An advertisement seeking baristas, kitchen and hospitality staff and cleaners over the two weeks from December 28 has been attracting widespread attention.
IMO : Personally…not a fan of Mcdonalds (or the other fast foods in general)….however, they are at least stepping up. Qtown ( aka greed capital NZ) is notorious as being one of the most expensive places to live…for those on the bottom rungs….IE hospo, cleaners etc etc; Hey, they need a LIFE too ! And…where the fuck do they live ? Is that Someone Elses Problem ?
So…I wonder what the other Qtown places will say/do? The old "we need immigrants. Cheap ones too" ? I reckon. that’ll be the whine from now……
Hospo employers, in particular, are wanting to ramp up for summer, McNaughton says, ‘‘but I don’t know how they’re going to do it apart from putting tents on people’s lawns, really’’.
Yep. Been decades in the talk zone…but no real action or AFFORDABLE housing…let alone rentals. As : Greed…. and all its associated shit just black holes any chance for change. IMO for ever. And the whine for cheap immigrant labour will carry on likewise. As if thats any solution. : (
$28 – 30.00 / hour has been the going rate for hospo for a couple of months, just this one ended up in a job advert.
A friend's niece came over for the uni holidays and walked into her first choice cafe and asked for a job, once the owner picked herself up off the floor she had the kid on an immediate trial and hired by lunchtime. Yeah, and on $28/hr and loving it.
Rental accommodation is hard here, it's always been hard and will always be hard. Many, many more people want to live here than there's places to live, so the price goes up. Would you work for $15/hr when you could work for $30 at the place next door, same with rentals, why would a landlord rent for $500/week when there's someone standing there who will pay $800 or $1000.
Right now things a little bit different to 'normal' (if you can say that Queenstown ever has a normal) in that there's virtually no international backpackers who would had previously filled the hospo jobs. This may, or may not, be a temporary thing as most of the backpacker accomodation has been taken out by covid disruptions and may not be economic in Queenstown any more.
This summer will be pivotal for a lot of businesses in town, if they don't make it work they will be gone with the consequential personal losses to owners, suppliers and staff. If Josh Emett can't make it work here things are more than a bit tough, and there will be a lot of very precarious situations around the town. Emmett would have been one of the better ones to have been able to voluntarily liquidate. Personally I know of one who is totally fucked, they are putting one foot in front of the other until either a creditor winds them up, or they can sell / find someone to take it over.
Still 2/3 owner according to the same article, sure hasn't been a director since 6/20.
Companies Office records show Go To Collection is 66.67% owned by Emett and Caulton’s company Mayfare. Other shareholders include the Edgar family company SIL Long Term Holdings, and Sir Stephen Tindall’s K One W One, each with 8.33%.
The company’s directors are Caulton, Andrew Glenn, and Emma Hill. Emett stood down as a director in June 2020.
They were two very busy restaurants pre covid. Not any more.
Not content with reducing obligations to ‘as low as possible’, DairyNZ wants to remove the ‘backstop’ that incentivises action before 2025, to be replaced with nothing::
DairyNZ chair Jim van der Poel said the changes were a step in the right direction, with the new plan much more closely in line with what the sector was wanting.
But some areas still needed more work, he said.
He wanted what was called the ‘processor-level backstop’ dropped. In that scenario, if a pricing system is not in place by 2025, emissions will be tallied up by processors such as Fonterra – which then splits the cost among farmers.
…
Despite the government changing tack and now pledging to set the levy price as low as possible, Federated Farmers said it was still too focused on using the price of methane as a “stick” to achieve reduction targets.
This is a further example of how deeply unserious these advocacy organisations are about ever doing anything regarding climate change mitigation. If we want change there must be mechanisms to ensure it, relying on industry to self-regulate has been a utter disaster for the planet. Carrot or stick, something must be done; Labour seems to have opted for the wet bus ticket, and we will all suffer for it.
The only way to get farmers on board with reducing their carbon/methane emissions and overall environmental impact is to pay them the big bucks in return for doing so.
The retirement (at the next election) of Sage and Logie gives the Greens the opportunity to refresh their front bench, and give a very critical look at the potential new candidates likely to get into Parliament.
I know this is driven by the membership – to a far greater extent than with other parties. It will be interesting to see their list for 2023.
An early Christmas present for the traumatized family being targeted by OT in their relentless campaign to remove 'Moana' (a healthy, happy little girl in a long-term foster placement) for the 'crime' that the foster parents are not Maori.
The Supreme Court has declined to hear the appeal.
So, the well being and happiness of the little girl is the last thing to be considered? Why am I not surprised.
She has a brother who lives in Wellington. There is no reason why a line of communication cannot be established so that the children can keep in touch with each other. It could also be arranged they get to see each other. I mean such arrangements exist among children whose parents are separated.
No, there is the closed mind among the sociopathic at OT who want to retain control over the children at all cost.
The "ideology driven cohort". Indeed. I wish they would stop and self reflect and acknowledge that. after a horrific start, Moana is in the best place for her.
Ohhh, careful now … you'll raise the ire of the Critical Race Theory brigade … as you may know, these ruthless, self-righteous dogmatists wield "racism" smears like a full set of weaponry to enforce a very dubious suite of policies & close down any resulting critique.
You'll be cast as Adolf’s reckless younger sibling by the fake “moralists” before you know it. Don’t support their crude deluded dogma ? … they’ll channel all their energy into making you a social pariah.
Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation in which the abuser attempts to sow self-doubt and confusion in their victim's mind. Typically, gaslighters are seeking to gain power and control over the other person, by distorting reality and forcing them to question their own judgment and intuition.
Long may the scathing takes continue. Where would we be without twitter..
Putin says delivery of Patriot missile defence system to Ukraine would grossly violate Russia's right to peacefully bomb its neighbor pic.twitter.com/v1ZMzukXd6
golly youre a brave chap saying stuff like that around here Sacha !! They,re all off to 'masterdon ' are'nt they ?!!
Pretty dumb tweet tho imo the patriot missile system comes with a lot of inherent problems such as a large team of fairly highly trained operators needed for each emplacement and a world wide shortage of the missiles themselves apparently.
