The surplus lie

Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, May 14th, 2015 - 68 comments
Categories: bill english, budget 2015, economy, john key, national - Tags: , ,

(Originally posted at Boots Theory)

Andrew Little delivered his pre-Budget speech in Wellington yesterday, and the pullquote everyone’s talking about was some seriously no-nonsense stuff:

…[National’s] promise was clear. Their good economic stewardship would see us in surplus.

And now they’ve abandoned their promise.

National’s talk now is about how achieving surplus was an “artificial target” and that getting a surplus is “like landing a 747 on the head of a pin.” A lot of effort has gone into glossing over the broken promise. But I see it for what it is – one of the biggest political deceptions in a lifetime.

You can quibble the semantics, of course – is it not really a lie if Treasury figures predicted we’d be in surplus? Or is it still a lie because Treasury’s predictions are often laughably optimistic and wrong (when National is in power, anyway)? But come on, whose word can we rely on regarding the Budget if not Treasury’s?

The room to quibble is what makes it a lie.

Balancing a government budget is nothing like balancing a chequebook, and not just because ordinary citizens can’t print their own money at will. There are so many moving parts, so many tricks, so many points which can be manipulated ever so slightly

That’s why it was ridiculous for Bill English to say even a $1 surplus would count as “significant“. When you’re managing nearly $100 billion in revenue and spending, there’s infinite room to tinker. You can make all kinds of assumptions about how much tax will be collected. And we’ve seen the tinkering: the delay in lowering ACC levies. The interest-free “loan” to the NZTA which conveniently counts as an asset, not spending. The assumed cuts to EQC’s insurance liabilities.

The lie isn’t really about whether-we-achieve-surplus or whether-we-don’t. The lie is everything that National’s constant promises of surplus implies: that a surplus is objectively good; that a surplus proves their superior economic management abilities (but a deficit is all Labour’s fault; they had nine long years to deliver surpluses for Bill English); that a surplus proves things are back on track, the economy is doing fine, things can’t be that bad – so obviously inequality’s a myth, there’s no housing bubble, Christchurch is hunky-dory, we don’t need state houses or workers’ rights or any of that rubbish, and if you’re very, very good you’ll get jam tax cuts tomorrow.

A surplus proves National are right about everything.

That’s the lie we’ve been sold, time and time again, by this government. And given the harm it has done and is doing to the New Zealanders who can’t afford a first home, much less an investment property, who can’t find secure employment or buy the kids a new pair of winter shoes, who are living in cars and queuing for foodbanks at 3am – I don’t think it’s too strong to call it one of the biggest political deceptions of our lifetime.

68 comments on “The surplus lie ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Enough is Enough 1
    14 May 2015 at 10:56 am

    You are correct that the lie is everything that National’s constant promises of surplus implies.

    You can always spot a simpleton. He is the one who assesses the success of a government by saying a surplus means good, a deficit means bad.

    When an economy is struggling, tax take falls so it is absolutely necessary to run a deficit to maintain the same level of expenditure. That is the correct thing to do. The government can borrow cheap cash so that the wider economy does not suffer as much as it otherwise would.

    Likewise when the economy is firing it is the correct to run a large surplus so as to take money out of the system and not over cook the economy.

    The Nats don’t quite get that though. The fucking idiots cut taxes for the rich at the depth of the GFC.

    • Colonial Rawshark 1.1
      14 May 2015 at 11:15 am

      The NATs have access to monetary and economic expertise as good if not better than Labour does. The difference is that the NATs are gutsy and unrepentant at using that expertise to benefit their core constituencies.

      • Draco T Bastard 1.1.1
        14 May 2015 at 2:26 pm

        The NATs have access to monetary and economic expertise as good if not better than Labour does.

        To be honest, I don’t think that’s true. What they have is access to better and better funded PR to promote their ideology of enriching the already rich.

        • Liberal Realist 1.1.1.1
          14 May 2015 at 5:57 pm

          +1. Nailed it.

          You did leave out #DirtyPolitics but I guess that could be considered ‘PR’, I bet that’s how the Nats would think.

    • Draco T Bastard 1.2
      14 May 2015 at 2:22 pm

      The government can borrow cheap cash so that the wider economy does not suffer as much as it otherwise would.

      Even better, the government can create money and doesn’t have to borrow at all.

      Likewise when the economy is firing it is the correct to run a large surplus so as to take money out of the system and not over cook the economy.

      And taking money out of the system is what taxes are for.

