Reaction to housing policy

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:17 am, July 31st, 2013 - 134 comments
Categories: housing, labour, Media - Tags: housing, housing affordability

Labour will be pleased at the reaction to its Latest housing policy. Vernon Small – perhaps the best neutral commentator? – had this to say:

Homes for Kiwis plan may be a winner

It has to be said from the outset, Labour’s newly minted “foreigner ban” on buying existing residential houses has a lot more going for it than the late and unlamented “man ban”.

For a start there is not a big constituency of voters to turn off among property investors who are not even in the country. It reminds you of that old joke that the best people to tax are foreigners living abroad.

And it is a fair bet the idea will win public favour, given the overwhelming opposition to any sell-off of Kiwi assets that shows up in most polls. Prime Minister John Key tapped into it in 2010, when land sales rules were being revised, by voicing concerns Kiwis may become “tenants in their own land”. …

Labour’s plan to build and on-sell 10,000 affordable homes a year – alongside a promise of more state houses – remains its most potent weapon.

Nat friendly John Armstrong is (as usual) all about the game:

Shearer sets agenda with foreign sales ban

Labour’s plan to bar foreigners from buying existing homes may turn out to be riddled with more holes than a block of Swiss cheese in terms of likely effectiveness. The policy may be condemned as unworthy of a party which has always scrupulously avoided playing the race card. Whichever way you look at it, however, promising such a ban is still darned good politics.

In one swoop, David Shearer has got people talking about what he wants to talk about – instead of endlessly debating whether he can cling on as Labour’s leader.

When Labour’s opponents shout “xenophobia” or “racism”, Shearer only needs to say Labour is merely copying what Australia is doing to curb soaring house prices.

Crucially, the policy is very much in tune with public opinion, judging from a 3News Reid Research poll taken back in February which found two-thirds of respondents favouring restrictions on foreigners buying property.

The commentator who surprises me most is Colin Espiner – usually a ranting tory – but here he weighs in with a (mostly) excellent piece:

Labour housing plan is clever politics

I never thought I’d say this, but John Key ought to be just a little worried about David Shearer’s latest policy.

Labour’s proposal to ban foreign investors from buying existing residential homes in New Zealand is likely to be extremely popular with the public. In fact I’d go so far as to say it’s likely to be the most well-received policy Labour has come up with since its plan to renationalise the electricity sector, with the bonus that it’s actually a good idea as well. …

The rationale for the policy is that one of the main reasons for our overheated housing market is too much demand and not enough supply. Stopping foreigners from bidding in the residential market removes some of that demand and returns a bit more supply. …

Key’s reaction to Shearer’s policy is predictable: he says it’s ”desperate”, that the number of people who will fit the category is “very small”, that people will find loopholes to get around the new rules, and that the policy is xenophobic – in essence, a dog-whistle to racists who resent buyers of certain ethnicities crowding the auction rooms, particularly in Auckland. …

I don’t agree that Labour is being xenophobic with this policy, though I accept it will appeal to rednecks. Protecting a country’s housing stock from foreign investors looking for a quick buck isn’t racist – it’s common sense. It would only be racist if it applied solely to certain ethnic groups, and I don’t see Labour proposing any such thing.

As for the argument that this is an attack on Chinese because they are the biggest overseas buyers, that’s bunkum too. English and South Africans are also in the top four, alongside Australians (who are excluded from the policy) but I don’t hear anyone complaining Labour is discriminating against Brits.

Australia already has rules in place limiting foreign purchases of houses, while America, Britain, Singapore, and Hong Kong have gone down the route of imposing extra taxes to achieve the same ends.

I’ve read claims in the past couple of days that such a ban could contravene our free trade agreement with China or discourage foreign investment in New Zealand generally. I find both arguments weak. …

In sum, what the electorate will see is that Labour is proposing solutions to a pressing problem while the Government is sitting on its hands.

In short, I am impressed with the coverage from all three. It means that the only folk peddling the “race card” attacks are the likes of John Banks, Cameron Slater, and Judith Collins. ‘Nuff said I think.

housing-poll-1 As for popularity with the electorate, the poll cited by Armstrong provides good evidence. Also, both The Herald and Stuff ran their (unscientific) online polls yesterday, The Herald’s is to the right.

Stuff’s poll disappeared from view very quickly, but looked very similar to The Herald’s when last I saw it.

Later in the day Stuff ran a second poll on a related topic (below). Between them such polls suggest that we the public are looking for leadership and action on housing. Labour are supplying it. National are not.

housing-poll-2

134 comments on “Reaction to housing policy ”

Comments are now closed

Draco T Bastard 1

31 July 2013 at 9:21 am

Prime Minister John Key tapped into it in 2010, when land sales rules were being revised, by voicing concerns Kiwis may become “tenants in their own land”. …

He may have voiced it but he still went and made sure that NZers would become tenants in our own land by selling off state assets.
stpat 2

31 July 2013 at 9:30 am

Your pic of the Herald poll is fascinating as the Herald manages to place a link to a piece around John Key’s negative reaction to the policy announcement right next to the graphic. It is framed in a way that gives people who simply turn to the PM for their opinion a simple (negative) way to react. Even if this is only on the results page, it is a very poor way for the Herald to operate a poll given the influence this could have (these polls are crap anyway) if people go to the results before voting.
Te Reo Putake 3

31 July 2013 at 9:56 am

Sadly, being on holiday has stopped David Farrar from posting much on this matter (or on the Vance affair) ;), so I guess we’ll never know what the right’s official line on the matter is. My analysis is that most Kiwis like all Labour’s housing proposals and that is really pissing off the Tories. They have no answer, because they are a do nothing Government. Interfering in a positive way for the majority is anathema to them, so they are stuck, as Espiner says, sitting on their hands. With their thumbs slightly further up.

One other upside is that the fantasy 90 days for Shearer to get his act together won’t be mentioned again. He’s the big winner, politically speaking. We, the majority of Kiwis, are the big winner, practically speaking.
- Colonial Viper 3.1
  
  31 July 2013 at 9:59 am
  
  Let’s pause a moment and wait for positive reaction to a Labour Party policy to translate to positive reaction for the Labour Party. Previously No Asset Sales and NZ Power were policies also very popular with the electorate.
  - Sable 3.1.1
    
    31 July 2013 at 10:17 am
    
    Just for once I agree with Viper.
  - Mary 3.1.2
    
    31 July 2013 at 11:25 am
    
    Any positive increase in the polls for Labour’s still well within any margin of error. I can’t help thinking that no Labour policy or set of policies can increase Labour Party support, and the problem is the current leadership and the lack of depth within the party that allows that problem to continue. It’s as if no matter how well dressed up Labour gets or how much makeup it puts on it’s still rotting away from within.
    - Arfamo 3.1.2.1
      
      31 July 2013 at 11:28 am
      
      Well, I said I’d give Shearer another fortnight to pull his finger out so I don’t like to renege on that when he’s still got a week to go.
      - Mary 3.1.2.1.1
        
        31 July 2013 at 12:11 pm
        
        I share your pessimism but the fact there’s nobody to replace him may very well mean Shearer stays and Labour limps along indefinitely and until who knows what happens. In the meantime Russel Norman will keep gathering momentum as the strongest opposition voice for the Left and, again, Labour keeps hemorrhaging away. Doesn’t look good, but that’s what happens when a party sells its core values. The litmus test is how Key’s behaviour should have been enough for demands for an election. The only hope we have is that Key misjudges things and steps over the line enough to displace the disdain or at least diffidence towards Labour and all Labour hasn’t got to offer.
- Bob 3.2
  
  31 July 2013 at 12:06 pm
  
  On this site I would be seen as Right Wing (on others Left Wing, go figure), I agree with the policy but don’t know how much of a change it will have on Labours numbers, as NZ First and the Greens have both had this policy for months, and both have come out swinging at Shearer saying exactly that. As for whether this will save Shearer as Leader, this is one small step, but IMO he will require another couple of big vote winning announcements in the next month or so if he is going to lift in the polls.
Tamati 4

31 July 2013 at 10:13 am

Given the NZ Herald polls usually have around 104% support for John Key, Labour are clearly on the right side of public opinion on this one!
- Sable 4.1
  
  31 July 2013 at 10:19 am
  
  Hmmm I think you are being a tad optimistic Tamati. Still lets hope you are right.
Sable 5

31 July 2013 at 10:15 am

Sorry but anything from Stuff in particular has to be taken with a grain of salt. The Herald are not a hell of a lot better. Moreover, if I’m not mistaken its not asking people which political party they think is doing a good job on the housing issue just how this might influence their decision to vote.

I would love to see Keys and co gone but not sure this really represents anything substantive.
- Bob 5.1
  
  31 July 2013 at 12:07 pm
  
  Key
  - Mary 5.1.1
    
    31 July 2013 at 4:55 pm
    
    No, it’s Keys. 😉
- Mary 5.2
  
  31 July 2013 at 5:00 pm
  
  The most substantive thing that’d come out of Keys going would be to see his liar’s face like we’ve never seen it before.
Bearded Git 6

31 July 2013 at 10:22 am

Banks, Collins, Slater pathetic with their racist lies, but don’t forget Key’s initial reaction (from Korea) was also that the policy was racist. He’s equally pathetic-but then we knew this.
- vto 6.1
  
  31 July 2013 at 10:47 am
  
  Yes it will affect the “white” race more than any other race i.e. the yanks, poms, yarpies, huns and frogs. Is that what they mean by racist do you think?
  - marty mars 6.1.1
    
    31 July 2013 at 3:25 pm
    
    lol you do know about the many ‘people of colour’ contained within those descriptors I suppose. So you need to not put the ‘for instance’ because that doesn’t actually help your argument – it makes it look a bit silly really.
Bill 7

31 July 2013 at 11:13 am

And so a Kiwi living in Monaco these past 20 years can speculate on housing in NZ to their heart’s content. Meanwhile, Chinese parents looking to buy a house in NZ for their kid to live in while university studies are undertaken (just as wealthy parents of Kiwi kids do), and who are not speculating in any way, can’t buy jack-shit.
- Arfamo 7.1
  
  31 July 2013 at 11:19 am
  
  Well, yes, because they’re Kiwis, but they’ll be paying capital gains tax on their speculations.
  The Chinese parents will probably be ok with renting a house for their kid to live in while university studies are undertaken. They’ll know Kiwis can’t buy houses there in the same situation.
  - Bill 7.1.1
    
    31 July 2013 at 11:42 am
    
    Firstly, I’d assume that CGT would have fallen on anyone selling a house, regardless of their national status.
    
