Someone unemployed with savings is paying more tax than a farmer make $500,000 from a Fonterra dairy payout! Because the farmer was incentivised to borrow to much grow exports, so much so that they had to borrow yet more to pay for weekly groceries. And there’s no debate about how both Labour and National administrations have allowed this? Its like some Australia media-banking complex has been playing farmers and home buyers off against one another to load up on profits and insure that many citizens are indebted, serfs. The harder these people worked the more into debt they got, and the only people who survived the eonomical mauling were out of work bennies or those pocketing the fees to offshore the profits (like John Key). And so the hate against people who are not in debt because their not employed is merely another sign of how upside down the NZ economy is. Its like a Earthquake, where because all the land drops it looks like the river has risen! The farmers are claimed to be the backbone river of our economy, and yet the policies of successive governments were working faster and harder to make sure that the land was falling away faster. The reality is the debt on the economy is flooding the whole economy because of this massive parliamentary bait and switch. Parliament claiming its own competence on the economy because Fonterra was paying out heaps in profits! What a scam, they were writing themselves bonuses left, right and centre! Nice limos and all!
Allowing foreign owned banks to gouge on the hard working farmers and urban employees.
And National, the supposed bastion of business expertise, where taking heaps of donations from the top end of town who were profiting so much from he gouging of us all.
You lost me a bit there zeebop but if you are referring to the media release exposing the fact that the 17,000 dairy farmers paid $26 million in tax while the PAYE wage and salary earners paid $23 billion in tax, then I hears ya.
The entire agriculture, fishing and forestry industry paid just $319 million.
Or to put it another way the average dairy farmer paid just $1,500 in tax in 2009. This is about half of what a pensioner couple paid in tax in 2009.
This leads to many questions and matters that completely undermine several developments in the agricultural sector..
Such as the Fed Farmers constant carping about being the true New Zealanders paying for everything like teachers and doctors and police and etc. They just don’t.
Such as, if the farmers are that unprofitable with commodity prices at such high levels then how on earth can they dare to have the cheek to take more money again from the real payers for New Zealand (the wage and salary earner) for such ideas as irrigation projects? (farms already unprofitable, and on top of that, cannot get private funding for the investment because it does not stack up. I mean, ffs there some bullshit going on)
It’s good current practice for farms to be run as businesses on the profit borderline. They make their big money from capital gains. And they also have an advantage in being able to cover normal living expenses as business costs (ie tax free), like housing, vehicles and fuel, some food, power, phone/internet etc.
It has it’s down sides for sure, and I think the tax burden should be more evenly spread – but we do rely a lot on the primary sector for business activity, employment and exports, so it has to remain viable.
It looks to me like any viability problems they have are far less to do with the tax that they don’t pay, and much more to do with the speculation on land prices.
Surely, land is a cost in a farming business (just like ‘taxes’).
Turning it into the profit centre is just too stupid for words, if you want ‘farming’ to be a business
What your saying there is that, as it’s so unprofitable, we have to keep subsidising the farmers. This is, of course, taking the wealth away from more profitable work and more important community work.
John Shewin (sp?) from Price Waterhouse Coopers and the Tax Working Group was on the radio talking with Kathryn Ryan about it. Basically he said a capital gains tax is problematic because it’s usually only charged when an asset is sold, and this also creates a lock-in effect. A land tax is much better because we could start charging it quickly (although it would need to be phased in over a few years).
Adam Smith, the capitalist’s guru, did not believe in taxing workers at all. he believed it was better to tax the owners of land and capital. Taxing workers was an extra cost on productivity, while taxing owners encouraged efficient use of resources, including monetary capital.
CV problem with the likes of a land tax, is that there are many out there who have min cash incomes. The likes of pensioners, mum and dad (especially after buying energy shares) are struggling to cope with rates, mortgage and the general cost of living, lets just add on another, unless there is a tax rebalancing ;-).
Dairy farming on a technical economic bases does not add up. Those enjoying the idnustry are long timers who had little debt, but once they sell he new owner is now a slave.
In Sydney a mate is paying $1700/week rent yet this does not even cover the land tax for the land owners, and yet in Sydney there is no signs of a property collapse (not yet)the bubble is still expanding.
It’s really easy:
1.) Rates (Payable to loacl government) set as a low %age of income
2.) Land tax (Payable to central government) set at a flat rate (probably about $1) per m^2 per year.
3.) Capital gains tax (Payable to central government).
This make rates and the land tax affordable by everyone (It’s likely that most peoples rates+land tax would be cheaper than present rates) so we don’t have to put silly limits on it. It also brings in immediate revenue for the government and stops speculation and farming for capital gains.
It’s good current practice for farms to be run as businesses on the profit borderline.
Good for whom? Not for the country and not for the people of the country who are being told that their home help is being cut, their special education services are being cut, their training entitlements are being cut.
And not just a capital gains tax, a straight out asset tax is what we need, on net asset holdings over $2M.
A Japanese housewife looks at investing in OZ or NZ, OZ has a Capital Gains Tax.
So NZ whores itself for cheap to attract their investment, then we have to flaunt
the wears a little, boom the bubble, and return those investments with a risk premium.
It could be different, we could actually work harder for the investment, you know
by having competent government which targets unproductivity, like lack of
public transport alternatives, like holding back low level sprawl and build higher.
NZ has huge potential, and huge risks, its just shocking Wellington is on a fault,
Auckland is on a isthmus of volcanoes, and nobody cares to build
sustainable efficient city southwards. Its always more talk of maybe proper
rail in Auckland, well if they don’t want it build in in S.Auckland. Build a
circle line around the Bombay Hills! Do something already, because oil
is quickly becoming a luxury.
PeteG “They make their big money from capital gains”. Speculators of the highest order.
“they also have an advantage in being able to cover normal living expenses as business costs (ie tax free), like housing, vehicles and fuel, some food, power, phone/internet etc.” Makes them tax cheats. You are not able to claim many of those things as expenses yet you and I know they do. It makes them tax cheats.
IRD must know, politicians must know, so it seems it’s an allowed form of tax cheating.
Many small businesses tax cheat as well, for example not declaring all cash sales as income. Many individuals tax cheat too, mates rates, under the table sort of stuff.
The way a speculator makes money is by entering and leaving positions, buy low sell high, farmers are not speculators on land price, they are pansies for speculators. Its like the Fonterra needs more investment now story, where the farmers allowed any farm owner to trade in future calls on profits, allowing the speculators. Now all a invested need do is own and run a dairy farm and buy up all the poor indebted farmers future profits.
Same goes for housing, to win as a speculator you need to buy a home, talk it up, sell it again, buy more. So the speculators who won in the bubble where those that moved further out from the main centres talking up each suburb in turn, buying in cheap, sitting on properties, and selling once the scarcity had forced up prices. Borrowing the whole time and leveraging to the hilt.
Those caught when the music stopped would have large numbers of homes, and huge leveraged debt positions. Nasty.
Farmers are kidding themselves if they thought they’d see much of the speculative profits, since only a few could buy a chain of farms, that’s what Carfer was trying but turns out he didn’t get why, so was caught trying to keep them running rather than selling down debt the moment the oil infused bubble in property came to an end. Now we’re all in free fall, we just have no reach bottom yet.
Oh, and I welcome our new foreign overloads, UK-OZ-US-Japan-China.
I think the situation is appalling. PeteG above refers to farmers making their money via capital gain, which is entirely true… which means…
That farmers are speculators of the highest order, taking on huge unmanageable debt in the hope of increasing property prices. At the exact same time as they lambast urban types for doing similar (though on a much smaller scale). Honestly, I have become increasingly disappointed in the attitude and approach of the farming sector.
They are not paying their way. In an environmental sense, in a tax paying sense, in a smarmy ‘we are the real New Zealanders’ sense.
One of the worst aspects is the speculation and continued price rises of farmland that this has encouraged.
To paraphrase Selwyn Pellett Kiwi farmers have been borrowing more and more money from Aussie banks to buy the same farms off each other. And paying more and more interes to Aussie banks rather than tax to the Government. This is unsustainable and silly.
Bring on a Capital Gains tax or as suggested by CV a land tax.
Thanks vto, I appreciate the link. What else is sad is that in light of how much tax farmers are paying, there is no I repeat no justification for the millions of dollars the Natz are planning to throw at their irrigation systems.
Wouldn’t mind betting that the majority of NZ university students who come from down on the farm, have parents who have organised their finances so that their children qualify for student allowance. Gee they must be an impoverished lot. I wonder what colour the diesel is in their run-around-town SUV.