      The Nats don’t quite get that though. The fucking idiots cut taxes for the rich at the depth of the GFC.

      The Nats don’t get economics and the flow of money and resources at all.

  2. Colonial Rawshark 2
    14 May 2015 at 11:13 am

    The second biggest NZ political deception of a lifetime is Labour claiming that our country cannot afford to keep the retirement age at 65. Money is created electronically by keystrokes by the Reserve Bank. How can we run out of money to pay super at 65?

    [Stephanie: this is really off topic. Please take any discussion about the superannuation age to Open Mike.]

    • Murray Simmonds 2.1
      14 May 2015 at 12:31 pm

      “The Lie” – about achieving a surplus – or not as the case may be – was never really about good economic management. It was all about setting up an economic framework within which National policy could be unquestionably implemented. Policy like welfare cuts – “-because thats whats needed to achieve a surplus.”

      Policy like ignoring underpriveliged schoolkids while promoting charter schools and other forms of privatisation “-because thats whats needed to achieve a surplus.”

      The bullshit frmework of ‘the need to achieve a surplus’ was set up to provide a framework within which the Gnats could push the neoliberal agenda – there’s nothing more than that to it.

    • Colonial Rawshark 2.2
      14 May 2015 at 12:35 pm

      The lie is everything that National’s constant promises of surplus implies: that a surplus is objectively good; that a surplus proves their superior economic management abilities

      My comment is that Labour pushes the same narrative for themselves. It is about politicians lying through their teeth about the nation’s future fiscal state, and Labour telling the public that we need to cut back on Super to avoid future deficits because of the goodness and importance of surpluses.

      This is a very close parallel to your post.

      • Kiwiri 2.2.1
        14 May 2015 at 10:56 pm

        Interesting.

        A general question here.

        Where do issues about the retirement age and superannuation sit in the scheme of thinking about the Labour’s Future of Work Commission? Push out the retirement age further, introduce means-testing, make changes to superannuation arrangements, etc etc?

        Not sure who I am directing this to, perhaps it is a rhetorical question, but I will ponder on that. I hope the more knowledgeable and sharper ones here will be able to put forward some really good ideas that are consistent with the Labour Party’s democratic socialist principles.

  3. Puckish Rogue 3
    14 May 2015 at 11:21 am

    “I don’t think it’s too strong to call it one of the biggest political deceptions of our lifetime.”

    – Well it’d be behind Rogernomics and Helen Clarks election rort possibly even Ruth Richardsons MOABs

    • Crashcart 3.1
      14 May 2015 at 11:36 am

      Can’t disagree with those. Although I would add in John Key saying they wouldn’t increase GST or that ACC was financially in trouble and then last budget saying they couldn’t lower ACC levies.

    • Tracey 3.2
      14 May 2015 at 3:37 pm

      “one of…”

    • b waghorn 3.3
      14 May 2015 at 4:39 pm

      The hardcase thing I’ve noticed about you little key lovers is that none of you are saying keys surplus promise isn’t a deception you are only arguing about how dig a deception it is . so at what level do you sycophants say I’ve had enough of creepykeys lies.

  4. dukeofurl 4
    14 May 2015 at 11:58 am

    remember the ‘chewing gum’ tax cut from labour. – around 2005 ?

    national laughed that it was such a ‘small amount’ and there didnt have ‘any certainity’ when it would occur.

    Who’s laughing now ?

    • Rob 4.1
      14 May 2015 at 2:51 pm

      Well actually it was Winston Peters that brought the name “chewing gum” budget, he even brought in a pack of gum into question time to prove the point.

  5. SHG 5
    14 May 2015 at 12:09 pm

    I don’t think it’s too strong to call it one of the biggest political deceptions of our lifetime

    Am I the only person who thinks that sounds batshit crazy?

    WMDs in Iraq, Ukraine independence, Indonesia in East Timor, Iran Contra, Chilean junta… NZ failing to achieve a budget surplus. Yep, right up there.

    • te reo putake 5.1
      14 May 2015 at 12:12 pm

      Yeah, nice diversion. Meanwhile, here in NZ …

      • SHG 5.1.1
        14 May 2015 at 12:13 pm

        Pointing out that the the parent article’s conclusion is – what’s the word I’m looking for? oh yeah, INSANE – is hardly a diversion.

        • te reo putake 5.1.1.1
          14 May 2015 at 12:23 pm

          The fact that you don’t understand the conclusion doesn’t make you insane, SHG. It just makes you look sad.

