In the comments on a previous post, there were some good ideas about how to deal with the protesters that think they have the right to obstruct 20,000 people getting to work or school just so they can make the 6 pm news.
They glue themselves to the road so the Police can’t quickly remove them. So here is what the Police should so.
They should have in place a large ramp, similar to what you use to load cars onto a car transporter, but like an upside down flat V, so you go up one side and down the other.
When the scrotes glue themselves to the road, just place the ramp over them. That way traffic will flow over them, while they will get the pleasure of having the noise and fumes from 20,000 cars pass over their heads by around one metre.
He’s clever, warm, amiable – and if he really wants to win, the public needs to see more of this side of him. It’s a shame that his true nature is dulled by the corporate buzzwords and slogans he uses like a crutch.
I believe people will see more of that side of him during the campaign.
From the profile:
Before long, he began collecting awards (2013 Business Leader of the Year, 2015 CEO of the year, and the Peter Blake Leader award) – and speculation about his future.
He wasn’t just a CEO. He is and was one of the best in New Zealand, and being a great CEO is about leadership.
More recently, he described his parenting style: “Amanda and I have always had a model. From 0-5 (years) we’re caretakers, 5-12 we’re cops, 12-18 we’re coaches and 18 plus we’re consultants.”
I quite like that as a framework. I’m looking forward to getting to the coach phase one day!
Pressed for more, he offers a deeper, longish explanation of his study of more successful small economies (Denmark, Ireland, Israel, Singapore and Switzerland), and his admiration for the thinking of Auschwitz survivor Viktor Frankl.
“He wrote a book called Man’s Search for Meaning. I used to make it compulsory reading for anyone joining Air New Zealand. It was basically a commentary on Western Civilization.”
The psychiatrist’s central themes are around purposeful work.
“I could have made another $100 million a year out of Air New Zealand,” Luxon says. “But that [drive for profit] would sacrifice a whole bunch of [other] things. And I thought I could do things as a CEO, that would actually make life better for my 12, 500 people and their families.
This won’t stop Labour as trying to portray him as a heartless right winger.
If you tax something you end up with less of it. Tax income and people work less. Tax capital and they invest less. Tax consumption and they spend less. And tax wealth, and guess what …
A record number of super-rich Norwegians are abandoning Norway for low-tax countries after the centre-left government increased wealth taxes to 1.1%.
More than 30 Norwegian billionaires and multimillionaires left Norway in 2022, according to research by the newspaper Dagens Naeringsliv. This was more than the total number of super-rich people who left the country during the previous 13 years, it added. Even more super-rich individuals are expected to leave this year because of the increase in wealth tax in November, costing the government tens of millions in lost tax receipts.
Norway has lost the equivalent of $90 billion of wealth since they increased their wealth tax. They have learnt that people and capital are mobile.
How much more of these hand gluing protests in Wellington are we going to tolerate?
Especially now that we know how badly it’s tying up police resources.
We’ve just found out today that up to 10 police officers are now dedicated to dealing with these protestors.
Up to 10 police, between 7am and 9am daily, waiting to find out where the protest is, then responding quickly to get them off the road and get traffic flowing again.
Those are ten police officers who are now unable to do their actual jobs, which is to deal with crime.
Harsh at it sounds, I’ll say it again, these people should be put in jail so that this stops.
This is exactly what’s just happened to a kiwi in the UK.
Morgan Trowland is a civil engineer who grew up in Ashburton and now lives in London.
This week got sent to jail for three years for blocking the Queen Elizabeth bridge in October during a climate protest.
The judge told him he had “to be punished both for the chaos [he] caused and to deter others from seeking to copy [him].”
The judge also said “You plainly believed you knew better than everyone else, and it did not matter if people suffered in consequence so long as it allowed you to impart your message. In short, to hell with everyone else.”
The Judge summed it up nicely.
There is a difference between protest and obstruction. Protest is legal, obstruction is not.
It’s crazy they now have 10 police officers off their normal duties, waiting for them to block more traffic. But they’ll keep doing it unless there is a serious deterrent like in the UK.
The UK Deputy PM, Dominic Raab, resigned because it was found his behaviour towards civil servants was bullying.
