Results matter

Written By: - Date published: 9:34 am, June 21st, 2019 - 29 comments
Categories: business, class, culture, employment, equality, human rights, jobs, Living Wage, minimum wage, quality of life, tax, Unions, wages, workers' rights - Tags:

Union activity tends to get a lot of attention in the midst of a dispute, when members down tools and walk of the job, protesting on the street for a better deal. We do this because we know collective action is the most effective way for working people to achieve results. Positive words and sentiments from employers are fine, but only real negotiations will get real results and these can’t occur in a paternalistic relationship which is what most working people who don’t bargain collectively, experience. Everyone knows that getting employers to increase rates of pay and improve conditions of work takes real pressure and the only real way working people can exert pressure, in the unbalanced relationship that exists between individual employees and employers, is by acting together; collectively.

And that’s what we’ve been doing week in, week out and getting real results. Take last week, where union members chalked up much improved offers for primary and secondary teachers, where Kmart workers won the living wage, and where Film Industry workers have gained the right to collective bargaining. While teachers are yet to vote, the offer from the Government has been greatly improved. None of these things have happened by accident, nor were they the result of employers suddenly feeling generous and kind. They happened because these Kiwi workers in these industries worked together in union and used their collective strength to get an better deal. This is a good thing.

It’s worth reminding ourselves that within our business and market friendly economic policy settings, business interests, especially big business interests have enormous sway. When it comes to getting their message out, money has a way of cutting through and drowning out the voices of the majority. Look at the one sided discussion over the Capital Gains Tax, where capital insisted only labour could be taxed, and the interests of the wealthy minority were the only real interests reported in the discussion (I won’t call it a debate!). Little wonder that the clear trend occurring over time is working people getting a smaller slice of the nations wealth or pie, and yet they are paying a greater proportion of the total tax take.

Ordinarily working people don’t have and can’t match the voice or the kind of leverage big business has. But if working people band together in union, they act as a counterweight to large financial interests and they can bring about more balanced outcomes in our democratic society. It’s no coincidence that a decline of collective bargaining in New Zealand and across the OECD, has been accompanied by a decline in the share of the economy going to working people. And now many working people, frustrated by stagnant wages and insecure employment, have a renewed interest in, and are more easily seduced by, populist politics promoting simplistic solutions and denying serious issues like global warming?

So we need to celebrate when unions deliver concrete outcomes. Because better pay and conditions at work means not just a better job and a higher standard of living, but more confidence in our political and legal system because it is working not just for the few, but the many.

Our opponents do their best to dissuade working people from joining, and promote the idea that unions don’t work. Tell that to the teachers, the workers at Kmart or in the film industry. They know they had no chance of getting the kind of results they did last week out of charity, it took real union organisation and political action. Nothing wrong with that, we just need more of it if we really want to achieve a more equal society, making New Zealand a fairier place.

But the answer doesn’t simply lie in imploring more working people to join their union. We are very focused on doing just that, but within our current reality where much of the workforce is effectively out of our immediate and practical reach, we need to do more.

A critical barrier New Zealand unions face, and one that unions in most other OECD countries don’t, is the lack of industry bargaining. That is unions negotiating with employers from across an industry , and removing downward wage competition between enterprises within industries. Our current fixation with outsourcing and competitive tendering without wage protection has been a disaster for Kiwis. We have a couple of key opportunities to fix this; Equal Pay Agreements and Fair Pay Agreements.

So let’s celebrate the gains working people are making at the bargaining table and let us also keep an eye on the future by supporting moves to introduce industry wide bargaining so that a much greater number of Kiwis can get a better deal at work.

Richard Wagstaff was elected NZ Council of Trade Unions President in 2015. He was previously NZCTU Vice President and one of two national secretaries of the Public Service Association.

29 comments on “Results matter ”

  1. Macro 1

    Thanks Richard, an excellent post. These things need to be said, and we don't hear it often enough.

