Poverty’s Beneficiaries.

Written By: - Date published: 10:02 am, November 8th, 2015 - 68 comments
Categories: capitalism, child abuse, child welfare, class war, cost of living, Economy, poverty, quality of life, Social issues - Tags:

This post was prompted after reading an article titled “Being Poor is too Expensive”. The article highlights the compounding cost of living in poverty, a poverty that the blissfully ignorant assume can be walked away from unscathed without a backward glance, if only one would work and try harder. Unfortunately, and as the author demonstrates, living in poverty really is more expensive. It not only costs more in financial terms, it costs more in time and has long term physical and mental health consequences.

The impacts of poverty are obvious in some of our most deprived regions, for example the influx of third world diseases (rheumatic fever, and meningitis for example) impacting on our poorest children. Some children have ended up with long-term health problems as a consequence of living in over-crowded, damp mouldy homes. Sadly many of these are state owned houses. Throw into this mix the food poverty, the time poverty (many of the parents are working two jobs just to pay the rent) and what we have is a whole generation of children whose life chances have been stunted from the outset. Comprehensive reports on the subject of child poverty indicate that there are now 260,000 children living in poverty with more recent reports indicating that the figure is much higher.

What I would like to know, if it costs more to be poor, then who are the ones reaping the benefits of depriving hundreds of thousands of children from a decent standard of living? Undoubtedly every time the banks hit families with fees for unauthorised overdrafts, for missed direct debits and automatic payments, it is literally taking food out of the mouths of babes. When loan sharks hook ‘poor’ families into easy credit, high interest loans, they too are taking food away from vulnerable families. When a Government increases the GST take, which falls disproportionately on those on the lowest incomes (Rashbrooke, 2013), they too are taking food away from children. In general tax terms it is those on the lowest incomes who are paying more tax per $1 earned than their wealthier counter-parts.

All in all it appears that a few at the top are reaping the rewards of the misery of those at the bottom, whilst those in the middle buy into the ideology that poor people are poor because they are lazy and [insert all manner of labels here]. Yet, it appears that overall those at the bottom of the heap, and in particular the most vulnerable (260,000 children) have become the victims of a system that benefits from keeping them in poverty. We are literally sacrificing our most vulnerable citizens so that a few at the top can sustain lifestyles that many of us can only imagine!

Kōrero Pono


Rashbrooke, M. (Ed.) (2013) Inequality: A New Zealand Crisis, Wellington: Bridget Williams Books

68 comments on “Poverty’s Beneficiaries. ”

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  1. Nic the NZer 1
    8 November 2015 at 10:34 am

    “What I would like to know, if it costs more to be poor, then who are the ones reaping the benefits of depriving hundreds of thousands of children from a decent standard of living?”

    Its not a balanced trade off, its a negative sum game, so the costs (inflicted on the poor) are not outweighed by the benefits (to the rich). On average it costs society as a whole allowing this to occur.

    The benefits might be accruing to an employer who pays a poverty wage to an employee, as a common example.

    • Bill 1.1
      8 November 2015 at 10:50 am

      It goes way beyond mere wage slavery Nic.

      Market economies create poverty. Society is the worse off for poverty. Individuals benefit from that state of affairs in a number of ways.

      eg – prisons. Society builds them and the privatises them. Individuals buy shares. And as has happened in the US, judges get back-handers to fill them with poor and marginalised people. Happy pay day!

      • Nic the NZer 1.1.1
        8 November 2015 at 11:21 am

        Absolutely, I was just giving one simple example. Though arguably society is responsible for how it operates prisons it creates and it clearly doesn’t have any existential institutional incentive forcing it in any direction (its a societal choice to privatize its prisons, or to have them).

        • Bill 1.1.1.1
          8 November 2015 at 11:42 am

          But to what extent are society’s choices constrained by market imperatives? Yes, simplistically it’s all human choice, but there are systemic or institutional and embedded cultural aspects to all of this…ie, pathways and trajectories.

          I don’t think society has meaningful ‘free’ choice.

          As an example, maybe consider the obvious example given by the other post today on free markets and climate change. Easily achievable goals essentially bricked up by ‘a need’ to generate money/wealth.

          • Nic the NZer 1.1.1.1.1
            8 November 2015 at 11:54 am

            Societies choices are never constrained by market imperatives. If you are arguing that then you are simply arguing that nothing can be done (or could ever have been) to change the way that society functions (to the extent those imperatives influence exists).

            This is to me a surprising neo-liberal position for you to take. It implies that the market (maybe the free-market?), is a part of the natural world (rather than a product of the rules, and institutions, society creates), is that true?

            • Bill 1.1.1.1.1.1
              8 November 2015 at 12:09 pm

              Nic. Almost everything that can be monetised has been monetised. Almost all decisions at a societal level are dictated to, by some extent and to varying degrees, by a demand to make money. That’s just an obvious, observable fact. Policy suggestions are always first and foremost stacked up against their economic (ie, money making or losing) ‘viability’.

