While the Herald online has been foregrounding pro JK & Blinglish articles since the budget (held at the top of the main page), there’s been plenty of articles online being highly critical of the budge (though not always in such a prominent position).
Even the usual right-leaning online polls haven’t been that into the budget.
And yet…..
On Planet BS, in an article this morning Blinglish (kiddie piggy-bank thief), is coming on all positive about “romping in the next election”
Finance Minister Bill English believes National will romp home for a third term.
Addressing about 500 delegates at the National Party’s northern regional convention in Auckland yesterday, the Finance Minister spoke of the confidence New Zealanders had in the Prime Minister and the country.
[…]
The first was to maintain public trust by continuing to deliver on the party’s promises and not bringing in unexpected large-scale changes.
He said the public had learned to trust the instincts of Prime Minister John Key.
[…]
Second was a need to maintain a “relentless focus on the economy and everything that we can realistically do to improve growth”.
[…]
His third point was about getting good results from the public service. English said one of the striking aspects of reaction to Thursday’s “sensible budget in uncertain times”was that many of the usually vociferous public-service groups had been “remarkably absent” from political discussion.
[…]
He said John Key was the best Prime Minister in a generation at articulating that confidence.
Meanwhile, Bernard Hickey’s article today is less glowing:
But, on Thursday, sitting in the Budget lockup listening to Bill English, I realised I was hearing essentially the same thing for the fourth year in a row. I was hearing a politician repeating the same forecasts about a rebound in economic growth solving the Government’s problems.
Yet, for the past four years, growth hasn’t solved the Government’s problems because there hasn’t been enough of it.
[…]
Then a sickening feeling hit me and I think it’s beginning to seep into the bones of consumers, businesses and, ultimately, voters. It’s different this time.
Maybe our economy and the global economy will never get back to “normal”.
[…]
Something is broken, and it still hasn’t really sunk through into the economic models and thinking of bureaucrats and politicians in the developed world, who are still forecasting that their economies will bounce back to pre-2008 averages.
[…]
I wonder how long it will be before the Energiser bunnies at our Treasury stop bouncing and the politicians stop repeating the same prescriptions while expecting a different result.
His third point was about getting good results from the public service. English said one of the striking aspects of reaction to Thursday’s “sensible budget in uncertain times”was that many of the usually vociferous public-service groups had been “remarkably absent” from political discussion.
Just because the media hasn’t picked up on their criticisms, and included them in the “political discussion”, doesn’t mean they have been quiet:
The National-led government’s fourth Budget is simply a money go-round which will deliver more pain for no gain, according to the Public Service Association.
[…]
Already 2500 public sector jobs have been lost, resulting in reduced services to the public and the situation is set to worsen as $1 billion dollars will be slashed from departmental budgets this year.
Brenda Pilott says that will result in public services being rundown further while demand will only increase.
“We’re already seeing the scaling down of our diplomatic presence overseas, border security compromised, prescription charges rising, police and defence personnel numbers cut, staffing slashed in a number of regional government offices such as IRD, ACC, Housing and DOC, cuts to community and health services, and vital frontline staff who offer personalised help being replaced by dysfunctional 0800 numbers.”
“None of this equates to better public services. Cuts to public services might make the government’s balance sheet look better in the short term, but they actually strip New Zealand of capacity and end up costing more in the long run economically and socially,” she says.
Soooo…. just more from Blinglish on Planet BS, then.
Ian,English has had a vision as NZ is losing 53k p.a. to Aust this depopulation will result in fewer children being educated here so we will require fewer teachers. English has got the correct answer but doesn’t understand the question 😉
Ha Ha! When it was just suggested on The Nation that Greens are “making all the running” with new kinds of policies, Parker said he disagrees He used as an example Labour’s policy for Capital Gains Tax. Wasn’t that Green Party policy long before Labour picked it up?
Hard to say, Carol. A quick google search found both parties talking about CGT in May and June 2011, but Labour seems to be the first to put out a detailed proposal, including a 15% rate. The Greens then endorsed Labour’s position, with some reservations.
Eleven years ago, in 2001, the Green Party pushed for a CGT to be investigated and looked at favourably. Their official party policy at the time did not support a CGT.
The speech by Rod Donald (CV’s link) doesn’t actually claim that a CGT had officially become Green Party policy. Rather that he – and the Green Party as a whole – believed a CGT would be a good thing. That’s my understanding of the speech anyway. In other words it was, what could be termed ‘unofficial Green Party policy’.
I can tell you the situation in the Labour Party was exactly the same. Labour has known for as long as the Greens that a CGT was an essential economic tool, but until recently it never became official Labour Party policy.
Why?
Let me quote a former senior and experienced Labour politician (long since retired) back in the early 1980s – and no, he wasn’t part of the neo liberal set. He said it’s no use introducing anything too radical (and back then a CGT was radical) until the rest of the population catches up with us. To do so is to invite an electoral backlash that will ensure we never become the govt. He went on to say that Labour just has to be patient and wait until the rest of the country catches up.
They are finally catching up, and both Labour and the Greens are commited to an official CGT policy.
That last bit of your comment is just fudging the issue, Anne. Greens were positively advocating for a Capital Gains Tax long before Labour (whatever their reasons for not doing so).
In my search to confirm this, I found a parliamentary speech by Jeanette Fitzsimons, dated 25 May 2006, where she is advocating strongly for a Capital Gains Tax and asks for it to be investigated. She says the Greens hadn’t done this because they don’t have the resources to do it:
The Green Party position is not, at this stage, a final policy on capital gains tax, because to finalise such a policy would involve a lot of work that the resources of six MPs cannot do. We need a Government department to do a proper investigation of what that would involve. We note we are almost the only OECD country that does not tax capital gains on a broad basis—Australia, the United States, and most of the OECD do so. Therefore, to do so would not, at first sight, bring about the end of Western civilisation.
Shane Gallagher Green candidate for Dunedin South in 2008 claimed that a Capital Gains Tax was Green policy:
Our policy is to have a comprehensive capital gains tax on inflation-adjusted capital gains at the time the capital gains are realised (ie a realisation-based capital gains tax). Any capital gains tax must apply to assets in NZ that are purchased and sold by people living overseas as well as assets sold or purchased by NZ residents. We support a blanket exemption for the family home from any capital gains tax when it is introduced. In addition, we support treating taxable real capital gains as income for tax rate purposes and investigate mechanisms to allow the income from capital gains to be spread over several years for New Zealand residents.
No attempt to fudge the issue Carol. I remember the long discussions about a CGT at Labour Regional and Anuual Conference workshops, going back for more than a decade. However I do accept they took place behind closed doors where the media was not allowed to go. Its a matter of fact that a political party in power (the dominant one in particular) have less flexibility when it comes to openly talking about contentious subjects – at least until the rest of the population starts to catch up. That is one luxury afforded to non-government parties, and the Greens (good on them) took advantage of it.
Oh.. Took advantage? Really that’s stretching it. Being a small party has it’s disadvantages in promoting policy.
All number of things are discussed “behind closed doors” in parties.
The fact remains, The Greens were “making the running” publicly (which was what the question to Parker was asked on The Nation) about Capital Gains Tax, long before Labour publicly espoused it. So Parker chose the wrong issue to use in response to the question.
Being a small party has it’s disadvantages in promoting policy.
Yes, it can. But on other occasions it can be a plus – such as promoting a contentious issue where the main governing party has to be careful what they say. That was particularly true for Labour with a corrupt National opposition (see The Hollow Men), and a hostile media who bought into the nasty Nat. memes.
In case you misunderstand me Carol, I’m not playing some political game of one-upmanship. I merely pointed out Labour was talking about it for a long time too – not just the Greens. I have a huge amount of respect for the Greens and am very impressed with the 2011 intake. I hope Labour and the Greens are able to from a coalition govt. in 2014 – or earlier. This country desperately needs them both!
God save NZ here in gods zone. On Q&A English had no answers and Parker thinks cgt will save NZ, and NZ will continue to see the results in 1 way airline tickets being purchased, and the continuation of current accout deficits.
One thing CGT is guaranteed to do is push rents further up, any extra tax it pulls in will just get spent again in accommodation benefits. When every player in a market faces the same increase in costs they all put their prices up.
Labour never seem to think their fanciful ideas through to a natural conclusion do they. A CGT needs to be matched with an increase in housing stock to reduce the demand for rentals.
One thing CGT is guaranteed to do is push rents further up
Bull shit. No CGT is paid unless a rental property is sold on for a profit. Explain to me why a landlord pays income tax on the rental income they earn, but currently zero tax on profit from selling a rental property.
I agree though that Labour needs to recommit to the mass provision of socialised housing.
Capital gain makes up a significant part of the return on investment of a rental property, rents alone don’t bring in enough. Add a tax to it and you reduce the return, rents will go up to recover the loss. That’s the way the market works.
If there’s a loss on the property, there won’t be any capital gains tax to be paid. So no worries.
And if the landlord raises rents to generate more rental earnings, they get taxed more on that. So no net gain mate. That’s how the market works.
And once the Government gets back into providing socialised housing for cheap, and clamping down on easy credit, there won’t be any capital gains from property speculation full stop.
That’s called thinking through the problem mate, isn’t that what you asked for?
You haven’t got it right there. Investment follows very fundamental rules based on the principle of risk & reward. Property has to pay a higher dividend than bank term deposits, if it didn’t then people would simply leave their cash in the bank. It pays that dividend via a mix of rent and (tax-free) capital gain.
Any initiatives that reduce the return on property will affect the market in one of two ways. It will lower the price of property so the return gets back up to market rates. Or it will increase rents and/or house prices to get the return back to market rates. Adding a CGT without addressing the demand/supply side will simply push prices up. The demand for rentals will be unchanged by a CGT but the investment will be reduced, ergo prices will rise until investors are attracted back into the market again.
A CGT needs to be matched with a calculated reduction in the demand for rentals – more housing stock built. Otherwise you’re just condemning the poor to even higher rents.
Rubbish. Why would rents go up to cover a future sale, which may or may not happen? The two things (rental returns and profit on the sale of the property) are unrelated. While I suppose a minority of greedy landlords might use it as a bullshit reason to increase rent, the vast majority of rental properties are held long term and therefore, not subject to CGT. CGT is designed to cover the situation where properties are regularly flipped and rental income is incidental to the real business of making untaxed gains on the increased sale price.
T.mallard argued that the tax changes that national made to eliminate tax advantages for landlords would increase rents. Was he wrong then that to reduce the returns on property Would be made up for increased rents? Or was he just playing the game of politics
Until the rules of the market are well regulated and policed then people will still invest in property. There is a huge oversell that this is nz solution, especially short and medium term along with increasing the age of eligibility of the pension. Sure long term hard to argue against but what happens for the next 10 years and the damage waiting.
