The government had the opportunity to get rid of neoliberalism and return to its roots as a working class party. Labour 2022 is not socialist. It is simply a manager for the corporate establishment.
It chose the liberal middle class instead and consigned itself to the dustbin of history.
Can’t put it much clearer than that. And evidence is there via the neo liberal Parliamentary consensus–whereby the State Sector Act, Reserve Bank Act, monetarist transactional methods etc. roll over with each election. Labour has enacted a number of useful reforms that the Natzos would not have…but…when the pirate banks and supermarket duopoly laugh in their and citizens faces and keep raking it in, and a state house mega build remains wanting…
As for the current RB rate hike, unemployed are often viewed by tories as “dirty filthy bennies”, a sub class of despicable losers…yet the RB Governor now says we need to add to their ranks to fight inflation, what the…while at the same time employers say they are labour starved and want more migrant labour. Now sure, jobs and people cannot always be linked, but the employers position says little more than–“cheap labour now please”–just as a number of workers are rediscovering their fight and winning decent wage increases.
The faux separation of, and ‘independent’ status of the Reserve Bank, under the RB Act, is such a travesty and reveals like little else why the NZ neo liberal state has to be booted.
Descending into negative equity is going to be a humbling experience for some holders of thumping great mortgages, and guess what–voting for Baldrick is not going to make it better–the contrary in fact. Retired, middle class, working class and alienated need to find some points of unity and develop public action to combat the coming shit show.
I see that the National Party and Groundswell are crowing about the number of signatures included in their petition which Groundswell describes as a "farming tax" but Stuff.co.nz describes as a "food tax" (Interesting contrast!).
By my rough calculations the petition at just over 102,000 was signed by something like 3% of the electorate – not a particularly impressive result and does not confirm Groundwell's claims that the overwhelming majority of New Zealanders support them.
By the way Groundswell keep sending me unsolicited feeds on Facebook and then getting angry when I respond to them asking questions which they don't want to answer. The solution is simple – if they don't want any criticism then stop sending them to me. The very first question I asked is "why are you calling it a farming tax when it is not a farming tax per se – it is an agricultural carbon emissions tax – which is not the same thing as in if you farm without emitting then you don't pay. I then told them that they were really just a front for the National Party at which point I received some hysterical troll responses.
They get angry unless you tell them what they want to hear.
net zero carbon. You sequester more GHGs than you produce. This means transitioning to regenerative models that build soil, biodiversity and grow forests, as well as reducing the GHG emitting practices and stopping relying on pay to pollute carbon credit schemes.
This is physically possible. The main blocks are economic, political and philosophical. I favour subsidising farms to transition, but farmers have to be on board. We also can't do industrial farming at the scale we currently do, so we need to transition our economy at the same time.
I'm generally in agreement about the large scale dairy farms we have here in Canterbury. However I know many local farmers with small holdings who claim they will go out of business as a result of these new laws
that's tough, and again, I would support the government assisting family farms including small ones, to transition. Continuing to farm without taking climate and ecology into account is not a solution to their problem. Groundswell can't help them. I hope someone sorts that out though, because we don't need small family farms being bought up by corporations either.
I know a guy spent the last 30 years on the family farm on low wages, 10 years of it nursing the parents as well as running the farm , the siblings want their cut now , the farms not big enough to pay the mortgage on the 3 to 4 mill he'd have to borrow to pay them out.
Occasionally parents can structure it to hand it down , but it will usually involve getting bigger, and most likely at some point it will be to dare to hand down,
The family farm is terminal it just might be a long slow death for some.
the problem there is the decisions of the parents. Not being overly critical, lots of people are like this and don't sort this stuff out until it's too late. But there are other options to just selling up and splitting the money.
And if the parents want all the kids to have an equal share and thus are ok with the farm being sold, then they’re ok with it no longer being a family farm. That’s on them.
bearing in mind that my parents' generation were the ones where the farm got left to the oldest boy and the girls were supposed to marry farmers if they wanted a farming life.
I’ve also seen the farmers who inherited a farm but then when they want to retire they want bought out. So yeah, the land prices are a huge problem, but there are other factors here too.
I know a farming family who put the farm into a trust and now the kids and their mum run it and when she dies the kids will run and I guess their kids when they have them.
Not every human activity has or is for a profit motive. Profit per se is not the issue anyway, it is about businesses paying their fair share and including this into their business models.
The banks tell us we must stop buying silly smashed avocadoes – officially! They have come to save us all from inflation by taking every cent we have left. They have come to save us from leaky homes by fire-saling the houses. They have come to stop the silly notion of anyone but the chosen rich accumulating capital by taking it all back.
The RBNZ is also telling you to hold on to your job and enjoy your pay-rise while you can, because it is projecting unemployment starting to rise in 2023, which just so happens to be election year.
Yes, but to those of us who are not schooled in even basic economics such as I it is not clear what that really means. That article doesn’t mention the RBNZ projections of the unemployment rate over the next 3 years and they are dire. It does, however, mention recession three times! The Proletariat will shrink, the Precariat will grow and NACT + NZF will ride in as our economic saviours and apply the razor gangs to government spending, including social welfare. As they always do because they are a one-trick pony with the memory of a goldfish.
We interpret the term 'maximum sustainable employment' (MSE) or full employment to mean the level of employment at which the job market is tight, but not so tight that inflation is rising out of control.
More formally, we define MSE as the highest use of labour resources that can be sustained over time without creating a sustained acceleration in inflation.
What is interesting about the RBNZs position regarding MSE, is that we had increasing inflation before wage growth rates began rising. It's almost as if workers don't have anything to do with setting prices, the actual origin of inflation.
My limited understanding of it is that headline inflation was high to start with, because of Covid and other global issues, and this is starting to feed into core inflation such as the MSE and wage inflation. I guess our economy, like so many others, was and is not resilient enough to weather so many large shocks in rapid succession.
Whatever the source of inflation, it is those least responsible for rising prices who are already bearing the brunt of its effects. It's apparently unreasonable to expect lower margins of those businesses that have enjoyed rising profits despite COVID and other global issues.
It's apparently unreasonable to expect lower margins … [my italics]
What do you mean? How is this apparent [to you]? How do you envision RBNZ and/or Government to control or influence those margins?
Yes, of course, the people at the bottom always suffer most and will always suffer more when things get worse. Rightly or wrongly, this Government does acknowledge this with the CoL adjustment, for example. However, RBNZ sees it as a contributing factor to stubbornly high household spending:
Household spending has stayed elevated, despite high inflation, rising interest rates, falling house prices and uncertainty about the global outlook. Recent spending has been supported by high employment, increasing wages, cost of living payments, and savings built up by households during COVID-19 lockdowns. [my italics]
It is apparent because the call from the RBNZ is for reduced consumer spending, not restricted profit margins. Monetary policy has significant lag and it is not always as effective as hoped.
