Open mike 26/03/2024
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- Property Rights and the Treaty Principles Bill
Property rights – which enable decisions over tangible and intangible assets – are critical to an economy as Why Nations Fail pointed out. Not just private property rights for, as we shall see, they are more complicated than that. Neoliberals argue that private property rights lead to the maximum economic ...15 minutes ago - The Hoon around the week to November 22
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with: on the US Presidential elections, Israel vs Gaza/Iran/Lebanon, Ukraine/Nato vs Russia/North Korea and whether NZ now joins AUKUS;Special guest Helen Clark on the issues above, ...1 hour ago - Justice in Brazil
Following the 2022 Brazilian general election, election loser Jair Bolsonaro tried to do a Trump, attempting a coup to overturn the election. It failed. But unlike his American friend, he hasn't been allowed to get away with it: The former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and some of his closest ...2 hours ago - Treasury warns deeper recession worsening Budget deficit
The gift that keeps giving: David Seymour has now opened a split in the coalition over the future of National’s promise to build a new medical school. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / TheKakaKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and ...8 hours ago
- Weekly Roundup 22-November-2024
It’s another Friday and we’re inching closer to the end of the year. Here’s some of the stories that have caught our attention this week. This post, like all our work, is brought to you by a largely volunteer crew and made possible by generous donations from our readers and ...9 hours ago - Beyond Question?
Record Numbers: The Hīkoi mō te Tiriti, which began at the tip of the North, and the tail of the South, on 11 November, culminated outside Parliament on Tuesday, 19 November 2024, in one of the largest demonstrations in New Zealand’s political history.ACCORDING TO TE ARA, the Ministry of Culture ...10 hours ago - The Rush To Blame “The Activists”
Activists are such easy scapegoats. The right and center have been conditioned for decades to roll their eyes at all protests. The left are easily aggravated over students leading movements they see as belonging to grownups, who have more important concerns like the economy and whether the trains come on ...10 hours ago - Cutting Through An Inundation of Dipshit Racists
Hi,Watching New Zealand from afar offers a strange perspective. It can be a good thing — distance from Aotearoa helped keep me sane while I reported on abuse at New Zealand’s biggest megachurch over the course of a year. It helps fuel my silly podcast. But it can also be ...10 hours ago - This is bad news
The speech yesterday by Treasury’s Chief Economic Advisor warning that the books are in worse shape than forecasted looks like it’s part of a softening-up process for either more cuts or a longer wait to get back into surplus. The speech was a highly unusual public preview of Treasury’s Half-Yearly ...12 hours ago - Skeptical Science New Research for Week #47 2024
Open access notables Projected increase in the frequency of extremely active Atlantic hurricane seasons, Lopez et al., Science Advances: Future changes to the year-to-year swings between active and inactive North Atlantic tropical cyclone (TC) seasons have received little attention, yet may have great societal implications in areas prone to hurricane ...21 hours ago - Chicken Kiev
Chatting in the supermarket this morning, I found I needed to lunge for the chicken drumsticks.Coping mechanisms: who hasn’t felt a greater need for them lately?When it all gets too much, I turn to demonstrating handy butchery hacks.It wasn’t that she’d said anything wrong, our friend, not at all. We ...1 day ago - The year is 2024 and it’s 1984
This is written in response to the highly significant open letter from a group of economists that was today addressed to Christopher Luxon. The year is 2024, and it’s 1984. The country is reeling from a record Olympic medal gold haul, while the globe grapples with the choice of the ...1 day ago - The IPCA has failed
Back in 2022, RNZ took an in-depth look at the "Independent" Police Conduct Authority and its handling of killings by police. These are the most serious test of oversight, and you would expect the police's use of lethal force to receive the most severe scrutiny. But despite the police regularly ...1 day ago
- Thursday 21 November 2024
The Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti arrived at Parliament on Tuesday – the size is being debated but estimates range from 42,000 to 100,000. The Prime Minister is defending not attending due to some of the organisers being affiliated with Te Pāti Māori. The national gang patch ban came into force ...1 day ago - ‘These budget cuts are counter-productive and make no sense’
I spoke to former Productivity Chair Nana this morning about the letter he and a group of other economists sent to PM Christopher Luxon to urge the Government to urgently suspend cuts to spending and investment for the sake of the economy, struggling businesses and the wellbeing of vulnerable ...1 day ago
- ACT’s Astroturfing & A Co-ordinated Attack on Te Pati Māori
Unity on the Streets / Unity at the TableAfter the Hīkoi, all three right wing Coalition leaders came together to push the idea that the 42,000 - 50,000 + strong Hikoi was somehow less potent and brave, and more illegitimate than the energy and crowd displayed.Prime Minister Christopher Luxon 20-November: ...1 day ago - Durability of carbon dioxide removal is critical for stabilizing temperatures
This is a re-post from the Climate Brink The world is emitting over 40 gigatons of CO2 per year, contributing to an accelerating warming of the planet. The world needs to cut emissions rapidly to be remotely on track to meet our Paris Agreement goals of limiting warming to well-below 2C, and we ...1 day ago
- I Love My Leather Jacket
I wear my leather jacket like a great big hugRadiating charm - a living cloak of luckIt's the only concrete link with an absent friendIt's a symbol I can wear 'till we meet againOr it's a weight around my neck while the owner's freeBoth protector and reminder of mortalityIt's a ...1 day ago - Throwback Thursday: Will “Auckland Transport” Survive?
