For landlords. If your business is too highly geared it is your fault, not the customers. You are using your customers to buy the house for you. You wouldn't get loans for a normal business, if the outgoings were so close to the costs. It is only the banks expectations that you will, in fact, make a large profit in the end from capital gains, that they base their lending on.
That so many can borrow beyond the rentals earnings, as a going concern, is a consequence of steeply rising prices. Especially if they already have other houses as collateral. And a prime cause of the whole merry go round.
The same thing has happened with farms, where banks will lend on the land, at levels way in excess of any possible earnings from a going concern farm, in the expectations of the land making huge gains on sale.
No one who simply wants a home, or to farm can keep up.
Exactly. Landlords, whether one or multiple property owners, are hardly the entrepreneurial geniuses ‘housing the nation’ that their spokespeople try to portray.
If interest rates rise, Accomodation Supplements are canned or reduced, or a CGT instituted, it will be tears at bedtime and w-w-wailing for bailouts.
After so many years, untaxed or lightly taxed profits from property are a no-go area for the main Parliamentary parties apart from Māori and Greens perhaps.
But the answer is there–supply–start a Govt. Dept., fully publicly owned, to plonk modular houses and apartments from one end of the country to other until everyone is housed satisfactorily. And institute rent control right now to send “a signal” while plans are actioned.
"hardly the entrepreneurial geniuses housing the nation"……….lol. Couldn't of put it better. As I commented in my time being a landlord it was money for jam……..easiest "work" I have every done!
That's because as a person who has only 'worked' to earn a living you don't really grasp what it is to put a price on 'risk'. And the very basic bit of landlording you did didn't involve much risk and with maybe only a handful of tenants involved you never struck a bad one.
But ask yourself this – why do you think the banks won't lend to just anyone and everyone who wants a home? If they would do that then there would be no need for anyone to ever rent.
Red Logix. Often appreciate your point of view, so don't want to get into a battle with you. I am sorry if the new housing regulations are proving stressful for you, really I am.
I have run my own business since 2006. So I have an idea about risk. Before that I was a paid employee, and have done a wide range of jobs.
Most of us live very conservative, safe lives, we avoid real risk like the plague. We default to the idea of labour being the only 'real' measure of money (I still have this hard-wired into me) – but a few among us escape this trap.
One day I got a 40 min helicopter ride sitting next to Phillipe Pascal, the man who had raised U$7.5b for this project. This is real risk, and getting to success was incredibly hard work for everyone involved. I worked most of 2019 on this site, it was an amazing experience and I watched this with some pride.
It's transformed the economy of a whole country. Of course the anti-capitalists here will line up to take pot-shots, and to be fair as with anything human there are flaws and failings that can be rightly criticised. But how many among us here at The Standard – can say that we've achieved something like this?
Is that all that's important to you? Something to attack? It's odd how you've expressed no interest in how it's transformed the lives of the local communities. People getting out of poverty and all that.
But yes there was considerable labour conflict on site for a period. On my first rotation I arrived completely unaware of a major riot that had occurred in another location (it's a huge site, it takes an hour to drive from the coast where I was working to the mine entrance). There were multiple unions active on site, but one of them was determined to gain leverage and literally shut the place down for weeks. Gangs of men in trucks patrolled around the site, throwing rocks, confronting anyone they met, stopping supplies, cutting communications, wrecking offices and camps. It was really very violent and dangerous and I was totally cut off from the outside world along with a small team of Australians (just the six of us) in one of the smaller camps on the coast for four weeks.
In the end it was us, a couple of managers, some cooks and a dozen heavily armed security guards, hunkered down keeping a very low profile. We got through it OK, and we actually got a lot of work done without anyone else breathing down our neck. But it was more of an adventure than advertised.
The union did have something of a valid complaint in that while there were many thousands of skilled ex-pat workers onsite who were there legitimately and authorised by the govt labour dept, there was also a large Chinese labour contractor who was blatantly breaking the rules and undercutting the local labour. It's not necessarily and easy or quick thing to solve, sure you can ditch the problematic contractor, but that leaves you with a big gap in resource. Eventually the govt and First Quantum found a way around it all – but as with anything in Latin America it took way longer than you or I would think reasonable.
So there is something for you to be outraged over.
RL – I'm not sure that there has been a lot of risk in residential property investment over the last two decades? As you yourself said yesterday, "And the simple answer is that for several generations now the only reliable investment in this country has been property."
I absolutely don't blame people or think they are evil for acting in a financially rational manner – we all want our families to eat. I might however raise an eyebrow (Judith style) when people try to glamourise that rationality as some sort of virtue – such as providing homes for people, or wealth creation, or risk taking.
In terms of the linked video, although some business enterprises do involve remarkable people with vision and a bravery in the face of risk, it's not really the norm. Most businesses are risk averse. Innovation and new product development is hard – it is much easier to turn a profit by cutting labour costs, outsourcing to low-wage economies, monopoly/cartel behaviour, ticket-clipping, externalising costs (environmental, social) onto the taxpayer, etc..
Disclaimer: In an earlier life before the venture capitalists decided that two Indians and half a German could do my job for less money – I had the financial resources to invest in residential property. I decided not to – partly because although it was low-risk it was also a lot of hassle, plus I had vague thoughts that maybe it wasn't particularly socially responsible. I claim no virtue in this decision, it is just how things work out.
For most landlords with just the one unit (usually an ex-family home) – it's not very risky at all. But then the returns are pretty modest as well. It's only when you start leveraging up a stack of 10 or more that it becomes substantially more difficult. But relatively few get there, Pareto’s law applies to landlording too.
it is much easier to turn a profit by cutting labour costs, outsourcing to low-wage economies, monopoly/cartel behaviour, ticket-clipping, externalising costs (environmental, social) onto the taxpayer, etc..
Each one of those is worth several posts and many threads, but in general yes there are many commercial activities that fall somewhere on a very broad spectrum between pure labour and pure entrepreneur. And I agree that not all of them have equal social merit.
And yes there are plenty of unpleasant, ego-driven, status-seeking people in the business world doing things we find ethically deplorable. The transformation of the human heart lies in our future. But for the time being at least capitalism gives these people something to do other than actual war, rape and pillage.
Unlike the promoters of marxist utopia's, I don't defend capitalism because I think it's any kind of ideal. It's not even very ideological, it's really just a handful of economic tools and ideas that have evolved into something incredibly complex and pervasive. And as such I expect it will continue to evolve into new forms as our social horizons and moral vision expand.
Yeah, that would be something to see. We should have followed immediately after Australia removed them.
In Australia the percentage of IO loans for residential was quite high..from memory 30 or 40%. Not sure how many are IO in NZ but probably similar as it’s been encouraged.
Im stirring….I dont think they will (immediately) especially without waiting to see how the package plays out, but the option is there.
“Nearly 40% of bank lending to residential property investors is on interest-only arrangements – RBNZ tight-lipped on whether this is too high, but raises concerns over leverage”
Yeah, everybody else was prepared for the pandemic and could see it coming as soon as that bat fled that cave except for those who find themselves financially struggling. Clearly, they made bad personal choices and should suffer the consequences.
Is this comment too much ‘lefty resentment’ or too ‘RWNJ’? What do you think?
The already rich are on the line heading upwards – getting richer because of a range of Government policies aimed at responding to Covid-19. Meanwhile, renters, beneficiaries and the working poor are getting poorer because their rents are rising, their incomes are falling and they have received barely any more direct help than they got before the pandemic.
This isn’t a binary issue, and continuing to frame it as such is unhelpful. Personally I feel for anyone who is struggling to pay their bills regardless of what they are, one would argue these people are on the lower leg of the ‘K recovery’ like the working poor and renters etc.
We are all closer to becoming destitute than becoming a billionaire.
How many riding the 'up elevator' reallywant all elevators to go up?
It would be a great 'trick' to pull off – in the meantime we can beef up redistribution so that the 'down escalator' travels more slowly.
Really don't understand how a bit more redistribution could put everyone on the down escalator – can you talk me through it? Lets say the Government instituted a wealth tax or some other policy that resulted in the transfer of 2% of your wealth to those on the 'down escalator.' How might that transfer put you on the ‘down escalator‘?
I'm curious as to why you think the financial security of everyone on the up escalator is so marginal – seems to me that the opposite is true. I write as someone on the 'up escalator.' Sure, my position is towards the bottom of that escalator, but it feels secure to me – a 2% wealth tax would barely affect me.
In my view your answer [Redistribution] really amounts to taking everyone off the up and putting them on the down. Very marxist. – RL @11:02 am
RL, please can you talk/walk me through how ‘a bit more‘ redistribution could put everyone on the ‘down escalator‘? Note that I’m definitely not seeking some sort of Marxist utopia – that wouldn’t suit me at all. But a bit more redistribution sure could go a long way to slowing that ‘down escalator‘, and there but for the grace of God…
“I believe that with great wealth comes great responsibility, a responsibility to give back to society and a responsibility to see that those resources are put to work in the best possible way to help those most in need.” – Gates
And, while I've never met anyone who told me that they thought poverty was/is a good thing, I believe that some on the 'up escalator' have become overly reliant on relative poverty – for example, those that can't cope when the tap of cheap labour is turned off.
Historically the only place where poverty could operate as a virtue was within the very specific settings of some form of monastic lifestyle. In particular it only works where sex and having family is prohibited.
I'm curious as to why you think the financial security of everyone on the up escalator is so marginal – seems to me that the opposite is true. @11:43 am
RL, please can you talk/walk me through how ‘a bit more‘ redistribution could put everyone on the ‘down escalator‘? @12:08 pm
Probably my misinterpretation, in which case apologies.
RL, I've never met anyone who personally sought out poverty, which is a pity really because I'm sure their worldview would be interesting.
Well I have been in the fortunate position to have met some one like that. He sleeps "rough" here in Thames and I get to meet him on a regular basis. I've often discussed with him the possibility of moving in to better accommodation than behind his favourite building. But his chosen site is where he prefers. He is his own person and while he would like to have someplace he could have a shower on occasions and a place to heat up some food, the lifestyle he chooses is his own, and at the moment suits him. Although tangata whenua, he claims no river and no mountain, he claims no one. He is a very spiritual person, preferring his own company.
