There’s a big difference between investment properties and essential rural workers getting a house for there retirement, I no I need it to happen or it’s looking like a bus for me at 65,
Kiwisaver is designed to be a retirement 'nest egg' in itself, not to help property investment – other than homes to live in yourself (which already undermines the scheme's purpose). Our economy is already over-exposed to that one asset class. Plenty of us will never own our own home, no matter where we rent.
It's not properly investment if you intend it to be your home at retirement, farming is a live in job in many cases, due to lack of options to do otherwise, not to mention that it's an on call 24/7 job once your up at management level ,
I belive the guy in the article covers that, if the applicant has a tenancy agreement with his/her/whatever your calling yourselfs, employer then they are eligible, we pay rent for our houses, .
GST is regressive. Just like supermarkets and gas stations it is not the Kiwi saver managers who will pay this. It will come directly off contributions made just like current fees. The cost compounds as the lost investment can't earn and people will see real impacts on their Kiwi saver funds at retirement. Especially those on low incomes who this will be a larger portion of their contributions.
This is a truly terrible idea and it is crazy that so many people are willing to jump in and defend it simply because Labour are doing it.
$20,000 sounds like a lot – but that would mean that the management fees were $133,000 before that (no talk about that) and the biggie of course is how much would the expected payout be? Obviously it would be greater than a million but without the numbers it's just all hype and bullshit.
It's a free gift to Luxon and he's taking it, gleefully. Very poor political management by Labour. The change can be defended long-term but introducing it in this way … did anyone seriously think that wasn't going to be a headline?
Ardern and Robertson need to take charge here, not Parker.
For those not clued to talkback or other radio or TV please link.
It's a free gift to Luxon and he's taking it, gleefully. Very poor political management by Labour. The change can be defended long-term but introducing it in this way … did anyone seriously think that wasn't going to be a headline?
Every Wednesday the leader of the opposition does the media rounds (a long-standing convention, it predates Luxon). He must have been overjoyed to discover Parker had given him an early Christmas, so he could spend less time talking about National's problems.
I don't see much point defending this stuff-up, because it will be walked back soon.
Pretty much everyone is talking about it at work and out on the jobsite today, anger is palpable and driven by not quite understanding what the change is. But think there will be very little chance of shifting the govt is going to take some of my savings narrative at this point.
Is there any party coordination or consultation on policy releases?
Jacinda appears to have a lot of loose canons in her cabinet and it is not a good look. It is getting hard to defend failed on-the-hoof policies from her administration with this one being the latest, and the second failure of Parker's policy releases in a few weeks.
[David Parker] "There's a lot of misinformation in the media today suggesting that we're charging GST on KiwiSaver contributions. We're not.
"We are proposing to close the loophole whereby some KiwiSaver service providers claim back a lot of the GST they incur from subcontractors where others don't."
That's a bit different to a wealth tax, and all the screeching headlines. (From RNZ)
This implies that it's the providers who will be passing on costs of the tax they have to pay to the savers, not the Govt taking it. Switch to funds who don't do this. ¯_ _(ツ)_/¯
A dairying development planned for the edge of a national park could damage one of the last strongholds of "100% Pure New Zealand", neighbours who oppose the project say.
"It would be just the start of intensified, commercial non-sustainable farming in the Te Anau Basin.
"It’s just the wrong place. This is one of the last strongholds of a clean environment here in New Zealand."
Southland Forest & Bird branch member Jenny Campbell, writing on behalf of Coal Action Murihiku, said a heavy rainfall after an effluent discharge to land could be "an environmental disaster for the Waiau River", which was a huge recreational asset for the Te Anau and Manapouri community.
The project already received consent from Environment Southland, in May last year, to discharge agricultural effluent to land from 1600 cows; to use land to build and use an effluent storage pond; and to use land for the wintering barns.
However, Mr Sliva said he and other Te Anau residents only heard about it after it was approved.
The initial application went through the regional council process as a non-notified consent and he and others only heard of the project about six months ago.
The present application with the district council was the first opportunity they had to take part in the process and the first priority was to "stop the barns", he said.
Hi. Sadly, yea that seems to be the way of it. And a way to “hide” their dirty intentions. As in the opponents only heard 6 months prior…Similar to the situation when some creep….ah, "Developer", cuts down Native Trees..or roots up a NZ Biodiverse area of land…and applies for "Retrospective Consent"…and quite often gets it. Still is shit.
Yesterday I watched a clip of Pakistani folk stuck on a small island in the center of a raging torrent. They were wading into the torrent to collect firewood from the water.
Perched on that island a fire was burning and water being boiled. No food, no apparent way out, still they fight to survive.
Contrast their fragile grip on life with that feckless fatuous fuck Luxon trying to drum up fear of bank fees.
Bwaghorn thinks we should be afraid. Zero clues though of what we should actually be afraid of.
That is some damn fine alliteration ! And yep Luxon..blowing the special dog whistle for all he's worth. And of course Ex ceo Luxon be well Insulated from Lifes Problems anyway.
How in all that is sane can you use the tragedy in Pakistan to defend the government hitting peoples Kiwi savers.
That is some really despicable shit. Whats next? Nats shouldn't mention Sharma because there are child slaves in the Congo. How about the Greens not talk about affordable housing because Yemen is being bombed.
How about you actually defend the Tax policy that will see poor kiwis even more poor when they get to retirement. How about you address the regressive nature of GST and why a Labour governent rather than trying to find ways to not hit those at the bottom with it (GST free groceries) instead find a way to hit them harder.
No one claimed the sky is falling. They claimed that a new tax policy was bad, and within 24 hours the government agreed with them and withdrew it.
You have accused people using hyperbole without providing any evidence of that, and then went on to use an extreme example of it to try and discount their concerns. Again concerns that the government have now accepted.
DB's point was that National are wasting everyone's time with this petty shit instead of addressing climate change, which is currently killing people in poor countries and will eventually kill us too if we don't sort our priorities out.
Which he could have made without comparing it to the floods in Pakistan. A completely unrelated topic that he specifically used to minimise the impact of this.
It is a classic tactic to talk about the smallest number possible when arguing in favour of something like this. However the week to week cost is not the issue here. Someones Kiwi saver contributions don't go up. They won't even notice the change in their pay packet. Where it will hurt is that increase comes out of their contributions. That is money that doesn't get invested in their name and so doesn't earn and grow for their retirement. It is already being speculated that this could cost an average kiwi saver $20,000 in their retirement.
I don't know what DBs financial situation is like but when we have already recently had stories highlighting that people are looking at a $400 a week short fall in their retirement (numbers for people currently in their 40s), then I doubt their is much argument that they can afford to be $20,00 poorer. If there is an argument for that, then the Government needs to make it fast or they deserve every hit the opposition gives them until they do.
Sorry I didn't get issued with a crystal ball to provide you with "cold hard facts". I mean, I don't have any reason to not believe Tax specialist Allan Bullot's assessment, but I am sure you can provide some cold hard facts as to why he was wrong. Although I did read that the IRD's own assessment also came up with just over the $20,000 figure so if that is the case then it is the information the government would have been working off as well.
I suppose if the retirement commision's assessment of retirement savings short falls isn't cold and hard enough for you then I'm not sure what you are after here.
So far I see people providing numbers as to what this will cost as a reason why it is bad. I am sure you can do the same to tell us why it is good. I hope it is a bit better than "it will only cost $4.50 a week" as that has already been addressed.
You poor wee dear you sound like you need a bit of a lie down after all day's activities of (checks notes) getting angry at me for pointing out the fatuous and pointless nature of our opposition.
But you assure one and all it is indeed a wicked affair, borne of evil intent, and your retirement will be trashed, and people are angry, and at work they said angry stuff though they also didn't know what they were talking about and…
oh wait, it got rolled back.
And here's me thinking you were all being forced to the will of some communist doctrine by a corrupt unfeeling regime.
The current Government are in just the same situation as Rob Muldoon in 1984. They have absolutely no idea how to get out of the mess they have created in my opinion.
Some lousy small world ruler you’d be when you only command one time zone and only on the Southern hemisphere at that and possibly only in NZ because you’d peak too early by about 3 weeks.
Anyone who voted Labour in 2020 has a modicum but not a lot of sympathy from me. Who gave Labour the majority government to do what they want? Labour voters did. This isn't a fault, it's the system as intended.
Labour losing thousands of votes to GP and TPM next year is a good thing, because then power will be shared more broadly, more democracy will ensue. Trick will be not losing so many that they can't form government at all.
The Greens done a deal with Schroder to reduce Nuclear baseline generation in exchange for intermittent renewables and Russian gas ,they spent half a trillion dollars on so called renewables (of which most are not co2 free such as wood),now with intergrated electricity system in Europe the price cascade extends.
With the German trade balance now gone,it becomes a debtor market as it borrows for imports,and subsidies for social housing etc.
The UK got themselves in trouble by contracting out energy supply to Europe,(little Russian Gas,but Norway is interconnected for gas and electricity,and France for electricity.They also removed storage for gas ,for a just in time model.
