameron sale would have to be cancelled along with a number of other potential purchases currently with the IOI.
In Britain free labour from young people started with intern schemes for graduates, then community work for the dole schemes that are expanding quite rapidly into big high street firms, like Tescos
Get that? The taxpayer is paying people to work in menial jobs at big firms – how can this reduce unemployment? or provide skills training? A revolving door of people being paid job-seekers allowance for 26 weeks to stack supermarket shelves and the like, will surely increase unemployment as big firms use free labour.
Coming to a work and income job board near you?
Great link. Ta.
Probably, this government will do pretty much anything to boost the profits of the corporates. I’ve already heard of some businesses wanting a two week period to “see if you fit the culture” where you work for nothing. I wouldn’t be surprised if some people, desperate for work, are falling for it.
A British friend of mine (a retired economist!) is helping organise protests against Tescos this weekend…
I was reading a site about propaganda earlier today, and the guy has a list of ‘positive’ words Newt Gingrich was distributing to Republicans … the last word on the positive list (for candidates to use) was “workfare“.
of course “workfare” is nothing more than a kind of subsidised corporate welfare.
Good to hear, at least the Brits protest injustice… It gets worse though. I’d read about the new assessment procedures for disability that, now, almost everyone acknowledges are faulty, but I’d not realised this was in the pipeline
So a free permanent workforce for the corporates, without the 26-week limit. Who cares about productivity when you’re not paying for workers yourself.
See Mr English on the News last night.
Apparently the revenue from the sale of the SOEs is
JUST A GUESS.
And not even a “best guess” either.
Funny he didn’t say it was just a guess BEFORE the election eh?
That is totally unfair. He has worked backwards from – We need a surplus in year 2015: We have these income and these expenses = A deficit. Asset sales = deficit + $1b = $1b surplus. So aseet sales = X. Not a real guess just a means of balancingthe books 😉
And laughing while he said it. The arrogance astounds
but does not surprise.
Oh, I do like The Hairs response:
Yep, not his problem and not his responsibility even though he happens to be part of the government.
If he is not taking responsibility for his portfolio and decisions made by the government, he must be dismissing himself from the government. Early election here we come.
Do you really think that English/Treasury do not have a very good idea of the partial sales share values.
They are not going to tell you, or me, as its commercially sensitive, as to offer price.
John Armstrong in the Herald today believes that there was a great deal of media dissing yesterday in English’s comments, and that he fooled them sucessfully, along with many others.
Funny, not sure how it can be “commercially sensitive” when the offer price has to be released well in advance in a prospectus???
The other point being that the actual price, like any export product (sorry “mums & dads”, you don’t have the capital to be a player in this game), will vary wildly with the exchange rate at the time.
Which throws another flavour into the mix. 5-7bil is a best guess, 6bil is an arbitrary stab within that, and it’s all based on the entrails-reading that is economic prediction.
And the funny thing is that it’s so easy to determine what they’re actually worth – just calculate how much it would cost to build them at today’s prices. Anybody paying less than that isn’t paying enough and, I suspect, that price is far above the guessed $6b.
Replacement value. Now that’s a good measure.
borrowing bungling blithering bills english double dipping double downgrader DIPstick from dipton,
Worst finance minister in modern New Zealand history!
Rebalancing the economy in favour of a few very well off.
“…The Decorah Bald Eagle Cam, last year’s runaway internet sensation, is back.
Go do whatever you need to for the next few months right now.
You might not get much done once the eaglets hatch.
Last year, more than 200,000 people from about 180 countries watched eagle parents hatch three eggs – brave bad weather – raise their chicks and teach them to fly in Decorah, Iowa.
The eagle cam, Wired Science’s most popular post of 2011 created our very own online community of eaglophiles.
So many people tuned in the traffic crashed our website more than once.
But this year we’re ready!
And now the eagles are back.
The mom’s about to lay her eggs any day now…”
(cont..)
http://whoar.co.nz/2012/eagle-cam-returns-new-chicks-coming-soon/
phil-at-whoar.
Yup. Uh huh.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6436289/ACC-levies-may-climb-again
Simple see. We have to put an extra charge onto the ACC levy, a top up if you will, on account of how the private sector wouldn’t be able to compete with ACC because ACC doesnae have to make a profit. This means that ACC can provide the service for a lower cost to employers, obviously enough, so we oughtta make the ACC charge more so that employers will pay more in the new competitive era, which will be more efficient all round. Unfortunately, this might mean that the ACC will build up lots of money in its accounts, because we will be making it charge more than it needs to, so we’ll make them give any excess money they might build up to treasury. This is the only way we can make the new competitive model work and thereby deliver efficiencies to the economy.
