Oram on Nats’ poor record and why we should vote for change
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- Date published:
10:36 am, September 17th, 2017 - 89 comments
Categories: economy, labour, national -
Tags: #ChangeTheGovt, choices, economy, election 2017, nine long years, rod oram
Rod Oram at Newsroom:
Rod Oram: ‘Why new leaders and policies are needed’
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National’s track record:It came to power in November 2008 at the height of the Global Financial Crisis. It was singularly unprepared for the job. It had spent the previous nine years in opposition micro-managing issues and shuffling leaders seeking to regain power. It had failed to develop its policies to respond to the fast-changing world.
A year later, its economic strategy still consisted of only a dozen or so A3 sheets of paper, reported Colin James, the veteran political journalist.
As it promised in the election, National established a tax working party, which later proposed many remedies to the distortions in our tax system. But the government ignored them. Instead it cut the top rate of tax; and it raised GST, which it promised in the election it wouldn’t do.
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National’s third term has benefited from big booms in migration, tourism, housing, and construction. Again, the government has been highly opportunistic, but it has lagged badly on strategic policies and investment to cope. Infrastructure, housing, construction capacity, the environment and climate are just five of the crucial areas.It has managed government finances well. But it has been weak on economic strategy. For example, it offers no views on how rapidly the global economy is changing; or on how to reorient technology, education, skills and other policies New Zealanders need to seize those abundant opportunities.
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Under nine years of National’s governance GDP per capita has grown by barely 1% a year in real terms, which is not much ahead of the OECD average. Wealth inequality has risen, environmental sustainability has fallen and productivity growth, the factor determining our standard of living and economic resilience, remains among the lowest in the OECD.On current trends and policies, we will achieve none of National’s 2025 goals: catching up with Australia’s GDP per capita; lifting exports from 30% of GDP to 40%; and doubling the value of exports.
The near future:
National says there’s no need to change policies. It says current ones and the strong economy will deliver much more, enabling it in a fourth term to make big inroads on the big economic and social challenges outstanding.
But that’s not the future Treasury or the Reserve Bank forecast last month. They said GDP growth will peak next calendar year then decline. The Reserve Bank is the more cautious of the two, forecasting growth of 2.1% in the year to September 2020 – just before the next election.
Treasury forecasts multifactor productivity — the key determinant of improvements in our wages and wealth — will actually decline in the next two years, then grow weakly in the following two years. We will remain near the bottom of the OECD on this vital measure of economic health and competitiveness. As a consequence, wage growth will barely outpace inflation.
Treasury also forecasts the growth of export volumes will ease in the next two years to less than 2% a year, which is below their long-term average; and our current account deficit – the key measure of our trade and investment relationships with the rest of the world — will worsen.
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The choice:National’s top three priorities for business are: “train kids”; continue to grow R&D; and ensuring New Zealand was open to the world, Steven Joyce, its finance spokesman, told business leaders at the Mood of the Boardroom breakfast on Tuesday.
Labour’s are: “A relentless focus on skills and retraining”; lifting R&D; and to give small businesses more access to capital, Grant Robertson, its finance spokesman, told the audience.
Superficially, there’s little difference between the two parties. But in those brief lists, Robertson demonstrated greater understanding of, and ambition for, New Zealand businesses than Joyce.
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National, in contrast, is far too busy defending its record of the past nine years to admit where it has failed, let alone to think about how it might do better.Joyce, for example, denies there is a housing crisis. He says home construction will boom for the next six years. But his own government’s recent construction pipeline report shows it will peak next year then fall back, for example, in Auckland to the previous peak in 2005. The government had done nothing to grow the capacity of the construction sector, nor is it offering any policies to do so.
English says productivity is growing nicely. But his own government’s data and analysis show he is absolutely wrong. He also says wages have grown twice as fast as inflation. But that assertion surprises many voters.
More of the same won’t deliver for New Zealand. Hopefully, new leaders and policies will. ….