In Germany the Greens are part of the government. As is the German answer to Act the FDP, together with the SPD – Labour in NZ. They call it the Traffic light coalition, Red, Yellow, Green.
that's such an obviousness it's not worth saying. Instead of deflecting, maybe look at the choices here. Labour members can try and do something internally. Voters can be more strategic in who they vote for.
Or, the Greens could realise that they have supported labour without fault every single step at the time and got nowhere.
Btw, the Greens in Germany have been more then once in parliament, and have had considerable success in getting legislation enacted. One of them is hte shut down of the nuclear reactors in Germany.
''They give us the choice between plague or cholera — either global warming or nuclear waste,'' said Michaele Hustedt, a spokeswoman for the Green Party in Germany.
The Greens demanded and won a promise that nuclear plants would be phased out in Germany when they joined the Social Democrats to form a ruling majority in 1998.
and considering that they are still arguing for the phase out in the times of an energy crisis (lol) one could argue that maybe the Greens of Germany do actually have some responsablity considering that they are in government, and actually get stuff done.
Not in NZ. Again , it depends what you see as a success.
Currently you could say that James Shaw is a success for the Labour Party, however, he might not be for the Green Party. What he has achieved for people on the ground remains to be seen.
this is ridiculous. He's introduced a range of climate policies that we didn't have before and that are starting to address the biggest crisis of all time.
it depends what you see as a success.
Indeed, but some people aren't happy, or can't see the wood for the trees. They pull Labour left/green all the time.
I can't list a success as for me they did not have one, unless you consider the Self ID bill 🙂 a success then yes, they did have one, at the expense of non males.
Thanks Arkie for the correction. I guess watching he submissions just traumatised me to the point were i put KereKeres face to this implementation of the Self ID bill. I did not see Jan Tinetti in the submissions, but remember Deborah Russel (she with the back pain and the 'fuck off tweet').
As i said, this was a success for the Greens as this is one of the very few policies were they actually got what they wanted, as did Labour, hence why both parties will not get my vote. You see, i am an identity voter, always have been always will. And that for most part of my life was the reason of either voting L, G or another left leaning party depending the electorate.
Having never voted right in my life, so will not consider that an option. I am sure i will find a nice obscure little third party to cast a vote for.
Hate? Nah, i just can't be bothered with our current three large parties, whom personally i think are no longer fit for purpose considering the storm that is coming.
the Greens could realise that they have supported labour without fault every single step at the time and got nowhere.
The first statement is not true (2002 for example) and the second is obviously subjective, but "nowhere" doesn't stand up.
But more to the point, how can the Greens change National? Can they really say "yes, we're open to some kind of co-operation so we'll just leave climate change to one side and try and work together on plastic bags"? That's what it comes down to. The Greens can't make the Nats be not Nats.
The Greens, or any other third Party should insist on their policies to be enacted should they enter a coalition agreement with other parties. They would then have been elected in large enough numbers to do so, if it comes to that point. Keep in mind that the voters that elected these Green candidates have not elected them to 'change' Labour or National or anyone else for that matter, they have elected the Green Party candidates to word for the Green Party.
I think this 'must change National' 'change Labour' is a bit of a silly idea, one in general that can never be completed. Change must come from within, and currently neither National or Labour are willing to commit to the change needed.
As for the Greens in NZ or Germany for that matter, they are not at all my cup o'tea and i will not cast a vote for them.
yes, because literally the Greens are – in the eyes of L – a wholly owned subsidiary of Labour. 🙂 – this might be a bit extreme wording on my part, but any party that rules out working with other parties is binding themselves to a 'single' Partner, no matter if that has any benefits or not. And that is what the Green in NZ have done.
Hence why the Labour Party has actually no reason whatsoever to even pretend to want to work with the Greens on anything at all, or only on these little things that actually make labour look good.
I doubt that the Greens in NZ would ever get through an agreement to phase out nuclear (hypothetical of course ) energy in order to prop up a Labour government. The best the Greens can get is what they got currently with Shaw on the environmental side, and what they got via KereKere in the Genderwoowoo department.
I would also like to point out – again this is my own humble opinion – that the leader of the Labour Party kneecapped Chlow Swarbruck with the Cannabis referendum. I would like for you to give a thought just for a second to the leader of the country that could not see the political side of locking people up for growing and smoking a plant in 2022, for the huge costs of that law enforcement, the racist practices of locking non whites up at greater number then non whites – who use the good herb at the same if not larger numbers – the missing out on a new industry, GST revenue, and other business tax etc etc etc. You would think that the Leader of the Country who needs this little third Party every other three years to form a coalition would give a care and maybe support some of their better ideas, but then the leader of the country could not find a care nor a bother. And that is something the Green Party needs to reflect on. If the Green Party still has the capacity to actually critically reflect on anything , rather then just reflexively affirm everything cause 'green'.
The Green Party in Germany begs to differ, considering that Germany phased out nuclear power to the point where they now have an energy crisis as Russia is currently holding all the cards whilst the rest of Europe is in the process of folding theirs.
I try not too, but felt compelled in this instance. The Greens are again in coalition with the SPD who is the Social Party of Germany, and the FDP the Free German Party. Red, Green, Yellow.
The Green Party of Germany however is a different beast to the NZ Green Party. Both in age, and in history. In NZ the Green Party has yet to split on 'fundy' vs ' realo' lines. Fundamentalists/environmental Green vs Environmental/Economical/Identity Green. We might have seen a wee crack on that line with the Shaw brouhaha but so far they are still fairly cohesive.
"Who gave Labour the majority government to do what they want? Labour voters did."
If you are referring to people who normally vote Labour the answer is: they were not responsible for the excess vote. National lite voters rewarded the government for the handling of the pandemic and the ChCh massacre.
It was an unexpected result and the outcome included Gaurav Sharma who would never have succeeded in normal circumstances. Lesson… be careful who you choose even if you don't think they're going to win.
I clearly said people who voted Labour in 2020. But sure, regular Labour voters, or regular left wing voters, could easily have voted Green and didn't. Labour having a majority and being free to do what it wants despite MMP is on those voters as much as anyone else. Strategic voting is not rocket science.
It's the same with climate action. My conclusion now is that most liberal NZers don't want meaningful action on climate, because they mostly vote for a government that won't give them that. The upcoming local body elections will be a litmus test.
I was responding to your comment as linked to @8.,1.3, I wasn't sure what you meant which is why I queried it. And don't accuse me of dishonesty weka.
What I said was true. Many people who do not normally vote for Labour did so in 2020. The lesson to be learned by Labour is: be careful who you choose to be candidates even if you don't expect them to win.
Like me, Barfly – normally a Labour voter – was responding to weka's criticism. There were quite a lot of us and by doing so, we made sure the Greens stayed in parliament. So instead of knocking us, say thank-you otherwise we won't bother again.
If you voted Green in 2020 then weka's criticism isn't about you then is it? The hint is in the first line of 8.1.3.1.
You require some random commenter on the internet to thank you for voting sensibly? I haven't 'knocked' anyone here, I have merely pointed out that the Labour party has shown us what their priorities are, that you take that as an insult is on you.
All of us, including those who normally vote Labour, now have a clear demonstration of what the Labour party prioritises when they have no impediments to passing legislation. It’s not about ‘excess vote’ it’s about what the ‘rewarded’ Labour party thinks is worth using their political power to do. If voters want the priorities to be different then they have to vote for a different party, Labour has shown what’s most important to them.
I agree, a Health Minister repeatedly getting offside with the workforce while trying to reform (rebrand) the system.
An Energy Minister allowing Marsden Point to close and be decommissioned to appease a fossil fuel company,
Then there are the 'deserving unemployed' who are due twice the dole as the hoi polloi jobless. Presided over by a PM who freely and happily acknowledges there was a divide created by the reaction to The Virus, while allowing housing unaffordability to continue because ‘thats what homeowners expect’.
What's not to like?
Sounds like you have leapt on a band-wagon with a mish mash of words without identifying what they have done wot they sholdna done… and wot they ain't done what they shoulda done. 🙄
What do you even mean by that? Why do non-labour supporters constantly have to give them credit for some of their bare-minimum actions? I expect better of a supposed left-wing party and I'm happy to criticise any action i see as insufficient. It's not enough to keep voting for them in the hope that they'll behave differently, this is what they are.
This week they are taxing Kiwisaver. No one asked us.
Link please.
It is naive to think that any govt is limited only to the items in their manifesto. Governments have to govern according to the circumstances in the world & NZ, for the benefit of all their citizens ie not only those who voted for them, while pushing as much of the policies through that they had flagged in their manifesto and that provided the point of difference between them and other parties.
If they had this gift of farsightedness that you want them to have, wouldn't that mean they have to put everything they do in a manifesto? If having known about things enough to put them in a manifesto wouldn't they also have taken action to avoid them happening?
Enough with the hyperbole. Look at how this happened. Do you think Ardern sat down and chuckled "let's see what else we can pull"?
Cock-up beats conspiracy most of the time. This was a major cock-up, no doubt about that. But once you start muttering "Secret Agenda" then … plot, lost.
It's a cock up. Parker is a very smart guy who has very poor skills when releasing policies.
He should have been all over the media explaining that this simply adds GST to Kiwisaver fees which are charged as part of a service and where all other financial fees have GST on them because they are a service.
