Over-promise, under-deliver

Written By: - Date published: 11:48 am, March 31st, 2010 - 7 comments
Categories: benefits, Economy, education, Mining, national, tax - Tags: , , , , ,

The Key Government is constantly promising us great results and actually do nothing that improves things for New Zealanders.

Bill English claims that his tax cuts for tax cheats and a massive wealth transfer from the rent-paying poor to the wealthy will boost economic growth and make everyone better off. It’s trickle-down re-invented. Does English have any evidence that it will work? No. Nothing. Yet he promises us that giving tax cuts averaging $19,000 a year to the richest 0.5% of tax payers will somehow make everything fine with the economy.

Gerry Brownlee promises that mining will provide a huge and necessary boost to the economy but the government is in near total ignorance of key facts to support that promise:
– The value of minerals in the areas the Nats want to remove from Schedule 4
– The value to the New Zealand economy of mining in these areas
– How many jobs would be created by mining in these areas
– The fiscal impact for the government of mining in these areas
– The potential cost to tourism of mining in these areas

The only major mining company to express interest in mining on Schedule 4 land is Solid Energy, which wants to strip-mine in Paparoa. Companies like Newmont have said they’re not interested in mining in the Coromandel and Great Barrier. Yet the Nats have no problem stating point blank that mining on these protected lands will be worthwhile and is necessary.

Paula Bennett, National’s greatest self-promoter, says she is supporting beneficiaries into work. But there is no support and there are no jobs. All there is are redundant checks on eligibility that will carry a huge cost, especially in terms of needless GP visits. Bennett talks about saving money but the advice from Treasury is that any savings will be negligible. She talks about turning around the massive increase in benefit numbers that have occurred across all benefits during her watch, but the official advice is that there will be little or no reduction.

Anne Tolley has been promising that National Standards will somehow reduce academic failure. She loves to say ‘1 in 5 Kiwi kids are failing and we’re doing something about it’.

But what is she doing about it? Tolley is also saying that National Standards won’t mean any change of practice for teachers, The question has to be asked: How will National Standards improve academic outcomes?

Tolley has not a shred of evidence that National Standards will make any difference and that doesn’t seem to concern her a jot. She just keeps on making outlandish promises with no plan to deliver.

After a year and a half of this over-promise and under-deliver government, where are we? Unemployment is up and still rising, wages are starting to fall, crime is up, economic growth is weaker than Australia’s and below expectations coming out of a recession, we’ve gone backwards on climate change, and the government is jumping from one ill-thought out policy to the next without a hint of a plan or leadership from Smile and Wave Key.

7 comments on “Over-promise, under-deliver ”

  1. Lanthanide 1

    My boyfriend pointed out that national standards really isn’t about directly improving education outcomes at all (which is why Tolley can’t give any answers that make sense in that regard), but that it is about putting some sort of monitoring on teacher performance, so that bad teachers (and schools) can be identified and paid less for bad performance. This is itself isn’t a bad idea, provided that on the other hand you are offering pay incentives for excelling and actually offering help for those identified teachers to pick up their game – which is where National is failing to close the loop.

    National’s problem is that they can’t come out and say this to the public, because it is politically unpopular, so they are making up vague unsubstantiated claims that it will somehow improve education outcomes, essentially amounting to a chewbacca defence.

    • Ianmac 1.1

      The major problem is “what is a good teacher.” There has been a huge amount of research on this and there are huge variables and no clear answers. If you tie success to successful teaching of Literacy/Numeracy this is related to the intake so leads to picking good prospects for improvements in classes. Like Performance Pay, this leads to selfish teacher uncooperative behaviours between teachers who would need to protect their patch, yet NZ Education has been famous for the interaction and the sharing of ideas as a means of lifting performance.
      It may well be a prelude to National Performance Pay and bulk funding but God help us if it happens.

  2. just saying 2

    So the schools in economically deprived areas (where children underperform due to their circumstances) get less, and rich schools with their ‘enriched’ higher achievers get more.
    Yep I can see how this will improve educational standards across the board. National really are brilliant aren’t they?

  3. prism 3

    There used to be inspectors of teachers who sat in on a class and watched the interaction and method of a teacher. Being from outside the school, this person should have been objective. Presumably there were some stats about how the teacher was doing that would have been discussed. Don’t hear about this system now.
    Yet blame and doubt and muttering is heard constantly about poor performing teachers. Objectively, you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear as the saying goes. Perhaps inspectors would pick up the few poor performing teachers and see that they received direction and techniques on their failing performance areas. Sometimes just getting a difficult class to think and read the whiteboard, library or text book, and remember one thing could be counted as success.

    There was a school set-up for drop-outs in Auckland trying to give them direction, help them to settle to reading and study, enable them with new skills, affirm them with opportunities to do things they liked perhaps as encouragement or as rewards those things being perhaps ones they’d excel at, like sport.
    I think it was Rodney Hide who created about this – these youngsters were playing golf! Talk about a rort, when they were supposed to be provided with an education.
    This little creep knows next to b……r all about anything except where he has received specific training, but his head is swollen with his opinions, and his mouth isn’t big enough to spout all the half-digested ideas that he has swallowed. And Epsom got together and held a benefit for him to help him get elected. How kaind!

