But she wouldn't be drawn on how soon the hike would come.
"We will be addressing income adequacy this term, but I'm not going to rule in or out what will be in the Budget… I cannot talk about what might be in or out of the Budget before the 20th of May. We'll just have to wait until then."
btw, that ‘target’ was an increase demanded by the Welfare Expert Advisory Group set in 2019 and as a full immediate increase.
So they are already two years behind, and per this announcement think it will take three years to roll out. But i guess it passes at doing something at some stage.
and last, if this increase is on the main benefit, pretty much any other fringe benefit will go down and some people will probably be worse off. Details, Details.
His right-wing narcissist precursor Paul Henry didn't do so well over there I recall. Aussies' superior mental toughness means they have no time for vain puffballs with an unconcealed agenda.
Posturing…probably his contract negotiations are coming up and as a 53 yr old trying to pretend hes 33 doesnt have a lot bargaining chips left
And they have a new hire for the Wellington ZB breakfast show and christchurch cant be far behind
Highest rating commercial breakfast radio show. Whether most listeners tune in for him, would be happy with some other generic dickhead, or are primarily interested in the actual news is also an interesting question.
Here is a voice rarely heard in western media…an Hamas official from the legally elected representatives of the Palestinian people the Hamas party…. Dr. Basem Naim who heads of the Council on International Relations in Gaza for Hamas, and former head of Gaza's Health Ministry.
We willl say it again, the United States is a direct participant in the crimes against our people.
Why?
We are asking ourselves, why?
What is the fault, what is the sin we have done?
That the Americans are supporting the crimes against our people.
The Americans are dealing with Israel, as a state above the law.
Is this the way to peace and justice?
This is the law of the jungle.
We are not attacking anyone. We are seeking freedom and dignity and independance.
We are a people under occupation, and we have the right to defend ourselves……
@ 23:15 minutes
…….Look today the international community, the whole countries of the world are calling for a Security Council session, or meeting to call for a ceasefire.
I am sure that the Security Council will not come and support Hamas, or support the resistance. They will call for both parties to stop the escalation, and firing, and so on, and on.
No wait you forget, Biden/Harris are the lesser of two evils…oh that's right I forgot, that is a position we can only take from our safe living rooms, because USA is not an active terrorist in their relationship with our country as they are with so many countries all round this world of ours..including of course the terrorized Palestinian people…….and then just two days ago, this big fuck you with the middle finger well and truly waving in the worlds face to peace in the Middle East by way of the lesser of two evils Democratic Party this outrage…..
Biden administration approved $735 million arms sale to Israel
In this great contest between caring about people and caring about profit the winner is…..PROFIT (of all sorts not just money, power etc.) It just makes sense – money and profit are the measures that chop clean-edged through all other agitations to a clear decision. /sarc
At the time that Israel was recognised as a member of the United Nations in 1949, this was conditional on two things.
Israel is a full member of the Unitied Nations, if two conditions are fulfilled; The independence of a Palestinian state, and the right of return for all Palestinian refugees.
As long as these two conditions are not fulfilled, Israel must not be a member of the United Nations, of the international community.
It is strange that this is only on paper.
Therefore in the 21st Century, we can not accept having an occupation for more than 70 years backed up by the United States.
I have heard Hamas officials say this many times.
I recall one Hamas official saying, "We don't care what you call the country, Israel or Palestine, or whatever. We just want equal rights, including the right of return for all those Palestinians expelled by Israel in 1948 and since.
And we will never give up this demand.
Because of this principled stand by Hamas, Israeli officials have accused Hamas of wanting the destruction of Israel as a Jewish state and so therefore a terrorist organisation.
From that blinkered point of view, Hamas demand for the right of return, (A right by the way enjoyed by any person of the Jewish faith), would of course mean the end of the state of Israel as an ethno-religious apartheid state with separate laws that discrimate on race and religion.
(Under pressure from Israel and the US, the P.A., Palestinian Authority, which rules in the West Bank has officially dropped the demand for the right of return.
As reward for turning their backs on the millions of Palestinian refugees, the PA which is the inheritor of the PLO, was taken off the US terrorist list, and given limited autonomy in the West Bank, in part collaboration with the Isreli occupier)
It might also might be worth mentioning here that Hamas as well as being the democatically elected government of Gaza, also carried the democratic vote in the Westbank, but the result was overturned by the PA
When Biden says he is having discussions with both sides. He means Israel and the PA.
Hama as a designated ‘terrorist organisation’ is not included.
This bad faith bargaining is no recipe for de-escalation.