        • adam 5.1.1.2
          14 May 2015 at 12:25 pm

          Does not context mean anything to you SHG?

          Cherry picking any piece out of context, and you can make it look bat shit crazy. Just look at the Herald on almost a daily bases.

          So your point is SHG? Because if you look at in broad strokes – sure, and cheery picking it – definitely – but within context – your point is?

        • Colonial Rawshark 5.1.1.3
          14 May 2015 at 12:30 pm

          Agree with you SHG – the deceit around the surplus (and what a surplus means) is major: but first world book keeping problems are nothing on the scale of some of the other issues you have mentioned.

          • Clemgeopin 5.1.1.3.1
            14 May 2015 at 1:36 pm

            It is still a major deception to fool the people continually for seven years.
            You are sounding like a mouth piece of key, English or of some right wing outfit in the constant opposition you are showing against Labour and Little.

            • SHG 5.1.1.3.1.1
              14 May 2015 at 2:34 pm

              So say English is failing to deliver on his predictions as a Finance Minister. Say that the National govt is breaking pre-election promises. Great. Then everyone can have a debate over whether or not it happened, if it did whether it was controllable or not, whatever.

              Saying “one of the biggest political deceptions of our lifetime” just makes normal sane people turn off. It makes them go “ok, crazy Labour is crazy, come back when you’ve calmed down”.

              • Colonial Rawshark …
                14 May 2015 at 4:19 pm

                Saying “one of the biggest political deceptions of our lifetime” just makes normal sane people turn off. It makes them go “ok, crazy Labour is crazy, come back when you’ve calmed down”.

                I guess the lefty Thorndon Bubble set sincerely thinks that it really is one of the biggest political deceptions of our lifetime.

          • Peter Richards 5.1.1.3.2
            25 May 2015 at 1:51 pm

            And this comes from the man who thinks money grows on keystrokes.

    • Matthew Hooton 5.2
      14 May 2015 at 3:50 pm

      It is certainly desperate.

      Lange and Prebble promising to “save rail”
      Cargill saying there was an $89m surplus in 1990 when there as a $4b deficit.
      Bolger saying surtax would go – “no ifs, no buts, no maybes”

      Just to name three.

      The PREFU said a small surplus was forecast, and that was signed off by the Treasury Secretary. It has turned out to be a small deficit, largely because of lower than expected inflation. That can be attacked as deeply embarrassingly for the govt, but it really isn’t a lie, and certainly not one of the worst political deceptions in a lifetime.

      The Fiscal Reaponsobility Act, now part of the Public Finance Act, means there really haven’t been any massive election lies since the numerous broken promises of 1990.

  6. esoteric pineapples 6
    14 May 2015 at 12:28 pm

    “I don’t think it’s too strong to call it one of the biggest political deceptions of our lifetime” – in normal (past) circumstances it would be but this government has provided so many examples of big political deceptions …….

  7. Clemgeopin 7
    14 May 2015 at 12:41 pm

    The lie is not so much that they are unable to produce any surplus for the last 7 years, but their bull shit each year that they have a ‘Rock Star Economy’ and lies they have been peddling each year and during the election campaign last year that they are on track to produce surplus until reversing the position just a few weeks before each budget.

    What Bill English is good at is DDD : Doube Dipping from Dipton.
    and
    What Key is good at is being bad for pony tails. TPPP : The Parnell Pony-Tail Puller.

    Good economic managers? Yeah, right! The buggers need a half hour economic management refresher course with Michael Cullen over some weekend after they have finished their usual dishing of their weekly does of spins, smiles and lies.

  8. phillip ure 8
    14 May 2015 at 12:42 pm

    “I don’t think it’s too strong to call it one of the biggest political deceptions of our lifetime”

    deserves a special egg-beater-award..

    (and as just one example -i wd pick/cite the clark labour govts’ ignoring/demonising/neglecting of the poorest – for nine long years..(and them a labour govt..(!)..and lab ’14 no better..eh..?..)..

    ..as making that accounting exercise unworthy of mention..

    ..and yeah..rogernomics..’nuff said..?..)

    and that little spent 75% of his speech over-acting his head off/vigorously weilding the beater..

    only shows how out of touch he/labour is with what really concerns most people..

    ..another example of the beltway having its’ head too far up its’
    own arse..

    • phillip ure 8.1
      14 May 2015 at 12:58 pm

      in fact it is redolent of the mindless point-scoring that comprises so much of questiontime in parliament..

