Open mike 24/05/2023
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- Treasury warns deeper recession worsening Budget deficit
The gift that keeps giving: David Seymour has now opened a split in the coalition over the future of National’s promise to build a new medical school. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / TheKakaKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and ...3 hours ago - Weekly Roundup 22-November-2024
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Record Numbers: The Hīkoi mō te Tiriti, which began at the tip of the North, and the tail of the South, on 11 November, culminated outside Parliament on Tuesday, 19 November 2024, in one of the largest demonstrations in New Zealand’s political history.ACCORDING TO TE ARA, the Ministry of Culture ...5 hours ago - The Rush To Blame “The Activists”
Activists are such easy scapegoats. The right and center have been conditioned for decades to roll their eyes at all protests. The left are easily aggravated over students leading movements they see as belonging to grownups, who have more important concerns like the economy and whether the trains come on ...5 hours ago - Cutting Through An Inundation of Dipshit Racists
Hi,Watching New Zealand from afar offers a strange perspective. It can be a good thing — distance from Aotearoa helped keep me sane while I reported on abuse at New Zealand’s biggest megachurch over the course of a year. It helps fuel my silly podcast. But it can also be ...5 hours ago - This is bad news
The speech yesterday by Treasury’s Chief Economic Advisor warning that the books are in worse shape than forecasted looks like it’s part of a softening-up process for either more cuts or a longer wait to get back into surplus. The speech was a highly unusual public preview of Treasury’s Half-Yearly ...7 hours ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #47 2024
Open access notables Projected increase in the frequency of extremely active Atlantic hurricane seasons, Lopez et al., Science Advances: Future changes to the year-to-year swings between active and inactive North Atlantic tropical cyclone (TC) seasons have received little attention, yet may have great societal implications in areas prone to hurricane ...16 hours ago - Chicken Kiev
Chatting in the supermarket this morning, I found I needed to lunge for the chicken drumsticks.Coping mechanisms: who hasn’t felt a greater need for them lately?When it all gets too much, I turn to demonstrating handy butchery hacks.It wasn’t that she’d said anything wrong, our friend, not at all. We ...19 hours ago - The year is 2024 and it’s 1984
This is written in response to the highly significant open letter from a group of economists that was today addressed to Christopher Luxon. The year is 2024, and it’s 1984. The country is reeling from a record Olympic medal gold haul, while the globe grapples with the choice of the ...20 hours ago - The IPCA has failed
Back in 2022, RNZ took an in-depth look at the "Independent" Police Conduct Authority and its handling of killings by police. These are the most serious test of oversight, and you would expect the police's use of lethal force to receive the most severe scrutiny. But despite the police regularly ...24 hours ago - Thursday 21 November 2024
The Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti arrived at Parliament on Tuesday – the size is being debated but estimates range from 42,000 to 100,000. The Prime Minister is defending not attending due to some of the organisers being affiliated with Te Pāti Māori. The national gang patch ban came into force ...1 day ago - ‘These budget cuts are counter-productive and make no sense’
I spoke to former Productivity Chair Nana this morning about the letter he and a group of other economists sent to PM Christopher Luxon to urge the Government to urgently suspend cuts to spending and investment for the sake of the economy, struggling businesses and the wellbeing of vulnerable ...1 day ago
- ACT’s Astroturfing & A Co-ordinated Attack on Te Pati Māori
Unity on the Streets / Unity at the TableAfter the Hīkoi, all three right wing Coalition leaders came together to push the idea that the 42,000 - 50,000 + strong Hikoi was somehow less potent and brave, and more illegitimate than the energy and crowd displayed.Prime Minister Christopher Luxon 20-November: ...1 day ago - Durability of carbon dioxide removal is critical for stabilizing temperatures
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- Economists call on PM to suspend budget cuts for the sake of the economy
Nicola Willis’ budget cuts are under fire from economists for having no clear rationale and worsening the recession. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, November 21: The news at ...1 day ago
- The end of policing by consent
National has appointed a new police commissioner. And he explicitly rejects policing by consent: Asked if he subscribed to policing by consent, he said he did not. “I don’t talk about policing by consent. I talk about trust and confidence, and it is fundamentally important that the police have ...2 days ago
- The Treaty Principles Bill: A Who’s Who