    Secondly, why would parents of foreign kids (Swiss, German, Canadian etc) view the financial environment of flatting involved with 5 years worth of study any differently to kiwi parents?
    
    And a CGT will only result in a blip in property prices during its introduction. Once it’s the norm, ‘the game’ will continue as before with CGT effortlessly factored in.
    - Bob 7.1.1.1
      
      31 July 2013 at 12:10 pm
      
      Exactly as has happened in every other OECD country that has a CGT.
      Just look at Aus, it’s not as if a CGT has been a magic bullet over there.
      - ScottGN 7.1.1.1.1
        
        31 July 2013 at 3:57 pm
        
        The fact that a CGT might not lower house prices over the longer term is hardly a good reason for NOT introducing a CGT though if what you are interested in is a fairer tax system that encourages the productive sector.
- weka 7.2
  
  31 July 2013 at 11:20 am
  
  What is unfair about the second situation?
  - Bill 7.2.1
    
    31 July 2013 at 11:35 am
    
    You don’t see the discrimination? Two kids at the same uni. Both with wealthy parents who, to save some money on uni related costs, figure on buying a house/flat for their kid to live in and flicking it after 4 or 5 years. Neither have a particular eye on the speculative side of things, but rather, simply reckon that paying a mortgage for 4 or 5 years and recouping those payments via the eventual sale is a cheaper option than paying 5 years worth of non-recoverable rent.
    
    The parents of the Kiwi kid can do this. The parents of the Chinese/German/US kid can’t.
    
    Also, I’d be interested in a breakdown of foreign house purchases to see how many of those purchases are in line with the above scenario as opposed to foreigners building up portfolios. Seems to me, they’ve been lumpeed together as ‘foreigners buying houses’ as though every foreign buyer is a speculator building a portfolio.
    
    The policy (as I understand it) claims to hit speculators but, at best, hits only a small proportion of them while leaving the vast majority to carry on as usual. And by having a blanket ban on foreigners purchasing houses, may well be hitting a goodly number of people who are not speculators.
    - richard 7.2.1.1
      
      31 July 2013 at 11:39 am
      
      The idea of foreigners not being allowed to buy propertty in New Zealand sounds particularly fair and reasonable to me.
      - Bill 7.2.1.1.1
        
        31 July 2013 at 11:44 am
        
        And does that swing both ways insofar as you’d be theoretically in favour of the NZ government banning NZers from buying properties overseas?
        
        richard 7.2.1.1.1.1
        
        31 July 2013 at 11:52 am
        
        Read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_dilemma
        
        Bill …
        
        31 July 2013 at 11:57 am
        
        No. I’m asking if you agree that the very same restrictions being placed on non-residents should be placed on Kiwis when they are in the position of being non-residents. That’s a straight ‘like for like’ comparison – not a dilemma. Y’know – goose and gander and what not.
        
        Arfamo …
        
        31 July 2013 at 12:07 pm
        
        Yeah, I suppose that’s a genuine enough issue. I don’t think they should be subject to restrictions because they’re NZ citizens. But if you think it’s a good idea I reckon go for it and strongly advocate for it to be included in the housing policy of whatever political party you support.
        
        Te Reo Putake …
        
        31 July 2013 at 12:18 pm
        
        Bill, as I undersatnd it, Kiwis living overseas will not be affected by this policy. So, isn’t your question a bit of a strawman argument?
        
        Bill …
        
        31 July 2013 at 12:35 pm
        
        Kiwi’s living overseas who have no intention of ever returning here but who retain their NZ citizenship can build up extensive property portfolios in NZ. They won’t be affected. But what makes them substantially different from the overseas person (ie, non-resident) building a portfolio here who doesn’t have NZ citizenship? I can’t see any.
        
        Meanwhile, my comment above (which you seem to have misunderstood) was a purely theoretical reference in the interests of eeking out some consistency – that would imagine NZ ers, who live here in NZ, being banned from investing in properties in other countries.
        
        weka …
        
        31 July 2013 at 12:40 pm
        
        “that would imagine NZ ers, who live here in NZ, being banned from investing in properties in other countries.”
        
        How does that serve NZ’s interests?
        
        Colonial Viper …
        
        31 July 2013 at 12:43 pm
        
        That means those NZers will not be exporting investment capital offshore. No problem there.
        
        weka …
        
        31 July 2013 at 12:55 pm
        
        What if they want to buy property overseas for philanthropic reasons? Just wanting to see how far the controls on indiviudal freedoms go. And how much is ideology compared to how much is real world usefulness.
        
        hmm, we should probably stop NZers from emmigrating too and taking their money with them.
        
        Bill …
        
        31 July 2013 at 1:09 pm
        
        What if they want to buy property overseas for philanthropic reasons?
        
        What if a German wants to buy property in NZ for philanthropic reasons?
        
        Bill …
        
        31 July 2013 at 1:13 pm
        
        How does that serve NZ’s interests?
        
        What exactly are ‘NZ’ interests? And how do they generally accord with the interests of people living on these islands? I suspect the two do not overlap or intersect as a matter of course.
        
        Te Reo Putake …
        
        31 July 2013 at 1:18 pm
        
        What makes them substantially different? They’re Kiwis.
        
        I didn’t misunderstand your question, Bill, and you’ve confirmed it was rhetorical. But it’s still irrelevent to the policy Labour has put up. It’s our country, we get to decide. I’d like the next Parliament to go further and limit foreign ownership of the means of production, natural wealth and the like. I want our economic and political independance back.
        
        Bill …
        
        31 July 2013 at 1:43 pm
        
        Aye well, we agree that economic and political independence is a good thing…maybe I’d suggest economic and political autonomy as a better phrase. I guess we just differ insofar as I can’t – not for the world of me – see how having a nation state, a market economy and a ‘representative’ parliamentary system of governance achieves that for us.
        
        But anyway…
        
        weka …
        
        31 July 2013 at 1:59 pm
        
        “What if a German wants to buy property in NZ for philanthropic reasons?”
        
        This is getting a bit silly…
        
        NZ legislates against non-NZ ownership, for the good of NZ
        
        If other countries want to legislate to prevent NZers from buying property there, that is entirely up to them (sovereignty). They may choose to or not according to how THEY wasn’t run their own affairs.
        
        You ask why NZ shouldn’t also legislate to prevent NZers from buying property overseas. Why should NZ do that?
        
        “What exactly are ‘NZ’ interests? And how do they generally accord with the interests of people living on these islands? I suspect the two do not overlap or intersect as a matter of course.”
        
        NZ interests are the people of NZ and the land they live on. Am really surprised that needs to be explained in a conversation like this. I have no idea what you mean by NZ being something different than the people living here.
        
        Mike S …
        
        31 July 2013 at 4:05 pm
        
        What makes them substantially different is that they are not NZ citizens. They would have to come and live here to become citizens.
        
        And in regards to an earlier post of yours, I doubt there are many NZ parents living in NZ, regardless of their wealth, who would buy their child a house. The number would be miniscule if any at all. But if wealthy Chinese parents wanted to buy a house for their child who is studying here they could, by giving the child the money to buy it. They would have to sell it when their study is finished though, unless they decide to take up residence.
        
        There is a reason it’s called the residential housing market, because it is supposed to be for residents.
        
        Colonial Viper …
        
        31 July 2013 at 4:11 pm
        
        And in regards to an earlier post of yours, I doubt there are many NZ parents living in NZ, regardless of their wealth, who would buy their child a house. The number would be miniscule if any at all.
        
        Parents providing the deposit, or their own home as security to the bank, is fairly common.
        
        richard …
        
        31 July 2013 at 12:22 pm
        
        It is actually the perogative of each government to decide who buys land in its country. Several countries have restrictions on the ability of foreigners (even New Zealanders) to buy land there. So I can’t really see the point of your argument.
        
        Draco T Bastard …
        
        31 July 2013 at 1:31 pm
        
        I fully expect other countries to do as they wish. Some of them already have such restrictions on buying houses so I really don’t see what you’re problem is.
        
        Bill …
        
        31 July 2013 at 1:57 pm
        
        How’s about the simple fact that it does not in any meaningful way address the problem of shit housing, extortionate rents and the general unaffordability of housing? Throw in Kiwi Build and CGT and in my opinion, the problem still isn’t being addressed.
        
        If the problem is seen to lie in the fact of property speculation then the solution is to kill off the profitibility of speculation – not offer up some half arsed bullshit that ‘takes out’ a tiny proportion of speculators while locking in discrimination against people who aren’t necessarily speculators.
        
        Mike S …
        
        31 July 2013 at 4:07 pm
        
        There is no one silver bullet for the problem, but that is no reason not to do things that might help in making small differences. It is part of a much broader policy initiative on housing which taken all together may help solve the problem.
    - BM 7.2.1.2
      
      31 July 2013 at 11:47 am
      
      A lot is to do with racism.
      
      People see an Asian buying a house at an auction and automatically assume it’s a foreigner buying “their” house.
      
      Doesn’t matter if the chaps a kiwi or not, he looks like a foreigner therefore “it’s another bloody foreigner buying our house.”
      
      People are dumb and easily led, media aren’t helping either
      - One Anonymous Knucklehead 7.2.1.2.1
        
        31 July 2013 at 11:57 am
        
        🙄
      - Bill 7.2.1.2.2
        
        31 July 2013 at 12:08 pm
        
        The policy has effects that are obviously discriminatory. Whether the driving principle is conciously xenophobic is, to me, a moot point. The results are.
        
        Way it seems to me is that the mess results from people’s hang-up with private ownership – as though that’s the be all and end all. Fact of the matter is that 100% ownership with 0% control = 5/8 of nothing. On the other hand, 0% ownership with 100% control = Game, Set and Match.
        
        Did I mention jingo-ism? No. And I won’t. Suffice to say that I broadly agree with your conclusion (if not necessarily your reasoning) which, given that we are from opposite ends of the left/right spectrum might say a lot about the pickle in the middle.
        
        weka 7.2.1.2.2.1
        
        31 July 2013 at 12:27 pm
        
        “Way it seems to me is that the mess results from people’s hang-up with private ownership – as though that’s the be all and end all.”
        
