Politics 🗳️ NZ Politics

[MrFrankWhite]

Verrall is going to get a scalp on this one.
The last paragraph spells out the links and how illogical the ministers policy direction has been

Auditor-General asked to investigate Costello decision to slash tax on heated tobacco products

Labour's Ayesha Verrall has laid a formal complaint over the policy, saying it lacks justification and claiming there are indications of industry influence.

www.rnz.co.nz

Costello said she slashed the tax to encourage chronic smokers to switch to HTPs.

Here we go again with process vs outcome.

 

[MaybeTop8]

The theft of democracy continues by this overreaching authoritarian dictatorship

Govt steps in at 'shambles' Wellington Council; mayor refuses to resign

The Government is to appoint Crown observer to Wellington City Council.

www.nzherald.co.nz

 

[MaybeTop8]

Prisons before hospitals - this corrupt government will look to privatise and criminalise

 

[MaybeTop8]

Class warfare, race warfare, wealth and power warfare - disgusting

Government toughens Three Strikes 2.0, likely to include thousands more offenders

The new regime will now be retrospective, with a lower threshold for a first strike

www.nzherald.co.nz

 

[MaybeTop8]

Gordon Campbell, as always onto it

On The Three Strikes Cycle Of Failure

We all know the “tough on crime” approach is only a stop gap measure at best, and that a justice model based on incarceration doesn’t work. Our prisons are already overcrowded, under-staffed and more often than not, function as training centres ...

www.scoop.co.nz

 

[defensivebomb]

You are on fire, today MaybeTop8

 

[MaybeTop8]

You are on fire, today MaybeTop8

It's the government's doing, not me!

 

[MaybeTop8]

And the corruption just keeps on coming

'Deep in the pockets of Uber' - Government accused of copy-pasting company's position

The government is being accused of copy and pasting Uber's position on contractors - and adopting it as official policy.

www.rnz.co.nz

 

[Worried2Death]

Just had a potential employee turn us down because she would end up $40 per week worse off working for us 2 days a week that the benefit.

Fundamentals are.wrong when you get paid well above minimum wage to do nothing…

This government understands the fundamentals. Do what’s best for the country and people, even if they don’t like it in the short term.

Do you mean they'd be getting $40 less working 2 days than on their weekly benefit? Can they not work full time?

 

[miket12]

The theft of democracy continues by this overreaching authoritarian dictatorship

Govt steps in at 'shambles' Wellington Council; mayor refuses to resign

The Government is to appoint Crown observer to Wellington City Council.

www.nzherald.co.nz

Wellington is a bosket case. The combined regional, city and water rates for the average household is just under $5,300 this year.... and next year, just the WCC rates section is going to rise by over 16% ($452.00 PA). Their spending on cycleways and public transport is out of control while households are paying over twice the amount on average each year for their water compared to Auckland because of all the leaks in the system.... Wellington Water's own figures show that to the year to June, they lost 40% of all the water in their supply pipes due to leaks. Contrast that to Auckland where Watercare says they lose 13.4% due to leaks.

Another comparison to Auckland, their combined average rates and water bill per household $1,000 cheaper than Wellington and the average rates increase next year in Auckland will be 6.8% compared to 16% for Wellington ratepayers.

And another comparison... the average non-residential rates bill in Auckland last year was just over $9,000.... Wellington's was over $32,000.

It was decided to earthquake proof the central library at a cost of three times the price to demolish the existing and build a new one.

The budget for the Wellington Town Hall rebuild/strengthening has blown out from $150 mil to $330 mil in October last year.... rumours within the construction industry are that it's now close to $500 million.

Here's an idea..... spend money not on vanity projects but on getting the existing infrastructure right and then move on to new infrastructure and then, if there's any money left over, get on with the vanity projects.

Wellington Council has turned itself into a classic example for ACT of why taking more and more money from ratepayers and then not being accountable for it leads to bad governance. People will say the government is wrong in bringing in an observer but, unfortunately, Wellington City Council has brought this on themselves. And BTW, the government are, for once, following the advice of officials, and bringing in the observer.

 

[miket12]

Prisons before hospitals - this corrupt government will look to privatise and criminalise

View attachment 9859

Gordon Campbell, as always onto it

On The Three Strikes Cycle Of Failure

We all know the “tough on crime” approach is only a stop gap measure at best, and that a justice model based on incarceration doesn’t work. Our prisons are already overcrowded, under-staffed and more often than not, function as training centres ...

www.scoop.co.nz

One article saying that money shouldn't be spent on a new prison.... another saying that prisons are overcrowded. No contradictions here folks.... move on... nothing to see!!!

