Posts on the economy, work, business, income, and labour
Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, June 13th, 2015 - 123 comments
A few stories of recent weeks which show exactly what kind of government we have.
Written By: - Date published: 8:06 am, June 13th, 2015 - 121 comments
Boycotts are a two-edged sword. The call to boycott TV3 is not a simple matter.
Written By: - Date published: 4:26 pm, June 12th, 2015 - 13 comments
White Man Behind A Desk on the death of government, social bonds, and more. Perfect for a Friday!
Written By: - Date published: 1:18 pm, June 12th, 2015 - 101 comments
“Rock-star economy” is a catch-phrase that has served very well to persuade us that we are doing well in economic terms. But “chickens coming home to roost” and “living in a fool’s paradise” may be nearer the truth about our economic performance.
Written By: - Date published: 7:11 am, June 12th, 2015 - 87 comments
Bravo to those “big business” leaders who have come out in support of strong universal health and safety legislation. Shame on the Collins faction in Cabinet who are fighting to water it down.
Written By: - Date published: 5:45 pm, June 11th, 2015 - 97 comments
Sometimes…often…I just can’t get my head around people who make obvious and simple things kinda difficult and fraught.
Written By: - Date published: 1:51 pm, June 11th, 2015 - 48 comments
National is appearing to be changing tack and trying to now blame a junior official rather than the Labour Party for the failure to complete the Gulf Free Trade Agreement. And the promised release of the relevant cabinet papers proving it was all Labour’s fault has still not occurred.
Written By: - Date published: 10:31 am, June 11th, 2015 - 80 comments
“[The TPP] appears to be designed to cripple New Zealand’s strong public healthcare programme and to inhibit the adoption of similar programmes in developing countries.”
Written By: - Date published: 12:17 pm, June 10th, 2015 - 82 comments
Hey Spark – this is a terrible, terrible decision…
Written By: - Date published: 10:26 am, June 10th, 2015 - 84 comments
Freeing up Auckland land for private development and sale at market rates isn’t going to cut it.
Written By: - Date published: 2:04 pm, June 9th, 2015 - 13 comments
Helen Kelly: “Sign our petition and tell John Key that you support better health and safety in workplaces!”
Written By: - Date published: 10:18 am, June 9th, 2015 - 101 comments
Advocates of Kiwisaver and other funded “retirement savings” schemes perpetuate the fundamental misunderstanding that “conventional” in New Zealand’s case “neo-liberal” economists, speculators, finance companies, politicians and those with a lot of share holding wealth in non-productive enterprises like to perpetuate.
Written By: - Date published: 8:50 am, June 9th, 2015 - 19 comments
Relationships Aotearoa is closing its doors today, as a result of ineptitude and indifference on the part of the Government. Claimed safeguards are looking incredibly shaky. Only three of the five organisations touted to take up the work are prepared to do so. And MSD has caused upset to the Privacy Commissioner by misrepresenting his views.
Written By: - Date published: 7:08 am, June 9th, 2015 - 69 comments
IN a breaking news update, the New Zealand Prime Minister has a revelation on Health and Safety
Written By: - Date published: 12:43 pm, June 8th, 2015 - 72 comments
An anonymous editorial in The Herald this morning really is atrocious. Apparently the limited uptake one of the Nats’ pet education policies is all the fault of the unions.
Written By: - Date published: 12:02 pm, June 7th, 2015 - 15 comments
Written By: - Date published: 10:51 am, June 7th, 2015 - 4 comments
Written By: - Date published: 7:11 am, June 6th, 2015 - 30 comments
According to the Ministry of Social Development child poverty is worse in NZ than in any European country. According to the Child Poverty Action Group new figures are going to show an increase in poverty. According to the coroner a damp unhealthy state house contributed to the death of a child. Welcome to the “brighter future”.
Written By: - Date published: 11:38 am, June 5th, 2015 - 26 comments
A superb piece by Dita De Boni on the Nats’ plans to privatise mental health. See also (and sign!) Labour’s open letter opposing the “social bonds” scheme.
Written By: - Date published: 9:22 am, June 5th, 2015 - 22 comments
Tova O’Brien has written an excellent piece on squabbles within National over health and safety legislation, calling it a disgrace and a power-play by the Collins faction.
Written By: - Date published: 10:40 am, June 2nd, 2015 - 61 comments
New Greens co-leader James Shaw on: climate change, ruling out coalition with National, creeping crony capitalism, and more…
Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, June 1st, 2015 - 92 comments
One News has reported that the Government is on the verge of introducing Social Bonds whereby investors in social services will be rewarded if targets are met.
Written By: - Date published: 11:54 am, May 29th, 2015 - 60 comments
Nice to see English acknowledging the importance of Kiwisaver – thanks Michael Cullen, thanks Helen Clark! I certainly support default enrollment. But – isn’t this Big Government Nanny State Gone Mad?
Written By: - Date published: 8:36 am, May 29th, 2015 - 38 comments
The legal suit offered as part justification for the Government paying $11 million to a Saudi businessman was apparently “off the table” at the time that Cabinet agreed to the payment. So why was the payment made? And why didn’t Murray McCully tell this to Cabinet or to Parliament earlier?
Written By: - Date published: 12:27 pm, May 28th, 2015 - 157 comments
This government has been artificiality buoyed by a diary boom, now the bust leaves us highly exposed.
Written By: - Date published: 8:54 am, May 28th, 2015 - 103 comments
It has emerged that the New Zealand Government has paid money to a Saudi businessman allegedly to settle a legal dispute that does not exist but more probably to persuade the Saudi Government to enter into a free trade agreement. Update – and maybe there was a threat of legal action but because of the actions of National, not Labour.
Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, May 27th, 2015 - 18 comments
Helen Kelly and the CTU have done a great job raising the issues of workplace health and safety. Have they even got the attention of some Nats? Apparently there are delays to proposed changes as some in caucus resist.
Written By: - Date published: 9:48 am, May 26th, 2015 - 4 comments
Should have covered this earlier – extracts from Gordon Campbell on the budget.
Written By: - Date published: 1:13 pm, May 25th, 2015 - 14 comments
So what is important to the people of Epsom? Paul Goldsmith in his Newsletter recently told us what is important to him and suggested what might be important to us.
Written By: - Date published: 10:14 am, May 25th, 2015 - 21 comments
A marked drop in mortgagee sales recently. Good news?
Written By: - Date published: 9:31 am, May 25th, 2015 - 197 comments
National has again refused to consider doing anything about the future of Superannuation. Yet its policies of increasing Crown debt, stopping contributions to the Cullen Fund and attacking Kiwisaver have made a discussion about the future of superannuation more important than ever.
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