        Not really. I don’t see people in this discussion for instance saying that the Labour policy is stand alone and nothing else should be done. I also don’t see people saying that private ownsership is the be all and end all. Who were you meaning excactly?
        
        “Fact of the matter is that 100% ownership with 0% control = 5/8 of nothing. On the other hand, 0% ownership with 100% control = Game, Set and Match.”
        
        But it’s not as black and white as that is it. People who own property don’t have zero control.
        
        Mike S 7.2.1.2.2.2
        
        31 July 2013 at 4:12 pm
        
        0% ownership with 100% control???
        
        That sounds a lot like ownership to me. What’s the difference between 100% ownership and 100% control?
      - tricledrown 7.2.1.2.3
        
        31 July 2013 at 3:27 pm
        
        BM you are an insidious race baiter by implying and lying like your leader!
        the English and Australians and European aren’t mentioned in any of your lies your trying to shift the blame !
        yet the English make up the largest individual non resident property speculators i’m surprised you haven’t called us pom bashers at least that would be fair but implying an untruth make you the RACIST!
      - Mike S 7.2.1.2.4
        
        31 July 2013 at 4:09 pm
        
        Got any proof that that is what people assume? Or is that just what you assume, so you assume everyone else does?
        
        Yes people are dumb and easily led.
    - weka 7.2.1.3
      
      31 July 2013 at 11:57 am
      
      “You don’t see the discrimination?”
      
      If you want to call NZ having laws about non-citizens/residents to protect the interests of NZers discrimination then sure, it’s discriminating, but not in a bad way. I have no problem with treating NZers different from non-NZers within NZ when there is a clear case of public or national good. eg we don’t offer welfare or health services to non-NZers. How is that any different?
      
      Parents from the UK or China or wherever that can afford to send their kids to uni here, and can afford to buy them a house while they study, can probably afford to outcompete in the local property market. This is anecdotal, but it’s a fairly common story to hear of people upping prices because the exchange rate enables them to do so.
      
      I’m not sure where are you going with this line of argument. The one about NZers speculating is well made, but are you also suggesting that non NZers should be given a level playing field? Why? And should that be extended across the board, not just with property. Why have any immigration laws for instance?
      - Bill 7.2.1.3.1
        
        31 July 2013 at 12:24 pm
        
        Can’t quite see where the ‘clear social or national good’ is in excluding a very small number of speculators while leaving the vast majority unaffected. What’s going to be achieved in practical terms? At best (and if your anecdote is accurate) domeciled speculators will contnue to drive house prices up and only maybe possibly at a slower rate.
        
        As for the rest of it, well you know that I disagree with ordering our affairs and social relations according to market principles. (Seems the liberal left paints itself into a corner on issues like this one because it wants to make those relations work somehow)
        
        Borders? Immigration and health care? Level playing fields? Abolish the first and second, make the third available and develop/protect the fourth. And that all requires the abolition of ‘the market’…but that’s a discussion for another thread.
        
        weka 7.2.1.3.1.1
        
        31 July 2013 at 12:33 pm
        
        “Abolish the first and second,”
        
        Ah, ok. That’s the end of the conversation for most people then I suspect. I believe in sovereignty and you can’t have that with open borders. The idea of a global village sucks majorly IMO.
        
        “At best (and if your anecdote is accurate) domeciled speculators will contnue to drive house prices up and only maybe possibly at a slower rate.”
        
        I think it’s already been pointed out that many on the left want controls on domestic speculation too. You can keep running your argument in isolation, but I don’t think it works.
        
        “As for the rest of it, well you know that I disagree with ordering our affairs and social relations according to market principles. (Seems the liberal left paints itself into a corner on issues like this one because it wants to make those relations work somehow)”
        
        For me it’s more about the pragmatics of how to get from where we are now to somewhere good. Even if I agreed with your vision of how we should organise, I don’t see a coherent analysis of how that could be achieved.
        
        Bill …
        
        31 July 2013 at 1:05 pm
        
        Yes, the concept of the ‘global village’ sucks. That’s not what I’m suggesting or anything I’ve ever suggested. Meanwhile, your concept of sovereignty is different to mine. To me it is meaningless without the right to excercise meaningful agency. NZers and others living within modern nation states have the word sovereignty, but no meaningful actual sovereignty.
        
        But back to the issue under discussion. The social democratic or liberal left talk of equality and so on. Yet in this instance (I’d argue due to a lack of follow through on political thought processes or, more cruelly, a lack of political integrity) many wind up being supportive of policy that promotes inequality and discrimination. And then they try to rescue a modicum of coherence by glossing over the contradictions made evident by their stance.
        
        It was the same with the Crafar Farms. Some very ugly xenophobia and ludicrous denial was on display in that instance alongside tacit approval and support for one of the most venal capitalists NZ has produced.
        
        And there as here, the difficulty seems to arise (at least in part) from being tied to capitalist and Marxist concepts of property and ownership that would have us believe those things to embody at least the basis for some inherent and immutable power. They don’t.
        
        weka …
        
        31 July 2013 at 2:25 pm
        
        “Meanwhile, your concept of sovereignty is different to mine.”
        
        True. I don’t need a nation state to sanction my existence or right to exist. True agency would be a wonderful thing, and it’s what we’re all fighting for, but I do in fact have meaning as a person and as a NZer despite relative absences of agency. And my agency is not non-existent, it’s just curtailed.
        
        Nevetheless, my point still stands. Open borders are inherently exclusive of sovereignty. If you believe that anyone can live anywhere and have access to the same things as anyone else, then that’s your argument against Labour’s policy. But hardly anyone else here from what I can tell agrees that having a nation state, or whatever, is xenophobic.
        
        You’re also arguing with the wrong person. If I had my way, there’d be no such thing as industrial dairy so fuck the Crafars, the Chinese buyers, and the NZ government. Futher, there are arguments to be made about x country being more acceptable than y country depending on context. eg It’s pretty easy to argue buying herbs from the US instead of China because the US has higher safety standards and Chinese herbs are known to often be contaminated. That’s not racist or xenophobic. The problem with the Crafar farms debate was that (a) we live in a country that practices racism against Chinese (both NZ Chinese and non-NZ Chinese), and (b) the left seems incapable of the teasing out the subtleties of the debate because it is afraid of being accused of being racist.
        
        When you talk about the liberal left, of which I include myself partially, and many of the people I know, and you make blanket assertions about them as you have done in this discussion, I think you lose the track of your points, because the liberal left is not one amorphous thing. Naturally enough, those of us who identify with the liberal left will defend themselves against your accusations where they are not true, and so your point gets lost.
        
        Thus
        
        But back to the issue under discussion. The social democratic or liberal left talk of equality and so on. Yet in this instance (I’d argue due to a lack of follow through on political thought processes or, more cruelly, a lack of political integrity) many wind up being supportive of policy that promotes inequality and discrimination. And then they try to rescue a modicum of coherence by glossing over the contradictions made evident by their stance.
        
        Who exactly are you talking about there? And perhaps you could be explicit about what inequality and discrimination you mean, because the discrimination you’ve pointed to today has been against non-NZers. Is that who you mean? If it is, then why not just say that any laws that apply to non-NZers but not NZers is discriminatory and then we’d all know where we stand?
        
        What’s really interesting me in the discussion about Labour’s policy in the past few days is the amount of ideology that’s arisen. I still haven’t had a straight anwser to my questions from last night about landlords owning multiple properties. I’ve been given lots of abstract theory, and some circular arguments, but I’m still failing to see why it is so hard to explain in lay terms. It’s probably a good thing, because NZ still hasn’t gotten to terms with colonisation, and any discussion about land ownership eventually has to happen in that context too.
        
        Off to town now 🙂
        
        Bill …
        
        31 July 2013 at 2:45 pm
        
        Off to town meself. But your last point….on multiple ownership. My view is that i don’t give a toss. But then, as I’ve said a few times, it’s control, not ownership that constitutes the basis of power.
        
        Mike S …
        
        31 July 2013 at 4:17 pm
        
        Private property ownership was not brought about by capitalism or marxism or any other ism. It has been enshrined in common law for centuries, since the signing of the magna carta. Private property rights are a fundamental aspect of our law of the land.
    - wtl 7.2.1.4
      
      31 July 2013 at 12:09 pm
      
      Do you realise that the Kiwi kid will be paying domestic fees whereas the non-Kiwi kid will be paying international fees?
      
      Would you also say that this is discrimination as well?
    - Draco T Bastard 7.2.1.5
      
      31 July 2013 at 1:29 pm
      
      You don’t see the discrimination?
      
      The parents of the Kiwi kid can do this. The parents of the Chinese/German/US kid can’t.
      
      So?
      - Bill 7.2.1.5.1
        
        31 July 2013 at 1:47 pm
        
        So you’re happy with discrimination. And the next time discrimination targets the poor or who-ever else you’re response, in the interests of consistency will be ‘So?’.
        
        weka 7.2.1.5.1.1
        
        31 July 2013 at 2:30 pm
        
        Bill, I think this conversation would be much clearer if you stated your view that nation states are inherently discriminatory/racist/xenophobic when they priortise their own affairs (or how it is that you see it).
        
        I don’t think all discrimination is bad, when you think about what the term discriminate can mean.
        
        Bill …
        
        31 July 2013 at 4:03 pm
        
        Yeah, but that’s not my view. Within a market context, protectionism definately has its place and a positive role to play. The opposite is the rush to the bottom in terms of wages and conditions as companies relocate off shore. Other government initiated interventions in the economy have their place too – whether that be union or workplace rights, health and safety regulations and so forth and so on.
        
        Are nation states inherently racist or xenophobic institutions? Well, given the colonial past of some of them, I guess that argument could be made for those states. And given the patriarchial underpinnings of modern states, then sure, discrimination may well be an inherent feature.
        
        But that’s all so many red herrings in the context of this thread.
        
        When discrimination becomes evident, that fact is either recognised and acknowledged (and maybe something done about it) or not. I have no doubt you are fully aware that discrimination in this instance is fully based on the negative connotations of the word as usually understood within a socio/political context. Or maybe you think foreigners are going to ‘suffer’ from some form of positive discrimination via this proposed legislation? No – I thought not. So why are only foreigners targetted as speculators and it taken as read that any foreign buyer is, de facto, speculating – while kiwis abroad or residents are untouched by this legislation…this legislation that claims to tackle the problem of speculation in the property market?
        