      ..they do seem to gloat/shriek over the most trivial matters..

      ..and is largely both incomprehensible and irrelevant to most of us mug-punters..

      ..the big-questions..?..what really concerns us..?..not so much..eh..?..

  9. Stuart Munro 9
    14 May 2015 at 12:50 pm

    I’m not sure I’d want to call it a lie as such, Bill English’s inability to construct a surplus seems to stem from fundamental incapacity rather than clever deception – I guess his wife balances his cheque book for him too. But certainly the myth that National has anything other than freakishly incompetent and corrupt economic management is overdue for an overhaul.

  10. Molly 10
    14 May 2015 at 2:19 pm

    …” the delay in lowering ACC levies….”
    Being associated with a few people who have been fighting for ACC support over the last few years, we need to reframe the ACC issue.

    Instead of demanding a reduction in levies, we need to be advocating for a return of full service levels to those who have to use ACC.

    This delay is deliberate – soon both progressives and conservatives will be howling for a reduction of levies, and when it takes place – ACC will be effectively gutted and of no use to NZ.

    Private health insurance anyone?

  11. ropata 11
    14 May 2015 at 3:18 pm

    The lies that sicken me the most were Key’s solemn promises to the disaster stricken communities of Westport and Canterbury in 2011. The government has done sweet FA to help the actual people most affected preferring to give handouts to big business instead

  12. Paul Campbell 12
    14 May 2015 at 4:29 pm

    What a silly metaphor – of course a surplus can be everything > $0, it’s an enourmous range – half of infinity – the correct quote should be “like landing a 747 on the other side of a pin.” – unless the true goal was to break even, rather than start paying down all the debt National has built up over the past 2 and a bit terms, it should be pretty easy to tell ifr you have a surplus or no

    • felix 12.1
      14 May 2015 at 6:28 pm

      Yes exactly, it’s utter insanity.

      And he says these things in rooms FULL of journalists, and not one of them blinks.

  13. Nic the NZer 13
    14 May 2015 at 5:44 pm

    The constant carping on about government surplus is counter productive for the left. If by some miracle the next government is a left wing one, then in order to implement their program it will be necessary for the new government to run an extended (if not perpetual) period of government deficits. In reality this is not a problem, just as its not a problem for the current government to post deficits until the economy is doing much better in general (or even indefinitely). Having got in on the back of criticizing the current governments failure to post a surplus, that is going to look bloody foolish.

    Any government with left wing programs will need to expand substantially government spending and the deficit as a result. Stop carping on about the surplus and start explaining to people that the surplus is a purely political point scoring exercise, which is having substantial negative impacts on the country (e.g inability to deal with the housing bubble, inability to fund public sector programs such as education, health and public transport, inability to raise employment, inability to fund councils properly, over funding of ACC, sell offs of state assets leading to an inability to subsidize poorer users of those programs who need them).

    • Stuart Munro 13.1
      14 May 2015 at 6:08 pm

      The inability to produce the promised surplus seven years in a row is a convenient example of the Key junta’s manifest unfitness to govern.

      • Colonial Rawshark 13.1.1
        14 May 2015 at 9:50 pm

        Seriously? Key and English could produce a surplus tomorrow. Increase GST, a regressive tax, to 17.5%. Freeze hospital and education budgets. Drop 5% of all beneficiaries off the rolls. Cut back another year of the student allowance.

        There you go, you have your much vaunted surplus. Happy now?

        • Kiwiri 13.1.1.1
          14 May 2015 at 10:47 pm

          Nic the NZer and Colonial Rawshark:

          +1,000,000

          Thanks

        • Stuart Munro 13.1.1.2
          15 May 2015 at 11:07 am

          By no means. Could have would have should have didn’t and probably never will. They deserve to be punished for their surplus lie at every opportunity.

          • Colonial Rawshark 13.1.1.2.1
            15 May 2015 at 11:25 am

            NZers don’t care about the “surplus lie.” Only the Thorndon Bubble does.

            And I think looking at what has been going on in the UK, Greece and Spain, a lot of Kiwis understand that forcing a surplus on a country means forcing austerity on a country.

            It’s concerning that the Labour Party prioritises government running a surplus as a good thing because it signals a fundamental economic misunderstanding. Government needs to run a deficit unless it wants to force the private sector into deficit.

    • Bill 13.2
      14 May 2015 at 6:37 pm

      Wholeheartedly agree Nic the NZer.

