Regulating Bankers

Written By: - Date published: 8:16 am, June 25th, 2019 - 76 comments
Categories: Economy, Financial markets, grant robertson, john key - Tags:

I have given our Minister of Finance some grief on this site before,but it is hard to fault him for his timing or his delivery in seeking to strengthen banking sector oversight.

The Government has announced that it will generate a deposit protection scheme, and will strengthen banker accountability.

This is through a new deposit protection regime, and in work to strengthen accountability for banks’ actions.

The Minister comments:

Now is the right time to check we have the tools to make sure banks meet their obligations to New Zealanders, and the powers to enforce them.” The Government is also making sure New Zealand follows internationalcbest practice for promoting public confidence in our banking system,including on the issue of depositor protection.”

The Review of the Reserve Bank Act was agreed in the Coalition Agreement between Labour and New Zealand First. The Coalition Government has already delivered on Phase 1 of the review, by updating New Zealand’s monetary policy settings to require the Reserve Bank to focus on employment outcomes as well as price stability.

You get a sense of what Phase 2 of this review will do from Treasury here.

The Government is proposing a limit between $30,000 and $50,000 for the deposit protection regime. This would cover 90% of individual banks in New Zealand, which is similar to international schemes.

The need for this in New Zealand as been considered since at least 2005.

Now, I’m sure the moral hazard of intervention of any kind following a bank collapse is not lost on the New Zealand government after the South Canterbury Finance issue. I would urge all of you to read Billion Dollar Bonfire: How Allan Hubbard and the Government Destroyed South Canterbury Finance”. It will make you sick.

The World Bank has already discussed this moral hazard (intervening and making things worse either then or later for others) quandary at length.

But does anyone’s memory extend sufficiently far back to the bailout of the BNZ? From memory that was a total surprise to an incoming government, and led to the privatization of what had been the bedrock of banking for this country. When banks go down they really do need governments to step in, and the unnevenness of government response to New Zealand banking crises is recounted here.

We now have plenty of tiny banking institutions who would look pretty frail in a decent rural farm price downgrade. And need it be emphasized, we have a really poor savings record as it is as a country, and we need all our banks to stay safe because overall we are up to our necks in mortgage debt. As a country and as a society we are incredibly vulnerable to banks – Australian banks.

Since we are completely dominated by Australian banks overall, it would be wise of us to align ourselves with the Australian banking oversight institutional framework.

This consists firstly of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). Established by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998, APRA is responsible for prudential regulation and supervision of authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) as well as life and general insurance companies (including reinsurers and friendly societies) and the superannuation (retirement savings) industry (other than self-managed superannuation funds).

Then there’s the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Established by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001, ASIC is the corporate, markets and financial services regulator, responsible for market conduct and investor protection.

Then there’s the big daddy, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). Established by the RBA Act, the RBA is responsible for monetary policy, overseeing financial system stability and the payments system.

With the formation of Kiwibank to give just a little competition to the Aussie Big Four, we have glimpse of how powerful the income from a bank being recycled within New Zealand can be. But all this time I think it was us and Israel among the OECD that didn’t have a savings safety net from bank failure (someone correct me).

The first great political timing bit is ensuring that our regulators really can hold banks and their executives to account. Without saying it, these two moves have ANZ and John Key written all over it – simply through the luck of political timing, rather than from actual investigation in the formation of the reports.

The second great thing is that this is a regulatory move that is counter-cyclic: our economy is strong and there’s no sign that bad debts are rising fast. After a decade of property boom over most of our cities, we are swimming in mortgage debt to these banks. This is regulation put in when times ore good, knowing that government needs to be prepared when it (inevitably) goes bad. It shows that this government really can take on an entire industry with boots on.

Final decisions on the full details of a deposit protection regime and strengthened accountability standards will be announced in early 2020. More information is available here.

76 comments on “Regulating Bankers ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Dennis Frank 1
    25 June 2019 at 8:38 am

    Kudos to the minister for the initiative. I expected it in the wake of the gfc, so the arrival a decade later is a big pleasant surprise! Credit to the coalition for agreeing to the necessity too. Sensible thinking all round.

    I trust the legislation will be well-written, and giving it a time-line of months for formulation allows everyone to digest it and consider the opportunity to add supplementary amendments if they seem required. Amy Adams has already reckoned publicly that it is insufficient, so the potential for bipartisan consensus is evident.

  2. Gosman 2
    25 June 2019 at 8:42 am

    I always thought the reserve ratio was meant to be the main method of protecting bank deposits. Does this mean the reserve ratio can be relaxed as a result of this additional insurance?

    • dv 2.1
      25 June 2019 at 8:56 am

      Do your own research.

    • Ad 2.2
      25 June 2019 at 9:08 am

      ANZ were censured recently for calculating this so that they were deliberately under-supporting this ratio.

      I see us as protected mostly by the size and profitability of the Au banks.

      But we need our own sovereign controls.

      • Macro 2.2.1
        25 June 2019 at 9:15 am

        does this mean that if an individual depositor has more than $50k deposited – they would be safer to keep the extra under the mattress?

        If so I can see a whole bunch of cashed up Aucklanders just loving this.

        • aj 2.2.1.1
          25 June 2019 at 9:24 am

          Is it insurance per person, or insurance per account. For example I have several term deposits which are all seperate 'accounts'

          • Macro 2.2.1.1.1
            25 June 2019 at 9:29 am

            I've been looking at the details on the link Ad provided at the end. I think it relates to accounts, but am not sure.

            • alwyn 2.2.1.1.1.1
              25 June 2019 at 10:09 am

              "but not sure".

              That's all right. It was clear from the announcement that neither were Ardern or Robertson. They hadn't even thought through how much they proposed to cover. Will it be $30k or $50k for example?

              It is going to cost the home buyers, in total, a couple of billion dollars a year to pay for the levy that Robertson is going to charge. That is according to the KPMG partner interviewed on Morning Report. That is simply the increase to be expected in mortgage interest rates.

              One can see why Grant is so keen on the idea,having rubbished it in the past. He can see, now he is staring at the enormous deficit that Stephen Joyce correctly predicted, a quick, if rather dirty way, of getting another couple of billion a year into the Government coffers with a new tax.

              If Macro is correct, and it is each deposit the Government is offering to guarantee an amount that is equal to the total GDP of the country. The total GDP. The seem to be wanting to head down the path of Iceland, where the Government simply went broke in the GFC

              • aj …
                25 June 2019 at 10:41 am

                It did strike me that borrowers should not be paying for the insurance of savers. This will be most costly to home owners with large mortgages. They mostly won't have savings so Gen X and millennials will have a legitimate complaint that again they are supporting a group that will mostly comprise people with no mortgages i.e. boomers.