        It obviously, in practical terms, does sweet fuck all. Oh, it ‘feels good’ (note the pap content of the articles linked and mentioned in the post – no actual analysis). It offers a rationale and a vague hope for the ‘downtrodden property seeking kiwi’ to run with (Fcking foreigners…thems the problem. Ban them. Problem solved – partially at least – apparently). But in reality, it is going to do nothing – nothing at all – in terms of dealing with the fucking problem it purports to address.
        
        edit – off to town this time on the understanding the fcking bus actually stops this time around
        
        Colonial Viper …
        
        31 July 2013 at 6:12 pm
        
        Why would upper middle class voters with investment flats want the “problem” of increasing property asset prices effectively addressed?
        
        Draco T Bastard …
        
        31 July 2013 at 10:36 pm
        
        You missing the fact that Labour and other parties of the left have a CGT as policy which is the policy for curbing speculation.
        
        Banning foreigners from buying houses is policy to reduce demand.
        
        Draco T Bastard 7.2.1.5.1.2
        
        31 July 2013 at 10:32 pm
        
        So you’re happy with discrimination.
        
        There’s no discrimination in Labour’s housing policy.
        
        And the next time discrimination targets the poor or who-ever else you’re response, in the interests of consistency will be ‘So?’.
        
        When I see discrimination I call it as it is.
        
        TheContrarian …
        
        31 July 2013 at 10:35 pm
        
        Apart from when people think differently to Draco.
        
        Then it’s game on.
        
        Draco T Bastard …
        
        31 July 2013 at 10:39 pm
        
        You’re trolling – again.
        
        TheContrarian …
        
        31 July 2013 at 11:06 pm
        
        No, I’m not
- Murray Olsen 7.3
  
  31 July 2013 at 8:46 pm
  
  Sorry Bill, but I’m far more concerned for kids who have to sign up to a lifetime of debt to get a tertiary education. People who can afford to buy a house while their kids are members of ACT on Campus and then flick it on for capital gains don’t really budge my sympathy meter.
BM 8

31 July 2013 at 11:14 am

I’d be interested to know what part of the country the people who agree with the banning Asians/foreigners from owning NZ houses come from
North or South Island.

From my experience and from what I read and heard I’d say the majority would be from the South Island as they tend to prefer their “kiwis’ to be of a lighter shade and rather more insular than their North Island brothers and sisters.
- vto 8.1
  
  31 July 2013 at 11:19 am
  
  That has to be one of your most bullshit comments ever BM.
  
  Firstly, it is not banning Asians, it is banning everybody except Australians. Why on earth would you claim that it is only banning Asians?
  
  Secondly, it is my experience that racism is a lot keener in the North Island – on all sides.
  - BM 8.1.1
    
    31 July 2013 at 11:29 am
    
    Really?, high praise indeed!
    
    I disagree about the South islanders not been a bit wary of other cultures and non Caucasians.
    Hardly surprising though, it’s a fairly mono cultural sort of place, not that there’s anything wrong with that.
    Good traditional kiwi way of life seems to be the order of the day down south.
    - vto 8.1.1.1
      
      31 July 2013 at 11:41 am
      
      Well yes it is along those lines for sure, but they seem to be more tolerant and open once you get past their reticence.
    - tricledrown 8.1.1.2
      
      31 July 2013 at 3:19 pm
      
      Blind Mysogynist we south Islanders have had chinese living in our community for over a 150 years and now with tourism and education we are only to happy to please our Asian immigrant students tourists as they bring a lot of money they are very courteous by and large they prefer the south to the north because it is so peaceful down here and we are friendlier!
      It only takes one Jerk off right wing skinhead to spoil our reputation!
    - tricledrown 8.1.1.3
      
      31 July 2013 at 3:36 pm
      
      BM when was the last time you visited the south island probably 20 years ago’ you walk down the main sts of any major city in the south island and you will see more asians including Indians than in the north Island the universities polytechnics and teachers college high schools attract a lot of Asians because the see it as a cheap place to study and rent friendlier and safer than the miserable North Island which is full of Nasty race bait ors like your self!
      - idlegus 8.1.1.3.1
        
        31 July 2013 at 3:48 pm
        
        +1 (from dunedin)
  - weka 8.1.2
    
    31 July 2013 at 11:42 am
    
    I live in the South Island and I hear far more complaints about the English than I do about Asians. The anti-Asian narrative has always seemed more driven by Peters and issues going on in Auckland.
    
    Love your xenophobia in the last paragraphy btw, classic.
    - vto 8.1.2.1
      
      31 July 2013 at 11:46 am
      
      No worries, gotta keep them horrid crass North Islanders at bay….
- srylands 8.2
  
  31 July 2013 at 11:55 am
  
  I’d be interested in how views about the policy correspond to education levels.
  - Arfamo 8.2.1
    
    31 July 2013 at 12:02 pm
    
    People with high IQs seem to be supporting it.
    - richard 8.2.1.1
      
      31 July 2013 at 12:11 pm
      
      Also those with high educations levels seem to be supporting it.
    - Lanthanide 8.2.1.2
      
      31 July 2013 at 12:12 pm
      
      People with high IQs generally support the left.
      - Colonial Viper 8.2.1.2.1
        
        31 July 2013 at 12:29 pm
        
        Damn that reality, it has a clear left wing bias…
      - vto 8.2.1.2.2
        
        31 July 2013 at 12:31 pm
        
        Not from what I see around here
        
        Draco T Bastard 8.2.1.2.2.1
        
        31 July 2013 at 1:46 pm
        
        The research says otherwise.
        
        marty mars …
        
        31 July 2013 at 3:33 pm
        
        vto actually proves the point – he is not a lefty and … well you can work out the other bit yourself.
      - TheContrarian 8.2.1.2.3
        
        31 July 2013 at 2:04 pm
        
        “People with high IQs generally support the left.”
        
        Citation needed.
        
        Lanthanide 8.2.1.2.3.1
        
        31 July 2013 at 3:06 pm
        
        The conclusion: your intelligence as a child correlates strongly with socially liberal views. People with low IQs tend to be more in favour of harsh punishments, more homophobic and more likely to be racist. Interestingly, as these were IQ scores measured when young this does seem to be a measure of something innate, not merely exposure to ‘liberal’ views through education.
        
        The inference is that what we call conservatism is a symptom of limited intellectual ability, signified by fear of the new and of outsiders, a retreat into tradition and tribal loyalty, and an unsophisticated disgust at sexual mores that deviate even slightly from the norm. Put bluntly stupidity correlates with insecurity, hatred, pessimism and fear, intelligence with confidence, optimism and trust.
        
        http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2097652/Does-low-IQ-make-right-wing-That-depends-define-left-right.html
        
        Also http://www.tgdaily.com/general-sciences-features/48586-intelligent-people-more-likely-to-be-left-wing-atheists
        
        Also http://www.livescience.com/18132-intelligence-social-conservatism-racism.html
        
        TheContrarian …
        
        31 July 2013 at 9:39 pm
        
        Thanking you.
        
        not surprising either.
  - tricledrown 8.2.2
    
    31 July 2013 at 3:10 pm
    
    srylands recent studies results shown of brain scans published in scientific american show that right wingers don’t do any deep thinking on issues and put forward poorly thought out poorly reasoned arguments!
    Giving rise to the term redneck reactionaries!
    while left wingers show the opposite trait well thought out and reasoned arguments!
    - srylands 8.2.2.1
      
      31 July 2013 at 3:30 pm
      
      Excellent – lucky I’m not right wing.
- Mike S 8.3
  
  31 July 2013 at 4:27 pm
  
  Why do you say “banning Asians/foreigners” in your post ???
  
  Why not simply say “foreigners” ??
  - Draco T Bastard 8.3.1
    
    31 July 2013 at 10:42 pm
    
    Because BM, like all the RWNJs, wants to make it about race when it isn’t.
Sam 9

31 July 2013 at 11:24 am

So can someone tell me how this will work in practice? Looks like the only way will be for New Zealanders and Australians will need a New Zealand ID card. Will Shearer go for that I wonder.
- weka 9.1
  
  31 July 2013 at 11:47 am
  
  A birth certificate or passport is proof of citzenship. Government departments like WINZ already have citizenship/residency requirements and ways of collecting proof, so it shouldn’t be that hard.
Fair call 10

31 July 2013 at 12:59 pm

[deleted]

[lprent: Already banned and now subject to an extra 8 weeks ]
- richard 10.1
  
  31 July 2013 at 1:24 pm
  
  No need to change your vote FC. Labour has been all about redistributing middle NZ’s wealth since 1984
Vinscreen Viper 11

31 July 2013 at 2:29 pm

While I’m glad to hear almost anything from Shearer this is pretty vacuous. I’m not an American, have never been there and have no idea if I would be allowed to buy a house there to rent out even if I wanted to, but as it happens I have no need to as instead I just buy and own shares in several US REITs:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_estate_investment_trust

REITs of some sort also exist in Australia and many other countries although not (yet) in New Zealand it seems.

But if Labour pushes this one through I’m sure it will only be a matter of time – and not much of that – before we have New Zealand-based Trusts or companies raising money to purchase real estate for rental, and selling shares or units for a cut in the profits to all those nasty foreigners.
- srylands 11.1
  
  31 July 2013 at 3:05 pm
  
  The easiest wat to circumvent it is to use a New Zealand Trust with an Australian comany as the beneficiary of the Trust. Australian registered comapnies are exempt from the policy. So the NZ lawyer advises his Chinese client to set up an Australian company. The lawyer sets up the NZ Trust for the Australian company. NZ authorities have no ability to determine the residency status of shareholders of Australian companies.
  
  Problem solved.
  - tricledrown 11.1.1
    
    31 July 2013 at 3:12 pm
    
    we could get the gscb to spy on them like they spy on us srylands problem solved!
    - srylands 11.1.1.1
      
      31 July 2013 at 3:15 pm
      
      The GCSB can spy on me whenever they like.
      - Colonial Viper 11.1.1.1.1
        
        31 July 2013 at 3:18 pm
        
        Sick exhibitionist bastard. You better tell all your friends and family never to call, text or email you ever again as they will come under suspicion too.
        
        srylands 11.1.1.1.1.1
        
        31 July 2013 at 3:27 pm
        
        Yes caus my phone conversations are so interesting:
        
        “What time will you be home?”
        “About 7”
        
        “Do we need anything from the supermarket?”
        “How about those salmon steaks we had last week?”
        