These are just a few extracts from a long, balanced, and interesting piece. Go read the whole thing on Newsroom…
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- Release: Progress on climate will be undone by GovtNew Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...1 week ago
- Release: Dark day for Kiwi kids as a third of Govt cuts affect themNews that 1000 jobs at the Ministry of Education and Oranga Tamariki could go is devastating for future generations of New Zealanders. ...1 week ago
- Release: Alarm as Government signals further blow to school lunchesMore essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...2 weeks ago
- Oranga Tamariki cuts commit tamariki to state abuseTe Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Quick, submit – stop Govt’s dodgy approvals billThe Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...2 weeks ago
- Government throws coal on the climate crisis fireThe Government’s policy announced today to ease consenting for coal mining will have a lasting impact across generations. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Public transport costs to double as National looks at unaffordable roading project insteadCancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Cost of living in Auckland still not a priorityA laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...2 weeks ago
- Te Pāti Māori to visit Queensland to strengthen ties with Māori in AustraliaTe Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi, and Mema Paremata mō Tāmaki-Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, will travel to the Gold Coast to strengthen ties with Māori in Australia next week (15-21 April). The visit, in the lead-up to the 9th Australian National Kapa haka Festival, will be an opportunity for both ...2 weeks ago
- Greens look to fast-track submissions on harmful lawThe Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Govt should stop making people’s lives harder and build more homesThe National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Melissa Lee missing in action on mediaThe action Melissa Lee promised to protect democracy and the media sector is missing, Media and Communications spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...2 weeks ago
- Landlord Government leaves little hope for rentersThe Government’s announcement on tenancy rules prove that it does not care about renters. ...2 weeks ago
- Opportunity to build a more sustainable economyGreen Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...2 weeks ago
- Significant step forward in fixing cruel and unjust pastA significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...2 weeks ago
- Missed opportunity but NZ will surely one day recognise the right to a sustainable environmentNew Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...2 weeks ago
- Release: Don’t cut our lunches – clear message sent to GovernmentTens of thousands of people are demanding the Government commits to fully funding free and healthy school lunches. ...3 weeks ago
- Release: Govt makes U-turn on Suicide Prevention OfficeLabour welcomes the Government’s U-turn on the closure of the Suicide Prevention Office, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...3 weeks ago
- CCC issues warning over further climate delayToday’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...3 weeks ago
- Luxon targets lame and lousy example of leadershipIf talk is cheap, Chris Luxon’s “targets” are bankrupt. ...3 weeks ago
- Luxon targets are lousy example of leadershipIf talk is cheap, Chris Luxon’s “targets” are bankrupt. ...3 weeks ago
- Release: Commitment to disability communities missing from Govt prioritiesMinister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...3 weeks ago
- Taking action on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...14 hours ago - New sports complex opens in KaikoheRegional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...16 hours ago
- Diplomacy needed more than everForeign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...19 hours ago
- Anzac Commemorative Address, Buttes New British Cemetery BelgiumAmbassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...1 day ago
- Anzac Commemorative Address – NZ National Service, Chunuk BairDistinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...2 days ago
- Anzac Commemorative Address – Dawn Service, Gallipoli, TürkiyeMai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...2 days ago
- PM announces changes to portfoliosPaul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...4 days ago
- New catch limits for unique fishery areasRecreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...4 days ago
- Minister welcomes hydrogen milestoneEnergy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...4 days ago
- Urgent changes to system through first RMA Amendment BillThe coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...5 days ago
- Overseas decommissioning models consideredOverseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...5 days ago
- Release of North Island Severe Weather Event InquiryEmergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...5 days ago
- Justice Minister to attend Human Rights CouncilJustice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order. “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...5 days ago
- Patterson reopens world’s largest wool scouring facilityAssociate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...5 days ago
- Speech to the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective Summit, 18 April 2024Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today. I am delighted ...6 days ago
- Government to introduce revised Three Strikes lawThe Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...6 days ago
- New diplomatic appointmentsForeign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions. “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says. “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...6 days ago
- Humanitarian support for Ethiopia and SomaliaNew Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today. “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...6 days ago
- Arts Minister congratulates Mataaho CollectiveMinister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale. “It is good ...6 days ago
- Supporting better financial outcomes for KiwisThe Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...7 days ago
- Trade relationship with China remains strong“China remains a strong commercial opportunity for Kiwi exporters as Chinese businesses and consumers continue to value our high-quality safe produce,” Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay says. Mr McClay has returned to New Zealand following visits to Beijing, Harbin and Shanghai where he met ministers, governors and mayors and engaged in trade and agricultural events with the New ...7 days ago
- PM’s South East Asia mission does the businessPrime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...1 week ago
- $41m to support clean energy in South East AsiaNew Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...1 week ago
- Minister releases Fast-track stakeholder listThe Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...1 week ago
- Judicial appointments announcedAttorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...1 week ago
- Education Minister heads to major teaching summit in SingaporeEducation Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa. The summit is co-hosted ...1 week ago
- Value of stopbank project proven during cycloneA stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...1 week ago
- Anzac commemorations, Türkiye relationship focus of visitForeign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul. “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...1 week ago
- Minister to Europe for OECD meeting, Anzac DayScience, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...1 week ago
- Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the PhilippinesPrime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...1 week ago
- Government commits $20m to Westport flood protectionThe Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...1 week ago
- Taupō takes pole positionThe Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...1 week ago
- Cost of living support for low-income homeownersLocal Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners. “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...1 week ago
- Government backing mussel spat projectThe Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...1 week ago
- Government focused on getting people into workBenefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...1 week ago
- Clean energy key driver to reducing emissionsThe Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...1 week ago
- Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forwardThe Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...1 week ago
- Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic PartnershipPrime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...1 week ago
- Government consults on extending coastal permits for portsRMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...2 weeks ago
- Inflation coming down, but more work to doToday’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...2 weeks ago
- Government urged to hit the gas on revamp of road user charges
Infrastructure New Zealand is pushing for new road user charges to be brought in quicker to help relieve pressure on strained transport funding. ...8 hours ago - US student Palestine protests against Israel’s war on Gaza inspire global action
Asia Pacific Report From France to Australia, university pro-Palestine protests in the United States have now spread to several countries with students pitching on-campus camps. And students at Columbia and other US universities remain defiant as campuses have witnessed the biggest protests since the anti-Vietnam war and anti-apartheid eras in ...9 hours ago - Former Te Whatu Ora chairperson Rob Campbell criticises Health NZ's 'savings' directi...Rob Campbell said it shows "poor management" and is "frankly irresponsible". ...11 hours ago
- ‘To lead is to serve’ – Governor-General to call PM election in Solomon IslandsRNZ Pacific The race to form the next government of Solomon Islands could be a tight one, with no single party emerging from the election with enough seats to govern. Caretaker prime minister Manasseh Sogavare’s Our Party did the best, securing 15 out of the 50 seats in the House. ...11 hours ago
- Bryce Edwards – FastTrackWatch: The Case for the Government’s Fast Track BillAnalysis by Dr Bryce Edwards, Democracy Project (https://democracyproject.nz) New Zealand Government’s Fast Track legislation. Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government ...13 hours ago
- NZ and Türkiye pledge cooperation during natural disastersThe two countries have "a long history of coming to each other's aid", including after the 2023 Turkish earthquakes, Winston Peters says. ...15 hours ago
- Waste not, want not: New series Food Waste Kitchen turns food trash into treasure
Tara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...15 hours ago - Vaping regulations fight 'immeasurably harder' under coalition – campaignerFocus on Politics - Successive governments have claimed crack downs on youth vaping, but the bending and breaking of rules seems pervasive. ...16 hours ago
- Dog of the month: Scout, who is so independent she could be a catScout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...17 hours ago
- ‘I don’t know if we were brave or stupid’: Megan Alatini on changing reality TVMegan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...17 hours ago
- Behind the counter: Wellington shopkeepersA new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...19 hours ago
- Iranian Solidarity Group New Zealand Condemns Toomaj Salehi's Death Sentence And The New Aggres...
Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...19 hours ago - Short story: Calf Creek, by Anna Scaife
My cousin Dylan and I spotted these big eels under the bridge that summer. We watched them lounging under the dark weed, facing into the flow of water, their mouths frozen open. Dylan and I couldn’t stop thinking about those eels. The night we went down to the creek, we ...20 hours ago - Newsroom welcomes the Secret DiaryNewsroom, home of satire. My long-running weekly satirical series The Secret Diary has moved to Newsroom and will appear every Saturday, with Victor Billot’s wildly popular satirical Odes continuing to appear every Sunday. Diaries, Odes – while serious political columnists toil at meaningful opinions and stroke their chins to an ...20 hours ago
- I saw ‘The Sign’, and it opened up my eyes: All the fuss around Bluey, explainedTara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...21 hours ago
- Jessica Tater has ambition without bordersWorking as a doctor in developing countries to help communities achieve better health outcomes is nothing short of a life goal for Jessica Tater. The University of Otago medical student has her sights firmly set on joining the international humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) when she qualifies ...21 hours ago
- The island where people’s stories are paramountThere’s an island in the far reaches of Auckland’s territory, sitting off the tip of the Coromandel Peninsula, 30 minutes by air from the city or four hours on the slow boat. Aotea Great Barrier is off-grid, it has a population of fewer than a thousand people … and most ...21 hours ago
- Australian author leads silence protest over ‘blood debt’ owed to PapuansAsia Pacific Report An Australian author and advocate, Jim Aubrey, today led a national symbolic one minute’s silence to mark the “blood debt” owed to Papuan allies during the Second World War indigenous resistance against the invading Japanese forces. “A promise to most people is a promise,” Aubrey said in ...21 hours ago
- Israel delays Gaza Freedom Flotilla departure with bureaucratic ‘block’Asia Pacific Report The Freedom Flotilla is ready to sail to Gaza, reports Kia Ora Gaza. All the required paperwork has been submitted to the port authority, and the cargo has been loaded and prepared for the humanitarian trip to the besieged enclave. However, organisers received word of an “administrative ...22 hours ago
- Have New Zealanders really been ‘misled’ about AUKUS, or is involvement now a foregone conclusio...ANALYSIS: By Marco de Jong, Auckland University of Technology and Robert G. Patman, University of Otago When former prime minister Helen Clark spoke out against New Zealand potentially compromising its independent foreign policy by joining pillar two of the AUKUS security pact, Foreign Minister Winston Peters responded bluntly: On ...1 day ago
- Palestine protesters challenge TVNZ over Israeli ambassador’s ‘propaganda’Pacific Media Watch Palestine solidarity protesters today demonstrated at the Auckland headquarters of Television New Zealand, accusing the country’s major TV network of broadcasting “propaganda” backing Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. About 50 protesters targeted the main entrance to the TVNZ building near Sky Tower and also picketed a side ...1 day ago
- Lynley Hood Opinion – Senator Fulbright must be spinning in his grave1 day ago
- Fast-track bill could affect NZ's reputation – Transparency InternationalThe ministers responsible for green-lighting major projects need to be open about potential conflicts of interest, says Transparency International. ...1 day ago
- We’re all feeling the collective grief and trauma of violence against women – but this is the pr...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Powell, Professor, Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University It has been a particularly distressing start to the year. There is little that can ease the current grief of individuals, families and communities who have needlessly lost a loved one to men’s ...1 day ago
- Species living closely together in symbiosis is far older and way more common than you might thinkSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Moore, Senior Research Associate, School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, The University of Melbourne Lichen, the first described example of symbiosis. AdeJ Artventure/Shutterstock Once known only to those studying biology, the word symbiosis is now widely used. Symbiosis is the intimate ...1 day ago
- What is childhood dementia? And how could new research help?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Hemsley, Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group, Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University Olena Ivanova/Shutterstock “Childhood” and “dementia” are two words we wish we didn’t have to use together. But sadly, around 1,400 ...1 day ago
- Jobseekers get about $345 less than pensioners each fortnight. This gap is hurting, and is set to wi...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Peter Whiteford, Professor, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University The government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee has just published its second report. It was set up by Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth in 2022 to provide: ...1 day ago
- Does fighting inflation always lead to recession? What NZ data tellsHere is what 60 years of New Zealand data shows us. ...1 day ago
- The government's 20 trips abroad in AprilThe government appears committed to overseas visits with 14 ministers and MPs in 18 countries this month. ...1 day ago
- Government unveils fetal alcohol guidelines, plan for diagnosis trainingThe government is promising to step up the response to Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, promising to boost diagnoses and raise awareness. ...1 day ago
- Labor facing heavy defeat in Queensland, but faring better in federal pollsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne The Queensland state election will be held in October. A YouGov poll for The Courier Mail, conducted April 9–17 from a sample ...1 day ago
