David Seymour on foreign workers … "“There are local industries crying out for a workforce they can’t find here and workers in Pacific Island countries with very little, if any, Covid-19 crying out for work."
David, have you not heard of the free market? Supply and demand? Tell your employers to adjust their supply side to attract the demand side for the jobs – this is the nature of free market business. And if the business can't handle it then the business fails.
Free market David, free market – have you heard of it?
It looks like the Government has folded (see Stuff) but with strings attached. Companies will be required to cover the cost of managed isolation currently estimated at $4722 per person, pay the workers a minimum of $22.10 an hour and be required to pay workers for a 30-hour working week while in isolation. It now remains to sort out the usual rorts like deducting extortionate accommodation costs for 3rd world conditions. It will be interesting to see which employers prefer to engage a NZ resident workforce.
In an attempt to make that kind of work more attractive to New Zealanders, the government has offered up to $200 a week in accommodation costs, and bonuses for those who stayed in the job for six weeks or more.
Not enough. The government has treated seasonal, and semi-skilled workers as if they are pieces of equipment, to be left on a shelf and available and ready whenever required. But people lose heart and strength, literally as exercise gurus say, when not able to work regularly. Even machinery goes rusty when left on the shelf, especially in damp conditions, as has been stated about much of NZ housing.
My idea is to raise the workers' status including the parents, pay them a benefit when not required for paid jobs, give them the task of keeping fit going to the gym regularly, helping out with volunteering to keep active and engaged – then you have the people ready willing and able with a good positive attitude.
It's a big task for government to stop being shitty and negative and stand-offish to the ordinary person, but hey we are the salt of the earth and it is time the key tappers and theory modellers gave us our rightful space – the real wealth creators who do the work and the building of a nation. End of rant.
2000 migrant workers form the Islands allowed in for seasonal work.
Must be paid the living wage of 22.10 an hour. Was that ever stipulated for Kiwis? Quarantine paid for by employer, and wage paid for while in Quarantine. And the workers need to have a return ticket when arriving.
Well it seems Act is getting somewhere, NZ workers….oh well.
That living wage stipulation is hilarious. The obvious reason kiwis were deemed useless was their insistence on reasonable money.
So now the 'hard done by' employers will have to put up or shut up. This may also drive the price locals can demand for horticultural work up. See, it used to be islanders were exploited badly and too scared to stick up for themselves. Now, the government's stuck up for them.
Having islanders making some money to help themselves and folks back home, while NOT being exploited. This to me is a great change. I can't really see what the problem is. Locals can make noise or move on if the employer's shit.
Through this action New Zealand's labour government has driven down the income and prosperity of our lowest paid, and acted against the interests of the working people.
The whole situation is appalling and stinks. Make these crappy businesses meet free market conditions, as they themselves vote for and support (while it advantages them only, the hypocrites), instead of catering to their nanny state intervention crying when it disadvantages..
Bad form Labour – you need to change the name of your party to the Employers Party
Many questioning about allowing Pacific Island workers into the country.
We need to remember that those countries part of NZ past, being former colonies. Nz has a tradition of having workers from the pacific as part of financial support to the region. I am all for it that employers should be scrutinized to make sure they are not just trying to look at cost measures when asking for workers from the Pacific.
In all that, is someone looking at equal pay and conditions for NZlaenders? Having to travel 2000 or 200 KM to get to a job is actually the same in a sense when looking at rent and travel, leaving family behind.
It is true from my observation however, that a quite a number of younger people of all colors and backgrounds have neither the work ethic nor will they see things through for longer than a couple of days. Hard work in the orchards will not cut the mustard if some sit on the bum looking at a screen is preferred.
Our first settlers came from all over. At one point there was I believe back when the whalers came here more Americans than most other nationalities. As far as I know there was no particular recruitment from the various islands to NZ. There was recruitment by British business to various pacific islands – like CSR recruiting from India to Fiji. So yeah the British and French may owe some reparations to the various pacific nations as they do to us. But frankly I haven't seen the British exchequer opening it's purse for it's poor showing in enforcing the Treaty of Waitangi and refunding wealth stripped from here when we were a colony . We could ask Boris though?
Actually, I've looked up some of the details, they went to Fiji as indentured labour between 1875 and 1916. The conditions weren't pretty but they did receive some payment and could return to India (in theory) after 5-10 years. Apparently a good number did go back. The main instigators were the Governor of the colony of Fiji a Brit and the Australian owned CSR.
So the government's offered $1000 bonus for working in horticulture (longer than 6 weeks) and up to $200 per week towards accommodation costs. The only question I have as a potential worker is the stand-down period when the work dries up – does this negate any benefit?
The worker side of me approves of the improving prospects.
The sensible side of me thinks this is nuts. A handout for employers who have failed to provide their own sweeteners for local workers. A handout for landlords, again, for overpriced rentals.
Employers should be made to at least match the living wage. That rate which must now be paid to the 2000 islanders coming to work here.
WTB…a mate has for some time been on the Jobseeker benefit and has participated in occasional seasonal/casual/part time work. He has a good relationship with his case manager at the local WINZ office and so long as he keeps them informed of what work he does where for how much, he keeps his benefit but has it abated if he goes over the limit. No stand down period….be silly up here when so many jobs are seasonal.
(He has just secured a full time job…so has officially gone off the benefit…but if that job folds he does not expect a stand down.)
Archive zraid3 decided to drop a disk. Had to reboot to get it un jammed. Shut down to pull the disk. It is used as part of the immediate backup system for TS amongst other things. It was VERY slow to stop. Restarted
Drive was ok. Got another set of cables. Shutdown, updated cables and reinserted drive a bit later. Disk rejoined the array. Then dropped out some time later.
I'll pull the disk drive card later tonight and test that. I suspect that there is a heating problem there. It uses a passive radiator that is wrong way up in my case. I may need to find an exterior fan to pull heat from the stale air in that part of the case.
"Employers should be made to at least match the living wage. That rate which must now be paid to the 2000 islanders coming to work here."
I wonder how much of that living wage will end up in the workers hands….the examples of clawing back and downright extortion that already occur in the industry dosnt bode well for those actually doing the work benefiting
You think the employers will give with one hand, and take back with the other then? Could do that with accommodation etc – so they might not be out of pocket at all, or very much.
Labour needs to get a spine. When did the government decide to guarantee employers a work force of their choosing at rates that please the employer.