Hey. About 80% of NZ Debt is private debt. Billions involved. Are there any figures which show if the Agriculture/dairy farms make up significant proportion of that debt?
If dairy farms hold the great proportion of that debt (elephant in the room) then the Budget austerity would be down to dairy farming rather than Mum and Dad spendthrifts. Serious if so?
You could therefore argue that selling all the farms to overseas interests would be benefical in reducing NZ’s private debt issue.
I think though that the larger issue is property speculation across all sectors, and the debt we have as a result of that. Whether capital gains tax or some other mechanism is employed NZ would be in a much stronger postion if we carried less debt at a personal level, and for the most part that debt is incurred in a property purchase.
I would be interested though in seeing total tax take for the sector over a number of years, possible last year could be somethign of an anomoly?
“So do you reckon these guys are farmers or are they property speculators?”
At the moment a growing number of them are both.
My concern is based on the debt level that farmers are carrying and associating that with the debt levels that homeowners are carrying after a speculative property boom, we are in a commodoty boom at the moment and that is likely to reflect in higher demand/pricing fro farmland which will exacerbate the situation we have at the moment. And possible end in a bust if the commodity pricing falls sharply.
“Sure, if you didn’t give a shit about our balance of payments, that would be an argument you could make.”
Sorry that was with tongue firmly in cheek. I think that there is a lot of merit in protecting the ag sector ( it is too big to fail) if necessary from itself. And looking at strategies to limit the demand or cost of agricultural land, Labour i think want to limit land sales >5ha to oversees interests. I think thats a good starting point. I don’t object to farmers making a capital gain over time, but protecting them, and NZ, from a boom bust in land prices is in the national interest.
As far as tax take goes though i do think we should look at the contribution over a numebr of years to get a better understanding of their tax contribution ( or perhaps lack of it)
It isn’t technically difficult to deflate the farm asset price speculation bubble, and get the land back to its core business of making food instead of feeding Australian banks interest and fees.
Mate you’re being completely disingenuous suggesting that if we looked back an extra couple of years we’ll discover that farmers have only started not paying tax this latest year.
How is it disingenous to suggest looking at one year in isolation may not give a thorough picture?
IIRC 2009-10 was a year of devastating drought for the major dairying regions, and we were warned at the time that most farms would run at a deficit for the year.
So you want to only look at revenue in assessing a tax bill interesting..
No acknowledgement that expenses may form a part of a tax calculation.
BTW I am sure that you know that the av$800k payout isn’t bankable profit. And you accuse me of being disingenous.
I will say again that attempting to draw a conclusion based on one years figures ( and ignoring contributing factors) may well be unfair and inaccurate.
I’m still waiting for people to show us the comparable figures from other years then, seeing they are complaining that these figures are such an outlier.
Hmmmm, it appears that we pay and pay and pay but never seem to get the benefits from the payments. We get lots of negatives though – polluted rivers, stream and lakes, disappearing water tables and high food prices.
Interesting summary of some books which I suggest is a case for socialism …
Human beings, Haidt argues, are “the giraffes of altruism.” Just as giraffes got long necks to help them survive, humans developed moral minds that help them and their groups succeed. Humans build moral communities out of shared norms, habits, emotions and gods, and then will fight and even sometimes die to defend their communities.
Sounds to me like the biologists need to be talking with the psychologists. Psychopathy has a tendency to have no conscience but also has a tendency towards excessive selfishness is regarded as an illness. There’s been some discussion about psychopathy being genetic. This would indicate, especially in association with the linked studies, that being selfish isn’t in peoples nature as the RWNJs say. In fact, it’s the exact opposite. This would suggest that we should be passing laws that encourage cooperation between people rather than competition.
In other words, for the last three decades we’ve been following the wrong course – thanks Labour 👿
I remember when I studied zoology in the late 70s just after ‘Sociobiology’ and ‘The Selfish Gene’ were published. I had a chat with a classmate who got really depressed at the implications (i.e., we’re all ‘seflfish’). I said to her then that that was a misunderstanding and that Dawkins misunderstood what he was talking about (I’ve always been very sure of myself). I pointed out that natural selection was a process of replicating genes – you can call that ‘selfish’ if you like – but there’s no reason why natural selection wouldn’t select genuine altruism in individual organisms (i.e., in people). People, that is, can evolve to be genuinely unselfish in the right (social) environment of selection and that could help replicate genes.
She wasn’t really convinced – which was a shame. Still, it’s good to see the science catching up with me after all these years. 🙂
One correction to the info in the link – as I understand it, classic ‘group selection’ is still pretty much a heresy (or, at least, controversial); what isn’t is selection for ‘groupiness’ which, in the right environment, can help with individual (ultimately gene) ‘replication’. That is, it isn’t so much that one group out-competes another in head-to-head competition but that, within a group, being generally cooperative increases one’s own chances of survival (partly because the group is more effective/efficient at various tasks than are lone individuals and partly because, once sociality occurs, you’d better not buck the group too much or too often because others have a lot to lose from a breakdown of the group!). (I could be wrong, though, and should read Sloan-Wilson more closely to check.)
This link and this follow on link (which is the abstract for a paper by Nowak et al. – Nowak is mentioned in your link) on the evolution of ‘eusociality’ (in Nature) lead to the paywall but show that this issue is very much still at the forefront of evolutionary thinking.
NZIR have provided some facts from an organisation that measures international competitiveness and ranks the results;
“New Zealand’s business efficiency dropped two places from 22 to 24.
Government efficiency fell three places, from 5 to 8.”
We know that the plan to increase Government efficiency is to cut back on resources and hope it makes a difference. What is the plan for improved business efficiency, they have a long way to go to catch up with Governments excellent 8th in the rankings?
“Joycie” has made a tactical change re the 10 year Commerce Comm. ‘hands off’ period on Ultra Fast. There is ample scope for opposition parties here re potential broadband price rises given the million plus households with broadband.
God, John key comes across as an arrogant ass in the House, while shouting at people and sneeringly denying the unfairness of the tax switch & pronouncing black is white.
Lanthanide – I noted while listening to some intelligent guru about nz finances yesterday that the idea of the fiscally neutral tax cuts and GST rises blah blah was that the whole premise relied on growth in the economy which hasn’t happened and that is why we are fiscally neutered instead.
On yesterday’s radionz news there was an item on Filipino caregivers being refused renewal of work permits apparently on the basis that they are considered unskilled workers. This underlines a long-term disdain for the work of people who care for other people, from mothers, to caregivers, foster parents, as well as aged care perhaps even teachers!
If the decision makers had to do the job of caregiver to the aged, or some with an intellectual disability for even a week they would find that not only is it hard testing work, but summoning up the reserves of human concern for patients/clients who may be all of difficult, demanding and heavy to move, would leave them exhausted and drained.
The middle class, and in fact,all classes, want good standards when dealing with vulnerable people, but there is not respect for the people who are working to those standards. Anybody can do their jobs is the refrain. Well they can’t, won’t and don’t and these workers deserve more consideration. They are needed now and it is well known that elderly numbers are growing.
Most Filipino women who have a background of appropriate training would have more Skill, Concern for proper treatment of people and Integrity in their little fingers than immigration ‘officiousals’ have in their whole department.
Absolutely. I heard a lot of that interview as well, and while I could be wrong, I think she said that many of these Filipina women are actually trained nurses, who have not managed to get registration in New Zealand, perhaps because of their English.. At least one of the women killed at the language school in the CTV building in Christchurch was exactly that, a Filipina nurse studying English in order to get her registration with the Nursing Council.
Yes Vicky32 I remember that there was a reference to previous training and status in thePhillipines. How sad about the woman being in the CTV building and ironic that she was trying to improve her English at the same time that the immigration’s dalek leader was planning to get them out of NZ.
Just heard the Penguin give us some more of his knowledge.
“If Banks wins Epsom and Act only get 4 percent, it could give Banks a lot of power in the party, particularly as his seat would bring Brash in on the Electorate rule.” Then the Penguin opined that if Banks was to have a falling out and resigned his seat, Act would be gone.” I think not. At the time of the Election is the determining issue. Act list members would remain (but without validity).
Actually, National could work this gerrymander to their advantage. They could get the 2nd party support of Act on Banks’ back. Banks could then resign and force a bye election in Epsom and stand for the National Party. The National party supporters of Epsom could then vote for Banks. He would then return to parliament as a member of the party he really pays allegiance to and everyone is happy. National get an extra electorate member, and have a support party that has got less than 5% support.
