Politics NZ Politics

[wizard of Tauranga]

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.

Just a question and it’s not meant as a negative.

How much time have you spent overseas?

It’s when I go overseas it really puts into context how overpriced NZ is, how we’ve declined, how our infrastructure has fallen behind, how our attitude isn’t very productive, etc. We also have a big self focus in our own little world (probably bought about by our isolation).

I don’t think reading the oversees news gives context how NZ has gone in its own tangent in many ways.

That same isolation has good points as well (relatively safe, environmentally special, etc)

 

[juju]

Just a question and it’s not meant as a negative.

How much time have you spent overseas?

It’s when I go overseas it really puts into context how overpriced NZ is, how we’ve declined, how our infrastructure has fallen behind, how our attitude isn’t very productive, etc. We also have a big self focus in our own little world (probably bought about by our isolation).

I don’t think reading the oversees news gives context how NZ has gone in its own tangent in many ways.

That same isolation has good points as well (relatively safe, environmentally special, etc)

I lived overseas for 3 years 1997 to 2001 (London)

and worked a job later 2006 & 2007 where I travelled really extensively non stop. I went to literally the richest cities in the world & some of the poorest.
Some of the biggest societies with the best infrastructure have the worst inequality.

The way NZers living here perceive the country & how people overseas perceive the country are completely different.
Overseas we're considered an idealistic utopia.

I don't agree we've fallen behind & our infrastructure is that bad at all -
We have businesses & creatives achieving things on a global scale previously Kiwis would of thought was impossible (Serato, Peter Jackson, Taika, Lorde, Xero, All Birds, Paris Goeble etc )

NZers quality of life has definitely decreased because of housing affordability & issues like power companies & super markets making rampant profits.

Just wanted to make a point that NZ is a great country in this thread that has become a cesspool of negativity.

I'm focussing on the game now.

 

[wizard of Tauranga]

I lived overseas for 3 years 1997 to 2001 (London)

and worked a job later 2006 & 2007 where I travelled really extensively non stop. I went to literally the richest cities in the world & some of the poorest.
Some of the biggest societies with the best infrastructure have the worst inequality.

The way NZers living here perceive the country & how people overseas perceive the country are completely different.
Overseas we're considered an idealistic utopia.

I don't agree we've fallen behind & our infrastructure is that bad at all -
We have businesses & creatives achieving things on a global scale previously Kiwis would of thought was impossible (Serato, Peter Jackson, Taika, Lorde, Xero, All Birds, Paris Goeble etc )

NZers quality of life has definitely decreased because of housing affordability & issues like power companies & super markets making rampant profits.

Just wanted to make a point that NZ is a great country in this thread that has become a cesspool of negativity.

I'm focussing on the game now.

I was talking more recently about our decline. Particularly in the past 10 years, maybe since 2008? So under National and Labour.

Seeing basket case countries having the investment/ infrastructure/ GDP growth / wage growth / etc and then seeing it in real life how they progressed is an eye opener.

How we’ve gone from a world leader 50 years ago, relatively stalled and about to be an also ran into the future.

 

[Noitall]

I was talking more recently about our decline. Particularly in the past 10 years, maybe since 2008? So under National and Labour.

Seeing basket case countries having the investment/ infrastructure/ GDP growth / wage growth / etc and then seeing it in real life how they progressed is an eye opener.

How we’ve gone from a world leader 50 years ago, relatively stalled and about to be an also ran into the future.

Dilapidated infrastructure is a joined effort that councils are also complicit but the world is in a covid hangover that the world is going to take some time to recover from.

 

[Possum11]

Most weekends the trains in Auckland are not running. So if you are international/domestic tourist wanting to get to the airport you have limited options. Basically NZ has become third world.

 

[juju]

And the obscene thing about this election cycle is we are supposed to pretend the foreign buy tax is a good idea.

Rather we could just implement the tax cut via windfall tax on the businesses (Power companies / Banks) making rampant profits on the back of kiwis, without selling our best real estate to overseas buyers each each.

 

[juju]

Most weekends the trains in Auckland are not running. So if you are international/domestic tourist wanting to get to the airport you have limited options. Basically NZ has become third world.

Have you actually been to a third world country?

People don't travel to NZ to ride the trains in Auckland.

 

[juju]

Dilapidated infrastructure is a joined effort that councils are also complicit but the world is in a covid hangover that the world is going to take some time to recover from.

Also a symptom of another NZ obsession... lower rates...

 

[juju]

I was talking more recently about our decline. Particularly in the past 10 years, maybe since 2008? So under National and Labour.

Seeing basket case countries having the investment/ infrastructure/ GDP growth / wage growth / etc and then seeing it in real life how they progressed is an eye opener.

How we’ve gone from a world leader 50 years ago, relatively stalled and about to be an also ran into the future.

I'm pretty sure 50 years ago our infrastructure would not of been world leading.