"The higher proportion of cases among Māori and Pacific peoples linked to the August 2020 cluster demonstrates the significant risk of infection and transmission in these communities," said a paper which Cabinet considered on March 1
"The rate of infection during the second wave was six people per 100,000 for Māori (47 cases) and 32.3 people per 100,000 for Pacific peoples (104 cases), compared to rates of 1.3 for European/other and 2.2 for Asian per 100,000.
"Officials recommend that in the roll-out of Tier 3 to older people, a risk-adjusted age
factor of 15 years (younger) is to be explicitly applied to Māori and Pacific peoples."
Did anyone else hear the lady who commutes regularly on the new Hamilton-Auckland train being interviewed on Jesse Mulligan's show (RNZ) just before 2pm yesterday?
She loved the service and said it was much more relaxing than driving. She also said it was running at 80% plus capacity. Ye of little faith in these columns.
Given this success the next move is obviously more Hamilton-Auckland train services and a better/faster section into central Auckland.
Good to hear. A lot of people can't cope with anything that doesn't solve 95% of problems in one application. Perhaps delivered by cleanser Handy Andy, et al (I don't have a particular al in mind).
One of those using the train is NZ Herald journalist and podcaster Frances Cook, who lives in Hamilton
Any train is better then a car. That does not mean people can't voice their objections or fears considering how public transport is treated in NZ.
And considering that public transport is often set up to fail or to be run on a minimum, i think it is ok for people to be apprehensive of this in the long term to be again to little too late and not enough after that.
Meanwhile, WDC was concerned continued spending on passenger trains by the WRC would increase the rates of rural residents.
The district council voiced its concerns about the potential for "rates creep" in submissions on the regional council's long-term plan, now open for public feedback.
In a decision on Tuesday the WDC cautioned the WRC about extending the service to include additional inter-peak services on Wednesdays and extend the service from Papakura into Auckland.
The council said the uptake of the existing Te Huia service was unknown and the district council was concerned about potential rates creep into rural district councils to support service between two metro centres.
The Te Huia passenger service between Hamilton and Auckland is supported by $12.8m of money from local authorities, plus $85.8m from the government.
The cost over the first three years of the proposed plan would fall on Hamilton ratepayers.
The estimates are $400,000 for the 2021/22 year, $100,000 for the 2022/23 year, and $3.005 million in year 2023/24.
Hamilton city rates increases to pay for it are said to be 53 cents per $100,000 of each ratepayer's property's capital value in year 2021/22, 13 cents per $100,000 of capital value in year 2022/23 and $1.61 per $100,000 of capital value in year 2023/24.
I hope that you are correct. I would love trains to go everywhere. I love them. But i can see rates not being a good way to finance – even part finance – a public utility.
And i can see rates increases for that to be a point of contention in the future.
This is Who are the hoi polloi which is announced with – Google makes us all seem clever. As he rambles on with general facts and informed comment on them, it is very restful even quite funny. It is good for a mind break, and a switch from listening to people who are always trying to impress us with, they know best, while we try to get our poor minds to understand the latest panacea.
Gordon Campbell on Scoop has a piece on the times of the future Governor-General and how that will encompass the change to the UK throne from Queen Elizabeth to the reign of her deeply uncharismatic son.
I don't think he is at all. Naturally different because of his age. He seems a pleasant man who has an interest in organics and managing his estate well. And has a settled life with his wife after big trauma. Gordon says he is 'deeply' uncharismatic. Could it be that Gordon is still in allegiance to the past beautiful woman?
In a rare moment of weakness, I watched the 6pm news.
There was an item about the sanctions beneficiaries face if they do not turn up at court. It featured footage of Ardern getting stuck in to Bennett about the injustice.
Best part of 1 and a half terms later no change in this punitive stance. Sepuloni had a sound bite along the lines of when in power, there are lots of things to do…
My assumption would be it would be unlawful to provide funds,that would enable a miscreant with a warrant for arrest(for not attending court) to evade capture.
Hopefully its removal is part of this work "Continuing to remove ineffective sanctions that negatively impact individuals and families. We have already started this by removing the harmful section 192 sanction which punished women for not naming the other parent of their child, and we will remove the subsequent child policy in 2021 to ensure parents are not penalised for having an additional child while on a benefit"
Oh blah. Have to run it past roly-poly genial Robertson first I suppose.
And this failure – to adjust tax rates. People tend to forget most of us pay 15% on most things we trade in or services, as well as income tax, (also beneficiaries pay some income tax on their benefits). I note that the IRD is calling the winter heating payments, a wage or some word, that sounds as if they want to tax it though the official gummint has said it's not taxable.