Its not going to be a quick fix for Ukraines woes but i guess the 'optics 'will look good and will serve American desires to 'escalate 'rather well since presumably the nationalists will think they will then be able to strike deep within Russia or at least continue to hit Donetsk from a safe distance which atm the Himars are doing but probably not for very much longer !
"It’s stating the obvious, but it’s worth restating for the record: a large number of these occupiers were tragically unwell. But a smaller number were exploiting the gullible and the stupid for their own financial gain or personal glorification. The challenge for politics in 2023 is to ensure that these grifters cannot hijack the next election."
The dark side haunting New Zealand’s politics in 2022 must not hijack the next election
The Fiji election continues to spiral into pre-civil war territory. I would be happier if the military would repeat their statement of non-interference, they have been a bit quiet of late:
"Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama is still prime minister, please get that right. All the ministers … continue as ministers until the next government is appointed," Sayed-Khaiyum said at a media conference…
He referred to comments made by outgoing Sodelpa general secretary Lenaitasi Duru that there were anomalies in the voting process.
In a letter to the President of Fiji, Duru asked for the deferral of the sitting of parliament…
Earlier that day, Duru told the media, he facilitated the secret ballot counting process and witnessed irregularities.
"The quorum is made of 22 members … but present at voting was 30 of which four was non-compliant and some of those they were sitting there wasn't supposed to be voting," he said…
On Wednesday, Fiji Police Commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho said he had received reports of vandalism, particularly stone throwing following Rabuka's coalition announcement…
FijiFirst was quick to claim these attacks as signs of instability that the country would continue to experience if the opposition coalition formed a government…
The first sitting of parliament is yet to be announced and Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says according to the constitution the latest the president can call it is January 2, which is 14 days after the return of the writ of election.
Fiji First Party general secretary Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum is also the Fijian Attorney General, and widely regarded as the brains of the outfit. He doesn't seem keen to go down without a fight. Additionally married to Ela Gavoka, the daughter of the former leader of Sodelpa (until a couple of days ago before the referenced coalition vote). Duru; the former Soldelpa General Secretary, was the one who sent notice to Gavoka that he was no longer leader (having failed to secure a majority in the election, and that a new leader wasn't due to be chosen till 2024), was then ousted from his own position the next day. After the 16 to 14 ("irregular") vote to back a; coalition government led by former coupster Rabuka, rather than a; coalition government led by former coupster Bainimarama.
Where this is going to end has a lot of people (including Fijian immigrants to Aotearoa) very nervous.
Breaking – Fiji Military Forces called in “to assist Police with maintenance of law and order, amidst growing concerns of racial tension” after “threats made against minority groups following recent political developments,” says ComPol. #FijiPol#FijiMilitaryInterventionpic.twitter.com/CEu9WE9bpU
Hidden in loft is tape from 1985 of Terry Hall presenting his personal favourite hits & sharing inspirations on Piccadilly Radio. I'm taken back to the two of us together in my studio & his revelations Listen to nearly 2 hours of Terry unheard since… https://t.co/wWHLnlLfglpic.twitter.com/O20d8lBUbt
After the meeting, Kylie Atwood, National Security correspondent at the State Department has tweeted:
"Ukraine "has defied Russia’s expectations at every single turn" Pres Biden says. He adds that Zelensky is open to pursing a just peace but Putin is not, saying Putin has no intention of ending the war."
So, it is very clear that Zelensky wants a peaceful solution to the conflict. However, the problem is Putin, not the Ukrainians.
It is quite obvious that Putin does not want a peaceful solution considering that Putin appears to be preparing for a new offensive from Belarus and has been continuing to mass troops and equipment there over the last month. This is not the behaviour of someone interested in a peaceful solution.
Since Putin appears to be the problem, I suggest that all of us who want peace and this conflict to end should get on board with sanctions against Russia, and should support as much diplomatic pressure being put on Russia as possible so a peaceful solution to this conflict can be found.
So, it is very clear that Zelensky wants a peaceful solution to the conflict. However, the problem is Putin, not the Ukrainians.
The problem is that what Zelensky considers a "just" peace entails Russia giving back all the territory she has gained so far, including Crimea. Well, the guy used to be a comedian; apparently he still is.
At least he has a negotiable position. Putin not so much.
There was a possible solution prior to Putin annexing Ukrainian territory. That would have been a land-lease arrangement that would have given both sides a good part of what they wanted.
2022 was supposed to be a year of recovery. Instead, we find ourselves in December, staring into the eyes of another recession.
The war in Ukraine has brought us here, that’s unambiguously clear. The Russian invasion unleashed a surge in the price of energy which has trampled on the spending power of households and the profits of businesses.
But in the background, the impact of Brexit is also being felt.
[…]
Since 2018, John Springford at the Centre for European Reform (CER) has been modelling the economic performance of a UK that remained in the EU – using data from countries like the US, Germany, New Zealand, Norway and Australia, whose performance was similar to the UK’s before Brexit.
The difference in performance between his “doppelgänger UK economy” and the real thing is stark.
Mr Springford’s latest update estimates that Brexit reduced Britain’s GDP by 5.5% by the second quarter of 2022.
Put another way, between April and June economic output was £33 billion lower than it would have been had the UK voted to stay in the EU, costing the government around £12 billion in lost tax revenues.
In the year to the end of June 2022, Mr Springford estimates the tax loss at around £40 billion.
A Different Kind Of Vibe: In the days and weeks ahead, as the Hipkins ministry takes shape, the only question that matters is whether New Zealand’s new prime minister possesses both the wisdom and the courage to correct his party’s currently suicidal political course. If Chris “Chippy” Hipkins is able to steer ...
The days of the Labour Government being associated with middle class social liberalism look to be numbered. Soon-to-be Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni are heralding a major shift in emphasis away from the constituencies and ideologies of liberal Grey Lynn and Wellington Central towards the ...
Going to try to get into the blogging thing again (ha!) what with an election coming up and all that. So today I thought I'd start small and simple, by merely tackling the world's (second) richest man.I'm no fan of Elon Musk. You don't want to know why, but I'll ...
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 15, 2023 thru Sat, Jan 21, 2023. Story of the Week State of the climate: How the world warmed in 2022With a new year underway, most of the climate data for ...
Well, that was a disappointment. As of today, the New Zealand Labour Caucus opted for Chris Hipkins as our new Prime Minister, and I cannot help but let loose a cynical cackle. ...
