What to do about ridiculous housing prices prices? What actions would bring things back to only somewhat crazy, instead of the absolutely insanely ludicrous we have now?
Ashley Church has reckons, but as a spokesgargoyle for the wealthy land-owner class, his comments have the whiff of throwing out silly ideas in hopes of poisoning the well for more credible ideas.
Personally, I see a lack of reasonable investment alternatives as part of the problem in New Zealand.
The local share and bond markets are viper pits stuffed with unaccountable predatory wide-boys, leading to significant risk of serious losses for ordinary small investors. Yields have dropped to negligible levels.
There's certainly a lot of room for government actions to make improvements there, starting with more personal accountability for those at the top, and making it much harder for those that have behaved poorly to get back on the grift train after their wet-bus-ticket slap.
In the US, the managed investment community (mutual fund managers, pension managers etc) actually play a significant role in holding company top brass accountable. That doesn't seem to happen here. Dunno how much of that is fragmentation of that industry here, we've got lots of small players like Fisher, Kiwiwealth, Simplicity etc etc etc, each too small to have significant clout (and that smallness also contributes to the exorbitantly high management fees here). Some of it may be cultural, these people just don't see exercising accountability as part of their role.
Beyond that, there's potential punitive measures targeted directly at housing "bad people", ie landlords/investors. Such as mortgage surcharges for non-owner-occupied property, differential rating for owner-occupied vs unoccupied vs tenanted, stamp duties etc.
Coz sure as shit, the "solutions" being tossed around at the moment such as LVR, brightline test are going to have negligible effect at best.
The biggest impact on house prices is and always will be, fear.
Fear of missing out (FOMO) will drive them up…and fear of financial loss will drive them down….time to scare the crap out of those that think property is a one way trip.
There are multiple options to do so, but the gov has to have credibility or speed of ACTION….not jawboning
add to that fear of being unable to paying rent and ending up in a ditch with no help, cause well, where would you go to if you end up in a ditch? Winz? Lol.
It may be educational to see and hear this doco dated 1984 about the UK housing plan and how it became a political football where the parties threw large housing number targets at each other like mud pies, with chest beating similar to Twyford's.
Targets are a form of snake charming I think. Watch them rise up out of the throats of ambitious pollies and officials to the tunes of mendacious businessmen. But watch out they might bite you sooner or in later years when they show their cracks and faults.
Of course you're welcome to turn it into a guest post.
As a brief(-ish) comment it was more intended as a conversation starter. As a post, I'd fill out the ideas a bit more, but I'm about to take off for some errands so I can't do that filling out right now.
I have been doing some reading that offers solutions/different ways of doing things..that I was going to start sharing today…I'll save it for the post…
Just the first two that come to mind where family members have lost five-figure sums are Feltex and CadmusProvenco. There's been plenty more. You got any recollection what was happening around the 2008ish timeframe?
BTW, "significant risk of serious losses" (my actual phrase) is a very different concept to "serious losses" (the truncated quote you chose).
Also of interest post the exchange of letters between Orr and Robertson, Orr mentioning that he would appreciate a debt to income ratio. And to date after previous requests this tool has not been granted to the RB.
Now did not Roberson seek "Robertson has written to the Reserve Bank seeking advice on possible ways it could support the Government to meet its economic objectives, in particular with relation to house prices." Well Grant how about allow the RB this tool to limit the amount of debt anyone can accumulate, as was commented on during the interview – This tool is already available elsewhere ??? Low hanging fruit easy to pick !!!
The DTI was requested by a previous RBNZ Gov. (not sure when) but it was declined….Orr mentioned this yesterday at the stand up. He has since said that he would be happy to add DTI to the tool kit …that dosnt necessarily mean he will use it now or that he believes it will change prices. As he has reiterated, his mandate (and primary concern) is unemployment and financial stability.
The reality is there are many things the gov could do (or done) to improve housing affordability and they have done sweet FA.
I hope that at least there is considerable background work done the previous three years that can accelerate a response now, though I doubt it on past form
Speech from the Throne about 11am today on Parliament TV Channel 31.
In which the government outlines its legislative programme for the session – will this government with an impressive mandate be truly 'transformative' or merely another place-holder neokindness sort of do nothing government?
This would be the most-paid-attention-to speech from the throne in a while…they have to start pulling rabbits out of the hat…if they don't we will see some direct action pretty soon..methinks..
Direct Action will happen, and I will be looking for opportunities to be involved.
No Labour Minister or new MP should make a public appearance from now on without a small or large crew reminding them of a few items that need attention…
Don't despair, we have the next emergency already being lauded and it will be all focus on that since it is urgent and popular. Environmental emergency. There is another price to be won.
And everybody will forget that we have an infrastructure that fails – drinking water and sewage in particular – as this is palmed off to local councils. How they want to build new housing without getting that one right is beyond me.
Hospitals millions being used for contractor payouts and not the much needed upgrade to this "3rd world" hospital. But thank god we paid billions(!) to those needy companies to make sure the shareholders get their pound of flesh.
Labor is stumbling around without any action plan and may I say clue.
Very soon we will be going back in time. Get the horses and carts out, dust off the medical tools that have become museum pieces, be prepared to have all those yesteryear illnesses – Encephalitis, Hepatitis A, Typhoid Fever etc…
Meanwhile, incomes are not covering real inflation. Desk theorist that have never done a honest day job in their live are in charge and it shows.
Tuberculosis was all the thing back in George Orwell's day. And new strains of it are out and about – the old one could lurk and infect as covid does. Meningitis kills almost overnight sometimes.
In science people are encouraged to be critical of their measurement systems. In economics, not so much. For a long time not measuring housing inflation allowed a pack of charlatans to pretend to, and be handsomely paid for, their "expertise". As that system fails, the cornerstone falsehood of neoliberalism – the expertise of economists and bankers – has crumbled. Watch those with a political stake in it continue to defend it even as it washes away.
Rents are included in the CPI, because they are expenditures that are "consumed" in current period of time. But house prices are not, because they are expenditures on an asset to be consumed over many years. If you own a house, you will benefit from the rising prices–if and when you sell it. In a sense, houses are treated like capital goods–for consumers. That is, rising house prices are not a burden to home owners, whereas rising rents are a burden to renters.
Plausible, that they just didn't consider a market with scarcity created by ill-considered immigration policies on top of a building deficit created by the destruction of apprenticeships and compounded by the shoddy regulation and even shoddier inspection regimes that caused the leaky homes debacle. Plausible – but not excusable. They are paid like professionals – they ought to be responsible for outcomes.
Could it be as simple as the small movement of people or families moving to smaller cities and towns. It only takes a few numbers to distort a market and cashed up buyers from Auckland or Wellington descending on a town of 20 or 30 thousand will push up prices substantially. The houses they are leaving will inevitably get a very good price because of one simple fact, a lot of people want or need to move to Auckland but the fucking place is full.