      A surplus built on the backs of the poor isn’t something that anyone should be supportive of.

      Paint. Corner. Door. I think that Labour and sections of the left might want to consider where they’re going with this.

    • REdBaronCV 13.3
      14 May 2015 at 6:40 pm

      The other way to balance a budget is to take a larger chunk of tax out of the well off, offshore interests, resource interests etc. No govt disaster there.

      • Colonial Rawshark 13.3.1
        15 May 2015 at 11:28 am

        Yes, but electorally we’d need to be in a place where a political party was willing to tax harder higher incomes, financial assets, financial transactions and the capital value of multi-million dollar commercial and residential property.

        Is there any political party in NZ willing to do that? Nope, in fact its not even on the agenda anywhere.

        • RedBaronCV 13.3.1.1
          16 May 2015 at 3:18 pm

          I don’t know that I would put it too overtly on any agenda maybe something like “working people need their share ” “not offshore interests”

  14. Liberal Realist 14
    14 May 2015 at 6:16 pm

    ” I don’t think it’s too strong to call it one of the biggest political deceptions of our lifetime.”

    How about Key promising to resign if the GCSB was found to be undertaking mass surveillance of New Zealanders? ‘Full take’, ‘mass collection’, what ever Key wants to call it, in the Pacific most certainly would have included Kiwi’s living and working in these countries. Therefor Key broke (another) promise & continued the ongoing deception.

    If Key’s statements around this time were not deception, what is? IMO this is/was much bigger than the repeated surplus lie.

  15. Bill 15
    14 May 2015 at 6:29 pm

    NZ wants a surplus? Okay, whatever.

    Why though, is all the debate about creating a surplus allowed to smother any talk of the stuff mentioned in the last paragraph of the post?

    Do we really want a surplus if it’s to come at the cost of kids and their parents living in fcking penury? How about, as a society, we concentrate on equality and fairness and to hell with notions of surplus until those things are achieved….at which point it’ll be relatively painless to produce a surplus?

    It’s not the promise of a surplus that’s the lie to my mind, so much as the elevation of its attainment above, and at the cost of, so much that should be considered to be just basic social decency.

    High time for New Zealand to demand a change in priorities methinks.

  16. srylands 16
    14 May 2015 at 9:41 pm

    Dicks

  17. Reddelusion 17
    14 May 2015 at 10:16 pm

    How about Helen Clark speed gate, painter gate pledge card, how about roger Douglas, how about biribing students to win an election, how about middle class welfare working for families that we can’t now ween ourselves off, how about voters don’t lie, how about bleeding hypocrites

  18. Red delusion 18
    15 May 2015 at 7:47 am

    Exactly grant, this site try’s to pretend otherwise with holier than though attitude

    • Crashcart 18.1
      15 May 2015 at 8:07 am

      “This site” has many contributors and if you had taken the time to read the responses to the original post many people on “this site” think the statement made by Little was too much Hyperbole.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • At a glance – Evidence for global warming
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Weekly Roundup 23-November-2023
    It’s Friday again! Maybe today we’ll finally have a government again. Roll into the weekend with some of the articles that caught our attention this week. And as always, feel free to add your links and observations in the comments. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    7 days ago

  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s strategy for COP28 in Dubai
    The COP28 countdown is on. Over 100 world leaders are expected to attend this year’s UN Climate Change Conference in in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which starts next Thursday. Among the VIPs confirmed for the Dubai summit are the UK’s Rishi Sunak and Brazil’s Lula da Silva – along ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    7 days ago

  • Coalition talks: a timeline
    Media demand to know why a coalition government has yet to be formed. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    7 days ago

  • The Hoon around the week to Nov 24
    Luxon was no doubt relieved to be able to announce a coalition agreement has been reached, but we still have to wait to hear the detail. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / Getty ImagesTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago

  • Passing Things Down.
    Keeping The Past Alive: The durability of Commando comics testifies to the extended nature of the generational passing down of the images, music, and ideology of the Second World War. It has remained fixed in the Baby Boomers’ consciousness as “The Good War”: the conflict in which, to a far ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #47 2023
    Open access notables How warped are we by fossil fuel dependency? Despite Russia's invasion of Ukraine, 35-40 million cubic meters per day of Russian natural gas are piped across Ukraine for European consumption every single day, right now. In order to secure European cooperation against Russian aggression, Ukraine must help to ...
    Skeptical Science
    7 days ago

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

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

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2023-11-30T07:44:55+00:00