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Politics š³ļø NZ Politics
- Thread starter wizard of Tauranga
- Start date
NZWarriors.com
Not a bad photo for its age, is that you in the red boat??
You do understand that one of the cornerstones of our tax systems is that it's a progressive tax system.... that is it was designed that a certain percentage of the population would be in the lowest tax bracket, a certain percentage in that one and the one above it, and so on and so on until the percentage of those within the highest tax bracket was reached.
Tax creep has occurred as wages and salaries have increased meaning those proportions altered over the years as more and more of the taxpayers moved up into the next bracket. To go back to the original intention of what proportion fell within which tax bracket, adjustments to the brackets needs to occur.
According to the IRD, the original marginal tax rate in NZ was just over 30% when the current system was introduced under Lange. By 2005, the average marginal rate in NZ had crept up to 39%. In 2011, it was back down to 33%. Before the latest adjustments, the average marginal tax rate had crept back up to 36%. The latest adjustments will bring it back down to around 33%.
Here's something even more interesting, an accountancy firm Hughson and Associates, looked at the impact of inflation and wage growth. Here's a chart summarizes where the government should actually adjusted the tax brackets to if they were following the original progressive proportions from the 1980's:
The greatest two defenders of a progressive tax system are Labour and the Greens yet they are the parties who oppose any adjustment in the tax brackets as they call it "unaffordable" while at the sometime saying that the economy was left in really good shape and the current government is manufacturing "crisis's" to justify cuts in government spending.
Personally, to maintain the intended progressive proportions to the tax system, I think the brackets should be annually adjusted to match either wage growth or the CPI (whichever is the greatest)..... Australia have done this for years. This, however, should be offset with a higher tax bracket of say 45-48% for income over $300,000 and a reintroduced gift duty and an inheritance tax to start taxing untaxed capital gains/intergenerational wealth transfer.
Last edited:
Nah, it's a snip of a photo from the Tauranga Yacht Club website.Not a bad photo for its age, is that you in the red boat??
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John Nick
Contributor
Spent a lot of time with my grandfather and boats there many years ago
Brilliant!!!Sorry boaties above, I'm done for today
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We used to sail from either Fergusson Park or Kulim Park and sometimes from the Beach Road reserve (end of Otumoetai Road).
- Thread starter
- #10,050
Fact: the reserve bank is independent of Labour and National and they started raising rates to combat inflation under labour.
You have no credibility complaining about āmanufactured recessionā until you explain how you would combat inflation in a different way?
Iāll wait
Misinformation - all benefits are increasing under National. Links to support the facts:
Benefit rates at 1 April 2024 - Work and Income
Benefit rates from 1 April 2024.
Changes to benefit rates from 1 April 2024 - Work and Income
On 1 April 2024 benefit rates will increase due to the Annual General Adjustment. Income and asset limits for some support will also go up, which means more people can get support from us.
I think you are the one caught AGAIN spreading misinformation bro
John Nick
Contributor
My grandfather had a 29ft launch moored by the old railways Bridge.
Dad and I learned to sail in a Cherub class yacht
The old man firstly brought a Javlin but we soon discovered it wasn't an ideal boat to learn in so he got the P-class and later sold the Javlin and brought a Laser.... which probably wasn't the best idea because you need to weigh around 100kg to control it in stronger winds but he was less than 75kg soaking wet.
We were sailing out of Kulim Park one day when he was out in the Laser by himself and around half way across the harbour to Matakana when he capsized it. He'd forgotten to tie in the centreboard and it came out. Being weighted, he couldn't get it back into place and without it, couldn't right the boat. He ended up getting rescued by a passing boat as he was drifting into the Mount's Port's shipping lanes.
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The Post
www.thepost.co.nz
Has someone set themselves on fire on parliament grounds this morning?
He was protesting the mortgagee sale of his mother's property. Apparently she was over $40,000 in arrears to the bank.
- Thread starter
- #10,054
I will be there protesting at parliament if congestion charges come to Tauranga.
I will also lead a National campaign to remove our number plates until the cameras are removed. Civil disobedience for restricting our freedom to travel.
Tauranga has already set up cameras in a system so you canāt move between areas of the city without going past the cameras. They are just waiting for the legislation to turn them on.
These areas donāt have congestion.
