Posts on the economy, work, business, income, and labour
Written By: - Date published: 8:54 am, June 12th, 2020 - 59 comments
Chris Penk has written a book suggesting that the Government’s Covid 19 response has been terrible. Because it was not quite perfect.
Written By: - Date published: 2:56 pm, June 9th, 2020 - 16 comments
To assist with the emergence from the Covid19 crisis it is time to build firms like Air New Zealand into social institutions of democracy, accountable to citizens and not subject to a takeover by the private interests of capital.
Written By: - Date published: 3:17 pm, June 5th, 2020 - 24 comments
Nothing changes
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, June 1st, 2020 - 65 comments
National’s new job-creation scheme appears to be inconsistent with their desire to fully re-instate the 90-day trial period.
Written By: - Date published: 1:33 pm, May 29th, 2020 - 19 comments
Borrowing heavily from Monty Python’s Life of Brian Labour MP Deborah Russell sets out what the Government is doing for small business in these Covid 19 times.
Written By: - Date published: 10:21 am, May 29th, 2020 - 68 comments
Holy hyperbole. Todd Muller has claimed that most kiwis are unemployed although they do not realise it yet. Although in one case he may not be wrong …
Written By: - Date published: 12:06 pm, May 27th, 2020 - 26 comments
It was interesting reading this morning that the updated small business owner loan scheme is now working (unlike the previous guarantee through the banks version). National’s new Small Business shadow minister Todd Muller should be all over this between now and the election offering helpful suggestions. I’m going to be fascinated looking at those to see what type of small business he is trying to help…
Written By: - Date published: 10:48 am, May 27th, 2020 - 79 comments
While Labour remain wedded to a neoliberal view of welfare as a necessary evil with deserving and undeserving poor, the Greens are standing up for the rights of all of us to live with dignity and have a meaningful standard of living.
Written By: - Date published: 10:45 am, May 27th, 2020 - 9 comments
Approximately 2.8 million of Aotearoa New Zealand’s 4.9 million residents are now beneficiaries. Covid-19 has shown us that #WeAreBeneficiaries. Those New Zealanders who only need state support for a short time in their lives are incredibly lucky. Let’s stop looking down on and punishing those who are less fortunate.
Written By: - Date published: 8:32 am, May 27th, 2020 - 24 comments
National has released a social media ad suggesting that New Zealand’s per head of population Government debt figure will be worse than Greece’s by 2014. But the data used presumes the effects of Covid 19 in New Zealand’s figure but no effects of Covid 19 in Greece’s figure.
Written By: - Date published: 1:33 pm, May 26th, 2020 - 68 comments
Todd Muller has announced a front bench that resembles a National Party front bench from 30 years ago. And his first live interview on national television did not go as well as he hoped.
Written By: - Date published: 2:58 pm, May 25th, 2020 - 217 comments
I thought we were “in this together” or some such?
Written By: - Date published: 3:06 pm, May 24th, 2020 - 62 comments
The change of leadership inside of National is essentially meaningless. All it seems to have started is exposing the kind of internecine factional warfare that is lurking below their party surface. I can’t see the inexperienced National team, even with Amy Adams back in it, being able to make the kinds of long-term decisions required in a modern world.
Written By: - Date published: 11:50 am, May 22nd, 2020 - 197 comments
The Nation holds its breath as the dullest political leadership race in a generation snores to a close. Who will win by losing? Who will lose by winning? Who cares?
UPDATE: It’s Mullertime!
UPDATE: Bennett dumped!
Written By: - Date published: 8:13 am, May 22nd, 2020 - 28 comments
Jacinda Ardern has floated the idea of a four day working week and Grant Robertson wants to change the future of work. Maybe they should get on and do it.
Written By: - Date published: 10:08 am, May 20th, 2020 - 81 comments
More than 110 nations have backed a call for the World Health Organisation to investigate the origins of the Covid-19 virus outbreak.
