Wage subsidy a half-hearted gesture

Written By: - Date published: 8:12 am, September 8th, 2010 - 60 comments
Categories: business, jobs, spin, wages - Tags: ,

The unions, business, and Phil Goff have all gritted their teeth and called the Nats’ $15 million wage subsidy scheme for small businesses affected by the Christchurch earthquake ‘a start’. The problem is, it’s likely to be the end. If the government had any intention of doing more, it would have done it. This scheme will leave workers and employers severely out of pocket, killing businesses and jobs.

There are about 77,000 workers (5% of our workforce) unable to work due to the quake. To ask their employers to continue paying their wages unaided would be a death sentence for many recession-weakened firms.

The Nats’ response is a $350 a week subsidy to firms employing 20 or fewer staff. It will only be for the staff who would work if the business was open, not workers who can’t get to work due to their personal circumstances. The bill is expected to be $15 million (how the Herald got $100 million is anyone’s guess, it can’t possibly be that much)

First off, the quantum of the payment is inadequate. $350 a week is less the minimum full-time wage. It’s less than half the median wage of $750 a week. Employers are ‘asked’ to cover the difference, which will be over $400 a week for half of workers. That will be enough to send firms to the wall. Or they’ll have to stop paying, leaving families to get by on a pittance while trying to rebuild after a major disaster (let’s hope they have home insurance, because the government’s not going to help if they don’t).

Second, most workers are excluded from the scheme. The bulk of worker are employed by larger firms with over 20 employers. Those firms, if shut by the quake, are suffering exactly the same problems as smaller ones and more families are dependent on the incomes.

Third, limiting the scheme only to workers who would be able to work if the business were open but not those who can’t get to work because of their personal circumstances is an unfair and illogical distinction. Expecting those who can’t get to work to rely on emergency WINZ grants when WINZ itself is severely affected is callous.

Fourth, no word on how the self-employed or contractors are affected. I’m especially worried about the workers who are employed as ‘contractors’, they are always the ones who get screwed.

When South Canterbury Finance collapsed not one of the mostly wealthy people, who had put money into a company knowing it was risky but greedy for the interest rates, lost a cent. The government could easily afford to extend the same generosity to those who have suffered in this earthquake through no fault of their own. To fund it, it could delay the tax cuts for the rich by as little as a year or even just six months.

I saw some video of what the RNZ reporter described as John Key’s ‘roadshow’. They went to one of the emergency centres where the number of homeless families is growing as aftershocks make more and more homes unstable.

As a photo-op, Key pretended to read a book to a little girl. He didn’t tell her parents ‘the government will stand behind your family and make sure you’re not out of pocket – we’ll cover your wages and your uninsured losses’. He didn’t say ‘we’re announcing a program to get you into a home as soon as possible and, until then, we’re calling on people with big houses and spare rooms to accommodate you’. No, he pretended to read a book.

The book was titled ‘The Suspicion of Innocence’. That seemed poignant.

60 comments on “Wage subsidy a half-hearted gesture ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Peter Martin 1
    8 September 2010 at 8:26 am

    To be fair, it may well be that an as yet unknown number of businesses have insurance that covers this.
    But I agree, $350 per week before tax, is very much a token.

  2. Tigger 2
    8 September 2010 at 8:45 am

    Who on earth decided Key should read a book in the midst of a disaster scenario? Bush and 9/11 killed that warm fuzzy forever. Plus did no one see the Scary Movie where Leslie Nielsen lampooned it perfectly?

  3. joe bloggs 3
    8 September 2010 at 9:21 am

    Phil who?

    No Christchurch photo ops for the Leader of the Opposition given Kohn Key’s all over this like a rash.

    No wonder Phil’s gritting his teeth.

    • Bright Red 3.1
      8 September 2010 at 10:02 am

      You’re a poor soul if you judge the performance of our government on who gets the photo ops.

  4. more_ben 4
    8 September 2010 at 10:40 am

    National is being more Labour than Labour on this and everything else. And still the Standard is unable to give any credit at all. What would Labour have done differently?

    • Bright Red 4.1
      8 September 2010 at 11:28 am

      Marty’s told you what he would have done differently, in this post and yesterday’s.

