This is why we need a living wage

Written By: - Date published: 3:25 pm, June 30th, 2016 - 60 comments
Categories: cost of living, employment, minimum wage, wages, workers' rights - Tags: ,

living wage

There was another in what has been a long stream of heartbreaking stories this morning concerning a Porirua family struggling to make ends meet. But this is not a family relying on benefits to survive. Both parents work full time.

From Radio New Zealand:

New statistics this week show the gap between the rich and poor is widening, but the government rejects the idea inequality is rising.

Situa Tangatauli works three cleaning shifts throughout the day, starting at 6am and finishing at 11pm.

Her husband is a security guard working in the afternoon and evenings. They are both on the minimum wage of $15.25.

She said she felt guilty that despite them working the equivalent of two full time jobs, they could not afford to give their two young girls the simplest things.

“My oldest one has joined a basketball team and during the school holidays there was a programme and she had to pay $5 each day,” she said.

“Some days I had to tell her she has to miss this one because I can’t afford to make a proper lunch for you.”

On some days she looks inside her cupboards and all she can offer her children is a biscuit.

“I said to them is it alright and they say ‘mum it’s ok because we know you’ve been working hard’,” she said.

“I know it’s not a proper lunch but they accept what I get for them.”

Situa’s jobs include cleaning two libraries and a toilet.  The libraries are run by the Porirua City Council which regrettably is not a living wage employer.  Of all New Zealand’s territorial authorities only Wellington City Council is and the Councillors had to face the prospect of legal action being taken against them individually when they tried to require contractors dealing with the Council to also be living wage employers.

The situation in Auckland is even worse with the combination of sky high house prices and rampant rental inflation contributing to a crisis where even well paid people are struggling to cope.

And on the flip side senior managers employed by Council are enjoying unprecedented levels of remuneration.  The Auckland Council Chief Executive enjoyed a $60,000 salary increase just before Christmas last year.  Senior manager salaries in the public sector have increased that much that the Remuneration Authority thinks Councillors salaries should be increased by 20% just to maintain relativities.

The response of the Government is regrettable.  This morning on Morning Report Bill English tried to suggest that that there has been no change in poverty levels despite a rampant homelessness problem.  He also tried to suggest that national poverty was all Auckland Council’s fault.  Note to Bill the situation is endemic and nation wide and it is getting worse.

A living wage being paid by Auckland Council is not difficult to achieve.  Catriona McLennan in a recent Herald article has set out how.  All that is required is some political will on the part of the Councillors.

And in the meantime Situa will continue to work three jobs at minimum wage to try and make ends meet.  There has to be a better way.

Reprinted from gregpresland.com.

60 comments on “This is why we need a living wage ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Greg 1
    30 June 2016 at 4:04 pm

    Cleaners and security guards are often negotiated out of collective agreements, and employed at lower rates by contractors. Especially in large organisations.

    How are Parliaments cleaners fairing who are contracted to a Australian company,
    it would be interesting to see a public record of how that contract was awarded.
    And we know how efficient, and quick this government is with releasing official information requests etc about said contracts. Has the Labour party even bothered to ask about this one, looking after the peeps who clean up their poop.

    I expect that economic goals like a living wage would kick in with wonderful wage increases, when on the back of primary producers higher export volumes with TPPA, and others:
    Not that there is any evidence that this has occurred in the recent past.

    • TheBlackKitten 1.1
      30 June 2016 at 5:33 pm

      Contractors that create a middle man in the chain that need to make something, another words, clip the ticket yet companies love it as it is far easier to end a contract rather than worry about troublesome issues like redundancies or wage increases. The down side is due to them clipping the ticket that cost has to come from somewhere, and guess where it comes from. Lower wages for those cleaners. If companies would just employ them direct, there is your cost saving to enable better wages right there.

  2. UncookedSelachimorpha 2
    30 June 2016 at 4:46 pm

    We are a rich country. There is no need for anyone in NZ to be paid less than $19.80 / hour.

