I have fixed the handle. Sorry for not noticing it earlier. To comment on the differential approach. I suppose one thing that could be done is have the UB at a higher initial rate, then drop back after some time. However, I am not sure that would be very ...
I am pretty sure this will have to be legislated for. It is a specific appropriation for a benefit that is regulated by statute. That almost certainly require specific legislation.
Bill, I know it is an unemployment benefit, which is evident in my first para. I was using the wage subsidy as the analogy. After all the rate is the same as the wage subsidy. The specific point being that the Covid emergency is so unusual that special ...
Bill, It is effectively a 3 month extension of the current wage subsidy regime bought about by the most exceptional circumstances since WW2. Essentially it gives time for people to adjust, if they can't get a job. I know you won' agree with this, but the ...
National hasn't fallen apart. It has chosen a new Leader. And from all the contacts that I have, I can tell you he is a pretty popular choice. Labour's spin on all this (by it supporters) to paint him a some sort of hard right racist misogynist will ...
Micky, This, and the other items on The Standard about Todd, shows a whiff of panic on the side of the Left. It is no longer such as an easy walk to victory for Labour as seemed to be the case less than a week ago.
You misunderstand the MAGA hat. National is always invited by the Republican Party to send a few up and comers to observe the Presidential election. Just as the Democrats do with Labour. Having the hat on display signifies that Todd was one of the MP's ...
You might think that, but it remain the law of the land, albeit now limited to SME's. It is the most moderate act of its type in the developed world.
He won't have worked on the Trump campaign, given that at the time he was an MP. But it is normal for National MP's to be invited by the Republican Party to visit their campaign operation. It happens every Presidential election. Much like the Dems do for ...
James Shaw won't be able to dispute the Todd worked with him. Because he knows it is true. Todd got National across the line to support the Carbon Zero Bill. Shaw made a few concessions to make that possible. Shaw knew that a Bill like that needed broad ...
You are calling him out.
Nikki Kaye will probably win Auckland Central, no matter what happens. When a major party loses the party vote, they usually hold on to the electorate vote, particularly if the local MP is popular. In short the voters switching sides between the two major ...
Ad, A good idea.
Well, I guess the Court will inform us one way or the other.
Rule 8.2.2 seems reasonably clear. I presume the notice seeking nomination actually had the closing date of nominations on the Notice. I would have thought that in this situation you either get your nomination in by the due date, or you miss out. It is not...
For some reason the Labour Party leadership has had quite a beef against Louisa for some time. For some reason they don't see her as a team player. Even though she has more success than most MP's in getting members bills through into law. I hope she wins ...
It wasn't the centrists in Labour that did Corbyn in, it was the voters in the 2019 election. They had a clear choice and they voted Boris.
I see Boris used the PM's analogy of climbing down the mountain. Nice to see that happen.
On the recovery plan, I have no doubt that National would do a better job than Labour. My evidence is the GFC and the Christchurch earthquake, though I don't imagine you would agree on that. The PM has shown herself to be brilliant during the covid ...
Millsy, "Plain as day"? What's your evidence? In fact what is your evidence for any of your three assertions? They are just your prejudices. To me it is "plain as day" that National will not be offering a generalised tax cut. I also presume you ...
Solkta, The government still has to act according to law, even in the most extreme of circumstances. That is the issue here. Not a nitpicking issue at all. In fact it goes to the foundation of constitutional government.
KJT, It is for Parliament (the Committee) to first ask the Executive, not the Courts. The Executive is primarily accountable to Parliament. The only way for the Courts to be involved is if the Parliament asked for a Declaratory Judgement on the issue. That...
It is not a stunt. It goes to the core advice that has set the rules for the governance of the country for the last 7 weeks. I would thought that even the partisans on The Standard would recognise that, and that this is not the usual stuff of party ...
These are not normal times, so the usual excuses not to release the SG advice doesn’t hold up. In this case the whole of the govt response, and thus how we have lived in the last 7 weeks, is dependent on that advice. It is the same situation as the UK govt...
Sacha, You are mixing up the timing of the original decision to proceed with the CRL with the delays once the contract was commenced. Yes, it took time for National to be convinced that the CRL was a good idea. The government formally agreed with the ...
The revised design also drops out the station at Eden Terrace on the grounds of costs. Yes, stations have lengthened, but a whole station (1 of 3 underground stations) was dropped. There is no way it is being delivered on the original time line. It was ...
Going by the rest of the big roading and infrastructure projects, an increase in cost by 20% does not seem so extraordinary. The CRL has just about doubled price in the last four years. Most of the other big projects have cost overruns in the order of 20% ...
Anne, I think Andrew would be of the view that your response proved his point.
KJT, I don't disagree with any of what you have said. No-one is talking about cutting wages and government spending. National didn't during the GFC. Though we didn't keep every single programme of the Clark government, but we did keep all the big ones ...
I presume the "they" is the Green Party who released the proposal. Most of the assistance in Herodotus';s comment is aimed at families with children, which is appropriate. A family on a low wage (or even quite reasonable wages) has always required the ...
In the current circumstances, is anyone going to get any sort of wage increase? I think that is highly unlikely. As I have previously said, the challenge will be maintain existing jobs at current wage rates. It is almost certain, given that so many will ...
Recent Comments