              Recognising that fact doesn’t make for me being a neo-liberal apologist or any such like. Maybe you should read some previous posts and comments by me. I don’t exactly hide my political perspective…I’m a market abolitionist and a democrat.

              Meanwhile, I can’t quite my head around your position. I mean, here you are today suggesting I’m somehow advocating free market economics (a position I’ve never held) and yet you went to some extreme lengths just the other day to uphold the (unrealistic to my mind) notion of having a market economy while doing something serious about climate change…

              [Nic, I’ve moved your response to open mike and I’ll respond there. This conversation doesn’t really belong here.] – Bill

  2. Manuka AOR 2
    8 November 2015 at 12:52 pm

    “When a Government increases the GST take, which falls disproportionately on those on the lowest incomes (Rashbrooke, 2013), they too are taking food away from children. In general tax terms it is those on the lowest incomes who are paying more tax per $1 earned than their wealthier counter-parts.”

    Exactly!!

  3. just saying 3
    8 November 2015 at 12:56 pm

    Yup – unauthorised overdrafts. Been there. Costs a fortune. Driving an unwarrantable car (I needed a car) which meant I also couldn’t register it. I visited a friend once an she introduced someone already there as a police officer. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough – I think the fines were $500 each.
    Then there is having to buy small quantities of groceries which cost more per kilo, all sorts of goods and services on the cheap -which fall apart quickly – it really is cheaper in the long run to buy good quality. Not getting things fixed, not being able to afford insurance, sometimes the extra expense of not going to the doctor and turning a small health problem into a bigger one, missing out on “prompt payment” discounts….
    The list goes on and on.
    Now I’m not poor, I’m still amazed how much cheaper so many things turn out to be.

  4. Michael 4
    8 November 2015 at 1:24 pm

    Shame the Labour Party is no longer interested in social justice, as its vacuous conference this weekend demonstrates. Poor people should look elsewhere for leadership.

    • Jenny Kirk 4.1
      8 November 2015 at 5:02 pm

      Maybe its time you read Andrew Little’s speech to the Labour Conference, Michael.
      This will give you and entirely different view.

    • Korero Pono 4.2
      8 November 2015 at 7:37 pm

      Having read Little’s speech, he used all the right buzz words (and some scary ones in between), however I am interested in how this rhetoric translates into actual policy that will make a difference to those living in poverty.

      Having lost faith in Labour (their blighted history speaks for itself), am I to be suckered in because they used the right buzz words around poverty? What about capital gains tax, what about the TPP (both of which have a bearing on Poverty and inequality). This question is probably best for another thread but relates to the topic in as so far that I am trying to correlate the words with what Labour are actually doing. And once I have worked that out, I have to decide if I am willing to forgive the fact that they helped create the very situation that this topic is about. They can pretend all they like that they made it better (for example Working for Families), but who were they really helping with that? It certainly wasn’t the poor.

      I am not convinced that Labour will move away from their self-serving agenda (let’s get rid of capital gains policy because it is unpopular) but instead stand up and do what is the right thing for all New Zealanders, not just the few who can afford an extra property here and there!

  5. greywarshark 5
    8 November 2015 at 1:52 pm

    It is good to read this update on poverty thought and we need to keep presenting such. But changing mindsets, appealing to people’s better natures, is hard. They are stiff with pride in themselves and resentment that they are expected to live in a world that has lesser people in it.

    They have a high entrance fee to get into mind compartments where they might look kindly at others bad luck or foolishness, and allow those others to just be people who err and need assistance.

    Ultimately it is a case of how do you make such people give up some of their grasping, proud ways? Harder than opening oysters, but people who get good at it may be able to offer advice on their methods. We need to set up better sharing systems, one would be to have lots of small employment initiatives going providing decent wages, making something that is required locally. That would still allow the successful their better lifestyle.

  6. Detrie 6
    8 November 2015 at 2:24 pm

    The being poor is too expensive article is spot on. Being poor where you’re watching every single dollar, living week to week is incredibly stressful and a common reason many families break up. You get trapped, have less control and far fewer choices.

    Ten years ago we were out of work through no fault of our own and were glad we lived in a more caring society that at least provided basic benefits to keep food on our table whilst we looked for more work. Sadly this social safety net is being systematically dismantled by the current govt. whilst at the same time providing more tax breaks for the rich and large employers, touting out the old [false] line of more money for the rich ensures many more jobs. Yeah, right….. Never happens.

    As one commentator of the linked article rightly said: “I define poor as the inability to take advantage of opportunity due to the lack of access to the resources needed to improve your situation”. e.g. Don’t have a reliable car or public transport to get to work; Can’t afford car insurance or to warrant the car; Can’t cover the unexpected bank fees; Can’t afford the monthly cost of a phone and/or internet to find/apply for better jobs; Can’t afford to buy better food to stay healthy and avoid doctors bills or prescription fees etc etc.

