Squeeze

Written By: - Date published: 9:17 am, May 13th, 2018 - 40 comments
Categories: business, capitalism, class war, cost of living, Economy, employment, labour, unemployment, Unions, wages, workers' rights - Tags:

This is as good a year as it is going to get to squeeze your employer.

We in New Zealand have grown to expect that the only remaining squeeze against capital resides with the state. And sure, left and right always expect a Labour-led state to always do more.

But it’s also time to recognize our own agency.

How? The state is shifting substantial levers to address poverty, but it’s never going to be enough. This 2018 budget is going to be the biggest we have seen in several decades.

The state is proposing to ‘future-proof‘ the economy. But they define that term to mean ensure they retain enough cash to keep the country out of trouble.

Yet ‘Future-proofing’ for actual worker-citizens really means: we have terrific wages and salaries to get our own selves out. That won’t be achieved with increased Working For Families subsidies.

The scale of Budget 2018’s spending ambition means even greater capacity constraints than there already are. Some worry about whether this scale of public funding will ‘crowd out’ the private sector.

But this government is clearly targeting this expenditure at services that are already public in great majority (education and health), or almost completely (transport). So it is hard to see private sector investment directly displaced.

Wage and salary increases do not appear to be effectively achieved with income tax cuts. Under the previous government, there were income tax cuts in 2010. But 70% of people surveyed said they had made no difference.

So tax cuts don’t do the trick. The harder thing to shift is greed. We know the historical patterns about wealth redistribution over the last 30 years.

We remain a low-wage and commodity based economy, and we know that drags us all down.

Still within that economy, still too many industries fail to plan, then fail, then complain about it and still try to pay nothing much more than the minimum wage.

Both the public and private sectors need us, and as labour resources continue to shrink, they need us more and more.

We have not yet seen the government’s changes to workplace negotiation really lift wages.

But all the pressures are all here.  This is an excellent confluence to act against Generation Wealth.

To carry out their businesses, and to carry out such enormous budgeted public programmes, both the state and business need us more than ever. There just aren’t enough of us to do it all.

The 2018 budgetary surge, the persistently low headline unemployment with seasonal capacity crises, and a persistently low wage economy, point to a really exploitable moment.

So my simple urge to you today is this: if you are working, this month either join a union, or bargain really hard this Performance Review season. This is your moment.

Don’t bemoan the loss of egalitarianism.

This year you deserve a higher wage or salary, so go get it.

Both the state and the businesses know the only alternative to paying handsomely for your loyalty is to import lower-skilled people at a higher cost from overseas.

Make them show you the money.

Workers of New Zealand, squeeze.

40 comments on “Squeeze ”

  1. Sanctuary 1

    My employer just spent four months trying to recruit another person with a skillset suitable for our consultancy team.

    They failed.

    I am planning on asking for 20% as the starting point for my payrise negotiations this year.

    As the saying goes, when you’ve got them by the balls all you have to do is squeeze.

    • Ad 1.1

      Squeeze nice and hard; it helps them move their contract-signing hand.

      • Sanctuary 1.1.1

        Actually I don’t fancy my chances, I earn a good salary and a 20% increase would be a huge amount of money. Also, the pot of money is limited and there a some family people doing it tough in other parts of the business.

  2. One Anonymous Bloke 2

    Re: skills shortage. How many of us are wasted on empty PR and fluff jobs for the artificially created “free” “market” in services that used to be provided by public servants?

    • Anne 2.1

      Sheesh… I could write a small book on the crap that went down inside the Public Service I worked for in the late 80s and early 90s.

      First there was the appearance of an expensive monthly magazine called “Konections” (K instead of C – clever eh?) and we all received our own copy. It was full of words like ‘mission’ and ‘motivation’ and ‘being proud of our product’. Product? We were a Public Service for god’s sake. Then came the memes of the day which encouraged us to “fight them on the beaches”. (Uggh?) And of course there were the “well being” courses offered which nobody attended. Finally there was the arrival of the Human Resources manager which made us feel like a bunch of cows and steers.

      The Bolger government turned it into an SOE and the management was given its marching orders. In this instance, it was the best thing that could have happened.

