New Zealand’s worst leadership speech since 2008
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.
Economy
economy
President Biden’s Accomplishments
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.
Who would have thought that austerity would stuff up the economy
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.
Economy Nose Dives
The economy is tanking and Treasury has downgraded the forecasts again after “the government inherited finances in better shape than expected” in January. So who is Nicola Willis blaming, and Winston Peters too?
Nicola Willis Deflects As National Splurge On Roads
Nicola Willis deflects a question on why National are spending billions on roads without a business case – after cancelling the 2026 i-Rex – which had a strong business case and required $1.4bn more to complete seismic upgraded ports and next generation ferries.
The Promises of Lange, Moore, Bolger, and the WTO
In 2024 we ought to ask if the economic reforms of the 1980s and 1990s has delivered on what was promised.
A Deliberate Recession
It is sickening to see how economic power is being used against ordinary New Zealanders right now.
Back on Track?
National campaigned on the promise of getting the country back on track. How is it going?
Why Labour must change course
“A Left government with any claim to progressive credentials will focus on three policy areas – first, high-quality, high value production; second, taxation measures to reduce significantly wealth differences; third, strengthened democracy, including industrial democracy beyond collective bargaining. These three are indispensable. A Left politics, which does not build on these three, will founder.”
Highlights quoted out of the National-New Zealand First coalition agreement
Some of the more unusual policies from the National-New Zealand First coalition agreement.
Green growth or degrowth?
There is growing scepticism among climate policy researchers about green growth, as concepts of degrowth go mainstream.
Tax or quality public services – which is more important to NZ voters?
Earlier this year Andrew Marr wrote in the New Statesmen, that Britain’s problem was that it wanted Scandinavian levels of Public Services and North American levels of taxation. His view was that Britain was overdue for an honest debate about tax and public spending. In New Zealand, there is a similar challenge.
National really, really needs New Zealand to be in a recession
After Stats NZ shot down National’s claim that the country is in recession National pirouetted by claiming that New Zealand WILL be in recession in the near future and that the Reserve Bank has predicted this. But according to the Reserve Bank this may not be true …
NZ Election: National’s tax policy
A year ago this month, the Liz Truss/Kwasi Kwarteng mini-budget destroyed once and for all the myth that the Tories are better at managing the economy. The New Zealand National Party could not even wait until they were in government to prove the same applies to them.
Understanding the New Zealand General Election 2023: Historical trends and perspectives.
From the outside, the New Zealand 2023 General Election seems both lacklustre and slightly strange. The Labour Government, having won a huge majority in 2020 is now fighting for its political life. Yet National, the main centre-right opposition party is still on average polling significantly worse now than they were when it lost power in 2017.
Critics of ‘degrowth’ economics say it’s unworkable – but from an ecologist’s perspective, it’s inevitable
Dr Mike Joy on the ecological imperative of degrowth
Climate extremes make NZ’s supply chains highly vulnerable – it’s time to rethink how we grow and ship food
“It’s clear domestic food supply chains have been increasingly challenged by natural disasters and the ongoing impact of climate change.”
Our Great De-Leveraging
Debt is the most destructive and addictive form of economic behaviour we have in New Zealand. And mortgages are New Zealand’s very high grade heroin and we are being forced to come down off a most spectacular high into a rage-inducing forced withdrawal.
How come government doesn’t improve our economy?
When we continue to spend our money on stupid stuff, we get a dumb country.
Chloe Swarbrick: We don’t live in a game of Monopoly
The case for redistribution of wealth in New Zealand.
Towards National Recovery
Just over seven months from the election the Labour government has been granted as great a political momentum as that leading into the 2020 election.
The end of the post war boom
Throughout my time being active in politics, people have discussed the rise of Neo-Liberalism and the free market that occurred throughout much of the world from the late 1970s onwards. Yet few seem to really understand the reasons for this significant shift in economic policy at that time, which continues to shape our society today.
Richard Heinberg: The Final Doubling
Can humans decouple resource overuse from economic growth?
Labour’s big reset
New Zealand politics is at an interesting stage. With announcements about Ministerial futures pending and with a review of all current projects to occur over Christmas Jadinda Ardern is planning to repurpose Labour to have its best chance in the election next year.
Diplomatic Values
Trudeau got a 10-minute stand-up with Xi followed by a public shirt-fronting, Albanese a 32-minute sit-down, and Jacinda Ardern a 50-minute formal bilateral. In the carefully calibrated world of the diplomatic dance-card, that says something. New Zealand would be foolish not to take advantage of what is on offer from China.
Can We Prepare for 2023?
2023 is going to hit New Zealanders hard. Since the 2011 Christchurch earthquakes New Zealand has been beset by a new major crisis about once every two years. 2022 was our year off and get ready we are in for a strange and hard recession.
Why Is Labour Such a Hard Sell Now?
So why is Labour and Ardern struggling when the economy is so strong?
Democracy is on the Ballot – watershed US midterms this week.
At a campaign event last week President Biden said that in these mid-term elections “democracy is on the ballot”. This is absolutely true, and the outcome will be decided by those who show up to vote.
How Brexit Shanked Britain
The political and economic disasters now unfolding in Britain are the responsibility of the Conservative Party from their 2016 Brexit vote through to now.
Minister Robertson, UK Pensions, and Risk
The political question is whether Kiwis currently losing money on paper can remember this: all investment involves risk and it’s entirely fair for our government to only manage so much of that risk and for the rest to fall on us the investor. Will irrational anxiety beat rational risk in our upcoming politics?
Even more anarchy in the UK
I never thought that I would write a post suggesting that Boris Johnson’s reign as UK Prime Minister was not so bad. But that is the state that we have reached as Liz Truss sacks Kwasi Kwarteng for implementing her policies. And polling suggests that if an election was held tomorrow the Tories could win as few as four seats.
If Truss was the answer it is difficult to work out what the question was
Liz Truss has been UK Prime Minister for just over three weeks. Instead of enjoying a honeymoon in a short term she has crashed the UK economy and political support for her party and her days must be numbered.
Why Is New Zealand So Strong?
As New Zealand signs up to another alliance to shore up our economic security in the face of fast retreats in economic globalisation, it’s worth taking stock of why New Zealand’s economy is so strong.
The politics of high inflation – can governments do anything?
It is clear that we will continue to face these economic challenges with tools that are ill-equipped to face the problems. Only a truly international response can create an economy that delivers for all.
Budget Day: there are real alternatives
Budget Day, where our centre left neoliberal government straddles the line between compassion and BAU. Given the pressures of climate, the pandemic and global instability, what are the real alternatives?
Can This Government Be Saved?
Can Labour win a third term? Here are some pathways up, and some pathways down.