- Why the potential for another Donald Trump presidency is making Iran very nervousSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amin Naeni, PhD candidate at Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University There’s been much talk in recent months about what a possible second Donald Trump presidency in the United States could mean for Europe, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the ...1 day ago
- ‘The worst piece of law proposed since 1979’: Reactions to the Fast-track Approvals BillA brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...1 day ago
- The Friday Poem: ‘Cereal giving’ by Robin PeaceA poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...1 day ago
- The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending April 26The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38) A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...1 day ago
- Te Rūnanga O Ngāti Whātua Welcomes Commissioner's Decision Regarding Awataha MaraeThe Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...2 days ago
- We reconstructed landscapes that greeted the first humans in Australia around 65,000 years agoSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tristan Salles, Associate professor, University of Sydney Examples of Australian landscapes. Unsplash Seventy thousand years ago, the sea level was much lower than today. Australia, along with New Guinea and Tasmania, formed a connected landmass known as Sahul. Around this time – ...2 days ago
- What do we lose when our old suburbs disappear?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Felicity Castagna, Lecturer, Creative Writing, Western Sydney University Day Day Market, Parramatta Photo: Garry Trinh I live on the edge of Parramatta, Australia’s fastest-growing city, on the kind of old-fashioned suburban street that has 1950s fibros constructed in the post-war housing boom, ...2 days ago
- Does fighting inflation always lead to recession? What 60 years of NZ data can tell usSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Ryan, Teaching Fellow in Economics, University of Waikato GettyImages fatido/Getty Images There is an ongoing global debate over whether the high inflation seen in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic can be lowered without a recession. New Zealand is not ...2 days ago
- After spending $700,000 on pins for Covid-19 workers, department now cutting costsA government office that set aside millions for lapel pins for pandemic workers is now looking to cut back on spending. ...2 days ago
- ‘A hell of a lot of fun’: Our reviews of Chris Isaak’s dazzling Auckland showThe ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...2 days ago
- The Week in Politics: Days of drama and demotionsAnalysis - Two ministers were stripped of portfolios in a warning to Cabinet, drama broke out at the Waitangi Tribunal, and the gang patch ban bill ran into opposition. ...2 days ago
- Hear me out: All I want is a TrueBliss T-shirtTara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...2 days ago
- Solemn ANZAC dawn service at PNG’s Isurava battle memorialPNG Post-Courier In the early hours of ANZAC Day, aerial photographs captured an impressive gathering of Australians and Papua New Guineans at Isurava in the Northern (Oro) Province. The solemn dawn service yesterday was held at a site steeped in history, where some of the fiercest battles of World War ...2 days ago
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So, basically, the Nats are conservatives and managerialists, managing in the interests of a few in a fairly ad hoc way, without any real kind of plan.
It’s interesting that Oram, a long time analyst of business-related politics, rates Robertson better than Joyce in his understanding of NZ business and their hopes for the future.
Interesting though not surprising….Joyce may be a devious (and arguably successful) electioneer but as his academic record shows his grasp of economics is woeful
1000% PAT
‘Joyce may be a devious ‘
Yes he is the master devious person of this century, as he has bullsitted his entire life, even when he took over alll former ZB am stations he told lies and in Government.
He bulllshited English to give his new owner $25 million to keep operating the stations he had sold going and stayed o the board of directors?????
Steven ‘perfect face for radio’ Joyce.
… and a voice for mime.
“academic record shows his grasp of economics”.
Please enlighten us. What sort of academic record does Grant Robertson have in the economics discipline? As far as I can see the answer is none.
he certainly doesn’t have a failed first year economics paper in his CV
Shot me in the ass but what about Shaw for Assoc Finance?
which moniker would you like the reply under?
Meaning what?
read the comments under the thread 1.1.2 and it is evident
What is your point?
Be clear.
the thread of comments read to me as being written by the same commenter but with different handles….you are welcome disabuse me of that notion , and while you are doing so you may wish to clarify who the question was for.
They are different people.
The original question, as denoted in the numeral annotation, was to Alwyn.
I will have a look when I get near a larger screen. It is a behaviour that I tend to discourage – strongly. And I can usually tell.
It would be helpful in a diffuse thread to actually put the pseudonym of the person being replied to. Then anyone including the individuals involved can follow the discussion.
I have mentioned this before, and often do it myself. It helps the discussion to evolve, and without it there is often confusion. It’s as easy as using the indicator in your car, even just putting the initials of a name would be good.
It would Greywarshark, but I’m still struggling to understand how Ad’s arse was shot when he wasn’t previously involved in the conversation?……self inflicted wound perhaps?
Pat, you need to follow the numeration because it enables you to see precisely who us being asked what. That was the case this time. It has been increased in the last year precisely to better control threads.
I was replying to Alwyn because he is on record as highly credentialled in the economic sphere and would be well versed with James Shaw’s CV. No idea whether you have any qualifications in that field.
