Campbell live to go and a second hair incident
Interestingly two stories have broken during the presentation of the Budget. John Campbell has quit TV3 and a further hair incident involving John Key has hit the news.
Banks let down by the Crown (but not the judiciary)
I support any decision he makes to lay a complaint with the NZ Law Society against the taxpayer funded prosecutor/s who made the decision to breach their obligation to the Court and to hold the AG’s feet to the fire regarding a rigorous investigation of the withholding of the memorandum.
TPPA and sovereignty
Grosser has confirmed that the TPPA (if it ever happens) will contain “ISDS” provisions that could limit the scope of our sovereignty by allowing foreign corporations to sue NZ.
Dotcom’s open letter to Banks
Last night Kim Dotcom released an open letter to John Banks.
Budget 2015 – A reactive budget
A panicked response to the Auckland property crisis. A welcome (albeit inadequate) adjustment to benefit rates. Public pressure is forcing action on the Left’s political agenda. Still no surplus, and no one believes the projected one next year. A reactive budget – there is no vision.
Open mike 21/05/2015
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Daily review 20/05/2015
Daily review is also your post. This provides Standarnistas 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.
Andrew Little: the night before budget
Andrew Little in Parliament being all poetic about the night before budget day.
Masters of Finance? 2
ILO – 75% of world jobs insecure
Only a quarter of the world’s workers have permanent jobs. A worldwide trend away from secure jobs risked “perpetuating a vicious circle of weak global demand and slow job creation” that has dogged many countries since the 2008 crisis, the ILO reports. Decoupling of wages from productivity has led to a loss of aggregate demand the report estimates at $3.7trillion.
Masters of Finance?
And they’ll be grateful!
Bill English tells us that the promise that they won the election on – that they’re the only Masters of Finance who could balance the government books (because that’s all that’s important…) – now isn’t at all important to the public.
And Bill tells us: they’ll get their surplus when I give it to them, and they’ll be grateful for it.
Young Labour and sex change ops
Young Labour has proposed that there is public funding for hormone replacement therapy and gender reassignment. Jonathan Coleman described the proposal as “absolutely nuts” but it then emerged that there is already some public funding for this treatment. And the media tried to suggest that some off the cuff comments by Labour MPs is evidence of division.
Polity on Housing
Rob had a couple of great posts on National & Housing yesterday, as they are all over the place on it. Still trying to point the finger at Helen Clark because average house prices in Auckland rose $219,000 in the 9 years of the last Labour government; but it’s no longer crisis after a further $313,000 rise in 7 years of National.
National literally want to hide the costs of inaction on climate change
We the people only learned of Treasury projections on the costs of inaction on climate change (up to $52 billion) because someone screwed up a redacted document. We were never meant to know. And National’s Minister for Climate Change Issues statement on the matter is that Treasury should have done a better job of hiding this vital information from the public.
Open mike 20/05/2015
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Tolleyisms
We haven’t cut their funding, there’s just been a change in their contract = We’ve cut their funding $4.8 million
Daily review 19/05/2015
Daily review is also your post. This provides Standarnistas 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.
John Banks; Conviction Quashed
John Banks has been acquitted of electoral fraud and his re-trial has been abandoned. Kim Dotcom has once again failed to follow through. Banks vs Goff in next year’s mayoralty race?
Curiouser and curiouser
Creepy Key has dodged a question from the Green Party about any contact he may have had with the New Zealand Fox News Herald in the lead-up to Rachel Glucina’s hit job on the cafe worker who’s ponytail he pulled.
Herald praises Cunliffe for CGT policy
The Herald has praised David Cunliffe with changing public opinion about the introduction of a capital gains tax. And rubbished John Key’s suggestion that the announced limited tax on increasing housing values is not a capital gains tax.
Climate “consultation” – Fix Our Future
The government is “consulting” we the people on New Zealand’s climate change target. You can use Generation Zero’s Fix Our Future site to make a submission. Do it!
Rushed policy is bad policy
National’s policy opens the door to more effective capital gains tax, thus irritating investors and their base, while probably not achieving anything in practice. The worst of both worlds. Bonus question – does this policy effectively underwrite losses when the property bubble bursts? Plus another bonus John Key lie!
Open mike 19/05/2015
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …
Daily Review 18/05/2015
Daily review is also your post. This provides Standarnistas 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.
Mapital Mains Max
John Key is now arguing that black is white – that a Tax on Capital Gains isn’t a Capital Gains Tax.
“Typical politician” many will say – and that shows how far John Key’s skills have fallen.
Burning issues of the day
Poverty and the budget
The levels of poverty and inequality in NZ are a disgrace. Apparently the budget is to “arrest the decline”, but we have heard such promises again and again from Key.
Deborah Russell: Preliminary thoughts on the Government’s new tax
Deborah Russell is a senior lecturer in taxation at Massey University and was Labour’s candidate in Rangitīkei in the 2014 general election. In this post she sets out her preliminary views on National’s new tax.
CGT: the focus groups made Key do it
According to John Key the proposed tax on capital gains if a property is sold within two years of purchase is not a capital gains tax, there is no housing bubble in Auckland, and the proposed new tax does not represent a complete about face by the Government.
“The poor have a better life than King Henry VIII did” – Matthew Hooton
Just two years ago, leading lights in the neo-liberal cult were denying the existence of poverty in New Zealand. In the semi-public havens of the rich, it was the messengers who were being abused for rattling the neo-liberal cognitive dissonance with pesky facts and sympathetic portrayals of actual poor people.
Open mike 18/05/2015
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Capital gains tax to be introduced
National appears to be doing an about face on a Capital Gains Tax for housing.
Are the left really angry?
The latest attacks on the left involves the right claiming that left activists are too angry and hurting labour’s chances in the UK as well as New Zealand.
Human Synergistics, Richard Prebble, and the end of government
Back in March 1988 David Lange had a clear idea about what lay ahead for New Zealanders as the long-term consequences of Roger Douglas’ psychopathic worshipping of the metaphysical Invisible Hand gradually materialised.
Open mike 17/05/2015
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …