Politics 🗳️ NZ Politics

[Bruce]

Have always been and will always be WINZ for farmers.
And it's not a big leap to know that big-think from farmers (and National govts), whether milk (powder) or water theft (dams) & degradation, living year by year on credit etc etc as the 'backbone' of the country for generations, is also our Achilles heel.
When told to account for themselves the act like the most entitled. Asked to clean their collective act up they act like the most entitled in the country, which they've all been for yonks.
Don't get me wrong, I think they're important, but they don't give a shite about the rest of us and having a country so reliant on exports from one sector is ludicrous when Propping that sector up continuously negates the gains over time.
NZ has a cyclical habit that sees National favour bailing out the farmers with subsidies and 'big think' then the rest of us voting in Labour to clean up the mess (by, horror, trying to spread the opportunity across the 'working class' sector and 'have-nots' ( which also costs), and on-and-on it goes.
This time Labour DID have to deal with extra-odinary circumstances inluding a downturn in returns from whole world effect of covid & all sorts of other outside influences.
So now once again National has all the answers? Same old, same old if you ask me
About time this country thinks long-term instead of in 3-yr cycles

Years ago I went into the boardroom of Federated Farmers in Wellington. It was quite an impressive room.

I commented on it to the guy showing me through, he said they used to pick the cabinet in there!!!!!

That was a long time ago. Federated Farmers has no political clout at all now.

That is part of the problem, after 1987, and the wool price crash, farming has deteriorated here just the same as it has in most developed countries.

It is no secret that the cost of cleaning up the waterways from dairy pollution will be more than what the economy is earning rom the exports.

Australia will be stuffed like Nauru one day, maybe in 100 years!!!.. We are close to being stuffed now.

 

[Bruce]

Wizards as one who professes to watch the media you should know that they are only interested in HEADLINES.

That is because that is all most people read, just like going to a book an dreading the last chapter.

I follow multiple sources with my main one probably being the NZ herald.

Heyzeuss spare me!!! I read it every day, Takes about 5 minutes!!! It is glorified letters to the editor.

 

[Bruce]

You probably need to go deep than NZ Herald to get the quality of coverage you're after

I regularly read & listen too

Newsroom
The Spinoff (Gone By Lunchtime podcast)
RNZ (select shows & podcasts)
NZ Herald & Stuff
North & South Magazine (probably the best in-depth journalism in the country but went broke)
The Listner

Bernard Hickey, Russell Brown are bloggers I think do great coverage.

I read the Guardian for more international views.

I keep an eye on the Platform because I like to hear what they're up too.

I'd be really interested to hear about quality right leaning journalism from NZ.

WTF? Mathew Hooton...Does Mike Hosking actually write anything?
Bernard Hickey is excellent on economic analysis. I subscribe to his blog.
Jonathan Milne and Newsroom pro is good as well.
I follow Puck from Washington, but might drop it soon, a bit too much Merka centred.
I still find twitter good value.. Many good commentators put their stuff on there.

 

[Possum11]

Hoping for a national-nz first government rather than national-act government

 

[Rick O’Shay]

Have a Herald subscription as I like their puzzles and they at least publish some of my shouting at clouds letters. Also read the Listener for much the same reasons. As I spend a fair bit of time in Oz, also have a subscription to the Courier Mail

Some interesting blogs out there I follow

Bowalley Road
Against the Current
No Right Turn
Kiwiblog
No Punches pulled
The Daily Blog
Cranmers substack
Breaking Views

Some left, some right, some funny, some with in depth analysis and some purely emotional. Bit like here!

 

[Inruin]

We aren't the clean and green country we are made out to be. We are poor at providing service to tourists. We currently have fairly rampant and visible crime. We are losing our image of being a safe country to visit. It's not exactly cheap to visit here either. We do have a number of success stories in terms of people who have managed to do well for themselves. There unfortunately are an increasing number who don't want to. Much like our education system, we still get some driven, bright students who attain great results but the reality is our education system is failing many more than ever. China's economy is facing a downturn and consumption is falling. Nothing to do with exporting cows and if it is, we aren't the only country China could turn to for that.

We can all point out the good things about us but it takes more than that to succeed as a country. I feel we hamstring ourselves far too much and while we highlight the Peter Jacksons (who people criticised and the government at the time for subsidizing the industry - then Robyn Malcolm got involved too and that went well....). Taika, Scott Dixon etc the list is largely individuals who have done well for themselves, mostly by having to go overseas to do it, where is the innovation that is going to provide export dollars and income and lift wealth, and I struggle to see why we are settling for the highlighted success stories when we could and should have so many more. Are they a success because of where they are from or in spite of where they are from? Probably a mix of both if we are honest.

Yes, we have a nice country to live in and so much to like about it. The thing is it could be so much better and that's what frustrates people I think.

 

[Noitall]

China's economy is facing a downturn and consumption is falling. Nothing to do with exporting cows and if it is, we aren't the only country China could turn to for that.

China’s downturn is due to a massive infrastructure provider collapsing, their lack of appetite for dairy from NZ is 100% because of what they have inherited from us. All part and parcel of their purge of the pacific.

 

[Bruce]

national-nz first

that is how we got Cindy and the Kiwibuild crew

 

[juju]

We aren't the clean and green country we are made out to be. We are poor at providing service to tourists. We currently have fairly rampant and visible crime. We are losing our image of being a safe country to visit. It's not exactly cheap to visit here either. We do have a number of success stories in terms of people who have managed to do well for themselves. There unfortunately are an increasing number who don't want to. Much like our education system, we still get some driven, bright students who attain great results but the reality is our education system is failing many more than ever. China's economy is facing a downturn and consumption is falling. Nothing to do with exporting cows and if it is, we aren't the only country China could turn to for that.

