The Standard

Economy

Posts on the economy, work, business, income, and labour

Categories under Economy

Celebrity Debate: Will a Universal Transaction Tax benefit the NZ economy?

Written By: - Date published: 7:29 am, November 17th, 2016 - 56 comments

Details of a celebrity debate happening this Friday in Auckland on the benefit of a Universal Transaction Tax or Robin Hood tax. The affirmative side will feature Peter Nielson, Jane Kelsey and Rod Oram and the negative side will include Deborah Russell, Nigel Haworth and Shamubeel Eaqub.

Trump and the NZ housing bubble

Written By: - Date published: 7:26 am, November 16th, 2016 - 21 comments

The bright orange trigger for a sharp rise in mortgage interest rates may have just arrived. Our over-indebted home owners are highly vulnerable.

Te Ikaroa – Seismic Testing Presents Significant Risk To East Coast

Written By: - Date published: 9:46 pm, November 15th, 2016 - 64 comments

“Seismic blasting, every 10 seconds, 24hrs a day from now until next May” Time to step up again and protect our environment.

Sonya Rockhouse: This isn’t just about our families. It’s about all of us

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, November 15th, 2016 - 22 comments

“Now six years later, the Government is moving to seal the mine. They are literally putting hundreds of tonnes of concrete between us and our boys. Between the whole world and whatever evidence of what happened is down there.”

I’m a Muslim, an Immigrant and I voted Trump

Written By: - Date published: 12:54 pm, November 14th, 2016 - 234 comments

Take a deep breath and transcend your fear.

South Island quake

Written By: - Date published: 12:30 am, November 14th, 2016 - 115 comments

A night of quakes.

Beach and shore warning (original major Tsunami warning is over).

Wellington recommends avoid CBD today (all trains cancelled).

Scholarship exams today are postponed, NCEA exams proceeding where possible – official link.

Oh noes! The world’s not going to saved now!

Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, November 13th, 2016 - 49 comments

Bollocks. It was never going to be.

Remembering what happened at Pike

Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, November 13th, 2016 - 23 comments

What exactly happened at Pike River? The families of the 29 men who died don’t know, and as Solid Energy moves to seal the mine forever, they demand justice.

An interesting time for the Republicans

Written By: - Date published: 8:08 am, November 13th, 2016 - 55 comments

Trump is going to be a figurehead, not a president, leaving governance to an unfettered Republican machine. That machine is no friend of the disenfranchised, never was, never will be. How will Trump’s base react to being betrayed?

#StandWithPike

Written By: - Date published: 12:34 pm, November 12th, 2016 - 17 comments

The Pike River families have decided to take a stand and are occupying the road to the mine to ensure it cannot be closed, sealing up the evidence of what happened and the bodies of their loved ones forever.

The Trump peace dividend: opportunity for rapprochement

Written By: - Date published: 11:25 am, November 12th, 2016 - 76 comments

Walking back the last 5 plus years of escalating military, economic and diplomatic proxy war between Russia and the United States will be difficult. But it has to be done.

Kia kaha, Pike River families

Written By: - Date published: 7:19 pm, November 11th, 2016 - 34 comments

The Pike River families will be protesting tomorrow to get their men out of the mine that killed them.

Flogging the dead TPP horse

Written By: - Date published: 12:55 pm, November 11th, 2016 - 24 comments

The Nats are determined to keep flogging the TPP horse in Parliament. Someone should buy them a newspaper.

Don’t mourn, organise

Written By: - Date published: 8:20 am, November 11th, 2016 - 113 comments

What all good progressives should be doing in these POTUS Trump days.

Grant Robertson: Future of Work

Written By: - Date published: 11:25 am, November 9th, 2016 - 10 comments

At the Labour Conference over the weekend, Grant Robertson announced the results of the Future of Work Commission.  Ideas for policy to cope with a new age of work.