Imagine if individuals expected the government to supply then with a job of their choosing at a rate that suits them. Those sixty shearers where slipped in under the radar. They could train those – slower work rate at first but it would pick up.(stuff story)
However, if we have a genuine shortage then best they are from the Pacific.
But the real kicker in the story is allowing anyone who is here on a visa to apply according to some list at MSD. ( anyone know where this is? I can't find it) There was a story the other day that there are some 267000 people here on various visas. That's about 15% of the adult workforce.
A few things, Viticulture/ Horticulture export earnings are over 6 billion dollars, thats a lot of vaccines, PPE gear, cancer drugs, medical specialists, computers and all the other things that we need and demand. Overseas exchange earnings are not something that Grant can conjuror up at the click of his fingers,. Imported shit has to be paid for.
We in NZ are in the lucky position of being very good at growing very good produce, so much so that it outstrips our supply of labour to grow and pick it. Without the earnings we would be so much worse off as a country and instead of the constant complaints about what are isolated instances of bad behaviour on the part of some employers and agents just give thanks for these people who come here from less fortunate countries to increase both our well being and that of their own families and countries.
Yes the abuses are isolated, the oft quoted slavery case in HB was a family matai from the same country as what were mostly his extended family, any others complicit in it were punished.
In Marlborough at the moment the unemployment rate is in the low 2% range, a figure economists reckon is about as low as you can get, simply because there are always about that number who can't or about .5% who won't work as they turn up for 2 hours and then go home or deliberately break gear so they will be sent home to qualify as having "presented for work ". They wouldn't work in an iron lung.
At the moment a young French woman working on my place is getting $25 an hour, her mate is coming next week when the apple thinning job she is on finishes and she is currently earning $27.50 on contract. RSE workers can earn up to $35 an hour, they are rewarded for keeness and fitness. That's over at least $50,000 a year, not bad money.
I'm 71, I started at 6.30am and my cup of tea is finished so I'm back into it and I'll finish at about 7 tonight, and I do this pretty much everyday, admittedly I take a few more rests than I used to but it's called a work ethic and there are plenty of old buggers like me about here.
" give thanks for these people who come here from less fortunate countries to increase both our well being"… except that they don't increase our well being, they drive down wages.
"That's over at least $50,000 a year"… no it isn't, it is $35 /hour for a very short period. It has nothing to do with an annual salary.
"but it's called a work ethic" … please don't tell me you are one of those who think the older generations are superior to the younger generations, as Bill English so inelegantly ranted a few years back when he said "young people today are useless"… you know the ironic thing about Bill English's statement? That age group he was referring to were born into his governments, and his policies, and so are a direct result of his own actions – he caused it – good one English, ya frikkin' dickhead, thanks for nothing.
Who is the contact in Marlborough for these types of jobs. I know a couple of people who are interested. They would probably prefer a local owner over an overseas owner if there is an option. And what sort of accommodation / travel distance is involved. They are happy to camp site with limited facilities.
You are wrong. The wages are set .. minimum, living, contract etc. And now by being available for this scheme there is this new minimum benchmark of $22.
You miss the point of the whole thing, there are NO workers available, or to be correct nobody available who will work even at $30 an hour.
I'm not denigrating the young, I used to coach under 5s through to under 10s at footy ( by then they knew more than I did ) and some of those boys were pretty hardcase and constantly in trouble but the ones that put the effort in at the age at footy and even though they did a runner from school as soon as possible got themselves jobs and often in the hardest work you can think of like forestry and dairying, and now in their mid-twenties have started a family and have bought houses, even changed jobs and are builders and farm managers.
Teachers know who is going to be useless and it is only about 1 in 200, who expect others to support them with out any effort on their part. They are about all that is left of the non-working.
You sound like a perpetual complainer and one who can't count, $35 an hour is at a rate of not $50,000 a year but $72,000 and yes it may not be permanent but that suits the itinerant travellers and Uni students and others down to the ground and there are extra hours. Like all jobs, with agri work you start at a minimum rate and work your way up exactly the same as any job. Tractor operators are about $25-30 probably depending on how much gear you damage.
And what the fuck has English or any other politician got to do with those who are too lazy to get out of bed, you are a classic case of it always being somebody else's fault.
yeah nah we are kinda sailing past each other adrian… i certainly aint a perpetual complainer, but I do not like the hypocrisy of free market business people who abandon the free market principles when suits, particularly when it works to keep wages low.
wages and earnings in our country are a disgrace.
in the past, the workers share of the economic pie was a chunk greater, and it made for a much better society. Today that has been shrunk, with consequent negative effects on society
btw, english has everything to do with this issue, due to his rantings about exactly this issue as part of the last government – he was pm remember
anyway adrian, stop driving down wages in this country – it makes it harder for nzer's – you should be driving them up
push the wealth down and society strengthens and prospers
I don't think you are right on the share of the pie, VTO, a few years ago I found some grocery bills of my parents from around the time I was born, 1949-50, and you got bugger all for your money. Dad was on the standard wage for the time, about 5 quid a week at the Post Office and most people working for the Government which dominated the labour market got around that, certainly not the variation now. He always complained about how dear stuff was but I broke it down to minutes work for a loaf of bread, pound of butter etc. This was in the mid 70s as I recall and everything took about 50 to 70% more minutes to earn then than in the 70s.
VTO, I cocked that up a bit, it was a lot dearer in the early 50s by quite a bit, on reflection I was wrong on the butter, that was only about 20% dearer and as I found out later talking to the retired store owner who said that butter, milk and cheese were subsidised by the Government, which I found strange but not surprising, with the Korean War in full swing export prices were probably quite high like wool was. I would even bet that minutes worked now for basics, even butter is less than the 70s, but it would be hard to settle on a representative hourly rate. also something that didn't happen in those days much was price competition ,it all seemed to be pretty fixed.
But a huge amount of stuff then considered luxuries are just staple diet stuff now like" bought biscuits", God you were being pretty flash if you broke out the bought biscuits.
I must see if I can find the grocery bills again but she'd be a big job.
Red, there is a Regional Labour Co-Ordinator who operates out of Winz, or whatever they are called this week, 0275778440, who works in with Wine Marlborough 03 577 9299, WM will just refer you on to the RLCO.