              • Ed1 …
                25 June 2019 at 12:41 pm

                It depends on what you mean by a guarantee, alwyn, but I suspect you are reading commitments into the announcement of a review that are not there. Certainly higher reserves helps a bank to remain solvent, but I had understood that the Reserve Bank will under certain circumstances lend money to assist individual banks through normal trading fluctuations – following the problems shortly after the Key government was elected, Bill English toured the world looking for additional finance to help the banks – forcing the admission that the then previous government had left New Zealand in a strong financial position. Sadly that strong position was weakened more than was needed for gfc issues by the nine years of National-led government.

                We now have the example of actions in Britain following problems there – they effectively purchased some banks, in a similar way to the government purchasing an insurance company here. As far as I am aware both ended up with shareholders taking some loss, at the expense of government funds. If a company or sector is "too big to fail" then I believe government should have the authority through legislation to require the company to issue additional shares at whatever price the market is prepared to pay to ensure that the company is able to meet financial commitments, including protection of deposits and payment of existing insurance commitments. If the amount required means that the government ends up owning a majority of the company then so be it. The standard formula currently used for minimum reserves should not be seen as a guarantee, but a minimum level which banks should exceed if their business requires greater reserves to meet reasonable prudence.

                • Nic the NZer …
                  25 June 2019 at 7:42 pm

                  "but I had understood that the Reserve Bank will under certain circumstances lend money to assist individual banks through normal trading fluctuations"

                  The Official Cash Rate is the interest rate at which the Reserve Bank is willing to lend settlement balances to commercial banks. As long as they are in decent standing they should always be able to borrow reserves to make immediate payments at the OCR rate (plus an additional penalty). Typically they will borrow between each other slightly cheaper however. You can see both the relevant interest rates on the RBNZ's OCR chart.

                • Ed1 …
                  25 June 2019 at 4:21 pm

                  The word "could" is important – it does not mean "will." We have an inefficient market for financing – a smaller number of banks than we used to have, fewer of them New Zealand owned; few finance companies (and most of them bank-owned), and compared with years ago, no State Advances Corporation, no investment requirement for insurance companies (at one time they had to hold 50% of assets in government stock or mortgages), no government owned insurance company, and less funding available from solicitors trust accounts and trustee companies on behalf of estates under management. I suspect that in an efficient market, margins would be lower even after the cost of a higher level of guarantee for deposits. For bank apologists to seek to retain the current high level of bank profits indefinitely is a sad commentary on them – if shareholders are to expect high returns they need to also accept a higher level of risk when it goes wrong.

                  • Pat …
                    25 June 2019 at 4:46 pm

                    Indeed.

                    The interviewee stated "could" and "may" ad nauseam and unsurprisingly sidestepped attempting to explain why Australia with a more generous deposit guarantee scheme have a better differential between deposit and mortgage rates than we currently enjoy….and even then he conflated the deposit guarantee AND the increased capital requirements (as yet not passed, but they need to be) to arrive at his arbitrary 0.6 to 0.8 points on a mortgage….its blatant lobbying and fear mongering neatly packaged in vague terms

                    • alwyn …
                      25 June 2019 at 6:48 pm

                      It wasn't 0.6 to 0.8 points by the way. Nobody would even notice that as a point is 1/100 of a percent. It was actually 60 or 80 points.

                      Mind you he was fairly difficult to hear.

                    • Pat …
                      25 June 2019 at 6:51 pm

                      0.6 to 0.8 of a percentage point as you well understand

                    • alwyn …
                      25 June 2019 at 9:01 pm

                      @Pat.

                      People working in the field don't usually talk about changes as being percentages as you probably ought to know.

                      It is far too subject to confusion. For example is a "1% increase from 5%", an new value of 6%, as you seem to be using, or is it 5.05%?

                      To avoid confusion they use a term basis points so there is no confusion. here is no possible confusion when you call an increase as being, starting from the same 5% an increase of 100 basis points. That is unambiguously 6%. In the same way a rise of 5 basis points would be an increase to 5.05%.

                    • Pat …
                      25 June 2019 at 9:23 pm

                      if you wish to divert from the substance and argue semantics you may note i didnt use the term 'basis' point.

                • Nic the NZer …
                  25 June 2019 at 7:47 pm

                  Trust Grant Robertson to incur political flack for an idea which could be implemented without any. Of course the banks will now be able to blame the government for many interest rate hikes they might on charge. Since the RBNZ is the only institution able to issue the funds required to implement a bailout anyway it could alternatively be funded in the same way the SCF bailout was, when needed.

                  • Pat …
                    25 June 2019 at 7:58 pm

                    The Aussie banks are in an undeclared war on the RBNZ and I doubt Robertson's announcement has altered their tactics in any way….they were already threatening mortgage hikes/ deposit rate cuts re the proposed capital requirements….good luck trying that cartel behaviour for long, bankers being what they have become

                    • Nic the NZer …
                      25 June 2019 at 8:08 pm

                      Yes, and Robertson just said we will officially take responsibility for the deposit insurance cut in that (probably plus anything else they want to throw in). Its boneheaded because he could have avoided that easily enough.

                  • Pat …
                    25 June 2019 at 8:21 pm

                    Shit…when did he say that,? last I heard they hadnt decided on funding…though Ive just seen that hes undermining the increased Capital requirements.

                    A bank deposit protection scheme may help defuse the battle between the Reserve Bank and the country's biggest trading banks over how much extra capital they should have to hold on their balance sheets, Finance Minister Grant Robertson indicated today.

                    "There is "clearly an interaction between what happens between deposit insurance and what the bank does with its capital requirements," Robertson told journalists after announcing several in-principle decisions about the future regulation of the banking system, including a deposit protection scheme for deposits of up $50,000 in any one bank account"

                    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12243499

                    • Nic the NZer …
                      25 June 2019 at 8:32 pm

                      Sounds like he is opaquely proposing charging for deposit insurance in exchange for lowering capital requirements. Your right though i should wait for him to shoot his political foot off before drawing attention to it.

              • Shadrach …
                25 June 2019 at 8:06 pm

                Neither Ardern nor Robertson have a clue about how to manage the economy. The tragedy of this is that the people they claim to represent are the ones who are going to really suffer when the proverbial hits the fan.

              • Nic the NZer …
                26 June 2019 at 8:25 am

                "The seem to be wanting to head down the path of Iceland, where the Government simply went broke in the GFC"

                You do realize this has had almost no long term negative consequences for Iceland don't you? It did have some pretty serious consequences for some of the Icelandic Bankers prosecuted off the back of this (and as a result of the fraud which they were engaged in) but surely the actual consequences are more important than the specific scare words used?

                The consequences of going broke (and that term clearly doesn't mean what you think it means when applied to a country like Iceland or to its economy) appear to be irrelevant.

                • alwyn …
                  26 June 2019 at 9:20 am

                  I'm not sure that the people of Iceland would agree with you.