    Yet those with money (like most right wing politicians), just see them as ‘the undeserving poor’ – Most have no sympathy whatsoever for others. This cold, self-righteous view lacks humanity, ignores reality as well as the countless hidden costs of our growing pauper class on a benefit and/or on minimum wages or temp employment. Somehow it is always ‘their own fault’ which sadly extends to their children and to future generations… As another here said, a shame the Labour Party is no longer interested in social justice or reform… Still we can always watch what socialists like Bernie Sanders is attempting in the US.

    Nigel Latta did some great investigative work on all this a while back. (DVD)
    http://tinyurl.com/ptuedtd
    The Auckland City Mission also did a great report (PDF download below)
    http://tinyurl.com/l9bywzm

  7. Tracey 7
    8 November 2015 at 4:08 pm

    Thanks to all for the insightful comments

  8. Kay 8
    8 November 2015 at 5:33 pm

    Who benefits when a poor person can’t afford necessary medication and as a direct consequence requires hospitalisation in a public hospital?

    This is a scenario that’s really irritating me lately, the complete inability for the assorted agencies (MSD, MoH, DHBs) to understand a basic cost benefit analysis. eg: A person with a chronic medical condition can avoid at least 1-2 acute hospital admissions a year with an unfunded drug that costs $250/year ($5/week). Now, given the cost to the taxpayer of even one night in a public hospital, surely it’s more cost-effective to help that individual by fully or partly funding that drug, subject to their income? For a poor person, that $5/week is a significant chunk of the power budget, or food budget, or other medications bill, or…
    (This scenario would also apply to a family who literally didn’t have the $5 to collect the antibiotic for a chest infection and the child is ultimately hospitalised with pneumonia)

    I can’t see anyone benefiting from poor people having to forgo medical treatment. Certainly not the hard working taxpayers or already overloaded public hospitals who could do without the avoidable admissions.

    • Bill 8.1
      8 November 2015 at 7:29 pm

      I can’t see anyone benefiting from poor people having to forgo medical treatment

      I can.

      In a (even partly) privatised health service where private providers are paid from the public purse (talking private profit) to deal with acute medical conditions that were wholly avoidable but for…well, a few bucks in the pocket of the person being treated.

      In a fully public health service, the above scenario becomes a tad insane and would be avoided.

    • AsleepWhileWalking 8.2
      9 November 2015 at 8:35 am

      Wise group?

  9. Mike the Savage One 9
    8 November 2015 at 5:53 pm

    If hard work is the answer, most people in Bangla Desh, the slums in India, in Indonesia, in Nigeria and sundry other places would all be wealthy and healthy. The answers and solutions are not so simple and rather complex. As I heard in the news, it appears Labour still shy away from providing real answers and solutions, and only present some symbolic gestures.

    As for what those that are poor and even sick on benefits now face, the message is simple, work will benefit your health, it is “therapeutic”, so in a sense, work will set you free. And they are still at it, believe you me:
    “If a Benefit was a Drug would You Prescribe it?”
    (Author Dr David Bratt, Principal Health Advisor for MSD and WINZ)
    http://www.gpcme.co.nz/pdf/BO%2012%20830am%20David%20Bratt%20Benefit%20were%20a%20Drug%20V2.pdf

    A recent conference on the implication of the “new approach”, attended also by Anne Tolley, the usual “experts” (Bratt, Beaumont et al), and I note with disappointment even Helen Kelly (may she get well after all):
    http://members.racp.edu.au/files/dmfile/150306-Programme_1April2015_ImplicationsHBoW_NZ.pdf
    (sponsored it seems, by AMP, the same program that also “sponsors” the Paul Henry Breakfast Show, similar to UNUM Provident that once “sponsored” Mansel Aylward to promote and spread the “new approach” of the “health benefits of work”, that “benefited” so many that were thrown off benefits in the UK).

    So the agenda is being pursued further, no matter what, whether disappointing results in trials (see NZ Herald from 17 September):
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11514141

    • Michael 9.1
      8 November 2015 at 10:39 pm

      Dr Bratt’s reports are bullshit propaganda, generated by people paid by rogue US insurance company UNUM Provident, ordered to pay millions of $US by courts in that country for systemic, bad faith denial of disability insurance claims. The courts heard compelling evidence of dirty tricks by the company, and its medical assessors. Naturally, the UK government hired UNUM to “advise” it on its welfare reforms, after it bought a department at Cardiff University to employ the likes of Sir Mansell Aylward, Dr Bratt’s opposite number at the UK Department of Work and Pensions, after he cashed in his taxpayer-funded chips. Naturally our own government bought Aylward and the rest of the UNUM-paid crew to “advise” it on welfare reforms here. Naturally, ACC had a close relationship with UNUM at the time its dirty tricks campaign against injured New Zealanders cranked up in the late 1990s. Naturally, a number of the ACC-doctors responsible ride on taxpayer-funded gravy trains at ACC and MSD. Ain’t life grand?

  10. Craig H 10
    8 November 2015 at 6:43 pm

    There are some wonderful articles on the subject on Cracked.com, of all places. Being poor doesn’t just cost more, it also impacts on people’s mental health and intelligence – people literally lose IQ from having to burn brain energy on worry and budget-balancing.