Get ready for a major political reset once Chris Hipkins is sworn in as Prime Minister this week. Labour’s new leader is likely to push the Government to the right economically, and do his best to jettison the damaging perceptions that Labour has become “too woke” on social issues. Overall, ...
Things have gone sideways… and it’s only the third week of January? It was political earthquake time. For some the Prime Minister made a truly significant announcement. For others – did you have this on your bingo card? – a body double did so (sit tight, you’ll understand later, ...
By the end of 2019, Jacinda Ardern was a political superstar heading towards an election defeat. She was an icon, internationally beloved, on track to be an ex-prime minister before the age of forty. It was the year of the Christchurch terror attack when Ardern’s response to the atrocity saw ...
People complain about their jobs being meaningless. Does it matter?David Graeber, author of Bullshit Jobs: The Rise of Pointless Work and What We Can Do About It, would have smiled at Elon Musk’s sacking half the Twitter workforce. Musk seems to be confirming the main thesis of the book, that ...
Should New Zealand have a snap election? That’s one of the questions arising out of the chaos of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s shock resignation. There’s an increased realisation that everything has changed, and the old plans and assumptions for election year have suddenly evaporated. So, although Ardern has named an ...
I warned about the trap of virtue signaling in my article Virtue signaling over Ukraine. This video is still relevant – but have we moved on since then? The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was universally condemned at the time. Or was it? Certainly, the political atmosphere ...
Open access notables Bad news delivered by an all-star cast of familiar researchers: Another Year of Record Heat for the Oceans. From the abstract: In 2022, the world’s oceans, as given by OHC, were again the hottest in the historical record and exceeded the previous 2021 record maximum. According to IAP/CAS data, ...
One of my earliest political memories is the resignation of Prime Minister David Lange in August 1989. I remember this because of a brown felt-tipped pen drawing I did of the Beehive, the building that houses the Executive of the New Zealand Government. More than thirty years later, we ...
Jacinda Ardern had an outsized impact on New Zealand’s international relations. While all Prime Ministers travel internationally, Ardern’s calendar was fuller than most. Ardern’s first major foreign trip came within weeks of her election in 2017, to the APEC summit in Vietnam. The meeting gave Ardern her first in-person encounter ...
She gave it her all. No New Zealand Prime Minister has ever dominated the political scene at home as she has done, or has established an international profile to match hers. No New Zealand Prime Minister has had to confront such a sequence of domestic and international catastrophes – from ...
Jacinda Ardern's shock resignation announcement today has left a lot of us with a lot of complicated feelings. In my case, while I've been highly critical of Ardern's government, I'm still sorry to see her go. We've had far too many terrible things happen during her term as Prime Minister ...
The decision by Jacinda Ardern to end her term as Prime Minister on February 7 has come as a stunning surprise. It turns the task of a centre-left government winning re-election this year from difficult to nigh on impossible. No-one else among the Labour caucus has Ardern’s ability to explain ...
Jacinda Ardern’s first press conference as Labour leader in August 2017 was a defining moment in the past decade of New Zealand politics. A young woman (by the standards of politics) who had long been tipped for higher office, she had underperformed as a minister and Andrew Little’s noble resignation ...
An Astonishing Rapport: Jacinda Ardern's "Politics of Kindness" raised so many progressive possibilities. Her own tragedy, and New Zealand's, is that so few of them were realised.MUCH WILL BE WRITTEN in the coming days about "The Ardern Years", some of it sympathetic and insightful, most of it spiteful and wrong.For ...
The Herald this morning reports on the rich's efforts to buy this year's election. And you'll never guess who their chosen vehicle is: The National Party may start election year with a $2.3 million war chest raised from 24 big donors in 2022, while Labour has declared just $150,000 ...
Christopher Luxon’s National Party are the odds-on favourites to win the general election this year. They have been consistently ahead of Labour in the polls in recent months, and have a firm coalition partner in Act, which is often polling about 10 per cent. Betting agencies can’t take bets on ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Sarah Wesseler You walk into your kitchen to make pasta. After filling a pot with water, you place a small silicone mat in the middle of your counter, then set the pot above it and open a stovetop app on your phone. ...
You know it as well as I, the famous Ring Verse from The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien: Three Rings for the Elven Kings under the sky Seven for the Dwarf Lords in their halls of stone Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die One ...
The Herald has an annual roundup of electric vehicle stats this morning, and it shows us that the government's clean-car-discount - which sees buyers of dirty vehicles pay to subsidies purchases of clean ones - has been a hugely successful policy: New Zealand broke two records for electric vehicles ...
She’s Such A Scream! The Prime Minister’s enemies, those who want us to hate her, suffer from the not insubstantial handicap of being more than a little hateful themselves. Rendered nonsensical by their unwavering belief in the most absurd conspiracy theories, and dangerous by their relentless peddling of fake news ...
Me, Myself, Eye: The great irony of individualism is that the nearer humanity comes to the point where every person can make their own life, the more doubtful many intellectuals become of its merit. But, before embracing the moral oblivion of collective identity; and the strictures of tribal tradition, they ...
Ever since Christopher Luxon became leader, National has adopted a “small target” strategy. This consists of offering nothing to distract the media from its focus on the government’s shortcomings and the public’s discontent with its performance. In particular, the strategy involves releasing no policy alternatives whose own failings might then ...
Japan is a country on the move. Since World War II, Tokyo has largely been happy to outsource its security needs to Washington. But this is now changing to a more equal partnership. On Friday, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called his country’s alliance with the United States ‘stronger than ...
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 8, 2023 thru Sat, Jan 14, 2023. Story of the Week Relentless Rise of Ocean Heat Content Drives Deadly ExtremesThe heat of global warming will keep penetrating deeper into the oceans ...
The two most comprehensive forecasts of the New Zealand economy are by the Reserve Bank and the Treasury. They are especially important because they inform monetary and fiscal policy. What do they say?Shortly after the Reserve Bank and Treasury published their end-of-year forecasts, Statistics New Zealand announced a 2.0 percent ...
On Tuesday, the Herald broke the news of a massive increase in ANPR surveillance by police, from mere dozens of uses in 2020 to thousands in 2022, and that police had lied in their internal documentation when they said the system was audited to ensure use was legal. And today ...