TRP – You are talking about one possible variation of CGT. If the landlord thinks they will get taxed in the future, they will increase revenue now to cover that. Alternatively they ill exit the market. Basic market forces.
At least Rental income even with deductions has a tax element. Capital gain has no tax elements.
When investors are entering any market they should be looking at their risk:reward and some form of return on investment and weighing that up with what other investments return %.
Property has always been (bar ’72 when Big Norm Kirk proposed it) an acceptable means of making plenty and contributing nothing in tax.
and I found the link re Mallards basis of protecting the landlords. http://blog.labour.org.nz/2010/03/11/a-big-group-that-will-be-worse-off-following-the-tax-cuts/comment-page-1/
CGT as requires housing to appreciate in value. So then the 6th Lab govt would receive added tax to cover govt spending- But how would that fix our housing issue? Would that not then make property ownership membership more restrictive?
You can see that Mallard was correct and his detractors were wrong. He wrote that in 2010, look at what happened to rents in Auckland since then; exactly what he said would happen.
Don’t know where the 60% figure came from but it’s wrong as quoted. Election stats say there were 2,237,464 party votes and there’s only about 550,000 people over 65. They probably meant to say that 60% of people over 65 voted.
This seems to be the catch cry flavour of the month. Let’s dispel that myth once and for all
I collect my super and grab it with both hands. Reason, I am of a generation that also suffered from so called Intergenerational Theft. Every generation suffers from it. In my case, through politicians not getting it right in the thirties, some prick tried to kill me and my family by bombing shit out of us. Also when I started to earn money I paid high taxes for the next generations free university, health care, farm subsidies, export incentives etc. Didn’t have a shit show going to university because like a lot of my generation, we were “working class” and “education” or what was of it was poor during these years. Then we were made to go in the forces to keep some fat cat “safe” in places like Kenya, Malaya etc. When it came to buying a house, we were “lucky” if we could borrow finance off some lawyer at high rates and interest only. Had no show of burrowing like 100% loans from banks so you could buy a 10 acre block somewhere, even if you could not afford it. Only to sell on at some later time making a massive profit all tax free.
The same generation who were the beneficiaries of this system is same generation (Richardsons) who then said, “we have all got to stand on out own two feet, no more help or handouts” as “I we did alright Jack” and quoting Adams book Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Thanks for the fish, now get fucking on with it.
The way this generation has consumed with all the cheap burrowing, the next generation is going to accuse them of Intergenerational Theft, because they will have to live in a world of depleted and expensive resources.
Inter-generational theft, bludging bennies, can’t afford super/welfare/education etc etc are all TINA catch cries from parasitic right wing wealthy to deflect attention away from how much they are stealing from us.
That Labour have bought into it shows they have still not learned from the fuckups of the first ACT government, in the 80’s.
What we cannot afford is to give most of our wealth to those who waste it gambling overseas and on pushing our land prices up.
“Inter-generational theft, bludging bennies, can’t afford super/welfare/education etc etc are all TINA catch cries from parasitic right wing wealthy to deflect attention away from how much they are stealing from us.”
How is generational theft a catch cry of the “parasitic right wing wealthy to deflect attention away from how much they are stealing from us”?
Cause all the talk of generational theft that I have read has not come from the right wing wealthy…they are the ones that frame inequality in vastly different terms.
The claims of intergenerational theft usually steams from a (post)marxist position, which is the true left…or from the poor, or from the younger generations.
Can someone please link me some examples of a critique of generational wealth from the right wing wealthy?
Half Crown M. congratulations. You have my full support. This generation does not know what hardship and work is and they do not want to know. You are not a voice in the wilderness. Your most vocal critics are the lazy ones. They cannot defend their position, only offer personal abuse. Perhaps this is a reflection of the standard of education (or role models) offered by TV. The rich are with us always. They are unhappy and the envious are unhappy.
How many readers keep a Diary? 10 min. at the end of each day, writing up the Diary, is meditation. Very beneficial.
“How many readers keep a Diary? 10 min. at the end of each day, writing up the Diary, is meditation. Very beneficial.”
Haha..that’s funny. – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqmjWCk36C8
I don’t see the diary making a comeback, not for young people. The hyper-commercialism that was forced onto younger generations since the 1980s has made that kind of reflective meditation a thing of the past. The x & y generations have been programmed to consume and look cool…they are the most socially and politically ignorant generation so far. We should all fear for the following generations…the best we can hope for is a massive economic collapse and a reorganisation of society so that we no longer act on greed. We need a meltdown with hyper-inflation so that all debt and savings are wiped clean…then the govt can take control of greedy people’s assets and we start again with a new system…sadly, that’s the only hope for future generations.
“Also when I started to earn money I paid high taxes for the next generations free university, health care, farm subsidies, export incentives etc.”
True…I don’t know who suffered more…those after the boomers or those before. I wish I was a boomer
Oh yes.The lives of those of us born into the post-war austerity were so much easier than the children and grand children of the boomer middle-classes and upperclasses – those kids who grew up with every mod con, clothes with designer labels and electronic toys.
Learn a little history.
And it certainly wasn’t a lot easier for lareg numbers of girls and women. Maori, Pacific people, the working classes, GLBT people etc.
And yes, things look bleak for future generations – especially for the less well-off. Unfortunately the wealthy and comfortably off (of all the current generations), will find all the wealth and resources they are hoarding won’t protect them from the coming contraction. Society will crumble around them.
The main point I was trying to make is every generation suffers or gains from the previous one. The neo liberals of today have benefited hugely by the taxes my generation paid, which I did not object to, as collectively everybody benefited in the building of the infrastructure (which they want to sell off to some fat cat overseas) health systems and good education.
To the ones who have got fat by the system, don’t deny me my meagre pension or help to the less fortunate, and don’t accuse me of Intergeneration Theft.
My eldest brother returned from Burma after fighting the Japanese Like all his generation be it from the left or right, the attitude was at that time “lets build a better world for everyone” and I am not going to let my kids go through that and I am going to do my best for them etc etc. My brother managed to send his son to university. This son who I would call a beneficiary of the system, now has great neo liberal attitudes with the usual “stuff you jack” everybody should stand on the own why should he be taxed to pay for some other bludgers. He conveniently forgets if it wasn’t for the socialistic systems set up in the 40’s he would not had the chance to go to university and would have been just another bright kid trying to survive in the East End. This is the attitude of the likes of Douglas and Richardson who have done very well as beneficiaries of the system which they conveniently forgot.
When I talk about socialistic systems these were systems set up by both the left and right. Lord Beaverbrook the paper magnate who really believed in a free press not like some other turd we know today, was one of the architects of the Health system in Britain. These people from the right had a social conscience about society as a whole. This cannot be said about the breed of neo liberals that have come along since Friedman and Thatcher. They have no social conscience. They only know greed at everybody else’s expense. This is going to be their downfall. The bit I find scary if they are not stopped and attitudes do not change they will take the the world with them. It will not be by Intergenerational Theft by my generation.
And, still, fatty, for you the gen x& yers are the poor victims of previous generations doings, even when those people are doing things destructive to society – always victims of the circumstances they find themselves in. Meanwhile, the protest generation boomers are never explained in similar terms, but are always the perps. of all our current evils.
The boomers who paid 60cents on the dollar taxes for hydro power stations, railways, university educations, health care and other infrastructure, for the next generations.
Who protested about nuclear weapons, social justice and foreign aid.
While gen X and y moan about 20% taxes and vote for neo-liberal Governments.
And only protest when their own student allowances are affected.
It is a bit sad that our current Uni students are deafeningly silent when those on social security are attacked, and about other issues such as AGW, and only wake up when it affects their pockets.
you make students poorer and busier, make them pay a lot of money for their courses, make them feel like they have to keep their heads down, spend time to get their grades to get a return on investment and be able to pay back their student loans.
Universities aren’t places of thinking and debate today, they are diploma mills. Where undergrads simply want the piece of paper which is going to launch their promised careers. And lecturers see teaching students as an annoying distraction from publications and the eventual promotion that leads on to.
Another example of Labour opening the door to the cutting of its own throat in the 1980’s.
“It is a bit sad that our current Uni students are deafeningly silent when those on social security are attacked, and about other issues such as AGW, and only wake up when it affects their pockets.”
I don’t think that is true at all..Actually, you’ll find that those students that were protesting are quite vocal and active in regards to other human rights…I think you have believed the hype from the mainstream media…most students generally do not care too much about the student loan issue and they believe in a user-pays system…most students are “deafeningly silent” in regards to the student loan issue and are generally ignorant to ALL political and social issues.
The percentage of NZ tertiary students protesting these changes?…I’d guess about 1-2%. Students don’t “only wake up when it affects their pockets”…students are for the most part sleepy and ignorant.
“Oh yes.The lives of those of us born into the post-war austerity were so much easier than the children and grand children of the boomer middle-classes and upperclasses – those kids who grew up with every mod con, clothes with designer labels and electronic toys.’
Good point…the average person who was born between the 1950s-1970s faced more challenges than the elite of the future generations.
“Learn a little history.”
…like that nugget of informative insight that you just blessed me with?…thank you…I know where to come for my history lessons.
“And it certainly wasn’t a lot easier for lareg numbers of girls and women. Maori, Pacific people, the working classes, GLBT people etc.”
Another good point, one I’ve argued here myself, the boomers had conservative economic and social structures, they swapped them for liberal economic and social ideals…we’ve been through this before. I do find it ironic that you highlight that privileges existed back (and still do) – white privilege, gender privilege, sexuality privilege etc…but get pulled up on generational privilege and you’ll refute that till the cows some home.
“And, still, fatty, for you the gen x& yers are the poor victims of previous generations doings, even when those people are doing things destructive to society – always victims of the circumstances they find themselves in. Meanwhile, the protest generation boomers are never explained in similar terms, but are always the perps. of all our current evils.”
…nah, not me. I realise essentialising my argument is probably the best form of defence from confronting your privilege (rather than historical facts), but I do not paint gen x & y as pure victims, and the boomers are not “always the perps. of all our current evils”…that’s not how privilege and opportunities work.
I know if all boomers were like you (or others on here) then we wouldn’t have generational inequality. If all white people in the past thought like me, then we wouldn’t have white privilege, and I wouldn’t be a privileged white person. (BTW, I’m poor, got a life crippling student loan and owning property is a distant dream…so I haven’t benefited from white privilege, but it still exists). I’m aware of my privileges…I know my history.
We’ve been through all this before haven’t we Carol?…can you or someone answer this question cause this comment has come from nowhere and I dunno if people consider this to be true…I’ll repeat my question…
How is generational theft a catch cry of the “parasitic right wing wealthy to deflect attention away from how much they are stealing from us”?