It is hard work in vineyards in that being outside all day in Marlborough with the bloody wind and pretty hot temperatures from now on, and it's hard because it is boring and repetitious generally although not heavily physical, but cheaper than a gym because boy you will get fit if you survive the first few days, like any ag work.
There are plenty of other jobs about , just stay away from bloody Talleys. Nelson/ Motueka has a lot of fruit picking etc but all the travelling kids like to go there.
Actually no, it's not. I spent a few years when my kids were little working on a local vineyard. Pruning, thining, picking. Through out the year; we only got paid for the hours we worked of course.
What was hard and what eventually convinced me to give it up was the poor conditions we were expected to work under. No washing facilities, no toilet, we provided our own tea/coffee and sat under the grapevines at smoko and lunch. If it was raining it was truly miserable. Often we were expected to work following the tractor spraying god only knows what poison.
My fellow workers were housewives and school leavers so I just don't believe they're more unwilling to work now than they were then. Unless conditions are even worse now than they were then.
I suspect NZ school leavers are not the preferred employee. We all actually know why.
What do you pay Adrian? What if your worker is sick do you still pay them? Do you provide washing facilities, lunch room? morning and afternoon tea? What is the with hold period after spraying?
"It is hard work in vineyards " Actually no, it's not.
What so employers lie in order to keep NZer's out.
From ads for vineyard jobs in Malborough.
"Our local employer has a variety of vineyard work with immediate start available. This work involves wire dropping, shoot thinning and some development work. To be successful in this position you must have a good level of fitness as work can be physically challenging."
"Fit and keen We unfortunately have no seats left in the vans."
"To be successful, candidates must be physically fit and fine with being on their feet all day. Remuneration Details:$18.90 Per Hour
"To be successful, candidates must be able to work long hours outdoors and on their feet.$18.90 per Hour plus 8% Holiday Pay"
Doesn't feel like unfit people can get jobs or that the labour shortage has had an impact on pay rates in Malborough.
Thats the starting rate, those that are keen and fit quickly earn more. It is after all an unskilled job with no qualifications needed and most who are pushed into it by WINZ or who ever don't last more than a few days. A few hours of following someone else teaches the basics, it's not rocket science FFS , most fit kids in the school holidays earn quite good money like the one who worked for me, but then he played sport and was a tramper. Fitness is pretty much essential for any job, to expect to turn up at a job and be breathless from exertion walking from the car to the office and expecting rocket scientist wages is bloody dreaming.
Don't think anyone is expecting a rocket science salary.
"Rocket scientists in the United States make an average salary of $125,085 per year or $60.14 per hour. People on the lower end of that spectrum, the bottom 10% to be exact, make roughly $79,000 a year, while the top 10% makes $195,000."
However if the minimum starting wage is not attracting people to work, and there is not enough people to pick the apples/grapes, and the whole industry is at risk wouldn't the free enterprise market response be to lift the minimum starting wage to attract more people.
Nope the industry response is to call locals lazy bludgers, who watch TV and play computer games all day, to denigrate the very New Zealanders for years and years that they now would like to help them out, to see contract rates as the only way for an employee to earning a living income. This approach is somehow supposed to attract people to work in the industry.
Doesn't really seem to be working does it? When being a barista (which you also have a low opinion of) is a more attractive job then maybe the problem isn't the young people.
Some orchards have lifted the starting rate and some orchards who moan about losing there staff are having them pinched by other orchardists offering them more. It is one of the reasons RSE is so attractive – the workers have no freedom to go to another employer – definitely not market forces at work there.
Have you ever thought that after 15 years or so of publicly telling New Zealanders they are useless that no-one wants to work for your industry anymore?
It is a lot different, transportable loos are compulsory on remoter sites, smoko rooms are a lot more common, distancing is policed and rentry times are adhered to, the sprays are a lot more "gentle "under the Sustainable winegrowing regime we have to follow. Labour inspectors are about a lot and we have yearly compliance WineNZ checks on everything.
Some of the "housewives " that I knew 10-20 years ago have moved up the ladder into management and drive around in flash utes but it is now a serious career pathway and Polytech and Uni degrees dominate for those viticulture jobs. And all the school leavers are now serving that bloody awful coffee stuff.
We pay reasonably well, last winter I had a young neighbour , just out of school waiting for Uni to re-open after Covid who told me to stop putting his hourly rate up because he felt he would have to work faster , I told him he got more because he was doing a good job and I didn't want him to go faster as I wanted a good job, he ended up on a bit over $ 25 an hour and he set his own hours. Suited me. Most work is on Casual Agricultural for tax etc, because the bloody bureacacy for anything else requires a monthly form filling for at least 12 months even if someone only worked for a few weeks under a "permanent "regime, the pay is the same but less tax is deducted under Casual. The hard bit of vineyard work as I said is being outside, not a lot of kids can handle it, but the local ones are really good if they have been bought up on farms or playing outside etc.
That is the rate, no it may not be permanent but most permanent jobs are about $22 to $25 or $45,700 to $ 52, 000 a year, but they do require experience and capability so starting is probably minimum.
It's easy, multiply the hourly rate by 40 then by 52. If you think multiplication is bullshit then I doubt if you could get a job anywhere.
An excellent and thought provoking article in the Lon Review of Books on the Corbyn project with much of relevance here to the discerning reader, I commend people to read it!
"While the final list of attendees has yet to be determined, Newsroom understands New Zealand may be excluded over concerns it is not doing enough to reduce emissions."
“Despite Jacinda Ardern’s 2017 remarks promising to treat climate change as “this generation’s nuclear-free moment” and the Government’s intention next week to declare a climate emergency, New Zealand has one of the worst climate records of industrialised nations.”
Government (justifiably) under fire from multiple directions
Can anybody give me a good reason why – when one goes to the MSD site and clicks into jobs available one is required to register? I can think of many poor reasons. The other mainstream job sites don't ask for that. What do you think they are trying to hide?
It’s not an overly well designed website (my partner works at MSD, I’ll let her know), but you don’t have to register. Go to the job search button a bit further down or try following link:
Thanks for that. Once I had gone there I managed to get through to it through the main website but it still required quite a path to get to it. You'd think the big button labeled "find a job" would be right up front and centre in red.
The Salvation Army says the government needs to lift the core benefits for low-income families as this Christmas will be harder in light of Covid…
Policy analyst at the charity, Ronji Tanielu, said, with the end of both the original wage subsidy and the 12-week Covid income relief payment just before Christmas, many families will struggle more. His charity is expecting a 20 percent increase in demand for food and gifts in this period.
