Why a Capital Gains tax is necessary

Written By: mickysavage - Date published: 8:09 am, April 27th, 2023 - 186 comments
Categories: chris hipkins, Christopher Luxon, david parker, Economy, labour, national, same old national, tax - Tags:

David Parker is one of the most important members of this Government and one of the most influential.

The current Government has said that it will not implement a full Capital Gains tax although it did implement an extension to the bright line tax for land sales which for all purposes was effectively a capital gains tax for land.

And Parker has continued with his work on showing that the wealthiest amongst us are doing rather well from the tax system.

From the Beehive website:

Inland Revenue research released today reveals a large differential between the tax rates ordinary New Zealanders pay on their full income compared with the super-wealthy, Revenue Minister David Parker says.

“This internationally ground-breaking research provides hard data showing that the wealthiest New Zealanders pay tax at much less than half the rate of other Kiwis,” David Parker said.

“The data, based on full income information from 311 of our wealthiest citizens, shows that the average person in this group pays an effective tax rate of just 8.9% tax on their economic income – that is, income from all sources, including capital gains on investments.

“In contrast, most New Zealanders pay tax at more than twice that rate. For example, someone earning a salary of $80,000, with no other income, pays 22% tax on that income, excluding GST.

“The difference is mainly because the very wealthy earn only a small portion of their income from wages and salaries, unlike most New Zealanders.

“The differential is even larger when GST is included: for the wealthiest, their effective tax rate rises to 9.5%, but for the person on an $80,000 salary, it goes up to around 28 or 29%. That is because wealthy New Zealanders spend a much smaller portion of their income each year, compared with other earners.”

The High Wealth Individuals Research Project is internationally significant because it uses real data, unlike other overseas studies which draw on surveys or scenarios, David Parker says.

“In 2020, the Government changed the law to enable IRD to require high-wealth individuals to provide their earnings data, in order to do this work,” David Parker says.

“To be clear, this work is not about chasing tax avoiders, nor is it about attacking the rich. Wealthy New Zealanders are usually hard-working and creative people who comply with current rules. They have assisted IRD with this inquiry, and I am grateful for that.

“The excellent work in this survey will enable future discussions on tax policy to be based on solid evidence. Later this year, we intend to introduce a Tax Principles Bill to ensure that information like this continues to be transparently collected and reported on.”

Today’s IRD report release is accompanied by a new Treasury report setting out effective average tax rates across the population. It uses scenarios to show that effective tax rates paid by middle New Zealanders (including GST) are between 6.8 and 10.8 percentage points higher than for the wealthiest people.

The question is what the Government will do with the report. Jacinda Ardern had ruled out a Capital Gains Tax while she was Prime Minister. To the best of my knowledge Chris Hipkins has not announced his position although given his Blairite approach to politics I do not anticipate anything radical. He is giving a speech today on economic matters so we should find out soon.

And meanwhile National has chosen to respond to the release of the report by advocating for, you will never guess, tax cuts for the very wealthy the report highlights. Be under no illusion if National gain power the only thing the uber wealthy will receive is some sort of tax relief.

Since the 1960s working group after working group have recommended a capital gains tax. Maybe what David Parker is doing is carefully and gradually opening the debate so that the current limited capital gains tax that we have can broadened and expanded.

186 comments on “Why a Capital Gains tax is necessary ”

Comments are now closed

tsmithfield 1

27 April 2023 at 8:21 am

The thing about that report is it implies that, in principle, unrealised gains should be taxed.

So, anyone who purchased a home prior to recent house inflation, in principle, should be taxed.

That point should not be lost. Because, publishing research that considers the uber-wealthy may be politically astute. But, in of itself, hitting that group with extra taxes will not make that much difference. So, the government will need to go significantly lower on the income band I expect.

But, once this door is opened, in principle, this tax could be applied to anyone who owns assets. And, it may well be, in future years. Who knows? It could be a gradual sinking lid effect, similar to boiling a frog.
- AB 1.1
  
  27 April 2023 at 8:43 am
  
  As Parker pointed out, once you are seriously wealthy with income-producing assets, you don't actually need to sell them to generate cash to live off. Instead, you can leverage your assets to get favourable interest rates for borrowing and acquiring more assets. It ends as a spiral of runaway asset accumulation with not that much realisation (sale) of assets occurring, apart from some swapping as people move to asset classes with better returns.
  
  In other words, if you are talking about the seriously wealthy, unrealised gains have to be taxed to stop that runaway spiral of accumulation. And if you don't stop that spiral, the economic and political power that accrues to the very wealthy risks your society being controlled by some of the worst people in it. The very wealthy are quite different from ordinary middle class people who might have acquired some assets which they liquidate in retirement to live more comfortably than is possible with superannuation alone.
  - Incognito 1.1.1
    
    27 April 2023 at 9:10 am
    
    You would think it is all about hard & dry numbers, but it isn’t; perceptions matter and subjectivity, which often is a euphemism for bias. It happens everywhere, in healthcare, in education, and in the whole FIRE economy. The system favours the well-offs, the so-called ‘successful’ and ‘winners’.
    
    Just look at Māori business creation, for instance. The Reserve Bank finds they’ve been held back by the “persistently higher” interest rates they pay on their liabilities, as shown in the chart below.
    
    https://www.newsroom.co.nz/ensuring-financial-inclusion-when-nz-cant-bank-on-the-big-banks [see graph in article]
  - That_guy 1.1.2
    
    27 April 2023 at 9:24 am
    
    I agree. The excuse that the rich aren't really rich because they can't derive income from their assets is false, and is also by far the most common cop-out given by people who don't want a CGT.
    - mikesh 1.1.2.1
      
      27 April 2023 at 11:39 am
      
      The excuse that the rich aren't really rich because they can't derive income from their assets is false
      
      Since when has rent not been taxable? Why has nobody informed me of this?
      - That_guy 1.1.2.1.1
        
        27 April 2023 at 12:26 pm
        
        I said
        
        1) that the rich can derive income from their assets, and
        
        2) that the claim that the rich can't derive income from their assets is a common and incorrect claim.
        
        I never said anything about whether that income is taxed. So this is a straw-man argument.
        
        mikesh 1.1.2.1.1.1
        
        27 April 2023 at 7:40 pm
        
        I never said anything about whether that income is taxed. So this is a straw-man argument.
        
        If I got i wrong I apologise but since we were discussing tax that seemed to be implied.
  - tsmithfield 1.1.3
    
    27 April 2023 at 11:03 am
    
    Define seriously wealthy. We have students staying with us from the Phillipines. They were saying they were earning $10 per day over there, and living on that.
    
    So, they would likely think that most of us are seriously wealthy here.
    - AB 1.1.3.1
      
      27 April 2023 at 11:19 am
      
      I think I did in the first paragraph. However, when it comes to making actual policy decisions it is always very difficult knowing where to draw boundaries – I agree with you on that point. There is certainly a lot of scaremongering value in saying to ordinary people that if they go after the very rich, they'll soon be going after you too. That scaremongering is the essential political difficulty that stops us actually doing anything.
      - tsmithfield 1.1.3.1.1
        
        27 April 2023 at 11:48 am
        
        The point is, that once that door is opened, there is nothing to stop future governments going after you.
        
        So, the fear is real and justified.
        
        AB 1.1.3.1.1.1
        
        27 April 2023 at 2:50 pm
        
        Slippery slope arguments are easy to make – and at some level, fundamentally dishonest. The important thing to remember with slippery slope arguments, is that they run in both directions. To use your language – if opening the door constitutes a slippery slope, then so must closing it. More explicitly – if National close the door on taxing the super wealthy, what else will they close the door on? Will they close the door on progressive income tax and just go for a flat tax of (say) 15% and gut public services commensurately? Dishonest games like this are easy to play.
  - mikesh 1.1.4
    
    27 April 2023 at 11:35 am
    
    Interest, of course, should not be tax deductible. Rectifying that particular anomaly would probably not do much to mitigate the problem in question, but it would certainly help.
- Tricledrown 1.2
  
  27 April 2023 at 8:49 am
  
  tsmithfield most developed countries have a capital gains tax or land tax.Businesses pay a form of capital gains tax that's why companies have to do a stock take every year.The wealthy are using assets to avoid paying any tax . So if the wealthy are paying 11% less than the low wage earner capital gains should be set at 11% so it makes it easier to get compliance.The wealthy are money hoarders if this was any other type of hoarding it would be called a mental illness.
  - tsmithfield 1.2.1
    
    27 April 2023 at 10:18 am
    
    In principle, I don't have a problem with a CGT. So long as it applies across all assets, including the family home.
    
    In practice, I can imagine this becoming a dogs breakfast and God's gift to valuers and accountants.
    - mikesh 1.2.1.1
      
      27 April 2023 at 11:52 am
      
      The trouble with CGT is that only those who sell get bitten. The rest get off scot free. What is needed is a tax that can be levied on a regular basis: yearly, half-yearly, or quarterly say, independently of selling. Perhaps a land tax, or a property tax similar to rates.
      - That_guy 1.2.1.1.1
        
        27 April 2023 at 2:23 pm
        
        Literally TOP policy. I know I sound like a TOP fanboy, but it is literally their policy. With a carve out for pensioners to make sure they don't get kicked out of their house.
        
        https://www.top.org.nz/fair-tax-system
    - SPC 1.2.1.2
      
      27 April 2023 at 3:06 pm
      
      It was DPF who stated the only CGT he would support is one including the family home. He is now in the Taxpayers Union. His purpose, then and now, to make a CGT politically impossible.
    - Hunter Thompson II 1.2.1.3
      
      27 April 2023 at 5:31 pm
      
      CGT on the family home – that sacred cow – might be a hard sell for the pollies.
      
      There is another side to the coin – the tax equation must include capital losses (house prices are currently falling).
      
      The final report of the Tax Working Group is worth studying. It favoured a CGT: https://taxworkinggroup.govt.nz/resources/future-tax-final-report.html
    - Tricledrown 1.2.1.4
      
      28 April 2023 at 9:24 pm
      
      CGT would be an easy sell if income tax from wage and salaries was reduced by good amount making capital taxed at the same rate as income tax as it is income.
- Incognito 1.3
  
  27 April 2023 at 9:19 am
  
  When Ugh sold his cave for three dinosaur bones, he made a healthy profit. His estate should pay tax on this now, here in NZ.
  - Thinker 1.3.1
    
    27 April 2023 at 11:55 am
    
    NB: When Ugh was alive, dinosaurs had been extinct for millions of years (watch Jurassic Park…). With limited tools, it's doubtful that Ugh and his fellow citizens would have been able to extract enough dinosaur bones for them to become common currency.
    
    While on the subject of flippant comments (sorry, Incognito), the news today cites Luxon who says that the top 2% pay 26% of the tax and that's fair. The real question would have to be whether the top 2% bring in more than 26% of the income/wealth share. Like saying Bill Gates pays 10 times the average taxpayer's tax, so that must be fair. tax https://www.1news.co.nz/2023/04/26/luxon-refuses-to-say-if-tax-system-unfair-wealthy-arent-the-problem/
    
    I'm ok with a capital gains tax, but it must be taxable at the time of the gain. It can't be a wealth tax that forces people who are asset-rich and cash-poor to, say, have to sell their homes.
    - bwaghorn 1.3.1.1
      
      27 April 2023 at 12:19 pm
      
      The top 2% pay 26%of the income tax, which is his way(luxon) of covering up the fact they pay less tax than low income earners if you put in the top 2% s total income.
      
      Sounds bite fluff
      - Nic the NZer 1.3.1.1.1
        
        27 April 2023 at 1:13 pm
        
        At least he didn't try to put it in net tax terms or something. He seems to treat voters as more intelligent than our previous National government PM did.
      - Tricledrown 1.3.1.1.2
        
        28 April 2023 at 9:41 pm
        
        The Top 2% probably own nearly half the resources monopolizing the assets on speculative tax free income like land banking while we have a housing crisis ,Food banks are stretched beyond there capacity 4,000 families are homeless creating more inter generational poverty
    - SPC 1.3.1.2
      
      27 April 2023 at 1:40 pm
      
      Those who cannot pay their rates can defer the payment against the estate.
      
      The alternative to a wealth tax – is of course an estate tax (and possibly gift duties).
    - Incognito 1.3.1.3
      
      27 April 2023 at 9:22 pm
      
      Sigh
      
      Dinosaur bones are highly sought after and go for a lot of money.
      
      Anyway, flippancy is to stimulate the non-reptilian dormant brain (can’t remember what it is called).
      
      I could say something serious about the ‘idea’ to implement a retrospective CGT (essentially a pseudo-Wealth Tax) but I can’t be arsed.
- Bearded Git 1.4
  
  27 April 2023 at 12:18 pm
  
  The "unrealised gains" argument is as silly as the "my shares are only worth that on paper" argument.
  
  The fact is that an asset is worth what it is worth in the market at any point in time. It follows that any capital gain at that point in time should be taxable.
  - Nic the NZer 1.4.1
    
    27 April 2023 at 12:55 pm
    
    I think the Greens added plenty of provision for un-realized gains into their wealth tax, rather than simply declaring it irrelevant. Un-realized gains can't be paid in money to the IRD is an actual problem and needs to be addressed in any proposal.
    
    While implementing a tax base is fundamental to our monetary system and should be imposed fairly, the IRD doesn't need to collect any amount of tax to facilitate government spending. This is obvious just considering the way payments work inside the RBNZ set of accounts (where government tax and spending actually clears through).
    
    The ideas being discussed here are more or less about switching the balance of taxation from income to asset price level changes. I don't think its necessarily clear what the impacts of these changes would be on either asset price levels or associated income flows however. One potential impact of a tax on changes in asset values as income could be a shift towards short term ownership of these assets over longer term ownership (because you need income to support your asset portfolio expansion). It's at least plausible that the increase in turn over of ownership would lead to more rapid asset price appreciation and that would be consistent with changes in turn over rates in the housing market across the last 20 years.
    - SPC 1.4.1.1
      
      27 April 2023 at 1:42 pm
      
      We have unpaid tertiary debt – collected based on income level and otherwise left against the estate.
      - Shanreagh 1.4.1.1.1
        
        30 April 2023 at 10:58 am
        
        Usually on death the balance of a student loan is written off.
        
        'In fact, the policy settings at the moment incentivise this: strictly speaking, the fact that the debt is written off at death is one reason in support of paying a student loan slowly: most other debts will need to be paid by your estate. A 0 per cent interest rate if you live in New Zealand helps too, there's an argument in favour of letting inflation pay the loan off."
        
        Financial adviser Martin Hawes also did not think it was necessarily a concern that people were carrying lifelong student debt. "I think a debt is a debt and remains until it's repaid, or you die. I do not think they should have any sort of time limit."
        
        https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/119397157/new-zealanders-carrying-student-loans-until-they-die
  - mikesh 1.4.2
    
    27 April 2023 at 3:00 pm
    
    If it is true that an asset is worth its market value at any point in time then there is no profit to be had by selling it. In other words if a property is worth 500 million and that's what the seller gets for it, then where is the profit?
    
    A rental property's value, I think, is determined by the rent obtainable from it ad infinitum. Such a value is real and this is the value that a seller is passing to the buyer when he sells.
    - Bearded Git 1.4.2.1
      
      28 April 2023 at 10:51 am
      
      It's accountancy 101…I can't be bothered explaining.
      - mikesh 1.4.2.1.1
        
        29 April 2023 at 10:30 am
        
        Most accountants, I think, would define income as what one can take from a business entity without reducing its capital.
        
        That's probably "Accounting 101".
        
        Incognito 1.4.2.1.1.1
        
        29 April 2023 at 11:25 am
        
        Over time, capital assets go down in value. It is called depreciation.
        
        Over time, money (currency) loses value too, or buying power. It is called inflation.
        
        Ask ChaptGPT to explain these terms & concepts to you before you comment again on this with your typical reckons.
        
        mikesh …
        
        30 April 2023 at 9:25 am
        
        Over time, capital assets go down in value. It is called depreciation.
        
        Depreciation being a non cash expense item does not reduce capital, providing it's catered for out of earnings.
        
        Over time, money (currency) loses value too, or buying power. It is called inflation.
        
        Inflation does not reduce capital. Capital of one million dollars continues to be worth that much. Although the value of the "unit of account" may be reduced
        
        Ask ChaptGPT to explain these terms & concepts to you before you comment again on this with your typical reckons.
        
        I don't need to. However I think you need to go back to school and refresh your knowledge of accounting 101.
        