      He’s not responsible for Labour’s policy.

  5. Roflcopter 5
    8 September 2010 at 10:52 am

    This is a subsidy on top of the ability for workers, who would not normally be eligible, to go to WINZ for assistance.

    Jeez, solidarity across parties at the top levels of parliament to deal with all of this, and more whining out of you lot. Talk about out of touch.

    • Inventory2 5.1
      8 September 2010 at 12:35 pm

      Agree wholeheartedly; I’m waiting for someone from The Standard to suggest that the PM shuld pay this all out of his personal wealth …

    • Bright Red 5.2
      8 September 2010 at 12:53 pm

      do you think that it’s ok the SCF investors get 100% bailout and the workers and families of Chch don’t?

      captcha: losss

      • joe bloggs 5.2.1
        8 September 2010 at 2:12 pm

        that’s a question better directed at Michael Cullen who introduced the scheme in the first place. Perhaps you remember Helen Clark introducing it at Labour’s election campaign launch in ’08?

        John Armstrong comments on the scapegoating the Govt has received over the SCF bailout. Read and learn:

        http://www.odt.co.nz/opinion/opinion/124473/govt-scapegoated-over-scf-payout

        • Loota 5.2.1.1
          8 September 2010 at 3:30 pm

          Nice try at misdirection Joe, Cullen introduced the scheme to protect ma and pa investors, Bill and John used it to signed SCF on and ran it in a way that big financial speculators got a $1700M dollar payout.

          Workers? Oh guess you can have the drippings off the manor table ($15M)

          • clandestino 5.2.1.1.1
            8 September 2010 at 8:50 pm

            That’s patent BS I have close family who invested in SCF along with 30,000 other people. The guarantee may upset people in hindsight given the state of the book keeping, but let’s not go all ‘9-11 Truther’ on this

      • Roflcopter 5.2.2
        8 September 2010 at 3:48 pm

        No I don’t, but tell me how your incessant whining here is in step with the thoughts and coordinated response by all the political parties in this time of crisis? You keep making shit up as you go along.

        captcha: inabilitys – to which you have plenty

  6. Bill 6
    8 September 2010 at 11:00 am

    What’s the story with accumulated stat days? It’s not a solution I particularly like, but my question isn’t to do with the taking of them, but the scenario if the employer is unable to pay them.

    And then there is the annual leave option….and awarding it in advance if need be. Again. Not a particularly desirable solution. And again, the question of whether small employers can pay it.

    Of course, employers could expand the criteria surrounding sick leave and that would at least allow for holidays to be preserved for genuine breaks.

    Or how about large solvent businesses follow the rhetoric of Johnny Boy on day one when he said he was there to express solidarity, and lend to the smaller businesses at zero % interest and on a repayment time scale determined by the seriousness of the impact suffered by the smaller more vulnerable businesses…or minimally, make sure they pay their bills in very timely fashion…or extend the time they will allow affected smaller businesses to pay their bills to them…or throw up their hands, claim they can do nothing and depend on the tax payer to bail out their whole sorry system of exploitation while rubbing their hands in glee at the prospect of an increased market share coming off the back of other’s misfortune?

    The latter option.

  7. Kevyn 7
    8 September 2010 at 12:53 pm

    How does this government’s worker compensation plan compare with Labour’s response to the Manawatu floods?

    The only aspect of Labour’s reponse to the Manawatu flood that I have detailed knowledge of is that they promised that the government would fund the repairs to roads and bridges but that not one cent ever appeared in the government’s budgets for that purpose. Transfund/NZTA annual reports show that the funds for the flood repairs were simply deducted from the amount allocated to Manawatu for highway improvements in Transfunds 10-year State Highway forecast. That’s a total contrast to the old politically independent Main Highways Board’s decision to share the burden of repairing roads and bridges after the Murchison and Hawke’s Bay quakes equitably accross the whole country.

  8. randal 8
    8 September 2010 at 1:34 pm

    what about Joe Waitress.
    $600 a week.
    anybody know any waitresses who make 600 a weeK.