Well, you shouldn’t! I am technically a boomer (1953) and I have not benefitted from any of the things boomers supposedly had… (Well, one thing – close to full employment when I left school in 1971, but I didn’t get to Uni until 11 years later, being working class, and that was just before everything changed!)
So here I am, decades later – as broke as it’s possible to be, no more prospect of home ownership than I had when I was young, too old to be attractive to employers (and I have discovered over the past 4 years that women must be attractive, to be employed in offices*) but too young for National Super.
* Yes, knowing that the Human Rights commision has no teeth and that they can say so without consequence, at least 8 prospective employers in the past 4 years have told me in so many words, that I am too old and not good looking enough to be in their office…
Yes, Vicky, while undoubtedly there’s a significant number of boomers dominating the housing ladder, home ownership is far from widespread amongst “boomers” generally:
Decreasing home-ownership rates could result in higher poverty rates for the elderly in coming years, a new study of baby boomers indicates.
The study, to be launched by the Family Commission today, surveyed nearly 2000 people, aged 40-64 years, and found their home-ownership rates half what they are for those currently aged over 65.
And as I recall, in one of your WINZ reports you state how most of the people turning up to their “courses” etc, were over 45 years.
So while the elite of the boomers are creaming it, others are not so secure. And we are getting conflicting messages. While some boomers sit at the top of the tree with significant wealth and high-paying jobs, others are losing their jobs, and finding, not only are they not the most desired employees, but some younger people have the more, most recent qualifications.
And we are being sent conflicting messages – there’s not enough money in the coffers for boomer pensions (even for some people who’ve been paying towards the super of the older generation, in the belief that their investment would set up their retirement). So some are telling boomers we need to work til we are older – which is fine for some, but only if they can get/have a job that hasn’t already ground you down. But others are saying boomers should retire and leave the jobs for younger people.
So, really, just another divide and conquer tactic and distraction from the fact that the few are doing well at the expense of many – bennie bashing, older people bashing, “lazy” student bashing…. and on it goes…..
“So, really, just another divide and conquer tactic and distraction from the fact that the few are doing well at the expense of many”
So you do believe that the concept of intergenerational inequality is a tool of ‘right wingers’?
…can you please give me an example…because I’ve never come across this kind of ‘divide and conquer tactic’ from the wealthy where they highlight the issue of generational inequality.
How many people have IT problems at work? Was reading this article about wasted time in the workplace & it claims that people wasted hours each week on IT failures;
“Kiwi workers said they wasted two to three hours a week on inefficient or malfunctioning technology. ”We all know intuitively it takes too long to boot up your computer, your email crashes, all those things, but do organisations really know what that is costing them?”
Occasionally I’ve been in a shop that linked to head office via a thin client & the system took ages to search the database but generally I thought those kind of IT troubles were a thing of the past. Do people really still have a lot of IT problems at work?
Just kidding but I think that there is still a difference Draco. Not an expert but didn’t the guru who wrote the software for access to the Budget online, say that the Apple App was done very quickly but the other took several weeks. Doesn’t really matter but in Education it seems that Mac schools are often well advanced in ITC whereas PCs are less so.
Do people really still have a lot of IT problems at work?
I suppose that depends upon how good their IT departments are. I’ve worked in corporations that did have those troubles and it was obvious that their IT department a) wasn’t funded enough, b) was taking all sorts of short cuts and/or c) their software was all over the bloody place often requiring 2 or 3 apps to get a job done.
Companies and corporations often have a poor understanding of how to properly plan and run IT. More often than not giving it to their accountant to run.
Our political parties all seem to be in to austerity.
While each has their own little fantasies about how things can get better – public/private partnerships, green jobs, capital gains tax, investment in R and D etc, none of them take us away from the neo liberal economic model and none of them are addressing the structural economic problems or climate change.
National government is busily attacking unions and trying to push wages even lower, Labour wants to mount an even bigger offensive against the whole working class by raising pension age eligibility and the Greens want to subject nature itself to market forces.
As far as our politicians go it is clear they agree on one thing.
Any mad idea is preferable to admitting capitalism is failing for them.
As energy costs continue to put the hard boot down on ‘growth’ we are going to see this perpetual stagnation and mild economic decline become the new normal.
And quite naturally, democracies all over the world will become increasingly feudal in outlook and operation, with an aristocratic class running the show in their own interests.
That would normally take money, physical resources, governmental power and corporate media influence. Which not by co-incidence the feudal types are busy sewing up.
That’s why we need people power. A single millionaire doesn’t have the same amount of money or clout as a million people with a few dollars each. We’ve just been conditioned to believe that they do.
Unfortunately, it’s a little more difficult to get a million people all going in the same direction.
No chance of that B, you obviosuly read enough to understand that the Military/Intelligence Networks are the ones who will be using the advanced tech to quash anything that resembles demoracy past or present.
As Viper points out, the rulers are currently making sure that any stragglers are seen to, and chances of competition reappearing in any industry space, consigned to the history books!
The drumbeats grow louder and louder for changes to National Super. Never mind that senior poverty is much worse in nations where pensions are means tested — old people in the US having to flip burgers or live on the streets, while employers are are always looking for ways to avoid making good on their pension obligations — I noticed that aforementioned drumbeats are coming from the financial services/banking sector, for whom administering pension funds would be a licence to print money.
National Superannuation is a taonga. Efforts to change it would only lead to an infliction of hardship.
Reduce the retirement age to 62 to allow younger people to move into the work force. Pay for the difference by printing (electronically crediting the Government with) the money required.
Meanwhile, encourage retirees to further increase their volunteering and involvement in their local communities.
Can’t work for Greece, because Greece gave up sovereignty over their currency and have subsequently put their banks and their creditors ahead of their own people.
NZ must not give up its economic sovereignty under any circumstances.
Well, I, for one, would be happy with 62 as a retirement age and to spend my time doing things that contribute to society one way or another, CV…. so long as a have enough to live on – my needs are small.
However, I don’t think your prescription deals with the problem of the current work structure and its underlying values. The reason many older people will be reluctant to step aside from work is because the current structure is built on individualistic values.
Most value is put on those who set out to make themselves rich (especially since the 1980s), while community work is undervalued – both via the relative levels of remuneration and the way economic success is measured. And the result of this is low social status given to such work.
Consequently, after many in the business world, and politics, have worked to consolidate or achieve their wealth and status, they would be unwilling to give up that status to do community work for no pay. So, many take seats on boards and places on right-wing working groups etc, They get big pay, for doing little, or little that is of value to society.
Community work does contribute to the economy, and consequently, within the structure we have, people doing it should be paid.
But I’m all for people in their 60s stepping aside from full time and high paid positions, to work part time.
Consequently, after many in the business world, and politics, have worked to consolidate or achieve their wealth and status, they would be unwilling to give up that status to do community work for no pay.
Yep. Luckily, I’m guessing the Don Brash and Roger Douglas types make up quite a small %, whereas mature persons who think more like yourself are far more numerous.
Meanwhile, encourage retirees to further increase their volunteering and involvement in their local communities.
Oh that’s hilarious! This year I decided that as there’s less than a zero % chance of my ever getting a job (year 4 on UB), I’d do some volunteering work.
That was in mid-January. It’s now a few days off from June. I’ve been to MOTAT, Volunteering Auckland, and the Auckland City Mission. All of them have turned me down – which makes me feel worse than useless. So, no, nobody’s actually crying out for volunteers!
Except maybe the people who wanted me to pay them serious money to do their ESOL course so I could teach English as a second language for free through their organisation. The tertiary qualifications in ESOL teaching that I already have, are it seems, not quite good enough, neither is my eight years’ experience in the field!
So, yeah, I’d happily take National Super at 62, only 4 years to go, as my experience has shown that employers won’t hire anyone over 50… so you’ll forgive me for screaming every time I hear about the poor yoof… at least yoof unemployment is not invisible! I look at my fellow attendees at WINZ seminars, and whaddaya know, no one there is under 45…
Labour intentions on superannuation shows they are still trapped in the Neo-liberal paradigm.
Anything to avoid the obvious answer. Extend the pension idea of a minimum income to young people and families also. Much more effective stimulus than tax cuts for the wealthy to waste.
All civilisations start off being communist. If it wasn’t for the success of that start they would never have the wealth to turn to capitalism and then screw everything up.
“As I’ve run out of marmite, please show me some vegemite or I’ll refuse to believe there’s anything to put on toast.”
Haha…good call. Its surprising that some people are still sucking on Saggy Thatcher’s floppy old tittie…The concept of TINA is possibly more powerful now than its ever been – look at Europe
National has reneged on aid commitments to the world’s poorest people, by cutting $133 million from its Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) budget over the next three years…
Millhouse posted this to me about National Standards. A simple Youtube summary of NS as seen by farmers (teachers) and fruit and vegetables (children). http://youtu.be/9d9ZBpg3sMo
Just talking today with a facilitator for online post graduate teachers who report that some schools are neglecting many areas of schooling like Science and Art, but putting all their time and energy into Literacy and Numeracy in order to inflate their National Standards ratings. Funny that.
Conveniently omitted from the RWNJ narrative that Greeks have only themselves to blame, the tax exempt status of the one percent.
They are among the wealthiest Greeks — whether shipping magnates, whose tax-free status is enshrined in the constitution, or the so-called oligarchs who have accumulated vast wealth via their dominance in core areas of the economy like oil, gas, media, banking and even cement.
The most valuable things in life are not measured in monetary terms. The really important things are not houses and lands, stocks and bonds, cars and real estate, BUT friendship, trust, confidence, empathy, mercy, love, and faith.
That’s nice but you can’t have any of those latter things in a capitalist society and, no matter what, we all need the former (except the stocks/bonds and cars).
“Your lack of trustworthiness in no way implies any lack of ability in others to trust.”
My lack of trustworthiness? You fucking numpty.
Draco says “That’s nice but you can’t have any of those latter things in a capitalist society” in relation to “friendship, trust, confidence, empathy, mercy, love, and faith.”
To which I reply “speak for yourself Draco, I have everything John 72 listed (except faith, I am an atheist).”
So, what the fuck are you talking about? Its Draco and UTurn implying the inability to trust, love and have confidence. Not me.
Trust is non-existent – I’m pretty sure those emails telling me that I’ve won $100m/have a huge inheritance and all I have to do is send a $10000 money order and it’ll be right in the mail are all truthful, really.
Confidence in what? Can’t be government as they busy destroying our society. Can’t be confident that you’ll have a job tomorrow as jobs are disappearing so as to lower wages.
Empathy – ACC cuts to rape victims shows a distinct lack of that, so does all the beneficiary bashing going on.
Mercy – Same place the empathy is I suspect.