"We're going to see traditional hardship from those who normally use our services, but also new people facing hardship … probably people that were contributing to and donating to our food banks last year are probably gonna be people that need our food bank this year," he said.
Business thinking rationally about lessening waste. We want to have an economy so can't grumble about the use of plastic at present. We need engineers who can understand the problems and get alongside the various players to help keep moving in the right direction.
It was pretty clear from the introduction of the PPP bid that it was a political issue rather than a procurement issue.
What that AG was looking at was that the process didn't follow public service guidelines for the public service. I was unsurprised at the AGs prognosis because it wasn't a simple public service procurement.
Haven't read the report – just what was reported about it. That was consistent with what I'd expect.
However I do think that the political acceptance of the entry of a late bid wasn't a good idea for either political reasons (ie the PPP and skimming aspects) or for the timely delivery of a transport project.
I also have still have issues with the light rail aspects of the project itself. Tearing up Dominion road to provide commuters with a centre of the road method of transport sounds like a crap idea – and incredibly slow for getting to the airport. It is going to take years just to do that.
Whereas booting all parked cars off dominion road, putting in full time bus lanes, and changing the traffic lights along dominion road would be both faster and less of an issue (apart from the screaming shop keepers – who should be providing parking already).
Providing a rail link to the airport sounds like completely separate question – and one that would be easier being provided by with extending the heavy rail.
Light rail along Dominion Rd was only ever intended to solve the problem of not enough space at the city centre end of the route for any more buses (see https://www.greaterauckland.org.nz/?s=ccfas). It would connect all the people and places along the route, and support more intensive building there. Buses and cars would be reduced and more space given over to locals on foot and bike.
I agree it was political and the airport thing should have been treated separately. It was always a red herring, egged on by credulous Twyford.
He doubled down on the notion that the project should be about how fast someone could get all the way to the airport, hence the logic of the Canadian bid spending a fortune on putting the lines above and below ground instead of in the street where people can get to them easily. None of this is special to Auckland – plenty of examples overseas of how street-level light rail interacts with surrounding buildings and people.
The heavy rail/bus interchange to the airport at Puhinui is almost finished now. The case for a heavy rail connection to and from the airport is not good. The only reason the light rail add-on stacks up at all is because of the other places like Mangere and Onehunga it links on the way to Mt Roskill where the original line from the city centre ended in the original plans.
Where exactly on Dominion Road is the new light rail going to be running? I see pretty drawings that show the trains travelling down the middle of the road. If this is the case then how do travellers get off the train and over to the footpaths ? Especially with rows of cars travelling down the outside lanes.
I can well remember the trams in Auckland – they travelled in the middle of the road. There was a little platform on which we alighted : at busy periods of the day we had to run for our lives to get to the footpaths. In 1950 there were far fewer vehicles on the roads ; today it is nose to tail for a large chunk of the day.
Still going to be a problem even for cyclist like me. As near as I can figure it, if they put lights on them all stations on both sides, then they'd going to nearly double the number of lights for all vehicles (including bikes). Lights cause about 30-40% of my time on a bike, and I only have one – at the corner of View Road and Dominion Road.
Personally I'm looking at what I can see of it and thinking that it really isn't a great place to try to put in a dual tram line.
Yep – middle of the road. They have given a picture on what I think is the widest part of the road (and one that I cycle on most week days). Doesn't look like a lot of room to me once you stack two pedestrian, 2 bike lanes, 2 car lanes, and two tram lanes in.
I'd presume that the 13 stations on the AT design. would be some combination of steel surround and pedestrian crossing. But I haven't see a drawing of one.
I've used trams and metros in different places in the world. But Dominion Road does seem to me to be pushing it more than a bit. Getting rid of the parked cars will help free up a lot of road space. But if they still have cars and delivery trucks going down on a single lane either side they'd really need to eat into the shops on one side or another. For instance that section around Valley Road shops.
There are 13 stations – about 10 of them on dominion road.
The width of the roadway through existing town centres is a challenge, yes. Defending priority of access for walkers and cyclists over cars and trucks in those sections will be political when it progresses.
While it was a pointless, shallow, virtue signalling, slightly embarrassing (by the look on their faces) thing to do, I don't think the Black Caps are racist, or condone violence.
They had to ask the other team whether they would do it as well before announcing it. So I think we can guess how much it meant to them.
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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, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
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 ...
Pacific Media Watch Earthwise hosts Lois and Martin Griffiths. Earthwise presenters Lois and Martin Griffiths on Plains FM 96.9 community radio talk to Dr David Robie, a New Zealand author, independent journalist and media educator with a passion for the Asia-Pacific region. David talks about the struggle to raise awareness ...
Pacific Media Watch Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was held for 12 hours at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, says Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian journalists at the facility and made them kneel on the ground for hours, while naked and blindfolded. “The occupation forces handcuffed and blindfolded us ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Wood, Program Director, Energy, Grattan Institute chinasong, Shutterstock Electricity customers in four Australian states can breathe a sigh of relief. After two years in a row of 20% price increases, power prices have finally stabilised. In many places they’re ...
Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Martin, Visiting Fellow, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University Shutterstock Why are musicians so keen to get played on the radio? It can’t be because of the money. In Australia they are paid at rates so low they ...
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David Seymour on foreign workers … "“There are local industries crying out for a workforce they can’t find here and workers in Pacific Island countries with very little, if any, Covid-19 crying out for work."
David, have you not heard of the free market? Supply and demand? Tell your employers to adjust their supply side to attract the demand side for the jobs – this is the nature of free market business. And if the business can't handle it then the business fails.
Free market David, free market – have you heard of it?
It looks like the Government has folded (see Stuff) but with strings attached. Companies will be required to cover the cost of managed isolation currently estimated at $4722 per person, pay the workers a minimum of $22.10 an hour and be required to pay workers for a 30-hour working week while in isolation. It now remains to sort out the usual rorts like deducting extortionate accommodation costs for 3rd world conditions. It will be interesting to see which employers prefer to engage a NZ resident workforce.
So each worker will cost about $5400 before any work done.
I wonder is they offered say $4000 to NZ workers to come and work is that would attract NZers?