                  Unless, of course your definition of long term is very very long indeed.

                  Have a look at the unemployment figures for example. From a low of about 2.3% to around 7.6%. It's come back below 3% now but for a number of years it was very high wasn't it?

                  https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/iceland/unemployment-rate

                  Click on the MAX item above the graph and you will see the full period from 2003 to 2018

                  • Pat …
                    26 June 2019 at 9:50 am

                    Lol….whereas NZ only peaked at 6.7 % (very high isnt it…pmsl) and then reduced to 4% in the same period…..

                  • Nic the NZer …
                    26 June 2019 at 3:19 pm

                    Your suggesting the government of Iceland can pick its unemployment rate? I have completely underestimated your economic insight.

                    So we can all learn at the masters feet can you please explain what effects to the unemployment rate are caused by the government going broke?

        • Kevin 2.2.1.2
          25 June 2019 at 10:39 am

          Why would you keep $50k in the bank anyway? The returns are so small you would be better off doing something productive with it.

          • aj 2.2.1.2.1
            25 June 2019 at 10:44 am

            If you are 20 or 30, yes. If you are over 60 or 70, no. The risk profiles are completely different. You can't recover from a bad investment decision when you are no longer earning income.

      • Blazer 2.2.2
        25 June 2019 at 10:06 am

        I venture if you really drilled down to who the beneficial controlling shareholders of these aussie banks are,you would find Wall St and the'City',the usual vampires of finance.

        • Phil 2.2.2.1
          25 June 2019 at 12:20 pm

          Nope. It's actually pretty rare for banks to hold minority-stake interests in other banks. That's because the amount of capital a bank is required to hold against a listed/traded share is significantly higher than the amount of capital you have to hold against, say, a residential mortgage or corporate bond – it's far more cost effective to make a stable value loan than it is to buy a volatile share.

          The vast majority of shares in the Aussie banks are held by private individuals, various types of investment/superannuation funds (which, in turn, are investing on behalf of individuals) and other corporate entities.

          • Blazer 2.2.2.1.1
            25 June 2019 at 12:33 pm

            Not so volatile in the last 10 years.

            Super profitable and they pay fat dividends.

            These are investment banks I'm talking about ,that have bucketloads of capital available at near zero interest rates,and of course there are all manner of derivative products they can conjure up from head shares.

            As for capital requirements…as if !

  3. Blazer 3
    25 June 2019 at 9:28 am

    The BNZ bailout rescued that shining Knight ,Humphrey Michael Fay,who had wheedled a 30% share in the BNZ.

    Recall his…'it's my fucking bank' comment,and it soon became evident that it was over exposed to his commercial entities FR and listed Cap Mkts in breach of bank guidelines.

    The gummint (as usual)pumped it back up and readied it for sale to NAB.

    The creativity with good bank/bad bank separation is similar to what basket case Deutsch Bank is implementing right now.

    'Profit smoothing'another euphemistic creation all over seen by Lindsay Pyne which came back to haunt him re directorships later in his career.

    This insurance is well overdue as is an inquiry into NZ banking practice.

    The GFC highlighted the need to regulate and hold banks to account,regardless of their protestations and threats.

    • RedLogix 3.1
      25 June 2019 at 9:54 am

      The gummint (as usual)pumped it back up and readied it for sale to NAB.

      And I have a first hand account from a person who was on the Board of NAB at the time. Their initial reaction was one of deep suspicion at the terms, they didn't believe they could possibly be that good. They damn nearly turned it down, but one member reckoned those dumbnut kiwis really were that stupid, so they dug a bit deeper.

      They could barely believe their luck and it turned out the single best deal they ever made.

      • Blazer 3.1.1
        25 June 2019 at 10:04 am

        Always a bargain when the Govts selling…ask Gibbs,Fay,Richwhite,Hart..NZ's very own oligarchs compliments of cheap public assets.(theft)

      • Dennis Frank 3.1.2
        25 June 2019 at 10:08 am

        devil Gosh, why aren't I surprised. Recalling as a teenager musing over the `thick as pigshit' average kiwi males applied to each other in those days, deciding that it worked as a general rule. Tempting to apply it to all mainstreamers nowadays, but not good praxis to do so. I discovered mainstreamers, if you appeal to their intelligence, are usually capable of responding in kind. It's actually the herding instinct that reduces them to sheep-like idiocy. Herding induces conformity by over-riding individual intelligence.

      • alwyn 3.1.3
        25 June 2019 at 10:19 am

        The best deal ever in dealing with the Government was Toll selling the rail and ferry operations in New Zealand to that old fool Cullen for $690 million. It has been an enormous black hole into which the poor old taxpayer has had to pour money ever since.

        Now that was a truly remarkable deal. Unfortunately not for the taxpayer of course.

        • Psycho Milt 3.1.3.1
          25 June 2019 at 10:29 am

          It would have been a lot better if he'd just nationalised it and paid Toll whatever composition the government deemed appropriate, but apparently that kind of thing is frowned upon these days. I blame the stupid fucks who privatised it in the first place.

        • Blazer 3.1.3.2
          25 June 2019 at 11:14 am

          Fay/Richwhite got an even better deal.

          Commissioned by the Govt to find a buyer,they erected a 'Chinese Wall' and bought it themselves for circa $300plus million,AFTER the Govt had spent about that much,getting it ready for sale.

          Years of asset stripping,insider trading charges an absolute moneymaker for the chosen few.

          Shipley's…believe it or…not!

          • Muttonbird 3.1.3.2.1
            25 June 2019 at 11:22 am

            Yep. Keys is the same. Watch him fall due to insider deals being exposed. He engineered the sale of his beach house to be paid for by the ANZ, ffs!

        • Dukeofurl 3.1.3.3
          25 June 2019 at 11:22 am

          Its only the depreciation that makes the railways 'unprofitable' in the commercial sense.( Operational expenditure matches income) It includes of course the Cook Straight Ferries, so is a vital part of infrastructure

          Roads arent depreciated , so arent a cost for trucking companies who have their means of delivery on the tax payers account.

          Guess who has been the biggest 'beneficiary' of the Roads of National significance – a $10 bill program

          • KJT 3.1.3.3.1
            25 June 2019 at 4:17 pm

            If roads were costed like ports, with opportunity costs of land and depreciation, and full user pays, factored in, most long haul trucks couldn't compete with rail or shipping.

        • KJT 3.1.3.4
          25 June 2019 at 11:25 am

          Another right winger unable to comprehend that the cost of having a service, rail, is much less than the cost of not having it!

          If you apply the same lack of logic to roads, schools, hospitals and courts.