Terry Baucher has just written a piece for The Spinoff arguing that our tax system is "broken". The tax thresholds were last set in October 2008, Baucher told Jesse Mulligan.
Good on Terry if he has written a full informative piece. I haven't time to read it – have forms to fill out for some services with personal information that could end up on the web through some hacker. The web is soooo efficient, we mere mortals in authority can't be bothered to even speak to us and we don't speak to our friends, too busy looking at our hand-held portals to the world.
ome health workers have been left unpaid by a cyber-attack that has crippled Waikato District Health Board’s computer systems.
And they’ve been told they won’t be paid for another two weeks.
The cyber attack has been plaguing the DHB since Tuesday morning, when it blocked all information technology (IT) services except email in Waikato, Thames, Tokoroa, Te Kūiti and Taumarunui hospitals.
The incident has now created a massive payroll issue, with some staff members only receiving part of their pay, while others didn’t get paid at all.
Another person who works for the Waikato DHB confirmed the pay issues, and said it sounded like everyone had been affected.
Waikato DHB was approached for comment on Thursday morning and was yet to respond.
OK, gonna spoil a joke for all the freeze peach advocates here who reckon there's no right to protection from being offended by speech.
The racist who was filmed being racist in a store during the Christmas break? Cops cranked the wheel of justice slowly, but she's made a court appearance.
[…] charged with using insulting words while being reckless about whether any person was alarmed or insulted by those words.
(my emphasis).
Section 4 of the summary Offenses Act was last amended in 1998, to adjust the value of the fine. Another subsecton includes the word "offence".
Looks like causing offence and insulting people in public has been illegal for decades, with no inexorable slide into woke dictatorship.
Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 ‘redesign of the welfare state’ – which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty – various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being ‘Working for Families’, introduced in 2005. ...
Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. ...
Chris Trotter writes – MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. The data is from February this ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications:Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
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The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
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The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. ...
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It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
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Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
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This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
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While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
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The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Changes to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector. "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner. The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel. “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says. "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board. “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti. “I have asked her to ...
The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States. “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research. “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
COMMENTARY:By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38)Hot off the press, this debut ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
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“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
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The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
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New Zealand and the Philippines have signed a new maritime security agreement and stated their concerns over activity in the South China Sea, as Chinese vessels continue to flout international law. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos committed to signing a Mutual Logistics Supporting Arrangement by ...
The thousands of government “back-office” job cuts are causing widespread pain in the capital city. In today’s episode of The Detail, we speak to three journalists and a think tank researcher, looking at the larger picture around the cuts and what effect it will have on Wellington, a city that’s ...
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It's budget day. Should be interesting though Grant cant please everyone.
He only has one person to please, himself. The rest will have to do with what ever they get.
I doubt that dear Grant gives a dime about pleasing 'us' the people.
Good point , theres never any pleasing you
I like quality over quantity, but then others are pleased about everything and nothing at the same time.
Sabine
Apparently benefits are on the way up. Not too sure by how much though.
I guess we will see.
57 NZD over the next three years for those on the Unemployment Benefit.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/05/carmel-sepuloni-promises-massive-boost-to-jobseeker-benefit-but-won-t-say-when.html
btw, that ‘target’ was an increase demanded by the Welfare Expert Advisory Group set in 2019 and as a full immediate increase.
So they are already two years behind, and per this announcement think it will take three years to roll out. But i guess it passes at doing something at some stage.
and last, if this increase is on the main benefit, pretty much any other fringe benefit will go down and some people will probably be worse off. Details, Details.
Gee, reading your posts , it seems your not a very grateful person?
R u comfortable where u are in life?
[your approved user name is Bob, so please use this if you want your comments to go through]
I don't have to be grateful. I am not on a benefit. 🙂
and as i said, better late then never
Mike Hockskin is leaving. Yay!
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/mike-hosking-progressive-politics-in-new-zealand-is-on-borrowed-time/O54WFNDQ3EIH522RFCQ3XQJRYA/
Haere ra Mike!
Mikes leaving for Oz. What did Muldoon say about raising the IQ of both nations.
if mike does leave it will one of Labours greatest achievements.
They will love him over there. He might even get his own show in Sky News Australia
His right-wing narcissist precursor Paul Henry didn't do so well over there I recall. Aussies' superior mental toughness means they have no time for vain puffballs with an unconcealed agenda.
You mean like Alan Jones?
Or Andrew Bolt?