More public subsidising of these private businesses.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/431563/government-s-seasonal-workers-move-not-enough-but-a-good-start
Oops
I was meaning the $4000 offer should be by the fruit industry, not the govt.
You'd think, eh.
@dv..Good point/question..!
Not enough. The government has treated seasonal, and semi-skilled workers as if they are pieces of equipment, to be left on a shelf and available and ready whenever required. But people lose heart and strength, literally as exercise gurus say, when not able to work regularly. Even machinery goes rusty when left on the shelf, especially in damp conditions, as has been stated about much of NZ housing.
My idea is to raise the workers' status including the parents, pay them a benefit when not required for paid jobs, give them the task of keeping fit going to the gym regularly, helping out with volunteering to keep active and engaged – then you have the people ready willing and able with a good positive attitude.
It's a big task for government to stop being shitty and negative and stand-offish to the ordinary person, but hey we are the salt of the earth and it is time the key tappers and theory modellers gave us our rightful space – the real wealth creators who do the work and the building of a nation. End of rant.
Headline in the Herald,
2000 migrant workers form the Islands allowed in for seasonal work.
Must be paid the living wage of 22.10 an hour. Was that ever stipulated for Kiwis? Quarantine paid for by employer, and wage paid for while in Quarantine. And the workers need to have a return ticket when arriving.
Well it seems Act is getting somewhere, NZ workers….oh well.
That living wage stipulation is hilarious. The obvious reason kiwis were deemed useless was their insistence on reasonable money.
So now the 'hard done by' employers will have to put up or shut up. This may also drive the price locals can demand for horticultural work up. See, it used to be islanders were exploited badly and too scared to stick up for themselves. Now, the government's stuck up for them.
Having islanders making some money to help themselves and folks back home, while NOT being exploited. This to me is a great change. I can't really see what the problem is. Locals can make noise or move on if the employer's shit.
Through this action New Zealand's labour government has driven down the income and prosperity of our lowest paid, and acted against the interests of the working people.
The whole situation is appalling and stinks. Make these crappy businesses meet free market conditions, as they themselves vote for and support (while it advantages them only, the hypocrites), instead of catering to their nanny state intervention crying when it disadvantages..
Bad form Labour – you need to change the name of your party to the Employers Party
Bad
Bad
Bad
Jacinda is a chicken when confronting the forces of so-called capitalism- book book – it will be her downfall
"Bad form Labour – you need to change the name of your party to "…
National Too?
Well it seems Act is getting somewhere, NZ workers….oh well.
If ACT mps were treated as RSE workers,their airfares and wellington accommodation would be deducted from their wages.
Poission 💡
vto, please provide a link when you quote something like that.
Many questioning about allowing Pacific Island workers into the country.
We need to remember that those countries part of NZ past, being former colonies. Nz has a tradition of having workers from the pacific as part of financial support to the region. I am all for it that employers should be scrutinized to make sure they are not just trying to look at cost measures when asking for workers from the Pacific.
In all that, is someone looking at equal pay and conditions for NZlaenders? Having to travel 2000 or 200 KM to get to a job is actually the same in a sense when looking at rent and travel, leaving family behind.
It is true from my observation however, that a quite a number of younger people of all colors and backgrounds have neither the work ethic nor will they see things through for longer than a couple of days. Hard work in the orchards will not cut the mustard if some sit on the bum looking at a screen is preferred.
I don't think most of the Pacific were our colonies. Britain's maybe.
Weren't the Colonial British the first European settlers here in NZ? Labor was recruited in the region as far back as 1870's.
Our first settlers came from all over. At one point there was I believe back when the whalers came here more Americans than most other nationalities. As far as I know there was no particular recruitment from the various islands to NZ. There was recruitment by British business to various pacific islands – like CSR recruiting from India to Fiji. So yeah the British and French may owe some reparations to the various pacific nations as they do to us. But frankly I haven't seen the British exchequer opening it's purse for it's poor showing in enforcing the Treaty of Waitangi and refunding wealth stripped from here when we were a colony . We could ask Boris though?
By 'recruited' do you mean blackbirding/kidnapping/slavery..?
Actually, I've looked up some of the details, they went to Fiji as indentured labour between 1875 and 1916. The conditions weren't pretty but they did receive some payment and could return to India (in theory) after 5-10 years. Apparently a good number did go back. The main instigators were the Governor of the colony of Fiji a Brit and the Australian owned CSR.
Lost you for a while there TS.
So the government's offered $1000 bonus for working in horticulture (longer than 6 weeks) and up to $200 per week towards accommodation costs. The only question I have as a potential worker is the stand-down period when the work dries up – does this negate any benefit?
The worker side of me approves of the improving prospects.
The sensible side of me thinks this is nuts. A handout for employers who have failed to provide their own sweeteners for local workers. A handout for landlords, again, for overpriced rentals.
Employers should be made to at least match the living wage. That rate which must now be paid to the 2000 islanders coming to work here.
WTB…a mate has for some time been on the Jobseeker benefit and has participated in occasional seasonal/casual/part time work. He has a good relationship with his case manager at the local WINZ office and so long as he keeps them informed of what work he does where for how much, he keeps his benefit but has it abated if he goes over the limit. No stand down period….be silly up here when so many jobs are seasonal.
(He has just secured a full time job…so has officially gone off the benefit…but if that job folds he does not expect a stand down.)
Archive zraid3 decided to drop a disk. Had to reboot to get it un jammed. Shut down to pull the disk. It is used as part of the immediate backup system for TS amongst other things. It was VERY slow to stop. Restarted
Drive was ok. Got another set of cables. Shutdown, updated cables and reinserted drive a bit later. Disk rejoined the array. Then dropped out some time later.
I'll pull the disk drive card later tonight and test that. I suspect that there is a heating problem there. It uses a passive radiator that is wrong way up in my case. I may need to find an exterior fan to pull heat from the stale air in that part of the case.
"Employers should be made to at least match the living wage. That rate which must now be paid to the 2000 islanders coming to work here."
I wonder how much of that living wage will end up in the workers hands….the examples of clawing back and downright extortion that already occur in the industry dosnt bode well for those actually doing the work benefiting
You think the employers will give with one hand, and take back with the other then? Could do that with accommodation etc – so they might not be out of pocket at all, or very much.
Employers, agents whoever…theres plenty of scope and history that indicates rorts of various types
Labour needs to get a spine. When did the government decide to guarantee employers a work force of their choosing at rates that please the employer.
Imagine if individuals expected the government to supply then with a job of their choosing at a rate that suits them. Those sixty shearers where slipped in under the radar. They could train those – slower work rate at first but it would pick up.(stuff story)
However, if we have a genuine shortage then best they are from the Pacific.
But the real kicker in the story is allowing anyone who is here on a visa to apply according to some list at MSD. ( anyone know where this is? I can't find it) There was a story the other day that there are some 267000 people here on various visas. That's about 15% of the adult workforce.
Dont think there has been any evidence of spine…none of these problems are new or unknown and this is their 4th year in charge
After watching Ibrahim Omer deliver his maiden speech this morning, I thought union membership should be an employment condition.
A few things, Viticulture/ Horticulture export earnings are over 6 billion dollars, thats a lot of vaccines, PPE gear, cancer drugs, medical specialists, computers and all the other things that we need and demand. Overseas exchange earnings are not something that Grant can conjuror up at the click of his fingers,. Imported shit has to be paid for.
We in NZ are in the lucky position of being very good at growing very good produce, so much so that it outstrips our supply of labour to grow and pick it. Without the earnings we would be so much worse off as a country and instead of the constant complaints about what are isolated instances of bad behaviour on the part of some employers and agents just give thanks for these people who come here from less fortunate countries to increase both our well being and that of their own families and countries.
Yes the abuses are isolated, the oft quoted slavery case in HB was a family matai from the same country as what were mostly his extended family, any others complicit in it were punished.
In Marlborough at the moment the unemployment rate is in the low 2% range, a figure economists reckon is about as low as you can get, simply because there are always about that number who can't or about .5% who won't work as they turn up for 2 hours and then go home or deliberately break gear so they will be sent home to qualify as having "presented for work ". They wouldn't work in an iron lung.
At the moment a young French woman working on my place is getting $25 an hour, her mate is coming next week when the apple thinning job she is on finishes and she is currently earning $27.50 on contract. RSE workers can earn up to $35 an hour, they are rewarded for keeness and fitness. That's over at least $50,000 a year, not bad money.
I'm 71, I started at 6.30am and my cup of tea is finished so I'm back into it and I'll finish at about 7 tonight, and I do this pretty much everyday, admittedly I take a few more rests than I used to but it's called a work ethic and there are plenty of old buggers like me about here.
" give thanks for these people who come here from less fortunate countries to increase both our well being"… except that they don't increase our well being, they drive down wages.
"That's over at least $50,000 a year"… no it isn't, it is $35 /hour for a very short period. It has nothing to do with an annual salary.
"but it's called a work ethic" … please don't tell me you are one of those who think the older generations are superior to the younger generations, as Bill English so inelegantly ranted a few years back when he said "young people today are useless"… you know the ironic thing about Bill English's statement? That age group he was referring to were born into his governments, and his policies, and so are a direct result of his own actions – he caused it – good one English, ya frikkin' dickhead, thanks for nothing.
vto
Who is the contact in Marlborough for these types of jobs. I know a couple of people who are interested. They would probably prefer a local owner over an overseas owner if there is an option. And what sort of accommodation / travel distance is involved. They are happy to camp site with limited facilities.
You are wrong. The wages are set .. minimum, living, contract etc. And now by being available for this scheme there is this new minimum benchmark of $22.
You miss the point of the whole thing, there are NO workers available, or to be correct nobody available who will work even at $30 an hour.
I'm not denigrating the young, I used to coach under 5s through to under 10s at footy ( by then they knew more than I did ) and some of those boys were pretty hardcase and constantly in trouble but the ones that put the effort in at the age at footy and even though they did a runner from school as soon as possible got themselves jobs and often in the hardest work you can think of like forestry and dairying, and now in their mid-twenties have started a family and have bought houses, even changed jobs and are builders and farm managers.
Teachers know who is going to be useless and it is only about 1 in 200, who expect others to support them with out any effort on their part. They are about all that is left of the non-working.
You sound like a perpetual complainer and one who can't count, $35 an hour is at a rate of not $50,000 a year but $72,000 and yes it may not be permanent but that suits the itinerant travellers and Uni students and others down to the ground and there are extra hours. Like all jobs, with agri work you start at a minimum rate and work your way up exactly the same as any job. Tractor operators are about $25-30 probably depending on how much gear you damage.
And what the fuck has English or any other politician got to do with those who are too lazy to get out of bed, you are a classic case of it always being somebody else's fault.
Err I think this is for VTO.
I can't see the references for contacts for jobs in Marlborough. Surely there is at least on job agency matching workers and jobs.
sorry, Red.
yeah nah we are kinda sailing past each other adrian… i certainly aint a perpetual complainer, but I do not like the hypocrisy of free market business people who abandon the free market principles when suits, particularly when it works to keep wages low.
wages and earnings in our country are a disgrace.
in the past, the workers share of the economic pie was a chunk greater, and it made for a much better society. Today that has been shrunk, with consequent negative effects on society
btw, english has everything to do with this issue, due to his rantings about exactly this issue as part of the last government – he was pm remember
anyway adrian, stop driving down wages in this country – it makes it harder for nzer's – you should be driving them up
push the wealth down and society strengthens and prospers
push the wealth up and society weakens and fails
I don't think you are right on the share of the pie, VTO, a few years ago I found some grocery bills of my parents from around the time I was born, 1949-50, and you got bugger all for your money. Dad was on the standard wage for the time, about 5 quid a week at the Post Office and most people working for the Government which dominated the labour market got around that, certainly not the variation now. He always complained about how dear stuff was but I broke it down to minutes work for a loaf of bread, pound of butter etc. This was in the mid 70s as I recall and everything took about 50 to 70% more minutes to earn then than in the 70s.
VTO, I cocked that up a bit, it was a lot dearer in the early 50s by quite a bit, on reflection I was wrong on the butter, that was only about 20% dearer and as I found out later talking to the retired store owner who said that butter, milk and cheese were subsidised by the Government, which I found strange but not surprising, with the Korean War in full swing export prices were probably quite high like wool was. I would even bet that minutes worked now for basics, even butter is less than the 70s, but it would be hard to settle on a representative hourly rate. also something that didn't happen in those days much was price competition ,it all seemed to be pretty fixed.
But a huge amount of stuff then considered luxuries are just staple diet stuff now like" bought biscuits", God you were being pretty flash if you broke out the bought biscuits.
