Politics 🗳️ NZ Politics

miket12 said:
I was approached by a man who had set up a charity that was "hidden" in a trust where it would provide "emergency" housing while not paying tax. The beneficiaries of the trust were his children. Once there that been enough equity built up in the houses through government funding, he was going to close the charity, sell off the houses and "give" the money to his kids. All the time, his children were going to be employed by the trust to "manage" the houses.

I told him I wasn't interested in doing the documentation necessary for the project.
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Yeah that stinks to high heaven

There is regulation on charities (which I am aware only), which sounds like he’d be falling short on. Trusts themselves have a purpose.

Though with a lot of our tax system, you can get away with a lot if you want to break the rules. Until you get caught. Same as smuggling drugs or doing cashies. Preventative controls aren’t there. Detective controls are weak but are in place
 

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Watch: Hipkins says leaker of Labour’s capital gains tax policy will be ousted from party if found

Labour says all CGT revenue would go towards health spending including free GP visits.
www.nzherald.co.nz www.nzherald.co.nz

Leaked policy. Seems maybe the party aren't all united on this. Hipkins starting to look like he isn't in control of his team or policy. This, the health policy bungle, the inability to name a business that would benefit from his future plan. Must only be a matter of time before McAnulty takes over?
 
defensivebomb said:
Yeah that stinks to high heaven

There is regulation on charities (which I am aware only), which sounds like he’d be falling short on. Trusts themselves have a purpose.

Though with a lot of our tax system, you can get away with a lot if you want to break the rules. Until you get caught. Same as smuggling drugs or doing cashies. Preventative controls aren’t there. Detective controls are weak but are in place
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What annoys me even more is the ability of a developer to close one business (limited liability company) only to start up another one to avoid liability if something goes wrong. TBH, the changes the government is proposing to limit the exposure of the councils will end up making it even worse. It's all designed to protect those who should do better (council, consultants, developers) while exposing even more those who are innocent through the building process... the eventual owner of the building.

One of the most ridiculous things we allow is when consultants are able to limit their liability by putting it on others. The classic one is when you get a geotechnical report prepared. You'd expect that you should be able to rely on the information contained in it and be able to build your structure according to it but most of them aren't worth the paper they're written on as they contain a clause that will say "it is the clients responsiblity to ensure the ground conditions are the same as what is written in the report". How the hell is a client supposed to kknow the bearing strength of the soil? They don't undertake the lab tests of soil samples like the geotech engineer gets done. They don't know if the share strength is the same as what's in the report. That's why they get the report done anyway.

And then the reports get even worse. The ones prepared for a subdivision final report will state that it's only been prepared for use by the developer.... meaning that the builder/owner can't rely on it because they don't have permission to use it.

The reason building has become so expensive in NZ..... the whole industry is more interested in covering their butts than actually producing good products. The house I live in now, I did the architectural drawings for it over 30 years ago... and it took the equivalent of 6 A3 drawing sheets.... I've just finished off the drawings for a 29m² addition (bedroom, w/r and ensuite) for a client in Papatoetoe with the same exterior products on the roof and walls and it took over 25 A3 drawings. And Council have sent through an email requesting more details and more manufacturer's product information
 
miket12 said:
What annoys me even more is the ability of a developer to close one business (limited liability company) only to start up another one to avoid liability if something goes wrong. TBH, the changes the government is proposing to limit the exposure of the councils will end up making it even worse. It's all designed to protect those who should do better (council, consultants, developers) while exposing even more those who are innocent through the building process... the eventual owner of the building.

One of the most ridiculous things we allow is when consultants are able to limit their liability by putting it on others. The classic one is when you get a geotechnical report prepared. You'd expect that you should be able to rely on the information contained in it and be able to build your structure according to it but most of them aren't worth the paper they're written on as they contain a clause that will say "it is the clients responsiblity to ensure the ground conditions are the same as what is written in the report". How the hell is a client supposed to kknow the bearing strength of the soil? They don't undertake the lab tests of soil samples like the geotech engineer gets done. They don't know if the share strength is the same as what's in the report. That's why they get the report done anyway.

And then the reports get even worse. The ones prepared for a subdivision final report will state that it's only been prepared for use by the developer.... meaning that the builder/owner can't rely on it because they don't have permission to use it.