Otherwise, I have but one handle, which is Ad. The site editors wanted me to lengthen it for actual posts, so I went to Advantage. No mystery.
the numeration clearly shows no possibility of previous involvement in the conversation Ad……or Advantage or whatever…..would get the wound attended to.
You do not own this discourse.
You own nothing on this site other than your capacity to express clearly.
And Ad why the different avatars? You tried to explain it as using different devices but no-one else’s seems to change with different devices.
Are you sure you are not two different people?
think you fucked up Ad/Alwyn and forgot which avatar you were posting under…is that clear enough for you?
To Pat @ 3.54pm.
I have only just come back to this site and seen this storm that my simple comment seems to have inspired.
For your information, and anyone else getting as het up as you are.
I am not the person posting under the name of Ad.
I have no idea who Ad is.
I have never posted under any other name than Alwyn (or alwyn if you really want to get picky).
There, is that sufficient for you?
Pat
Barking up the wrong tree, Pat – confusion possibly caused by
(1) You wrongly assuming Ad was replying to you (he was replying to Alwyn)
(2) Ad writing “Shot me in the ass …” when he presumably meant “Shoot me in the ass …”
(ie “Shot me in the ass …”
= criticise me for what I’m about to say if you must but … (“what about Shaw for Assoc Finance?”)
rather than
“Shoot me in the ass …”
= Touché ! You got me on that one Pat)
Dang ! Shoot & Shot illustrative meanings around wrong way in my comment (above)
Should read
ie “Shoot me in the ass …”
= criticise me for what I’m about to say if you must but … (“what about Shaw for Assoc Finance?”)
rather than
“Shot me in the ass …”
= Touché ! You got me on that one Pat)
plausible Swordfish….I withdraw the accusation and apologise to both parties….must be getting paranoid in my old age.
To Pat @ 5.46pm
Thank you.
Interesting analysis though by Oram. Especially the promise to form a tax working group post election…
Historians seem to show that most innovations are produced by Labour Governments and consolidations by National Governments. Some of the changes however by National Governments have been the incremental reduction of worker rights. Hence the drive to eliminate Unions and persist with a low wage economy.
Must go out and deliver more fliers for Labour. Not sure that they do much more than herald that we are here but…
NZ WHISTLE-BLOWER ALERT!
National is NOT delivering housing, especially in Tamaki.
IMO – both National PM Bill English and ‘Mr Fixit’ Steven Joyce have been worse than spectacularly USELESS in ‘delivering’ housing for New Zealanders.
Under this National Government, more houses in Tamaki have gone than new houses have been built.
237 Tamaki State houses have gone – relocated or demolished.
Only 213 new houses have been built in FIVE years – of which only 92 are ‘social’ houses.
The remaining 121 new houses have been for private sale.
39 ‘affordable’ houses for first home buyers.
82 ‘high end’ houses.
PROOF that the Tamaki ‘Regeneration’ has been GENTRIFICATION.
Destroying established communities in Glen Innes, Pt England and Panmure – pushing poorer people off desired real estate.
IMO, Bill English and Steven Joyce, as Crown Shareholding Ministers in Tamaki Regeneration Ltd, have been personally responsible for the ‘housing crisis’ and increased homelessness in Tamaki.
For whom exactly have this National Government – PM Bill English and ‘Mr Fixit’ Steven Joyce been delivering?
Especially in Tamaki?
IMO – private property developer$ and investor$.
THE FACTS!
https://www.facebook.com/penny.bright.104/posts/1796625243683493
https://www.companiesoffice.govt.nz/companies/app/ui/pages/companies/5840214/shareholdings
PLEASE SHARE!
These FACTS are not being reported by mainstream media – which IMO – is simply scandalous.
Authorised by Penny Bright, 2017 Independent candidate for Tamaki, 86A School Rd, Kingsland, Auckland 1021.
Good facts to note Penny.
The FACTS about this Tamaki SCAM are revealed in this 5 minute video.
Which has had over 83,000 ‘views’ on Facebook in 3 days.
https://www.facebook.com/penny.bright.104/posts/1796625243683493
Most of Oram’s critique could be applied to Labour.
Tax is the bluntest possible mechanism to direct an economy. Their R&D credits proposed aren’t big, and had limited effect last time.
Labour have plenty of policies, but I’ll be damned if there’s an economic strategy in there.
Did you even bother to look at Labours policies Ad ?
Oh sure.
Fiscal policy may be reasonably blunt but is at least relatively effective at directing the economy. On the other hand National policy is almost exclusively to maintain the existing fiscal balance and rely on monetary policy to direct the economy. This has been so ineffective there is a fresh new single issue party running on reforming this at the election.
Agree with that.
Ad
Why does your identifier have different colours and shapes? Green and light blue. Is it a mood identifier, or indicates the political line?
Samsung phone to MacBook laptop I would presume.
Otherwise ask the site controller.
A very good question, greyrawshark. The light blue one is clearly anti-Labour and the green one is moderately socially conscious.
Oh Jesus go ask LPrent.
Try your sad projections elsewhere.
Do you want me to fix the emails up at the database?
Ad 4.2.1.1.2.1
17 September 2017 at 4:07 pm
… ” Oh Jesus go ask LPrent.
Try your sad projections elsewhere ” …
OI ! , – don’t use the Lords name in vain , please AD , otherwise I would suggest saying :
Oh Muhammad / Buddha go ask LPrent.
Try your sad projections elsewhere.