    • Mike S 10.1
      9 November 2015 at 2:40 am

      Yep. I believe for the poor, the biggest factor negatively influencing everything but especially a persons health is stress. Stress has all number of negative physical and mental effects as well as having negative effects upon others around the stressed person.

      I remember when someone was trying to justify outrageous ceo incomes and said that a ceo’s job is very stressful which is a part of why their jobs command huge salaries. I thought to myself yep I’m sure it is a stressful job but in terms of really detrimental stress, you should try not having a job at all mate!

      • Craig H 10.1.1
        9 November 2015 at 10:34 pm

        There’s a famous golf line about pressure – pressure is not putting to win a US Master’s, pressure is putting to win a match for $10 when you only have $5 in your pocket.

        Stress and poverty could be seen similarly – a $300 power bill when you have $150 in the bank is far more stressful than a CEO’s job.

  11. Mike the Savage One 11
    8 November 2015 at 7:08 pm

    For those that care, the government is not really interested in addressing poverty as such, it is all meant to be “solved” by getting people into work, and by little else. Relative poverty is the price for having a competitive, supposedly more “motivation” driven, “productive” capitalist system. Poverty is supposed to get people motivated to work harder and to try and get out of poverty. The fear of poverty and not keeping up with the Jones’ is wanted, as a driver to push people to work and compete, quite simple. Divide and rule is too often the most effective means of control my various ruling elites and authoritarian governments, as history has endlessly proved, to my regret.

    Perhaps read question 7 in the following OIA request that was some long time ago filed with MSD:
    https://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/msd-o-i-a-rqst-re-dr-bratt-presentations-contacts-anon-ltr-w-questions-16-01-14.pdf

    This was the first reply received:
    https://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/msd-o-i-a-rqst-re-dr-bratt-presentations-contacts-anon-16-01-reply-by-ce-27-02-14.pdf

    This was a further response:
    https://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/msd-o-i-a-rqst-re-dr-bratt-presentations-contacts-anon-16-01-further-reply-12-11-14.pdf

    So note how NONE of the many rather general, partly ambiguous, insufficient replies do mention as the likely CAUSE of ill health being POVERTY. The focus by MSD, their Health Advisor(s) and the government is on getting people out of “worklessness”, which is considered the “solution” for all problems, even poor health. It appears cause and effect are being mixed up, not by coincidence, but due to ideologically shaped views by the stakeholders.

    All this and much more, even the responses by the Ombudsman (answering to a complaint) are found here, but as usual, few will bother actually READING stuff:
    https://nzsocialjusticeblog2013.wordpress.com/2015/08/09/msd-and-dr-david-bratt-present-misleading-evidence-claiming-worklessness-causes-poor-health/

  12. North 12
    8 November 2015 at 7:24 pm

    There are a couple of photographs attached to the article below which will no doubt cause a furore…….”keep peoples’ children out of it…….” and all that. Before getting carried away with that distraction we should remember there are many, many more “peoples’ children” on the ugly, painful end of this spectrum. For whom life is not merely discomfited…….for whom life is shit. My heart is with them. Not with the toffs. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11541769

    • Mike the Savage One 12.1
      8 November 2015 at 7:27 pm

      Children or not once they are 18 they can answer for themselves, so do not feel bad about posting that, thanks.

      • Paul 12.1.1
        8 November 2015 at 7:41 pm

        From the article.

        “There’s that manifestation of wealth inequality,” says Rashbrooke, “through the Ya Ya Club ­effect: ­inherited or established wealth leads some people to lead lives very different from those of others and becoming more set as a class apart.”

        “Wealthy children, growing up in neighbourhoods and going to school largely with other wealthy children may lack any deep understanding of the lives of people different from them, and vice versa.

    • Paul 12.2
      8 November 2015 at 7:40 pm

      This article needs a post in its own right.

      Some grim statistics from the article.

      In a project with Statistics New Zealand, the data, which looked at people’s wealth between 2004 and 2010, has yielded grim ­results, says Rashbrooke.
      The wealthiest 1 per cent of the country – about 34,000 adults – have nearly a fifth of all the wealth (18.1 per cent). The wealthiest 10 per cent – about 340,000 adults – have more than half (53.4 per cent).
      The poorest half of the country – about 1.7 million adults – have only 3.8 per cent.

      Rashbrooke’s book also reveals that between 2004 and 2010:
      • Wealth of the top 1 per cent ­increased from $94 billion to $147b;
      • Middle class wealth rose from $194b to $348b;
      • New Zealand’s wealthiest 10 per cent increased their asset holdings from $259b to $437b, a rise of nearly $180b;
      • The poorest 10 per cent saw their net debt increase from $5.7b to $7.4b.

      • Korero Pono 12.2.1
        8 November 2015 at 9:06 pm

        So what are the solutions to poverty and growing inequality?