Seeing that we must consume to live and that inflation in the cost of living (a ghoulish term when examined) has been rising faster than wages, a interventionist government could clamp down on these costs through price controls, rent controls, excess profit tax and other fiscal policies.
The Cost of Living Payment was unwise IMO and not directed properly. A reduction in tax liability for those at bottom would have been a much better move.
Petrol is still 25 cts. off per litre, PT fares are still discounted. The fuel discount also benefits the transporting industry, which unsurprisingly have asked for it to remain.
There are plenty more examples of how Government shoulders some of the burden of rising costs (inflation) for New Zealanders.
Any changes to the tax system can easily backfire and stoke the inflationary fire even further. This is the double-edged sword of given the people more money in the hand which they will spend rather than save and/or pay off debt. Consumer spending needs to come down, not go up.
At least that’s my limited understanding of the tricky situation we’re in.
It is apparent because the call from the RBNZ is for reduced consumer spending, not restricted profit margins
Its called demand destruction,it removes profits by enforcing providers to reduce margins to retain sales.it works efficiently in highly informed markets such as the US,where the prices fall to meet demand.
The RBNZs tool kit is limited and their remit is also, I am not expecting them to achieve something that is not within their capabilities. Monetary policy such that it is.
The government, however, has a commanding parliamentary majority and control of fiscal policy; which can form much more directed and precise set of tools. While they have made plenty of prudent decisions I would also join those calling on the government for a reinstatement of the rent freeze. It seems to me as an abdication of sorts to the RBNZ; rather than institute the needed redistributive laws.
People are relying on the charity, such as food banks, for the bare necessities of life in increasing numbers, but they must some how spend less? If those on the lowest incomes had more spending power they may be able to improve their living conditions, for example, no longer skipping meals, or moving out of the unhealthy rental into something better for them. Targeted tax policy could ensure that, RBNZ policies cannot. Some demand is simply unavoidable. There is also plenty of spending being done by those who do not require philanthropy, more often doling it out. It is the governments role to attempt to solve these inequities, not the RBNZ.
The only one I have seen doing anything like this is the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, which is an arm of Government and certainly isn't involved in lending you money to buy your home. There is only one RBNZ so you shouldn't be using a plural like "they".
I can only answer some. That may lose rentals – yes! That may lose homes – yes! I base my answers on historical precedent. This is a modern day land grab, as predicted, so blatantly obviously the same old same old.
Measures to counter this would have been to stop corporates jacking the price of everything and RBNZ not leading the charge to fuck all the little guys.
"Measures to counter this would have been to stop corporates jacking the price of everything and RBNZ not leading the charge to fuck all the little guys."
Yes. Making the impacts on little guys a political priority would be a start.
First home owners, not speculators, whose house should not be some widget in the enormous games of finance these fools play. I'm pissed off. Why were they (Government, RBNZ) all allowing so much practically free money to be lent out. And everyone BUY BUY BUY! We saw it coming, if we were meant to be paying attention and didn't… we were asleep. Everyone gets overextended and… hey presto, interest goes up, land grab.
They had the gall to tell us on the news last night those with savings are better off. Like it all balances out, this periodic stealing of people's life savings, via draining them trying to pay interest, then mortgagee sales, to further the rich.
I have an arrangement with my Bank that I pay the minimum fortnightly payment. That has not changed in the 4 years I have had the current mortgage. When interests rates were very low during Covid I was paying more principal and less interest. Now that rates are going up, I pay less principal and more interest. My fortnightly payment does not change.
The only thing that changes is the term of the loan. The date of final payment stretches out further and further. This does not bother me in the slightest – I will be long dead by then and the loan will be paid when either I, or my estate sells the property.
I bought my house over 40 years ago. I was paying 6% on the first mortgage and 9% on the second mortgage. I was single then (in the eyes of the State anyway) so I got flatmates in to help with the outgoings. In the bad days of the mid 1980's I had paid off the second mortgage, but was paying something like 17% on the first mortgage. I was lucky because my first mortgage was with Housing NZ because I bought in an area where the Government of the time was attempting to encourage home ownership. Other people were paying over 20% interest.
You do not sound that 'lucky' to me. You bought the property over 40 years ago and still have a mortgage on it? Sounds to me like your bank has done you no favours and has made a lot of money at your expense. You should probably get a good mortgage broker and some sound financial advice.
I have this mortgage now because when I paid off the original amount in 1992, I did not actually discharge the mortgage – just left it sitting there for nearly 3 decades. I borrowed against it again 4 years ago when I retired in order to fund an extensive upgrade of part of the dwelling (which at 90 odd years old was badly needed) and I rent out that part while living in the other part myself.
That sounds very smart but offset mortgages are at floating interest rate or higher and your comment makes no sense; your interest payments will go up too.
Only on the portion not offset – if it's fully offset (which is how I read the comment), no interest is charged. On the other hand, it's not much of a mortgage if it is fully offset – a mortgage in name only perhaps?
Loving the irony of Black Friday sale ads merrily sprinkled between the RBNZ pleading for people not to spend. This is the problem with capitalism, everyone constantly rowing against each other, sending out competing messages.
RBNZ says don't spend but every industry, everywhere, especially retail banking, says umm, no.
Covid relief was supposed to be security in uncertain times. What did middle New Zealand do? Went out and bought investment properties, fucking muppets.
Yes indeed, and various jackals are now gleefully buying property at lower prices. We sold six months back to move, in no rush, and the agent was really offended we held out for a less speculative buyer.
Unemployment will save us says the RB–yet–employers demand urgent imports of migrant labour. Which is really a call for low wages.
It's sad to see crime appearing to be on the increase – violent crime especially.
I did a training session at work recently about safety awareness. One of the questions the speaker asked was would you feel safer working in a bank or a dairy (in relation to the threat of robbery and/or the potential for violence)?
That is because there has been a lot of target hardening in other places. Service stations used to be easy targets, – not any more. Dairies – with their windows covered in advertising and run by family members, are the softest target around at the moment.
I have noticed some diaries starting to increase their security but I think there needs to be some consistency. I can't remember which of the big players owns 4 Square but they should be rolling out something to all their stores (though from what I know they are franchises)
They are part of the Foodstuffs Cooperative along with Pak 'n' Save and New World – technically not a franchise, but certainly looks and acts like one most of the time.
I have no idea what you are doing, but if it's a moderation issue, then moderate. If it's not, then hassling someone new like this is both rude and not great for the site. It also reflects badly on moderation.
No no, Incognito has obviously looked at my email address, matched with a previous account then is using it to needle me. I had no intention of trolling or the like – just wanted to get into some conversation again but, well, I think s/he has made themselves clear.
if it’s a moderation issue, then it needs to be dealt with as moderation not trolling someone.
