Open mike 26/06/2015

107 comments on “Open mike 26/06/2015 ”

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1. Paul 1

   26 June 2015 at 6:45 am

   The slow death of democracy under Key.

   A speaker in parliament who ensures difficult questions are stopped in the government and allows the government to get away with a lot.
   The end of Ecan in Canterbury.
   The refusal by ministers to answer questions on Morning Report and other serious media on important issues.
   • infused 1.1

     26 June 2015 at 8:20 am

     Yes, we heard you the first time.
     • Draco T Bastard 1.1.1

       26 June 2015 at 9:30 am

       No you didn’t. If you had you wouldn’t be in here defending this government.
   • Puckish Rogue 1.2

     26 June 2015 at 11:07 am

     Troll
     • McFlock 1.2.1

       26 June 2015 at 12:20 pm

       Actually, paul seems to express genuinely-held opinion with no ulterior motive to spread discord and disruption amongst the thread, imo.

       You… not so much
       • Puckish Rogue 1.2.1.1

         26 June 2015 at 12:52 pm

         I think you’ll find my opinions have been pretty consistant as well but hes a troll
         • McFlock 1.2.1.1.1

           26 June 2015 at 1:34 pm

           I never mentioned consistency as a criteria.
           • Puckish Rogue 1.2.1.1.1.1

             26 June 2015 at 4:17 pm

             Also my opinions are genuinely-held and I don’t intend to spread discord and disruption with them
             • McFlock …

               26 June 2015 at 4:27 pm

               Your assurances aside, that does not seem to be the case.

               Especially when you linkwhore for slater with no context or explanation.
             • Weepus beard …

               26 June 2015 at 4:51 pm

               Also my opinions are genuinely-held and I don’t intend to spread discord and disruption with them

               The first is no doubt true and highlights adam’s prefect description of you as uncompassionate and smug on another thread. This description is true of all supporters of the current government.

               The second is a flat-out lie, which is also unsurprising behaviour from a supporter of the current government.
   • Marvellous Bearded Git 1.3

     26 June 2015 at 11:44 am

     Whether Burke actually said this or not, with Key in charge of NZ, it has never been truer:

     “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”
     • Clean_power 1.3.1

       26 June 2015 at 1:37 pm

       Remember that a National Party boss said EXACTLY the same words when Helen Clark was in charge of NZ. What goes around, comes around.
       • McFlock 1.3.1.1

         26 June 2015 at 1:42 pm

         Yes. He said it about lightbulbs and farmers paying for their emmissions.

         Those were the days before we had an outright corrupt government.
         • Clean_power 1.3.1.1.1

           26 June 2015 at 1:47 pm

           McFlock: What will you do until 2020 or 2023 when Labour could regain power?
           • McFlock 1.3.1.1.1.1

             26 June 2015 at 2:09 pm

             Count the sick and the dead.
         • Draco T Bastard 1.3.1.1.2

           26 June 2015 at 7:35 pm

           Those were the days when we had a corrupt opposition.
       • Tracey 1.3.1.2

         26 June 2015 at 2:11 pm

         two wrongs make a right…
2. AsleepWhileWalking 2

   26 June 2015 at 8:33 am

   http://www.tfmetalsreport.com/podcast/6941/more-jb-and-sfc

   More war provocations, specifically….
   “The announcement by the US Secretary of “Defense” that the US will will now pre-position arms and tanks for up to 5,000 soldiers in the Baltic states, along the Russian border. This is the first time in history that the US has ever placed military assets on the Russian border.”
   • vto 2.1

     26 June 2015 at 9:08 am

     Baltic states

     Ukraine

     It is the USA which is the aggressor, not Russia.

     But we are ok with that aren’t we
     • DoublePlusGood 2.1.1

       26 June 2015 at 12:04 pm

       Because there’s totally US flags flying in Sevastopol. Oh wait. Only three stripes.
   • Barfly 2.2

     26 June 2015 at 9:32 am

     wasn’t the Cuban missile crisis initiated when USA put nuclear weapons in Turkey prompting the U.S.S.R. to want to install the same in Cuba?
3. Skinny 3

   26 June 2015 at 8:42 am

   Party at Muzza’s new pad, the big apple ‘New York’ July School Holidays. Govt Ministers, TPPA lobbyist’s, wealthy donators, A lister movie stars and super models.

   http://i.stuff.co.nz/life-style/home-property/69701478/nz-government-shells-out-11m-on-new-york-apartment-for-un-representative
   • Tracey 3.1

     26 June 2015 at 2:12 pm

     I wish they would give us more info though…

     How much are the BC fees each year
     How much would it cost to rent a similar place
     Why 3 bedrooms?
     What did we use before?
     and so on…
     • Colonial Rawshark 3.1.1

       26 June 2015 at 2:35 pm

       ensuring these stories have no context whatsoever is an MSM specialty
4. DH 4

   26 June 2015 at 9:04 am

   Is anyone else finding it hard to feel any sympathy for Aucklanders whining about their rates increase? Latest from the Herald here;

   http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11471241

   For starters the rates increase has already been funded for anyone with a reasonable size mortgage on floating interest rates. The recent cut in the OCR has more than paid for the higher rates. And that’s not to mention the ginormous capital gains every Auckland homeowner has enjoyed over the last few years.