        Rashbrooke ” suggests reducing income ­imbalances, narrowing the initial distribution of wealth, using taxes and endowments to further close the gap, taking the heat out of ­housing and building a more democratic ­society.

        Specifically, he suggests increasing benefits, introducing a living wage, a capital gains tax (exempting the family home), estate taxes and better rights for renters”. http://m.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11541769

        The question is, which political parties have the balls to do these things? Going back to an earlier post, I heard Labour use all the right ‘buzz’ words but how this translates to reality is another matter.

        • Mike the Savage One 12.2.1.1
          8 November 2015 at 9:33 pm

          “The question is, which political parties have the balls to do these things? Going back to an earlier post, I heard Labour use all the right ‘buzz’ words but how this translates to reality is another matter.”

          Now there we have a valid question!

        • KJT 12.2.1.2
          8 November 2015 at 9:46 pm

          Greens.

  13. Psycho Milt 13
    8 November 2015 at 8:16 pm

    All in all it appears that a few at the top are reaping the rewards of the misery of those at the bottom…

    Leaving aside the fact that loan sharks aren’t “at the top” under any definition of society that makes sense, and that the social costs of poverty affect rich people as well as everyone else, the take-home message seems to be that contraception is useful in many more ways than one.

    • just saying 13.1
      8 November 2015 at 9:05 pm

      How bloody self-righteous.
      That’s your take home message “can’t feed dont breed” as per livestock!
      sheesh

      • Psycho Milt 13.1.1
        8 November 2015 at 9:13 pm

        Oh, please. “Self-righteous” is the default mode for these poverty threads – you might review your own, for a start.

        • just saying 13.1.1.1
          8 November 2015 at 9:20 pm

          Feel free to elaborate, Psychomilt

          • Psycho Milt 13.1.1.1.1
            9 November 2015 at 7:57 am

            It’s pretty straightforward. Your outraged response to the uncontroversial view that contraception reduces poverty is the accusatory hyperbole above. “Self-righteous” is an appropriate description. That’s generally how these threads go, hence my description of it as the default mode – for a fine example, see the comment below from the post author, in which the rich are “privileged, spoiled, unsympathetic … parasites” and the middle class “idiotic” blamers of the poor. Calling that one “self-righteous” hardly begins to cover it.

            • miravox 13.1.1.1.1.1
              9 November 2015 at 8:34 am

              Decent pay reduces poverty.

              • Psycho Milt …
                9 November 2015 at 10:12 am

                It does – there are multiple ways to reduce poverty. However, if you’re poor, buying yourself a pack of condoms is a more achievable goal than having the government implement a higher wages policy.

                • One Anonymous Bloke …
                  9 November 2015 at 10:19 am

                  Cart, meet horse.

                  Even if you weren’t mixing cause and effect, your message of concern will not reach its target, and is of limited practical use to policymakers.

                  • Psycho Milt …
                    9 November 2015 at 11:08 am

                    Well, yes – people who think children are a blessing from God, or just shit that happens once you’re sexually active, wouldn’t see that take-home message even if they read the post. However, the message is there for those who care to see it.

                    Apart from which, declaring rich people parasites profiteering from the poor is also of limited practical use to policymakers, especially since the current policymakers represent the rich.

                    • One Anonymous Bloke …
                      9 November 2015 at 12:02 pm

                      Yeah, and then what about those low-life types who blame the consequences of poverty on poor people? 🙄

                    • Psycho Milt …
                      9 November 2015 at 12:24 pm

                      Exactly. Two sides of the same shit coin. It would be nice if this subject could be discussed without there having to be good guys and bad guys, but experience suggests it’s unlikely.

                • just saying …
                  9 November 2015 at 11:52 am

                  How does not having children reduce adult poverty now? Not enough to live on is not enough to live on.

                  And why do you assume that stopping the poor having children will stop future poverty? Do you think their abstaining would create a future with a magic kind of capitalism in which there is nobody left to be at, or near the bottom?
                  Or do you think it would cause the “bottom” to magically rise up to become a reasonable place to be – decent well paid work for everyone who wants work, good quality of life for all….?

                  Please explain.

                  • Psycho Milt …
                    9 November 2015 at 12:22 pm

                    I can’t explain stuff you made up. Stopping the poor having children has arisen only in your comments, not mine.

                    Re the stuff that can be explained:
                    How does not having children reduce adult poverty now? Well, it’s a bit late to not have a child after you’ve had it, so it doesn’t reduce that at all. Before you have one though, put on a condom, don’t have one, and you’ll find things less of a struggle later on.

                    How would this end poverty? It wouldn’t. Nothing will end it. Reducing it is all we can do, and this would help reduce it. Rejecting improvements on the basis that they aren’t immediate fixes for entire problems is pointless.

                    • just saying …
                      9 November 2015 at 12:36 pm

                      Okay,
                      How would the poor having less or no children reduce poverty?
                      Is it a “more pie to go around” argument? Because in NZ, there is plenty of pie for everyone now.