I’ve had a look at your email and IP address. Email address is fine. IP address is shared with someone else who is currently active on TS. If that’s you using two names, then you cannot do that. Some mods will allow a name change for a good reason, others taking a harder line, but either way you cannot run two names here at the same time.
If there is a different explanation for the same IP address, then please explain. Otherwise, please drop pick one name and stick to it.
The IP address matches someone else's? That's weird.
Without betraying confidence/someone elses details is the person I share an email address with a long time user here? Because it isn't me – I only have one account but am on a large network.
Unfortunately for you, I’ve now looked more closely at the email address and see it’s similar to someone who’s on a permanent ban because of a long history of trolling and causing problems for moderators by trying to skirt bans. I’m putting you on the ban list again. If you think this is a mistake, then reply and your comment will end up in the back end where I will see it.
At some point lprent will do an amnesty on the permanent bans. At which point I suggest that if you want to comment here you pick one name, stick to it, and keep your head down.
I am not sure what sort of training such businesses offer.
they are usually family run and they work 24/7. My family owned such a business when I was growing up. The work is endless.
your comment does hint at a blame the victim approach. Was that what you were meaning or have I misinterpreted you? My apologies if I have. The blame lies with the a…hole who stabbed the worker to death.
Right, and who do you think should provide the training to the bosses? The police? The military?
Who do you think is equipped in NZ currently to ward off some shitheel with a knife? Would you be trained enough?
The last knife attacker is now in a female prison for attacking three people, inclusive his/their ex girlfriend who will have lasting scars in her face. And these victims simply had the audacity to go to a restaurant for a dinner and thought that was safe in NZ.
If you think dudes/ettes outside are shifty, close the door – which we do a lot now a days.
They will have to break the door, and by that time she should be able to get out the back door.
No heroics, no nothing. Just try to get out and not worry about a single thing or a single cent. Money is replacable, a cut up face is for live. IF you can't get away, give them the contents of the till, if they want a coffee to go with that , make that coffee, pack the box of chocolates and wish them a good day. Anything to stay unharmed and alive.
But in fact there is no training that can help you to get a way from someone who just simply has no respect for others, for society or their communities.
What will happen now is that Dairys will arm themselves, will hopefully always have a two people policies – if they don't have for the most part even more CCTV that they already have and if all falters, just shut. Because clearly it onus is on us to keep us alive, the police will come to mop up what is left over if the robbery/raid goes wrong, and of course lay a charge for murder or assault.
If the government is serious about winning the next election, and helping those at risk of being impacted by rising mortgage rates, then the government should change the target inflation range temporarilly to reflect the reality of the economic situation.
Those at risk don't only include mortgage holders. But also likely tenants who may face rent increases to cover increasing mortgage costs incurred by landlords.
If a lot of the inflation is imported, then, that component of inflation will not be affected. So, the only way to bring inflation back within the target band is to basically force NZ into a full-blown recession.
I think the target rate for the next three years should be say 3-5%, which would be much more achievable with a lot less pain.
I was trying to find some data to refute your claim,
But also likely tenants who may face rent increases to cover increasing mortgage costs incurred by landlords.
which I just don't think is true, at least not to the same scale of increase or remotely close to it. I do note you have couched your claim using the words, "likely", and "may".
There's this GA article from 2014. Best line is first in the comments section,
I read a lot about this also on interest, but the most obvious thing is that rents are paid from real money, out of real people income, sweat, work and productivity, that is finite. Houses are paid with fake bank money that don’t exist, so they can be as expensive as many zero you can put on a computer screen. Banks want houses to be more expensive, so they give you more fake money and so on, while we all get poorer. If we started listening a bit less to the Economists (with capital E) and a bit more on our brain cells, we would all be better off.
It is true to the extent that landlords will try to pass on their costs to tenants if they are able to. Of course, market conditions may not allow that. For instance, if there is a glut of houses on the market. So, it isn't given.
Firstly, within a historical context, the inflation rate has been much higher in the past reaching an eye-watering 17% in 1987. So, I am not sure that 3-5% inflation is intolerable for several years, given the extra-ordinary times we have been through, and that the RB did cock things up a bit.
Secondly, adjusting the inflation target range is not without historical precedent. For instance, in 1996 the target range moved from 0-2% to 0-3%.
If we do have a recession, there is no guarantee it will be shallow, and it may cost a lot of jobs. But applying the handbrake a bit slower may allow a lot of jobs to be saved.
Even if the RB crashes the economy, there still won't be price stability. For instance, we import a lot of stuff as part of my company. Prices have gone up at least 30% from most suppliers over the last several years. There is no sign that imported inflation is going to end any time soon.
What will happen though, in a recession, is a lot of people will lose their jobs, and there will be a lot of hardship that could be avoided by taking a more measured approach to bringing down inflation. It is not the fault of voters that the RB way over-stimulated the economy. Yet they are being expected to take the medicine to fix it.
Someone pays one way or another whether target inflation range stays the same or is increased temporarilly to a more realistic level. That is through either slightly higher prices, but lower interest rates. Or higher interest rates, and slightly lower prices.
One of the understood effects of the OCR tightening is the currency appreciation.There are 2 parts here the appreciation of the US$ as a reserve currency with large reservoirs for liquid assets such as cash,and the differential in the interest rates (with forex risk)
Here with the OCR being largely forecast there has been an appreciation of 10% since the start of oct,against the US$.This in turn reduces the cost of imports along with reducing the freight and insurance component ( freight rates now back to around pre covid)
The question you need to ask your supplier is why the price has not adjusted.
"Increasingly National’s election pitch is simply that they are “not Labour”. But is that really enough during an economic recession? Does National have any policies of substance that might help navigate the current economic crisis? Even if voters punish Labour for mismanaging the economy, there are no signs that they should have confidence that National would do any better."
When a Government takes from more people than it gives too or does not give enough to those who believe they deserve more then a majority is formed for its demise. The major problem is inflation which takes from many and gives to few – so once the incumbent Government is blamed for "letting inflation get out of control" it is on the way to being toast.
The current Gov may have a lot to answer for but in reality the current economic situation has been little influenced by them, this situation has been building since 2008 , and as is noted in the linked piece that will butter no parsnips for the electorate come next year.
Question: Why the first house price spike 2002-2008?
While looking for something else I saw again the there has been constant and severe house price inflation in NZ for 20 years now, briefly interrupted by the GFC. We know about 2010-2018 (Jong Khee), and 2020-2021 (Covid relief).
Why did the 2002-2008 spike occur? Accelerated immigration? Free trade deal with China? Is it just the cost of open tap neoliberal economics?