There’s the joke that the difference between the Victorians and our current era is that the Victorians were obsessed with Death and acted as though Sex didn’t exist, whereas current modernity is the other way around. It’s not actually true, of course, but it’s still amusing. Today, I’m going ...
The next recession is shaping up as the most predicted event since the Second Coming. While we have to take it on faith that it will arrive someday, it is hard to say when it will happen, or how great/how bad it will be if and when it ever does. ...
I was going to write about something else to start off the KP year but current events have intruded in the form of the craziness surrounding the selection of US House Speaker and the storming of the Brazilian seats of power (Congress, the Supreme Court and Presidential Palace) by (so-called ...
Stuff reports that Tasman Steel - the latest name for what used to be NZ Steel - made a $340 million profit last year. The kicker? $117 million of that was from government pollution subsidies: New Zealand Steel’s holding company Tasman Steel increased its profit by 153% to a ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Bob Henson and Jeff Masters A series of Pacific storms that’s taken aim on California since late December is on track to continue into mid-January. Ferocious winds will slam much of the state on Wednesday and Thursday, accompanied by heavy rain likely ...
In this article from the website Radicalism of Fools Daniel Ben-Ami looks at some of the limitations of the new anti-racism movement One of the key tasks I have set myself this year is to examine the arguments around anti-Semitism in more depth. That is both those used by anti-Semites ...
For wealthier New Zealanders and Australians, Fiji is just one option among many for their tourism resort experiences, poolside. Obviously, the country amounts to a lot more to the people who actually live there. It also happens to be the Pacific’s key diplomatic listening post, the home of the Pacific ...
What is it with Prince Harry?. Most of us would probably acknowledge that he has a legitimate cause for complaint at the way he and his wife have been treated by the British media. But there is more to it than that. Harry seems to harbour resentment against the media ...
One of the most popular moves Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern ever made was the pay freeze her government imposed on politicians back in 2018. The freeze may have only been grudgingly agreed to by other MPs and parties, but it had universal public support. The pay freeze is due to ...
Two years ago, supporters of failed presidential candidate Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol in an attempt to overthrow America's democracy and overturn the results of an election they had lost. And today, just a few days after the anniversary of that event, supporters of Trump's ally Jair Bolsonaro did ...
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 1, 2023 thru Sat, Jan 7, 2023. Story of the Week Scientists Report a Dramatic Drop in the Extent of Antarctic Sea Ice Links between global warming and the decline of sea ...
About half an hour ago, I became a very happy writer. My long-running effort at writing a sequel to Wise Phuul has finally borne fruit. Specifically, the draft manuscript for Old Phuul – starring Teltö’s elder sister, Rhea Phuul – is now complete at 102,172 words. This ...
The Green Party has a habit of sabotaging their election-year campaigns, risking electoral oblivion. Could the same thing happen in 2023? The last two election campaigns were particularly painful for the party. In 2017 then co-leader Metiria Turei had her story about her past as a welfare beneficiary unravel during ...
Open access notables In Conservation Biology, snapshots of two books that will probably launch a lot of objections, one by Vaclav Smil and the other yet more Bill Gates. Two doses of carbon budget realism review author Vojtech Novotny sums them up: "Sober assessments of our options for reducing carbon emissions in ...
Pundits have been making their political forecasts for the year ahead. Here are some of their predictions about what we can expect in 2023. The Big issues of 2023: Economy and ethnicity There’s a consensus that the political year, and especially the election campaign, will centre around the economy, with ...
I watched this movie three times in two days so you wouldn’t have to (but should anyway, it’s exquisite). You should definitely watch it at least once before reading this even if you don’t care about spoilers because most of this doesn’t give much context. Note “Children ...
Members of Parliament for the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand have today written to Iran’s Grand Ayatollah Khamenei to condemn the ongoing violence and killing of women’s rights and democracy protesters, and to call on him to intervene immediately. ...
The 2023 General Election will be held on Saturday 14 October 2023, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “Announcing the election date early in the year provides New Zealanders with certainty and has become the practice of this Government and the previous one, and I believe is best practice,” Jacinda ...
Jacinda Ardern has announced she will step down as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party. Her resignation will take effect on the appointment of a new Prime Minister. A caucus vote to elect a new Party Leader will occur in 3 days’ time on Sunday the 22nd of ...
The Government is maintaining its strong trade focus in 2023 with Trade and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor visiting Europe this week to discuss the role of agricultural trade in climate change and food security, WTO reform and New Zealand agricultural innovation. Damien O’Connor will travel tomorrow to Switzerland to attend the ...
The Government has extended its medium-scale classification of Cyclone Hale to the Wairarapa after assessing storm damage to the eastern coastline of the region. “We’re making up to $80,000 available to the East Coast Rural Support Trust to help farmers and growers recover from the significant damage in the region,” ...
The Government is making an initial contribution of $150,000 to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Tairāwhiti following ex-Tropical Cyclone Hale, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced. “While Cyclone Hale has caused widespread heavy rain, flooding and high winds across many parts of the North Island, Tairāwhiti ...
Rural Communities Minister Damien O’Connor has classified this week’s Cyclone Hale that caused significant flood damage across the Tairāwhiti/Gisborne District as a medium-scale adverse event, unlocking Government support for farmers and growers. “We’re making up to $100,000 available to help coordinate efforts as farmers and growers recover from the heavy ...
A vaccine for people at risk of mpox (Monkeypox) will be available if prescribed by a medical practitioner to people who meet eligibility criteria from Monday 16 January, says Associate Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall. 5,000 vials of the vaccine have been obtained, enough for up to 20,000 ...
The Government is seeking feedback on measures to help reduce the number of young people vaping. “Youth vaping is becoming increasingly popular, with many choosing to vape despite never having smoked,” Associate Health Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall said. “Alongside our efforts to reduce tobacco smoking, we want to ensure vaping ...
The Government is reiterating its advice to all international travellers to do a Covid test if they become symptomatic after arrival, while also stepping up awareness of free RATs available at airports, Covid-19 Response Minister Dr Ayesha Verrall says. “This follows growing global concerns, including from the World Health Organisation ...
Some major (to some of you, anyway) news that understandably got buried during the flurry at the end of last week: M3GAN will officially have a sequel. The comedy-horror film was helmed by New Zealand’s own Gerard Johnstone, with local young actress Amie Donald in the starring role as killer ...