    This point you make :

    A critical barrier New Zealand unions face, and one that unions in most other OECD countries don’t, is the lack of industry bargaining. That is unions negotiating with employers from across an industry , and removing downward wage competition between enterprises within industries.

    is so very true. My dad was President of the Rubber Workers Union for over 20 years a Union that worked for workers in large factories in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch and smaller factories across the country. The removal of industry bargaining power – even where workers are doing essentially the same jobs, but in different locations, and the removal of tariffs on imported cheaper tyres in the mid 80's, saw the demise of a local industry, which gave good incomes, to a good number of people.*

    In the 1990's and teacher Unions were faced with Bulk Funding of individual schools. This was a direct attempt to compromise universal pay and conditions for teachers across the country. As a PPTA rep in those days, we saw that threat to the profession and were even prepared to forego pay increases for the year just to remove the threat of bulk funding from schools and preserve the universal pay and conditions for teachers across the country. It's still a gleam in the eye for ACT and National. These things never die completely, but if ever it got into schools – eg through the abortive Charter Schools – it would ultimately bring about the death of our schools.

    * My mother was a long time friend of the wife of the Managing Director (as they we called in those days) for Auckland's Reid Rubber. As a family we would occasionally spend our Xmas holidays in Auckland in their home, while they were at their family bach. Talk about the Union getting into bed with Management. lol No – although relationships between Workers and Management were for the most part very good, the Union was able to work towards excellent pay and conditions for its workers even at one point where a National MP was complaining in the House about the "excessive" pay rates for rubber workers – they were earning almost as much as him! Mind you they sweated for it, and it was a real grubby job. I worked in the factory part-time while at university. The heat from the tyre presses was huge. The carbon black got into every pour of your skin.

  2. Sacha 2

    Very well put, Richard. Thank you.

  3. Cinny 3

    Results do matter and unions are brilliant at helping people get results.

    Over a decade ago I worked for one of NZ's largest fishing companies, it really troubled me that I was told to bin any application forms that came across my desk where the applicant had checked the box stating they belonged to a union.

    In the end I would advise would be applicants not to tick the union box, but to wait until they had been employed and signed the contract before advising they belonged to a union.

  4. greywarshark 4

    Things certainly have to change for nz workers. Here is a comment from the jobs category on Trme community board. Just one example of how people who have prepared themselves for work find they are not wanted. Others cite the need to have one year's experience while businesses are not prepared to give you the experience (I guess you are supposed to go as an unpaid intern and think yourself lucky. This is what happens when lazy government gives us and hands the nation over to business to run as they fancy.)

    • Yep, my son graduated with an IT degree end of 2017 – award for technical proficiency. He tried for a year to get an entry level job in software dev that actually paid (interns and unpaid work don't work when you have to move to a larger city) No luck, despite, several interviews, but it was very hard. He's been coding since he was 12 and lives and breathes it. Seems like no-one wants to give people a foot in the door any more. This year he bit the bullet and started his own business, which has been going OK, but not ideal.
    • lprent 4.1

      Speaking as a very senior programmer, training out of school (uni, tech, school) programmers is a pain in the arse.

      I'm getting pretty jaded with doing it. Simply because I train them and they leave or the company retrenched. Not worth my time. It takes a big hole out of my year to do it. And I prefer to program rather than train.

      Besides I find most new programmers tend to be a bit fragile when I tear their code g apart.

      The HR and my ‘managers’ rely would prefer to use my time more productively as well.

      • RedBaronCV 4.1.1

        But if we old people don't train then who does? but a lot of workplaces seem to see any training as something to be done in one's own time so to speak – while maintaining personal productivity

      • Kevin 4.1.2

        Once upon s time you would have been that ‘pain in the arse’. If the older experienced tradespeople/professionals do not pass on the skills and knowledge then who will?

        • lprent 4.1.2.1

          I'm quite aware of that. I had some great colleagues through various projects where we learnt off each other. That was literally the only way of doing it back in the day because the field was always too damn new, and the books were for the previous decade.