        “Have you sent out the invites to the Spring garden party?”
        “No you said you were doing it.”
        
        and so on and on
        
        Yep I really fear for my friends getting caught up in that.
        
        weka …
        
        31 July 2013 at 4:36 pm
        
        Nice demonstration of your complete failure to understand why the GCSB and co want to collect meta data (and content).
        
        Colonial Viper …
        
        31 July 2013 at 4:41 pm
        
        Like I said, an exhibitionist who doesn’t care about the privacy of others, even friends and family.
  - vto 11.1.2
    
    31 July 2013 at 3:13 pm
    
    Oh, there you are srylands, I been trying to find you today to see if we can’t finish the very good debate we were having yesterday which went right to the very heart of the labour/capital split and the consequent left/right divide. You left just as it was getting good. Here it is … http://thestandard.org.nz/this-gives-me-heart/#comment-671537 … see you there shortly eh?
    - srylands 11.1.2.1
      
      31 July 2013 at 3:17 pm
      
      I would like to but I have important work to do.
      - vto 11.1.2.1.1
        
        31 July 2013 at 3:26 pm
        
        HA. Pathetic gossie, I mean srylands…..
        
        You are running because you failed and the complete fallacy around your entire philosophical outlook on how a society should work when it comes to income and wealth distribution was exposed.
        
        This of course renders any discussion with you on these issues worthless.
        
        But when you have finished your important work let me know and we can pick it up again http://thestandard.org.nz/this-gives-me-heart/#comment-671537
srylands 12

31 July 2013 at 4:54 pm

So Labour has the chance to get behind increasing land supply in Auckland. The real problem. Do they grab the chance? No of course not. Increasing land supply to bring down the cost of sections – how on earth could that be a solution? idiots.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/8986861/Housing-changes-no-help-for-Auckland
- vto 12.1
  
  31 July 2013 at 5:11 pm
  
  what proportion of an average house and land package of say $500,000 is made up of bare undeveloped land cost?
  - srylands 12.1.1
    
    31 July 2013 at 5:21 pm
    
    In Auckland the land makes up about 60% of the cost of a residential dwelling. mad. In NZ it is about 40%.
    
    Land immediately outside the MUL is only about 20% of the cost of land inside the MUL.
    
    Fixing this is exactly what the Productivity Commision recommended. But what would they know? They only got some of the smartest policy analysts in NZ and asked them to analyse the problems for 6 months.
    
    Of course David Shearer knows better. It is foreigners.
    - vto 12.1.1.1
      
      31 July 2013 at 5:48 pm
      
      It is foreigners. It is land supply. It is GST. It is building code regulation. It is Council taxes. It is building supply cartels. It is scaffold instead of ladders. It is many many things.
      
      As for your land supply issue, that is really quite minor. Follow this (for Chch environs)…
      
      $500,000
      less GST 434,000
      less margin 378,000
      less sales agent 363,000
      less funding 341,000
      less build (150m2 house at 1700) 86,000
      less council 61,000
      less land devpt 36,000
      
      There you go – $36,000 is the max payable for the area of bare land needed for that house.
      
      So even if you manage to free up enough land to bring the bare land down by 50% (which is unrealistic) you are only going to save $18,000 on a $500,000 home i.e.3.6%
      
      Council development contribution increases around the country about three years ago went up by a similar sum.
      
      Government GST increases by Key a couple of years ago put the cost up by $12,000.
      
      This idea that freeing up the land will solve the entire problem is just dreamworld stuff. Wake up you silly egg. It requires multiple solutions.
      - srylands 12.1.1.1.1
        
        31 July 2013 at 6:03 pm
        
        That is complete bollocks. The average section price in Auckland is $325,000 – if it could be reduced by only 10% that is a $32,000 saving on a residential property.
        
        For god’s sake stop making shit up and read the Productvity Commission Report
        
        http://www.productivity.govt.nz/sites/default/files/Final%20Housing%20Affordability%20Report_0_0.pdf
        
        richard 12.1.1.1.1.1
        
        31 July 2013 at 6:09 pm
        
        I wouldn’t give anything from that commission more than a passing glance. And then only to find out what the neo-liberal remnants were thinking. As I’ve said before it is headed by the guy who brought about the conditions for an unmitigated disaster for the NZ kiwifruit industry. So anything he comes up with is immediately suspect.
        
        srylands …
        
        31 July 2013 at 6:11 pm
        
        Oh of course – he censored the inquiry team’s report. Maybe he doctored the analysis – all by himself?
        
        The paranoia here knows no bounds – you decide to ignore the most authoritataive piece of work on housing affordability we have done in NZ in the last decade. Alternative = make shit up. Typical left wing dogma approach to policy making. Pathetic.
        
        richard …
        
        31 July 2013 at 6:28 pm
        
        Who is the inquiry team? Is it made up of the same calibre of analysts who advised Max Bradford that his electricity reforms would result in lower prices? Is it made up of the same calibre of analysts who advised Ruth Richardson on the mimimum amount of food a beneficiary needs to survive?
        
        Colonial Viper …
        
        31 July 2013 at 6:33 pm
        
        Alternative = make shit up. Typical left wing dogma approach to policy making. Pathetic.
        
        You know you are actually describing the Right Wing governmental process, don’t you? It would be funny if you weren’t being so contrived about it.
        
        vto 12.1.1.1.1.2
        
        1 August 2013 at 7:58 am
        
        It is not bollocks actually srylands, it is reality on the ground. Show us which figures are wrong.
        
        You spend too much time sitting in an office and not enough digging foundations, dealing with Council, engaging with suppliers and subbies, nailing, screwing, glueing or lifting.
        
        Do you do any of those things? If not then how the fuck would you know how the figures add up on a $500,000 land and house package.
        
        (Oh, and by the way, Auckland is not the be all and end all, it is only 25% of the people. Get it? Three quarters of NZ lives elsewhere.)
        
        So come on srylands, stump up, give us some figures. Some real ones. Some examples. Some where you have dug the ground, poured the concrete, and written the cheques.
        
        And if you fuck off from this conversation like you did the last one then I will pursue to the ends of the Standard………. sag …..
        
        lprent …
        
        1 August 2013 at 9:04 am
        
        More like a third. ~1.4 million out of ~4.4 million – just type in “population of x” into Google
        
        But the real issue with Auckland has been the persistent under funding of basic infrastructure within the city over the last 30-40 years to keep up with the growth. National’s routine interference and long-term ‘policy’ to only put in motorways to the land banks on the edges has resulted in s city that is increasingly difficult to work in, maintain, and upgrade.
        
        The politics around Auckland is increasingly reflecting that.
        
        Colonial Viper …
        
        1 August 2013 at 9:07 am
        
        Over 30% of the population on approx 0.22% of the country’s land. This is never going to work particularly well for huge numbers of people.
        
        vto …
        
        1 August 2013 at 9:09 am
        
        Sure lprent, those are surrounding issues tangential to the basic housing affordability issue. Those numbers put up for a $500k house and land package are roughly very accurate. I challenge anybody to challenge them.
        
        That is why the land supply will only have a minor effect….
        
        …. but you see, 3% from increased land supply (or increased densities in Ak), 3% from banning foreigners, 4% from dumping Council taxes, 5% from attacking cartels, etc…. and suddenly the $500k home is $400-450k.
        
        A bit here and a bit there.
    - tricledrown 12.1.1.2
      
      31 July 2013 at 6:57 pm
      
      srylands your are obviously lying and shallow thinking. David Shearer’s quote “this is not the complete answer its just a small part of it”, and gauging the publics response nactional are running scared and are sending their Mignons out to spread cynicism thats you right wing shallow thinking srylands reneck!
    - lprent 12.1.1.3
      
      31 July 2013 at 7:18 pm
      
      You haven’t quite captured the point really. Land prices near where the work is are many times what the land is worth on the urban limits. I guess people aren’t willing as willing to pay much for spend 2-3 hours per day driving. Using your silly analogy we should be growing higher on the more expensive land closer to where people want to buy property. Because then the land price per unit is less.
      
      Basically your argument is as moronic and spurious as you are. Sub-talkback wanking of silly catch phrases.
      
      Don’t you ever bother to use your brain or attempt to learn how to use google? For instance the makeup of the carefully selected “productivity” commission? How given the group that the government selected, that they’d like to help land-bankers as much as possible? Hardly a independent and about as believable at research as you are…
    - Draco T Bastard 12.1.1.4
      
      31 July 2013 at 10:46 pm
      
      They only got some of the smartest policy analysts in NZ and asked them to analyse the problems for 6 months.
      
      If they’re recommending opening up more land for urban development then they’ve actually got the most stupid. All the research shows that more land cut up for urbanism is far more expensive due to loss of productivity, increased costs of supplying services and increased costs for travel for the people who end having to live in them.
      
      It is foreigners.
      
      Foreigners have an impact on house prices due to increasing demand and their ability to pay more.
Blue 13

31 July 2013 at 5:21 pm

In Auckland, I’d say most of it.
srylands 14

31 July 2013 at 6:05 pm

“Land now accounts for around 60% and 40% of the cost of a new dwelling in Auckland and the
rest of New Zealand respectively. As a result, appreciating land prices have been a key driver of house price inflation in New Zealand over recent years.”

Productivity Commission, 2012
- tricledrown 14.1
  
  31 July 2013 at 7:08 pm
  
  Srylands Sections can have more than one dwelling mixed multi story high quality well designed like in Melbourne!
  Meaning that your telling a lie just like your leader!
  say that section had a mixed multi story apartments built on it with six separate dwellings the land cost would be $55,000 per unit 15% of dwelling cost!
  shallow short sighted redneck reactionary right wing thinking have a brain scan it will help recognise your Mignon status!
  - srylands 14.1.1
    
    31 July 2013 at 8:36 pm
    
    Yes but most don’t = read the research and stop making shit up. Bloody left wing ignorant making shit up fucktards. No wonder I gave up on the Labour Party.
    
    When you have read the Productivity Commission Report come back, otherwise shut the fuck up.
    - Colonial Viper 14.1.1.1
      
      31 July 2013 at 8:40 pm
      
      Productivity Commission Report. What a goal-seeked joke.
      
      No wonder I gave up on the Labour Party.
      