I didn’t mention friendship or love as they’re personal but I’m sure we’ll find that such has also been abused so that someone else can make a buck.
My point was that capitalism breeds the opposites.
“friendship, trust, confidence, empathy, mercy, love, and faith.”
I am not sure the list of things are all of the same calibre. Trust, for example, is a judgement, and depends on something in one’s life being trustworthy, though one might retain trust in God where nothing else was trustworthy. And certainly no amount of material accumulation is going to make up for these values where they are absent. However, our ability to develop and retain these properties are under threat when we are utterly deprived. It makes me angry when people are so trained that they must preface their concerns with “We do not indulge in luxuries, and we never go to the movies or take the kids to the zoo etc…” It is as if anything above bacteria-like survival becomes a source of guilt, while the people encouraging this thinking make million dollar errors and still sleep at night.
“It is as if anything above bacteria-like survival becomes a source of guilt, while the people encouraging this thinking make million dollar errors and still sleep at night.”
Perfectly put Olwyn.Unfortunately ‘morality’ has been redefined by the likes of Phil O’ Reilly, now a ‘new corporate church order business deacon’ as being: ‘the highest moral standard one can achieve is “productivity and competitiveness”‘. http://tvnz.co.nz/close-up/wednesday-february-29-4748673
Now can you see how a ‘moral’ man can sleep soundly at night
In a Herald article today entitled,” Charter Schools meet with some resistance” and resplendent with a cheery photo of snow queen Catherine Isaacs, John O’Neill professor in Teacher Education at Massey, points out what he considers to be the real agenda for the ‘out of the blue’ introduction of Charter Schools.http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10808693
“O’Neill is sceptical of Isaac’s sincerity in pushing the charter school agenda. He points to the legislative change, which will effectively “take teachers out of the State Sector Act”.
Under the act, teachers are deemed public servants and entitled to a collective contract.
By changing the law, charter schools will be able to employ teachers on individual contracts.
This is Isaac’s real agenda, he claims: “to block the power of the unions”.”
Never mind our children then. Ice splinters all round.
Well, after NACT went around telling everyone how good privatisation is they’d have to defend the failure that it is else they’d have to admit that they were wrong and they’ll never do that.
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
Open access notablesImproving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society:To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
Sir Don McKinnon will travel to Viet Nam this week as a Special Envoy of the Government, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “It is important that the Government give due recognition to the significant contributions that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made to New Zealand-Viet Nam relations,” Mr ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says newly appointed Commissioner, Grant Illingworth KC, will help deliver the report for the first phase of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons, due on 28 November 2024. “I am pleased to announce that Mr Illingworth will commence his appointment as ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters travels to Laos this week to participate in a series of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-led Ministerial meetings in Vientiane. “ASEAN plays an important role in supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Mr Peters says. “This will be our third visit to ...
Construction of a new mental health facility at Te Nikau Grey Hospital in Greymouth is today one step closer, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “This $27 million facility shows this Government is delivering on its promise to boost mental health care and improve front line services,” Mr Doocey says. ...
New Zealand is committing nearly $50 million to a package supporting sustainable Pacific fisheries development over the next four years, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones announced today. “This support consisting of a range of initiatives demonstrates New Zealand’s commitment to assisting our Pacific partners ...
Associate Education Minister David Seymour says proposed changes to the Education and Training Amendment Bill will ensure charter schools have more flexibility to negotiate employment agreements and are equipped with the right teaching resources. “Cabinet has agreed to progress an amendment which means unions will not be able to initiate ...
In response to serious concerns around oversight, overspend and a significant deterioration in financial outlook, the Board of Health New Zealand will be replaced with a Commissioner, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti announced today. “The previous government’s botched health reforms have created significant financial challenges at Health NZ that, without ...
Minister for Space and Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins will travel to Adelaide tomorrow for space and science engagements, including speaking at the Australian Space Forum. While there she will also have meetings and visits with a focus on space, biotechnology and innovation. “New Zealand has a thriving space ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will travel to China on Saturday to attend the Ministerial on Climate Action meeting held in Wuhan. “Attending the Ministerial on Climate Action is an opportunity to advocate for New Zealand climate priorities and engage with our key partners on climate action,” Mr Watts says. ...
Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is travelling to the Solomon Islands tomorrow for meetings with his counterparts from around the Pacific supporting collective management of the region’s fisheries. The 23rd Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Committee and the 5th Regional Fisheries Ministers’ Meeting in Honiara from 23 to 26 July ...
The Government today launched the Military Style Academy Pilot at Te Au rere a te Tonga Youth Justice residence in Palmerston North, an important part of the Government’s plan to crackdown on youth crime and getting youth offenders back on track, Minister for Children, Karen Chhour said today. “On the ...
The Government has welcomed news the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has begun work to replace nine priority bridges across the country to ensure our state highway network remains resilient, reliable, and efficient for road users, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“Increasing productivity and economic growth is a key priority for the ...
Acting Prime Minister David Seymour has been in contact throughout the evening with senior officials who have coordinated a whole of government response to the global IT outage and can provide an update. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has designated the National Emergency Management Agency as the ...
New Zealand and Japan will continue to step up their shared engagement with the Pacific, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says. “New Zealand and Japan have a strong, shared interest in a free, open and stable Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says. “We are pleased to be finding more ways ...
New developments in the heart of North Island forestry country will reinvigorate their communities and boost economic development, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones visited Kaingaroa and Kawerau in Bay of Plenty today to open a landmark community centre in the former and a new connecting road in ...
President Adeang, fellow Ministers, honourable Diet Member Horii, Ambassadors, distinguished guests. Minasama, konnichiwa, and good afternoon, everyone. Distinguished guests, it’s a pleasure to be here with you today to talk about New Zealand’s foreign policy reset, the reasons for it, the values that underpin it, and how it ...
Comment: After Climate Change Minister Simon Watts’ preview several weeks ago, I had some optimism about the Government’s emissions reduction plan. Now I’ve read the discussion document, that hope has been dashed. How can the Government propose a plan that wants to take New Zealand taxpayers’ hard-earned money, and spend ...
Christopher Luxon: hurdles The little man from National jumps hurdles in his sleep. He’s quite good at it in his dreams and even though the reality doesn’t quite match up you have to give him credit for getting up every morning and crashing into the very first hurdle of the ...
Comment: It was a good two hours into the conversation when Tyrone Marks raised the most basic of questions when I first spoke to him in 2017. “They didn’t explain the things they did to me. They never told me why. And they still haven’t. There’s no explanation for it. ...
Last summer when Matairangi burned, Ginny and Tom stood at the window of their lounge, watching kākā shoot skyward from the burning trees. From the distance, they looked to Ginny like pages torn from books and thrown into a bonfire. It was Tom, voice tight, who told her it was ...
Opinion: The Canadian short story writer Alice Munro – winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2013 – died in May at the age of 92. Her work was about “the damage people inflict on one another in the name of love”, Deborah Treisman wrote in the New Yorker. ...
This month marks two years since the most powerful telescope ever built sent its first pictures back to earth. From its lofty vantage point, beyond the moon in orbit around the sun, the James Webb Space Telescope was tuned to observe the first stars and galaxies being born soon after ...
Madeleine Chapman rounds out Death Week on The Spinoff with a final recommendation. You can read all of our Death Week coverage here. Nothing forces you to reflect on your life and relationships quite like proximity to death. For those whose nearest and dearest have died, there are reasonably obvious ...
Whitney Greene takes us through her life in television, including the TV character she’d like to plan a funeral for and her cow lung catastrophe on The Traitors NZ. “If the phone rings, I have to answer it,” Whitney Greene from The Traitors NZ warns as we begin our My ...
Maddie Ballard reviews the debut essay collection of Pōneke writer Flora Feltham.In ‘The Raw Material’, the longest essay in Flora Feltham’s dazzling debut collection, the author heads out for a run after hours of weaving and sees the world turn to textile. “Pounding along the Parade, I saw the ...
Andy Christiansen, one half of the experimental rock-pop duo TRiPS, shares the tunes inspiring the band’s perfect weekend and new release. “Good speakers, good food, good music, no distractions”: that’s all you need to enjoy the psychedelic stylings of TRiPS, a new band formed by Fly My Pretties’ Barnaby Weir ...
Celebrating our quadrennial opportunity to become experts in a bunch of sports we never normally watch.The games of the XXXIII Olympiad are upon us. Paris will host this year’s showcase of sporting and athletic prowess, which means some late-night and early-morning viewing for us in Aotearoa.But what sports ...
The photograph is striking and beautiful, but also disturbing – a reminder that my love for John was often entangled in shame.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.In the spring of 1980, in Dunedin, shortly before his death, someone took a photograph ...
Get to know Babushka, our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Babu’s humans, Jo and Isabel, for their support. Dog name: Babushka (Babu for short) Age: 2Breed: Border Collie X poodleIf rescued, ...
Pacific Media Watch A Lebanese photojournalist who was severely wounded during an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon carried the Olympic torch in Paris this week in honour of her peers who have been wounded and killed in the field — especially in Gaza and Lebanon. Christina Assi of Agence ...
The first report in a five-part web series focused on the 15th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women taking place in the Marshall Islands this week.SPECIAL REPORT:By Netani Rika in Majuro Women continue to fight for justice 70 years after the first nuclear tests by the United States caused ...
Christopher Luxon has joined with Australia and Canada's leaders in voicing support for US President Joe Biden's ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The 2022 election brought the “teal wave” into parliament. The next election will test whether teals, who occupy what were Liberal seats, and other independents can maintain their momentum. Joining us on the Podcast ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Musgrave, Senior lecturer in Pharmacology, University of Adelaide Pixavri/Shutterstock A major Federal Court class action has been dismissed this week after Justice Michael Lee ruled there was not enough evidence to prove the weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. Plaintiff Kelvin ...
In The Week in Politics: politicians have to decide what to do about child abuse, Health NZ is booked in for major surgery and Darleen Tana returns. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University Mainstream media are surprisingly muted at the prospect of the world’s most powerful nation being led for the first time by a woman – specifically a woman of colour, Vice President Kamala ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rebecca Bennett, PhD Student, Associate Research Fellow, Deakin University Last week, a drone delivery company called Wing (owned by Google’s parent company, Alphabet) started operating in Melbourne. Some 250,000 residents in parts of the city’s eastern suburbs can now order food from ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonathan Foo, Lecturer, Physiotherapy, Monash University pikselstock/Shutterstock In the next 40 years in Australia, it’s predicted the number of Australians aged 65 and over will more than double, while the number of people aged 85 and over will more than triple. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katrina Grant, Research Associate, Power Institute for Arts and Visual Culture, University of Sydney Jonas Åkerström’s 1790 work, Session of the Accademia dell’Arcadia on August 17 1788.Nationalmuseum/Cecilia Heisser Ever wondered whether you’d have a better chance at winning an Olympic gold ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexandra Jones, Program Lead, Food Governance, George Institute for Global Health wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock On Thursday, Australian and New Zealand food ministers at state, federal and national levels met to thrash out what’s next for health star ratings on packaged foods. Now, after ...