John Banks, learnt all he knows as a member of Rob’s Mob, is the ACT candidate for Epsom. “Rob this, and Rob that… was his mantra.” Rob must be turning in his grave right now… Banksy is aligning himself with Douglas, Brash, Richardson et al. What an opportunist Banksy has become.
I think if National and Banks played such a game, they’d be vilified far more than Hone is.
I mean really, it would look like this:
1. Resign National
2. Join Act
3. Win Act seat to get them into parliament
4. Quit act
5. Join National
6. Re-win seat under National
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Even right-wing commentators have, over recent days, and jusrifiably enough, been taking the National leader, Christopher Luxon, to task. They have lambasted him over his soft-shoe shuffle over abortion, for bad-mouthing New Zealand business while he was overseas, and for pretending to be in Te Puke while he was actually ...
So, now we know for sure. The “protesters” who defiled the grounds of parliament and who (according to their own account) intended to create in three of our major cities “maximum disruption and inconvenience” to other citizens, are not interested in democracy – indeed, quite the contrary. Their objective, quite ...
The issue with Christopher Luxon’s social media post talking about his day in Te Puke when he was in Hawaii is it’s fake news. He has since apologised for the mistake. But this doesn’t negate its impact. This mistake, misstep, gaffe or whatever you like to call it, is about ...
Over the last couple of years there has been a disturbing trend of new legislation containing secrecy clauses, which effectively make it illegal for affected government bodies to disclose information under the Official Information Act. Some of these are re-enacting old legislation from the pre- or early-OIA era (in which ...
Allegations of political corruption are once again at the heart of a new High Court trial this week. The trial follows straight on from the “not guilty” verdict for those running the New Zealand First Foundation. And this latest trial is once again about whether wealthy businesspeople and political parties ...
Ukrainian operation to steal Russian military aircraft exposed [English edit] Representatives of the Ukrainian special services offered up to $2 million for hijacking Russian military aircraft, as well as European passports for the pilots and their families. In order to gain trust, Ukrainians shared information they were not allowed ...
Struck Down: As James Shaw saved the pure Greens from themselves in 2017, they resented him. As he secured the Climate Change portfolio for his party, they suspected him. As he achieved cross-party support for crucial climate change legislation, they condemned him. And, as he was white, and male, and ...
If nothing else, some of the media treatment of the Luxon lu’au has reeked of a double standard. If Jacinda Ardern – or any of her Cabinet Ministers – had been holidaying in Hawaii while their social media imagery was depicting them working hard on the public’s behalf in Te ...
The Emissions Trading Scheme is broken. Stuffed with free allocations and rigged with a "cost containment reserve" which floods the market any time prices get "too high" (for a definition of "too high" set in a different world), its basicly served as a machanism to subsidise the production of the ...
Think Big: A democratic-socialist government could remove GST from basic food items. It could re-nationalise and centralise the generation and distribution of electric power, and then retail it to citizens at an affordable price. A democratic-socialist government could nationalise the public transportation system and make it free for everyone. A democratic-socialist government ...
Pure Poison: It is when the fetid atmosphere created by the Right’s toxic accusations and denunciations is at its thickest, that comparisons with the Woke Left spring most easily to mind. If the level of emotion on display, and the strength of the invective used, is inversely related to the ...
New Zealand companies are using their oligopolistic market power to gouge mega profits, driving up inflation. Overseas, such actions have resulted in windfall taxes, which have been used both to drive down inflation, and ameliorate its impacts (while driving down emissions). With New Zealand petrol companies pocketing record margins and ...
Poll Axed: What happened to James Shaw on Saturday, 23 July 2022 exposed the Greens’ minoritarian political culture for all to see. Once voters grasp the enormity of 30 percent of Green delegates to the Green AGM being constitutionally empowered to overrule the wishes of the 70 percent of delegates ...
Now, that was strange. That was very strange. Having dropped an initial July teaser for The Rings of Power, Amazon put out a full two-minute trailer in the middle of the month. That one, I liked. Now, however, we have an additional three-minute trailer, released a couple of days ...
I have prepared the following (draft) submission on the Electoral (Māori Electoral Option) Legislation Bill, which you all have until Saturday to submit on. Happy to consider comments, or to fix typos: have I used the word whakapapa incorrectly, etc? Please let me know :-)======The Justice CommitteeElectoral (Māori Electoral Option) ...
The big news over the weekend was that Green party delegates at their AGM voted to re-open nominations for James Shaw's co-leadership position, effectively toppling him as co-leader. I'm not a member of the Greens, so its not really my place to have an opinion on who should lead them ...
James Shaw has lost his co-leadership position in the Green Party, and there’s a good chance he won’t be able to get it back. And he shouldn’t – it won’t be good for either him or his party. When delegates at the Green Party AGM voted on his position as ...
Climate change has gone from being one of those allegedly wacky Green ideas to wide mainstream acceptance. In their own ways, leaders like Jeanette Fitzsimons, Russel Norman and James Shaw each added to the increased credibility the Greens’ now have among the voting public. The decision not to re-endorse Shaw ...
So, now we know for sure. The “protesters” who defiled the grounds of parliament and who (according to their own account) intended to create in three of our major cities “maximum disruption and inconvenience” to other citizens, are not interested in democracy – indeed, quite the contrary. Their objective, quite ...
Don Franks was interviewed by Dr Toby Boraman in December 2013 about his time working in the militant Ford car plant in the 1970s. This is the fifth and final installment of that interview. The first installment is here, the second installment here, the third here and fourth installment here. (The interview has ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to overhaul the Recognised Seasonal Employers scheme in the wake of revelations of shocking human rights violations. ...
The Green Party is calling for a cross-party commitment to guaranteeing at least a living wage and safe working conditions to people seeking employment, instead of continuing benefit sanctions. ...
The Green Party is once again calling on the Government to announce its support for a moratorium on deep sea mining, and to support a member’s bill going to select committee. ...
The Government must take steps to ensure that the way we build our homes is helping to meet New Zealand’s climate change targets, the Green Party said. ...
The Government’s employment initiatives led by the Ministry of Social Development must guarantee liveable incomes and fair working conditions, the Green Party says. ...
New Zealanders deserve a health system that works for everyone, no matter who you are or where you live. Our Government has a plan to make this a reality, and we’re taking the next steps. We now have thousands more health professionals, such as doctors and nurses, working in New ...
During her time as Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern has navigated New Zealand through unprecedented times. Through it all, she’s become known as someone who leads with kindness, compassion and strength, while keeping the wellbeing of Kiwis at the heart of her approach. To celebrate five years of Jacinda leading the ...
Since taking office in 2017, our Government has worked hard to lift wages and make life more affordable for New Zealanders, as we move forward with our plan to grow a secure economy for all. ...
The Government must use the opportunity of the Electoral Amendment Bill in Parliament to close the loophole in the political donations regime, the Green Party says. ...
Thanks to political pressure from the Green Party and the more than 900 personal stories of birth injury and trauma delivered to Minister Sepuloni, more injuries have been added to the ACC birth injuries bill. ...
Supporting New Zealanders is at the heart of our approach as a Government, and we’re working hard to tackle the big issues Kiwis are facing. While long term challenges like child poverty won’t be solved overnight, we’re putting in place policies that make a real difference for New Zealanders. Here ...
Delegates at the AGM of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand have voted to retain Marama Davidson as Green Party co-leader and to re-open nominations for the other co-leader position. ...
Every New Zealander deserves a healthy, affordable place to call home. We have a comprehensive plan to make it happen, and we’re making good progress. Here's the latest on how we're supporting Kiwis into homes: ...
The Government is allowing wealthy individuals to ‘purchase’ residency while entrenching a system that keeps low-waged workers on a precarious and temporary status, the Green Party says. ...
The Election Access Fund established by a Green Party members’ bill opened for submissions this week, showing positive progress towards more accessible elections. ...
The relationship between Aotearoa New Zealand and Malaysia is to be elevated to the status of a Strategic Partnership, to open up opportunities for greater co-operation and connections in areas like regional security and economic development. Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta met her Malaysian counterpart Dato’ Saifuddin Abdullah today during a ...
With additional trains operating across the network, powered by the Government’s investment in rail, there is need for a renewed focus on rail safety, Transport Minister Michael Wood emphasised at the launch of Rail Safety Week 2022. “Over the last five years the Government has invested significantly to improve level ...