      Yeah things improved after Douglas, Caygill and Prebble’s lot left.
- Draco T Bastard 14.2
  
  31 July 2013 at 10:55 pm
  
  You really want to drop the price of land per dwelling by 10% or more? Well, build more dwellings on each section. Build two on a section, the price of land per dwelling goes down by 50%. Get rid of the useless car parks that each dwelling has to have and the price drops even further.
  
  That Productivity Commission, 2012 reads like a land-bankers wet dream. It makes them money but does absolutely nothing for the city or the people. But, of course, they don’t actually care about the people.

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One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 ‘redesign of the welfare state’ – which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty – various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being ‘Working for Families’, introduced in 2005. ...
PunditBy Brian Easton
7 hours ago

A who’s who of New Zealand’s dodgiest companies
Submissions on National's corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law are due today (have you submitted?), and just hours before they close, Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop has been forced to release the list of companies he invited to apply. I've spent the last hour going through it in an epic thread of bleats, ...
No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
9 hours ago

On Lee’s watch, Economic Development seems to be stuck on scoring points from promoting sporting e...
Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
10 hours ago

New Zealand has never been closed for business
1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
11 hours ago

Stop the panic – we’ve been here before
Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
13 hours ago

Melissa Lee and the media: ending the quest
Chris Trotter writes – MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
15 hours ago

The Hoon around the week to April 19
TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
15 hours ago

The ‘Humpty Dumpty’ end result of dismantling our environmental protections
Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
16 hours ago

Nicola's Salad Days.
I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
16 hours ago

Study sees climate change baking in 19% lower global income by 2050
TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
17 hours ago

Weekly Roundup 19-April-2024
It’s Friday again. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week on Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt covered at the government looking into a long tunnel for Wellington. On Wednesday we ran a post from Oscar Simms on some lessons from Texas. AT’s ...
Greater AucklandBy Matt L
18 hours ago

Jack Vowles: Stop the panic – we’ve been here before
New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’. The data is from February this ...
Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
19 hours ago

Clearing up confusion (or trying to)
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
PolitikBy Richard Harman
21 hours ago

How to Retrieve Deleted Call Log iPhone Without Computer
How to Retrieve Deleted Call Log on iPhone Without a Computer: A Step–by–Step Guide Losing your iPhone call history can be frustrating, especially when you need to find a specific number or recall an important conversation. But before you panic, know that there are ways to retrieve deleted call logs on your iPhone, even without a computer. This guide will explore various methods, ranging from simple checks to utilizing iCloud backups and third–party applications. So, let‘s dive in and recover those lost calls! 1. Check Recently Deleted Folder: Apple understands that accidental deletions happen. That‘s why they introduced the “Recently Deleted“ folder for various apps, including the Phone app. This folder acts as a safety net, storing deleted call logs for up to 30 days before permanently erasing them. Here‘s how to check it: Open the Phone app on your iPhone. Tap on the “Recents“ tab at the bottom. Scroll to the top and tap on “Edit“. Select “Show Recently Deleted“. Browse the list to find the call logs you want to recover. Tap on the desired call log and choose “Recover“ to restore it to your call history. 2. Restore from iCloud Backup: If you regularly back up your iPhone to iCloud, you might be able to retrieve your deleted call log from a previous backup. However, keep in mind that this process will restore your entire phone to the state it was in at the time of the backup, potentially erasing any data added since then. Here‘s how to restore from an iCloud backup: Go to Settings > General > Reset. Choose “Erase All Content and Settings“. Follow the on–screen instructions. Your iPhone will restart and show the initial setup screen. Choose “Restore from iCloud Backup“ during the setup process. Select the relevant backup that contains your deleted call log. Wait for the restoration process to complete. 3. Explore Third–Party Apps (with Caution): ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
22 hours ago

How to Factory Reset iPhone without Computer: A Comprehensive Guide to Restoring your Device
Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

How to Call Someone on a Computer: A Guide to Voice and Video Communication in the Digital Age
Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

Skeptical Science New Research for Week #16 2024
Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications: Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
Skeptical Science
1 day ago

Where on a Computer is the Operating System Generally Stored? Delving into the Digital Home of your ...
The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

How Many Watts Does a Laptop Use? Understanding Power Consumption and Efficiency
Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

How to Screen Record on a Dell Laptop A Guide to Capturing Your Screen with Ease
Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

How Much Does it Cost to Fix a Laptop Screen? Navigating Repair Options and Costs
A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

How Long Do Gaming Laptops Last? Demystifying Lifespan and Maximizing Longevity
Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

Climate Change: Turning the tide
The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
1 day ago

How to Unlock Your Computer A Comprehensive Guide to Regaining Access
Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

Faxing from Your Computer A Modern Guide to Sending Documents Digitally
While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

Protecting Your Home Computer A Guide to Cyber Awareness
In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

Server-Based Computing Powering the Modern Digital Landscape
In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
Gareth’s WorldBy admin
1 day ago

Vroom vroom go the big red trucks
The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
1 day ago

Jones finds $410,000 to help the government muscle in on a spat project
Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
1 day ago

Again, hate crimes are not necessarily terrorism.
Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
2 days ago

Despair – construction consenting edition
Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
2 days ago

Coalition promises – will the Govt keep the commitment to keep Kiwis equal before the law?
Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
2 days ago

An impermanent public service is a guarantee of very little else but failure
Chris Trotter writes – The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
2 days ago

What happens after the war – Mariupol
Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
Open ParachuteBy Ken
2 days ago

Babies and benefits – no good news
Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three. ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
2 days ago

Should the RBNZ be looking through climate inflation?
Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
2 days ago

Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links
The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours, as of 9:16 am on Thursday, April 18 are:Housing: Tauranga residents living in boats, vans RNZ Checkpoint Louise TernouthHousing: Waikato councillor says wastewater plant issues could hold up Sleepyhead building a massive company town Waikato Times Stephen ...
The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
2 days ago

Gordon Campbell on the public sector carnage, and misogyny as terrorism
It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
2 days ago

Meeting the Master Baiters
Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
David FarrierBy David Farrier
2 days ago

How extreme was the Earth's temperature in 2023
This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blog In 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
Skeptical Science
2 days ago

Backbone, revisited
The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
2 days ago

Ministers are not above the law
Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
2 days ago

What’s the outfit you can hear going down the gurgler? Probably it’s David Parker’s Oceans Sec...
Buzz from the Beehive Point of Order first heard of the Oceans Secretariat in June 2021, when David Parker (remember him?) announced a multi-agency approach to protecting New Zealand’s marine ecosystems and fisheries. Parker (holding the Environment, and Oceans and Fisheries portfolios) broke the news at the annual Forest & ...
Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
2 days ago

Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
Bryce Edwards writes – 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. ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
3 days ago

Matt Doocey doubles down on trans “healthcare”
Citizen Science writes – Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
3 days ago

A TikTok Prime Minister.
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
3 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
3 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
3 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
4 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

Fast-track submissions period must be extended
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
Greens
9 hours ago

Release: Progress on climate will be undone by Govt
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
Labour Blog
9 hours ago

Release: Dark day for Kiwi kids as a third of Govt cuts affect them
News that 1000 jobs at the Ministry of Education and Oranga Tamariki could go is devastating for future generations of New Zealanders. ...
Labour Blog
2 days ago

Release: Alarm as Government signals further blow to school lunches
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Labour Blog
3 days ago

Release: Quick, submit – stop Govt’s dodgy approvals bill
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Labour Blog
4 days ago

Government throws coal on the climate crisis fire
The Government’s policy announced today to ease consenting for coal mining will have a lasting impact across generations. ...
Greens
4 days ago

Release: Public transport costs to double as National looks at unaffordable roading project instead
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
Labour Blog
4 days ago

Release: Cost of living in Auckland still not a priority
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Labour Blog
5 days ago

Greens look to fast-track submissions on harmful law
The Green Party has today launched a step-by-step guide to help New Zealanders make their voice heard on the Government’s democracy dodging and anti-environment fast track legislation. ...
Greens
1 week ago

Release: Govt should stop making people’s lives harder and build more homes
The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said. ...
Labour Blog
1 week ago

Release: Melissa Lee missing in action on media
The action Melissa Lee promised to protect democracy and the media sector is missing, Media and Communications spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
Labour Blog
1 week ago

Landlord Government leaves little hope for renters
The Government’s announcement on tenancy rules prove that it does not care about renters. ...
Greens
1 week ago

Opportunity to build a more sustainable economy
Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is calling on all parties to support a common-sense change that’s great for the planet and great for consumers after her member’s bill was drawn from the ballot today. ...
Greens
1 week ago

Significant step forward in fixing cruel and unjust past
A significant milestone has been reached in the fight to strike an anti-Pasifika and unfair law from the country’s books after Teanau Tuiono’s members’ bill passed its first reading. ...
Greens
1 week ago

Missed opportunity but NZ will surely one day recognise the right to a sustainable environment
New Zealand has today missed the opportunity to uphold the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, says James Shaw after his member’s bill was voted down in its first reading. ...
Greens
1 week ago

Release: Don’t cut our lunches – clear message sent to Government
Tens of thousands of people are demanding the Government commits to fully funding free and healthy school lunches. ...
Labour Blog
1 week ago

Release: Govt makes U-turn on Suicide Prevention Office
Labour welcomes the Government’s U-turn on the closure of the Suicide Prevention Office, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Labour Blog
1 week ago

CCC issues warning over further climate delay
Today’s advice from the Climate Change Commission paints a sobering reality of the challenge we face in combating climate change, especially in light of recent Government policy announcements. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Luxon targets lame and lousy example of leadership
If talk is cheap, Chris Luxon’s “targets” are bankrupt. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Luxon targets are lousy example of leadership
If talk is cheap, Chris Luxon’s “targets” are bankrupt. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Release: Commitment to disability communities missing from Govt priorities
Minister for Disability Issues Penny Simmonds appears to have delayed a report back to Cabinet on the progress New Zealand is making against international obligations for disabled New Zealanders. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Methane target review is dangerous duplication
The Government’s newly announced review of methane emissions reduction targets hints at its desire to delay Aotearoa New Zealand’s urgent transition to a climate safe future, the Green Party said. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Release: Government must commit to school building project for disabled students
The Government must commit to the Maitai School building project for students with high and complex needs, to ensure disabled students from the top of the South Island have somewhere to learn. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Release: National must take mental health seriously
Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and his Government colleagues have made a meal of their mental health commitments, showing how flimsy their efforts to champion the issue truly are, says Labour Mental Health spokesperson Ingrid Leary. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Referendums for Māori wards a racist step backwards
The Government's imposed referendum on Māori wards is a racist step backwards for Māori representation, and disregards Te Tiriti o Waitangi. ...
Greens
2 weeks ago