        Incognito …
        
        30 April 2023 at 10:27 am
        
        Please go back to school and learn to read.
        
        Anyway, to correct the nonsense spread by you:
        
        Assets lose value over time as they get older. This loss of value is called depreciation.
        
        https://www.ird.govt.nz/depreciation
        
        Shanreagh …
        
        30 April 2023 at 11:02 am
        
        Depreciation is an accounting construct. Some businesses do not use this or use it on some asset classes only.
- SPC 1.5
  
  27 April 2023 at 1:32 pm
  
  Why are you connecting CGT to home ownership – there is no CGT in the world that includes home ownership?
  
  Does the existing brightline tax include the family home? No.
  - alwyn 1.5.1
    
    27 April 2023 at 2:06 pm
    
    " there is no CGT in the world that includes home ownership?".
    
    There are actually. A prime example is the USA. If you are genuinely in favour of a CGT, or a wealth tax for that matter, you should be in favour of including a family home.
    - SPC 1.5.1.1
      
      27 April 2023 at 2:25 pm
      
      Wealth taxes can include the family home, as might estate taxes.
      
      Care to explain in what way the US CGT (federal or state) includes the family home?
      
      I suspect your answer will demonstrate that most family homes are not included.
      
      Most totally exclude them from CGT and have a separate wealth or estate tax regime that covers only some/few.
      - alwyn 1.5.1.1.1
        
        27 April 2023 at 2:49 pm
        
        It's all explained here. Although they say avoid it is mostly delaying.
        
        https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/06/capitalgainhomesale.asp#toc-how-to-avoid-capital-gains-tax-on-home-sales
        
        The property has to be pretty cheap though. You can only, as an individual, exclude $250,000 on a family home. That would be roughly a single year increase on an Auckland home I suppose and it is the increase over the entire time you have owned the place you are looking at. You may be able to defer, not avoid, payment if you quickly buy another property of a similar type, and price.
        
        You still can't easily get out of paying though.
        
        SPC 1.5.1.1.1.1
        
        27 April 2023 at 2:59 pm
        
        Do you have to pay capital gains tax on a home sale? That depends. You could owe capital gains tax if you sell a home that has appreciated in value because it is a capital asset. However, thanks to the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, most homeowners are exempt from needing to pay it.
        
        If you are single, you will pay no capital gains tax on the first $250,000 of profit (excess over cost basis). Married couples enjoy a $500,000 exemption.
        
        It's only on the CG over $250,000 or $500,000 and that can be deferred by buying a new home (until death tax liability)
        
        The average total value (both median and average) of a home property in the USA was c380,000 in 2022 (little chance of that much of a capital gain then).
        
        So even at death the chance of any CGT being paid on a home ownership is very unlikely for the great majority.
        
        alwyn …
        
        27 April 2023 at 3:34 pm
        
        It depends. If you're going to San Francisco because you are a Scott Mckenzie fan you might be a bit cautious.
        
        https://www.redfin.com/city/17151/CA/San-Francisco/housing-market
        
        That is all types of housing of course. Condos and Co-ops keep the price way down. If you wanted a stand alone home prices get a lot higher.
That_guy 2

27 April 2023 at 9:12 am

So, for the election, what are the options? Genuine question.

Seems to me the options are:

Labour = pasty weak form of CGT that they refuse to call CGT for political reasons

TOP = land value tax, which is a CGT that also has the added benefit of encouraging densification and discouraging land-banking

Greens = CGT, a real CGT, but then there are off-topic values and rights-based reasons not to vote Green in the current round.

Just my 2c but I'm leaning towards TOP, since a land value tax is probably better, plus you don't have to support a subgroup within the party which has lost the plot.
- Res Publica 2.1
  
  27 April 2023 at 9:34 am
  
  land value tax, which is a CGT that also has the added benefit of encouraging densification and discouraging land-banking
  
  We already pay a land value tax though: rates.
  - That_guy 2.1.1
    
    27 April 2023 at 9:52 am
    
    To a limited degree, sure but I don't see this as a slam-dunk argument against a central government land value tax as an alternative to a CGT.
    
    If you're in favour of a CGT (and I am) then you should at least look at a LVT, which is basically a CGT with extra benefits (encouraging densification and discouraging land-banking).
    
    If you're not in favour of a CGT, vote Labour or National.
    - Res Publica 2.1.1.1
      
      27 April 2023 at 10:25 am
      
      To a limited degree, sure but I don't see this as a slam-dunk argument against a central government land value tax as an alternative to a CGT.
      
      Neither do I – I'm definitely in favour of a CGT for exactly the reasons you outlined. But I'm also opposed to the idea being taxed twice for the same thing.
      
      So any reform of capital gains tax should either exclude the family home, or find an alternative basis for funding local government.
      - That_guy 2.1.1.1.1
        
        27 April 2023 at 10:45 am
        
        I just can't see any way of having an effective LVT of CGT without getting over the whole "family home" thing. It's a loophole so big it makes the whole thing pointless.
        
        As for things being "taxed twice", it depends on the size of the tax. I mean, if I cut two hairs on my head I've been "cut twice" and if someone removes my kidney I've been "cut once" but the size of the cut is rather more important here.
        
        As things stand, a large chunk of an entire generation would love to get to the point where I they have to worry about a small tax on their family home.
        
        I agree that funding of local government is an issue.
        
        That_guy 2.1.1.1.1.1
        
        27 April 2023 at 10:56 am
        
        that should read "LVT or CGT"
        
        Molly 2.1.1.1.1.2
        
        27 April 2023 at 12:07 pm
        
        Our situation may not be average, but I'm sure it's duplicated in some form many times throughout NZ. We have the title to one property, which we reside in.
        
        Until we pay off the mortgage, we currently pay around an extra $500wk in mortgage repayments than it would cost to rent our home. Our rates are low because we are rural, so our annual cost is approx $2,500. (In the 18 years we have been here, our sewage and water expenses have been around $30,000 and they have included a replacement septic tank and field, and replacement of three pumps.)
        
        This extra expenditure throughout the lifetime of the mortgage limits the choices that are able to be made in terms of excursions, holidays etc.
        
        Ignoring the maintenance costs, and not quantifying in any way the lost lifestyle choices, sticking to the top-up of $500/wk and the rates of $2,500/yr gives a conservative premium paid for home ownership of $28,000/yr. In order to pay that amount – my partner has to earn $42,000.
        
        (Note: Our housing costs are higher than this.)
        
        Extrapolating this over twenty year mortgage, the extra costs (only in terms of mortgage payments and rates) are $560,000 which required an income earning of $840,000 over that period to service.
        
        The value of the house in the eighteen years we have owned it, has risen (according to Council valuations) by around $800,000. But remember this does not take into account any monies spent on maintenance and improvements. It also doesn't take into account any lost value of that money, in terms of generating compound interest if it was invested in a bank account which would be a very conservative return.
        
        So, there is a very important query on how they would propose to calculate CGT on family homes, (as opposed to investment properties, or development properties) when there is an added cost to ownership (sometimes) that needs to be accounted for but has probably not been worked out by many home owners?
        
        As I'm someone who believes that house prices should be falling, this outcome would create another dilemma. If the government is going to tax capital gains on the family home, will it also reimburse or allow tax losses when housing prices (hopefully fall)? Note: That for property developers this loss already reduces tax calculation, because the business is already taxed on profit.
        
        Are we essentially creating another incentive for government to maintain excessive house prices, if they do indeed choose to tax unrealised capital gains on family homes?
        
        Housing prices have not only been allowed to rise, they have been actively encouraged by government policies of both National and Labour. These gains – for many – are paper only. The houses are the same quality, in the same location, and requiring ongoing maintenance to avoid deterioration. Material benefits only are achieved, if someone sells and downgrades, because people still need shelter. The sale of a person's residence – requires them to find another residence.
        
        It'll be interesting to see what the full policy is.
        
        Also, the press release is low on details on calculations, and it does strike me that the demonisation of landlords, is perhaps making it's way to the critique of anyone who owns property. I guess we'll see.
        
        SPC …
        
        27 April 2023 at 1:24 pm
        
        Are you completely unaware that CGT around the world exclude the family home?
        
        alwyn …
        
        27 April 2023 at 2:10 pm
        
        As I pointed out on this comment by you earlier this statement is false.
        
        SPC …
        
        27 April 2023 at 2:34 pm
        
        No not really, I expect any evidence you supply will note that most family homes are not included – only those seen to be storing investing wealth in high vale real estate.
        
        Molly …
        
        27 April 2023 at 4:19 pm
        
        No. Because I read the linked press release, which is why I said:
        
        "It'll be interesting to see what the full policy is."
        
        Craig H …
        
        27 April 2023 at 2:25 pm
        
        All of that is one big reason why CGT is often less than income tax rates to attempt to recognise, for example, that some capital gain is inflation rather than real gains.
        
        SPC …
        
        27 April 2023 at 2:31 pm
        
        The two types are CGT at the income tax rate after inflation adjustment or a lower flat rate.
        
        mikesh …
        
        27 April 2023 at 2:42 pm
        
        Comparing mortgage payments, including interest, with rents is like “comparing apples with oranges”. When all the mortgage payments have been made you will own a freehold property worth perhaps one million dollars. After the same period of time the renter will own nothing.
        
        Molly …
        
        27 April 2023 at 4:17 pm
        
        You missed the part where I said what was paid OVER the rental value.
        
        Someone renting our home could put that excess into a compounding interest account:
        
        https://www.investor.gov/financial-tools-calculators/calculators/compound-interest-calculator
        
        Start $500 Add $2000/mnth @ 4%
        
        After 20 years: $734,660.54 in the bank.
        
        mikesh …
        
        27 April 2023 at 8:03 pm
        
        I re-iterate. You will own a freehold property. The renter will own nothing. You will gain the benefit of having somewhere to live while you pay off the mortgage. That presumably is worth as much as the renter pays in rent. In other words you get to own a freehold property in addition to living rent free for twenty years.
        
        Belladonna …
        
        27 April 2023 at 8:59 pm
        
        And, based on Molly's figures, the renter will have $734K in the bank.
        
        Molly …
        
        28 April 2023 at 3:26 pm
        
        Read again. Investing the cost of the mortgage OVER the probable rental value.
        
        https://www.investor.gov/financial-tools-calculators/calculators/compound-interest-calculator
        
        Just for the hell of it, add the following:
        
        The above calculation did not include rates, or maintenance over 20years which would quite conservatively add $5,000/yr:
        
        Start $400 Add $400/mnth @ 4% monthly interest
        
        At 4% that's an additional: $147,598.88
        
        Home insurance (not paid by renters) $200/mnth:
        
        Start $200 Add $200/mnth @ 4% monthly interest
        
        At 4% that's an additional: $73,799.44
        
        So the renter – in this particular scenario – might actually be better off than us as homeowners.
        
        Renting – benefits
        
        They have accessible capital throughout the twenty-year period, and are more able to meet any unforeseeable expenses, or large expenditure items without going into debt. In terms of times of financial stress, these savings can be stopped for a period without requiring permission from lenders or the threat of losing your place of residence.
        
        As a tenant, any maintenance or repairs are the responsibility of the owner which should require no investment of time or capital.
        
        Homeowners – benefits
        
        As homeowners, we have the benefit (that we utilised) of being able to offer accommodation to others without having to get owner's permission, and the possibility of reducing our housing cost considerably when the mortgage is eventually paid off. (Which in our case is not going to be in twenty years, but 30 as high item costs, like the septic tank etc was a addition to the loan and the term)
        
        The point is, we need to challenge the assumption that property owners are always and significantly better off than the renters who never purchased.
        
        They have often just made different choices – which have costs that are sometimes also financial.
        
        That said – I think housing costs are far too high, and if prices fall then it will benefit both home-owners and tenants.
        
        Any CGT should be strictly applied to profits made on houses that are flipped, or developed for the purpose of profit.
        
        The discussion around rentals being sold with capital gains, has to be reviewed if they look at CGT for that, given that interest (in every other industry is looked on as a business expense) and that has been removed.
        
        CGT for commercial property or landbanking would be easier to identify.
        
        Particularly if the increase has come from council zoning changes – increased equity value was briefly on the table during the Unitary Plan for Auckland but was dropped quickly and left very little trace. Those zoning changes, increased the value of thousands of properties without any input from property owners.
        
        mikesh …
        
        28 April 2023 at 6:10 pm
        
        Renters pay for the landlord's outgoings indirectly, since the landlord will usually pass them on as part of the rent. And what a tenant does with his spare cash is not really relevant since it is accommodation costs rather than investment philosophies that we are discussing. Mortgages are ownership costs, i.e. a cost of investing in a property. You get a property, a tenant may get a better return by investing in fixed interest securities, or in the stock market. Maybe he does better or maybe you do. Who knows. There is nothing interesting about that the fact the different areas of investment may provide different returns.
        
        You seem to be failing to distinguish between accommodation costs and ownership costs.
        
        Molly …
        
        29 April 2023 at 9:15 am
        
        @mikesh
        
        "You seem to be failing to distinguish between accommodation costs and ownership costs."
        
        You are failing to distinguish between financial choices.
        
        Those that purchase a house end up with a house.
        
        Those that don't, don't.
        
        This is not an unexpected outcome.
        
        mikesh …
        
        29 April 2023 at 10:37 am
        
        [You are failing to distinguish between financial choices.
        
        Those that purchase a house end up with a house.
        
        Those that don't, don't.]
        
        That's the point I was trying to make. The two situations are as different as apples are from oranges.
        
        Molly …
        
        29 April 2023 at 11:18 am
        
        @mikesh
        
        "That's the point I was trying to make. "
        
        Your point however seems to be a combination of the following
        
        Those that rent should also end up with a house;
        
        Those that purchase a house who end up with a house, are somehow impoverishing those that don't;
        
        All those that rent are compelled to do so by landlords,
        
        All those that buy have done so without sacrifice,
        
        All landlords don't invest further after purchase.
        
        It's only by ignoring other factors – which are likely to be common in the demographic between unable to afford to purchase a house, and able to comfortably afford a house – that you can make such poorly thought out generalisations.
        
        RedLogix …
        
        27 April 2023 at 9:22 pm
        
        A very perceptive analysis Molly.
        
        Most people who hate their landlord have not recently tried to apply for a mortgage. In essence what tenants are doing is using their landlords capital and creditworthiness to indirectly access the finance for the house they are living in.
        
        mikesh …
        
        28 April 2023 at 6:36 pm
        
        Most people who hate their landlord have not recently tried to apply for a mortgage. In essence what tenants are doing is using their landlords capital and creditworthiness to indirectly access the finance for the house they are living in.
        
        Rubbish. They are simply renting a property. They may not know about the landlord's creditworthiness, or how he came by the property, and they may not be particularly interested anyway, even if they did know. Indirect access to finance is not a service that a landlord is providing. The landlord is probably not providing a service since the capability for providing accommodation comes with the the property. The landlord is simply passing it on without adding anything of his own. The return that he gets for that is rentier (i.e. unearned) income.
        
        mikesh 2.1.1.1.1.3
        
        27 April 2023 at 2:31 pm
        
        @that_guy 10.45 a.m.
        If two hairs on your head are cut neither hair is being cut twice. With certain financial arrangements, e.g. dividend income prior to the introduction of imputation credits, it is possible that the same income is being taxed a second time.
        
        That_guy …
        
        27 April 2023 at 3:59 pm
        
        I am sure you are technically correct, but most people are not policy wonks. The main question most voters will ask are "how much am I being taxed, overall, compared to other people". And when they perceive unfairness, well..
        
        https://youtu.be/meiU6TxysCg?t=77
        
        mikesh …
        
        27 April 2023 at 7:46 pm
        
        Tax law needs to be fair even if people perceive it not to be so.
    - SPC 2.1.1.2
      
      27 April 2023 at 1:22 pm
      
      Even those in Oz can work out that a vacant land tax discourages land banking.
  - mikesh 2.1.2
    
    27 April 2023 at 11:57 am
    
    Rates are not a tax paid to central government. It is high people got this into their thick sculls. What we are discussing here is the question of the funding of government.
    - Nic the NZer 2.1.2.1
      
      27 April 2023 at 12:19 pm
      
      If the government in local government is silent then its not a tax any more?
      - Descendant Of Smith 2.1.2.1.1
        
        27 April 2023 at 1:13 pm
        
        If the extra I pay over the cost of production is called profit is it not a tax any more?
        