The Foreign Minister has wrapped up a series of meetings with Indo-Pacific partners in Cambodia which reinforced the need for the region to work collectively to deal with security and economic challenges. Nanaia Mahuta travelled to Phnom Penh for a bilateral meeting between ASEAN foreign ministers and Aotearoa New Zealand, ...
Extension of Aotearoa Touring Programme supporting domestic musicians The Programme has supported more than 1,700 shows and over 250 artists New Zealand Music Commission estimates that around 200,000 Kiwis have been able to attend shows as a result of the programme The Government is hitting a high note, with ...
Minister of Defence Peeni Henare will depart tomorrow for Solomon Islands to attend events commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal. While in Solomon Islands, Minister Henare will also meet with Solomon Islands Minister of National Security, Correctional Services and Police Anthony Veke to continue cooperation on security ...
The Government is partnering with Ngāi Tahu Farming Limited and Ngāi Tūāhuriri on a whole-farm scale study in North Canterbury to validate the science of regenerative farming, Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor announced today. The programme aims to scientifically evaluate the financial, social and environmental differences between regenerative and conventional practices. ...
52.5% of people on public boards are women Greatest ever percentage of women Improved collection of ethnicity data “Women’s representation on public sector boards and committees is now 52.5 percent, the highest ever level. The facts prove that diverse boards bring a wider range of knowledge, expertise and skill. ...
I am honoured to support the 2022 Women in Governance Awards, celebrating governance leaders, directors, change-makers, and rising stars in the community, said Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio. For the second consecutive year, MPP is proudly sponsoring the Pacific Governance Leader category, recognising Pacific women in governance and presented to ...
Today Economic and Regional Development Minister Stuart Nash turned the sod for the new Whakatāne Commercial Boat Harbour, cut the ribbon for the revitalised Whakatāne Wharf, and inspected work underway to develop the old Whakatāne Army Hall into a visitor centre, all of which are part of the $36.8 million ...
New Zealanders are not getting a fair deal on some key residential building supplies and while the Government has already driven improvements in the sector, a Commerce Commission review finds that changes are needed to make it more competitive. “New Zealand is facing the same global cost of living and ...
Mana in Mahi reaches a milestone surpassing 5,000 participants 75 per cent of participants who had been on a benefit for two or more years haven’t gone back onto a benefit 89 per cent who have a training pathway are working towards a qualification at NZQA level 3 or ...
The Government has invested $7.7 million in a research innovation hub which was officially opened today by Minister of Research, Science and Innovation Dr Ayesha Verrall. The new facility named Te Pā Harakeke Flexible Labs comprises 560 square metres of new laboratory space for research staff and is based at ...
Unemployment has remained near record lows thanks to the Government’s economic plan to support households and businesses through the challenging global environment, resulting in more people in work and wages rising. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate was 3.3 percent in the June quarter, with 96,000 people classed out ...
Action to address the risks identified in the 2020 climate change risk assessment, protecting lives, livelihoods, homes, businesses and infrastructure A joined up approach that will support community-based adaptation with national policies and legislation Providing all New Zealanders with information about local climate risks via a new online data ...
Māori with mental health and addiction challenges have easier access to care thanks to twenty-nine Kaupapa Māori primary mental health and addiction services across Aotearoa, Associate Minister of Health Peeni Henare says. “Labour is the first government to take mental health seriously for all New Zealanders. We know that Māori ...
A Bill which updates New Zealand’s statistics legislation for the 21st century has passed its third and final reading today, Minister of Statistics David Clark said. The Data and Statistics Act replaces the Statistics Act, which has been in effect since 1975. “In the last few decades, national data and ...
The Accessibility for New Zealanders Bill has passed its first reading in Parliament today, marking a significant milestone to improve the lives of disabled people. “The Bill aims to address accessibility barriers that prevent disabled people, tāngata whaikaha and their whānau, and others with accessibility needs from living independently,” said ...
Kia ora koutou, da jia hao It’s great to be back at this year’s China Business Summit. I would first like to acknowledge Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, former Prime Minister Helen Clark, His Excellency Ambassador Wang Xiaolong, and parliamentary colleagues both current and former the Right Honourable Winston Peters, the ...
Narrowing the expenses considered by lenders Relaxing the assumptions that lenders were required to make about credit cards and buy-now pay-later schemes. Helping make debt refinancing or debt consolidation more accessible if appropriate for borrowers The Government is clarifying the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance (CCCFA) Regulations, to ensure ...
The Firearms Prohibition Order Legislation Bill will be passed through all remaining stages by the end of next week, Police Minister Chris Hipkins said. The Justice Select Committee has received public feedback and finalised its report more quickly than planned. It reported back to the House on Friday. “The Bill will ...
The Government has stepped up activity to protect kauri, with a National Pest Management Plan (NPMP) coming into effect today, Biosecurity Minister Damien O'Connor and Associate Environment Minister James Shaw said. “We have a duty to ensure this magnificent species endures for future generations and also for the health of ...
Prime Minister Ardern met with members of Samoa’s Cabinet in Apia, today, announcing the launch of a new climate change partnership and confirming support for the rebuild of the capital’s main market, on the occasion of the 60th Anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Friendship between Aotearoa New ...
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta departs for the Indo-Pacific region today for talks on security and economic issues at meetings of ASEAN and the East Asia Summit in Cambodia, and during bilateral engagements in Malaysia. “Engaging in person with our regional partners is a key part of our reconnecting strategy as ...
United Nations Headquarters, New York City Thank you, Mr President. Ngā mihi ki a koutou. I extend my warm congratulations to you and assure you of the full cooperation of the New Zealand delegation. I will get right to it. In spite of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the nuclear ...
A major milestone of 10,037 additional public homes has been achieved since Labour came into office, the Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods confirmed today. “It’s extremely satisfying and a testament to our commitment to providing a safety net for people who need public housing, that we have delivered these warm, ...
The Minister of Foreign Affairs Nanaia Mahuta has announced further sanctions on the armed forces and military-industrial complex of the Russian Federation. “President Putin and the Russian military are responsible for violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, which is a grave breach of fundamental international law,” Nanaia Mahuta ...
Easing the process for overseas nurses and provision of up to $10,000 in financial support for international nurses for NZ registration costs. Provide for the costs of reregistration for New Zealand nurses who want to return to work. Covering international doctors’ salaries during their six-week clinical induction courses and ...
A new future between Pacific Aotearoa and Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei is the essence of a Dawn Raids Apology anniversary event in Auckland this month, said Minister for Pacific Peoples Aupito William Sio. One year ago, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern formally apologised to Pacific communities impacted by the Dawn Raids in ...
Tēnā koutou katoa Tuia ngā waka, Tuia ngā wawata, Tuia ngā hou-kura Let us bind our connection, let us bind our vision, let us bind our shared aspiration for peace and prosperity. This year marks a significant milestone in the New Zealand – China relationship. Fifty years ago – 1972 – ...
It’s Cook Islands Language week and the Minister of Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio wants the community to focus on what it means to keep the language alive across the generations. “Our Cook Islands community in Aotearoa have decided to focus on the same theme as last years; ‘ Ātuitui’ia ...
From 1 August an estimated 2.1 million New Zealanders will be eligible to receive the first targeted Cost of Living Payment as part of the Government’s plan to help soften the impact of rising global inflationary pressures affecting New Zealanders, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says. The payments will see eligible ...
· New Zealand’s international border opens to all visitors, including from non-visa waiver countries, and international students from 11:59PM, 31 July 2022. · Cruise ships and recreational yachts able to arrive at New Zealand ports. This evening marks the final step in the Government’s reconnecting plan, with visitors from non-visa ...
New Action Plan to eliminate HIV transmission released for consultation today $18 million Budget 2022 boost Key measures to achieve elimination include increasing prevention and testing, improving access to care and treatment and addressing stigma The Government has today released its plan to eliminate the transmission of HIV in ...
A report released today shows Government support has lifted incomes for Beneficiaries by 40 percent over and above inflation since 2018. “This is the first time this data set has been collected, and it clearly shows Government action is having an impact,” Carmel Sepuloni said. “This Government made a commitment ...
Thirty new warm, safe and affordable apartments to be delivered by Tauhara North No 2 Trust in Tāmaki Makaurau Delivered through Whai Kāinga Whai Oranga programme, jointly delivered by Te Puni Kōkiri and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development Allocation of the apartments will be prioritised to support ...