We can all point out the good things about us but it takes more than that to succeed as a country. I feel we hamstring ourselves far too much and while we highlight the Peter Jacksons (who people criticised and the government at the time for subsidizing the industry - then Robyn Malcolm got involved too and that went well....). Taika, Scott Dixon etc the list is largely individuals who have done well for themselves, mostly by having to go overseas to do it, where is the innovation that is going to

Who said it settling? It's highlight positives of a country of 5 million people in one of the remotest locations of the globe.

The cost / affordability to visit New Zealand here is dictated by the variances in the NZ dollar...

The cost of living crisis in the country comes from monopolies that provide essential services and their unchecked profits at the expense of the consumer.

Don't the issues you mention saying "where are our business innovators" highlight that the countries obsession & expectation with making money from something as unproductive as buying an extra house or 20 has not been good for the country. I guess National making that more attractive again will solve all the countries issues.

You and wiz need to stop jerking each other off in this thread and get some perspective of the situation

 

[Bruce]

We aren't the clean and green country we are made out to be.

We never have been, like you would not believe.

the reality is our education system is failing many more than ever

Right wing philosophy is if you need education, go and pay for it. Actually, it has to be admitted, that in early civilizations e.g. Polynesia, education is seen as only necessary for those who society see need it.

 

[Inruin]

China’s downturn is due to a massive infrastructure provider collapsing, their lack of appetite for dairy from NZ is 100% because of what they have inherited from us. All part and parcel of their purge of the pacific.

It may be a very small part but it categorically isn't even close to 100%

 

[juju]

We never have been, like you would not believe.

Right wing philosophy is if you need education, go and pay for it. Actually, it has to be admitted, that in early civilizations e.g. Polynesia, education is seen as only necessary for those who society see need it.

Thats the other hilarious leap of logic - National are going to solve education - yet all send their kids to private school.

Sure...

 

[Noitall]

It may be a very small part but it categorically isn't even close to 100%

100%

 

[Inruin]

Who said it settling? It's highlight positives of a country of 5 million people in one of the remotest locations of the globe.

The cost / affordability to visit New Zealand here is dictated by the variances in the NZ dollar...

The cost of living crisis in the country comes from monopolies that provide essential services and their unchecked profits at the expense of the consumer.

Don't the issues you mention saying "where are our business innovators" highlight that the countries obsession & expectation with making money from something as unproductive as buying an extra house or 20 has not been good for the country. I guess National making that more attractive again will solve all the countries issues.

You and wiz need to stop jerking each other off in this thread and get some perspective of the situation

Bit touchy there mate. Simply highlighting that yes we have success stories but don't let that mask underlying issues hamstringing the country. Didn't even mention a political party.

You talk about monopolies with unchecked profits causing the cost of living crisis, yet this current government has done deep dives on petrol and grocery and want to look at banks. They have found very little, if anything out of what one would expect for a businesses margins. In fact the Government actually has poured fuel in that fire and prices still going up ...

I think it's yourself that doesn't have the perspective. Seems to me that as long as there is Taika or Lorde to point to as success everything is rosy with you.

What portion of the population has more than one house? Innovation and increasing exports is not reliant on whether someone buys an extra house or not as an investment.

 

[Possum11]

that is how we got Cindy and the Kiwibuild crew

Jacinda Ardern put NZ on the world stage as did John Key to a certain degree

 

[Inruin]

Thats the other hilarious leap of logic - National are going to solve education - yet all send their kids to private school.

Sure...

I wonder what the curriculum looks like in those schools and the standard of teaching?

You would think Labour would want to increase standards of education for their kids then if you follow that logic yet here we are....

 

[miket12]

One of the issues NZ has is we develop the worlds best kiwi fruit vines….. and then export them to other countries with cheaper labour who then sell to the same markets we do but at a cheaper price.

Then some breeders decide to sell our livestock and cattle genetic material developed over decades through selective breeding to the Chinese who then have access to their own dairy products but don’t need to import ours.

Greed from certain people means we never learn!

 

[Bruce]

Jacinda Ardern put NZ on the world stage

With total bullshit...she is one of the bet spinners around

 

[Inruin]

With total bullshit...she is one of the bet spinners around

There is a reason she got out when she did

 

[juju]

Bit touchy there mate. Simply highlighting that yes we have success stories but don't let that mask underlying issues hamstringing the country. Didn't even mention a political party.

You talk about monopolies with unchecked profits causing the cost of living crisis, yet this current government has done deep dives on petrol and grocery and want to look at banks. They have found very little, if anything out of what one would expect for a businesses margins. In fact the Government actually has poured fuel in that fire and prices still going up ...

I think it's yourself that doesn't have the perspective. Seems to me that as long as there is Taika or Lorde to point to as success everything is rosy with you.

What portion of the population has more than one house? Innovation and increasing exports is not reliant on whether someone buys an extra house or not as an investment.

It's definitely not me that has a lack of perspective.

It's the guy that feels the need to argue the NRL refs are fair & supermarkets / banks and power companies should smash Kiwis to make as much profit as possible.

The big four power companies make $520 million net profit a year.
The banks make $7b net profit a year
The same government report said supermarkets make $1m per day in excess profit.

Yet you'll die on the hill a foreign buyers tax / where the numbers don't stack up is the way to go.

What a pathetic joke.