    • Richard McGrath 2.1
      30 June 2016 at 9:19 pm

      Why not make it an even $100 an hour?

      • UncookedSelachimorpha 2.1.1
        30 June 2016 at 9:42 pm

        There is a rationale for the living wage. Your number is provided without any suggested basis.

      • AB 2.1.2
        1 July 2016 at 9:26 am

        Reductio ad absurdam is a cheap rhetorical trick not an argument.
        There are dangers and injustices in setting a minimum wage too high, just as there are in allowing it to be to low.

    • bg 2.2
      1 July 2016 at 6:22 am

      Simple. Stump up your own money, create your own business and pay your staff whatever you like.

      • One Anonymous Bloke 2.2.1
        1 July 2016 at 9:43 am

        Then stop whining like a wannabe privileged baby and obey employment law like everyone else does. Some of us in the business community have heard of a thing called “ethics”, and have noticed that this government’s policies are hurting our bottom line as well as destroying people’s lives.

        If that lame bullshit is all you’ve got to offer, I’d rather your business fail than put up with any more of your drivel ruining the country.

  3. Bob 3
    30 June 2016 at 4:59 pm

    I think the title of this post should be “This is why we need a UBI”.

    A legislated living wage would have a major inflationary effect as companies recoup the increased cost via price increases, whereas a UBI would primarily be paid from existing tax income streams.

    • UncookedSelachimorpha 3.1
      30 June 2016 at 6:16 pm

      Their other option is to reconsider their levels of CEO pay and payments to shareholders. Doesn’t have to automatically mean price rises.

      Could simultaneously legislate that no individual salary can exceed X amount and no dividends can be paid out, until all staff in the business are on the living wage or better.

    • OneTrack 3.2
      30 June 2016 at 6:59 pm

      We can just cut back on the health budget to pay an UBI?

  4. TheBlackKitten 4
    30 June 2016 at 5:21 pm

    It’s not just what is being paid in wages, it’s also what is being charged for basic necessities such as housing, particularly in Auckland that is creating this type of misery.
    I would like someone to tell me why we pay the prices we do for items in the supermarket like bread, meat, milk, cheese and eggs.
    How do the supermarkets get their prices that they charge us for? Is there anywhere where you can get a breakdown of how much it costs to get milk from the farm to the supermarket in comparison to what the consumer gets charged? If so, I want so see it, if not which I bet my bottom dollar there isn’t then why not? And why are opposition parties not asking these types of questions? Is it similar to the United States in how no one but extreme polictions will talk about how devastating the NAFTA trade deal has been to the American workers? No poliction in NZ will ask the question or find out why we pay the prices we do for basic food items.
    The same goes for council rates, water charges, insurances – housing, contents and car, telephone bills, rent, house prices and anything else a household needs to exist in the NZ economy. Are we all been given a fair deal or is there some greedy corporate involved or and greedy middle people inbetween clipping the ticket? If so, what are we doing about it as these costs are all well in excess of what we are being paid in wages and we need to do something about that. What we do need is more teeth in government to ensure people are not been taken advantage of by greedy corporates.
    Yet the lefts answer to this high living costs vs low wages situation is a sad, sad weak top up with welfare for workers called WFF and let’s not forget you only qualify for it if you have children. What about single people, students or childless couples who are out there trying to make a living? They pay the same for food and receive the same pathetically low wages as those with children but no one seems interested in them. And trust me, they are also struggeling but articles never seem to be published about them or how the pensioner who does not own their own home exists in today’s high sky high price economy. Why do we only hear about the hardship of people with lots of children?
    The real issue to this and the families in this article is lack of jobs, lack of opportunity, bad trade deals like the TPPA, sky high immigration of unskilled workers, horrific house prices created by the huge difference of supply an demand in the main work centres, a weak commerce department that allows supermarkets to charge sky high prices and poor worker representation re wage levels. All these factors have contributed to a low wage economy with basic living costs well out of correlation to what people earn in wages. This has been going on since the early 80s and we desperately need a party that will tackle these issues instead of taking the weak easy lazy option of creating more welfare to try and fix a festering underlying problem of no decent paying jobs. I am sick and tired of it!