  9. tsmithfield 9
    8 September 2010 at 5:09 pm

    I suspect that whatever the government offered would be criticised as not being enough.

    Newsflash. The government can’t solve everything. The $350 contribution is available immediately and is a heck of a lot better than what many would get on the dole. I suspect that Winz will also be stepping in with assistance where necessary, and people may also find they qualify for more family support than what they did previously. Banks are also offering mortgage holidays for affected people.

    So it is likely that many will find the various initiatives enough for them to get through.

    Also, as the recovery kicks in there will be no excuse for anyone who has working arms and legs to be unemployed. So, I suspect those displaced from their current jobs will soon find other jobs helping with various aspects of the clean-up and rebuilding.

    • Vicky32 9.1
      8 September 2010 at 6:28 pm

      “Also, as the recovery kicks in there will be no excuse for anyone who has working arms and legs to be unemployed. So, I suspect those displaced from their current jobs will soon find other jobs helping with various aspects of the clean-up and rebuilding.”
      What recovery are you banging on about tsmithfield? If you’re right, I shall be turning cartwheels with joy, as I am fed up with being unemployed – and with waiting for this “recovery”!
      And how do you expect secretaries and receptionists to suddenly turn into builders and labourers?
      Deb

      • Lanthanide 9.1.1
        8 September 2010 at 6:36 pm

        “And how do you expect secretaries and receptionists to suddenly turn into builders and labourers?”
        Pick up a shovel or paintbrush, obviously. Everything is magically easy in tsmithfield’s world. A job is a job is a job is a job.

        • Loota 9.1.1.1
          8 September 2010 at 7:08 pm

          Look, during the Great Leap Forwards scientists and lecturers successfully became farmers. And given that the Right actually likes their peasantry, I’m sure this could be a model.

        • Vicky32 9.1.1.2
          8 September 2010 at 7:12 pm

          To quote Bugs Bunny, it is to laugh… In his world obviously, workers aren’t office workers with no building expertise, over 60, or under 155 cm…
          Deb

      • tsmithfield 9.1.2
        8 September 2010 at 8:09 pm

        Debbie: “What recovery are you banging on about tsmithfield?”

        What I mean is the recovery from the earthquake. There is a big mess to clean up in case you have just come from Mars.

        Vicky: “To quote Bugs Bunny, it is to laugh… In his world obviously, workers aren’t office workers with no building expertise, over 60, or under 155 cm…”

        What experience does it take to get on the end of a shovel?

        • Marty G 9.1.2.1
          8 September 2010 at 8:42 pm

          The demolition crews don’t want any casual people. You have to have site safe certification. there was a video on it on stuff on tuesday.

        • Puddleglum 9.1.2.2
          8 September 2010 at 10:22 pm

          I’ve worked in a few menial/labouring jobs and they all required a whole series of ‘knacks’ that you don’t master overnight.

          I remember once trying to shift a 44 gal drum full of cooking oil and couldn’t budge it. Spent about twenty minutes moving it a couple of yards. Some young, little guy (even smaller than me) who was an ‘old hand’ took a running jump at it, leapt on, grabbing it with his full body around the rim, started to tip it and then braced himself with his legs on the ground as it fell, (If I’d have tried it I would have become a well-oiled pancake.) He then rolled it to where it had to be, looked at me with the kind of look that only working men can give each other, spat on the ground and went back to his job.

          It’s the same on building sites – easy to mess up, whether you’re digging a ditch, stacking bricks, wheeling a wheelbarrow full of cement or whatever. There’s a way to dig, for example, that means you keep a good speed going but won’t end up with a crook back after an hour and have to be given some patsy work. And since my last experience I guess a lot more machinery gets used for the jobs I used to do.

          The jobs are called ‘unskilled’ but that’s only because nobody offers a course in them. I probably couldn’t count the number of times I’ve been embarrassed with my lack of skill at such work. What’s worse is that I’ve often felt I’ve been more hindrance than help as others have had to waste their time cleaning up after me.

  10. Graeme Edgeler 10
    8 September 2010 at 5:52 pm

    This scheme will leave workers and employers severely out of pocket, killing businesses and jobs.

