NewsRoom Digest: Top NZ News Items for November 25 Edition, 2015

November 25, 2015

This edition of NewsRoom_Digest features 14 resourceful links of the day and the politics pulse from Wednesday 25th November. It is best viewed on a desktop screen.

NEWSROOM_MONITOR

Noteworthy stories in the current news cycle include controversy over difficulties Dr Jarrod Gilbert, a sociologist specialising in research on criminals at the University of Canterbury, has had obtaining official information from police, new research from Motu into shifts in the ways that New Zealanders are mitigating greenhouse-gas emissions and the Southern District Health Board missing out on full accreditation to train doctors after the Medical Council found as many as 19 deficiencies in its processes.

POLITICS PULSE

Media releases issued from Parliament by political parties today included:

Government: Minister to travel to Paris for key climate meeting; New tourism and hospitality college for Northland; Government Begins Review Of ETS; ETS review an opportunity for forestry; NZ food and beverage sector adding value to volume; Study confirms NZ’s commitment to education; Soft Plastics Recycling Programme launched; Government Suggests Options To Improve Financial Advice Laws; Record low number of backroom bureaucrats; Additional funding to engage young Wellingtonians with science and tech; Good progress in two years of Housing Accord; More opportunities for Māori and Pasifika Trades Training; Minister launches Healthy Families Rotorua; Caversham Valley improvements deliver safer journeys for Otago; Government Suggests Options To Improve Financial Advice Laws; White Ribbon Day puts spotlight on family violence

Greens: No John Key, science alone won’t save us, action will; Agriculture must be part of Emissions Trading Scheme review; Police censorship of crime research “an outrage”

Labour: Petition over Key’s comments on sexual violence returns to Parliament; Data withheld to stymie research; Last chance for Govt to listen on ECan

Māori Party: Te Ururoa Flavell joins 250 km run to raise awareness about domestic and sexual abuse; Call to bring back Maori soldiers buried in Malaysia; Labour & NZF Maori MPs Should Do Homework Before Mudslinging

New Zealand First: Silver Fern Farms ‘Heist’ Needs Regulators’ Scrutiny

NZ National Party: Hutt Valley primary school to engage kids in science and tech

LINKS OF THE DAY

Links of the day have been a feature of NewsRoom_Digest since we first started production in August 2014.

BACKROOM BUREAUCRATS DROP: The June 2015 update of the Core Government Administration shows 35,632 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) staff, a reduction of 474 from December 2014.The latest capping update is available here:http://www.ssc.govt.nz/capping-june15

CONSTRUCTION SURVEY: The Aecom Sentiments Survey for the 2nd half of 2015 highlights a substantial softening in the infrastructure sector with only 29 percent of respondents expecting to see an increase in workload. The survey is available at: http://www.aecom.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Sentiment-NZ-2H-2015_final_Embargoed-until-25-November-2015.pdf

EMPLOYMENT FIGURES: The number of Pacific people employed increased by 9.6 per cent in the year to September 2015, according to the latest Labour Market Factsheets for Māori and Pacific peoples released by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment today.For more information on MBIE’s labour market analysis, and to view the factsheets visit our website:http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/employment-skills/labour-market-reports.

FAMILY SUPPORT: A research released by Statistics New Zealand, shows that 61 percent of New Zealand adults who experienced a major life change in the last 12 months turned to family for support. Read more:http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/people_and_communities/Well-being/social-connectedness/social-networks/deal-with-change.aspx

FINANCIAL ADVICE LAWS: An options paper has been released in a move to improve financial advice legislation. More details at: www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/business/business-law/financial-advisers/review-of-financial-advisers-act-2008

FOOD & BEVERAGE SECTOR: A new report on New Zealand’s food and beverage export sector shows that the sector is successfully achieving growth by investing in added value products and moving up the value chain. The Investor’s Guide to the New Zealand Food and Beverage Industry is part of the Food and Beverage Information Project and is available here: http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/sectors-industries/food-beverage/information-project

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS: New research by Motu Economic and Public Policy Research has identified where households can make a real difference to their greenhouse gas emissions – and cutting down on red meat and purchasing an electric vehicle are top of the list. Click here for more: http://www.motu.org.nz/assets/Documents/our-work/environment-and-resources/emission-mitigation/shaping-new-zealands-low-emissions-future/Are-we-turning-a-brighter-shade-of-green-execsummary.pdf

INTERNATIONAL VISITOR ARRIVALS: The latest edition of International Visitor Arrivals to New Zealand (IVA) is now available on the Statistics New Zealand website. Read more: http://bit.ly/1Md0Lke

INTERNATIONAL VISITOR SPENDING: International visitor spend grew 38 per cent to $9.4 billion in the September 2015 year, according to the latest International Visitor Survey released today by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). Summary statistics are available in the IVS key data table:http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/sectors-industries/tourism/tourism-research-data/ivs/ivs-commentary

NZ EDUCATION: Education At a Glance 2015, which was released overnight, shows that New Zealand ranks in the top two OECD countries for expenditure on both school and tertiary education as a percentage of total public expenditure. The report is available at: htttp://www.oecd.org/edu/eag.htm

SELF-ESTEEM STUDY: Thousands of Kiwi parents have seen a positive increase in their child’s self-esteem after they take part in a triathlon event, according to a new survey by Sanitarium Health Food Company. Click here for more:http://try.weetbix.co.nz/parents/benefits-for-your-child

SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS AWARDS: The The NZI Sustainable Business Network Awards, which have been running for 13 years was held last night.Read more: http://sustainable.org.nz/awards/

UNLOCKING CURIOUS MINDS: Nearly $1 million of additional funding has been awarded to 25 new projects across New Zealand to engage more young Kiwis with science and technology under the Unlocking Curious Minds contestable fund pilot. For more information visit: http://www.curiousminds.nz/ucm

WORLD BANK’S CLIMATE PLAN: The World Bank Group today unveiled a new plan that calls for $16 billion in funding to help African people and countries adapt to climate change and build up the continent’s resilience to climate shocks.Go here for more: http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2015/11/24/world-bank-group-unveils-16-billion-africa-climate-business-plan-to-tackle-urgent-climate-challenges

And that’s our sampling of “news you can use” for Wednesday 25th November.

Brought to EveningReport by Newsroom Digest.

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Carolyn Skelton on NZ’s Web Series coming of age: Web Fest 2015

By Selwyn Manning -

November 25, 2015

Feature analysis by Carolyn Skelton. A couple of weeks ago, I went to the first NZ Web Fest 2015. It had a diverse and engaging programme. The rise in popularity of online videos follows the increasing use of youtube, and a related decline in viewing of broadcast TV especially among young people. [See Andrew Laxon on NZ Herald 21 Nov 2015] NZ Web series, shows and documentaries – The range of productions and people covered in the Fest included the YouTube international celebrity Jamie Curry of Jamie’s World; https://youtu.be/IYzxhj93ngA web series featured on the NZ Web Series Channel ; fictional web series such as High Road, https://youtu.be/PFONfCsSZn8 AFK, Flat 3, End of Term and more; 3 minute documentaries as enabled by Loading Docs; web shows supported by TV channels such as Maori TV and TV3; and satirical shows like White Man Behind a Desk. Some, like Jamie Curry, started making no-cost YouTube videos with the encouragement of friends, talking about her life, friends and family, and picked up a massive international niche audience. Jamie now has a published book, a manager, and has recently been getting some help with organising ideas from Jaquie Brown. Others, like Chaz Harris, creator of End of Term, had previous experience in TV, film and web series in the UK and NZ. We were given a preview of selected episodes of End of Term. It’s now showing on the NZ Web Series Channel and on YouTube. It is rendered mysterious and intriguing because each episode represents “found footage” of a home-made video recording, and reveals a small amount of information shown out of chronological order. It’s a mosaic, a puzzle, with clues as to the order in the online camera graphic. https://youtu.be/rz3QZlCCCWc [Chaz Harris talks on RNZ with examples of web series] However, while Harris had initially wanted to make a TV or film production, Roseanne Liang, creator of Flat 3 said her team saw themselves, their approach and their content as non-mainstream. She described them as Kiwi Asians with an inclusive feminist and intersectionist philosophy. They have gone for brand partnerships for funding. Laing referred to the defining characteristic of web productions in the US as being where “authenticity is king”, in contrast to TV where “the story is king”. Laing is indicative of the strong participation by women as producers and directors of web series and web shows. https://youtu.be/OgeLHoL6Fxo The Aroha Project also has an alternative focus. It is “part of a multifaceted initiative responding to bullying, alienation and suicide risk amongst young Māori and Pacific LGBT youth.” https://youtu.be/TJ5U-UJsFsk Characteristics and funding models Much of the Web Fest focus was on youth culture, YouTube, and mobile technologies. However, the popular, very Kiwi and Westie accented High Road has a protagonist who is a scruffy aging rocker. The series begins with him running a local radio station at the Piha Camp site. The strongest themes throughout the Web Fest were those of creativity, innovation and entertainment. Multi-platform productions and possibilities for audience interactivity are also highly recommended. Short videos and humour considered to be highly desirable, though not always necessary. It was pointed out that there is an audience for longer documentaries online as seen at Vice Media. Three funding models were presented through these presentations, apart from the no-cost first YouTube videos of the likes of original productions of Jamie’s World: NZ On Air funding; brand partnerships (usually through product placement); Crowdfunding. They all have their pros and cons, but behind each are a specific ethos. Brenda Leeuwenberg from NZ On Air explained the process of applying for NZ On Airt funding for web series. The numbers of applications for this doubled to 109 in the last year. Anna Lawrence and Brent Kennedy on branding and monetising online content. NZ On Air funding aims to give a leg up to new crews and talents (especially among young wannabe filmmakers). They want to encourage productions that will be free at point of viewing. Loading Docs, supported by NZ On Air Digital Fund and the NZ Film Commission, is taking submissions proposals for 3 minute documentaries for funding. I have some misgivings about product placement in that it is likely to influence onscreen meanings to some extent. Proponents of this approach say that they choose partners that support their work. Furthermore, they say that partnerships have a flexibility not usually seen with TV and film commercial sponsorship and product placement: one episode of a web series may feature a Coca Cola product, the next a Pepsi one, or something entirely different. Crowdfunding promises more independence for video-makers by encouraging participation and support from their potential audience – in itself crowdfunding can be a good promotional exercise. 2015 Web Awards The day ended with the announcement of the very worthy winners of the 2015 NZ Web awards. [nominees here] The choices must have been hard for the judges. In keeping with the youth and female focus of online video production, Jamie’s World won the Best YouTube Video Channel. The winner of the Best Web Series (fiction) was High Road and the winner of the Best YouTube One To Watch award went to Ollie Langdon. The Best Web Show (non-fiction) was White Man Behind a Desk. https://youtu.be/E1RL1Y4FFKw I particularly enjoy WMBAD as it provides some much needed home grown political satire. It does not seem to use brand partnerships. –]]>

Keith Rankin’s Chart for this Week: Decadal Inflation in New Zealand 1925-2015

By Keith Rankin -

November 25, 2015

Analysis by Keith Rankin.

[caption id="attachment_8277" align="aligncenter" width="978"]

Inflation in Context.[/caption]

This week’s chart looks at decadal rather than annual inflation. With Statistics New Zealand last year celebrating the centenary of the Consumers Price Index (CPI), a more broad-brush and historical approach to the inflation-spectre that still drives much of our macroeconomic policy is timely.

The light-red plot shows – for each quarter – average prices in the previous four quarters (1 year) compared to average prices in twelve-quarters (3 years) ten years earlier. The reason for comparing a 1-year average with a three year average is that it assures us that turning points in the plot reflect the most recent period, and not any blips that were happening ten years earlier.

The dark-green plot shows 40-quarter averages (10 years) compared to the previous 40-quarters. It shows the decadal pattern unblemished by short term blips in the data. It is centred, meaning that the most recent (2010) plot represents average prices from Dec-2005 to Sep-2015 compared to average prices from Dec-1995 to Sep 2005.

In the big picture we can easily see what is appropriately called the Great Inflation of the 1970s and early 1980s. It is important to emphasise that – like the Great Depression of the 1930s – this was a global economic event that affected New Zealand. It was not a New Zealand specific event. This contrasts with the German hyperinflation of 1923, and the Zimbabwe hyperinflation in the early years of this century, which were country-specific events. Indeed in New Zealand we see that prices were lower in 1930 than in 1920, quite unlike the German experience.

In New Zealand we worried about inflation in the 1910s, in World War 2 (1940s), and in the 1950s. But decadal inflation of about 50 percent in these times was clearly dwarfed by decadal inflation that peaked in New Zealand in 1982, at 270 percent. This means that, in New Zealand (similar to most western countries), New Zealand prices were 3.7 times higher in 1982 than in 1972.

(A 100% inflation rate means prices have become two-times what they were previously; a doubling. A 200% inflation means a trebling of prices. A 900% increase represents a ten-fold increase of prices.)

The decline in inflation rates (disinflation) in New Zealand clearly began with the 1982 price and wage freeze. Inflation was briefly reignited in 1985 following the 1984 devaluation and the big public sector pay hikes. An apparent surge in inflation in 1987 was in fact due to the introduction of GST; not to underlying inflation. The Reserve Bank Act of 1989 – ostensibly the creation of a monetary-policy mandate and arsenal to fight inflation – was introduced well after the inflation problem had abated. The high GST-boosted inflation rate almost certainly served as part of the pretext for the Reserve Bank Act, an act that essentially interpreted the already-waning inflation as a national rather than as a global phenomenon.

We see that from the 1990s, inflation has been close to its twentieth-century norms. The Great Inflation was clearly an exceptional period of global macroeconomic history. Policymaking centred on the inflation issue has become an anachronism. While the battle is the world’s central banks is now to fight deflation, they really have no more clue about how to do this than they did in the 1930s. (Switzerland currently has interest rates of -0.75% and annual inflation at -1.4%. Japan has both interest rates and annual inflation at 0.00%!)

Negative decadal inflation peaked in New Zealand in the year 1932, at -20 percent for the ten years commencing 1922. We are in for more of this deflation – again a global phenomenon – unless, that is, World War 3 breaks out.

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NZ Report: Govt Intends To Toughen Up On Encrypted Communications + The Elusive Taylor Swift

By Selwyn Manning -

November 25, 2015

New Zealand Report: Selwyn Manning joins Australia’s radio FiveAA.com.au breakfast team to deliver New Zealand Report: This week – The New Zealand Government intends to toughen up on encrypted communications + The Elusive Taylor Swift – Recorded Live on 25/11/15.

New Zealand’s National-led Government looks set to further tighten the country’s security intelligence laws in the aftermath of the November 13 terror attacks in Paris. Yesterday (Tuesday) the Prime Minister John Key said there were 40 New Zealanders currently on a special anti-terrorism target list and at least two individuals are currently under 24 hour surveillance by the Security Intelligence Service (SIS) and Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB). Key said all 40 individuals on the watch-list are on the “periphery of Islamic State”. He told Radio New Zealand: “One or two of them are quite threatening individuals but I hasten to say people should take some confidence from the fact that they’re under 24-hour surveillance so their capacity to do a lot is limited.” Immediately after the Paris terror attacks John Key and the SIS and GCSB Minister, Chris Finlayson both indicated a concern that new encryption communications software made it possible for terrorists and criminals to communicate and plan strikes within the dark web. Finlayson hinted that the Government is looking to make it unlawful for people in New Zealand to use encryption without ensuring the Government’s spooks have a means of deciphering the communications. Currently, all ISPs in New Zealand must provide the Government’s spooks with de-encryption keys to any private or protected communication platforms. But there is no law preventing individuals from using high-encryption software like Tor and Tails. QUIRKY NEWS: On a lighter note, the biggest mystery in New Zealand this week is: Taylor Swift, where the bloody hell are ya? Media and fans have been out trying to hunt down the American superstar after rumours began circulating that she was spotted at an Auckland west coast ocean beach, and also that she is here filming a new music video. The news of the century was confirmed by a local soap opera actor who bumped into Swift when exiting the toilet on a flight from LA to Auckland. Ido Dent told Television New Zealand: “Yeah, had a good chat to her on the plane outside the lavatory. She’s definitely here.”

New Zealand Report broadcasts live on Australia’s radio FiveAA.com.au and webcasts on EveningReport.nz LiveNews.co.nz and ForeignAffairs.co.nz.

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COP21 countdown continues

By Selwyn Manning -

November 24, 2015

NewsroomPlus.com – Contributed by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) A week before the crucial COP 21 climate conference in Paris, a new report by the UNEP Inquiry into the Design of a Sustainable Financial System (UNEP Inquiry) and I4CE – Institute for Climate Economics – shows how France is successfully integrating sustainability factors into its financial architecture. The report, entitled France’s Financial (Eco)system: improving the integration of sustainability factors, pinpoints the key steps taken by both public and private actors in France over the last two decades, with a focus on pioneering climate-related measures introduced this year. UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said:

“France is part of a growing catalogue of examples around the world where sustainability is being factored into private and public financial decision-making. This shift in financial considerations is an element of the collective ambition we are seeing from all corners for a sustainable future. More than this, it demonstrates the accelerating momentum toward sustainability we will need to build on in Paris to tackle climate change.”

The study is the first in-depth analysis of the progressive mainstreaming of environmental issues in France’s financial sector. It highlights the country’s leadership in promoting the integration of sustainability and climate factors into financial decision-making. This has most recently taken the form of new climate-related reporting and risk assessment measures – notably Article 173 – which were adopted as part of the 2015 Law on Energy Transition for Green Growth.

Nick Robins, Co-director of the UNEP Inquiry, said:

“This new report on France adds to the UNEP Inquiry’s in-depth analysis of actions that countries across the world are taking to align their financial systems with sustainable development. It shows how market and policy innovation can combine to improve the performance and resilience of the financial system.”

The official policy and regulatory framework is only one of the elements that contribute to greening France’s financial system. The report identifies a broad “ecosystem” of commercial, public sector and non-profit actors who have played a key role in fostering the articulation of sustainability issues across the financial sector. This extensive engagement and depth of expertise have been essential to building the momentum that led to this year’s climate-specific measures, notably the world-leading provisions for investors to disclose their contribution to energy transition and plans for climate factors to be included into bank stress tests. Benoît Leguet, Managing Director at I4CE said:

“The French approach focuses on improving the practice of all actors while leaving them enough space to act in the most appropriate way for their own interests and business models.”

Romain Morel, economist at I4CE, said:

“France has developed a distinctive model where public and private initiatives reinforce each other to both raise awareness and promote concrete action.”

France’s Track Record

France’s track record is based on a growing attention to environmental, social and governance issues over the past fifteen years, with their formal integration into the regulatory framework beginning back in 2001. Since then, this oversight-based approach has been expanded to include additional issues, with measures:

focusing on improving availability of information through the development of a comprehensive set of reporting measures targeting both the financial sector and the companies it finances;
fostering the development of market-wide expertise through a mix of public and private initiatives and national debates on sustainable development issues gathering a broad range of stakeholders;
driving improved risk assessment through minimum requirements for institutions to disclose their exposure to climate-related risks.

These measures have contributed to growing volumes of domestic climate finance in France, up from EUR 30 billion in 2011 to EUR 36 billion in 2013, according to I4CE research. Hosting COP21 has provided an added stimulus for domestic efforts in France to green its financial system. Looking forward, the report highlights a set of priorities to maintain the momentum of policy and market innovation. The French case study follows the recently published UNEP Inquiry global report, The Financial System We Need, which charts how the full potential of the financial system can be harnessed to deliver the transition to sustainable development.

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NewsRoom Digest: Top NZ News Items for November 24 Edition, 2015

By Selwyn Manning -

November 24, 2015

This edition of NewsRoom_Digest features 11 resourceful links of the day and the politics pulse from Tuesday 24th November. It is best viewed on a desktop screen.

NEWSROOM_MONITOR

Noteworthy stories in the current news cycle include twice as many people in need of emergency housing are turning to the Citizens Advice Bureau for help compared with five years ago and the Health & Disability Commissioner revealing the first half of this year was a record for patient discontent.

POLITICS PULSE

Media releases issued from Parliament by political parties today included:

Government: PM announces Jonah Lomu public memorial details; First Govt accommodation nears completion; ‘Clinical Hub’ pilot among St John Ambulance successes this year; Heart & diabetes checks health target met; Speech: Nathan Guy – Speech to NZ Racing Board AGM; New direction and more opportunities for youth development; Minister welcomes start of $102m transport project in Tauranga; Rangiora Health Hub officially opened; Employers urged to give offenders a chance; Community housing sector continues to grow, 500th home at Hobsonville completed

Greens: If the UN can challenge Australia, why can’t John Key?

Labour: Hefty insurance costs deserve closer scrutiny; Desperate Nick Smith talks up housing failures; Labour At Paris Climate Talks; Do as I say, not as I do at Treasury

Māori Party: New book captures the principled politics of Hon Dame Tariana Turia

New Zealand First: Challenge To Prove Safety Of 1080 In Waterways, Catastrophe in making with record levels of debt-ridden foreign students

NZ National Party: Helping hand for first home buyers in the Hutt Valley

LINKS OF THE DAY

Links of the day have been a feature of NewsRoom_Digest since we first started production in August 2014.

CHRISTCHURCH GOVT BUILDINGS: The first of the new central Christchurch buildings to house Government agencies is expected to be fully fitted out this week, in anticipation of workers moving in early next year. More on the Government agencies’ positioning in the central city can be found at http://www.ccdu.govt.nz/projects-and-precincts/government-accommodation

ELECTRIC VEHICLES BENEFIT: A Life Cycle Analysis report commissioned by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) has found that electric vehicles (EVs) are better for the New Zealand environment than petrol or diesel powered vehicles, across the lifecycle of the vehicle as well as in use. The full report can be downloaded from EECA’s website https://www.eeca.govt.nz/assets/Resources-EECA/ev-lca-final-report-nov-2015.pdf

HDC COMPLAINTS: Health and Disability Commissioner has revealed the first half of this year was a record for patient discontent, with 380 complaints about everything from botched surgery to rudeness. The report is available at:http://www.hdc.org.nz/media/293558/dhb%20complaints%20information%20jan-jun%2015.pdf

HOUSING REPORT: In the year to June the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) received 3000 inquiries from people seeking emergency housing according to a report released. The full report can be found at:http://www.cab.org.nz/submissions/Documents/CAB-Spotlight-emergency-accommodation.pdf

EMERGENCY MEDICINE CONFERENCE: Australasian College for Emergency Medicine, an organisation responsible for training emergency physicians and advancement of professional standards in emergency medicine in Australia and New Zealand is currently having its conference in Brisbane, Australia. More information available at:http://www.acem2015.com/

REAL ESTATE AGENTS IMPROVE: The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) says that in the past four years there has been a steady increase in positive ratings of agents, according to a Nielsen survey done by the Real Estate Agent Authority – Annual Perception Report. Read more:

https://www.reinz.co.nz/reinz/index.cfm?1CB561D5-18FE-7E88-42FB-507342EF7F81&obj_uuid=8D3BC333-7BC8-403F-B356-0D8DF940AE32

RED CROSS RESPONSE: Red Cross is preparing to respond to more tropical cyclones this season, as the effects of a severe El Niño are felt across the Pacific. Kiwis can support the Pacific Disaster Fund athttp://www.redcross.org.nz/donate/pacific-disaster-fund/

ST JOHN REPORT: The St John National Annual Report for the year ended 30 June 2015 shows St John ambulances responded to patients with life-threatening conditions more quickly than ever before. The report can be downloaded from:http://www.stjohn.org.nz/Global/Documents/Publications/Annual%20Report/St%20John%20National%20Annual%20Report_2015%20interactive_FINAL.pdf

TRANSPORT PROJECT: Work is set to start on the $120million Baypark to Bayfair roading project in Tauranga that will boost the Bay of Plenty’s economy and improve road safety. To view the animated drive-through of the project go to:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MatVyPhO0UY and for more information on the project go to:http://www.nzta.govt.nz/b2b

WEATHER RELATED DISASTERS: A new report issued today by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) shows that over the last 20 years, 90 per cent of major disasters have been caused by 6,457 recorded floods, storms, heatwaves, droughts and other weather-related events. The report, entitled The Human Cost of Weather Related Disasters can be found at:http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/COP21_WeatherDisastersReport_2015_FINAL.pdf

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT: Changes for the Ministry of Youth Development (MYD) which will see significantly more youth development opportunities in New Zealand. The consultation document Partnership Fund for Youth Development – Information for discussion and response is available at:

http://www.msd.govt.nz/documents/about-msd-and-our-work/newsroom/media-releases/2015/engagement-document.docx

And that’s our sampling of “news you can use” for Tuesday 24th November.