I suspect it is, which is why I applaud this government's commitment to managing immigration and foreign capital interference in the residential housing market.
it's also because the Retirement Commissioner spent years telling NZ to invest in property. That alongside the narrative that we couldn't afford superannuation any more and people needed to save for their own retirement. It was very anti-socialist/pro neolib.
Yes, i remember that. And the re-zoning of residential properties/zones to mixed which resulted in many nice villas being turned into offices, dental clinics and the likes. These lost residential houses were never replaced.
There was also the share market collapse in 1987 causing the losses of retirement savings of many, so for some, property probably would at least be worth something, unlike shares which can theoretically become worthless.
I also wonder how much impact Rich Dad, Poor Dad had – the book had more to it than "buy underpriced real estate using leverage", but that was probably the main message people took from it. It was published in 1997 and was a big seller, and I could see that message slowly percolating through to NZ after the 1997 Asian financial crisis as the economy first recovered in 1998-9 and then picked up steam under Labour.
I remember a real slump in house prices in 1991. I was overseas for most of 1990 and I remember when I came back giving some serious thought to buying an investment property in early 1991 as there was quite a glut on the market. I did decide not to – which was probably wise.
Those that have shall be given more, and they will have an abundance. But those that do not have, even what they have, will be taken away from them.
Matthew 25:29
The OCR: What you need to know
RNZ Business
12:46 pm on 23 November 2022
…… increasing the OCR, the cost to consumers of borrowing money from their banks also increases, and as consumers find themselves spending more of their take-home pay on servicing their debts, they have less money to spend on other things.
Banks made record profits, there was no pandemic for them. Rents, mortgages still had to be paid even under lock down.
To keep up with paying higher interest rates demanded by the banksters. Adrian Orr says the public will have to cut their spending,
Adrian Orr has also linked higher unemployment to job competition as the answer to 'wage inflation'.
Adrian Orr says unemployment must rise, before inflation, (particularly wage inflation) will be brought under control.
Bigger mortgage payments, less wages, more unemployment, more job competition, this is all sweet music to the banksters and bosses.
Listening to the car radio. Newstalk ZB, a representative of the banking community said; Can't meet your new mortgage interest rate. Talk to us. 'We can help. 'We don't want to see you out of your home.' 'We are here for the long haul'. (And so are you).
Bought at the high end of the housing market?
Feeling squeezed between inadequate wage increases and high interest rates?
Go to your local bank manager and beg for mercy like the desperate wretch you are, He will see what he can do for you. Agree to a mortgage holiday, or longer period of payment, he will let you stay in your home to work longer to pay off your mortgage.
The March of the Greedies;
Adrian Orr admits Reserve Bank is 'deliberately engineering recession'
Tom Pullar-Strecker 10:02, Nov 24 2022
Orr told Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure select committee it was correct that the Reserve Bank was engineering a recession, saying it was deliberately trying to slow spending in the economy.
"….You know, if you just start behaving, ‘1% different’ around inflation expectations and wage growth that makes our job easier."
Reserve Bank manager, Adrian Orr. also says government spending must be cut.
(Y'know, health care, education, welfare all that unnecessary stuff that gets in the way of maximising bankster profits).
…..Adrian Orr's message to think harder about spending – or "cool the jets" – isn't just for the public. He has told the Government to spend sensibly or risk even higher inflation.
No one should expect their investment to be underwritten by taxpayers. You are responsible for your own risk more than banks are.
Hindsight won't be kind to this government wasting billions on non-delivered services. Robertson may think the RB is overreacting, but honestly so did Robertson.
The fed minutes last night said they showed a greater then even chance (likely) of recession,.The IIF models forecast recession,so it is an expected outcome from high inflation and the necessary mechanism to curb animal spirits,through the forced extinction of Zombie companies,that take easy capital and transform it into empty pixels such as the removal in value of 2.2 trillion $ in crypto,or the deleveraging of property values.
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Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
The government’s attack on Māori health this week is committing tangata-whenua to a premature death, says Te Pāti Māori. “The government have begun their onslaught on Māori health with the abolishment of the Māori Health Authority and smokefree laws in the same day” said health spokesperson and co-leader, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology. It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
This year’s Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity and the contribution of Pacific communities to New Zealand culture, says Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti. Dr Reti announced dates for the 2024 Pacific Language Weeks during a visit to the Pasifika festival in Auckland today and says there’s so ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Curran, Associate Professor of Ecology, Lincoln University, New Zealand Getty Images/Gerald Corsi In the latest move to reform environmental laws in New Zealand, the coalition government has introduced a bill to fast-track consenting processes for projects deemed to ...
Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Cory Davis, Boston Hart and Benjamin Stubbing, Household cost-of-living impacts from the Emissions Trading Scheme and using transfers to mitigate regressive outcomes . This Analytical Note ...
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You can only do one rent rise a year but the Reserve Bank has ensured it will be very big.
This government has had multiple chances to force greater price competition, but now the the RBNZ has just told Labour: "Too late!".
someone with a lot of money is going to have lots of fun buying up houses penny to the dollar. I wonder if we are going to see investors/hedgefunds/pension funds etc buying up large as they did/do in the US.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/interactive/2022/housing-market-investors/
Yes next year there could well be some real property bargains to be had for those lucky enough to be cashed up
The government had the opportunity to get rid of neoliberalism and return to its roots as a working class party. Labour 2022 is not socialist. It is simply a manager for the corporate establishment.
It chose the liberal middle class instead and consigned itself to the dustbin of history.
Can’t put it much clearer than that. And evidence is there via the neo liberal Parliamentary consensus–whereby the State Sector Act, Reserve Bank Act, monetarist transactional methods etc. roll over with each election. Labour has enacted a number of useful reforms that the Natzos would not have…but…when the pirate banks and supermarket duopoly laugh in their and citizens faces and keep raking it in, and a state house mega build remains wanting…
As for the current RB rate hike, unemployed are often viewed by tories as “dirty filthy bennies”, a sub class of despicable losers…yet the RB Governor now says we need to add to their ranks to fight inflation, what the…while at the same time employers say they are labour starved and want more migrant labour. Now sure, jobs and people cannot always be linked, but the employers position says little more than–“cheap labour now please”–just as a number of workers are rediscovering their fight and winning decent wage increases.
The faux separation of, and ‘independent’ status of the Reserve Bank, under the RB Act, is such a travesty and reveals like little else why the NZ neo liberal state has to be booted.
Descending into negative equity is going to be a humbling experience for some holders of thumping great mortgages, and guess what–voting for Baldrick is not going to make it better–the contrary in fact. Retired, middle class, working class and alienated need to find some points of unity and develop public action to combat the coming shit show.
[corrected typo in user name – Incognito]
Mod note
Thank you.