    • Colonial Viper 4.1
      30 June 2016 at 5:35 pm

      TheBlackKitten has nailed it.

      Take 75% of the multi-billion dollar profit made from banks, electricity companies, water companies, supermarkets and give it back to the people.

      If you give a full time worker $2/hr more, the land lord will just up the rent by $80/week.

      • Greg 4.1.1
        30 June 2016 at 5:54 pm

        No, overseas landlords set rental prices increases when they hear John Key announcing his fictional creation of average wage rises.
        And rental companies are creaming it.

        • AsleepWhileWalking 4.1.1.1
          30 June 2016 at 7:35 pm

          Landlords exploit any form of income, but particularly TAS and Accommodation Supplement. Without these our rents would be substantially lower.

          • Greg 4.1.1.1.1
            30 June 2016 at 8:11 pm

            Employers exploit kiwisaver payments and working for families rebates to keep wage growth low. Which doesnt compound if you deduct the employers kiwisaver contribution as employers do.
            Its a contribution to workers real incomes falling behind the rises in cost of living, which compound.

            add in the fact money devalues 20%+ every decade.
            Its probably a higher devaluation now if someone does the math.

      • UncookedSelachimorpha 4.1.2
        30 June 2016 at 6:22 pm

        Yes, might need intervention at a number of levels.

        How about the state initiating and promoting a nation-wide non-profit groceries co-op, that then becomes self-funding? Would compete with the ruthless Progressives and Foodstuffs.

        Similarly, the state could support a non-profit banking model.

      • Richard McGrath 4.1.3
        30 June 2016 at 9:27 pm

        Dead right. Forced increases in wages end up subsidising landlords and others. A better step would be to reduce taxes across the board. Make the first $50k of income tax-free.

        • UncookedSelachimorpha 4.1.3.1
          30 June 2016 at 9:47 pm

          Reducing taxes usually hurts the poor; has certainly been the case for the tax changes over the last 30 years or so. Your $50k tax free threshold could avoid that, but only if accompanied by an increase in tax on the wealthy, to allow for continued provision of services.

          • Richard McGrath 4.1.3.1.1
            1 July 2016 at 6:16 pm

            No need to increase taxes on high earners by making the first $50k of income tax-free. It would just stop the churn through various govt departments that trickle the money back down to the low earners.

            • UncookedSelachimorpha 4.1.3.1.1.1
              1 July 2016 at 10:51 pm

              ….there is a lot wrong with that statement.

              Rather than discussing details with Richard further, I will illustrate his extreme philosophies with quotes from the Libertarianz website, where Richard seems to be party leader (please correct me if this is a different Richard McGrath):

              “Taxation, which is the theft of private property, is morally wrong.”

              “Libertarianz would remove permit laws, occupational licensing laws, ACC levies, health & safety laws and labour laws (such as the minimum wage which increases unemployment).”

              “Education wouldn’t be funded by tax…. Parents would be free to buy the education they choose. Some parents, however, may not have the financial means to provide education for their children. Voluntary charity could provide opportunities for these children as it has in the past.”

    • Greg 4.2
      30 June 2016 at 5:51 pm

      exports to Australia have increases has orchardists employment costs risen.
      How has the higher export volume added to our standard of living?
      Have you seen the price for the quality fruit in the supermarket?

      Supermarkets do not scale primary produce prices on what it costs at the gate,
      but on the world market rate is set at in New York.
      Its what Fonterra does as well.

    • JNZ 4.3
      2 July 2016 at 6:58 am

      Go vegan – don’t buy meat, milk, eggs, or cheese (buy beans, whole grains, and vegetables) and watch your grocery bills plunge and your health soar.

      That is one thing you have control over. The rest is much harder.