Brought to EveningReport by Newsroom Digest.

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PM announces Jonah Lomu public memorial details

By Selwyn Manning -

November 23, 2015

MIL OSI – Source: New Zealand Government Prime Minister John Key has announced details of the public memorial for Jonah Lomu. A public service will be held on Monday 30 November from 1pm to 3pm at Eden Park in Auckland. “Jonah touched people’s lives across the country and around the world,” says Mr Key. “This service will be open to all members of the public who want to remember the significant contribution Jonah made, not only to rugby here and overseas, but also to the wider community through his work with charities such as UNICEF and Kidney Kids NZ. “The service will be a celebration of Jonah’s life and I expect a large number of people will want to be there.” In addition there will be special ‘Aho Faka Famili’ (Day of the Family) event allowing Pasifika to pay their respects in their traditional way. This will be held at the Vodafone Events Centre on Saturday 28 November from 12pm. A private funeral for Jonah will be held on Tuesday 1 December. Lomu family spokesperson John Hart says family members were grateful to the Government for their support. –]]>

Hikoi for homes: growing unrest

By Selwyn Manning -

November 23, 2015

Feature Report by Carolyn Skelton. At the weekend there were nation wide Hikoi For Homes. The Auckland Hikoi began at Glen Innes, where a large number of State Houses have been sold to private entities. The Hikoi was a response to the current housing crisis, and especially to the way it is impact on renters: the people who tend to be marginalised by the mainstream media, with its continual cheerleading of the house buying boom (or‘bubble’) in Auckland. The strongest focus was on those on the lowest incomes who have no choice but to rent, while rents keep rising above the rate of incomes. The demands of the Hikoi are:

An immediate stop to the sell-off of state and council housing
A $1 billion annual budget for the provision more state, public and not for profit housing
Setting minimum standards for all rented housing
Greater tenure protection for tenants
Rent freeze for five years
A statutory right to be housed
State subsidies for modest income homeownership programmes

Providing more safe, secure, healthy public (state) and not-for profit rental housing will help to take the heat out of the socially and economically damaging housing bubble, both for renters and potential home buyers. Bernard Hickey explains that in the context where many cannot afford the going rate of renting, taxpayers are subsidising landlords through the widespread allocation of accommodation supplements. An editorial in the NZ Herald, warns of growing unrest in response to the housing crisis, but does not provide an adequate explanation for its claim that participants in the Hikoi are misguided. It merely reiterates the mainstream media position that it’s all about enabling more people to buy homes by building more houses – a position that favours the developers, investors and speculators who are benefiting most from the current housing crisis. Around 50% of New Zealanders now live in rental accommodation. The calls for rent controls are gaining impetus. Without rent controls, many tenants will need to seek alternative accommodation if the rent rises to an unaffordable level, whether or not that have security of tenure. Catriona MacLennan explains why this is necessary, giving examples of countries like Germany and the US that have rent caps. ‘New York has rent controls and rent stabilisation for some properties and, from October 12 this year, the Rent Guidelines Board froze rents on one-year leases for stabilised units. In Berlin, new rules introduced on June 1 to limit rent increases in certain areas resulted in a 3.1 per cent drop in the average cost of new Berlin rents within a month. The law aims to put a brake on galloping rent rises which have been making inner city tenements unaffordable.” The Hikoi in Auckland was well attended in spite of some dismal weather – light rain showers throughout, but the biggest downpour held off til the Hiko reached its destination at Orakei Domain. On the hikoi, I remembered a couple of years back when there was a modest attendance at anti-TPPA protests, with little or no MSM coverage. The attendance at the latest anti-TPPA protests have been much larger, the debate has intensified in the MSM, and a slight majority of New Zealanders polled are against it, with only 34% in favour. I suspect the demands of the hikoi will more into the mainstream over the next year and gain momentum in the general population. [caption id="attachment_8223" align="alignleft" width="300"]

The Hikoi went through some posh Auckland suburbs[/caption] It’s a matter of a humane and inclusive society that cares for all its members and doesn’t leave some people, including children, no other choice but to sleep in cars, garages and on the streets. There was a significant Green and Labour Party presence with Phil Twyford, Jacinda Ardern, Jan Logie and Marama Davidson on the Auckland hikoi. Auckland Action Against Poverty provided a video record of the Hikoi. https://youtu.be/3YWc9zgMgGw]]>

Report: Wellington Hikoi for Homes

By Selwyn Manning -

November 23, 2015

NewsroomPlus.com – “We’re here because we care,” was one of the rallying calls to gathered marchers at the Wellington leg of today’s Hikoi for Homes. After proceeding from Cuba Mall to Civic Square, the marching band that had accompanied the Wellington Hikoi for Homes passed the musical baton on to others who provided a series of songs between a series of speakers. In amongst the singing even Building and Housing Minister Nick Smith’s name popped up, in a set of lyrics from Women’s Trade Union ensemble Choir Choir Pants on Fire as they sang “truth to power”. Dr Nikki Turner, first of the speakers, set out the issues that gave rise to the Hikoi for Homes – also held in Auckland and Christchurch – in no uncertain terms. Turner is described on the CPAG website as an academic General Practitioner – in addition to working as a GP at the Pacific Health Medical Centre in Strathmore, Wellington, she also holds positions at both the University of Auckland and the University of Otago (Wellington campus). Turner spoke of “families and children who get sick, and recurrently sick, because their housing is inadequate”. The diseases, such as chronic lung conditions and rheumatic fever, that children contract leave them “cripples for their adult life” said Turner, calling the deprivation of their basic human right to be protected through safe housing a “national shame”. Fittingly the first song interlude, by folk musician Nigel Parry, had at its centre the tragedy of Otara toddler Emma-Lita Bourne, who died last August after being hospitalised with pneumonia. Before starting Parry praised the coroner who had the courage to assign a link between Emma-Lita’s death and living in a cold, damp State house. An excerpt from the song includes these words: “… they shared the damp and mould, now she’s never growing old, but Emma had a home”. New Zealand expert on housing and health, Professor Philippa Howden-Chapman, spoke next, making reference to both the poisonous risks of mould and of the historic housing stock in this country that invites dangerously below-par temperatures indoors. “It’s not an accident that children fall behind in their schooling through illnesses, and end up in emergency wards… we’re here because we care and we can do it better”. Howden-Chapman didn’t hold back from calling out those Government ministers who have demonstrated a gross dismissiveness of the scale and nature of the housing infrastructure problem, while merrily signing off on billion dollar contracts for road infrastructure. She called not just for safe housing, but secure housing, and housing stable enough for families to be settled in one place during their children’s schooling years and upbringing. “It’s time to say to the Government, do you care?” When State Housing Action Network (Shan) organiser Ariana Paretutanganui-Tamati spoke she said both National and Labour governments had dropped the ball on State and social housing. She warned that the run-down state of Housing New Zealand stock was an ongoing excuse for its divestment, and “if National was unchecked it would all be sold”. She also used the term ‘social cleansing’ for the actions of the current government, adding that it is known around the world that “only the State can (provide) housing at the scale needed”. Paretutanganui-Tamati also warned that New Zealand was being taken back to Victorian times and families’ ability to build any equity had been “stopped”. Another speaker, Paul Barber, reminded everyone present that the renting population in New Zealand was not only one third of households, but up to one in two New Zealanders. Barber spoke of a generation being left behind and in support of moves such as Wellington City Council’s decision on a Living Wage as “one part of a response”. Pointing to the persistence and hard work paying off in the case of moves to a Living Wage he also gave a reminder that the housing crisis is not due to “mysterious forces beyond our control”. “Unaffordability is an outcome of low incomes, and it’s not true we can’t do anything about these problems – we can”. (Note: Higher-res individual photos available on request to projects@newsroom.co.nz)

SEVEN SHARP DEMANDS

As a demonstration of public mood, the Hikoi for Homes organisers – including the Child Poverty Action Group, Auckland Action Against Poverty, First Union and Unite – are hopeful that messages are heard loud and clear by politicians. Be that by Ministers – and all parties – ahead of next year’s Budget or local body pollies ahead of the Local Government elections next year. At its sharp end, Hikoi for Homes set out to make “a resounding statement to a government that’s negligent in providing basic living standards and welfare for its people”. Seven calls to action that it put forward are:

An immediate stop and to the sell-off of State and council housing
A $1 billion annual budget for the provision of more state, public and not-for-profit housing
Setting minimum standards for all rented housing
Greater tenure protection for tenants
Rent freeze for five years
A statutory right to be housed
State subsidies for modest income homeownership programmes

All with Philippa Howden-Chapman’s question implicitly sitting behind them: “It’s time to say to the Government, do you care?” –]]>

NewsRoom Digest: Top NZ News Items for November 23 Edition, 2015

By Selwyn Manning -

November 23, 2015

This edition of NewsRoom_Digest features 10 resourceful links of the day and the politics pulse from Monday 23rd November. It is best viewed on a desktop screen.

NEWSROOM_MONITOR

Noteworthy stories in the current news cycle include official figures that police have spent about $15 million on search and rescue missions in the last five years, the Immigration Advisers Authority being under pressure to clamp down on unlicensed advisers and the release of a report by actuarial firm Melville Jessup Weaver on the costs of life insurance.

POLITICS PULSE

Media releases issued from Parliament by political parties today included:

Government: Regions benefit from tourism boom; Education experts to convene in Auckland; PM welcomes closer partnership with ASEAN; Fiordland partnership to protect birds and wetlands; Summary of Ture Whenua Māori submissions released; $250,000 to Centre for education leadership; $618,000 to support racecourse safety and development; PM to attend CHOGM, climate change conference and visit Berlin; New tranche of Auckland SHAs announced; HomeStart delivering for first home buyers

ACT Party:Councillors have a duty to speak up on rezoning

Greens: Minister in denial over impact of poverty on learning; Govt needs to investigate links between anti-biotic resistance and herbicide; You might not have a strong plan to cut emissions Tim, but we do; Groser misleads on climate costs to justify lack of ambition

Labour: Over two decades later our kids deserve more

New Zealand First: Falsehoods, Ignorance, Head In The Sand On Emission Reductions

LINKS OF THE DAY

Links of the day have been a feature of NewsRoom_Digest since we first started production in August 2014.

CHILD RIGHTS CAMPAIGN: UNICEF New Zealand has launched a new child rights campaign called ‘Make My Future Fair’/ Meinga tōku āmua kia tika. Make My Future Fair is a call for all New Zealanders to stand up for children. Read more: http://fairfuture.nz/

CONVENTION ACTIVITY SURVEY: The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has released the Convention Activity Survey (CAS) for the year ended September 2015. Click here for more:http://tourism.cmail19.com/t/r-l-zkittlk-iuiyjibdu-m/

DECEMBEARD: Decembeard™, Bowel Cancer New Zealand’s hairiest fundraising campaign, is back for 2015. Decembeard™ aims to encourage men throughout New Zealand to raise the much needed funds for Bowel Cancer New Zealand (BCNZ), while growing a beard through December. To register to participate in Decembeard or to donate, visit: https://www.everydayhero.co.nz/event/decembeard2015NZ

EDUCATION EXPERTS SUMMIT: Education experts and policy makers from 12 countries are about to gather in Auckland for a three day summit, hosted by the Government and Global Education Leaders’ Partnership (GELP)that is devoted to meeting the needs of students in a rapidly changing world. The summit concludes tomorrow.http://www.gelpnz2015.org/programme/programme/

GROWING OLD IN NZ: New Zealand ranks 12 out of 96 countries in an annual ranking of the best and worst places for older people to live – but only 30th for safety and transport – according to the Global Age Watch Index, a report commissioned by Help Age International. Go here for more: http://www.helpage.org/global-agewatch/population-ageing-data/country-ageing-data/?country=New%2BZealand

LIFE INSURANCE REPORT: Melville Jessup Weaver (MJW) has released “A Review of Retail Life Insurance Advice – An opportunity for a new beginning.” The report examines the retail personal risk insurance market (life and income protection) and in particular the role of advisers. The report can be found here: http://mjw.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/MJW-Independent-Report-Final-November-2015_pwd.pdf

MIGRATION AND TRAVEL: New Zealand residents took 217,000 overseas trips in October 2015, up 5 percent from October 2014, according to Statistics New Zealand. More details at: http://bit.ly/1OmQa3I

PATIENT SERVICES REPORT: From 2011 to 2015, more people per 10,000 population had access to scheduled surgery and the gap between the DHBs with the highest and lowest intervention rates narrowed, according to a follow up report by the Office of the Auditor General. Read more: http://www.oag.govt.nz/2015/scheduled-services?utm_source=subs&utm_medium=subs&utm_campaign=scheduled-follow

RURAL WOMEN AWARD: The Enterprising Rural Women Awards were held in Nelson on Saturday 21 November. More information on winners is available at: http://www.ruralwomen.org.nz/news-and-inspiration/enterprising-rural-women-award-winners-announced

TURE WHENUA MĀORI SUBMISSIONS: A summary of the submissions made on the exposure draft of Te Ture Whenua Māori Bill has been released and is available online at: https://www.tpk.govt.nz/en/

And that’s our sampling of “news you can use” for Monday 23rd November.

Brought to EveningReport by Newsroom Digest.

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Keith Rankin on Empathy and Combative Young Men

By Keith Rankin -

November 21, 2015

Egyptian-man-walks-in-front-of-a-wall-sprayed-with-graffiti — ]]>

Opinion by Keith Rankin. This article was also published on TheDailyBlog.co.nz.

When scary things happen that we don’t understand, in France or elsewhere, we seem determined to resist by trenchantly refusing to understand. When in doubt about what to do, we should first decide what not to do. And to decide this, we should always apply the first law of holes (“when in a hole, stop digging”).

We don’t need sympathy for “terrorists”, but we do need empathy, and we need to know the difference. Empathy is the capacity to imagine any situation from another person’s point of view.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) is Muslim (though emphatically not Shia Muslim) and, as a supra‑national movement, does draw inspiration from the early military conquests of the seventh century.

In the time when Europe was at the weakest it’s ever been in the last 2,500 years, the Mediterranean area was a demographic and political opportunity for a new hegemon. By the 10th century of the common era, Islamic Spain probably had the highest living standards ever known or unknown in global history. Defeated militarily in Spain in 1492, after centuries as a standard-bearer of science and mathematics, Islam remains an important cultural force that has much good to offer the world.

What most characterises ISIL, however, is neither its Muslim-ness nor its propensity to gratuitous violence. It is its youth, and its rejection of the system of nation states. I believe, to address the ISIL problem, we have to look more generally at the world from the point of view of its marginalised young men, and from the understanding that Islam is a culture that never has and probably never will interpret the world as principally a patchwork of independent sovereign nations.

What is it that young people – young men in particular – need from life? I would break it down into three essential things: venturing opportunities (action; risk-taking; fellowship; affiliation), income-earning opportunities (providing), and homes (security) from which they can meaningfully engage with the wider world. As men get older, the sometimes destructive venturing imperative morphs into a contribution imperative, the basis of publicness that characterises the mature expression of all humanity.

In the meantime, our global capitalist world operates like a perpetual version of the game ‘musical chairs’; a game which requires that there be losers – loser communities, not just loser individuals. In some of its phases capitalism creates many more losers than in other phases; these are the phases that increasingly emphasise the need to be ‘competitive’, and that word’s softer synonym ‘aspirational’. Capitalism’s only answer to its systemic tendency to create ever larger numbers of losers is economic growth. (We can think of growth as an offsetting process of creating new chairs – spaces and places – at the same rate that naked capitalism removes them.) Inequality and austerity are the two realities that make modern capitalism into an increasingly lethal cocktail of more losers and fewer winners.

Social Darwinism is not a new imperative. The years 1914 to 1945 reflect the endgame of Victorian Social Darwinism. The ideology is back: the unsurvival of the unfittest. But the ‘unfittest’ are not dying. Capitalism needs its losers to live on as indebted consumers, living increasingly meaningless lives in increasingly ghettoised suburbs of western cities. In these human wastelands – populated by many young people with few opportunities to do valuable work, let alone to venture – the marginal product of labour is zero. Life is not good when you know that your economic value is, at best, zero. (The generation of young men who couldn’t wait to fight in World War 1 likewise led lives, often in rural ghettos where the marginal product of labour was also zero.)

Young men loiter. Gangs form. Where there’s shared cultural identity in marginalised communities, that culture defines the threat which others see.

ISIL is an international mix of uncompromising ‘brothers’; those within the ‘Middle East’ who have lived through lethal violence perpetrated in their homelands, and of the most ghettoised young Muslim men from Europe and North Africa. (In the former group I would include the Chechen fighters who are likely more interested in fighting Russia than France.) These youths are radicalised – bomb by every bomb or air-strike or other violent act from an occupying force – that affects them, their families, or families like their families. Further, there is a striking generation gap within Islam, fuelled by the youthful imperative to act and to belong to an action group.

So how can ISIL be effectively opposed? It’s through depriving their destructive fire of oxygen, not adding fuel to that fire. And through working to ensure that youth generally have constructive outlets for their venturesome spirits.

We know that dystopian Malthusian growth is not inevitable. The twentieth-century welfare states showed us how collective income security leads to sharply reduced birth rates. But these states experienced growing economies, and never evolved to deal with twenty-first century limits to growth.

We can adapt the income-sharing process to a global economy that grows in productivity but not necessarily in population or aggregate output. And, through economic opportunities made possible by income-sharing, we need to allow young men to participate in joint‑ventures – as young New Zealand men (and women) do through travel and sport and business and hacking and music and graphic art – so they can experience danger and winning and losing while minimising the harm they do to themselves and especially to others.

The ‘terrorism’ we face today is symptomatic of the unaddressed ills of an economic order that systemically creates losers, and in increasing percentages. When these losers form alliances around particular cultures, we attack these cultures rather than the absence of economic and social spaces that make good and meaningful lives possible.

Economic security is a collective, not individual, enterprise. To choose a benign rather than a malign future, we have to think of money as a social means, not as an individual end. Our future needs to incorporate income‑sharing and opportunity‑sharing. That’s not communism or anything like it. It’s simply about giving capitalism a public face to complement its already well-developed private aspect.

Love your enemy; respect your adversary. (My favourite movie of all time was Joyeux Noël.) Our apparent enemy is not a bad person or a bad culture. Our adversaries are just as confused – just as wilfully blind – as we are. And on the theme of fraternising with one’s ‘enemy’, I suspect that New Zealanders are less Islamophobic (indeed less xenophobic) than most westerners; possibly because of Gallipoli. In 1915, young naïve New Zealand adventurers met similar young Turks and Arabs across the hilltops, gullies and trenches, and saw that they were basically the same; good combatants and good men.

Today’s world is full of frustrated internationally footloose young men. Nations erect fences and walls to keep them out. Other nations imprison and expunge them. Still other nations complain that there will soon be too few young people to provide services for their old people, arguing that older people must cling onto their income‑earning opportunities; their musical chairs.

Look. Today’s young people are our future – our global future – for better or worse.

—

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Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Little’s Labour, after a year

By Bryce Edwards -

November 20, 2015

Political Roundup by Dr Bryce Edwards

Where is Andrew Little taking the Labour Party? And how well is he doing it?

New Zealand Labour Party leader, Andrew Little.

This week marks one year since Andrew Little was elected leader of the Labour Party. His year of consolidation and rebuilding is now over, and with his first party conference behind him, it’s time for some verdicts on how he is doing and the broader health of Labour.

Little gave himself an evaluation on TV3’s Paul Henry Show this week – see his five-minute interview, It’s about not being John Key – Andrew Little. Following on from this, Patrick Gower gave Little a “7 out 10” rating – see his interview, The week in politics with Patrick Gower – November 19, 2015. Gower gives Little points for competence, but says he’ll be worried about his lack of “cut through with the punters.” Gower also speculates on the upcoming caucus reshuffle, suggesting that Kelvin Davis will replace Nanaia Mahuta on the front bench.

Little’s leadership

Andrew Little’s leadership appears to be safe after a strong appearance at the recent annual Labour Party conference. His keynote speech was widely praised, with Audrey Young writing a report that typified the positive coverage: Little smashed it – literally.

After the conference many commentators praised his role in restoring order and stability to the party, as the conference appeared to be entirely free of traditional internal strife – see Chris Trotter’s Andrew Little as Napoleon in the ‘Peace of Palmerston North’. See also, Ross Henderson’s Andrew Little leading a Labour Party on the rise.

It wasn’t just leftwing commentators praising Little. One National Party-aligned newspaper columnist was invited to a breakfast meeting with Little while the conference was on, and reported: “It was a good talk, made all the more enjoyable for the fact that Little was not condescending, sarcastic, impatient, bored or smug. He didn’t have a fake grin plastered all over his face and he didn’t act like he was a big deal. He was even-tempered and he talked like an actual human being” – see Liam Hehir’s Andrew Little looks a capable challenger to John Key.

Colin James has also reported on “a much tidier, more stable and cheerier, even enthusiastic, atmosphere than for years” in Labour, and pointed to Little’s very strong efforts to build a better coalition with the Greens and New Zealand First – see: Labour’s big question: yes or no, for or against?

Yet not all were convinced by Little’s conference performance, nor where he is taking the party. The Dominion Post’s editorial was particularly scathing, saying that Little “has little charisma and a lack of new ideas”, concluding that Andrew Little is not the man to lead Labour out of the wilderness.

A Hollow Party?

The Dominion Post was particularly critical of Little’s attempt to strip his party of all contentious policies just in order to bring about unity and reduce dangers of criticism: “This was creating a desert and calling it peace. Little now stands on a bare platform with no significant policy. The fact that nobody much cared when he threw out the old policies might be taken as a sign of a newly unified Labour Party. Or it might be a sign that Labour is a corpse. It doesn’t have the strength to fight or even to disagree with itself. So the attempt to hide everything behind closed doors wasn’t even needed. Having no policy to sell, Little tried to sell himself. His “impassioned” speech was in fact awkward and unconvincing.”

Others on the left and right of the party had similar criticisms about Little’s strategy, which seemed to hollow out the party. For example, blogger No Right Turn announced he could not vote for a party that chooses its policies on the basis of getting into power: “This is Labour’s problem in a nutshell: the party is empty at its core. They don’t stand for anything, except possibly for Grant Robertson getting paid $250,000 a year instead of Bill English. They have no values, and no policies that won’t be chucked away after the next poll” – see: Standing for nothing.

