The Standard

Daily review 25/06/2025

Written By: - Date published: 5:30 pm, June 25th, 2025 - 9 comments
Categories: Daily review - Tags:

Daily review is also your post.

This provides Standardistas the opportunity to review events of the day.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Don’t forget to be kind to each other …

9 comments on “Daily review 25/06/2025 ”

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  1. SPC 1
    25 June 2025 at 6:00 pm

    And the government says the world will not notice, we are no longer followers in common cause … little wonder our voice is going quiet.

    A lot to be humble about.

    Funny thing is this

    Resources Minister Shane Jones last week revealed to the Herald that New Zealand would put “to the sword” its involvement with “such an indulgent, vanity-belief community”.

    Will Shane Jones expect the Minister of Foreign Affairs to trumpet his pompous words to the wider world or not?

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/new-zealand-abandons-global-alliance-on-oil-gas-phase-out-greens-concerned-about-reputational-risk/BMUAMABY5RCE3L4VD6TBJC7ZAA/

  2. Drowsy M. Kram 2
    25 June 2025 at 6:39 pm

    Another major bank lowers house price expectations [24 June 2025]

    Hmm, a lukewarm (investment) housing market and weak consumer confidence – maybe the CoC isn't so bad after all. Luxcon going slower to go faster – shame about R&D.

  3. Ad 3
    25 June 2025 at 7:56 pm

    Fantastic news to see the Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani take our Cuomo in the New York Mayoral primary.

    Yes it's just the Primary.

    But well done AOC and Bernie for backing a v strong left candidate.

    He wants a rent freeze and free bus trips for all.

    Hope he makes it.

    • Phillip ure 3.1
      25 June 2025 at 8:14 pm

      Hopefully he will be a stalking horse for anti trump sentiment..and that will sweep him into office…

      And Adams is so corrupt..he is the perfect opponent for a reformer..

    • Bearded Git 3.2
      25 June 2025 at 11:16 pm

      +100

  4. joe90 4
    25 June 2025 at 9:33 pm

    Dementia Donnie's sun-downing

    President Trump posted a new video on Truth Social featuring a compilation of videos of B-2 stealth fighter jets dropping bombs along with the 1980 song “Bomb Iran” by Vince Vance & the Valiants.

    The song, a parody of the 1961 song “Barbara Ann” by the Regents, plays over a video of various B-2 stealth fighter jets, which were used to drop 14 GBU-57 bunker busters bombs in Iran.

    https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/5367873-trump-posts-video-with-bomb-iran-song-amid-ceasefire/

  5. SPC 5
    25 June 2025 at 9:53 pm

    More than 9000 people aged over 65 earn more than $200,000 a year, and another 33,000 earn between $100,000 and $200,000 – and the Retirement Commissioner says it's fair to question whether they should be able to claim NZ Super as well.

    $1Bpa not paying that 40,000 ($500 per week super).

    Just over 24% of people aged over 65 were in work, up from 22.1% in 2013. The biggest increase was among people aged 70 to 74.

    "Then you absolutely have to look at means-testing again. It's really unpopular but it would be improper if we didn't look at all the sensible options if the goal is to reduce the cost to the state."

    Really?

    The alternative is an estate tax.

    She said it would be easy to capture the earnings of people being paid a salary while receiving NZ Super but much harder to assess other income.

    The past surtax was questioned because it included income derived from savings.

    University of Auckland associate professor Susan St John earlier outlined a plan to treat NZ Super as a tax-free basic income grant and put recipients on a higher tax rate.

    She said it would be a better option than the age of eligibility or the amount paid.

    It would create a situation where there was a break-even point beyond which people would be better off, on a net basis, not claiming NZ Super and instead being taxed at standard rates.

    She said the tax scales she had modelled were less harsh than the abatement that applied to people receiving a benefit.

    My test would exempt those not owning assets and paying rent. And only target work income.

    Simplicity chief economist Shamubeel Eaqub said means and income testing in Australia meant that only about 60% of the population would qualify for the pension. If that were true in New Zealand, it could save about $9b a year.