I have read the report and have to say that what they regard as bullying in the UK would probably just be regarded as robust feedback from a Minister in New Zealand. It seems his crimes were:
Described some work as “utterly useless” and “woeful”.
Once raised the issue of whether some civil servants were complying with the Civil Service Code
Expressed frustration to officials in a meeting about the quality of their work, without the Permanent Secretary being present
He complained in a meeting that basic information was not being provided
He once referred to a team within a Ministry as obstructive
I would like to have seen those UK officials work for Sir Robert Muldoon – after that, everyone else would be easy!
A new report has highlighted that it might be time to rethink the ownership model for the Ports of Auckland.
Speaking to the Herald’s Stock Takes podcast, TBD Advisory director Phil Barry says a new report from his organisation shows full government ownership of major infrastructure rarely drives the best results.
This is not surprising. The electricity generator companies are providing greater dividends to the Government with 49% ownership than they did with 100% ownership, and power prices had lower increases after partial privatisation than before.
Ports of Auckland’s return on assets improved from 10.1 per cent to 12 per cent between 2015 and 2016 (for years ending June 30), and return on equity went from 12.5 per cent to 14.4 per cent – but then deteriorated.
By 2017 the return on assets was 7.9 per cent and return on equity 9.1 per cent, only to see an improvement in 2018 with 8.3 per cent and 10.7 per cent respectively before the ratios came crashing down.
The return on assets fell from 5.9 per cent in 2019 to a negative 0.1 per cent in 2022 and the return on equity went from 6.9 per cent to -1 per cent in the same period.
Terrible returns.
Looking at 11 ports across the country, research from TDB Advisory found the four with some degree of private ownership consistently performed better over the past eight years.
Port of Tauranga, South Port and Napier Port all have shares listed on the share market, allowing for some degree of private ownership.
“The average return on assets for the 100 per cent-owned local government ports was around 6 per cent, while mixed-ownership ports achieved about a 50 per cent better return, or around 10 per cent on average.”
Next year the Labor Government in Australia is continuing with the tax cuts legislated by the previous Government. This lowers the marginal tax rate on all income up to $200,000 to a maximum of 30%. Once implemented, 99% of New Zealanders will be paying more income tax than someone on the same salary in Australia.
So someone on $120,000 is paying an extra $60 a week tax in NZ compared to Australia. Only if you earn over $300,000 a year do you start to pay more income tax in Australia.
This shows the average tax rate on the level of income. At $40,000 you pay 15% in NZ compared to 10% in Australia. At $80,000 you pay 22% in NZ vs 19% in Australia.
But it gets even worse than that, because GST in Australia is lower also. The difference in after tax income (so income less income tax and average GST paid) is $63 a week for someone on $50,000, $109 a week for someone on $100,000 and $165 a week for someone on $150,000. For someone on $200,000 they are paying $241 a week less income tax and GST in Australia.
Labour will soon try and push for an increase in our top tax rate from 39% to 45%, on the basis that Australia has that as their top tax rate. But that is ignoring all the tax rates below it. Someone on $200,000 in NZ is already paying $241 a week more tax (including GST) than someone in Australia.
In NZ someone on $200,000 pays $58,120 in income tax compared to $51,592 next year in Australia. The GST rate of 15% is 50% higher than the Australian rate of 10% and is more broad based than in Australia. So the overall impact is a “rich prick” on $200,000 is paying way way more tax already in NZ.
It probably isn’t until you are earning around $650,000 than you pay more income tax and GST in Australia than you do in New Zealand.
Once the tax rate for income between $45,000 and $200,000 in Australia drops to 30%, I expect to see even more Kiwis moving to Australia.
Jordan and I set up the Taxpayers’ Union almost ten years ago with a mailing list of around 100 people, under $50,000 in the bank and one staff member. It has grown since then, and this is because it gets so much support from ordinary Kiwis.
Last year we ended up with over 200,000 active subscribers to our mailing lists. That represents 1 in 14 voting adults or 1 in 19 of all adults. Every single one of these subscribers has chosen to follow us, and read what we say (people get unsubscribed if they don’t open the e-mails after a period).
The number of donors has also increased massively. Over 20,000 New Zealanders have donated to fund our work. We are arguably the successful grass roots funded political organisation in New Zealand.