        • Dukeofurl 3.1.3.5
          25 June 2019 at 11:25 am

          Who was the government who did an even better deal for Chorus.

          lend them the money at low interest rates to build a $2 bill fibre network

          Buy 45% of Chorus for $950 mill, effectively a cash injection

          A lot more than the Rail network which includes significant land and assets

          • Blazer 3.1.3.5.1
            25 June 2019 at 11:33 am

            the Telecom deal tops that one!

            Kiwishare 10% -up step Fay/Richwhite and Alan Gibbs to take it….$50,000 each(100k total) as deposit on shares that were soon to be worth nearly half a BILLION.

            Shipley's..believe it..or not.

    • alwyn 3.2
      25 June 2019 at 10:14 am

      "This insurance is well overdue".

      Pray tell us Old Chap (or Chapess). Were you in favour of the deposit guarantee scheme we had that included South Canterbury Finance? The current proposal seems to be merely a variant on the scheme, and most of the people who contribute here seemed to be opposed to that.

      • Blazer 3.2.1
        25 June 2019 at 11:07 am

        SCF was a joke.

        Bailed out the mainland mafia with interest.

        Finance companies are not the same as the banks.

        The insurance exists for depositors in Australia.

        In NZ they have the OBR=a haircut for savers.

  4. Muttonbird 4
    25 June 2019 at 10:50 am

    Bernard Hickey puts the long sprigs on:

    The Reserve Bank's natural instinct is always to protect the reputation of the financial sector, and to maintain confidence in the stability of the system. That is embedded in its act. It is an inherent conflict of interest.

    How can you be tasked with rooting out wrongdoing in your sector when also being tasked with maintaining confidence?

    How indeed?

    https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/113748149/a-proper-banking-and-insurance-inquiry-please

    • Dennis Frank 4.1
      25 June 2019 at 11:05 am

      Answer: apply both/and logic. Give a manager responsibility for one task, plus operational and decision-making autonomy. Likewise, another for the second task. Create a governance structure in which both reports are considered by governor and board, and made public along with the outcome.

      Governor & board then have the option to prioritise either according to circumstance. Tasked with producing a synthesis, they'd be able to focus on the highest operational priority at the time. As long as stakeholders are able to peruse and comprehend their judgment and rationale, ought to keep everyone happy…

      • Muttonbird 4.1.1
        25 June 2019 at 11:12 am

        Lol. Ever the centrist, Dennis.

        • Dennis Frank 4.1.1.1
          25 June 2019 at 11:20 am

          Variant of the traditional carrot & stick approach to regulating, in the guise of creativity. Markets work via risk & reward, fear & greed. Use the structural binaries then! Don’t be dismayed by the difference.

          Applied holism is the most powerful thinking there is. It transcends binaries whenever you use it, gets stakeholders into the big picture by shifting their perspective…

  5. greywarshark 5
    25 June 2019 at 11:33 am

    'We now have plenty of tiny banking institutions who would look pretty frail in a decent rural farm price downgrade. And need it be emphasized, we have a really poor savings record as it is as a country, and we need all our banks to stay safe because overall we are up to our necks in mortgage debt. As a country and as a society we are incredibly vulnerable to banks – Australian banks.'

    Edit
    So true but I think that the above reflects one regular theme heard that sounds as if finding fault with people’s handling of finance; that we have a really poor savings record. People are actually advised not to leave money in ordinary bank savings accounts which pay interest at the same present low rate of inflation which then gets taxed at 17.5% at least or 39% I think as the higher rate. Hardly encouraging to leave money in a bank a/c. And of course there is the savings paradox; people saving are not spending, and now we have so little home-grown businesses in NZ, actually consumers and retail spending is a major business sector itself, replacing production – manufacturing which should be large and providing a good flow of wages to back the spending, instead of it being hitched to credit cards.

    Putting it into term deposit is better, but that gets taxed also. Shares – people do buy in but we had such amazing chicanery happen in the late 20th century as the fast boys got into the free market good, with low regulation and government sell ups heating up everything. So go to the bricks and mortar where with land and improvements, you have something to show for your money-making efforts.

    Unfortunately in the low-regulated, export-crazed and vitalised economic system, buying land and housing brought more overseas investment money to this country, so demand and house prices went up. Wages were pushed down, jobs were lost, government assistance was put down, inflation was held low, interest was kept low, and business had a fairly level playing field which was good in theory but big business decided they could extract money from the economy which was built on overseas borrowing at good rates, cheaper than what would have to be paid for people's savings. Big business tilted the level playing field so that it benefited them, and overall the NZ economy gives a perception of strength but is very sensitive, easily damaged by overseas events and drying up of overseas loan sources or raising of interest rates. It seems to me that our real standard of financial strength and resilience is poor.

    Terry Pratchett had some fun with banks in his book called Making Money. This is the Wikipedia stub about it It lampoons all the common themes and cliches we have about banks.

    Royal Bank of Ankh-Morpork

    Deliberately designed as a temple to money, this opulent establishment serves as Ankh-Morpork’s principal finance house. At the onset of Making Money, it is in trouble. It falls to Moist von Lipwig to realise just exactly how deeply in trouble it is.

    Oh, and the fornication in the vaults is truly breath-takingly spectacular. This almost overshadows the Thing In The Cellar, which is lovingly tended by Hubert Turvy and an Igor.

    It is – reluctantly on the part of its Chief Cashier – in the vanguard of the new Paper Money idea. The Bank is situated on Upper Broad Way.

    Current Staff:-

    Mr Fusspot – Chairman of the Bank
    Mavolio Bent – Chief Cashier
    Miss Drapes – Most Senior clerk
    Robert Spittle – Senior clerk
    Hammersmith Coot – Junior clerk
    Hubert Turvy – Economist
    Igor – Assistant to Hubert
    Aimsbury – Head Chef
    Peggy Aimsbury – Cook

    • Blazer 5.1
      25 June 2019 at 11:36 am

      so Hammersmith Coot has moved on from the..ANZ. 😉

    • Phil 5.2
      25 June 2019 at 12:35 pm

      Terry Pratchett had some fun with banks in his book called Making Money… the Thing In The Cellar, which is lovingly tended by Hubert Turvy and an Igor.

      Fun fact: The 'thing in the cellar' is called, in the book, a Glooper. It's a machine that uses water and pipes to simulate the flow of money around the Ankh-Morepork economy.

      It's inspired by the MONIAC, a machine created by NZ economist Bill Phillips to do exactly the same for real economies. You can see a working model in operation in the Reserve Bank museum in Wellington. I'm pretty certain it's the only working model on earth.

      • Ed1 5.2.1
        25 June 2019 at 12:53 pm

        Just such models can now be created to represent economies or individual businesses, using distributions for cash flows and complex interactions between inputs and outputs – it is the assumptions that are the really hard part, but stress testing of a bank's financial position is probably part of normal management. Such models can inform, but cannot provide guarantees.