    • Ianmac 3.1

      Up until the 80’s Inspectors could visit a teacher for a full day and a grading mark given. For Basic scale teachers it was a mark out of 9. For leadership grading it was a mark out of 7 and for higher leadership it was a mark out of 5. This system was abolished. It had been the basis for job application run by Education Boards. Highest mark wins the job. Now appointments are made by Principal/BOT by reference and referee.
      The position now is the competecy is the Principal’s responsibility. ERO inspections may produce an issue about a particular teacher but this is directly ERO to Principal. Often the ERO concern is over written records rather than the program in action.
      Should there be a formal inspection system restarted? Would need a large body of Inspectors for 15,000 Primary teachers. Would it happen? Not likely as it suits to have a group to bash like beneficiaries and teachers.

  4. tc 4

    On the one hand I’m appalled but on the other I’m impressed.

    Appalled by the subversion of due process, atitude, behaviour, arrogance and deliberate porkys unfurled in campaign 08.

    Impressed by their ability to control, direct, diffuse and generally keep pulling the wool over swinging voterland via the fawning msm, an ability to tell a whopper with a straight face and some good old fashioned dog whistling.

    No wonder RNZ is in their sights.

  5. Ianmac 5

    I reckon the public perception will be from a few headlines. “Bludgers stealing our money being fixed. Stop schools from failing and sorting out bad teachers. Sorting out water and mining issues. Getting rid of beaurocracy. Improving hospitals” etc. I suspect that many people just skim and avoid the detail so that it is seen that this Goverment is an active fix-it unit with a friendly front face.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • Anzac Commemorative Address – NZ National Service, Chunuk Bair
    Distinguished guests -   It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders.   Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 hours ago
  • Anzac Commemorative Address – Dawn Service, Gallipoli, Türkiye
    Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia.   Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • PM announces changes to portfolios
    Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • New catch limits for unique fishery areas
    Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Minister welcomes hydrogen milestone
    Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Urgent changes to system through first RMA Amendment Bill
    The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Overseas decommissioning models considered
    Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Release of North Island Severe Weather Event Inquiry
    Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell has today released the Report of the Government Inquiry into the response to the North Island Severe Weather Events. “The report shows that New Zealand’s emergency management system is not fit-for-purpose and there are some significant gaps we need to address,” Mr Mitchell ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Justice Minister to attend Human Rights Council
    Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith is today travelling to Europe where he’ll update the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Government’s work to restore law and order.  “Attending the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva provides us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Patterson reopens world’s largest wool scouring facility
    Associate Agriculture Minister, Mark Patterson, formally reopened the world’s largest wool processing facility today in Awatoto, Napier, following a $50 million rebuild and refurbishment project. “The reopening of this facility will significantly lift the economic opportunities available to New Zealand’s wool sector, which already accounts for 20 per cent of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Speech to the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective Summit, 18 April 2024
    Hon Andrew Bayly, Minister for Small Business and Manufacturing  At the Southland Otago Regional Engineering Collective (SOREC) Summit, 18 April, Dunedin    Ngā mihi nui, Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Ko Whanganui aho    Good Afternoon and thank you for inviting me to open your summit today.    I am delighted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Government to introduce revised Three Strikes law
    The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. “Our Government is committed to restoring law and order and enforcing appropriate consequences on criminals. We are making it clear that repeat serious violent or sexual offending is not ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • New diplomatic appointments
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today announced four new diplomatic appointments for New Zealand’s overseas missions.   “Our diplomats have a vital role in maintaining and protecting New Zealand’s interests around the world,” Mr Peters says.    “I am pleased to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Humanitarian support for Ethiopia and Somalia
    New Zealand is contributing NZ$7 million to support communities affected by severe food insecurity and other urgent humanitarian needs in Ethiopia and Somalia, Foreign Minister Rt Hon Winston Peters announced today.   “Over 21 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across Ethiopia, with a further 6.9 million people ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Arts Minister congratulates Mataaho Collective
    Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Paul Goldsmith is congratulating Mataaho Collective for winning the Golden Lion for best participant in the main exhibition at the Venice Biennale. "Congratulations to the Mataaho Collective for winning one of the world's most prestigious art prizes at the Venice Biennale.  “It is good ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Supporting better financial outcomes for Kiwis
    The Government is reforming financial services to improve access to home loans and other lending, and strengthen customer protections, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly and Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced today. “Our coalition Government is committed to rebuilding the economy and making life simpler by cutting red tape. We are ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • PM’s South East Asia mission does the business
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has completed a successful trip to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, deepening relationships and capitalising on opportunities. Mr Luxon was accompanied by a business delegation and says the choice of countries represents the priority the New Zealand Government places on South East Asia, and our relationships in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • $41m to support clean energy in South East Asia
    New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Minister releases Fast-track stakeholder list
    The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Judicial appointments announced
    Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Education Minister heads to major teaching summit in Singapore
    Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa.  The summit is co-hosted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Value of stopbank project proven during cyclone
    A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Anzac commemorations, Türkiye relationship focus of visit
    Foreign 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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Minister to Europe for OECD meeting, Anzac Day
    Science, 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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
    Prime 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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
    The 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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Taupō takes pole position
    The 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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
    Local 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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government backing mussel spat project
    The 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 - ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government focused on getting people into work
    Benefit 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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Clean energy key driver to reducing emissions
    The 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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forward
    The 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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
    Prime 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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
    RMA 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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Inflation coming down, but more work to do
    Today’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 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
    Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sector
    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Patterson promoting NZ’s wool sector at International Congress
    Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector.    "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Removing red tape to help early learners thrive
    The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-04-25T12:08:29+00:00