   Investors are already using it as an excuse to raise rents and it’s worth pointing out that the recent fall in interest rates has not just paid investors for the rates increase but that lower interest rates means they should be reducing rents not raising them. That just goes to show how venal those people really are.
   • dv 4.1

     26 June 2015 at 9:11 am

     AND the report was very confusing.
     The average rate increase was $214

     They also report that 1000s of rates are to increase by $1000

     There needs to be a better analysis.
     • DH 4.1.1

       26 June 2015 at 9:37 am

       Well it is the Herald, try this doozy….

       “Many of the city’s poorest suburbs, like Mangere, Otahuhu, Beach Haven and Glenfield, face increases of more than $300.”

       Glenfield and Beach Haven poor suburbs? When did those pillocks from the Herald last visit there, 1990? Anyone who can afford a $500k mortgage is definitely not poor, nor is anyone who owns a house there.
       • Sacha 4.1.1.1

         26 June 2015 at 3:03 pm

         The tiny group of ratepayers that the Herald and the right whingers on Council are wringing their hands about are shown on the right side of the graph in this tweet:
         https://twitter.com/TransportBlog/status/614217809967497217

         Most Auckland homeowners will see a rates increase that is a tiny fraction of how much their unearned equity has expanded in recent years.
   • Sabine 4.2

     26 June 2015 at 10:27 am

     are you talking about Aucklanders or Property Owners?

     I am an Aucklander, paying the rates on my rental home and my rental business.

     Can i afford increasing bills on what is pretty much a fixed income? No.

     So expect more businesses to close, or to fail as they can not afford these hikes.

     The investors don’t cry, only the owner occupiers or their tenants.
     • DH 4.2.1

       26 June 2015 at 10:41 am

       I’m an Aucklander paying rates too. For starters rates on commercial properties aren’t going up much so your business argument doesn’t look valid. Secondly as I already mentioned rates are being used as an excuse to raise private rents they are not a reason to. Rents will go up whether rates increase or not.

       The typical investor has a mortgage on their investment property. The last cut in the OCR reduced mortgage interest rates by about 0.25%. That gives every mortgage holder an extra $250 per year for every $100k they owe. Did your landlord give you a rent reduction when interest rates fell? I bet they didn’t.
       • Lanthanide 4.2.1.1

         26 June 2015 at 11:54 am

         Your argument is very weird.

         You realise that 80% of mortgages are on fixed terms, and so the recent 0.25% interest rate cut will have made no difference to their repayments in the near term?

         Something like 30-40% of mortgages are fixed for terms of 2+ years, so the OCR cut does squat for them.
         • DH 4.2.1.1.1

           26 June 2015 at 12:23 pm

           “Your argument is very weird.”

           No it’s not weird. You’ve just taken a dislike to my commenting and you’ve decided to snipe & sneer when the opportunity presents itself.

           I’m too old to take the bait.
           • Lanthanide 4.2.1.1.1.1

             26 June 2015 at 1:24 pm

             It’s a pity that you’ve chosen not to address the point that the 0.25% interest rate fall will not impact on 80% of home owners in Auckland (at least – since not all homes have mortgages on them), but the rate rises will affect 95% of home owners in Auckland (a very few home owners will get a rates reduction).
             • DH …

               26 June 2015 at 3:45 pm

               There’s no need to address it, the answer is obvious. They’ll get their mortgage reduction eventually and rates don’t need to be paid immediately either. Many people will have mortgage debt over $200k and they’ll be saving $500 plus to pay a rates increase of $300. Not like renters who won’t be getting any rent reduction from the fall in interest rates…. just a specious excuse for putting rents up further.

               And btw many investors have interest-only loans which often are not fixed, they’ll make hay immediately.
               • Lanthanide …

                 26 June 2015 at 3:54 pm

                 So you chose not to address:
                 1. People on fixed mortgages of terms of 2+ years, who won’t get their “mortgage reduction eventually” until after another 2 rounds of rate rises.
                 2. People who don’t have mortgages.

                 “And btw many investors have interest-only loans which often are not fixed, they’ll make hay immediately.”

                 How many investors do you know? The investors on Property Talk by-and-large go for fixed term mortgages, with as good a rates as they can get from the banks. Since they tend to have large portfolios, the banks keep them as clients and offer them good fixed rates.

                 Investing in rental property is a business, you’d be mad to leave your business to chance with floating rates, especially when they are always higher than fixed rates anyway.
       • Sabine 4.2.1.2

         26 June 2015 at 12:27 pm

         If you have a small business, the one thing that is making a huge dent in earnings every year is rates, and insurance. So yes, i might be able to pay them, but a few other struggling businesses for them it might just be the final nail in the coffin. but its all good……those empty looking fringes don’t need to be rented, their value too increases every day thanks to speculation.