However we had world leading socialised house - and society was much less tolerate of rampant inequality.

50 years ago the only way NZ was connected to the world was shipping farming products.

 

[Juno]

I was talking more recently about our decline. Particularly in the past 10 years, maybe since 2008? So under National and Labour.

Seeing basket case countries having the investment/ infrastructure/ GDP growth / wage growth / etc and then seeing it in real life how they progressed is an eye opener.

How we’ve gone from a world leader 50 years ago, relatively stalled and about to be an also ran into the future.

I've traveled extensively and the main thing I found is we have a jewel of a country to live in.
We all just have to get over ourselves and stead of basing quality of life based on money, focus on quality of life - for all.
And stop looking outwards with envy.
Had a pommie teacher back in the day and he used to lose his nut at us about how insular we were, how local news was on the front page of the newspaper & world news on page 3 or 4. Six months down the track he was saying the opposite, how lucky we were, and how good it was to not have to read about the rest of the world's noise. He got to focus on his family, community and work first & it was a passing curiosity almost what was happening across the globe.
Now we're so intertwined with it we measure our own progress ($) against all others ffs.
Too many listen to the shite that is out there globally and I'm not talking news.

 

[Noitall]

Also a symptom of another NZ obsession... lower rates...

Fascinates me how the banks avoid persecution through the unbelievable gains they are getting year upon year.

 

[juju]

Fascinates me how the banks avoid persecution through the unbelievable gains they are getting year upon year.

Probably because the political class of both sides benefit.

 

[Possum11]

Have you actually been to a third world country?

People don't travel to NZ to ride the trains in Auckland.

Tourism is nz biggest earnings atleast provide a service to the cbd on the weekends. Most tourists arrive in Auckland first impressions last.

 

[juju]

Tourism is nz biggest earnings atleast provide a service to the cbd on the weekends. Most tourists arrive in Auckland first impressions last.

Buses, Ubers, Shuttles all run 24/7

The new tunnel on the north western is not even close to being third world.

Theres no train service in Queenstown.

Bit of perspective...

A change of government is not going to fix AT trains

 

[wizard of Tauranga]

Rather we could just implement the tax cut via windfall tax on the businesses (Power companies / Banks) making rampant profits on the back of kiwis, without selling our best real estate to overseas buyers each each.

I don’t agree with selling land to foreigners either but an inevitable consequence of running current account deficits (basically operating the country at a loss) will be selling our land and businesses to people with the money overseas. We can’t keep importing more than we export without filling that hole with cash (foreign investment).

Taxing our businesses and wealthy won’t overcome importing more than we export. We are living beyond our means and are forced to hock off assets to pay for it.

The key is to grow successful, profitable and productive businesses here in NZ so we can at least export as much as we import.

 

[wizard of Tauranga]

The new tunnel on the north western is not even close to being third world.

Problem is overseas countries build 5 tunnels for the same price and just as fast as we do 1…

We pat ourselves on the back for progressing like a snail while the 3rd world countries are smashing out huge progress.

It’s been posted before how our infrastructure cost (productivity again) is the most expensive in the world.

 

[juju]

I don’t agree with selling land to foreigners either but an inevitable consequence of running current account deficits (basically operating the country at a loss) will be selling our land and businesses to people with the money overseas. We can’t keep importing more than we export without filling that hole with cash (foreign investment).

Taxing our businesses and wealthy won’t overcome importing more than we export. We are living beyond our means and are forced to hock off assets to pay for it.

The key is to grow successful, profitable and productive businesses here in NZ so we can at least export as much as we import.

Winfall Tax on banks/ power companies is a far far better option than a foreign buyer tax where the figures don't add up right now...
It would just mean a slightly smaller dividend to shareholders. Of course it would be fought to the extreme - but they are just rampantly expositing the citizens of the country.

Neither solve the productivity issue

 

[John Nick]

I have never been a fan of Seymour in fact I can't stand the guy but at least he is looking at making beneficiaries need some sort of qualifications.
Been tried before I know but is an area that has terrible consequences for the country.

 

[juju]

Problem is overseas countries build 5 tunnels for the same price and just as fast as we do 1…

We pay ourselves on the back for progressing like a snail while the 3rd world countries are smashing out huge progress.

It’s been posted before how our infrastructure cost (productivity again) is the most expensive in the world.

Yeah but we're not third world or even close.

 

[wizard of Tauranga]

Yeah but we're not third world or even close.

… yet

I guess there is frustration we have not progressed at all relative to other countries.

All Civilisations that collapse do so because they get lazy, stop pushing, become inward focused, prioritise entertainment over productivity, etc. I see us heading the same way. Happy to be a poor but nice place.

Well-being, being kind, accepting dreadful productivity, accepting crime, homelessness and poverty, focus on personality politics, overburdening compliance costs, etc

I see NZ needing a change in attitude. I’m not sure National delivers what we need but Labour DEFINITELY leads us in the wrong direction.