Of the 20 or so rough sleepers in our town I have written on their behalf to the 4 ministers and associate ministers responsible for housing and homeless persons, suggesting that they consider working with a local ngos towards the establishment of a Hub where these people could have shelter, a shower, meet, and share food. Funding would be directed to the employment of staff for the supervision of the centre. I have not received any response.
A decent answer is well beyond the scope of a short comment. But in brief the answer I would offer is that we already do a great deal of redistribution (especially around education, health and security) to ensure everyone gets a reasonable equal opportunity.
But it's much harder and far more problematic to ensure equal outcomes. Some element of competitive innovation or 'doing better' has to be built in otherwise most people simply stop bothering. The Soviet Union was the great example — "they pretend to pay us, we pretend to work".
Perhaps we could make more progress if we worried less about the material measures of wealth inequality, and started to ask more questions around what defines true wealth and what are the best uses it can be put to? And in this I keep coming back to the concept of a social and economic life based on ideas of duty and service.
Sorry – that does fall short of answering your question.
@Macro (1:52 pm) – thanks for that. Your vision of a 'homeless(ness) Hub' is very valuable and positive. I hope that you continue your lobbying and are (eventually) successful.
My brother lives in Thames now, and we know the place well. It's likely you'll bump into him one day.
Your rough sleeper is essentially what we used to call a 'hermit'. Single men who have stepped outside of society have always existed in our history. It's just that our climate and DoC don't really let them live on mountain tops these days.
And respect for you willingness to reach out to him and advocate for those in a similar position. It's not an easy task helping people and I sincerely look up to those who are good at it.
@RL (2:02 pm) – that's helpful. Tbh I reckon many of those on the 'down escalator' couldn't give a toss about ensuring "equal outcomes" – they just need a bit more help. As to how to fund it, well, there's no getting around the fact that NZ is (on the whole) a wealthy country.
And I think your observation that some seem overly concerned about material wealth is on the money – focusing on the inequality of material wealth is so punitive.
Wow my 'creaming it" comment has really struck a nerve. Maybe I should be more careful with my language.
The people I object to are the ones who own property, rent it out, will push the rents up no matter the impact on the tenants, because they have over leveraged and scream and howl that its not fair, not owning that most likely they are in a far better position than their tenants, the consequences for which could mean eviction, trying to find another place to live in an over priced under supplied market, may forgo back necessities to keep a roof over their head by paying the rent increase, have no hope of ever buying their own digs. Their situation is always in the fore front of my mind. As was young first home buyers being out bid by investors, some of who turn out to be unhappy because now they will have to hold on to the property longer and gradually no longer be able to claim interest as a tax deduction.
But yes I will be more careful with my language in future. I am not here to inflame things
Checked the Australian figure. Three years ago 25% of all residential property loans were interest only so not as bad as I thought. Still that's a huge number.
"Interest-only home loans used to rival their principal and interest (P&I) repayment counterparts, accounting for around 40% of all outstanding mortgage balances in the mid-2010s. But that was before regulatory bodies introduced measures to slow down this form of lending. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) imposed a 30% restriction on the number of home loans issued by banks that could be interest-only in 2017."
As a mortgage underwriter in Australia, we are seeing a rise of interest only owner occupied loan applications, scraping through in terms of serviceability. LVR's ranging wildly, but not exceeding 80%.
This is quite eye opening coming back to underwriting from my secondment with the COVID19 hardship response team, as there was a push for borrowers who reached maximum assistance (6-10 months moratorium) to go interest only. I wouldn't really like to consider what % our portfolio is on IO repayments, treading water.
Yup. We were never tempted to go interest only either. Only speculators or the very marginal go down that path. Long term investors want to get the mortgage paid off eventually and IO doesn't get you there.
For owner occupiers (not investors) is interest only still cheaper than rents? It gives people time to recover without losing a deposit or being subjected to the renting merry go around.
Yesterday I commented that landlords were creaming it and I got howls of protests about overgeneralizing and most landlords aren't like that and what do you think being a land lord is……a social service.
KJT you are spot on. If their business is too geared it is their fault/responsibility. They took a risk with an investment and it didn't work out…….maybe, they made a poor business decision.
The govt actually had to take very significant action on this. Just like they did with Covid.
I also commented that I was a landlord once when I had to move city and thought it possible I would move back home and wanted to hold onto my home. This was a few years back now. Being a landlord is money for jam. Its like a hobby really. You have a property manager, your accountant sets things up vey nicely for you. Occasionally you have to make decisions about ………actually I am struggling to think of what decisions I had to make. Oh thats right, if the tenants request things, which I was always happy to go along with as I had a small mortgage and I was happy to use the low rent I was charging to make improvements for them.
It would be interesting to know how many landlords are highly geared. If interest rates went back up to 5% or 6% if they could cope with that. Hopefully they have been smart enough to realise that the current interest rates are as low as they have ever been and at some point may increase and have budgeted for that. I do feel for any landlord that has recently purchased a rental and have only say 80% equity, as this will be a game changer for them now that the interest non deductibility is phased in. Like I say, the non deductibility is like them receiving an interest rate rise, so hopefully they have budgeted for the possible increase.
My guess is that many long-term 'buy and hold' landlords who have been in the business for more than say 15 yrs will have a total LVR under 60%. The reason why is that the price inflation we have been seeing means that any new property you purchase is going to be negative cash flow for many years, and there is a real limit to how often you can do that.
But what is also happening is that while interest rates are low for the moment, but at the same time other fixed costs like rates and insurance have increased dramatically. We have one unit where the latest insurance bill now consumes 22% of the rent.
Interestingly here in Australia one of the internal rules the banks are using to check the serviceability of new lending is to assess what would happen with an interest rate of 6.45%. So they understand that the current low rates are not likely to last forever. Indeed as the current generation of boomers retire over the next few years, and transition from the greatest investors of all time, to the greatest consumers of capital there is a real argument that rates could easily go over 10% again.
That 5-7% aligns with our experience here in Australia.
Where interest rates will go in future depends a lot on how long govts around the world can keep printing money to keep them where they are now. If they fail in this, then all bets are off, I don't think anyone knows how that will play out.
That so many can borrow beyond the rentals earnings, as a going concern, is a consequence of steeply rising prices.
80% of landlords never go beyond the one unit – because it's not as easy as you portray. If you're negatively geared (as we were for a long period – at 9% interest rates that was inevitable even when we never went over 60% LVR), the bank isn't going to lend more to you just because you queue up and smile sweetly.
Banks don't look at just the increased equity, they look at your serviceability and past a certain age your exit strategy as well. The idea that you can borrow without limit is just wrong. The relatively few people who do manage to get to more than 10 units have negotiated a tricky balance of cash flow, costs, lots of leg work – plus a bit of luck – to get there. Most people don't want to do that because the risk goes up substantially and it becomes close to a full time job to manage. No-one is portraying landlords as 'entrepreneurial geniuses' – in normal times it was always considered a relatively modest strategy that took decades to pay off. People don't want to play casino with their life savings.
Well as I've said elsewhere, established owners with little or no borrowing will be very happy – this govt has just eliminated virtually any new competition in the rental market.
"It is only the banks expectations that you will, in fact, make a large profit in the end from capital gains, that they base their lending on."
Isn't more the ease of claiming the security for the loan than the expected capital gain? That's of course buoyed by record capital gains that're occurring at the moment, but are banks really lending against what they think a future sale price might reach?
Its both…the banks want the income stream and are happy to extend the credit in a rising market because should you default they have an asset of increased value that they can dispose (or preferably releverage) with a reduced fear of loss…..and the fees theyll add.
That would appear a strange anomaly….and the fact his unit still has quake damage is appalling….though I wonder if the units are earmarked to be replaced so upgrades are avoided.
I don't know the answer to this, but are you saying that banks are lending against a projected value of the asset, rather than its actual value at the time of the lending?
Taking out a mortgage only pushes up the prices of whatever product you are selling. The ideal situation is where an investor is sufficiently cashed up that he can invest without borrowing. Alternatively, he might be able to get an interest free loan. Long live Social Credit!
Someone dial 111, Judith Collins is involved in another train wreck on the radio.
From the thoroughly fake sounding surprise greeting (akin to real estate agent photos in the paper), to the assertions that rent controls never work anywhere, to the antagonistic tone taken when challenged on her assertions.
Can anyone be harmed by excessive schadenfreude? I may need medical attention.
“Behold,” he could have said, “the reality of global trade. Behold the tankers full of the oil that warms the climate and keeps the vile House of Saud in power. Behold the trillion tonnes of cheap consumer goods, from the factories of Asia to the landfills of Europe. Just look at it all. It cannot be sustainable. And how easily we could wean ourselves off it. Ladies and gentlemen, it is not too late.”
It's incredibly lazy for people like Bennett to write snarky pieces like this, in complete ignorance of how the world works. Virtually everything about his modern comfortable life has been enabled by just this 'global trade' that he sneers at. He just doesn't know it.
People like him would stand by cheering when the house burned down because they didn't like the decor in the upstairs bathroom.
Well I guess he got paid for churning out his silly bit of click-bait – which is about the sum total of it's merit.
I suspect Mr Bennet knows pretty well what provides for his lifestyle and I also suspect he isnt a big consumer of frippery…sadly nuance is becoming in increasingly short supply as is humour.
Well I'll give Bennett credit for having the curiosity and energy to ask the question and chase down some answers. How well he succeeded might be gauged by some of the review comments.
But the question is certainly worth asking – and the answer lies very much buried within CCP policy and their basic purpose for money. In the West we view money as a tool to enable economically worthwhile productivity, market pricing being a tool to manage this. The CCP uses money as a tool to maximise employment and maintain social stability, price being of relatively lesser importance – if any in the case of the underpants.
How is it that NZ prisoners are not allowed access to the internet while Putin's most feared opposition incarcerated in the most punishing gulag Russia has , can operate an Instagram account ?
People we manage in our prisons do not have access to computers with internet connection so cannot use email.
Navalny said in a post on Instagram that he had been given six reprimands over two weeks, and that two reprimands would be technically enough for a prison tribunal send a prisoner to a punishment cell.
Ask Kim Hill to ask that question next she does a piece on this, or any news/current events show on RNZ for that matter, I am sure they will be only too willing to shift from the established narrative.
When Peters couldn't answer a question or didn't want to answer a question, he would turn it into a he said/she said argument so that the question was never answered. Only he was better at doing it than Judith.