With Auckland Transport’s future up in the air under Mayor Wayne Brown’s proposed CCO reform, we’ve dug way back into the archives, to unearth this post originally published in March 2010. As you’ll see, many of the debates that were being had when AT was first proposed continue to ...1 day ago
- Economists call on PM to suspend budget cuts for the sake of the economy
Nicola Willis’ budget cuts are under fire from economists for having no clear rationale and worsening the recession. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, November 21: The news at ...1 day ago
- The end of policing by consent
National has appointed a new police commissioner. And he explicitly rejects policing by consent: Asked if he subscribed to policing by consent, he said he did not. “I don’t talk about policing by consent. I talk about trust and confidence, and it is fundamentally important that the police have ...2 days ago
- The Treaty Principles Bill: A Who’s Who
David Horatio Waterbed SeymourFringe politician and dweeb transformed successfully by ThinkTank money into a well-oiled soundbite robot.Currently programmed to say: Equal rights for all New Zealanders Equal rights for all New Zealanders Equal rights for all New Zealanders Was previously programmed to say:I am a proud libertarian andI am a ...2 days ago - Kinleith mill closure shows need for industrial strategy
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is calling on the Government to deliver an economic and industrial strategy for regional manufacturing, rather than just expressing sympathy for job losses, following the announced closure of Kinleith mill in Tokoroa. “The closure Kinleith mill in Tokoroa is not just devastating for ...2 days ago
- 27% of kids going hungry, up from 21% in a year
One in four Kiwi children live in households where food runs out often or sometimes. Photo: Getty ImagesKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, November 20: The lead: The official annual Health Survey found sharp ...2 days ago - Transport modelling is an illusion
This guest post by Tim Adriaansen, an advocate for accessibility and sustainable transport, originally published on LinkedIn and cross posted here with permission. People prefer cars, right? Probably not. Here’s why. Granted, most people in English-speaking countries use a car to get around. This simple reality underpins our transport ...2 days ago
- Young Maori take over
Neither Wellington nor Parliament has ever seen anything like it before. The Police said there were more than 40,000 but however many there were, yesterday’s Hikoi to Parliament was a monumental event. It was almost three times the Foreshore and Seabed martch of 2004 and many,many times bigger than ...3 days ago
- Gordon Campbell On The Hikoi Aftermath
The euphoria from yesterday’s hikoi may be transitory, but is no less valuable for that. It is pretty rare for the left to feel itself to be in the overwhelming majority, and speaking as the voice of the people. Lest that momentum be lost, the organisers will no doubt be ...3 days ago - Sabin 33 #3 – Solar panels generate too much waste and will overwhelm landfills
On November 1, 2024 we announced the publication of 33 rebuttals based on the report "Rebutting 33 False Claims About Solar, Wind, and Electric Vehicles" written by Matthew Eisenson, Jacob Elkin, Andy Fitch, Matthew Ard, Kaya Sittinger & Samuel Lavine and published by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia ...3 days ago
- What’s the time Mr Seymour?
Mr David Seymour crawling up to the ceilingThe sun don't shine the sun don't shine the sun don't shine at allMamma Pappa say you should go to school, I don't know what forNow that I've grown up and seen the world and all its liesSong: Southside of Bombay"Ake, ake, ake" ...3 days ago - Submit to defend te Tiriti!
The Justice Committee has called for submissions on National's racist and constitutionally radical Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill. Submissions can be made at the link above or by post, and are due by Tuesday, 7 January 2025. But I'd get in quick, in case National grows a spine ...3 days ago
- We need to talk about Kevin
All happy families are alike; each unhappy family has a Drunk Uncle Kevin in there somewhere. If your Kevin is anything like the ones I know, he was getting along happily enough without having to think too much about the Treaty Principles Bill apart from bloody good job, onya guys ...3 days ago - The hikoi
Like everyone else (everyone who wasn't there, anyway), I've spent the morning watching the hikoi march on Parliament. The pictures are astounding: parliament grounds and the surrounding streets are full, and there are still people backed up along Lambton Quay. The police are estimating 35,000 people, and that's a floor ...3 days ago
- Why Govt & NZ Inc should boycott & regulate Facebook
3 days ago - How should we talk about change?
A better world isn’t just possible, it’s desirable. And that’s how we should frame a lot of our conversations around making a greater Auckland. As an example take urban climate action. A climate friendly Auckland: Is free from congestion Enables people to travel how they choose Is filled with ...3 days ago
- AMA + Holiday Webworm Merch!
3 days ago - Discount Code for Webworm Merch!
Hi,So there’s a bunch of new stuff on the Webworm store (www.webworm.store) — just in time for the Holidays. Read more ...3 days ago - Trying to defuse the tension
There were urgent moves yesterday at Parliament to try and defuse the tension building up over ACT’s Treaty Principles Bill. The Bill’s author, ACT leader David Seymour, told reporters that he understood the Justice Select Committee met yesterday to discuss how long it should take to consider submissions on the ...4 days ago
- An Irritable NZ Pawn – David Seymour Admits Treaty Principles Bill will clear the way for deve...
4 days ago - Gordon Campbell On The Hikoi Arrival, And Tyler Childers
Politicians like to bang on all about the need to heal society’s racial/economic divisions, but in their actions they’re more keen on stoking those divisions, with the Treaty Principles Bill being the classic example. The Bill seeks to dilute the Crown’s responsibilities to Māori at the same time as it ...4 days ago
- Socially Backwards and Fiscally Forwards: the False Ideological Divide and the “Conservative” Li...
4 days ago - Kaamos: Accepted
I appreciate that A Phuulish Fellow has been fairly quiet recently. That’s a combination of two things – comparatively little in the way of relevant material to discuss (at least until The War of the Rohirrim comes out next month), and my general work on The Secret Non-Fiction Writing Project. ...4 days ago - Here’s how governments could fix their Paris climate commitment failures
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Governments around the world face a conundrum. Virtually none are on track to meet their Paris climate commitments. That includes the United States, which committed to cut its emissions at least 50% below 2005 levels by 2030 but is only on track for 32-43% cuts ...4 days ago
- Unstoppable.
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- Katherine Trebeck – An Alternative Economic Narrative
The era of neoliberalism has been destructive on so many levels, with a huge growth in wealth and privilege for the one percent. A hollowing out of the state; fraying of the safety net; inadequate government investment in infrastructure; and continued environmental degradation has resulted in damage on a vast ...4 days ago - In a Manner of Speaking
In a manner of speakingI just want to sayThat I could never forget the wayYou told me everythingBy saying nothingOh, give me the wordsGive me the wordsThat tell me nothingOh, give me the wordsGive me the wordsThat tell me everythingSongwriter: Winston TongNext Tuesday, the subscription price for Nick’s Kōrero will ...4 days ago - Monday 18 November 2024
The NZNO have announced a nationwide strike for December over its pay dispute with Health NZ, who have put a 1 per cent cap on pay rises. The Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti and Treaty Principles Bill remain front and centre in the media, with the impacts of the Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke-led ...4 days ago
- Shipley warns Seymour’s bill is ‘inviting civil war’
The divisive Treaty Principles Bill is not just a risk for the National Party, it’s a risk to civil order and unity, warns a National Party grandee. Photo: Getty ImagesKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on ...4 days ago - A clearer network for the City Rail Link?
This post was originally published on Linked In by Nicolas Reid. It is republished here with permission. Auckland is now just a year or so away from having the keystone of its urban rail network complete. As I wrote about here, the City Rail Link will be a literal game changer for ...4 days ago
- National’s support base is wobbling
If ACT leader David Seymour intended the Treaty Principles Bill to drive a wedge into National’s support base, he may well already be succeeding. By midnight on Thursday after the Maori Party haka in Parliament, National MPs were being deluged with emails and messages from their members calling them out ...5 days ago
- 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #46
A listing of 33 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, November 10, 2024 thru Sat, November 16, 2024. Story of the week Our Story of the Week is completely "meta" (no, not that Meta). It's about our exploring how ...5 days ago
- Grifter Eftpos Tamaki at it again
..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Self-appointed “Bishop” and proto-fascist, Brian Tamaki was at it again on 16 November, blocking Auckland’s southern motorway, SH1.This time, the target of his ire wasn’t the Civil Unions Act; covid lock-downs; mask mandates; or ...5 days ago - Rip up a bill, lead a haka are words to live by
I cannot stop grabbing people by the lapels, or shoulders, or similar, and raving at them about the tiny miracles in my ears.I can hear again! There could not be a more satisfied customer in all the world.In a noisy cafe I am even catching words that Karren cannot, she ...5 days ago - Unintended Consequences
Take the baitYou pay the priceIt's much too lateFor good adviceYou know and I know that our good things' throughBecause there's consequences for what we doConsequences for me and youWriters: Kevin Robert Hayes, David Nagier, Bonnie Adele Hayes.Fallout from the first readingOne News began last night by saying that tens ...6 days ago - Thank you, driver!
Today, Saturday 16th of November, is Auckland Transport’s Bus Driver Appreciation Day! Saturday 16 November marks the third annual Auckland Transport (AT) ‘Bus Driver Appreciation Day’, and this year we are encouraging all of New Zealand to thank their driver or let the bus go first if you are in ...6 days ago
- Totally Normal: Holiday Edition
Hi,If I was to accurately sum up my mental state over the week, I’d just say that I got a huge fright from my own shadow.I’d nipped out for an 11pm neighborhood stroll, just to calm down after a day of stress and screens. The Cure and Fazerdaze’s new record ...6 days ago - We Are Not Listening
The current rise of populism challenges the way we think about people’s relationship to the economy.We seem to be entering an era of populism, in which leadership in a democracy is based on preferences of the population which do not seem entirely rational nor serving their longer interests. ...
7 days ago - More lawlessness from National
On Tuesday, sick of government stonewalling, the Waitangi Tribunal issued a rare court order, ordering the Minister of Health to release unredacted documents within 48 hours showing its reasoning for disestablishing Te Aka Whai Ora, the Māori Health Authority. The government's response to the lawful order of a court? Yeah, ...7 days ago
- National’s tyrannical “foreign interference” law
Yesterday, under cover the the biggest political fight of the year, National quietly - covertly, even - introduced anti-foreign interference legislation. The bill is the product of a years-long work-program aimed at countering shit like this and this, and there's unquestionably a need to do something to counter foreign states' ...1 week ago
- The Haka Represents The Best Of Us
A few months ago, I was in an audience watching a Haka-Kapa and as I watched children dance and sing and sway and shout and beat, I couldn’t help but think “The Haka represents the best of us.”Yes, yes - there will be a thousand voices that rush forth to ...1 week ago
- Adding up the climate cost
St Mary’s Bay housing left hanging: Climate risk is systemically underestimated in the climate scenarios used by central banks, and a new report warns 10,000 houses are set to become uninsurable in Aotearoa. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in ...1 week ago
- Auckland chafing at Bishop’s housing intensification orders
One of the major problems the Government has in implementing its ‘going for housing growth’ strategy is that it isn’t giving much funding help to councils. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and ...1 week ago - Friday 15 November 2024
The Treaty Principles Bill continues to dominate political news, with it passing its first reading in the House. Parliament was briefly suspended and Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke suspended for 24 hours after leading a haka that was joined by opposition MPs and the public in the gallery. Willie ...1 week ago
- Weekly Roundup 15-November-2024
Happy Friday, welcome to another round-up of interesting stories about what’s happening in Auckland and other cities. Feel free to add your links in the comments! This post, like all our work, is brought to you by a largely volunteer crew and made possible by generous donations from our readers ...1 week ago
- Are We The Waiting?
And screamingAre we we are, are we we are the waitingAnd screamingAre we we are, are we we are the waitingForget me nots, second thoughts live in isolationHeads or tails and fairy tales in my mindAre we we are, are we we are the waiting unknownThe rage and love, the ...1 week ago - The Hoon around the week to November 15
The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate news, including from COP29 this week; on the US Presidential elections, Israel vs Gaza/Iran/Lebanon, Ukraine/Nato vs Russia/North ...1 week ago
- First Tea and Toast, now Milo — why do NZ’s best beverages need so much defending?
Only two months ago, Nicola Willis had to step in to stop Health New Zealand cutting tea and toast for post-birth parents, and now Lester Levy is riding to the rescue with a welcome message for all: our health workers can once again drink Milo, and will no longer need ...1 week ago - Gordon Campbell on the folly of making apologies in a social vacuum.