Now it has to be rolled back ASAP.
Luxon was all over it on Morning Report….another new tax …another new tax…we will reverse it and reduce other taxes blah blah blah….not likeable but effective.
Having said that Griffin’s RadioNZ did Labour no favours on Checkpoint last night yet again. The editor should look up the word balance.
You have very poor skills quoting and I doubt you’re very smart. I once knew a very smart guy, but his dancing skills were a health hazard to his dance partner (reminds me of David Seymour on DWTS).
Hosts of far-right conspiracy theory website Counterspin Media are appearing in court today accused of distributing an objectionable publication.
Kelvyn Alp and Hannah Spierer were arrested by police in Christchurch last week.
Alp, who managed to enter the court building without wearing a mask, was clapped and cheered as he entered court.
Dozens of supporters gathered outside the Christchurch Justice Precinct this morning, including white supremacist Philip Arps, former national director of the New Zealand National Front Kyle Chapman and city mayoral candidate Carl Bromley.
I knew of Alp, Arps and fellow white supremacist Kyle Chapman….. but this Carl Bromley nut was new ? And a Mayoral candidate to boot. Far Right scumbags all together. But revealed .
"Whichever way you look at it; either they're sneaky, either they're incompetent or they're shivering, looking for a spine to run up and don't have the courage to fight for something they believe in – none of it's good."
"Parker on Wednesday admitted the move was embarrassing but denied the Government tried to sneak the legislation through without the public knowing."
In that case, perhaps the National watchdog can redirect the laser pointer on the large KS cost: the management fees.
An assumption is that the dollar value of the manager’s basic fees will grow by 5% for 2022 and 10% per annum thereafter. This assumption is supported by the manager’s basic fees growing by an annualised average of 20% for the three years between 31 December 2018 and 31 December 2021. A more conservative 10% assumption is used as the last three years have had historically high investment returns and a lower 5% growth rate for 2022, to reflect that managed funds have generally experienced strongly negative investment returns for the first four months of 2022.
This would be very good. A number of default providers were stripped of their status recently due to excessive fees. One very good thing that has come out of this is that people might be more aware of how much Kiwisaver providers are charging them.
I would be keen to see some legislation around ethical investment for Kiwisaver schemes. At the moment people and providers have to choose to wear a financial cost to invest ethically. Whilst many do, I can't blame those who don't. If all Kiwisaver funds were forced to divest from fossil fuels or companies that have human rights concerns with some of their subsidiaries then it would be a level playing field and do some good.
The media,the opposition,the big banks,the large fund managers,the small fund managers,the IRD and FMA for saying that their models showed it would reduce investments (funds under management) the small people for having the temerity to say the additional costs would subtract their investments (correctly) which have already depreciated.
The depreciation is a polite way of saying the decrease in the asset value.Here with Kiwisaver as the froth came off so called investement stocks etc there was a loss in value of 7.5 billion in the 6 months ending June.
They are very related as the need for a substantive increase in Revenue is needed in 2025,2026, to pay for increased interest on debt that needs to be refinanced.
The printer ran out of paper this morning. This is the second time this week. I immediately called Parliamentary Services to demand an independent investigation, only to be told that I should just put some paper in the machine. The woman I spoke to (I will refer to her as “staffer GH”) got very aggressive with me, so I emailed a complaint to her superior. I outlined in my complaint seventy-three instances of incompetence and bullying in GH’s interaction with me. To date I have heard nothing, even though I sent my email over five minutes ago.”
Fantastic idea yesterday, defended hard this morning, gone this afternoon. Right up there on the u turn scale.
Can we expect the same when the government and the electorate have "conversations" about other proposed legislation later this year? The precedent is set now.
Who were the government spokespeople who said "fantastic idea yesterday, defended hard this morning"? Anybody? Not Ardern, Robertson, anyone else?
A few partisans on blogs did, sure. Nothing new there, a list of Luxon's belated "clarifications" would eat up the internet.
Lefties are far more willing to criticise the "team" than Nats, who effortlessly slide from telling us Simon's a winner to Todd's a winner to Judith's a winner to … Nicola next?
So your answer to my question is "nobody". Again, tell us who was in the media defending this (your claim).
Have you actually followed the detail of the story at all? No.
It wasn't some announcement at the podium, some new flagship policy from Ardern. It was a footnote in a document, which Parker failed to see the implications of. The opposition did, and so they scored a win.
Beg to differ…it was a poorly foreshadowed policy (typical, they seem to have a low opinion of their adversaries) but the actual policy should have been a non event, if they had done the required 'public consultation'…aka explanation.
For a cohort of 'professional politicians' they really are inept….unfortunately we will likely inherit a Nat led gov as a result.
Or perhaps its all of no consequence as the looming recession means they are history anyway.
TBH, I don't really think that he really understands public opinion – let along political framing (he admitted he got blindsided by the opposition to it). He mostly comes across like a policy wonk, who doesn't understand that most of the world doesn't think in numbers.
I agree that there was swift political action today by those in Labour who do pay attention to public opinion. Shutting down the issue (which was, after all a minor piece of technical legislation – of no great importance in the government's plans) – swiftly – was the best action in the circumstances. Letting it trickle on, would have been an even greater gift to the opposition.
However, a chunk of reputational damage has already been done.
It's one of those 'death by a thousand cuts' things – each individual issue isn't significant, but each eats away at the government's support. Labour really can't afford to continue to have political u-turns because their ministers aren't managing the message.
Being right is never cold comfort. The election is not lost: it has not been held yet – are you clairvoyant? More to the point, have any of your predictions proved accurate? (Link please 🙂
Just as clairvoyant as you are.
Given that we have national elections every 3 years, it requires little precognitive ability to predict that someone will lose.
'Crisis' gets used fairly frequently by opposition parties of whatever flavour.
'Shambles' was the go-to destructive NAct critique deployed during the on-going pandemic; I will be forever thankful they weren't in a position to deploy Plan B ASAP.
Makes you wonder how Ardern can dump on NZs biggest-ever MMP majority and flush it down the crapper in under 12 months, with NZ back where we were in Feb 2020.
Yes yes Ad, everyone knows you (and others) think Ardern is shit (and now "impressively shit"), and are happy to use Hooton’s shrewd political judgement in support of your cause, whereas I think this particular evaluation of yours is dim-witted and insulting.
If you want our 6th Labour Govt to go 3 terms, then imho your continuing anti-Ardern crusade is an exemplar of "cutting off one's nose to spite one's face."
If NAct sweep to power in 2023, then their party-sponsored keptocracy will be back with a vengeance, and the hollow men and women will gut and gorge, leaving huge quantities of unmet need in their wake – it's in their DNA.
As an analogy, if you want to strengthen the immune system and evoke a strong response when needed, then you need to keep throwing shit at it all the time.
If I'm grokking your analogy, then are Ad's distasteful anti-Ardern jibes training Labour's immune system, or evidence of lupus? And can one more turd be a useful addition to the daily mountain of shit thrown Ardern's way?
Made a private commitment that I would Party vote National if one of their leaders publicly repudiated the political obscenity that was (and is) Dirty Politics – I doubt that the Green Party will be loosing my vote anytime soon.
Politics is cutthroat, not kind, but give a little logic and fairness its due too.
Yeah right. Sadly Labour has a history of infighting…and biting their own. And Ad has been criticising Jacinda here for quite a while. I, like many others, wonder at his motives? IMO throwing shit at her..is not productive..in any way.
Drowsy M. Kram. thanks for the reply and the PlanB reference. I note that PlanB has had no further input from its "expert and passionate (sigh)" people since December 2021.
Maybe they had a Damascus experience when some facts like yours gave them "a sign".
Bit like National. How many times did we hear "the government needs to…"? They had several plans, all in opposition to the government. "Too soon….too late….. never……"
Thanks Mac1. Yes, Plan B has gone off the boil now that the borders are open and 'freedum' has returned to our "mysterious socialist hermit kingdom."
Hope Kiwis don't forget the pandemic lessons learned (so far) too quickly.
Lots of (too many!) links:
8 Lessons We Can Learn From the COVID-19 Pandemic
[14 May 2021]
“Humanity's memory is short, and what is not ever-present fades quickly,” says Manisha Juthani, MD, a Yale Medicine infectious diseases specialist. The bubonic plague, for example, ravaged Europe in the Middle Ages—resurfacing again and again—but once it was under control, people started to forget about it, she says. “So, I would say one major lesson from a public health or infectious disease perspective is that it’s important to remember and recognize our history. This is a period we must remember.”
9 Things Everyone Should Know About the Coronavirus Outbreak
Experts are paying close attention to the latest Omicron strains.
[11 August 2022]
1. COVID-19: By the numbers
2. The virus can spread in multiple ways.
3. The virus continues to change.
4. Long COVID is still not well understood.
5. Vaccines are key to preventing severe illness and hospitalization.
6. There are steps you can take to prevent infection.
7. Experts continue to work on COVID-19 treatments.
8. If you feel ill, here's what you should do.
9. Be aware of the information and resources that are available to you.
Lessons learned
Epidemiologists share lessons they’ve learned from the coronavirus pandemic. [17 August 2022]
“Trust in science. Please, I beg you, trust in science, and do not under any circumstances discount what people who have spent their entire lives learning how to fight these diseases have to say. This is not political, diseases never will be, so please have a grain of common sense and decency; protect yourself, and by extension those around you.” — William Roberts, Powder Springs, Ga.