The Abuse in Care report found many Pacific survivors lost their connections to their culture and language, resulting in trauma that has been carried from generation to generation. ...
In the regulatory review, ECC intends to suggest that ERO focus on curriculum delivery reviews rather than the Ministry, because it’s not efficient or effective to have two agencies with radically different approaches climbing over each other. ...
Te Rūnanga Nui o Ngā Kura Kaupapa Māori invites the current government to work in partnership with them to develop a pathway forward, including the development of a parallel pathway and meaningful policy and strategy for Kura Kaupapa Māori ...
If you haven’t started watching yet, Tara Ward begs you to reconsider. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In the world of New Zealand reality television, we have many gems in our crown. There’s the delicious second season of the Celebrity Treasure ...
A new poem by Fiona Kidman. The clothes of the dead I did not keep my mother’s furry red beret for long nor the stringy scarves that adorned the necks of my aunts, although I have kept tag ends of gold, the rings and trinkets they wore, the brooches no ...
The government’s announcement that it will re-open the foreshore and seabed controversy by changing the rules on recognising centuries-old Māori customary title for a third time goes against the rule of law and New Zealand values,” Mr Tipa says. ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Lioness by Emily Perkins (Bloomsbury, $25) Roarrrr! Perkins’ brilliant, award-winning, Marian-Keyes anointed, darkly funny, long ...
The 2004 Act vested ownership of the foreshore and seabed in the Crown, extinguishing any Māori claims to ownership and causing widespread outrage and protests among Māori communities. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Antje Deckert, Associate Professor (Criminology), Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Despite the connection between institutional harm and gang membership made clear in this week’s mammoth royal commission abuse-in care report, the government seems unlikely to soften its “get tough on ...
From Lewis Clareburt in the swimming to the start of the rowing – the first seven days of Paris 2024 promise to be big for New Zealand. There are few events that bring the country together quite like an Olympic Games. Nothing quite matches the excitement of getting up in ...
Groundbreaking local science just showed up in the most surprising of places: the season finale of The Kardashians. In the season five finale of The Kardashians last night, several members of the family gathered together in one of their signature empty, cream-coloured rooms to hear test results that had been ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Saikal, Emeritus professor of Middle Eastern and Central Asian Studies, Australian National University The Middle East is on the brink of a possibly devastating regional war, with hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah reaching an extremely dangerous level. Washington has engaged in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Elizabeth Eades, Rheumatologist, Monash University Lupus is an inflammatory autoimmune illness, where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks itself. Lupus can affect virtually any part of the body, although it most commonly affects the skin, joints and kidneys. The symptoms ...
A law firm that specialises in working with survivors of abuse in State care is disappointed that the Government fails to recognise that its boot camps can be directly compared to previous boot camps from the 1990s and 2000s. ...
Dying is a natural part of life, like updating your Wof or seeing your hairdresser, but without the word-of-mouth recs that help guarantee a good service. What if we changed that? Dying Reviews received by The Spinoff have had the names of organisations redacted while Hospice NZ collects further data. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland Mike Lewinski/Flickr, CC BY On any clear night, if you gaze skywards long enough, chances are you’ll see a meteor streaking through the sky. Some nights, however, are better than others. At ...
Despite having no bars or other designated spaces for lesbians, Auckland boasts a small but mighty lesbian museum. So how did it get here? The past 18 months has brought increasing hostility towards the queer community across Aotearoa. Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s anti-trans rally in Tamaki Makaurau last March led to a ...
Poneke Antifascist Coalition has invited Wellingtonians to stand in solidarity with the Kanak people at 12pm today outside the French Embassy in Wellington. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Layton, Visiting Fellow, Strategic Studies, Griffith University Drones are the signature technology of the Ukraine war. A few miniature aircraft designs were used in the war’s early days, but an incredible array of drones have now evolved. There are different types, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Slee, Associate Professor, Clinical Academic Neurologist, Flinders University Francisco Gonzelez/Unsplash Migraine is many things, but one thing it’s not is “just a headache”. “Migraine” comes from the Greek word “hemicrania”, referring to the common experience of migraine being predominantly ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lee White, Senior Lecturer and Horizon Fellow, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney Australia was slow to introduce minimum building standards for energy efficiency. The Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) only came into force in 2003. Older homes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Steven Sherwood, Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW Sydney The past century of human-induced warming has increased rainfall variability over 75% of the Earth’s land area – particularly over Australia, Europe and eastern North America, new research shows. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tony Heynen, Program Coordinator, Sustainable Energy, The University of Queensland A temporary stadium in the Champ-de-Mars, ParisEkaterina Pokrovsky/Shutterstock As Paris prepares to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games, the sustainability of the event is coming under scrutiny. The organisers have promoted ...
A night of karaoke and community in a pub that feels like a memory. You’d barely even notice it, unless you knew to look. Tucked away behind a liquor store on busy Constable Street is the capital’s last great pub. Newtown Sports Bar is an emblem of the pub culture ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ian Wright, Professor in Marine Geology, University of Canterbury Louise Corcoran/Getty Images The decline in the number of doctoral candidates at New Zealand universities is a worrying sign for the country’s effort to build a knowledge-based economy. Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Vaughan Cruickshank, Senior Lecturer in Health and Physical Education, University of Tasmania Paris is about to host its third summer Olympics. While we don’t yet know what the legacy of this year’s games will be, let’s take the opportunity to reflect on ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Keith Rathbone, Senior Lecturer, Modern European History and Sports History, Macquarie University Two high-profile assaults on Australians in Paris have raised concerns about security ahead of the Olympic Games. On Saturday evening, a young woman was allegedly sexually assaulted by a ...
Dying is inevitable and, so it seems, is it costing a lot, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here.The cost of dying ...
The government took Joyce Harris's first baby and sent her off to a girls' home. Half a century on - and out of oceans of hurt - it asked her to be a mother figure. ...
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Water cremation is the biggest thing to happen to the death industry in the last 100 years. Alex Casey meets the people trying to bring it to Aotearoa. Through a set of mirrored doors down the industrial end of Christchurch’s St Asaph Street, death is getting a new lease on ...
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One of these people must have it totally wrong!
While the Herald online has been foregrounding pro JK & Blinglish articles since the budget (held at the top of the main page), there’s been plenty of articles online being highly critical of the budge (though not always in such a prominent position).
Even the usual right-leaning online polls haven’t been that into the budget.
And yet…..
On Planet BS, in an article this morning Blinglish (kiddie piggy-bank thief), is coming on all positive about “romping in the next election”
Meanwhile, Bernard Hickey’s article today is less glowing:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10808680
Blinglish said:
Just because the media hasn’t picked up on their criticisms, and included them in the “political discussion”, doesn’t mean they have been quiet:
http://www.psa.org.nz/newsroom/mediareleases/12-05-24/Zero_Budget_delivers_more_pain_for_no_gain.aspx
Soooo…. just more from Blinglish on Planet BS, then.
Blinglish’s predications on the next election are as accurate as his predictions on the economy.
And remember the cuts to frontline teacher numbers of between 500 and 1500.
Ian,English has had a vision as NZ is losing 53k p.a. to Aust this depopulation will result in fewer children being educated here so we will require fewer teachers. English has got the correct answer but doesn’t understand the question 😉
REDUCE DEBT.
Retain Gold.
We Welcome The Chinese!
Resistance is Self-defeat.
Authoritarian excesses, Human Rights, Environmental Impacts, will peak and then abate at some time in the future as people come under rule.
Maori may advantage social-well being of their people through advantageous trade terms.
Minimum wage set to rise in regular increments.
All in 5 Year Plan
Ha Ha! When it was just suggested on The Nation that Greens are “making all the running” with new kinds of policies, Parker said he disagrees He used as an example Labour’s policy for Capital Gains Tax. Wasn’t that Green Party policy long before Labour picked it up?
Hard to say, Carol. A quick google search found both parties talking about CGT in May and June 2011, but Labour seems to be the first to put out a detailed proposal, including a 15% rate. The Greens then endorsed Labour’s position, with some reservations.
Eleven years ago, in 2001, the Green Party pushed for a CGT to be investigated and looked at favourably. Their official party policy at the time did not support a CGT.
http://www.greens.org.nz/submissions/2001-green-party-submission-capital-gains-tax
Eight years ago Rod Donald pushed for a CGT on all but the family home. This was the policy that Labour finally adopted.
http://www.greens.org.nz/speeches/200203-financial-review-debate
Yes, CV. TGhat has been my understanding that the Green Party have had it as a policy long before Labour adopted it.
All_in-all, I thought Parker came across as a light weight on The Nation and wonder why he was given that portfolio.
The speech by Rod Donald (CV’s link) doesn’t actually claim that a CGT had officially become Green Party policy. Rather that he – and the Green Party as a whole – believed a CGT would be a good thing. That’s my understanding of the speech anyway. In other words it was, what could be termed ‘unofficial Green Party policy’.
I can tell you the situation in the Labour Party was exactly the same. Labour has known for as long as the Greens that a CGT was an essential economic tool, but until recently it never became official Labour Party policy.
Why?
Let me quote a former senior and experienced Labour politician (long since retired) back in the early 1980s – and no, he wasn’t part of the neo liberal set. He said it’s no use introducing anything too radical (and back then a CGT was radical) until the rest of the population catches up with us. To do so is to invite an electoral backlash that will ensure we never become the govt. He went on to say that Labour just has to be patient and wait until the rest of the country catches up.
They are finally catching up, and both Labour and the Greens are commited to an official CGT policy.
That last bit of your comment is just fudging the issue, Anne. Greens were positively advocating for a Capital Gains Tax long before Labour (whatever their reasons for not doing so).
In my search to confirm this, I found a parliamentary speech by Jeanette Fitzsimons, dated 25 May 2006, where she is advocating strongly for a Capital Gains Tax and asks for it to be investigated. She says the Greens hadn’t done this because they don’t have the resources to do it:
http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/PB/Debates/Debates/a/d/4/48HansD_20060525_00000824-Taxation-Annual-Rates-Savings-Investment.htm
Furthermore, http://www.odt.co.nz/election-2008/the-south/28721/shane-gallagher-greens-dunedin-south
Shane Gallagher Green candidate for Dunedin South in 2008 claimed that a Capital Gains Tax was Green policy:
No attempt to fudge the issue Carol. I remember the long discussions about a CGT at Labour Regional and Anuual Conference workshops, going back for more than a decade. However I do accept they took place behind closed doors where the media was not allowed to go. Its a matter of fact that a political party in power (the dominant one in particular) have less flexibility when it comes to openly talking about contentious subjects – at least until the rest of the population starts to catch up. That is one luxury afforded to non-government parties, and the Greens (good on them) took advantage of it.
Oh.. Took advantage? Really that’s stretching it. Being a small party has it’s disadvantages in promoting policy.
All number of things are discussed “behind closed doors” in parties.
The fact remains, The Greens were “making the running” publicly (which was what the question to Parker was asked on The Nation) about Capital Gains Tax, long before Labour publicly espoused it. So Parker chose the wrong issue to use in response to the question.
Being a small party has it’s disadvantages in promoting policy.
Yes, it can. But on other occasions it can be a plus – such as promoting a contentious issue where the main governing party has to be careful what they say. That was particularly true for Labour with a corrupt National opposition (see The Hollow Men), and a hostile media who bought into the nasty Nat. memes.
In case you misunderstand me Carol, I’m not playing some political game of one-upmanship. I merely pointed out Labour was talking about it for a long time too – not just the Greens. I have a huge amount of respect for the Greens and am very impressed with the 2011 intake. I hope Labour and the Greens are able to from a coalition govt. in 2014 – or earlier. This country desperately needs them both!
it was ACT policy to until don brash learned to swallow rats
God save NZ here in gods zone. On Q&A English had no answers and Parker thinks cgt will save NZ, and NZ will continue to see the results in 1 way airline tickets being purchased, and the continuation of current accout deficits.
Blinglish and Parker……yup god save us indeed because neither of these will.
Are Labour really pushing CGT that much?
One thing CGT is guaranteed to do is push rents further up, any extra tax it pulls in will just get spent again in accommodation benefits. When every player in a market faces the same increase in costs they all put their prices up.
Labour never seem to think their fanciful ideas through to a natural conclusion do they. A CGT needs to be matched with an increase in housing stock to reduce the demand for rentals.
Bull shit. No CGT is paid unless a rental property is sold on for a profit. Explain to me why a landlord pays income tax on the rental income they earn, but currently zero tax on profit from selling a rental property.
I agree though that Labour needs to recommit to the mass provision of socialised housing.
Capital gain makes up a significant part of the return on investment of a rental property, rents alone don’t bring in enough. Add a tax to it and you reduce the return, rents will go up to recover the loss. That’s the way the market works.
If there’s a loss on the property, there won’t be any capital gains tax to be paid. So no worries.
And if the landlord raises rents to generate more rental earnings, they get taxed more on that. So no net gain mate. That’s how the market works.
And once the Government gets back into providing socialised housing for cheap, and clamping down on easy credit, there won’t be any capital gains from property speculation full stop.
That’s called thinking through the problem mate, isn’t that what you asked for?
You haven’t got it right there. Investment follows very fundamental rules based on the principle of risk & reward. Property has to pay a higher dividend than bank term deposits, if it didn’t then people would simply leave their cash in the bank. It pays that dividend via a mix of rent and (tax-free) capital gain.
Any initiatives that reduce the return on property will affect the market in one of two ways. It will lower the price of property so the return gets back up to market rates. Or it will increase rents and/or house prices to get the return back to market rates. Adding a CGT without addressing the demand/supply side will simply push prices up. The demand for rentals will be unchanged by a CGT but the investment will be reduced, ergo prices will rise until investors are attracted back into the market again.
A CGT needs to be matched with a calculated reduction in the demand for rentals – more housing stock built. Otherwise you’re just condemning the poor to even higher rents.
So, they can leave their cash in the bank. No problem.
Yeah I already answered that with socialised housing.
Rubbish. Why would rents go up to cover a future sale, which may or may not happen? The two things (rental returns and profit on the sale of the property) are unrelated. While I suppose a minority of greedy landlords might use it as a bullshit reason to increase rent, the vast majority of rental properties are held long term and therefore, not subject to CGT. CGT is designed to cover the situation where properties are regularly flipped and rental income is incidental to the real business of making untaxed gains on the increased sale price.
T.mallard argued that the tax changes that national made to eliminate tax advantages for landlords would increase rents. Was he wrong then that to reduce the returns on property Would be made up for increased rents? Or was he just playing the game of politics
Until the rules of the market are well regulated and policed then people will still invest in property. There is a huge oversell that this is nz solution, especially short and medium term along with increasing the age of eligibility of the pension. Sure long term hard to argue against but what happens for the next 10 years and the damage waiting.
TRP – You are talking about one possible variation of CGT. If the landlord thinks they will get taxed in the future, they will increase revenue now to cover that. Alternatively they ill exit the market. Basic market forces.
Which is why we need socialised housing. Market forces care about profit, they don’t care if people are homeless or not.
Their increased revenues today will get taxed today then. So you are saying that they’d prefer to be taxed more now, rather than later?
I mean how stupid are your arguments?
At least Rental income even with deductions has a tax element. Capital gain has no tax elements.
When investors are entering any market they should be looking at their risk:reward and some form of return on investment and weighing that up with what other investments return %.
Property has always been (bar ’72 when Big Norm Kirk proposed it) an acceptable means of making plenty and contributing nothing in tax.
and I found the link re Mallards basis of protecting the landlords.
http://blog.labour.org.nz/2010/03/11/a-big-group-that-will-be-worse-off-following-the-tax-cuts/comment-page-1/
CGT as requires housing to appreciate in value. So then the 6th Lab govt would receive added tax to cover govt spending- But how would that fix our housing issue? Would that not then make property ownership membership more restrictive?
You can see that Mallard was correct and his detractors were wrong. He wrote that in 2010, look at what happened to rents in Auckland since then; exactly what he said would happen.
60% of people who vote are over 65 “Q+A on Superann.”
Thats are a culture of Maternal AUTHORITY writ large.
Intergenerational Theft.
Tame Iti: Read. Spread the Truth. Grow the whanau.
TUHOE lead the way for disenfranchised Tangata Whenua.
TE MAURI ORA!
Don’t know where the 60% figure came from but it’s wrong as quoted. Election stats say there were 2,237,464 party votes and there’s only about 550,000 people over 65. They probably meant to say that 60% of people over 65 voted.
Intergenerational Theft.
This seems to be the catch cry flavour of the month. Let’s dispel that myth once and for all
I collect my super and grab it with both hands. Reason, I am of a generation that also suffered from so called Intergenerational Theft. Every generation suffers from it. In my case, through politicians not getting it right in the thirties, some prick tried to kill me and my family by bombing shit out of us. Also when I started to earn money I paid high taxes for the next generations free university, health care, farm subsidies, export incentives etc. Didn’t have a shit show going to university because like a lot of my generation, we were “working class” and “education” or what was of it was poor during these years. Then we were made to go in the forces to keep some fat cat “safe” in places like Kenya, Malaya etc. When it came to buying a house, we were “lucky” if we could borrow finance off some lawyer at high rates and interest only. Had no show of burrowing like 100% loans from banks so you could buy a 10 acre block somewhere, even if you could not afford it. Only to sell on at some later time making a massive profit all tax free.
The same generation who were the beneficiaries of this system is same generation (Richardsons) who then said, “we have all got to stand on out own two feet, no more help or handouts” as “I we did alright Jack” and quoting Adams book Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Thanks for the fish, now get fucking on with it.
The way this generation has consumed with all the cheap burrowing, the next generation is going to accuse them of Intergenerational Theft, because they will have to live in a world of depleted and expensive resources.
Inter-generational theft, bludging bennies, can’t afford super/welfare/education etc etc are all TINA catch cries from parasitic right wing wealthy to deflect attention away from how much they are stealing from us.
That Labour have bought into it shows they have still not learned from the fuckups of the first ACT government, in the 80’s.
What we cannot afford is to give most of our wealth to those who waste it gambling overseas and on pushing our land prices up.
+1
What we can’t afford is the rich.
Where the “rich” are the top 1/4 of households.
Well said KJT
“Inter-generational theft, bludging bennies, can’t afford super/welfare/education etc etc are all TINA catch cries from parasitic right wing wealthy to deflect attention away from how much they are stealing from us.”
How is generational theft a catch cry of the “parasitic right wing wealthy to deflect attention away from how much they are stealing from us”?
Cause all the talk of generational theft that I have read has not come from the right wing wealthy…they are the ones that frame inequality in vastly different terms.
The claims of intergenerational theft usually steams from a (post)marxist position, which is the true left…or from the poor, or from the younger generations.
Can someone please link me some examples of a critique of generational wealth from the right wing wealthy?
You won’t find any since the Right Wing is totally predicated on conserving and growing inter-generational wealth and power. For their own families.
Half Crown M. congratulations. You have my full support. This generation does not know what hardship and work is and they do not want to know. You are not a voice in the wilderness. Your most vocal critics are the lazy ones. They cannot defend their position, only offer personal abuse. Perhaps this is a reflection of the standard of education (or role models) offered by TV. The rich are with us always. They are unhappy and the envious are unhappy.
How many readers keep a Diary? 10 min. at the end of each day, writing up the Diary, is meditation. Very beneficial.
“How many readers keep a Diary? 10 min. at the end of each day, writing up the Diary, is meditation. Very beneficial.”
Haha..that’s funny. – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqmjWCk36C8
I don’t see the diary making a comeback, not for young people. The hyper-commercialism that was forced onto younger generations since the 1980s has made that kind of reflective meditation a thing of the past. The x & y generations have been programmed to consume and look cool…they are the most socially and politically ignorant generation so far. We should all fear for the following generations…the best we can hope for is a massive economic collapse and a reorganisation of society so that we no longer act on greed. We need a meltdown with hyper-inflation so that all debt and savings are wiped clean…then the govt can take control of greedy people’s assets and we start again with a new system…sadly, that’s the only hope for future generations.
“Also when I started to earn money I paid high taxes for the next generations free university, health care, farm subsidies, export incentives etc.”
True…I don’t know who suffered more…those after the boomers or those before. I wish I was a boomer
Oh yes.The lives of those of us born into the post-war austerity were so much easier than the children and grand children of the boomer middle-classes and upperclasses – those kids who grew up with every mod con, clothes with designer labels and electronic toys.
Learn a little history.
And it certainly wasn’t a lot easier for lareg numbers of girls and women. Maori, Pacific people, the working classes, GLBT people etc.
And yes, things look bleak for future generations – especially for the less well-off. Unfortunately the wealthy and comfortably off (of all the current generations), will find all the wealth and resources they are hoarding won’t protect them from the coming contraction. Society will crumble around them.
So true carol
The main point I was trying to make is every generation suffers or gains from the previous one. The neo liberals of today have benefited hugely by the taxes my generation paid, which I did not object to, as collectively everybody benefited in the building of the infrastructure (which they want to sell off to some fat cat overseas) health systems and good education.