As I understand it, more people donated to NZTU in 2022 than to any political party, bar National.
The vast bulk (80%) of our donations and income is from small contributions from our supporters of anywhere between $5 and $1,000 per year, with an average of $63.28 donated.
In 2018, small dollar donors made up 40% of our income and for the year to 31 October 2022 they made up 80.4%. Anyone who claims the TU is funded by a few wealthy people is lying.
A few years ago a few people got excited that one of our members was a tobacco company (no surprise – neither of us like the tax on tobacco that has fuelled the criminal black market). Well even in earlier years donations from industries (alcohol, sugar, nicotine, and construction) made up only 15% of our total annual income and now they represent just 2.1% of our total income.
This information has been on the TU’s website since November. I’m very humbled and proud by how many New Zealanders support the TU, and want to thank through my blog the many many people who have made it possible for us to be effective.
The second round of Disney layoffs hit ABC News on Tuesday, with Nate Silver’s data-driven politics and journalism brand FiveThirtyEight among those being impacted.
Silver told FiveThirtyEight employees in a Slack message that he expects to leave Disney when his contract is up, which he added would be “soon,” The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
ABC News is expected to keep the FiveThirtyEight brand name, with plans to streamline the site and make it more efficient.
I didn’t realise Silver had sold the brand name to ABC/Disney. Previously he retained rights to it, so when he left the NY Times, it left with him.
I am a huge fan of Silver. His data driven approach has changed journalism in the US for the better. I read 538 many times a week and listen to their twice weekly podcast.
I can’t imagine I will visit often, if at all, with Silver gone. And if he sees up a new entity, I am highly likely to subscribe to that.
As a pollster myself, I have learnt a lot listening to Silver talk about his predictive models, and how polls feed into that, but also his use of non polling data.
This week I was on the Leighton Smith podcast and we traversed parenting, education, leadership, Elon Musk and in NZ how we chop down high achievers, free and creative thinkers. We didn’t mention him but Martin Crowe came to mind. I have recently completed a book that is not on education but more a take on a range of life experiences so far. Next step is to look for a publisher (hint, hint … if you are out there).
Below is the chapter I wrote on Martin and the friendship I was privileged to share towards the end of his life. Martin died age 53 – just over six years ago. (The piece is published with Lorraine’s permission).
An Impact of New Zealand’s “Tall Lichen” Syndrome
By strange coincidence two of the most recent books I read during writing this cross referenced each other.
In Martin Crowe’s 1995 book Out on a Limb he notes Tom Scott as a journalist he held in high regard. In Tom Scott’s brilliant memoir Drawn Out he could well have been writing this comment about New Zealand’s treatment of Martin Crowe:
“I have learned over the years that New Zealand doesn’t have a tall poppy syndrome; that’s quite wrong. We have a tall lichen syndrome.”
It was a very great privilege for me in 2014-16 to get to know Marty Crowe. First through a business arrangement, where Marty was providing advice around media interactions, then as a friendship.
From the time I first saw cricket on TV in the late 1970s I loved the game. I played through to senior club level in my teens. It is an intriguing and very difficult game to master. At the highest level the technical and mental skills required to succeed are remarkable and experience counts for so much. A batsman successfully negotiating a ball delivered at 150kmph pretty much defies physiological explanation. I would always have rather faced a charging 120kg front row forward than a psychotic fast bowler.
Martin Crowe was called into the New Zealand team in 1982 at nineteen years of age. He was selected for a One Day International and Test match series against none other than Australia. This was on top of many early selections, in his teen years, into squads and situations when all around him were much older. The series was a disaster for Marty as, at that stage, Dennis Lillie and Jeff Thompson were simply too fast, too aggressive, experienced, and merciless. He was poorly supported by the NZ leadership, including batting out of position, and basically left to fend for himself. I was at the Basin Reserve in Wellington, as a spectator, when Martin batted for the second time for his country. It did not go well – he had been shoved into the no.3 spot and, given that John Wright was out first ball, had to go in and face the fearsome Jeff Thompson with a brand new “cherry”.