The reason building has become so expensive in NZ..... the whole industry is more interested in covering their butts than actually producing good products. The house I live in now, I did the architectural drawings for it over 30 years ago... and it took the equivalent of 6 A3 drawing sheets.... I've just finished off the drawings for a 29m² addition (bedroom, w/r and ensuite) for a client in Papatoetoe with the same exterior products on the roof and walls and it took over 25 A3 drawings. And Council have sent through an email requesting more details and more manufacturer's product information
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It always to me felt like it was obvious who the enemy was when extra money was to be put into chasing beneficiaries despite the potential reap fairly minimal, while white collar crime didn’t get the same treatment
 
Noitall said:
It always to me felt like it was obvious who the enemy was when extra money was to be put into chasing beneficiaries despite the potential reap fairly minimal, while white collar crime didn’t get the same treatment
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Annoys me every time we hear the cries from politicians about the "expectations" those receiving a benefit have (only buy these products, go to this many interviews, move to another part of the country).... while letting white collar crime not getting treated the same. Putting a mother in jail because of benefit fraud will only make things worse for her family.... but how does home detention for someone who has ripped off their employer or the IRD make things better? Buggered if I know mate!!!
 
miket12 said:
Annoys me every time we hear the cries from politicians about the "expectations" those receiving a benefit have (only buy these products, go to this many interviews, move to another part of the country).... while letting white collar crime not getting treated the same. Putting a mother in jail because of benefit fraud will only make things worse for her family.... but how does home detention for someone who has ripped off their employer or the IRD make things better? Buggered if I know mate!!!
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Even Luxon with the "entitlement's I'm entitled too" when renting his own freehold apartment was pretty galling.

Social Welfare is an entitlement citizens are entitled too - but we have no issues meddling with them and punching down on those who receive them.
 
miket12 said:
There's a rumour going around that at least two mps won't stand for Te Pati māori at the next election but will switch to Labour. Reading the stuff article, it's not to hard to see who two of them may be.
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Wouldn't surprise me to see a majority of TPM seats switch back to Labour next election which will put them in a strong negotiating position.
 
miket12 said:
There's a rumour going around that at least two mps won't stand for Te Pati māori at the next election but will switch to Labour. Reading the stuff article, it's not to hard to see who two of them may be.
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Will be interesting to see how many echo the sentiment her son has and feel a dissatisfaction with the direction of the party
 
MaybeTop8 said:
As always with the right in this country there's guidance from their masters and adherence to hard right think tanks. https://e-tangata.co.nz/comment-and-analysis/the-imported-ideology-behind-education-reform/
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And yet more kids now have a future based on the significant improvements from the changes we saw last week.

We’ve had 20 years of left wing ideology failure in education so anything’s better….

Like copying what all the successful education systems do in the world instead of inventing our own system!
 
Good start to the 2026 financial year for Freightways - NZ economy no longer a headwind, modest same customer growth. This company is referred to as the barometer for the NZ economy so positive news and in line with what I’ve been saying. We’re through the worst of it.
 
wizard of Tauranga said:
And yet more kids now have a future based on the significant improvements from the changes we saw last week.

We’ve had 20 years of left wing ideology failure in education so anything’s better….

Like copying what all the successful education systems do in the world instead of inventing our own system!
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www.rnz.co.nz

Principals urge halt to NCEA change plans

The plan comes at the expense of students who aren't uni-bound but have other strengths, they say.
www.rnz.co.nz www.rnz.co.nz

I thought it would have been reasonable to consider where these 89 principals were coming from and the concerns over what the attitude will be to future work seekers regarding the learning that could be deemed useless through the time questioned. Not everyone excels in exam type settings and some students are better in a structure where they pick up credits through the year
 
wizard of Tauranga said:
And yet more kids now have a future based on the significant improvements from the changes we saw last week.

We’ve had 20 years of left wing ideology failure in education so anything’s better….

Like copying what all the successful education systems do in the world instead of inventing our own system!
Click to expand...
Our results were going backwards over a number of years and Governments of both sides. Something had to change.

Certainly there has been a change in society over that period, other countries must have faced similar challenges in that regard. So if its not what's being taught then it has to be how its being taught or it has to be the people doing the teaching.

Remember the outrage about a simple thing like banning cell phones in schools..... No one is ranting about that now because it was the right thing to do and it was successful. Removing open plan classrooms is another change which I think will have a positive effect. Curriculum had to be part of it as well didn't it?

You can't claim a world leading education system and have the results we do. And you can't go on strike wanting better pay and better conditions but not be willing to accept changes from your bosses that are trying to improve the results we currently have.

Add to this the unions being aligned so closely with Labour that it makes it much more political than it should be - to the point that the same phrases are being used by the union leaders and opposition politicians. It would be interesting to know what they would change back and how they would make things better in education if they return to power rather than doing the MBT8 signature thing and rant about everything that's being done regardless.
 
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