A sure way to make things worse is to get the government trying to fix it with numerous measures ,the vast majority just inadvertantly making the problem worse.
This situation crops up every 10 years or so and has done since the 60s.
Mangakino is one of these places, and even worse, they knock down the houses to build boatsheds. So when it all comes crashing down the locals can buy boatsheds, cause the houses are all gone.
Ah, if we would just have a government that would actively try to entice businesses to settle elsewhere then just AKL, or even move some of the government burocracy to some other towns like it used to be.
Ah, if we just had a government that could, and would, but alas, nothing much will get done, just like the last three years nothing much was done.
One of the reasons i always lived in AKL was simply the fact that i can earn a living there.
Now i am self employed and i can take my trade with me, but if you are a standard office drone, female – and want a little bit of a career, it will be the big towns. Also for schools, recreation etc. The need for at least two cars – just to go shopping for food, lack of choices in regards to food, cost of living, housing is the same, but food costs more, line charges add a huge amount to winter heating, no access to doctors, i still travel to my dentist and gp to akl as do other people i know, lack of tradespeople to fix the delipidatedet houses, trades people that can't move cause they can't find an affordable rental or house to buy, trades people that can't find affordable commercial properties, you know all that stuff that for years have been ignored by all and everyone who ever called themself a 'honorable' MP/PM.
btw, Mangakino has a rental crisis. Go figure, as does Tokoroa. Locals can't afford to buy anymore. Go figure.
But the Queen is gonna give a speech telling us all that she will do fuck all as outlined before the election. We are going to have this discussion again in three years, just as we did under John Key a few years ago.
Seems tricky for any government to make recreation and employment opportunities that arise from greater concentrations of people somehow appear in small towns.
Nothing unique to NZ about it either. Most people like what cities offer more than they dislike the downsides. Others who prioritise things differently will thrive in smaller settlements.
Hospitals, or rural clinics, birthing centres, etc.
Jobs, yes, if the government is in job creation, then they must look also at the overlooked parts of NZ. One thing to make moving jobs to the country side easier would be adequite public transport, say trains for goods and people. I think Winston called it 'heavy rail'. A start. There is absolutly no need for Morrinsville, Huntly, etc to not be busy feeder towns. But alas, they are not. Go figure.
Recreation, i.e. restaurants, cinemas, playgrounds,swimming pools etc generally come with population mass. No population, no recreation.
So the question is not what can the government do, the question really should be 'why the fuck is the government not doing anything'. Start with reviving some rural clinics, birthing centres.
Schools, i hear we closed a whole bunch of them under John Key, and with many of these schools the last 'community centre' of the rural area closed. Well gee, THANKS A BUNCH government.
And honestly if this is not part of the Government why the fuck do we need one in hte first place? To give these empty, unintelligent, unimaginative people a pay they would not earn in private industry? and we have to pay them perks, and accommodation allowances and all that jazz, just so they can say 'We do nothing"? Really? If they can't to what needs to be done, we can fire at least half of either side of hte bench, and only do hte min. Build more roads.
What does the public of NZ get out of subsidising facilities in small towns to the same level of service that a city can sustain? Which other things could be funded instead that would benefit more people?
Jobs. It will get jobs. For a starter. I don't see hte issue, why the government can not help a company move to a rural area via tax incentives rather then the town that is full to bursting the seems.
Why can the government not build small clinics in thbe rural areas? The ones in our towns are pretty much at capacity. Again, these are jobs.
Schools. The government could really start building better schools, some on the country side are really really crappy i hear, and Jobs.
By the same token we could say, why should hte Government build another bridge over the Harbour? Let some private entity build it, and the users will just have to pay toll.
And then, we don't need government, and we do away with elections, and rulers and usless suits, Cause why would the Governement be needed if tey don't do what is needed?
And currently the thing that would benefit people is jobs. Jobs that generate Tax revenue, that bring life back to towns that are needing the influx of young people, it takes the pressure away from the larger towns etc etc etc.
Btw, "the government' funds but pays for nothing. "the taxpayer' pays for everything the government 'funds'. Just in case that people reallyh believe that 'the government' has any money to its name. It does not. The money to fund all the vanity projects that generally only serve the few – see Americas Cup (now what could be funded with all that money down that rich mans drains) – comes from us, the Tax paying citizens.
Because in a civilized country every live has the same value. A baby born has to have the same chance to live, be educated, able to survive, have drinkable water, is not exposed to contamination that is the result of waste and waste water…etc. etc.
so your new clinics don't need nurses, doctors, admins etc? nah? ok then.
i guess we don't need government at all then, right. We can just do away with it cause if they are no good to building public infrastructure what the fuck are they good for?
what would you that our current lot could/would/should do in order to get our smaller towns a bit of live back all the while we stop our larger towns busting and exploding all over the place just because that wafer thin mint was just to much to absorb?
Yes Adrian, I have seen this in the past when people from cities and bigger towns have descended on smaller more isolated towns and bought up. Locals thought great, my house price has gone up. A few months later, when the excitement has passed (which it always does) the out-of-towners leave and the local house market is back to the locals only, and the prices slowly slide back down again.
Adrian – sit back in your seat and enjoy the spectacle. As if it is the Colosseum and the needy are being pitted against well-fed, muscled gladiators.
This situation crops up every 10 years or so and has done since the 60s.
Don't bother to write and explain that it is a cyclical thing, 'been there, done that' before. That makes me feel sick and a number of people here who have to confront the problem. Your point must be, it has happened before, so the government should know about it, the causes and the horrific results on people, and the degrading of society and the country.
The people are revolting, and the government draws back from this indelicacy to positions above the maddening crowd.
The point is that shit happens in spite of governments best intentions. Governments racing around trying to control every little, or big thing, just becomes a shit-fight and begets bad law. Everything is cyclical, like the weather, sometimes you just have to ride it out with a little bit of sail trimming here and there until it blows over and then plan for it in calmer waters.
yep, that is quite the fucked up story there if ever there was. Suffer the little children cause the adults in charge give no fuck, and their overseers don't either.
I was witness to a similar situation with a close friend of mine who adopted her daughter on a permanent placement order, which her lawyer advised her to couple with a care support order.
The care support order, which required CYFS to provide additional counselling and support if the child required it became the bone of contention for social workers who diligently worked to put in obstacles to actually providing the support. Despite reassurances that the child was not affected by issues to do with Foetal Alcohol syndrome, it was only several years after placement that the social worker admitted that the way they determined this was to ask the biological mother if she had drunk during pregnancy. She said No.
Despite taking her daughter to the numerous consultants requested by CYFS, and others privately, and having a confirmed diagnosis of FAS, ADD, and a severe attachment disorder, CYFS continued for years to refuse to honour the care agreement. Until they came up with a solution during a family meeting. If my friend and her husband would sign a care order during the meeting, CYFS would then have access to all the funds they needed, and her daughter would then receive any and all support that was necessary.
They returned home, to discover the next day that the meeting records had them relinquishing custody to CYFS, who had organised that their daughter be removed from their care and given to the biological father and his new wife who had had no contact with the child at any stage. This family lived in Christchurch.
After watching the love, care and attention given to this child for years, it was painful to watch the distress of my friend who immediately challenged this interpretation of the meeting minutes. She was told that her view was not accepted. It took two years of legal intervention and a judgement in the Family Court to overturn this malicious act. The judge advised that he considered what had taken place as abuse by CYFS towards the family.
My friend was able to borrow the $20,000 from her mother to fight the case, but that is not always available to others. I suspect the ease of practice and disregard they had for the family, and also the wellbeing of the child, comes from repetition – and getting away with it more often than not.
They maligned the previous caregiver, and when it suited them, maligned my friends family, mostly because they asked for the professional support that the child was supposedly entitled to receive. I have a disregard for the way the previous institution was run. I have a suspicion that the same practices have been maintained in OT.
This is beyond a bad apple or an oversight, it speaks to culture, inflexibility and perhaps being able understaffed.
Celia Lashlie spoke of this. The parent, often Mum in isolation, is held accountable for every action or inaction. Meanwhile the PTB can carry on acting appallingly.
Ego driven social engineering where it goes without saying that the consequential harm to these children is completely ignored, but countered with bullshit 'it's a journey we're all taking' speak.
Most of what the social worker was saying in the interview with the foster parents was completely unintelligible and/or grossly insulting.
Might want to watch the opening segments of Alan Kohler’s Finance Report on the ABC as he has a couple of interesting graphs which made be of interest to a number of people here on the The Standard which would confirm what we already know about wage growth vs company profit vs sharemarket prices.
Shitty people with shitty motivations can still sometimes produce a worthwhile result.
In this case it seems Kim Jong Orange Jr's desires to murder wild animals were influential in denying a mining company's desire to poison wild animals by ruining their habitat. This time it's the Pebble Mine in Alaska, that had been previously denied by the Obama administration and then the Mandarin Mugabe cast some incantations over its crypt and it rose again. Hopefully this time the lid is on for good.
The flood gate of pardons has opened. Starting with "Lock her up" Flynn.
In theory, that's a move that could backfire. Since Flynn is now no longer at risk of personal consequences for the crimes he committed in service of Twitterfinger J. Putinpussy, he cannot take the Fifth Amendment. So now, he has no grounds to refuse to testify fully and truthfully, and is at risk of criminal charges if he doesn't.
Unless he gets an immunity from the relevant state he could make himself liable to prosecution – I don't think you can get him convicted for refusing to incriminate himself by testifying against someone else.
For starters, it's an hour and three quarters of video, which probably only has the information content of a few minutes worth of reading.
Video as a format is great for propagandists wanting to hook the gullible into investing a lot of time into having emotions manipulated who then have a sunk time cost in absorbing and regurgitating the intended message.
But video is a terrible medium for conveying factual information to anyone that likes to fact-check by looking for alternative sources and views on a topic in the midst of considering an argument being presented..
Every now and then I'll read something of Greenwald's, including a couple of his pieces on Flynn, to see if he's developed anything useful to say. But every time it's a disappointment. He's a propagandist presenting gish-gallops of misrepresentations, partial truths, omitted context, false equivalences, omission of any big picture, and other misinformation. Dunno what his angle really is, but his blind hatred of … something… taints his polemics to the point of uselessness.
As the councillor who, last year, proposed that the Southland Regional Council (Environment Southland) do the same thing, I'm hugely supportive and encouraged by the Government's proposal and at the same time greatly disappointed by my own council's failure to make the declaration, despite my best efforts to build support and understanding for the action. I've alerted my fellow councillors to the news and to my thoughts around their response 🙂
Ha! Concrete – yes, I baulk at the use of that word also, solkta, along with "ground-breaking" and "road-map"; these get used a lot in governance and tell me that we are bound by our language and until that changes or broadens, we will make change but slowly. The recent acceptance of Maori words and phrases by the courts and the Government ("hauora" and "te mana o te wai" in particular) gives the possibility of change a huge lift! I'm becoming excited at the potentials here.
Yes, but lets start at those things that matter. Like drinking water and sewage. If both fail, we wont need to think about any other issues as the illnesses from yesteryear will take care of those who still drive cars, heat their homes without expensive power, etc..
You don't think Climate Change matters? My sewage and drinking water are fine thanks. Climate Change though is likely to restrict my use of that drinking water for other things like it already has.
"To add further stability to the New Zealand Government, the Labour Party has agreed to work together with the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand through a Cooperation Agreement. This agreement commits the Government to working in the best interests of New Zealand and New Zealanders, working to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and working together on specific policy areas where the Green Party can continue to add expertise and where both parties can achieve mutual gains that advance the goals of the Government."
I'm pretty sure there are plenty of us men concerned about the welfare of our poorer sisters as well. We sadly have gone the "pilot" route when common sense says just do it.
Thanks DoS I am sure you are right. But I am particularly concerned about how many middle-class ambitious women are self-contained parcels – 'untouchable girls' to the reality of other less able and differently encultured females living within stone-throwing distance of them.
I have wondered what would happen to the country if there was a breakdown in the chain for milk sales to the world. We could only dry a proportion of it. In Denmark they have been intensively breeding mink and in the wake of Covid 19 being passed by the animals have done a panicked kill with had results.
This is one of many stories that will fester on from the last 5 years, and continue to polarise opinions.
Key Mueller witness Rick Gates debunks key Russiagate conspiracy theories: Konstantin Kilimnik is a Russian spy; Paul Manafort served Russian interests; and Roger Stone gave Trump campaign advance notice on Wikileaks’ email releases.
Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played.“Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I- Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka KotahiThe fact that a ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
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 thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
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. ...
Today marks a tragic milestone for New Zealanders as the Coalition Government side with big tobacco to repeal the Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products (Smoked Tobacco) Amendment Act 2022, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins and Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall said. ...
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 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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Hughes, Lecturer, Research School of Management, Australian National University After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s 19th and newest team, the Tasmania Devils, finally launched its jumper, logo and colours in Devonport this week. The Devils will wear green, ...
Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews the debut novel by Saraid de Silva.One of the most baffling things for children who move to a new country is what their parents’ (or grandparents’) lives were like prior to moving – for kids in particular, they’re too busy trying to fit in in their ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Gaunson, Associate Professor in Cinema Studies, RMIT University Narelle Portanier/Binge “If you don’t know who your mob are, you don’t know who you are,” Detective Andrea “Andie” Whitford (played by Leah Purcell) is told early into the new crime ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elise Klein, Associate professor, Australian National University It’s commonly accepted that women do the vast majority of caregiving in Australian society. But less appreciated is that Indigenous women do larger amounts of unpaid care than any other group. Working with the Aboriginal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties’ nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a ...
Comment: There has been a striking contrast in trans-Tasman interest about Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s visit to New Zealand and Australia. While the Australian press has been full of articles about the visit – including his curious decision to meet with former prime minister and China booster Paul Keating ...
After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. This one-off documentary presents three intimate portraits of young Polynesians who are pulled into a Korean cultural phenomenon. K-POLYS is directed by Litia Tuiburelevu, Produced by Hex ...
There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
By Wata Shaw in Suva Fiji is facing an exodus of Fijians as many are leaving for overseas seeking employment and education and others are migrating, says Opposition MP Viliame Naupoto. Speaking in Parliament, he said: “His Excellency’s speech (Ratu Wiliame Katonivere) comes after a little over one year of ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
SAFE is urgently calling on the Environment Committee to reject the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill, and is urging New Zealanders to rally behind the call. The proposed Bill, currently under consideration with the Environment select committee, ...
Teammates who spend all their time picking fights with spectators are only helpful for the other team, writes Madeleine Chapman. Anyone who has ever played a team sport competitively, particularly as a child and particularly, for some reason, basketball, will know that there’s a lot of politics involved. While there ...
The long-running Wellington music festival is too focused on the Jim Beam-ness and not enough on the Homegrown-ness.There is something about Homegrown that’s difficult to place. A barely perceptible-ness. Like feeling a ghost is watching you from the corner of the room but when you look, there’s nothing there. ...
The latest Ipsos New Zealand Issues Monitor reveals that fewer New Zealanders believe crime / law and order is one of the top issues facing our country. In 2018, Ipsos New Zealand started tracking the key issues facing New Zealand. In this wave ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Griffiths, Deputy Program Director, Budgets and Government, Grattan Institute Australia’s political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Patrick Taylor, Chief Environmental Scientist, EPA Victoria; Honorary Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University Naiyana Somchitkaeo/Shutterstock A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health. The study ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University Global climate records were shattered in 2023, from air and sea temperatures to sea-level rise and sea-ice extent. Scores of countries recorded their hottest year ...
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a teacher explains why he and his partner are in frugal mode – and how they’re making it work. Gender: Male Age: 35Ethnicity: Pākehā Role: I am an intermediate school teacher and my partner is ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sarah Bendall, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University Binge Mary & George, the new British television drama series, depicts the real-life story of Mary Villiers and her son George, and their social climbing at the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jason Nassios, Associate Professor, Centre of Policy Studies, Victoria University This article is part of The Conversation’s series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here. Australian state and federal governments spend money in many ways to ...
The finance minister is denying that there’s a $5.6b shortfall in paying for the government’s campaign promises, including tax cuts. At his post-cabinet press conference yesterday, the PM refused to rule out new taxes to pay for the cuts, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s ...
Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
Kāinga Ora is New Zealand’s biggest residential landlord, housing more than 180,000 vulnerable people in more than 67,000 properties. Yesterday the government announced a crackdown on its tenants who fall behind on rent. One longtime Kāinga Ora tenant shares her experience.For 18 years I lived in a 1960s standalone ...
Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
Bob’s relationship with certain members of Lincoln’s academic staff continued to deteriorate in the 1990s. Others supported him publicly, though articles such as Roland Clark’s 1993 piece in Growing Today cannot have pleased the university management. Clark wrote that Bob was selling onions from the Biological Husbandry Unit to a ...
SailGP’s races feature in-your-face action, with agile, hydro-foiling catamarans tacking and jibing for the title over several days. However, public comments ahead of the global series’ return to New Zealand have left this past year’s controversy in the shadows, as a key appointment attracts criticism from dolphin advocates. A year ...
Opinion: We are fast approaching a fundamental change in prisons. As the number of people on custodial remand looks set to overtake the number of sentenced prisoners, the main function of prisons in New Zealand may become incarcerating un-sentenced people who may not be guilty of offending. We have already ...
A huge seven months lies in store for the White Ferns, beginning this week with the visit of England and culminating with the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September and October. Starting on Tuesday in Dunedin, the world ranked No. 2 visitors will play five T20s and three ODIs, ...
Opinion: In a move that has shocked road safety advocates across the country, the new Minister of Transport, Simeon Brown, is poised to abandon the previous government’s speed limit reduction policy, particularly around schools. Even more alarmingly, he wants school speed limits to be variable rather than full-time, arguing ...
Auckland Council is opposing a fast-track development backed by Sir John Kirwan and Spark NZ, because it doesn’t meet stringent new climate adaptation requirements The post Surf-data centre faces new 3.8C climate warming rules appeared first on Newsroom. ...
When the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act was introduced in 2009 it was firmly targeted at gangs and drugs. The legislation means police no longer need a conviction to seize assets that criminals can’t prove were paid for legitimately, as long as their alleged offences are punishable by more than a ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 19 March appeared first on Newsroom. ...
The letters, which were published last week, were addressed to Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) Chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri, National Democrat Party (NasDem) Chairperson Surya Paloh, National Awakening Party (PKB) Chairperson Muhaimin Iskandar, Justice and Prosperity Party (PKS) President Ahmad Syaikhu and United Development Party (PPP) Chairperson Muhammad Mardiono. In ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Evicting more people from state housing is ignorant to the consequences of poverty, the Greens say, but the Housing Minister says it's a privilege that can be taken away if abused. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emerald L King, Lecturer in Humanities, University of Tasmania IMDB Between Netflix’s 2023 live-action version of One Piece, and its latest take on Avatar: The Last Airbender, fans are once again asking: why are live-action anime adaptations so tricky to ...
The government says it still intends to deliver tax cuts by July, but will not lock them in until they have got them past their coalition partners. ...
Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII has hosted members of the Green Party Caucus at Tuurangawaewae Marae in Ngaaruawahia. The audience follows the King’s Hui-aa-Motu on 20 January, where more than 10,000 people gathered to discuss national ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dr Rachael Potter, Research Associate and Lecturer in Work and Organisational Psychology, University of South Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Pregnant women and workers with children are often unfairly treated by their bosses and colleagues, despite laws to protect against workplace discrimination ...
Reacting to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s refusal to rule out introducing new taxes at the budget, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said: “Today’s refusal to rule out new taxes suggests the Government is nothing more ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephen Duckett, Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne Aila Images/Shutterstock Aged-care workers will receive a significant pay increase after the Fair Work Commission ruled they ...
He’s bringing ‘Sophie’ back, yeah. Goodshirt’s ‘Sophie’ music video is one of the most instantly recognisable New Zealand music videos of all time. Featuring a woman listening to the song on headphones while her entire house is burgled behind her, the video won the New Zealand music award for Best ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Blaxland, Professor, Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University A year ago, the AUKUS agreement was formally announced between Australian and UK Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese and Rishi Sunak and US President Joe Biden. The agreement mapped out the “optimal ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andreas Helwig, Associate Professor, Electro-Mechanical Engineering, University of Southern Queensland SmartS/Shutterstock Steam locomotives clattering along railway tracks. Paddle steamers churning down the Murray. Dreadnought battleships powered by steam engines. Many of us think the age of steam has ended. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carrie Leonetti, Associate Professor of Law, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Victims who experience family violence in Aotearoa New Zealand are treated differently, depending on which part of the justice system they turn to for help. But a new member’s bill ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Tesch, Visiting Fellow at the ANU Centre for European Studies, Australian National University In perhaps the least surprising news of the year, Vladimir Putin has triumphed at the Russian ballot box and been enthroned for the fifth time as president. He ...
The Papua New Guinea Supreme Court has stopped a byelection for the Madang Open seat being held until an appeal filed by former MP Bryan Kramer is concluded. Kramer had appealed to the Supreme Court over a National Court decision not to review his application of the Leadership Tribunal decision ...
By Miriam Zarriga in Port Moresby Despite a “historic” ceasefire agreement in Papua New Guinea between Enga authorities and tribal leaders after months of bitter warfare, a young woman has been found brutally killed near Kaekin village, Wapenamanda. Despite the peace agreement and signing concluded in Port Moresby last Thursday ...
The second season of Ryan Murphy’s Feud is a sadder and slower entry into his canon of true story-telling, leaning heavily on a verdict about the cost of a single work of art. Hollywood heavyweight Ryan Murphy has had a bit of “ick” about him in the last few years. ...
What to do about ridiculous housing prices prices? What actions would bring things back to only somewhat crazy, instead of the absolutely insanely ludicrous we have now?
Ashley Church has reckons, but as a spokesgargoyle for the wealthy land-owner class, his comments have the whiff of throwing out silly ideas in hopes of poisoning the well for more credible ideas.
https://www.oneroof.co.nz/news/38723
Personally, I see a lack of reasonable investment alternatives as part of the problem in New Zealand.
The local share and bond markets are viper pits stuffed with unaccountable predatory wide-boys, leading to significant risk of serious losses for ordinary small investors. Yields have dropped to negligible levels.
There's certainly a lot of room for government actions to make improvements there, starting with more personal accountability for those at the top, and making it much harder for those that have behaved poorly to get back on the grift train after their wet-bus-ticket slap.
In the US, the managed investment community (mutual fund managers, pension managers etc) actually play a significant role in holding company top brass accountable. That doesn't seem to happen here. Dunno how much of that is fragmentation of that industry here, we've got lots of small players like Fisher, Kiwiwealth, Simplicity etc etc etc, each too small to have significant clout (and that smallness also contributes to the exorbitantly high management fees here). Some of it may be cultural, these people just don't see exercising accountability as part of their role.
Beyond that, there's potential punitive measures targeted directly at housing "bad people", ie landlords/investors. Such as mortgage surcharges for non-owner-occupied property, differential rating for owner-occupied vs unoccupied vs tenanted, stamp duties etc.
Coz sure as shit, the "solutions" being tossed around at the moment such as LVR, brightline test are going to have negligible effect at best.
The biggest impact on house prices is and always will be, fear.
Fear of missing out (FOMO) will drive them up…and fear of financial loss will drive them down….time to scare the crap out of those that think property is a one way trip.
There are multiple options to do so, but the gov has to have credibility or speed of ACTION….not jawboning
add to that fear of being unable to paying rent and ending up in a ditch with no help, cause well, where would you go to if you end up in a ditch? Winz? Lol.
It may be educational to see and hear this doco dated 1984 about the UK housing plan and how it became a political football where the parties threw large housing number targets at each other like mud pies, with chest beating similar to Twyford's.
Targets are a form of snake charming I think. Watch them rise up out of the throats of ambitious pollies and officials to the tunes of mendacious businessmen. But watch out they might bite you sooner or in later years when they show their cracks and faults.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch5VorymiL4
Thanks Andrew and very topical. Mind if I convert this into a guest post?
Of course you're welcome to turn it into a guest post.
As a brief(-ish) comment it was more intended as a conversation starter. As a post, I'd fill out the ideas a bit more, but I'm about to take off for some errands so I can't do that filling out right now.
I have been doing some reading that offers solutions/different ways of doing things..that I was going to start sharing today…I'll save it for the post…
Any evidence for Andre’s claim of "serious losses for ordinary small investors" on the "local share and bond markets" since the 1987 crash ?
Just the first two that come to mind where family members have lost five-figure sums are Feltex and CadmusProvenco. There's been plenty more. You got any recollection what was happening around the 2008ish timeframe?
BTW, "significant risk of serious losses" (my actual phrase) is a very different concept to "serious losses" (the truncated quote you chose).
From the horse’s mouth
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018774440/adrian-orr-on-nz-economy-s-financial-stability
Dann interrupted almost every answer before Orr finished. Very annoying as usual.
Yep…surprised Orr didnt tick him off this time
Also of interest post the exchange of letters between Orr and Robertson, Orr mentioning that he would appreciate a debt to income ratio. And to date after previous requests this tool has not been granted to the RB.
Now did not Roberson seek "Robertson has written to the Reserve Bank seeking advice on possible ways it could support the Government to meet its economic objectives, in particular with relation to house prices." Well Grant how about allow the RB this tool to limit the amount of debt anyone can accumulate, as was commented on during the interview – This tool is already available elsewhere ??? Low hanging fruit easy to pick !!!
Heh. Orr is quite ready to suggest taxes etc to Robertson, it seems: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300167639/adrian-orr-puts-tax-back-on-the-table-in-affordable-housing-debate
If it was a tennis match…that was an excellent return from orr..that will have robertson running..
The DTI was requested by a previous RBNZ Gov. (not sure when) but it was declined….Orr mentioned this yesterday at the stand up. He has since said that he would be happy to add DTI to the tool kit …that dosnt necessarily mean he will use it now or that he believes it will change prices. As he has reiterated, his mandate (and primary concern) is unemployment and financial stability.
The reality is there are many things the gov could do (or done) to improve housing affordability and they have done sweet FA.
I hope that at least there is considerable background work done the previous three years that can accelerate a response now, though I doubt it on past form
Speech from the Throne about 11am today on Parliament TV Channel 31.
In which the government outlines its legislative programme for the session – will this government with an impressive mandate be truly 'transformative' or merely another place-holder neokindness sort of do nothing government?
Unfortunately, I'm not holding my breath!
This would be the most-paid-attention-to speech from the throne in a while…they have to start pulling rabbits out of the hat…if they don't we will see some direct action pretty soon..methinks..
Direct Action will happen, and I will be looking for opportunities to be involved.
No Labour Minister or new MP should make a public appearance from now on without a small or large crew reminding them of a few items that need attention…
She'll finally get her crown? Queen Jacinda, the first and the last of her name?
So far, decidedly underwhelming. Lots of platitudes but basically, 'steady as it goes.'
Nothing really innovative or radical.
‘Govern for all NZers’ code for do bugger all to upset the wealthy!
Don't despair, we have the next emergency already being lauded and it will be all focus on that since it is urgent and popular. Environmental emergency. There is another price to be won.
And everybody will forget that we have an infrastructure that fails – drinking water and sewage in particular – as this is palmed off to local councils. How they want to build new housing without getting that one right is beyond me.
Hospitals millions being used for contractor payouts and not the much needed upgrade to this "3rd world" hospital. But thank god we paid billions(!) to those needy companies to make sure the shareholders get their pound of flesh.
Labor is stumbling around without any action plan and may I say clue.
Very soon we will be going back in time. Get the horses and carts out, dust off the medical tools that have become museum pieces, be prepared to have all those yesteryear illnesses – Encephalitis, Hepatitis A, Typhoid Fever etc…
Meanwhile, incomes are not covering real inflation. Desk theorist that have never done a honest day job in their live are in charge and it shows.
Tuberculosis was all the thing back in George Orwell's day. And new strains of it are out and about – the old one could lurk and infect as covid does. Meningitis kills almost overnight sometimes.
Is it not a tad crazy to not include house prices when measuring inflation..?…when it is inflation on steroids..
Nope, it’s not a tad crazy unless you base it on your gut feeling AKA ‘common sense’.
In science people are encouraged to be critical of their measurement systems. In economics, not so much. For a long time not measuring housing inflation allowed a pack of charlatans to pretend to, and be handsomely paid for, their "expertise". As that system fails, the cornerstone falsehood of neoliberalism – the expertise of economists and bankers – has crumbled. Watch those with a political stake in it continue to defend it even as it washes away.
Are there any good articles to understand how they decided to exclude housing costs from the CPI in the first place?
I think this is the reasoning
Rents are included in the CPI, because they are expenditures that are "consumed" in current period of time. But house prices are not, because they are expenditures on an asset to be consumed over many years. If you own a house, you will benefit from the rising prices–if and when you sell it. In a sense, houses are treated like capital goods–for consumers. That is, rising house prices are not a burden to home owners, whereas rising rents are a burden to renters.
inflation – Why aren't house prices included in CPI? – Economics Stack Exchange
Plausible, that they just didn't consider a market with scarcity created by ill-considered immigration policies on top of a building deficit created by the destruction of apprenticeships and compounded by the shoddy regulation and even shoddier inspection regimes that caused the leaky homes debacle. Plausible – but not excusable. They are paid like professionals – they ought to be responsible for outcomes.
Ta. Not accounting for ongoing increase in capital value over time. How convenient.
Could it be as simple as the small movement of people or families moving to smaller cities and towns. It only takes a few numbers to distort a market and cashed up buyers from Auckland or Wellington descending on a town of 20 or 30 thousand will push up prices substantially. The houses they are leaving will inevitably get a very good price because of one simple fact, a lot of people want or need to move to Auckland but the fucking place is full.
A sure way to make things worse is to get the government trying to fix it with numerous measures ,the vast majority just inadvertantly making the problem worse.
This situation crops up every 10 years or so and has done since the 60s.
Mangakino is one of these places, and even worse, they knock down the houses to build boatsheds. So when it all comes crashing down the locals can buy boatsheds, cause the houses are all gone.
Ah, if we would just have a government that would actively try to entice businesses to settle elsewhere then just AKL, or even move some of the government burocracy to some other towns like it used to be.
Ah, if we just had a government that could, and would, but alas, nothing much will get done, just like the last three years nothing much was done.
What do you reckon is stopping people moving to smaller towns?
Jobs. Simple as that.
One of the reasons i always lived in AKL was simply the fact that i can earn a living there.
Now i am self employed and i can take my trade with me, but if you are a standard office drone, female – and want a little bit of a career, it will be the big towns. Also for schools, recreation etc. The need for at least two cars – just to go shopping for food, lack of choices in regards to food, cost of living, housing is the same, but food costs more, line charges add a huge amount to winter heating, no access to doctors, i still travel to my dentist and gp to akl as do other people i know, lack of tradespeople to fix the delipidatedet houses, trades people that can't move cause they can't find an affordable rental or house to buy, trades people that can't find affordable commercial properties, you know all that stuff that for years have been ignored by all and everyone who ever called themself a 'honorable' MP/PM.
btw, Mangakino has a rental crisis. Go figure, as does Tokoroa. Locals can't afford to buy anymore. Go figure.
But the Queen is gonna give a speech telling us all that she will do fuck all as outlined before the election. We are going to have this discussion again in three years, just as we did under John Key a few years ago.
Seems tricky for any government to make recreation and employment opportunities that arise from greater concentrations of people somehow appear in small towns.
Nothing unique to NZ about it either. Most people like what cities offer more than they dislike the downsides. Others who prioritise things differently will thrive in smaller settlements.
its not like, its must have.
Hospitals, or rural clinics, birthing centres, etc.
Jobs, yes, if the government is in job creation, then they must look also at the overlooked parts of NZ. One thing to make moving jobs to the country side easier would be adequite public transport, say trains for goods and people. I think Winston called it 'heavy rail'. A start. There is absolutly no need for Morrinsville, Huntly, etc to not be busy feeder towns. But alas, they are not. Go figure.
Recreation, i.e. restaurants, cinemas, playgrounds,swimming pools etc generally come with population mass. No population, no recreation.
So the question is not what can the government do, the question really should be 'why the fuck is the government not doing anything'. Start with reviving some rural clinics, birthing centres.
Schools, i hear we closed a whole bunch of them under John Key, and with many of these schools the last 'community centre' of the rural area closed. Well gee, THANKS A BUNCH government.
And honestly if this is not part of the Government why the fuck do we need one in hte first place? To give these empty, unintelligent, unimaginative people a pay they would not earn in private industry? and we have to pay them perks, and accommodation allowances and all that jazz, just so they can say 'We do nothing"? Really? If they can't to what needs to be done, we can fire at least half of either side of hte bench, and only do hte min. Build more roads.
What does the public of NZ get out of subsidising facilities in small towns to the same level of service that a city can sustain? Which other things could be funded instead that would benefit more people?
Jobs. It will get jobs. For a starter. I don't see hte issue, why the government can not help a company move to a rural area via tax incentives rather then the town that is full to bursting the seems.
Why can the government not build small clinics in thbe rural areas? The ones in our towns are pretty much at capacity. Again, these are jobs.
Schools. The government could really start building better schools, some on the country side are really really crappy i hear, and Jobs.
By the same token we could say, why should hte Government build another bridge over the Harbour? Let some private entity build it, and the users will just have to pay toll.
And then, we don't need government, and we do away with elections, and rulers and usless suits, Cause why would the Governement be needed if tey don't do what is needed?
And currently the thing that would benefit people is jobs. Jobs that generate Tax revenue, that bring life back to towns that are needing the influx of young people, it takes the pressure away from the larger towns etc etc etc.
Btw, "the government' funds but pays for nothing. "the taxpayer' pays for everything the government 'funds'. Just in case that people reallyh believe that 'the government' has any money to its name. It does not. The money to fund all the vanity projects that generally only serve the few – see Americas Cup (now what could be funded with all that money down that rich mans drains) – comes from us, the Tax paying citizens.
Not hearing any reason that there would be more jobs by building new clinics or schools in small towns rather than large cities.
Because in a civilized country every live has the same value. A baby born has to have the same chance to live, be educated, able to survive, have drinkable water, is not exposed to contamination that is the result of waste and waste water…etc. etc.
Living in a smaller settlement is not a human right. Access to essential services does not mean to the best, nor that they must be next door.
so your new clinics don't need nurses, doctors, admins etc? nah? ok then.
i guess we don't need government at all then, right. We can just do away with it cause if they are no good to building public infrastructure what the fuck are they good for?
what would you that our current lot could/would/should do in order to get our smaller towns a bit of live back all the while we stop our larger towns busting and exploding all over the place just because that wafer thin mint was just to much to absorb?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/rotorua-daily-post/news/tokoroa-doctor-job-that-still-cant-be-filled-despite-400000-salary-12-weeks-annual-leave-and-going-viral/CVHVK7DVY363UAR2KK43TDDYOA/
Gosh, what could possibly be making cities explode all over the place? It's almost as if people prefer to live in them or something.
Yes Adrian, I have seen this in the past when people from cities and bigger towns have descended on smaller more isolated towns and bought up. Locals thought great, my house price has gone up. A few months later, when the excitement has passed (which it always does) the out-of-towners leave and the local house market is back to the locals only, and the prices slowly slide back down again.
Is happening exactly like this again right now.
Adrian – sit back in your seat and enjoy the spectacle. As if it is the Colosseum and the needy are being pitted against well-fed, muscled gladiators.
Don't bother to write and explain that it is a cyclical thing, 'been there, done that' before. That makes me feel sick and a number of people here who have to confront the problem. Your point must be, it has happened before, so the government should know about it, the causes and the horrific results on people, and the degrading of society and the country.
The people are revolting, and the government draws back from this indelicacy to positions above the maddening crowd.
The point is that shit happens in spite of governments best intentions. Governments racing around trying to control every little, or big thing, just becomes a shit-fight and begets bad law. Everything is cyclical, like the weather, sometimes you just have to ride it out with a little bit of sail trimming here and there until it blows over and then plan for it in calmer waters.
A general truth about society and the wealth it produces… (repeat, sorry)…
Push the wealth down and society strengthens and prospers
Push the wealth up and society weakens and fails
Here endeth the truth
The unbelievable shitfuckery of Oranga Tamariki continues
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/two-wrongs-dont-make-a-right
yep, that is quite the fucked up story there if ever there was. Suffer the little children cause the adults in charge give no fuck, and their overseers don't either.
That is fucking disturbing as.
Well done Labour govt.
I was witness to a similar situation with a close friend of mine who adopted her daughter on a permanent placement order, which her lawyer advised her to couple with a care support order.
The care support order, which required CYFS to provide additional counselling and support if the child required it became the bone of contention for social workers who diligently worked to put in obstacles to actually providing the support. Despite reassurances that the child was not affected by issues to do with Foetal Alcohol syndrome, it was only several years after placement that the social worker admitted that the way they determined this was to ask the biological mother if she had drunk during pregnancy. She said No.
Despite taking her daughter to the numerous consultants requested by CYFS, and others privately, and having a confirmed diagnosis of FAS, ADD, and a severe attachment disorder, CYFS continued for years to refuse to honour the care agreement. Until they came up with a solution during a family meeting. If my friend and her husband would sign a care order during the meeting, CYFS would then have access to all the funds they needed, and her daughter would then receive any and all support that was necessary.
They returned home, to discover the next day that the meeting records had them relinquishing custody to CYFS, who had organised that their daughter be removed from their care and given to the biological father and his new wife who had had no contact with the child at any stage. This family lived in Christchurch.
After watching the love, care and attention given to this child for years, it was painful to watch the distress of my friend who immediately challenged this interpretation of the meeting minutes. She was told that her view was not accepted. It took two years of legal intervention and a judgement in the Family Court to overturn this malicious act. The judge advised that he considered what had taken place as abuse by CYFS towards the family.
My friend was able to borrow the $20,000 from her mother to fight the case, but that is not always available to others. I suspect the ease of practice and disregard they had for the family, and also the wellbeing of the child, comes from repetition – and getting away with it more often than not.
They maligned the previous caregiver, and when it suited them, maligned my friends family, mostly because they asked for the professional support that the child was supposedly entitled to receive. I have a disregard for the way the previous institution was run. I have a suspicion that the same practices have been maintained in OT.
Thanks Brigid, that is heartbreaking to read.
This is beyond a bad apple or an oversight, it speaks to culture, inflexibility and perhaps being able understaffed.
Celia Lashlie spoke of this. The parent, often Mum in isolation, is held accountable for every action or inaction. Meanwhile the PTB can carry on acting appallingly.
Ego driven social engineering where it goes without saying that the consequential harm to these children is completely ignored, but countered with bullshit 'it's a journey we're all taking' speak.
Most of what the social worker was saying in the interview with the foster parents was completely unintelligible and/or grossly insulting.
Might want to watch the opening segments of Alan Kohler’s Finance Report on the ABC as he has a couple of interesting graphs which made be of interest to a number of people here on the The Standard which would confirm what we already know about wage growth vs company profit vs sharemarket prices.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/business/kohler-report/
Shitty people with shitty motivations can still sometimes produce a worthwhile result.
In this case it seems Kim Jong Orange Jr's desires to murder wild animals were influential in denying a mining company's desire to poison wild animals by ruining their habitat. This time it's the Pebble Mine in Alaska, that had been previously denied by the Obama administration and then the Mandarin Mugabe cast some incantations over its crypt and it rose again. Hopefully this time the lid is on for good.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-denies-alaska-mine-permit_n_5fbe9e90c5b63d1b7708e3eb
The flood gate of pardons has opened. Starting with "Lock her up" Flynn.
In theory, that's a move that could backfire. Since Flynn is now no longer at risk of personal consequences for the crimes he committed in service of Twitterfinger J. Putinpussy, he cannot take the Fifth Amendment. So now, he has no grounds to refuse to testify fully and truthfully, and is at risk of criminal charges if he doesn't.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-pardon-michael-flynn_n_5a216c7fe4b03350e0b64a66
Surely he can refuse and take the fifth – as the pardon is only for FEDERAL offences
That's if a state goes after him for something.
In this particular case, the interest is more about Flynn taking the Fifth as a witness in a potential prosecution of Individual-1.
Unless he gets an immunity from the relevant state he could make himself liable to prosecution – I don't think you can get him convicted for refusing to incriminate himself by testifying against someone else.
Have you watched this Andre?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB26jj0jrjc&feature=emb_logo
Nope. Not going to, either.
For starters, it's an hour and three quarters of video, which probably only has the information content of a few minutes worth of reading.
Video as a format is great for propagandists wanting to hook the gullible into investing a lot of time into having emotions manipulated who then have a sunk time cost in absorbing and regurgitating the intended message.
But video is a terrible medium for conveying factual information to anyone that likes to fact-check by looking for alternative sources and views on a topic in the midst of considering an argument being presented..
Every now and then I'll read something of Greenwald's, including a couple of his pieces on Flynn, to see if he's developed anything useful to say. But every time it's a disappointment. He's a propagandist presenting gish-gallops of misrepresentations, partial truths, omitted context, false equivalences, omission of any big picture, and other misinformation. Dunno what his angle really is, but his blind hatred of … something… taints his polemics to the point of uselessness.
RationalWiki's entry on Greenwald sums him up pretty well:
https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Glenn_Greenwald
You've not watched it but can determine what Greenwald says.
That's mighty clever of you.
Remain ignorant.
Nobody cares.
https://twitter.com/DavidPriess/status/1331744272559771653
Official 'speech from the throne' about what our government intends to do with its mandate: https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA2011/S00086/speech-from-the-throne.htm
The Government intends to declare a climate emergency and will propose the move next Thursday.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/300168280/government-to-declare-climate-change-emergency-in-parliament-next-week
As the councillor who, last year, proposed that the Southland Regional Council (Environment Southland) do the same thing, I'm hugely supportive and encouraged by the Government's proposal and at the same time greatly disappointed by my own council's failure to make the declaration, despite my best efforts to build support and understanding for the action. I've alerted my fellow councillors to the news and to my thoughts around their response 🙂
Let's hope that Shaw can get some actual action to go along with it.
I think he will but for the moment, this is a huge step forward; first comes the story, then follows the action; it's always been the way.
It does say in the article that Climate Change Minister James Shaw signalled that the symbolism might be joined by some sort of concrete action.
Though i'm thinking "concrete" may have been a poor choice of words.
Ha! Concrete – yes, I baulk at the use of that word also, solkta, along with "ground-breaking" and "road-map"; these get used a lot in governance and tell me that we are bound by our language and until that changes or broadens, we will make change but slowly. The recent acceptance of Maori words and phrases by the courts and the Government ("hauora" and "te mana o te wai" in particular) gives the possibility of change a huge lift! I'm becoming excited at the potentials here.
Yes, but lets start at those things that matter. Like drinking water and sewage. If both fail, we wont need to think about any other issues as the illnesses from yesteryear will take care of those who still drive cars, heat their homes without expensive power, etc..
You don't think Climate Change matters? My sewage and drinking water are fine thanks. Climate Change though is likely to restrict my use of that drinking water for other things like it already has.
From the Speech from the Throne:
"To add further stability to the New Zealand Government, the Labour Party has agreed to work together with the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand through a Cooperation Agreement. This agreement commits the Government to working in the best interests of New Zealand and New Zealanders, working to honour Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and working together on specific policy areas where the Green Party can continue to add expertise and where both parties can achieve mutual gains that advance the goals of the Government."
I'm going to put a post up on that speech more generally.
Compare it with the 2017 speech.
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/speech/speech-throne-2017
The only physical legacy for CC say,was from NZF and the billion tree initiative.The rest is conjunctive claptrap.
Housing 3 years later shows more trees have been harvested for weasel words then 4×2 for framing.
Weasel words is what they specialise in….after all they are little more than sales people
Good.
Nice quote.
Is this a good response to the climate emergency – from The Guardian?
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/24/new-zealand-geologists-plan-to-harness-volcano-heat-to-reduce-climate-emissions
Women who are concerned about the welfare of their poorer sisters will be thrilled to read of this help. I think that we are onto this as well.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/nov/24/scotland-becomes-first-nation-to-provide-free-period-products-for-all
I'm pretty sure there are plenty of us men concerned about the welfare of our poorer sisters as well. We sadly have gone the "pilot" route when common sense says just do it.
Thanks DoS I am sure you are right. But I am particularly concerned about how many middle-class ambitious women are self-contained parcels – 'untouchable girls' to the reality of other less able and differently encultured females living within stone-throwing distance of them.
Scotland with ideas for building tourism.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/nov/22/ruins-with-a-view-plan-to-turn-scottish-castles-into-enchanting-hotels
Trump told the 'biggest' porkies in the world, now it is Boorish's turn to carry the banner.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQkQAU9iU7I Bi..us Di..us
Boris Johnson has insisted he is not opposed to devolution, days after he described it as a disaster in Scotland.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/nov/21/boris-johnson-insists-he-is-not-opposed-to-devolution-after-disaster-comment
and https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/nov/24/brexit-capitalism George Monbiot
and – Bernie Sanders https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/nov/24/bernie-sanders-working-class-win-back-from-donald-trump
and – https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/nov/24/republicans-joe-biden-history-congress-president-democrat from • 'Adam Tooze is a professor of history at Columbia University'
And – tastes like chicken? Or soy beans?
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/25/revealed-uk-supermarket-and-fast-food-chicken-linked-to-brazil-deforestation-soy-soya
I have wondered what would happen to the country if there was a breakdown in the chain for milk sales to the world. We could only dry a proportion of it. In Denmark they have been intensively breeding mink and in the wake of Covid 19 being passed by the animals have done a panicked kill with had results.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/25/culled-mink-rise-from-the-dead-denmark-coronavirus
and food in USA – big demand from hungry families of colour in particular – twice the percentage.
https://www.theguardian.com/food/2020/nov/25/us-hunger-surges-spiraling-pandemic
The best people:
Kellyalien Conway: "alternative facts"
Oozy Ghouliani: "truth isn't truth"
Jenna Ellis: “I posted it because the ifea itself is true, whether or not he said it!”
https://twitter.com/NumbersMuncher/status/1331617229910253571
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jenna-ellis-teddy-roosevelt-quote_n_5fbf035fc5b61d04bfa6d81e
Very apropos
https://twitter.com/DammedWriter/status/1331629608907776001
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmZhz-0Ds2Y&feature=emb_logo