         Rents will go up a bit more thanks to the rate increase. Before they just went up, now they really go up. Been there after the quake when rents suddenly really went up because the insurance for property owners went up. I guess its not just enough that these costs can be used as a business expense, no it must be a business expense that brings money.

         SO yes, i expect a few more small businesses to close, i expect more people needing an Accommodation benefits to make up the rent increases, and we tax payers all pay for it.

         i am not disagreeing with you, but yes Aucklanders – the majority of whom are not property investors with multiple properties and droppaing mortgage rates do have a reason to whinge. They are now out of pocket for what will be easily a grand or two in increased rent / rate spending, and thusly less debt paid back – more interest payments, less money saved – loss in interest payments to them, more borrowing etc etc etc.
         • DH 4.2.1.2.1

           26 June 2015 at 1:19 pm

           You’re making a connection that just isn’t there. The Property Investors Association have been talking about rent increases for quite some months. Their justification for the increase was not rates but the increase in Auckland property values and the need for yield.

           The rates increase will be an excuse for increasing rents; an appeasement. If you want to believe that’s the reason… well more fool you. They will increase rents because they can. No other reason.

           You might also want to look wider afield and see just how much others are paying in rates before claiming Aucklanders are hard done by. Our neighbours down the Waikato/Hauraki are paying up to twice as much as we are on capital values…. try paying $2200 in rates on a property with a capital value of only $200k. We’re not doing it hard here.
   • Lanthanide 4.3

     26 June 2015 at 11:51 am

     “For starters the rates increase has already been funded for anyone with a reasonable size mortgage on floating interest rates.”

     And for people who don’t have mortgages? Like many who are retired and own their own homes outright, and are on fixed incomes?
     • Sabine 4.3.1

       26 June 2015 at 12:29 pm

       shit out of luck, but hey they can sell and move elsewhere.

       If the can’t afford Auckland why should they live there? Yes, that is something i am hearing a lot.
   • David H 4.4

     26 June 2015 at 1:44 pm

     Reduce rents??? My god are you mad? That would put the whole money making scheme, that is the Auckland housing debacle on the skids.
     • DH 4.4.1

       26 June 2015 at 2:40 pm

       Mad? I guess I am. I actually feel a little angry about the Auckland property market and that’s not me, property has never bothered me before. Everyone has their own way to make a buck and it’s not for me to say how others should do it.

       I’ve got cash on call in the business account and the bank just cut the rates on that from 3.15% to 3%, a direct result of the OCR being cut. 0.15% doesn’t sound much to the maths-challenged but that’s a 5% reduction in the yield from cash in the bank.

       When cash yields fall all other investment yields fall too, that’s how the market works, and it annoys me when I hear people making excuses for trying to increase their yield (put rents up) when I know it’s just self-interest driving them. They could at least be honest about it.
       • Colonial Rawshark 4.4.1.1

         26 June 2015 at 2:46 pm

         wait until NZ goes down the ZIRP route, penalising savers and pensioners, forcing people to play the property or financial markets games in order to try and keep some return coming in.
5. Draco T Bastard 5

   26 June 2015 at 9:26 am

   This one was linked yesterday but I found this line in it interesting:

   He said New York property costs were high and growing, and it was determined that the purchase of a new property represented better long-term value to the taxpayer than leasing a property.

   The point that the government as a whole seems to be missing is that the same can be said of every single building that the government uses most of which, after the privatisation of the 1980s onwards, are now leased.

   Guess who’s benefiting from that privatisation and who’s paying for it.
   • DH 5.1

     26 June 2015 at 10:28 am

     “Guess who’s benefiting from that privatisation and who’s paying for it.”

     While on the subject……

     How many people know that Auckland is not (yet) a supercity? I bet few know that the Papakura Water contract is still in force and that Watercare isn’t the monopoly water provider it was supposed to be.

     The Audit Office report on the privatisation of Papakura Water supply strongly urged that no contract with the private sector should be longer than 5yrs. The reasons are obvious; no-one knows what the future holds so you don’t commit yourself beyond the foreseeable future.

     If all of Auckland’s local councils had a lot more private contracts it would have been impossible to create the new Auckland Council. That’s what the future holds for us; unbreakable long term contracts that will prevent local and national Govt from making any substantial changes.
     • tc 5.1.1

       26 June 2015 at 11:18 am

       the list of long Term mangement contracts issued across all regions since Keys crew started their agenda with ecan/akl etc makes for chilling reading if you can at all given the ‘commercial in confidence’ shroud over many.
     • greywarshark 5.1.2

       26 June 2015 at 2:52 pm

       The Nats are poisoning the wells…
6. ianmac 6

   26 June 2015 at 9:57 am

   Meanwhile the politics enter even National Radio. Changes? Yep. Watch your backs Morning Report.
   “More changes are expected at Radio NZ National. The latest Nielsen survey, for the first quarter of this year, showed no improvement after a big ratings slump at the end of 2014, and RNZ is looking at changes to Morning Report, Checkpoint and Afternoons.”
   Campbell Live. Native Affairs. RNZ. Yahoo. Where are you all?
   • tc 6.1

     26 June 2015 at 10:45 am

     Ratings numbers are the best way of ‘justifying’ axing any in depth reporting over sensationalist celebrity shock jock focused offerings.