His statements seemed to me to be at least as general as were those of Judith Collins. However not a single one was questioned in any way and no evidence was requested for any of them. And people still think that Radio NZ is "impartial"?
The renter advocate's statements may have been general alwyn but they were much clearer and far less equivocal than Judith Collins. I almost had the feeling she was being deliberately ambiguous for the sake of it.
Having said that, I agree with you that some RNZ radio hosts are not always impartial. There are one or two of them who enjoy arguing for the sake of it which doesn't achieve much imo.
Please when you address a particular commenter put the name or pseudo. I want to know what about and to whom you are talking, Some people certainly cry out to be called w…s and I want to see if you have picked the right one in my opinion.
By no means – some people handle the powers of petty bureaucracy generously, others become martinets.
Freedom campers, once merely known as campers, are losing the local version of allemansrätten to a failure of local government imagination.
Not so keen on extending the generalization to teachers however – most do their best within the constraints of a system that gives them relatively little freedom of action.
Is it just me or do others feel like these calls for, in this case tech entrepreneurs, everyone to move to a new silicon valley (NZ) more than a bit arrogant and condescending? Have they not noticed that a lot of people live here already and that they may have a different view about others deciding to "invade" their country? Maybe we actually don't want them? It's not like Silicon Valley has made life wonderful for all the people who live or used to live in the area. Some studies have shown that incomers in places like Seattle and Portland have just pretty much displaced existing populations.
And aren’t a bunch of them just selfish opportunists leeching off the work of others?
Even worse are the US Republicans that go "I'll move to NZ" as if they have some absolute right to turn up here and enjoy living that results from policy that is pretty much everything that they have always worked against.
ACC is just plain wrong here. There's nothing in the Act that requires instruments to be used in order for an injury to be regarded as a treatment injury. It's ACC hunting for ways to shaft the claimant yet again.
Sepuloni is being weak here. As minister she has more power than what people are led to believe. In this case she just needs to tell ACC to pull its head in.
A major problem, amongst many, with ACC is that they're assumed to have more power than they in fact have. ACC has become so arrogant in its drive to find ways of refusing cover and kicking people off compensation that it now actively challenges cases in the courts where someone's appealed a decision based on legislation the government has introduced for a specific purpose. In other words, ACC sees no problem setting out to (mis)use the judicial process to thwart clear legislative intent.
Sepuloni needs to start looking at the real problems at ACC instead of believing what those nasty pricks at ACC head office so deceivingly tell her is the case. ACC operates in a very dark place. It's a great opportunity for Sepuloni to create a lasting legacy by successfully taking them on. The only problem is that I don't think she's got the guts or the smarts to do it. A pity.
NZ – one wonders just where our systems of control went – now it seems anything goes.
A woman was crashed into by a Lime Scooter in 2019. The Court has to decide whether it is a vehicle! You get injured first, and then that prompts someone who has authority to decide whether it is safe, should be used etc.
Christensen credited the two scarves she had been wearing to combat the cold with saving her life.
McIntyre has been on trial before Judge Christopher Field, who had to consider whether a Lime Scooter was a vehicle under the Land Transport Act. Because Christensen had one foot on the bus, he also had to consider whether she was a passenger or a pedestrian…
McIntyre was sentenced to pay $4000 reparations to her.
How long can the perp string the payments out and what happens if nothing is paid? Do our Courts serve the little person? Well as Flanders and Swann chirruped, it all makes work for the working man [Judge] to do; virtually making law on the hoof, said in the kindest way of course.
Oliver Hartwich writes – New Zealanders recently learned about a new feature film. It will be about former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – and taxpayers will subsidise it to the tune of NZ$800,000. Ardern had nothing personally to do with either the film or the subsidy. But her government’s ...
TL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above that was recorded yesterday afternoon above between and The Kākā’s climate correspondent : An independent review panel into the emergency response to Cyclone Gabrielle in Hawkes Bayconcluded “that ...
There are now only a few days left to give feedback on the Draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport 2024-34 (see our earlier post this week on GPS submission guides). As we’ve reported, the GPS is a disaster for Local Government, so we were particularly interested to hear ...
Willis has pledged to go ahead with the debt-funded tax cuts, despite growing opposition from her own supporters worried about appearing fiscally irresponsible. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for ...
Open access notables A survey of interventions to actively conserve the frozen North, van Wijngaarden et al., Climatic Change:The frozen elements of the high North are thawing as the region warms much faster than the global mean. The dangers of sea level rise due to melting glacier ice, increased ...
Bryce Edwards writes – New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure. The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On ...
In 2015, then-Prime Minister John Key announced plans for a huge ocean sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands, banning fishing and mining from 15% of Aotearoa's EEZ. It was bold, it was ambitious, and it suggested that National might actually care about the environment. Except they fucked it up: Key failed ...
1. Who has just been given the accolade New Zealander of the Year?a. The Kokakob. The Cook Strait Ferryc. Fair God. Dr Jim Salinger 2. Which of these is an affront to decent society?a. Dame Edna Everageb. Mrs Doubtfire c. Dr. Frank-N-Furterd. Brian 3. Who is Penny Simmonds?a. The aspiring actress in Big ...
New Zealand’s biggest-ever political donations scandal is finally at an end. But what is the conclusion? No one can really be sure.The Court of Appeal released its judgement on Tuesday about the Serious Fraud Office case against the NZ First Foundation. On the face of it, the court found ...
Buzz from the Beehive Waves of rain are set to lash much of the North Island during Easter Weekend as a low-pressure system forms east of New Zealand, according to a weather forecast published in the past day or so. Niwa was warning of a “moisture-laden” long weekend, with rain expected ...
Look around us…Nicola Willis’ promises of balancing the books, of cutting spending without reducing services, and of delivering game changing tax cuts are disappearing before her eyes.Everyday we see stories of violent crime ending in horrific injuries, or worse. The cost of living worsens, whereas the PM claimed renters would ...
TL;DR: My top six news of note on the morning of Thursday, March 28 include:The Government will have to borrow between $10 billion to $15 billion more than previously expected in order to make up for a slowing economy and to pay for $14.9 billion of tax cuts, according to ...
This story by Naveena Sadasivam and Kate Yoder was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The long-awaited jobs board for the American Climate Corps, promised early in the Biden administration, will open next month, according to details shared exclusively ...
Should landlords be able to deduct the interest on the loans they take out to bankroll their property speculation? The US Senate Budget Committee and Bloomberg News don’t think this is a good idea, for reasons set out below. Regardless, our coalition government has been burning through a ton of ...
Treasury’s first report on the economy since the change of government presents a damning indictment of Labour’s economic management. The problem for National is that it is so damning that logically, coupled with a rapidly slowing economy, Finance Minister Nicola Willis should respond to it by postponing or even cancelling ...
Budget tensions are becoming evident within the Coalition Government. Winston Peters made numerous political points in his speech to the NZF annual conference. But the attack on his own government’s fiscal policies raised issues of substance. ‘Today in the Sunday Star Times, journalist and former advisor to the Labour ...
Buzz from the Beehive The media – sure enough – have been binging on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ release of the Budget Policy Statement and a statement headed Government announces Budget priorities This assures us – or rather, this parrots the Luxon team mantra – that the Budget “will deliver ...
The Ides of March brought me COVID followed by a bereavement. No wonder they tell you to be careful of them.I’m home now and have resumed the interrupted recuperation. Very much looking forward to getting back to regular things. Meanwhile, some thoughts…OneThis new Prime Minister guy just keeps getting more dire. ...
News that the Chinese ATP 40 cyber-hacking unit penetrated parliamentary internet networks in 2021 has renewed concerns about the PRC’s malign intentions in Aotearoa. But is the hack that significant given the length of time that has passed since its … Continue reading → ...
When Parliament passed the Intelligence and security Act in 2017, they assured us all that it was full of safeguards. Any intrusive surveillance of New Zealanders would be subject to a "triple lock", requiring the approval of the Minister and (supposedly independent) Commissioner of Intelligence Warrants, as well as post-facto ...
Eric Crampton writes – Richard Harman’s Politik newsletter provides a bit of the context that ought to have been showing up in other media reports on potential reductions in public service staffing. Media has been reporting on staffing cuts on the order of about 7%. Is that ...
Mike Grimshaw writes – It’s becoming increasingly apparent that many perceive free speech to have become the preserve of the politically right wing, the religiously conservative, the libertarian fringe, the anti-trans, the anti-Māori and…. well, just fill in with whatever groups or individuals you don’t like and don’t ...
Don Brash writes – As everybody who is not blind and deaf is aware, there is a huge political preoccupation with climate change at the moment, a widespread (though by no means unanimous) belief that global temperatures are rising mainly as a result of the greenhouse gases created ...
TL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy on Wednesday, March 27 include:Chris Bishop laid out his vision for filling Aotearoa-NZ’s $100 billion infrastructure deficit in a speech yesterday, emphasising user pays and private funding, but failed to say how to achieve bipartisanship on population, public borrowing and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Former Finance Minister Grant Robertson and former Prime Minister Chris Hipkins have been conveying how unhappy they are with the tax system. Last week in his valedictory speech, Robertson called for the introduction of a wealth or capital gains tax. And this week Hipkins ...
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 ...
Buzz from the Beehive China has loomed large in Beehive considerations over the past 24 hours, largely because of that country’s mischief-making in the cyber espionage department. Two media statements emerged on that subject hard on the heels of the PM baulking at questions put to him on RNZ’s Morning ...
Chris Trotter writes – WHY IS THE NATIONAL PARTY doing so much for landlords, property developers, trucking, and construction companies, and so little for everybody who isn’t already pretty well-off? It’s as if protecting landlords’ investments and building apartments and roads now constitute the whole of National’s ...
Bryce Edwards writes – When she was campaigning to be Minister of Finance last year, Nicola Willis pledged that she would resign from the job if she failed to deliver tax cuts in her first Budget. Now, it’s that pledge, along with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s ...
Robert MacCulloch writes – The Reserve Bank has doubled staff numbers in five years to 510, with personnel costs rising to $80 million in 2023 from $32 million in 2018 – up by a whopping 150%. I guess when you print $50 billion and flood markets with liquidity, ...