          It is hard for those outside the field of programming and IT to understand exactly how hard it is to simply stay current. This is a very dynamic field. So mostly I didn’t learn that much from the older generations in it – there weren’t many. At best I learnt from contemporaries. Mostly I learnt from those younger than me because I started getting serious about programming when I was about 30. There is a hell of a cost to programming.

          Even now after being a programmer by profession for almost 30 years (as opposed to the 15 years previously where I just played at it), I expend about 20-25% of my time annually in just learning and playing with new things. That is just to remain employable at the bleeding edges I want to be around. Almost all of it is done on my own time – because the fastest way to learn it is to just read it on the net – which is why programmers and IT people made the damn thing work. Then you download it and spend weekends, evenings and holidays testing it to failure.

          The skills shortages are still intense 30 years after I broke into programming. It took me most of a decade to decide to do it and a whole new field of hardware (PCs). I’d started in a different direction. I did a few years doing support work on PCs after I'd finished an MBA and was waiting for my partner to finish her degrees. Even after I'd decided that I just wanted to program, it took 2 years to open up a crack I could get a job in after a couple of failed attempts.

          I didn't bother to actually finish the only formal year of part-time post-grad diploma that was in this sector – because an interesting contract come up.

          Typically for the time, it was a contract that I largely did on my own using a brand new compiler and database system. The IT group that I was doing it for didn't have any skills in a PC level. And when I had to learn most of it from scrounged books.

          In a lot of ways it isn't that much different now. It is hard to find people with actual skills in delivering projects and even harder to get them to expend time mentoring others. The reason is because they simply don't have time themselves, because of pretty permanent overwork..

          But getting back to topic. Over the last 25 years I've (in varying degrees) helped somewhere in the order of 40-50 new grads upskilling them to get over the initial hump. Not to mention a similar number of people with partial but not wide skills. Sometimes that has matured into collegial cross transfers in programming and IT. But generally it has been irritating and cuts into my learning time.

          There a very small number of people that over the years who have actually been incredibly helpful to me. Some in programming. But mostly in whatever industry I happened to be intersecting at the time. Hopefully I have helped them as much as they did to me.

          Curiously, in recent years some of the grads have been useful to me. They are using interesting tools as the programming and IT fields spread out past anyone's ability to even attempt to cover it. But they're been really good at highlighting systems that are worth playing with. A couple of them have gotten me into working on an playing with Kotlin.. Now that is an awesome language.

  5. greywarshark 5

    Another frank comment from Trme Jobs.

    Ok thanks. I have looked back at all my emails from Seek and I can't see this info on any of them. Obviously there must be a lot of skilled people applying for jobs as I have never heard anything back after receiving the automated email you get after submitting an application. I do wonder about the supposed skills shortage given that it seems to me that it would be easier to win first division lotto than to get an IT job in 2019 even when you have skills and experience.

  6. RedBaronCV 6

    Personally I'd like to see a lot more soft action from this government on the skills shortage issue and re establishing unions. My industry constantly bleats "skill shortages" but we produce a reasonable number of graduates annually. Trouble is I've only trained about one of them in the last decade. So companies over a certain size don't get to use more than a certain number of work visas. May need transistional phase but they can get busy and train people up. Some of them have had work visas operating for years- far beyond any training time. Telco's are in this zone. Push them to shift jobs out of Auckland too -remote work the way to go.

    And legislate for industry unions starting with the bigger employers. They can pay the fees for the workers for a couple of years. They spend plenty on their on industry groups. Wages haven;t risen a lot over the last 20 years- lot off disgruntled people out here who Labour seem determined to ignore.

  7. WeTheBleeple 7

    Strike till you are paid enough to be able to afford to work.

    Had a job for two weeks one time then some drunk threw his burger at me: I duck, it missed and hit the boss – then he cursed me out, said I must've started it (he was right there the whole time), and threatened violence and cursing me out while manhandling me out the door. Union got him for a months pay the very same day. wish I was a fly on that wall. Yay the union, savior of a 16 year old boy.

    Crump's book 'Bastards I have met' could easily be rewritten 'Bosses I have met.' It would be a reasonable volume of an array of pricks. I had a boss come at me with a knife once, charming. I took it off him so he ran off to the local bikie gang to get them to try intimidate me. Cowardly little wretch.