Similarly, see Steven Cowan’s Nothing new on offer from Labour and Phil Duncan’s Empty Andy and the ‘Eh?’ team.

Also on the left, Chris Trotter explained that Little and Labour were “attempting to emulate the highly successful, Crosby-Textor-guided, National Party campaign of 2008. This entails shedding all the policies that the punters don’t like or can’t understand”, but that this was a major mistake – see: Reclaiming The Dream: Labour’s annual conference lifts spirits and raises hopes.

Trotter says that in order to win, Labour needs to show that it stands for something, and that “Equivocation cannot do that. Inoculation cannot do that. Turning yourself into the smallest possible target for a hostile news media cannot do that.”

On the right, Fran O’Sullivan also complained “Little’s inoculations are not acts of policy bravura” – see: Andrew Little’s grab for territory is weak. She argues “Instead of knowing what Labour stands for, Little has simply introduced more policy uncertainty” and believes John Key will benefit from Labours prevarication.

O’Sullivan also laments Labour’s mildness on capital gains, and explains how easy it would be for Labour to increase capital gains taxation significantly if it wanted. She points out that Labour now seems to be to the right of National in terms of capital gains taxes, and that “Little has unwittingly handed Key a powerful wedge at the next election to argue that National is tougher on property speculators than Labour is”.

On the axing of the capital gains tax, Tim Watkin asks: “It’s one of the most redistributive taxes around and if Labour isn’t proudly for redistribution, what it is for?” – see: Labour: Taking out the trash, hanging up new tinsel.

But it was TVNZ’s Corin Dann who really gave Labour a hard time, with his searching interview on Q+A: The future of the Labour Party with Andrew Little (10:48).

Where is Andrew Little taking Labour?

On the Q+A programme, I made some points about how Little was taking his party in a more traditional policy direction focused on economics and material conditions, especially in terms of the focus on jobs – see the eight-minute video: The Panel: The Future of Labour.

I elaborated on this in a blog post, Andrew Little is killing Labour’s identity politics. Martyn Bradbury made some similar points in his blog post, Labour Party conference 2015 – winners and losers.

Similarly, Vernon Small, explained that social policy had been removed from the party’s agenda – see: Labour takes policy debate behind closed doors at annual conference and No controversial policy expected at Labour conference.

Activist Stephanie Rodgers attended Labour’s conference and didn’t think identity politics was being supressed – see her blog post: Labour, identity, class and winning.

She argues in favour of Labour’s focus on such issues, and Chris Trotter is in agreement, although confirming that such tendencies were being suppressed at the conference – see: Of Dreams And Nightmares.

There was one major foray into what might be seen as “social engineering” – Labour’s new sugar policy. Vernon Small outlines how the policy came across as “half-baked” and was sold by a very uncomfortable Andrew Little – see: Not Labour’s sweetest moment.

Labour’s radicalism

Labour hasn’t been entirely denuded of any significant policy. In fact, according to Pattrick Smellie, it’s in housing that “Labour can be said to have developed over some seven years a rounded, differentiated policy to National’s” – see: Finding the gaps is Labour’s challenge.

And of course, Phil Twyford’s private members’ bill to ban some house purchases by foreigners will be considered by Parliament – see the Herald’s Foreign buyers ban to go before Parliament.

Grant Robertson has also been singled out as creating interesting and potentially radical new policy in his Future of Work programme, which could even end up championing some form of universal basic income policy – for a very interesting discussion about this, see Vernon Small’s Labour gets act together on deportations, but ‘future of work’ still in rehearsal.

But what is the actual health of the wider party? This week, Claire Trevett got her hands on the party’s current financial records, and revealed Labour’s finances in the red. She also reported, in response, Labour calls on members to donate. And the Herald has even joined in the campaign to save Labour, with an editorial, Labour coffers of concern to all donors. But what about the levels of members and activists? Keir Leslie asks (and answers): How Many Members Does The Labour Party Have?

Finally, what political direction would you send Andrew Little and Labour in? For the opinions of “18 smart New Zealanders” – including Sue Bradford, Neil Finn, and Jim Anderton – see: What Should Andrew Little Say? 18 Clever People Draft His Speech.

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NewsRoom Digest: Top NZ News Items for November 20 Edition, 2015

By Selwyn Manning -

November 20, 2015

There's rising tide of concerns in the wake of yesterday’s report from the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment about the potential impacts of rising sea levels. — ]]>

This edition of NewsRoom_Digest features 8 resourceful links of the day and the politics pulse from Friday 20th November. It is best viewed on a desktop screen.

NEWSROOM_MONITOR

Noteworthy stories in the current news cycle include Airline pilots accusing the government of moving too slowly to tighten airport security, rising tide of concerns in the wake of yesterday’s report from the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment about the potential impacts of rising sea levels and the official start to the first flag referendum.

POLITICS PULSE

Media releases issued from Parliament by political parties today included:

Government: Bill’s passage keeps Auckland Plan on track; Recovery Plan for Lyttelton Port released; Speech to Association of Salaried Medical Specialists annual conference, Wellington; Waitangi Treaty Grounds governance reformed; Voting opens to choose the future of NZ’s flag; Employment Court Judge appointed; EOI now open to Community Housing Providers; NZ better prepared to deal with WMD trafficking; RSE employers praise seasonal worker scheme; Proposed upgrade for bus regulations; $6m rebuild for Te Wharekura o Maniapoto, Te Kuiti; Major milestone for Waikato Expressway; Submissions open for United Nations report

Greens: Just 2 percent of kids cycle to school because of Govt inaction; 25 years of the rights of children but Government failing to deliver; Get bee-harming pesticides off the shelf and out of our environment; Government’s climate denial puts peoples’ livelihoods and assets at risk; Safer roads in time for summer

Labour: Investigation needed into roadshow promo

New Zealand First: Speech By Rt Hon Winston Peters In Christchurch – Meadow Mushrooms Expansion; National believes it can ignore flag change opposition; PM Wrong Over ‘Malaysian 36’ – Bring Them Home; Nathan Guy’s Attack Upon Russia Reckless – Peters; Congratulations To Taranaki On Extending Supergold Card Travel; Australia Cites ‘National Interest’ In Stopping Foreign Sale

LINKS OF THE DAY

Links of the day have been a feature of NewsRoom_Digest since we first started production in August 2014.

BUS REGULATIONS: Proposed changes to a Land Transport Rule will allow buses to carry more passengers between New Zealand’s main centres and pave the way for hybrid diesel-electric buses. Submissions close 21 December 2015. The consultation draft rule amendment, overview and submission form is available at:http://www.nzta.govt.nz/VDAM-Amendment-2016

HOUSEHOLD SPENDING: Household income was $134.4 billion (up 0.8 percent), while household spending was $135.3 billion (up 3.3 percent) in the March 2015 year, according to Statistics New Zealand. Read more:http://bit.ly/1kJ8lqX

LYTTELTON PORT RECOVERY: The Lyttelton Port Recovery Plan has been released which allows for the port to be rebuilt and repaired in a timely and appropriate manner. See details at: http://www.cera.govt.nz/lprp

MBIE TOURISM DATA: The Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE) has released the Regional Tourism Estimates for the year ending March 2015. Detailed pivot tables and regional summaries can be found on MBIE’s Regional Tourism Estimates web page: http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/sectors-industries/tourism/tourism-research-data/regional-tourism-estimates

PAYING TAXES: New Zealand has retained its 22nd ranking out of 189 economies in its ease of paying taxes, according to Paying Taxes 2016, a study by PwC and the World Bank Group now in its tenth edition. Paying Taxes 2016 is available to view at: http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/services/tax/paying-taxes-2016/download.html

REFERENDUM VOTING PAPERS: Voting papers are being delivered to over three million New Zealanders from today, as the first referendum on the New Zealand flag gets underway. More information about voting in the referendum is available at http://www.elections.org.nz/flag

SEASONAL WORKER REPORT: Two recent reports show benefits of the Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme to employers, workers and the Pacific region. For copies of the reports:

www.employment.govt.nz/er/rse/monitoring/employers-survey-2015.pdf and

www.employment.govt.nz/er/rse/rse-remittance-pilot-project.pdf

UN WOMENS’ REPORT: Public consultation has commenced on a draft report for the United Nations outlining New Zealand’s efforts to eliminate discrimination against women. The draft report and information on the submission process is available at: http://www.women.govt.nz

And that’s our sampling of “news you can use” for Friday 20th November.

Brought to EveningReport by Newsroom Digest.

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Tony Alexander’s Weekly New Zealand Economic Overview

By Selwyn Manning -

November 20, 2015

Economic Analysis by Tony Alexander.

[caption id="attachment_3709" align="alignleft" width="150"]

Tony Alexander, BNZ economist.[/caption]

This week I had the pleasure of spending a couple of days in Christchurch and start the Weekly Overview discussing how construction of low rise office buildings has soared since I last had a decent walk around a year ago. In two more years the CBD will look amazingly different from the building site it is currently.

In the Housing section I discuss some of the factors driving apparent fear of the Auckland housing market and predictions/dreams of a substantial price correction. Such a correction remains exceedingly unlikely given the supply shortage and population growth. The more interesting development in housing is anyway outside of Auckland in the regions. Anecdotes abound of rising house prices and listings shortages in many parts of the country. Each week the probability grows that the Reserve Bank will extend its 30% investment property deposit requirement out of Auckland. But will they demand 15% in some places, 45% in others? Potential for this tool to become a Muldoonist nightmare is high. On the currency front the NZD has weakened this past week partly in response to the 7.9% fall in dairy prices and the terrible events in Paris. But exporters should remain wary of expecting substantial weakness in our currency. Our economy is in far better growth and structural condition than most others.

Click here to Download document Full Analysis (pdf 271kb)

The Changing Christchurch CBD I spent a couple of days in Christchurch this week delivering four talks and was impressed by the change in the CBD from about a year ago when I think I last took a look at what the centre was like. There are many four to six story buildings going up including the BNZ building in Cashel Street into which we will be moving hundreds of staff just over a year from now. Other banks have buildings on the go, the new police station is going up, buildings are being erected along the old “strip” area beside the Avon River and so on. There are still not that many functioning shops in the centre beyond the Restart Mall and Ballantynes though bit by bit more are showing up. The challenge for operators will be not so much to get Christchurch people visiting in a couple of years as I am sure everyone will want to see what the new centre eventually looks like. Instead the challenge will be getting them to visit the many malls less often and instead come into town for shopping and a broader inner city urban experience which malls never offer – strolling in parks, along the river, discovering non-chain shops, eating in non-chain cafes and restaurants, giving their children and grand-children a unique experience of connectivity with the city (e.g. Charlies Ice Cream) that a mall can never deliver. To achieve those repeat visits will take a great city layout which appears to be underway. But the experience as such may be more than two years down the track although the tram is apparently very popular. Parking will be critical and if the approach of charging people as much as possible is implemented, perhaps by handing building contracts over to private sector operators, then the city will only end up back where it was before 2011 – a place most people visited just occasionally when they found themselves not in the handy vicinity of a mall. Overall I was impressed by the development underway but there is still a lot of questioning in business circles over the time being taken to get the convention centre back up and running and uncertainty regarding whether or not a new stadium will appear. There are some tourists in the city including at the Novotel where I stayed. But walking around the Cashel Mall area Tuesday morning and afternoon I felt there were fewer people around than one, two, and three years ago and wonder if the planners have given thought to whether that is really the case or not. The CBD currently is and for the next year at least by the looks of it will be essentially a building site. But two years down the track something truly fantastic will be taking shape and I look forward to spending more time there then. Housing A number of people are saying that the biggest threat to New Zealand’s economy is the Auckland housing market. This is not correct. A threat has to be assessed based on the probability of its occurrence and the apocalyptic scenario people postulate of prices falling over 40% is very unlikely to occur unless we get a combination of foot and mouth, Mount Rangitoto bubbling, and a technological discovery allowing houses to be built for half their current cost. (Imagine the vested interest lobbying to prevent such innovations ever being implemented.) This common expression of fear about Auckland is probably driven by three things. One, failure of the market to stop rising and fall back as 99% of people have predicted since 2008. The desire to one day be right and the inability to understand why they have been wrong leads people to assume unsustainable unpredicted forces have been at work and eventually the truth will come out and past wrongs will be righted. Second, an expression of not so much impotence but impatience on the part of the central bank which feels it has taken its eyes off the ball by letting an asset market surge in a manner all central bankers decided post-GFC would not be allowed to happen again. They are struggling to develop and implement new weapons to influence the housing market now that changes in the official cash rate are off the table because of entrenched low consumer goods and services inflation. Third, concern about the deteriorating housing affordability for young people leading to a misplaced leap of logic that because young people are supposed to be our most valuable asset and because there is a thing happening which makes them unhappy that thing will eventually be removed one way or the other – don’t know how but worldly or other-worldly forces will eventually gallop over the brow of the hill and save the day. Fourth, a desire by many frustrated buyers for a price correction so they can purchase and make a future capital gain. You may recall that in one of the three surveys I used to run I would ask respondents to indicate whether they were happy or sad that house prices were rising. A majority were happy. Remember that as you lobby politicians to implement measures which will lower house prices and cause voters to opt for the other party. Note how Labour have dropped their logical policy of raising the retirement age from 65 (it makes huge sense as our life expectancy is rising. Affordability of superannuation for taxpayers is a completely separate issue.) Labour have also dropped their capital gains tax proposal. However I consider it highly likely that under a future government different from the current one we will see the two year bright line test for capital gains tax imposition to be extended to five years, then seven years, and one day ten years. Speaking of extending things. Watch for the Reserve Bank extending the 30% minimum deposit requirement for mortgages taken out to buy investment properties from Auckland to other regions if not all the country if the non-Auckland market produces price rises which start to scare them. This is an example in fact of the way in which the RB is outright experimenting with non-OCR tools to influence bank housing risk. They will be wondering how messy the 30% tool will become if they need to extend it to other regions. Will they stick with 30%? What about 15% in some, 45% in others? It could become a Muldoonist nightmare. Oh, and be ready for Auckland’s 30% to be boosted to 50% if that market reignites in the New Year. Trigger? When the Chinese economy stabilises, growth lifts, and the Beijing government relaxes rules on private capital outflows in order to achieve their goal of making the Yuan a truly global currency like the US dollar. They will have no choice in relaxing the capital outflow rules if global acceptance is what they want. Timing of such a thing is however anyone’s guess. Remember how so many people ascribed foreign Chinese as main players in soaring house prices? I have yet to have a single person say to me that the sharp lift in dwelling sales outside Auckland and upward pressure on prices is being driven by foreign buyers let alone a Chinese hoard. NZ Dollar Our currency was pressed downward slightly against the USD this week toward 64.5 cents from 65.5 cents by two factors. First the terrorist attacks in Paris which naturally prompted a wave a risk aversion amongst investors which usually means cutting back positions in far flung currencies like the NZ dollar. Second, the further 7.9% fall in average dairy prices at Tuesday night’s Global Dairy Trade auction. Dairy prices on the auction have now declined by 17% since early-October and sit 56% down from the early- 2013 peak. Back in August after prices had fallen 50% from March levels things were off 67% from early- 2013. There is a sizeable but not substantial difference between 56% and 67% declines therefore we should expect to see continued expenditure restraint in the dairy and dairy support sectors which will be one of the factors capping growth in the NZ economy over the coming year or two. However there are plenty of other factors which will underpin GDP growth near 2% such as construction, migration, low borrowing costs, non-dairy exports, and services sector growth. Thus it still seems unreasonable to expect that the Kiwi dollar will undergo further substantial decline from current levels. Exporters and people with funds offshore which they wish to convert into NZDs might be advised to take advantage of these occasional downward spurts in our currency to purchase some Kiwi dollars. Importers and those with timing flexibility wanting to shift funds offshore might be advised to simply wait for the next inevitable blip up. Note that it is highly likely we will see increased currency volatility over the coming year. United States monetary policy is set to be tightened for the first time since 2006 and not only is a nine year gap a long period of time over which links between key variables can have altered, all such links have been blown asunder by the GFC. No-one has any strong idea of what will happen with the US housing market, business investment, employment, confidence, share prices, retail spending, and currency as US monetary policy tightens. Debate regarding the impact of rising US rates will be huge, fluctuations in interest rate expectations may be highly frequent, and this will cause gyrations in the USD’s relationship with other currencies and flip-flops in market risk tolerance levels. One key factor helped the NZD from falling further this week – the stronger than expected retail trade numbers released on Monday showing core spending in real seasonally adjusted terms up by a healthy 1% in the September quarter. Note also the strong rebound in consumer confidence reported last week which suggests continued good consumer spending growth in the next six to nine months. Against the Australian dollar the NZD has declined over the week courtesy of a much stronger than expected jobs growth number across the ditch for October. While Australia’s economy is being negatively affected by the end of the commodity super cycle and slowing growth in China, there is good strength in the services sector, residential construction (though it varies a lot from state to state), tourism, and retail spending recently. The Reserve Bank of Australia has recently made comments indicating they see the economy slowly transitioning toward growth driven by the non-mining sector and the probability that the cash rate will be cut below the 2% level it was taken to in May are fairly low. Against the Euro the NZD is down only marginally from a week ago with the Euro understandably weaker over the week in response to the terrorist attacks in Paris boosting expectations of continued low business investment growth as confidence takes a hot, and a higher chance of the ECB continuing money printing beyond September 2016. If I Were A Borrower What Would I Do? Nothing in this past week has jumped up in front of me to make me believe that the outlook for NZ interest rates has altered. The currency is doing the usual toing and froing. The economic data still suggest reasonable but not stellar growth ahead, dairy prices paint the same weak picture for the sector in the short term that they have been doing since March, world growth prospects still contain downside risks, Australia’s growth is holding up with highly mixed performances between sectors, NZ consumer and business sentiment measures are reasonable, and the key problem facing our central bank has not changed. That problem is that they would like higher interest rates to help curb what they perceive to be rising risks facing the financial sector as a result of strongly rising house prices. But with inflation at 0.4% and a high risk that their forecasts of inflation rising to 2% predicated on a strong pass-through of the weaker NZD are wrong yet again (and most of us have been wrong in this area) they cannot raise rates as they may lock in deflation. The RB are likely to cut the cash rate a final 0.25% come December 10 with the probability of a cut enhanced recently by the terrorist attacks offshore and weak dairy prices, but reduced by our recent strong consumer sentiment and retail spending numbers and accelerating regional housing markets. A rate cut below 2.5% is not a highly probable scenario and borrowers should note that with US monetary policy to tighten soon the chances are very high (surely this time around) that we have seen the lows for medium to long-term fixed borrowing costs. Were I borrowing at the moment I would have a strong bias toward locking in a two year fixed rate. For Noting You may recall a couple of weeks ago that we got data showing employment falling by 0.4% during the September quarter. We noted that the labour market tends to be a lagging indicator of the state of the economy rather than a leading indicator of what lies ahead. Here is a way of backing that up. Although employment fell in the quarter, on Monday we learnt that the value of retail sales rose by 1.4% or by 1.6% if we focus on volumes. That strong result was partly driven by a 5% surge in motor vehicle sales, and such spending on long lasting (durable) items is not what occurs if people are concerned about their future income levels. Core retail spending which excludes fuel and vehicles rose by a healthy 1% after being flat in the June quarter (cautious consumers wondering what falling dairy prices meant), and having soared 2.2% in the March quarter and 1.9% in the last quarter of 2014. Retailers have basically enjoyed a strong lift in sales over the past year with the growth in the entire year to September versus the year before a healthy 6% compared with long-term average annual volume growth of only 2.5%. –]]>

Prankster, art-hacker, erstwhile social deconstructionist

By Selwyn Manning -

November 20, 2015

NewsroomPlus.com Contributed by Adam James Ring Somewhat underprepared and filled with the daily dread of the disorganised writer, I made my way to the iconic Embassy Theatre in central Wellington to meet my patron and steal his day pass to the 2015 Semi-Permanent design conference. As people began to stream down the large, winding stairs during the first programme break, I nervously chewed the lid of my now empty coffee cup and waited for him to show in the downstairs foyer. I think I was chewing the lid just to have something to do – the mechanism of a nervous habit. Standing there, I felt like I was waiting for the End Times, or perhaps a bride who I didn’t want to marry. After getting the pass adorned round my neck like a Hawaiian Lei, and pretending to listen as the tall man told me about the day’s event, I went in search of more legal stimulants. The sweet caress of caffeine – via Sweet Mothers Kitchen – came quickly from behind the espresso machine and was soon weaving its magic upon my tired and misfiring brain synapses. The funny thing about being a freelance journalist is that most of it is just turning up. Sure, it helps if you can write and it’s beneficial to have some passing interest in current events, but mostly it’s just being there. ‘There’ being wherever something is happening. That being said, it is extremely helpful to do your background work so you actually know where you’re going, why you’re going and what you’re supposed to do while you’re there. As I hadn’t done any of this, I had no idea who was speaking next at this event and no plan of how to cover it. Squinting at the card on my lanyard, as I walked back towards the theatre, the small, tidy printed schedule told me ‘1:50 – Presentation: Ryder Ripps.’ Ryder Ripps… where do I know that name from?

ryder-ripps-body-image-1421953963 — Photo: Vice

After finding a seat in the crowded theatre, I settled in just as Ryder Ripps started his talk. As I listened to him give an overview of his internet-slacker teenage years, it finally dawned on me that I did know who Ryder Ripps was – he’s the guy that The New York Times called the “consummate Internet cool kid” and he’s the guy who launched Internet Archaeology – a greatest graphic hits of the internet culture’s formative years – and he’s the guy that caused a shit-storm of media and art world stink with Art Whore – an Artist in Residence piece at NYC’s Ace Hotel where he paid two escorts to paint penises in his absence. Hearing him talk – even the way he talked – was like listening to some kind of digital human-hybrid. Equal parts hacker-cool and art-scene arrogant, I couldn’t help but draw a parallel in my mind with the 90’s New York hyper-cool scene of filmmaker Harmony Korine. Here’s the thing: Ryder Ripps isn’t just an ‘internet cool kid’, nor is he merely a trickster artist – he’s a concept art maverick. His internet, advertising and art output – including recent solo exhibition ‘Ho’ – sits comfortably in the same realm as some of the true greats of modern conceptual and abstract art. His conceptual creations are on par with UK art god Damien Hurst or Italian art-hacker, Maurizio Cattelan. He is one of the torch bearers and reference points for the style, expression and culture of this generation. Ryder has been called a prankster – a moniker he shares with Cattelan – and not without some deserving praise. That he spent most of his talk at Semi-Permanent making infantile and flippant jokes, is a sign of someone who really doesn’t care about his professional image, or who at least wants people to think that he doesn’t. Either way, it’s still better than what a million other designers/ artists are doing right now. Much of his dry humour – used lavishly throughout – was directed sarcastically at both the audience and himself. The simultaneously self-deprecating and audience-alienating drawl of someone who is literally too cool for school. Parts of his talk were a pointed yet playful stab at the tender ribs of SERIOUS DESIGNERS. His use of throw away images and conjured up screenshots of pure HTML websites, a la Warren Buffet’s 90’s-minimal Berkshire Hathaway site, revealed someone unwilling or unable to be pinned down or rendered mainstream. His overwhelming unorthodoxy is evident in everything from his early work choices, his anti-establishment attitudes, or the way he seems willing to regularly bite the hand that feeds.