        Nic the NZer 2.1.2.1.1.1
        
        27 April 2023 at 1:25 pm
        
        I'd say calling that a tax is more of a rhetorical device than the actual meaning of the word tax.
        
        Descendant Of Smith …
        
        27 April 2023 at 4:30 pm
        
        It is the private sector taxing me though. The excess profits by the supermarkets is a good example that easily meets this definition.
        
        to require a lot from (something or someone) : to put demands on (something or someone)
        
        https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/tax
        
        or high interest rates, or the Mongrel mob taking a cut, or high power costs due to power companies borrowing to pay dividends to well off share holders over and above profit levels.
        
        Not only governments tax. Profit, especially excess profit is a tax.
        
        Nic the NZer …
        
        27 April 2023 at 4:56 pm
        
        You're giving me definition two from the dictionary because definition one was clear, applicable and that didn't work out for you? Maybe we should also refer to forced labor as fiscal policy? It's certainly very taxing.
        
        Descendant Of Smith …
        
        27 April 2023 at 5:53 pm
        
        No I'm giving definition two because I do see profit as private taxation. Have posted on this previously. It isn't like it is a new concept – even at primary school I was aware of the concept of taxing as being more than government.
    - Res Publica 2.1.2.2
      
      28 April 2023 at 2:01 pm
      
      They're not paid to central government, no. But they're still a tax on property ownership.
- Bearded Git 2.2
  
  27 April 2023 at 11:51 am
  
  The Green's Wealth Tax from the 2020 election is the option I still prefer.
  
  https://www.greens.org.nz/progressive_tax_reform
  
  Notice that in 2020 only 6% of people would have had to pay the WT-94% would pay nothing.
  
  (This may have shifted to 7-8% now…hard to tell with the recent significant falls in house prices)
- SPC 2.3
  
  27 April 2023 at 1:20 pm
  
  Land banking is discouraged by a vacant land tax, it does not require a tax on all land.
- SPC 2.4
  
  27 April 2023 at 1:36 pm
  
  A LVT is not a CGT as it applies whether land values go up or down.
  
  And a vote for TOP is a wasted or protest vote – promoted to remove Labour and install NACT.
  - That_guy 2.4.1
    
    27 April 2023 at 4:44 pm
    
    I won't vote for the economic illiterates in ACT
    
    I won't vote for National
    
    I won't vote for Diet National
    
    I won't vote for Winston First
    
    I won't vote for a misogynist, homophobic cult that's wrapped itself in a rainbow and green flag
    
    I don't want to not vote
    
    Who's left? It is looking like TOP at this stage.. Maybe it'll end up being a protest vote, maybe not.
    - gsays 2.4.1.1
      
      27 April 2023 at 7:27 pm
      
      "Just my 2c but I'm leaning towards TOP, since a land value tax is probably better, plus you don't have to support a subgroup within the party which has lost the plot."
      
      There is the possibility that a subgroup in TOP would get support.
      
      https://www.rnz.co.nz/programmes/the-detail/story/2018830005/we-need-to-talk-about-feral-cats
      
      http://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/129751587/giant-feral-cats-are-absolute-muscle-from-dining-out-on-the-best-native-wildlife
      
      I see that as a bonus.
      
      I also don’t buy this wasted vote palaver.
      - That_guy 2.4.1.1.1
        
        27 April 2023 at 7:47 pm
        
        I, for one, welcome our new feral muscular feline overlords.
        
        gsays 2.4.1.1.1.1
        
        27 April 2023 at 8:52 pm
        
        I think I may have found TOP's 'splinter issue'.
        
        After all, cat people are renowned for their dispassionate views.
Tricledrown 3

27 April 2023 at 9:14 am

tsmithfield so while 70% of New Zealanders are doing it tough since the pandemic the wealthiest 300 families have increased their wealth by $14.6 billion .If that Capital gain was taxed at the same rate as ordinary hard working wage earners the govt would not have a $3 billion deficit.Working people are subsidizing Mega Wealthy Money Hoarders.
- tsmithfield 3.1
  
  27 April 2023 at 11:07 am
  
  Look, argue for a capital gains tax for sure. But don't just assume that it will target the uber-wealthy. I think that sooner or later it will target the family home once that door has been opened.
  
  So, I think your argument needs to allow for that possibility.
  - Molly 3.1.1
    
    27 April 2023 at 12:10 pm
    
    I agree.
  - SPC 3.1.2
    
    27 April 2023 at 1:01 pm
    
    Can you name one CGT in the world that includes the family home – it's near exclusive not to incolude the family homes in any CGT.
    
    In fact, the most prominent proponent of the inclusion of the family home in any CGT is DPF, now of the Taxpayers Union – but as a means to reduce popular support for any CGT.
    - tsmithfield 3.1.2.1
      
      27 April 2023 at 2:25 pm
      
      Germany does.
      
      Though, it can be avoided if you have been living in the house long enough. From the article:
      
      There are a few ways you can reduce the tax you have to pay when selling your property. For example:
      
      Live in the home yourself in the year of the sale and two years prior, at minimum. This means if you move into a house or apartment today, you could resell it tax-free in three years. Just be aware that having the right of residence alone is not enough—you actually have to use the residence yourself.
      - SPC 3.1.2.1.1
        
        27 April 2023 at 2:37 pm
        
        So it excludes the home people are living in. Doh.
        
        tsmithfield 3.1.2.1.1.1
        
        27 April 2023 at 2:40 pm
        
        Only if you have been living in it longer than three years.
        
        So, it is still a CGT on the family home in some circumstances.
        
        Plus, inherited homes can be taxed as well.
        
        SPC …
        
        27 April 2023 at 2:46 pm
        
        Presumably it’s designed to capture those who buy to do up (with their untaxed labour) and on-sell for CG
        
        Inherited homes is part of estate tax, part of wealth taxation.
        
        tsmithfield …
        
        27 April 2023 at 2:55 pm
        
        But still the "family home".
        
        Many people buy and sell their homes in a short time in NZ here for a variety of reasons. So, if this tax was in NZ, plenty would be caught by it.
        
        You asked for an example, and I found one in a few seconds of google searching.
        
        SPC …
        
        27 April 2023 at 3:11 pm
        
        And elsewhere you indicate your support for including homes in any CGT.
        
        Yet no one does this.
        
        Germany applies it only within 3 years (little likelihood of CG unless there is doer upper work) and the USA effectively restricts it to those who buy high value property.
        
        tsmithfield …
        
        27 April 2023 at 3:29 pm
        
        And elsewhere you indicate your support for including homes in any CGT.
        
        I support simplicity in tax systems. And, the same argument why other assets should be taxed applies in principle to the family home.
        
        The more complications in a tax system, the more loopholes and opportunites for avoidance.
Ad 4

27 April 2023 at 9:31 am

Would a CGT make NZ more equal, or more prosperous?

I haven't seen this government show how it would improve us.
- That_guy 4.1
  
  27 April 2023 at 9:55 am
  
  To examine the effects of a CGT you first have to have one.
  - Nic the NZer 4.1.1
    
    27 April 2023 at 10:36 am
    
    The implications discussed for a CGT seem to mostly be around property. If we can't judge this from the bright line test then clearly a CGT doesn't work as intended, because that is largely covered by the bright-line test (and the bright line test would be fully replaced by a CGT).
    
    I think the implications of this report are largely not about tax on property and a lot of the income being reported here was not earned on property.
    
    (Property meaning housing here).
    - Nic the NZer 4.1.1.1
      
      27 April 2023 at 10:58 am
      
      Should say the report is measuring changes in wealth, not specifically income.
    - mikesh 4.1.1.2
      
      27 April 2023 at 12:05 pm
      
      Income from dividends is mostly taxed at either 33 or 39 percent, albeit that 28 percentage points worth of that tax is paid by the companies in question on the shareholders' behalf.
      - Nic the NZer 4.1.1.2.1
        
        27 April 2023 at 12:13 pm
        
        You're saying the tax rate is miss-stated by the report because a lot of dividend income is notionally paid by companies on shareholders behalf?
        
        I don't understand what point your trying to make with this comment.
        
        mikesh 4.1.1.2.1.1
        
        27 April 2023 at 3:26 pm
        
        You're saying the tax rate is miss-stated by the report because a lot of dividend income is notionally paid by companies on shareholders behalf?
        
        I don't understand what point your trying to make with this comment.
        
        The shareholder pays the tax on his dividend income, less the tax already paid by the company on it. I have no idea whether this has any effect on the report. However, since the company is paying some of his tax it may give the the impression that the shareholder is is paying less tax on his income than he is. I don't know whether his imputation credit is included with his income.
        
        Nic the NZer …
        
        27 April 2023 at 3:58 pm
        
        and this description (that shareholders pay tax on dividends) had a point? I'm sure the IRD is aware of this fact.
        
        mikesh …
        
        27 April 2023 at 7:58 pm
        
        There seemed to be an idea being bandied about that only wage and salary earners paid tax, or alternatively that other sources of income were less heavily taxed. That of course is untrue.
      - Molly 4.1.1.2.2
        
        27 April 2023 at 12:16 pm
        
        There is an extra problem here that if they focus on capital gains in share investment, it will have a knock on effect on the returns people have from compulsory Kiwisaver schemes.
        
        This is going to be an interesting policy rollout to watch.
        
        So far the options to tax banks and supermarkets that make "excess" profits are flawed in intent. They don't relieve the customers of either from the extra costs, they just redirect a larger share of that extra cost to the government.
        
        Spending reductions may help, and the first tax changes should be relief for those on low incomes, by eliminating tax in the lower threshold and reducing it in the next.
        
        Christopher Randal 4.1.1.2.2.1
        
        27 April 2023 at 6:01 pm
        
        Any "excess profits" tax will result in the consumer paying more as supermarket owners move to recoup the cost of the tax
        
        That's until another law is passed stopping them from doing so – oh wait, the current "tough" stance against supermarkets has really worked well!
- Sanctuary 4.2
  
  27 April 2023 at 9:55 am
  
  I agree, you won't ever get a CGT over the line politically if you try and sell it for dry technocratic reasons like removing "distortions" in the tax system.
  
  It has to be part of a package couched in terms of Kiwi values- fairness, egalitarianism, rewarding Kiwi battlers.
  
  So a CGT on all properties purchased after, say, 1 April 2024. Phase in over five years from that date a tax free income threshold of 10k, starting with the first 2k then adding 2k per annum until 2029. And I'd really like to see an FTT, with the whole system being financially neutral to negate the charges of a tax grab…
  - mikesh 4.2.1
    
    27 April 2023 at 12:09 pm
    
    It has to be part of a package couched in terms of Kiwi values- fairness, egalitarianism, rewarding Kiwi battlers.
    
    And also by obfuscation apparently.
- SPC 4.3
  
  27 April 2023 at 1:10 pm
  
  So the greater productivity of Oz to us, since the 1980's, has nothing to do with the incentive here to speculate for untaxed CG?
  
  Thus those in Oz can more easily afford property ownership (and rentals) off their incomes.
  
  The lack of a CGT allows wealth accumulation – and we have no estate tax or gift duty to mitigate it. Thus inequality and class division – will those with parents who do not own property ever own here or will they have to go to Oz to do so?
  - Nic the NZer 4.3.1
    
    27 April 2023 at 1:52 pm
    
    Productivity is largely a measure of how much income a business can get of its employees time. The most relevant differences between NZ and OZ being population density and general income levels, both of these leading to Australian businesses finding it much easier to turn activity into higher income.
    
    Some of the primary policy differences impacting this would be that Aus often avoids recessions and has had a long standing policy of minimum industry rates leading to slightly higher Aus wage rates over time.
    
    This is much more by policy design rather than about levels of speculative vs productive investment. In fact if you measure it then NZ workers are much more highly skilled and versatile than their overseas counterparts, though at lower wage rates.
    
    If (somehow) the demand was there for NZ businesses then investment in productive returns would likely follow automatically. But on the other hand putting more into expanding a business capacity isn't so obviously lead to the customers showing up in greater numbers.
    - SPC 4.3.1.1
      
      27 April 2023 at 2:45 pm
      
      If people were investing their savings in things other than property, then they and banks would have a greater focus on other investment. There would be more focus on venture capital, firms would have access to such (share issue) finance. Our whole finance and investment culture would be more advanced.
      
      More companies would grow here, and more would found a business with more capital than that provided by a mortgage on their home.
    - Descendant Of Smith 4.3.1.2
      
      27 April 2023 at 4:56 pm
      
      That is a long winded way of saying NZ business owners are pretty shit at investing in quality businesses that can generate a high rate of return and instead depend on low wage / low productivity businesses such as cafes, tourism, pretend language schools, horticulture…..
      
      Apart from booze – you can make lots of money from booze even if you don't underpay your workers.
      
      The higher income point for workers is important though – just like NZ has had money churn through the economy the last 20 years from baby boomers with two incomes and no kids and no student debt to repay, Australia has had that and better wages and will continue to be helped via those higher wages as the baby boomers reduce their spending as they age.
      
      Money has to churn through the economy to create wealth at the bottom – capital savings does not do this. Fundamentally it is part of what Picketty is saying – violent revolution comes when capital growth to the few dominates over common spending by the many.
lprent 5

27 April 2023 at 10:15 am

Maybe what David Parker is doing is carefully and gradually opening the debate so that the current limited capital gains tax that we have can broadened and expanded.

That is smart just collecting the data to make these types of decisions with. The reaction from Act, the party almost entirely funded by the capital rentiers, was the most interesting. They attacked the whole idea about researching at all.

One thing that I looked at had Act muttering about privacy issues of doing a similar exercise for people on benefits. Just shows how divorced from the real world the nutbars in Act are – because this is the types of information that people on benefits give to MSD, WINZ, and IRD all of the time now and for at least the last 40 years.

I can't see any reason why wealthy who avoid or evade taxation shouldn't provide the same income and asset information as someone who is disabled and on a sickness benefit?

One of the more interesting political analysis came from Richard Harmon at Politik "The big money up against Parker" which may be paywalled.

He points out the level of agreement and the explanation of differences between this study and one carried out by treasury in 2018. My italics.

Treasury found that the high net worth families paid 9.4 per cent of their economic income in tax, but those whose net worth placed them in the middle of the whole population paid 20.2 per cent of their economic income in tax.

Treasury’s analysis was limited to 2018, whereas IRD’s analysis ran from 2015 – 2021.

The Treasury figure would seem to give the lie to the argument from Opposition Leader Christopher Luxon that the inequity evidenced in the IRD study was simply the product of Labour’s profligate spending, which had led to the asset price inflation that had benefited the high net worth households.

“It’s really grossly unfair that we’ve got a government that has mismanaged the economy so badly that they’ve actually created the asset inflation that we’ve seen that has created the inequality that we see today,” he said.

But the Treasury study shows that inequality existed in 2018, well before Labour and the Reserve Bank began the Covid spend-up.

Continue reading at https://www.politik.co.nz/the-big-money-up-against-parker/ | Politik

But of course he would say that. National is also largely funded by the highly wealthy

The most intriguing question left after yesterday’s unveiling of the Inland Revenue study of the tax paid by the ultra-wealthy is who refused to respond to the survey,

Nearly 12 per cent (41) of the 352 families with an estimated net worth of at least $20 million did not agree to respond even though the Tax Administration Act makes such surveys compulsory.

The survey started in November 2021, and the questioning was over by May last year.

As early as November 2021, there were reports that high-net-worth individuals were seeking legal advice to avoid having to participate.

At about the same time, substantial donations from some of the country’s wealthiest individuals began to flow to the National Party.

The party got over $1 million in donations last year, mostly from wealthy individuals like rich listers Trevor Farmer and Craig Heatley who donated $100,000 each, and in April last year, New Zealand’s wealthiest individual, Graeme Hart, donated $250,000.

There is speculation that Hart is one of those who did not respond to the survey, but Revenue Minister David Parker told journalists he did not know who had and who hadn’t.

Nevertheless, the huge flow of money going to the National from the ultra-wealthy points to the politics of the IRD report.

Inevitably it pitches the ordinary taxpayer against the very wealthy and National leader Christopher Luxon yesterday defended the ultra-wealthy. “It’s not the wealthy that are the problem here,” he said.

Continue reading at https://www.politik.co.nz/the-big-money-up-against-parker/ | Politik

Act will have the same political conundrum.

But with National, as Harmon points out, they will have a real political problem trying to push a election message of effectively giving really large tax cuts in dollar terms to the highest income groups. That is their current political party funding model.

In a way, Parker has trapped National.

Luxon yesterday was left defending the high net worth individuals.