One other fact you missed was that the Reserve Bank, along with most other central banks, also stimulated inflation by lowering rates too far. Bunch of idiots.Fact: the reserve bank is independent of Labour and National and they started raising rates to combat inflation under labour.
You have no credibility complaining about āmanufactured recessionā until you explain how you would combat inflation in a different way?
Iāll wait
Misinformation - all benefits are increasing under National. Links to support the facts:
Benefit rates at 1 April 2024 - Work and Income
Benefit rates from 1 April 2024.www.workandincome.govt.nz
Changes to benefit rates from 1 April 2024 - Work and Income
On 1 April 2024 benefit rates will increase due to the Annual General Adjustment. Income and asset limits for some support will also go up, which means more people can get support from us.
I think you are the one caught AGAIN spreading misinformation bro
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And GrantR decided to reward Orr by extending his contract.
Tangent, Aus road deaths have increased again, seems more cameras isnt the solution
Gordon Campbell as always, far more articulate than me:
www.scoop.co.nz
On The Crackdown On The Beneficiary Poor
For the past 50 years, the centre-right has been using beneficiaries as a political punching bag. But now unemployment is at a three high and rising, helped along by the governmentās deliberately trashing the jobs of thousands of public servants.
www.scoop.co.nz
And from the perspective of someone disabled who blogs:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This government won't stop attacking disabled people
The community is being relentlessly targeted
Emily Writes
Aug 14
READ IN APP
Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston is expected to announce more cuts to Whaikaha, the Ministry of Disabled People tomorrow. Itās expected that the disabled community will face more attacks - having already lost so many supports.
I had a terrible sinking feeling in my chest when I got the call about it. I fear this will be the final straw for so many exhausted disabled people and parents. I am desperate for folks to understand just how many cuts the disabled community and their families are facing. The hits are just relentless.
This is my earnest attempt to show how this community is facing the worst of the worst to provide the $2.9 billion needed to give landlords another tax break.
It was estimated months ago that families that include someone with a disability may be paying up to $5500 more a year under this Government. It feels like itās only going to get worse.
Many people in the disability sector have said that Whaikaha had been underfunded from day one. Removing the key supports disabled people and their carers needed to address this underfunding is the worst possible way to address the issue. Disability Support Network chief executive Peter Reynolds told RNZ in March:
"What we don't want to see is disabled people suddenly finding that support they're dependent on being disrupted. What we don't want to see is support workers being overstressed, overworked, or indeed those without the qualifications and skills required to do the job being used because things like respite services are just not available."
"If somebody who isn't qualified to do the job ends up having to provide support because that's all the disabled person can afford under their individualised funding package, then there is a heightened risk that something could happen - either the disabled person could end up being injured or the care worker could end up being injured."
In order to provide tax relief for the already very wealthy. The coalition government has made the following cuts that have had dire consequences to the disabled community and their loved ones.
I have previously written about all of their other cuts to front line services - the cuts in this post are those that will impact the disabled community. For general cuts click here.
They are in no particular order. And do not specifically include the 5867 roles cut in the public service, which will impact delivery of services to New Zealanders.
Friendship House, which has offered counselling for two decades, had its Oranga Tamariki counselling contract discontinued with four hoursā notice. Chief Executive Neil Denney says, since then, his questions about where to send families in need have been āignoredā.
TÄkai, a parenting resource hub, was closed after 30 years supporting families. Every resource on their learning platform is no longer be accessible and their website is no longer accessible. All of their community initiatives have been shuttered. TÄkai is an front-line service provided by Oranga Tamariki.
Restrictions were placed on purchasing rules for disabled people's equipment and support services, with immediate effect in July. Carers NZ CEO Laurie Hilsgen told RNZ last week: "Carers were absolutely thrown under the bus by the Ministry for Disabled People and the government when they returned to a highly restrictive policy of how people could use the Carer Support subsidy. It's the only state support most carers get, and you need respite if you're a carer. You can't keep going like a machine."
The Government reinstated fees for prescription medication. A study has found facing a cost barrier in collecting a prescription was associated with a 34% higher rate of hospitalisation.
More than 400 jobs will be lost at Oranga Tamariki - the Ministry for Children. A leaked memo at Te Whatu Ora suggested the fulltime-equivalent positions of about 470 specialists and 1491 nurses would be reviewed. There were also 338 allied health employees, and 2193 management, admin and support staff. In total, 4492 FTEs may be cut.