Speaking of his agency OKFocus and how they go about getting work, he built up the anticipation with mock seriousness – “Everyone asks what the secret is to getting work, and I NEVER tell them. But I’m gonna tell YOU.” To a conference of designers, graphic artists, communication pros, branders and marketers who were perhaps there for some professional, detailed advice and tips, he dished up the illuminatingly simple and so, so dry – “Do good work – wait for emails”.

The thesis for his idiosyncratic and spasmodic presentation could be succinctly summed up with his statement “People don’t complain enough”. He spoke of how “designers should dislike more things than they like” and proceeded to show a range of photos from his recent travels to illustrate that a designer should try and fix what’s in front of them first.

A wobbly handle on an expensive luggage case, a vent that stupidly points down thus staining the carpet, the need for some kind of arm brace to hold a smartphone so one can also hold their baby.

An endless collection of sundry design flaws that people should complain about more, thereby generating enough dissatisfaction to want to fix it. His vision of what Design is, constitutes a pragmatic and visionary simplicity – ‘fix stuff that’s broke’ could be his working mantra. His “People don’t complain enough” comment would no doubt make a great t-shirt, though I’m unsure if kids these days still do that. Maybe it should be digitised then transferred directly onto skin like a temporary tattoo.

Photo: Ryder Ripps Instagram Master Ripps didn’t speak too much about his conceptual art, focusing more on his design work – it was a design conference after all – though he did mention some of his past and present gigs that were the most impressive or at least the most attention grabbing. He’s worked with rap producer Mike Will Made It, fashion designers, corporate giants like Nike, and he even met recently with Kanye West – who apparently loved his satirical site WhoDat.biz – with some talk of a possible collaboration. And this is a guy who participated and perhaps masterminded a fake/ real boy band called #HDBoyz – dubbed ‘the first boy band in high definition’. His satirical and innovative outbursts are the surface data of a deeper and motivating restlessness. He’s the Tyler the Creator of internet cool. Always surprising and often hated. As an insight into his brilliance, he spoke of his first paid internship while he was 19 or 20, and how, when asked to pitch an idea for Burberry, he suggested elite email addresses at $50,000 a pop. The user would have the prestige of a luxury email address @burbury.com. When his employers said it was a terrible idea, he quit and (eventually) went on to better, more self-directed pursuits, after some time buying and selling vintage synthesizers on EBay. Sometimes genius masquerades as stupid banality and this IMHO is very much the case with Ryder Ripps. He’s an artist of ideas more than mechanism. But he’s still an artist, and an important one. There is a common argument that some people will have over what constitutes good abstract art. Some will look at a piece by someone like the great NZ figurative expressionist artist Max Gimblett and say, “Well, anybody could do that! He’s just painted a stripe on an interesting shaped canvas!” To which the correct response should be “Yes, anyone could do it, but he’s the only one who actually is doing it!” That Ryder Ripps is an inconsistent and unpredictable combination of prankster, art-hacker and erstwhile social deconstructionist, or that he doesn’t paint his own art, or that he perhaps generates phony culture, is more or less irrelevant to the bigger picture. He is an overactive developer of new ideas which are far more relevant to the internet-heavy age we live in than any number of contemporary artists with critical acclaim. To my mind, put simply, he embodies the new generation of plugged-in, individualistic and self-referencing human beings. A true maverick in a vast and pixellated field of creative wannabe’s and internet culture-vultures. –]]>

Across The Ditch: Dedicated in Memory of the Legend Jonah Lomu

By Selwyn Manning -

November 19, 2015

Across The Ditch: Dedicated in Memory of Legend Jonah Lomu – EveningReport.nz’s Selwyn Manning and Australian radio FiveAA.com.au’s Peter Godfrey speak of the passing of New Zealand’s Rugby legend Jonah Lomu.

Jonah Lomu, New Zealand’s legendary Rugby superstar passed away on Wednesday at the age of 40. Last night (Wednesday November 18, 2015) it was reported that Jonah likely died of a cardiac or pulmonary event while at home in Auckland surrounded by his family, Hours before, he had arrived back to New Zealand from Dubai where Jonah, his wife and sons, Brayley (6) and Dhyreille (5), had holidayed after having attended the Rugby World Cup in the United Kingdom, where he officially kicked off the world cup at the opening ceremony. Jonah was a superstar on and off the Rugby field. He took the Rugby world by storm in the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa – notching up 15 tries in the 1995 and 1999 tournaments. And he was the youngest person to pull on the All Blacks jersey at 19 year and 45 days old. He played for the All Blacks 63 times, and at 6’5″ and weighing 119 kilo grammes, he could run 100 metres in 10.8 seconds with a Rugby ball in his hand. On top of this, the All Blacks played Jonah on the left wing. In that position he was virtually unstoppable. Former Australian Wallabies great Peter FitzSimons said last night, Jonah in full stride was like a human freight-train in ballet shoes. As an All Black Jonah scored 188 points between 1994-2002. Jonah’s Rugby career was cut short after it was revealed in 2002 he had a relatively rare kidney disease called nephrotic syndrome. He was actually diagnosed with the disease at the end of 1995, but details of his condition were kept private for some time. In May 2003 Jonah was placed on dialysis treatment while he waited for a donor kidney. In July 2004 Jonah received a kidney transplant and then enjoyed relatively good health. But seven years later his body rejected the donated kidney. And since 2011 Jonah relied on dialysis treatment in order to stay alive. PERSONAL MEMORIES: Personally, I will always remember the first time I saw Jonah. I was working for a south Auckland newspaper and received a call from a man called Phil Kingsley Jones, who managed some up and coming-young sports kids. He spoke of this fine young man, from Mangere – one of South Auckland’s poorer suburbs. He said Jonah was destined to be an All Black. A couple of years earlier, as a 15 year-old, Jonah had caught Phil Kingsley Jones’ eye while playing Rugby for Wesley College near Pukekohe. When I met him he was about 17 years-of-age, Phil arranged for me to meet Jonah. There was a young mother who needed a liver transplant. She was trying to raise money to pay for the operation in Australia. At the time, liver transplants (of the kind of procedure she needed) were not performed in New Zealand. The two of them were standing outside the Post Office in Papakura, about 25 kilometres south of Auckland. It was raining. There was Jonah – while only 17 he was already a giant a man at over 6’5″. He stood beside the young mother holding an umbrella and shielding her from the cold wind. He was softly spoken, almost shy at that age. He gently spoke of why he was helping the young mother raise money for her treatment. He said, in south Auckland people were getting to know him because of his Rugby playing, so if he could help her in his way to get this life saving treatment then it was the right thing to do. His kindness made an impression not just on me but on a whole nation. Through these short years since he became famous, Jonah Lomu kept doing things for people who needed a hand. It wasn’t just his skills on the Rugby field that made him a superstar, but acts of kindness like keeping a vulnerable young woman company on a cold winter New Zealand day. REMEMBERED BY HIS MENTORS & OPPONENTS: Jonah’s former manager Phil Kingsley Jones told the New Zealand Herald on Wednesday: “Today is one of the saddest days of my life, hearing that one of the most wonderful young men I have ever known and who was like a son to me, has been taken from us. “Jonah was a big part of my family and we are all shattered by his passing. He gave the world so much pleasure. Most people think of him as a rugby superstar, but to me he was always that young man from Welsey College who was great company. “I have seen him grow from the young man he was, to the perfect gentleman he had become. We had exciting times together and I will treasure his memory always. The world will will be a poorer without him.” SKY Television has launched a pop-up channel “in memory and tribute” to Jonah Lomu. Australian Rugby great Nick Farr-Jones said: “I think that we can always talk about what were the best World Cups, but when you talk about who was the most influential in a World Cup, you’ll never go past him in ’95.” Farr-Jones added: “Thank God I didn’t play against him.” Former All Blacks captain Tana Umanga said: “There’s never been another Jonah Lomu, has there? Everyone’s tried to manufacture one or tried to put forwards out to the backs or put someone on the wing who had the same size as him. “There was no one like him. To be honest there probably never will be.” Jonah was award the New Zealand Order of Merit honour in 2007. He is survived by his wife Nadene and sons, Brayley (6) and Dhyreille (5). Across The Ditch is broadcast Live on Australia’s radio FiveAA.com.au and webcasts on EveningReport.nz LiveNews.co.nz and ForeignAffairs.co.nz.]]>

NewsRoom Digest: Top NZ News Items for November 18 Edition, 2015

By Selwyn Manning -

November 18, 2015

This edition of NewsRoom_Digest features 7 resourceful links of the day and the politics pulse from Wednesday 18th November. It is best viewed on a desktop screen.

NEWSROOM_MONITOR

Noteworthy stories in the current news cycle include the findings from a Salvation Army report that children do not have adequate or proper access to housing, the price of whole milk powder has taken another hit in the overnight GlobalDairyTrade auction and the Meat Workers Union has won a favourable ruling from the Employment Court in their long standing dispute with AFFCO.

POLITICS PULSE

Media releases issued from Parliament by political parties today included:

Government: Another 54 Communities of Learning formed; Parole-like supervision regime now in place; Aviation agreements will put more kiwi-trained pilots in Vietnamese skies;Awards celebrate seabird protection; Captioning to be extended to Prime Television; Pay equity meeting an important milestone; Expert group set up to review insolvency law; PM saddened at passing of Jonah Lomu

Greens: Another case of pay hypocrisy from the Government;NZ must not extradite people to be tortured

Labour: Big gaps in rushed returning offenders law; End homelessness now – scrap flag vote and stop state house sell-off; The Pacific loses a great friend

Māori Party: Māori Party Celebrates Correction Of Whanganui District Name; Māori Party Backs Urgent Bill To Supervise Deported Offenders

New Zealand First: Jonah Lomu

NZ National Party: Craig Foss praises Wairoa schools for working together for kids

LINKS OF THE DAY

Links of the day have been a feature of NewsRoom_Digest since we first started production in August 2014.

APEC SUMMIT 2015: The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit 2015 commenced today in the Philippines. More details at: http://apec2015.ph/

BIODEGRADABLE PLASTICS: A UN report released today, “Biodegradable Plastics and Marine Litter. Misconceptions, Concerns and Impacts on Marine Environments”, finds that complete biodegradation of plastics occurs in conditions that are rarely, if ever, met in marine environments. The full report can be downloaded at:http://unep.org/gpa/documents/publications/BiodegradablePlastics.pdf

COMMUNITIES OF LEARNING: Another 444 schools have formed themselves into Communities of Learning, taking to 793 the number that have agreed to work systematically together under a government policy for raising student achievement. For more information about Communities of Learning go to http://www.education.govt.nz/ministry-of-education/specific-initiatives/investing-in-educational-success

INVISIBLE SUPERCITY: According to latest report of The Salvation Army Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit on housing need in Auckland – Invisible in the SuperCity – children were found to be sleeping outside in cars and garages. Read more: http://www.salvationarmy.org.nz/research-media/social-policy-and-parliamentary-unit/reports/invisible-supercity

MOVEMBER MO DOLLAR: Today, the Movember charity committed to men living happier, healthier, longer lives unveiled a unique initiative featuring some of New Zealand’s most influential faces, minted on a limited edition one dollar coin – the Mo Dollar. For more information visit: http://www.modollar.nz

VACANCIES RISE: The number of job vacancies advertised online rose by 1.8 per cent in October, while there was a 4.3 per cent rise across the year, according to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s (MBIE) latest Jobs Online report. Read more: http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/employment-skills/labour-market-reports/jobs-online

VIRTUAL DRIVING SITE: A ground-breaking new virtual driving website is being launched by the AA to help better prepare tourists for driving in New Zealand. The AA Visiting Drivers Training Programme can be accessed at:http://www.aa.co.nz/visiting-drivers

And that’s our sampling of “news you can use” for Wednesday 18th November.

Brought to EveningReport by Newsroom Digest.

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Keith Rankin’s Chart for this Week: Finance-Related Growth 1991-2015

By Keith Rankin -

November 18, 2015

Analysis by Keith Rankin.

Weaker than in the Naughties.

This week’s chart is drawn from the same set of data as last weeks. However, instead of simply comparing the sector-GDP data from one quarter and comparing it with the same quarter of the previous year, I have taken eight quarters of data and compared their averages with the averages for the previous eight quarters.

The former approach better showed the very latest dip, while showing perhaps too many blips. The latter approach smooths the blips and shows more clearly the decade by decade similarities and differences.

This week’s chart shows important similarities between the twenty-teens and the twenty-naughts, while showing that actual growth of financial and real estate activity is much less this time around.

I think that the next major crisis will be more an economic crisis than a financial crisis, as the issues around inequality, debt-phobia and globally footloose (but increasingly restricted) labour get closer to breaking point. Financial crisis still remains very much on the cards, nevertheless. In 2007-09 New Zealand had a financial crumple-zone in the form of finance companies that flew then failed. There were substantial repercussions for unwary New Zealand savers. These finance company failures protected our banks. The banks have no such protection this decade.

While activity in the real estate sector recovered strongly immediately after the financial crisis (essentially sales and marketing; linked more to volume than price), the 2013 growth-high in this sector barely exceeds the low of the late 1990s. Domestic financial growth in these years (early 2010s) remained weak; bread‑and‑butter mortgages and debt‑repayment rather than lots of new loans. Imported finance was almost certainly playing a greater role then than now in boosting real estate activity.

Growth of incomes generated in Finance and Insurance tends to follow (rather than promote) growth elsewhere in the economy (although 1992‑93 and 1998‑99 appear to have been exceptions), reflecting the fact that this sector principally services the interests of those with savings to ‘invest’ and with assets to put‑to‑work generating financial returns.

Today we see that the financial sector (increasingly, the banks) are once again in the ascendant, having already grown faster than the economy for almost every year since 2004. It’s likely that bank activity (essentially recycling and recreating money) will continue to facilitate general growth within New Zealand at around three percent for another year or two, followed by another end-of-decade debt crisis. 2017 will be the year to watch.

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Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: The implications of the Paris attacks for New Zealand

By Bryce Edwards -

November 17, 2015

Political Roundup by Dr Bryce Edwards.

[caption id="attachment_4808" align="alignleft" width="150"]

Dr Bryce Edwards.[/caption]

Will the Paris attacks have implications for New Zealand in terms of domestic security, state surveillance, political mood and further military action?

The attacks on Paris will impact us on the other side of the world. It’s still too early to see the full implications, but political questions to consider include: Will New Zealand increase its military involvement in the Middle East? Are we now less safe? Will there be increased surveillance and other clampdowns by the state? Will a more conservative and reactionary mood become stronger? And how do we deal with these changes? One of the best items on the overall lessons and implications for New Zealand of the Paris attacks is the six-minute video on TV3’s Story by Kim Vinnell – see: What can we learn from the Paris attacks?

A security clampdown in New Zealand?

The safety of New Zealanders is becoming a major focus in the wake of the Paris attacks. The Government and institutions of the state will be keen to reassure and protect the country in light of increasing concerns about security.

The most obvious potential change in New Zealand is increased activity by the state in the name of protecting its citizens. But Jim Rolfe of the Victoria University of Wellington’s Centre for Strategic Studies makes a plea against the introduction of any hardline measures that might reduce liberties or ignite domestic tensions: “We should not, for example, inflame the situation by making generalised assertions of blame, with the implication that in New Zealand there are people who could make the same kinds of attack. All that does is make a bad situation worse and potentially lead to some form of mob reaction. Also, we should not make arbitrary restrictions on liberty of any kind. If certain measures were adequate at airports before these attacks, then they are adequate after them absent any new intelligence on a specific, or even general, threat against airports. The same point can be made for almost any area in which there might be a temptation to act ‘in the name of security’.” – see his article, Paris – What it means for us.

For other warnings about increased state surveillance, see No Right Turn’s No crisis should go to waste and Anthony Robins’ Paris as an excuse for more useless surveillance.

But are we safe? The Prime Minister has responded to questions about New Zealand security by saying the country is “probably less vulnerable than most others” and detailing why – see Audrey Young’s article, Five Eyes gives NZ an advantage in fighting terrorism, says Key. In this, John Key also notes some of the problems surveillance officials might be having keeping tabs on those of concern.

For a further discussion of security levels and whether they should be raised, particularly with some large upcoming concerts in Wellington, Dunedin and Auckland, see the Herald’s New Zealand concerts to go ahead as planned.

What about the risks from potential “home-grown terrorists” in the Muslim community? According to the president of the Federation of Islamic Associations of New Zealand, Hazim Arafeh, the community keeps strong tabs on such possibilities: “We are very vigilant – one person carrying this ideology is one person too much” – see Ruth Hill’s Paris attacks: Syrians in New Zealand fear backlash.

A mob reaction against refugees and Muslims?

Are we likely to see the public mood turn against Muslims and refugees? That’s the fear of Duncan Garner, who says Target terrorists, not Muslims. He argues that the terrorists “must not be confused with the millions of law-abiding Muslims and these people must not be targeted in an alarmist response.”

Similarly, Alison Mau says that she’s been worried that the Paris attacks might produce “a reaction here in New Zealand that causes us to turn our backs on refugees from Syria” – see: Now’s the time to take more refugees, not fewer.

The Syrian Solidarity group shares these concerns, and its spokesperson Ali Akil is reported as saying talkback radio is already reflecting this prejudice: “Everybody who has always been against it [accepting refugees], they’re going to utilise this event to their own agenda and start scaremongering even further, and put pressure so the likes of France stop accepting refugees” – see Ruth Hill’s Paris attacks: Syrians in New Zealand fear backlash.

So far there are no overt signs of a backlash according to Islamic Council of New Zealand spokesman Abdul Nasser – see Alice Burrow’s NZ Muslims unite against Paris attackers.

There will be an increased focus on Islam and its adherents. For a discussion of the differences within Islam – with an emphasis on the diversity of belief and practice – see David Farrar’s Five shades of Islam.

On Cameron Slater’s Whale Oil blog there are some typically hardline conservative statements and posts about the situation. This is best covered by Pete George in his blog post, The French attacks and gun toting Slaterites. See also, Whale Oil – pro-ISIL Islamaphobic hate site.

Conservative political parties might also seek to campaign on public concerns relating to security. According to Demelza Leslie’s report, Prime Minister says no change in fighting IS, Winston Peters has responded by again targeting immigration issues.

Will New Zealand increase its military intervention in the Middle East?

There is a possibility that New Zealand will now increase its military involvement in the Middle East. Of course New Zealand is already involved in training Iraqi soldiers, and the relationship between this and the Paris attacks are discussed in RNZ’s Paris attacks sharpen NZ troops’ focus.

On the face of it, the Government is saying that nothing has changed – see Demelza Leslie: Prime Minister says no change in fighting IS. But John Key is obviously open to sending a military reconstruction team to Iraq and Syria. Audrey Young reports that he’s not immediately dismissing such an idea, saying “I wouldn’t want to put our people out there either unless I was convinced that it was actually safe to do that reconstruction work” – see: Five Eyes gives NZ an advantage in fighting terrorism, says Key.

There are plenty on the political right who are sympathetic to greater military intervention in the Middle East, with or without New Zealand involvement. Former Defence Minister Wayne Mapp has blogged about the issue – see: So now, where does NZ go? He says, “In the next few weeks I suspect western nations will take a more forthright approach to ISIS. It will involve “boots on the ground” even if this is mostly special forces directly supporting the Iraqi Army. New Zealand is likely to be asked to play our part”.

David Farrar has blogged on the big question of what is required to defeat ISIS – see: What will countries do to stop the terrorists? As always, his analysis is interesting, but his proposals are particularly worth reading because of Farrar’s close proximity to senior National Party and Government politicians. He calls for strong action, and begins by saying “I’d start the ball rolling by saying it is time to recognise Assad as the lesser evil… It’s time to say Islamic State is a greater evil than any other we face today, and that the political will and resources are needed to commit to eliminating it”.

Farrar says that a stronger invasion is needed: “The same level of commitment and determination as the Allies had in WWII would be needed, and inevitably there would be a huge level of civilian casualties. There could be no negotiated settlement, but like in WWII it would need to be unconditional surrender of all territory. I imagine the death toll would be in the tens of thousands on the side of invading forces, and hundreds of thousands on the other side.” He suggests, therefore, it is better to “provide huge military resources to Muslim countries and leaders willing to fight Islamic State – Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Turkey and maybe even Iran”. This avoids the appearance of a “crusade”.

Others on the right have also made strong calls for hardline action – see Mike Yardley’s The world must decapitate Isis and Tim Fookes’ Paris Attacks.

For a more sophisticated – yet also hardline – call from the left, see Josie Pagani’s Four things we can do after Paris.

The Herald is more sympathetic to a bigger military response after the Paris attacks: “Crimes of this kind demand an international response. It is time the civilised world said enough. All countries, including real Islamic states, should join a concerted action to remove this deadly distortion of their religion and the threat it poses to everyday life everywhere” – see: Paris terrorist acts demand joint response.

On the issue of domestic state surveillance, the Herald says: “Those who scoff at precautions taken, or question the need for surveillance of individuals whose actions or associations give cause for concern, ought to note what happened in Paris.”

Calls for caution and political solutions

Could increased military intervention make the situation worse? Some commentators say that rushing into action could make ISIS stronger, and may be exactly what the terrorists are wanting. See, for example, Chris Trotter’s Islamic State’s rush to the apocalypse.

France’s quick military response has been endorsed by the Herald today – see: French strikes signal stakes have changed. But the Dominion Post criticises the French President for framing the attacks as an “act of war”, declaring this “an unhelpful way of viewing terrorism” – see: Mass terror returns to Europe. Similarly, see today’s Southland Times editorial, Paris atrocities demand pointy, but not indulgent, reckoning and the Otago Daily Times’ Combating fear, hatred, division.

Probably the strongest caution from within New Zealand comes from the University of Otago’s Robert Patman – see his Herald article, More of the same will not work against ISIS.

Patman emphasises that a political solution is required: “Above all, the international struggle against terrorism must address the deeper historical, economic, and political causes that fundamentalist groups like Isis exploit and use for their own purposes. For one thing, the developed countries must rethink their efforts, in the words of Tahir Abbas, to bring hope to the poor, disenfranchised, marginalised and disaffected people who populate the Middle East.” He also points to two key political solutions: solving the Syrian civil war and establishing a Palestinian state.

See also Russell Brown’s blog post, Ten Thousand Maniacs. He argues “you can’t bomb hideous ideas out of existence.”

Leftwing reaction

When the Charlie Hebdo attacks occurred earlier in the year, there were major differences on the political left about the issue – see my column: Polarised NZ debate about the Paris killings.

This time around there is less reluctance on the left to express outright condemnation of the attacks without following up with a “but…” Nonetheless there are still reservations about the mainstream approach to the tragedy. For example, some on the New Zealand left are making anti-imperalism points in explaining the attacks. Blogger No Right Turn says that the ISIS attacks are “because France is bombing them in Iraq and Syria” – see: Paris.

He elaborates: “When the citizens of France allowed their government to go to war in Iraq and Syria, they invited retaliation. And over the weekend, they received it. We’ve got used in the west to thinking that war is cost free, that the jets go out and rain down their bombs and its other people’s children who die.” And for similar points, see Martyn Bradbury’s: Post Paris – how do we fight Terrorism?

There has been some consternation over a disproportionate focus on the attacks on Paris, while other atrocities receive less reportage, outrage and grief – see, for example, Steven Cowan’s The barbarism of Paris.

Chris Trotter also discusses this, suggesting that the problem leaves “many leftists in a quandary” – see: Responding to Paris: The Left must never abandon love for hate; justice for revenge.