Day One of the Treaty Principles Bill…and everyone got what they wanted, and did what they liked. Heated words were exchanged. Culturally appropriate acts of outrage were performed. David Seymour got to play the victim card. Willie Jackson got kicked out of class. A comically red-faced Mr Speaker bellowed “Order, ...1 week ago
- Skeptical Science New Research for Week #46 2024
Open access notables Microbial solutions must be deployed against climate catastrophe, Peixoto et al., Nature Communications [comment]: The climate crisis is escalating. A multitude of microbe-based solutions have been proposed, and these technologies hold great promise and could be deployed along with other climate mitigation strategies. However, these solutions have ...1 week ago
- The PM gets some extremely valuable legal advice for free
You can pay a great deal of money for the services of a KC. So just what would some peerless legal writing from 40 or so of them be worth, do you reckon?Priceless, that’s what. It’s not even the half of it, but this is my favourite part of the ...1 week ago - D-day for the government
The government's Treaty Principles Bill is up for its first reading today - bought forward in a rush in a desperate effort to avoid the hikoi which is currently marching on Wellington. But the Prime Minister won’t be there for it – he’s literally running away to Peru! But he ...1 week ago
- 97% of submissions did not want no-cause evictions, Trump chooses a Russian spy for US Intelligence ...
Good morning, and I’m sorry I’ve been away for a couple of days.I’ve been focusing on the Hikoi, and also testing out sentiment on the Treaty Principles Bill. It’s complicated, and the Treaty Principles Bill will be debated in the House today. The Government’s own lawyers have told them the ...1 week ago - Government must vote down ACT Members Bill that would undermine workers’ rights
NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is calling on the Government to vote down an ACT Party Members Bill that would undermine workers’ rights by making it easier for employers to fire workers. Last week ACT MP Laura Trask’s Employment Relations (Termination of Employment by Agreement) Amendment Bill was ...1 week ago
- Seymour causes thousands of unjustified absences by forcing kids to fight for their rights instead o...
The State would like to remind you that they are in control. They manage your employment prospects, and can destroy the job market you and yours rely on by mass-cancelling construction projects, cutting funding, and firing a good chunk of our public servants. They wield the mechanisms that provide scrutiny ...1 week ago - The Weight of the World
As the weight of the world Hangs on your shoulders The weight of the world Starts to take over again And over again All that you once loved, now you hate So slowly relearn how to meditate To have and to hold And never let go Can you feel it ...1 week ago - Thursday 14 November 2024
The Treaty Principles Bill is set to have its First Reading in the House today, as the Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti continues. More than 40 KCs have written to the Prime Minister and Attorney-General outlining their “grave concerns” about the substance of the Treaty Principles Bill, while an academic and ...1 week ago
- Release: Government should be transparent on live exports
Targeted consultation on reinstating live cattle exports by sea won’t allow the New Zealand public to have their say. ...9 hours ago - NZ’s global climate rankings plummet as Govt removes agriculture from ETS
The Government has passed legislation to remove agriculture from the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) while Aotearoa’s reputation on climate action plummets. ...23 hours ago - Failed boot camp experiment must end
As legislation to set up boot camps passed its first reading, the Green Party urged the Government to abandon this failed policy experiment for the good of our rangatahi. ...1 day ago
- Gender-affirming care must centre evidence and health needs, not political posturing
The Ministry of Health has today released an evidence brief regarding the use of puberty blockers in gender-affirming healthcare, amid moves by the government to limit access. ...1 day ago
- Release: National doesn’t care about manufacturing
The National Government is walking away from our manufacturing sector with constant reports of closures and job losses. ...1 day ago
- Release: David Parker speech – Piketty, Inequality and Climate Change
David Parker's speech from the University of Auckland's forum on Piketty, Inequality and Climate Change in September 2024. ...1 day ago
- Release: Youth mental wellbeing no longer a priority for Child Poverty Minister
Louise Upston has revealed her diminished vision for vulnerable youth against a backdrop of snubbed advice, scrapped priorities, shifted goal posts and thousands more children projected to fall into poverty. ...1 day ago
- Release: National’s lack of climate action taking NZ backwards
National Government’s backward-looking climate policy has seen New Zealand fall seven places on the Climate Change Performance Index to 41 out of 63 countries measured. ...1 day ago
- Release: Simple reason for drop in emergency housing
When the Government says it has reduced the number of people in emergency housing, what it means is it is stopping people from accessing it in the first place. ...1 day ago
- Govt’s child wellbeing strategy ‘shallow and shameful’
The Government is turning its back on children by not only weakening child poverty reduction targets, but also removing child mental wellbeing as a priority focus in their Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy. ...1 day ago
- Release: A historic win for Samoan communities
Labour warmly welcomes the Restoring Samoan Citizenship Bill as it passes its third reading, before becoming law. ...1 day ago
- Government plan to reinstate live animal exports a “national disgrace”
The Government has taken a giant step backwards by reinstating live animal exports. ...2 days ago
- Pasifika justice as Member’s Bill passes final reading
Teanau Tuiono’s Member’s Bill, the Citizenship (Western Samoa Restoration) Amendment Bill, has passed its third reading and will become law. ...2 days ago
- Release: Minister of Education thinks New Zealand ends at the Bombay Hills
The Minister of Education has shown complete disregard for rural communities and their school bus routes in Question Time today. ...2 days ago
- Economists sound alarm on Government’s slash-and-burn approach
A group of prominent economists has released an open letter to the Government, raising grave concerns about the far-reaching consequences of its fiscal policy. ...2 days ago
- Release: Smoking numbers up under Costello’s watch
National’s repeal of Labour’s smokefree legislation has taken New Zealand further away from achieving a Smokefree 2025 and a smokefree generation. ...2 days ago
- Release: Call for Palestine recognition by NZ, Australian and Canadian MPs
Parliamentarians from Australia, Canada and New Zealand have written an open letter to their respective Prime Ministers calling on them to recognise Palestine. ...2 days ago
- Justice Select Committee opens floor for Treaty Principles submissions
Today, the Justice Select Committee has decided to officially open submissions for the controversial Treaty Principles Bill. ...3 days ago
- Power of the people on full display as hīkoi approaches Parliament
Today, Hīkoi mō te Tiriti arrived in Wellington, with thousands gathering to march in unity against the divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...3 days ago
- Hypocrisy as Te Whatu Ora contractor bill balloons
Te Whatu Ora’s bill for contracting and consulting staff has ballooned by nearly 20 percent under the National Government, breaking a promise they made during the election campaign to cut contractors. ...4 days ago
- Release: Growing pressure to scrap Section 7AA Repeal Bill
The newly released Section 7AA Repeal Bill's select committee report is further evidence that the Government should scrap it. ...5 days ago
- Government’s move to monetise access to nature a slippery slope
The Green Party is voicing serious concerns over the Government’s proposal to charge for access to public conservation land, released today. ...1 week ago
- Green Party condemns the passage of Treaty Principles Bill
The Green Party condemns the passing of the Treaty Principles Bill at first reading, and is clear that the fight is not over. ...1 week ago
- Stand Up for Te Tiriti
Te Tiriti o Waitangi is our country’s founding document. It forms the basis of the relationship between Māori and the Crown – and the Aotearoa New Zealand we live in today. ...1 week ago
- Release: Over 15,000 sign Labour’s open letter to Luxon
As the hīkoi to Parliament continues, Labour has sent an open letter to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in a last-ditch attempt to get him to kill the Treaty Principles Bill. ...1 week ago
- Fast Track Bill threatens environment, climate and reputation
The fast-track legislation passing its second reading in Parliament is another step towards environmental ruin. ...1 week ago
- Greens join King’s Counsel in calling for Treaty Principles Bill to be abandoned
The Prime Minister must answer the call from a group of senior lawyers of the King’s Counsel to abandon the divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...1 week ago
- Chris Hipkins’ apology statement to state and faith-based care survivors
...1 week ago
- Release: Labour formally apologises to state and faith-based care survivors
Labour joins with the Government in unreservedly apologising for the abuse, neglect and trauma including torture in state and faith-based care and for ignoring the voices of survivors for too long. ...1 week ago
- Green Party stands in support of survivors of abuse in care
Today, the Green Party stands alongside the survivors of abuse in state care and faith-based care as the Government issues an historic apology. ...1 week ago
- Green Party calls for conscience vote on Treaty Principles Bill
The Green Party has written to the Speaker of the House requesting he enable a personal vote on the Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- Govt move to exclude journalist risks chilling effect
The Green Party is alarmed by the Government’s move to exclude a journalist from covering this week’s apology for the survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care. ...2 weeks ago
- Without action, an apology will be empty air
For tomorrow’s apology to survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care to hold any water, the Government must not pursue the same policies that drove the abuse in the first place. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Concerns remain over tobacco interference
Concerns about the tobacco industry’s ability to interfere in government policy making remain, despite the inability of the Office of the Auditor-General to investigate the Government’s decision to halve the excise tax on heated tobacco products. ...2 weeks ago
- Urgent wake-up call on climate
The Climate Change Commission’s latest advice indicates Aotearoa needs to be stepping up on climate action. ...2 weeks ago
- Green MP’s Meme-ber’s Bill set to save the world
Break out the punchlines and dust off your meme folder: Green Party MP Kahurangi Carter’s Copyright (Parody and Satire) Amendment Bill was pulled from the Ballot yesterday. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Poroporoaki: Ta Robert (Bom) Gillies
Kua hinga te manawa kairākau o Te Rua Tekau Ma Waru Tiwhatiwha te po! Kakarauru i te po! Ka rapuhia kei hea koe kua riro! Haere e te Ika a Whiro ki o tini hoa kua ngaro atu ki te Pō ...2 weeks ago
- Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori call on the Prime Minister to block the Treaty Principles Bill
The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori call on the Prime Minister to block the Treaty Principle...
The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...2 weeks ago
- NZ must pursue independent foreign policy
The Green Party says the need is greater than ever for Aotearoa New Zealand to pursue an independent foreign policy. ...2 weeks ago
- Child Protection Investigation Unit established
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Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Ka mihi ki te mana whenua ko Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei. Kia ora and good morning everyone. Thank you Fran and Simon for inviting me here today, and importantly your leadership of this forum over several years now. I want to acknowledge David Gehrenbeck, Deputy ...3 hours ago
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- Youth Parliament 2025 announced
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The server will be getting hardware changes this evening starting at 10pm NZDT.
The site will be off line for some hours.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/512573/how-free-lunch-leftovers-are-helping-beyond-schools
Do you think seymour could see that instead of cutting lunches , incourage the redistribution of left over ones.might be a good idea?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/350225504/tova-obrien-childcare-refund-may-be-own-goal-national
National make a pigs ear out of the purse of child care assistance, and tova trys to paper over the cracks,
If Tova spent half her time wondering why our entire child care sector is a massive exercise in the transfer of public funds to people like Chloe and Wayne Wright (who then fund far right culture war media outlets to ensure their nice little earner is never threatened) instead of spending all of it endlessly analysing the courtier politics of the horse race people might respect the MSM a bit more.
Nationalise the whole ECE sector.
It is obviously a very profitable line of business. An ex workmate of mine is making a very good living by specialising in obtaining Resource Consents for childcare centers.
It seems to be one of the business of choices for immigrants who have the $$$ to establish a small to medium enterprise which is a step or two up from a dairy, cafe or vape shop, but not as expensive as a full scale restaurant.
Also – getting Childcare qualifications is seen as an easy road to NZ Residency.
Pretending to help people, while actually just subsidising extra profits for private companies. Typical. “Restricted to commercial childcare centres”.
Just like accomadation subsidies.