The Government is saving $56 million over five years by ending a programme topping up the pay of disabled workers to the minimum wage. Up to 900-plus workers - mostly with intellectual disabilities - continue to be paid as low as $2 an hour to provide tax relief to landlords.
Children and families can no longer access funding or subsidies for disability support programmes, like Riding for the Disabled or swimming lessons, during school hours due to the Governmentās truancy policy and changes to respite care funding. Itās expected that this will mean the end of organisations like nature therapy and neurodivergent school programmes that will no longer be able to afford to run.
The Government is no longer funding the provision of free telehealth services, including one for COVID-19. The Government also cut free COVID-related GP visits and RATs (rapid antigen tests). Health New Zealand has admitted it didnāt consult with pharmacies before changing the funding for Covid antivirals - which has seen some pharmacies stop providing the service.
Community mental health groups are on the precipice of folding due to Government cuts to frontline funding. Advocates say the funding has been halved to $5 million per year, and the Minister has also made the criteria so restrictive that very few organisations will be able to apply.
The income insurance scheme was scrapped. It would have protected workers who are suddenly disabled by illness to take time off, work reduced hours or retrain.
Thanks for reading Emily Writes Weekly! This post is public so feel free to share it.
Share
The Government has told Health NZ they must cut $1.4 billion from their budget. GPs say without more funding and support the New Zealand health system is headed towards a ācomplete collapse within the next two yearsā.
Wait times for elective surgery have ballooned in recent months. Hospital doctors have been told to make beds and clean sinks. They say that claims there isnāt a hiring freeze in health donāt tell the full story.
"It's smoke and mirrors," one doctor told RNZ. "So it's officially not a freeze but on the front line, the reality is it's a freeze, because people go off on maternity leave, and you can't replace them without a long-winded process to get authority to recruit."
Health New Zealand has ordered an end to double shifts and imposed new limitations on replacing sick staff in wards during the day to save money.
The government ended public transport subsidies which were heavily relied on by many in the disabled community. In most regions, young people aged 13-15, and secondary students aged 16-19, all saw their fares double on buses and trains. Children aged 5-12 also no longer travel for free and must also pay the fares set in their region. Some councils have stumped up to continue subsidies.
Benefit changes legislated under urgency in February will mean people on the equivalent of a disability benefit and their carers will lose out on more than $2300 a year by 2028 - a change equivalent to about 5 per cent of the recipient's income. These changes may see an extra 7000 children pulled into poverty under one measure, while a further 7000 would be pulled under when using a broader measure.
The Government reduced services for wheelchair users in March.
The funding for the 15-year long Growing Up in New Zealand project - research that tracked 6000 children to give us insight and understanding into poverty in Aotearoa - has been cut. The project specifically looked at the impact of disability on poverty rates.
The Government scrapped another survey gathering key child poverty data further reducing accountability for policies that arenāt based in research.
Funding was slashed for the Hawaiki Hou programme aimed at supporting women, girls, MÄori, disabled, tamariki and rangatahi to participate in sport.
Funding cuts were made to the Warmer Kiwi Homes programme and public housing maintenance in the Budget.
The Government launched a review of the Holidays Act aiming to reduce sick leave entitlements - which would impact home support workers and carers of disabled people (as well as all other working New Zealanders who arenāt wealthy).
About a third of free budgeting services say they have lost government funding.
The head of Pharmac quit over interference by the Government. David Seymour insisted Pharmac must not consider the Treaty of Waitangi's place in the health sector.
Against all research and expert advice, the government has announced sanctions for job seekers. Sole parents, many who are carers of disabled children, face losing 50% of their payment. A comprehensive piece of research into these sanctions found: "little evidence in support of using obligations and sanctions (as in the current system) to change behaviour; rather, there is research indicating that they compound social harm and disconnectedness".
Out of the budget, no funding was given to learning support in schools. Instead funding was given to charter schools so the likes of the tax-free Destiny Church could run their own school. The Government spent $153 million for Actās charter schools, which could have fully fund 700 full-time teacher aides at step 4. In that same budget, the Special Needs Intervention funding saw a whopping $41.2M cut.
photo of person reach out above the water
Photo by nikko macaspac
Why is any of this important? Households with disabled children were 1.5 times more likely to earn under $40,000 a year, compared to households that only had non-disabled children. 63% of carers of disabled children say they do not have enough money or only just enough money.