The rest, as they say, is history – Martin Crowe went on to be a great cricketer. In terms of the statistics, he played in 77 test matches and 143 One Day Internationals. When he retired, he had the most test runs for New Zealand and had inspired a nation with his leadership and wonderful batting during the 1992 World Cup in Australasia. He is ranked among the world-wide greats and is one of the very few kiwis inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame. His sublime cover drives and the ability to pull a fast bowler over mid-on were evidence enough of greatness.
There is a saying, “never meet your heroes” with the implication that they will always disappoint. When I met with Marty it was just the opposite. As I began to explain the struggles, and stresses, I was dealing with through being newly in the public eye he behaved like a true hero. I had met someone who could listen, consider, empathise, and respond. I had met someone who could sift what mattered from the chaff. I had also met someone who admitted that this was hard earned as he had so often, deeply. and emotionally, taken on board the actions and criticisms of others – including media. These were often unjust and designed to harm. In Marty’s book Raw he emotionally lays out those situations a lot better than I could here and it is best that you read that to fully understand.
One of the very great privileges of my life occurred soon after Marty had been informed that, after a period in remission, his lymphoma had returned. He turned up at our home around noon one day and we drove to One Tree Hill. We wandered across the grass of the Cornwall Park Cricket Club and found a seat on the hill with a plaque dedicating the seat, and a tree, to Marty’s dad – Dave Crowe.
For the next three hours I said very, very, little and Marty talked through many aspects of his life. He spoke of the pressures of being selected very young for many teams, but how difficult it was to say that he wasn’t ready. He spoke of the many occasions when leaders within the New Zealand cricket establishment let him, and those close to him, down and often created deep hurt.
Marty also recognised that as a young person he was far from perfect. My take on that would be – “of course”. That is the definition of being young. Our ideas are partially formed. Our emotions are raw. We make mistakes. We over-reach. Our internal critique is at its peak. That is the very time we need mature mentors who have no ego. People are needed to offer unqualified love and acceptance – not because they see potential greatness and gain (personal or organisational) but because they recognise humanity (“we have this treasure in jars of clay”).
Marty talked about his deep love for his daughter and for Lorraine his wife. He talked about how he and Lorraine supported each other through the stresses and strains. He talked about how they met and how the romance blossomed.
He talked about how in the last years of Dave’s life they had spent a lot of simple time together, playing pool, eating steak, having a beer, and how it had further enhanced the relationship. He credited those simple times for massively improving his outlook post retirement from cricket.
He talked about his cousin Russell Crowe and about, when it became known that Dave Crowe was terminally ill, that Russell booked out the cinema at Mission Bay, Auckland. He then flew from South America with the newly minted film, Gladiator. He played it to an audience – of Dave, family and friends – for the first time and then jumped back on a plane to head back to South America to continue filming another epic.
He talked about some of his great experiences and achievements and many of the people he regarded as very good friends – including the great Grant Fox whom he had grown up alongside from the third form.
He talked about many of the hurts that he had felt for himself and on behalf of others that he considered to have been poorly treated. Marty spoke of the deep care he had for Ross Taylor and Martin Guptill and the respect he had for them as both people and cricketers. I know he adored being there the day when NZ played the world cup final in Australia after a remarkable campaign in 2015. I don’t think it was of major concern to him that the final did not go the way of the kiwis – there had been so many highlights. This was a team that had played in the Marty mold.
He talked about his appalling treatment at the hands of NZ Cricket on many occasions – including ridiculous and drawn-out treatment around a match fixing comment that was both bizarre and easily dismissed. He also talked about how he had learned to let go of the hurt.
He laughed about getting in shape to make a premier club cricket comeback at 50 years of age and having the great misfortune that the first bowler he faced was the very, very fast and aggressive young Lachie Fergusson who was not in the mood to be merciful. Irony plus.
He talked about his love of the game and how he had become reconciled to the issues that he faced as if they were transitions to a better way. I think he would have been so incredibly proud of the NZ team winning the first ever world test championship.
I believe I can truly say that one of his great hopes is that we would become a nation that loved difference. A nation that allowed a young person to grow through their immaturity. A nation that is truly aspirational and does not cut down those who rise above the lichen. Things were bad enough in many parts of Marty’s career through normal media. With the advent of all forms of social media and the battles for sensationalism and clicks I am not yet hopeful things will improve fast. However, there is a push towards the well-being of all athletes and that has potential.