    There are about 77,000 workers (5% of our workforce) unable to work due to the quake. To ask their employers to continue paying their wages unaided would be a death sentence for many recession-weakened firms.

    You appear to assume that employers have an option of not paying their employees. I’d be very interested to know the legal basis underpinning this implicit claim. They have employment contracts, they get paid. That’s pretty much the deal.

    captcha: staffs

    • Loota 10.1
      8 September 2010 at 6:59 pm

      I hear bankruptcy or receivership is pretty good at interfering with the paying of wages.

      • tsmithfield 10.1.1
        8 September 2010 at 8:15 pm

        In a bankruptcy/receivership situation, the employees would ordinarily have the prospect of the dole. The current package offered by the government is considerably better than the dole. For instance, it is available immediately (no stand down). And in the case of a family where both partners lose their jobs, then their would be two lots of $350 coming into the family.

        • Marty G 10.1.1.1
          8 September 2010 at 8:35 pm

          I’m sure that will be of great comfort, $700 a week before tax is below the poverty line for a family with kids. – take off tax and accommodation, and what’s left?

          meanwhile, people who gambled on SCF walk away with millions, including their interest.

          • Roflcopter 10.1.1.1.1
            8 September 2010 at 8:37 pm

            Go ask WINZ what you get on top of that… I dare you to. Then come back and say it is nothing so we can all laugh at you.

            • Marty G 10.1.1.1.1.1
              8 September 2010 at 8:40 pm

              no, you provide evidence that WINZ is providing top-ups to this grant, which is being paid through WINZ.

              my plan would leave no employer or employee out of pocket over wages for work that can’t be done because of the quake. Does the Nats’ plan match that?

              • Roflcopter …
                8 September 2010 at 8:48 pm

                It’s already been announced that WINZ will be coming to the party for those affected, ON TOP of the $350.

                I have friends down in ChCh, who were in fulltime work but are now going to be out for a long time because their place of work is shattered, who have already been in contact with WINZ.

                They get no standdown on entitlements, can get WFF where they couldn’t before, their bank has holidayed their mortgage with no penalty or catch-up required. He also can get an emergency dole-type payment, AND the $350 as well… he is so grateful for what has been put forward as a solution, where before he was already living in rather tight times… but I guess it’s ok for you to spout off from your pedestal.

              • smhead …
                8 September 2010 at 9:11 pm

                no marty your plan would see a big fat blank cheque being paid to everybody no matter what their need. nice use of taxpayers money there, so generous of you. the bill for the cleanup will be in the billions already, let’s spend it wisely. sorry marty after nine years of labour the government can’t afford to write blank cheques.

                • Loota …
                  8 September 2010 at 9:24 pm

                  no marty your plan would see a big fat blank cheque being paid to everybody no matter what their need

                  Fully consistent with Bill and John’s bail out of South Canterbury Finance.

                  What, you got a problem with that now?

                  sorry marty after nine years of labour the government can’t afford to write blank cheques.

                  Well didn’t Bill and John prove you oh-so-wrong.

                  OK it wasn’t a blank cheque exaclty but the one for SCF did have ten digits for the dollar value.

                  • Pascal's bookie …
                    8 September 2010 at 9:28 pm

                    Wasn’t it just the other day that those comm1e bastards at the IMF were saying that the NZ govt was in a good position to be able to write cheques? Bloody Michael Cullen!!

                • Pascal's bookie …
                  8 September 2010 at 9:25 pm

                  So I assume then that the government is in fact checking to see that the employers who are being subsidised under this scheme are not also insured?

                • Marty G …
                  8 September 2010 at 11:34 pm

                  my plan funds workers wages for quake closed businesses by canning the tax cuts for the richest kiwis for one year. with plenty left over.

                  • smhead …
                    9 September 2010 at 7:03 am

                    marty every one of your economic plans involves canning tax cuts. in fact it could be said that you only ever invent economic plans as an excuse to can tax cuts and sop the rich who already pay too much tax. eat the rich yes that’s a good plan. not.

                    • Pascal's bookie …
                      9 September 2010 at 7:40 am

                      …in fact it could be said that you only ever invent economic plans as an excuse to can tax cuts…

                      Anything can be said, some things are too stupid to be worth saying though.