Chris Hipkins has revealed he had a bit of forewarning that the prime minister was considering her future. It came as a shock to many when Jacinda Ardern announced she would be stepping down as PM on Thursday last week. While she formally told her caucus earlier that day, Hipkins, ...
New statistics reveal that nearly 40% of Pasifika people live in a home that’s short on bedrooms. Sela Jane Hopgood takes you into her overcrowded family home and asks whether it’s large extended families that are the problem.It’s no secret in Aotearoa that the majority of Pasifika people come ...
While we wait for sensible drug law reform, we can thank our lucky stars for the NZ Drug Foundation and the lifesaving – or at the very least, bad-trip-preventing – work they do testing drugs at music festivals. Aotearoa’s summers are typically marked by an influx of sketchy party drugs ...
National party leader Christopher Luxon responded to the news of Labour’s leadership change by saying that the new prime minister has been part of a government which has not delivered. Speaking to media yesterday, Luxon said he sent his congratulations to the new PM by text. “There is not change, it is ...
Dr Bryce Edwards writes: The days of the Labour Government being associated with middle class social liberalism look to be numbered. Soon-to-be Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni are heralding a major shift in emphasis away from the constituencies and ideologies of liberal Grey ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards. Political Roundup: Labour shifts focus from Grey Lynn to West AucklandChris Hipkins, Minister of Education, speaking at NZEI Te Riu Roa strike rally on the steps of the New Zealand Parliament, 15th August 2018. Then, Labour Party deputy leader Kelvin Davis looks on. Image; Wiki ...
Chris Hipkins as doubled down on his intentions to rein in government projects and “run a ruler” over the work programme. It’s the day after Hipkins was officially voted in as Labour Party leader and presumptive prime minister. He’ll officially be sworn in on Wednesday, following attendance – alongside Jacinda ...
Yesterday’s press conference from Chris Hipkins sent some very clear signals as New Zealand’s new prime minister hits the ground running this week, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday morning, sign up here. Chris Hipkins, prime minister ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alice Clement, Research Associate in the College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University Elia Pellegrini/Unsplash Many of us are returning to work or school after spending time with relatives over the summer period. Sometimes we can be left wondering how on ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Duncan McDonnell, Professor of Politics, Griffith University Shutterstock The Liberal Party’s recently published review of the 2022 federal election defeat does not mince words: the party has a problem with women. The party has struggled to connect with women voters in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua Trigg, Research Fellow in Public Health, Flinders University Olena Bohovyk/Pexels You’ve dropped your daughter off at her friend’s house and while cleaning the car, you find what looks like a USB drive on the passenger seat. It’s a disposable vape. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ivor Stuart, Fisheries ecologist, Charles Sturt University Ivor Stuart/The Conversation With widespread La Niña flooding in the Murray-Darling Basin, common carp (Cyprinus carpio) populations are having a boom year. Videos of writhing masses of both adult and young fish illustrate ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jim Stanford, Economist and Director, Centre for Future Work, Australia Institute; Honorary Professor of Political Economy, University of Sydney A long overdue public debate has started in Australia about “free riding” in industrial relations – when non-union members benefit from collective agreements ...
The Labour Party has entered a new era with the election of Chris Hipkins as prime minister and Carmel Sepuloni as his deputy, writes Jane Patterson. ...
The stand-off continues, a petition is underway and one expert is fired up. The abandoned trolley situation appears to be worse than anyone realised. Ellen Schindler has a good life. From her Sandringham home, she doesn’t work, instead spending most of her time volunteering at local organisations and tending to ...
On Wednesday a new prime minister will be sworn in, but he promises to have hit the ground running already. And the tone was palpably reset yesterday, writes Toby Manhire from parliament.When parties vote in a new leader, there is sometimes a push to fill the stage with MPs, ...
By Rashika Kumar in Suva Fijian national, jurist and lawyer Imrana Jalal has been awarded the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Medal of Honour by the World Jurists Association. The award is given in recognition of inspiring women jurists who fight to defend and strengthen the rule of law, and to consolidate ...
By Pekai Kotoisuva in Suva Arriving late to court, poor court etiquette and lack of respect are signs that the level of ethics among Fiji lawyers has dropped over the years, says the Attorney-General. Attorney-General Siromi Turaga highlighted this during a panel discussion at the Fiji Law Society (FLS) convention ...
A former intelligence worker says the PM faces an "unprecedented level of threat," driven by the enroachment of US-style politics and conspiracies. ...
The Labour Party has leapt on board the meme-wagon by offering up for auction the cap and sunglasses worn by Chris Hipkins in the interview with Newshub’s Amelia Wade on the streets of Napier Friday morning. It quickly went viral, mostly because of an ensemble that, if nothing else, confirmed ...
The new leader of the Labour Party has asked New Zealanders to respect his family's privacy as he prepares to be sworn-in as New Zealand's 41st prime minister next week. ...
New Zealand has a new deputy prime minister. What’s her deal? New prime minister Chris Hipkins has confirmed that Carmel Sepuloni will take up the role of deputy prime minister. Here’s the backstory. New Zealand’s first Pasifika deputy prime minister Sepuloni has a Sāmoan-Tongan father and Pākehā mother. She has ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer have expressed disappointment that tangata whenua were “overlooked” in the deciding and naming of the new prime minister and deputy prime minister. At 3pm, Chris Hipkins said that he was unanimously supported by Labour’s caucus and confirmed Carmel Sepuloni as the ...
Incoming prime minister Chris Hipkins and new deputy PM Carmel Sepuloni are promising to rein in some government programs that are less "essential", after quickly establishing their new leadership team. ...
"New leader, same story," says National party leader Christopher Luxon after Chris Hipkins and Carmel Sepuloni were confirmed as the new prime minister and deputy today. ...
LIVE Incoming prime minister Chris Hipkins says his new role is the biggest privilege, and responsibility, of his life. Chris Hipkins has today been confirmed as New Zealand’s 41st prime minister, pending the official resignation of Jacinda Ardern in the coming days. Speaking to media, flanked by his new deputy ...
Chris Hipkins and Carmel Sepuloni are set to give their first press conference since being confirmed as incoming prime minister and deputy. The pair were voted into their new positions by Labour’s caucus at a closed doors meeting earlier this afternoon. Hipkins was the only nominee for the position of ...