I see that the National Party and Groundswell are crowing about the number of signatures included in their petition which Groundswell describes as a "farming tax" but Stuff.co.nz describes as a "food tax" (Interesting contrast!).
By my rough calculations the petition at just over 102,000 was signed by something like 3% of the electorate – not a particularly impressive result and does not confirm Groundwell's claims that the overwhelming majority of New Zealanders support them.
By the way Groundswell keep sending me unsolicited feeds on Facebook and then getting angry when I respond to them asking questions which they don't want to answer. The solution is simple – if they don't want any criticism then stop sending them to me. The very first question I asked is "why are you calling it a farming tax when it is not a farming tax per se – it is an agricultural carbon emissions tax – which is not the same thing as in if you farm without emitting then you don't pay. I then told them that they were really just a front for the National Party at which point I received some hysterical troll responses.
They get angry unless you tell them what they want to hear.
I see nothing because you haven’t provided a single link besides a vague reference to Stuff.
stuff.co.nz/national/130485650/groundswell-nz-presents-its-food-tax-petition-at-parliament
Had to be typed out by hand because of my stupid IMAC that refuses to let me copy and paste links on this site, regardless of which browser I use.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/130485650/groundswell-nz-presents-its-food-tax-petition-at-parliament
try copying and pasting into another app first. Text Edit if you have it, then select plain text, then copy and paste to TS.
If that doesn't work, please let us know because it shouldn't be doing that (the TS edit box). Details of what happens would help.
Thanks Mike.
How do you farm without emitting? This seems like an impossibility to me.
Every human activity has some emissions attached to them
net zero carbon. You sequester more GHGs than you produce. This means transitioning to regenerative models that build soil, biodiversity and grow forests, as well as reducing the GHG emitting practices and stopping relying on pay to pollute carbon credit schemes.
This is physically possible. The main blocks are economic, political and philosophical. I favour subsidising farms to transition, but farmers have to be on board. We also can't do industrial farming at the scale we currently do, so we need to transition our economy at the same time.
I'm generally in agreement about the large scale dairy farms we have here in Canterbury. However I know many local farmers with small holdings who claim they will go out of business as a result of these new laws
that's tough, and again, I would support the government assisting family farms including small ones, to transition. Continuing to farm without taking climate and ecology into account is not a solution to their problem. Groundswell can't help them. I hope someone sorts that out though, because we don't need small family farms being bought up by corporations either.
The small family farm is terminal, land prices mean that it's only a matter of time before they are all gone,
can't see how that follows, unless farmers sell their family land on the open market.
I know a guy spent the last 30 years on the family farm on low wages, 10 years of it nursing the parents as well as running the farm , the siblings want their cut now , the farms not big enough to pay the mortgage on the 3 to 4 mill he'd have to borrow to pay them out.
Occasionally parents can structure it to hand it down , but it will usually involve getting bigger, and most likely at some point it will be to dare to hand down,
The family farm is terminal it just might be a long slow death for some.
the problem there is the decisions of the parents. Not being overly critical, lots of people are like this and don't sort this stuff out until it's too late. But there are other options to just selling up and splitting the money.
And if the parents want all the kids to have an equal share and thus are ok with the farm being sold, then they’re ok with it no longer being a family farm. That’s on them.
bearing in mind that my parents' generation were the ones where the farm got left to the oldest boy and the girls were supposed to marry farmers if they wanted a farming life.
I’ve also seen the farmers who inherited a farm but then when they want to retire they want bought out. So yeah, the land prices are a huge problem, but there are other factors here too.
I know a farming family who put the farm into a trust and now the kids and their mum run it and when she dies the kids will run and I guess their kids when they have them.
I just think that people who think money is more important than land are insane, but that does describe most of society 🤷♀️
Not every human activity has or is for a profit motive. Profit per se is not the issue anyway, it is about businesses paying their fair share and including this into their business models.
The banks tell us we must stop buying silly smashed avocadoes – officially! They have come to save us all from inflation by taking every cent we have left. They have come to save us from leaky homes by fire-saling the houses. They have come to stop the silly notion of anyone but the chosen rich accumulating capital by taking it all back.
Questions?
Which “banks” or do you mean the RBNZ?
The RBNZ is also telling you to hold on to your job and enjoy your pay-rise while you can, because it is projecting unemployment starting to rise in 2023, which just so happens to be election year.
so to add to DB's list, "the banks" are also saying, sorry beneficiaries, better luck next time.
The official statement being:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/479336/official-cash-rate-raised-by-75-basis-points-to-4-point-25-percent
Gotta maintain precariousness for workers. How else can we ‘encourage’ them to accept insufficient wage increases and unimproved working conditions.
Yes, but to those of us who are not schooled in even basic economics such as I it is not clear what that really means. That article doesn’t mention the RBNZ projections of the unemployment rate over the next 3 years and they are dire. It does, however, mention recession three times! The Proletariat will shrink, the Precariat will grow and NACT + NZF will ride in as our economic saviours and apply the razor gangs to government spending, including social welfare. As they always do because they are a one-trick pony with the memory of a goldfish.
https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/monetary-policy/about-monetary-policy/inflation-and-maximum-sustainable-employment
What is interesting about the RBNZs position regarding MSE, is that we had increasing inflation before wage growth rates began rising. It's almost as if workers don't have anything to do with setting prices, the actual origin of inflation.
My limited understanding of it is that headline inflation was high to start with, because of Covid and other global issues, and this is starting to feed into core inflation such as the MSE and wage inflation. I guess our economy, like so many others, was and is not resilient enough to weather so many large shocks in rapid succession.
Whatever the source of inflation, it is those least responsible for rising prices who are already bearing the brunt of its effects. It's apparently unreasonable to expect lower margins of those businesses that have enjoyed rising profits despite COVID and other global issues.
What do you mean? How is this apparent [to you]? How do you envision RBNZ and/or Government to control or influence those margins?
Yes, of course, the people at the bottom always suffer most and will always suffer more when things get worse. Rightly or wrongly, this Government does acknowledge this with the CoL adjustment, for example. However, RBNZ sees it as a contributing factor to stubbornly high household spending:
https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/-/media/884276dd2ebb4962b325130eef7ae725.ashx
It is apparent because the call from the RBNZ is for reduced consumer spending, not restricted profit margins. Monetary policy has significant lag and it is not always as effective as hoped.
Seeing that we must consume to live and that inflation in the cost of living (a ghoulish term when examined) has been rising faster than wages, a interventionist government could clamp down on these costs through price controls, rent controls, excess profit tax and other fiscal policies.
The Cost of Living Payment was unwise IMO and not directed properly. A reduction in tax liability for those at bottom would have been a much better move.
"It is apparent because the call from the RBNZ is for reduced consumer spending, not restricted profit margins. "
That is a distinction that should be acknowledged.