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NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is calling on the Government to deliver an economic and industrial strategy for regional manufacturing, rather than just expressing sympathy for job losses, following the announced closure of Kinleith mill in Tokoroa. “The closure Kinleith mill in Tokoroa is not just devastating for ...2 days ago
- 27% of kids going hungry, up from 21% in a year
One in four Kiwi children live in households where food runs out often or sometimes. Photo: Getty ImagesKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, November 20: The lead: The official annual Health Survey found sharp ...2 days ago - Transport modelling is an illusion
This guest post by Tim Adriaansen, an advocate for accessibility and sustainable transport, originally published on LinkedIn and cross posted here with permission. People prefer cars, right? Probably not. Here’s why. Granted, most people in English-speaking countries use a car to get around. This simple reality underpins our transport ...2 days ago
- Young Maori take over
Neither Wellington nor Parliament has ever seen anything like it before. The Police said there were more than 40,000 but however many there were, yesterday’s Hikoi to Parliament was a monumental event. It was almost three times the Foreshore and Seabed martch of 2004 and many,many times bigger than ...2 days ago
- Gordon Campbell On The Hikoi Aftermath
The euphoria from yesterday’s hikoi may be transitory, but is no less valuable for that. It is pretty rare for the left to feel itself to be in the overwhelming majority, and speaking as the voice of the people. Lest that momentum be lost, the organisers will no doubt be ...3 days ago - Sabin 33 #3 – Solar panels generate too much waste and will overwhelm landfills
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Like everyone else (everyone who wasn't there, anyway), I've spent the morning watching the hikoi march on Parliament. The pictures are astounding: parliament grounds and the surrounding streets are full, and there are still people backed up along Lambton Quay. The police are estimating 35,000 people, and that's a floor ...3 days ago
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There were urgent moves yesterday at Parliament to try and defuse the tension building up over ACT’s Treaty Principles Bill. The Bill’s author, ACT leader David Seymour, told reporters that he understood the Justice Select Committee met yesterday to discuss how long it should take to consider submissions on the ...3 days ago
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7 days ago - More lawlessness from National
On Tuesday, sick of government stonewalling, the Waitangi Tribunal issued a rare court order, ordering the Minister of Health to release unredacted documents within 48 hours showing its reasoning for disestablishing Te Aka Whai Ora, the Māori Health Authority. The government's response to the lawful order of a court? Yeah, ...7 days ago
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Day One of the Treaty Principles Bill…and everyone got what they wanted, and did what they liked. Heated words were exchanged. Culturally appropriate acts of outrage were performed. David Seymour got to play the victim card. Willie Jackson got kicked out of class. A comically red-faced Mr Speaker bellowed “Order, ...1 week ago
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The government's Treaty Principles Bill is up for its first reading today - bought forward in a rush in a desperate effort to avoid the hikoi which is currently marching on Wellington. But the Prime Minister won’t be there for it – he’s literally running away to Peru! But he ...1 week ago
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Good morning, and I’m sorry I’ve been away for a couple of days.I’ve been focusing on the Hikoi, and also testing out sentiment on the Treaty Principles Bill. It’s complicated, and the Treaty Principles Bill will be debated in the House today. The Government’s own lawyers have told them the ...1 week ago - Government must vote down ACT Members Bill that would undermine workers’ rights
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The Treaty Principles Bill is set to have its First Reading in the House today, as the Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti continues. More than 40 KCs have written to the Prime Minister and Attorney-General outlining their “grave concerns” about the substance of the Treaty Principles Bill, while an academic and ...1 week ago
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As the Hikoi against it swells into the tens of thousands, KCs call on National to kill off ACT’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. Photo: Getty ImagesKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, November 14: The ...1 week ago
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Louise Upston has revealed her diminished vision for vulnerable youth against a backdrop of snubbed advice, scrapped priorities, shifted goal posts and thousands more children projected to fall into poverty. ...23 hours ago
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National Government’s backward-looking climate policy has seen New Zealand fall seven places on the Climate Change Performance Index to 41 out of 63 countries measured. ...23 hours ago
- Release: Simple reason for drop in emergency housing