Release: Job losses at Health not worth it for tax cuts
New Zealand will feel the harm of the National Government’s reckless cuts to jobs at the health ministry for generations, says Ayesha Verrall. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Press release: No Māori initiatives in Government’s nothing plan
Māori are yet to see anything from this Government except cuts, reversals and taking our people backwards, Māori Development spokesperson Willie Jackson said. ...
Labour Blog
2 weeks ago

Thirty six point PR spin
The Government’s ‘36 point’ plan for the next three months is as pointless as it is hollow. ...
Greens
3 weeks ago

Thirty six point PR spin
The Government’s ‘36 point’ plan for the next three months is as pointless as it is hollow. ...
Greens
3 weeks ago

Thirty six point PR spin
The Government’s ‘36 point’ plan for the next three months is as pointless as it is hollow. ...
Greens
3 weeks ago

Release: Social housing off Government’s to-do list
The Coalition Government’s refusal to commit to ongoing funding for social housing is seeing the sector pull back on developments and families watch their dreams of securing a home fade away, says Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty. ...
Labour Blog
3 weeks ago

Release: Less money in most people’s pockets this April
Changes to minimum wage and benefit indexation means many New Zealanders will get less this year, as the Government gives a big tax break to landlords instead. ...
Labour Blog
3 weeks 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
9 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
11 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
12 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
13 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
13 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
13 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
16 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
1 day 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 day 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
4 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

Rousing farewell for Kiwi doctors flying out to Gaza aid flotilla
Kia Ora Gaza A passionate haka reverberated through Auckland International Airport as a medical team of three New Zealand doctors received an emotional farewell from a big crowd of supporters before flying to Turkey to join the international Freedom Flotilla to Gaza. The doctors, who left Auckland yesterday, hope to ...
Evening ReportBy Asia Pacific Report
3 hours ago

Communities Against The Fast-track Heartened By ‘Overwhelming’ Public Response; Disgusted By ‘...
With submissions closing today, Macassey-Pickard says groups around the country have been supporting a huge range of people to make their submissions. ...
Scoop politics
5 hours ago

Renters Rights To Drastically Reduce Under Landlord Government
The Government’s announced changes around tenancy rules set renters’ rights back by nearly a decade. ...
Scoop politics
5 hours ago

NZPI Submission on Fast Track Approvals Bill
Our response to the new legislation is informed by targeted conversations with practitioners working in the system and through an implementation lens. ...
Scoop politics
5 hours ago

Fast Track Invite List Includes Most Destructive Industries In New Zealand
The new ‘Fast-track Approvals Bill’ would give just three Ministers the power to approve or deny development projects. They would avoid the usual checks and balances that are in place to protect rivers, land, the ocean, and communities. ...
Scoop politics
5 hours ago

Eugene Doyle: Helen Clark on why AUKUS isn’t in New Zealand’s national interest
COMMENTARY: By Eugene Doyle Helen Clark, how I miss you. The former New Zealand Prime Minister — the safest pair of hands this country has had in living memory — gave a masterclass on the importance of maintaining an independent foreign policy when she spoke at an AUKUS symposium held ...
Evening ReportBy Asia Pacific Report
5 hours ago

Government releases list of organisations shoulder-tapped for fast-track consents
The government's released the list of organisations provided with information on how to apply - just hours before public submissions on the bill close. ...
Radio NZ – political
7 hours ago

The Week in Politics: Job cuts surge and Waitangi Tribunal trouble
Analysis - It's been a grim week for public servants, while trouble is also brewing between the government and Waitangi Tribunal. ...
Radio NZ – political
8 hours ago

It never rains but it pours: intense rain and flash floods have increased inland in eastern Australi...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milton Speer, Visiting Fellow, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Technology Sydney Before climate change really got going, eastern Australia’s flash floods tended to concentrate on our coastal regions, east of the Great Dividing Range. But that’s changing. Now ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
8 hours ago

Watch: Christopher Luxon speaks to media in Manila
The PM has defended how he's talked up NZ trade on his trip to Southeast Asia, after criticism from his own delegation. ...
Radio NZ – political
8 hours ago

‘It could be the death of the museum’: why research cuts at a South Australian institution have ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Finkel, Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow, La Trobe University Sia Duff / South Australian Museum In February, the South Australian Museum “re-imagined” itself. In the face of rising costs and inadequate government funds, CEO David Gaimster, who took the reins last June, declared ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
8 hours ago

Government signs off $41m clean energy deal with Asian Development Bank
The government has committed $41 million to clean energy transition at the Asian Development Bank's Energy Transition Mechanism. ...
Radio NZ – political
9 hours ago

Are 2 mid-career AFL retirements a sign Australian athletes are taking brain health more seriously?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alan Pearce, Professor, School of Allied Heath, Human Services & Sport, La Trobe University, La Trobe University This week, Collingwood AFL player Nathan Murphy announced his retirement, brought on by his concussion history and ongoing issues. The 24-year-old’s seemingly sudden retirement, ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
11 hours ago

Luxon: Waitangi Tribunal comments from coalition parties 'ill considered'
Comments from ACT and NZ First ministers about the Tribunal were "ill considered" and "that message will be underscored" to them, the PM says. ...
Radio NZ – political
11 hours ago

Mental Health Foundation Facing Staff Cuts From Govt Funding Squeeze
The Mental Health Foundation provides support and resources for those facing the loss of their job, so it’s wrong in the very week the Government adds another 1000 jobs to its tally of cuts, that this is happening. ...
Scoop politics
11 hours ago

I wholeheartedly recommend The President: a brilliant revival of a play of decay, terror and revulsi...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney Daniel Boud/Sydney Theatre Company Decay, terror, revulsion. These are three of the central themes of Thomas Bernhard’s rarely performed play The President. The Austrian is one of the greatest ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
11 hours ago

How the coolest little capital is shrinking
It's not the first time a government has targeted public servants for job cuts, but this time Wellington is really feeling it. ...
Radio NZ – political
12 hours ago

Ministers accused of Cabinet Manual breach with threats to Waitangi Tribunal
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says threats by ministers Shane Jones and David Seymour to reform or close down the Waitangi Tribunal were “ill-considered”, as legal experts say the ministers may have breached Cabinet Manual conventions. “I think those comments are ill-considered and we expect all ministers to actually exercise good ...
NewsroomBy Marc Daalder
12 hours ago

Many prisoners go years without touching a smartphone. It means they struggle to navigate life on th...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Ye In (Jane) Hwang, Postdoctoral Research Associate at School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney Shutterstock You’d be hard pressed to find any aspect of daily life that doesn’t require some form of digital literacy. We need only to look back ten ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
12 hours ago

Good news: midlife health is about more than a waist measurement. Here’s why
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University Pexels/RDNE stock project You’re not in your 20s or 30s anymore and you know regular health checks are important. So you go to your GP. During the appointment they measure your waist. ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
12 hours ago

The Friday Poem: ‘Mitochondrial Problem’ by Evangeline Riddiford Graham
A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as ...
The SpinoffBy Evangeline Riddiford Graham
12 hours ago

The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending April 18
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38) Hot off the press, this debut ...
The SpinoffBy The Spinoff Review of Books
12 hours ago

Department of Conservation closing Dunedin centre, but no jobs lost
Visitor habits are changing and DOC needs to adapt in a financially sustainable way, its operations director says. ...
Radio NZ – political
12 hours ago

Unions Collaborate With Thousands Of Job Cuts
With New Zealand officially in recession, a swathe of mass sackings is currently sending shockwaves through the entire working class. ...
Scoop politics
12 hours ago

Watch live: Christopher Luxon speaks to media in Manila
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is speaking to reporters in Manila after pledging greater defence cooperation with the Philippines. Watch live. ...
Radio NZ – political
12 hours ago

Government sent please explain letter to Wellington City Council over transport disagreement
The contents were revealed in correspondence from Simeon Brown and Chris Bishop to Wellington's Mayor. ...
Radio NZ – political
12 hours ago

Some families push back against journalists who mine social media for photos – they have every rig...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Laura Wajnryb McDonald, PhD candidate in Criminology, University of Sydney Less than 24 hours after Ashlee Good was murdered in Bondi Junction, her family released a statement requesting the media take down photographs they had reproduced of Ashlee and her family without ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
13 hours ago

Mental Health Foundation staff cuts loom, with funding falling behind rising costs
Chief executive Shaun Robinson said it has not had any government funding cut, but government-funded contracts have not kept pace with rising costs. ...
Radio NZ – political
13 hours ago

The ‘devil comet’ 12P/Pons-Brooks has finally become visible from Australia. What can we expect?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland Pons–Brooks visible from Utah, March 9 2024. James Peirce/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND If you’re a fan of all things space, you’ve doubtless heard about the “devil comet”, which has been captivating keen-eyed observers in the ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
13 hours ago

Rugby stadiums are sold as an economic asset – but NZ needs to ask if they’re really worth it
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Robert Hamlin, Senior Lecturer in Marketing , University of Otago A multi-billion dollar stadium precinct has been proposed for Auckland, one of three proposals in front of Auckland Council for a new stadium in the city. The council is also considering revamping ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
13 hours ago

Auckland dog attacks: Callouts for attacks on other animals going up
Roaming dogs are responsible for more than a thousand attacks on animals each year, and the number is growing. ...
Radio NZ – political
14 hours ago

What access to puberty blockers means for trans young people and their whānau
The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The ...
The SpinoffBy Julia de Bres
14 hours ago

NZ and Philippines pledge defence cooperation amid rising tensions
The commitment came after a sit-down meeting between Christopher Luxon and President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Romualdez Marcos Jr overnight. ...
Radio NZ – political
15 hours ago

How superblocks can help reimagine city life
Barcelona’s city streets have gone from traffic-clogged to pedestrian-friendly. How? Superblocks. Ellen Rykers explains. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week I read a great interview with renowned urbanist Janette Sadik-Khan by The Spinoff’s Wellington editor Joel MacManus: “You can reimagine streets, ...
The SpinoffBy Ellen Rykers
15 hours ago

Fire engineering expertise may take a big hit with job cuts at MBIE
The public sector cuts are poised to take out a big chunk of expertise at the country's building regulator. ...
Radio NZ – political
16 hours ago