I’m not aware of RBNZ having anything in their tool kit to adjust or influence profit margins in the private sector.
Yes, price controls are an option and Government is making moves on those. Of course, the rent freeze has ended but the HRC has called for a return.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/472987/human-rights-commission-says-freeze-on-rent-increases-should-return
Petrol is still 25 cts. off per litre, PT fares are still discounted. The fuel discount also benefits the transporting industry, which unsurprisingly have asked for it to remain.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2022/11/cost-of-living-transporting-nz-calling-for-fuel-tax-cut-to-remain-so-kiwis-can-have-certainty.html
There are plenty more examples of how Government shoulders some of the burden of rising costs (inflation) for New Zealanders.
Any changes to the tax system can easily backfire and stoke the inflationary fire even further. This is the double-edged sword of given the people more money in the hand which they will spend rather than save and/or pay off debt. Consumer spending needs to come down, not go up.
At least that’s my limited understanding of the tricky situation we’re in.
Its called demand destruction,it removes profits by enforcing providers to reduce margins to retain sales.it works efficiently in highly informed markets such as the US,where the prices fall to meet demand.
https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/commodities/lbs
The RBNZs tool kit is limited and their remit is also, I am not expecting them to achieve something that is not within their capabilities. Monetary policy such that it is.
The government, however, has a commanding parliamentary majority and control of fiscal policy; which can form much more directed and precise set of tools. While they have made plenty of prudent decisions I would also join those calling on the government for a reinstatement of the rent freeze. It seems to me as an abdication of sorts to the RBNZ; rather than institute the needed redistributive laws.
People are relying on the charity, such as food banks, for the bare necessities of life in increasing numbers, but they must some how spend less? If those on the lowest incomes had more spending power they may be able to improve their living conditions, for example, no longer skipping meals, or moving out of the unhealthy rental into something better for them. Targeted tax policy could ensure that, RBNZ policies cannot. Some demand is simply unavoidable. There is also plenty of spending being done by those who do not require philanthropy, more often doling it out. It is the governments role to attempt to solve these inequities, not the RBNZ.
Which "Banks" (plural) are these?
The only one I have seen doing anything like this is the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, which is an arm of Government and certainly isn't involved in lending you money to buy your home. There is only one RBNZ so you shouldn't be using a plural like "they".
We all know the 'official' banks follow the lead of RBNZ. It's dishonest to pretend otherwise.
Those are commercial banks and have completely different ‘mandates’ and accountability compared to RBNZ.
Kiwibank is owned by us. Do you think they blindly follow that lead as well?
If they do then Grant has to reprogramme their reason for being.
What is the plan for those currently struggling financially who face rising cost of lving increases?
For those that may lose their rentals?
For those that may lose their homes?
Any chance of measures to counter this stress and disruption?
Is that enough questions, for now?
I can only answer some. That may lose rentals – yes! That may lose homes – yes! I base my answers on historical precedent. This is a modern day land grab, as predicted, so blatantly obviously the same old same old.
Measures to counter this would have been to stop corporates jacking the price of everything and RBNZ not leading the charge to fuck all the little guys.
"Measures to counter this would have been to stop corporates jacking the price of everything and RBNZ not leading the charge to fuck all the little guys."
Yes. Making the impacts on little guys a political priority would be a start.
Little guys, and maybe I meant middle guys.
First home owners, not speculators, whose house should not be some widget in the enormous games of finance these fools play. I'm pissed off. Why were they (Government, RBNZ) all allowing so much practically free money to be lent out. And everyone BUY BUY BUY! We saw it coming, if we were meant to be paying attention and didn't… we were asleep. Everyone gets overextended and… hey presto, interest goes up, land grab.
They had the gall to tell us on the news last night those with savings are better off. Like it all balances out, this periodic stealing of people's life savings, via draining them trying to pay interest, then mortgagee sales, to further the rich.
I have an arrangement with my Bank that I pay the minimum fortnightly payment. That has not changed in the 4 years I have had the current mortgage. When interests rates were very low during Covid I was paying more principal and less interest. Now that rates are going up, I pay less principal and more interest. My fortnightly payment does not change.
The only thing that changes is the term of the loan. The date of final payment stretches out further and further. This does not bother me in the slightest – I will be long dead by then and the loan will be paid when either I, or my estate sells the property.
I bought my house over 40 years ago. I was paying 6% on the first mortgage and 9% on the second mortgage. I was single then (in the eyes of the State anyway) so I got flatmates in to help with the outgoings. In the bad days of the mid 1980's I had paid off the second mortgage, but was paying something like 17% on the first mortgage. I was lucky because my first mortgage was with Housing NZ because I bought in an area where the Government of the time was attempting to encourage home ownership. Other people were paying over 20% interest.
I was also lucky because I always had work.
You do not sound that 'lucky' to me. You bought the property over 40 years ago and still have a mortgage on it? Sounds to me like your bank has done you no favours and has made a lot of money at your expense. You should probably get a good mortgage broker and some sound financial advice.
I have this mortgage now because when I paid off the original amount in 1992, I did not actually discharge the mortgage – just left it sitting there for nearly 3 decades. I borrowed against it again 4 years ago when I retired in order to fund an extensive upgrade of part of the dwelling (which at 90 odd years old was badly needed) and I rent out that part while living in the other part myself.
That makes more sense. So was re-paid back in 1992. This is a new mortgage / draw down.
Listen to yourself and take you own advice: https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-05-10-2022/#comment-1913857.
Yes I will speak to myself. As its an offset mortgage and is completely offset the rate increasing wont affect me.
That sounds very smart but offset mortgages are at floating interest rate or higher and your comment makes no sense; your interest payments will go up too.
Only on the portion not offset – if it's fully offset (which is how I read the comment), no interest is charged. On the other hand, it's not much of a mortgage if it is fully offset – a mortgage in name only perhaps?
Loving the irony of Black Friday sale ads merrily sprinkled between the RBNZ pleading for people not to spend. This is the problem with capitalism, everyone constantly rowing against each other, sending out competing messages.
RBNZ says don't spend but every industry, everywhere, especially retail banking, says umm, no.
Covid relief was supposed to be security in uncertain times. What did middle New Zealand do? Went out and bought investment properties, fucking muppets.
Yes indeed, and various jackals are now gleefully buying property at lower prices. We sold six months back to move, in no rush, and the agent was really offended we held out for a less speculative buyer.
Unemployment will save us says the RB–yet–employers demand urgent imports of migrant labour. Which is really a call for low wages.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/sandringham-homicide-the-worst-has-happened-manhunt-under-way-as-community-left-shocked/DMOJJJWROZA3PA7RTK4SLNVHXU/
heartbreaking. Young guy in his 20s – 30s recently married. Stabbed while at work.
An absolute tragedy. My condolences to friends and family in this community, including the owners who were away on holiday.