Posturing…probably his contract negotiations are coming up and as a 53 yr old trying to pretend hes 33 doesnt have a lot bargaining chips left
And they have a new hire for the Wellington ZB breakfast show and christchurch cant be far behind
I wouldn't say he "doesn't have a lot of bargaining chips left?".
If the statistics are correct, love him or hate him, I think he has the highest rating breakfast show in NZ.
Highest rating commercial breakfast radio show. Whether most listeners tune in for him, would be happy with some other generic dickhead, or are primarily interested in the actual news is also an interesting question.
Paul Henry found that one out the hard way.
Here is a voice rarely heard in western media…an Hamas official from the legally elected representatives of the Palestinian people the Hamas party…. Dr. Basem Naim who heads of the Council on International Relations in Gaza for Hamas, and former head of Gaza's Health Ministry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7xW1Yp7PRE
No wait you forget, Biden/Harris are the lesser of two evils…oh that's right I forgot, that is a position we can only take from our safe living rooms, because USA is not an active terrorist in their relationship with our country as they are with so many countries all round this world of ours..including of course the terrorized Palestinian people…….and then just two days ago, this big fuck you with the middle finger well and truly waving in the worlds face to peace in the Middle East by way of the lesser of two evils Democratic Party this outrage…..
Biden administration approved $735 million arms sale to Israel
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/biden-administration-approved-735-million-arms-sale-israel-sources-2021-05-17/
….and most of the worlds western governments/media have the fucking gall to target Hamas as a terrorist organization!!!
Yup agree selling precision guided munitions to Israel at this time is about as tone deaf as it gets.
In this great contest between caring about people and caring about profit the winner is…..PROFIT (of all sorts not just money, power etc.) It just makes sense – money and profit are the measures that chop clean-edged through all other agitations to a clear decision. /sarc
I have heard Hamas officials say this many times.
I recall one Hamas official saying, "We don't care what you call the country, Israel or Palestine, or whatever. We just want equal rights, including the right of return for all those Palestinians expelled by Israel in 1948 and since.
And we will never give up this demand.
Because of this principled stand by Hamas, Israeli officials have accused Hamas of wanting the destruction of Israel as a Jewish state and so therefore a terrorist organisation.
From that blinkered point of view, Hamas demand for the right of return, (A right by the way enjoyed by any person of the Jewish faith), would of course mean the end of the state of Israel as an ethno-religious apartheid state with separate laws that discrimate on race and religion.
(Under pressure from Israel and the US, the P.A., Palestinian Authority, which rules in the West Bank has officially dropped the demand for the right of return.
As reward for turning their backs on the millions of Palestinian refugees, the PA which is the inheritor of the PLO, was taken off the US terrorist list, and given limited autonomy in the West Bank, in part collaboration with the Isreli occupier)
It might also might be worth mentioning here that Hamas as well as being the democatically elected government of Gaza, also carried the democratic vote in the Westbank, but the result was overturned by the PA
When Biden says he is having discussions with both sides. He means Israel and the PA.
Hama as a designated ‘terrorist organisation’ is not included.
This bad faith bargaining is no recipe for de-escalation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Palestinian_legislative_election
Love to know who convinced Cabinet against expert advice to vaccinate the highest-risk ethnic groups younger. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/covid-19-coronavirus-govt-rejected-expert-advice-to-vaccinate-160000-maori-and-pasifika-earlier/56FWQAES2P5W4LNN2X66FPCXMU/
I guess we only have so many doses in t he country currently and its Triage time.
Did anyone else hear the lady who commutes regularly on the new Hamilton-Auckland train being interviewed on Jesse Mulligan's show (RNZ) just before 2pm yesterday?
She loved the service and said it was much more relaxing than driving. She also said it was running at 80% plus capacity. Ye of little faith in these columns.
Given this success the next move is obviously more Hamilton-Auckland train services and a better/faster section into central Auckland.
(apologies if somebody posted similar yesterday)
Good to hear. A lot of people can't cope with anything that doesn't solve 95% of problems in one application. Perhaps delivered by cleanser Handy Andy, et al (I don't have a particular al in mind).
I guess you are talki ng about this one? Frances Cook?
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018796114/te-huia-train-service-on-track
Any train is better then a car. That does not mean people can't voice their objections or fears considering how public transport is treated in NZ.
And considering that public transport is often set up to fail or to be run on a minimum, i think it is ok for people to be apprehensive of this in the long term to be again to little too late and not enough after that.