Martin Crowe died way too young at 53 years, 163 days. A truly remarkable person – including his sporting abilities. Someone I loved listening to and someone that many could reflect upon, and honour, to make our nation a little better day by day. I deeply appreciate every moment I spent with him. Our nation would do well to make a deal that every time a Marty comes along that we love them for who they are.
Last year I was wandering through One Tree Hill domain and looking for the Dave Crowe seat. I was deeply concerned (upset really) that it appeared to be missing. Upon checking I was so delighted that, where there had been one chair, there were now two. One for Dave and one for Marty. When I am there, I simply sit and replay the conversations.
To those that Marty spoke of with deep love and respect:
Through these fields of destruction Baptisms of fire I’ve witnessed your suffering As the battle raged high And though they did hurt me so bad In the fear and alarm You did not desert me My brothers in arms
But he is taking steps to release and has reconnected with some whānau.
There are a few people who should never be let out, and he is one of them.
The sociopathy and cruelty to not just rape and kill a child, but to torture her and bury her alive is beyond comprehension. There is no way we could ever feel safe with him out.
Revenue Minister David Parker was quick to pour cold water on the idea he was buttering up the electorate for a capital gains tax, after the release of two reports that showed the ultra-wealthy were paying tax at half the effective rate of ordinary Kiwis.
National and Act were quick to say the reports – which showed 311 of New Zealand’s wealthiest paid 9.4 per cent of their total incomes in tax, versus an average tax rate of 20.2 per cent paid by middle-income Kiwis – showed Labour was readying the electorate for more taxes and, perhaps, a capital gains tax.
The reports compare apples and pears. They compare actual income of middle-income earners to unrealised hypothetical capital gains of wealthy New Zealanders. Presumably this means the Government is planning to try again with a Capital Gains Tax, but not just on realised gains but on unrealised gains – which would be I think unique in the world.
The research also ignores the effect of inflation on assets. So if an asset increased by 7% and inflation is 7% it is worth no more in real terms, but Parker seems to think it should be taxed.
The funny thing with the millions spent on this, is that the underlying reality was already well known – wealthier people are more likely to gain their wealth from capital than from labour. Rod Drury, for example, didn’t get wealthy from paying himself a big CEO salary – he got wealthy because he invented an amazing product that has attracted millions of customers.
One thing the research did so, was highly progressive our tax system really is. If you take into account income tax, GST and transfers, the net effective tax rate for each income decile is:
Decile 1: -52%
Decile 2: -55%
Decile 3: -36%
Decile 4: -2%
Decile 5: 6%
Decile 6: 18%
Decile 7: 21%
Decile 8: 23%
Decile 9: 26%
Decile 10: 29%
So the bottom 40% of income earners receive more in transfers than they pay in tax. Even those in the 5th decile only pay an effective tax rate of 6%, because the vast vast bulk of tax is paid by those in the top deciles.
The legacy of the Winter War still casts a shadow over Finland. The conflict, also known as the First Finnish-Soviet War, saw Finland’s armed forces inflict monumental casualties on a vast invading Red Army during the bitter winter months of 1939/40.
The war, which resulted in territorial losses for Finland, taught the Finns the need for an army capable of deterring Russia from ever invading again. …
Under the Finnish constitution, every male citizen aged between 18 and 60 is liable for call-up, and each year some 22,000 men join the army. This means that Finland’s tiny standing army of around 19,000 can quickly grow to 280,000, while thousands more could also be mobilised in a time of national crisis.
Conscription also remains popular in Finland; built upon a broad societal understanding of the need to maintain national defence. A poll from December 2021, for example, revealed that 84 per cent of Finns were willing to defend their country to the best of their abilities.
In line with this defensive posture, Finland has invested heavily in big guns, giving it one of the strongest artillery forces in Europe. It now has some 1,500 weapons, including 700 howitzers and cannons and 100 heavy and light rocket launchers.
It also boasts a tank force of around 650 armoured vehicles, which includes 200 German-made Leopard 2 main battle tanks, putting it on a par with any army in Europe, including Britain.
Pushing Finland (and Sweden) into NATO has been a huge blunder for Putin. This is not some tiny country joining, but a very well trained and equipped force.