    • Draco T Bastard 2.2

      At a guess, tens of thousands and quite a few of them probably have degrees that have nothing to do with what they’re doing. What they’re doing probably doesn’t need a degree.

  3. savenz 3

    “Both the state and the businesses know the only alternative to paying handsomely for your loyalty is to import lower-skilled people at a higher cost from overseas’…. that is why wages is so low, if you are a crap employer who can’t keep staff and want to pay under that people are worth and certainly not bother to train them for our industry (why would you apparently someone else’s problem) you can easily just pick up someone from overseas… plenty of reports that you don’t even have to pay the overseas resident seeking employment the correct NZ minimum wages, in some cases the employers expect the employee’s to pay them for the privilege! Has anyone gone to jail for this and received huge fines. Apparently not.

    Employers don’t have to pay handsomely because the state tops them up with various working forms of welfare aka WFF so your workers can actually survive and keep working for you.

    That’s when you get a housing crisis with all the new people coming into NZ who need more welfare than they earn to keep the Ponzi going … infrastructure crisis…. welfare crisis… low wage crisis, left unchecked you are going to have major social issues on top of the above and you are purposely sinking the country from 1st world backwards… how far, who knows.

  4. savenz 4

    Time to raise minimum wages to $20p/h, raising immigration criteria to $100k with a lot more conditions to be met, time for government to tell all the industries that expect the government to solve and pay for all their training problems of staff for them to F off and do it themselves like they used to, time to think about link between highest wage being within 20 times the lowest wage (including subcontractors)(Fonterra/banks comes to mind), time to understand private sector and COO’s and SOE’s have been made into nasty monster’s that are being told again and again short term profits beat long term fair and well run businesses and disasters like Pike River and dysfunction is coming out of it, time to try to keep skilled workers in NZ because our cheap is best approach is making NZ fall lower and lower in practically even direction in OECD rankings from previous places…

    So I don’t like the chances of many workers in NZ to be able to ask their employer for a pay rise…. many employers are so stuck in the cost cutting of worker culture as an easy way to save money, they don’t even understand the concept.

    Look at retail and food. Costs of premises to leases and council rates are sky rocketing. How often do you here about the industry complaining about that instead of the worker wages?

    Instead the focus in always on the ‘worker shortage’ which as most of their staff are already paid below living levels and wages don’t seem to go up with experience, what do they want, bringing back slavery to help keep themselves in business? You have to wonder!

    Many of these businesses just seem to exist to scam more workers into NZ. Someone was commenting that a hairdressers had changed hands about 3 times in the past year in central Auckland where the premises costs are easily over $100,000 a year for the lease and then the refit each time.. does not add up.

  5. Antoine 5

    > This is as good a year as it is going to get to squeeze your employer.

    Is this a good year to get squeezed by your employees?

    A.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 5.1

      Yes. Businesses that aren’t resilient will fail, leaving gaps in the market for the more competent among us.

      • Antoine 5.1.1

        Can’t the same argument apply in reverse to employees?

        Ones that can’t manage on a low wage will fail, leaving jobs open for more resilient workers.

        [scratches head]

        A.

      • alwyn 5.1.2

        How many people do you employ in the business you own and operate?

        • One Anonymous Bloke 5.1.2.1

          None of your business.

          Also, I’m not relying on personal anecdotes for my opinion, I’m relying on the robust and extensive real world evidence which demonstrates that wage rises do not cause business failure, nor even increases in unemployment.

          • alwyn 5.1.2.1.1

            I must admit that when I read a statement like
            “Businesses that aren’t resilient will fail, leaving gaps in the market for the more competent among us”
            I took it to mean that you did own and operate a business and considered yourself to be competent at it. Otherwise why would you say “us”?.
            I was apparently mistaken. You don’t and you aren’t.

        • Incognito 5.1.2.2

          Fallacy alert!

          • tracey 5.1.2.2.1

            Yup. Only those who have employed people are permitted an opinion. But employers have opinion on myriad things they have no experience or knowledge. Eg education. Health. Justice. Environment

        • Tracey 5.1.2.3

          Alwyn

          How many minimum wagers, casual contractors etc do you employ?