     Their numbers probably drop after the GE as in times of major events/disasters etc the more trusted outlets see a rise in numbers which tail away when it’s past.

     I’ve not looked at the numbers or dates from RNZ that’s purely anecdotal behaviour seen time and again in Oz by ABC/SBS news numbers.
     • greywarshark 6.1.1

       26 June 2015 at 3:06 pm

       Did anyone hear the RadioNZ shocker about Weetbix yesterday. A blatant advertorial on our national station. Accompanied by reporter Ruth Hill serving herself a weebix breakfast with complimentary comments while pouring milk on it. And the nub of the story – that some of the Weetbix that we get is sourced from Australia when demand here is high.

       I don’t care how much they donate to food for schools or the like, it doesn’t give them the right to free advertising. And if all is BAU they won’t be paying any company tax in NZ because they are a religious charity.
       http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/277228/kiwi-kids-are-aussie-weet-bix-kids

       You may like to find the item in the News – National slot and down the bottom take up the invitation to join the Lets Talk discussion.
7. maui 7

   26 June 2015 at 10:51 am

   Armenian’s have taken to the streets for days to protest their Government’s electricity price rises. Somehow can’t see sleepy old NZ doing the same…
   
   • ianmac 7.1

     26 June 2015 at 12:20 pm

     I wonder if Armenian Electricity is a private enterprise or Government controlled. If private then their Government like ours will just say, “Not our problem. We cannot make things better.”
     Great to see that Armenian celebration of hope and democracy.
   • Colonial Rawshark 7.2

     26 June 2015 at 12:28 pm

     The makings of another US sponsored ‘Color Revolution’ designed to destabilise Russia’s borders.
   • adam 7.3

     26 June 2015 at 12:48 pm

     Most of the protest here in New Zealand are not celebratory, or joyful events.

     Actually they are generally really earnest, dull, predictable, and if you live in Dunedin – fast, and boy does it put people off.

     It seems the whole protest movement is stuck. It’s the same marches, the same speeches and the same old tired approach to things.

     For example: why march up Queen street, when the majority of your supporters can’t even afford to get to Queen st in the first place?

     Why not have many smaller protests spread all over our cities? And make them enjoyable – with dancing, talking, food, and music. Not the drone of poorly written speeches.
8. Clemgeopin 8

   26 June 2015 at 11:02 am

   Colin Craig’s interview on TV3 :

   I have just watched this on line. Actually, he comes across quite well here, in my opinion !

   I am not a supporter of his party, but I am sensing that a very dirty campaign has been unleashed against him by some quarters for whatever reason.

   Take a look if you haven’t already:
   http://www.3news.co.nz/tvshows/paulhenry/interviews/colin-craig-where-did-it-all-go-so-wrong#axzz3e7BVNu7W,
   • tc 8.1

     26 June 2015 at 11:14 am

     sleep with dogs etc I have no sympathy for him and his band of self righteous nutjobs.
     • Clemgeopin 8.1.1

       26 June 2015 at 11:43 am

       Don’t you sense any nasty or unfair dirty politics types of attacks going on here? or are you simply blinded by the fact that you have ‘no sympathy for him and his band of self righteous nutjobs’?

       For me, fair is fair, irrespective of ‘who’ the person is and is more important than anything else. (It really is, but I am not perfect. No one is!)
       • Marvellous Bearded Git 8.1.1.1

         26 June 2015 at 11:52 am

         @Clem
         I agree Clem. The Nats did not want 4% wasted right wing vote at the next election again and so have put the knife in. Key has been unable to contain his glee at Colon’s demise.

         But I wonder. This 4% can hardly be solid Nats, and may mean they split 3% NZF 1% Nats at the next election which would help the opposition.
       • Colonial Rawshark 8.1.1.2

         26 June 2015 at 12:34 pm

         +1

         The Left has to be much more strategic about how it analyses these events.
       • tc 8.1.1.3

         26 June 2015 at 12:46 pm

         Of course it’s probably nasty and unfair as are most things influenced by the cult of Key running through our parliament, media and nation.

         Craig needs to pay attention, harden up and learn if he wants to be a player as politics is a contact sport and on the right they play for keeps.
         • greywarshark 8.1.1.3.1

           26 June 2015 at 3:22 pm

           NZ doesn’t need people getting to be politicians who ‘feel’ things about scientific matters just to be contrary. We need people who feel things about helping people, and getting better lives, livable, affordable homes, green jobs on green projects, non-lethal daylight jobs with part weekends, say from mid Saturday and all Sunday when they can actually be themselves, not poorly-paid lackeys.