Hey Muttonbird
You sure know how to stand on everybody’s toes with your caustic wit. Sometimes though ou are a caustic twit.
Gets me thinking of Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa and his multiple personalities or “heteronyms”. All different, all interesting.
Famous Pessoa quote:
““I’d woken up early, and I took a long time getting ready to exist.”
AB
What a pleasure to have some high-class philosophising entering the mosh pit. And I mean this sincerely.
(Modern term to add to those of Samuel Johnson’s 308 year collection and meanings. See google:
Johnson’s Dictionary – A Harmless Drudge. Here Johnson gives an unusual definition for the word lexicographer, describing it as ‘a writer of dictionaries; a harmless drudge, that busies himself in tracing the original, and detailing the signification of words.’
Johnson’s Dictionary – A Harmless Drudge – The British Library
http://www.bl.uk/learning/langlit/dic/johnson/drudge/drudge.html)
Same IP. Looks like a typo on in the email address and that got caught in the cookie used for leaving messages when not logged in.
We see this a lot. Especially when people shift around computers.
I suggest that people get or use a gravator – it makes it way more obvious when leaving messages.
https://thestandard.org.nz/faq/gravatar/#GravatarSignup
Thanks. I enjoy using a gravator because it’s easier to see my comments. It also gives a personality to each user and makes the place more colourful.
Of course that does immediately lead to the question that it couldn’t have been for this site. That is mostly white, grey and black with a bit of beige, blue and green. But the site colours are muted so you can see things like the gravatars and avatars. So what site did you find that made a black on on grey image “colorful”.
Actually don’t answer that. I prefer to keep my eyes intact rather than see yet another garish, blinking, 1990s wonder site. God I remember those things. 😈
Or did you mean something like it makes the site more personalised without the random patterns?
Ha. Yes, I meant colourful as in more personal rather than actual colour.
I agree that less is more with forums for the reason you said – to allow avatars to do their job which is to make it easier to recognise posts.
Wish more people would use them.
That’s actually wrong. Many other countries do that as well – especially the US which uses government departments and institutions to drive innovation in selected ways. The government department/institution is given a budget for R&D and then it chooses how that budget is spent. They’ll possibly have R&D that’s inhouse or outsourced and that outsourcing could be to state/private universities or to state/private enterprises (The Entrepreneurial State). The most well known of these state funded and directed R&D institutions is, of course, NASA. Apple’s Siri was developed through this system although it wasn’t Apple that did it but a small company that got bought up by Apple after they’d done the developing.
The Callaghan system seems to be a failed copy of that system. Our system fails to have that government institution directed funding for specific results resulting in haphazard R&D.
The Greens idea of a Minister for Manufacturing could be morphed into such an institution. A Ministry for Manufacturing which does R&D on manufacturing techniques with findings going to the public so that local business can use it to build local manufacturing that’s on par with the best in the world.
Such a ministry would also be looking into developing our resources. The sustainable extraction and processing of them to then use in that manufacturing.
Considering my idea of state factories founded around 3D printing which anybody can then use to produce any product on demand I’d even have that ministry building and maintaining those factories.
There’s lots of different R&D models, many better suited to small and narrow economies. The old Ministry of Research and Development studied bunches of them – particularly from Denmark, Singapore, Netherlands, and Israel. South Korea’s one is also worth looking at. The literature on the results is not currently massive, although it’s there.
None are perfect, most are more successful than our starving, anachronistic, and timid set of mechanisms.
I really like the Greens’ aim of turning much of our economy towards digital. And I appreciate that Labour wants a specific base for that in Dunedin. There is much to commend.
But if the only mechanisms we can come up with to propel our remaining agrarian base into outstanding sustainable world-beating wealth is yet another set of taxes, then there is a real failure of national thinking and leadership. I would want to see that leadership from either of the major parties.
That’s part and parcel of the neo-liberal system of using payment of money to encourage desired actions while taking money from people to discourage undesirable actions.
It’s not a particularly good way of encouraging people and we really should be looking at other ideas. From what I can make out, simply ensuring people have enough to live and access to the necessary resources would seriously improve our innovation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc
Motivation is one part of it.
National leadership has some part.
Universities another.
Basic good wages, strong unions, infrastructure, public services – all necessary but insufficient conditions.
There’s a whole ecosystem to innovation and productivity.
If there were a perfect recipe, we would have found it. But this current government has done little to strengthen it, and I don’t currently see strong alternatives on offer.
If I were charitable, there are bigger social priorities for the next government to solve – and we have time to do that while the economy is stable.
If immigration is slashed and 5 year bright line imposed, the economy will suffer bumps. I think we need those bumps so dont get me wrong. But your prediction of a stable economy are unlikely to prevail.
Both Treasury and Reserve Bank forecasts released recently show continuous growth and strong employment with a very soft landing into the longer term.
Both National and Labour are signaling no major changes to tax for many years.
So, no.
The bumps to the New Zealand economy – as they have been for the last 20 plus years – will be external.
I keep forgetting. You know everything.
The economy is about to crash.
That’s what the slowing housing bubble will do. As the private banks create less money due to the slowing house turn-over the economy will slow. That will slow the banks lending money even more starting a death spiral that will result in a serious crash.
National didn’t avoid the GFC with their propping up of the housing market – they just delayed it a bit. Of course, when it hits they’ll blame Labour because they won’t be in power any more. Labour will really need to show that it was National’s policies that brought it about.