“This government has pumped up asset values, and the wealthy have done well.”

But then he may have played right into Labour’s hands by arguing for tax reductions.

“What’s clear is that what this report says very clearly is that working New Zealanders need a tax break,” he said. “That’s what we’ve been talking about for the last year and a half.”

However, Labour now has the opportunity to go into the election delivering tax reductions to middle and lower-income earners, which it pays for by nobbling high-net-worth individuals.

But it will face a very well-financed National Party and its supporters in total opposition.

Continue reading at https://www.politik.co.nz/the-big-money-up-against-parker/ | Politik

A very useful well researched article. It alone just paid for my subscription to it.
- adam 5.1
  
  27 April 2023 at 4:09 pm
  
  Big thanks Lp these excerpts are good.
  
  I got a feeling the greedy only have so many cons left in the bag.
  
  If you don't want to pay tax, I'm sure Belarus will have you, or maybe a dozen other banana republics. Otherwise if you want to live in a civilised society, and not be a greedy wanker – pay your bloody taxes.
- Patricia Bremner 5.2
  
  28 April 2023 at 2:17 am
  
  Excellent comments LP You expressed what I bumbled through.
Sabine 6

27 April 2023 at 10:48 am

yeah, sadly since 2017 not a single person in the Labour Party saw the need for it, i guess it must be election time.
- Nic the NZer 6.1
  
  27 April 2023 at 10:55 am
  
  Sabine your too smart for politics.
  - Sabine 6.1.1
    
    27 April 2023 at 11:33 am
    
    not sure if you are snarky of not, i don't have a sense of humor that i am aware of, but we had this captial gains taxation discussion for many years, under John Key, under Jacinda Ardern and now under Chippy.
    
    We have had the discussion of a tax free threshold as it is in OZ under all these PMs. We have had the discussion for a tax on high income for a while now.
    
    And here we are again, discussing the same thing, hoping the people that did nothing for the last 5 years will change it.
    
    So i can only assume that we are in an election year, the Green Party is about to implode in their own juices, and Labour needs to rally the faithful, and chances are it will be enough, but do I expect changes coming? No.
    
    In the meantime CHCH closes its only birthing unit, hospitals are overflowing, children leave school barely able to count and read, roads are held together by potholes and so on and so forth.
    - SPC 6.1.1.1
      
      27 April 2023 at 1:04 pm
      
      Christchurch is getting a new birthing unit twice the size of the one closing later this year.
      - Sabine 6.1.1.1.1
        
        27 April 2023 at 1:31 pm
        
        oh great….that was not clear by the article that i read. Hopefully it does happen.
        
        SPC 6.1.1.1.1.1
        
        27 April 2023 at 1:45 pm
        
        The problem is the current unit is staffed by midwives – a nationwide shortage (so they have staffing problems). The new unit (at the hospital) – probably by doctors and nurses.
        
        Sabine …
        
        27 April 2023 at 2:52 pm
        
        The problem is that once closed there is no birthing unit at all, staffed by midwives or others until the other one is opened. And unless the country starts hiring nurses and doctors by the hundreds you still have that nation wide shortages for nurses, doctors and midwives that we currently have.
        
        In the meantime the birthing bodies can just home birth alone, or with the aid of a midwife if they find one, and if it goes wrong they can call an ambulance – but they are short staffed too, and i guess that needs to happen before anything changes. But then i guess the birthing bodies are made for birthing and really its just a birthing body, no one of consequences should this go wrong.
Tiger Mountain 7

27 April 2023 at 11:52 am

I still remember during the first media rush of “Jacinda–mania” when in a puff piece style magazine interview Ms Ardern talked about her media and personal interests. A recent Thomas Piketty book was on her shelf, and she candidly admitted to having not finished it.

And that is 99% of the Labour Caucus problem–lack of a class left analysis and ideology. They are captured by monetarist orthodoxy & an embedded neo liberal Parliamentary consensus, hugging the centre line and the middle class and the employing class.

A circuit breaker is needed, and at the moment that looks like Te Pāti Māori in a tight election. For 2026 there will hopefully be a new gen led mass community movement that will finally boot Rogernomics and Ruthanasia–for the love of all that is good or could be…
- Stephen 7.1
  
  27 April 2023 at 12:34 pm
  
  Is there a socialist left in the Cabinet? Or indeed the caucus?
  - Thinker 7.1.1
    
    27 April 2023 at 12:41 pm
    
    Ruthanasia seems to be redefining herself as the poster child for the downtrodden:
    
    How have we got to the point where our lowest-waged workers are now paying tax rates that were set up to sock it to those on higher incomes?
    
    If you’re a minimum wage earner who works more than 40 hours a week, you’re now in the middle $48,000 tax bracket, paying 30% on any additional earnings.
    
    Inflation has dragged you into a higher tax bracket.
    
    To make things worse, the higher bracket at such a modest income level is a tax on ambition that risks killing the incentive to upskill, gun for promotion or take on a side gig.
    
    The idea that drives progressive taxation is that as people become better off, they should pay higher taxes. We need to rethink this logic. The trouble is that our so-called progressive rates have become regressive, hitting minimum-wage workers.
    
    https://breakingviewsnz.blogspot.com/2023/04/ruth-richardson-taxation-problem-i.html
    - SPC 7.1.1.1
      
      27 April 2023 at 2:02 pm
      
      Only if you fall for it.
      
      The people most disadvantaged by lower tax revenues are those who use state schools, public health care and are either reliant on state housing or the AS (rentals) and WFF tax credits to afford rent.
      
      Without the bracket creep or some specific provision, we cannot afford the rising cost of health – aging population (nor Super). Note she has no regret about not making any provision for these costs in her responsible budget regime. Talk about even now, not getting it. Labour at least did the Cullen Fund.
      
      A wealth tax could cover an increase in the low income tax earner rebate (currently only $10 a week between $24-48,000, easy to broaden this to $14,000 to 60,000 – median wage).
      
      A CGT could cover any threshold changes.
    - mikesh 7.1.1.2
      
      27 April 2023 at 3:33 pm
      
      Since altering tax bracket thresholds would put more money in peoples' pockets it would seem counterproductive during times of inflation. And when inflation does not exist it's unnecessary. In that situation a progressive tax system works just as it is supposed to.
    - Tricledrown 7.1.1.3
      
      28 April 2023 at 12:19 pm
      
      Thinker you are forgetting that working for families and rent subsidy community services card etc. Single people or those who don't have families don't have the liability of dependents .So very few people pay top levels of tax.If those people making tax free profits paid their fair share those on taxable wages would pay less and tax bands could be moved to higher levels
  - Tiger Mountain 7.1.2
    
    27 April 2023 at 1:54 pm
    
    Not in classic terms. Michael Wood, MP Mt Roskill is about as close as they come. He has good achievements for working class people and the country–Coastal Shipping commitment, Bus Driver pay increases etc.
tsmithfield 8

27 April 2023 at 12:17 pm

First they came for the Uber-Rich, and I said nothing.

Then they came for the wealthy and comfortable, and I said nothing.

Then they came for the professional people and I said nothing…

Then they came for…
- bwaghorn 8.1
  
  27 April 2023 at 12:30 pm
  
  They came for me years ago , it's time the tax evaders and loop hole leapers got cornered as well
- Thinker 8.2
  
  27 April 2023 at 12:33 pm
  
  Assuming you earn your income from wages and not capital gains, "they" came for you and me a long time ago.
  - Descendant Of Smith 8.2.1
    
    27 April 2023 at 2:02 pm
    
    And my disabled non-working spouse who somehow I'm supposed to save for retirement for despite paying an extra $6,000 per annum in tax over a couple earning the same amount.
    
    My parents luckily were born at a time where you could claim a tax rebate for a non-working partner.
    - SPC 8.2.1.1
      
      27 April 2023 at 2:06 pm
      
      Campaign for the right of the non working partner to get independent support (unable to work, caring for someone, looking after children or looking for work).
      
      Those on disability payments have this problem when they partner. Couples who marry do too when one loses their job – yet unmarried flatmates get their own access to support. This is long overdue for reform.
      - Sabine 8.2.1.1.1
        
        27 April 2023 at 2:55 pm
        
        That was already 'campaigned' on by various groups for many years, and Labour did nothing. 5+ years of fuck all. 3+ years of a full majority squandered.
        
        What is the poor part in this is that if these spouses worked and paid taxes they have earned these benefits, yet are not granted access to them.
        
        ditto with secondary tax, for people that work several jobs to have enough to pay rent/ food/ electricity.
        
        Descendant Of Smith 8.2.1.1.1.1
        
        27 April 2023 at 4:02 pm
        
        Yep to that. She spent part of her life working and part raising kids with lots of hospitalisation and extra costs and disability. We are forever grateful that our taxes paid for the specialist and hospital costs when they were young. All kids now work and are productive – though one has now at 30 moved to Australia for better employers and wages. Daughter simply wouldn't be here with our good public hospitals.
        
        Secondary tax is a bit of a misnomer – the PAYE tables for employers to use are designed to treat your income from them as the only source of income. This means all multiple sources gt taxed at the lowest rate which is fine if you have only one source. If you have more than one source you will not get PAYED enough to pay sufficient tax eg if you had three jobs earning $20,000 each each job would be taxed as if it was in the $0 to $20,000 bracket and you would get a bill at end of year.
        
        One needs to pay PAYE in this scenario at $0-$20,000, $20,000 to $40,000 and $40,000 to $60,000. (For the pedants I haven't worried about the $ rounding here).
        
        Secondary tax is simply a PAYE method to mitigate this effect. You should in fact ask IRD to give you a special tax rate based on earning $60,000 per year and give this to your employers to deduct PAYE at that rate.
        
        It doesn't matter whether you income is from one or three jobs – you'll pay the same amount of tax. Working out the right amount of PAYE to pay is the tricky part.
        
        And lets not forget Labour removed the ability to include underage partners in NZS thereby meaning many of us will have to work beyond 65 now as well. I suspect I’ll die before my wife gets super as per all the other genetically related men in my family. I notice in forums etc some couples are just discovering the impact of this change.
      - Descendant Of Smith 8.2.1.1.2
        
        27 April 2023 at 4:21 pm
        
        The irony being that the argument against poor people getting this as a tax rebate is that the rich might get it as well.
        
        We have very rich friends who gloat about having a community services card. Anything based on taxable income for entitlement can be rorted.
        
        Universal assistance is always better and easier to administer. We should return to universal family benefit as well and simply tax high incomes more highly to recoup the cost.
        
        If we go capital gains exempt the family home being lived in but impose stamp duty on it if sold.
        
        Sabine 8.2.1.1.2.1
        
        28 April 2023 at 7:54 am
        
        i am just simply for a. worked? – entitled to unemployment benefits, irrespective of marital status. need assistance – entitled to it as per the law.
        
        One reason imho we have these high rates of domestic issues in NZ is the fact that people don't have enough money, one of the reason being that being in a relationship will take away benefits cause 'the other' is your meal ticket. We have known that for a long time.
        
        as for secondary tax, those that have more then one job are also often on the poor end of the income, again, all i would like to see is an easy solution for people that have three jobs but don't work more then the average full week, should be paid an average full week and taxed per se. Not needing to ask IRD for a special income tax group, not being taxed higher by the end week and thus not earning the money that is needed, and thus benefits are needed.
        
        Ideally we get a government one day that will make it so that working is actually better then being on the benefit.
        
        But i am not holding my breath.
        
        I hope that your family is doing well in all of this.
- Patricia Bremner 8.3
  
  27 April 2023 at 2:12 pm
  
  That barrow you are pushing has a squeaky wheel, and your goods are shoddy.
  
  The fallacy of a tax for the uber-rich hitting the poor, if we introduce a mechanism to help the uber-wealthy pay that 11% they are currently "managing" to avoid. "Tui"
  
  It is ludicrous to infer the Government is so greedy they will come after all sectors…that is a deflection from the missing 11% not paid by the uber-rich.
  
  The poor or the middle do not have the ability to hire help to structure their affairs to minimise tax.
  
  The Government has to do that for them through adjusting the progressive system.
  
  Things we want as a community through Government need to be paid for fairly, and this work by Parker may lead to changes in tax brackets and upper level taxes to even the playing field.
  
  It is not the Government being greedy!! It is the "Uber-Rich" who are not participating fairly, currently they are getting an 11% "dividend" on their wealth.
  
  The Government wants only what they should be paying. Some of this 11% Dividend" will be tax evasion or at best avoidance which they and their accountants work. Many have been pulled up through the IRD's new systems, but other dodges need to be fixed.
  
  So they are coming for that group at last, having set up systems that IRD use well, and by getting the majority of this group to self report, Parker's research gives a lie to Luxon and the National Party saying this group need a tax cut as they are overpaying. What a lie that is.
- That_guy 8.4
  
  27 April 2023 at 2:13 pm
  
  But they didn't come for the Uber-Rich first, or at all, and if they did, I would say "OH YEAH!", not nothing. Because the Uber-Rich are Uber-Rich because they own Uber-assets.
  
  Who did "they" come for first? Workers, not asset-owners. Workers.
- AB 8.5
  
  27 April 2023 at 6:28 pm
  
  first they came for…
  
  Excellent – comparing a debate about tax policy in a modern social democratic state to a murderous totalitarian dictatorship. And equating being taxed to being killed. Seems fair and balanced.
  
  I described above how slippery slope arguments run in both directions and the implication is that they will result in a contradiction. Essentially: if I can't do something because it might lead to me doing something else, then I can't do anything. And if I can't do nothing about one issue, because it might lead me to doing nothing about another issue, then I can't do nothing either. I can't do nothing and I can't do anything.
- mikesh 8.6
  
  29 April 2023 at 10:48 am
  
  Well, as the bishop said to the actress, "I came for her".
Thinker 9

27 April 2023 at 12:36 pm

Was thinking about the other elephant in the room – speculative tax.

I seem to remember a debate some years ago about if 0.0025% (that's one quarter of one percent) tax was put on every external currency speculation from offshore, it would translate into billions of extra income for New Zealand.

Does anyone remember that?

Surely, that would be the place to start, without taxing New Zealanders more than they already are and, sorry I'm not an economist, I think it would help our dollar to be more stable and help exporters, too.
tsmithfield 10

27 April 2023 at 12:37 pm

It could be a moot discussion, because it looks like Hipkins is not planning to introduce a CGT, not in the coming budget, anyway.
- Craig H 10.1
  
  27 April 2023 at 2:33 pm
  
  Parker himself said policy changes were for cabinet or parties during election campaigns. Given how close to the Budget we are, I can't see cabinet doing anything this year about it.
Ad 11

27 April 2023 at 12:58 pm

Great to see Prime Minister Hipkins kill all speculation this morning, ruling out both a Capital Gains Tax and a cyclone levy.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/watch-live-chris-hipkins-torpedoes-tax-speculation/PPPYNGLUFRBORLILDEJC22LWQA/

Hipkins may not be an ideological giant but at least he's not out of touch with the political suicide of proposing higher taxes in the middle of a massive cost of living blowout.
- SPC 11.1
  
  27 April 2023 at 1:17 pm
  
  If Hipkins does not propose to tax the wealthy to afford public spending and or income tax relief Labour will lose.
  - Tiger Mountain 11.1.1
    
    27 April 2023 at 1:48 pm
    
    There is a venerable Labour movement saying…“If we fight we might lose, but if we don’t fight, we will definitely lose.”
    
    Labour needs to take the plunge. They have an absolute Parliamentary majority until October, they could take action right now.
    
    The population demographics are shifting towards the new gens many of whom are doing it hard, locked out of home ownership, renting overpriced dumps, paying off student loans, precarious employment, and only knowing a digital world. By 2026 they will rule, the worry is if the Natzos and ACT gain office this year it will be hard to undo the damage.
    - Anne 11.1.1.1
      
      27 April 2023 at 6:55 pm
      
      Absolutely TM.
      
      Who doesn't know young people who are fighting a losing battle to have what is their absolute right – a home they can call their own? Nobody.
      
      All they want is the certainty and security that their forebears took for granted. Nothing more.
      
      And most of all I endorse:
      
      There is a venerable Labour movement saying…“If we fight we might lose, but if we don’t fight, we will definitely lose.”
  - Ad 11.1.2
    
    27 April 2023 at 2:18 pm
    
    The Green voter can make that choice if they want.
    
    I can't see another prospective voter who wants a More Tax policy for this election.
    - SPC 11.1.2.1
      
      27 April 2023 at 7:11 pm
      
      Most people would pay less tax, if there was a CGT and or wealth tax to balance out collection.
      