      • greywarshark 5.2.2
        25 June 2019 at 5:44 pm

        Thanks for that Phil that sort of thing intrigues me. I've read about the Phillips machine. That's the sort of theing that makes Terry P so interesting – there are so many real connections with the world and he wove them in. RIP. Great guy.

        I remember being at Massey and they had a structure with a vertical weighted line hanging from the ceiling pointing at 12 noon say, and you look at the clock face on the floor and feel you understand that the world is turning under your feet and will finally get back to square up with the 12. It's fascinating and okay provided it doesn't get wobbly as in an earthquake it is a different feeling.

  6. greywarshark 6
    25 June 2019 at 12:10 pm

    Can't say I agree Blazer – He is a banker at a high level and has managed difficult situations in a unreproachable way from what others who worked for him have said. And he isn't Mavolio Bent, perhaps more Miss Drapes style. And Key, Chairman? Is he Mr Fusspot; I think that title wouldn't suit if we knew all the facts. He is more M.Bent I think. But who would Igor be I wonder?

    I think I have upset settings on this thread. I was trying to rearrange lines taking out double spacings and took out a ul in pointy brackets and my list shifted to the left. Sorry!

    • Dennis Frank 6.1
      25 June 2019 at 1:17 pm

      Shift left evident to me to, so presumably to all viewers. Who knew you're so powerful? I wouldn't have a clue how to do that. Restructuring the communal venue could be viewed as subversive behaviour, eh? wink

  7. McFlock 7
    25 June 2019 at 2:03 pm

    Seems to me that the moral hazard is avoidable if bank failures and bailouts were accompanied by prison terms for directors, managers, and commision-sellers of financial products for the bailed institution.

    Terms proportionate to the level of culpability and the severity of the bailout. A few weeks home D or even nothing if you report bank difficulties early, 20 years of you run a major institution into the ground.

  8. Adrian 8
    25 June 2019 at 3:43 pm

    Stuff headline just now : Key ( and others ) Could Face Jail"". Oh God, yes please.

    • Dukeofurl 8.1
      25 June 2019 at 3:57 pm

      Thats click bait.

      They were already found wanting in the numbers for the capital reserves, and wasnt it ANZ who recruited a top exec who had worked for a corrupt bank branch in Malaysia and whos approval was with held by the RBNZ.

      What more do they have to do wrong so its 'golden parachute time' ?

      The SFO should be looking into the valuation for the 'house that Hisco bought'…thats Nigerian way of doing business. Did the bank not see the huge drop in valuation and get a second opinion.

      • Muttonbird 8.1.1
        25 June 2019 at 8:12 pm

        I think it was the BNZ who was going to recruit the woman who worked for the ANZ outfit in Malaysia. She was the CFO when the then PM funnelled billions into his own accounts.

        😂

        That's the level ANZ is at so no wonder John Keys fits right in.

    • Muttonbird 8.2
      25 June 2019 at 8:41 pm

      ANZ's directors, including former prime minister Sir John Key, could face criminal and civil penalties if they are found to have made false or misleading statements to the Reserve Bank.

      https://i.stuff.co.nz/business/113761989/criminal-penalties-possible-if-anz-directors-found-to-have-misled

      So hoping this will happen!

      Amazing how these Nats get themselves into trouble like this.

      Zero morals and ethics???

  9. WeTheBleeple 9
    25 June 2019 at 4:25 pm

    I can't recall which thread I pointed out a new user dropping links with viruses attached but it may be why this one is all messed up. At the bottom of the page (here, now) I have the comments/replies/opinions and the feed/party/scoop/media tabs which do not appear at the base of any other threads.

    • Incognito 9.1
      25 June 2019 at 5:30 pm

      I played around with the text in italics at the bottom of comment #5 and that seem to have done the trick. So, no nasty viruses, it seems 😉

      • WeTheBleeple 9.1.1
        25 June 2019 at 5:46 pm

        Much better! Glad it wasn't an issue. Those links had ESET and AVG whinging.

        GWS – you broke te internets!

        • Incognito 9.1.1.1
          25 June 2019 at 6:13 pm

          I did not get any AV warnings with those links except for accepting cookies, which I declined. In other words, they looked ok to me.

          Better safe to be sorry though. You always click on links at your own risk. Just because it appears on TS doesn’t mean it is 100% safe!

          The site uses a SPAM filter but I don’t know whether WP also has an inbuilt AV function. Lynn will know 😉

          • WeTheBleeple 9.1.1.1.1
            25 June 2019 at 6:55 pm

            Maybe it was my end with something else open that was dodgy. Have to check what I was working on. Glad the sites OK – with the links and the thread going wonky it was worth querying. Thanks for checking.

  10. RedBaronCV 10
    25 June 2019 at 6:05 pm

    would be nice for a % of profits every year to go into the reserves over and above any other calculation to act as an extra buffer. if it got to be too much maybe us customers could have a bit of it back

  11. Nic the NZer 11
    25 June 2019 at 7:56 pm

    The moral hazard arguments are mostly nonsense, unless… The government doesn't follow it's bank bailout by replacing all the bank exec involved and getting the relevant prosecutions initiated against responsible officers. On the other hand if you bail out the bank and leave the same execs who caused the failure in charge then there is massive moral hazard, and the banks clients suffer.

    In general however this kind of deposit insurance policy was first instituted following the great depression to avoid future bank runs.

    • Phil 11.1
      27 June 2019 at 1:14 pm

      if you bail out the bank and leave the same execs who caused the failure in charge then there is massive moral hazard, and the banks clients suffer.

      This is why I like OBR as part of a deposit insurance regime. It's the ideal mechanism for shutting down a failed bank and reopening it with statutory management in charge.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • DAVID FARRAR: Hysterical bullshit
    Radio NZ reports: Te Pāti Māori’s co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has accused the new government of “deliberate .. systemic genocide” over its policies to roll back the smokefree policy and the Māori Health Authority. The left love hysterical language. If you oppose racial quotas in laws, you are a racist. And now if you sack ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 hour ago

  • ELE LUDEMANN: It wasn’t just $55 million
    Ele Ludemann writes –  Winston Peters reckons media outlets were bribed by the $55 million Public Interest Journalism Fund. He is not the first to make such an accusation. Last year, the Platform outlined conditions media signed up to in return for funds from the PJIF: . . . ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 hours ago

  • Weekly Roundup 1-December-2023
    Wow, it’s December already, and it’s a Friday. So here are few things that caught our attention recently. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt covered the new government’s coalition agreements and what they mean for transport. On Tuesday Matt looked at AT’s plans for fare increases ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 hours ago

  • Shane MacGowan Is Gone.
    Late 1996, The Dogs Bollix, Tamaki Makaurau.I’m at the front of the bar yelling my order to the bartender, jostling with other thirsty punters on a Friday night, keen to piss their wages up against a wall letting loose. The black stuff, long luscious pints of creamy goodness. Back down ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 hours ago