If they really wanted to help. Which they don’t. This is just “smoke and mirrors”.
How about family members, mostly Grand parents, who have to take up the slack with child care?
And/or funding more places over a greater age range and times, in free to parents early child hood centres, such as Kindergarten, Kohanga Reo.
My crystal ball sees more retirement directorships for NACT MP's, to go with those from trucking firms and banks.
I agree with yr comment and it speaks to the thorny issue of all the unpaid but necessary work done in society.
Previously, it could be framed along the lines of the working parent was paid enough so child care, the home, parents and community were able to be cared for by the other parent.
Sadly, even the notion of a 2 parent family is becoming unfashionable, let alone having decent wages and conditions for most working folk.
The toxic, neo-liberal mindset has permeated the family where we sub contract our love to others to look after our young and our elderly.
I don't know where the word 'commercial' came from, but if the author meant 'private, for profit' they are wrong. There is a significant portion of the ECE sector that are not private and are not for-profit. Parents of children attending these centres will also be able to access the refund, which is great news for those families.
It would be even better if they had fully funded access to ECE for their children.
Such as a place in kindergarten before their child is 4, 4 1/2, Which is the norm around here.
Depends what you mean by 'fully funded'? Do you mean 40 hours a week? Do you mean with no top up? And where is 'around here'?
Kindergartens locally, Whangarei, don't often have enough places to take local kids before 4 or 41/2 and havn't for some time.
I know that from enrolling Grandchildren.
Part of the reason is the expansion in population. Auckland refugees.
Affordable child care is non existent apart from Grand parents, or a few who provide home based child care for a couple of children.
After school care is almost non existent.
That, combined with the need for two earning parents puts the screws on families.
Thanks, I understand your last comment better now.
A lot of these things are about defining terms, specifically the term 'affordable'. The Government currently fully funds up to 20 hours per week per child of ECE. Beyond that there has been a childcare subsidy available for low-income families for many years. Some providers charge fees above the current funding, but most I'm aware of are modest, particularly those from community providers. The new policy will extend that 20 hours even further, making childcare even more affordable.
Meanwhile. Slanted questions driving responses in a curia poll about privatisation of ports of Auckland.
Auckland port lease: Mayor holds report yet to be made public (1news.co.nz)
“If council could deliver a much higher return, would you support the port management being leased out, or would you prefer it to continue with the status quo and lower financial returns but keep full ownership?”
“In fact, one of the private operators we understand has offered to not only be more efficient, but to actually shrink the footprint of the port — giving Aucklanders more of their waterfront.”
Code for cut wages and service levels and run it into the ground for short term profit. Then run away leaving public funding having to fix it,
We all know how that works.
Agree entirely on this KJT….did you hear Mike Lee on Nine to Noon today at 9.10?
No. Don't generally listen to radio, or watch breakfast.
Both are not good for an old fellers blood pressure. LOL
Rule One for drafting questions to be included in a poll: don't use hypothetical ones!
Wait we had a bunch of the usual suspects telling us that Curia would never do a thing like that! You’d think there’d be at the minimum a perception of conflict of interest given the highly political role Mr. Farrar has had.
Idiot Savant has it right today.
https://norightturn.blogspot.com/2024/03/no-credibility.html
Corin Dann destroyed Hipkins with his first question on Morning Report this week. (paraphrasing from memory here)
"You rejected changes to the tax system 8 months ago. Why should we believe you when you say changes are appropriate now?"
Hipkins has zero credibility on tax, and this is the central issue facing Labour. For a start this week he should have rejected a CGT (complicated, produces little revenue, parts of a CGT are already in place) and pushed for either a Land Tax or a Wealth Tax, but he is too timid to do this. Both David Parker and the Greens have a WT ready to go.
Hipkins has to go.
Parker should be offered the job/role of implementing a WT policy for Labour-with this he might be enticed to stay on.
At the moment Labour is drifting to defeat in 2026. A new leader and tax policy as above would at worst mean they went down fighting.
You are correct on Hopkins, and Labours, lack of credibility on introducing a fairer and more effective tax system. That taxes all income equally.
Your comparison of taxes on unrealised gains, Vs realised capital gains is the opposite to the reality.
Taxes on unrealised gains are an accountants dream and the publics nightmare. A whole new valuation industry will spring up, for one.
Capital gains on realisation. Sale inheritance or transfer are quantifiable, much easier to assess and harder to dodge. TOP's and the Greens proposals on wealth tax, are unfortunately, 7 unworkable in reality. The bugbear of the "Family home" can be overcome with reasonable tax free threshold on capital gains.
Not to forget, over 60% of the public understand and support CGT.
"over 60% of the public understand…a CGT". Yeah right.
A lot more than that. Considering those that opposed it, including those who want to claim tax off their expenses in making those gains, understand it.
It is taxes on unrealised income that is unworkable. Enough issues with rates.
You sound like one of the people who say to me in Wanaka, "ah but my house is only worth $3 million if I sell it".
BTW I worked as a qualified accountant for over 10 years.
Well. in fact they are correct.
No they are not.
Or rent it out!
Are you the same KJT as the one who made this comment yesterday?
https://thestandard.org.nz/chris-hipkins-values-matter/#comment-1993906
There you seemed to be advocating for a wealth tax, which I would say was unworkable. Now you seem to be against them. A Damascene conversion in just a day.
Can't remember if you were one.
But I remember RWNJ's arguing black was white in here that Capital gains is "not income". Now you are saying they are not wealth either. Which is it. Enlighten me.
Can always rely on right wing tragics for cognitive dissonance.
Inheritance and capital gains are effective forms of wealth tax on realisation of wealth.
I have always been constant in saying taxes on unrealised gains are very difficult to quantify and administer.
"Now you are saying"
Rubbish. I was arguing that wealth taxes are impossible to implement.
I wasn't arguing for or against CGT or Estate taxes yesterday. I was only talking about Wealth taxes. If you read through what I said carefully your cognitive dissonance may be diminished.
I was talking about CGT and inheritance taxes that are, in effect, wealth taxes.