When the Government says it has reduced the number of people in emergency housing, what it means is it is stopping people from accessing it in the first place. ...1 day ago
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The Government is turning its back on children by not only weakening child poverty reduction targets, but also removing child mental wellbeing as a priority focus in their Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy. ...1 day ago
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The Government has taken a giant step backwards by reinstating live animal exports. ...2 days ago
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- Release: Call for Palestine recognition by NZ, Australian and Canadian MPs
Parliamentarians from Australia, Canada and New Zealand have written an open letter to their respective Prime Ministers calling on them to recognise Palestine. ...2 days ago
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- Power of the people on full display as hīkoi approaches Parliament
Today, Hīkoi mō te Tiriti arrived in Wellington, with thousands gathering to march in unity against the divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...3 days ago
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Te Tiriti o Waitangi is our country’s founding document. It forms the basis of the relationship between Māori and the Crown – and the Aotearoa New Zealand we live in today. ...1 week ago
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...1 week ago
- Release: Labour formally apologises to state and faith-based care survivors
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Today, the Green Party stands alongside the survivors of abuse in state care and faith-based care as the Government issues an historic apology. ...1 week ago
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The Green Party has written to the Speaker of the House requesting he enable a personal vote on the Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
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The Green Party is alarmed by the Government’s move to exclude a journalist from covering this week’s apology for the survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care. ...2 weeks ago
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Kua hinga te manawa kairākau o Te Rua Tekau Ma Waru Tiwhatiwha te po! Kakarauru i te po! Ka rapuhia kei hea koe kua riro! Haere e te Ika a Whiro ki o tini hoa kua ngaro atu ki te Pō ...2 weeks ago
- Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori call on the Prime Minister to block the Treaty Principles Bill
The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori call on the Prime Minister to block the Treaty Principle...
The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- NZ must pursue independent foreign policy
The Green Party says the need is greater than ever for Aotearoa New Zealand to pursue an independent foreign policy. ...2 weeks ago
- Appointments strengthen Predator Free 2050
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- Driver safety screens to be installed on Auckland buses
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- Government action provides Southland farmers more time to meet plan requirements
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Delivered at Auckland Trade and Economic Policy School Good morning and thank you Deputy Vice Chancellor Lithander for your warm welcome and for inviting me to open Auckland Trade and Economic Policy School today. A Special thanks to the University of Auckland, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and ...1 day ago
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- Next steps for Regulatory Standards Bill
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- Youth Parliament 2025 announced
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- Police stats show promising change
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- Better coordination of anti-scam efforts
With the launch of Fraud Awareness Week, the Government is committing to new coordination efforts across industry and government to combat online scams, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Online financial scams are a growing problem for New Zealand. New data released today shows that Kiwis lost nearly ...4 days ago
- Minister to consider 7AA select committee report
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- Defence Minister to attend ASEAN meeting
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- Launching the White Ribbon Ride
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- NZ signs trade deal with Costa Rica, Iceland and Switzerland
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- Government and iwi work together on aquaculture
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Labour claims Government is ‘cherry-picking’ smoking trends data to hide decade-first increase in daily smokers The post Smoke and mirrors in heated tobacco debate appeared first on Newsroom. ...6 hours ago
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Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 22 November appeared first on Newsroom. ...7 hours ago
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Formation of the 3rd NZ Expeditionary Force has been paused while the government examines the terms of Miami Zoo's surrender.