                    • Psycho Milt …
                      9 November 2015 at 1:52 pm

                      It’s a “kids cost money” argument. The more you have, the greater your expenses. I’ve known it from childhood, on the simple basis that my parents with four kids weren’t as well off as their similar-earning friends with two kids. It applies now as then.

    • Korero Pono 13.2
      8 November 2015 at 9:35 pm

      If you mean that the rich should use contraception so that they stop breeding and save the world from another generation of privileged, spoiled, unsympathetic future parasites, then I wholeheartedly agree.

      Otherwise, you simply look stupid and add nothing to solve a problem that was brought about by a greedy few at the top who use the middle classes to come up with idiotic phrases to blame the poor for the being poor.

      • Michael 13.2.1
        8 November 2015 at 11:13 pm

        Agreed Korero Pono. The rich do far more harm than the poor ever could. The middle class deserve the contempt that both the rich and the poor hold for them, as a result of their craven attitudes towards the former and callous brutality towards the latter. I won’t miss them when they’re gone.

  14. Chris 14
    8 November 2015 at 9:21 pm

    Oh well, guess 29 comments is better than 3. And it is a post about poverty, mind you, so 29’s not too bad for a left blog site in 2015 New Zealand.

  15. North 15
    9 November 2015 at 6:55 am

    Made worse by one of the 29 glibly recommending (a well meaning ?) eugenics as the answer…….Psycho Milt @ 13 above.

    • Psycho Milt 15.1
      9 November 2015 at 8:01 am

      Hint: inserting a declaration of eugenics in a comment is an indicator of someone with a poor grasp of history, science and pretty much everything else. Drop the pseudo-intellectualism and stick with “Just like the Nazis!” – it’s just as ridiculous but at least it’s honest.

      • korero pono 15.1.1
        9 November 2015 at 10:10 am

        Hey Psycho, you do sound “just like the Nazis” is that honest enough for you?

        Suggesting that contraception is the answer to an already existing problem, is a lame way of denying the problem and allows you to simply sit back and do nothing but blame people for having children. In your world (of ACT fantasies), only the rich would have children. Sadly, even if that could happen, those ‘rich’ people would have to make paupers of some of their own group so that they can continue to benefit from the sweat and hard work of others.

        Regardless of your Nazi like stance, the fact remains that poor people, those on the lowest incomes pay disproportionately more than those on higher incomes. It does cost more to be poor, and as a result, the wealthy are reaping the rewards by ensuring 1 in 4 children are kept in poverty. The system is a failure, or is it working exactly the way the privileged few want it to work, while having us believe that we can get ahead if we just work hard enough? Maybe they should go tell that to the many families having to work extraordinary hours ( 80 hour weeks) just to pay the rent and put food on the table. Modern day slavery is alive and kicking, as is the systemic abuse of hundreds of thousands of children through a system that keeps them in poverty.

        • Psycho Milt 15.1.1.1
          9 November 2015 at 10:59 am

          It’s honest, but also silly. The Nazis were very keen on big families, on the basis that more Germans was inherently a Good Thing. The last thing they’d be doing is recommending that their own people control their fertility. People tend to use “Just like the Nazis!” as shorthand for “I don’t like your opinion!” – it’s both lazy and annoying.

          … the fact remains that poor people, those on the lowest incomes pay disproportionately more than those on higher incomes.

          Yes. I have no disagreement with the proposal that being poor sucks. However, the ability to control your own fertility is, along with education, a powerful and achievable way of reducing poverty. It won’t eliminate it, and being poor will still stuck, but as mentioned above, wearing a condom is a more achievable personal goal than changing the government’s wages policy.

          • McFlock 15.1.1.1.1
            9 November 2015 at 12:33 pm

            They were in favour of large families for the right sort of people.

            Not much room between that and your favouring of small families for the wrong sort of people.

            But what really gets me is that you’re ignoring so many realities of being human it’s funny: you’re arguing for increasing the marginal costs of being poor in the hope of limiting longer term expenditure, you’re assuming condoms have a 0% failure rate, you’re not allowing that individuals sometimes make a mistake or feel compelled to give the only think they have left, or that circumstances change over the 20 years that one is responsible for raising a child… in short, you’re ignoring all the myriad of little variations in life that mean the real world isn’t necessarily predictable on a flow chart.

            The view that contraception can be a fiscally smart is indeed relatively uncontroversial. The fact that it’s the first and apparently only message that you took from the post is the controversial bit.

            • Psycho Milt 15.1.1.1.1.1
              9 November 2015 at 1:30 pm

              …your favouring of small families for the wrong sort of people.

              I’m not responsible for stuff you make up yourself, or any fantasies you have about Nazis.

              …you’re arguing for increasing the marginal costs of being poor in the hope of limiting longer term expenditure…

              That’s a hell of a long reach from the actual argument, which boils down to “kids cost money to raise – if you have fewer of them, your expenses will be lower.” But feel free to give that straw man the good hiding it deserves.

              …you’re assuming condoms have a 0% failure rate…

              You know enough about statistics to be aware that a measure doesn’t need a 100% success rate for it to be worth taking.