This government is actively harming the disabled community in order to provide tax relief to landlords. If you voted for this, you have an obligation to minimise the harm you have caused to the community.
There is a cost to tax cuts and someone always pays - increasingly it is disabled people and their families. Please, please speak out and stand with the disabled community and their families.
I hate writing about this shit but I think itās important that we know whatās going on. I can only continue to do it if people become paid subscribers. Thank you so much.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This government won't stop attacking disabled people
The community is being relentlessly targeted
Emily Writes
Aug 14
READ IN APP
Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston is expected to announce more cuts to Whaikaha, the Ministry of Disabled People tomorrow. Itās expected that the disabled community will face more attacks - having already lost so many supports.
I had a terrible sinking feeling in my chest when I got the call about it. I fear this will be the final straw for so many exhausted disabled people and parents. I am desperate for folks to understand just how many cuts the disabled community and their families are facing. The hits are just relentless.
This is my earnest attempt to show how this community is facing the worst of the worst to provide the $2.9 billion needed to give landlords another tax break.
It was estimated months ago that families that include someone with a disability may be paying up to $5500 more a year under this Government. It feels like itās only going to get worse.
Many people in the disability sector have said that Whaikaha had been underfunded from day one. Removing the key supports disabled people and their carers needed to address this underfunding is the worst possible way to address the issue. Disability Support Network chief executive Peter Reynolds told RNZ in March:
"What we don't want to see is disabled people suddenly finding that support they're dependent on being disrupted. What we don't want to see is support workers being overstressed, overworked, or indeed those without the qualifications and skills required to do the job being used because things like respite services are just not available."
"If somebody who isn't qualified to do the job ends up having to provide support because that's all the disabled person can afford under their individualised funding package, then there is a heightened risk that something could happen - either the disabled person could end up being injured or the care worker could end up being injured."
In order to provide tax relief for the already very wealthy. The coalition government has made the following cuts that have had dire consequences to the disabled community and their loved ones.
I have previously written about all of their other cuts to front line services - the cuts in this post are those that will impact the disabled community. For general cuts click here.
They are in no particular order. And do not specifically include the 5867 roles cut in the public service, which will impact delivery of services to New Zealanders.
Friendship House, which has offered counselling for two decades, had its Oranga Tamariki counselling contract discontinued with four hoursā notice. Chief Executive Neil Denney says, since then, his questions about where to send families in need have been āignoredā.
TÄkai, a parenting resource hub, was closed after 30 years supporting families. Every resource on their learning platform is no longer be accessible and their website is no longer accessible. All of their community initiatives have been shuttered. TÄkai is an front-line service provided by Oranga Tamariki.
Restrictions were placed on purchasing rules for disabled people's equipment and support services, with immediate effect in July. Carers NZ CEO Laurie Hilsgen told RNZ last week: "Carers were absolutely thrown under the bus by the Ministry for Disabled People and the government when they returned to a highly restrictive policy of how people could use the Carer Support subsidy. It's the only state support most carers get, and you need respite if you're a carer. You can't keep going like a machine."
The Government reinstated fees for prescription medication. A study has found facing a cost barrier in collecting a prescription was associated with a 34% higher rate of hospitalisation.
More than 400 jobs will be lost at Oranga Tamariki - the Ministry for Children. A leaked memo at Te Whatu Ora suggested the fulltime-equivalent positions of about 470 specialists and 1491 nurses would be reviewed. There were also 338 allied health employees, and 2193 management, admin and support staff. In total, 4492 FTEs may be cut.
The Government is saving $56 million over five years by ending a programme topping up the pay of disabled workers to the minimum wage. Up to 900-plus workers - mostly with intellectual disabilities - continue to be paid as low as $2 an hour to provide tax relief to landlords.
Children and families can no longer access funding or subsidies for disability support programmes, like Riding for the Disabled or swimming lessons, during school hours due to the Governmentās truancy policy and changes to respite care funding. Itās expected that this will mean the end of organisations like nature therapy and neurodivergent school programmes that will no longer be able to afford to run.
