The Standard

Economy

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

Categories under Economy

Looks like rail enabled ferries may be back

Written By: - Date published: 12:00 pm, March 1st, 2025 - 36 comments

You have to hand it to Winston and New Zealand First. On the issue of rail enabled ferries they have performed outstanding work. That good that what looked like a foregone conclusion, the dismantling of the Cook Strait Rail Link, may not happen after all.

Capitawism

Written By: - Date published: 6:14 am, March 1st, 2025 - 1 comment

“Socialism only sounds good in theory!”

Its the end of the Media as we know it …

Written By: - Date published: 10:42 am, February 28th, 2025 - 42 comments

Two recent media related stories made me wonder if there was now formal acknowledgement that the concept that media should fearlessly and impartially report the news is now dead.

The Greens plan for a Green Budget

Written By: - Date published: 12:45 pm, February 27th, 2025 - 2 comments

The Green Party co-leaders gave their annual State of the Planet speech yesterday.

Repaired RSS feed highlights minister’s failing portfolios

Written By: - Date published: 4:03 pm, February 24th, 2025 - 1 comment

Last week, I pointed out that Internal Affairs under Act Minister Brooke van Velden, had managed to lose RSS communications from the Beehive to the world. It’d been offline for about three weeks at that point. That was just sloppy and incompetent for the DIA who amongst other things are responsible for overseeing government technology services.

Come Rich Foreigners – New Zealand Is For Sale

Written By: - Date published: 1:08 pm, February 24th, 2025 - 4 comments

Long signaled, all right wing parties are opening the doors for wealthy foreigners to easily acquire our significant assets and lands.

Seymour is wrecking the school lunch program

Written By: - Date published: 9:00 am, February 24th, 2025 - 26 comments

David Seymour’s handling of changes to free school lunches has been an unmitigated disaster. Is the plan to make the scheme that bad it can then be cancelled?

Good as gold

Written By: - Date published: 3:44 pm, February 22nd, 2025 - 19 comments

A fascinating expose from Michael Hudson on the causes and implications of the recent rise in the price of gold. When Nixon took the US dollar off the standard in 1971 you could get an ounce for $35. Not now; Hudson explains why.

Everyone must go

Written By: - Date published: 11:47 am, February 17th, 2025 - 28 comments

Chris from Marketing’s latest gimic to lead us to economic nirvana is to use money that is meant to be used for environmental enhancement to run a campaign in Australia with a slogan that is awkward and negative.

State of the Nation – dire

Written By: - Date published: 8:23 am, February 12th, 2025 - 18 comments

Remember National’s promise to get us back on track? Salvation Army’s latest state of the nation report suggests that for ordinary people things are getting much worse.

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?

What does Trump have against Canada?

Written By: - Date published: 11:28 am, February 4th, 2025 - 50 comments

And why isn’t New Zealand backing Canada against Trump’s self declared trade war?

The Second Major Offensive of Neoliberalism in New Zealand Since the 80s

Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, February 2nd, 2025 - 28 comments

The Coalition is fighting a multi-front blitzkrieg to entrench neoliberal hegemony in NZ.

Keep on Digging

Written By: - Date published: 3:44 pm, January 30th, 2025 - 30 comments

The latest outbursts and brain farts from the great Kumara of the North…

Open to all today in Nick’s Kōrero – Shane Jones calls climate change ‘woke’ and says, ‘Send the Mexicans home’.

Most kiwis blame Willis for Ferry Fiasco

Written By: - Date published: 9:19 am, January 30th, 2025 - 9 comments

Recent polling suggests that two thirds of kiwis disagree with Nicola Willis’s decision to cancel the replacement Inter Island ferries contract.

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.

The difference between Christopher Luxon and Donald Trump *

Written By: - Date published: 12:15 pm, January 22nd, 2025 - 23 comments

* is not as great as you think.

America would never happen here!

Written By: - Date published: 9:49 am, January 22nd, 2025 - 42 comments

Why corporate fascism may no longer be a distant dream – and how it’s closer than you might think

The future dystopia

Written By: - Date published: 11:28 am, January 21st, 2025 - 55 comments

He’s baack. The man least suited to running the world’s most powerful country is now President again.

The World has too many Oligarchs

Written By: - Date published: 3:27 pm, January 19th, 2025 - 14 comments

In his final speech Joe Biden has warned the world about the dangers posed by Oligarchs supporting the right into democratic power. He is right.

Reviewing the Cook Strait Ferry fiasco

Written By: - Date published: 1:07 pm, January 16th, 2025 - 35 comments

A review of the history of the Ferries issue suggests that this could be coalition ending and career ending.

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.

2024 in review

Written By: - Date published: 11:01 am, December 31st, 2024 - 25 comments

It is that time of year when during the brief hiatus of civilisation known as the holidays we get the time to reflect on what has happened over the past 12 months.

Wage theft – now that is a real crime

Written By: - Date published: 5:38 pm, December 30th, 2024 - 17 comments

In Australia, the Fair Work Act is enhanced to provide for jail time and large fines for individuals and companies who deliberately indulged in wage theft. It is a Federal act with investigative powers. Our members ‘Theft by Employers’ bill looks pathetic by comparison. But worth passing in its 3rd reading. It would be a “real tough on crime” act – not weak like Mark Mitchell’s tee-shirt snatch.

This govt. legislation will change our country like never before – learn about it like your country depends on it – because it does

Written By: - Date published: 8:34 am, December 21st, 2024 - 12 comments

Just after Christmas, submissions on the Treaty Principles Bill will close. But a far more sinister Bill underlles it all… and Seymour is hoping you might not notice

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.

When publicity stunts go bad

Written By: - Date published: 9:13 am, December 17th, 2024 - 16 comments

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon recently posted a picture of him helping with a gift box initiative for the poor. But at the same time he is overseeing the cessation of funding for food banks.

Luxon & Willis Double Down on Ferries Debacle

Written By: - Date published: 6:46 am, December 13th, 2024 - 15 comments

Government sneakily shifts the numbers on the cancelled Kiwirail i-Rex project from $3b to $4b as Luxon and Willis defend their plan for a plan.

Are Lester Levy and Shane Reti “cooking the books?”

Written By: - Date published: 11:51 am, December 7th, 2024 - 12 comments

See for yourself.

Tax and the Splintering World

Written By: - Date published: 3:38 pm, December 5th, 2024 - 30 comments

The resurgence of the tax debate reflects impacts of neo-liberal economic policy and developments in the global economy over the last half century. As Labour considers further its approach to tax policy, this wider context should be considered