It is wonderful to watch the mighty fall… not that either Joe Biden or Jacinda Ardern can be in any way classed as ‘mighty’, but until very recently both were the darlings of the world media. It breaks my heart to see how journalists in the US and elsewhere are
Nurses in New Zealand are poorly paid. There is a significant shortage which is only going to get worse as experienced nurses leave the profession through exhaustion or burnout. This puts those still left in the profession under more pressure, which will only result in more nurses leaving. It is
Joe Biden should never have become the President. We all knew that before the latest catastrophe, but having gifted Afghanistan back to the Taliban, even those who backed him must be regretting it now. Many of those who voted for him must have wondered what possessed them, but there is
The Telegraph UK has written a scathing opinion piece on Jacinda Ardern’s COVID strategy. Seeing that she has been, until now, the darling of the overseas media, it is a particularly savage piece. Read on and enjoy the turning of the worms, in all parts of the globe. Poetic
There always seems to me to be something particularly cowardly about socialist leaders. Think of Jacinda who is still blaming the last government for things that are going wrong today. There is never any question that either she, or anyone in her government, should be held responsible for anything. They
Let me take you back to August 2020 when Auckland announced 4 new COVID cases. Auckland was put into Level 3 and the rest of the country to Level 2. It was annoying, but manageable, particularly for the rest of the country. People actively used the COVID Tracer app, sanitised
I’ve come across a few ‘tax experts’ in my time. I’m sure there are a few good ones, but for most of them their expertise is concentrated in a very specific area, and their general tax knowledge is fairly average. But tax experts, particularly those who are partners
On July 26th, I skyped my brother in the UK. It was his birthday. Inevitably, the subject of the Olympics came up, and knowing that I am a sports fanatic, he asked if I was watching. I said no. “What? Not the sailing, the rugby, the equestrian? Not those divers
Well, here we are. After world governments have tried for a decade and failed to get inflation back to levels that are considered ‘healthy’ – 1% to 3% pa – suddenly, without warning, inflation rates have started to rise. I do not understand why, with constant cost increases, inflation has not been
Have you noticed how nobody is allowed to be sad any more? Depressed? Grieving? No. Today, everything is about mental health. If you are struggling at work, it is because of your mental health, not because you might not be up to the job. If you can’t get out
I am in Westport. We own three properties here. Westport is, as most of you know, on the mighty Buller River, but it also has a feeder river called the Orowaiti. Last weekend, with extremely heavy rains – one could accurately say biblical rains – both rivers flooded, but mainly the Orowaiti,
When we were talking about Capital Gains Tax a few years ago, I was told by a tax specialist that there would never be enough tax revenue from the sale of only non-owner-occupied property, and that, at some point, after CGT had been introduced, it would be extended to include
Five people have been arrested after England footballers were racially abused online following their Euro 2020 final defeat. Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho were targeted after they missed penalties in the Euro 2020 final. The attacks were racist and extremely abusive and were very upsetting for the young
The government has allocated $5 million to the IRD to assess the incomes and wealth of high-wealth individuals. This is being taken as a sign that the government is looking to introduce some form of inheritance tax, although it is not expected to be introduced before the next election. Another
I don’t know about you, but I am finding that TV adverts seem to be mainly targeting either children or people with mental challenges these days. What happened to advertisers targeting adults, the people who pay for most of their products? For example, I don’t think I would
I travelled into Wellington from the Hutt Valley on the train today. The view along the water was delightful. The passengers provided an eclectic mix of people and races – roughly 50% Europeans and 50% Asians – mostly heading into the capital for work. At the station, I took a taxi to