           Let fanciful fools do their thing but most must stick to the main points, there is no surety that we will make a blind bit of difference unless people keep their minds focussed on the right things for the whole of us, the vulnerable population Everything else is just a distracting sideshow for people who don’t yet understand the gravity of our present and pending future, or who are stuck in juvenile notions of untested idealism, which will collapse when faced with hard reality.
       • b waghorn 8.1.1.4

         26 June 2015 at 12:51 pm

         Probably the nats clearing the way for Winston !?
         • Clemgeopin 8.1.1.4.1

           26 June 2015 at 1:16 pm

           No
       • Jenny Kirk 8.1.1.5

         26 June 2015 at 3:35 pm

         Well Clem the John Stringer who spoke out – most unusually for a board member who is not a chairperson – is very well linked to the Nats. So there is some credence to your speculation of yet another dirty tricks campaign. And I’m not a fan of Colin Craig either .
     • Rodel 8.1.2

       26 June 2015 at 8:27 pm

       Sorry . Tried to watch but 15 seconds of Henry and I wanted to vomit.

       Don’t care. Craig is a twit who ought to go away and count his money and do what he wants to do in private… not bleating his right wing nonsense to us awful lefties who really don’t care about him.
   • ianmac 8.2

     26 June 2015 at 12:40 pm

     A good interview actually Clem. Into my dim bias filtered a possibility that Dirty Tricks is alive and well and that maybe Colin has been set up and executed.
     John Stringer was a National candidate in Christchurch.
     He has spoken very negatively about Colin who refutes the rumours. (This will come out true/false eventually.)
     Stringer will earn brownie points with Key if he destroys the Conservative Party.
     Watch Stringer when National start allocating candidate seats.
     Just maybe?
     • Clemgeopin 8.2.1

       26 June 2015 at 1:18 pm

       @ianmac.
       I believe there is much more to this than meets the eye.
   • Tracey 8.3

     26 June 2015 at 2:17 pm

     the guy shooting off his mouth (Stringer?!?) has skin in this game. Even after being told not to speak out an that he wasn’t representative of the Board he’s kept on talking… leadership contender? Or are his Nat party roots kicking in and he is killing it off to move 4% back to National
9. Puckish Rogue 9

   26 June 2015 at 11:38 am

   http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11466615

   Quite interesting
   • Draco T Bastard 9.1

     26 June 2015 at 12:23 pm

     Just some idiot trying to justify increased inequality in developed countries by saying that globally inequality is decreasing as the developing countries catch up. The latter may be happening but we’re seeing increased inequality in the developing nations as well.

     Thus, what he seems to have done is taken the numbers and massaged them in a way to bring about his desired result. The way he seems to have done this is via over-generalisation.

     http://www.cgdev.org/doc/commentary/birdsall/rising_inequality.pdf
     http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/wess/wess_bg_papers/bp_wess2013_svieira1.pdf
     http://www.oecd.org/els/soc/dividedwestandwhyinequalitykeepsrising.htm
     http://www.irp.wisc.edu/publications/focus/pdfs/foc123k.pdf
     • Colonial Rawshark 9.1.1

       26 June 2015 at 12:35 pm

       Yep; just another PR scheme by the 0.1% getting richer off making western workers poorer, and giving workers in developing countries shitty low wages.
       • The Gormless Fool formerly known as Oleolebiscuitbarrell 9.1.1.1

         26 June 2015 at 3:04 pm

         But inequality in NZ is falling as well:

         http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1506/S00282/inequality-falling-despite-rising-headlines.htm
         • McFlock 9.1.1.1.1

           26 June 2015 at 3:36 pm

           Only if you summarise a decline from 2000-2008 followed by an upswing starting in 2008 or 2010 (depending on the graph) as being “While inequality across a range of measures rose from the late 1980s through the early 1990s, it has levelled off or declined since the mid-1990s, albeit with some variability.”

           Look at the GINI time-series figures in the report: Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 13, 14, 15. In other words, whether the summary matches the data is highly debatable. In more accurate words, the rest of the report and the media release are all trying very hard to convince people that what they’d see, should they choose to look at GINI levels over the years, is not actually what they should believe.

           But then if Labour hadn’t addressed inequality, the kids in NZ would be even worse off and the nats would be saying “labour did it too”.
           • The lost sheep 9.1.1.1.1.1

             26 June 2015 at 4:49 pm

             Some very interesting reading also in the Ministry of Social Development report referenced in the Scoop report.

             http://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/monitoring/household-incomes/index.html

             The findings in those 2 reports make it very difficult to sustain the claim that Inequality is currently increasing in New Zealand.
             • Weepus beard …

               26 June 2015 at 5:00 pm

               Quite frankly, I do not believe anything published by the MSD since 2008.
             • One Anonymous Bloke …

               26 June 2015 at 5:11 pm

               “The findings”.