      If Labour says only those to the left of them would lower tax on those below the median wage, by increasing the tax on CG and wealth – where exactly do they stand?
      
      That is the policy of the Liberal Party in Oz and many other right of centre parties. Being to the left of National on tax is not left of centre.
  - Incognito 11.1.3
    
    27 April 2023 at 9:31 pm
    
    Government can decide that it won’t introduce new taxes and Labour can campaign on new taxes 😉
    - SPC 11.1.3.1
      
      27 April 2023 at 10:22 pm
      
      Only if the PM wants to win the election.
      - Incognito 11.1.3.1.1
        
        28 April 2023 at 9:03 am
        
        I think both you and I know the answer to that rhetorical question.
        
        Hipkins has been showing a drive & energy and yesterday’s speech included enough positive signs for me to have hope and some confidence in some of our politicians. Hipkins is getting closer to a plan with a vision. Luxon and National, OTOH, have no plan whatsoever, unless it is BAU and/or going back to the past that never was, and want to win because they believe it is their turn.
- That_guy 11.2
  
  27 April 2023 at 1:44 pm
  
  National: We Will Do Nothing but will blather about struggling kiwi battlers and the politics of envy
  
  Labour: We Will Do Nothing but will blather about kindness and equality
  
  Some choice. Most people aren't policy wonks, they vote for values that inspire them. Nobody is going to be inspired to vote in this election, and low voter turnout favours the right.
  - Ad 11.2.1
    
    27 April 2023 at 2:22 pm
    
    Labour will continue to support people who need support with the largest taxpayer cash subsidies year on year since the 1970s. And do it better than anyone else.
    - That_guy 11.2.1.1
      
      27 April 2023 at 2:25 pm
      
      I am sure you're correct. I'm also sure that the average voter is far less informed than you and will vote on feels, not reals. This feels totally uninspiring.
ianmac 12

27 April 2023 at 1:30 pm

Wouldn't it be loverly to do this in NZ. Mr Luxon might blush.This might help:

In Sweden and Finland, people can find out about anyone else's tax returns just by making a phone call, but Norway is the only country where you can just look up that information on a government website.

https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=APwXEddRDq8-kA3oPvlGiZQ93Tjtu-L28w%3A1682558702311&lei=7s5JZPrVEojz4-EPx8mbsA8&q=sweden%20tax%20returns%20public&ved=2ahUKEwj6hI_O88j-AhWI-TgGHcfkBvYQsKwBKAN6BAhUEAQ&biw=1462&bih=844&dpr=1
- Descendant Of Smith 12.1
  
  27 April 2023 at 2:27 pm
  
  Yep always supported this and the open publication of salaries.
  
  Part of the "you can see my tax return" includes that those requesting to see it are notified to the person whose tax return it is as well.
  
  I also support a public register of trust beneficiaries and disbursements. I've seen some shocking cases where only a privileged few get the disbursements and others don't even know they are a beneficiary.
Descendant Of Smith 13

27 April 2023 at 2:21 pm

The other thing about this report is that it doesn't even include an assessment of those private good things that the well-off enjoy that slide under the radar – personal use of business goods, personal use of business vehicles, disbursement of money from the increasing capital value of trusts, overseas trips for business that just happen to always co-incide with All Black tests, etc but can be put down as a business expense, the home office, the paying of wages to a non-working partner to reduce tax liability – occasionally coming unstuck when there is a work related accident to the actual earner, the home office, phone, newspapers etc as a business expense.

These are things that go on every day that wage and salary earners simply cannot do.

I'm still of the view that a turnover tax is much more useful that the current system. Leave expenses out of the taxation factor and let shareholders etc take responsibility for managing that.
- alwyn 13.1
  
  27 April 2023 at 3:18 pm
  
  "Hipkins said he was always happy to pay the tax governments had asked him to pay."
  
  "When the previous National Government cut my taxes I didn't agree with that – I was happy to continue to contribute more."
  
  https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2023/04/chris-hipkins-admits-he-s-wealthy-as-inland-revenue-probes-how-much-tax-rich-people-are-paying.html
  
  Perhaps our PM could take a look at this list of things you object to and scrap his use of some of them. Why, for example, do we provide all the Cabinet Ministers with unlimited use of Limos' for their official duties and also supply them, every 3 years, with a brand new car for their, and their families private use? Couldn't they pay for their own luxuries?
  - Patricia Bremner 13.1.1
    
    27 April 2023 at 9:24 pm
    
    Yes Alwyn. I can think of an occasion when walking would have been better.
- Sabine 13.2
  
  27 April 2023 at 3:58 pm
  
  The other thing about this report is that it doesn't even include an assessment of those private good things that the well-off enjoy that slide under the radar – personal use of business goods, personal use of business vehicles, disbursement of money from the increasing capital value of trusts, overseas trips for business that just happen to always co-incide with All Black tests, etc but can be put down as a business expense, the home office, the paying of wages to a non-working partner to reduce tax liability – occasionally coming unstuck when there is a work related accident to the actual earner, the home office, phone, newspapers etc as a business expense.
  
  Again, who most benefits from all these tax loopholes. Generally the ones at the higher end of income. Again, i re-iterate, i do not think any party in parliament would freely increase the tax burden on themselves first or ever.
  
  we could have a creative look at taxes, import the income system from OZ, no tax at the low income end, higher tax at the high income tax, we could close these loopholes you speak about, we could tax car ownership and promote a tax refund for public transport use. Germany created a 'solidarity tax' after unification, why not have a one of timed i.e. 1 year only such a tax to rebuild after the cyclones, and heck what happened to the millions donated to the relieve fund?
  - Patricia Bremner 13.2.1
    
    28 April 2023 at 2:24 am
    
    Red Cross said they would pay out the relief fund by June.
    - Sabine 13.2.1.1
      
      28 April 2023 at 7:56 am
      
      i hope they pay out the interest that they received on the 18 million too, cause the people that lost everything at the moment and for the last few weeks sure could have done with Red Cross showing up with more then just good words and a few buckets.
alwyn 14

27 April 2023 at 3:07 pm

If you want to read an informed, and relatively neutral, appraisal of Parker's hobby horse I would recommend this post by Michael Reddell. He was a RBNZ senior official back in the days when it had some significant firepower and before Ord replaced the Economists with PR flunkies.

He knows what he is talking about and it is well worth your time to read the whole thing while you find out the bits that Parker hasn't told you.

https://croakingcassandra.com/2023/04/27/parker-taxation-and-that-ird-report/
adam 15

27 April 2023 at 4:14 pm

Duce Luxton, can't even lye.

His spin doctors are having a hard time cleaning up the shit he is spinning.

What a truly juvenile response from a so called leader/duce.
- Lebleaux 15.1
  
  27 April 2023 at 5:37 pm
  
  Yep, nearly as juvenile as referring to Luxon as Duce
  - adam 15.1.1
    
    27 April 2023 at 8:08 pm
    
    Meow…
Ad 16

27 April 2023 at 5:20 pm

“Somehow, New Zealand’s policy advising community decided it would restrict most of its attention to the ways income tax could be perfected rather than question whether income taxes (which are particularly distortionary when applied to capital incomes) should be replaced by other taxes. It is almost as if we have the Stockholm Tax Syndrome – fallen in love with a system that abuses us.”

A broad-based capital gains tax would just reinforce that problem.

I would have preferred Labour to generate a discussion about the policies that are going to make local companies bigger, with greater dividends, far more attractive than owning houses, and worth holding shares in businesses for the long term.

The best way to avoid any tax on your capital is to hold onto it and grow it.

If Labour or National had decent policy on that, I would wake up to economic development and I suspect so would Hipkins.

After all is Minister Wood can get cross-Parliamentary support on a congestion tax (as he did yesterday), then Hipkins can get cross-Parliamentary support on a business wealth generation pack.
- Ad 16.1
  
  27 April 2023 at 6:12 pm
  
  LInk to the quote.
  
  https://croakingcassandra.com/2023/04/27/parker-taxation-and-that-ird-report/
- RedLogix 16.2
  
  27 April 2023 at 6:33 pm
  
  Yes. While one cannot fault the broader left for instinctively wanting to sock it to the rich, the question of whether a CGT would change anything for the better is harder to answer.
  
  Many other countries – notably Australia – have CGT's and are notably not taxation nirvanas either. (Accountants, lawyers and tax experts do love the chargeable hours complex CGT’s generate however.)
- alwyn 16.3
  
  27 April 2023 at 8:20 pm
  
  I fear that if he tried to get support for a genuine policy that would provide business wealth generation he would discover the truth of the comment that is attributed to Churchill
  
  "The opposition occupies the benches in front of you, but the enemy sits behind you"
  
  I think if he tried to do such a thing he would be devoured by his own caucus. Support from the Opposition might be possible. From his own Party I suspect it would be merely a wishful dream.
pat 17

27 April 2023 at 7:49 pm

To establish whether any 'tax' is 'desirable' it may be wise to first establish the purpose of taxation
- Descendant Of Smith 17.1
  
  27 April 2023 at 8:32 pm
  
  It is pretty clear, and has been for many years, that the cost of the baby boomers superannuation must be met as well as their increased health needs. Those two things are going to happen.
  
  Increasing the age of NZS will simply mean that many poor people and blue collar workers and Maori will never see a cent of NZS ie increasing the age favours the well off.
  - RedLogix 17.1.1
    
    27 April 2023 at 8:40 pm
    
    The "health needs' thing is I suspect a tad over-rated. Most people are not much of an extra burden to the health system until the last few years of their life – regardless of age. Whether they pass on at 65 as our grandparents did, or at 95 as many do now, there is not much difference.
    
    What matters is 'years of healthy life' – and for much of their ‘retirement’ older adults do continue to contribute to the economy in various ways.
    
    The big problem is that in most of the developed world the Boomer generation was the largest cohort – almost all being smaller in size. So as the Boomers retire – and fully half of us turned 65 last year – the generations to replace us in the workforce are typcially smaller. This demographic inversion is a wholly novel situation in all of human history – way more novel than a relatively mild virus.
    - Descendant Of Smith 17.1.1.1
      
      27 April 2023 at 9:40 pm
      
      When I was young and playing rugby a visit to A&E meant a wait with other sports people, car accident victims, sick toddlers and drunks – whereas a visit these days is overwhelmingly old people even at 2:00 am in the morning.
      
      This before the big wave of dementia and diabetes hits.
      
      It has definitely changed.
  - Patricia Bremner 17.1.2
    
    28 April 2023 at 2:26 am
    
    That is already the case.
    - Descendant Of Smith 17.1.2.1
      
      28 April 2023 at 7:43 am
      
      Aye but has yet to peak.
UncookedSelachimorpha 18

27 April 2023 at 9:19 pm

Brilliant work by Labour and Parker here I think. I'm not sure the best way to correct the massive injustice in our tax and financial system, but solid information is a good start.

Links to the actual report and associated materials are here:

https://www.ird.govt.nz/hwi-research-project
- Patricia Bremner 18.1
  
  28 April 2023 at 2:28 am
  
  Thanks. That sure puts egg on Luxon's pate.!!
  - UncookedSelachimorpha 18.1.1
    
    28 April 2023 at 7:11 am
    
    It is almost amazing how hard and fast Luxon and Seymour have gone into bat for the rich on this one!
georgecom 19

29 April 2023 at 5:39 pm

a phrase I have heard used in Aussie, a dollar earned is a dollar earned and should be taxed. Simply comes down really to whether kiwis think it is fair that some types of income are taxed and others are not. If it's not fair, a CGT goes some way to readdressing that issue.

Luxon was totally disingenuous the day the report came out. he bleated on about labour spending and raising tax thresholds but failed to answer the question, is it fair some types of income are taxed and others not. It's not about spending Luxon, it's about what income streams are and are not taxed. Come out and state clearly where you stand on that matter.
mikesh 20

30 April 2023 at 9:43 am

Simply comes down really to whether kiwis think it is fair that some types of income are taxed and others are not.

The assumption with regard to capital gain is that the seller has done nothing to add value to a property since he bought it. So the part of the selling price that covers capital gain is a simple transfer of income from the buyer to the seller with no new income being created. However that income has already been taxed in the hands of the buyer. Therefor it's not true that "income" from capital gain is untaxed. It has been taxed in the hands of the seller.

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45 minutes ago
This is bad news

The speech yesterday by Treasury’s Chief Economic Advisor warning that the books are in worse shape than forecasted looks like it’s part of a softening-up process for either more cuts or a longer wait to get back into surplus. The speech was a highly unusual public preview of Treasury’s Half-Yearly ...

PolitikBy Richard Harman

2 hours ago
Skeptical Science New Research for Week #47 2024

Open access notables Projected increase in the frequency of extremely active Atlantic hurricane seasons, Lopez et al., Science Advances: Future changes to the year-to-year swings between active and inactive North Atlantic tropical cyclone (TC) seasons have received little attention, yet may have great societal implications in areas prone to hurricane ...

Skeptical Science

11 hours ago
Chicken Kiev

Chatting in the supermarket this morning, I found I needed to lunge for the chicken drumsticks.Coping mechanisms: who hasn’t felt a greater need for them lately?When it all gets too much, I turn to demonstrating handy butchery hacks.It wasn’t that she’d said anything wrong, our friend, not at all. We ...

More Than A FeildingBy David Slack

15 hours ago
The year is 2024 and it’s 1984

This is written in response to the highly significant open letter from a group of economists that was today addressed to Christopher Luxon. The year is 2024, and it’s 1984. The country is reeling from a record Olympic medal gold haul, while the globe grapples with the choice of the ...

Sapphi’s SubstackBy Sapphi

16 hours ago
The IPCA has failed

Back in 2022, RNZ took an in-depth look at the "Independent" Police Conduct Authority and its handling of killings by police. These are the most serious test of oversight, and you would expect the police's use of lethal force to receive the most severe scrutiny. But despite the police regularly ...

No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant

20 hours ago
Thursday 21 November 2024

The Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti arrived at Parliament on Tuesday – the size is being debated but estimates range from 42,000 to 100,000. The Prime Minister is defending not attending due to some of the organisers being affiliated with Te Pāti Māori. The national gang patch ban came into force ...

NZCTUBy Jeremiah Boniface

20 hours ago
‘These budget cuts are counter-productive and make no sense’

I spoke to former Productivity Chair Nana this morning about the letter he and a group of other economists sent to PM Christopher Luxon to urge the Government to urgently suspend cuts to spending and investment for the sake of the economy, struggling businesses and the wellbeing of vulnerable ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

21 hours ago
ACT’s Astroturfing & A Co-ordinated Attack on Te Pati Māori

Unity on the Streets / Unity at the TableAfter the Hīkoi, all three right wing Coalition leaders came together to push the idea that the 42,000 - 50,000 + strong Hikoi was somehow less potent and brave, and more illegitimate than the energy and crowd displayed.Prime Minister Christopher Luxon 20-November: ...

Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui

22 hours ago
Durability of carbon dioxide removal is critical for stabilizing temperatures

This is a re-post from the Climate Brink The world is emitting over 40 gigatons of CO2 per year, contributing to an accelerating warming of the planet. The world needs to cut emissions rapidly to be remotely on track to meet our Paris Agreement goals of limiting warming to well-below 2C, and we ...

Skeptical Science

22 hours ago
I Love My Leather Jacket

I wear my leather jacket like a great big hugRadiating charm - a living cloak of luckIt's the only concrete link with an absent friendIt's a symbol I can wear 'till we meet againOr it's a weight around my neck while the owner's freeBoth protector and reminder of mortalityIt's a ...

Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel

23 hours ago
Throwback Thursday: Will “Auckland Transport” Survive?

With Auckland Transport’s future up in the air under Mayor Wayne Brown’s proposed CCO reform, we’ve dug way back into the archives, to unearth this post originally published in March 2010. As you’ll see, many of the debates that were being had when AT was first proposed continue to ...

Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland

23 hours ago
Economists call on PM to suspend budget cuts for the sake of the economy

Nicola Willis’ budget cuts are under fire from economists for having no clear rationale and worsening the recession. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, November 21: The news at ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

24 hours ago
The end of policing by consent

National has appointed a new police commissioner. And he explicitly rejects policing by consent: Asked if he subscribed to policing by consent, he said he did not. “I don’t talk about policing by consent. I talk about trust and confidence, and it is fundamentally important that the police have ...