Welcome to a special Sunday edition of The Spinoff’s live updates as we mark the confirmation of New Zealand’s next prime minister: Chris Hipkins. Stewart Sowman-Lund is on deck from Auckland, with Toby Manhire on the ground in Wellington. Get in touch at [email protected] ...
While there will be a new deputy prime minister, Labour’s current party deputy – Kelvin Davis – will remain in the role. In a slightly unusual turn, Labour opted to differentiate the roles of deputy prime minister and deputy party leader after the 2020 election. Davis’s role was confirmed by ...
Grant Robertson will not stay on as deputy prime minister under new leader Chris Hipkins. The incoming prime minister will address media at 3pm, alongside his new deputy Carmel Sepuloni. The minister for social development has been confirmed to be taking up the number two slot after a closed doors ...
Prime minister-to-be Chris Hipkins has arrived at parliament, joined by outgoing leader Jacinda Ardern. The pair were cheered on by their Labour caucus colleagues as they entered a closed doors meeting at parliament. Here are the all important timings for today. We’ll have coverage from on the ground in Wellington ...
A look back at the horror stories Erin Harrington devoured as a tween reveals some unsettling truths.A while ago I was digging through the musty outdoor book fridge on Kilmore Street – take one, leave one, don’t be messy – when I felt something like a snag, a little ...
Two drug dealers can coexist in perfect peace, as long as they keep to either side of a small girl’s home.One was twenty-something and the other probably 60. They both mostly sold weed, a humble drug and a favourite in our community. Everyone’s parents did it, even my own. ...
These very hungry caterpillars are eating me out of house and home. I dreamt about caterpillars the other night. Fat wriggly beasties, ringed in black, white and yellow, squirming over my fingers. I was in the garden, carefully picking them up from the soil and placing them onto a plant. ...
Analysis - While Chris Hipkins is all but confirmed as our next prime minister, there is less certainty in the race to be his deputy. Newsroom's Sam Sachdeva looks at the factors the next Labour leader will need to consider, and some of t ...
ANALYSIS:By Brett Wilkins As Julian Assange awaits the final appeal of his looming extradition to the United States while languishing behind bars in London’s notorious Belmarsh Prison, leading left luminaries and free press advocates gathered in Washington, DC, on Friday for the fourth sitting of the Belmarsh Tribunal, where ...
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on January 19 that she would resign as Prime Minister by February 7. Currently, she does not see anything unusual about him participating in the next elections and remaining in his position as Prime ...
In a shock announcement on Thursday, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told the media she would step down from the position by February 7 and leave parliament in April. After more than five years leading the Labour Party-led government, Ardern ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Grant Duncan, Associate Professor, School of People, Environment and Planning, Massey University Getty Images Following the surprise resignation of Jacinda Ardern on January 19, the New Zealand Labour Party already has a new leader: Chris Hipkins. The handover from Ardern ...
It is unusual for a politician to admit they are burnt out - but it's not surprising that the stress of leading a country can take its toll on leaders, from Austria to Estonia. ...
RNZ News Chris Hipkins says the opportunity to become Prime Minister of Aotearoa New Zealand is the biggest privilege of his life and his eyes are wide open for the challenges that lie ahead. Hipkins began a media briefing today by saying: “I can confirm that I have put my ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist A second group of refugees detained in offshore Australian detention camps have arrived in New Zealand. Four people touched down on a flight yesterday. “I’m happy for them that they can get their freedom,” a friend of the recent arrivals who is still detained ...
By Miriam Zarriga in Port Moresby Since the start of Papua New Guinea’s Operation Stabilising Oro last month, 22 rape, murder and armed robbery suspects have been to date charged — and more are to follow. There is also an estimated backlog of 105 outstanding cases that will be attended ...
Chris Hipkins says the opportunity to become Prime Minister is the biggest privilege of his life and his eyes are wide open for the challenges that lie ahead. ...
Chris Hipkins says a previously announced cabinet reshuffle will continue, and has been given a new impetus following Jacinda Ardern's resignation. ...
Chris Hipkins is the sole nominee to become the Labour Party Leader, Labour Whip Duncan Webb announced this morning. “The Labour Party caucus will meet at 1pm on Sunday to endorse the nomination and confirm Chris Hipkins as Party Leader,” Duncan ...
In his maiden speech, Chris Hipkins described himself as a "genuine Hutt boy", how have his constituents reacted to the news he is the next Prime Minister? ...
Chris Hipkins says he is “humbled and honoured” by caucus support for his candidacy to become the next leader of the Labour Party and then prime minister. Speaking to media on the parliamentary forecourt, he said he was “energised and enthusiastic about the challenge and “looking forward to getting into ...
The ‘Mr Fix-it’ label applies to both home and politics, says Iain Lees-Galloway, who worked alongside the incoming PM in cabinet. Grant Robertson has meanwhile lauded an ‘amazing dad’. The practical approach of incoming Labour leader and prime minister is epitomised by his enthusiasm for DIY projects. That’s the assessment ...
Watch live: The next Prime Minister Chris Hipkins is due to hold a media briefing after being selected by the Labour Party to replace Jacinda Ardern as leader. ...
Buzz from the Beehive Because our hard-working Ministers of the Crown are engaged in Labour Party caucus stuff in Napier, no doubt jockeying to ensure they keep their jobs or get a better one, Point of Order was not surprised to find no fresh news on the Beehive website this ...
Hanif Kureishi is currently in hospital undergoing extensive treatment after a serious accident, chronicling the experience in a series of tremendously vivid tweets. Books editor Claire Mabey has been hanging on his every word.On the 7th of January, the acclaimed British writer Hanif Kureishi told his Twitter followers that he’d ...
New Zealand has a new prime minister. What’s his deal? With nominations closed and only one name on the ballot, Chris Hipkins from the Hutt will be the 41st prime minister of New Zealand. Here’s his backstory. He’s been a leader before New Zealand’s new prime minister has always had ...
Nominations have closed, and there is only one name. Less than 48 hours after Jacinda Ardern shocked New Zealand and the world by announcing her resignation, her successor as Labour leader and prime minister has been revealed. When nominations closed at 9am today, there was only one Labour caucus member ...