Disarmament and Arms Control Minister Phil Twyford will lead Aotearoa New Zealand’s delegation to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference at the United Nations in New York next week. “Aotearoa New Zealand has a long history of advocating for a world free of nuclear weapons,” Phil Twyford said. “The NPT has ...
I am delighted to join you today for the launch of the Construction Sector Accord Transformation Plan 2022-2025. I would like to acknowledge my colleagues – the other Accord Ministers, the Accord governance and sector leadership, the CEOs of Government agencies, and leaders from the construction sector. The construction ...
Associate Minister of Transport Kieran McAnulty was joined this morning by the Mayors of Carterton and Masterton, local Iwi and members of the Wairarapa community to turn the first sod on a package of crucial safety improvements for State Highway 2 in Wairarapa. “The work to improve safety on this ...
The board to take the Milford Opportunities Project (MOP) forward has been announced by Minister of Conservation Poto Williams today. “The Milford Opportunities Project is a once in a generation chance to reshape the gateway to Milford Sound Piopiotahi and redesign our transport infrastructure to benefit locals, visitors, and our ...
A new three year plan to transform the construction industry into a high-performing sector with increased productivity, diversity and innovation has been unveiled by the Minister for Building and Construction Dr Megan Woods and Accord Steering group this morning. As lead minister for the Construction Sector Accord, Dr Woods told ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erik Eklund, Professor of History, Australian National University Uranium concentrate, known as yellowcake Nuclear Regulatory Commission/Flickr, CC BY-SA Last week, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton sought to revive the hoary old debate of nuclear power in Australia, announcing an internal review into ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Janelle K Johnstone, PhD Candidate, La Trobe University Photo by Carlin Stiehl for The Boston Globe via Getty Images The iconic Joni Mitchell’s recent surprise performance at the 2022 Newport Folk Festival prompted a world-wide outpouring of love and respect. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lucas Cernusak, Associate Professor, Plant Physiology, James Cook University Hasan Almasi / Unsplash Have you ever wondered just how much water plants need to grow, or indeed why they need it? Plants lose a lot of water when they take in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Natasha Yates, Assistant Professor, General Practice, Bond University Shutterstock Everyone feels tired sometimes. But how do you know whether your tiredness is a problem worth seeing a doctor about? And with all the mental and emotional strain we have been under ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alison Hilton, Academic Chair Secondary Education, Murdoch University www.shutterstock.com There is no shortage of articles about how teachers are stressed, due to their complex jobs and high workloads. But what is happening before they make it to the classroom? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ben Farr-Wharton, Associate Dean of Management, Edith Cowan University Former AFL star Eddie Betts’ revelations about the 2018 Adelaide Crows training camp, which left him feeling like he had been brainwashed and sapped his passion for football, raises all sorts of questions. ...
National is standing by Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell following revelations he was asked to leave King's College due to his involvement in the assault of a younger student. ...
In a submission to the select committee, Auditor-General John Ryan has urged the government to require auditing of the incoming Water Services Entities. ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards. Political Roundup: Luxon’s “New National”Political scientist, Dr Bryce Edwards. Back in the 1990s, Tony Blair rebranded The British Labour Party as “New Labour”, to try and draw a line under past failures. It’s as if Christopher Luxon is attempting to follow suit, and launch “New ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Heather Handley, Associate Professor of Volcanology and Geoscience Communication, University of Twente and Adjunct Associate Professor, Monash University Marco Di Marco/AP The Fagradalsfjall volcano in Iceland began erupting again on Wednesday after eight months of slumber – so far without ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amy Maguire, Associate Professor in Human Rights and International Law, University of Newcastle Israel launched multiple air strikes on Gaza on August 5, in another eruption of open warfare between Israel and Palestinian militants. The latest attacks come just over a year ...
National's newest MP has admitted he was kicked out of his boarding school as a teen for beating a younger student. The party knew of the incident during the candidate selection process for the Tauranga by-election. ...
“The Auditor-General’s comments on Labour’s divisive Three Waters should be the final nail in the coffin for the widely-rejected reforms,” says ACT’s Local Government spokesperson Simon Court. “The Auditor-General raised serious concerns ...
The Government must listen to the concerns of the Auditor General in his submission on the Water Services Entities Bill, Taxpayers' Union Executive Director Jordan Williams says. "The concerns of the Auditor General echo those made by the more than ...
Buzz from the Beehive Safety and security were the common theme in the latest statements – just two – from The Beehive. The first – headed Call for New Zealanders to get on-board with rail safety – tells us this is Rail Safety Week. Transport Minister Michael Wood grabbed the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Shaw, Honorary Senior Fellow in Urban Geography and Planning, The University of Melbourne Author provided Australian cities are good at growing – for decades their states have relied on it. The need to house more people is used to justify ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kirsten Stevens, Lecturer in Arts and Cultural Management, The University of Melbourne AP Photo/Laurent Rebours Australia, and the world, has lost a unique voice with the passing last week of acclaimed director and writer Shirley Barrett. Barrett gained international ...
We have published our submission to the Finance and Expenditure Committee on the Water Services Entities Bill. Because water services are critical to everyone, our focus is on how the public and Parliament are able to influence the performance of ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Santosh Tadakamadla, Associate professor and Discipline Lead for Dentistry, La Trobe University Unsplash/Mieke Campbell, CC BY What is inside teeth? – Nicholas, age 5, Australian Capital Territory Great question, Nicholas. It is important for us to know ...
A gaping hole. That’s how the Federation of Primary Health Aotearoa New Zealand Executive Director is describing the lack of primary and community care funding in the current health reform programme. Angela Francis says the Federation board and ...
E Tipu E Rea Whānau Services are deeply concerned with recent policy announcements in regard to youth unemployment and benefits over the weekend. As an organisation that works with marginalised rangatahi every day, we are always concerned when we ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stu Hayes, Lecturer, Tourism, University of Otago Spraying disinfectant on an Indonesian cattle farm infected with foot and mouth disease in July 22.Getty Images Recent warnings of a “doomsday” scenario if foot and mouth disease (FMD) arrived in New Zealand inevitably ...
Be. announce an exciting new Leadership Development Programme to foster a community of disabled and access leaders equipped with the skills for 21st century governance, and to embed accessibility at a strategic level in the board agenda. Over the past ...
Recommendations from the recent Charities Act Review could mean registered charities with operating expenses over $140,000 per year will be required to disclose information about the reserves they hold, and why they hold them, says Barry Baker, Partner and ...
The prime minister has criticised National's proposed welfare changes saying they prove the opposition party doesn't understand the incentives currently in place to help people into work. ...
Manaaki Rangatahi are concerned that punitive approaches to welfare, such as National's latest policy announcement, and current sanction policies for young people in need of financial support from MSD, run the risk of increasing harm for young people and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Holly Thorpe, Professor in Sociology of Sport and Physical Culture, University of Waikato Shutterstock Given recent and often sensationalist media coverage of the issue, it’s easy to overlook the fact that transgender athletes have participated in elite sport for decades ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, leader of the Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, UNSW Sydney, and leader of the UNSW Node of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Julie Sonnemann, Principal Advisor Education, Grattan Institute www.shutterestock.com This Friday, state and federal education ministers will meet for the first time since the federal election. The stakes are high. Ministers meet as teacher shortages and workload pressures are dominating ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alex Simpson, Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Macquarie University Crown Resorts’ striking new A$2 billion casino on Sydney’s Barangaroo Point opens its doors to gamblers for the first time this week. But only if they are “VIPs”. Its licence to operate remains conditional, ...
One of New Conservative’s core principles is a commitment to the sanctity of life. We believe human life is sacred, from conception to natural death. These principles are not held by the ruling Labour/Greens coalition; neither are they held by National ...
The magenta wash shot through the true blue National branding is one way Christopher Luxon is making his mark as party leader, and he'll be hoping this past weekend's party conference will be another, writes Jane Patterson. ...
New Zealand Defence Force personnel have remembered all those who served in Solomon Islands during World War II, as they attended commemorations to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal today. A group of personnel from the Royal New Zealand ...
Minister of Social Development Carmel Sepuloni says there's no evidence National's welfare plan will work, while the Greens say it shows a "depressingly familiar side of the National Party". ...
Minister of Social Development Carmel Sepuloni says there's no evidence National's welfare plan will work, while the Greens say it shows a "depressingly familiar side of the National Party". ...
The Greens are the only party with a comprehensive plan to support people on low incomes so everyone in and out of work has enough to make ends meet and provide for their families. “It is clearer today than ever before that thousands of families ...
