The Standard

economy

Categories under economy

  • No categories

Why the next election will not be easy for Labour

Written By: - Date published: 12:12 pm, December 7th, 2025 - 27 comments

This may be a one term National Government. But electoral law reform, the state of Labour’s coalition partners, a possible economic upturn and a change in National’s leader threaten this.

Wealth taxation as national self-interest

Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, November 26th, 2025 - 12 comments

Is it only the uber wealthy and politicians that don’t want a wealth tax? Guyon Espiner talks with ex trader, now people’s economist Gary Stevenson.

The cult of reasonableness

Written By: - Date published: 8:08 am, November 11th, 2025 - 36 comments

Labour’s capital gains tax isn’t the end of the debate — it’s the beginning of a reckoning. The left’s real problem isn’t its policy. It’s the cult of reasonableness that’s made conviction sound impolite.

Fiscal Choices: Scandinavia or America?

Written By: - Date published: 10:02 pm, October 14th, 2025 - 88 comments

Brian Easton says we cannot attain a sustainable Scandinavian-type quality of life while keeping the existing tax system in place

So much for the relentless focus on growth

Written By: - Date published: 3:32 pm, September 19th, 2025 - 26 comments

National’s crashing of GDP growth figures makes a mockery of its claim earlier this year that the Government was relentlessly focussed on unleashing growth.

Nicola Willis: National gave “tens of dollars” to Kiwis

Written By: - Date published: 4:26 pm, August 20th, 2025 - 5 comments

Willis attacks Carmel Sepulonia as Ingrid Hipkiss assists.

National Government will have increased gross debt by over $100b – Who benefits ?

Written By: - Date published: 4:02 pm, August 19th, 2025 - 21 comments

The debt bogeyman has been unleashed in NZ, which we will examine – but even on face value, National Party debt is 25% more than Labour’s full debt contribution over 6 years – with no global pandemic

How was National able to take down construction so quickly?

Written By: - Date published: 7:51 pm, August 15th, 2025 - 67 comments

Industry experts say Chris Bishop and his party are to blame, but Bishop denies it, saying construction industry leaders are just “wrong”

Old fast track, new fast track

Written By: - Date published: 9:35 am, August 2nd, 2025 - 49 comments

What are Labour’s intentions towards protecting communities and the environment?

Queenstown as an exemplar of the limits to growth

Written By: - Date published: 1:24 pm, July 30th, 2025 - 19 comments

We are Queenstown.

The Time For The Left To Act Is Now

Written By: - Date published: 8:57 am, July 23rd, 2025 - 50 comments

None of National’s policies are working. But the time of Labour’s policy vacuum needs to be over. It’s time to make their mark and take Luxon front on and win.

The left should unite on tax, fast

Written By: - Date published: 9:41 am, July 20th, 2025 - 39 comments

… before the election starts to get real.

Do humans have to respect the limits to growth?

Written By: - Date published: 1:23 pm, July 19th, 2025 - 11 comments

we don’t have to, but we probably should.

The ultimate Fuck you, to your neighbours, the community and the environment. Private helicopters!

Written By: - Date published: 7:18 am, July 18th, 2025 - 12 comments

Again, we were woken up by a bunch of hoodrats drifting on the intersection by our house. Great clouds of smoke and lots of noise. As you do at three o clock in the morning, my brain started tying this together with recent articles about private helicopters in urban areas, and other forms of antisocial “Fuck You’s” to the rest of us.

Trump vs Musk

Written By: - Date published: 12:20 pm, June 7th, 2025 - 16 comments

Two overly emotional, sociopathic, super egos having a cock fight on social media, or a man using his power to speak edifying and crystal clear truth.

Nicola Willis’s Debt Higher Than All 6 Years of Ardern Government

Written By: - Date published: 12:31 pm, May 28th, 2025 - 18 comments

Current & planned debt will surpass Labour’s full term debt in less years. Willis also admitted Budget 2024 had a higher deficit than all of Grant Robertson’s bar Covid.