    Without the unions many are at the mercy of nasty people who don't give a shit about them. You can spot the Bastards fairly quickly by the minimal possible pay offer. They think you are their property the entitled ones. They try own your day, then extra evenings, weekends… When you claim your life back – outrage – ungrateful swine!

    Unions hold the line between working class and completely fucked.

    • Bewildered 7.1

      Saying that and to balance the Union lovefest up some useless twats hide behind unions and simply make life harder for fellow workers and employers Likewise as with all organisations there are some grade A a hole unionist as with employeers Likewise Union in some industry are pricing members out of jobs, I see that in a number of labour intensive industry where waged labour been been replaced by automaton, workers left earn more but less workers Lastly Union and employers due to nature of collective bargaining tend to negotiate to the lowest common denominator so if your any good you don’t need a union ( all you young folk out there )

      • greywarshark 7.1.1

        Speaking from your own fortunate experience no doubt.

      • Cinny 7.1.2

        It's about being valued not only as an employee but also as a human being.

        Message to all the young folk out there… join a union especially if you are employed by a large company and you are on a low pay grade. You've got nothing to lose.

        • bewildered 7.1.2.1

          You have plenty to loose Cinny if it stifles your ambition and ability to make your way rather than been held back by the pack, end of the day up to every one to make a choice but to say it’s a costless decision is plain wrong I would not recommend it simply from a mindset perspective re getting ahead, especially for young folk,

          • Incognito 7.1.2.1.1

            Why do you pose it as a binary choice between two rigid poles as if there’s nothing in between them?

          • UncookedSelachimorpha 7.1.2.1.2

            Being paid properly doesn't hold anyone back

      • KJT 7.1.3

        If you are any good, which I doubt, your comments over time show you were lucky rather than competent, your pay and working conditions still depend on the "floor" set by Union agreements. You are deluding yourself, if you think your current working conditions are not the result of a 150 years of Union activism.

        In fact the strongest Unions are still organisations like the Chartered accountants, the institute of Directors, The Doctors, dentists and lawyers Unions etc. They are just as much Unions. It is only people like tradies, and film crews, who are not allowed to "collude".

        The lack of Unions has meant employers have passed many of their costs, especially training, onto workers and tax payers.

        High wages are supposed, to make employers invest capital in productivity. The greater productivity makes products cheaper in the long term. The fewer employees with higher wages spread the money around. Making other businesses viable. Like the multiplications of coffee shops, lawn mowing franchises etc.

        • Bewildered 7.1.3.1

          20th century institution for early 19th and early mid 20th century problem Now redundant apart from a nostalgia point of view

        • bewildered 7.1.3.2

          I guess you where just unlucky KJT and your true brilliance just remains undiscovered

          • KJT 7.1.3.2.1

            Pretty lucky actually.

            Due to a lot of hard work, after several setbacks, but also due to New Zealand's, formerly excellent, education and apprenticeships systems, before the Neo-liberals fucked them.

    • Cinny 7.2

      Woahs WTB far our … dang. Yay for the unions crikey, thanks for sharing, that's messed up.

      You can spot the Bastards fairly quickly by the minimal possible pay offer.

      Ain't that the truth.

  8. R.P Mcmurphy 8

    keep up the good work.

  9. Ad 9

    If Mr Wagstaff is keen to celebrate successes from being in a union, he should list a few.

    They are a useful lot in a restructure, but now too diffused in all but a few of the public sector industries, let alone the private ones.

  10. sumsuch 10

    'acting collectively', not only good for unions, but why Left govts haven't been able to act for what's right, Helen Clark on. This individualistic age has torn apart the strength of democrats. And empowered silly arse rich people.

  11. UncookedSelachimorpha 11

    Unions are reliably associated with better pay and conditions for workers, enough said!

    Robert Reich – Why we need stronger unions and how to get them

    Strengthen Unions

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    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Progress continues apace on water storage
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