No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant

2 days ago
The Treaty Principles Bill: A Who’s Who

David Horatio Waterbed SeymourFringe politician and dweeb transformed successfully by ThinkTank money into a well-oiled soundbite robot.Currently programmed to say: Equal rights for all New Zealanders Equal rights for all New Zealanders Equal rights for all New Zealanders Was previously programmed to say:I am a proud libertarian andI am a ...

More Than A FeildingBy David Slack

2 days ago
Kinleith mill closure shows need for industrial strategy

NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is calling on the Government to deliver an economic and industrial strategy for regional manufacturing, rather than just expressing sympathy for job losses, following the announced closure of Kinleith mill in Tokoroa. “The closure Kinleith mill in Tokoroa is not just devastating for ...

NZCTUBy Jeremiah Boniface

2 days ago
27% of kids going hungry, up from 21% in a year

One in four Kiwi children live in households where food runs out often or sometimes. Photo: Getty ImagesKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, November 20: The lead: The official annual Health Survey found sharp ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

2 days ago
Transport modelling is an illusion

This guest post by Tim Adriaansen, an advocate for accessibility and sustainable transport, originally published on LinkedIn and cross posted here with permission. People prefer cars, right? Probably not. Here’s why. Granted, most people in English-speaking countries use a car to get around. This simple reality underpins our transport ...

Greater AucklandBy Guest Post

2 days ago
Young Maori take over

Neither Wellington nor Parliament has ever seen anything like it before. The Police said there were more than 40,000 but however many there were, yesterday’s Hikoi to Parliament was a monumental event. It was almost three times the Foreshore and Seabed martch of 2004 and many,many times bigger than ...

PolitikBy Richard Harman

2 days ago
Gordon Campbell On The Hikoi Aftermath

The euphoria from yesterday’s hikoi may be transitory, but is no less valuable for that. It is pretty rare for the left to feel itself to be in the overwhelming majority, and speaking as the voice of the people. Lest that momentum be lost, the organisers will no doubt be ...

WerewolfBy ScoopEditor

2 days ago
Sabin 33 #3 – Solar panels generate too much waste and will overwhelm landfills

On November 1, 2024 we announced the publication of 33 rebuttals based on the report "Rebutting 33 False Claims About Solar, Wind, and Electric Vehicles" written by Matthew Eisenson, Jacob Elkin, Andy Fitch, Matthew Ard, Kaya Sittinger & Samuel Lavine and published by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia ...

Skeptical Science

3 days ago
What’s the time Mr Seymour?

Mr David Seymour crawling up to the ceilingThe sun don't shine the sun don't shine the sun don't shine at allMamma Pappa say you should go to school, I don't know what forNow that I've grown up and seen the world and all its liesSong: Southside of Bombay"Ake, ake, ake" ...

Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel

3 days ago
Submit to defend te Tiriti!

The Justice Committee has called for submissions on National's racist and constitutionally radical Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill. Submissions can be made at the link above or by post, and are due by Tuesday, 7 January 2025. But I'd get in quick, in case National grows a spine ...

No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant

3 days ago
We need to talk about Kevin

All happy families are alike; each unhappy family has a Drunk Uncle Kevin in there somewhere. If your Kevin is anything like the ones I know, he was getting along happily enough without having to think too much about the Treaty Principles Bill apart from bloody good job, onya guys ...

More Than A FeildingBy David Slack

3 days ago
The hikoi

Like everyone else (everyone who wasn't there, anyway), I've spent the morning watching the hikoi march on Parliament. The pictures are astounding: parliament grounds and the surrounding streets are full, and there are still people backed up along Lambton Quay. The police are estimating 35,000 people, and that's a floor ...

No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant

3 days ago
Why Govt & NZ Inc should boycott & regulate Facebook

The CEOs of Westpac NZ and Kiwibank say Facebook is rife with fraud but reporting scam ads gets no response. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, November 19: The ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

3 days ago
How should we talk about change?

A better world isn’t just possible, it’s desirable. And that’s how we should frame a lot of our conversations around making a greater Auckland. As an example take urban climate action. A climate friendly Auckland: Is free from congestion Enables people to travel how they choose Is filled with ...

Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp

3 days ago
AMA + Holiday Webworm Merch!

Hi,It’s AMA time again — so anything that’s on your mind that you wanna ask, ask away in the comments. This is one of my favourite things to do with full Webworm members, who are the heart of this community of Worms. Journalism? Documentary making? Short Poppies? Cats? Podcasting? What ...

David FarrierBy David Farrier

3 days ago
Discount Code for Webworm Merch!

Hi,So there’s a bunch of new stuff on the Webworm store (www.webworm.store) — just in time for the Holidays. Read more ...

David FarrierBy David Farrier

3 days ago
Trying to defuse the tension

There were urgent moves yesterday at Parliament to try and defuse the tension building up over ACT’s Treaty Principles Bill. The Bill’s author, ACT leader David Seymour, told reporters that he understood the Justice Select Committee met yesterday to discuss how long it should take to consider submissions on the ...

PolitikBy Richard Harman

3 days ago
An Irritable NZ Pawn – David Seymour Admits Treaty Principles Bill will clear the way for deve...

This morning I discovered a post I’d written 10-11 months ago, lamenting how New Zealand’s ACT Party and their foreign and local surrogates would play out anti-Māori propaganda - which I believe they have long prepared for.At the time, it was a plea for action and readiness from my fellow ...

Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui

3 days ago
Gordon Campbell On The Hikoi Arrival, And Tyler Childers

Politicians like to bang on all about the need to heal society’s racial/economic divisions, but in their actions they’re more keen on stoking those divisions, with the Treaty Principles Bill being the classic example. The Bill seeks to dilute the Crown’s responsibilities to Māori at the same time as it ...

WerewolfBy ScoopEditor

3 days ago
Socially Backwards and Fiscally Forwards: the False Ideological Divide and the “Conservative” Li...

Nearly two weeks on from the US election, and we are still mentally wrangling with the results. How did this happen? Which voter demographics went where? What did the Democrats do wrong? Meanwhile here in New Zealand, we’re left wondering how this will apply to us and what this means ...

Sapphi’s SubstackBy Sapphi

3 days ago
Kaamos: Accepted

I appreciate that A Phuulish Fellow has been fairly quiet recently. That’s a combination of two things – comparatively little in the way of relevant material to discuss (at least until The War of the Rohirrim comes out next month), and my general work on The Secret Non-Fiction Writing Project. ...

A Phuulish FellowBy strda221

4 days ago
Here’s how governments could fix their Paris climate commitment failures

This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Governments around the world face a conundrum. Virtually none are on track to meet their Paris climate commitments. That includes the United States, which committed to cut its emissions at least 50% below 2005 levels by 2030 but is only on track for 32-43% cuts ...

Skeptical Science

4 days ago
Unstoppable.

Too Big To Fail: Forty-three years after the 1981 Springbok Tour protests, Maori defenders of te Tiriti, by their own efforts, and using their own resources, are poised to descend on the capital with upwards of 100,000 followers at their back, and no force in front of them even remotely ...

Bowalley Road

4 days ago
Katherine Trebeck – An Alternative Economic Narrative

The era of neoliberalism has been destructive on so many levels, with a huge growth in wealth and privilege for the one percent. A hollowing out of the state; fraying of the safety net; inadequate government investment in infrastructure; and continued environmental degradation has resulted in damage on a vast ...

Fabians

4 days ago
In a Manner of Speaking

In a manner of speakingI just want to sayThat I could never forget the wayYou told me everythingBy saying nothingOh, give me the wordsGive me the wordsThat tell me nothingOh, give me the wordsGive me the wordsThat tell me everythingSongwriter: Winston TongNext Tuesday, the subscription price for Nick’s Kōrero will ...

Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel

4 days ago
Monday 18 November 2024

The NZNO have announced a nationwide strike for December over its pay dispute with Health NZ, who have put a 1 per cent cap on pay rises. The Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti and Treaty Principles Bill remain front and centre in the media, with the impacts of the Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke-led ...

NZCTUBy Jeremiah Boniface

4 days ago
Shipley warns Seymour’s bill is ‘inviting civil war’

The divisive Treaty Principles Bill is not just a risk for the National Party, it’s a risk to civil order and unity, warns a National Party grandee. Photo: Getty ImagesKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

4 days ago
A clearer network for the City Rail Link?

This post was originally published on Linked In by Nicolas Reid. It is republished here with permission. Auckland is now just a year or so away from having the keystone of its urban rail network complete. As I wrote about here, the City Rail Link will be a literal game changer for ...

Greater AucklandBy Guest Post

4 days ago
National’s support base is wobbling

If ACT leader David Seymour intended the Treaty Principles Bill to drive a wedge into National’s support base, he may well already be succeeding. By midnight on Thursday after the Maori Party haka in Parliament, National MPs were being deluged with emails and messages from their members calling them out ...

PolitikBy Richard Harman

4 days ago
2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #46

A listing of 33 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, November 10, 2024 thru Sat, November 16, 2024. Story of the week Our Story of the Week is completely "meta" (no, not that Meta). It's about our exploring how ...

Skeptical Science

4 days ago
Grifter Eftpos Tamaki at it again

..Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.Self-appointed “Bishop” and proto-fascist, Brian Tamaki was at it again on 16 November, blocking Auckland’s southern motorway, SH1.This time, the target of his ire wasn’t the Civil Unions Act; covid lock-downs; mask mandates; or ...

Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy

5 days ago
Rip up a bill, lead a haka are words to live by

I cannot stop grabbing people by the lapels, or shoulders, or similar, and raving at them about the tiny miracles in my ears.I can hear again! There could not be a more satisfied customer in all the world.In a noisy cafe I am even catching words that Karren cannot, she ...

More Than A FeildingBy David Slack

5 days ago
Unintended Consequences

Take the baitYou pay the priceIt's much too lateFor good adviceYou know and I know that our good things' throughBecause there's consequences for what we doConsequences for me and youWriters: Kevin Robert Hayes, David Nagier, Bonnie Adele Hayes.Fallout from the first readingOne News began last night by saying that tens ...

Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel

6 days ago
Thank you, driver!

Today, Saturday 16th of November, is Auckland Transport’s Bus Driver Appreciation Day! Saturday 16 November marks the third annual Auckland Transport (AT) ‘Bus Driver Appreciation Day’, and this year we are encouraging all of New Zealand to thank their driver or let the bus go first if you are in ...

Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland

6 days ago
Totally Normal: Holiday Edition

Hi,If I was to accurately sum up my mental state over the week, I’d just say that I got a huge fright from my own shadow.I’d nipped out for an 11pm neighborhood stroll, just to calm down after a day of stress and screens. The Cure and Fazerdaze’s new record ...

David FarrierBy David Farrier

6 days ago
We Are Not Listening

The current rise of populism challenges the way we think about people’s relationship to the economy.We seem to be entering an era of populism, in which leadership in a democracy is based on preferences of the population which do not seem entirely rational nor serving their longer interests. ...

PunditBy Brian Easton

7 days ago
More lawlessness from National

On Tuesday, sick of government stonewalling, the Waitangi Tribunal issued a rare court order, ordering the Minister of Health to release unredacted documents within 48 hours showing its reasoning for disestablishing Te Aka Whai Ora, the Māori Health Authority. The government's response to the lawful order of a court? Yeah, ...

No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant

7 days ago
National’s tyrannical “foreign interference” law

Yesterday, under cover the the biggest political fight of the year, National quietly - covertly, even - introduced anti-foreign interference legislation. The bill is the product of a years-long work-program aimed at countering shit like this and this, and there's unquestionably a need to do something to counter foreign states' ...

No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant

7 days ago
The Haka Represents The Best Of Us

A few months ago, I was in an audience watching a Haka-Kapa and as I watched children dance and sing and sway and shout and beat, I couldn’t help but think “The Haka represents the best of us.”Yes, yes - there will be a thousand voices that rush forth to ...

Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui

7 days ago
Adding up the climate cost

St Mary’s Bay housing left hanging: Climate risk is systemically underestimated in the climate scenarios used by central banks, and a new report warns 10,000 houses are set to become uninsurable in Aotearoa. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

7 days ago
Auckland chafing at Bishop’s housing intensification orders

One of the major problems the Government has in implementing its ‘going for housing growth’ strategy is that it isn’t giving much funding help to councils. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

7 days ago
Friday 15 November 2024

The Treaty Principles Bill continues to dominate political news, with it passing its first reading in the House. Parliament was briefly suspended and Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke suspended for 24 hours after leading a haka that was joined by opposition MPs and the public in the gallery. Willie ...

NZCTUBy Jeremiah Boniface

7 days ago
Weekly Roundup 15-November-2024

Happy Friday, welcome to another round-up of interesting stories about what’s happening in Auckland and other cities. Feel free to add your links in the comments! This post, like all our work, is brought to you by a largely volunteer crew and made possible by generous donations from our readers ...

Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland

7 days ago
Are We The Waiting?

And screamingAre we we are, are we we are the waitingAnd screamingAre we we are, are we we are the waitingForget me nots, second thoughts live in isolationHeads or tails and fairy tales in my mindAre we we are, are we we are the waiting unknownThe rage and love, the ...

Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel

1 week ago
The Hoon around the week to November 15

The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts & talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate news, including from COP29 this week; on the US Presidential elections, Israel vs Gaza/Iran/Lebanon, Ukraine/Nato vs Russia/North ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

1 week ago
First Tea and Toast, now Milo — why do NZ’s best beverages need so much defending?

Only two months ago, Nicola Willis had to step in to stop Health New Zealand cutting tea and toast for post-birth parents, and now Lester Levy is riding to the rescue with a welcome message for all: our health workers can once again drink Milo, and will no longer need ...

Sapphi’s SubstackBy Sapphi

1 week ago
Gordon Campbell on the folly of making apologies in a social vacuum.

Day One of the Treaty Principles Bill…and everyone got what they wanted, and did what they liked. Heated words were exchanged. Culturally appropriate acts of outrage were performed. David Seymour got to play the victim card. Willie Jackson got kicked out of class. A comically red-faced Mr Speaker bellowed “Order, ...

WerewolfBy ScoopEditor

1 week ago
Skeptical Science New Research for Week #46 2024

Open access notables Microbial solutions must be deployed against climate catastrophe, Peixoto et al., Nature Communications [comment]: The climate crisis is escalating. A multitude of microbe-based solutions have been proposed, and these technologies hold great promise and could be deployed along with other climate mitigation strategies. However, these solutions have ...

Skeptical Science

1 week ago
The PM gets some extremely valuable legal advice for free

You can pay a great deal of money for the services of a KC. So just what would some peerless legal writing from 40 or so of them be worth, do you reckon?Priceless, that’s what. It’s not even the half of it, but this is my favourite part of the ...

More Than A FeildingBy David Slack

1 week ago
D-day for the government

The government's Treaty Principles Bill is up for its first reading today - bought forward in a rush in a desperate effort to avoid the hikoi which is currently marching on Wellington. But the Prime Minister won’t be there for it – he’s literally running away to Peru! But he ...

No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant

1 week ago
97% of submissions did not want no-cause evictions, Trump chooses a Russian spy for US Intelligence ...

Good morning, and I’m sorry I’ve been away for a couple of days.I’ve been focusing on the Hikoi, and also testing out sentiment on the Treaty Principles Bill. It’s complicated, and the Treaty Principles Bill will be debated in the House today. The Government’s own lawyers have told them the ...

Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui

1 week ago
Government must vote down ACT Members Bill that would undermine workers’ rights

NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is calling on the Government to vote down an ACT Party Members Bill that would undermine workers’ rights by making it easier for employers to fire workers. Last week ACT MP Laura Trask’s Employment Relations (Termination of Employment by Agreement) Amendment Bill was ...

NZCTUBy Jeremiah Boniface

1 week ago
Seymour causes thousands of unjustified absences by forcing kids to fight for their rights instead o...

The State would like to remind you that they are in control. They manage your employment prospects, and can destroy the job market you and yours rely on by mass-cancelling construction projects, cutting funding, and firing a good chunk of our public servants. They wield the mechanisms that provide scrutiny ...

Sapphi’s SubstackBy Sapphi

1 week ago
The Weight of the World

As the weight of the world Hangs on your shoulders The weight of the world Starts to take over again And over again All that you once loved, now you hate So slowly relearn how to meditate To have and to hold And never let go Can you feel it ...

Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel

1 week ago
Thursday 14 November 2024

The Treaty Principles Bill is set to have its First Reading in the House today, as the Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti continues. More than 40 KCs have written to the Prime Minister and Attorney-General outlining their “grave concerns” about the substance of the Treaty Principles Bill, while an academic and ...

NZCTUBy Jeremiah Boniface

1 week ago
Trump’s return to White House brings the climate’s ‘find out’ phase closer

As we absorb the news of Trump's victory in the US Presidential election, here’s a wrap compiled just before the result of what it might mean for climate action: The UN Secretary General says the prospective departure of the United States would cripple the Paris Agreement, likening it to the ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

1 week ago
Time and Space in the City Centre

Patrick Reynolds is deputy chair of the City Centre Advisory Panel. The header image is from Walthamstow, London The city centre now has a few stretches of street where the space has been repurposed to a people and place focused design from full time traffic use. These are a great ...

Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds

1 week ago
An opportunity for a pro-growth tax switch

As the Hikoi against it swells into the tens of thousands, KCs call on National to kill off ACT’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. Photo: Getty ImagesKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, November 14: The ...

The KakaBy Bernard Hickey

1 week ago
Dealing to the big Aussie banks

The big question hovering over the Select Committee Inquiry into banking is what the Government will do with its findings. If yesterday’s hearing is anything to go by there is a tidal wave of discontent about the four big Australian Banks crashing through the Committee which may force it to ...

PolitikBy Richard Harman

1 week ago
20 fact briefs published in collaboration with Gigafact!

In April 2024 we announced the (renewed) collaboration between Gigafact and Skeptical Science to create fact briefs, short but credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. Our initial plan had been to publish one fact brief per week on Saturdays but - as happens ...

Skeptical Science

1 week ago
Instead of axing the HRC, ACT corruptly installed a racist, transphobic “Gay Human Rights Commissi...

On November 5th, the Spinoff published a very interesting article on Stephen Rainbow, the Human Rights Commission’s latest recruitment, and how he came to get the controversial appointment. Naturally because of the excitement of the US election, it’s flown a little below the radar. https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/05-11-2024/i-didnt-get-the-hrc-job-stephen-rainbows-human-rights-commission-appointment-just-got-weirderThe article details evidence of the ...

Sapphi’s SubstackBy Sapphi

1 week ago
Injustice for torture

Between 1950 and 1993 the New Zealand government tortured and abused up to 250,000 children in residential care facilities. Yesterday, following formal findings from a royal commission, it finally apologised for that abuse. The next step is redress and restitution - compensating the surviving victims for the appalling harm they ...

No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant

1 week ago

NZ’s global climate rankings plummet as Govt removes agriculture from ETS

The Government has passed legislation to remove agriculture from the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) while Aotearoa’s reputation on climate action plummets. ...

Greens

14 hours ago
Failed boot camp experiment must end

As legislation to set up boot camps passed its first reading, the Green Party urged the Government to abandon this failed policy experiment for the good of our rangatahi. ...

Greens

14 hours ago
Gender-affirming care must centre evidence and health needs, not political posturing

The Ministry of Health has today released an evidence brief regarding the use of puberty blockers in gender-affirming healthcare, amid moves by the government to limit access. ...

Greens

15 hours ago
Release: National doesn’t care about manufacturing

The National Government is walking away from our manufacturing sector with constant reports of closures and job losses. ...

Labour Blog

16 hours ago
Release: David Parker speech – Piketty, Inequality and Climate Change

David Parker's speech from the University of Auckland's forum on Piketty, Inequality and Climate Change in September 2024. ...

Labour Blog

17 hours ago
Release: Youth mental wellbeing no longer a priority for Child Poverty Minister

Louise Upston has revealed her diminished vision for vulnerable youth against a backdrop of snubbed advice, scrapped priorities, shifted goal posts and thousands more children projected to fall into poverty. ...

Labour Blog

18 hours ago
Release: National’s lack of climate action taking NZ backwards

National Government’s backward-looking climate policy has seen New Zealand fall seven places on the Climate Change Performance Index to 41 out of 63 countries measured. ...

Labour Blog

18 hours ago
Release: Simple reason for drop in emergency housing

When the Government says it has reduced the number of people in emergency housing, what it means is it is stopping people from accessing it in the first place. ...

Labour Blog

21 hours ago
Govt’s child wellbeing strategy ‘shallow and shameful’

The Government is turning its back on children by not only weakening child poverty reduction targets, but also removing child mental wellbeing as a priority focus in their Child and Youth Wellbeing Strategy. ...

Greens

22 hours ago
Release: A historic win for Samoan communities

Labour warmly welcomes the Restoring Samoan Citizenship Bill as it passes its third reading, before becoming law. ...

Labour Blog

22 hours ago
Government plan to reinstate live animal exports a “national disgrace”

The Government has taken a giant step backwards by reinstating live animal exports. ...

Greens

2 days ago
Pasifika justice as Member’s Bill passes final reading

Teanau Tuiono’s Member’s Bill, the Citizenship (Western Samoa Restoration) Amendment Bill, has passed its third reading and will become law. ...

Greens

2 days ago
Release: Minister of Education thinks New Zealand ends at the Bombay Hills

The Minister of Education has shown complete disregard for rural communities and their school bus routes in Question Time today. ...

Labour Blog

2 days ago
Economists sound alarm on Government’s slash-and-burn approach

A group of prominent economists has released an open letter to the Government, raising grave concerns about the far-reaching consequences of its fiscal policy. ...

Greens

2 days ago
Release: Smoking numbers up under Costello’s watch

National’s repeal of Labour’s smokefree legislation has taken New Zealand further away from achieving a Smokefree 2025 and a smokefree generation. ...

Labour Blog

2 days ago
Release: Call for Palestine recognition by NZ, Australian and Canadian MPs

Parliamentarians from Australia, Canada and New Zealand have written an open letter to their respective Prime Ministers calling on them to recognise Palestine. ...

Labour Blog

2 days ago
Justice Select Committee opens floor for Treaty Principles submissions

Today, the Justice Select Committee has decided to officially open submissions for the controversial Treaty Principles Bill. ...

Greens

3 days ago
Power of the people on full display as hīkoi approaches Parliament

Today, Hīkoi mō te Tiriti arrived in Wellington, with thousands gathering to march in unity against the divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...

Greens

3 days ago
Hypocrisy as Te Whatu Ora contractor bill balloons

Te Whatu Ora’s bill for contracting and consulting staff has ballooned by nearly 20 percent under the National Government, breaking a promise they made during the election campaign to cut contractors. ...

Labour Blog

4 days ago
Release: Growing pressure to scrap Section 7AA Repeal Bill

The newly released Section 7AA Repeal Bill's select committee report is further evidence that the Government should scrap it. ...

Labour Blog

5 days ago
Government’s move to monetise access to nature a slippery slope

The Green Party is voicing serious concerns over the Government’s proposal to charge for access to public conservation land, released today. ...

Greens

7 days ago
Green Party condemns the passage of Treaty Principles Bill

The Green Party condemns the passing of the Treaty Principles Bill at first reading, and is clear that the fight is not over. ...

Greens

1 week ago
Stand Up for Te Tiriti

Te Tiriti o Waitangi is our country’s founding document. It forms the basis of the relationship between Māori and the Crown – and the Aotearoa New Zealand we live in today. ...

Labour Blog

1 week ago
Release: Over 15,000 sign Labour’s open letter to Luxon

As the hīkoi to Parliament continues, Labour has sent an open letter to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in a last-ditch attempt to get him to kill the Treaty Principles Bill. ...

Labour Blog

1 week ago
Fast Track Bill threatens environment, climate and reputation

The fast-track legislation passing its second reading in Parliament is another step towards environmental ruin. ...

Greens

1 week ago
Greens join King’s Counsel in calling for Treaty Principles Bill to be abandoned

The Prime Minister must answer the call from a group of senior lawyers of the King’s Counsel to abandon the divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...

Greens

1 week ago
Chris Hipkins’ apology statement to state and faith-based care survivors

...

Labour Blog

1 week ago
Release: Labour formally apologises to state and faith-based care survivors

Labour joins with the Government in unreservedly apologising for the abuse, neglect and trauma including torture in state and faith-based care and for ignoring the voices of survivors for too long. ...

Labour Blog

1 week ago
Green Party stands in support of survivors of abuse in care

Today, the Green Party stands alongside the survivors of abuse in state care and faith-based care as the Government issues an historic apology. ...

Greens

1 week ago
Green Party calls for conscience vote on Treaty Principles Bill

The Green Party has written to the Speaker of the House requesting he enable a personal vote on the Treaty Principles Bill. ...

Greens

2 weeks ago
Govt move to exclude journalist risks chilling effect

The Green Party is alarmed by the Government’s move to exclude a journalist from covering this week’s apology for the survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care. ...

Greens

2 weeks ago
Without action, an apology will be empty air

For tomorrow’s apology to survivors of abuse in state and faith-based care to hold any water, the Government must not pursue the same policies that drove the abuse in the first place. ...

Greens

2 weeks ago
Release: Concerns remain over tobacco interference

Concerns about the tobacco industry’s ability to interfere in government policy making remain, despite the inability of the Office of the Auditor-General to investigate the Government’s decision to halve the excise tax on heated tobacco products. ...

Labour Blog

2 weeks ago
Urgent wake-up call on climate

The Climate Change Commission’s latest advice indicates Aotearoa needs to be stepping up on climate action. ...

Greens

2 weeks ago
Green MP’s Meme-ber’s Bill set to save the world

Break out the punchlines and dust off your meme folder: Green Party MP Kahurangi Carter’s Copyright (Parody and Satire) Amendment Bill was pulled from the Ballot yesterday. ...

Greens

2 weeks ago
Release: Poroporoaki: Ta Robert (Bom) Gillies

Kua hinga te manawa kairākau o Te Rua Tekau Ma Waru Tiwhatiwha te po! Kakarauru i te po! Ka rapuhia kei hea koe kua riro! Haere e te Ika a Whiro ki o tini hoa kua ngaro atu ki te Pō ...

Labour Blog

2 weeks ago
Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori call on the Prime Minister to block the Treaty Principles Bill

The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...

Greens

2 weeks ago
Release: Labour, Greens and Te Pāti Māori call on the Prime Minister to block the Treaty Principle...

The opposition parties stand united for an Aotearoa that honours Te Tiriti, rather than seeking to rewrite it. Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori are working together against the Government’s divisive Treaty Principles Bill. ...

Labour Blog

2 weeks ago
NZ must pursue independent foreign policy

The Green Party says the need is greater than ever for Aotearoa New Zealand to pursue an independent foreign policy. ...

Greens

2 weeks ago
Release: Winston Peters must apologise

The Deputy Prime Minister should apologise to the public servant he named and blamed for something they did not do, and for misusing the rules of Parliament. ...

Labour Blog

2 weeks ago

Government action provides Southland farmers more time to meet plan requirements

The Government is taking action to ensure Southland farmers and growers are not affected by unreasonable regional farm plan deadlines, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds and Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard say.“Cabinet has agreed to provide more time for farmers and growers to comply with regional rules ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

15 hours ago
Bill reaffirms Government’s commitment to crack down on serious youth offending

The Oranga Tamariki (Responding to Serious Youth Offending) Bill had its first reading at Parliament today. The Bill reaffirms the Government’s commitment to crack down on serious youth offending, Minister for Children Karen Chhour says. “In recent years we have seen an unacceptable spike in youth offending. “This Bill makes ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

15 hours ago
Critical milestones for earthquake buildings review

Fairer, more sensible rules about managing earthquake risks are a step closer with the passing of legislation and the appointment of an independent chair to provide expert advice, Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk says. “The Government is committed to reinvigorating our cities and regions to support economic growth, ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

16 hours ago
State of the art radiology machine for Auckland

People in Northland and Auckland will benefit from a new machine for cancer treatment installed at the Regional Cancer and Blood Service at Auckland City Hospital. The MV5 linear accelerator, or LINAC machine, officially opened today targets cancer tumours with pinpoint accuracy. Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says this new, ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

16 hours ago
Foreign Minister to visit Europe

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Europe for high-level talks with France, Germany and the United Kingdom next week. "Since taking office almost a year ago, the Coalition Government has emphasised the importance we place on New Zealand's traditional and likeminded diplomatic and ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

16 hours ago
First arrests made under gang patch ban

Police have made their first arrests under the new gang patch legislation, with two gang members arrested, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. “Just before 11 this morning, Police in Wairoa apprehended a gang member for wearing a patch to the supermarket. He has been arrested and will now face enforcement ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

18 hours ago
Better support for victims of sexual violence

The Government is proposing two major changes to name suppression laws that will put the views of victims of sexual violence first, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “We are committed to restoring law and order and these two proposed changes will help ensure the victims of crime are put at ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

19 hours ago
Government moving forward with Regional Deals

Cabinet has agreed to invite all regions to submit proposals for Regional Deals between central and local government that drive economic growth and deliver the infrastructure our country needs, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop say. Inviting all regions to propose a Regional Deal that boosts ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

19 hours ago
MSA pilot participant update

One of the ten young men selected to participate in the Military-Style Academy Pilot has allegedly reoffended. Children’s Minister Karen Chhour is disappointed but says it would be naïve to think that none of these young men would reoffend. “I’m saddened that this young person has not taken this opportunity ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

20 hours ago
Attendance rates increase, again

Associate Education Minister David Seymour says that school attendance is continuing to rise. In Term 3 of 2024 51.3 per cent of students attended school regularly, an increase of 5.3 percentage points from 46 per cent in Term 3 of 2023. “This Government has prioritised student attendance and it is ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

21 hours ago
Improving the lives of young New Zealanders

Ensuring New Zealand is the best place in the world for children and young people is the vision at the heart of the Government’s new Child and Youth Strategy, Child Poverty Reduction Minister Louise Upston says. “Childhood represents a huge opportunity to set people on a positive path towards living ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

24 hours ago
Government continues work to reinstate livestock exports by sea

The Government is reinstating the trade of livestock exports by sea while ensuring the highest standards of animal welfare, says Associate Minister of Agriculture Andrew Hoggard.“The Government will introduce legislation changes to reinstate the trade, enhance oversight, and strengthen requirements for exporters to identify risks and manage the welfare of ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
Speech to the National Quality Forum 2024

Tēnā koutou katoa – it is a pleasure to be here today. I would like to begin by acknowledging the important leadership role you all play in ensuring a quality health system New Zealanders can trust. There is enormous clinical expertise in this room covering a wide range of disciplines. ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
New Zealand’s COP29 National Statement

Tēnā koutou katoa. Mr President, Excellencies, Delegates. New Zealand, and all nations represented here today, are already dealing with the impacts of climate change. Our households, businesses, and economies are bearing the costs of its effects. The choices we make now will shape the severity of these impacts for generations ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
Latest Quarterly Investment Report released

The Government has released its second Quarterly Investment Report (QIR) which shows substantial work still to be done by agencies to improve investment reporting and meet the Government’s expectations, Infrastructure and Acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “New Zealand has significant infrastructure and investment needs. The Government is determined to get ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
New Zealand supporting loss and damage fund

Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced New Zealand will contribute NZ$10 million to the new Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage while at the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan. “New Zealand is joining the global effort to address the significant challenge of responding to ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
Gang crackdown begins at stroke of midnight

The free ride for gangs is over when the clock strikes midnight tonight, with tough new laws officially coming into effect, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Police Minister Mark Mitchell say. “Gang patches will no longer be able to be worn in public. To earn the right to wear a ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
LGFA increases borrowing capacity to support high growth councils

The Government is welcoming the decision by the Local Government Funding Agency to increase access to financing tools for fast growing councils to support greater investment in critical infrastructure, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown says.“Communities across the country are facing an infrastructure deficit and significant population growth is projected in ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
Temporary Traffic Management costs revealed

The Government has revealed that over the past three years, the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) has spent an eyewatering $786 million of taxpayers’ money on road cones and temporary traffic management (TTM), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.“When I became Minister, I was surprised to learn that that NZTA did ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

2 days ago
Jurisdiction of Disputes Tribunal to double

Legislation that will double the financial jurisdiction of the Disputes Tribunal from $30,000 to $60,000 has passed first reading in Parliament today, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith. “We need to improve court timeliness and access to justice so that Kiwis and get on with their lives. Court delays affect everyone, the ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

3 days ago
Protecting New Zealand from foreign interference

Legislation that will specifically criminalise foreign interference and strengthen espionage offences has passed first reading in Parliament today, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “It is normal and appropriate for states to interact and work to influence one another. This encourages cooperation and can have mutually beneficial outcomes. “However, the reality ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