+10000000
R & D, hell yes, but I think we should be looking in areas where we have a natural headstart. An edge over the rest of the world.
eg: A few strands of flax feel like they will cut my fingers off before breaking. The swamps around my place are full of it, grows like a weed. It’s the fibre used to make linen. I wonder what that fibre can do better than something that is in popular use now? I think we should be R and Ding down paths like this.
Agreed.
Although I would go straight for Fonterra.
Fonterra is the reason dairy farmers maximize volume over all else.
It is a logical crop – especially for riparian and roadside planting (it makes a good soft crash barrier) – but European linen is made from quite a different plant. There are anecdotal accounts of NZ flax being made into linen but most commercial use last century was as sacking and rope.
The reason flax is not routinely made into fine fibre as cotton is, is that it contains a lot of hemicelluloses between the main fibres – which stick them together or tangle them up. Traditional Maori flax preparation involved lengthy working to break these up and soften the end product fibre. Irish linen sometimes used pond retting that would derive some value from bacteria that digest hemicelloses. Other techniques that would probably bear fruit are heat or pressure processes like the steam explosion method used to produce bamboo fibre from a rather less obvious textile source.
Some work has been done on its use in reinforcing: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/app.29863/abstract
A well designed process would aim to recover an antiseptic sap fraction, and the chlorophyll component would probably be suitable for stock feed.
Hi Stuart, yes, R & D into it’s potential as a reinforcing agent or similar, those sort of avenues.
eg: A replacement for the plastic mesh currently used to hold the steep banks beside new motorways cuttings in place until the plantings retain the soil erosion. The NZ market would keep a factory in work for 2 days a year but the global market? Reinforcing in rammed earth walls? In concrete? An organic carbon fibre type product?
Fonterra, I agree Ad, diverse and capable existing R & D infrastructure. The rest of the world is surfing on the rising Chinese household income. Like our logs, we ship bags of milk powder. There are only 4.5 million of us, we don’t even have to be that good at it. A weekly tub of Fonterra dairy food in 10% of Chinese household fridges….the figures are staggering. Farmers making the same $ with herds half the size.
The bottling line at the Chinese owned wine-making operation close to me. I can’t read the labels, Mandarin. Palleted and shipped to a foodstuff distribution centre in China.
Flax is also good for helping minimizing worms in stock to i would plant it all around farms its a pain in the ass if you mow lawns though.
We don’t really have such a thing.
Flax is another plant that is under rated. But I’d look to hemp to start with as it grows faster and we could possibly use it to clean up our over fertilised land. Throw in some cannabis for medical and recreational reasons and we’d be on to a sure fire winner.
Nah, just like people, as a nation we have a best foot to put forward. Hemp can be grown in many places around the world. I’m suggesting we look for solutions that can’t be replicated in third world locations. A viable use for flax has spin-off benefits. If we could develop it into a cash crop we create a financial reason for farmers to keep stock out of boggy/swampy areas, the waterway feeders
Backpacker places are the same the world over. How can we do that like nobody else can? Create a unique experience and create fufilling work for the cash and job strapped? Marae-stay.
So can flax. It’s not unique to us.
No such thing exists.
There’s certainly options available for flax. Using it to help regenerate our wetlands would be great. Would need to develop a market for it’s products. ATM there doesn’t seem to be a lot with only some two and a half million tonnes produced per year.
Flax or hemp may not be it. The Manuka honey thing, it’s niche, but 20 Manuka honey things, a few may runaway succeed. I’m suggesting we look for ways to unearth our next Manuka honey thing rather than bagging up more milk powder.
Kakapo
So Nays and many in the media have been haranging Labour for what Nats did in Election 08 BUT without being hammered by the media…
I still struggle with the fact labour nzf and greens want to tax everything. Why do they want to do that.
We need immigration and a very very simple tax system. I earn 90k a year 3 kids…I will be paying more!!!!
Why why why…what have i done to deserve this
Because lowering taxes has corresponded with total degradation of our Health system.
Because our economy is predicated on low inflation or full employment. We chose low inflation. That means the unemployed have to be paid for to keep inflation low.
The disabled did not choose to be disabled, why do they deserve to life a subsistence life at best?
Populations in rural areas are low but road costs are high, do they deserve poor or no roads?
My brother complained about paying 60k in tax. His tax is higher than what half the population earn.
In 1994 I earned 52k. In 2015 as a Senior Lecturer at a Tertiary I was paid 75k. In the meantime my home went up by over 1.5m. Wages have stayed low and not by accident. English never talks about income and wages during his campaign. His party has no policy on those. Wonder why?
If you think the path we have been on for 30 to 40 years is working well for you, I cannot help you.
We need to do something different to what we have been doing for decades… Look around you at who has becone better off.
Lowering Taxes may have corresponded with systematic under-funding of our health system (and our education system and transport to boot), however its important for the incoming government to understand and recognize that it is not and never has been a cause (the cause here is that the government believes it is spending enough of health). Instead they need to realize the government can always afford to properly fund all of the main public sector parts of the economy.
Overall it is the governments insistence on maintaining a neutral fiscal balance (or even fiscal surplus) which causes the economy to remain in the present state of less than full employment. Ideally the incoming government would understand this well enough to give up on ‘fiscal responsibility’ and allow a deficit to occur by simply adding to their spending (which will allow the savings rate to increase and start to reduce the unemployment rate).
This probably has some implications for what tax policy of the incoming government should be.
