NRT: A lawless multinational
Idiot/Savant at No Right Turn on Facebook and the Privacy Commissioner.
Economy
business
Productivity
A more productive economy – and society – has been an elusive goal for many of New Zealand’s previous governments. The last National Government failed. What will Labour do to succeed?
Cullen says 2020 election effectively a referendum on tax
Don’t hold your breath for recommendations of radical tax reform from the Tax Working Group. Chair Sir Michael Cullen says the 2020 election will be a referendum on tax and he is already kicking for touch
Some Trash.
Being anti-plastic is all the rage these days. How might business respond?
Global Sharemarkets
Recent volatility in the U.S. stockmarkets has attracted calls that capitalism is facing a crisis. But the reality appears to be different.
Fletcher Chair resigns but directors retain huge fees despite staggering loss
Fletcher announces more huge losses but directors still laughing all the way to the bank
Where’s my share?
Had anyone with a job (other than the top 2 tiers of management) had a wage increase higher than inflation recently?
Fonterra a failure in concept and in practice
New Zealanders 17 years ago accepted the idea of a national dairy monopoly on the condition it would deliver outstanding returns. The cost has been high — filthy and unswimmable rivers. Now it turns out the result has been a financial fiasco – the whole thing is literally bullshit, or more correctly, cowshit.
Fonterra and Fletcher Building
New Zealand only has two businesses of world-competitive scale that are also majority owned by New Zealanders: Fonterra, and Fletcher Building. And they appear to have lost their way and put much of their value and our wellbeing at risk.
Getting it right
Council of Trade Unions President Richard Wagstaff writes in the NZ Herald about why paying people peanuts is bad for everyone. Highly recommended reading.
NRT: Not good enough
“The government today announced some employment relations reforms, including the restoration of meal breaks and the right to collective bargaining. But they also plan to retain 90 day trial periods for small businesses“
The Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership
The positive aspects of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership.
Can This Government Regain Power on Its Policies?
The sixth Labour led Government has made a good start to its term. But what policy results will New Zealand have to vote for and campaign on in 2020?
Bitcoin 2018
Is Bitcoin something to worry about or something to embrace?
Economy 2018
It’s that time of year where we start making predictions for 2018. I see it looking not too hot, not too cold.
Net Neutrality and New Zealand
Trump’s administration has recently set course to repeal Net Neutrality in the USA. What does that mean for New Zealand, and should we be considering stronger regulation here?
Professor Mark Blyth on…
…the past 70 years of economic theory and practice. (h/t Adam)
Happy Oompa Loompas?
Dunedin hosts a celebratory graduation ceremony for discarded labour.
Industrial dairying and blue babies
When you run an economy that sees harm to babies as acceptable risks that can be mitigated, then you are approaching society’s end game.
“Boardroom” backing change
The Herald’s “mood of the boardroom” makes encouraging reading for Labour, with support for change and strong themes of social conscience.
Cartoon “Hurricane Ardern” by Emmerson.
Business leaders endorse Labour / Green government
In The Herald: “Fear of a Labour/Green Government in the business community is well gone, says SkyCity chairman-elect Rob Campbell”, “Business doesn’t necessarily do better under National led Governments”.
“All I can do … is tell the Truth”
“Our integrity and our role as Ministers in holding confidential information is absolutely pivotal to our role” Bennett 2017
Vote for NZ Labour if…
- You want a TPP Agreement.
Greens announce plan to turn trash into cash
The Green Party today announced a progressive plan to protect our oceans and the places we love with a ban on plastic bags, refunds on drink containers, a phase-out of plastic packaging, and a commitment to sending zero waste to landfill by 2050.
A “Culture of Entitlement”?
With the current dialog about welfare, It is time to look at the people who are the real beneficiaries, of the welfare system.
Who use the educated and healthy workforce our system provides
The people who say “everyone should stand on their own two feet”, “you don’t work you don’t eat”, and “take personal responsibility”,
The business sector.
No one owns water, apart from corporations who sell it …
The Herald has reported that ordinary New Zealanders are paying 500 times as much for water as corporations who export it.
The possible privatisation of Ports of Auckland
The Government is attempting through coercion and cajoling to get Auckland Council to privatise Ports of Auckland.
StuffMe not
As widely reported this morning, the Commerce Commission has declined the proposed merger of the country’s two biggest media companies.
Gould explains how money works to Brash
Interesting series of articles in The Herald, where Bryan Gould schools Don Brash on how money works.
National’s short lived status as a supporter of pay equity
The day after Kristine Bartlett’s and the SFWU’s well deserved pay equity victory the Government has released for consultation draft legislation the effect of which would be to stop similar victories occurring in the future.
Why National had to settle the Pay Equity case
National is trying to give the impression that it settled the pay equity case out of the goodness of its heart. The reality is that the Unions forced it to settle through gritted teeth.
Kia kaha Sonny Bill Williams
Tony Veitch and Mike Hosking are in a lather because Sonny Bill Williams refuses to be a corporate billboard.
Won’t the Government think about the kiwis?
The Government has granted Alpine Pure the right to construct a pipeline through a breeding area for a critically endangered Kiwi so that it can extract water from a Unesco World Heritage site for free.
The United Airlines fiasco
United Airlines in America has in the past few days provided a text book example of how a large corporation should not behave.
Independent media a losing battle
Unfolding in Australia, but obviously relevant here, bad news for Farifax media staff and their editorial independence.
Banks and the Housing Crisis
Because of our our central government’s refusal to build social housing and both NZTA and AT rigorously avoiding urban development integration, the default control of housing supply lies with Australian regulation of New Zealand’s retail banks and their lending.