Posts on the economy, work, business, income, and labour
Written By: - Date published: 9:58 am, September 28th, 2015 - 20 comments
Goff has attempted to throw a fire-cracker into the notion of the National Party leadership and caucus being one big happy family. Is this the Labour Party’s way of sowing seeds of discontent without tainting the image of their leader? It is NOT Dirty Politics by any normal understanding of that term as captured in the book of the same name. Is this Goff’s role now? To box from the shadows?
Written By: - Date published: 1:28 pm, September 26th, 2015 - 36 comments
Bunnings staff are striking today after rejecting unfair contracts.
Written By: - Date published: 8:32 am, September 26th, 2015 - 98 comments
Pope Francis has given two important speeches recently.
Written By: - Date published: 7:49 am, September 25th, 2015 - 109 comments
Been trying to get my head around the implications of Volkswagen’s rigged diesel performance tests. Predictably, and unlike most stories covering this, I couldn’t give a rat’s arse for the financial woes the company might be facing.
Written By: - Date published: 11:39 am, September 24th, 2015 - 53 comments
We have the documents leading up to the what can only be described as a dreadful piece of law legalising employment agreements which tie workers to an employer without any of the reciprocity of guaranteed hours of work. At a time like now – where work in this country is so badly paid, with so little protection – we get this.
Written By: - Date published: 9:30 am, September 23rd, 2015 - 26 comments
The Government has admitted that at least some of the loopy rules mentioned by Paula Bennett in support of the Loopy Rules review do not actually exist.
Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, September 23rd, 2015 - 39 comments
As last ditch efforts to pass the TPP continue, Key is softening us up to sign a bad deal. Coincidentally, two articles yesterday highlight the risks to NZ.
Written By: - Date published: 8:56 am, September 22nd, 2015 - 32 comments
Yesterday Key listed, among the “achievements” of his government for this term: “investing in … research and development”. Was this an example of what he had in mind?
Written By: - Date published: 9:56 am, September 19th, 2015 - 16 comments
Two pieces this week on how National’s mismanagement of the economy has left us in the doldrums.
Written By: - Date published: 3:39 pm, September 18th, 2015 - 67 comments
Very bad news for all those losing their jobs, commiserations to you. It’s a pretty heartless economy out there, and pretty soon there won’t be anyone left to comment on it. Consumers of celebrity gossip will still have it good though, so I guess that’s something.
Written By: - Date published: 1:45 pm, September 18th, 2015 - 3 comments
The White Man Behind a Desk takes on the TPP.
Written By: - Date published: 12:58 pm, September 17th, 2015 - 38 comments
The government has overruled the Overseas Investment Office and turned down a bid to buy Lochinver Station. It’s the first time a bid for a significant landholding has been rejected since 2012.
Written By: - Date published: 10:16 am, September 17th, 2015 - 33 comments
Not only is Housing Corp planning to pay a $118 million dividend to the Crown this year but hidden away in its accounts is the payment of a further capital contribution of $336 million. Talk about strip mining …
Written By: - Date published: 3:15 pm, September 16th, 2015 - 17 comments
I/S at No Right Turn on the WINZ underpayment fiasco.
Written By: - Date published: 7:52 am, September 16th, 2015 - 37 comments
In recent news it has been stated that the Government has let Serco off fines totalling hundreds of thousands of dollars while at the same time it is sneaking through retrospective changes to the law to deny thousands of beneficiaries money they are otherwise entitled to.
Written By: - Date published: 1:18 pm, September 15th, 2015 - 40 comments
UPDATE You can read the non gender specific Bill here
Written By: - Date published: 1:20 pm, September 14th, 2015 - 20 comments
Political awakenings.
Written By: - Date published: 9:41 am, September 14th, 2015 - 26 comments
A guest post by Ad on the Hawkes Bay’s decision to prohibit under its District Plan the release or the conducting of field trials of GM crops and animals.
Written By: - Date published: 11:40 am, September 13th, 2015 - 162 comments
Jeremy Corbyn’s election provides a further opportunity to discuss if elections should be won by tacking to the centre or adopting a principled approach to politics.
Written By: - Date published: 10:06 am, September 13th, 2015 - 17 comments
An Australian TV ad on the downsides of the TPP – “We just received word that Channel 9 banned our new TV ad from airing during the evening news”
Written By: - Date published: 11:30 am, September 9th, 2015 - 63 comments
Figures have been released showing that Warner Bros were paid NZ $191 million in tax rebates to create the Hobbit Trilogy. The films were very profitable. Why is corporate welfare for profitable activity tolerated?
Written By: - Date published: 10:30 am, September 9th, 2015 - 4 comments
Over in the UK, the government is carrying out an unprecedented attack on employment and union rights in an effort to return things to their C19th utopia. Now they want to force striking workers to wear armbands and give their names to police as well. Presumably for blacklisting people exercising their rights.
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, September 6th, 2015 - 71 comments
Naomi Klein recently visited Australia and amongst other things described climate change as a crime, criticised the Abbott Government attack on renewable energy and described the importance of grassroots action and indigenous rights.
Written By: - Date published: 7:03 am, September 4th, 2015 - 122 comments
The Greens are attempting something remarkable, a plan that is economically credible, but set in the context of realistic environmental constraints. Did they succeed?
Written By: - Date published: 11:17 am, September 3rd, 2015 - 70 comments
Rosemary Macleod on the flag and market forces. Danyl Mclauchlan on the refugee disaster, market forces, and Key. Is this our New Zealand?
Written By: - Date published: 7:48 am, September 2nd, 2015 - 6 comments
If you still wonder WHY anyone would want to join a union, the fact that union members are 2.1 x more likely to get a pay rise might make you wade through the anti-union propaganda. Some unions escape scorn, like the Police Union which is referred to as an Association. It’s probably an oversight though, not anything deliberate…
Written By: - Date published: 7:02 am, September 1st, 2015 - 40 comments
The ANZ survey shows business confidence at the lowest levels since the financial crisis. Yesterday John Key insisted that it was “reasonably positive”. He was either completely wrong or lying through his teeth. Either way it’s unacceptable.
Written By: - Date published: 11:06 am, August 31st, 2015 - 133 comments
FYI. The most populous town in Clutha District is Balclutha, which lies 81km south of Dunedin by road. Balclutha’s population, by the 2006 census, was 4,062 (down from 4,137 in 1996). Other towns are Milton (pop. 1,887), Kaitangata (pop. 810), Tapanui (pop. 744), Lawrence (pop. 432), Owaka (pop. 327), Stirling (pop. 309), Clinton (pop. 291), Kaka Point (pop. 201), and Benhar (pop. 96). For a while in the 1980s Balclutha was New Zealand’s most wealthy town, per capita
Written By: - Date published: 8:51 am, August 31st, 2015 - 37 comments
Black Monday on the casino Chinese stock markets wasn’t a particular problem for NZ. John Key’s short-term thinking government will be. Both us and our next biggest trading partner Australia are now heavily exposed to falling Chinese imports and falling commodity prices. That is going to hurt over the coming years.
Written By: - Date published: 8:08 am, August 30th, 2015 - 55 comments
The latest financial reports for the privatised companies suggests that the New Zealand Government has lost in the past twelve months $470 million in dividends it would have received had it held onto the shares.
Recent Comments