I must see if I can find the grocery bills again but she'd be a big job.
Red, there is a Regional Labour Co-Ordinator who operates out of Winz, or whatever they are called this week, 0275778440, who works in with Wine Marlborough 03 577 9299, WM will just refer you on to the RLCO.
It is hard work in vineyards in that being outside all day in Marlborough with the bloody wind and pretty hot temperatures from now on, and it's hard because it is boring and repetitious generally although not heavily physical, but cheaper than a gym because boy you will get fit if you survive the first few days, like any ag work.
There are plenty of other jobs about , just stay away from bloody Talleys. Nelson/ Motueka has a lot of fruit picking etc but all the travelling kids like to go there.
Good luck.
"It is hard work in vineyards "
Actually no, it's not. I spent a few years when my kids were little working on a local vineyard. Pruning, thining, picking. Through out the year; we only got paid for the hours we worked of course.
What was hard and what eventually convinced me to give it up was the poor conditions we were expected to work under. No washing facilities, no toilet, we provided our own tea/coffee and sat under the grapevines at smoko and lunch. If it was raining it was truly miserable. Often we were expected to work following the tractor spraying god only knows what poison.
My fellow workers were housewives and school leavers so I just don't believe they're more unwilling to work now than they were then. Unless conditions are even worse now than they were then.
I suspect NZ school leavers are not the preferred employee. We all actually know why.
What do you pay Adrian? What if your worker is sick do you still pay them? Do you provide washing facilities, lunch room? morning and afternoon tea? What is the with hold period after spraying?
"It is hard work in vineyards " Actually no, it's not.
What so employers lie in order to keep NZer's out.
From ads for vineyard jobs in Malborough.
"Our local employer has a variety of vineyard work with immediate start available. This work involves wire dropping, shoot thinning and some development work. To be successful in this position you must have a good level of fitness as work can be physically challenging."
"Fit and keen We unfortunately have no seats left in the vans."
"To be successful, candidates must be physically fit and fine with being on their feet all day. Remuneration Details:$18.90 Per Hour
"To be successful, candidates must be able to work long hours outdoors and on their feet.$18.90 per Hour plus 8% Holiday Pay"
Doesn't feel like unfit people can get jobs or that the labour shortage has had an impact on pay rates in Malborough.
Thats the starting rate, those that are keen and fit quickly earn more. It is after all an unskilled job with no qualifications needed and most who are pushed into it by WINZ or who ever don't last more than a few days. A few hours of following someone else teaches the basics, it's not rocket science FFS , most fit kids in the school holidays earn quite good money like the one who worked for me, but then he played sport and was a tramper. Fitness is pretty much essential for any job, to expect to turn up at a job and be breathless from exertion walking from the car to the office and expecting rocket scientist wages is bloody dreaming.
Don't think anyone is expecting a rocket science salary.
"Rocket scientists in the United States make an average salary of $125,085 per year or $60.14 per hour. People on the lower end of that spectrum, the bottom 10% to be exact, make roughly $79,000 a year, while the top 10% makes $195,000."
https://www.zippia.com/rocket-scientist-jobs/salary/?survey=039&survey_step=step1&oneTapSurvey=true&src=survey-core-prompt
However if the minimum starting wage is not attracting people to work, and there is not enough people to pick the apples/grapes, and the whole industry is at risk wouldn't the free enterprise market response be to lift the minimum starting wage to attract more people.
Nope the industry response is to call locals lazy bludgers, who watch TV and play computer games all day, to denigrate the very New Zealanders for years and years that they now would like to help them out, to see contract rates as the only way for an employee to earning a living income. This approach is somehow supposed to attract people to work in the industry.
Doesn't really seem to be working does it? When being a barista (which you also have a low opinion of) is a more attractive job then maybe the problem isn't the young people.
Some orchards have lifted the starting rate and some orchards who moan about losing there staff are having them pinched by other orchardists offering them more. It is one of the reasons RSE is so attractive – the workers have no freedom to go to another employer – definitely not market forces at work there.
Have you ever thought that after 15 years or so of publicly telling New Zealanders they are useless that no-one wants to work for your industry anymore?
It is a lot different, transportable loos are compulsory on remoter sites, smoko rooms are a lot more common, distancing is policed and rentry times are adhered to, the sprays are a lot more "gentle "under the Sustainable winegrowing regime we have to follow. Labour inspectors are about a lot and we have yearly compliance WineNZ checks on everything.
Some of the "housewives " that I knew 10-20 years ago have moved up the ladder into management and drive around in flash utes but it is now a serious career pathway and Polytech and Uni degrees dominate for those viticulture jobs. And all the school leavers are now serving that bloody awful coffee stuff.
We pay reasonably well, last winter I had a young neighbour , just out of school waiting for Uni to re-open after Covid who told me to stop putting his hourly rate up because he felt he would have to work faster , I told him he got more because he was doing a good job and I didn't want him to go faster as I wanted a good job, he ended up on a bit over $ 25 an hour and he set his own hours. Suited me. Most work is on Casual Agricultural for tax etc, because the bloody bureacacy for anything else requires a monthly form filling for at least 12 months even if someone only worked for a few weeks under a "permanent "regime, the pay is the same but less tax is deducted under Casual. The hard bit of vineyard work as I said is being outside, not a lot of kids can handle it, but the local ones are really good if they have been bought up on farms or playing outside etc.
" That's over at least $50,000 a year"
Utter bullshit. Who do you think you're fooling.
$35 an hour is $1400 a week or $72,800 a year.
That is the rate, no it may not be permanent but most permanent jobs are about $22 to $25 or $45,700 to $ 52, 000 a year, but they do require experience and capability so starting is probably minimum.
It's easy, multiply the hourly rate by 40 then by 52. If you think multiplication is bullshit then I doubt if you could get a job anywhere.
Stop digging Adrian
Are these casual $ an hour or part-time?
Good health to you Adrian. Still able to work at 71 well done.
An excellent and thought provoking article in the Lon Review of Books on the Corbyn project with much of relevance here to the discerning reader, I commend people to read it!
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v42/n23/james-butler/failed-vocation
"While the final list of attendees has yet to be determined, Newsroom understands New Zealand may be excluded over concerns it is not doing enough to reduce emissions."
