KiwiSaver has been good for the country and great for its participants. Since its introduction in 2007, it is estimated that funds in KiwiSaver schemes now add up to approximately $57 billion. That is an enormous amount of money locked into investment funds, most of which is going to be
A few weeks back, we had dinner with some very long-standing friends. Jean and I had known each other for years: both British ex-pats, she, a card-carrying Labour member, and me, a member of the blue-tinted glasses brigade, may make an odd pair, but we have always been considerate towards
It’s a changing world… and never more so than in the modern era of the media. Newspapers have almost disappeared, and with the fantastic – and cheap – streaming services available nowadays, things have got tough for commercial TV stations. TV1 will be okay of course, because it is propped up
The government has announced a surplus of $7.5 billion, approximately $4 billion more than predicted. You might be forgiven for thinking such a large understatement means that Phil Twyford’s comments about ‘kids’ in Treasury were justified after all. However, approximately $3.6 billion of the surplus is due
In an attempt to stimulate a flagging economy, Adrian Orr cut the Official Cash Rate (OCR) by 50 percentage points in August, with a message to everyone to go out, borrow more money and spend up large. It is unclear why Orr thought a 50 point cut would stimulate the
There is no point in pretending that Jacinda can rein in Shane Jones. She should, of course, but she won’t. She should want to, as he is giving her government an even worse public perception than her own ministers, but there is still nothing that she can do. The
Things are volatile in the world at the moment, but the sky hasn’t fallen in just yet. The Brexit debacle rolls on and on; no one is winning and no one is allowed to go anywhere. Trade sanctions are having an effect, but not disastrously. In many ways, it
Over the last two years, many people have suspected that the Provincial Growth Fund is really a personal fund for Shane Jones to buy an electoral seat. Certainly, he has spent much of the funds allocated so far in the Far North, but while it may seem that he is
The debate on this topic so far on this blog has been interesting. First of all, I have no argument with those that say rules are rules, and therefore National should do as the speaker requires. Those that think that are entitled to their view. Secondly, I also understand the
Jacinda’s reception at the UN this year was not as starlit as it was in 2018. She was a novelty last year. The gloss does seem to be wearing off nowadays for Jacinda, as she pursues pet projects such as trying to control the internet, which nobody other than
As if we didn’t already know… Bryce Edwards writes for The Guardian this week and expresses disappointment that Jacinda, known as the anti-Trump, is clearly nothing of the sort. To be honest, I am somewhat relieved that she does not appear to have been as rude to him as
The last thing you should do, if your city is gridlocked with traffic, is get a Green MP involved. Unfortunately, this inept government has an associate transport minister who is also a Green MP. Anyone with a modicum of sense would know that this is not going to work. The
I honestly cannot see the point of the Zero Carbon Bill. For a country that produces 0.17% of global emissions, and whose farmers are the most efficient and productive in the world, it just makes no sense. Why hamstring our economy for a rate of emissions that would make
Winston is the longest survivor in the gladiatorial palace we call parliament, but the last week has shown that he is not invincible. Although clearly not done for yet, questions are now being asked about how much longer he is likely to survive, and also what will happen to NZ
Steven Joyce may not be popular, but no one can deny his economic ability. Those who disliked him in the past obviously had no idea how inept and incompetent the next government was going to be. Steven Joyce belongs to an era, only recently ended, where we expected skill and
It may sound like a very strange paradox, but the best thing about this government sometimes is how inept and incompetent it is. They were labelled as visionary and transformational when they came into power, full of ideas about how they would change the country after ‘nine years of neglect’