               So, your response to McFlock explaining that the ‘findings’ don’t match the data is to believe the ‘findings’.

               That centre-right kool-aid is powerful stuff, despite its stultifying effects.
             • McFlock …

               26 June 2015 at 5:23 pm

               Really?
               Let’s look at the MSD report:

               7 From HES 2011 to HES 2013 the gains from the recovery were shared reasonably evenly across income deciles, but the negative impact of the recession from HES 2009 to HES 2011 was a little greater for lower income deciles (deciles 1 to 6) than for higher ones.

               8 As a result, from HES 2009 to 2013 the net change in average incomes for each of the lower 5 deciles was close to zero, whereas there was around a 5% net gain for the top five deciles.

               (my bold)

               Year-on-year income inequality has been volatile recently with the GFC shock impacting on investment returns, employment and wages over the four years from 2008. There is no evidence of any general rise or fall in income inequality using the Gini measure since the mid 1990s. The trend-line is almost flat.

               .
               Well, yes, the trendline is almost flat. Because when GINI’s rising, the data points are every two years (1988-1998, 2007-2009) or every one year (2009-2013), and during Lab5 the data points are every three years, which lessens the impact of year-on-year decreases (table D10, figure D14).

               I actually really like Perry’s work and it’s a massive effort and incredibly valuable, but you can’t roll a turd ball in glitter and call it a jewel. And talking about “there is no evidence of any sustained rising or falling trend since the mid-1990s” also misses the point of the massive fucking rise since the 80s and the fact that it’s a slight “trend” down in lab5 and a slight “trend” up in the nat governments.

               BTW, it’s not a scoop report, it’s a tory press release.
               • Draco T Bastard …

                 26 June 2015 at 8:20 pm

                 +111

                 Well done.
               • The lost sheep …

                 26 June 2015 at 9:19 pm

                 It’s not Scoop McFlock, it’s the CREDIBLE reports they reference.

                 As usual, anyone who wants to make an informed comment should go and read THE WHOLE THINGS for themselves, and then exercise their own critical faculties.

                 rather than rely on a couple of very selective out of context sound bites from ideologically compromised bloggers.
                 • Colonial Rawshark …

                   26 June 2015 at 9:28 pm

                   Seems like you got shot out of the skies, mate
                 • McFlock …

                   26 June 2015 at 9:35 pm

                   So no comment to the points I raised where the descriptions in the press release don’t match the data in the actual reports.

                   So now we know that your grip on reality is pretty tenuous, let me throw some more out of context quotes at you (my italics):

                   Inequality falling despite rising headlines
                   Friday, 26 June 2015, 1:21 pm
                   Press Release: The New Zealand Initiative

                   Some very interesting reading also in the Ministry of Social Development report referenced in the Scoop report.

                   BTW, it’s not a scoop report, it’s a tory press release.

                   It’s not Scoop McFlock, it’s the CREDIBLE reports they reference.
10. Chooky 10

    26 June 2015 at 12:17 pm

    On euthanasia and assisted dying: brave woman and lawyer Lucretia Seales’ husband continues with her humanitarian campaign to help the dying take control and die in the way they want with dignity and love.

    ‘Lecretia Seales’ husband says end of life inquiry terms crucial’

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/201760018/lecretia-seales'-husband-says-end-of-life-inquiry-terms-crucial

    “Matt Vickers, husband of Lecretia Seales, on the select committee inquiry into assisted dying – he says it’s crucial to get the terms of reference and shape of the inquiry right.”
11. adam 11

    26 June 2015 at 1:20 pm

    Funny old racist USA.

    Ah the tea party – just keeps on giving.

    http://www.publicintegrity.org/2015/06/23/17521/white-nationalist-group-influenced-alleged-charleston-shooter-subsidized-american

    More to come on this racist scumbag and his connections.
12. adam 12

    26 June 2015 at 2:13 pm

    Ummm. Is it just me or is the PM looking shaky and uncomfortable with his lines in this propaganda video.

    I do wonder why, as it’s nothing more than a puff piece about cycling.
    • Tracey 12.1

      26 June 2015 at 2:19 pm

      cycleways, that great recession busting, job creation scheme from early 2009…
      • adam 12.1.1

        26 June 2015 at 3:27 pm

        That was what I was thinking.

