Politics 🗳️ NZ Politics

[wizard of Tauranga]

So what are the parameters of a "meritocracy"? Who is deciding that? Hint: The Right. It seems the right are deciding those, precisely the point of the original post. And those parameters are deliberately divisive.

View attachment 12030

So they, like yourself, are making shit up to reinforce a deliberate strategy of a weaponised fake culture war.

Immm… individuals (left or right) making individual judgements on who is best for the job rather than having a requirement for diversity targets.

Diversity targets are the divisiveness that gave NZ First and Act a platform last election. People don’t like being second class citizens.

Go ask the navy or the reserve bank what happens when you don’t go for the best

 

[Noitall]

Stuff

www.stuff.co.nz

Will be interesting to see if the government listens to the public. Not a good chapter for Seymour

 

[MaybeTop8]

This lunch program - a complete fucking failure of privatisation. A disaster.


View: https://bsky.app/profile/keithng.bsky.social/post/3lk5en6pnfs2w

 

[MaybeTop8]

Utterly corrupt. Utterly regressive.

Wind power firm departs, amid fast-track controversy over seabed mining

A plan for an offshore wind power generation site has been abandoned as the company has pulled out, as controversy continues over seabed mining also planned for the area.

www.rnz.co.nz

 

[defensivebomb]

Stuff

www.stuff.co.nz

Will be interesting to see if the government listens to the public. Not a good chapter for Seymour

Not great for him.

It does raise an interesting point that voters and the media seem to be more concerned with the government’s role in providing free lunches and having a ferry across the cook strait than they are about the big issues like the brain drain, education, health, quality of life etc

 

[defensivebomb]

Utterly corrupt. Utterly regressive.

Wind power firm departs, amid fast-track controversy over seabed mining

A plan for an offshore wind power generation site has been abandoned as the company has pulled out, as controversy continues over seabed mining also planned for the area.

www.rnz.co.nz

I’d go with utterly incompetent more like

At the same time, Labour can’t throw stones in this regard

 

[defensivebomb]

This lunch program - a complete fucking failure of privatisation. A disaster.


View: https://bsky.app/profile/keithng.bsky.social/post/3lk5en6pnfs2w

Probably wasn’t a great idea giving the contract to a company called Libelle Group

 

[Mr Drag]

I’d go with utterly incompetent more like

At the same time, Labour can’t throw stones in this regard

Why does Patea need a wind farm They got their own dam and sod all people to use the power!

 

[Tragic]

The school lunches is a cluster fuck. I don't know anyone who thought what labour brought in was a bad idea. $8 a day for something decent is fuck all in the scheme of things and it has so much down stream benefit.
Anyone who thinks you are going to get anything decent delivered for $3 a day hasn't been to the supermarket in a long time.

 

[John Nick]

The school lunches is a cluster fuck. I don't know anyone who thought what labour brought in was a bad idea. $8 a day for something decent is fuck all in the scheme of things and it has so much down stream benefit.
Anyone who thinks you are going to get anything decent delivered for $3 a day hasn't been to the supermarket in a long time.

Especially from a mob electioneering on a premise of getting kids back into school

 

[miket12]

Utterly corrupt. Utterly regressive.

Wind power firm departs, amid fast-track controversy over seabed mining

A plan for an offshore wind power generation site has been abandoned as the company has pulled out, as controversy continues over seabed mining also planned for the area.

www.rnz.co.nz

I'm wondering if there's more to this than meets the eye and the mining in the area is just a "convenient excuse" as why not look at moving the proposed location of the windfarm to the North Taranaki Bight. Access from the port at New Plymouth would still be the same. There are also at least five other proposals for offshore wind farms within the South Taranaki Bight. Perhaps Bluefloat just couldn't get the numbers to stack up while others could.

Bluefloat had also previously complained that neither the previous or current governments were prepared to offer them subsidies/tax breaks for their proposal.

 

[miket12]

Some "flippers" are starting to come out of the woodwork again.. buying properties with a long settlement date and then trying to flip them off before they have to settle. If it doesn't sell on again, they then walk away from the original deal which has written in them that they were able to market and sell a property before it settled or settled when they had on sold it.

I choose long ago not to do any work for some of these guys.... they'd buy a place then do un-permitted alterations then get drawings done by a designer so they could apply for either a Safe and Sanitary (S&S) claiming the work was done before 1992 or a Cert. of Acceptance (CoA) for work done after 1992 but claiming it was done by the previous owner. Why? It's cheaper and quicker to get either a S&S or CoA than apply for a Building Consent, have the work inspected and get a CCC.

‘These guys are hoping for a miracle’ - ‘Cheeky’ speculators return to South Auckland auction rooms

Agents have noticed a return of the quick flick.

www.oneroof.co.nz

 

[MaybeTop8]

School lunch provider turns to Australia for help

With its main food manufacturer, Libelle, in liquidation, the School Lunch Collective has turned to Australia to ensure it had enough meals.

www.rnz.co.nz

 

[wizard of Tauranga]

Some "flippers" are starting to come out of the woodwork again.. buying properties with a long settlement date and then trying to flip them off before they have to settle. If it doesn't sell on again, they then walk away from the original deal which has written in them that they were able to market and sell a property before it settled or settled when they had on sold it.