The furore. In case you didn’t notice there was a controversy in the weekend involving dolphins in a little town off the South Island. Don’t panic, they haven’t declared independence and resumed whaling, this was simply a sailing event.The problem began when racing was cancelled on the opening day of ...
For 20 years or more, the case for a meaningful capital tax gains has been mulled over and analysed to death, including by the tax working group chaired by Sir Michael Cullen. More than once, the International Monetary Fund has said a CGT would be a good idea for New ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: The Public Health Communications Centre (PHCC) call for urgent preventive action and a risk assessment survey of long covid in this briefing noteLocal scoop: NZ road deaths surpass OECD rates, so why is the govt reversing safety plans? ...
This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. This story is part of a collaboration with Grist and WABE to demystify the Georgia Public Service Commission, the small but powerful state-elected board that makes critical decisions about everything from raising ...
This is a guest post from Robert McLachlan Global warming is accelerating; 2023 was off the charts. We need to stop burning fossil fuels. In New Zealand, transport accounts for half of all fossil fuels burnt. In the Emissions Reduction Plan, transport emissions fall 41% by 2035. As the ...
Labour productivity has been receding rapidly over the past two years, reversing a post-lockdown rise. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy as at 6:26am on Tuesday, March 26 include:Workers have been treading water in output per hour worked for 12 years, ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to April 2 include:Today, Parliament resumes sitting at 2pm for the second week of a two-week session. Officials for SIS and GCSB report their annual reviews in public to the Intelligence and Security Select Committee from 5.10pm.Tomorrow, ...
Faced with a barrage of criticism over the promised tax cuts from usually supportive commentators, Finance Minister Nicola Willis yesterday reaffirmed her intention to include them in this year’s Budget. The Government is up against it over the cuts just about every way it turns. Commentators like Fran O’Sullivan, Matthew ...
Here’s my pick of today’s substack posts as of 6:26pm on Monday, March 25: writes via his substack that Market-rate housing will make your city cheaper writes via his substack about the problems talking to double-cab ute (truck) drivers about their vehicles. today about moments of radicalisation in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Just before Christmas, Finance Minister Nicola Willis delivered something that was pitched as a mini-budget and brayed about the decisive action being taken to repair the Government books and support income tax relief in Budget 2024. In a statement headed Fiscal repair job underway. she introduced ...
My sister Belinda asked Dad yesterday what one word would describe Mum best. He said: vivacious.If you only knew her from the photos on the slideshow we've made for today,you might wonder about that, because the camera tended to lie with Mum.If ever she saw a camera pointed at her, she ...
There are two major public consultations closing in the next week, Auckland Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP), and the draft Government Policy Statement on Land Transport (GPS). Closing dates and times: LTP closes Thursday 28 February, at 11.59pm – a minute to midnight! GPS closes Tuesday 2 April, at 12pm noon – note that’s ...
From Kiwiblog’s David Farrar – Bryce Wilkinson writes: Senior Fellow Bryce Wilkinson’s analysis reveals that since March 2009, New Zealand has spent $158 billion more overseas than it has earned, but its NIIP has only fallen by $32 billion.Statistics New Zealand shows that receipts from overseas reinsurers have ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition? Brian Easton writes – The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could ...
Dear Nicola Willis,Right now you’ve probably got lots of competing demands coming at you. Ministers who’ve inherited quite a mess, or so you’ve told us, looking for money in the budget to improve things. I imagine that’s why they came to parliament - to make things better.You’ll have to make ...
The Local Government, Transport and Auckland Minister hasthreatened councils with intervention if they don’t merge water assets to take them off balance sheet, just as the now-repealed Three Waters plan directed. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: My six things of note this morning for Monday, March 25 include:Simeon ...
A listing of 36 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 17, 2024 thru Sat, March 23, 2024. Story of the week Thanks to John Mason having the stamina to sit down to watch "Climate - the Movie" ...
This morning the Q&A programme had Simeon Brown on to talk about National’s replacement for Three Waters. In case anyone’s forgotten the three are - drinking water, waste water, and sewerage. It’s quite important not to get them mixed up. In much the same way that you wouldn’t want to ...
Today’s newsletter comes with a mini-podcast conversation between me and my buddy Liv Tennet, talking about her time as a child actor in Lord of the Rings. It’s a conversation with a lot of giggles as she talks about falling off a horse, and becoming a meme. Read ...
The Desmog Climate Disinformation Database documents, "individuals and organisations that have helped to delay and distract the public and our elected leaders from taking needed action to reduce greenhouse gas pollution and fight global warming." It's a who's who of the organised climate change denial movement, in other words. In ...
Bob Edlin writes – A High Court judge has decided miscreants who have mana – or who claim to have mana – should be treated differently from miscreants who have none. It’s a ruling that suggests indigenous law-breakers have a better chance of securing a discharge without conviction ...
Welcome to the first, and possibly last, edition of Brickbats, Bouquets and Bull’s Wool. In which I’ll take a look at the events of the last week or so, and rate them.In such ratings the numbers usually have more to do with the opinions of the reviewer, than the actual ...
Roger Partridge writes – My earlier column this month, New Zealand’s highest court could be facing a turning point, prompted a flood of feedback from business readers and lawyers alike. A common query was what Parliament can do to restrain an overreaching judiciary. This week I discuss two steps Parliament ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.16pm on Friday, March 22: writes about New Zealand's Building Boom—And What the World Must Learn From It over at his substack. challenges the Auckland Council’s use of a 3.8 degrees of warming forecast to oppose a wave-park and data centre project ...
Is she hinting that the Coalition Government will have to back down on key promises it made in Opposition?The Minister of Finance, Nicola Willis, is telling an evolving story about her fiscal challenges. In Opposition she was confident that she could deliver her promised income tax cuts. Appointed minister, she ...
Buzz from the Beehive Ministers of the Crown have drawn attention to one sector of the science sector which is unlikely to be subjected to heavy spending cuts, a state-funded broadcaster which is doing nicely, thank you, and a sporting event that had $5.4 million from the public purse puffed ...
Abbott’s Freestyle Libre sensors allow continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). The sensor is applied to the back of the patient’s arm, with a thin filament under the skin measuring glucose levels constantly. But it costs around $100 per sensor and must be replaced once every 14 days. Photo by BSIP/Universal Images ...
The Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) recently released a report in which he exposes the existence of a foreign intelligence partner-controlled technological “capability” inside the headquarters of the GCSB, NZ’s 5 Eyes-affiliated signals intelligence collection and analysis agency. … Continue reading → ...
Peter Dunne writes – Nearly three decades after the introduction of MMP and multiparty governments there should be a greater level of understanding about their finer points than often appears to be the case. The reaction to the despicable outburst from the Deputy Prime Minister at the weekend highlights ...
The sweet kisses from fruit of summerHave slowly been turning dullerYou say, "those times"And "remember the daysWhen we went outside and there still was the shade?"Taking no reason into play…Autumn. Clear, blue days shortening to longer nights, growing colder. Aotearoa.That’s us. The temperature dropping, the looming car crash - so ...
Bryce Edwards writes – “It is often said that behind every great man is a great woman”. This is the pitch by the National Party Botany electorate branch to attend their “Ladies Afternoon Tea with Amanda Luxon”. For $110 including GST, you can turn up on Saturday 20 April ...
David Farrar writes – The Electoral Commission has published the expense returns for political parties for the 2023 election. I’ve put them in a table with how many votes a party got so we can see the spend per vote. National only spent $3.34 for every vote they got, almost ...
Winston Peters’ headline-making actions over the past week may have been a show of political power intended to strengthen his hand in Budget negotiations. It was no accident that his State of the Nation speech was as it was. He made it as New Zealand First Leader, not as Deputy ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:Former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson bowed out of politics this week, giving a series of exit ...
Graham Adams writes — If you love the law or sausages, as the saying goes, best not to look too closely at how they are made. And after watching the orgy of self-pity when Newshub’s closure was announced on February 28, television journalism should definitely be added to the list of those ...
Venerable New Zealand political commentator, Chris Trotter (https://bowalleyroad.blogspot.com/), is a sad creature these days. Once one of the most reliable Leftist writers out there – Economic Left at that – Trotter seems to have absorbed the worldview of Auckland culture-war obsessives. It is not for me to categorise what he ...
The cruelty of short-term memory loss is that each time you ask where she is, you get the fresh shock and grief of the news. That was Dad's day yesterday.Comfortingly, it seems to be less so today. Last night he looked crumpled, today he seems more settled. There's a card ...
Photo by Alvan Nee on UnsplashIt’s that new day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when and I co-host our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm. Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream for our chat about the week’s news ...
The Coalition Government’s plan to ‘get Auckland moving’ is a cuts cover-up that will ultimately cost Aucklanders more to move around the city, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Slashing the Ministry of Pacific Peoples by 40% will have a devastating impact on pacific communities and further highlights how little this government cares about anything other than cutting taxes for the wealthiest few. ...
Labour has proposed an urgent inquiry to investigate the ever-increasing profits of supermarkets, aiming to lower costs for shoppers and food producers alike, says Labour Spokesperson for Commerce and Consumer Affairs Arena Williams and Primary Production Spokesperson Cushla Tangaere-Manuel. ...
With 14% of jobs on the line at the Ministry for Ethnic Communities, the responsible Minister Melissa Lee is failing to stand up for the very communities she’s meant to be representing. ...
COURT OF APPEAL: TRIFECTA OF VICTORY FOR NZ FIRST, TRIFECTA OF FAILURE FOR OPPONENTS For the third time since April 2020, New Zealand First has defeated the Serious Fraud Office and all those complicit in a malicious attack against a political party going about its lawful business in a lawful ...
The Green Party stands with people who live in public housing, people in dire housing need, experts and advocates in demanding better than the Government’s archaic approach to housing those who need our support the most. ...
New Zealand has recently lost the hosting rights of some major international sporting events including the America’s Cup, the Rugby Championship, Netball World Cup, and the Wellington Sevens. We are now at a huge risk of losing SailGP as well. And it won’t stop there. The recent issues with SailGP ...
A Member’s Bill drawn this week would modernise insurance law and make things fairer and more transparent for consumers, Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb said. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues has confirmed she was aware of funding issues in mid-December and did nothing to stop it. On 14 March, she signed off on changes that were announced and implemented on 18 March without any consultation with disability communities. ...