One brave Kiwi plays an extraordinary role!
Chaos in the American ally forces as they look for a green and brown fruit.
Send them a Kea, punishment.
or a weka 😈
Definitely a weka!
https://www.facebook.com/PFNewZealand/videos/west-coast-weka/457626491565222/
😂
Looks like we need to place some hard limits on the use of plastics, basically we need to get it out of short lifecycle products immediately and only use where its absolutely essential. The recycling process is basically just making the problem to small for us to see…
"The estimate of 75bn particles a cubic metre is for a plant with a filter installed. A majority of the particles were smaller than 10 microns, about the diameter of a human red blood cell, with more than 80% smaller than five microns, Brown said.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/23/recycling-can-release-huge-quantities-of-microplastics-study-finds
We need a levy on every plastic bottle produced or imported into New Zealand to help pay for the clean up, and pollution caused by plastic bottles, Coca Cola are causing and profiting from the problem ???
At this point we just need to get rid of the bottles, cleaning up microplastics is basically impossible due to their size.
Agree with this. When you go on a beach clean-up and find these tiny blobs of plastic everywhere you become aware that the cause needs to be 'quiet words said out loud'. Though also seeing the number of McDonals wrappers along the roadsides adjacent to the same beaches I dread to think what would happen if glass bottles were tossed. Would a monetary return on glass be enough to encourage 'hoons' (again saying the quiet out loud) to refrain from throwing glass out?
While glass is a greater immediate hazard (cuts) – it's much better, long term, for the environment. It just breaks down eventually into the silicon from which it was formed.
Recycled glass and beach nourishment.
https://coastalcare.org/2023/03/recycling-glass-back-to-sand-for-beach-nourishment/
https://glasshalffull.co/what-we-do
200,000 bottles…a minute. And their BS of future by 2030 !?..Be a fkn lot of plastic soup in our Oceans by then. Fark. Shame on them…except, of course, they have none. FYI I have followed this and others for years. And been very active/activated.
They (and a lot of others ) are just….lying, weasel scumbags.
NZ could be like Norway ? (Scandinavia in general has some fantastic ideas : )
IMO : And…of course, Glass (recycled properly) is better
Sure we can recycle better, as Norway does. But have they sorted the micro-particle problem?
They are doing their best to sort the plastic problem. I looked. Maybe you could search for yourself?
Given the colossal amount of plastic shit dominating our lives, it is hard to remain optimistic that our grandchildren will get a clean environment.
One man trying to do something about it is Boyan Slat, whose organisation is tackling the Great Pacific Garbage Patch: https://theoceancleanup.com/boyan-slat/
Hi, As I said, I..have been following and active about this for years..
The sad state of it
2017
2019
I watched this…Fark !
And…NZ's shame… : (
The Kiwis won.
https://twitter.com/zoomiami/status/1661102140067028993
Press statement https://www.zoomiami.org/media-news/posts/kiwi-bird-statement
tweet is a bit silly. Never mind the stress of the video, it's the ongoing stress on the kiwi that was the issue.
I hear the director of Miami Zoo has offered to work out his days trapping stoats in Fiordland as pennance.
kiwi punishments
nats Luxon and Willis…But its all Labours fault !
Oh really. wtaf ?!
National need to start planning for the 2026 Election I think they have f*cked this one already.
Aye Im cautiously optimistic : ). Just they keep heading that direction. We keep heading for Election win. I really would hate to see NZ under..(literally !) Nact rule…
Good God, have they brought Steven Joyce back into the fold
About time but only the State trial
"Donald Trump will face a criminal trial in New York on March 25, 2024, a judge said on Tuesday."
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/world/trump-criminal-trial-start-next-march
It seems all Republican primaries occur between March and June 11, 2024 so Trump will be hoping for masses of free publicity from the trial.