              …you’re not allowing that individuals sometimes make a mistake or feel compelled to give the only think they have left, or that circumstances change over the 20 years that one is responsible for raising a child…

              I am, in that we have a social welfare system specifically to take care of such situations.

              The fact that it’s the first and apparently only message that you took from the post is the controversial bit.

              Sure. But the messages “we need better wages and working conditions, and a fairer tax system” apply at a fairly abstract level. If the reader would like to take something from the post that’s applicable and achievable by them in their own life, “Use contraception” is a good place to start.

              • McFlock …
                9 November 2015 at 1:47 pm

                Actually, the better place to start would be to say “there, but for the grace of god or luck, go I”.

                Some might say that focussing firstly and primarily on protecting our own penises and ignoring the “abstract issues” of government policy and social issues is what made a major contribution to fucking up the country in the first place.

                • Psycho Milt …
                  9 November 2015 at 1:57 pm

                  Fortunately, I found that I could both wear condoms AND assess policy and vote accordingly. It’s even easier than walking and chewing gum at the same time, because you don’t do them at the same time (well, most wouldn’t, I hope).

                  • McFlock …
                    9 November 2015 at 2:00 pm

                    really? You haven’t demonstrated that ability in this thread.

                    Although in my experience policy analysis isn’t quite so exciting as all that.

          • korero pono 15.1.1.1.2
            9 November 2015 at 1:04 pm

            So first you invite being called a Nazi, and then you say it is ‘silly’ being honest?

            Do you suggest that only wealthy people should breed? Because let’s face it, even the middle classes are struggling these days and having to consider the affordability of children? All I can say is thank goodness that the poorest families are going at it hell for leather because someone needs to increase the population. Unfortunately that population are being systematically abused by people who believe that they should not exist (and I must say that poverty is just as good a killer as say gas chambers, albeit much slower). Though, I suppose on the other hand, when done by the surreptitious hand of poverty, the killing is more anonymous and you can then at least blame the victims and not take ownership of how you may be complicit in murdering children, right?

            • Psycho Milt 15.1.1.1.2.1
              9 November 2015 at 1:41 pm

              So first you invite being called a Nazi, and then you say it is ‘silly’ being honest?

              More like this: If you think opinions you don’t like are just like the Nazis, be honest about taking such a silly approach.

              Do you suggest that only wealthy people should breed?

              No. That would be ridiculous.

              All I can say is thank goodness that the poorest families are going at it hell for leather because someone needs to increase the population.

              There’s a shortage of humans? I don’t think any other species on the planet would agree with you. There are actually way too many of us already.

              …when done by the surreptitious hand of poverty, the killing is more anonymous and you can then at least blame the victims and not take ownership of how you may be complicit in murdering children, right?

              I’m murdering children, now?

              • Korero Pono …
                10 November 2015 at 7:26 am

                “If you think opinions you don’t like are just like the Nazis, be honest about taking such a silly approach”

                You invited the analogy, and in this case it was fitting, your approach was one of eugenics, in that certain people should not breed, specifically poor people. Your answer to poverty is to reduce the number of children born to certain types of families – therein lies a belief that it is children that cause poverty. What causes poverty is the system that privileges some, whilst disadvantaging others. Your own experience of having parents with four children and struggling suggests a little bitterness about your childhood, do you wish your parents had less children so that you could reap more of the proverbial pie?

                If you are not suggesting that only rich people should breed, then what are you suggesting?

                “There’s a shortage of humans? I don’t think any other species on the planet would agree with you. There are actually way too many of us already”

                Specifically in New Zealand and other developed countries, and due to an aging population and lower birth rates, we will be in a situation where we will not have enough working adults to manage the costs of supporting the older population (http://www.becker-posner-blog.com/2013/08/low-birth-rates-causes-consequences-and-remedies-becker.html).

                “I’m murdering children, now?”

                Any person who idly sits back and does not speak up and seek to change a system that sees our most vulnerable citizens living in poverty, is complicit in reducing their life chances, including their physical and mental well-being. Children have died from living in impoverished conditions in our supposed ‘wealthy’ country, children in one way or another are the unfortunate victims of poverty and poverty related social problems. If we do nothing, then yes we are complicit in the systemic murder of children who die as a direct result of poverty.

                Poverty is a societal problem, not the individualistic problem that some (usually those who benefit from poverty) would have us believe.

                To suggest that contraception is the answer to an already existing problem, is, at best ridiculous. The suggestion is full of assumptions about who should and shouldn’t have children, it suggests that children are a drain on society. Your suggestion (and all of the inherent assumptions behind it), rather than being helpful, denies the problem that society has created and aims to say, through implication, that poor people are poor because they breed too much – this is nothing more than another attempt to hide the systemic causes of poverty.

  16. vto 16
    9 November 2015 at 8:30 am

    the new zealand village is structurally flawed completely

    100 villagers

    10 in opulence
    80 struggling with dirt floors (including 1 copper)
    10 with no home at all

    the 10 in opulence aint protected by much in this scene are they …………. selfish bastards

    • weka 16.1
      9 November 2015 at 12:28 pm

      you missed out the middle classes there vto.