“People you love are going to suffer mental illness under these awful circumstances. They will let you down in spectacular ways, but you have to forgive them or you lose twice.” — Lenna Pierce, Brooklyn, N.Y.
“I wouldn’t have tried as hard to convince friends and family to comply with public health measures. They were never going to listen to anything I had to say; all I accomplished was losing relationships.” — Jess, Pittsburgh, Pa.
“Listen to public health officials. Elevate them and do not make a pandemic a political issue. A pandemic is an apolitical animal. Be humble and submit to public health measures. Do not be a vector. Isolate and enjoy your solitude.” — Usha Srinivasan, Bel Air, Md.
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 ...
TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
Bryce Edwards writes – It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played.“Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I- Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka KotahiThe fact that a ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st CenturyThe SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims StuffSteve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
David Farrar writes – We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how labour went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promiseThe result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
“I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
.“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
“It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet – is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
Bob Edlin writes – And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ HeraldThomas CoughlanSimeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
TL;DR:Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it: We want our country to be a ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading → ...
Ele Ludemann writes – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
What was that judge thinking?Peter Williams writes – That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop:Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
Buzz from the BeehiveThe text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary. It can be quickly analysed ...
For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
Questions need to be asked on both sides of the worldPeter Williams writes – The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read:Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop:The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
TL;DR:Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
Bob Edlin writes – The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
The Government has accepted Labour’s change to the Road User Charge (RUC) discount for hybrid vehicles, meaning there will still be some incentive for people to buy greener vehicles. ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
This year is about getting real with Kiwis and discussing the tough issues, as the National Government exacerbates inequality and divides New Zealand, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said ...
The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
After 12 years of fighting to protect our moana we are finding ourselves back at square one and back at court. Today, the Environmental Protection Agency is sitting in Hawera to reconsider an application from Trans-Tasman Resources to dig up 50 million tonnes of the seabed in South Taranaki. This ...
Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
The New Zealand public voted for a change in direction at the 2023 general election and that is exactly what this coalition government has been delivering in its first 100 days. There was an immediate focus on the economy, easing the cost of living, cracking down on law and order ...
The Government has left the health system as an afterthought, announcing half-baked targets at the last minute of their 100-day plan, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
Kiwis are still waiting for their promised cost of living support after 100 days of a National Government that is taking us backwards, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
100 days of National taking NZ backwardsThe National Government has spent its first 100 days stopping, cutting and reversing. They have scrapped stuff for stuff for the sake of it, without putting up any solutions of their own – and it’s hardworking New Zealanders who will pay for it. ...
The Government must commit to funding free and healthy school lunches, as thousands of people sign the petition to keep them, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti says. ...
If the Government was serious about moving families into public housing, they would build more houses so there is actually somewhere for people to go. ...
The free and healthy school lunches programme feeds our kids, helps them to learn, and saves families money – but it is at risk under this Government, education spokesperson Jan Tinetti said. ...
The Government’s proposed changes to Firearms Prohibition Orders (FPO) add almost nothing new and are merely an attempt to distract from its plans to loosen gun laws, police spokesperson Ginny Andersen and justice spokesperson Dr Duncan Webb said. ...
The great Victorian era English politician Lord Macauley stood in the British House of Parliament and said, "The gallery in which the reporters sit has become a fourth estate of the realm".He understood and outlined even way back then, the significant role and influence media have in a democracy. ...
"The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April. ...
Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand. Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships. “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland Acknowledgements and opening Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says. “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024 Acknowledgements and opening Morena, Nga Mihi Nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country. “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week. “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee. “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today. “The Amendment Paper represents ...
Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level. “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024. “Lower fruit and vege ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all. Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction. Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
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Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness. It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
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Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
Pacific Media Watch Earthwise hosts Lois and Martin Griffiths. Earthwise presenters Lois and Martin Griffiths on Plains FM 96.9 community radio talk to Dr David Robie, a New Zealand author, independent journalist and media educator with a passion for the Asia-Pacific region. David talks about the struggle to raise awareness ...
Pacific Media Watch Ismail al-Ghoul, an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent who was held for 12 hours at Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, says Israeli forces rounded up Palestinian journalists at the facility and made them kneel on the ground for hours, while naked and blindfolded. “The occupation forces handcuffed and blindfolded us ...
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Chumbawamba have reportedly issued the deputy PM a cease-and-desist notice after he used their song 'Tubthumping' before his state of the nation speech. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Deborah Lupton, SHARP Professor, Vitalities Lab, Centre for Social Research in Health and Social Policy Centre, and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, UNSW Sydney kitzcorner/Shutterstock The assertion from Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard that ...
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"Farmers make a point not to tell our urban cousins how to live, yet Chlöe from central Auckland is hell-bent on having her say about farmers," says ACT Rural Communities spokesman Mark Cameron. “On her first day in the House as Green ...
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Uber has argued it does not have as much control over drivers as the unions suggest, and wants a judgment ruling that drivers are employees and not contractors set aside and sent back to the Employment Court. The 2022 ruling followed a three-week hearing in which four drivers sought to ...
What can and can’t be purchased by disabled people or their carers has been slashed in an effort by the Ministry of Disabled People Whaikaha to save money. The purchasing guidelines, a set of rules that sets out what can be purchased using the various streams of Government disability funding, ...
The Treasury has published today a new Analytical Note by Tod Wright and Hien Nguyen, Fiscal incidence in New Zealand: The effects of taxes and benefits on household incomes in tax year 2018/19 . Analyses of the distributional impact of taxation and government ...
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A coalition of public transport and climate organisations, united as ‘Transport for All’, is actively opposing the government’s transport proposals. The draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) includes plans for higher fares for public transport, ...
Greater Wellington is inviting feedback on proposed changes to its Revenue and Financing Policy. The Revenue and Financing Policy covers the Council’s various sources of funding, and how the cost of services is shared across the region. This includes ...
Labour has conceded it could have done more to deal with disruptive state housing tenants while in government but says the current coalition is going too far. ...
The band has asked their record label to issue a cease and desist to stop the NZ First leader using their 1997 hit to support his ‘misguided political views’. “I get knocked down, but I get up again,” blared through the speakers on Sunday as Winston Peters took the stage ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Food rationing is underway in remote areas in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands following torrential rain and flash flooding. More than 20 people have been reported dead in Chimbu Province. In nearby Enga Province, the centre of last month’s massacre, a 15-year-old boy has been ...
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After years of pressuring banks and other institutions to stop investing in fossil fuels, climate campaigners are making some progress. So how does divestment work?For years, climate activists have been pushing banks and other big institutions to divest from fossil fuels. New research from climate advocacy group 350 Aotearoa ...
For Boba, Ethan and Ashley, K-pop is a place to belong, a way to express themselves, and a bridge to connect with others. The three young Polynesians are part of a K-pop fan community in Tāmaki Makaurau. It’s one of many that have sprung up worldwide as K-pop has gone ...
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There’s ample evidence demonstrating free school lunch programmes provide wide benefits across schools, households and communities according to public health researchers. ACT Minister David Seymour wants to reduce the spending on Aotearoa New Zealand’s ...
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The Taxpayers’ Union is welcoming comments from Christopher Luxon this morning recommitting to ‘no new taxes’ as part of Budget 2024. “Mr Luxon’s refusal at the Post-Cabinet press conference yesterday to repeat the ‘no new taxes’ promise ...
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Kāinga Ora tenants abused by their neighbours are doubting the government's crackdown on disruptive tenants will make a difference on their behaviour. ...
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Why does this myth persist, and what’s the real reason our skin is suffering?It’s one of the biggest international grievances New Zealanders hold, up there with the sinking of the Rainbow Warrior and 1981’s underarm incident. We’re quick to tell international travellers that the world’s pollution led to the ...
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https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/129698867/kiwisaver-rules-prevent-young-farmers-from-buying-their-own-home
Sooner rather than later would be good minister Clark
Kiwisaver rules stop people from using the funds as investment that fuels the housing crisis.
fify.
Yeah so fuck rural workers ,
There’s a big difference between investment properties and essential rural workers getting a house for there retirement, I no I need it to happen or it’s looking like a bus for me at 65,
Kiwisaver is designed to be a retirement 'nest egg' in itself, not to help property investment – other than homes to live in yourself (which already undermines the scheme's purpose). Our economy is already over-exposed to that one asset class. Plenty of us will never own our own home, no matter where we rent.
It's not properly investment if you intend it to be your home at retirement, farming is a live in job in many cases, due to lack of options to do otherwise, not to mention that it's an on call 24/7 job once your up at management level ,
How would you word an exemption?
I belive the guy in the article covers that, if the applicant has a tenancy agreement with his/her/whatever your calling yourselfs, employer then they are eligible, we pay rent for our houses, .
Luxons got a stop the retirement tax site up in running, labour is fucked, it's wall to wall wealth tax on the am show.