          • alwyn 5.1.2.3.1

            That is very easy to answer.
            I do not employ anyone who earns only the minimum wage.
            I do employ a casual contractor to look after the garden. I am now past doing it myself. Does that answer the question?
            I am not quite as coy as OAB you see.

    • Tracey 5.2

      Antoine

      It is a rare year that employers have been genuinely squeezed by employees

  6. Draco T Bastard 6

    Yet ‘Future-proofing’ for actual worker-citizens really means: we have terrific wages and salaries to get our own selves out.

    Only if you’ve bought the lies of the RWNJs about independent individuals competing against each other.

    For everyone else it means having a viable society that provides everything that you need including enough work and play without poverty anywhere.

    That won’t be achieved with increased Working For Families subsidies.

    Probably correct. We need a UBI instead.

    Some worry about whether this scale of public funding will ‘crowd out’ the private sector.

    These people seem to be concerned that their opportunities for bludging off of the rest of us diminish when we work together via government to provide what we need.

    So it is hard to see private sector investment directly displaced.

    Not hard at all. Once the government provides something efficiently and well, which they’re quite capable of doing, then people are going to question why we’re putting up with the theft by the private sector when we could have government doing it better. Telecommunications and power come to mind.

    Wage and salary increases do not appear to be effectively achieved with income tax cuts.

    They don’t. All tax cuts do is make more money available for the private sector to skim and thus make the rich richer.

    We know the historical patterns about wealth redistribution over the last 30 years.

    We know the historical patterns of wealth distribution in a capitalist society over the last 5000. It always ends in collapse as poverty always increases to the point that the society can no longer sustain itself.

    Both the public and private sectors need us, and as labour resources continue to shrink, they need us more and more.

    If labour resources are shrinking then we’re doing it wrong. Increasing productivity should result in higher availability of labour (which, historically, is why increasing productivity has resulted in lower wages if the economy hasn’t been developed).

    Increased amount of farming is not a Good Thing™ as it’s resistant to productivity increases and pays very little. A reduction in farming will allow us to properly develop our economy.

  7. fender 7

    So we all put the “squeeze” on our employers; businesses then raise the prices of their products and services to compensate; inflation rises; interest rates rise; and we’re back where we started except those in the high income bracket. (?)

    • One Anonymous Bloke 7.1

      Nope. Businesses don’t set prices, the balance of supply and demand does.

      • savenz 7.1.1

        Yes but in the case of NZ, it isn’t working because the supply of workers through immigration effectively screws up the equation.

        Example, many companies are actually dropping wages every time they employ new workers they then make the experienced people either get static wages in real terms for years or in some cases make them redundant while hiring in cheap workers.

        BTW – this is not just effecting the long term Kiwi residents but also the new migrants. They can’t get a pay rise either. Just like the Kiwis the ones with real skills go overseas too.

        That is also why the quality of workmanship from construction to IT is now full of errors and so hit and miss. In a small country like NZ everyone knows everyone so it’s easy to warn against bad workmanship if the workforce is static, however in NZ that’s not the case due to immigration on steroids.

        How many countries for example think that higher paid and more experienced workers paying decent taxes prior to leaving for overseas to be replaced by someone who has little to no experience and needs to be topped up with government support on their wages, is a good strategy?

        • One Anonymous Bloke 7.1.1.1

          If you ask me the balance has nothing to do with immigration and everything to do with legislation. Right Wing fantasies masquerading as economics making their way into employment law and the local government act, allowing employers too much power to undermine wages and conditions, and local government too little responsibility to maintain services.

          Immigration is only a problem because there’s been no plan, an expectation and/or cynical policy that “the market” will provide. Wage levels are only a problem because of the “high trust model”.

    • Tracey 7.2

      So you accept the market and capitalism are deeply flawed cos you are essentially saying wages must always be low

  8. greywarshark 8

    This notice may be noticed on this post but lost on Open Mike.
    On this Tuesday evening 15 May there is a talk by Dr Wayne Hope I think, in Auckland with some Celtic music too. It should be a brain sharpener talking about how time as a concept is changing and capitalism has caused much of it.
    See more details on Bowalley Road.
    e&oe

  9. Observer Tokoroa 9

    The Elites

    Workers are the Elite of humans. Their health, expertise and commitment are the essential ingredient of any good economy in any Nation.