  • The Hoon around the week to Dec 1
    Nicola Willis, Chris Bishop and other National, ACT and NZ First MPs applaud the signing of the coalition agreements, which included the reversal of anti-smoking measures while accelerating tax cuts for landlords. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 hours ago

  • 2023 More Reading: November (+ Writing Update)
    Completed reads for November: A Modern Utopia, by H.G. Wells The Vampire (poem), by Heinrich August Ossenfelder The Corpus Hermeticum The Corpus Hermeticum is Mead’s translation. Now, this is indeed a very quiet month for reading. But there is a reason for that… You see, ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    15 hours ago

  • Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies.The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. They also describe the processes of the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    19 hours ago

  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    21 hours ago

  • Questions a nine year old might ask the new Prime Minister
    First QuestionYou’re going to crack down on people ram-raiding dairies, because you say hard-working dairy owners shouldn’t have to worry about getting ram-raided.But once the chemist shops have pseudoephedrine in them again, they're going to get ram-raided all the time. Do chemists not work as hard as dairy owners?Second QuestionYou ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    21 hours ago

  • Finally
    Henry Kissinger is finally dead. Good fucking riddance. While Americans loved him, he was a war criminal, responsible for most of the atrocities of the final quarter of the twentieth century. Cambodia. Bangladesh. Chile. East Timor. All Kissinger. Because of these crimes, Americans revere him as a "statesman" (which says ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    22 hours ago

  • Government in a hurry – Luxon lists 49 priorities in 100-day plan while Peters pledges to strength...
    Buzz from the Beehive Yes, ministers in the new government are delivering speeches and releasing press statements. But the message on the government’s official website was the same as it has been for the past several days, when Point of Order went looking for news from the Beehive that had ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    22 hours ago

  • DAVID FARRAR: Luxon is absolutely right
    David Farrar writes  –  1 News reports: Christopher Luxon says he was told by some Kiwis on the campaign trail they “didn’t know” the difference between Waka Kotahi, Te Pūkenga and Te Whatu Ora. Speaking to Breakfast, the incoming prime minister said having English first on government agencies will “make sure” ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • Top 10 at 10 am for Thursday, Nov 30
    There are fears that mooted changes to building consent liability could end up driving the building industry into an uninsured hole. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Thursday, November 30, including:The new Government’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago

  • Gordon Campbell on how climate change threatens cricket‘s future
    Well that didn’t last long, did it? Mere days after taking on what he called the “awesome responsibility” of being Prime Minister, M Christopher Luxon has started blaming everyone else, and complaining that he has inherited “economic vandalism on an unprecedented scale” – which is how most of us are ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    1 day ago

  • We need to talk about Tory.
    The first I knew of the news about Tory Whanau was when a tweet came up in my feed.The sort of tweet that makes you question humanity, or at least why you bother with Twitter. Which is increasingly a cesspit of vile inhabitants who lurk spreading negativity, hate, and every ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago

  • Dangling Transport Solutions
    Cable Cars, Gondolas, Ropeways and Aerial Trams are all names for essentially the same technology and the world’s biggest maker of them are here to sell them as an public transport solution. Stuff reports: Austrian cable car company Doppelmayr has launched its case for adding aerial cable cars to New ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    1 day ago

  • November AMA
    Hi,It’s been awhile since I’ve done an Ask-Me-Anything on here, so today’s the day. Ask anything you like in the comments section, and I’ll be checking in today and tomorrow to answer.Leave a commentNext week I’ll be giving away a bunch of these Mister Organ blu-rays for readers in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 day ago

  • National’s early moves adding to cost of living pressure
    The cost of living grind continues, and the economic and inflation honeymoon is over before it began. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: PM Christopher Luxon unveiled his 100 day plan yesterday with an avowed focus of reducing cost-of-living pressures, but his Government’s initial moves and promises are actually elevating ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago

  • Backwards to the future
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has confirmed that it will be back to the future on planning legislation. This will be just one of a number of moves which will see the new government go backwards as it repeals and cost-cuts its way into power. They will completely repeal one ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago

  • New initiatives in science and technology could point the way ahead for Luxon government
    As the new government settles into the Beehive, expectations are high that it can sort out some  of  the  economic issues  confronting  New Zealand. It may take time for some new  ministers to get to grips with the range of their portfolio work and responsibilities before they can launch the  changes that  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    2 days ago

  • Treaty pledge to secure funding is contentious – but is Peters being pursued by a lynch mob after ...
    TV3 political editor Jenna Lynch was among the corps of political reporters who bridled, when Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters told them what he thinks of them (which is not much). She was unabashed about letting her audience know she had bridled. More usefully, she drew attention to something which ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • How long does this last?
    I have a clear memory of every election since 1969 in this plucky little nation of ours. I swear I cannot recall a single one where the question being asked repeatedly in the first week of the new government was: how long do you reckon they’ll last? And that includes all ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • National’s giveaway politics
    We already know that national plans to boost smoking rates to collect more tobacco tax so they can give huge tax-cuts to mega-landlords. But this morning that policy got even more obscene - because it turns out that the tax cut is retrospective: Residential landlords will be able to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • CHRIS TROTTER: Who’s driving the right-wing bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In 2023, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • GRAHAM ADAMS:  Media knives flashing for Luxon’s government
    The fear and loathing among legacy journalists is astonishing Graham Adams writes – No one is going to die wondering how some of the nation’s most influential journalists personally view the new National-led government. It has become abundantly clear within a few days of the coalition agreements ...
    Point of OrderBy gadams1000
    2 days ago

  • Top 10 news links for Wednesday, Nov 29
    TL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere for Wednesday November 29, including:The early return of interest deductibility for landlords could see rebates paid on previous taxes and the cost increase to $3 billion from National’s initial estimate of $2.1 billion, CTU Economist Craig Renney estimated here last ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Smokefree Fallout and a High Profile Resignation.
    The day after being sworn in the new cabinet met yesterday, to enjoy their honeymoon phase. You remember, that period after a new government takes power where the country, and the media, are optimistic about them, because they haven’t had a chance to stuff anything about yet.Sadly the nuptials complete ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • As Cabinet revs up, building plans go on hold
    Wellington Council hoardings proclaim its preparations for population growth, but around the country councils are putting things on hold in the absence of clear funding pathways for infrastructure, and despite exploding migrant numbers. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Cabinet meets in earnest today to consider the new Government’s 100-day ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • National takes over infrastructure
    Though New Zealand First may have had ambitions to run the infrastructure portfolios, National would seem to have ended up firmly in control of them.  POLITIK has obtained a private memo to members of Infrastructure NZ yesterday, which shows that the peak organisation for infrastructure sees  National MPs Chris ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago

  • At a glance – Evidence for global warming
    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

  • Who’s Driving The Right-Wing Bus?
    Who’s At The Wheel? The electorate’s message, as aggregated in the polling booths on 14 October, turned out to be a conservative political agenda stronger than anything New Zealand has seen in five decades. In 1975, Bill Rowling was run over by just one bus, with Rob Muldoon at the wheel. In ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • Sanity break
    Cheers to reader Deane for this quote from Breakfast TV today:Chloe Swarbrick to Brook van Velden re the coalition agreement: “... an unhinged grab-bag of hot takes from your drunk uncle at Christmas”Cheers also to actual Prime Minister of a country Christopher Luxon for dorking up his swearing-in vows.But that's enough ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Sanity break
    Cheers to reader Deane for this quote from Breakfast TV today:Chloe Swarbrick to Brook van Velden re the coalition agreement: “... an unhinged grab-bag of hot takes from your drunk uncle at Christmas”Cheers also to actual Prime Minister of a country Christopher Luxon for dorking up his swearing-in vows.But that's enough ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • National’s murderous smoking policy
    One of the big underlying problems in our political system is the prevalence of short-term thinking, most usually seen in the periodic massive infrastructure failures at a local government level caused by them skimping on maintenance to Keep Rates Low. But the new government has given us a new example, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • NZ has a chance to rise again as our new government gets spending under control
    New Zealand has  a chance  to  rise  again. Under the  previous  government, the  number of New Zealanders below the poverty line was increasing  year by year. The Luxon-led government  must reverse that trend – and set about stabilising  the  pillars  of the economy. After the  mismanagement  of the outgoing government created   huge ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    3 days ago

  • KARL DU FRESNE: Media and the new government
    Two articles by Karl du Fresne bring media coverage of the new government into considerations.  He writes –    Tuesday, November 28, 2023 The left-wing media needed a line of attack, and they found one The left-wing media pack wasted no time identifying the new government’s weakest point. Seething over ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • PHILIP CRUMP:  Team of rivals – a CEO approach to government leadership
    The work begins Philip Crump wrote this article ahead of the new government being sworn in yesterday – Later today the new National-led coalition government will be sworn in, and the hard work begins. At the core of government will be three men – each a leader ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Black Friday
    As everyone who watches television or is on the mailing list for any of our major stores will confirm, “Black Friday” has become the longest running commercial extravaganza and celebration in our history. Although its origins are obscure (presumably dreamt up by American salesmen a few years ago), it has ...
    Bryan GouldBy Bryan Gould
    3 days ago

  • In Defense of the Media.
    Yesterday the Ministers in the next government were sworn in by our Governor General. A day of tradition and ceremony, of decorum and respect. Usually.But yesterday Winston Peters, the incoming Deputy Prime Minister, and Foreign Minister, of our nation used it, as he did with the signing of the coalition ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Top 10 news links at 10 am for Tuesday, Nov 28
    Nicola Willis’ first move was ‘spilling the tea’ on what she called the ‘sobering’ state of the nation’s books, but she had better be able to back that up in the HYEFU. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere at 10 am ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • PT use up but fare increases coming
    Yesterday Auckland Transport were celebrating, as the most recent Sunday was the busiest Sunday they’ve ever had. That’s a great outcome and I’m sure the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 days ago

  • The very opposite of social investment
    Nicola Willis (in blue) at the signing of the coalition agreement, before being sworn in as both Finance Minister and Social Investment Minister. National’s plan to unwind anti-smoking measures will benefit her in the first role, but how does it stack up from a social investment viewpoint? Photo: Lynn Grieveson ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Giving Tuesday
    For the first time "in history" we decided to jump on the "Giving Tuesday" bandwagon in order to make you aware of the options you have to contribute to our work! Projects supported by Skeptical Science Inc. Skeptical Science Skeptical Science is an all-volunteer organization but ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Let's open the books with Nicotine Willis
    Let’s say it’s 1984,and there's a dreary little nation at the bottom of the Pacific whose name rhymes with New Zealand,and they've just had an election.Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, will you look at the state of these books we’ve opened,cries the incoming government, will you look at all this mountain ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Climate Change: Stopping oil
    National is promising to bring back offshore oil and gas drilling. Naturally, the Greens have organised a petition campaign to try and stop them. You should sign it - every little bit helps, and as the struggle over mining conservation land showed, even National can be deterred if enough people ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • Don’t accept Human Rights Commission reading of data on Treaty partnership – read the survey fin...
    Wellington is braced for a “massive impact’ from the new government’s cutting public service jobs, The Post somewhat grimly reported today. Expectations of an economic and social jolt are based on the National-Act coalition agreement to cut public service numbers in each government agency in a cost-trimming exercise  “informed by” head ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • The stupidest of stupid reasons
    One of the threats in the National - ACT - NZ First coalition agreements was to extend the term of Parliament to four years, reducing our opportunities to throw a bad government out. The justification? Apparently, the government thinks "elections are expensive". This is the stupidest of stupid reasons for ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • A website bereft of buzz
    Buzz from the Beehive The new government was being  sworn in, at time of writing , and when Point of Order checked the Beehive website for the latest ministerial statements and re-visit some of the old ones we drew a blank. We found ….  Nowt. Nothing. Zilch. Not a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • MICHAEL BASSETT: A new Ministry – at last
    Michael Bassett writes – Like most people, I was getting heartily sick of all the time being wasted over the coalition negotiations. During the first three weeks Winston grinned like a Cheshire cat, certain he’d be needed; Chris Luxon wasted time in lifting the phone to Winston ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Luxon's Breakfast.
    The Prime Minister elect had his silver fern badge on. He wore it to remind viewers he was supporting New Zealand, that was his team. Despite the fact it made him look like a concierge, or a welcomer in a Koru lounge. Anna Burns-Francis, the Breakfast presenter, asked if he ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • LINDSAY MITCHELL:  Oranga Tamariki faces major upheaval under coalition agreement
     Lindsay Mitchell writes – A hugely significant gain for ACT is somewhat camouflaged by legislative jargon. Under the heading ‘Oranga Tamariki’ ACT’s coalition agreement contains the following item:   Remove Section 7AA from the Oranga Tamariki Act 1989 According to Oranga Tamariki:     “Section ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • BRIAN EASTON:  Peters as Minister
    A previous column looked at Winston Peters biographically. This one takes a closer look at his record as a minister, especially his policy record. Brian Easton writes – 1990-1991: Minister of Māori Affairs. Few remember Ka Awatea as a major document on the future of Māori policy; there is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Cathrine Dyer's guide to watching COP 28 from the bottom of a warming planet
    Is COP28 largely smoke and mirrors and a plan so cunning, you could pin a tail on it and call it a weasel? Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: COP28 kicks off on November 30 and up for negotiation are issues like the role of fossil fuels in the energy transition, contributions to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Top 10 news links at 10 am for Monday, Nov 27
    PM Elect Christopher Luxon was challenged this morning on whether he would sack Adrian Orr and Andrew Coster.TL;DR: Here’s my pick of top 10 news links elsewhere at 10 am on Monday November 27, including:Signs councils are putting planning and capital spending on hold, given a lack of clear guidance ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the new government’s policies of yesteryear
    This column expands on a Werewolf column published by Scoop on Friday Routinely, Winston Peters is described as the kingmaker who gets to decide when the centre right or the centre-left has a turn at running this country. He also plays a less heralded but equally important role as the ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    4 days ago