Say that in English, and then maybe we will know what you're talking about.
I second that. Retirement tax, wealth tax? What the …….?
"Fear of bank fees" is the sound bite to counter this horse shit.
GST is regressive. Just like supermarkets and gas stations it is not the Kiwi saver managers who will pay this. It will come directly off contributions made just like current fees. The cost compounds as the lost investment can't earn and people will see real impacts on their Kiwi saver funds at retirement. Especially those on low incomes who this will be a larger portion of their contributions.
This is a truly terrible idea and it is crazy that so many people are willing to jump in and defend it simply because Labour are doing it.
It's going to cost the average kiwisaver account $20 ,000 over its term apparently.
Evidence please. Facts and figures.
$20,000 sounds like a lot – but that would mean that the management fees were $133,000 before that (no talk about that) and the biggie of course is how much would the expected payout be? Obviously it would be greater than a million but without the numbers it's just all hype and bullshit.
It's a free gift to Luxon and he's taking it, gleefully. Very poor political management by Labour. The change can be defended long-term but introducing it in this way … did anyone seriously think that wasn't going to be a headline?
Ardern and Robertson need to take charge here, not Parker.
Being sneaky about it was never going to work. Bad advice/decisions.
For those not clued to talkback or other radio or TV please link.
Link: all media this morning.
Every Wednesday the leader of the opposition does the media rounds (a long-standing convention, it predates Luxon). He must have been overjoyed to discover Parker had given him an early Christmas, so he could spend less time talking about National's problems.
I don't see much point defending this stuff-up, because it will be walked back soon.
Pretty much everyone is talking about it at work and out on the jobsite today, anger is palpable and driven by not quite understanding what the change is. But think there will be very little chance of shifting the govt is going to take some of my savings narrative at this point.
I don't see much point defending this stuff-up, because it will be walked back soon.
And now this has already happened, Parker confirms.
It was very predictable.
National opposes a small tax on banks, should be the headline. It is not on your Kiwisaver. Luxon is financially illiterate. Or lying.
Labour giving in to the framing is an own goal.
Which happens way to often.
Because they didn't frame it. If a government makes an announcement, they have first mover advantage.
Parker didn't use it, so the opposition did it for him. Basic error.
Apparently Parker has now scrapped the Tax.
Is there any party coordination or consultation on policy releases?
Jacinda appears to have a lot of loose canons in her cabinet and it is not a good look. It is getting hard to defend failed on-the-hoof policies from her administration with this one being the latest, and the second failure of Parker's policy releases in a few weeks.
Getting a little depressed by this.
edit. (Loose cannons.)
There’s an awful lot proposed in the Tax Bill, way too much to cover in one or two announcements.
That's a bit different to a wealth tax, and all the screeching headlines. (From RNZ)
This implies that it's the providers who will be passing on costs of the tax they have to pay to the savers, not the Govt taking it. Switch to funds who don't do this. ¯_ _(ツ)_/¯
“a non-notified consent” ? WTF !? Seems like this should have been…at the very least ! Good that people are Activating about it. Fight back !
rural land has long had a lot of leeway in what can be done on it. That's why we're in the mess we are in.
When applications are heard as non-notified, consent being granted is usually a foregone conclusion from my experience.
Hi. Sadly, yea that seems to be the way of it. And a way to “hide” their dirty intentions. As in the opponents only heard 6 months prior…Similar to the situation when some creep….ah, "Developer", cuts down Native Trees..or roots up a NZ Biodiverse area of land…and applies for "Retrospective Consent"…and quite often gets it. Still is shit.
Collaborating is bad for you.
https://twitter.com/yarotrof/status/1564261285243432960
https://twitter.com/yarotrof/status/1564534663430807553
Yesterday I watched a clip of Pakistani folk stuck on a small island in the center of a raging torrent. They were wading into the torrent to collect firewood from the water.
Perched on that island a fire was burning and water being boiled. No food, no apparent way out, still they fight to survive.
Contrast their fragile grip on life with that feckless fatuous fuck Luxon trying to drum up fear of bank fees.
Bwaghorn thinks we should be afraid. Zero clues though of what we should actually be afraid of.
These clowns will be the death of us.
That is some damn fine alliteration ! And yep Luxon..blowing the special dog whistle for all he's worth. And of course Ex ceo Luxon be well Insulated from Lifes Problems anyway.
Sadly the scumbag will get attention from this….
How in all that is sane can you use the tragedy in Pakistan to defend the government hitting peoples Kiwi savers.
That is some really despicable shit. Whats next? Nats shouldn't mention Sharma because there are child slaves in the Congo. How about the Greens not talk about affordable housing because Yemen is being bombed.
How about you actually defend the Tax policy that will see poor kiwis even more poor when they get to retirement. How about you address the regressive nature of GST and why a Labour governent rather than trying to find ways to not hit those at the bottom with it (GST free groceries) instead find a way to hit them harder.
How about you understand what you are talking about before you talk about it.
"Despicable shit"
No, the reality of the world vs your hyperbolic bullshit.
You're the one talking about the Floods and the struggle of the people in Pakistan yet call me hyperbolic. Perhaps a bit of self reflection mate.
One is an actual catastrophe, one is a blithering idiot trying to appear relevant.
But go ahead: other than torrential rains, tell me exactly how the sky is falling?
No one claimed the sky is falling. They claimed that a new tax policy was bad, and within 24 hours the government agreed with them and withdrew it.
You have accused people using hyperbole without providing any evidence of that, and then went on to use an extreme example of it to try and discount their concerns. Again concerns that the government have now accepted.
https://twitter.com/pilcher_pat/status/1564727538655830016
DB's point was that National are wasting everyone's time with this petty shit instead of addressing climate change, which is currently killing people in poor countries and will eventually kill us too if we don't sort our priorities out.
Which he could have made without comparing it to the floods in Pakistan. A completely unrelated topic that he specifically used to minimise the impact of this.
It is a classic tactic to talk about the smallest number possible when arguing in favour of something like this. However the week to week cost is not the issue here. Someones Kiwi saver contributions don't go up. They won't even notice the change in their pay packet. Where it will hurt is that increase comes out of their contributions. That is money that doesn't get invested in their name and so doesn't earn and grow for their retirement. It is already being speculated that this could cost an average kiwi saver $20,000 in their retirement.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2022/08/government-s-planned-gst-charge-on-kiwisaver-a-brand-new-tax-specialist-says.html
I don't know what DBs financial situation is like but when we have already recently had stories highlighting that people are looking at a $400 a week short fall in their retirement (numbers for people currently in their 40s), then I doubt their is much argument that they can afford to be $20,00 poorer. If there is an argument for that, then the Government needs to make it fast or they deserve every hit the opposition gives them until they do.
https://theconversation.com/a-400-a-week-shortfall-people-in-their-40s-face-a-bleak-retirement-on-kiwisavers-current-trajectory-185576#:~:text=The%20gap%20between%20retirement%20and,is%20relatively%20uninformative%20by%20itself.
"It is already being speculated that this could …"
" …we have already recently had stories …"
Good to read those cold, hard facts.
Succinct, and all that.
Sorry I didn't get issued with a crystal ball to provide you with "cold hard facts". I mean, I don't have any reason to not believe Tax specialist Allan Bullot's assessment, but I am sure you can provide some cold hard facts as to why he was wrong. Although I did read that the IRD's own assessment also came up with just over the $20,000 figure so if that is the case then it is the information the government would have been working off as well.
I suppose if the retirement commision's assessment of retirement savings short falls isn't cold and hard enough for you then I'm not sure what you are after here.
So far I see people providing numbers as to what this will cost as a reason why it is bad. I am sure you can do the same to tell us why it is good. I hope it is a bit better than "it will only cost $4.50 a week" as that has already been addressed.
You poor wee dear you sound like you need a bit of a lie down after all day's activities of (checks notes) getting angry at me for pointing out the fatuous and pointless nature of our opposition.
But you assure one and all it is indeed a wicked affair, borne of evil intent, and your retirement will be trashed, and people are angry, and at work they said angry stuff though they also didn't know what they were talking about and…
oh wait, it got rolled back.
And here's me thinking you were all being forced to the will of some communist doctrine by a corrupt unfeeling regime.
Crashcart will be in celebration-mode now, because… nothing happened – the dream of good conservatives everywhere!
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/tax-bill-removes-fbt-public-transport
At last
https://twitter.com/StuartBDonovan/status/1564448657508040704
Yup, about time.
Luxon and his lamentable crew will play
Tax and spend,
Taking your money,
Law and order,
Wasteful benefit spending,
Lack of productivity,
Poor Auckland,
Have not done anything,
Keep water local.
As having Policy that can be pulled to bits is too hard. National is avoiding creating any accountable targets, it is all slogans.
Creating memes.
We need our list.
Stop greed
Clean water
Living wage
Fair safe work
As they are remembered and repeated.
Pretty hard to see Labour turning it around after this month.
Lost the crime narrative, despite ample facts.
Lost the tax narrative, by doing so little.
Lost welfare narrative with botched CPI rollout.
Lost the health narrative, amazingly, with crisis-filled health system.