Sylvia Wood has been elected President of the National Party by the Party’s board of directors at its annual conference in Christchurch. Ms Wood has been on the board since 2021 and will serve as National’s 18th President after the retirement of ...
PROFESSOR ELIZABETH RATAgave this address – ‘In Defence of Democracy’ – to the New Zealand ACT Party Annual Conference, in Wellington and Auckland, last month. Although the address was given at a political party event, she says she was a guest speaker and the ideas she presents are her ...
National has taken aim at those on welfare for longer than a year, in particular young people, saying it's unacceptable in a time of extreme labour shortages. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Liz Giuffre, Senior Lecturer in Communication, University of Technology Sydney Judith Durham, one of Australia’s most recognisable voices, has passed away at 79. An icon of the Australian music industry as lead singer for The Seekers and a solo artist, hers ...
RNZ News Protesters blocked roads in central Auckland this afternoon for the second time in two weeks, marching past the main entrance to the city’s hospital. The Auckland motorway onramp used by protesters two weeks ago was closed ahead of another rally at the Auckland Domain today. Aucklanders were warned ...
National Party outgoing president Peter Goodfellow has acknowledged mistakes in his final speech, but says he does not regret trying to move the party into the 21st century. ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers were dishing out money to musicians and Māori farmers over the past day or so while also announcing awards for women and – in the case of our Minister of Defence – travel plans for a a trip to the Solomon Islands. The announcement of ...
RNZ Pacific The Solomon Islands government has prompted anger by ordering the censorship of the national broadcaster. The government of Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has forbidden it from publishing material critical of the government, which will vet all stories before broadcast. The Guardian reports that on Monday the government announced ...
PNG Pacific A former Papua New Guinea military commander who drew up a plan 17 years ago to try to end gun violence says the first thing he would do is ban the public from owning guns. Major-General Jerry Singirok compiled a gun control report in 2005. It included 244 ...
By Peter Korugl of the PNG Post-Courier “Shame on yous!” … these are the three powerful words Julie Soso, former governor and candidate for the Eastern Highlands regional seat, had to say for the newly elected members to Papua New Guinea’s Parliament — all men so far. Soso, Carol Mayo ...
National's deputy Nicola Willis has sought to extinguish any doubt over her tax plan, telling members the party will deliver as much relief as it "responsibly can". ...
PSNA is holding nationwide rallies on Saturday August 6th in solidarity with Palestinians resisting ethnic cleansing in Masafer Yatta, an area of the South Hebron hills which is home to over 1200 Palestinians living in 20 villages. “Many of these people ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. A couple of weeks ago I received a number of articles mainly about Covid19 deaths in the United States. (See below.) As I have noted in the past, it is important to address the reported facts, rather than to ignore them. As they stand, these articles ...
Former Labour Party leader Andrew Little and the Prime Minister's chief press secretary have appeared as witnesses in a trial about anonymous donations to the country's two biggest political parties. ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta has met with her Chinese counterpart face-to-face for the first time at the East Asia and ASEAN summits in Cambodia. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Micah DJ Peters, Senior Research Fellow / Director – Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) National Policy Research Unit (Federal Office), University of South Australia Shutterstock Former Health Department Chief Martin Bowles has reportedly proposed “virtual nurses” could help address ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra University of Canberra Professorial Fellow Michelle Grattan and University of Canberra Associate Professor Caroline Fisher discuss the week in politics. Michelle and Caroline discuss the first fortnight sitting of the new parliament, with the government’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matt King, Director of the ARC Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science, University of Tasmania Shutterstock Atomic clocks, combined with precise astronomical measurements, have revealed that the length of a day is suddenly getting longer, and scientists don’t know ...
It sounded curiously like something out of a Marxist textbook – the notion that power sits with ownership. The relationship between ownership and power – it seems – should be more important to us than the issue of representation in the country’s democratic institutions or the concept of one person, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hassan Vally, Associate Professor, Epidemiology, Deakin University Shutterstock The SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID, originated from bats and then, probably after passing through an intermediary host, gained the ability to infect humans. Many new viruses that emerge in this way, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Zoe Richards, Senior Research Fellow, Curtin University Shutterstock In what seems like excellent news, coral cover in parts of the Great Barrier Reef is at a record high, according to new data from the Australian Institute of Marine Science. But ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra University of Canberra Professorial Fellow Michelle Grattan and University of Canberra Associate Professor Caroline Fisher discuss the week in politics. Michelle and Caroline discuss the first fortnight sitting of the new parliament, with the government’s ...
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Someone unemployed with savings is paying more tax than a farmer make $500,000 from a Fonterra dairy payout! Because the farmer was incentivised to borrow to much grow exports, so much so that they had to borrow yet more to pay for weekly groceries. And there’s no debate about how both Labour and National administrations have allowed this? Its like some Australia media-banking complex has been playing farmers and home buyers off against one another to load up on profits and insure that many citizens are indebted, serfs. The harder these people worked the more into debt they got, and the only people who survived the eonomical mauling were out of work bennies or those pocketing the fees to offshore the profits (like John Key). And so the hate against people who are not in debt because their not employed is merely another sign of how upside down the NZ economy is. Its like a Earthquake, where because all the land drops it looks like the river has risen! The farmers are claimed to be the backbone river of our economy, and yet the policies of successive governments were working faster and harder to make sure that the land was falling away faster. The reality is the debt on the economy is flooding the whole economy because of this massive parliamentary bait and switch. Parliament claiming its own competence on the economy because Fonterra was paying out heaps in profits! What a scam, they were writing themselves bonuses left, right and centre! Nice limos and all!
Allowing foreign owned banks to gouge on the hard working farmers and urban employees.
And National, the supposed bastion of business expertise, where taking heaps of donations from the top end of town who were profiting so much from he gouging of us all.
You lost me a bit there zeebop but if you are referring to the media release exposing the fact that the 17,000 dairy farmers paid $26 million in tax while the PAYE wage and salary earners paid $23 billion in tax, then I hears ya.
The entire agriculture, fishing and forestry industry paid just $319 million.
Or to put it another way the average dairy farmer paid just $1,500 in tax in 2009. This is about half of what a pensioner couple paid in tax in 2009.
This leads to many questions and matters that completely undermine several developments in the agricultural sector..
Such as the Fed Farmers constant carping about being the true New Zealanders paying for everything like teachers and doctors and police and etc. They just don’t.
Such as, if the farmers are that unprofitable with commodity prices at such high levels then how on earth can they dare to have the cheek to take more money again from the real payers for New Zealand (the wage and salary earner) for such ideas as irrigation projects? (farms already unprofitable, and on top of that, cannot get private funding for the investment because it does not stack up. I mean, ffs there some bullshit going on)
Such as, …… on it goes.
It’s good current practice for farms to be run as businesses on the profit borderline. They make their big money from capital gains. And they also have an advantage in being able to cover normal living expenses as business costs (ie tax free), like housing, vehicles and fuel, some food, power, phone/internet etc.
But don’t you agree PeteG it is bad for the country?
We get stuff all tax, polluted waterways and increased debt as farmers keep borrowing.
This particular article has convinced me more than ever that a capital gains tax is a must.
It has it’s down sides for sure, and I think the tax burden should be more evenly spread – but we do rely a lot on the primary sector for business activity, employment and exports, so it has to remain viable.
It looks to me like any viability problems they have are far less to do with the tax that they don’t pay, and much more to do with the speculation on land prices.
Surely, land is a cost in a farming business (just like ‘taxes’).
Turning it into the profit centre is just too stupid for words, if you want ‘farming’ to be a business
What your saying there is that, as it’s so unprofitable, we have to keep subsidising the farmers. This is, of course, taking the wealth away from more profitable work and more important community work.
John Shewin (sp?) from Price Waterhouse Coopers and the Tax Working Group was on the radio talking with Kathryn Ryan about it. Basically he said a capital gains tax is problematic because it’s usually only charged when an asset is sold, and this also creates a lock-in effect. A land tax is much better because we could start charging it quickly (although it would need to be phased in over a few years).
Yep a land tax is the way to go (= a form of asset tax).
Adam Smith, the capitalist’s guru, did not believe in taxing workers at all. he believed it was better to tax the owners of land and capital. Taxing workers was an extra cost on productivity, while taxing owners encouraged efficient use of resources, including monetary capital.