        You know one of my main concerns over this – It’s a very expensive exercise for just some lines on the road…
      • Weepus beard 12.1.2

        26 June 2015 at 3:32 pm

        Yeah, this is just a relaunch of that famous and failed first policy of John Key’s. No one will remember though.
    • David H 12.2

      26 June 2015 at 3:33 pm

      A hundred Million Dollars into Urban cycleways???? from the Govt, to be matched by Local govt Thats a shit load of cash now for the creative accounting to start.
    • Hanswurst 12.3

      26 June 2015 at 4:44 pm

      Key always looks shaky and uncomfortable with his lines. He’s a disaster as an interviewee or public speaker, and nothing at all has changed there.
13. Philip Ferguson 13

    26 June 2015 at 2:37 pm

    PFLP activist on the PLO top leadership

    by Khaled Barakat

    We all know that those who monopolize the Palestine Liberation Organization deal with this most important Palestinian institution, the PLO, as if it were a private farm of the “President,” Abu Mazen, and thus what is required is loyalty and obedience to him, the owner. This is a fact that cannot be denied. We do not say anything new when we note that the Palestinian arena is not an exception, nor is it far from the reality of the Arab regimes governed by the leader, the king or the prince, considering the king to embody the people and the nation, or from the logic of King Louis XIV, who declared in 1655, “L’etat, c’est moi!” [I am the state!]

    Mimicking Louis XIV: the PLO leaders today

    This is exactly the case of Mahmoud Abbas. . .

    full at: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/06/25/palestinian-liberation-and-the-plo-a-critical-view-from-pflp-activist/
14. ianmac 14

    26 June 2015 at 3:31 pm

    I’ve been thinking. Why did Key announce the bike track funding just now? Usually he does this sort of thing to distract from unpleasant stuff. Maybe it is the detail of Sheepgate or the detail of punishment for transgressions in the Digital Communications Bill. Cynic am I!
    • Weepus beard 14.1

      26 June 2015 at 3:34 pm

      Re-announce the bike track funding do you mean? He announced it as his first item of business upon entering government.
    • Jenny Kirk 14.2

      26 June 2015 at 3:37 pm

      Ianmac @ 14 – maybe to take attention away from the prospect of TPPA going thru / ? ?
    • Anne 14.3

      26 June 2015 at 3:51 pm

      During the last two Monday press conferences (as per the TV news channels) Key appeared jaded and even stressed. It made me wonder if something was going on behind the scenes which was causing him much angst – perhaps another major scandal or irrefutable evidence about an existing scandal is about to be revealed?
      • whateva next? 14.3.1

        26 June 2015 at 5:18 pm

        when you sell your soul, you pay in the end!
    • Anne 14.4

      26 June 2015 at 3:51 pm

      During the last two Monday press conferences (as per the TV news channels) Key appeared jaded and even stressed. It made me wonder if something was going on behind the scenes which was causing him much angst – perhaps another major scandal or irrefutable evidence about an existing scandal is about to be revealed?
      • Chooky 14.4.1

        26 June 2015 at 8:46 pm

        interesting…your perceptions are usually pretty acute Anne
15. Jenny Kirk 15

    26 June 2015 at 3:40 pm

    On a totally different subject – fascinating comment from Nicky Hager on why he is an investigative journalist and how he protects his sources :

    https://overland.org.au/previous-issues/issue-219/feature-nicky-hager/

    “” If you find things that offend you and that the public has a right to know, then – with suitable care and thought – you can maybe do some good by working with a trustworthy investigative journalist to get that story told. “”
    • ianmac 15.1

      26 June 2015 at 4:43 pm

      Jenny. I am fairly sure that Nicky Hager has his day in Court re the police seizing his belongings starting this week, or is it next week?

      I guess the problem is that the “good” is in the eye of the beholder. Would Key see some good and support the public right to know re the Dirty Tricks? Or would he use his clout to block or deny its publication in some way.
      • Tracey 15.1.1

        26 June 2015 at 4:50 pm

        “public interest” has some parameters through legislation and interpretation/application of case law over the years…

        But I agree that “good” can be in the eye of the beholder but even ethics have theoretical frameworks… hence we can develop codes of conduct and code so ethics. That’s a way to measure “good” on one level.

        That is why the “reasonable man” was invented, to make it more objective than subjective.
    • Chooky 15.2

      26 June 2015 at 8:48 pm

      maybe Nicky Hager is the reason for jonkey’s stress?
16. Tracey 16

    26 June 2015 at 4:34 pm

    It seems Lecturing folks on Abstinence pays very well. Sadly abstinence doesn’t always prevent pregnancy, apparently

    http://www.inquisitr.com/2203203/bristol-palin-made-close-to-1-million-pushing-abstinence-only-policies-now-is-pregnant-with-child-no-2/

    ““There may be multiple forms of contraception, but I’m here to say that one fact remains. Those that practice abstinence have no chance of becoming pregnant,” Palin said at an appearance in 2010. “Abstinence is not about morality, it is about reality. It is the only thing that works every time. My message is a simple one: Don’t make the same decision I made, just wait. Young ladies, please hear me.”

    Her work generated a bit of controversy in 2009 when her take-home pay for Candie’s was seven times what the charity actually brought in donations.

    Forbes reported, “Apparently, the organization was only able to find $35,000 to grant to charities from the $1,242,476 donated from the public. Meanwhile, the young Ms. Palin managed to pull in a $262,500 paycheck for her role as an ambassador for their teen pregnancy prevention campaign in 2009.”