“Almost all countries in Europe have Capital gains and inheritance taxes. Wealth taxes. Because they help even up the tax people pay.”
I will rephrase it for those with low reading comprehension levels..
Almost all European countries have some form of tax on wealth. If they don’t have a tax on unrealised wealth, they have taxes on realised wealth, such as inheritance or Capital Gains taxes.
A land value tax taxes capital gains on a regular basis, without having to wait for an asset to be sold before it can be levied. Most capital gain is probably on land anyway.
Good luck getting public support for paying a tax, before you have the cash to pay it.
Rates on a house are a type of Land Tax/Wealth Tax/Asset Tax aren't they?
And they bear no relation at all to the income being earned by the household.
"land value tax taxes capital gains"
That is a silly comment. A land value tax is a tax on the ownership of land. It is charged whether the land value rises or falls. It isn't a Capital Gains Tax at all. No gains are required before it becomes due.
The Orchardists in Pakowhai would have to pay it this year even though their land is worth less than it was before the cyclone hit them. As long as the land has any value at all they would have to pay it, even though it may be unproductive for years.
That is a silly comment. A land value tax is a tax on the ownership of land. It is charged whether the land value rises or falls. It isn't a Capital Gains Tax at all. No gains are required before it becomes due.
Quite so. It is a tax on land. It incorporates a tax on capital gain only when such a gain occurs. I would envisage that the underlying tax on the land would be offset by an adjustment to income tax rates; such an arrangement would merely represent a shift in the tax base.
The Orchardists in Pakowhai would have to pay it this year even though their land is worth less than it was before the cyclone hit them. As long as the land has any value at all they would have to pay it, even though it may be unproductive for years.
In that case it would probably be worth zero dollars – who would want to buy it – and no tax would be payable.
Land revaluations every six months?
I suppose that will result in lots more employment. For valuers and accountants?
I think, though of course I could be wrong, that land is revalued every three years, and the valuations that the IRD would work with are made by an organization called Quotable Value, not by miscellaneous "valuers and accountants".
This land value tax sounds like rates. The problem with this is often the arguments for a LVT are that LVT's have some economic effects to discourage unproductive land use. But if that is the case we have had rates for long enough to see those effects already, because a tax by another name is still a tax and should have the same impacts even if it's named something different.
The relationship between the bright-line test and a CGT is similar as CGT's are typically described as fixing the residential property market where the bright-line test already applies.
So its my understanding that these tax proposals are not going to rebalance the economy in any particular manner, though they might be used to broaden the tax base.
100% Bearded Git
Labour had 6 years in office, 3 of which they held a governing majority which would have enabled them to push through any reforms/changes to the tax system they wanted to.
Ardern and Hipkins as Prime Ministers both categorically ruled out any form of wealth tax or any major reforms to make the tax system fairer, despite their own commissioned report detailing how the very wealthy pay such a small amount of tax and despite polls suggesting a large majority of Kiwis, (including some of the wealthy) would support wealth taxes.
This from a party that is supposed to be the champion of the poor and the working class.
If you were conspiracy minded it might even make you question who is really calling the shots in regards to government economic / tax, etc policy …. It did seem a bit strange to me that both of them came out with such public "definitely not" statements. Is it possible they had beem told "no wealth tax or else?" (cue spooky twilight zone music…)
A wealth tax isn't a tax on 'unrealised gains' (or what some might call estimated potential profit) , it's a tax on wealth, which is largely quantifiable. IRD when it wants to (and when it has the resources) is actually pretty good at tracking down and detailing all sorts of financial info.
What do you classify as 'the family home'?
If a person owns a residential property then that is wealth (that mostly increases in value all by itself) and should at least be included in any discussion regarding wealth taxes IMO.
It would be up to the powers that be as to what thresholds and so on would be in place as to what amount of wealth decides inclusion for a wealth tax.
For many people right now, home ownership is something enjoyed by the 'wealthy'. If we just keep carrying on and tinkering and never really implementing any radical change then the only path we are heading down is that where in the future only the 'very wealthy' will own property. Home ownership rates have been on a steep and steady decline over the last 4 decades. That isn't going to somehow miraculously level out or heaven forbid go back up without massive intervention in various ways. So less and less people will own more and more property until…
“Taxes on unrealised gains are an accountants dream and the publics nightmare.”
Taxes on unrealised capital gains were tried in the UK nearly 60 years ago, via an outfit known as the Land Commission. It was a fiasco. The way it was set up. people were having to pay a "betterment levy" on home improvements. To everyone's relief the LC was abolished after 1970 by the incoming Edward Heath administration.
Wot b.g. said..(long comment..)
who do you think should replace Hipkins?
Same question I asked not 48 hours ago.
will you threaten to ban yourself too?
and? I didn’t give you a mod warning for asking that question. If you need me to explain why you are on the mod radar please let me know.
Parker…
.. enough with the chippy..
..time for some serious..
+100. experience and credibility needed to restore some confidence and inspire.
Plus he is nearer the end of his career than the start. So if it goes to custard, the party is not burning off emerging talent before its time.
Plus Parker would out-debate Luxon with ease….having said that my laundry basket would….
No one can out-debate Luxon – he doesn't engage, he obfuscates. He's been trained. Have you not watched "The House"?
I'd prefer Parker to be Finance Minister (shadow), he's obviously committed to trying to make the tax system fair(er)
For me, nobody is really standing out as an obvious leader at the moment. In my opinion to start with it needs to be someone at least a bit more 'gruff' and a bit less academic, nice and smiley. That probably doesn't make sense but I know what I mean lol.
Yep, support and encourage Parker to do the job he wants to do, and we need him to do – he doesn't need the distracting hassle of also being the leader.
Where is Piggy when we need him. LOL.
"You rejected changes to the tax system 8 months ago. Why should we believe you when you say changes are appropriate now?"
Hipkins should reply: When you ask questions like that, why should I not consider you a moron?
Labour, including Hipkins, said tax changes were needed six years ago.