                      Take a look at these graphs:

                      http://www.presimetrics.com/blog/?p=92

                      It is simply not the case that shrinking the state produces economic benefits. What counts is whether or not the state is doing the things that the state should be doing, and whether or not it is doing so efficiently. Part of this is whether or not it is collecting enough taxes.

                      The right have become singularly focussed on shrinking the size of the state over the last couple of decades. They can’t win support to actually cut back on the things the state does, so they focus on cutting taxes. This is simply unserious. You can’t cut taxes without cutting the spending, and the pitiful spending cuts they manage never pay for the tax cuts they want.

                      The argument they have, for what it is worth, is that ‘smaller govt is better’. This is axiomatic and just assumed to be true. It’s obvious question begging, and doesn’t seem to find much support when you look at what happens empirically.

                      So instead we hear tired rhetoric like eat the rich yes that’s a good plan. not. and moronic projection like you only ever invent economic plans as an excuse to can tax cuts, when it’s obvious to anyone who pays attention that it is the right that views the level of taxation and the size of the state as ideological targets.

        • Roflcopter 10.1.1.2
          8 September 2010 at 8:35 pm

          Dude, you’re killing Graeme’s whining with facts. Stick to making stuff up like he does.

          • Pascal's bookie 10.1.1.2.1
            8 September 2010 at 8:43 pm

            What ts is doing is painting this policy, which I agree is good, as some sort of payout to employees. It’s not. It’s a subsidy to relieve some pressure off small employers. The fact that those businesses are not being given the ‘moral hazard speech’ about their lack of insurance is an interesting political fact.

            And Graeme is usually right. That’s like pretty much an internet fact.

    • Marty G 10.2
      8 September 2010 at 8:38 pm

      It’s the govt who are ‘asking’ the employers to pay the difference between the $350 and ordinary wages… which means employers aren’t compelled to pay. I assume they know the law.
      Presumably, employers can argue force majeure.

      also, the argument is that’s not fair or possible for the employers to expect them to stump up with the cash when they have no cash flow.

  11. clandestino 11
    8 September 2010 at 9:03 pm

    I don’t quite understand what more the government can do in this situation. $350 a week does not seem like chips to me (if the reports I’ve heard here and on the radio about mortgage holidays are true). Does it occur to anyone that could be a disincentive to finding work quickly in coming days/weeks when it’s around?
    The biggest problem is going to be insurance. Possibly 10k homes uninsured, at say 300k, that’s a shiteload. Does the taxpayer pick up the tab? Remember, EQC contributions come out of the premiums paid by those who took out insurance, and needs to be rationed for future disasters too.

    Coupled with the issue of subsidising select businesses, moral hazard much?

    • Vicky32 11.1
      9 September 2010 at 4:03 pm

      “Does it occur to anyone that could be a disincentive to finding work quickly in coming days/weeks when it’s around?”
      I hear Bugs Bunny again… Would a temporary $350.00 a week be a disincentive to you? No of course not, so why assume that of other people? You’re being ridiculous.
      Deb

  12. infused 12
    8 September 2010 at 9:33 pm

    Income protection insurance… it’s actually not that expensive. For the people that don’t have house insurance…. that’s just fucking crazy. I’m sorry, but really. Why should the tax payer pick up the tab here?

    • clandestino 12.1
      8 September 2010 at 9:41 pm

      And what message does it send to those who have always played it safe and prepared for the worst, sensibly?
      If we all pick up the tab for the uninsured…what’s the point in having insurance, you’re getting shat on. I just can’t believe it’s not mandatory like bike helmets or seatbelts.

      • Loota 12.1.1
        8 September 2010 at 9:53 pm

        Yeah I agree, better to let those people and their families rot and to bring down the value of the neighbourhoods around their rubble.

        Why should the tax payer pick up the tab here?

        well the taxpayer happily picked up the tab for SCF speculators, I guess you are saying that those homeless families and their children are less deserving than those big shots.