So lets see next year.
and there is reason to be 'apprehensive' :
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/ldr/441720/doubt-raised-about-sustainable-house-scheme-in-waikato
Yes that is the one Sabine-thanks.
I don't think this service has been set up to fail-it is an excellent first step; may there be many more.
I hope that you are correct. I would love trains to go everywhere. I love them. But i can see rates not being a good way to finance – even part finance – a public utility.
And i can see rates increases for that to be a point of contention in the future.
When you get tired of political double-speak here is someone who goes on and on about things we might like to know, unlike pollies.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnR5k8Kdxls
This is Who are the hoi polloi which is announced with – Google makes us all seem clever. As he rambles on with general facts and informed comment on them, it is very restful even quite funny. It is good for a mind break, and a switch from listening to people who are always trying to impress us with, they know best, while we try to get our poor minds to understand the latest panacea.
Who dat?
Gordon Campbell on Scoop has a piece on the times of the future Governor-General and how that will encompass the change to the UK throne from Queen Elizabeth to the reign of her deeply uncharismatic son.
I don't think he is at all. Naturally different because of his age. He seems a pleasant man who has an interest in organics and managing his estate well. And has a settled life with his wife after big trauma. Gordon says he is 'deeply' uncharismatic. Could it be that Gordon is still in allegiance to the past beautiful woman?
but but William!!!!!! 🙂
Let Charles have a go first I think.
i think he would not be bad, to be honest.
In a rare moment of weakness, I watched the 6pm news.
There was an item about the sanctions beneficiaries face if they do not turn up at court. It featured footage of Ardern getting stuck in to Bennett about the injustice.
Best part of 1 and a half terms later no change in this punitive stance. Sepuloni had a sound bite along the lines of when in power, there are lots of things to do…
it's so hard to understand this from Labour.
The only thing I find difficult to understand is that so many on the left seem to be surprised. Did they really expect anything different?
Lol, that didn’t age well
My assumption would be it would be unlawful to provide funds,that would enable a miscreant with a warrant for arrest(for not attending court) to evade capture.
Far better for some miscreant to have a few extra crumbs than a provider go without because of sone legitimate reason for not attending.
The point was well made that it is children that beat the brunt of this heartless, indiscriminate policy.
Especially after seeing the footage of an impassioned Ardern 'giving' it to Bennett in the (largely empty) House.
Why? Honestly Weka?
Hopefully its removal is part of this work "Continuing to remove ineffective sanctions that negatively impact individuals and families. We have already started this by removing the harmful section 192 sanction which punished women for not naming the other parent of their child, and we will remove the subsequent child policy in 2021 to ensure parents are not penalised for having an additional child while on a benefit"
https://drive.google.com/file/d/13uhcVrn8HUXEoWoPQgkJYjHX_d_Za-O0/view
Oh blah. Have to run it past roly-poly genial Robertson first I suppose.
And this failure – to adjust tax rates. People tend to forget most of us pay 15% on most things we trade in or services, as well as income tax, (also beneficiaries pay some income tax on their benefits). I note that the IRD is calling the winter heating payments, a wage or some word, that sounds as if they want to tax it though the official gummint has said it's not taxable.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018795948/shaking-up-the-tax-system-in-this-year-s-budget
Average income earners are paying more tax than 12 years ago because thresholds have not been adjusted, a tax specialist says.
Terry Baucher has just written a piece for The Spinoff arguing that our tax system is "broken".
The tax thresholds were last set in October 2008, Baucher told Jesse Mulligan.
Good on Terry if he has written a full informative piece. I haven't time to read it – have forms to fill out for some services with personal information that could end up on the web through some hacker. The web is soooo efficient, we mere mortals in authority can't be bothered to even speak to us and we don't speak to our friends, too busy looking at our hand-held portals to the world.
oh boy.
when technology so runs your world that you can't even pay your staff without it.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/125190923/waikato-dhb-staff-members-go-unpaid-as-cyber-attack-woes-continue
OK, gonna spoil a joke for all the freeze peach advocates here who reckon there's no right to protection from being offended by speech.
The racist who was filmed being racist in a store during the Christmas break? Cops cranked the wheel of justice slowly, but she's made a court appearance.
(my emphasis).
Section 4 of the summary Offenses Act was last amended in 1998, to adjust the value of the fine. Another subsecton includes the word "offence".
Looks like causing offence and insulting people in public has been illegal for decades, with no inexorable slide into woke dictatorship.
Great to see that anti-worker a-hole CEO Gibson resigning from Ports of Auckland.
No idea why Michael Barnett is so butthurt, unless it's just reflexive class loyalty.