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/nz-may-be-excluded-from-climate-leaders-summit
“Despite Jacinda Ardern’s 2017 remarks promising to treat climate change as “this generation’s nuclear-free moment” and the Government’s intention next week to declare a climate emergency, New Zealand has one of the worst climate records of industrialised nations.”
Government (justifiably) under fire from multiple directions
Can anybody give me a good reason why – when one goes to the MSD site and clicks into jobs available one is required to register? I can think of many poor reasons. The other mainstream job sites don't ask for that. What do you think they are trying to hide?
@RedBaronCV
It’s not an overly well designed website (my partner works at MSD, I’ll let her know), but you don’t have to register. Go to the job search button a bit further down or try following link:
https://job-bank.workandincome.govt.nz/find-a-job/search.aspx
Thanks for that. Once I had gone there I managed to get through to it through the main website but it still required quite a path to get to it. You'd think the big button labeled "find a job" would be right up front and centre in red.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/431561/salvation-army-report-finds-social-needs-increasing-in-all-areas
The Salvation Army says the government needs to lift the core benefits for low-income families as this Christmas will be harder in light of Covid…
Policy analyst at the charity, Ronji Tanielu, said, with the end of both the original wage subsidy and the 12-week Covid income relief payment just before Christmas, many families will struggle more. His charity is expecting a 20 percent increase in demand for food and gifts in this period.
"We're going to see traditional hardship from those who normally use our services, but also new people facing hardship … probably people that were contributing to and donating to our food banks last year are probably gonna be people that need our food bank this year," he said.
Business thinking rationally about lessening waste. We want to have an economy so can't grumble about the use of plastic at present. We need engineers who can understand the problems and get alongside the various players to help keep moving in the right direction.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/431589/restrictions-stymie-re-use-of-industrial-purpose-plastic-bags
Anyone seen the Auditor General's report into the light rail procurement?
Its a slammer.
It’s an open-and-shut case.
You sure you're not being railroaded??
"right front wheel, right front wheel."
It was pretty clear from the introduction of the PPP bid that it was a political issue rather than a procurement issue.
What that AG was looking at was that the process didn't follow public service guidelines for the public service. I was unsurprised at the AGs prognosis because it wasn't a simple public service procurement.
Haven't read the report – just what was reported about it. That was consistent with what I'd expect.
However I do think that the political acceptance of the entry of a late bid wasn't a good idea for either political reasons (ie the PPP and skimming aspects) or for the timely delivery of a transport project.
I also have still have issues with the light rail aspects of the project itself. Tearing up Dominion road to provide commuters with a centre of the road method of transport sounds like a crap idea – and incredibly slow for getting to the airport. It is going to take years just to do that.
Whereas booting all parked cars off dominion road, putting in full time bus lanes, and changing the traffic lights along dominion road would be both faster and less of an issue (apart from the screaming shop keepers – who should be providing parking already).
Providing a rail link to the airport sounds like completely separate question – and one that would be easier being provided by with extending the heavy rail.
Light rail along Dominion Rd was only ever intended to solve the problem of not enough space at the city centre end of the route for any more buses (see https://www.greaterauckland.org.nz/?s=ccfas). It would connect all the people and places along the route, and support more intensive building there. Buses and cars would be reduced and more space given over to locals on foot and bike.
I agree it was political and the airport thing should have been treated separately. It was always a red herring, egged on by credulous Twyford.
He doubled down on the notion that the project should be about how fast someone could get all the way to the airport, hence the logic of the Canadian bid spending a fortune on putting the lines above and below ground instead of in the street where people can get to them easily. None of this is special to Auckland – plenty of examples overseas of how street-level light rail interacts with surrounding buildings and people.
The heavy rail/bus interchange to the airport at Puhinui is almost finished now. The case for a heavy rail connection to and from the airport is not good. The only reason the light rail add-on stacks up at all is because of the other places like Mangere and Onehunga it links on the way to Mt Roskill where the original line from the city centre ended in the original plans.
Where exactly on Dominion Road is the new light rail going to be running? I see pretty drawings that show the trains travelling down the middle of the road. If this is the case then how do travellers get off the train and over to the footpaths ? Especially with rows of cars travelling down the outside lanes.
I can well remember the trams in Auckland – they travelled in the middle of the road. There was a little platform on which we alighted : at busy periods of the day we had to run for our lives to get to the footpaths. In 1950 there were far fewer vehicles on the roads ; today it is nose to tail for a large chunk of the day.
There will be traffic lights.
Still going to be a problem even for cyclist like me. As near as I can figure it, if they put lights on them all stations on both sides, then they'd going to nearly double the number of lights for all vehicles (including bikes). Lights cause about 30-40% of my time on a bike, and I only have one – at the corner of View Road and Dominion Road.
Personally I'm looking at what I can see of it and thinking that it really isn't a great place to try to put in a dual tram line.
Yep – middle of the road. They have given a picture on what I think is the widest part of the road (and one that I cycle on most week days). Doesn't look like a lot of room to me once you stack two pedestrian, 2 bike lanes, 2 car lanes, and two tram lanes in.
https://www.railway-technology.com/projects/auckland-light-rail-project/
I'd presume that the 13 stations on the AT design. would be some combination of steel surround and pedestrian crossing. But I haven't see a drawing of one.
I've used trams and metros in different places in the world. But Dominion Road does seem to me to be pushing it more than a bit. Getting rid of the parked cars will help free up a lot of road space. But if they still have cars and delivery trucks going down on a single lane either side they'd really need to eat into the shops on one side or another. For instance that section around Valley Road shops.
There are 13 stations – about 10 of them on dominion road.
https://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/media/18257/dom-road-mrt-2.pdf
The width of the roadway through existing town centres is a challenge, yes. Defending priority of access for walkers and cyclists over cars and trucks in those sections will be political when it progresses.
Found this useful GA post too: https://www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2018/12/06/a-brief-history-of-the-light-rail-project/
The report – full text on this page: https://oag.parliament.nz/2020/auckland-light-rail
TV 1 and NZ cricket have obviously got the message. Lets all kneel and pay homage to a racist, violent, extreme left, bunch of thugs.
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
While it was a pointless, shallow, virtue signalling, slightly embarrassing (by the look on their faces) thing to do, I don't think the Black Caps are racist, or condone violence.
They had to ask the other team whether they would do it as well before announcing it. So I think we can guess how much it meant to them.