Then when it came to the crunch, they rejected most of the tax working groups recommendations.
What makes you think Labour won't do their usual trick of baulking at the jump, at any serious changes.
Seems like a perfectly reasonable question to me. Instead of your suggestion maybe he should just give an honest answer. People tend to appreciate honesty.
Please explain why you believe it's a moronic question before calling me a moron. (Am happy to be convinced and change my mind)
It was a silly question. Whether it is believed or not is not for Hipkins to say. It is really up to NoRightTurn, Bearded Git, or, indeed, the general public, to decide whether to believe him. It was essentially a "gotcha" question aimed at Hipkin's captain's call.
What did they really want ? A letter of guarantee signed i blood ?
100% Bearded Git
Labour had 6 years in office, 3 of which they held a governing majority which would have enabled them to push through any reforms/changes to the tax system they wanted to.
Ardern and Hipkins as Prime Ministers both categorically ruled out any form of wealth tax or any major reforms to make the tax system fairer, despite their own commissioned report detailing how the very wealthy pay such a small amount of tax and despite polls suggesting a large majority of Kiwis, (including some of the wealthy) would support wealth taxes.
This from a party that is supposed to be the champion of the poor and the working class.
If you were conspiracy minded it might even make you question who is really calling the shots in regards to government economic / tax, etc policy …. It did seem a bit strange to me that both of them came out with such public "definitely not" statements. Is it possible they had beem told "no wealth tax or else?" (cue spooky twilight zone music…)
A journalist explains there is not enough working capital in the Auckland transport system budgets.
Not enough of such funding for system connectivity, this can be worse than not just enough money for maintenance of the existing roads.
https://archive.li/FCH3R
I cannot find a list of the main community groups in Auckland.
Does anybody know?
I think google and using multiple lists is the way to go now.
Reposting from DR last night.
Good lord, did Hipkins just do a reverse ferret on Let Women Speak?
starts at 6m 36s
https://twitter.com/theplatform_nz/status/1772028116715622682
I'm guessing he doesn't understand the difference between a radical feminist and a centrist/conservative GC, which makes me think his advisors are also still not doing their job properly.
It's a useful reversal generally. He's turned around, now let's see if he can head in the right direction.
As far as I can see – people who are described as "gender critical" come in all shapes and sizes and all across the political spectrum. Most of the ones I know have been active in left wing politics for most of their adult lives. They vote Labour or Green, and like me have never voted National. Many are Lesbian, and see clearly the homophobia of Gender Ideology which denies even the existence of same sex attraction.
We hear more about it from the right wing media – many of whom already oppose Gay rights, and are happy to use the excesses of the more extreme end of "Trans Rights Activists" to justify discrimination against what they call the "LGBTQI++++ Community" as if we were all one and the same.
In the wake of the Chinese cyber attack on the UK, USA and Australia, Judith Collins has released information on a cyber attack by Chinese actors on NZ.
I smell a bit of a distraction tactic going on here.
Collins has fronted up to a live press conference on the matter followed by Luxon:
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/new-zealand-parliament-systems-targeted-by-china-based-hackers/RNUEMYIZFBAILLCOJ7QMIUZJ5Y/
Both have alluded to a previous attack in 2021 when Andrew Little was the minister in charge of the GCSB and my impression: they tried to belittle the previous govt.’s response which, as far as I can recall, was exactly the same as theirs.
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/new-zealand-condemns-malicious-cyber-activity-chinese-state-sponsored-actors
Limiting the uptake to those with the readies to cover three months worth of fees and the ability to deal with the bureaucracy.
Pricks.
/
"Being able to afford ECE fees can also be a barrier to entering the workforce, particularly for the second earner in a household. FamilyBoost will make it easier and more worthwhile for families with young children to work by directly assisting them to pay those ECE fees."
She said parents and caregivers will be able to submit their ECE invoices every three months through the myIR service and get their FamilyBoost rebate refunded as a lump sum. As payments will be made every three months, those getting the full amount will get $975 every three months.
"Parents should start collecting invoices from 1 July, so they can begin to apply and be refunded from October 2024," Willis said.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2024/03/government-confirms-childcare-tax-rebate-move-some-families-to-receive-up-to-75-per-week.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
"Limiting the uptake to those with the readies to cover three months worth of fees and the ability to deal with the bureaucracy."
To be fair I'm pretty sure the government wanted IRD to pay the cash directly to those eligible on a fortnightly basis? Also to make it so those parents didn't need to 'claim' the cash but just received it. IRD said too complicated / expensive to implement straight away so maybe in a few years.
I'm nowhere near a fan of Wills / Luxon or this government but surely any cash, however it's given, going back to families who need it is a good thing?
IMO Politically the smart thing to do with announcements such as this is to try and allow them as little air time as possible. In other words acknowledge if you have to (better to say nothing unless you have to because a journalist asked the question) and move on as quickly as possible.
And the hundreds of thousands living payday to payday who won't have the readies?
And if you have the readies, you are likely to be on a higher income, which means the payment is abated and it may not be worth the effort to claim. In any case, we shall see what the uptake is.
The whole thing appears to me like a parody of the idiotic fetish for targeting.
Help help me Viktor.
@jacknicas
NEW: Jair Bolsonaro spent two nights at the Hungarian Embassy in Brazil, just after police confiscated his passport as part of a criminal investigation. We obtained security-camera footage that shows the president's apparent bid for asylum. Full story: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/25/world/americas/jair-bolsonaro-hungary-video.html?unlocked_article_code=1.fU0.3tu-.7S0vuUOdJ3UG
https://twitter.com/jacknicas/status/1772302823985651994
Imagine you worked hard to distress disabled folk and their carers and couldn’t even get into the top 5 worst ministers in this government.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/politics/350226548/cabinet-puts-disabilities-ministry-watch-after-families-blindsided
The ironies of Willis and Luxon putting other people on notice for their performance! And then consider how absolutely ground breakingly bad someone would have to be for that to happen…