It's sad to see crime appearing to be on the increase – violent crime especially.
I did a training session at work recently about safety awareness. One of the questions the speaker asked was would you feel safer working in a bank or a dairy (in relation to the threat of robbery and/or the potential for violence)?
Everyone said dairy
They said safer in a dairy?
Don't they read the new? Did the session allow for determining why they felt that way?
Sorry – meant that they felt less safe in the dairy. My typing error
A sad state of affairs. Being a dairy owner is a dangerous profession these days
All good.
That makes more sense.
That is because there has been a lot of target hardening in other places. Service stations used to be easy targets, – not any more. Dairies – with their windows covered in advertising and run by family members, are the softest target around at the moment.
This is a good point. As other retail businesses improve their security and minimise risk, criminals will look for easier targets.
When you get burgled the police come around and talk about steps you can take to make your house/car a less attractive target.
I have noticed some diaries starting to increase their security but I think there needs to be some consistency. I can't remember which of the big players owns 4 Square but they should be rolling out something to all their stores (though from what I know they are franchises)
They are part of the Foodstuffs Cooperative along with Pak 'n' Save and New World – technically not a franchise, but certainly looks and acts like one most of the time.
I think you meant occupation.
Well, whatever – you know what I meant
Yeah, you mean you are sloppy with words & meanings.
No – I just wasn't really thinking about it too deeply
Yes, that was obvious, as was your annoying typo earlier on 🙁
I'm sorry – is there some kind of problem?
Yes, there is, a major one in fact.
I’m more than happy to share it with you. Don’t you want to hear it? Don’t be shy, you normally aren’t, just say the word 😉
Oh right I get it.
Ban me then if its a problem for you.
no, there is no problem. My suggestion is walk away from this convo and just focus on other ones that appeal 👍
I’m afraid that won’t work, this time.
I have no idea what you are doing, but if it's a moderation issue, then moderate. If it's not, then hassling someone new like this is both rude and not great for the site. It also reflects badly on moderation.
No no, Incognito has obviously looked at my email address, matched with a previous account then is using it to needle me. I had no intention of trolling or the like – just wanted to get into some conversation again but, well, I think s/he has made themselves clear.
if it’s a moderation issue, then it needs to be dealt with as moderation not trolling someone.
I’ve had a look at your email and IP address. Email address is fine. IP address is shared with someone else who is currently active on TS. If that’s you using two names, then you cannot do that. Some mods will allow a name change for a good reason, others taking a harder line, but either way you cannot run two names here at the same time.
If there is a different explanation for the same IP address, then please explain. Otherwise, please drop pick one name and stick to it.
Making a note in the back end.
The IP address matches someone else's? That's weird.
Without betraying confidence/someone elses details is the person I share an email address with a long time user here? Because it isn't me – I only have one account but am on a large network.
Unfortunately for you, I’ve now looked more closely at the email address and see it’s similar to someone who’s on a permanent ban because of a long history of trolling and causing problems for moderators by trying to skirt bans. I’m putting you on the ban list again. If you think this is a mistake, then reply and your comment will end up in the back end where I will see it.
At some point lprent will do an amnesty on the permanent bans. At which point I suggest that if you want to comment here you pick one name, stick to it, and keep your head down.
Oh right – sorry it's been so long I had forgotten I was banned. I knew my email would be picked up but hadn't remembered the ban.
That's OK, no amnesty required nor asked for. I'll just do something else with my time.
Enjoy yourself 🙂
Have to wonder what sort of training this guy had to deal with such a dangerous situation.
I am not sure what sort of training such businesses offer.
they are usually family run and they work 24/7. My family owned such a business when I was growing up. The work is endless.
your comment does hint at a blame the victim approach. Was that what you were meaning or have I misinterpreted you? My apologies if I have. The blame lies with the a…hole who stabbed the worker to death.
No doubt about where the blame lies but, family owned business or not, employers must provide proper training for staff.
Not saying they didn't but these incidents are more likely not to end in tragedy if the retail worker doesn't resist.
Also could be that he didn't resist and the perpetrator attacked him anyway.
Right, and who do you think should provide the training to the bosses? The police? The military?
Who do you think is equipped in NZ currently to ward off some shitheel with a knife? Would you be trained enough?
The last knife attacker is now in a female prison for attacking three people, inclusive his/their ex girlfriend who will have lasting scars in her face. And these victims simply had the audacity to go to a restaurant for a dinner and thought that was safe in NZ.
My shop girls training is simply.
If you think dudes/ettes outside are shifty, close the door – which we do a lot now a days.
They will have to break the door, and by that time she should be able to get out the back door.
No heroics, no nothing. Just try to get out and not worry about a single thing or a single cent. Money is replacable, a cut up face is for live. IF you can't get away, give them the contents of the till, if they want a coffee to go with that , make that coffee, pack the box of chocolates and wish them a good day. Anything to stay unharmed and alive.
But in fact there is no training that can help you to get a way from someone who just simply has no respect for others, for society or their communities.
What will happen now is that Dairys will arm themselves, will hopefully always have a two people policies – if they don't have for the most part even more CCTV that they already have and if all falters, just shut. Because clearly it onus is on us to keep us alive, the police will come to mop up what is left over if the robbery/raid goes wrong, and of course lay a charge for murder or assault.
If the government is serious about winning the next election, and helping those at risk of being impacted by rising mortgage rates, then the government should change the target inflation range temporarilly to reflect the reality of the economic situation.
Those at risk don't only include mortgage holders. But also likely tenants who may face rent increases to cover increasing mortgage costs incurred by landlords.
If a lot of the inflation is imported, then, that component of inflation will not be affected. So, the only way to bring inflation back within the target band is to basically force NZ into a full-blown recession.
I think the target rate for the next three years should be say 3-5%, which would be much more achievable with a lot less pain.
I was trying to find some data to refute your claim,
which I just don't think is true, at least not to the same scale of increase or remotely close to it. I do note you have couched your claim using the words, "likely", and "may".
There's this GA article from 2014. Best line is first in the comments section,
It is true to the extent that landlords will try to pass on their costs to tenants if they are able to. Of course, market conditions may not allow that. For instance, if there is a glut of houses on the market. So, it isn't given.
Lovely thought, but please explain how you’d ensure employment and price stability at those inflated rates.
Firstly, within a historical context, the inflation rate has been much higher in the past reaching an eye-watering 17% in 1987. So, I am not sure that 3-5% inflation is intolerable for several years, given the extra-ordinary times we have been through, and that the RB did cock things up a bit.
Secondly, adjusting the inflation target range is not without historical precedent. For instance, in 1996 the target range moved from 0-2% to 0-3%.
If we do have a recession, there is no guarantee it will be shallow, and it may cost a lot of jobs. But applying the handbrake a bit slower may allow a lot of jobs to be saved.