The massive subsidies its providing have been a terrible substitute for economic reform.
Lost the 'be loyal' sentiment by screwing with Kiwibank and Kiwisaver.
Labour look Lost because they are.
Yes, it almost seems like Labour do not want a third term. Is the mess that big?
Unfortunately yes. The mess really is that bad.
The current Government are in just the same situation as Rob Muldoon in 1984. They have absolutely no idea how to get out of the mess they have created in my opinion.
With friends like you Ad……
If I ruled the world every day would be the first day of spring.
II therefore command spring to start in 14 hours.
Some lousy small world ruler you’d be when you only command one time zone and only on the Southern hemisphere at that and possibly only in NZ because you’d peak too early by about 3 weeks.
How many here are Kiwibank customers like me?
Three weeks ago they sold out our Kiwisaver to Fisher Funds for $310m. No one asked us.
Two weeks ago the government bought half it back for $2,1 billion. No one asked us.
This week they are taxing Kiwisaver. No one asked us.
None of these moves were on their manifesto.
None were in the budget.
Kiwibank has only 6% of the mortgage market but a long and loyal customer base.
Customers are voters.
Ardern may want to argue about chocolate wrappers but she is going to lose thousands of votes along with thousands of customers.
Labour looks like it could not run a bath.
Anyone who voted Labour in 2020 has a modicum but not a lot of sympathy from me. Who gave Labour the majority government to do what they want? Labour voters did. This isn't a fault, it's the system as intended.
Labour losing thousands of votes to GP and TPM next year is a good thing, because then power will be shared more broadly, more democracy will ensue. Trick will be not losing so many that they can't form government at all.
Greens are being matched with the significant damage they have done to the German economy,and Europe in General,
https://twitter.com/Schuldensuehner/status/1564642002008002560?cxt=HHwWgMC-pY3n3LYrAAAA
you're blaming the Greens in Germany for inflation in Germany and the rest of Europe?
The Greens done a deal with Schroder to reduce Nuclear baseline generation in exchange for intermittent renewables and Russian gas ,they spent half a trillion dollars on so called renewables (of which most are not co2 free such as wood),now with intergrated electricity system in Europe the price cascade extends.
With the German trade balance now gone,it becomes a debtor market as it borrows for imports,and subsidies for social housing etc.
The UK got themselves in trouble by contracting out energy supply to Europe,(little Russian Gas,but Norway is interconnected for gas and electricity,and France for electricity.They also removed storage for gas ,for a just in time model.
When you're out of government there's no power to redistribute.
Best of luck dividing zero.
In Germany the Greens are part of the government. As is the German answer to Act the FDP, together with the SPD – Labour in NZ. They call it the Traffic light coalition, Red, Yellow, Green.
that's such an obviousness it's not worth saying. Instead of deflecting, maybe look at the choices here. Labour members can try and do something internally. Voters can be more strategic in who they vote for.
Or, the Greens could realise that they have supported labour without fault every single step at the time and got nowhere.
Btw, the Greens in Germany have been more then once in parliament, and have had considerable success in getting legislation enacted. One of them is hte shut down of the nuclear reactors in Germany.
From 2003
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/nov/15/germany.nuclearpower
from 2003
https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/18/business/after-heat-wave-europe-gives-nuclear-power-a-second-look.html
and considering that they are still arguing for the phase out in the times of an energy crisis (lol) one could argue that maybe the Greens of Germany do actually have some responsablity considering that they are in government, and actually get stuff done.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/germany-s-greens-oppose-nuclear-power-despite-looming-crisis/2650837
Maybe it would be best not to compare the German Green Party to the NZ Green Party.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alliance_90/The_Greens
That's bizarrely ahistorical.
Not in NZ. Again , it depends what you see as a success.
Currently you could say that James Shaw is a success for the Labour Party, however, he might not be for the Green Party. What he has achieved for people on the ground remains to be seen.
this is ridiculous. He's introduced a range of climate policies that we didn't have before and that are starting to address the biggest crisis of all time.
Indeed, but some people aren't happy, or can't see the wood for the trees. They pull Labour left/green all the time.
can you really not see the Green Party policy being enacted over the years?
I see what has been enacted. I see to fail how it serves the public, and I say this as someone who until 2014 has given votes to the Green.
this is vague hand waving. Be specific or it's useless dialogue.
I can't list a success as for me they did not have one, unless you consider the Self ID bill 🙂 a success then yes, they did have one, at the expense of non males.
Put forward by Jan Tinetti who isn't from the Greens, passed in 2021 when Labour have an absolute majority…
Your hostility to the Greens is irrational.
Thanks Arkie for the correction. I guess watching he submissions just traumatised me to the point were i put KereKeres face to this implementation of the Self ID bill. I did not see Jan Tinetti in the submissions, but remember Deborah Russel (she with the back pain and the 'fuck off tweet').
As i said, this was a success for the Greens as this is one of the very few policies were they actually got what they wanted, as did Labour, hence why both parties will not get my vote. You see, i am an identity voter, always have been always will. And that for most part of my life was the reason of either voting L, G or another left leaning party depending the electorate.
Having never voted right in my life, so will not consider that an option. I am sure i will find a nice obscure little third party to cast a vote for.
Hate? Nah, i just can't be bothered with our current three large parties, whom personally i think are no longer fit for purpose considering the storm that is coming.
https://www.greens.org.nz/green_party_celebrates_self_id_legislation
the Greens could realise that they have supported labour without fault every single step at the time and got nowhere.
The first statement is not true (2002 for example) and the second is obviously subjective, but "nowhere" doesn't stand up.
But more to the point, how can the Greens change National? Can they really say "yes, we're open to some kind of co-operation so we'll just leave climate change to one side and try and work together on plastic bags"? That's what it comes down to. The Greens can't make the Nats be not Nats.
The Greens, or any other third Party should insist on their policies to be enacted should they enter a coalition agreement with other parties. They would then have been elected in large enough numbers to do so, if it comes to that point. Keep in mind that the voters that elected these Green candidates have not elected them to 'change' Labour or National or anyone else for that matter, they have elected the Green Party candidates to word for the Green Party.
I think this 'must change National' 'change Labour' is a bit of a silly idea, one in general that can never be completed. Change must come from within, and currently neither National or Labour are willing to commit to the change needed.
As for the Greens in NZ or Germany for that matter, they are not at all my cup o'tea and i will not cast a vote for them.
What are you on about?
The Greens aren't in coalition with Labour. Labour have a majority.
In 2017, Labour had a coalition agreement with NZF, and a C/S agreement with the Greens.
yes, because literally the Greens are – in the eyes of L – a wholly owned subsidiary of Labour. 🙂 – this might be a bit extreme wording on my part, but any party that rules out working with other parties is binding themselves to a 'single' Partner, no matter if that has any benefits or not. And that is what the Green in NZ have done.
Hence why the Labour Party has actually no reason whatsoever to even pretend to want to work with the Greens on anything at all, or only on these little things that actually make labour look good.
I doubt that the Greens in NZ would ever get through an agreement to phase out nuclear (hypothetical of course ) energy in order to prop up a Labour government. The best the Greens can get is what they got currently with Shaw on the environmental side, and what they got via KereKere in the Genderwoowoo department.
I would also like to point out – again this is my own humble opinion – that the leader of the Labour Party kneecapped Chlow Swarbruck with the Cannabis referendum. I would like for you to give a thought just for a second to the leader of the country that could not see the political side of locking people up for growing and smoking a plant in 2022, for the huge costs of that law enforcement, the racist practices of locking non whites up at greater number then non whites – who use the good herb at the same if not larger numbers – the missing out on a new industry, GST revenue, and other business tax etc etc etc. You would think that the Leader of the Country who needs this little third Party every other three years to form a coalition would give a care and maybe support some of their better ideas, but then the leader of the country could not find a care nor a bother. And that is something the Green Party needs to reflect on. If the Green Party still has the capacity to actually critically reflect on anything , rather then just reflexively affirm everything cause 'green'.
Politics does not work the way you seem to believe it does.
The Green Party in Germany begs to differ, considering that Germany phased out nuclear power to the point where they now have an energy crisis as Russia is currently holding all the cards whilst the rest of Europe is in the process of folding theirs.
Leverage is the thing. Otherwise 'insisting' makes no difference.
Without comparing the other political parties around them.
I try not too, but felt compelled in this instance. The Greens are again in coalition with the SPD who is the Social Party of Germany, and the FDP the Free German Party. Red, Green, Yellow.
The Green Party of Germany however is a different beast to the NZ Green Party. Both in age, and in history. In NZ the Green Party has yet to split on 'fundy' vs ' realo' lines. Fundamentalists/environmental Green vs Environmental/Economical/Identity Green. We might have seen a wee crack on that line with the Shaw brouhaha but so far they are still fairly cohesive.
All comparisons are wrong, but some are useful 😉
"Who gave Labour the majority government to do what they want? Labour voters did."
If you are referring to people who normally vote Labour the answer is: they were not responsible for the excess vote. National lite voters rewarded the government for the handling of the pandemic and the ChCh massacre.