Nick Smith. Class idiot.
.
So we have to pay more in order to allow competition, which is meant to result in us paying less.
Fuck, that is just fucking dopey dumb, brainless logic out the window, head in the clouds, looney tunes, crappola of the highest order.
Smith should be put in the stocks for public ridicule for the most brainless type of thinking EVER exhibited by a politician. Surely this cannot be so – someone please tell me it is not going to be…
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
You’d think the economists and politicians would be starting to wake up to reality by now wouldn’t you? Considering that all their theories are falling down and this (competition reduces prices) was a main one. Now, in the real world, we’re finding that it doesn’t – it raises costs but reduces profits.
This numbskull thinking must be rammed at the Nats….
…alongside the sideways glances the public are already throwing their way for the brainlessness of foreign landlords, asset sales, Crafar Farms decision and the like…
I am gobsmacked.
The rest of NZ surely will be too when they read it.
Wow, really? Now, will you (Labour) get around to saying the same thing about telecommunications and power?
Meanwhile, inspite of having paid my ACC levies, most people who know how serious my injury was, and how far I am from full recovery can’t believe that, not only did ACC stopped giving me physio a while ago and are continuing to quibble about re-instating it, but people can’t believe I haven’t been given a regular long-term allowance for physio.
Cutting costs and services provided by ACC, and raising the levies so that parasitic businesses can make a profit from providing an even worse service for ordinary Kiwi levy-payers…..
So, ordinary tax & levy paying Kiwis, if you can’t stop this privatisation of ACC, be VERY careful that you don’t get injured in future, because you probably won’t get the care you need…..AND, watch out for those employers who try to get away with cutting Health and Safety provisions….
Didn’t make any sense to me, either.
Perhaps the clearest and simplest example of double-think to come out of this government so far.
Hone vs Holmes: was history the winner?
http://www.readingthemaps.blogspot.co.nz/2012/02/hones-sentimental-history.html
i dunno about history…but hone was a winner…
..calm/reasoned/historical-perspective..vs. choleric-racism…
phil-at-whoar.
David Carter – extreme biosecurity risk
Why would we reduce security measures further when the consequences of doing so are financially disastrous?
Poverty in America
Not sure how I feel after watching that, many more people need to take 30 minutes out of their lives to watch it.
It is coming to a town near here in the very near future.
Thanks for posting the link.
In here looking for any commentary on the Tania Wysocki business.
http://nowoccupy.blogspot.com/2012/02/tania-wysocki.html
For what its worth, many students resort to prostitution to pay for their studies. At least, that was the case in the late nineties when I interviewed some students who were doing so for a newspaper article. I also quoted the regional head of the Prostitutes’ Collective who confirmed that was the case.
No, really, it isn’t. Life is learning to meet new challenges – not giving up to make do with you already have. And it only makes you poor and depressed because our society likes to punish people for no reason.
In looking at her photo I do not think she would make a very good prostitute – she is “most” unattractive. A Greenpeace party stunt. And she gets $43,000 after tax -very good I believe.
Does she not get anything from the fathers of her children, assuming she knows who they are?
Well, if the ugliness of your comments is reflected in your face, you won’t be making a dime either. BTW, $43k isn’t a decent wage for a single person, let alone someone bringing up kids.
While not wanting to pass any comment on Ms. Wysocki’s looks, you would be surprised who gets paid for their services. As someone else has said “God gave men a brain and a penis, but only enough blood to run one at a time”.
I can’t see where it says she receives $43k after tax.
It’s like the POAL $90K income calculation. They’ve thrown everything bar the bridge into the number.
@ Colon Wiper
Hold on you seem to be selective in how you believe the media, when it cam to the tea tapes you were ranting about that, but now you think the media are exaggerating in this case. I think you must wear rose coloured glasses.
Thanks for your oddly irrelevant non-points.
That’s because it doesn’t – it says she receives the equivalent of a $43000/year income. I’d assume that was before tax.
fotran are you sure you are not the neanderthal red-neck King Kong
in drag!
It must make an emotionally aloof Bigoted red-neck misogynist feel good with that pathetic sexist comment.
The crisis in child poverty and welfare grows but so does the government’s determination to ignore the cause!http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2012/02/child-poverty.html
Some new pics…link
Sorry, here’s the link
Lockjaw Smith guard dog
Why is Lockwood Smith claiming in the media that changes will ensure more integrity and increased public scrutiny, when this obviously not the case?