I choose long ago not to do any work for some of these guys.... they'd buy a place then do un-permitted alterations then get drawings done by a designer so they could apply for either a Safe and Sanitary (S&S) claiming the work was done before 1992 or a Cert. of Acceptance (CoA) for work done after 1992 but claiming it was done by the previous owner. Why? It's cheaper and quicker to get either a S&S or CoA than apply for a Building Consent, have the work inspected and get a CCC.

‘These guys are hoping for a miracle’ - ‘Cheeky’ speculators return to South Auckland auction rooms

Agents have noticed a return of the quick flick.

www.oneroof.co.nz

Blame the system, not the people fed up with said diabolical system!

 

[MaybeTop8]

As right leaning as NZME is, and it really, really is, I don't think a far right anti science anti vax disinformation extremist billionaire is going to be good for New Zealand

Billionaire aiming for NZME's board rejects journalists' concerns

Private equity tycoon Jim Grenon says editorial content is a "side issue" and journalists should be "optimistic" about the future.

www.rnz.co.nz

 

[miket12]

Former IRD tax agent gets home detention for decade-long fraud​

A former Inland Revenue tax agent has received the maximum length of home detention possible for sustained tax fraud after more than a decade of cheating the system.

Chafic Georges, 71, a former Inland Revenue tax agent, was sentenced to 12 months home detention in the Manukau District Court after appearing on 19 tax fraud charges.

Following a risk review of Georges' tax affairs, an Inland Revenue investigation found he and his family accumulated wealth not accounted for in his income tax returns.

While operating as a registered tax agent and sole trader from October 2006 to January 2018, Georges committed sustained tax fraud. This was after his time working for Inland Revenue.

This included filing false personal tax returns and false income tax and GST returns for third parties. Those refunds were paid to bank accounts controlled by Georges for his personal use.

According to the findings, the total amount Georges received in relation to his personal income tax liability and Working for Families Tax Credits (WfFTC) payments was roughly $208,000.

The total GST, income tax and WfFTC for third parties was just over $11,000.

The court heard there were very serious aggravating features in this case such as Georges’ previous employment with Inland Revenue, his breach of trust as a tax agent, the extreme length of time of the offending, and continuing to offend even in the face of investigation.

The judge started with a sentence of 40 months imprisonment for Georges, however, this was reduced by 25% for a guilty plea and another 15% for his health, age and offer of reparation.

This brought Georges' possible sentence down to 24 months in prison and meant home detention could be considered.

The judge believed Georges was unlikely to re-offend and that a final sentence of 12 months home detention was appropriate given his age and health issues.

Alongside the sentence of home detention, Georges was ordered to pay full reparation.

Former IRD tax agent gets 12 months home detention for tax fraud

He filed false tax returns, pocketing refunds in his own accounts.

www.nzherald.co.nz

 

[MrFrankWhite]

I'm wondering if there's more to this than meets the eye and the mining in the area is just a "convenient excuse" as why not look at moving the proposed location of the windfarm to the North Taranaki Bight. Access from the port at New Plymouth would still be the same. There are also at least five other proposals for offshore wind farms within the South Taranaki Bight. Perhaps Bluefloat just couldn't get the numbers to stack up while others could.

Bluefloat had also previously complained that neither the previous or current governments were prepared to offer them subsidies/tax breaks for their proposal.

Offshore wind is collapsing globally. It will never happen in Aus / NZ due to costs. The heavy lift barge cranes are like $250k a day and booked for years in the northern hemisphere.

The Collapse of Offshore Wind Power is Only the Beginning

The collapse of offshore wind power is only the first step in the shift away from "green energy," warns an expert.

nationalinterest.org

 

[MaybeTop8]

When the IMF thinks you should have a CGT

IMF calls for Capital Gains Tax or land tax

International Monetary Fund calls in annual report on NZ for tax reform to restart real growth & fix budget; IMF also warns against a new mortgage-fueled housing boom caused by looser capital rules

thekaka.substack.com

Tax reforms needed to bolster economic growth - IMF report

The government needs to get control of its finances and make broad based tax and regulatory changes, according to the International Monetary Fund.

www.rnz.co.nz

 

[MrFrankWhite]

@miket12 Australian offshore wind is basically dead in the water along with green hydrogen.

Offshore wind ambitions in disarray as key players walk

Moves by Origin Energy and Norway’s Equinor have exposed big doubts about offshore wind developing anywhere in NSW, given high costs that are only modestly lower than for large nuclear plants.

www.afr.com

 

[MaybeTop8]

Asset stripping privatisation

Guardrails needed to protect NZ from foreign investors – ex-SolarZero employee

Former employee of liquidated solar company expresses concern over foreign investment as the Government pushes for more of it

newsroom.co.nz