The Government is no longer funding the provision of free telehealth services, including one for COVID-19. The Government also cut free COVID-related GP visits and RATs (rapid antigen tests). Health New Zealand has admitted it didnāt consult with pharmacies before changing the funding for Covid antivirals - which has seen some pharmacies stop providing the service.
Community mental health groups are on the precipice of folding due to Government cuts to frontline funding. Advocates say the funding has been halved to $5 million per year, and the Minister has also made the criteria so restrictive that very few organisations will be able to apply.
The income insurance scheme was scrapped. It would have protected workers who are suddenly disabled by illness to take time off, work reduced hours or retrain.
Thanks for reading Emily Writes Weekly! This post is public so feel free to share it.
Share
The Government has told Health NZ they must cut $1.4 billion from their budget. GPs say without more funding and support the New Zealand health system is headed towards a ācomplete collapse within the next two yearsā.
Wait times for elective surgery have ballooned in recent months. Hospital doctors have been told to make beds and clean sinks. They say that claims there isnāt a hiring freeze in health donāt tell the full story.
"It's smoke and mirrors," one doctor told RNZ. "So it's officially not a freeze but on the front line, the reality is it's a freeze, because people go off on maternity leave, and you can't replace them without a long-winded process to get authority to recruit."
Health New Zealand has ordered an end to double shifts and imposed new limitations on replacing sick staff in wards during the day to save money.
The government ended public transport subsidies which were heavily relied on by many in the disabled community. In most regions, young people aged 13-15, and secondary students aged 16-19, all saw their fares double on buses and trains. Children aged 5-12 also no longer travel for free and must also pay the fares set in their region. Some councils have stumped up to continue subsidies.
Benefit changes legislated under urgency in February will mean people on the equivalent of a disability benefit and their carers will lose out on more than $2300 a year by 2028 - a change equivalent to about 5 per cent of the recipient's income. These changes may see an extra 7000 children pulled into poverty under one measure, while a further 7000 would be pulled under when using a broader measure.
The Government reduced services for wheelchair users in March.
The funding for the 15-year long Growing Up in New Zealand project - research that tracked 6000 children to give us insight and understanding into poverty in Aotearoa - has been cut. The project specifically looked at the impact of disability on poverty rates.
The Government scrapped another survey gathering key child poverty data further reducing accountability for policies that arenāt based in research.
Funding was slashed for the Hawaiki Hou programme aimed at supporting women, girls, MÄori, disabled, tamariki and rangatahi to participate in sport.
Funding cuts were made to the Warmer Kiwi Homes programme and public housing maintenance in the Budget.
The Government launched a review of the Holidays Act aiming to reduce sick leave entitlements - which would impact home support workers and carers of disabled people (as well as all other working New Zealanders who arenāt wealthy).
About a third of free budgeting services say they have lost government funding.
The head of Pharmac quit over interference by the Government. David Seymour insisted Pharmac must not consider the Treaty of Waitangi's place in the health sector.
Against all research and expert advice, the government has announced sanctions for job seekers. Sole parents, many who are carers of disabled children, face losing 50% of their payment. A comprehensive piece of research into these sanctions found: "little evidence in support of using obligations and sanctions (as in the current system) to change behaviour; rather, there is research indicating that they compound social harm and disconnectedness".
Out of the budget, no funding was given to learning support in schools. Instead funding was given to charter schools so the likes of the tax-free Destiny Church could run their own school. The Government spent $153 million for Actās charter schools, which could have fully fund 700 full-time teacher aides at step 4. In that same budget, the Special Needs Intervention funding saw a whopping $41.2M cut.
photo of person reach out above the water
Photo by nikko macaspac
Why is any of this important? Households with disabled children were 1.5 times more likely to earn under $40,000 a year, compared to households that only had non-disabled children. 63% of carers of disabled children say they do not have enough money or only just enough money.
This government is actively harming the disabled community in order to provide tax relief to landlords. If you voted for this, you have an obligation to minimise the harm you have caused to the community.
There is a cost to tax cuts and someone always pays - increasingly it is disabled people and their families. Please, please speak out and stand with the disabled community and their families.
I hate writing about this shit but I think itās important that we know whatās going on. I can only continue to do it if people become paid subscribers. Thank you so much.
NZWarriors.com
If you would like to remove these advertisements, please do so by registering a free account