      • Puddleglum 12.1.2
        8 September 2010 at 10:56 pm

        So many things for ‘sensible people’ to insure for, aren’t there. I won’t repeat myself here, but you’ve just proved my point that there’s no end to what ‘sensible people’ like yourself and infused believe those with little money should fork out for. Now it’s ‘income protection’ insurance!

        I pay the whole caboodle (health, life for me and my wife, car, contents, house, mortgage protection, income protection for me), i.e., the kind of cover you’d both be proud of me ‘self-providing’. Guess how much it costs me per fortnight? You want a cleaner or a labourer to fork out that lot from their wages just because people like you never understood the notion of ‘enlightened self-interest’?

  13. M 13
    8 September 2010 at 10:57 pm

    Maybe Johnny was at the wrong meeting and is taking direct action towards improving the literacy of young new Zealanders.

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    Buzz  from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example.  This shows National down ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago

  • Listening To The Traffic.
    It Takes A Train To Cry: Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 day ago

  • Comity Be Damned! The State’s Legislative Arm Is Flexing Its Constitutional Muscles.
    Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 day ago

  • Ending The Quest.
    Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 day ago

  • Will political polarisation intensify to the point where ‘normal’ government becomes impossible,...
    Chris Trotter writes –  New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Bernard’s pick 'n' mix for Tuesday, April 30
    TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:30am on Tuesday, May 30:Scoop: NZ 'close to the tipping point' of measles epidemic, health experts warn NZ Herald Benjamin PlummerHealth: 'Absurd and totally unacceptable': Man has to wait a year for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Why Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating in the country
    Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Worst poll result for a new Government in MMP history
    Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Pinning down climate change's role in extreme weather
    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Serving at Seymour's pleasure.
    Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • Webworm LA Pop-Up
    Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago

  • “Feel good” school is out
    Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago

  • 6 Months in, surely our Report Card is “Ignored all warnings: recommend dismissal ASAP”?
    Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy. Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    2 days ago

  • Bread, and how it gets buttered
    Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Why Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating in the country
    Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    2 days ago

  • Justice for Gaza?
    The New York Times reports that the International Criminal Court is about to issue arrest warrants for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, over their genocide in Gaza: Israeli officials increasingly believe that the International Criminal Court is preparing to issue arrest warrants for senior government officials on ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • If there has been any fiddling with Pharmac’s funding, we can count on Paula to figure out the fis...
    Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • FastTrackWatch – The case for the Government’s Fast Track Bill
    Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Bernard’s pick 'n' mix for Monday, April 29
    TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on Iran killing its rappers, and searching for the invisible Dr. Reti
    span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    3 days ago

  • Auckland Rail Electrification 10 years old
    Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 days ago

  • Coalition's dirge of austerity and uncertainty is driving the economy into a deeper recession
    Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Disability Funding or Tax Cuts.
    You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Of the Goodness of Tolkien’s Eru
    April has been a quiet month at A Phuulish Fellow. I have had an exceptionally good reading month, and a decently productive writing month – for original fiction, anyway – but not much has caught my eye that suggested a blog article. It has been vaguely frustrating, to be honest. ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    3 days ago

  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #17
    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 21, 2024 thru Sat, April 27, 2024. Story of the week Anthropogenic climate change may be the ultimate shaggy dog story— but with a twist, because here ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Pastor Who Abused People, Blames People
    Hi,I spent about a year on Webworm reporting on an abusive megachurch called Arise, and it made me want to stab my eyes out with a fork.I don’t regret that reporting in 2022 and 2023 — I am proud of it — but it made me angry.Over three main stories ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    3 days ago

  • Vic Uni shows how under threat free speech is
    The new Victoria University Vice-Chancellor decided to have a forum at the university about free speech and academic freedom as it is obviously a topical issue, and the Government is looking at legislating some carrots or sticks for universities to uphold their obligations under the Education and Training Act. They ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Winston remembers Gettysburg.
    Do you remember when Melania Trump got caught out using a speech that sounded awfully like one Michelle Obama had given? Uncannily so.Well it turns out that Abraham Lincoln is to Winston Peters as Michelle was to Melania. With the ANZAC speech Uncle Winston gave at Gallipoli having much in ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • 25
    She was born 25 years ago today in North Shore hospital. Her eyes were closed tightly shut, her mouth was silently moving. The whole theatre was all quiet intensity as they marked her a 2 on the APGAR test. A one-minute eternity later, she was an 8.  The universe was ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Fact Brief – Is Antarctica gaining land ice?
    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Is Antarctica gaining land ice? ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • Policing protests.
    Images of US students (and others) protesting and setting up tent cities on US university campuses have been broadcast world wide and clearly demonstrate the growing rifts in US society caused by US policy toward Israel and Israel’s prosecution of … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago

  • Open letter to Hon Paul Goldsmith
    Barrie Saunders writes – Dear Paul As the new Minister of Media and Communications, you will be inundated with heaps of free advice and special pleading, all in the national interest of course. For what it’s worth here is my assessment: Traditional broadcasting free to air content through ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: FastTrackWatch – The Case for the Government’s Fast Track Bill
    Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its arguments for such a bold reform. ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    5 days ago

  • Luxon gets out his butcher’s knife – briefly
    Peter Dunne writes –  The great nineteenth British Prime Minister, William Gladstone, once observed that “the first essential for a Prime Minister is to be a good butcher.” When a later British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, sacked a third of his Cabinet in July 1962, in what became ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • More tax for less
    Ele Ludemann writes – New Zealanders had the OECD’s second highest tax increase last year: New Zealanders faced the second-biggest tax raises in the developed world last year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) says. The intergovernmental agency said the average change in personal income tax ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Real News vs Fake News.
    We all know something’s not right with our elections. The spread of misinformation, people being targeted with soundbites and emotional triggers that ignore the facts, even the truth, and influence their votes.The use of technology to produce deep fakes. How can you tell if something is real or not? Can ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • Another way to roll
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Share ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Simon Clark: The climate lies you'll hear this year
    This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Simon Clark. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). This year you will be lied to! Simon Clark helps prebunk some misleading statements you'll hear about climate. The video includes ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Cutting the Public Service
    It is all very well cutting the backrooms of public agencies but it may compromise the frontlines. One of the frustrations of the Productivity Commission’s 2017 review of universities is that while it observed that their non-academic staff were increasing faster than their academic staff, it did not bother to ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    5 days ago

  • Luxon’s demoted ministers might take comfort from the British politician who bounced back after th...
    Buzz from the Beehive Two speeches delivered by Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters at Anzac Day ceremonies in Turkey are the only new posts on the government’s official website since the PM announced his Cabinet shake-up. In one of the speeches, Peters stated the obvious:  we live in a troubled ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • This is how I roll over
    1. Which of these would you not expect to read in The Waikato Invader?a. Luxon is here to do business, don’t you worry about thatb. Mr KPI expects results, and you better believe itc. This decisive man of action is getting me all hot and excitedd. Melissa Lee is how ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • The Waitangi Tribunal is not “a roving Commission”…
    …it has a restricted jurisdiction which must not be abused: it is not an inquisition   NOTE – this article was published before the High Court ruled that Karen Chhour does not have to appear before the Waitangi Tribunal Gary Judd writes –  The High Court ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Is Oranga Tamariki guilty of neglect?
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – One of reasons Oranga Tamariki exists is to prevent child neglect. But could the organisation itself be guilty of the same? Oranga Tamariki’s statistics show a decrease in the number and age of children in care. “There are less children ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Three Strikes saw lower reoffending
    David Farrar writes: Graeme Edgeler wrote in 2017: In the first five years after three strikes came into effect 5248 offenders received a ‘first strike’ (that is, a “stage-1 conviction” under the three strikes sentencing regime), and 68 offenders received a ‘second strike’. In the five years prior to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Luxon’s ruthless show of strength is perfect for our angry era
    Bryce Edwards writes – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has surprised everyone with his ruthlessness in sacking two of his ministers from their crucial portfolios. Removing ministers for poor performance after only five months in the job just doesn’t normally happen in politics. That’s refreshing and will be extremely ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • 'Lacks attention to detail and is creating double-standards.'
    TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the two days to 6:06am on Thursday, April 25:Politics: PM Christopher Luxon has set up a dual standard for ministerial competence by demoting two National Cabinet ministers while leaving also-struggling ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • One Night Only!
    Hi,Today I mainly want to share some of your thoughts about the recent piece I wrote about success and failure, and the forces that seemingly guide our lives. But first, a quick bit of housekeeping: I am doing a Webworm popup in Los Angeles on Saturday May 11 at 2pm. ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago

  • What did Melissa Lee do?
    It is hard to see what Melissa Lee might have done to “save” the media. National went into the election with no public media policy and appears not to have developed one subsequently. Lee claimed that she had prepared a policy paper before the election but it had been decided ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #17 2024
    Open access notables Ice acceleration and rotation in the Greenland Ice Sheet interior in recent decades, Løkkegaard et al., Communications Earth & Environment: In the past two decades, mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet has accelerated, partly due to the speedup of glaciers. However, uncertainty in speed derived from satellite products ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • Maori Party (with “disgust”) draws attention to Chhour’s race after the High Court rules on Wa...
    Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Who’s Going Up The Media Mountain?
    Mr Bombastic: Ironically, the media the academic experts wanted is, in many ways, the media they got. In place of the tyrannical editors of yesteryear, advancing without fear or favour the interests of the ruling class; the New Zealand news media of today boasts a troop of enlightened journalists dedicated to ...
    Bowalley Road
    7 days ago

  • “That's how I roll”
    It's hard times try to make a livingYou wake up every morning in the unforgivingOut there somewhere in the cityThere's people living lives without mercy or pityI feel good, yeah I'm feeling fineI feel better then I have for the longest timeI think these pills have been good for meI ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago

  • “Comity” versus the rule of law
    In 1974, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in United States v. Nixon, finding that the President was not a King, but was subject to the law and was required to turn over the evidence of his wrongdoing to the courts. It was a landmark decision for the rule ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago

  • Aotearoa: a live lab for failed Right-wing socio-economic zombie experiments once more…
    Every day now just seems to bring in more fresh meat for the grinder. In their relentlessly ideological drive to cut back on the “excessive bloat” (as they see it) of the previous Labour-led government, on the mountains of evidence accumulated in such a short period of time do not ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    1 week ago

  • Water is at the heart of farmers’ struggle to survive in Benin
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Megan Valére Sosou Market gardening site of the Itchèléré de Itagui agricultural cooperative in Dassa-Zoumè (Image credit: Megan Valère Sossou) For the residents of Dassa-Zoumè, a city in the West African country of Benin, choosing between drinking water and having enough ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • At a time of media turmoil, Melissa had nothing to proclaim as Minister – and now she has been dem...
    Buzz from the Beehive   Melissa Lee – as may be discerned from the screenshot above – has not been demoted for doing something seriously wrong as Minister of ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • Minister acknowledges passing of Sir Robert Martin (KNZM)
    New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago

  • Speech to New Zealand Institute of International Affairs, Parliament – Annual Lecture: Challenges ...
    Good evening –   Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago

  • Accelerating airport security lines
    From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago

  • Community hui to talk about kina barrens
    People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    15 hours ago

  • Kiwi exporters win as NZ-EU FTA enters into force
    Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago

  • Mining resurgence a welcome sign
    There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago

  • Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill passes first reading
    The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Government to boost public EV charging network
    Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure.  The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Residential Property Managers Bill to not progress
    The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Independent review into disability support services
    The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Justice Minister updates UN on law & order plan
    Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Ending emergency housing motels in Rotorua
    The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Trade Minister travels to Riyadh, OECD, and Dubai
    Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Education priorities focused on lifting achievement
    Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • NZTA App first step towards digital driver licence
    The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say.  “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Supporting whānau out of emergency housing
    Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Tribute to Dave O'Sullivan
    Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Speech – Eid al-Fitr
    Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Government saves access to medicines
    Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff.    “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Pharmac Chair appointed
    Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Taking action on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
    Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says.  “Every day, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • New sports complex opens in Kaikohe
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Diplomacy needed more than ever
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges.    “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Anzac Commemorative Address, Buttes New British Cemetery Belgium
    Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service.  It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Anzac Commemorative Address – NZ National Service, Chunuk Bair
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