It was an unexpected result and the outcome included Gaurav Sharma who would never have succeeded in normal circumstances. Lesson… be careful who you choose even if you don't think they're going to win.
I clearly said people who voted Labour in 2020. But sure, regular Labour voters, or regular left wing voters, could easily have voted Green and didn't. Labour having a majority and being free to do what it wants despite MMP is on those voters as much as anyone else. Strategic voting is not rocket science.
It's the same with climate action. My conclusion now is that most liberal NZers don't want meaningful action on climate, because they mostly vote for a government that won't give them that. The upcoming local body elections will be a litmus test.
Just be honest about it.
I was responding to your comment as linked to @8.,1.3, I wasn't sure what you meant which is why I queried it. And don't accuse me of dishonesty weka.
What I said was true. Many people who do not normally vote for Labour did so in 2020. The lesson to be learned by Labour is: be careful who you choose to be candidates even if you don't expect them to win.
Btw, I voted for the Greens in 2020.
Oi!
regular Labour voters, or regular left wing voters, could easily have voted Green and didn't
I did
Then that comment isn't about you is it?
Like me, Barfly – normally a Labour voter – was responding to weka's criticism. There were quite a lot of us and by doing so, we made sure the Greens stayed in parliament. So instead of knocking us, say thank-you otherwise we won't bother again.
If you voted Green in 2020 then weka's criticism isn't about you then is it? The hint is in the first line of 8.1.3.1.
You require some random commenter on the internet to thank you for voting sensibly? I haven't 'knocked' anyone here, I have merely pointed out that the Labour party has shown us what their priorities are, that you take that as an insult is on you.
Well done, Barfly!
You done right!
🙂
Wot about me. 🙁
You're a champion, Anne! All credit to you. Thank you very much!
All of us, including those who normally vote Labour, now have a clear demonstration of what the Labour party prioritises when they have no impediments to passing legislation. It’s not about ‘excess vote’ it’s about what the ‘rewarded’ Labour party thinks is worth using their political power to do. If voters want the priorities to be different then they have to vote for a different party, Labour has shown what’s most important to them.
I agree, a Health Minister repeatedly getting offside with the workforce while trying to reform (rebrand) the system.
An Energy Minister allowing Marsden Point to close and be decommissioned to appease a fossil fuel company,
Then there are the 'deserving unemployed' who are due twice the dole as the hoi polloi jobless. Presided over by a PM who freely and happily acknowledges there was a divide created by the reaction to The Virus, while allowing housing unaffordability to continue because ‘thats what homeowners expect’.
What's not to like?
Uggh? The other way round imo.
"
Uggh? The other way round imo."
Do you mind expanding a little on that Anne?
My reckons have it health staff have gone above and beyond the last 8 or so years and in particular the last 33 months, especially front line staff.
Sounds like you have leapt on a band-wagon with a mish mash of words without identifying what they have done wot they sholdna done… and wot they ain't done what they shoulda done. 🙄
What do you even mean by that? Why do non-labour supporters constantly have to give them credit for some of their bare-minimum actions? I expect better of a supposed left-wing party and I'm happy to criticise any action i see as insufficient. It's not enough to keep voting for them in the hope that they'll behave differently, this is what they are.
Ad @ 8 correction "they are taxing Kiwisaver" Should be
"They are taxing Kiwisaver fees."
Yeah nah.
This government does policy like Wellington weather.
I know that Wellington has been having a pretty bad run of weather lately but it hasn't been that bad.
If the weather had been as bad as the Governments actions the whole city would have been flattened and then washed out to sea.
We bank with Kiwibank and we both have Kiwisaver accounts with them.
I have just checked and we are already charged GST on part of our Kiwisaver fees. A piddly amount really.
This whole 'taxing my investment!!!!' is just fixing loopholes where some financial institutions charge GST and some don't.
Are youse allergic to paragraphs?
Link please.
It is naive to think that any govt is limited only to the items in their manifesto. Governments have to govern according to the circumstances in the world & NZ, for the benefit of all their citizens ie not only those who voted for them, while pushing as much of the policies through that they had flagged in their manifesto and that provided the point of difference between them and other parties.
If they had this gift of farsightedness that you want them to have, wouldn't that mean they have to put everything they do in a manifesto? If having known about things enough to put them in a manifesto wouldn't they also have taken action to avoid them happening?
Unmandated tax causes war and causes governments to fall.
This is from the same government leader that said she would never, ever tax wealth.
You were warned.
Enough with the hyperbole. Look at how this happened. Do you think Ardern sat down and chuckled "let's see what else we can pull"?
Cock-up beats conspiracy most of the time. This was a major cock-up, no doubt about that. But once you start muttering "Secret Agenda" then … plot, lost.
Both kill governments.
There has been an apology for nothing.
Ardern needs a re-set.
It's a cock up. Parker is a very smart guy who has very poor skills when releasing policies.
He should have been all over the media explaining that this simply adds GST to Kiwisaver fees which are charged as part of a service and where all other financial fees have GST on them because they are a service.
Now it has to be rolled back ASAP.
Luxon was all over it on Morning Report….another new tax …another new tax…we will reverse it and reduce other taxes blah blah blah….not likeable but effective.
Having said that Griffin’s RadioNZ did Labour no favours on Checkpoint last night yet again. The editor should look up the word balance.
That's a bit of a contradiction….."Parker is a very smart guy who has very poor skills"
He's one or the other and IMO he has very poor skills and this is a good example of that.
No, there are many people who fit that description. Plenty of academics, for example!
Don Brash is a very smart guy with a PhD, and was a hopeless politician.
You have very poor skills quoting and I doubt you’re very smart. I once knew a very smart guy, but his dancing skills were a health hazard to his dance partner (reminds me of David Seymour on DWTS).
Ministers have comms advisors. What on earth were they thinking?
it's all over the news.
I knew of Alp, Arps and fellow white supremacist Kyle Chapman….. but this Carl Bromley nut was new ? And a Mayoral candidate to boot. Far Right scumbags all together. But revealed .
Did not survive long https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/473822/government-drops-plans-to-charge-gst-on-kiwisaver-fees
A Government that listens 🙂
A government that listens………so is 3 Waters next?
A Government that listens … and uses its commonsense.
As opposed to . . . I seem to remember a referendum on asset sales!!
"Whichever way you look at it; either they're sneaky, either they're incompetent or they're shivering, looking for a spine to run up and don't have the courage to fight for something they believe in – none of it's good."
"Parker on Wednesday admitted the move was embarrassing but denied the Government tried to sneak the legislation through without the public knowing."
'Sneaky', 'incompetent': Political commentators hit out at Govt over KiwiSaver U-turn (msn.com)
Ad will be happy.
Ad is never happy.
glass half empty.
In that case, perhaps the National watchdog can redirect the laser pointer on the large KS cost: the management fees.
https://taxpolicy.ird.govt.nz/-/media/project/ir/tp/publications/2022/2022-ria-perm-bill/2022-ria-3-gst-managed-funds.pdf?modified=20220828034214
This would be very good. A number of default providers were stripped of their status recently due to excessive fees. One very good thing that has come out of this is that people might be more aware of how much Kiwisaver providers are charging them.
I would be keen to see some legislation around ethical investment for Kiwisaver schemes. At the moment people and providers have to choose to wear a financial cost to invest ethically. Whilst many do, I can't blame those who don't. If all Kiwisaver funds were forced to divest from fossil fuels or companies that have human rights concerns with some of their subsidiaries then it would be a level playing field and do some good.
Ask why Robertson moved the default KS from conservative to balanced funds in time for a meme clearout,
Everyone now knows Parker!! He has walked the tax on Kiwisaver fees back!! @#*&#
Half baked Idjut!!!!!
Good call though.
Now we can all go back to talking about how Luxon proposes to reduce taxes for rich people, especially landlords.
I wonder who gets the blame for this fuck up?
Ardern being questioned on it in Parliament now and not doing too well! Getting very screechy.
Considering he was dealt four aces this morning, Luxon is hardly playing a strong hand.
And "screechy"? You must have loved John Key's rants then. "You support rapists", "Get some guts" – now that's screechy.
Update: and Nicola Willis and Chris Bishop can’t even sort out their questions. Incompetent. Can’t blame Mallard any more!
"I wonder who gets the blame for this fuck up?"
Luxon and his corrosive crew, that's who 🙂
Nothing to do with Luxon. He just exploited the "F…up".
Parker blames everyone except Parker.
The media,the opposition,the big banks,the large fund managers,the small fund managers,the IRD and FMA for saying that their models showed it would reduce investments (funds under management) the small people for having the temerity to say the additional costs would subtract their investments (correctly) which have already depreciated.
https://www.interest.co.nz/personal-finance/117429/revenue-minister-says-hes-embarrassed-furore-over-kiwisaver-tax-grab-forced
Any depreciation would be negligible…and that assumes that there is a 'growth' future…which is by no means guaranteed.
They didnt do the work…GST on fees is a) consistent and b) marginal at worst.
Hopeless.
The depreciation brings the asset growth back and some depreciation not fully priced in due to NZ$ decrease against US$ by 15%.
Correct a persistent price increase is persistent.
Any depreciation depends upon 'competition'….should that occur.