Yes they do but they don’t talk about it because their policy is to lower wages even further.
Touche
You voted National who then put in place policies that are destroying our economy and our society.
In fact I suggest that people like UpNorth should not pay more tax, and should pay less. With a total 90k income and 3 children (and 2 adults?) Upnorth is below about 45% of the NZ income distribution.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/80229052/interactive-see-how-your-household-income-compares
Certainly the poorer 80% of the NZ population should not pay a penny more and in fact should receive a large net increase in state funding (via reduced tax and / or increased subsidised services).
We desperately need to increase tax, but on the wealthy – only the top 10% should pay more (much more!). They own 60% of the nation’s wealth (i.e. most of it) and are currently grossly undertaxed. They also will not suffer any hardship whatsoever if their wealth was reduced by 25% or so (so John Key would have to scrape by with $75m instead of $100m, for example)
How will you be paying more, Upnorth? There’s no proposed increase for PAYE or GST. Perhaps you mean that you won’t be getting a tax cut? That’s not “paying more”, and even if it was (which it isn’t) I’d suggest you need to look at this with a bigger lens. It’s not all about you. Do we need more social housing? Yes. Are our hospitals and DHBs coping? No – they’ve been underfunded for years. What about our schools? Ditto… The list goes on. How do we pay for improvements? you guessed it – through our taxes.
As it happens, we already have immigration and a very very simple tax system. That might be fine and dandy for you ($90k a year sounds pretty damn good to me), but there are people in our country who are homeless, hungry and losing hope. Many of them are kids who aren’t lucky enough to have parents earning such a good income. I care about them, do you?
Yes that is why I pay taxes pay my mortgage and only got UE never had any university free education.
So I do care about my kids so don’t be so rude and tell me I need to look after everyone else. I pay my taxes and get no benefits or tax credits.
I state again why does everyone want to tax the hell out of me…I’m do my bit.
We all benefit from the tax take but in different ways. I don’t have children, and never will, but I’m happy for some of state spending to go on state early years and school years education, as well as on WFF, and free GP visits for those under 18 years, etc.
A progressive tax system means those on highest incomes, and the wealthiest pay more – they can afford to pay more and have massively reaped the benefits of state run systems in diverse ways.
I’m happy for more state spending to go on those most in need – those unable to work, the sick and disabled, etc – we all benefit from a society in which everyone has enough to live on.
I do not want to be part of a society where large numbers of people are sleeping in the streets, in cars, in inadequate camp ground facilities, etc, and where the working poor need to choose between paying the rent or buying food or paying for power, etc.
I am similar to you. I have had no kids til I took in a 15 year old abandoned by his parents. I happily pay for schools and healthcare and transport for others. That is what living in a society is.
What are you dribbling about?
Whinging and whinging and whinging about non-existent tax proposals. Are you terrified that there are wolves under your bed too? Poor baby.
On $90k and voting National, like a turkey voting for Xmas. Blaming anyone but yourself for the shitty incompetent policies you support. You’re pathetic.
Upnorth
You are part of a society that provides the things you have been able to use and perhaps part pay for. You talk as if you are some person annointed from heaven and have entitlement to get everything offered to you at a big discount, and bugger everyone else.
You think you should be offered a special deal with someone saying “Belong to this group, and we can get everything for you wholesale”. People who talk openly like this often mean that the ‘everything’ fell off the back of a truck; that it was obtained by hook and by being a crook.
And the truth is this is the path taken by the RWs and their fellow travellers, and the most adept of these are the National Party. So stick with them if you want but don’t come here moaning about the crooks not getting treatment that is not privileged in your favour.
Yes but I do care about society that’s my point…why are we getting hit all the time. .I’m sick of it
What things are you actually being hit with? And how will you be paying more tax under Labour and the GP?
Not sure what you are always being hit with?
I’m sIck of constantly increasing power and rent, the increasing difficulty of finding decent places to rent at a reasonable price.
None of that’s the fault of Labour or the GP. they have policies to try and fix that.
I don’t like that state schools charge parents for a lot of extras. That’s not the fault of Labour or the GP. I don’t like that many put off going to the doctors and the dentist, etc.
You don’t show any signs of that. You only show signs of caring only for yourself.
Everything that you’ve said here is a whinge about how much you’re paying with nothing about how much you’re getting – civil society, low crime, educated populace that improves your living standards – the list goes on and on.
And all you do is whinge about having to pay for the services rendered to you by society.
This “getting hit” “being slammed” “kicked in the teeth” etc. tough-talk is woven through the National Party/Right wing narrative. Such violent thinks and talks. Scary stuff comin’ at ya!
Upnorth – in fact the policies of the National Party are what are hitting you. Low tax for the wealthy and low wages and low services for everyone else. Please see my comment at 7.3.
While I am a strong advocate for tax reform (and a large increase in total tax take) – we should remember that we want less tax (or more government spending) for most people, because most people in NZ are comparatively very poor compared to the very rich, even though we are a wealthy country.
Difficult to deny Oram-ji’s integrity. Him one of the few Christians who take that tack–tho’ we appreciate these ones greatly. Rationalization is religion’s real creed. 2008, National argued for keeping up with OZ as a major plank–except for them sinking, no …And the dire tinkerer English is bringing back another fence-pale of that election, boot camps. Laughter is indeed universal.
About putting the poor right on where they’ve been going wrong, Bill, how about for a start making them not poor? 20% increase in benefits–what your joy-girl, Shipley, took away from US!