Green Party MP Julie Anne Genter says her members' bill is an opportunity for the coalition government to plug the gap in electric vehicle incentives. ...
The National Government continues to talk about irresponsible tax cuts that will only drive up inflation, despite the country entering a technical recession. ...
The Minister for Disability Issues must act urgently to reinstate flexibility around the funding for disability support and apologise to disabled carers. ...
This story has been initiated by a leftie shill reporter who proactively sought to call a member of a former band, which disbanded twelve years ago, give their biased appraisal of what was said in my speech, and concocted a ham-fisted attempt at a story that does nothing but show ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed the passing of legislation to move light electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) into the road user charges system from 1 April. “It was always intended that EVs and PHEVs would be exempt from road user charges until they reached two ...
New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
Apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections as further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “The Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act had already introduced some changes in December 2022 and May 2023, and ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Egypt and Europe from this weekend. “This travel will focus on a range of New Zealand’s traditional diplomatic and security partnerships while enabling broad engagement on the urgent situation in Gaza,” Mr Peters says. Mr Peters will attend the NATO Foreign ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary will not go ahead, with Cabinet deciding to stop work on the proposed reserve and remove the Bill that would have established it from Parliament’s order paper. “The Kermadec Ocean Sanctuary Bill would have created a 620,000 sq km economic no-go zone,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
Dam safety regulations are being amended so that smaller dams won’t be subject to excessive compliance costs, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on reducing costs and removing unnecessary red tape so we can get the economy back on track. “Dam safety regulations ...
The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
The coalition Government is delivering an $18 million boost to New Zealanders needing to travel for specialist health treatment, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says. “These changes are long overdue – the National Travel Assistance (NTA) scheme saw its last increase to mileage and accommodation rates way back in 2009. ...
The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak with you today and I’m sorry I can’t be there in person. Yesterday I started in Wellington for Breakfast TV, spoke to a property conference in Auckland, and finished the day speaking to local government in Christchurch, so it would have been ...
The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
Analysis by Keith Rankin. Keith Rankin, trained as an economic historian, is a retired lecturer in Economics and Statistics. He lives in Auckland, New Zealand. My earlier article – Can ‘Good’ be the Greater Evil? – looked at the issue of how wars should end, and how Good versus Evil ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 AMMA by Saraid de Silva (Moa Press, $38)A stunning debut novel reviewed by Brannavan ...
From Steve Martin to Ricky Stanicky, a pick’n’mix of things worth watching and listening to this long weekend. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. If you’re at a loss for something to occupy yourself with this Easter, don’t panic: The Spinoff’s got ...
Jesus had dinner with his 12 disciples right before he died. Noted historian Madeleine Chapman finds out who really deserved to be there.First published in 2018 but let’s be honest, the subject is timeless. As you sit on your couch this Easter Sunday, eating a chocolate egg you know ...
The newly-promoted Northern League club is on a mission to return to the National League for the first time in two decades. Plenty about domestic football in New Zealand has changed in that time – but the sense that this amateur competition is not an entirely level playing field remains. ...
Comment: Every year on February 2, a dozen men in tuxedos and top hats approach the burrow of a groundhog in Gobbler’s Knob, Pennsylvania and entice the beaver-like rodent to emerge and predict the weather. If the groundhog, named Punxsutawney Phil, sees its own shadow when it is summoned, legend ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 29 March appeared first on Newsroom. ...
Auckland Council has put a deadline on new weather-impacted property owners applying for categorisation as government funding looks set to run out. Councillors have voted to support a deadline of September 30 for property owners who haven’t accessed support to come forward and engage with the council’s recovery office. It ...
NONFICTION 1 BBQ Economics by Liam Dann (Penguin Random House, $40) “It’s official,” wrote Dann nine days ago in the Herald, where he works as business editor at large, “we’re in recession.” Yeah, great. He delivered the bad stats: “GDP fell 0.1 percent in the December 2023 quarter, compared with ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robyn J. Whitaker, Director of the Wesley Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Policy & Associate Professor, New Testament, Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity A strange and eclectic range of activities takes place across these few weeks of the year. Some ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University It’s Easter weekend, which means many of us will be kicking back with the greatest hits on repeat. But whether you’re a boomer, or an ‘80s or ’90s kid, you might be ...
RNZ Pacific Fiji’s Acting Public Prosecutor has filed an appeal against the sentences of former prime minister Voreqe Bainimarama and suspended police chief Sitiveni Qiliho in their corruption case. Bainimarama was granted an absolute discharge for attempting to pervert the course of justice while Qiliho received a conditional discharge with ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Arosha Weerakoon, Senior Lecturer and General Dentist, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland Casezy idea/Shutterstock How does toothpaste work? What did people use before toothpaste was invented? – Amelia, age 7, Meanjin (Brisbane) Thanks for your ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brett Hallam, Associate professor, UNSW Sydney IM Imagery/Shutterstock Solar SunShot is well named. The Australian government announced today it would plough A$1 billion into bringing back solar manufacturing to Australia, boosting energy security, swapping coal and gas jobs for those ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Dix, Research Fellow in Nutrition & Dietetics, The University of Queensland Easter is the time for chocolate. The shops are full of fantastically packaged and shiny chocolates in all shapes and sizes, making trips to the supermarket with children more challenging ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Emma Felton, Adjunct Senior Researcher, University of South Australia Even in a stubborn cost-of-living crisis, it seems there’s one luxury most Australians won’t sacrifice – their daily cup of coffee. Coffee sales have largely remained stable, even as financial pressures have ...
Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Katie Attwell, Associate Professor, School of Social Sciences, The University of Western Australia Ground Picture/Shutterstock Months after COVID vaccines were introduced in 2021, governments and private organisations mandated them for various groups. Health and aged care workers were among the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor Andrew Dzurak, CEO and Founder of Diraq, UNSW Sydney Diraq For decades, the pursuit of quantum computing has struggled with the need for extremely low temperatures, mere fractions of a degree above absolute zero (0 Kelvin or ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Nelson, Honorary Principal Fellow, The University of Melbourne A Byzantine depiction of the Eucharist in Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv.Jacek555/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA A nasty quarrel arose in the 11th century over what kind of bread should be used in holy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Patrick Hesp, Professor, Flinders University Patrick Hesp In some parts of Australia, coastal dunes are retreating from the ocean at an alarming rate, as waves carve up the beach and wind blows the sand inland. But coastal communities are largely ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luke Heemsbergen, Senior Lecturer, Digital, Political, Media, Deakin University With an impressive 60% of the US smartphone market, Apple is undeniably big, but not a clear monopoly. Yet, years of innovation by Apple have effectively given the company its own exclusive ...
Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Miller-Jones, Professor, Curtin University Nuclear explosions on a neutron star feed its jets. Danielle Futselaar and Nathalie Degenaar, Anton Pannekoek Institute, University of Amsterdam, CC BY-SA How fast can a neutron star drive powerful jets into space? The answer, it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Quiggin, Professor, School of Economics, The University of Queensland Shutterstock The federal government has bowed to pressure from the car industry, announcing it will relax proposed emissions rules for utes and vans and delay enforcement of the new standards ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Suzanne Rutland, Professor Emerita, University of Sydney In his latest book, Jewish Life in Medieval Spain, Jonathan Ray focuses on the tumult of the 14th century in Spain – a time of the plague, civil strife and war between the two largest ...
While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
Yesterday the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza. This significant step and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza prompted an urgent debate in the New Zealand Parliament. Leader ...
The Government’s decision to reduce access to continuous glucose monitors (CGM) not only threatens the lives of children with type 1 diabetes and increases the potential for ‘Dead in Bed’ syndrome, but also threatens the health of their parents an ...
Apples are available year-round, but the wide variety on offer involves intensive scientific research – and large-scale commercialisation. What’s beautiful, red, sweet and crunchy? Tony Martin’s favourite kind of apple: Sassy. The CEO of apple and pear breeding organisation Prevar, Martin’s fondness for Sassy represents professional success as well as ...
Family violence specialist service Shine is calling on employers to stop asking for proof of domestic violence in order for employees to access domestic violence leave. The call comes five years after the introduction of the Domestic Violence ...
The Deputy Chairperson of the Finance and Expenditure Committee is calling for public submissions on the Budget Policy Statement 2024. The Budget Policy Statement 2024 (BPS) sets out the Government's priorities for the 2024 Budget. It explains the approach ...
Brutal government spending cuts that will see the size of the Ministry for Pacific Peoples slashed by 40% will hit Pasifika communities hard, the PSA says. The Ministry has told staff that it is seeking voluntary redundancies, and to redeploy and reassign ...
I live with five people I mostly love, but our different ideas about generosity are starting to really irk me.Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nzDear Hera,This is a bit of a random one but here goes. I’m 22 and work an OK job (OK meaning I get paid ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Maria Nicholas, Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education, Deakin University Earlier this month, the New South Wales government announced it would roll out programs for gifted students in every public school in the state. This comes amid concerns gifted school ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Christopher Rudge, Law lecturer, University of Sydney Massachusetts General Hospital In a world first, we heard last week that US surgeons had transplanted a kidney from a gene-edited pig into a living human. News reports said the procedure was a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tombs, Howard Paterson Chair of Theology and Public Issues, University of Otago The 5th-century Maskell panel showing Jesus in a loincloth.British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA When Jesus is shown on the cross, he is almost always depicted wearing a loincloth around ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Panizza Allmark, Professor Visual & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University Shutterstock When you think about a red object, you might picture a red carpet, or the massive ruby in the Queen’s crown. Indeed, Western monarchies and marketing from brands such ...
COMMENTARY:Jewish Voice for Peace The UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Monday — and for the first time since the beginning of the Israeli military’s genocide of Palestinians, the United States abstained rather than vetoing it. Security Council resolutions are legally binding, ...
Asia Pacific Report A New Zealand investigative journalist and author says the US spy system hosted by the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) appears to be a controversial intelligence system used in global capture-kill operations. Writing a commentary for RNZ News today, Nicky Hager, author of Secret Power, a 1996 ...
While Nicola Willis wouldn’t give any details on its size, she said a package of tax cuts is definitely still coming in this year’s budget, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming the investigation into the Department of Internal Affairs after it was revealed that the Department’s Chief Executive personally reached out to expedite a DJs passport application. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns ...