      • vto 16.1.1
        9 November 2015 at 12:43 pm

        They are the ones with the dirt floors. It’s a relative thing of course.

        Not a very pretty picture of our society. The rich get away with shitloads due t the sheer population numbers and split habitation habits i.e. people no longer live and interact together like they did in the past, so nobody knows what the other gets up to.

        I find thinking of our society as a small village, perhaps in pre-euro NZ, as a very good way to concentrate the issues and their effects and implications. You know – where everything is on show and proximate to allow for appropriate assessment.

  17. North 17
    9 November 2015 at 10:05 pm

    Oh…..talk of eugenics propelled Psyhco out of his smart arse larrikin’s lair I see.

  18. Smilin 18
    11 November 2015 at 9:25 am

    Any one who has experienced the loss of motivation and mental strain of losing what they have worked for in honesty by actions not of their own making know how little faith they have in redress when they see what their govt does to them in favour of those who already have more than enough and deliberately refuse to address the basic human rights which have been set through experience of bitter times of the past and with an arrogant stroke of a pen can power a nation into loss of societal values which leaves the people affected to rebuild without the recognition from the govt and defiance by that govt to be supportive of the organisations that deal with the worst of these situations
    Govts are not in power for those who are able to choose but those who cannot

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    One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Texas Lessons
    This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    3 days ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links at 6:06 am
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours as of 6:06 am on Wednesday, April 17 are:Must read: Secrecy shrouds which projects might be fast-tracked RNZ Farah HancockScoop: Revealed: Luxon has seven staffers working on social media content - partly paid for by taxpayer Newshub ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Fighting poverty on the holiday highway
    Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago

  • Bernard's six-stack of substacks at 6:26 pm
    Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • At a glance – Is the science settled?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Apposite Quotations.
    How Long Is Long Enough? Gaza under Israeli bombardment, July 2014. This posting is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • What’s a life worth now?
    You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Howling at the Moon
    Karl du Fresne writes –  There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Newshub is Dead.
    I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • Seymour is chuffed about cutting early-learning red tape – but we hear, too, that Jones has loose...
    Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago

  • Was Hawkesby entirely wrong?
    David Farrar  writes –  The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • PRC shadow looms as the Solomons head for election
    PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time. A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Climate Change: Criminal ecocide
    We are in the middle of a climate crisis. Last year was (again) the hottest year on record. NOAA has just announced another global coral bleaching event. Floods are threatening UK food security. So naturally, Shane Jones wants to make it easier to mine coal: Resources Minister Shane Jones ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • Is saving one minute of a politician's time worth nearly $1 billion?
    Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Long Tunnel or Long Con?
    Yesterday it was revealed that Transport Minister had asked Waka Kotahi to look at the options for a long tunnel through Wellington. State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    4 days ago

  • Smoke And Mirrors.
    You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • What is Mexico doing about climate change?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • State of humanity, 2024
    2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Govt’s Wellington tunnel vision aims to ease the way to the airport (but zealous promoters of cycl...
    Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • The case for cultural connectedness
    A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Useful context on public sector job cuts
    David Farrar writes –    The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated.   While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell On When Racism Comes Disguised As Anti-racism
    Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    5 days ago

  • Govt ignored economic analysis of smokefree reversal
    Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • True Blue.
    True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • Who is running New Zealand’s foreign policy?
    While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 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
    12 hours 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
    14 hours 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
    14 hours 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
    15 hours 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
    15 hours 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
    16 hours 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
    18 hours 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 day 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 day 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
    2 days 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
    2 days 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
    2 days 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
    2 days 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
    2 days 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
    2 days 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
    2 days 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
    3 days 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
    3 days 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
    3 days 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
    3 days 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
    4 days 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
    4 days ago

  • RMA changes to cut coal mining consent red tape
    Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • McClay reaffirms strong NZ-China trade relationship
    Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Prime Minister Luxon acknowledges legacy of Singapore Prime Minister Lee
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.   Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • PMs Luxon and Lee deepen Singapore-NZ ties
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.  During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Antarctica New Zealand Board appointments
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner.  The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Finance Minister travels to Washington DC
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.  “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Pet bonds a win/win for renters and landlords
    The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Long Tunnel for SH1 Wellington being considered
    State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • New Zealand condemns Iranian strikes
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel.    “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says.    "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Huge interest in Government’s infrastructure plans
    Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Health Minister thanks outgoing Health New Zealand Chair
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board.   “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti.  “I have asked her to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Roads of National Significance planning underway
    The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.  “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Navigating an unstable global environment
    New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.   “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States.    “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • NZ welcomes Australian Governor-General
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Pseudoephedrine back on shelves for Winter
    Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • NZ and the US: an ever closer partnership
    New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Joint US and NZ declaration
    April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • NZ and US to undertake further practical Pacific cooperation
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research.   “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

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