Our growing stress is everywhere

Written By: - Date published: 9:38 am, May 24th, 2025 - 22 comments

We don’t know where this country is going and it’s getting worse. 

We’ve Lost Australia

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, May 12th, 2025 - 45 comments

New Zealand was once in a sustained Australasian partnership. Now, with New Zealand tracking further and further into policy extremes, Australia – and our children – are leaving New Zealand behind.

Vale David Parker MP

Written By: - Date published: 2:08 pm, May 8th, 2025 - 20 comments

David Parker’s Deputy Leader ‘s speech in 2014 at the Wellington Labour Party Conference was the best I ever heard from a Labour Leader. Vision matched values in intensity and scope. Parliament now loses one of its very best.

The Trump Shock: Why the US President Crashed the Global Economy

Written By: - Date published: 3:28 pm, April 11th, 2025 - 19 comments

There is a method to Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff madness. The chaos and confusion is deliberate; the aim is nothing less than the controlled disintegration of the world economy, writes Elliot Crossan. The eyes of the world are on Donald Trump once again. The world’s most successful attention-seeker has us all transfixed. It’s a story […]

NZD Freefalls & NZ First Linked To Green Party Attack Ads

Written By: - Date published: 10:57 am, April 8th, 2025 - 3 comments

Headlines: NZD free falls, misleading Green Party attack ads linked to NZ First, making NZDF lethal, and American billionaires regret support for Trump

Trade Like You Mean It: How Aotearoa Can Lead with Values in a Volatile World

Written By: - Date published: 9:49 am, April 5th, 2025 - 36 comments

In an era of weaponised tariffs, crumbling institutions, and trade policy made on the campaign trail, New Zealand’s long game is trust, credibility, and coherence.

If we choose to play it.

Winston’s war on wokeness

Written By: - Date published: 7:04 am, March 25th, 2025 - 41 comments

In what looked like an early election campaign launch Winston Peters has done his old man shaking his fist at the sky tirade against everything woke.

Reasons for Optimism

Written By: - Date published: 11:10 am, March 22nd, 2025 - 14 comments

We’re good, but we know we want better leadership.

Cuts to Disability Services Are Part of a Class War

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, March 19th, 2025 - 14 comments

Over the last year, the Coalition has unleashed a series of cuts which have been devastating for the disabled community. These cuts are part of a class war — and it’s time to organise and fight back, writes Elliot Crossan.

Is NZ as Stable as Luxon Claims?

Written By: - Date published: 8:14 pm, March 15th, 2025 - 13 comments

By pursuing cuts, selling off assets to multinationals, enabling ACT’s attacks on the Treaty and cutting back on climate commitments, Luxon is guaranteeing that NZ will not be stable for long, writes Elliot Crossan.

Bring us your wealthy and your privileged …

Written By: - Date published: 7:05 am, February 11th, 2025 - 11 comments

National wants more wealthy people to come to New Zealand to increase investment fund levels. But what if we created the situation so that locals could increase investment through Kiwisaver contributions?

If that’s Luxon’s Plan, What About Labour? 

Written By: - Date published: 1:05 pm, January 26th, 2025 - 56 comments

It’s time to highlight what a Labour plan for the New Zealand economy under a 2026 government would look like. And ask questions. 

New Zealand’s worst leadership speech since 2008

Written By: - Date published: 9:31 am, January 24th, 2025 - 22 comments

The PM’s ‘State of the Nation’ speech about the New Zealand economy titled “economic growth the key to better days ahead” was a bag of words with no plan.

President Biden’s Accomplishments

Written By: - Date published: 9:37 am, January 11th, 2025 - 33 comments

It’s common these days to see the rapid 2024 exit of multiple global social democrat leaders as just a post-COVID symptom of democratic impatience. But Biden achieved far more than his age-related decline obscures.

Who would have thought that austerity would stuff up the economy

Written By: - Date published: 1:48 pm, December 18th, 2024 - 47 comments

The HYEFU has been released and the results are pretty ugly suggesting that National’s austerity measures are having a negative effect on the economy.