Finance minister Nicola Willis delivers her first budget statement, and unwittingly helps Joel MacManus save his relationship. Nicola Willis strode into the Beehive Theatrette. Around me, on the green foldout seats, were the country’s top business and political journalists. They were all here to see her announce the Budget Policy ...
Twenty years ago today, Māori Television launched after much controversy. Jamie Tahana looks back on its survival and impact across two decades. Chad Chambers stepped onto the stage, the brim of his cap casting a shadow across his face. His smile beamed as bright as his white freezing works gumboots, ...
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question?Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 28 March appeared first on Newsroom. ...
A lengthy response to the recently released draft Government policy statement on transport will soon be delivered from Auckland Council to Minister of Transport Simeon Brown. A submission raising concerns about funding distribution and the plan’s treatment of Auckland passed through the council’s transport committee on Wednesday, despite some councillors ...
The unidentified foreign intelligence operation discussed in a scathing report by New Zealand’s Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) last week appears to be a controversial United States intelligence system. The IGIS report said the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) decision to host a foreign system from 2012-2020 was “improper” ...
For landlords. If your business is too highly geared it is your fault, not the customers. You are using your customers to buy the house for you. You wouldn't get loans for a normal business, if the outgoings were so close to the costs. It is only the banks expectations that you will, in fact, make a large profit in the end from capital gains, that they base their lending on.
That so many can borrow beyond the rentals earnings, as a going concern, is a consequence of steeply rising prices. Especially if they already have other houses as collateral. And a prime cause of the whole merry go round.
The same thing has happened with farms, where banks will lend on the land, at levels way in excess of any possible earnings from a going concern farm, in the expectations of the land making huge gains on sale.
No one who simply wants a home, or to farm can keep up.
Exactly. Landlords, whether one or multiple property owners, are hardly the entrepreneurial geniuses ‘housing the nation’ that their spokespeople try to portray.
If interest rates rise, Accomodation Supplements are canned or reduced, or a CGT instituted, it will be tears at bedtime and w-w-wailing for bailouts.
After so many years, untaxed or lightly taxed profits from property are a no-go area for the main Parliamentary parties apart from Māori and Greens perhaps.
But the answer is there–supply–start a Govt. Dept., fully publicly owned, to plonk modular houses and apartments from one end of the country to other until everyone is housed satisfactorily. And institute rent control right now to send “a signal” while plans are actioned.
"hardly the entrepreneurial geniuses housing the nation"……….lol. Couldn't of put it better. As I commented in my time being a landlord it was money for jam……..easiest "work" I have every done!
easiest "work" I have every done!
That's because as a person who has only 'worked' to earn a living you don't really grasp what it is to put a price on 'risk'. And the very basic bit of landlording you did didn't involve much risk and with maybe only a handful of tenants involved you never struck a bad one.
But ask yourself this – why do you think the banks won't lend to just anyone and everyone who wants a home? If they would do that then there would be no need for anyone to ever rent.
Red Logix. Often appreciate your point of view, so don't want to get into a battle with you. I am sorry if the new housing regulations are proving stressful for you, really I am.
I have run my own business since 2006. So I have an idea about risk. Before that I was a paid employee, and have done a wide range of jobs.
Most of us live very conservative, safe lives, we avoid real risk like the plague. We default to the idea of labour being the only 'real' measure of money (I still have this hard-wired into me) – but a few among us escape this trap.
One day I got a 40 min helicopter ride sitting next to Phillipe Pascal, the man who had raised U$7.5b for this project. This is real risk, and getting to success was incredibly hard work for everyone involved. I worked most of 2019 on this site, it was an amazing experience and I watched this with some pride.
It's transformed the economy of a whole country. Of course the anti-capitalists here will line up to take pot-shots, and to be fair as with anything human there are flaws and failings that can be rightly criticised. But how many among us here at The Standard – can say that we've achieved something like this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrCOR0QAdv0
Well what were the flaws and failings that can be rightly criticised for this project?
Is that all that's important to you? Something to attack? It's odd how you've expressed no interest in how it's transformed the lives of the local communities. People getting out of poverty and all that.
But yes there was considerable labour conflict on site for a period. On my first rotation I arrived completely unaware of a major riot that had occurred in another location (it's a huge site, it takes an hour to drive from the coast where I was working to the mine entrance). There were multiple unions active on site, but one of them was determined to gain leverage and literally shut the place down for weeks. Gangs of men in trucks patrolled around the site, throwing rocks, confronting anyone they met, stopping supplies, cutting communications, wrecking offices and camps. It was really very violent and dangerous and I was totally cut off from the outside world along with a small team of Australians (just the six of us) in one of the smaller camps on the coast for four weeks.
In the end it was us, a couple of managers, some cooks and a dozen heavily armed security guards, hunkered down keeping a very low profile. We got through it OK, and we actually got a lot of work done without anyone else breathing down our neck. But it was more of an adventure than advertised.
The union did have something of a valid complaint in that while there were many thousands of skilled ex-pat workers onsite who were there legitimately and authorised by the govt labour dept, there was also a large Chinese labour contractor who was blatantly breaking the rules and undercutting the local labour. It's not necessarily and easy or quick thing to solve, sure you can ditch the problematic contractor, but that leaves you with a big gap in resource. Eventually the govt and First Quantum found a way around it all – but as with anything in Latin America it took way longer than you or I would think reasonable.
So there is something for you to be outraged over.
'Something of a valid complaint' sounds a tad grudging.
It is you, it seems, who is outraged that I should ask for an explanation of something you outlined.
But thanks anyway.
Interesting
RL – I'm not sure that there has been a lot of risk in residential property investment over the last two decades? As you yourself said yesterday, "And the simple answer is that for several generations now the only reliable investment in this country has been property."
I absolutely don't blame people or think they are evil for acting in a financially rational manner – we all want our families to eat. I might however raise an eyebrow (Judith style) when people try to glamourise that rationality as some sort of virtue – such as providing homes for people, or wealth creation, or risk taking.
In terms of the linked video, although some business enterprises do involve remarkable people with vision and a bravery in the face of risk, it's not really the norm. Most businesses are risk averse. Innovation and new product development is hard – it is much easier to turn a profit by cutting labour costs, outsourcing to low-wage economies, monopoly/cartel behaviour, ticket-clipping, externalising costs (environmental, social) onto the taxpayer, etc..
Disclaimer: In an earlier life before the venture capitalists decided that two Indians and half a German could do my job for less money – I had the financial resources to invest in residential property. I decided not to – partly because although it was low-risk it was also a lot of hassle, plus I had vague thoughts that maybe it wasn't particularly socially responsible. I claim no virtue in this decision, it is just how things work out.
For most landlords with just the one unit (usually an ex-family home) – it's not very risky at all. But then the returns are pretty modest as well. It's only when you start leveraging up a stack of 10 or more that it becomes substantially more difficult. But relatively few get there, Pareto’s law applies to landlording too.
it is much easier to turn a profit by cutting labour costs, outsourcing to low-wage economies, monopoly/cartel behaviour, ticket-clipping, externalising costs (environmental, social) onto the taxpayer, etc..
Each one of those is worth several posts and many threads, but in general yes there are many commercial activities that fall somewhere on a very broad spectrum between pure labour and pure entrepreneur. And I agree that not all of them have equal social merit.
And yes there are plenty of unpleasant, ego-driven, status-seeking people in the business world doing things we find ethically deplorable. The transformation of the human heart lies in our future. But for the time being at least capitalism gives these people something to do other than actual war, rape and pillage.
Unlike the promoters of marxist utopia's, I don't defend capitalism because I think it's any kind of ideal. It's not even very ideological, it's really just a handful of economic tools and ideas that have evolved into something incredibly complex and pervasive. And as such I expect it will continue to evolve into new forms as our social horizons and moral vision expand.
Tiger Mountain gave the bit of that statement "housing the nation" as a direct quote coming from landlord's spokespeople.
Who are these spokespeople? Where and when did they say it?
Consider the howls if the RBNZ takes ‘interest only ‘ finance off the table….
Yeah, that would be something to see. We should have followed immediately after Australia removed them.
In Australia the percentage of IO loans for residential was quite high..from memory 30 or 40%. Not sure how many are IO in NZ but probably similar as it’s been encouraged.
Im stirring….I dont think they will (immediately) especially without waiting to see how the package plays out, but the option is there.
“Nearly 40% of bank lending to residential property investors is on interest-only arrangements – RBNZ tight-lipped on whether this is too high, but raises concerns over leverage”
https://www.interest.co.nz/news/109356/nearly-40-bank-lending-residential-property-investors-are-interest-only-arrangements
Who cares about people struggling to pay the mortgage; they’re ‘creaming it’ \sarc
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/124699937/covid19-mortgage-holiday-scheme-ends-with-3700-mortgages-still-in-repayment-deferral
Just goes to show how flawed the whole model is eh?
Yeah, everybody else was prepared for the pandemic and could see it coming as soon as that bat fled that cave except for those who find themselves financially struggling. Clearly, they made bad personal choices and should suffer the consequences.
Is this comment too much ‘lefty resentment’ or too ‘RWNJ’? What do you think?
I think that covid has simply highlighted that which was already there….and that is neither left nor right wing.
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/nzs-k-shaped-covid-19-recovery
https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/the-side-eye/25-03-2021/the-side-eyes-two-new-zealands-the-k-shape/
This isn’t a binary issue, and continuing to frame it as such is unhelpful. Personally I feel for anyone who is struggling to pay their bills regardless of what they are, one would argue these people are on the lower leg of the ‘K recovery’ like the working poor and renters etc.
We are all closer to becoming destitute than becoming a billionaire.
Yup – now ask yourself, how do we want to fix this?
With more people riding the up elevator or more on the down one?
Redistribution.
I am sure redistribution in the form of Accomodation Supplement is OK.
Just as we can only tolerate a certain amount of inequality, there is also probably a limit on how much redistribution is tolerable as well.
In my view your answer really amounts to taking everyone off the up and putting them on the down. Very marxist.
A much better trick would be to find a way to make all elevators go up.
In my view your answer really amounts to taking everyone off the up and putting them on the down. Very marxist.
You have constantly demonstrated you don't understand Marxism so your opinion on the ideology that motivated what I said is not appreciated.
A much better trick would be to find a way to make all elevators go up.
Ah yes, I too try to imagine as many as six impossible things before breakfast.