There is the high likelihood of other court proceedings too. Indications are that something is afoot in Georgia. With the number of cases he is likely to be involved in it could be said there's a veritable smorgasbord of legal dramas ahead.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/ga-prosecutor-indicates-charges-trump-probe-come-august-rcna85256
Possibly the Federal criminal charges will happen sooner than March.
Since it is the ex- President they must be very sure that the case is winnable. Imagine a not-guilty reaction from MAGA.
The OCR is now 5.5%.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/490555/reserve-bank-raises-ocr-to-5-point-5-percent
Chlöe Swarbrick once again makes a most salient point:
https://www.facebook.com/chloeNZgreens/
The last word from the RBG.
Despite CS’s take, for most the RBG’s 0.25% increase and staying with his previous forecast peak OCR 5.5% was a dovish surprise.
Many expected an increase to 0.5 increase to 5.75% and a signal of future moves to a peak of 6.5%.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/ocr-rates-to-rise-markets-braced-for-todays-big-call/5RM7NGP72JCVPPKUN6T5AW6WRM/
For mine his mistakes were in not reigning things back a bit in 2021 and then not going with a 0.5% hit in late 2021 when it was clear things had got out of hand.
But I think he got this one right.
CS is correct to note the RBG has few means of realising the objectives required and the OCR is a blunt tool. He has the deposit ratios – something Bollard would have wanted back in 2007. A mortgage surcharge should be added (something Bollard asked for), but it's not that useful for managing imported inflation.
If it was my choice I would reduce inflation on the poor with a rent freeze (I would have placed one on last year for two years to the end of 2024). The subsidy on prescriptions will help some though.
I would see the wealth tax as a means that was tax neutral and stimulus neutral way to provide targeted support to those in need (including leasing houses to supply at income related rents).
I agree. But it is distressing that many others who must surely agree have not bothered to respond after 6 hours.
Maybe Kiwis fully deserve what we get.
What is the difference between $1.5B over 4 years when it is spending and when it is tax cuts?
The former is an inflationary blowout and the latter is, not much, says Christopher Luxon.
Indexing tax thresholds to inflation is a major National Party policy, but it benefits those on higher incomes more than the lowest earners.
The total is now $3B pa.
Talk about a blowout from $10.3B to $11.8B over 4 years hides the more important detail.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/05/christopher-luxon-responds-as-council-of-trade-unions-says-national-s-tax-plan-has-blown-out-by-1-5-billion.html
And in another demonstration of their ineptness National and ACT claim higher mortgage rate costs will occur because of the increase in OCR to 5.5%.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/05/official-cash-rate-national-calls-hike-kick-in-the-guts-greens-call-for-wealth-tax-instead-of-more-reserve-bank-action.html
What are they fact free Fox News?
When in fact the increase to 5.5% had already been factored in by the markets/bank policy. And most banks signalled their mortgages they would be reducing (because the RBG and board said they did not expect to increase the OCR again).
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/ocr-rates-to-rise-markets-braced-for-todays-big-call/5RM7NGP72JCVPPKUN6T5AW6WRM/
However it appears that at least some banks are indeed hiking mortgage rates after the OCR rise
https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/05/24/major-bank-hikes-some-mortgage-rates-shortly-after-ocr-increase/
Variables, as stated
Note that careful word "should".
The evidence is that, right now, mortgage rates are continuing to rise.
While we all hope that they've topped out (or are about to do so) – we don't actually have any evidence that retail mortgage rates are dropping.
A small selection of recent opinion pieces on tax-related matters in Australasia.
'Fairness' is clearly a problematic concept where taxation is concerned. Walker recently offered an analysis of the IRD's "Wealth report – a fruit salad of information".
And Dr Kampmark (RMIT Uni) doesn't think highly of PricewaterhouseCoopers, nor the Australian Taxation Office's treatment of whistleblower Richard Boyle.
"It's our job to be fair", and yet 'fairness' seems to be an increasingly rare and precious 'commodity' – does 'fairness' actually mean anything anymore, in a country that used to pride itself on giving (almost) everyone a fair go?