Are you politically minded and care about how government resources are managed?
Thrive leading the funding for a pressure group that stand for lower taxes, less waste and transparent government. Manage the fundraising calendar to professionalise and increase fund-raising activities, manage large donor relationships and increase income to further the mission.
You’ll carry out the fundraising plan focusing on the large donor cycle. Identify and develop fundraising opportunities using research and existing campaigns as leverage. Prepare and manage supporting materials such as pitches, collateral, DM campaigns and the CRM system. Cultivate and nurture relationships that will likely extend fundraising.
Flexibility to manage your hours will balance the need for always being available.
To create impact you’ll have the following attributes:
You keep up with news and current events, and legislative developments; it’s just who you are
Articulate, you’re a confident spokesperson and strong relationship manager
Your professional approach enables you to attend to donors, supporters, volunteers, and the Board
Self-driven, you believe in the organisational mission and have the flexibility to work evenings and some weekends as necessary, and travel within NZ a couple of times a month
Organised, you maintain and manage contact lists and help coordinate events and campaigns
Not hold any office in any political party or partisan affiliation
The Taxpayers’ Union is New Zealand’s largest political advocacy group, using the power of our 200,000 subscribed members and supporters to fight for Lower Taxes, Less Waste, More Transparency. We raise awareness and hold politicians to account using hard-hitting original research combined with people power.
The role reports to the Executive Director and is based in Auckland CBD.
So, if you’d like to coordinate the engagement efforts for large and potential donors and care about the future of New Zealand politics, let’s talk!
US news giant CNN has fired veteran host and anchor Don Lemon in a surprise move announced only minutes after rival Fox News parted ways with its star host, Tucker Carlson.
Weird that two of the biggest names in cable news would be gone within a few minutes of each other.
Lemon was loathed by the right and Carlson by the left, so this story I imagine will make most Americans somewhat happy.
I can’t see Lemon doing anything big in future, except maybe going to MSNBC.
What will be more interesting is what Tucker Carlson does. He has been talked about as a presidential candidate and has a very devoted following. Will he set up his own platform, or go to one of the small rivals of Fox?
Green MP Elizabeth Kerekere’s bullying included shutting out and belittling other Māori MPs, staff and volunteers, new accusers from within the party say.
Since then, another two people have shared their experiences with RNZ under the condition of anonymity.
Kerekere – whose conduct is being investigated by the party – did not respond to RNZ’s direct request for comment. A Green Party spokesperson said MPs would not be commenting while the internal review was underway.
A Māori member of the Greens and active role-holder said they were compelled to speak out after seeing some of Kerekere’s defenders suggest the MP was being targeted due to her race.
“The bullying that I have witnessed from Elizabeth Kerekere has mainly been targeted at young Māori,” the member said.
This is all becoming rather toxic.
If the Greens vote to keep Kerekere at No 4 on the party list, it will look like an endorsement of her behaviour.
But if they drop her down, she will no doubt lash out and accuse the Greens of being racist and homophobic for her low ranking!
Tomiwa Owolade claims that Irish, Jewish and Traveller people all suffer from “racism” (“Racism in Britain is not a black and white issue. It’s far more complicated”, Comment). They undoubtedly experience prejudice. This is similar to racism and the two words are often used as if they are interchangeable.
It is true that many types of white people with points of difference, such as redheads, can experience this prejudice. But they are not all their lives subject to racism. In pre-civil rights America, Irish people, Jewish people and Travellers were not required to sit at the back of the bus. In apartheid South Africa, these groups were allowed to vote. And at the height of slavery, there were no white-seeming people manacled on the slave ships.
So she compares being Jewish to being a redhead, and ignores the Holocaust which was state sanctioned elimination of six million people based entirely on their race.
She is also factually wrong on slavery – over one million Europeans were forced into slavery in the Barbary slave trade.
Today I remember not just the almost 30,000 New Zealanders who died in WWI and WWII but also more recently the following who died fighting for liberty or giving aid in Ukraine:
The legendary Barry Humphries has died aged 89. His name was probably less well known that his characters such as Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson.
He was also the shark Bruce in Finding Nero and the Great Goblin in The Hobbit film.
He was arguably the Charlie Chaplain of his generation. He will be missed.