Apologies to Alice.
How many riding the 'up elevator' really want all elevators to go up?
It would be a great 'trick' to pull off – in the meantime we can beef up redistribution so that the 'down escalator' travels more slowly.
Really don't understand how a bit more redistribution could put everyone on the down escalator – can you talk me through it? Lets say the Government instituted a wealth tax or some other policy that resulted in the transfer of 2% of your wealth to those on the 'down escalator.' How might that transfer put you on the ‘down escalator‘?
I'm curious as to why you think the financial security of everyone on the up escalator is so marginal – seems to me that the opposite is true. I write as someone on the 'up escalator.' Sure, my position is towards the bottom of that escalator, but it feels secure to me – a 2% wealth tax would barely affect me.
How many riding the 'up elevator' really want all elevators to go up?
Have you ever met anyone who thought poverty was a good thing?
People vary a lot in what they think the causes of it are, and what the best solutions may be – but hardly anyone is for poverty.
RL, please can you talk/walk me through how ‘a bit more‘ redistribution could put everyone on the ‘down escalator‘? Note that I’m definitely not seeking some sort of Marxist utopia – that wouldn’t suit me at all. But a bit more redistribution sure could go a long way to slowing that ‘down escalator‘, and there but for the grace of God…
RL, I've never met anyone who personally sought out poverty, which is a pity really because I'm sure their worldview would be interesting.
And, while I've never met anyone who told me that they thought poverty was/is a good thing, I believe that some on the 'up escalator' have become overly reliant on relative poverty – for example, those that can't cope when the tap of cheap labour is turned off.
Historically the only place where poverty could operate as a virtue was within the very specific settings of some form of monastic lifestyle. In particular it only works where sex and having family is prohibited.
Makes historical sense.
Probably my misinterpretation, in which case apologies.
Well I have been in the fortunate position to have met some one like that. He sleeps "rough" here in Thames and I get to meet him on a regular basis. I've often discussed with him the possibility of moving in to better accommodation than behind his favourite building. But his chosen site is where he prefers. He is his own person and while he would like to have someplace he could have a shower on occasions and a place to heat up some food, the lifestyle he chooses is his own, and at the moment suits him. Although tangata whenua, he claims no river and no mountain, he claims no one. He is a very spiritual person, preferring his own company.
Of the 20 or so rough sleepers in our town I have written on their behalf to the 4 ministers and associate ministers responsible for housing and homeless persons, suggesting that they consider working with a local ngos towards the establishment of a Hub where these people could have shelter, a shower, meet, and share food. Funding would be directed to the employment of staff for the supervision of the centre. I have not received any response.
A decent answer is well beyond the scope of a short comment. But in brief the answer I would offer is that we already do a great deal of redistribution (especially around education, health and security) to ensure everyone gets a reasonable equal opportunity.
But it's much harder and far more problematic to ensure equal outcomes. Some element of competitive innovation or 'doing better' has to be built in otherwise most people simply stop bothering. The Soviet Union was the great example — "they pretend to pay us, we pretend to work".
Perhaps we could make more progress if we worried less about the material measures of wealth inequality, and started to ask more questions around what defines true wealth and what are the best uses it can be put to? And in this I keep coming back to the concept of a social and economic life based on ideas of duty and service.
Sorry – that does fall short of answering your question.
@Macro (1:52 pm) – thanks for that. Your vision of a 'homeless(ness) Hub' is very valuable and positive. I hope that you continue your lobbying and are (eventually) successful.
@Macro
My brother lives in Thames now, and we know the place well. It's likely you'll bump into him one day.
Your rough sleeper is essentially what we used to call a 'hermit'. Single men who have stepped outside of society have always existed in our history. It's just that our climate and DoC don't really let them live on mountain tops these days.
And respect for you willingness to reach out to him and advocate for those in a similar position. It's not an easy task helping people and I sincerely look up to those who are good at it.
@RL (2:02 pm) – that's helpful. Tbh I reckon many of those on the 'down escalator' couldn't give a toss about ensuring "equal outcomes" – they just need a bit more help. As to how to fund it, well, there's no getting around the fact that NZ is (on the whole) a wealthy country.
And I think your observation that some seem overly concerned about material wealth is on the money – focusing on the inequality of material wealth is so punitive.
Wow my 'creaming it" comment has really struck a nerve. Maybe I should be more careful with my language.
The people I object to are the ones who own property, rent it out, will push the rents up no matter the impact on the tenants, because they have over leveraged and scream and howl that its not fair, not owning that most likely they are in a far better position than their tenants, the consequences for which could mean eviction, trying to find another place to live in an over priced under supplied market, may forgo back necessities to keep a roof over their head by paying the rent increase, have no hope of ever buying their own digs. Their situation is always in the fore front of my mind. As was young first home buyers being out bid by investors, some of who turn out to be unhappy because now they will have to hold on to the property longer and gradually no longer be able to claim interest as a tax deduction.
But yes I will be more careful with my language in future. I am not here to inflame things
Checked the Australian figure. Three years ago 25% of all residential property loans were interest only so not as bad as I thought. Still that's a huge number.
Your 40% figure for Oz was correct.
"Interest-only home loans used to rival their principal and interest (P&I) repayment counterparts, accounting for around 40% of all outstanding mortgage balances in the mid-2010s. But that was before regulatory bodies introduced measures to slow down this form of lending. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) imposed a 30% restriction on the number of home loans issued by banks that could be interest-only in 2017."
https://www.savings.com.au/home-loans/interest-only-home-loans
As a mortgage underwriter in Australia, we are seeing a rise of interest only owner occupied loan applications, scraping through in terms of serviceability. LVR's ranging wildly, but not exceeding 80%.
This is quite eye opening coming back to underwriting from my secondment with the COVID19 hardship response team, as there was a push for borrowers who reached maximum assistance (6-10 months moratorium) to go interest only. I wouldn't really like to consider what % our portfolio is on IO repayments, treading water.
" I wouldn't really like to consider what % our portfolio is on IO repayments, treading water."
I wouldnt either….fortunately (or perhaps not) that sort of data is closely held.
Absolutely. Big non-believer in interest only repayments, would love to see their death.
Yup. We were never tempted to go interest only either. Only speculators or the very marginal go down that path. Long term investors want to get the mortgage paid off eventually and IO doesn't get you there.
For owner occupiers (not investors) is interest only still cheaper than rents? It gives people time to recover without losing a deposit or being subjected to the renting merry go around.
Yesterday I commented that landlords were creaming it and I got howls of protests about overgeneralizing and most landlords aren't like that and what do you think being a land lord is……a social service.
KJT you are spot on. If their business is too geared it is their fault/responsibility. They took a risk with an investment and it didn't work out…….maybe, they made a poor business decision.
The govt actually had to take very significant action on this. Just like they did with Covid.
I also commented that I was a landlord once when I had to move city and thought it possible I would move back home and wanted to hold onto my home. This was a few years back now. Being a landlord is money for jam. Its like a hobby really. You have a property manager, your accountant sets things up vey nicely for you. Occasionally you have to make decisions about ………actually I am struggling to think of what decisions I had to make. Oh thats right, if the tenants request things, which I was always happy to go along with as I had a small mortgage and I was happy to use the low rent I was charging to make improvements for them.
It would be interesting to know how many landlords are highly geared. If interest rates went back up to 5% or 6% if they could cope with that. Hopefully they have been smart enough to realise that the current interest rates are as low as they have ever been and at some point may increase and have budgeted for that. I do feel for any landlord that has recently purchased a rental and have only say 80% equity, as this will be a game changer for them now that the interest non deductibility is phased in. Like I say, the non deductibility is like them receiving an interest rate rise, so hopefully they have budgeted for the possible increase.
My guess is that many long-term 'buy and hold' landlords who have been in the business for more than say 15 yrs will have a total LVR under 60%. The reason why is that the price inflation we have been seeing means that any new property you purchase is going to be negative cash flow for many years, and there is a real limit to how often you can do that.
But what is also happening is that while interest rates are low for the moment, but at the same time other fixed costs like rates and insurance have increased dramatically. We have one unit where the latest insurance bill now consumes 22% of the rent.
Interestingly here in Australia one of the internal rules the banks are using to check the serviceability of new lending is to assess what would happen with an interest rate of 6.45%. So they understand that the current low rates are not likely to last forever. Indeed as the current generation of boomers retire over the next few years, and transition from the greatest investors of all time, to the greatest consumers of capital there is a real argument that rates could easily go over 10% again.
NZ banks vary as it is seen as a commercial decision around risk tolerance, but are usually in the range of 5-7%.
That 5-7% aligns with our experience here in Australia.
Where interest rates will go in future depends a lot on how long govts around the world can keep printing money to keep them where they are now. If they fail in this, then all bets are off, I don't think anyone knows how that will play out.
We have very little debt now. Our one property that still has a mortgage has that mortgage paid for by the rent. Doesn't cover anything else.
I know two larger professional landowners with LVR's hovering uncomfortably around 50%.
One is selling one property to bring that down.
The other is holding fire at the moment.
That so many can borrow beyond the rentals earnings, as a going concern, is a consequence of steeply rising prices.
80% of landlords never go beyond the one unit – because it's not as easy as you portray. If you're negatively geared (as we were for a long period – at 9% interest rates that was inevitable even when we never went over 60% LVR), the bank isn't going to lend more to you just because you queue up and smile sweetly.
Banks don't look at just the increased equity, they look at your serviceability and past a certain age your exit strategy as well. The idea that you can borrow without limit is just wrong. The relatively few people who do manage to get to more than 10 units have negotiated a tricky balance of cash flow, costs, lots of leg work – plus a bit of luck – to get there. Most people don't want to do that because the risk goes up substantially and it becomes close to a full time job to manage. No-one is portraying landlords as 'entrepreneurial geniuses' – in normal times it was always considered a relatively modest strategy that took decades to pay off. People don't want to play casino with their life savings.
Well as I've said elsewhere, established owners with little or no borrowing will be very happy – this govt has just eliminated virtually any new competition in the rental market.
One of the reasons banks can lend so much on houses is die to the rental market being propped by government subsidies,
"It is only the banks expectations that you will, in fact, make a large profit in the end from capital gains, that they base their lending on."