    Bristol Palin continued to rack in the earnings from her appearances, making between $15,000 and $30,000 for every speech she made advocating abstinence-only policies, which the Daily Beast estimated to total about $100,000 per year.”

    The unwed Palin is pregnant with her second child. She is not married.
    • Lanthanide 16.1

      26 June 2015 at 4:52 pm

      Nice work if you can get it.
      • Draco T Bastard 16.1.1

        26 June 2015 at 8:51 pm

        There are some people who seem to know the right people to pay them even if they don’t do a damn thing or even do the exact opposite of what they preach. They are the quintessential example of corruption.

        They tend to be rich and vote right-wing.
17. Morrissey 17

    26 June 2015 at 8:18 pm

    The spirit of Sir Paul lives on;
    This time it’s alighted in Melbourne

    An Indigenous girl who was racially abused as she lined up for a Frozen movie event in Melbourne has received a special message from her idol, Queen Elsa.

    Samara Muir, 3, of Ballarat was waiting with her mother Rachel at a Melbourne shopping centre when she was brought to tears by a series of racist comments. Ms Muir said a woman in the line remarked; “I don’t know what that girl’s getting excited about because Elsa isn’t black”. The woman’s child also said to Samara that “black is ugly”.

    Ms Muir shared her experience on social media, sparking both outrage and a massive wave of support for Samara.

    But now the three-year-old Frozen fan may just have received her most exciting message yet — a video from Queen Elsa herself. …..

    Read more….

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-26/frozen-queen-elsa-sends-support-3yo-racially-abused-melbourne/6575858

    http://thestandard.org.nz/holmes-and-other-toxic-commentators/

    http://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-17072013/#comment-664190
    • Weepus beard 17.1

      26 June 2015 at 8:51 pm

      That is uplifting.

      And so is the fact Sir Paul will not be writing any more columns. Yay!

      Although, it is a shame Hosking, Henry, and Laws are still able to.
18. Chooky 18

    26 June 2015 at 9:01 pm

    This is an amazing documentary!…almost Shakespearean…and it has lessons for the NZLP (maybe we need a similar doco on the axing of Cunliffe?)

    …also Kevin Rudd was a great Greenie on Climate Change…a world leader ( except in the wrong Party)…why didn’t the OZ Greens support him more?

    ….If only he had had the loyalty of Gillard , he could have been one of Australia’s greatest political leaders in so many ways…he was brilliant !

    ‘The Killing Season review: Ferguson’s Rudd-Gillard drama one of our great documentaries’.

    Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/the-killing-season-review-fergusons-ruddgillard-drama-one-of-our-great-documentaries-20150623-ghutkm.html#ixzz3e9mUmyZ2

    ‘The Killing Season’

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/programs/killing-season/

    THE KILLING SEASON is Sarah Ferguson’s gripping three-part examination of the forces that shaped Labor during the Kevin Rudd / Julia Gillard leadership years. It is a documentary series like no other. Visually striking, scripted like the best political dramas, The Killing Season is an enthralling account of one of the most turbulent periods of Australian political history.
    A comprehensive cast of the main players – including many of those still in parliament – speak frankly, providing a dramatic portrait of a party at war with itself.
    You can watch all three episodes of The Killing Season on ABC iview and for international viewers abc.net.au/killingseason. Available for a limited period only.

    Episode 1 – The Prime Minister and his Loyal Deputy (2006-2009)
    http://www.abc.net.au/news/programs/killing-season/episode-1/

    Episode 2 – Great Moral Challenge (2009 – 2010)
    http://www.abc.net.au/news/programs/killing-season/episode-2/

    Episode 3 – The Long Shadow (2010-2013)
    http://www.abc.net.au/news/programs/killing-season/episode-3/
19. Lorraine 19

    27 June 2015 at 2:34 am

    The shocking lies of the mayor and councillors concerning rate rises and the misuse of rate payers money.
    Rate rises up to 10% are not what was promised by the councillors when they were elected. It is unreasonable that an organisation that has a monopoly can put up rates at will to whatever level they want with no accountability for the misuse of the money they have already been paid.
    The pressure on households to pay these unreasonable amounts is enormous. How are people on fixed incomes expected to pay that. People will be forced from their homes, away from friends and families and the support systems they need. Away for hospital facilities. THAT IS NOT FAIR. Many people protested about the valuations of their homes because those values are being used to justify unreasonable rate increases. The transport levy and the other increases have only been voted in by 1 vote.
    WHAT REDRESS DO PEOPLE HAVE CONCERNING THIS BULLYING OF THE COUNCIL. They don’t even have a legal obligation to use the transport levy on public transport. It can be used for more secret rooms in Len Browns office or any other of the stupid wastefulness that this council has been known for.
    THIS COUNCIL AND THE MAYOR ARE MORALLY BANKRUPT. He is so obsessed with ensuring the rail loop will be attributed to him that he is putting the wellbeing of a huge amount of Aucklanders at risk.

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