    As such each Worker should be paid three times any Mananger recieves within an enterprise. And Ten times any Share Holder in the enterprise.

    Modern experience shows that very few managers are capable of carrying out even the simplest of duties. They spend a lot of time trying to take money off their staff, and the consumer.

    Workers are the Backbone of Society. Always have been. Always will be.

    • indiana 9.1

      Until automation replaces the workers, evidenced by airlines implementing check in kiosks, fast food outlets implementing ordering kiosks etc. Society also measure the performance of workers.

      • Incognito 9.1.1

        Society also measure the performance of workers.

        And how does Society do this?

  10. Observer Tokoroa 10

    Workers are the ongoing Elites

    Very very few Managers within enterprises would have the nous to operate or maintain Robots. Robots are highly complex machines. They require very competent Workers.

    Workers are the only beings that would have the ability to keep the right inputs operating – therby producing the right outputs.

    We already know that capitalists are not competent. The narcissistic wasteland of capitalists hinders their development. At the most, they are are autistic and very damaging and dangerous to themselves and Society.

    There are a lot of young people who think machines have brains. But that is because they are steeped in American nonsense. A brain is a LIVING rational incredibly able bio Soul.

    No machine can think. Workers can. Workers can direct machines. They always have been able to do this. They always will be able to do this.

    • Draco T Bastard 10.1

      At the most, they are are autistic and very damaging and dangerous to themselves and Society.

      What have you got against autistic people that you’d make such an ignorant and arrogant statement?

      No machine can think. Workers can. Workers can direct machines. They always have been able to do this. They always will be able to do this.

      1. There’s no need for a human to direct a machine.
      2. Many modern machines a human simply cannot direct as they’re simply not fast enough or precise enough.
      3. At some point we will produces machines that can think.

      • Observer Tokoroa 10.1.1

        Hello Draco T Bastard

        Our Planet spins pretty fast. Has done so for billions of Years. Has it built you a home ? Or a scone or an ice cream ? And yet it spins much faster than you and I could.

        I think you will find that Living Bio Brain (soul, Nous,) – call it what you will – is required for getting a teaspoon made. Workers make spoons. Not dead machines.

        I did not mean to demean persons who are autistic. Far from it. Capitalists work in similar severe autistic patterns that excludes others who are productive. I would be hopeful that we could remedy capitalists at some point in the future.

        Please let me know if you find a mermaid on MT Ruapehu tomorrow. I enjoy winter fantasises but have no time for False science.

        • Draco T Bastard 10.1.1.1

          Our Planet spins pretty fast. Has done so for billions of Years. Has it built you a home ? Or a scone or an ice cream ? And yet it spins much faster than you and I could.

          That’s not even Planet Key.

          I think you will find that Living Bio Brain (soul, Nous,) – call it what you will – is required for getting a teaspoon made.

          Not now that we’ve made machines to do it.

          I did not mean to demean persons who are autistic.

          But you did in a purposeful manner.

          Please let me know if you find a mermaid on MT Ruapehu tomorrow. I enjoy winter fantasises but have no time for False science.

          You seem to be the one ignoring the science. And all because you, apparently, don’t like the answer.

        • greywarshark 10.1.1.2

          I would like to think as you do Observer T but you are not keeping up with what is happening in the world of science. Just hanging onto beliefs because you don’t want to face what is happening, refuse to try to understand, isn’t helpful.

          Not wanting to accept the reality is understandable. But if we can understand, keep up, perhaps we can spare ourselves the worst of the outcomes. But the outcomes will be myriad for sure, and there is the cliche’ of ‘unintended consequences’ and the result of chaos theory effects to add into the mix.

          Chaos theory seems to be a formal way of saying that you can’t predict the results of any action with total surety; the only sure thing is that it is likely that something unexpected will happen, but you can’t rely on that.

          We live in interesting times. Understatement.

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    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$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
    4 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
    5 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 ...
    6 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
    6 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
    7 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
    11 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
    13 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
    14 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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 ...
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    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
    7 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
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  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
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