But it’s also worth noting that one of New Zealand’s broadcasters did cover one of the so-called forgotten terrorist attacks – because she was actually there – see Rachel Smalley’s account which begins: “On Friday i was standing on a market street in Burj al-Barajneh in Beirut — it’s the suburb in the south of the city where ISIS had just detonated a series of suicide bombs” – see: The sight and smell of terror.

Finally, perhaps it’s time to see the Paris attacks through a less political lens. Ever since the tragedy started unfolding, politicos have taken to social media to make pronouncements and analysis about the events, often in a way that bolsters their own worldview or political agenda. Scott Yorke lampoons this and says, You know exactly what needs to be done.

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NewsRoom Digest: Top NZ News Items for November 17 Edition, 2015

By Selwyn Manning -

November 17, 2015

Christmas Island Immigration Detention Centre — ]]>

This edition of NewsRoom_Digest features 10 resourceful links of the day and the politics pulse from Tuesday 17th November. It is best viewed on a desktop screen.

NEWSROOM_MONITOR

Noteworthy stories in the current news cycle include the introduction of urgent legislation for a tighter regime to oversee and monitor New Zealanders with criminal convictions being deported from Australia on their return.

POLITICS PULSE

Media releases issued from Parliament by political parties today included:

Government: Student Loan info to be shared with Australia; Minister welcomes troops home from Taji; Appointment of Solicitor-General;Tax bill completes property investment rule changes; Government Reviewing Competition Laws; ‘H’ to be added to Wanganui District name; Programme results in more staff/patient time; Potential pest plague being monitored; New scholarships for Pacific students; Returning offenders Bill introduced to protect Kiwis; Amendment Bill clarifies policy

ACT Party: Netflix tax should be offset with tax cuts

Greens: Change the Govt if you want action on climate; Green Party Abstaining On Returning Offenders Bill

Labour: Lawsuit an indictment of Govt’s EQC failings; Long-term unemployed now long-term problem

New Zealand First: Jobs For The Boys And Girls – When Is It Going To End?; Fonterra Millionnaires Club Needs A Rocket; English Persists With Dodgy Youth Unemployment Stats

NZ National Party: Innovative teachers encouraged to apply for $10m fund

LINKS OF THE DAY

Links of the day have been a feature of NewsRoom_Digest since we first started production in August 2014.

AD:TECH NZ CONFERENCE: A global conference designed for smart marketers and business operators was held today in Auckland. More details at: https://www.ad-tech.co.nz/

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT: The report by Amnesty International: Fear and Fences: Europe’s approach to keeping refugees at bay, reveals how moves to fence off land borders and enlist neighbouring countries, such as Turkey and Morocco, as gatekeepers, have denied refugees access to asylum, exposed refugees and migrants to ill-treatment and pushed people towards life-threatening sea journeys. Read more:https://www.amnesty.org.nz/sites/default/files/Fear%20and%20Fences_Europes%20Approach%20to%20keeping%20refugees%20at%20bay.PDF

DAIRY INDUSTRY STATISTICS: New Zealand Dairy Statistics provides the latest statistical information related to our dairy industry, including herd size, milk production and cow numbers. Read more:http://www.dairyatwork.co.nz/media/63217/new-zealand-dairy-statistics-2014-15.pdf

DELOITTE SOUTHLAND INDEX: South Island listed firms market capitalisation dips 0.3% in the quarter to 30 September despite encouraging results from smaller companies according to the Deloitte South Island Index released today. To see the full quarterly report, go to http://www.deloitte.com/nz/southislandindex

MAORI POPULATION ESTIMATES: Māori Population Estimates provide estimates of the Māori population of New Zealand at a given date. At 30 June 2015 the latest statistics are available at: http://bit.ly/1PL1cBs

NZ WAREHOUSE CHEAPEST: A survey by Colliers International shows industrial rentals in the country’s three main centres- Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington- are about 80 per cent cheaper than the world’s most expensive city. The survey is available at: http://www.colliers.co.nz/find%20research/monthly%20reports/

PACIFIC ISLAND SCHOLARSHIPS: New scholarships aimed at getting more Pacific people into the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics have been announced today. Applications for next year open today and close on 11 December 2015. For more information go to: http://www.pacificstem.org.nz

REVIEWING COMPETITION LAWS: The government has today released an issues paper seeking feedback on whether the law protecting consumers from anti-competitive behaviour by businesses is working well. The issues paper and submissions process can be viewed at: http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/business/competition-policy/targeted-commerce-act-review

SALES AND ADVICE MONITORING: The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) today published its first monitoring report on practices in sales and advice within New Zealand’s financial services sector. Read the report here:https://fma.govt.nz/news/reports-and-papers/monitoring-and-compliance-reports/sales-and-advice-report/

YOUNG MOTHERS EDUCATION: Teenage mothers are nearly three times less likely to be in education than their peers without children according to Statistics New Zealand. Read more: http://bit.ly/1MOok1g

And that’s our sampling of “news you can use” for Tuesday 17th November.

Brought to EveningReport by Newsroom Digest.

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NewsRoom Digest: Top NZ News Items for November 16 Edition, 2015

By Selwyn Manning -

November 16, 2015

This edition of NewsRoom_Digest features 9 resourceful links of the day and the politics pulse from Monday 16th November. It is best viewed on a desktop screen.

NEWSROOM_MONITOR

Noteworthy stories in the current news cycle include a rebound in consumer spending in figures from Statistics NZ for the three months to the end of September, a prediction from the Department of Conservation of another predator explosion next year and news the lower North Island iwi Rangitane o Manawatu will receive $13.5 million as part of a Treaty of Waitangi settlement.

POLITICS PULSE

Media releases issued from Parliament by political parties today included:

Government: Trade Minister travels to Philippines for APEC; Paris attacks condemned; Deed of Settlement signed with Rangitāne o Manawatū; Completion of 100th house at first SHA celebrated; Joyce makes second visit to Viet Nam; Speech – DRC Food Security and Food Safety Strategy Summit; Great Walk and National Park addition to memorialise 29 Pike miners; Fraud Awareness Week highlights dangers for consumers and small business; NZ and Viet Nam launch new era in relations;New Zealand and Viet Nam sign agreement for aviation cooperation; Viet Nam-NZ agreement for health collaboration; Mobility Action Teams a step closer; Strategic Education partnership with Viet Nam, Fraud Awareness Week highlights dangers for consumers and small business; Second round of $10m teacher innovation fund; Multi-billion dollar bond listing a first for local government; Minister to speak at Singapore education and technology leadership summit; Councils applying for online voting trial; Appointment of Dunedin Coroner; Appointments to Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Board; Consultation on low value imports next year; GST on online services – levelling the playing field

Greens: Green Party expresses sympathy for Paris victims

Labour: Ministry covers up damning NCEA report

New Zealand First: Speech – Events In Paris, A Serious Matter For New Zealand; Next Global Dairy Trade Likely To Be A Big Fall – Peters

LINKS OF THE DAY

Links of the day have been a feature of NewsRoom_Digest since we first started production in August 2014.

APEC CEO INSIGHTS: For the fifth year, PwC is knowledge partner to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit. Links to various reports generated for the event are being posted at: http://www.pwc.com/apec

ENROL TO VOTE: The first referendum on the New Zealand flag starts this week, and those wanting to take part have only a few days left to get enrolled. More information about taking part in the referendums on the New Zealand flag is available at: http://www.elections.org.nz/flag

> NEWSROOM_PLUS has published another update on the flag debate here:http://newsroomplus.com/2015/11/15/flag-3/

FOOD SAFETY CHALLENGE: The annual ANZ Privately Owned Business Barometer survey included 178 food and drinks firms and found an industry that was upbeat about the future, hungry for growth, showing the way in mobile technology and social media use, and collaborating to open export opportunities. Read more:https://comms.anz.co.nz/barometer-reports/article/detail.html?id=21740&name=Food%20&%20Beverage

IWI SETTLEMENT: The Crown has signed a deed of settlement with Rangitāne o Manawatū settling the iwi’s outstanding historical Treaty of Waitangi claims. A copy of the deed of settlement is available at www.govt.nz/treaty-settlement-documents/rangitane-o-manawatu

ONLINE VOTING TRIAL: Five district councils and three city councils have been invited to demonstrate they can meet the government’s requirements for an online voting trial. Details of the voting framework and an updated version of the government’s trial requirements will be on the Department of Internal Affairs’ website:http://www.dia.govt.nz/online-voting

RETAIL SPENDING RISE: Retail sales growth in the September 2015 quarter was led by large gains in the motor-vehicle industry, according to Statistics New Zealand. Read more: http://bit.ly/1OMP1pd

SUPPORTING LGBTI YOUNG PEOPLE: A cross-agency response Supporting LGBTI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex ) Young People in New Zealand has been released.

The response follows the Ministry of Youth Development led consultation that took place across the LGBTI community and highlights key work underway across government that supports LGBTI young people. To download the document go to: http://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/newsroom/2015/supporting-lgbti-young-people.html

TEACHER INNOVATION FUND: Applications have opened for the second round of the $10 million Teacher-led Innovation Fund. More information can be found here: http://www.education.govt.nz/ministry-of-education/specific-initiatives/investing-in-educational-success/teacher-led-innovation-fund/

And that’s our sampling of “news you can use” for Monday 16th November.

Brought to EveningReport by Newsroom Digest.

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Should the flag change?: That would be affirmative

By Selwyn Manning -

November 16, 2015

NewsroomPlus.com Contributed by Alex Barrow Eight young people went head to head with their views on whether or not the New Zealand flag should be changed last Thursday, at Victoria University of Wellington. Hosted by the Commonwealth Youth New Zealand (CYNZ), in association with the Victoria University of Wellington Debating Society, this was another opportunity for airing of the flag referendum – or debacle some would already say – that is due to be given some more airing on a panel today on TVNZ’s Q+A “of a diverse range of Kiwis talk(ing) about their choices and the broader question of what it means to be a New Zealander”. CYNZ Events Officer: “While CYNZ does not take a stance on the debate, we think it is very important to provide young people with the opportunity to hear different sides of the argument for changing the flag, and encourage them to exercise their democratic right to vote in the referendum”. COMMON INSIGHTS Thursday nights’ debate gave insight into what common arguments and beliefs are held by a generation who will have to live with the flag in the future. The debate was mediated by ACT’s David Seymour, ACT, Katie Bradford of ONE News, Labour’s Jacinda Ardern, and National Party MP Chris Bishop. As could be anticipated, the essence of the debate surrounded the idea of New Zealand identity versus the related cost and the lack of physical necessity for a new flag. The debate’s affirmative team arguments for a flag change constituted a call for a national symbol to reflect the culture of New Zealand, and its status as an individual country – albeit not a republic.

“The aspect of culture that we have that differentiates us from Britain is substantial. That’s why we need to adopt an authentic cultural symbol.” “New Zealand is not just an off-shoot of England. It’s not just a colony. We are a country in our own right. Flying a flag that inextricably ties back to England doesn’t represent all of New Zealand.” “We have a chance now to choose not just a nicer looking flag but a flag that’s more meaningful, that represents us better, and that can take us forward as New Zealand”.

On the negating team the emphasis was placed on the costs of the referendum, when a flag change is not necessarily a popular option. Furthermore, they criticised the five new flag options. The third speaker, an apparently passionate patriot for the current flag closed his speech with, “God save the Queen, and democracy save our flag”.

“We don’t support the massive waste of money, time, and political capital on something like this.” “People derive their own meanings…The New Zealand flag is something that the New Zealand people can identify with because it is our flag.”

The adjudicators congratulated both teams for their creative and informed arguments, and the skill of the debaters. Despite both offering strong considerations, the winning team was the affirmative, who argued in favour of the flag change. Previous agency stories on the flag debate: –]]>

Beirut and Paris: Two terror attacks with different tales

By David Robie -

November 15, 2015

Report by David Robie. This article was first published on Café Pacific By Belen Fernandez AS NEWS arrived of terror attacks in Paris that ultimately left more than 120 people dead, US President Barack Obama characterised the situation as “heartbreaking” and an assault “on all of humanity.” But his presidential sympathy was conspicuously absent the previous day when terror attacks in Beirut left more than 40 dead. Predictably, Western media and social media were much less vocal about the slaughter in Lebanon. And while many of us are presumably aware, to some degree, of the discrepancy in value assigned to people’s lives on the basis of nationality and other factors, the back-to-back massacres in Beirut and Paris served to illustrate without a doubt the fact that, when it comes down to it, “all of humanity” doesn’t necessarily qualify as human. Of course, there’s more to the story than the relative dehumanisation of the Lebanese as compared with their French counterparts. There’s also the prevailing notion in the West that — as far as bombs, explosions, and killings go — Lebanon is simply One of Those Places Where Such Things Happen. The same goes for places like Iraq, to an even greater extent, which is part of the reason we don’t see Obama mourning attacks on all of humanity every time he reads the news out of Baghdad. The situation in Iraq is also obviously more complicated — not to mention the ones in Afghanistan, Yemen, and other locations on the receiving end of US military atrocities. Why doesn’t it break the president’s heart to order drone attacks and other life-extinguishing maneuvers? Short answer: because it’s not the job of superpowers to engage in self-reflection. Thus, Obama’s selective vision enables him to observe in the case of Paris: “We’ve seen an outrageous attempt to terrorise innocent civilians.” Superficial Western media It bears mentioning that, in the case of Beirut, the city’s multi-sectarian composition has allowed for varying intra-metropolitan gradations of humanity, available for detection by the Orientalist eye. It’s safe to surmise that, had the recent suicide bombings taken place in, say, an upscale Beirut nightclub, beach resort, or other Lebanese venue about which the superficial Western media love to exclaim, the human fallout may have aroused more audience interest. Indeed, had the victims been more “like us” than the otherised, eerie and criminal-sounding inhabitants of Beirut’s southern suburbs where the bombings occurred — incessantly described by the sheeplike media as a “Hezbollah stronghold” or “Hezbollah bastion” — they’d have stood a much greater chance of breaking our hearts. Hell, we might have even seen references to Beirut’s romanticised former identity as the “Paris of the Middle East.” Following Friday’s attacks in the Paris of Europe, meanwhile, Facebook users in the vicinity of the city were encouraged to check in as “safe” — an option not made available the previous day to Facebook users in Beirut. In her own Facebook status today, Professor Laleh Khalili of the School of Oriental and African Studies in London noted that, while the online social networking service had also offered the safety check-in after this year’s earthquakes in Nepal, Chile, and Afghanistan/Pakistan, the same “button is not offered to people in Palestine or Syria or Iraq or Lebanon and countless other zones of destruction”. Stripping of politics Khalili added: “What might including Paris in the rank of ‘natural’ disasters mean other than a stripping of its politics, a kind of anti-politics that sees this as a story of good vs. evil or of suffering but without a history? Those other places are ‘political’ and their victims cannot be invoked in [Facebook’s] supposedly ‘neutral’ milieu.” As for the clearly political repercussions of the Paris massacre, which French President François Hollande has blamed on the Islamic State group, persecuted refugees and minorities naturally stand to bear the brunt of the inevitable racist and xenophobic backlash — a godsend for right-wing European politicians and organisations, keen to exploit the bloodshed to the max in the service of their own sociopathic visions. In its live updates on the aftermath, the British Guardian reported today that “Poland has announced it will no longer take refugees via an EU programme, in a deeply controversial statement which linked the [refugee] crisis to the killings in Paris.” Obstacles multiply Unfortunately, however, there are a whole lot of people who won’t see such a move as controversial at all. And as the obstacles to refugee existence multiply, what’s often forgotten is that events like the Paris massacre pale quantitatively in comparison to the situations many refugees are fleeing — ones in which the West itself is often implicated. In a world far superior to the one we have, the scenario might qualify as an assault on all humanity. The fact that it doesn’t is truly heartbreaking. Reprinted from Green Left magazine and TeleSUR English. Belen Fernandez is the author of The Imperial Messenger: Thomas Friedman at Work, published by Verso. She is a contributing editor at Jacobin magazine. –]]>

Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: 30 questions about Parliament’s detainee debate

By Bryce Edwards -

November 14, 2015

Political Roundup by Dr Bryce Edwards.

[caption id="attachment_4808" align="alignleft" width="150"]

Dr Bryce Edwards.[/caption]

New Zealand’s Parliament has descended into “political civil war” over the Australian Christmas Island detainee debate. In an attempt to unravel the complex, fast-changing and heated debate, here are 30 questions, with some possible answers.

New Zealand politics has moved into extraordinary territory this week in the continuing controversy over New Zealand citizens detained by Australia in offshore security facilities. The apex of the highly polarised debate occurred when the Prime Minister lashed out at Opposition MPs accusing them of supporting rapists, which prompted a walkout of MPs.

What started out as a debate about human rights versus law and order concerns, quickly morphed this week into a focus on gender politics and violence, and politicians’ behaviour. To understand how the controversy got to this point, and where it’s going, today’s column points to some of the more interesting and important questions these debates have raised.

1) Have New Zealand politicians lost sight of the “real issue” this week? Peter Dunne has spoken out to condemn all sides in what he calls New Zealand’s political civil war. In this hard-hitting blog post, the government minister complains that National, Labour and Green MPs have lost the plot. He says that the actual detainee issue “seems to have become secondary to the noise it has generated”. He calls for local politicians to unite against a common enemy – Australian human rights abuses.

2) Are Opposition and Government politicians more concerned with point scoring in the debate than the actual detainees? This seems to be the conclusion reached to a series of must-read questions put by libertarian Peter Cresswell in his blog post, Christmas Island, rape, and other random questions.

3) Was John Key right about “rapists and murderers” being amongst the New Zealanders on Christmas Island? No. Eventually Justice Minister Amy Adams released a detailed breakdown of the crimes concerned, indicating the PM was wrong – see the Herald’s No Kiwi rapists or murderers on Christmas Island. As Matthew Hooton (@MatthewHootonNZ) tweeted, “For those still interested: of NZers on #ChristmasIsland, 0% are murderers, 0% rapists, 2.5% pedos & 100% hve already served their sentences.”

4) What was John Key’s motivation for attacking his opponents as supporting racists and murderers? Duncan Garner thinks he’s being cynical: “John Key has clearly decided there are no votes in this and no votes to lose. He’s worked out middle New Zealand probably doesn’t give a damn. He’s probably polled on it. It’s ruthless and calculating politics” – see: You don’t ditch all human rights just because they’re crooks. Garner also complains that “Key has gambled people don’t care. He may be right. And in the process he’s shown how brutal and ruthless he can be, almost as ruthless as the Aussies themselves.”

5) Was Key using the “Dead cat strategy” in Parliament when he accused his opponents of supporting rapists? Many on the left believe that Key’s outburst in Parliament about rapists was deliberate and calculated. This theory is outlined by Rob Salmond in the blog post, Cold, calculated and cynical. He points out that it’s a long-standing political tactic advocated by rightwing political strategists Crosby/Textor – that politicians can create a distraction from negative media coverage by throwing strange allegations into the debate in order to muddy the waters. See also Gordon Campbell’s On the John Key smear attack.

RNZ’s Jane Patterson also calls it “Classic wedge politics, carried out in dramatic fashion” – see: Australian detainees issue unveils master class in cut-throat politics.

But maybe Key’s motivation was less calculated and cunning, and more simply a reaction to pressure. Danyl Mclauchlan puts forward this argument in his blog post, Notes on the politics around Australia’s deportation policy. He says, “The motivation was probably Kelvin Davis going on Morning Report yesterday and calling Key ‘weak’ for his failure to stand up for New Zealanders. Rather than have the line repeated on the TV news Key decided to project strength in the House by abusing the opposition. Now instead of calling Key ‘weak’ the opposition are complaining about him being mean to them. Goal achieved.”

6) Why did Labour and Green MPs walk out of Parliament? The best news report on what happened is Isaac Davison’s Silenced and ejected from Parliament: The female MPs who revealed they had been victims of sexual violence. Some of the MPs explain their actions in TV3’s 4-minute Story item by Dan Parker: MPs who walked out tell their story. See also Metiria Turei’s Guardian article, I told New Zealand’s parliament about my sexual assault – it was difficult, but necessary.

7) Is John Key using rapist allegations as a political tool? Yes, according to the Greens – see RNZ’s John Key ‘using rape as a political tool’ – Metiria Turei. Turei also claims that Key is using this tactic “to distract from serious issues”, but perhaps contradictorily was also reported as believing “the parliamentary furore did not distract from the detainee problem, as both issues were highly relevant.”

8) Does Parliament and Government have a problem with “rape culture”? Yes, according to academic and Labour candidate Deborah Russell, who has blogged about “Rape culture in action in our Parliament, promulgated by the Speaker” – see: An object lesson in silencing women. She condemns David Carter’s actions: “All of it is chilling. A powerful man, presiding over the highest court in the country, silencing women who have been victims of assault, and ruling them out of order.” She argues that “rape culture” is endorsed by “the most powerful and senior representatives of the ruling National party”.

9) Are the Opposition MPs who have spoken up about their experiences of sexual assault making the issue “all about themselves”? That’s the argument made by one long-time National Party activist – see Sam Sachdeva’s MPs who shared sexual assault stories ‘paraded their victimhood’ – Michelle Boag. Listen to the 4-minute RadioLive discussion.

10) Aren’t we being unfair to John Key about his “rape supporters” allegation? A case can be made that Key wasn’t actually painting the whole debate as being about those who support rapists versus those who support New Zealanders – see media training expert Pete Burdon’s blog post, Key comment taken out of context. He makes the argument that Key was only talking about the details around transporting the detainees back to New Zealand: “He added that it would take longer for some like rapists and murderers because he wanted to make sure that other New Zealanders on the same commercial flights as them were safe. That would take more time and could involve other options like chartering planes. When this explanation was dismissed by opposition MPs, he said something like, “You can support the rapists and murderers, but I’m more concerned with the safety of other New Zealanders when they are coming home.” In that context, it’s more understandable why he made the comment. He wasn’t talking about rapists and murderers generally, but only those who could potentially be a threat to other travellers.”

11) Shouldn’t Labour and Green MPs be proud to support the human rights of all detainees, regardless of their convictions? This is the argument put on The Standard blogsite, which castigates the MPs who walked out for not taking all human rights seriously: “It would have been nice if Labour and the Greens had broadened the debate to include the refugees on Christmas Island as well as Australia’s other prison Islands, but no. The members from the left of the house who were so keen to distance themselves from any suggestion of being rape apologists or whatever, that they walked out of the debating chamber – might as well keep on walking. They are of no use” – see: Human Rights, Psychos and Opposition.

12) Has the Government been doing enough to fight for the rights of the detainees? The Dominion Post says no: “John Key has done a U-turn on Kiwi detainees in Australia. A few weeks ago he was threatening to talk tough with new Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. That didn’t happen. And now Key sounds as though he is a PR man for the Australian Government” – see: PM should oppose bad Australian law on detainees, not defend it. See also Brian Rudman’s column, Shameful lack of political fallout over Aussie gulags.

13) Has John Key been consistent in his arguments about the detainee issue? Toby Manhire thinks not, and responds with Ten things John Key has (and hasn’t) said.

14) Will John Key and National suffer in the polls due to the “rape supporters” allegation? According to blogger Oliver Chan, National has been caught off-guard by the growing power of feminism, and ultimately “Key and National have no choice but to adapt conservatism to incorporate modern feminism” – see his blog post, Off-Key.

The NBR’s Rob Hosking seems to agree, and says that the actions of the Opposition women could change female voters’ minds about Key and National: “It was emotional, it was raw, and it was true. It was still a calculated political stunt. It may even work. Never underestimate the raw rage many women, of all shades of the political spectrum, carry inside on this issue. The footage of women MPs trying to talk about sexual assault and being shut up by a male Speaker is going to be run, and re-run, over coming months. It is going to hurt National. A huge part of Mr Key’s success has been his appeal to women voters” – see the paywalled article, Low Gears: Key’s Jeremy Clarkson-style stunt may backfire.

15) Has the Prime Minister lost his moral compass? The first to make this allegation over this scandal is Green blogger David Kennedy – see: How low can Key go? He argues that “John Key and human rights are not a natural pairing”, and he outlines other examples where the PM has been found wanting on ethical issues. He concludes: “John Key is a Prime Minister with no obvious moral compass and has no interest in making a stand on moral issues.”

16) Was Kelvin Davis right to confront the Prime Minister on his way to the debating chamber? Not according to many senior press gallery journalists. Audrey Young says that Davis showed a “lack of decorum”, and furthermore, “MPs should have the freedom to walk the corridors of power without being verbally assaulted by anyone, the public, the media, or political opponents. Certainly anything that impedes an MP’s route the House is a prima facie breach” – see: John Key’s reaction completely disproportionate.

Similarly, Tracy Watkins says: “It’s one thing to have your opponents yelling insults across the House, and quite another to be waylaid by a fellow MP in the corridor and verbally abused. Politicians regularly rub shoulders at shared spaces like the Beehive Caff and parliamentary gym, and usually manage to leave their political disagreements at the door of Parliament’s debating chamber. Davis’ actions risk unsettling that fine balance” – see: Key ramps up the politics on Kiwi detainees.

None of this means that Davis deserved to be pushed by the Prime Minister’s Diplomatic Protection Service – see Jane Patterson’s A new level of brutality for debate? And for more on this incident, and condemnation of both Davis’ and Key’s behaviour, see Vernon Small’s Perspective out the window at Parliament over Christmas Island detainees.

17) Has the Government really been “protecting Kiwis” from deportees? Patrick Gower says not, and outlines how little the Government has done since the deportees started arriving in New Zealand since December last year – see the second half of this TV3 report: Five Kiwis caught up in Christmas Island riots.

18) Is Australia’s use of the Christmas Island detention centre really like the US use of Guantanamo Bay? Veteran activist Mike Treen explains why it is, and why he joined protesters outside the Australian Consulate in Auckland this week – see: Australia, refugees and the rights of NZ-born workers.

19) Doesn’t New Zealand also deport criminals? Yes, we do. And the way in which New Zealand sends criminals to Pacific Islands might also be criticised – see RNZ’s Convicts dumped in Tonga by NZ.

20) What are the differences between New Zealand and Australian rules for deporting criminals? For the best account of this, see Andrew Geddis’ Australia: purging the convict stain?

21) Is Parliament’s Speaker biased? David Carter has been strongly criticised for the way he dealt with the Prime Minister’s allegations, and then with various attempts by MPs to talk about their experiences of sexual assault. The arguments against Carter are put by Greg Presland in The Standard blog post, New Zealand needs a new Speaker. And according to Danyl Mclauchlan Carter is both biased and incompetent – see: Disorder in the House.

22) Should Parliament’s Speaker be sacked? According to blogger No Right Turn, David Carter’s “partisan hackery, incompetence, and desire to protect his caucus mates and turn a blind eye to their offences has gone too far. Lets be very clear: Carter is not the ‘Speaker of the House’ – he is National’s Speaker, the ‘Speaker for the National Party’. And that’s just not sustainable. He should resign, or the House should sack him” – see: Sack the Speaker. If you agree, you can go to the online petition, Speaker David Carter, Resign Immediately.

Chris Trotter outlines why the independence of the Speaker is so important, and the role they must play in protecting debate and the Opposition – see: A Disgraceful Performance: Why John Key and the Speaker need a refresher course in Democracy.

23) Should Parliament’s Question Time be abolished? It’s not clear who might be advocating this, but Mike Hosking nonetheless provides an answer in his one-minute video, Question Time shambolic but necessary.

24) Is parliamentary politics set for increased hostility? It seems so, according to Tracy Watkins, who says “From here it can only get uglier”. She points out that “Labour and the Greens are in open revolt and Parliament has descended into chaos”, and “Speaker David Carter has all but lost control of the House and MPs are taking that as free rein to throw ugly rhetoric around” – see: More lows than highs in ‘rapists’ stoush.

25) What will be the on-going effects of John Key’s use of law and order rhetoric in Parliament? It might make New Zealanders even less tolerant of ex-criminals according to John Tamihere. RNZ reports his views that Key’s comments will reinforce “the country’s punitive culture towards criminals and made it harder for them to reintegrate into society” – see: PM’s comments encourage punitive culture, says MP.

26) Should New Zealand have challenged Australia’s human rights record at the United Nations Human Rights Commission assessment meeting this week? There are plenty of voices complaining that New Zealand has missed a strategic and moral opportunity by not standing up against our neighbour’s human rights abuses – see, for example, Toby Manhire’s Australia’s detention policy condemned at UN from all sides. But what did NZ say?, the Press editorial, Christmas Island riot shows folly of Australia’s out-of-sight strategy, and – best of all – James Robins’ Australia’s shame, and New Zealand’s silence.

27) Should New Zealanders boycott Australia? Peter Dunne suggests they will – see the Australian Daily Telegraph newspaper’s Kiwis could boycott Oz: NZ minister.

28) Where and what is Christmas Island, anyway? For some background about the island and the detention centre, including how the island got its name, and what happened to the casino there, see Stuff’s Christmas Island: From tropical paradise to detention nightmare, and back again.

29) What caused the latest “riots” on Christmas Island? The sad plight and death of Kurdish asylum seeker Fazel Chegeni is detailed in the Guardian’s article by Ben Doherty, Closed doors and troubled minds: the anguish of Christmas Island’s detention centre.

30) Finally, is there any humour to be found in this political saga? Yes – see Hayden Donnell’s Is John Key Gutless? Yes He Probably is TBH.

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Keith Rankin on Whyte Trite

By Keith Rankin -

November 14, 2015

Analysis by Keith Rankin. This article was also published on TheDailyBlog.co.nz.

Every now and again we see former Act leader, Dr Jamie Whyte, popping up on current affairs panels, such as his appearance on The Nation three weeks ago. Whyte is always happy to discuss his ‘classical liberal’ laissez-faire philosophy, and apply it to any issue put to him, be it guns or the PM’s penis. (Whyte’s political philosophy is also called minarchism, and one of its intellectual leaders was Robert Nozick, author in 1974 of Anarchy, State and Utopia.)

His is such a simple philosophy, about the primacy of private property rights on all matters. People must be allowed to do whatever they want with whatever they own, so long as they don’t harm others. Thus it’s not really about economic outcomes, or economic ‘efficiency’, as neoclassical economics (or even neoliberalism) most concerns itself with. It’s a seductive, very simple, and easily communicable message of aspirant personal freedom.

What this philosophy lacks is any coherent sense of ‘publicness’. Filling this void is a very menacing entity called ‘the state’, which is allowed to interchange semantically with ‘the government’, making governments themselves agents of menace. As such, governments cannot be agencies of the people which facilitate the public expression of the good lives that most of us wish to lead. Ronald Reagan once declared that governments are the problem, not the solution.

To make matters worse, the school of political economy that defined modern classical liberalism in the 1980s called itself ‘public choice’; a complete misnomer for a philosophy that only validates private choice. In public choice theory, ‘the state’ is a kleptocratic ‘stationary bandit’ with its hands perpetually in our pockets, stealing from us and imposing deadweight costs on our lives. In the early 1980s, Treasury’s bible was Mancur Olson’s The Rise and Decline of Nations (1982).

In the twentieth century the most read publicist for the philosophy of selfishness was Ayn Rand – whose most famous titles were The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. She called her version of laissez faire ‘objectivism’; another mis‑moniker. There can be no philosophy more subjective than one which extols selfishness as its core value. For minarchist libertarians, there are two conflicting principles – that of self‑interested individualism and that of ‘altruism’.

In this philosophy of extreme liberalism, the world is populated by individuals who transact with each other in consensual fashion. There are three main forms of transaction – pure market, sexual, and venturing. The first two involve just two parties and are essentially casual meetings of buyers and sellers, or of potential sexual partners. The latter (‘venturing’) involves the formation of ‘companies’ – temporary collectives with the status of individuals. In all cases, individuals, mindful of their self-interest, are free to contract into longer term relationships. They will do things like marry if each contractee calculates such a contract to be individually advantageous. (Chicago economist Gary Becker – especially in the 1960s and 1970s – applied such concepts to pretty much all aspects of private life. It has been called New Home Economics.)

Altruism is perpetually scorned as a kind of race to the bottom, whereas self-interested individualism gives us the ‘invisible hand’ that allows libertarians to believe in selfishness as a virtue. Altruism is portrayed as self-sacrifice; a loss incurred by the altruist in favour of a gain for another individual. The idea that most altruism in practice is giving to the collective – not giving to other individuals – is lost because the whole concept of ‘public’ is so diminished in minarchist thinking. Uncalculated private-to-public giving – a core feature of actual economic life – simply does not compute in individualist terms.

The underlying ideas of classical liberalism go back to the years either side of 1700; specifically the writings of English philosopher John Locke (who helped bring about the English revolution of 1688) and the Anglo‑Dutch satirist Bernard Mandeville. Mandeville’s ‘Fable of the Bees’, subtitled “Private Vices, Publick Benefits”, is the real source of the selfishness mantra.

Adam Smith’s ‘Invisible Hand’ was much more couched. Smith said that, “frequently”, self-interested motives yielded desirable collective outcomes. This famous passage was in Book 4 of The Wealth of Nations (1776); the section on international trade. It was out of self-interest, Smith argued, that people preferred to invest in local rather than foreign enterprises, and therefore trade policy towards protectionist ends was not required.

The key idea of Jamie Whyte’s individualism is that any subjective behaviour is OK so long as nobody is harmed. The secondary idea is that the discipline of competitive market forces eliminates bad choices. Thus the free market is actually quite punitive, and not nearly as free in practice as it is in legal statute.

The central weakness of this philosophy is the capacity for systemic (usually unintended) harm arising from individually selfish choices. One area of harm is the emergence of inequality that arises from the atomisation of wealth. In the end the ‘losers’ in these free competitive processes become forced to sell assets or incur debts in order to survive. When these losers eventually and inevitably become insolvent they must concede first their lands and then themselves to their creditors. The losers stand to become someone else’s property. Laissez-faire capitalism without a public context eventually slips into feudalism, whereby human beings become bonded to the minority who made the most fortunate or the most ruthless private choices.

Still one of the best social commentaries ever written was The Social Limits to Growth (1976) by Fred Hirsch. A book of two halves, the first half describes how increasingly our choices are motivated by our desires to gain status rather than comfort, and to soften discomfort (through defensive consumption) if we find ourselves becoming losers in capitalism’s corrosive calculus. The second half of the book goes deeper into the self‑undermining nature of capitalism as we know it; of capitalism with a one-dimensional private focus, of capitalism that inevitably loses the moral foundations that underpinned its early success.

I’ll finish here with one example from history. Today I read The Economist book review (Grey and dreichy, 7 November 2015) of London Fog: A Biography, by Christine Corton (Belknap Press). “Pea-souper” fogs recurred frequently in London from the 1830s to the 1950s. “Pea-soup fogs were quite different [from the ‘dreich’ that London had always suffered from]; they were so polluted with soot from domestic and industrial coal fires that people coughed up black mucus. As The Times put it in 1853, London’s fogs converted ‘the human larynx into an ill-swept chimney’.” The Economist goes on to note that:

“The difficulty for the clean-air reformers was that unlike, say, sewage or water, fog was never a candidate for grand public engineering works. The answer was regulation, which brought legislators up against the two great pillars of a capitalist society: the free market and private property. Industry’s right to buy the cheapest, smokiest coal, and the citizen’s right to his or her own fireside, meant that every attempt at properly enforceable anti-smoke legislation was doomed – until the Clean Air Acts of the 1950s and 1960s.”

Need I say more? Private self-interest may create harm not just to hapless individual victims, but to everyone, including the self-interested whose free choices about how to use their private property create these problems in the first place. The public is everyone, including the very rich.

Dr Whyte is not all trite. Economic freedom is a value to be cherished. It can be supported by capitalism, but not capitalism as we know it. Rather, capitalism with two faces, public and private; not the one‑dimensional nonsense that we were force-fed in the 1980s. The public is a silent equity partner in all capitalist enterprises. Too silent.

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NewsRoom Digest: Top NZ News Items for November 13 Edition, 2015

By Selwyn Manning -

November 13, 2015

This edition of NewsRoom_Digest features resourceful links of the day and the politics pulse from Friday 13th November.

NEWSROOM_MONITOR

Top stories in the current news cycle include District Health Boards being accused of keeping some people from getting hip and knee surgery, more than 100 people showing their support for two Maori Television receptionists who are being sacked because they can’t speak fluent Te Reo Maori and the Government confirming it is merging the country’s fire services into a single national organisation.

POLITICS PULSE

Media releases issued from Parliament by political parties today included:

Government: Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank legislation passes third reading; Bright-line Bill passes third reading; Closer air connections between NZ and Vietnam; Chief Electoral Officer to step down; $79m Western Springs College investment largest ever for NZ school; Whanganui launches eighth Children’s Team; Speech – 137th Annual United Fire Brigades association (UFBA) AGM; Over $20m saved on AoG Telecommunications contract; Minister welcomes major upgrade of Otahuhu Station

Greens: What role did ministers play in keeping Saudi report secret?

Labour: Hardship tailored to suit government coffers; Hardship tailored to suit government coffers; Independence of the ERO called into question; It’s black and white – National caught out; NZ unemployment now worse than Australia

Māori Party: Bill allowing MPs to swear their allegiance to Te Tiriti o Waitangi back in the House

New Zealand First: Debate Needed On Aussie Deportation Law;Government’s Youth Unemployment Numbers Dodgy; Debate Needed On Aussie Deportation Law; Speech – Too Much Ideology In National’s Energy Policy; No Christmas Cheer As Hospital Parking Revenue Soars

NZ National Party: Foreshore opening a great day for Onehunga

LINKS OF THE DAY

Links of the day have been a feature of NewsRoom_Digest since we first started production in August 2014.

ENVIRONMENT REPORTING: The Government is consulting on proposed topics for national environmental reporting. Topics identify the things we want to know about the environment for each of the five environmental domains we report on (air, atmosphere and climate, fresh water, land, and marine). Read more:http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/environmental-reporting/topics-environmental-reporting-consultation-document

FRAUD AWARENESS WEEK: Fraud Awareness Week starts this weekend with calls for people to be more vigilant with regards to money wiring and email hacking. Find out more at http://www.scamwatch.govt.nz/faw

NZ WOOL ACQUISITION: The Commerce Commission has issued its final determination approving Cavalier Wool Holdings’ (Cavalier) application to acquire New Zealand Wool Services International’s (NZWSI) wool scouring business and assets. More information can be found here: www.comcom.govt.nz/business-competition/mergers-and-acquisitions/authorisations/merger-authorisation-register/detail/716

PROFITING FROM WAR: Peace Action Wellington yesterday released a report into New Zealand’s weapons and military-related industry in support of the campaign to stop the annual New Zealand Defence Industry Association conference starting Tuesday morning at the TSB Arena in Wellington. The report is available at:https://peaceactionwellington.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/paw-report-for-webprint.pdf

TELECOMMUNICATIONS CONTRACT: A list of twelve telecommunications providers who have been selected to provide telecommunications and managed security services to Government were announced today. More information can be found at: https://www.ict.govt.nz/services/show/TaaS

TOURISM INDUSTRY SUMMIT: The Tourism Industry National Tourism Summit will be held on November 19th in Wellington. More information is available at: http://www.nationaltourismsummit.co.nz/

And that’s our sampling of “news you can use” for Friday 13th November.

Brought to EveningReport by Newsroom Digest.

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Jane Kelsey: Groser avoids principled reconsideration of TPPA information request despite Court orders

By Selwyn Manning -

November 12, 2015

Source: Professor Jane Kelsey.

[caption id="attachment_6181" align="alignleft" width="150"]

Professor Jane Kelsey.[/caption]

A month ago the High Court ordered Trade Minister Tim Groser to reconsider an Official Information Act request from Professor Jane Kelsey, dated January 2015, relating to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA).

‘The Minister has finally responded, fobbing off the request with further delays and procedural wrangling, despite a request that he treat the matter with urgency’, Professor Kelsey said.

In relation to Cabinet mandates, one of the categories requested, the Minister says the documents have been collated but no officials will be available to review them until after 5 February 2016 – conveniently the first date on which the TPPA can be signed following the expiry of President Obama’s 90-day notification to the US Congress of his intention to do so. Professor Kelsey notes there is no guarantee when or if any of those documents will actually be released.

The remaining categories of information are deemed to require too much research and collation and Professor Kelsey has been asked to reduce their scope – something, she observes, could and should have been sought back in February.

‘The Minister continues to display the arrogance that has marked these entire negotiations’, says Kelsey. ‘In his closing remarks, Justice Collins observed that

the Act plays a significant role in New Zealand’s constitutional and democratic arrangements. It is essential the Act’s meaning and purpose is fully honoured by those required to consider the release of official information.

The Minister has manifestly failed to do that’.

The judge reserved the right for the applicants to return to court within six months should his belief that formal declarations were not required prove erroneous. An application will shortly be filed in accordance with that right.

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Tony Alexander’s Weekly New Zealand Economic Analysis – November 12 2015

By Selwyn Manning -

November 12, 2015

Tony Alexander, BNZ economist.[/caption] This week’s Overview is just three pages long so its not going to set the world alight. I concentrate on the important issue of making sure you don’t rush to form conclusions about things based upon just one month’s observations. You need at least three months worth of data to say anything really meaningful. If you look at just October you may conclude that house prices are falling in Auckland. But if you smooth over three months what we have instead is a trend of slowing house price rises from the pace of earlier this year. Note how the NZ dollar is about the same now as it was a week ago against the greenback. But we are up against the other main currencies as the US dollar was boosted by Friday’s strong US employment report. Our strength highlights that compared with most of the rest of the world we are in good shape and the chances are not high that the NZ dollar will undergo any major weakness over the coming year. Regarding interest rates nothing fundamental has changed. The chances of rate rises in NZ in the near future are very low and a further 0.25% cash rate cut might come on December 10. Watch the possible tightening of US monetary policy next month however to see how it affects long-term borrowing costs in particular.

Click here for the full analysis document (Download document pdf 298kb) or continue reading:

Smooth Your Data This week I thought it would be a good idea to highlight one of the key things you need to keep in mind when looking at economic data. It is extremely unwise to look at one month’s results and extrapolate them into a trend. All data series are subject to fluctuations, and this is especially the case in a small country like New Zealand. You really need to look at where things are headed over three month periods and perhaps longer before making any strong statements about what seems to be happening. Take the case of Auckland house prices for instance. The headlines read that they fell by 4% in October and this means a correction is underway. But prices on average rose 3.3% in September and 2.6% in August so if we smooth across all three months we see that prices have risen 3.8% compared with the three months ending in July. Back then they rose by 6.1% compared with the three months to April when they rose 8% compared with the three months to January. Looking at those numbers I feel on very safe ground saying that the pace of house price increases in Auckland has slowed down. I cannot rule out a falling trend having started, but it is extremely unlikely, especially when one considers that ahead of October 1 there was a scramble by investors looking to buy property before new rules kicked in. As the Reserve Bank Governor said yesterday when discussing the six-monthly Financial Stability Report, it is too early to conclude that things have fundamentally changed in Auckland. Personally I think they have – toward slower house price inflation rather than falls. This is because we have seen many buyers back off because of the new rules, and because investors are now into the buy outside Auckland phase of New Zealand’s housing market cycle. This can be seen in the plethora of data showing rapid growth in dwelling sales in the likes of Waikato/Bay of Plenty, and in accelerating house price inflation in some non-Auckland locations. How long will this phase last? It is unlikely that buyers will receive an interest rates shock in the next three years because of the low inflation outlook here and overseas taking into account the structural changes in links along the way from changing economic growth rates to inflation. Specifically, and to emphasise again one of the key points I have been trying to get across for five years now, things have changed radically post-GFC. First, economic growth rates have tended to come in lower than predicted. Second, growth which has been achieved has generally not led to growth in employment which happened in the past. Third, even given lacklustre jobs growth in most countries the growth achieved has not produced upward pressure on wage rates as would have happened pre-GFC. Fourth, even given the wages growth which has been achieved it has not produced rises in business selling prices as would have been the case pre-GFC. And thus we get to the end result that because of changes in all of these linkages the economic growth rates achieved globally post-GFC have not led to the sorts of interest rate levels or rises which we would have seen pre-GFC. As Taylor Swift sings, Everything has changed.” Nonetheless, if we have a look at the United States for a moment, their employment numbers released last Friday were much better than expected. Jobs rose by 271,000 in October and the unemployment rate fell 0.1% to 5.0%. The chances have therefore increased that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next month. If they do then we will for the first time since 2006 gather new information on how the US consumer and business sectors react to rising financing costs. The chances that any forecasting group has a model which gives accurate insight into those reactions are very slim. So if rates do go up be prepared to see a huge level of discussion regarding the impact on growth and how much higher US interest rates will go. Scope for volatility in financial markets is huge, especially in the context of most emerging economies suffering at the moment with capital outflows and recession or slowing growth. There will be lots of debate about what rising US dollar-denominated financing costs will mean for them. Here in NZ we expect to see some upward pressure on our long-term interest rates as a result of US monetary policy tightening. But please don’t ask us how high medium to long-term interest rates will be in a year’s time as none of knows truly how much US interest rates will rise. The Fed. tightening will be a huge experiment which they will not rush blindly into without massive monitoring of market and economic reactions in the US and elsewhere. Switching back to NZ now and continuing the theme above of being careful never to make strong statements on the basis of one month’s data, spending using debit and credit cards grew by only 0.2% at the core level in October from September. The previous month growth was 1.1% and in August 1%. Does this mean we all closed out wallets last month? Of course not. Smooth over the three month period and you get an annualised pace of growth in core retail spending of 9.3% compared with 1.8% three months ago and 8.2% six months ago ending in April. The picture we have is of you and I getting quite conservative over winter but from spring getting back into form with a spending surge. Note however that the average pace of growth in this particular spending measure is 5.6% so retailers should be careful not to over-extrapolate the last three months into a booming Christmas. Having said that, with the ANZ Roy Morgan consumer sentiment gauge jumping to a well above average 122.7 this month from 114.9 in October there seems little reason for believing that in most parts of the country this Christmas spending period will be quite good. Get in before the masses perhaps is the message now. Housing Nothing much beyond suggesting that you wait a few months before making strong statements about the extent to which the Auckland market has turned, and the pace with which prices will rise elsewhere. NZ Dollar Our currency has ended this afternoon essentially unchanged from where it was a week ago against the US currency near 65.5 cents. But because the USD got a boost from October’s employment growth in the US coming in near 100,000 better than expected we have made slight gains against the other currencies. Perhaps this just goes to reinforce to some degree the line we have been running that there is fundamentally good support for the NZ dollar. The government has just recorded a fiscal surplus, the current account deficit is only 3.5% of GDP, we have lovely high rankings on ease of running a business and lack of corruption etc., lots of people love us so are staying here or not migrating across the ditch, we have lots of exporters not involved in dairying doing very well, and the construction sector is going gangbusters. If I Were A Borrower What Would I Do? I would not be worried about interest rates rising much on me over the next three years so I would be quite happy to take one of the lovely discounted two year fixed rates out there at the moment. Personally I have never been much of a fan of one year rates because they give little hedging against unexpected rate rises, and normally I would like to lock in a three year rate. But rates beyond two years are not so flash and it is in the two year area that the lenders are mainly concentrating their marketing efforts.