It’s been nearly two decades since Josh Kronfeld and Joe Cotton washed up on the original Treasure Island. Tara Ward finds out what drew them back for Fans v Faves. There aren’t many New Zealand celebrities who have been buried alive on national television, but Josh Kronfeld and Joe Cotton ...
Chris Hipkins is the sole nominee to become the Labour Party Leader, Labour Whip Duncan Webb announced this morning. Follow the RNZ liveblog for the latest. ...
As the deadline looms for Labour's leadership contest, New Zealand's next Prime Minister could be known as soon as this morning. Follow the RNZ liveblog for the latest. ...
Considering getting a few chooks to cope with the egg shortage? Here’s what you need to know before you do. In a suburban West Auckland backyard, a pecking order has been established. Despite being the smallest chicken, Ivy, a Brown Shaver, gets the first pick of food scraps, and has ...
Few prime ministers have ever been as popular or polarising as Jacinda Ardern – a reality expressed in the highs and lows of her media coverage, writes Duncan Greive. The first time I really saw Jacinda Ardern was around the start of 2017. The Spinoff had decided to host a ...
Nominations for the vacancy of Labour leader, and therefore presumptive prime minister to succeed Jacinda Ardern, close tomorrow morning at 9am. If there is just one nominee, which according to sources is more likely than not, that person will be formally endorsed as leader by caucus on Sunday. Critically, nominations ...
While Jacinda Ardern did not cite it as one of the reasons she is quitting politics, there is little doubt it took a toll, according to her former chief of staff. ...
14% say Ardern’s resignation may, or will change the way they vote The first poll since Jacinda Ardern’s resignation has given a strong endorsement to Chris Hipkins as the next leader of the Labour party. However, 39% of respondents said that knowing ...
IMO : Personally…not a fan of Mcdonalds (or the other fast foods in general)….however, they are at least stepping up. Qtown ( aka greed capital NZ) is notorious as being one of the most expensive places to live…for those on the bottom rungs….IE hospo, cleaners etc etc; Hey, they need a LIFE too ! And…where the fuck do they live ? Is that Someone Elses Problem ?
So…I wonder what the other Qtown places will say/do? The old "we need immigrants. Cheap ones too" ? I reckon. that’ll be the whine from now……
I have a mate required accommodation around New Years for himself and a few other performers. They got a dogbox for $1500 for the night.
There's a reason the working class are rare on the ground there.
Yep. Been decades in the talk zone…but no real action or AFFORDABLE housing…let alone rentals. As : Greed…. and all its associated shit just black holes any chance for change. IMO for ever. And the whine for cheap immigrant labour will carry on likewise. As if thats any solution. : (
$28 – 30.00 / hour has been the going rate for hospo for a couple of months, just this one ended up in a job advert.
A friend's niece came over for the uni holidays and walked into her first choice cafe and asked for a job, once the owner picked herself up off the floor she had the kid on an immediate trial and hired by lunchtime. Yeah, and on $28/hr and loving it.
Rental accommodation is hard here, it's always been hard and will always be hard. Many, many more people want to live here than there's places to live, so the price goes up. Would you work for $15/hr when you could work for $30 at the place next door, same with rentals, why would a landlord rent for $500/week when there's someone standing there who will pay $800 or $1000.
Right now things a little bit different to 'normal' (if you can say that Queenstown ever has a normal) in that there's virtually no international backpackers who would had previously filled the hospo jobs. This may, or may not, be a temporary thing as most of the backpacker accomodation has been taken out by covid disruptions and may not be economic in Queenstown any more.
This summer will be pivotal for a lot of businesses in town, if they don't make it work they will be gone with the consequential personal losses to owners, suppliers and staff. If Josh Emett can't make it work here things are more than a bit tough, and there will be a lot of very precarious situations around the town. Emmett would have been one of the better ones to have been able to voluntarily liquidate. Personally I know of one who is totally fucked, they are putting one foot in front of the other until either a creditor winds them up, or they can sell / find someone to take it over.
That article re Josh Emmett was misleading at best he hadn't been involved in that restaurant group for quite a long time having sold his share.
The actual restaurants he's involved with now are still very successful. Onslow and Oyster inn.
Still 2/3 owner according to the same article, sure hasn't been a director since 6/20.
They were two very busy restaurants pre covid. Not any more.
Not content with reducing obligations to ‘as low as possible’, DairyNZ wants to remove the ‘backstop’ that incentivises action before 2025, to be replaced with nothing::
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/481234/emissions-pricing-proposal-splits-farming-industry-opinion
This is a further example of how deeply unserious these advocacy organisations are about ever doing anything regarding climate change mitigation. If we want change there must be mechanisms to ensure it, relying on industry to self-regulate has been a utter disaster for the planet. Carrot or stick, something must be done; Labour seems to have opted for the wet bus ticket, and we will all suffer for it.
The only way to get farmers on board with reducing their carbon/methane emissions and overall environmental impact is to pay them the big bucks in return for doing so.
Or regulate the selfish feckers regardless of their feels.
Regulation gets them out blocking the roads with their tractors. Paying them not to pollute will ensure that they are placated.
Interest free loans do not impact on operating costs and are recovered on farm sale.
Retailers like Tesco's will end up doing more than our government.
Sad but true.
Sad but true.
Worn down/out? Other? I wonder who will step up? Hopefully someone Dynamic and Energising. IMO
The retirement (at the next election) of Sage and Logie gives the Greens the opportunity to refresh their front bench, and give a very critical look at the potential new candidates likely to get into Parliament.
I know this is driven by the membership – to a far greater extent than with other parties. It will be interesting to see their list for 2023.
And (hopefully) we get someone who has a sound understanding of, and respect for, New Zealand's constitutional principles.
Principles such as limiting the use of entrenchment provisions in Acts of Parliament so as to exclude policy matters.
An early Christmas present for the traumatized family being targeted by OT in their relentless campaign to remove 'Moana' (a healthy, happy little girl in a long-term foster placement) for the 'crime' that the foster parents are not Maori.
The Supreme Court has declined to hear the appeal.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/130835160/supreme-court-dismisses-moana-appeal-bid
Hopefully this is the end of the sorry saga – and the family can retire to decent obscurity and get on with providing a happy home for Moana.
Sadly – I think that the ideology-driven cohort fostering this challenge won't be deterred – and will take this to the Court of Appeal.