CV problem with the likes of a land tax, is that there are many out there who have min cash incomes. The likes of pensioners, mum and dad (especially after buying energy shares) are struggling to cope with rates, mortgage and the general cost of living, lets just add on another, unless there is a tax rebalancing ;-).
Dairy farming on a technical economic bases does not add up. Those enjoying the idnustry are long timers who had little debt, but once they sell he new owner is now a slave.
In Sydney a mate is paying $1700/week rent yet this does not even cover the land tax for the land owners, and yet in Sydney there is no signs of a property collapse (not yet)the bubble is still expanding.
It’s really easy:
1.) Rates (Payable to loacl government) set as a low %age of income
2.) Land tax (Payable to central government) set at a flat rate (probably about $1) per m^2 per year.
3.) Capital gains tax (Payable to central government).
This make rates and the land tax affordable by everyone (It’s likely that most peoples rates+land tax would be cheaper than present rates) so we don’t have to put silly limits on it. It also brings in immediate revenue for the government and stops speculation and farming for capital gains.
Good for whom? Not for the country and not for the people of the country who are being told that their home help is being cut, their special education services are being cut, their training entitlements are being cut.
And not just a capital gains tax, a straight out asset tax is what we need, on net asset holdings over $2M.
A Japanese housewife looks at investing in OZ or NZ, OZ has a Capital Gains Tax.
So NZ whores itself for cheap to attract their investment, then we have to flaunt
the wears a little, boom the bubble, and return those investments with a risk premium.
It could be different, we could actually work harder for the investment, you know
by having competent government which targets unproductivity, like lack of
public transport alternatives, like holding back low level sprawl and build higher.
NZ has huge potential, and huge risks, its just shocking Wellington is on a fault,
Auckland is on a isthmus of volcanoes, and nobody cares to build
sustainable efficient city southwards. Its always more talk of maybe proper
rail in Auckland, well if they don’t want it build in in S.Auckland. Build a
circle line around the Bombay Hills! Do something already, because oil
is quickly becoming a luxury.
PeteG “They make their big money from capital gains”. Speculators of the highest order.
“they also have an advantage in being able to cover normal living expenses as business costs (ie tax free), like housing, vehicles and fuel, some food, power, phone/internet etc.” Makes them tax cheats. You are not able to claim many of those things as expenses yet you and I know they do. It makes them tax cheats.
IRD must know, politicians must know, so it seems it’s an allowed form of tax cheating.
Many small businesses tax cheat as well, for example not declaring all cash sales as income. Many individuals tax cheat too, mates rates, under the table sort of stuff.
Wow ‘allowable tax cheating’
Let’s see what the IRD thinks of your naive concept lol. BTW I heard the IRD was cracking down on restaurants suspected of doing cash business.
The way a speculator makes money is by entering and leaving positions, buy low sell high, farmers are not speculators on land price, they are pansies for speculators. Its like the Fonterra needs more investment now story, where the farmers allowed any farm owner to trade in future calls on profits, allowing the speculators. Now all a invested need do is own and run a dairy farm and buy up all the poor indebted farmers future profits.
Same goes for housing, to win as a speculator you need to buy a home, talk it up, sell it again, buy more. So the speculators who won in the bubble where those that moved further out from the main centres talking up each suburb in turn, buying in cheap, sitting on properties, and selling once the scarcity had forced up prices. Borrowing the whole time and leveraging to the hilt.
Those caught when the music stopped would have large numbers of homes, and huge leveraged debt positions. Nasty.
Farmers are kidding themselves if they thought they’d see much of the speculative profits, since only a few could buy a chain of farms, that’s what Carfer was trying but turns out he didn’t get why, so was caught trying to keep them running rather than selling down debt the moment the oil infused bubble in property came to an end. Now we’re all in free fall, we just have no reach bottom yet.
Oh, and I welcome our new foreign overloads, UK-OZ-US-Japan-China.
Excuse my ignorance vto, but where might I find these figures on the internet?
On stuff http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/5017285/Is-the-rural-sector-paying-enough-tax
I think the situation is appalling. PeteG above refers to farmers making their money via capital gain, which is entirely true… which means…
That farmers are speculators of the highest order, taking on huge unmanageable debt in the hope of increasing property prices. At the exact same time as they lambast urban types for doing similar (though on a much smaller scale). Honestly, I have become increasingly disappointed in the attitude and approach of the farming sector.
They are not paying their way. In an environmental sense, in a tax paying sense, in a smarmy ‘we are the real New Zealanders’ sense.
Someone prove me wrong, please..
Dead right VTO.
One of the worst aspects is the speculation and continued price rises of farmland that this has encouraged.
To paraphrase Selwyn Pellett Kiwi farmers have been borrowing more and more money from Aussie banks to buy the same farms off each other. And paying more and more interes to Aussie banks rather than tax to the Government. This is unsustainable and silly.
Bring on a Capital Gains tax or as suggested by CV a land tax.
I just noticed something truly sad and mirthful at the bottom of that stuff.co.nz article…
At the bottom it has a link entitled “Next Farming Story” and do you know what it is ??? Get this… “Bumper Year for Fonterra Farmers”.
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Thanks vto, I appreciate the link. What else is sad is that in light of how much tax farmers are paying, there is no I repeat no justification for the millions of dollars the Natz are planning to throw at their irrigation systems.
Get mad. It’s the only way we’re going to get the system to change so that farmers and their like aren’t bludging off the rest of us any more.
Wouldn’t mind betting that the majority of NZ university students who come from down on the farm, have parents who have organised their finances so that their children qualify for student allowance. Gee they must be an impoverished lot. I wonder what colour the diesel is in their run-around-town SUV.
…apparently their annual subscription to the New Zealand Herald is tax deductible as well … the list goes on.
Hey. About 80% of NZ Debt is private debt. Billions involved. Are there any figures which show if the Agriculture/dairy farms make up significant proportion of that debt?
If dairy farms hold the great proportion of that debt (elephant in the room) then the Budget austerity would be down to dairy farming rather than Mum and Dad spendthrifts. Serious if so?
You could therefore argue that selling all the farms to overseas interests would be benefical in reducing NZ’s private debt issue.
I think though that the larger issue is property speculation across all sectors, and the debt we have as a result of that. Whether capital gains tax or some other mechanism is employed NZ would be in a much stronger postion if we carried less debt at a personal level, and for the most part that debt is incurred in a property purchase.
I would be interested though in seeing total tax take for the sector over a number of years, possible last year could be somethign of an anomoly?
The only anomaly dairy farmers suffered last year was near record payouts.
Sure, if you didn’t give a shit about our balance of payments, that would be an argument you could make.
So do you reckon these guys are farmers or are they property speculators?
“So do you reckon these guys are farmers or are they property speculators?”
At the moment a growing number of them are both.
My concern is based on the debt level that farmers are carrying and associating that with the debt levels that homeowners are carrying after a speculative property boom, we are in a commodoty boom at the moment and that is likely to reflect in higher demand/pricing fro farmland which will exacerbate the situation we have at the moment. And possible end in a bust if the commodity pricing falls sharply.
“Sure, if you didn’t give a shit about our balance of payments, that would be an argument you could make.”
Sorry that was with tongue firmly in cheek. I think that there is a lot of merit in protecting the ag sector ( it is too big to fail) if necessary from itself. And looking at strategies to limit the demand or cost of agricultural land, Labour i think want to limit land sales >5ha to oversees interests. I think thats a good starting point. I don’t object to farmers making a capital gain over time, but protecting them, and NZ, from a boom bust in land prices is in the national interest.
As far as tax take goes though i do think we should look at the contribution over a numebr of years to get a better understanding of their tax contribution ( or perhaps lack of it)
It isn’t technically difficult to deflate the farm asset price speculation bubble, and get the land back to its core business of making food instead of feeding Australian banks interest and fees.
Mate you’re being completely disingenuous suggesting that if we looked back an extra couple of years we’ll discover that farmers have only started not paying tax this latest year.
This has been a known issue for many many years.
How is it disingenous to suggest looking at one year in isolation may not give a thorough picture?
IIRC 2009-10 was a year of devastating drought for the major dairying regions, and we were warned at the time that most farms would run at a deficit for the year.
Yeah, so devastating that the average Fonterra farmer payout in 2010 was over $800K
Maybe they should have “droughts” like that more often eh buddy?
BTW I am sure you know, but tax is assessed annually based on financial years, not on averages over whatever time period you deem convenient.
So you want to only look at revenue in assessing a tax bill interesting..