  • The New Government’s Agreements
    Last Friday, almost six weeks after election day, National finally came to an agreement with ACT and NZ First to form a government. They also released the agreements between each party and looking through them, here are the things I thought were the most interesting (and often concerning) from the. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    4 days ago

  • How many smokers will die to fund the tax cuts?
    Maori and Pasifika smoking rates are already over twice the ‘all adult’ rate. Now the revenue that generates will be used to fund National’s tax cuts. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The devil is always in the detail and it emerged over the weekend from the guts of the policy agreements National ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • How the culture will change in the Beehive
    Perhaps the biggest change that will come to the Beehive as the new government settles in will be a fundamental culture change. The era of endless consultation will be over. This looks like a government that knows what it wants to do, and that means it knows what outcomes ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago

  • No More Winnie Blues.
    So what do you think of the coalition’s decision to cancel Smokefree measures intended to stop young people, including an over representation of Māori, from taking up smoking? Enabling them to use the tax revenue to give other people a tax cut?David Cormack summed it up well:It seems not only ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #47
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 19, 2023 thru Sat, Nov 25, 2023.  Story of the Week World stands on frontline of disaster at Cop28, says UN climate chief  Exclusive: Simon Stiell says leaders must ‘stop ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Some of it is mad, some of it is bad and some of it is clearly the work of people who are dangerous ...
    On announcement morning my mate texted:Typical of this cut-price, fake-deal government to announce itself on Black Friday.What a deal. We lose Kim Hill, we gain an empty, jargonising prime minister, a belligerent conspiracist, and a heartless Ayn Rand fanboy. One door closes, another gets slammed repeatedly in your face.It seems pretty ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • “Revolution” is the threat as the Māori Party smarts at coalition government’s Treaty directi...
    Buzz from the Beehive Having found no fresh announcements on the government’s official website, Point of Order turned today to Scoop’s Latest Parliament Headlines  for its buzz. This provided us with evidence that the Māori Party has been soured by the the coalition agreement announced yesterday by the new PM. “Soured” ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • The Good, the Bad, and the even Worse.
    Yesterday the trio that will lead our country unveiled their vision for New Zealand.Seymour looking surprisingly statesmanlike, refusing to rise to barbs about his previous comments on Winston Peters. Almost as if they had just been slapstick for the crowd.Winston was mostly focussed on settling scores with the media, making ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • When it Comes to Palestine – Free Speech is Under Threat
    Hi,Thanks for getting amongst Mister Organ on digital — thanks to you, we hit the #1 doc spot on iTunes this week. This response goes a long way to helping us break even.I feel good about that. Other things — not so much.New Zealand finally has a new government, and ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago

  • Thank you Captain Luxon. Was that a landing, or were we shot down?
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Also in More Than A FeildingFriday The unboxing And so this is Friday and what have we gone and done to ourselves?In the same way that a Christmas present can look lovely under the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • Cans of Worms.
    “And there’ll be no shortage of ‘events’ to test Luxon’s political skills. David Seymour wants a referendum on the Treaty. Winston wants a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Labour’s handling of the Covid crisis. Talk about cans of worms!”LAURIE AND LES were very fond of their local. It was nothing ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago

  • Disinformation campaigns are undermining democracy. Here’s how we can fight back
    This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. Misinformation is debated everywhere and has justifiably sparked concerns. It can polarise the public, reduce health-protective behaviours such as mask wearing and vaccination, and erode trust in science. Much of misinformation is spread not ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • Peters as Minister
    A previous column looked at Winston Peters biographically. This one takes a closer look at his record as a minister, especially his policy record.1990-1991: Minister of Māori Affairs. Few remember Ka Awatea as a major document on the future of Māori policy; there is not even an entry in Wikipedia. ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    7 days ago

  • The New Government: 2023 Edition
    So New Zealand has a brand-spanking new right-wing government. Not just any new government either. A formal majority coalition, of the sort last seen in 1996-1998 (our governmental arrangements for the past quarter of a century have been varying flavours of minority coalition or single-party minority, with great emphasis ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    7 days ago

  • The unboxing
    And so this is Friday and what have we gone and done to ourselves?In the same way that a Christmas present can look lovely under the tree with its gold ribbon but can turn out to be nothing more than a big box holding a voucher for socks, so it ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • A cruel, vicious, nasty government
    So, after weeks of negotiations, we finally have a government, with a three-party cabinet and a time-sharing deputy PM arrangement. Newsroom's Marc Daalder has put the various coalition documents online, and I've been reading through them. A few things stand out: Luxon doesn't want to do any work, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • Hurrah – we have a new government (National, ACT and New Zealand First commit “to deliver for al...
    Buzz from the Beehive Sorry, there has been  no fresh news on the government’s official website since the caretaker trade minister’s press statement about the European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement. But the capital is abuzz with news – and media comment is quickly flowing – after ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • Christopher Luxon – NZ PM #42.
    Nothing says strong and stable like having your government announcement delayed by a day because one of your deputies wants to remind everyone, but mostly you, who wears the trousers. It was all a bit embarrassing yesterday with the parties descending on Wellington before pulling out of proceedings. There are ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • Coalition Government details policies & ministers
    Winston Peters will be Deputy PM for the first half of the Coalition Government’s three-year term, with David Seymour being Deputy PM for the second half. Photo montage by Lynn Grieveson for The KākāTL;DR: PM-Elect Christopher Luxon has announced the formation of a joint National-ACT-NZ First coalition Government with a ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • “Old Coat” by Peter, Paul & Mary.
     THERE ARE SOME SONGS that seem to come from a place that is at once in and out of the world. Written by men and women who, for a brief moment, are granted access to that strange, collective compendium of human experience that comes from, and belongs to, all the ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago

  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Further humanitarian support for Gaza, the West Bank and Israel
    The Government is contributing a further $5 million to support the response to urgent humanitarian needs in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, bringing New Zealand’s total contribution to the humanitarian response so far to $10 million. “New Zealand is deeply saddened by the loss of civilian life and the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2023-12-01T00:21:04+00:00