Isn't more the ease of claiming the security for the loan than the expected capital gain? That's of course buoyed by record capital gains that're occurring at the moment, but are banks really lending against what they think a future sale price might reach?
Its both…the banks want the income stream and are happy to extend the credit in a rising market because should you default they have an asset of increased value that they can dispose (or preferably releverage) with a reduced fear of loss…..and the fees theyll add.
I thought that this personal anecdote would fit into the housing discussion. He is the real person that all the commenters here have in their minds.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300049683/new-zealands-twotiered-social-housing-system–a-massive-inequity
That would appear a strange anomaly….and the fact his unit still has quake damage is appalling….though I wonder if the units are earmarked to be replaced so upgrades are avoided.
I don't know the answer to this, but are you saying that banks are lending against a projected value of the asset, rather than its actual value at the time of the lending?
Im saying their desire to extend credit is enhanced in a rising market….and gave the reason why.
Taking out a mortgage only pushes up the prices of whatever product you are selling. The ideal situation is where an investor is sufficiently cashed up that he can invest without borrowing. Alternatively, he might be able to get an interest free loan. Long live Social Credit!
Someone dial 111, Judith Collins is involved in another train wreck on the radio.
From the thoroughly fake sounding surprise greeting (akin to real estate agent photos in the paper), to the assertions that rent controls never work anywhere, to the antagonistic tone taken when challenged on her assertions.
Can anyone be harmed by excessive schadenfreude? I may need medical attention.
Edit, A link should be up on RNZ site soon.
Here 'tis:
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018789770/shane-reti-s-decision-not-to-get-vaccinated-with-government-his-to-explain-judith-collins
When it comes to Collins it can only be a wholesome schadenfreude.
“Behold,” he could have said, “the reality of global trade. Behold the tankers full of the oil that warms the climate and keeps the vile House of Saud in power. Behold the trillion tonnes of cheap consumer goods, from the factories of Asia to the landfills of Europe. Just look at it all. It cannot be sustainable. And how easily we could wean ourselves off it. Ladies and gentlemen, it is not too late.”
https://www.stuff.co.nz/opinion/300265195/the-bloke-who-blocked-the-suez-canal
Gotta love Joe Bennet
It's incredibly lazy for people like Bennett to write snarky pieces like this, in complete ignorance of how the world works. Virtually everything about his modern comfortable life has been enabled by just this 'global trade' that he sneers at. He just doesn't know it.
People like him would stand by cheering when the house burned down because they didn't like the decor in the upstairs bathroom.
Well I guess he got paid for churning out his silly bit of click-bait – which is about the sum total of it's merit.
I guess you didnt 'like' it then.
I suspect Mr Bennet knows pretty well what provides for his lifestyle and I also suspect he isnt a big consumer of frippery…sadly nuance is becoming in increasingly short supply as is humour.
There seems to be a cold war-ish Manichaean worldview, and the arguments are a false dilemma. No nuance allowed.
Indeed….grey is not bleak
"..It's incredibly lazy for people like Bennett to write snarky pieces like this, in complete ignorance of how the world works."
I offer this as a defence of Bennett:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3322867-where-underpants-come-from
Well I'll give Bennett credit for having the curiosity and energy to ask the question and chase down some answers. How well he succeeded might be gauged by some of the review comments.
But the question is certainly worth asking – and the answer lies very much buried within CCP policy and their basic purpose for money. In the West we view money as a tool to enable economically worthwhile productivity, market pricing being a tool to manage this. The CCP uses money as a tool to maximise employment and maintain social stability, price being of relatively lesser importance – if any in the case of the underpants.
That's a very negative spin you've put on it. Could you maybe be more constructive?
How is it that NZ prisoners are not allowed access to the internet while Putin's most feared opposition incarcerated in the most punishing gulag Russia has , can operate an Instagram account ?
https://www.corrections.govt.nz/working_with_offenders/prison_sentences/being_in_prison/internet_and_mail
Ask Kim Hill to ask that question next she does a piece on this, or any news/current events show on RNZ for that matter, I am sure they will be only too willing to shift from the established narrative.
In case you hadn't heard, shocking, I know, but inmates across the world find ways to do shit they're not allowed to do.
/
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/exclusive-secret-gang-fight-club-at-mt-eden-prison-revealed-q01845
Last time I looked one didn't need an internet connection to run a fight club.
Smuggling smart phones in and out of boob doesn't require an internet connection either, genius.
/
Apparently not possible for Julian Assange however
British prisons must be run more stringently than Russian ones
And I'm trying to remember when any NZ prisoner ran a social media account and posted regularly, as Navalny does
You're the expert here Joe, let us know
He's in separates so it's hardly surprising he's unable to.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jul/09/tweeting-jailbirds-social-media-use-by-prisoners-triples
With meth deals and gangsta beats from inside, why not?
Because Navalny's supporters would never post anything on behalf of Navalny, right.
/
Quite a good wee clip…
Defending Glenn Greenwald and Critiquing the Post-Left
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQ-lxwBTXUw
Over 21 min long; that’s not a “wee clip”. Why is it “quite good”, in your opinion?
If you didn't hear Judith Collins on RNZ morning report this morning I suggest you do. It was a complete train wreck.
You should to it because it was the sort of interview that triggers leadership challenges.
Yes thanks Sanctuary and Gsays…….started to listen but found it too excruiating. Who will be up to taking the poison challice?
She was doing a Winston Peters.
When Peters couldn't answer a question or didn't want to answer a question, he would turn it into a he said/she said argument so that the question was never answered. Only he was better at doing it than Judith.
Try listening to the interview with a renter's advocate Ashok Jacob a little later in the program.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018789782/tenants-advocacy-group-backs-rent-caps
His statements seemed to me to be at least as general as were those of Judith Collins. However not a single one was questioned in any way and no evidence was requested for any of them. And people still think that Radio NZ is "impartial"?
The renter advocate's statements may have been general alwyn but they were much clearer and far less equivocal than Judith Collins. I almost had the feeling she was being deliberately ambiguous for the sake of it.
Having said that, I agree with you that some RNZ radio hosts are not always impartial. There are one or two of them who enjoy arguing for the sake of it which doesn't achieve much imo.
Was he also lying?
Councils and council staff remind me of teachers – a large number of them aren't the sharpest knives in the drawer.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/local-democracy-reporting/300264251/caravanners-fear-regional-bylaw-the-end-of-freedom-camping-as-we-know-it
I don't usually descend to personal abuse.
You really are a wanker aren't you.
Stephen D and others
Please when you address a particular commenter put the name or pseudo. I want to know what about and to whom you are talking, Some people certainly cry out to be called w…s and I want to see if you have picked the right one in my opinion.
There is a certain mindset that turns ugly when embiggened by secondhand authority.
You mean mine Stuart? It probably does need a wipe with white vinegar (that is the recommended Green cleansing method).
By no means – some people handle the powers of petty bureaucracy generously, others become martinets.
Freedom campers, once merely known as campers, are losing the local version of allemansrätten to a failure of local government imagination.
Not so keen on extending the generalization to teachers however – most do their best within the constraints of a system that gives them relatively little freedom of action.
Is it just me or do others feel like these calls for, in this case tech entrepreneurs, everyone to move to a new silicon valley (NZ) more than a bit arrogant and condescending? Have they not noticed that a lot of people live here already and that they may have a different view about others deciding to "invade" their country? Maybe we actually don't want them? It's not like Silicon Valley has made life wonderful for all the people who live or used to live in the area. Some studies have shown that incomers in places like Seattle and Portland have just pretty much displaced existing populations.
And aren’t a bunch of them just selfish opportunists leeching off the work of others?
Even worse are the US Republicans that go "I'll move to NZ" as if they have some absolute right to turn up here and enjoy living that results from policy that is pretty much everything that they have always worked against.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/124699041/nasa-chief-scientist-says-nz-should-become-a-worldwide-silicon-valley
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/300266100/women-struggle-for-treatment-as-acc-changes-policy-on-perineal-tears
ACC is just plain wrong here. There's nothing in the Act that requires instruments to be used in order for an injury to be regarded as a treatment injury. It's ACC hunting for ways to shaft the claimant yet again.
Sepuloni is being weak here. As minister she has more power than what people are led to believe. In this case she just needs to tell ACC to pull its head in.
A major problem, amongst many, with ACC is that they're assumed to have more power than they in fact have. ACC has become so arrogant in its drive to find ways of refusing cover and kicking people off compensation that it now actively challenges cases in the courts where someone's appealed a decision based on legislation the government has introduced for a specific purpose. In other words, ACC sees no problem setting out to (mis)use the judicial process to thwart clear legislative intent.
Sepuloni needs to start looking at the real problems at ACC instead of believing what those nasty pricks at ACC head office so deceivingly tell her is the case. ACC operates in a very dark place. It's a great opportunity for Sepuloni to create a lasting legacy by successfully taking them on. The only problem is that I don't think she's got the guts or the smarts to do it. A pity.
What power does Sepuloni have to change ACC operational policy?
In cases where ACC gets the law so blatantly wrong she can tell them to sort their shit out.
I have mercifully limited history with ACCand I sure ain't defending them, I just haven't seen a responsible Minister step in like that – or rarely.
NZ – one wonders just where our systems of control went – now it seems anything goes.
A woman was crashed into by a Lime Scooter in 2019. The Court has to decide whether it is a vehicle! You get injured first, and then that prompts someone who has authority to decide whether it is safe, should be used etc.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/439566/man-found-guilty-of-careless-use-of-lime-scooter
The 65-year-old woman, Debra Christensen, received a concussion, facial cuts and bruises as well as bruises to her hip, chest-wall, cheek, chin and hand.
She bit through her tongue and could have lasting nerve damage.
Christensen credited the two scarves she had been wearing to combat the cold with saving her life.
McIntyre has been on trial before Judge Christopher Field, who had to consider whether a Lime Scooter was a vehicle under the Land Transport Act.
Because Christensen had one foot on the bus, he also had to consider whether she was a passenger or a pedestrian…
McIntyre was sentenced to pay $4000 reparations to her.
How long can the perp string the payments out and what happens if nothing is paid? Do our Courts serve the little person? Well as Flanders and Swann chirruped, it all makes work for the working man [Judge] to do; virtually making law on the hoof, said in the kindest way of course.
In an ideal world, the lawyers for both parties would be paid either out of or after reparations are paid.