The Weekly Overview is written by Tony Alexander, Chief Economist at the Bank of New Zealand. The views expressed are my own and do not purport to represent the views of the BNZ. To receive the Weekly Overview each Thursday night please sign up at www.tonyalexander.co.nz To change your address or unsubscribe please click the link at the bottom of your email. Tony.alexander@bnz.co.nz

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In praise of The New Yorker

By Selwyn Manning -

November 12, 2015

NewsroomPlus.com Welcome to our ongoing series in praise of magazines – where the time has come to give a shout out for The New Yorker. First of all, the reason we’re devoting a regular spot for ‘magazine reviews’ on NewsRoom_Plus – enabled with the kind help of Magnetix – is twofold. One reason has similar, if not identical, motivations to the defenders and lovers of books. Namely, a sincere belief that the culture and tangibility of a printed artefact may be subsumable by online formats, but it can never truly be replaced. The other reason is directly related to the simultaneous mix of currency and curiosity that a print magazine naturally contains and conveys. Speaking just for myself, a magazine hits home most when there is a soupcon of current affairs and an embodied ability to surprise with its quality of writing, or with the wit and weave of its combinant design of words and pictures. The surprising thing about the institution that is The New Yorker is its well-appreciated retention, and repetition even, of its look and feel, from finely-wrought font to its famous and ever-finessed cartoons that could, at a mere pinch, see the pages being turned back to The New Yorker’s birth year of 1925. Examining the Nov. 2 issue – The FOOD Issue no less – signs of 2015 do emerge if you flip past its opening signifiers of cultural life (Food and drink, Auctions and antiques, Readings and talks, Jazz and standards, Night life, Orchestras and choruses, Dance, The Theatre, Galleries, Museums and libraries, Art, Movies), which while largely specific to the city many still call the Big Apple, are just so undeniably urbane. In that most enduring editorial space, ‘The Talk Of The Town’, the commentary focuses on the grilling that Hillary Clinton recently underwent on the backend of seven full investigations of the circumstances surrounding the Benghazi attack that occurred during Clinton’s term as Secretary of State. The conduct of the House Select Committee on Benghazi is summed up in one word: absurd. For purely journalistic reasons my pick in this section of The New Yorker was a contribution by book author James Surowiecki (he of The Wisdom of Crowds) on the “misdeeds” of the for-profit education industry – schools that “made promises they couldn’t keep”. In almost the briefest article in this edition of the magazine, Surowiecki surgically identifies that a dependence on student loans and gaming of a taxpayer-funded financial-aid system was the business model for the for-profit boom in the USA that targeted “non-traditional students”. One sentence says it all: “Since the schools weren’t lending money themselves, they didn’t have to worry about whether it would be paid back”. Lies and more lies. Lies about job placement rates. Lies about projected life earnings. Surowiecki incisively observes that students at those cash-extracting colleges could be compared to home-owners during the housing bubble. “In both cases, powerful ideological forces pushed people to borrow (‘Homeownership is the path to wealth’; ‘Education is the key to the future’). In both cases, credit was cheap and easy to come by…” The, no doubt partial, remedy in the US is that the for-profit gravy-train-riders will be required to “prove that, on average, students’ loan payments amount to less than eight per cent of their annual income”. Ones that fail that test four years in a row will have access to federal monies cut off. At one level this may shut doors on inclusive education options and accessible degrees to those who were being put on the rack, students. What Surowiecki argues is that the long overdue “crackdown” should be prompting more money for funding-starved community colleges and public universities. More crucially, he suggests that it would be timely to challenge the notion that a tertiary education automatically transforms a person’s job prospects or presents an automatic answer to an economy’s ills or creates jobs if they’re not there.

Endearing and Enduring Traits

On a cheerier note, one of The New Yorker’s endearing traits is its low-key and understated story-flow. A FOOD issue in any other hands might well be wallpapered with in-your-face gourmet photography. Not so The New Yorker. The entree story, ostensibly about the rustic-sounding Campaign for Rural Barbecue, settles gently into place, and doesn’t mention the subject matter of the North Carolina-based barbecue till well into a meaty five page piece. A great read if you’ve ever suffered from “barbecue deprivation”, or wondered whether a barbecue should come with a wine list. This is what might be called ‘slow writing’. The next story, on the potential for seaweed to be a miracle food (“if we can figure out how to make it taste good”), lingers even longer, with characters lifting off the page who are happy to be known by handles such as Captain Kelp. Interviewees aren’t passed off with a potted bio or hasty back story, but rather receive the justice of being written about with the benefit of simply set-out life events, for instance, how it happens that you go from being an oyster farmer one year to a kelp farmer the next, pushed there by extreme weather events. Elongated paragraph by elongated paragraph, this one article became an easy-to-follow lesson in science and in climate change, then a pointer on how dulse (look it up) was made to taste like bacon when cooked, and on to the joys of diving in an undersea forest. This is the antithesis of short reading – or, fie upon thy name, clickbait. The Food stories just keep coming, they don’t cave into each other but continue being erudite, educative, and most of all, enjoyable and contemporary in a geeky way. Did you know research has shown a blue soup bowl can make the soup seem significantly saltier? Or that an evocative soundtrack can intensify the flavour of a food? Off your fast food? Then an eight pager – yep, eight.. whole.. pages, brings to the fore new outlets (anyone heard of Lyfe Kitchen? or Sweetgreen?) that are operating as “enlightened” businesses. What about restaurants that do their best to attain hashtags like #LatAm50Best, in a parallel universe to Michelin stars? Turns out that there could be a world of opaque and obsequious ranking going on. Or not. For a non-foodie, reading about internecine sniping in that world, and of the ’50 Best’ being likened to a “little mafia”, was refreshing.

A HEADY MIX

The New Yorker still succeeds in being a heady mix, rounded out, as it is, with reviews by Critics, and fiction, and poetry. The cartoons appear dated but are as wry and acerbic as they’ve ever been – though with one twist, in that there is now a cartoon caption contest on the last page that I couldn’t recall seeing before (one that pops up with “complete rules” at contest.newyorker.com). At first I wasn’t sure I could come to terms with The New Yorker democratising its cartoon captions. To be honest I’m still not sure. Balancing the retention of the classic pen and inks with the image of a successful caption writer glowing in a pinnacle of their penmanship is, I guess, one way of trying to reconcile the unholy sight of an un-captioned cartoon in The New Yorker. I mean would it still be The New Yorker, without the The? Long live The New Yorker. –]]>

NewsRoom Digest: Top NZ News Items for November 12 Edition, 2015

By Selwyn Manning -

November 12, 2015

This edition of NewsRoom_Digest features 8 resourceful links of the day and the politics pulse from Thursday 12th November.

NEWSROOM_MONITOR

Top stories in the current news cycle include the international headlines being made by the ejection of several women MPs from Parliament as they tried to speak about being victims of sexual assault, milk prices falling by 5.7%, with the average price being the cheapest since January 2008 and a new paper on gender inequality saying women generally continue to work in lower paid industries despite about 60 percent having tertiary education.

POLITICS PULSE

Media releases issued from Parliament by political parties today included:

Government: Way paved for easier consenting of cycleways; Prime Minister’s Science Prizes announced; Sports stars rally to fight obesity; Improving resource base key to sustainable growth; Broadband rollout to rural hospitals complete; Trade Minister welcomes dramatic growth in exports to Chinese Taipei; Construction of Earthquake Memorial begins; Additional funding for Whanganui and South Taranaki; Fellowships for 17 NZers announced for 2016; Guy to Australia and China for conferences; Minister announces Transport reappointments; Youth Fund 2016 recipients announced; Funding for Lake Horowhenua clean-up; Inaugural Chief Victims Advisor to Government appointed; Debt collection resumes for education payroll; EECA Board appointments;

Greens: Amy Adams must clarify why New Zealanders are being detained on Island; Greens Call Out Government’s Agenda Of Politicising Environmental Decision Making; Supermarket referee long overdue

Labour: Labour backs gender equal New Zealand; Detainees belong in Australia, not New Zealand; Christchurch build a joke; NZ falls down OECD unemployment ranks; Foreign buyers ban will achieve what Govt failed to

New Zealand First: Māori Television in breach of Treaty over firing receptionists; Top Up Rescue Helicopter Funding Shortfall

NZ National Party: MP welcomes news of Onehunga port sale;Tukituki MP Craig Foss congratulates youth fund 2016 recipients; Hutt City Youth Awards Finalists Announced;MP congratulates Youth Fund 2016 recipient

United Future Party: No Need for Greens Renewable Energy Bill

LINKS OF THE DAY

Links of the day have been a feature of NewsRoom_Digest since we first started production in August 2014.

ENABLING WOMEN’s POTENTIAL: The National Council of Women of New Zealand today released a report titled: Enabling Women’s Potential – the economic, social and ethical imperative, which champions gender equality, fairness and equal opportunity. Read more: http://www.ncwnz.org.nz/what-we-do/enabling-womens-potential-the-social-economic-and-ethical-imperative/

FOOD PRICES FALL: In October food prices fell 1.2 percent, according to Statistics New Zealand.Click here for more:http://bit.ly/1Lb7Gn0

IMPROVING RESOURCE BASE: The updated Building Natural Resources chapter of the Business Growth Agenda with an emphasis on lifting primary sector productivity while improving our environmental outcomes at the same time. was launched today. A copy of the chapter is available here: http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/business/business-growth-agenda/towards-2025

LAKE CLEAN-UP: The Government is to provide $980,000 in funding from the Te Mana o Te Wai Fund to restore the health of Lake Horowhenua. Further information on the Te Mana o Te Wai Fund is available from:http://www.mfe.govt.nz/more/funding/te-mana-o-te-wai-fund

OBESITY CAMPAIGN: A new high profile public awareness campaign starts today to encourage people to make healthy lifestyle changes to tackle obesity. For further information about the Childhood Obesity Plan visit the Ministry of Health website, here:https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/obesity/childhood-obesity-plan

STANDARD DRINKS: The campaign ‘Know Your Limit: Rule of Thumb’ being led by Hospitality New Zealand has highlighted how few New Zealanders actually know what a standard drink is. For an interactive calculator to find out how many standard drinks are in your glass go to:

http://www.cheers.org.nz/standard-drinks/

WINSTON CHURCHILL FELLOWSHIP: The names of 17 people who have been awarded a prestigious Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship for 2016 were announced today. More information on the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust is available on the Community Matters website: http://www.communitymatters.govt.nz

YOUTH FUND 2016: 50 successful applicants will receive a total of around $217,000 to fund community projects led by young people, as part of Youth Fund 2016. Details of successful applications are available here:http://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/newsroom/2015/youth-fund-2016-projects.html

And that’s our sampling of “news you can use” for Thursday 12th November.

Brought to EveningReport by Newsroom Digest.

–]]>

In the Office of the Auditor-General we trust

By Selwyn Manning -

November 12, 2015

NewsroomPlus.com NewsRoom_Plus received an update this week on “new appointments to senior positions here at the Office of the Auditor-General”. We did think about headlining it ‘Who You Gonna Trust?’, as a nod to the importance of the Office in keeping all those within its purview, straight and accountable. It’s a tough job, and we need to trust the people doing it. As admirers of transparency in the public sector here are the new appointees, as supplied. The acknowledgements to the people they have replaced are also reproduced below. Unusual permission to feel warm and fuzzy is granted. Deputy Controller and Auditor-General Greg Schollum began his five-year term as Deputy Controller and Auditor-General of New Zealand on 28 September. The Deputy Controller and Auditor-General is appointed under the Public Audit Act 2001 in the same way as the Controller andAuditor-General, and is also an Officer of Parliament. The Deputy has the same responsibilities under the Act as the Auditor-General, but carries them out subject to the Auditor-General’s control. Greg joined the Office of the Auditor-General in September 2004 as the Assistant Auditor-General, Accounting and Auditing Policy. For more information about Greg, please view his profile on the OAG website. Assistant Auditor-General, Local Government Andrea Reeves was appointed Assistant Auditor-General, Local Government in September. Andrea started with Audit New Zealand’s Christchurch office in 2000 as a new graduate. She also worked in the Dunedin and Wellington offices before joining the Office of the Auditor-General in 2009 as a Sector Manager. Andrea and her team are committed to maintaining the Office’s engagement with local government on key matters of interest to us all. For more information about Andrea, please view her profile on the OAG website. Assistant Auditor-General, Legal Melanie Webb joined the Office as Assistant Auditor-General, Legal in October. Melanie was the Chief Legal Advisor at the Department of Internal Affairs and spent 12 years working for the Ministry of Justice. She heads the Office’s Legal Group, which provides legal advice and support across all aspects of the work of the Office of the Auditor-General and Audit New Zealand. The Legal Group has particular responsibility for managing the conduct of inquiries carried out by the Auditor-General, and also administers the Local Government (Members’ Interests) Act 1968. For more information about Melanie, please view her profile on the OAG website.

[… And it’s good bye from…]

After 34 years with the Office, Bruce Robertson (Assistant Auditor-General, Local Government) decided that it was time to take his career in another direction. Both the Office and the local government sector have valued Bruce’s contribution, and he leaves us all with a sound foundation to address the future challenges facing the sector. Phillippa Smith served two terms as Deputy Controller and Auditor-General and her vast contribution to improving the performance of, and the public’s trust in, the public sector is greatly appreciated. Nicola White was Assistant Auditor-General, Legal, for eight years. She was a valued leader in our Office and we are grateful for the significant contribution she has given the Office and the public sector. She is now living overseas. –]]>

GMO or not GMO? That’s not the Question

By Selwyn Manning -

November 12, 2015

NewsroomPlus.com Contributed by Adam James Ring. The dialogue around what is and what isn’t a genetically modified organism (GMO) has again breached the surface of the political and public agenda, with Minister for the Environment, Nick Smith, announcing last week that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking submissions on a proposal to clarify their legal definition. Under current regulations, some commonly used crops are deemed GMO, despite being grown in New Zealand for decades. This difficulty of definitions can be attributed to the now outdated and easily misunderstood wording of the existing Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (Organisms Not Genetically Modified) Regulations 1998, something which the EPA document’s proposed amendments seek to amend. Difficulties surrounding these regulations came to public attention during a controversial case last year, where the High Court overturned an EPA decision to allow Crown Research Institute Scion to bypass existing GM regulation laws and develop pine tree strains using new techniques based on ZFN-1 (Zinc Finger Nuclease Type 1) and TALEs (Transcription Activator-Like Effectors). These ‘targeted mutation’ techniques are widely considered ‘conventional’ or, perhaps more accurately, ‘not-GM’ by scientists and the international community, as they add no foreign genetic material to the organism. Many experts argue that these longstanding techniques should be excluded from regulation. Indeed, this was the EPA’s original ruling. Before being overturned in court due to regulation ‘technicalities’. Responding to the High Court ruling in 2014, Associate Professor Peter Dearden, Director of Genetics at Otago University commented on the nature of these techniques, saying that “this technology leaves nothing behind. No extra, or added bit of DNA remains, only the change we want to make.” The crux of the problem, which was highlighted by the court’s ruling, is that the distinction between GMO and non-GMO – according to current regulation – has “become vague over recent years” according to Dr Tony Conner of AgResearch. Dr Elspeth MacRae, General Manager of Manufacturing and Bioproducts at Scion, speaking to the Science Media Centre, commented that “the legislation is now almost two decades old and well out of step with the rapid advancement in science and the large amount of scientific evidence regarding the risks and benefits of genetic technologies.” While this is certainly not the first – nor most likely the last – time that GMO regulation has caused difficulties, the primary issue in this case, is not a lack of regulation but simply of new technology overtaking existing definitions. At the request of the Ministry for the Environment, who assessed the regulations in the aftermath of the High Court ruling, the EPA have developed and released a discussion document, approved by Cabinet at the end of October. It outlines the proposed amendments, a process that the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act (HSNO) 1996 allows for. The EPA has said in a recent press release, that the “consultation document proposes a clarification to show that organisms and plants bred using chemical and radiation treatments which were in use on or before 29 July 1998 will not be considered genetically modified under the law.” Though the High Court did overturn the EPA’s original decision, the judge who presided over the case noted at the time that the regulations are poorly drafted and open to misunderstanding. It is this ‘poor drafting’ that the proposed amendments intend to correct, thus realigning GMO governance with current understanding and innovation. Without presupposing what submissions the EPA will receive, it seems unlikely that there will any major problem with the proposed amendments. Environment Minister Nick Smith has called the proposed changes “cautious”, saying that “they are necessary to ensure we do not inadvertently include many older breeding technologies within the definition of genetic modification and do not change the intent of the current policy.” “Biotechnology has moved on from when the original regulations were put in place in 1998,” he added – a view shared by many leading scientists, as well as Scion, who were on the receiving end of the High Court case last year. While there is often some automatic resistance from anti-GMO organisations, the general feeling is that the EPA’s proposed changes are sensible and won’t affect New Zealand’s international GMO status. It’s practically a given that the public dialogue surrounding what is and what isn’t a GMO will no doubt continue; constantly shifting and adjusting to match new discoveries and techniques. In this instance the Sustainability Council of New Zealand, who instigated the 2014 case against the EPA and Scion, support the proposed changes. That they opposed the exclusion back in 2014 has more, they say in a press release, to do with a desire to see GMO’s continue to be regulated, rather than unregulated, and not because they oppose the use of radiation and chemical techniques Scion wish to use. Barring any unforeseen and legitimate opposition, it should be safe to say that once the submissions are reviewed and reported back to the Ministry, the current regulations will be sensibly adjusted to exclude the aforementioned techniques. This should and can be done without posing any danger to New Zealand’s international reputation as a GM-free food producer. For more information and expert responses visit the Science Media Centre. –]]>

Do you like to ride your bicycle?

By Selwyn Manning -

November 12, 2015

NewsroomPlus.com Auckland Transport earlier this month revealed the top ten most scenic bike rides in the Auckland region. The number of Great Rides has increased to ten from six last year. The “Great Rides” are: Matakana Trails The Matakana trails ride has fantastic views and many points of interest including café’s, wineries and roadside stalls offering fresh produce. The track goes through farmland as well as bush and quiet communities. This ride has been established by the Matakana Cycle Trail Trust and takes you from Matakana to Omaha and Point Wells. The ride is recommended for more confident cyclists as it includes sections on gravel roads. It is a 14km long, takes about an hour to complete and is a mix of off-road shared paths, cycle lanes and quiet roads with 50km – 70km hour speed limits with gravel and sealed sections. Te Ara Tahuna Pathway: Orewa Estuary Te Ara Tahuna Pathway provides an excellent ride for people new to cycling, or riding with children on bikes or scooters. It is easily accessed from Western Reserve, 40 minutes drive north from Auckland centre. It makes for a great day out and especially if combined with time at the beach or shops. The path features tributes to the estuary’s past as a significant food gathering place for Maori.It is 7.6 km long and takes around 40 minutes. Green Route: Devonport to Takapuna The Devonport to Takapuna Great Ride includes paths, boardwalks and bridges weaving through parks, mangroves, and heritage streets. Along the way find a nautical-themed playground at Northboro Reserve, look for eels among the mangroves, and delve into North Shore’s history at its oldest cemetery founded in 1891. The route is 9.5 km and takes 40 minutes. Hobsonville Point Hobsonville Point is an old Air Force community that is being redeveloped as Auckland grows, reflecting aspirations to create well planned urban environments. The area provides an easy recreational route with purpose built off-road paths. Twin Streams: Henderson Creek and Opanuku Stream The Henderson Creek shared path links the Northwestern cycleway and the Henderson township. It is a beautiful ride through planting including the international tree collection and Tui Glen, an historic pleasure park. The Opanuku Stream shared path stretches from Great North Road to Henderson Valley Road. The Opanuku Stream path and nearby Oratia Stream path include environmental, conservation and community initiatives aimed at protecting the area from floodwater coming down from the Waitakere Ranges. Auckland Waterfront: Britomart to Mission Bay This gentle ride along the wonderful Auckland waterfront is one of the most popular in Auckland. The whole route is off-road and beside the water of the Waitemata harbour with views to Rangitoto. At Mission Bay enjoy the beach, park, restaurants, pubs, cafes or cinema. The ride can be extended to St Heliers Bay. The path is busy and shared with pedestrians so please ride slowly and share with care. Pakuranga Rotary Pathway The Pakuranga Rotary shared path is a very popular walk or ride stretching 9km from Prince Regent Drive in Farm Cove to the Panmure Bridge. The path weaves past the Pakuranga Sailing Club and offers great views up and down the Tamaki River. The ride is well sign-posted and information panels provide historical information about the area. There are lots of picnic spots along the path, which is also home to the local favourite ‘snake’ playground. The Cascades Paths: Pakuranga, Botany and Meadowlands Join the shared path at numerous points between Meadowland and Millhouse Reserves and Lloyd Elsmore Park. There is a flat, concrete path for almost the entire route. The path is an easy recreational ride for weekend cyclists, while also providing a family friendly destination with an excellent learners trail built especially for kids within Lloyd Elsmore Park. The Rotary Centennial Bike Trail runs 1.2km through the park and has been designed to help kids learn to ride and improve their skills. Each of the challenge sections has an alternative easy route and there are jumps and seesaws to practice on. Waikaraka Cycleway: Onehunga to Mangere Bridge The ride includes paths on both sides of the Manukau Harbour connected by the old Mangere Bridge. It provides a great weekend outing for families and adults alike. It’s completely flat (almost), has interesting stops along the way and stunning views. Centred on the old Mangere Bridge, this ride is in two parts connected by the old Mangere Bridge. On the Onehunga side, 4km of concrete path hugs the Upper Manukau Harbour and passes alongside the Waikaraka cemetery. The wide path has a smooth concrete surface that makes cycling easy. Wattle Downs The Wattle Downs ride takes you around a picturesque part of the Manukau Harbour coastline through Mahia Park and Wattle Downs. The 10km paved route hugs the shoreline and has many seats and picnic tables for you to catch your breath or admire the view. The ride goes past the Manukau golf course, has opportunities to reach the water and two playgrounds. The path is in two parts, connected by about 400m of quiet residential road. –]]>

Le Quesnoy: “We haven’t forgotten”

By Selwyn Manning -

November 12, 2015

NewsroomPlus.com At the eleventh hour, on the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, Armistice Day commemorates fallen soldiers throughout the First World War. This date marks the anniversary of all hostilities ceasing on the Western Front, and has been marked annually since the end of the war that was supposed to ‘end all wars’. With the official day taking place yesterday, ceremonies were organised all over New Zealand in memory of those who died in the battle. Few people may have known that a week before, on 4 November, a ceremony was held in Whangamata connected to one of the last battles of World War 1 with a special connection to New Zealand – the battle of Le Quesnoy. With about fifty people attending the event, the spirit of New Zealand history was very much alive. Among those who attended were service personnel, RSA members, Lions members, Mayor Glenn Leach and Waikato Regional Council Chair Paula Southgate. Descendants of WWI soldiers also attended the event. Timothy Clarke’s great uncle died in the battle of Le Quesnoy, and he attended the event to show his respect. “People say, ‘Lest we forget’. We haven’t forgotten”.

unnamed — Beryl Wharton and her grandson Timothy Clarke pay tribute to their relative, Sergeant Vincent Stephenson Twidle, who was killed in the Battle of Le Quesnoy on 4 November 1918.