3 days ago
Significant milestone for Canterbury Road of National Significance

Transport Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed news that the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) Board has approved funding towards pre-implementation and early works on the State Highway 1 (SH1) Belfast to Pegasus Motorway and Woodend Bypass Road of National Significance (RoNS). “Reaching this significant milestone is a reflection of our Government’s ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

3 days ago
Health survey results to help drive change

Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says findings from the annual Health Survey highlight the need to continue driving better health outcomes for New Zealanders. The New Zealand Health Survey is an annual snapshot of key metrics measured from July 2023 – July 2024. Findings released this morning include: In 2023/24, ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

3 days ago
Final push needed to get to Smokefree 2025

A renewed effort to get people to quit smoking will build on what has worked to date and target the groups who most need support, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello said today. “The latest New Zealand Health Survey results show the daily smoking rate at 6.9 per cent and we ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

3 days ago
New diplomatic appointments

Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters has announced four new diplomatic appointments. “Our diplomats play an important role in ensuring New Zealand’s interests are maintained and enhanced across the world,” Mr Peters says. “It is a pleasure to announce the appointment of these senior diplomats from the Ministry of Foreign ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

3 days ago
Next steps for Regulatory Standards Bill

Regulation Minister David Seymour has today announced the next steps in the Government’s plan improve the quality of regulation by opening consultation on a proposed Regulatory Standards Bill. “New Zealand's low wages can be blamed on low productivity, and low productivity can be blamed on poor regulation,” says Mr Seymour. ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

3 days ago
Red Tape Tipline goes live

Minister for Regulation David Seymour has today announced that the Ministry for Regulation’s Red Tape Tipline is now live. “We want to hear about your red tape horror stories. From today, New Zealanders will have a say on how they are regulated through an online portal,” says Mr Seymour. The ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

3 days ago
Youth Parliament 2025 announced

The Minister for Youth Matt Doocey has today announced the eleventh Youth Parliament will be taking place in 2025. “Youth Parliament offers a unique youth development opportunity to young people from across New Zealand to experience the political process and learn about how government works,” says Mr Doocey. “The two-day ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

4 days ago
Police stats show promising change

After nearly a year in Government, Kiwis have seen significant change across law and order with promising early results shown across some Police statistics, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. “In August 2023, I told New Zealanders that if they had not started to see a change in public safety within ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

4 days ago
Better coordination of anti-scam efforts

With the launch of Fraud Awareness Week, the Government is committing to new coordination efforts across industry and government to combat online scams, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Online financial scams are a growing problem for New Zealand. New data released today shows that Kiwis lost nearly ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

4 days ago
Minister to consider 7AA select committee report

Minister for Children Karen Chhour will consider the recommendations made by the Social Services and Community Committee in its report back to Parliament on the Oranga Tamariki (Repeal of Section 7AA) Amendment Bill. “I want to thank the people who made submissions and those who appeared before the committee in ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

4 days ago
Defence Minister to attend ASEAN meeting

Defence Minister Judith Collins will this week attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus in Vientiane, Laos. “We need to take every opportunity to engage with our international partners, given the increasingly unstable geo-political situation,” Ms Collins says. “New Zealand has a long-standing commitment to this ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

4 days ago
Launching the White Ribbon Ride

The Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence, Karen Chhour, was on hand to wish riders well at the start of the North Island leg of the White Ribbon Ride in Whakatāne this morning. The ride helps mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

5 days ago
Construction to begin on next stage of Papakura to Drury

Construction on the next stage of the SH1 Papakura to Drury project will begin early next month, with the contract for works awarded to Fulton Hogan, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. "SH1 Papakura to Drury is a key project that will drive economic growth and productivity, reduce congestion, and enable people ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

6 days ago
NZ signs trade deal with Costa Rica, Iceland and Switzerland

Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has signed a pioneering trade agreement that prioritises New Zealand’s sustainable exports at a ceremony during APEC in Peru today. “The Agreement on Trade and Sustainability (ACCTS), between Costa Rica, Iceland, and Switzerland was concluded in July of this year and opens up significant ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

6 days ago
Government and iwi work together on aquaculture

Five new Aquaculture Settlement Areas will help ensure Ngāi Tahu shares in the opportunities aquaculture offers for Southland’s economy, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. “The Aquaculture Settlement Areas (ASAs) I’m announcing today set aside space so the Crown and Ngāi Tahu can assess their potential for aquaculture development. ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

7 days ago
Government launches review to ensure electricity market is fit-for-purpose

The terms of reference for a review of the performance of the electricity market have been released. The review, initiated by the Coalition Government during the power crisis in winter will look at whether current regulations and market design support economic growth and access to reliable and affordable electricity, Energy Minister ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

7 days ago
Speech to Social Investment Hui: Jack and his whānau need our help

Kia ora koutou katoa. Nau mai, haere mai, piki mai. Ki te mihi atu ahau, ki te manwhenua nei, Te Atiawa, Ngāti toa rangatira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa. Thank you, Andy, for your introduction. Let me acknowledge you as the new Chief Executive of the Social Investment ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

7 days ago
Minister of State for Trade heads to Brisbane for PACER Plus meeting

Minister of State for Trade Nicola Grigg has travelled to Australia to attend the PACER Plus Ministers Meeting in Brisbane. “Trade plays a critical role in driving employment, economic growth, and improving the standards of living in the Pacific Region. The Government is strongly committed to supporting Pacific Island countries ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

7 days ago
Proposals to modernise conservation released

Toitū te taiao – Our environment endures The Government is consulting on proposals to modernise New Zealand’s conservation management system, aiming to protect relevant natural areas while supporting sustainable growth in tourism and regional economies, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says. “Today, the Department of Conservation – Te Papa Atawhai is ...

BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz

7 days ago

Knowing superstitions aren’t real doesn’t stop us behaving superstitiously – why?

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stephanie Gomes-Ng, Senior Lecturer of Psychology, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images Former New Zealand prime minister John Key has three white rabbits painted on his helicopter, a nod to his “massively superstitious” habit of repeating “white rabbits” three times at ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

54 minutes ago
Government slammed for pushing ahead with boot camps while trial still under way

The coalition has "absolutely no intention of listening to the evidence that comes out of their experiment", Labour MP says. ...

Radio NZ – political

2 hours ago
Smoke and mirrors in heated tobacco debate

Labour claims Government is ‘cherry-picking’ smoking trends data to hide decade-first increase in daily smokers The post Smoke and mirrors in heated tobacco debate appeared first on Newsroom. ...

NewsroomBy Fox Meyer

2 hours ago
Treasury bangs the drum on ‘unsustainable’ superannuation

The Government’s economic adviser is sending a message it doesn’t want to hear – superannuation is increasingly unaffordable The post Treasury bangs the drum on ‘unsustainable’ superannuation appeared first on Newsroom. ...

NewsroomBy Tina Morrison

2 hours ago
Victims of sex offending welcome shift on name suppression laws

A man abused by a former political figure is "immensely relieved" at a government proposal to end secrecy around sex offenders' identities. ...

Radio NZ – political

2 hours ago
This week three parties stood together – can they withstand the storm to come?

There is plenty yet to play out, but the next election is at this rate shaping up as trio versus trio, writes Toby Manhire. A subplot of this week’s historic hīkoi mō te Tiriti has been the sight of the three opposition parties presenting a unified front. Te Pāti Māori ...

The SpinoffBy Toby Manhire

2 hours ago
All 33 malls in Auckland ranked from worst to best

From the low lows of abandon empires to the high highs of a mall done just right. This is the second in the Malls of New Zealand series, where we rank the malls in major centres. Next week: Wellington. A note from the editor: This is the hardest ranking we’ve ...

The SpinoffBy Group Think

2 hours ago
The cost of being: A clothes-mad 20-something who walks everywhere

As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a 27-year-old apartment-dwelling marketing exec explains her approach to spending and saving. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here. Gender: Female. Age: 27. Ethnicity: Pākehā. Role: Marketing exec at ...

The SpinoffBy The Cost of Being

2 hours ago
Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 22 November

Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 22 November appeared first on Newsroom. ...

NewsroomBy Newsroom Puzzles

2 hours ago
Daily crossword, Friday 22 November

The post Daily crossword, Friday 22 November appeared first on Newsroom. ...

NewsroomBy Newsroom Puzzles

2 hours ago
China likely to strengthen regional relationships in response to another Trump term

Opinion: Recent discussions in Shanghai provide some insight into what’s likely to be on the table The post China likely to strengthen regional relationships in response to another Trump term appeared first on Newsroom. ...

NewsroomBy Jason Young

2 hours ago
Nuclear winters know no borders

Opinion: The immediate horror of nuclear weapon explosions – the blinding flash, crushing blast wave, and radioactive inferno – is well documented.But what nuclear-armed nations either don’t grasp or won’t admit, is far more chilling: how their weapons could devastate even countries thousands of kilometres from any mushroom clouds.The collapse ...

NewsroomBy Nick Wilson and Matt Boyd

2 hours ago
This week’s bestselling books – November 22

FICTION1 Kāwai: Tree of Nourishment by Monty Soutar (David Bateman, $39.99)Sample dialogue, all from one chapter:“That can’t be,” replied Taona doubtfully.“You were right. The pā is unnervingly quiet,” Taona murmured.“The Hākuwai,” Motukia breathed. “Our grandfathers told us they rarely saw the Hākuwai in daylight,” Motukia muttered.“Their fight would have been futile ...

NewsroomBy Steve Braunias

2 hours ago
Burma the flying elephant

After about two and a half years of planning and waiting, New Zealand’s last elephant has moved to her new home at Monarto Safari Park in South Australia.Burma and her “human herd”, that is, her keepers, arrived last week, and she’s settling in well, according to Auckland Zoo’s Andrew Coers.“Something ...

NewsroomBy Gwen McClure

2 hours ago
NZ’s membership of Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance in jeopardy

Senior ministers in the coalition suggested NZ’s membership will be re-evaluated if it restarts offshore oil and gas drilling The post NZ’s membership of Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance in jeopardy appeared first on Newsroom. ...

NewsroomBy Marc Daalder

2 hours ago
Raw Politics: Six months in a leaky Bill

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon did not meet the Treaty Principles Bill hikoi crowd, sees “nothing” of merit in the Act-proposed law but the Parliament his Government dominates will spend six months debating a “divisive” measure.That’s because he has accepted there needs to be “aeration” of people’s views on the Treaty, ...

NewsroomBy Newsroom Staff

2 hours ago
Taken to the brink, Govt is now close to selling big Whakapapa ski field

Bidder Whakapapa Holdings walked away from the sales process last year, but says it’s now ‘95% there’ on a purchase agreement – so who blinked first? The post Taken to the brink, Govt is now close to selling big Whakapapa ski field appeared first on Newsroom. ...

NewsroomBy Andrew Bevin

2 hours ago
Watts nears a landmark deal on global carbon trading

A framework for global carbon trading under the Paris Agreement is finally nearing completion at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan after years of halting talks.Climate Change Minister Simon Watts is one of two ministers tasked by the COP29 hosts with landing a long-sought deal on Article 6 of the climate accord, ...

NewsroomBy Marc Daalder

3 hours ago
Grattan on Friday: Marles plays a defensive bat on nuclear as the government rushes to get though la...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Richard Marles is an ambitious man who hasn’t given up the dream of one day reaching the top job. But, despite being deputy prime minister, his profile is much lower than that of Treasurer Jim ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

8 hours ago
Fears Māori will pay heaviest price if police carry guns

"Overwhelmingly, those people who die will be young Māori men," the spokesperson for People Against Prisons Aotearoa says. ...

Radio NZ – political

9 hours ago
NEW POLL: Kiwis Overwhelmingly Support MPs’ Expenses Transparency Law Change

62% of respondents support the extension of the OIA to cover MPs’ spending, compared to just 13% opposed and 24% were unsure. ...

Scoop politics

10 hours ago
The House: Meanwhile, a week of passing law

The political week has been packed with worthy distractions, but all week Parliament has focused on passing new laws. Here are the highlights. ...

Radio NZ – political

10 hours ago
The biggest difference between Hīkoi mō te Tiriti and past hīkoi: More support from non-Māori

Analysis - The diversity of voices during the hīkoi was noticeable - from tangata moana to young immigrants to elderly Pākehā from the South Island. ...

Radio NZ – political

11 hours ago
The House: Samoan citizenship restoration – ‘It means we belong to this land’

When the bill to restore NZ citizenship to some Samoans passed this week, Parliament's galleries were full to the brim with members of the community. ...

Radio NZ – political

12 hours ago
More Delays In Action On Use Of Puberty Blockers With Children

Women’s Rights Party Co-leader Jill Ovens says the Ministry has put New Zealand children at risk by continuing to allow “off-label” prescribing of puberty blockers at far higher rates than other similar countries. ...

Scoop politics

13 hours ago
Police Minister adamant he wasn’t aware of gang members training at gun clubs

That is despite two papers from police that raised the matter with him. ...

Radio NZ – political

13 hours ago
Shorten declares himself ‘a proud moderate’, saying Australians ‘in the middle’ shouldn’t ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Bill Shorten has declared himself “a proud moderate” in a valedictory speech declaring parliament has the responsibility to ensure the extremes of left and right do not set the terms of political debate. Shorten, ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

13 hours ago
New ‘best practice’ principles for superannuation products are coming. We asked a panel of exper...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matt Garrow, Editorial Web Developer Studio Romantic/Shutterstock We all know how important it is to save enough money for retirement – but what about spending it wisely when we get there? Even for those who have built up a suitable ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

13 hours ago
Government accused of betraying Kiwis’ trust over lack of consultation on live exports

The government has always vowed to reinstate live exports by sea, which was banned by the previous Labour government. ...

Radio NZ – political

14 hours ago
7 things you can do if you think you sweat too much

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Freeman, Associate Professor of Dermatology, Bond University ERIK Miheyeu/Shutterstock Sweating is our body’s way of cooling down, a bit like an internal air conditioner. When our core temperature rises (because it’s hot outside, or you’re exercising), sweat glands all ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

14 hours ago
Phenergan for under 6s is now banned due to hallucination fears. Here’s what to use instead

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nial Wheate, Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Macquarie University Australia’s drug regulator has issued a safety warning over the medicine Phenergan and related products containing the antihistamine drug promethazine. The Therapeutic Goods Administration said the over-the-counter products should not be given to children ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

14 hours ago
A new stage adaptation of Peter Carey’s Jack Maggs is a delightful homage to theatrical storytelli...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Catherine Campbell, Lecturer, Performing Arts, UniSA Creative, University of South Australia Matt Byrne/STCSA Jack Maggs is a delight and a homage to theatrical storytelling in Australia. Based on Peter Carey’s bestselling novel, Jack Maggs follows the ex-convict as he lands ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

14 hours ago
The government has introduced laws for its social media ban. But key details are still missing

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Angus, Professor of Digital Communication, Director of QUT Digital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology Ron Lach/Pexels The federal government today introduced into parliament legislation for its social media ban for people under 16 years. Communications Minister Michelle ...

Evening ReportBy The Conversation

14 hours ago
Archives NZ, National Library to cut 27 roles

The Department of Internal Affairs wants to bring the two organisations under the joint leadership of the Chief Archivist and National Librarian. ...

Radio NZ – political

14 hours ago
Gang patch ban: Members warn of potential for violence to ‘erupt’ as new laws enforced

"I can't see this lasting unless they have a budget to lock fullas up in jail which I think is absolutely stupid, really it's ludicrous," Ngavii Pekapo, who set up a Mongrel Mob chapter 54 years ago, says. ...

Radio NZ – political

15 hours ago
ACT leader David Seymour raises doubts about Waikato medical school

Government documents show ACT leader David Seymour told the government he was "dissatisfied" with a cost-benefit analysis. ...

Radio NZ – political

15 hours ago
National’s Erica Stanford allegedly calls Labour’s Jan Tinetti a ‘stupid bitch&#82...

The Education Minister has apologised in Parliament for her remark. ...

Radio NZ – political

15 hours ago
Labour backs new Police Commissioner – but warns against routine arming

The alternative to policing by consent would be a police state, which New Zealanders don't want, the party says. ...

Radio NZ – political

16 hours ago
Youth on boot camp pilot re-offended five weeks after release

Children's Minister Karen Chhour said while it was disappointing, it would naïve to think none of the participants would lapse. ...

Radio NZ – political

17 hours ago
In photos: People of the hīkoi, and why they marched

Hikoi mō Te Tiriti has come to an end, going down in history as the largest march to Parliament in Aotearoa. ...

Radio NZ – political

17 hours ago

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