You didn’t answer the question, just beating around the bush.
Even if the RB crashes the economy, there still won't be price stability. For instance, we import a lot of stuff as part of my company. Prices have gone up at least 30% from most suppliers over the last several years. There is no sign that imported inflation is going to end any time soon.
What will happen though, in a recession, is a lot of people will lose their jobs, and there will be a lot of hardship that could be avoided by taking a more measured approach to bringing down inflation. It is not the fault of voters that the RB way over-stimulated the economy. Yet they are being expected to take the medicine to fix it.
Someone pays one way or another whether target inflation range stays the same or is increased temporarilly to a more realistic level. That is through either slightly higher prices, but lower interest rates. Or higher interest rates, and slightly lower prices.
One of the understood effects of the OCR tightening is the currency appreciation.There are 2 parts here the appreciation of the US$ as a reserve currency with large reservoirs for liquid assets such as cash,and the differential in the interest rates (with forex risk)
Here with the OCR being largely forecast there has been an appreciation of 10% since the start of oct,against the US$.This in turn reduces the cost of imports along with reducing the freight and insurance component ( freight rates now back to around pre covid)
The question you need to ask your supplier is why the price has not adjusted.
"Increasingly National’s election pitch is simply that they are “not Labour”. But is that really enough during an economic recession? Does National have any policies of substance that might help navigate the current economic crisis? Even if voters punish Labour for mismanaging the economy, there are no signs that they should have confidence that National would do any better."
https://democracyproject.nz/2022/11/24/bryce-edwards-politicians-and-the-reserve-bank-are-being-blamed-for-an-escalating-economic-crisis/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=bryce-edwards-politicians-and-the-reserve-bank-are-being-blamed-for-an-escalating-economic-crisis
History would suggest not being the incumbent will be sufficient
When a Government takes from more people than it gives too or does not give enough to those who believe they deserve more then a majority is formed for its demise. The major problem is inflation which takes from many and gives to few – so once the incumbent Government is blamed for "letting inflation get out of control" it is on the way to being toast.
The current Gov may have a lot to answer for but in reality the current economic situation has been little influenced by them, this situation has been building since 2008 , and as is noted in the linked piece that will butter no parsnips for the electorate come next year.
Question: Why the first house price spike 2002-2008?
While looking for something else I saw again the there has been constant and severe house price inflation in NZ for 20 years now, briefly interrupted by the GFC. We know about 2010-2018 (Jong Khee), and 2020-2021 (Covid relief).
Why did the 2002-2008 spike occur? Accelerated immigration? Free trade deal with China? Is it just the cost of open tap neoliberal economics?
I suspect it is, which is why I applaud this government's commitment to managing immigration and foreign capital interference in the residential housing market.
it's also because the Retirement Commissioner spent years telling NZ to invest in property. That alongside the narrative that we couldn't afford superannuation any more and people needed to save for their own retirement. It was very anti-socialist/pro neolib.
Yes, i remember that. And the re-zoning of residential properties/zones to mixed which resulted in many nice villas being turned into offices, dental clinics and the likes. These lost residential houses were never replaced.
There was also the share market collapse in 1987 causing the losses of retirement savings of many, so for some, property probably would at least be worth something, unlike shares which can theoretically become worthless.
I also wonder how much impact Rich Dad, Poor Dad had – the book had more to it than "buy underpriced real estate using leverage", but that was probably the main message people took from it. It was published in 1997 and was a big seller, and I could see that message slowly percolating through to NZ after the 1997 Asian financial crisis as the economy first recovered in 1998-9 and then picked up steam under Labour.
Would you like to produce some evidence to support your last sentence?
I remember a real slump in house prices in 1991. I was overseas for most of 1990 and I remember when I came back giving some serious thought to buying an investment property in early 1991 as there was quite a glut on the market. I did decide not to – which was probably wise.
Can we please get rid of these repulsive commercial American holidays like black friday and thanksgiving? They are not New Zealand.
+1
wait, are people in NZ doing Thanksgiving? (who aren't American)
The big trashy retailers certainly are , and it's repulsive. Likewise Halloween has become a commercial spendfest.
I haven't seen any NZ retailers (not even Costco) advertising Thanksgiving.
OTOH – they're all going full out on Black Friday – and actually some (PB Tech) have been doing Black Friday sales for a month.
The only people in NZ I know who are doing Thanksgiving are transplanted Americans.
The funny thing is that Halloween derives from Hallowed Evening which presumably is the holy evening before All Saints Day on Nov 1st.
the great us-americanisation continues unabated……
Agree. What happened to Black Friday being any Friday that fell on the 13th of the month?
'
Engineering a Recession
Those that have shall be given more, and they will have an abundance. But those that do not have, even what they have, will be taken away from them.
Matthew 25:29
Banks made record profits, there was no pandemic for them. Rents, mortgages still had to be paid even under lock down.
To keep up with paying higher interest rates demanded by the banksters. Adrian Orr says the public will have to cut their spending,
Adrian Orr has also linked higher unemployment to job competition as the answer to 'wage inflation'.
Adrian Orr says unemployment must rise, before inflation, (particularly wage inflation) will be brought under control.
Bigger mortgage payments, less wages, more unemployment, more job competition, this is all sweet music to the banksters and bosses.
Listening to the car radio. Newstalk ZB, a representative of the banking community said; Can't meet your new mortgage interest rate. Talk to us. 'We can help. 'We don't want to see you out of your home.' 'We are here for the long haul'. (And so are you).
Bought at the high end of the housing market?
Feeling squeezed between inadequate wage increases and high interest rates?
Go to your local bank manager and beg for mercy like the desperate wretch you are, He will see what he can do for you. Agree to a mortgage holiday, or longer period of payment, he will let you stay in your home to work longer to pay off your mortgage.
The March of the Greedies;
Reserve Bank manager, Adrian Orr. also says government spending must be cut.
(Y'know, health care, education, welfare all that unnecessary stuff that gets in the way of maximising bankster profits).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zatnIhwmu1c
No one should expect their investment to be underwritten by taxpayers. You are responsible for your own risk more than banks are.
Hindsight won't be kind to this government wasting billions on non-delivered services. Robertson may think the RB is overreacting, but honestly so did Robertson.
The fed minutes last night said they showed a greater then even chance (likely) of recession,.The IIF models forecast recession,so it is an expected outcome from high inflation and the necessary mechanism to curb animal spirits,through the forced extinction of Zombie companies,that take easy capital and transform it into empty pixels such as the removal in value of 2.2 trillion $ in crypto,or the deleveraging of property values.
https://twitter.com/RobinBrooksIIF/status/1595075683298025477?cxt=HHwWioC9zcC47KIsAAAA