No acknowledgement that expenses may form a part of a tax calculation.
BTW I am sure that you know that the av$800k payout isn’t bankable profit. And you accuse me of being disingenous.
I will say again that attempting to draw a conclusion based on one years figures ( and ignoring contributing factors) may well be unfair and inaccurate.
I’m still waiting for people to show us the comparable figures from other years then, seeing they are complaining that these figures are such an outlier.
But for some reason, they seem reluctant to.
Any significant law changes happen regarding farm finances over the last decade? No? Then one year is pretty much the same as another.
Oh, except that the farmers got massive subsidies in 2010.
Hmmmm, it appears that we pay and pay and pay but never seem to get the benefits from the payments. We get lots of negatives though – polluted rivers, stream and lakes, disappearing water tables and high food prices.
Interesting summary of some books which I suggest is a case for socialism …
Human beings, Haidt argues, are “the giraffes of altruism.” Just as giraffes got long necks to help them survive, humans developed moral minds that help them and their groups succeed. Humans build moral communities out of shared norms, habits, emotions and gods, and then will fight and even sometimes die to defend their communities.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/opinion/17brooks.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha212
Sounds to me like the biologists need to be talking with the psychologists. Psychopathy has a tendency to have no conscience but also has a tendency towards excessive selfishness is regarded as an illness. There’s been some discussion about psychopathy being genetic. This would indicate, especially in association with the linked studies, that being selfish isn’t in peoples nature as the RWNJs say. In fact, it’s the exact opposite. This would suggest that we should be passing laws that encourage cooperation between people rather than competition.
In other words, for the last three decades we’ve been following the wrong course – thanks Labour 👿
Thanks for the link jcuknz.
I remember when I studied zoology in the late 70s just after ‘Sociobiology’ and ‘The Selfish Gene’ were published. I had a chat with a classmate who got really depressed at the implications (i.e., we’re all ‘seflfish’). I said to her then that that was a misunderstanding and that Dawkins misunderstood what he was talking about (I’ve always been very sure of myself). I pointed out that natural selection was a process of replicating genes – you can call that ‘selfish’ if you like – but there’s no reason why natural selection wouldn’t select genuine altruism in individual organisms (i.e., in people). People, that is, can evolve to be genuinely unselfish in the right (social) environment of selection and that could help replicate genes.
She wasn’t really convinced – which was a shame. Still, it’s good to see the science catching up with me after all these years. 🙂
One correction to the info in the link – as I understand it, classic ‘group selection’ is still pretty much a heresy (or, at least, controversial); what isn’t is selection for ‘groupiness’ which, in the right environment, can help with individual (ultimately gene) ‘replication’. That is, it isn’t so much that one group out-competes another in head-to-head competition but that, within a group, being generally cooperative increases one’s own chances of survival (partly because the group is more effective/efficient at various tasks than are lone individuals and partly because, once sociality occurs, you’d better not buck the group too much or too often because others have a lot to lose from a breakdown of the group!). (I could be wrong, though, and should read Sloan-Wilson more closely to check.)
This link and this follow on link (which is the abstract for a paper by Nowak et al. – Nowak is mentioned in your link) on the evolution of ‘eusociality’ (in Nature) lead to the paywall but show that this issue is very much still at the forefront of evolutionary thinking.
NZIR have provided some facts from an organisation that measures international competitiveness and ranks the results;
“New Zealand’s business efficiency dropped two places from 22 to 24.
Government efficiency fell three places, from 5 to 8.”
We know that the plan to increase Government efficiency is to cut back on resources and hope it makes a difference. What is the plan for improved business efficiency, they have a long way to go to catch up with Governments excellent 8th in the rankings?
“Joycie” has made a tactical change re the 10 year Commerce Comm. ‘hands off’ period on Ultra Fast. There is ample scope for opposition parties here re potential broadband price rises given the million plus households with broadband.
http://business.scoop.co.nz/2011/05/18/joyce-gives-up-on-ufb-regulatory-holiday/
Yay! I’m so glad! That was by far the stupidest provision to include in there.
I could have bought into a 3-year holiday, during the significant initial roll-out stage. But any longer than that was sheer lunacy.
Good job Labour & Greens!
According Clare Curran it was the Maori Party but what they managed to get is actually worse.
Right, sounds like a bait and switch. They replaced the provision with another one that will have almost the same outcome.
God, John key comes across as an arrogant ass in the House, while shouting at people and sneeringly denying the unfairness of the tax switch & pronouncing black is white.
The budget papers say the tax switch was:
1. Broadly fiscally neutral, and
2. GST raise was more-than-compensated for everyone with tax cuts.
Key doesn’t care about reality, he has the budget papers with the maths on it that prove him right.
Lanthanide – I noted while listening to some intelligent guru about nz finances yesterday that the idea of the fiscally neutral tax cuts and GST rises blah blah was that the whole premise relied on growth in the economy which hasn’t happened and that is why we are fiscally neutered instead.
On yesterday’s radionz news there was an item on Filipino caregivers being refused renewal of work permits apparently on the basis that they are considered unskilled workers. This underlines a long-term disdain for the work of people who care for other people, from mothers, to caregivers, foster parents, as well as aged care perhaps even teachers!
If the decision makers had to do the job of caregiver to the aged, or some with an intellectual disability for even a week they would find that not only is it hard testing work, but summoning up the reserves of human concern for patients/clients who may be all of difficult, demanding and heavy to move, would leave them exhausted and drained.
The middle class, and in fact,all classes, want good standards when dealing with vulnerable people, but there is not respect for the people who are working to those standards. Anybody can do their jobs is the refrain. Well they can’t, won’t and don’t and these workers deserve more consideration. They are needed now and it is well known that elderly numbers are growing.
Most Filipino women who have a background of appropriate training would have more Skill, Concern for proper treatment of people and Integrity in their little fingers than immigration ‘officiousals’ have in their whole department.
Absolutely. I heard a lot of that interview as well, and while I could be wrong, I think she said that many of these Filipina women are actually trained nurses, who have not managed to get registration in New Zealand, perhaps because of their English.. At least one of the women killed at the language school in the CTV building in Christchurch was exactly that, a Filipina nurse studying English in order to get her registration with the Nursing Council.
Yes Vicky32 I remember that there was a reference to previous training and status in thePhillipines. How sad about the woman being in the CTV building and ironic that she was trying to improve her English at the same time that the immigration’s dalek leader was planning to get them out of NZ.
x2+ wage rate for care givers in Australia. Nuff said?
No-gratitude-just-your-car-thanks
I thought this was a story about the worlds banks.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/5018810/No-gratitude-just-your-car-thanks
Lo
Na, the world banks wouldn’t have been worried about getting caught.
Just heard john key talking about the budget on’t radio the day before the budget.
“Labour this Labour that Labour Labour Labour Labour Labour Labour” after that I got bored.
Yeah, you get the impression he is less concerned about what his own government is screwing up on now.
John Key – much better in opposition.
That is almost worth a billboard.
On Mora’s Afternoon
Just heard the Penguin give us some more of his knowledge.
“If Banks wins Epsom and Act only get 4 percent, it could give Banks a lot of power in the party, particularly as his seat would bring Brash in on the Electorate rule.” Then the Penguin opined that if Banks was to have a falling out and resigned his seat, Act would be gone.” I think not. At the time of the Election is the determining issue. Act list members would remain (but without validity).
Actually, National could work this gerrymander to their advantage. They could get the 2nd party support of Act on Banks’ back. Banks could then resign and force a bye election in Epsom and stand for the National Party. The National party supporters of Epsom could then vote for Banks. He would then return to parliament as a member of the party he really pays allegiance to and everyone is happy. National get an extra electorate member, and have a support party that has got less than 5% support.
John Banks, learnt all he knows as a member of Rob’s Mob, is the ACT candidate for Epsom. “Rob this, and Rob that… was his mantra.” Rob must be turning in his grave right now… Banksy is aligning himself with Douglas, Brash, Richardson et al. What an opportunist Banksy has become.
I think if National and Banks played such a game, they’d be vilified far more than Hone is.
I mean really, it would look like this:
1. Resign National
2. Join Act
3. Win Act seat to get them into parliament
4. Quit act
5. Join National
6. Re-win seat under National
You got it in one. Okay your point 5. National don’t select you and put up their own man.
6. Re-win seat under National.
Just watched Back Benches and I must say if Jami Lee Ross was the answer, then what the f*** was the question?
Which politician missed their calling as a greasy used car salesman?