 

[Rizzah]

One article saying that money shouldn't be spent on a new prison.... another saying that prisons are overcrowded. No contradictions here folks.... move on... nothing to see!!!

Its a bad look when you are too poor to expand essential services, yet can find billions to increase prison bed numbers. But cheer on

Not sure expanding the current incarceration model is doing us any good.

 

[miket12]

Do you mean they'd be getting $40 less working 2 days than on their weekly benefit? Can they not work full time?

I think one of the hardest things any government/minister of finance has to do is get the balance right between ensuring that those who need welfare have enough money and support while not making it a "lifestyle option". IMHO, the person who last got this right was Cullen.

 

[miket12]

Its a bad look when you are too poor to expand essential services, yet can find billions to increase prison bed numbers. But cheer on

Not sure expanding the current incarceration model is doing us any good.

I'd rather they spent a fraction of that money on new prison beds.... and a lot more on programs to reduce reoffending rates. While I don't want to see the privisation of prisons, there are programs run in some South American prisons by Prison Fellowship which have reduced reoffending by over 60%. PROVIDED they aren't used to "evangelise" prisoners or in any way privatise the prisons, why don't we look at what they're doing and adopt what we can here?

 

[MaybeTop8]

I'd rather they spent a fraction of that money on new prison beds.... and a lot more on programs to reduce reoffending rates. While I don't want to see the privisation of prisons, there are programs run in some South American prisons by Prison Fellowship which have reduced reoffending by over 60%. PROVIDED they aren't used to "evangelise" prisoners or in any way privatise the prisons, why don't we look at what they're doing and adopt what we can here?

Great question Mike, one that should be asked, but unfortunately that kind of progressive thinking won't occur with this government.

 

[Worried2Death]

I'd rather they spent a fraction of that money on new prison beds.... and a lot more on programs to reduce reoffending rates. While I don't want to see the privisation of prisons, there are programs run in some South American prisons by Prison Fellowship which have reduced reoffending by over 60%. PROVIDED they aren't used to "evangelise" prisoners or in any way privatise the prisons, why don't we look at what they're doing and adopt what we can here?

Destiny Church has a similar program but the worry is they're just recruiting for Brian's gang.

 

[MaybeTop8]

Wellington is a bosket case. The combined regional, city and water rates for the average household is just under $5,300 this year.... and next year, just the WCC rates section is going to rise by over 16% ($452.00 PA). Their spending on cycleways and public transport is out of control while households are paying over twice the amount on average each year for their water compared to Auckland because of all the leaks in the system.... Wellington Water's own figures show that to the year to June, they lost 40% of all the water in their supply pipes due to leaks. Contrast that to Auckland where Watercare says they lose 13.4% due to leaks.

Another comparison to Auckland, their combined average rates and water bill per household $1,000 cheaper than Wellington and the average rates increase next year in Auckland will be 6.8% compared to 16% for Wellington ratepayers.

And another comparison... the average non-residential rates bill in Auckland last year was just over $9,000.... Wellington's was over $32,000.

It was decided to earthquake proof the central library at a cost of three times the price to demolish the existing and build a new one.

The budget for the Wellington Town Hall rebuild/strengthening has blown out from $150 mil to $330 mil in October last year.... rumours within the construction industry are that it's now close to $500 million.

Here's an idea..... spend money not on vanity projects but on getting the existing infrastructure right and then move on to new infrastructure and then, if there's any money left over, get on with the vanity projects.

Wellington Council has turned itself into a classic example for ACT of why taking more and more money from ratepayers and then not being accountable for it leads to bad governance. People will say the government is wrong in bringing in an observer but, unfortunately, Wellington City Council has brought this on themselves. And BTW, the government are, for once, following the advice of officials, and bringing in the observer.

Removing a democratically elected body is pretty drastic. Tauranga lost democracy for a long period of time, as did Canterbury.

 

[MaybeTop8]

Destiny Church has a similar program but the worry is they're just recruiting for Brian's gang.

Destiny Church are fascism incarnate

 

[Worried2Death]

Destiny Church are fascism incarnate

Money launderers for the crim underworld *allegedly

 

[miket12]

Great question Mike, one that should be asked, but unfortunately that kind of progressive thinking won't occur with this government.

Back in 2000, PF was one of the bidders to run Auckland Remand Prison but lost out to ACM because of it's Christian bias. I don't want any prison run privately but we need to look outside of NZ to see what programs can be trialed here.... even if it's unsuccessful, at least we tried instead of the simplest default of Three Strikes.... locking people up and throwing away the key isn't the answer.