Written By: - Date published: 6:30 pm, May 18th, 2020 - 158 comments
The May 2020 Newshub/Reid Research poll is astonishing. You’ve have, quite literally, never seen anything like it.
Written By: - Date published: 4:02 pm, May 16th, 2020 - 66 comments
School’s back on Monday, but the medical community is still struggling to understand covid 19
Written By: - Date published: 9:53 am, May 16th, 2020 - 108 comments
Just when we thought liberal democracies meant real freedom was an absolute written into human rights stone, by mid-March this year almost all OECD countries had implemented the most draconian reversal of lockdowns on every single human to combat Covid19. Except Sweden. How is it working out?
Written By: - Date published: 12:06 pm, May 15th, 2020 - 39 comments
A round up of the Green Party’s achievements in the 2020 Budget: funding for nature, the commitment to ending violence, and public housing and insulation. And a look at the pragmatics of what the Greens can currently accomplish.
Written By: - Date published: 3:37 pm, May 14th, 2020 - 89 comments
The budget site is up and running. Some links here along with Robertson’s speech. This post may get updated if authors feel like it. Otherwise commenters can praise or criticize. Preferably constructively rather than with mindless waffle.
Written By: - Date published: 11:59 am, May 14th, 2020 - 25 comments
Viruses and other diseases simply don’t care about abstractions like ‘human rights’. They just want to breed. We need a better legislative toolkit to deal with epidemics. There is only so long that a draconian state of emergency should be maintained. Like 1918 we need to start thinking about the future Health Act with reserve powers like level 2 and 1. In the meantime, we’ll deal with the virus with this imperfect act as a tool.
Written By: - Date published: 8:48 am, May 14th, 2020 - 88 comments
Text of a pre budget speech given yesterday by Jacinda Ardern.
Written By: - Date published: 9:49 am, May 13th, 2020 - 97 comments
National has decided to play politics with Covid 19 and is opposing the Government’s attempt to pass legislation to secure level 2 arrangements. And has made the extraordinary claim that Jacinda Ardern is just like Rob Muldoon but with slogans.
Written By: - Date published: 12:06 pm, May 12th, 2020 - 41 comments
Dr Ashley Bloomfield has responded to allegations by Simon Bridges that the government has suspended the Official Information Act and the Emergency Response Committee has made multiple requests for information from the Ministry that it is waiting for by advising publicly there are no outstanding requests for information.
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, May 12th, 2020 - 33 comments
In this time of uncertainty when mass unemployment beckons you would expect that stock exchanges would be plummeting. But think again. Because they seem to be doing fine.
Written By: - Date published: 4:37 pm, May 11th, 2020 - 44 comments
In the ongoing press conference (RNZ): Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced a staggered move into level 2 starting on Thursday, with schools and bars reopening later and groups limited to 10 people. and She said retail, malls, cafes, restaurants, cinemas and other public spaces including playgrounds and gyms would be able to reopen on […]
Written By: - Date published: 9:25 am, May 11th, 2020 - 128 comments
We are heading towards decision time. Does Aotearoa New Zealand loosen up and head back to a semi normal life?
Written By: - Date published: 10:01 am, May 9th, 2020 - 175 comments
In a Facebook Live event David Parker has schooled Simon Bridges on basic principles of constitutional law. And it appears that Bridges demand that legally privileged advice be handed over is heading to the Privileges Committee.
Written By: - Date published: 7:46 am, May 7th, 2020 - 93 comments
Simon Bridges threw two stunts yesterday, firstly threatening to try and summons senior Public Servants to publicise confidential legal advice and then by attacking Dr Ashley Blomfield for not answering emails quickly enough despite the existence of a pandemic which the country appears to be handling pretty well.
Written By: - Date published: 12:19 pm, May 6th, 2020 - 45 comments
Low-wage essential workers are getting New Zealand through this crisis and continue to do so. They went to work when the rest of us were told to stay away – and people would be horrified to hear many of them barely earn enough to live on.
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