The depreciation is a polite way of saying the decrease in the asset value.Here with Kiwisaver as the froth came off so called investement stocks etc there was a loss in value of 7.5 billion in the 6 months ending June.
https://www.rbnz.govt.nz/statistics/series/non-banks-and-other-financial-institutions/kiwisaver-assets-by-sector
Which is totally unrelated to fees or tax
Of course not,but it makes people very sensitive to a Minister who wants to increase your loss,with a tax decreasing more value if any that may arise.
Or when Robertson try’s to sell the narrative that the new income protection insurance is not a tax,when it is.
The two are completely unrelated …other than the word 'tax'.
As said they didnt do the work,and left themselves open to the misrepresentation that it was a hit on peoples savings….they were negligent.
However, in the great scheme of things it likely matters not…hence their haste in back peddling.
They are very related as the need for a substantive increase in Revenue is needed in 2025,2026, to pay for increased interest on debt that needs to be refinanced.
Ultimately ….but the options are far greater than those two (unrelated) fields.
As said they appear to not understand tax…somewhat surprising given they are politicians…or perhaps not.
The desirability of the NZD is more related to what we have that the world wants/needs ….that is a very limited (and uncertain) list.
https://imperatorfish.com/2022/08/31/a-day-in-the-life-of-dr-gaurav-sharma/
The printer ran out of paper this morning. This is the second time this week. I immediately called Parliamentary Services to demand an independent investigation, only to be told that I should just put some paper in the machine. The woman I spoke to (I will refer to her as “staffer GH”) got very aggressive with me, so I emailed a complaint to her superior. I outlined in my complaint seventy-three instances of incompetence and bullying in GH’s interaction with me. To date I have heard nothing, even though I sent my email over five minutes ago.”
Brilliant!
Fantastic idea yesterday, defended hard this morning, gone this afternoon. Right up there on the u turn scale.
Can we expect the same when the government and the electorate have "conversations" about other proposed legislation later this year? The precedent is set now.
Who were the government spokespeople who said "fantastic idea yesterday, defended hard this morning"? Anybody? Not Ardern, Robertson, anyone else?
A few partisans on blogs did, sure. Nothing new there, a list of Luxon's belated "clarifications" would eat up the internet.
Lefties are far more willing to criticise the "team" than Nats, who effortlessly slide from telling us Simon's a winner to Todd's a winner to Judith's a winner to … Nicola next?
Labour introduced it, Labour defended, Labour washed it down the drain.
Actions speak louder than words
So your answer to my question is "nobody". Again, tell us who was in the media defending this (your claim).
Have you actually followed the detail of the story at all? No.
It wasn't some announcement at the podium, some new flagship policy from Ardern. It was a footnote in a document, which Parker failed to see the implications of. The opposition did, and so they scored a win.
They were found out,
and got what they deserved for it.
Beg to differ…it was a poorly foreshadowed policy (typical, they seem to have a low opinion of their adversaries) but the actual policy should have been a non event, if they had done the required 'public consultation'…aka explanation.
For a cohort of 'professional politicians' they really are inept….unfortunately we will likely inherit a Nat led gov as a result.
Or perhaps its all of no consequence as the looming recession means they are history anyway.
They weren't "found out" – they were straight-forward – the opposition sensed a twist and applied it.
No honour on them – Parker is straight – the eroders are not.
They wernt 'straight forward'…they didnt do the ground work.
They are confused about tax…not surprising given they are neo-liberals.
Parker was defending it right up 'til it was reversed.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/473822/government-drops-plans-to-charge-gst-on-kiwisaver-fees
TBH, I don't really think that he really understands public opinion – let along political framing (he admitted he got blindsided by the opposition to it). He mostly comes across like a policy wonk, who doesn't understand that most of the world doesn't think in numbers.
I agree that there was swift political action today by those in Labour who do pay attention to public opinion. Shutting down the issue (which was, after all a minor piece of technical legislation – of no great importance in the government's plans) – swiftly – was the best action in the circumstances. Letting it trickle on, would have been an even greater gift to the opposition.
However, a chunk of reputational damage has already been done.
It's one of those 'death by a thousand cuts' things – each individual issue isn't significant, but each eats away at the government's support. Labour really can't afford to continue to have political u-turns because their ministers aren't managing the message.
Because Parker is correct.
Being 'right' is cold comfort when you lose an election.
Being right is never cold comfort. The election is not lost: it has not been held yet – are you clairvoyant? More to the point, have any of your predictions proved accurate? (Link please 🙂
Just as clairvoyant as you are.
Given that we have national elections every 3 years, it requires little precognitive ability to predict that someone will lose.
I haven't made a prediction. I'm keeping to the known facts (as I see them).
Your claim that "someone will lose" is an earth-shattering observation; have you considered political commentary as a profession?
Do keep up, Robert.
I haven't made a prediction. That would require me stating which party would lose.
You seem to be assuming that it will be Labour.
You seem to be implying that it will be Labour 🙂
Not one of Parkers better interviews.
Government abandons controversial KiwiSaver service fees GST 'tax grab' | Stuff.co.nz
Brilliant play – voters being fed: "Labour doesn't listen!!!!"
Labour – let’s float this – voters/Opposition flares up!!
Labour – we listened, we responded in the way you demanded.
Labour up – Opposition, down.
🙂
Spin as you may, you really cannot portray a piece of legislation being introduced into the house as a concept being 'floated'.
Parker told the truth. I know it's difficult for you to accept … 🙂
The corollary is that Ardern and Robertson were therefore wrong to reverse his policy.
No, it is not. Parker told the truth then conceded that the truth wasn't palatable and had to be set aside.
The most useless parliament in many decades, nothing more concerning for NZ than a rubbish government and opposition at the same time.
Aye
Ad, just wait till you get Luxon, then you will happily moan about that!!
Fire Ardern and hire Roberston.
And fire Parker FFS.
Broken record…
More a pyretic reaction …
higherstandard Keep telling yourself you are right. You might be right twice a day!!
You omitted 'crisis', 'tsunami' and 'shambles' in your reckon.
Also a fact or two. 😉
'Crisis' gets used fairly frequently by opposition parties of whatever flavour.
'Shambles' was the go-to destructive NAct critique deployed during the on-going pandemic; I will be forever thankful they weren't in a position to deploy Plan B ASAP.
COVID deaths per million popn
USA…..3217
Brazil…3169
UK……..2735
NZ……….548
Makes you wonder how Ardern can dump on NZs biggest-ever MMP majority and flush it down the crapper in under 12 months, with NZ back where we were in Feb 2020.
Ardern is impressively shit.
Does she call all the shots, Ad?
Surely your Golden Boy, Robertson, has some influence??
After all, he's no.2
🙂
Yes yes Ad, everyone knows you (and others) think Ardern is shit (and now "impressively shit"), and are happy to use Hooton’s shrewd political judgement in support of your cause, whereas I think this particular evaluation of yours is dim-witted and insulting.
If you want our 6th Labour Govt to go 3 terms, then imho your continuing anti-Ardern crusade is an exemplar of "cutting off one's nose to spite one's face."
If NAct sweep to power in 2023, then their party-sponsored keptocracy will be back with a vengeance, and the hollow men and women will gut and gorge, leaving huge quantities of unmet need in their wake – it's in their DNA.
As an analogy, if you want to strengthen the immune system and evoke a strong response when needed, then you need to keep throwing shit at it all the time.
If I'm grokking your analogy, then are Ad's distasteful anti-Ardern jibes training Labour's immune system, or evidence of lupus? And can one more turd be a useful addition to the daily mountain of shit thrown Ardern's way?
Made a private commitment that I would Party vote National if one of their leaders publicly repudiated the political obscenity that was (and is) Dirty Politics – I doubt that the Green Party will be loosing my vote anytime soon.
Politics is cutthroat, not kind, but give a little logic and fairness its due too.
Yeah right. Sadly Labour has a history of infighting…and biting their own. And Ad has been criticising Jacinda here for quite a while. I, like many others, wonder at his motives? IMO throwing shit at her..is not productive..in any way.
Drowsy M. Kram. thanks for the reply and the PlanB reference. I note that PlanB has had no further input from its "expert and passionate (sigh)" people since December 2021.
Maybe they had a Damascus experience when some facts like yours gave them "a sign".
Bit like National. How many times did we hear "the government needs to…"? They had several plans, all in opposition to the government. "Too soon….too late….. never……"
Thanks Mac1. Yes, Plan B has gone off the boil now that the borders are open and 'freedum' has returned to our "mysterious socialist hermit kingdom."
Hope Kiwis don't forget the pandemic lessons learned (so far) too quickly.
Lots of (too many!) links:
Your standards are way too high.
Maybe, but I'd take any of the previous governments of the last 20 years over the current lot in a heartbeat.
It might of course be something to do with my age, one's tolerance for idiot politicians declines the older you get I suspect.
Just heard Heather Depressing' Allen rant about the Govt….they do not even bother to even try and appear impartial on ZB these days.
Why were you listening… ?
Just caught her briefly in the car.Not a fan…believe me.
Consign her to the "don't listen" bin.
She's the perfect aural bin-liner.