  5. fisiani 5
    30 June 2016 at 5:33 pm

    New statistics this week show the gap between the rich and poor is widening, but the government rejects the idea inequality is rising.

    The gap between rich and poor households remains the same as last year therefore the gap is not rising.
    Better paid jobs usually require better education. Thank goodness we are getting better educated school leavers.

    • Colonial Viper 5.1
      30 June 2016 at 5:37 pm

      We need more Masters graduates flipping burgers and filling store shelves

    • Greg 5.2
      30 June 2016 at 6:02 pm

      70%+ of Uni graduates are now female, care to do a breakdown of what degree’s they are graduating in.

      • Colonial Viper 5.2.1
        30 June 2016 at 6:29 pm

        why can’t I hear screaming concerns from the gender equity crowd about this?

        • Greg 5.2.1.1
          30 June 2016 at 6:37 pm

          They will quote figures over a decade + old,

          http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11369770

          Ms McNabb said women now accounted for 76 per cent of tertiary graduates, but the pace of change in universities at the upper tiers was glacial.

          • Colonial Viper 5.2.1.1.1
            30 June 2016 at 7:12 pm

            A few top jobs lacking for women, while young men in their masses are being left behind at the bottom.

            But let’s focus on what matters to the elite tustling for it at the top of the hierarchy, not what is happening to young men being let down by the education system at the bottom of the pyramid.

            • McFlock 5.2.1.1.1.1
              30 June 2016 at 7:26 pm

              it’s shocking that for every dollar a woman earns, a man only gets 80c, eh. /sarc

              • One Anonymous Bloke …
                30 June 2016 at 7:33 pm

                I can’t help idly speculating that there’s a talented and successful female chiropractor in Dunedin…

                Am I a bad person?

                • McFlock …
                  30 June 2016 at 7:39 pm

                  lol

                  Dunno about chiropractors, but there are lots of talented female doctors and physiotherapists graduating in Dunedin every year 👿

            • Greg 5.2.1.1.1.2
              30 June 2016 at 7:43 pm

              steady stream of clients for Serco, to make a nice profit from

        • McFlock 5.2.1.2
          30 June 2016 at 6:45 pm

          probably because as greg’s article points out, the female graduation rate doesn’t appear to trickle up as quickly as your manly yelps would otherwise suggest.

          • Colonial Viper 5.2.1.2.1
            30 June 2016 at 7:10 pm

            It makes a mockery out of gender equity concerns in education when you boil it down to the balance at elite levels.

            Where’s the campaign to find out why young men are being so badly left behind 3:1 in undergrad studies?

            • McFlock 5.2.1.2.1.1
              30 June 2016 at 7:24 pm

              lol

              By “elite levels” you mean the current rates of higher study (which are skewed in one direction) rather than the actual supposed fruits of those higher levels of study (which are skewed in the opposite direction).

              Get back to me when the wage gap is non-existant or in the females’ favour.

          • Greg 5.2.1.2.2
            30 June 2016 at 7:51 pm

            No university Vice Chancellor appointment for a women yet is the gist of the story.

            hmm, odd that aint it,

            Though one appointed to the Auckland museum chief position was an outstanding success.

            http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10632703

    • McFlock 5.3
      30 June 2016 at 6:05 pm

      The gap is rising, the gap is not rising.

      Are you saying statsNZ are incorrect? Or are you just full of shit?

      • UncookedSelachimorpha 5.3.1
        30 June 2016 at 6:26 pm

        Nats tend to encourage focus on details of change since last time, measurement methods, definitions etc etc……

        But the big thing is that inequality in NZ is massively too high, regardless of any recent blip up or down or other detail.

  6. Hanswurst 6
    30 June 2016 at 7:47 pm

    To my mind, English presented two glaring pieces of misinformation, whether deliberate or inadvertent. Firstly, he referenced his administration’s “having to compete” with private interests; his government is the executive and commands a majority in the legislature. It sets the terms of competition. His PM prides himself on being pragmatic, and neoliberal governments have spent decades attacking the very concept of ideology as a form of evil, and yet here (as so often) we have a cabinet minister treating as axiomatic the idea that government is simply another player in a market that, going by how he talks about it, must have been set up by God.