To the ones who have got fat by the system, don’t deny me my meagre pension or help to the less fortunate, and don’t accuse me of Intergeneration Theft.
My eldest brother returned from Burma after fighting the Japanese Like all his generation be it from the left or right, the attitude was at that time “lets build a better world for everyone” and I am not going to let my kids go through that and I am going to do my best for them etc etc. My brother managed to send his son to university. This son who I would call a beneficiary of the system, now has great neo liberal attitudes with the usual “stuff you jack” everybody should stand on the own why should he be taxed to pay for some other bludgers. He conveniently forgets if it wasn’t for the socialistic systems set up in the 40’s he would not had the chance to go to university and would have been just another bright kid trying to survive in the East End. This is the attitude of the likes of Douglas and Richardson who have done very well as beneficiaries of the system which they conveniently forgot.
When I talk about socialistic systems these were systems set up by both the left and right. Lord Beaverbrook the paper magnate who really believed in a free press not like some other turd we know today, was one of the architects of the Health system in Britain. These people from the right had a social conscience about society as a whole. This cannot be said about the breed of neo liberals that have come along since Friedman and Thatcher. They have no social conscience. They only know greed at everybody else’s expense. This is going to be their downfall. The bit I find scary if they are not stopped and attitudes do not change they will take the the world with them. It will not be by Intergenerational Theft by my generation.
And, still, fatty, for you the gen x& yers are the poor victims of previous generations doings, even when those people are doing things destructive to society – always victims of the circumstances they find themselves in. Meanwhile, the protest generation boomers are never explained in similar terms, but are always the perps. of all our current evils.
The boomers who paid 60cents on the dollar taxes for hydro power stations, railways, university educations, health care and other infrastructure, for the next generations.
Who protested about nuclear weapons, social justice and foreign aid.
While gen X and y moan about 20% taxes and vote for neo-liberal Governments.
And only protest when their own student allowances are affected.
It is a bit sad that our current Uni students are deafeningly silent when those on social security are attacked, and about other issues such as AGW, and only wake up when it affects their pockets.
you make students poorer and busier, make them pay a lot of money for their courses, make them feel like they have to keep their heads down, spend time to get their grades to get a return on investment and be able to pay back their student loans.
Universities aren’t places of thinking and debate today, they are diploma mills. Where undergrads simply want the piece of paper which is going to launch their promised careers. And lecturers see teaching students as an annoying distraction from publications and the eventual promotion that leads on to.
Another example of Labour opening the door to the cutting of its own throat in the 1980’s.
+1 on the sad directions our unis have taken away from education to a qualification assembly line.
We need a university of, by and for the people.
“It is a bit sad that our current Uni students are deafeningly silent when those on social security are attacked, and about other issues such as AGW, and only wake up when it affects their pockets.”
I don’t think that is true at all..Actually, you’ll find that those students that were protesting are quite vocal and active in regards to other human rights…I think you have believed the hype from the mainstream media…most students generally do not care too much about the student loan issue and they believe in a user-pays system…most students are “deafeningly silent” in regards to the student loan issue and are generally ignorant to ALL political and social issues.
The percentage of NZ tertiary students protesting these changes?…I’d guess about 1-2%. Students don’t “only wake up when it affects their pockets”…students are for the most part sleepy and ignorant.
“Oh yes.The lives of those of us born into the post-war austerity were so much easier than the children and grand children of the boomer middle-classes and upperclasses – those kids who grew up with every mod con, clothes with designer labels and electronic toys.’
Good point…the average person who was born between the 1950s-1970s faced more challenges than the elite of the future generations.
“Learn a little history.”
…like that nugget of informative insight that you just blessed me with?…thank you…I know where to come for my history lessons.
“And it certainly wasn’t a lot easier for lareg numbers of girls and women. Maori, Pacific people, the working classes, GLBT people etc.”
Another good point, one I’ve argued here myself, the boomers had conservative economic and social structures, they swapped them for liberal economic and social ideals…we’ve been through this before. I do find it ironic that you highlight that privileges existed back (and still do) – white privilege, gender privilege, sexuality privilege etc…but get pulled up on generational privilege and you’ll refute that till the cows some home.
“And, still, fatty, for you the gen x& yers are the poor victims of previous generations doings, even when those people are doing things destructive to society – always victims of the circumstances they find themselves in. Meanwhile, the protest generation boomers are never explained in similar terms, but are always the perps. of all our current evils.”
…nah, not me. I realise essentialising my argument is probably the best form of defence from confronting your privilege (rather than historical facts), but I do not paint gen x & y as pure victims, and the boomers are not “always the perps. of all our current evils”…that’s not how privilege and opportunities work.
I know if all boomers were like you (or others on here) then we wouldn’t have generational inequality. If all white people in the past thought like me, then we wouldn’t have white privilege, and I wouldn’t be a privileged white person. (BTW, I’m poor, got a life crippling student loan and owning property is a distant dream…so I haven’t benefited from white privilege, but it still exists). I’m aware of my privileges…I know my history.
We’ve been through all this before haven’t we Carol?…can you or someone answer this question cause this comment has come from nowhere and I dunno if people consider this to be true…I’ll repeat my question…
How is generational theft a catch cry of the “parasitic right wing wealthy to deflect attention away from how much they are stealing from us”?
Well, you shouldn’t! I am technically a boomer (1953) and I have not benefitted from any of the things boomers supposedly had… (Well, one thing – close to full employment when I left school in 1971, but I didn’t get to Uni until 11 years later, being working class, and that was just before everything changed!)
So here I am, decades later – as broke as it’s possible to be, no more prospect of home ownership than I had when I was young, too old to be attractive to employers (and I have discovered over the past 4 years that women must be attractive, to be employed in offices*) but too young for National Super.
* Yes, knowing that the Human Rights commision has no teeth and that they can say so without consequence, at least 8 prospective employers in the past 4 years have told me in so many words, that I am too old and not good looking enough to be in their office…
Yes, Vicky, while undoubtedly there’s a significant number of boomers dominating the housing ladder, home ownership is far from widespread amongst “boomers” generally:
http://www.3news.co.nz/Halved-home-ownership-rates-for-baby-boomers/tabid/423/articleID/155691/Default.aspx
And as I recall, in one of your WINZ reports you state how most of the people turning up to their “courses” etc, were over 45 years.
So while the elite of the boomers are creaming it, others are not so secure. And we are getting conflicting messages. While some boomers sit at the top of the tree with significant wealth and high-paying jobs, others are losing their jobs, and finding, not only are they not the most desired employees, but some younger people have the more, most recent qualifications.
And we are being sent conflicting messages – there’s not enough money in the coffers for boomer pensions (even for some people who’ve been paying towards the super of the older generation, in the belief that their investment would set up their retirement). So some are telling boomers we need to work til we are older – which is fine for some, but only if they can get/have a job that hasn’t already ground you down. But others are saying boomers should retire and leave the jobs for younger people.
So, really, just another divide and conquer tactic and distraction from the fact that the few are doing well at the expense of many – bennie bashing, older people bashing, “lazy” student bashing…. and on it goes…..
“So, really, just another divide and conquer tactic and distraction from the fact that the few are doing well at the expense of many”
So you do believe that the concept of intergenerational inequality is a tool of ‘right wingers’?
…can you please give me an example…because I’ve never come across this kind of ‘divide and conquer tactic’ from the wealthy where they highlight the issue of generational inequality.
their not as stupid as you fatty telling the truth and right wing is an oxymoron. you ########n
“their not as stupid as you fatty telling the truth and right wing is an oxymoron. you ########n”
Is anyone able to translate that for me please…Or have another try Mike E
How many people have IT problems at work? Was reading this article about wasted time in the workplace & it claims that people wasted hours each week on IT failures;
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/6995443/We-re-sick-of-wasting-time
“Kiwi workers said they wasted two to three hours a week on inefficient or malfunctioning technology. ”We all know intuitively it takes too long to boot up your computer, your email crashes, all those things, but do organisations really know what that is costing them?”
Occasionally I’ve been in a shop that linked to head office via a thin client & the system took ages to search the database but generally I thought those kind of IT troubles were a thing of the past. Do people really still have a lot of IT problems at work?
Get a MAC!
There’s essentially no difference between a Mac and a PC any more. It’s all the same hardware and run at similar reliability.
Still, if I was running a business I’d probably run Linux.
Just kidding but I think that there is still a difference Draco. Not an expert but didn’t the guru who wrote the software for access to the Budget online, say that the Apple App was done very quickly but the other took several weeks. Doesn’t really matter but in Education it seems that Mac schools are often well advanced in ITC whereas PCs are less so.
I suppose that depends upon how good their IT departments are. I’ve worked in corporations that did have those troubles and it was obvious that their IT department a) wasn’t funded enough, b) was taking all sorts of short cuts and/or c) their software was all over the bloody place often requiring 2 or 3 apps to get a job done.
Companies and corporations often have a poor understanding of how to properly plan and run IT. More often than not giving it to their accountant to run.
Substitute “a company” for IT and you have it right.
Our political parties all seem to be in to austerity.
While each has their own little fantasies about how things can get better – public/private partnerships, green jobs, capital gains tax, investment in R and D etc, none of them take us away from the neo liberal economic model and none of them are addressing the structural economic problems or climate change.
National government is busily attacking unions and trying to push wages even lower, Labour wants to mount an even bigger offensive against the whole working class by raising pension age eligibility and the Greens want to subject nature itself to market forces.
As far as our politicians go it is clear they agree on one thing.
Any mad idea is preferable to admitting capitalism is failing for them.
As energy costs continue to put the hard boot down on ‘growth’ we are going to see this perpetual stagnation and mild economic decline become the new normal.
And quite naturally, democracies all over the world will become increasingly feudal in outlook and operation, with an aristocratic class running the show in their own interests.
Unless we manage to get a proper democracy in place before the feudal lords take over again.
That would normally take money, physical resources, governmental power and corporate media influence. Which not by co-incidence the feudal types are busy sewing up.
That’s why we need people power. A single millionaire doesn’t have the same amount of money or clout as a million people with a few dollars each. We’ve just been conditioned to believe that they do.
Unfortunately, it’s a little more difficult to get a million people all going in the same direction.
No chance of that B, you obviosuly read enough to understand that the Military/Intelligence Networks are the ones who will be using the advanced tech to quash anything that resembles demoracy past or present.
As Viper points out, the rulers are currently making sure that any stragglers are seen to, and chances of competition reappearing in any industry space, consigned to the history books!