“Fast-track Law To Kill Kiwi”: Students Say Fight Against Anti-democracy Legislation Is Only Jus...
Student groups ‘Climate Action VUW’, Schools Strike 4 Climate and VUWSA will be on the street in Wellington today, the last day for submissions on the Fast-track Approvals Bill, with a message that the fight against the Government’s ‘War on ...
Scoop politics
16 hours ago

‘We have thousands of Modis’: the secret behind the BJP’s enduring success in India
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sofia Ammassari, Research Fellow, Griffith University Since 2014, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity has grown exponentially – and so has the formidable organisational machine of his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These two factors will be key to delivering the BJP a ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
17 hours ago

Online schooling is not just for lockdowns. Could it work for your child?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Brendon Hyndman, Associate Professor of Education (Adjunct) & Senior Manager (BCE), Charles Sturt University During COVID almost all Australian students and their families experienced online learning. But while schools have long since gone back to in-person teaching, online learning has not gone ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
17 hours ago

Hear me out: You can shove your reusable period products
Yes, they’re better for the environment. No, that’s not a good enough reason for me to use them. Once every 26 days or so, my period arrives, and if struck by an act of God, I am caught red-crotched without products. How, after 17 years of this, do I still ...
The SpinoffBy Kristin Kelly
17 hours ago

Rip It Up And Start Over – Fast-Track Approvals Bill Needs To Be Scrapped
“It will cause significant harm to our environment and communities. It is completely at odds with New Zealanders’ relationship with nature and our need for a low-carbon, sustainable economic future." ...
Scoop politics
17 hours ago

Maori Authority Warns Government On Fast Track Legislation
The Chair of the National Maori Authority, Matthew Tukaki, has warned a Parliamentary Select Committee that fast-tracking legislation is a perilous practice that undermines the core tenets of democracy, transparency, and accountability. ...
Scoop politics
17 hours ago

Why the government’s haste in changing the health system could come back to haunt it
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tim Tenbensel, Associate Professor, Health Policy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images Since coming into power, the coalition government has adopted a simple but shrewd see-how-fast-we-can-move political strategy. However, in the health sector this need for speed entails ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
17 hours ago

Many suicides are related to gambling. How can we tackle this problem?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Anastasia Hronis, Clinical Psychologist, University of Technology Sydney Darya Sannikova/Pexels Whether you’re watching TV, attending a footy game, or eating a meal at your local pub, gambling is hard to escape. Although the rise of gambling is not unique to Australia, ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
17 hours ago

Things that go buzz in the night – our global study found there really are more insects out after ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Wong, Forrest Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia Have you ever wondered if there are more insects out at night than during the day? We set out to answer this question by combing through the scientific ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
17 hours ago

Why don’t Australians talk about their salaries? Pay transparency and fairness go hand-in-hand
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carol T Kulik, Research Professor, University of South Australia IR Stone/Shutterstock In Australia, it’s not the done thing to know – let alone ask – what our colleagues are paid. Yet, it’s easy to see how pay transparency can make pay ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
17 hours ago

‘Character’ And Its Impact On Immigration Status
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is sounding a warning to migrants, that running foul of the law may see them leaving the country prematurely. ...
Scoop politics
17 hours ago

20,000 more on jobseeker benefits than this time last year
The government’s plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Beneficiary numbers are up – and so are ...
The SpinoffBy Catherine McGregor
19 hours ago

All of the Raglan Roast cafes in Wellington, ranked from worst to best
Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, ...
The SpinoffBy Zoë Mills
21 hours ago

Auckland uni students threaten rent strike over rising accommodation fees
Residents of University of Auckland halls are being urged to withhold their accommodation fees from May 1, in a bid to force the university to take student concerns over rent hikes seriously. The University of Auckland is facing a strike from students over the cost of on-campus accommodation. The Students ...
The SpinoffBy Stewart Sowman-Lund
21 hours ago

Warning of death from a million cuts as Oceans Secretariat dissolved
Shane Jones says people voted for change, but opponents say small cuts such as ending a special oceans secretariat are starting to add up The post Warning of death from a million cuts as Oceans Secretariat dissolved appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy Andrew Bevin
21 hours ago

Defence deal to counter Beijing’s aggression in South China Sea
New Zealand and the Philippines have signed a new maritime security agreement and stated their concerns over activity in the South China Sea, as Chinese vessels continue to flout international law. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos committed to signing a Mutual Logistics Supporting Arrangement by ...
NewsroomBy Laura Walters
21 hours ago

Wellington’s ebb and flow of public servants
The thousands of government “back-office” job cuts are causing widespread pain in the capital city. In today’s episode of The Detail, we speak to three journalists and a think tank researcher, looking at the larger picture around the cuts and what effect it will have on Wellington, a city that’s ...
NewsroomBy Tom Kitchin
21 hours ago

New Zealand transport planning has gone off the rails
Opinion: The famed American architect and urban designer Daniel Burnham once said, “Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood!” Burnham wouldn’t have been referring to the transport plans in Aotearoa New Zealand over the past five years; projects so big they hadn’t the credibility to ...
NewsroomBy Dr Timothy F Welch
21 hours ago

Daily crossword, Friday 19 April
The post Daily crossword, Friday 19 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy Newsroom Puzzles
21 hours ago

Brakes on transport and logistics sector as demand for freight slows
The transport sector is currently in the slow lane The post Brakes on transport and logistics sector as demand for freight slows appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy Emma Hatton
21 hours ago

Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 19 April
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[quiz],DIV[quiz],A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 19 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy Newsroom Puzzles
21 hours ago

Financial literacy should be on all of us
Opinion: With maths understanding at 42 percent for Year 8 students, there’s no doubt something has to be done. But how? The post Financial literacy should be on all of us appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy Bryce Marsden
21 hours ago

Missy rustles to stardom in Canada
Hineaupounamu ‘Missy’ Nuku has been scaling mountains in Canada for her college basketball team, the Lakeland Rustlers. Alberta is currently home for the 20-year-old point guard, who is in her first year of a scholarship at Lakeland College, where she is studying for a business degree. She has certainly made ...
NewsroomBy Aiden McLaughlin
21 hours ago

Emissions fall again – now NZ needs to up the pace
Official figures confirm New Zealand produced less climate pollution in 2022 than in any other year in the 21st century The post Emissions fall again – now NZ needs to up the pace appeared first on Newsroom. ...
NewsroomBy Marc Daalder
21 hours ago

Grattan on Friday: Ethnic tensions will complicate the Albanese government’s multicultural policy ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra When ASIO boss Mike Burgess delivered his annual threat assessment earlier this year, he stressed the rising danger posed by espionage and foreign interference. “In 2024, threats to our way of life have surpassed ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

Group plans work to improve safety of female MPs
New research shows harassment of elected officials - especially women - is on the rise. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

Ukraine warns of WW3 ahead of long-stalled Congress aid vote
Ukraine's Prime Minister says his country desperately needs the US to approve long-stalled security assistance. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

PSA astonished Education Minister expects hiring of contractors to review curriculum
Hiring contractors is an appalling solution when people who could do the work are losing their jobs, the PSA says. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

Crown lawyers attempt to block Waitangi Tribunal summons to Minister for Children
The Tribunal had called on Minister for Children Karen Chhour to provide evidence at an urgent inquiry into the repeal of Section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

Luxon refuses to guarantee public consultation on AUKUS Pillar 2
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says it's "far too premature" to be confirming whether the public would be consulted on joining AUKUS Pillar 2. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

Visualising the 1800s or designing wedding invitations: 6 ways you can use AI beyond generating text
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By T.J. Thomson, Senior Lecturer in Visual Communication & Digital Media, RMIT University Midjourney image by T.J. Thomson As more than half of Australian office workers report using generative artificial intelligence (AI) for work, we’re starting to see this technology affect every ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

Falls, fractures and self-harm: 4 charts on how kids’ injury risk changes over time and differs fo...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lisa Nicole Sharwood, Injury epidemiologist | Expert Witness, UNSW Sydney Sergey Novikov/Shutterstock Injuries are the leading cause of disability and death among Australian children and adolescents. At least a quarter of all emergency department presentations during childhood are injury-related. Injuries can ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

Choice and control: will NDIS reforms mean people with disability don’t get to decide who they liv...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Di Winkler, Adjunct Associate Professor, Living with Disability Research Centre, La Trobe University Shutterstock/Ground Picture Many Australians with disability feel on the edge of a precipice right now. Recommendations from the disability royal commission and the NDIS review were released late ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

Asbestos in playground mulch: how to avoid a repeat of this circular economy scandal
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Salman Shooshtarian, Senior Lecturer, School of Property, Construction and Project Management, RMIT University Salman Shooshtarian Asbestos has been found in mulch used for playgrounds, schools, parks and gardens across Sydney and Melbourne. Local communities naturally fear for the health of their ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

Could Albanese’s bet on homegrown green industries be the boost our regions deserve?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Madeline Taylor, Senior Lecturer, Macquarie University Cloudy Designs/Shutterstock Right now, there’s a global race underway. The goal: bring back manufacturing and energy jobs as the energy transition speeds up. In 2022, America launched its mammoth Inflation Reduction Act and the ...
Evening ReportBy The Conversation
1 day ago

Watch: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon won't say if government will consult public on joining ...
Asked multiple times if the public will be consulted on joining the defence pact, Luxon repeatedly said that was yet to be worked through. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

Watch live: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon speaks in Philippines
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is speaking to reporters on the third leg of his Southeast Asia trip, from Manila in the Philippines. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

Māori lawyers call Shane Jones' Waitangi Tribunal comments 'inappropriate'
The Māori Law Society says his comments breach the principle of the separation of powers and the Cabinet Manual. ...
Radio NZ – political
1 day ago

Abortions Increase 25% Since Law Change
Family First says that the latest abortion statistics make grim and upsetting reading, with a 25% increase in abortions since the decriminalisation of abortion in March 2020. According to an Official Information Act request received by Right to Life ...
Scoop politics
1 day ago

Over Half Of New Zealanders Feel That The Country Is In Decline And That Our Society Is Broken
Ipsos New Zealand's inaugural participation in a global study on populism reveals a pervasive sense of societal and economic decline among New Zealanders. MORE DETAILS AND FULL REPORT HERE Ipsos New Zealand's inaugural participation in a global study ...
Scoop politics
1 day ago

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