    Secondly, he cites the problem of housing as being one of raising incomes. Housing is not an ownership issue, but an issue of having a roof over your head and four solid walls around you. Nor is the right to occupy a dwelling connected to your being able to earn enough to afford the capital or to pay a market rent. Even if one accepts English’s implicit argument that it is difficult for the government to raise real incomes, that is a separate issue from legislative means to increase access to housing, let alone establish a universal right to adequate housing.

    Both of these statements from English contain great lashings of ideology masquerading as sober and balanced facts. Contrary to what some would have us believe, ideology is a vital part of policymaking, but it needs to be acknowledged and argued, not simply taken as read.

    • Greg 6.1
      30 June 2016 at 7:55 pm

      http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Tory

      (noun) Chiefly British. Term for individual with conservative ideals and/or membership of the Conservative political party. Typically a member of the privileged élite, typified in Parliament by old-Etonians groomed for Oxbridge and further successes in their well-fed, cosseted, self-indulgent lives. Tories (plural) tend to go through life blissfully unaware of the realities most people face. Underneath all the rhetoric policies are aimed at further creation of wealth amongst the affluent and disdain for classes considered ‘below’ themselves

  7. Hanswurst 7
    30 June 2016 at 8:03 pm

    Further, English cites the campaign “a couple of elections” back to raise the minimum wage to $15/hour, and states that it is now $15.25/hour. Reading that on its own, any reasonable person would take this as a claim that the government had done bugger all to raise the minimum wage in that time, and yet here he is, citing it as evidence that they are working hard to lift wages.

  8. adam 8
    30 June 2016 at 10:01 pm

    And the wage slaves beg master for some more scraps off the table.

    Pathetic

  9. Tory 9
    30 June 2016 at 10:10 pm

    To allow for informed debate, why not include total hours worked per week, accommodation supplements paid plus working for families/tax credits?
    It can we’ll be argued low paid workers do earn a living wage, made up from hourly rates plus government payments/initiatives

    • Hanswurst 9.1
      30 June 2016 at 10:26 pm

      It can well be argued that some low-paid workers don’t earn a living wage, because they are missing out on the standards of food and shelter that our society considers adequate to constitute a living. If the government or any of its proxies wished to make the argument you are theorising about here, they could do it (they have form in releasing such personal income details about those who cause difficulty for them). The fact that they have opted for more wishy-washy lines is far more telling than the fantasy arguments you are conjuring up here would be, even if they were actually advanced in practice.

  10. Tory 10
    30 June 2016 at 11:25 pm

    Bullsh1t, how do we know they are missing out on anything when the full extent of their income,; salary/wages/Government allowances is not disclosed?

    • McFlock 10.1
      1 July 2016 at 12:05 am

      lol
      gotta love the right-wing nanny state. Ignore the obvious so they can obsess over minutae to clear what masquerades as their conscience.

    • save nz 10.2
      1 July 2016 at 12:02 pm

      @Tory – they are waiting for John Key to reveal his tax returns first.

      But don’t worry, if Paula hears about them, she is bound to leak it.

  11. NoThanks 11
    1 July 2016 at 9:54 am

    Before moving towards the living wage, can they confess that they were probably those waggers who didn’t tuck their shirts in and barely finished Year 12 before dropping out? If yes, then that’s just karma because actions have consequences.

  12. save nz 12
    1 July 2016 at 10:44 am

    Thanks for this great post.

    Shocking that the bloated CEO structures forced on us by the supercity are now meaning that they are giving themselves massive pay rises and then other councils are expected to match it!!

    At the same time the workers can’t make a living, but they councils are stopping them from getting the pay increase using the same reasoning (others will want it).

    Oh I wonder why inequality is increasing!!

    How about the government and local bodies get the same increase as minimum wages each year, what was it 50 cents per hour?

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  • 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

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