So, the well being and happiness of the little girl is the last thing to be considered? Why am I not surprised.
She has a brother who lives in Wellington. There is no reason why a line of communication cannot be established so that the children can keep in touch with each other. It could also be arranged they get to see each other. I mean such arrangements exist among children whose parents are separated.
No, there is the closed mind among the sociopathic at OT who want to retain control over the children at all cost.
Excellent news Belladonna.
The "ideology driven cohort". Indeed. I wish they would stop and self reflect and acknowledge that. after a horrific start, Moana is in the best place for her.
.
Ohhh, careful now … you'll raise the ire of the Critical Race Theory brigade … as you may know, these ruthless, self-righteous dogmatists wield "racism" smears like a full set of weaponry to enforce a very dubious suite of policies & close down any resulting critique.
You'll be cast as Adolf’s reckless younger sibling by the fake “moralists” before you know it. Don’t support their crude deluded dogma ? … they’ll channel all their energy into making you a social pariah.
https://www.newportinstitute.com/resources/mental-health/what_is_gaslighting_abuse/#:~:text=Gaslighting
It's also done on blogs against groups of people.
Good point SPC.
Long may the scathing takes continue. Where would we be without twitter..
" Where would we be without twitter " ?etc
golly youre a brave chap saying stuff like that around here Sacha !! They,re all off to 'masterdon ' are'nt they ?!!
Pretty dumb tweet tho imo the patriot missile system comes with a lot of inherent problems such as a large team of fairly highly trained operators needed for each emplacement and a world wide shortage of the missiles themselves apparently.
Its not going to be a quick fix for Ukraines woes but i guess the 'optics 'will look good and will serve American desires to 'escalate 'rather well since presumably the nationalists will think they will then be able to strike deep within Russia or at least continue to hit Donetsk from a safe distance which atm the Himars are doing but probably not for very much longer !
"It’s stating the obvious, but it’s worth restating for the record: a large number of these occupiers were tragically unwell. But a smaller number were exploiting the gullible and the stupid for their own financial gain or personal glorification. The challenge for politics in 2023 is to ensure that these grifters cannot hijack the next election."
The dark side haunting New Zealand’s politics in 2022 must not hijack the next election
Morgan Godfery
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/21/the-dark-side-haunting-new-zealands-politics-in-2022-must-not-hijack-the-next-election
The Fiji election continues to spiral into pre-civil war territory. I would be happier if the military would repeat their statement of non-interference, they have been a bit quiet of late:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/481243/nothing-to-concede-fijifirst-says-election-can-only-be-decided-in-parliament
Fiji First Party general secretary Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum is also the Fijian Attorney General, and widely regarded as the brains of the outfit. He doesn't seem keen to go down without a fight. Additionally married to Ela Gavoka, the daughter of the former leader of Sodelpa (until a couple of days ago before the referenced coalition vote). Duru; the former Soldelpa General Secretary, was the one who sent notice to Gavoka that he was no longer leader (having failed to secure a majority in the election, and that a new leader wasn't due to be chosen till 2024), was then ousted from his own position the next day. After the 16 to 14 ("irregular") vote to back a; coalition government led by former coupster Rabuka, rather than a; coalition government led by former coupster Bainimarama.
Where this is going to end has a lot of people (including Fijian immigrants to Aotearoa) very nervous.
I see what you mean. Coup-mongers mongering
Christmas listening for Terry Hall fans.
Zelensky has just met Biden at the Whitehouse.
After the meeting, Kylie Atwood, National Security correspondent at the State Department has tweeted:
So, it is very clear that Zelensky wants a peaceful solution to the conflict. However, the problem is Putin, not the Ukrainians.
It is quite obvious that Putin does not want a peaceful solution considering that Putin appears to be preparing for a new offensive from Belarus and has been continuing to mass troops and equipment there over the last month. This is not the behaviour of someone interested in a peaceful solution.
Since Putin appears to be the problem, I suggest that all of us who want peace and this conflict to end should get on board with sanctions against Russia, and should support as much diplomatic pressure being put on Russia as possible so a peaceful solution to this conflict can be found.
So, it is very clear that Zelensky wants a peaceful solution to the conflict. However, the problem is Putin, not the Ukrainians.
The problem is that what Zelensky considers a "just" peace entails Russia giving back all the territory she has gained so far, including Crimea. Well, the guy used to be a comedian; apparently he still is.
At least he has a negotiable position. Putin not so much.
There was a possible solution prior to Putin annexing Ukrainian territory. That would have been a land-lease arrangement that would have given both sides a good part of what they wanted.
But Putin stuffed that possibility.
"Russia giving back all the territory she has gained so far"
'gained', that is a very sweet and cheerful way of putting it.
Many a true word is spoken in jest.
Zelensky says (or was reported on tonight’s TV1 News as saying) that it's in America's interests to continue supporting Ukraine!
True. But probably not in the sense intended.
If only someone had warned them.
https://www.ft.com/content/dbe6533e-ab61-44bd-8866-fc59b6089cc7
Who'dda thunk?
Rishi "this is a once in a generation opportunity for our country to take back control of its destiny" Sunak reckons public service pay rises aren't affordable.
//
2022 was supposed to be a year of recovery. Instead, we find ourselves in December, staring into the eyes of another recession.
The war in Ukraine has brought us here, that’s unambiguously clear. The Russian invasion unleashed a surge in the price of energy which has trampled on the spending power of households and the profits of businesses.
But in the background, the impact of Brexit is also being felt.
[…]
Since 2018, John Springford at the Centre for European Reform (CER) has been modelling the economic performance of a UK that remained in the EU – using data from countries like the US, Germany, New Zealand, Norway and Australia, whose performance was similar to the UK’s before Brexit.
The difference in performance between his “doppelgänger UK economy” and the real thing is stark.
Mr Springford’s latest update estimates that Brexit reduced Britain’s GDP by 5.5% by the second quarter of 2022.
Put another way, between April and June economic output was £33 billion lower than it would have been had the UK voted to stay in the EU, costing the government around £12 billion in lost tax revenues.
In the year to the end of June 2022, Mr Springford estimates the tax loss at around £40 billion.
https://www.itv.com/news/2022-12-20/brexit-costs-government-40-billion-a-year-in-lost-tax-revenue