    The first $1 is easy (see above). The rest is a surtax on some, not all.

    It would be easy to sell if it was money to enable funding of old aged care/housing, hospices etc.

    And increase to age 70 should come with benefits paid at the super rate from age 60 to those not working and or unable to work. The savings should not come at the expense of people being in poverty.

    https://www.1news.co.nz/2025/06/25/thousands-of-over-65s-earn-over-200000-should-they-get-nz-super/

    • SPC 5.1
      26 June 2025 at 11:52 am

      It would be easy to sell if it was money to enable funding of old aged care/housing, hospices etc.

      If no changes to super where will they act.

      Well, here it is outlined.

      Rather than the well to do, the sick who have assets.

      It comes as the Government readies for a major overhaul of funding to prepare for the “grey wave” of baby boomers who will need beds.

      Aged (residential) care includes different levels of care – rest home, hospital, dementia and psychogeriatric.

      37,000 residents in residential care.

      https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360728978/aged-care-investigation-blind-and-deaf-98-year-old-died-isolation

      The means testing will continue, more from those who have (home ownership asset).

      Documents obtained by Stuff show the Aged Care Association has sent modelling to Seniors Minister Casey Costello, that suggested the cost for “high means” residents getting hospital-level care should rise by more than $55,000 a year.

      For others with fewer assets, contributions would not change.

      The average time somebody spends in aged care is about 18 months.

      “There’s two ways this is going to be paid for – one is either by more taxes, or the other is by some kind of means testing around those that can pay, do pay.”

      Means testing was a “really challenging conversation”, Costello said, but “an important part of how we look at sustainable care into the future”.

      “But we’ve also got to be cognisant of the fact that you have to have a system that allows us to support those that do not have assets … we see an increasing amount of people that are still paying mortgages or don’t own their own home at all. So we’ve got to have a system that allows us to accommodate for both.”

      If they own assets over a threshold – $284,636 for a single person and $155,873 if their partner still lives in the community, and they wish to exclude the value of their home and car – they pay the maximum contribution for the area the care home is in.

      Health NZ says that on average, residents who own assets above the threshold pay $75,300, GST inclusive, a year. However, premium room charges – increasingly common and which range from about $10 to $100 a day – will be on top of this.

      37,000 at $75,000 pa – 2.5-3Bpa.

      New Zealand is at the early stages of the most significant demographic change in the country’s history. Over the next decade, the surge in the numbers of older people will place huge demands on the aged care and hospital sectors,” the report said.

      “However, given the current macroeconomic environment and the Government’s focus on reducing debt and expenditure, any solution must be nuanced to provide adequate funding for high-quality care without substantially increasing government contributions.”

      Including those with assets in trusts

      changing means testing by strengthening the ability to investigate whether the use of trusts is fair. The latter step was estimated to increase the proportion of people with assets above the threshold from 32% to 37%.

      Low means residents paid the same as they did currently under the modelled changes, the report stated.

      Costello also cited the polling in Australia, and said, in New Zealand, the popularity of occupation right agreements (ORAs) – contracts that require an upfront payment to receive care in a care suite/serviced apartment – showed “the appetite to pay, if you can pay”.

      The minister wouldn’t put a timeframe on when the funding review would be finished, but said she wanted “a clear direction of travel” before the next election.

      Home and community care must also be available and working well, Costello said, and housing options – “in lots of areas there’s nothing to downsize to”.

      In her letter to Costello, Martin noted a recent government report had identified that by 2043, 9 out of 10 hospital beds would be filled with someone aged over 65, unless funding changes enabled the aged care sector to increase capacity to provide “recover” or “step down care” beds, where older people could be discharged to.

      About 20% of the aged residential care sector is run by charities/not-for-profit organisations. The rest are for-profit businesses – ranging from small owner-operated facilities to those run by large publicly-listed companies.

      Quite apart from means testing is the funding cost to government of increasing aged care capacity.

      What this is forecast to be might be in 3/4 of this series.

      https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/360729497/revealed-why-aged-care-costs-could-rocket-some-kiwis