Rheumatic fever – treat the cause

Written By: - Date published: 8:02 am, November 8th, 2016 - 14 comments

Millions of dollars are being poured into reducing rheumatic fever in NZ. However rates of the disease in Auckland are at least double the target level – and rising.

Good coverage for Labour’s conference

Written By: - Date published: 7:11 am, November 7th, 2016 - 21 comments

Good coverage for Labour’s conference, Little’s speech, and the “substantial investigation into the Future of Work”.

Trump final campaign ad

Written By: - Date published: 12:29 pm, November 6th, 2016 - 79 comments

Donald Trump’s last campaign ad lifts the mood of a relentlessly negative campaign between two massively disliked candidates.

John Key’s Paradise

Written By: - Date published: 9:02 am, November 6th, 2016 - 83 comments

This really happened. Contains crimes against music, dance, fashion, and irony. Also some recent headlines from “John Key’s Paradise”…

The Future of Work Commission report

Written By: - Date published: 8:59 am, November 6th, 2016 - 17 comments

The Future of Work Commission report has now been released. It contains 63 recommendations including the tentative implementation of a universal basic income and a that voluntary work for approved organisations allow beneficiaries to continue to receive a benefit.

Grant Robertson Speech: Future of Work Commission results

Written By: - Date published: 2:02 pm, November 5th, 2016 - 52 comments

Text of a speech from Grant Robertson to the 2016 Labour Party Conference concerning the results from the Future of Work Commission.

Andrew Little: Winning together

Written By: - Date published: 8:12 am, November 4th, 2016 - 167 comments

In advance of the Labour Party conference this weekend Andrew Little’s message is that the polls are neck and neck, that Labour is winning on many issues and that if we work together the left can win the next election.

Standing Rock update

Written By: - Date published: 3:27 pm, November 3rd, 2016 - 21 comments

The Standing Rock water protection movement continues in the face of increasing state violence.

Unemployment apples and oranges

Written By: - Date published: 1:11 pm, November 2nd, 2016 - 27 comments

A fall in the jobless rate is superficially good news, but most of the “fall” since May is due to changes in the way the measure is calculated. Wages remain flat, though less so for union members.

Kiwibank is being privatised by stealth

Written By: - Date published: 8:37 am, November 2nd, 2016 - 31 comments

Kiwibank is selling 47% of its shareholding to the New Zealand Super Fund and to the Accident Compensation Corporation. The Government gets a cheque for $200 million which will improve the appearance of its books. Financial sleight of hand?

Nats backsliding on tax haven law changes

Written By: - Date published: 7:54 am, November 1st, 2016 - 20 comments

The Nats are backsliding on implementing the law changes brought on by the Panama Papers revelations. If European regulators blacklist us the consequences will be catastrophic.

Through the Looking Glass.

Written By: - Date published: 12:57 pm, October 31st, 2016 - 15 comments

The culture being addressed will be familiar enough to many here in NZ who deal with Work and Income. Government strategies to address that culture? Well, that’s another story. This isn’t just happening half a world away. It might as well be happening in another universe – back on the sane side of some looking glass NZ has fallen through.

Labour’s Auckland light rail announcement

Written By: - Date published: 8:38 am, October 31st, 2016 - 87 comments

National is criticising Labour for releasing policy during an election campaign.

Workers’ rights – the Uber ruling

Written By: - Date published: 8:26 am, October 30th, 2016 - 34 comments

Recent decision in the UK is a victory for workers and their rights.

Follow the money

Written By: - Date published: 8:21 am, October 30th, 2016 - 30 comments

Phase 2 of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act is due to come into force soon and will require lawyers, accountants and other professionals to verify the source of client funds.  This will give the Government increased power to monitor capital flows.  What will they discover?

The Dreamworld tragedy is a perfect metaphor for a failing system

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, October 29th, 2016 - 71 comments

The loss of four lives at the Dreamworld fun park in the Gold Coast suggests that the corporate greed is good mantra is not working as well as we should expect.