The drumbeats grow louder and louder for changes to National Super. Never mind that senior poverty is much worse in nations where pensions are means tested — old people in the US having to flip burgers or live on the streets, while employers are are always looking for ways to avoid making good on their pension obligations — I noticed that aforementioned drumbeats are coming from the financial services/banking sector, for whom administering pension funds would be a licence to print money.
National Superannuation is a taonga. Efforts to change it would only lead to an infliction of hardship.
Reduce the retirement age to 62 to allow younger people to move into the work force. Pay for the difference by printing (electronically crediting the Government with) the money required.
Meanwhile, encourage retirees to further increase their volunteering and involvement in their local communities.
Worked for Greece
Can’t work for Greece, because Greece gave up sovereignty over their currency and have subsequently put their banks and their creditors ahead of their own people.
NZ must not give up its economic sovereignty under any circumstances.
TPPA!
GMFI. Retire when you want.
Well, I, for one, would be happy with 62 as a retirement age and to spend my time doing things that contribute to society one way or another, CV…. so long as a have enough to live on – my needs are small.
However, I don’t think your prescription deals with the problem of the current work structure and its underlying values. The reason many older people will be reluctant to step aside from work is because the current structure is built on individualistic values.
Most value is put on those who set out to make themselves rich (especially since the 1980s), while community work is undervalued – both via the relative levels of remuneration and the way economic success is measured. And the result of this is low social status given to such work.
Consequently, after many in the business world, and politics, have worked to consolidate or achieve their wealth and status, they would be unwilling to give up that status to do community work for no pay. So, many take seats on boards and places on right-wing working groups etc, They get big pay, for doing little, or little that is of value to society.
Community work does contribute to the economy, and consequently, within the structure we have, people doing it should be paid.
But I’m all for people in their 60s stepping aside from full time and high paid positions, to work part time.
Yep. Luckily, I’m guessing the Don Brash and Roger Douglas types make up quite a small %, whereas mature persons who think more like yourself are far more numerous.
Oh that’s hilarious! This year I decided that as there’s less than a zero % chance of my ever getting a job (year 4 on UB), I’d do some volunteering work.
That was in mid-January. It’s now a few days off from June. I’ve been to MOTAT, Volunteering Auckland, and the Auckland City Mission. All of them have turned me down – which makes me feel worse than useless. So, no, nobody’s actually crying out for volunteers!
Except maybe the people who wanted me to pay them serious money to do their ESOL course so I could teach English as a second language for free through their organisation. The tertiary qualifications in ESOL teaching that I already have, are it seems, not quite good enough, neither is my eight years’ experience in the field!
So, yeah, I’d happily take National Super at 62, only 4 years to go, as my experience has shown that employers won’t hire anyone over 50… so you’ll forgive me for screaming every time I hear about the poor yoof… at least yoof unemployment is not invisible! I look at my fellow attendees at WINZ seminars, and whaddaya know, no one there is under 45…
QFT and it’s that particular reason why I haven’t joined a political party. The whole damn lot of them are in denial of reality.
Labour intentions on superannuation shows they are still trapped in the Neo-liberal paradigm.
Anything to avoid the obvious answer. Extend the pension idea of a minimum income to young people and families also. Much more effective stimulus than tax cuts for the wealthy to waste.
http://kjt-kt.blogspot.co.nz/2011/06/on-retirement-pensions-and-age-of.html
We cannot afford super is yet another repeated right wing meme. It has been repeated so often even those who should know better have been taken in.
We can, if we invest in our country and our young people.
Instead of selling off our income earning assets to fund tax cuts.
As capitalism has failed, can you give us some evidence-based examples of communist states that we should emulate.
All civilisations start off being communist. If it wasn’t for the success of that start they would never have the wealth to turn to capitalism and then screw everything up.
One Track. At last ! Some hope of sense.
It is better the devil you know than the one you don’t.
No you moron, it isn’t.
Draco… You are rising to the bait again.
“can you give us some evidence-based examples of communist states that we should emulate”
As I’ve run out of marmite, please show me some vegemite or I’ll refuse to believe there’s anything to put on toast.
Well put 😀
“As I’ve run out of marmite, please show me some vegemite or I’ll refuse to believe there’s anything to put on toast.”
Haha…good call. Its surprising that some people are still sucking on Saggy Thatcher’s floppy old tittie…The concept of TINA is possibly more powerful now than its ever been – look at Europe
Additional Tax changes considered were unable to be implemented due to IRD IT turnaround limitations.
“Welcome my son…welome to the machine..
Canadian students do it in style.
Murray McCully hang your head in shame
National has reneged on aid commitments to the world’s poorest people, by cutting $133 million from its Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) budget over the next three years…
Millhouse posted this to me about National Standards. A simple Youtube summary of NS as seen by farmers (teachers) and fruit and vegetables (children).
http://youtu.be/9d9ZBpg3sMo
Just talking today with a facilitator for online post graduate teachers who report that some schools are neglecting many areas of schooling like Science and Art, but putting all their time and energy into Literacy and Numeracy in order to inflate their National Standards ratings. Funny that.
Conveniently omitted from the RWNJ narrative that Greeks have only themselves to blame, the tax exempt status of the one percent.
They are among the wealthiest Greeks — whether shipping magnates, whose tax-free status is enshrined in the constitution, or the so-called oligarchs who have accumulated vast wealth via their dominance in core areas of the economy like oil, gas, media, banking and even cement.
Put the blame where it should be – on the rich. That applies in NZ as well especially under this government.
Exactly. Welfare was the problem. All the neolibs forget to mention is that it was welfare for the rich.
The most valuable things in life are not measured in monetary terms. The really important things are not houses and lands, stocks and bonds, cars and real estate, BUT friendship, trust, confidence, empathy, mercy, love, and faith.
That’s nice but you can’t have any of those latter things in a capitalist society and, no matter what, we all need the former (except the stocks/bonds and cars).
+1
friendship,
until it is inconvenient.
trust,
until it becomes unprofitable.
confidence,
measured in material gain.
empathy,
as long as it doesn’t cause change.
mercy,
to those who are like ourselves.
love,
prostituted to ambition.
and faith,
that death will save us from the truth.
Wow
Wow, that’s really depressing. Glad I don’t have to live like that.
And please, feel free to wilfully ignore all those who do.
Ignore people who wander around second guessing and distrusting “friendship, trust, confidence, empathy, mercy, love, and faith”?
Sure.
Yep. Hence why I don’t vote for Key, English or Brownlee.
Well I wouldn’t put your stock in with Draco then either.
As usual you’ve got it arse backwards, my slow-witted little conformist friend.
Your lack of trustworthiness in no way implies any lack of ability in others to trust.
“Your lack of trustworthiness in no way implies any lack of ability in others to trust.”
My lack of trustworthiness? You fucking numpty.
Draco says “That’s nice but you can’t have any of those latter things in a capitalist society” in relation to “friendship, trust, confidence, empathy, mercy, love, and faith.”
To which I reply “speak for yourself Draco, I have everything John 72 listed (except faith, I am an atheist).”
So, what the fuck are you talking about? Its Draco and UTurn implying the inability to trust, love and have confidence. Not me.
So who is arse-backwards?
I didn’t imply its lack, just that you can’t have it in a capitalist society where it’s all against all.
“just that you can’t have it in a capitalist society where it’s all against all.”
Well I have “friendship, trust, confidence, empathy, mercy, love (though not faith as an atheist)”
So where does that leave your claim then? Are you going to tell me I don’t have these things? Based on what?
Overall, society doesn’t have those things.
Trust is non-existent – I’m pretty sure those emails telling me that I’ve won $100m/have a huge inheritance and all I have to do is send a $10000 money order and it’ll be right in the mail are all truthful, really.
Confidence in what? Can’t be government as they busy destroying our society. Can’t be confident that you’ll have a job tomorrow as jobs are disappearing so as to lower wages.
Empathy – ACC cuts to rape victims shows a distinct lack of that, so does all the beneficiary bashing going on.
Mercy – Same place the empathy is I suspect.
I didn’t mention friendship or love as they’re personal but I’m sure we’ll find that such has also been abused so that someone else can make a buck.
My point was that capitalism breeds the opposites.
Oh Contrarian you poor wee thing. I was using you as an example because I don’t trust anything you say.
“friendship, trust, confidence, empathy, mercy, love, and faith.”
I am not sure the list of things are all of the same calibre. Trust, for example, is a judgement, and depends on something in one’s life being trustworthy, though one might retain trust in God where nothing else was trustworthy. And certainly no amount of material accumulation is going to make up for these values where they are absent. However, our ability to develop and retain these properties are under threat when we are utterly deprived. It makes me angry when people are so trained that they must preface their concerns with “We do not indulge in luxuries, and we never go to the movies or take the kids to the zoo etc…” It is as if anything above bacteria-like survival becomes a source of guilt, while the people encouraging this thinking make million dollar errors and still sleep at night.
“It is as if anything above bacteria-like survival becomes a source of guilt, while the people encouraging this thinking make million dollar errors and still sleep at night.”
Perfectly put Olwyn.Unfortunately ‘morality’ has been redefined by the likes of Phil O’ Reilly, now a ‘new corporate church order business deacon’ as being: ‘the highest moral standard one can achieve is “productivity and competitiveness”‘.
http://tvnz.co.nz/close-up/wednesday-february-29-4748673
Now can you see how a ‘moral’ man can sleep soundly at night
“That’s nice but you can’t have any of those latter things in a capitalist society”
Speak for yourself Draco, I have everything John 72 listed (except faith, I am an atheist).
“I have everything John 72 listed”
All of the latter I mean. Love, friendship etc
DH; Apologies.much haste. 60% of voters over 50?
Jackal. World Bank Prediction for “investment” in developing countries to decline.
U-Turn. Excellence.
Fight for socialism in the name of capitalism (subversion)
“Intellectuals become first students of the masses to become teachers of the masses”
“When money stops flowing to the man on the street, blood flows in the street”
Infrastructure spending. Chinese Investment. Employment.
Like Water.
In a Herald article today entitled,” Charter Schools meet with some resistance” and resplendent with a cheery photo of snow queen Catherine Isaacs, John O’Neill professor in Teacher Education at Massey, points out what he considers to be the real agenda for the ‘out of the blue’ introduction of Charter Schools.http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10808693
“O’Neill is sceptical of Isaac’s sincerity in pushing the charter school agenda. He points to the legislative change, which will effectively “take teachers out of the State Sector Act”.
Under the act, teachers are deemed public servants and entitled to a collective contract.
By changing the law, charter schools will be able to employ teachers on individual contracts.
This is Isaac’s real agenda, he claims: “to block the power of the unions”.”
Never mind our children then. Ice splinters all round.
First the Serco incompetence. Then the National Party in denial.
Well, after NACT went around telling everyone how good privatisation is they’d have to defend the failure that it is else they’d have to admit that they were wrong and they’ll never do that.