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.
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8. The universe was ...
Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
Peter Dunne writes – The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious: we live in a troubled ...
1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
…it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisitionNOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes – The High Court ...
Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same?Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
Open access notablesIce acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment:In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
Mr Bombastic:Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder.In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére SosouMarket gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
Buzz from the Beehive Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
Morning in London Mother hugs beloved daughter outside the converted shoe factory in which she is living.Afternoon in London Travelling writer takes himself and his wrist down to A&E, just to be sure. Read more ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – The recent announcement of the University Advisory Group, chaired by Sir Peter Gluckman, makes very clear where the Government’s focus and priorities lie. The remit of the Advisory Group is that Group members will consider challenges and opportunities for improvement in the university sector including: ...
Eric Crampton writes – The Reserve Bank of New Zealand desperately wants to find reasons to have workstreams in climate change. It makes little sense. They’ve run another stress test on the banks looking to see if they could find a prudential regulation case. They couldn’t. They ...
Rob MacCullough writes – Pundits from the left and the right are arguing that National’s Fast Track Bill that is designed to speed up infrastructure decisions could end up becoming mired in a cesspool of corruption. Political commentator ...
Looking at the headlines this morning it’s hard to feel anything other than pessimistic about the future of humanity.Note that I’m not speaking about the future of mankind, but the survival of our humanity. The values that we believe in seem to be ebbing away, by the day.Perhaps every generation ...
Swabbing mixed breed baby chicks to test for avian influenzaUh oh. Bird flu – often deadly to humans – is not only being transmitted from infected birds to dairy cows, but is now travelling between dairy cows. As of last Friday, Bloomberg News reports, there were 32 American dairy herds ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
What is it with the mining industry? Its not enough for them to pillage the earth - they apparently can't even be bothered getting resource consent to do so: The proponent behind a major mine near the Clutha River had already been undertaking activity in the area without a ...
Photo # 1 I am a huge fan of Singapore’s approach to housing, as described here two years ago by copying and pasting from The ConversationWhat Singapore has that Australia does not is a public housing developer, the Housing Development Board, which puts new dwellings on public and reclaimed land, ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
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Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...
The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...
The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...
A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
A Waitangi Tribunal inquiry report has warned government that a repeal of Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act could cause harm to children in care. ...
The Treasury has published today three new papers covering government consumption multipliers, automatic stabilisers and the impacts of global shocks on New Zealand’s economy. ...
Asia Pacific Report The Pacific state of Hawai’i’s House of Representatives has joined the state’s Senate in calling for a ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza, becoming the first state to pass such a resolution, reports Hawaii News Now. In March, the Senate passed a ceasefire resolution with a 24–1 ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Ferrie, A/Prof, UTS Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research and ARC DECRA Fellow, University of Technology Sydney PsiQuantum The Australian government has announced a pledge of approximately A$940 million (US$617 million) to PsiQuantum, a quantum computing start-up company based in Silicon Valley. Half ...
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SPECIAL REPORT:By Eugene Doyle He is the most popular Palestinian leader alive today — and yet few people in the West even know his name. Absolutely no one in Gaza or the West Bank does not know him. That difference speaks volumes about who dominates the media narrative that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Will McCallum, PhD Candidate – School of Communication and Creative Arts, Deakin University Earlier this year, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of not supporting Operation Sovereign Borders – the military-led border security operation that has “closed Australia’s borders ...
By Melyne Baroi in Port Moresby A Papua New Guinea MP, Peter Isoaimo, who had been ousted by the National Court in an alleged bribery case, has been reinstated by the Supreme Court on appeal. A three-member Supreme Court bench found that the National Court had erred in finding that ...
Publisher Chris Holdaway reflects on the unique project of collecting the work of the late, terrific poet Schaeffer Lemalu. One of the nice things you can do as a truly independent publisher is to make the books that writers want to make, whatever they happen to be. That’s how I’ve ...
Those profiled in the stamp series served on overseas deployments from 1995 onwards, and all have been awarded theNew Zealand Operational Service Medal. ...
Last night’s dismal poll result for the coalition government shows the limits of trying to govern as an opposition, argues Joel MacManus. There’s a quote from the American political activist Barbara Deming: “Vengeance is not the point; change is. But the trouble is that in most people’s minds, the thought ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Shireen Morris, Associate Professor and Director of the Radical Centre Reform Lab at Macquarie University Law School, Macquarie University Leonid Andronov/Shutterstock Foreign interference in Australian democracy poses a growing risk to our national sovereignty. It refers to coercive, corrupt or ...
A defendant charged by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has pleaded guilty to four charges of obtaining by deception in relation to a mortgage fraud scheme. Sentencing has been scheduled for 14 August 2024. ...
What to say when pesky journalists ask gotcha questions like ‘can you name a single book you’ve ever read?’ and ‘did you read it, or did you just see the movie?’This week, Act Party arts spokesperson Todd Stephenson foolishly agreed to an interview with Newsroom’s Steve Braunias regarding his ...
Explainer - What will a ban on cellphones in schools achieve? Can students use them during lunch breaks? And what happens if you need to contact your child? ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jodi Rowley, Curator, Amphibian & Reptile Conservation Biology, Australian Museum, UNSW Sydney Jodi Rowley, CC BY-NC-ND In winter 2021, Australia’s frogs started dropping dead. People began posting images of dead frogs on social media. Unable to travel to investigate the deaths ...
In the year ended March 2024, 0.4 percent of home transfers were to people who didn’t hold New Zealand citizenship or a resident visa, according to figures released by Stats NZ today. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Wasay Majid, Research Assistant , University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau New Zealand’s accommodation supplement scheme is facing scrutiny, with Social Development Minister Louise Upston recently saying “there is merit in considering whether the current settings are fair and sustainable long-term”. The ...
By Koroi Hawkins, RNZ Pacific editor The first prime ministerial candidate has been announced in Solomon Islands and it is not Manasseh Sogavare. The man of the hour is Jeremiah Manele, the MP for Hograno/Kia/Havulei constituency in Isabel Province, who served as minister of foreign affairs in the last government. ...
Protesting the removal of bins by leaving piles of your dog’s shit for others to deal with doesn’t make you a hero – it’s precious and entitled behaviour. You haven’t truly lived until you’ve stood on the shoreline of Auckland’s Cheltenham beach, desperately trying to scoop increasingly liquid dog shit ...
Analysis - Christopher Luxon will be alert to the factors driving the dire polling, but won't be waving the white flag just yet, RNZ political editor Jo Moir writes. ...
Writer, teacher and academic Vincent O’Sullivan died on Sunday 28 April. Here we gather tributes from friends, colleagues, and students who remember his extraordinary contributions. I went down to the garage tonight. There was a bird shrieking out in the bush, in the dark, maybe a kākā. Miraculously, through the ...
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A petition signed by more than 16,500 people, demanding the government take stronger action to halt the genocide of Palestinians by the State of Israel, is being presented to the House of Representatives today by Hon Phil Twyford. ...
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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.