Timothy found out about his great uncle Vincent and his role in WWI when he asked his grandmother if she had any medals he could wear in this year’s Anzac Day parade – which marked the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli landings. Shortly after Anzac Day he had a school assignment to research the war and working on this project he discovered his great uncle’s war record and that he had been killed at Le Quesnoy liberating the town from German troops. “His brothers came home but he didn’t. It would have been heart-breaking news for his family as he was unmarried and had plenty more life to liv

Memorial Forest

The Thames Coromandel District Council opted to plant a World War I memorial forest in Whangamata as an honour to those who fought for New Zealand.

The forest has been officially renamed Le Quesnoy Park, a tribute to the liberation led by New Zealanders in World War I. The forest is home to 122 trees, each representing a soldier who died overcoming the German enemy occupants in the small French town Le Quesnoy. With the symbolism of the trees reflecting the respective sacrifices these soldiers made, Mayor Glenn Leach praises the efforts of those involved in organising the memorial forest, the seventh of its kind in the Coromandel region. “When we look at the Memorial Forests across the Coromandel, this is the finished article. Whangamata, you have set the benchmark”. This year alone, approximately 3000 trees have been planted since planting began on Anzac Day. More than 12,000 New Zealanders died on the Western Front in just two and a half years of fighting, more than the final count of the entire Second World War. Donations can still be made to fund the cost of a tree. Each tree planted is named in honour of a chosen soldier who was killed through the war, or to the “unknown soldier” – one of those whose remains were never identified. To donate go to www.tcdc.govt.nz/donatetree –]]>

Across The Ditch: Auckland Mayor Len Brown Will Not Stand + Oh The Cricket!

By Selwyn Manning -

November 12, 2015

Across The Ditch: EveningReport.nz’s Selwyn Manning and Australian radio FiveAA.com.au’s Peter Godfrey deliver their Across The Ditch bulletin, this week they discuss the rise and fall of Auckland’s mayor Len Brown and also discuss the Australia V NZ Cricket test loss at the Gabba and try to navigate some hope for the Kiwis as they front up to an inform Aussie side at the WACA – Across the Ditch was Recorded Live on 12/11/15.

ITEM ONE: Auckland’s controversial mayor, Len Brown, has indicated he will not stand in the 2016 mayoral elections. Len Brown was relegated to lame-duck status only days after winning the 2013 mayoralty, after it was revealed he had been having an affair with a woman half his age, and that the woman was connected to his political opponents. The other woman was Bevan Chuang, who, besides having a sexual relationship with the mayor, was also involved with a campaign strategist, Luigi Wewege, for the opposing centre-right ticket. The affidavit raised questions as to whether the mayor had been played. Immediately after the election, Bevan Chuang agreed to have her ‘detailed’ affidavit published on the ruthless Whaleoil.co.nz political blog – which is edited by Cam Slater, the son of a former National Party president. The affidavit alleged in detail that the mayor had had sex with her during working hours, had used the mayoral chambers as a place for his sexual liaisons, including the sacred Ngatiwhatua Room, how he had also used rooms in hotels and raised questions as to whether he had received gifts such as rooms at Sky City casino and other hotel rooms around the city. The affidavit was so explicit it alleged the mayor’s particular sexual penchants, frequency, allegations of phone-sex, gifts. The allegations were not denied by the mayor, but he refused to resign. It’s fair to say the affair has been a monkey on his back throughout this political term. The Labour Party, which aided Len Brown’s two successful mayoral campaigns, distanced itself from him. Last week, Len Brown officially welcomed the All Blacks back to Auckland only to be boo-ed by around 35,000 people. Days later, he sniffed the air and realised his days of glory were long gone, that his lame-duck mayoralty had morphed into political overstayer status. ITEM TWO: Australia V New Zealand Test Cricket I guess we should at least mention the Cricket… In case you missed it, New Zealand’s Black Caps Cricket team got an absolute thrashing by Australia at the Gabba, by over 200 runs! Now Australia’s star batter David Warner is promising to smash the Kiwis out of the park. Back here in New Zealand, pundits are attempting to salvage some respect by claiming our star batter Kane Williamson is one of this country’s best ever batters. The problem is… Williamson was actually born in South Africa! That aside, his century at the Gabba is said (at least over here) to be a masterpiece. (ref: NZHerald.) So all eyes and ears will be tuned in this Friday for the second test at the WACA. AND, here’s a list of things the Kiwis need to do better (courtesy of the NZ Herald) Across The Ditch broadcasts live weekly on Australian radio FiveAA.com.au and webcasts on EveningReport.nz LiveNews.co.nz and ForeignAffairs.co.nz. –]]>

Keith Rankin’s Chart for this Week: Housing-Related Growth 1988-2015

By Keith Rankin -

November 11, 2015

Analysis by Keith Rankin.

[caption id="attachment_8085" align="aligncenter" width="977"]

Rockstar Economy?[/caption]

New Zealand’s present iteration of the national accounts – SNE – gives annual growth in quarterly increments for a wide range of sectors. Here I focus on those sectors that relate to housing.

Firstly, manufacturing acts as a kind of control sector. It’s consistently the best indicator in the national accounts of the overall health of the economy (albeit in conventional production-focused terms). It tends to match overall GDP growth, but with bigger cyclical variations. It also tends to lead both the downturns and the recoveries.

So in manufacturing we see the recessions of 1991, 1998 and 2008. We also see an important dip in 2006 that was masked by somewhat contrived growth in the construction, financial and dairy sectors. And we see that manufacturing growth has been tepid in recent years, having barely recovered in the wake of the global financial crisis. In the years of overvalued exchange rates in the middle of the 1990s and 2000s, we can see the rot setting in.

Construction activity is known to be highly variable, though it would be much less so if governments followed proper countercyclical policies. For example, in the early 1990s, the huge downturn in private construction could have been countered by public works such as Auckland’s south-western motorway, and overdue improvements to Auckland’s rail system and electricity distribution grid. Instead, in the year of Ruth Richardson’s ‘Mother of all Budgets’, huge numbers of unemployed workers fled to Australia. In many cases it’s them and their children who got involved with petty crime (the Australian economy was not particularly flash in the early 1990s), and are now getting caught up in Australia’s detention centres for overstayers and miscreant denizens.

Ownership of dwellings is a strange one to explain. Essentially it is the rental value of owner-occupied houses, and is included in the national accounts for the same reason that landlords’ services are included. The national accounts try to treat all owners of occupied houses as landlords receiving rent. Thus this sector gives essentially a measure of growth of rents on residential land.

In the early 1990s we see market rental values rising as construction fell away sharply. They climbed strongly again in the early 2000s following construction contractions in 1998 and 2000. While rents have grown much less quickly this decade than house prices, the slow growth here also reflects falling proportions of owner-occupied housing.

(We might note that the construction peaks in 1997 and 2000 could be called the ‘leaky peaks’. These were the core years of the ‘leaky homes’ fiasco.)

The rise in construction this decade is clearly linked to the Christchurch earthquake, an economic saviour for the present National-led government. Low growth in rental values – despite known and substantial rent increases in Christchurch – suggests that recent growth in house prices is not really related to a strong increase in the demand (as economists understand that term) for housing. (Demand is ‘want’ supported by cash.)

While there is clearly much unmet need in housing, rents can only rise in line with renters’ capacity to pay rent. Likewise, the growth in construction generally has not been matched by growth in the construction of new houses that are affordable to new would-be owner-occupiers. (We note that the affordability of a house relates to lifestyle costs – eg long commutes, extended childcare – as well as to the price of a house, the cost of its maintenance, and the interest rate on the mortgage.)

There are already signs that we have just passed the peaks for this cycle in manufacturing and construction. Both of these 2014 activity peaks are looking weak compared to their peaks in 1995 and 2003. Compared to even our recent past, this decade’s rock-star economy is at best faded glory.

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NewsRoom Digest: Top NZ News Items for November 11 Edition, 2015

By Selwyn Manning -

November 11, 2015

This edition of NewsRoom_Digest features 8 resourceful links of the day and the politics pulse from Wednesday 11th November.

NEWSROOM_MONITOR

Top stories in the current news cycle includes the Law Commission proposing a defence of partial murder for victims of family violence who kill their abuser, the Reserve Bank saying the health of the financial system remains sound while warning of the risks from weaker dairy prices and Auckland’s overheated housing market and the Government hinting the Earthquake Commission could retain its frontline role in future disaster management, despite suggestions it would be better placed as a backroom operation.

POLITICS PULSE

Media releases issued from Parliament by political parties today included:

Government: 2015 Rutherford Medal winner announced; Ministers recognise 150 years of the Māori Land Court; Australia-New Zealand agreement to help combat identity crime; Speech to the Insurance Council of New Zealand annual conference; New public health legislation planned;Child passport subsidy to remain;Proposed law change will improve communities’ recovery from emergencies;Proposals sought for MBIE Science Fund; Todd McClay – Speech to Trans-Tasman Business Circle; Business Transformation – IRD cooperates with Xero and MYOB to simplify GST; Business Transformation – Less time, lower cost, more benefits; Airline alliance better connects NZ and USA; Systems to stop WMD trafficking put to the test; Proposals sought for Regional Research Institutes; Appointment to Te Papa Board; Public views sought on future environmental reporting topics; NBOMe reclassified as Class B1 Drug

Greens: National fiddling while Auckland burns; John Key should “back” sexual violence survivors; Greens Offer Government Chance To Vote For The Environment

Labour: Groser bungle means Koreans can ban NZ buyers but we can’t ban theirs; Enough is enough as dam deadline looms; Te Ture Whenua Bill opposition; Increasing risks as housing contagion spreads; Ratepayers could subsidise Ruataniwha dam after secret meeting; No Plan B for Southern Response; National all talk no action on provisional tax; National’s Tax Return Tax a cash grab; Patients waiting in more pain for operations

New Zealand First: If In Doubt Of Cellphone Coverage, Buy A Satellite Phone Says Minister; Apology over accusations of support for rapists and child molesters required; Roast Busters II Debate Refused; Putting Wood First Creates Work And Jobs; NZ Super ruling won’t spark review; Armistice Day Motion Blocked By National’s Gerry Brownlee; Bill Requires Parent Migrants To Hold Health Insurance; Armistice Day Motion Blocked By National’s Simon Bridges; Polytechs Merger Shortchanges Regional Students

LINKS OF THE DAY

Links of the day have been a feature of NewsRoom_Digest since we first started production in August 2014.

2016 YEAR OF PULSES: The United Nations, led by its Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), today launched the 2016 International Year of Pulses to raise awareness about the protein power and health benefits of all kinds of dried beans and peas. Read more: http://www.fao.org/pulses-2016/en/

BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION: Inland Revenue’s Business Transformation programme is likely to take less time, cost less, and deliver more benefits than the original projections. More details available at:http://makingtaxsimpler.ird.govt.nz/

EARTHQUAKE PRONE BUILDINGS: Researchers at Motu Economic and Public Policy Research Trust and GNS Science have recently published two papers examining the impact of the quakes on the property market that reveal interesting aspects in the psychology of purchasing decisions. Impacts of Earthquake Regulation and Building Codes on the Commercial Building Market is available at: http://www.motu.org.nz/our-work/urban-and-regional/housing/before-a-fall-impacts-of-earthquake-regulation-and-building-codes-on-the-commercial-building-market/

The Changing Price of Disaster Risk Following an Earthquake is available at: http://www.motu.org.nz/our-work/urban-and-regional/housing/that-sinking-feeling-the-changing-price-of-disaster-risk-following-an-earthquake/

ENVIRONMENT REPORTING SYSTEM: New Zealanders are being invited to have their say about proposed topics under the new national environmental reporting system. The consultation opens today and ends on 23 December. Further information is available at:http://www.mfe.govt.nz/environment-topics-consultation

FAMILY VIOLENCE LAW: The Law Commission is seeking feedback to improve the law relating to victims of family violence who kill their abusers in an Issues Paper published today. Read more: http://www.lawcom.govt.nz/media-release/law-commission-issues-paper-victims-family-violence-who-commit-homicide

FINANCIAL STABILITY REPORT: The Reserve Bank of New Zealand released the Bank’s November Financial Stability Report today. The report can be viewed at:http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/financial_stability/financial_stability_report/fsr-nov2015.pdf

GUEST NIGHTS RISE: National guest nights for September 2015 were 5.2 percent higher than in September 2014, according to Statistics New Zealand. Go here for more: http://bit.ly/1knCSuc

REGIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE PROPOSAL: Proposals are invited from groups of businesses, researchers and private investors who are seeking to collaborate to establish regional institutes that will deliver commercially-focused and industry-relevant research to their region and New Zealand as a whole. More information can be found on the MBIE website: http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/sectors-industries/regions-cities/investigating-regional-research-institutes/?searchterm=regional%20research%20institutes

And that’s our sampling of “news you can use” for Wednesday 11th November.

Brought to EveningReport by Newsroom Digest. –]]>

New Zealand Report: Political Stoush Erupts In Parliament After PM’s Body Guard Fends Off Labour MP

By Selwyn Manning -

November 11, 2015

New Zealand Report: Selwyn Manning joins Australia’s FiveAA.com.au breakfast team to deliver his NZ Report bulletin. [caption id="attachment_183" align="alignleft" width="150"] Selwyn Manning, editor.[/caption] New Zealand Report This week: A political stoush erupted in the New Zealand Parliament yesterday after the Prime Minister John Key’s body guard pushed Labour MP Kelvin Davis after Davis accused John Key of being gutless over his handling of Kiwis detained by Australia at Christmas Island. Later, inside the debating chamber, John Key accused Labour of sticking up for rapists, murderers, sex offenders. The comment caused a mass walkout of Parliament by Labour MPs. – Recorded live on 11/11/15 Report: A political slouch erupted yesterday after a high profile Labour MP was fended off by one of the Prime Minister John Key’s body guards. John Key was making his way to Parliament’s debating chamber when Kelvin Davis, Labour’s corrections spokesperson, stepped toward him and accused him of being ‘gutless’ over failing to get a result over Kiwis being detained by Australia at Christmas Island. When Davis stepped toward the Prime Minister, John Key ignored him and passed without hindrance, but not before Davis said: Prime Minister you are gutless over the 501s. At that moment, the Diplomatic Protection Squad body guard pushed Davis toward a wall. Davis was not complaining. His point was made. And he said the body guard’s fend-off was less impressive than the under-9s junior rugby team. But Key was steaming, and shortly after in Parliament he accused the Labour Party of being on the side of rapists, murderers and child molesters. The allegation caused a mass walkout of Labour MPs from Parliament. The theatre underscores how the politicians are playing this issue. Key wants the detainees to be labeled as murderers, rapists, and child sex offenders. While Labour is attempting to expose John Key’s inability to resolve the deportation issue when he met with Malcolm Turnbull two weeks ago. Neither party wants the deportees in New Zealand but both parties realise Australia will not relent over the policy. New Zealand Report broadcasts live on Australian radio FiveAA.com.au and webcasts on EveningReport.nz LiveNews.co.nz and ForeignAffairs.co.nz.]]>

Reserve Bank warns that the risks facing NZ financial system have increased

By Selwyn Manning -

November 11, 2015

Reserve Bank governor Graeme Wheeler has issued a warning that while the financial system is performing well, there is an increased risk of economic instability due to “increased risks related to the dairy and housing” sectors.

In a statement this morning, Graeme Wheeler said New Zealand’s financial system continues to perform well despite a deterioration in the outlook for global financial stability and increased risks related to the dairy and housing sectors, Reserve Bank Governor, Graeme Wheeler, said today when releasing the Bank’s November Financial Stability Report.

“Global economic growth has softened over the past six months, and uncertainty over the path of economic and financial adjustment in China has helped to depress commodity prices and added to financial market uncertainty. Interest rates at historic lows are encouraging higher leverage, leading to a build-up in risk in international asset markets. This environment creates risks for the New Zealand banking system, which remains reliant on the global markets for funding.

“The dairy sector faces a second consecutive season of weak cash flow due to low international dairy commodity prices. Prices have shown some recovery since August, but many indebted farms are coming under increased pressure, which would be exacerbated if low dairy prices are sustained or dairy farm prices fall significantly.

“House price growth in Auckland has increased strongly with house price-to-income ratios in the region now comparable to those seen in some of the world’s most expensive cities. Rising investor activity has been an important driver of price developments, and international evidence suggests that investor loans have a higher tendency to default in the event of a major downturn in the housing market.

“A sharp downturn could challenge financial stability, given the large exposure of the banking system to the Auckland housing market. While it is still too early to judge the effect of recent policy changes, they are expected to help moderate pressure on Auckland house prices, and will improve the resilience of bank balance sheets to a housing downturn.”

Deputy Governor, Grant Spencer, said that “Banks hold strong capital and liquidity buffers and have maintained their profitability with further reductions in cost-to-income ratios. Lending growth to households and businesses has picked up and is being funded mainly through higher domestic deposits.

“The banks are working with dairy farmers experiencing difficulty, and it is important that they continue to take a medium-term view when assessing farm viability. The banks’ losses on dairy exposures are expected to be manageable but banks need to ensure that they set aside realistic provisions for the likely increase in problem loans.

“New rules on Auckland residential investor loans came in to force on 1 November. The bulk of these loans are now required to have a loan-to-value ratio (LVR) of no more than 70 percent. Banks are also now required to put residential property investment loans in a separate asset class and hold more capital against them.

“LVR restrictions have been eased outside of Auckland where housing market activity has been more subdued. However, the Bank is closely monitoring the recent rises in house price inflation in some areas such as Hamilton and Tauranga.

“The Reserve Bank has a number of other regulatory initiatives in train. Public consultation has recently closed on a stocktake of banking regulations and a summary of submissions will be published shortly. We have recently released a consultation paper proposing changes to the outsourcing policy for banks. And we are also well advanced on an improved oversight regime for payment and settlement systems.”

More information: Financial Stability Report

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NewsRoom Digest: Top NZ News Items for November 10 PM Edition, 2015

By Selwyn Manning -

November 10, 2015

This edition of NewsRoom_Digest features 13 resourceful links of the day and the politics pulse from Tuesday 10th November.

NEWSROOM_MONITOR

Top stories in the current news cycle include the Government seeking assurance from Australia that New Zealand detainees are sent back as soon as possible once requested, the International Monetary Fund has warned that surging house prices and weaker dairy prices remain the main risks to the New Zealand economy and the Pay Equity Coalition says women are working free from today until the end of the year because of the gender pay gap.

POLITICS PULSE

Media releases issued from Parliament by political parties today included:

Government: Incorporated Societies Bill out for public consultation; South Frame public space designs revealed; Literary sculptures installation begins; Canterbury Polytechnics to merge; Big boost for Māori exports; Youth Parliament 2016 members announced; Health research strategy planned; NZ welcomes Myanmar’s historic election

Greens: Pay women more; Did the Trade Minister wilfully forget he’s also Minister for Climate Change Issues?; Green Party Calls On Transport Minister To Adopt ‘Gold Coin’ Bus Trial; Is John Key losing it?

Labour: Private tertiary education in freefall under National; PM has lost his moral compass over Christmas Island

New Zealand First: Peters – Silver Fern Farms The Heist Of The Century

NZ National Party: MP selects youth to represent Maungakiekie

LINKS OF THE DAY

Links of the day have been a feature of NewsRoom_Digest since we first started production in August 2014.

AIRPORT LAND VALUATION RULES: The Commerce Commission has today released draft amendments for consultation on the application of the airport land valuation rules as part of the input methodologies review. Click here for the draft decision: http://www.comcom.govt.nz/regulated-industries/input-methodologies-2/input-methodologies-review/airport-fast-track-processes-for-im-review/

BERRIES THE “GO TO” FOOD: Scientists in North Carolina and New Zealand are collaborating and engaging with growers to build the scientific evidence to convince consumers that berries are nature’s “go to” health food. For more information, visit http://www.transforming-science.com

CARD SPENDING: Retail spending using electronic cards was $4.9 billion in October 2015, up $260 million (5.6 percent) from October 2014, Statistics New Zealand said today. Spending rose in five of the six retail industries, with a fall in fuel spending. Go here for Electronic Card Transactions: October 2015 – http://bit.ly/1PlC1qC

CLIMATE SURVEY: Business has a clear plan for how it will lead on climate change over the next five years, according to the Sustainable Business Council. Click here for the BusinessNZ survey:http://www.sbc.org.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/111198/BusinessNZ-Climate-Survey.pdf

GREEN SPACE DESIGNS REVEALED: The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) has released the designs for the public areas which show how the green spaces will be created. More than half of the area, which comprises seven city blocks, is currently uninhabited and this plan creates new opportunity for its neighbours. Go here for more: http://cera.govt.nz/

HEALTH RESEARCH STRATEGY PLANNED: A new health research strategy will be developed to focus and align the economic and health goals of the health research sector. For more information visit: http://www.health.govt.nz orhttp://www.mbie.govt.nz

“KNOW YOUR LIMIT” CAMPAIGN: Hospitality New Zealand is offering advice on how much motorists can legally drink before driving, through what it calls a ‘rule of thumb’ guide. Go here for more:http://www.hospitalitynz.org.nz/industry/know-your-limit.html

LITERARY SCULPTURES: The installation of the first literary panels has begun at The Terraces, a key attraction of the precinct. The panels display excerpts from works by prominent authors Sir Apirana Taylor, John Deans, Wiremu Te Uki and David Eggleton. More information on the Ōtākaro/Avon River Precinct designs released so far can be found here: http://ccdu.govt.nz/projects-and-precincts/te-papa-otakaro-avon-river-precinct/otakaro-art-by-the-river

REINZ: 7,838 dwellings sold in New Zealand in October 2015, up 18.6% on October 2014 and down 4.1% on last month. Click here for more: https://www.reinz.co.nz/reinz/index.cfm?1CB561D5-18FE-7E88-42FB-507342EF7F81&obj_uuid=7650B192-FAE0-4833-8565-2F713491E084

SOCIETIES BILL: A draft Bill to update the law governing incorporated societies is being released today for public consultation. The draft Bill can be viewed, and submissions can be made, online at http://www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/business/business-law/incorporated-societies

TORTOISE EXTINCTION: The survival of the Indian Star tortoise is being threatened by a booming illegal trade, that causes extreme suffering to tortoises, due to a growing international demand for tortoises as exotic pets, wildlife experts warn today. Click here for the report: http://natureconservation.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=5625

WELFARE SERVICES IN AN EMERGENCY: The Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management has just released a new guideline governing how, when and where welfare services should be delivered in emergencies. The Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management at the national level, and Civil Defence Emergency Management Groups at the regional level, assume overall responsibility for the leadership and coordination of welfare services in an emergency from the Ministry of Social Development from 1 December. The guideline is available here:http://www.civildefence.govt.nz/cdem-sector/cdem-framework/guidelines/welfare-services-in-an-emergency/

YOUTH PARLIAMENT 2016: 121 Youth MPs and 17 members of the Youth Press Gallery who will be part of Youth Parliament 2016 were announced today. A full list of the Youth MPs is available: http://www.myd.govt.nz/young-people/youth-parliament/youthparliament2016participants.html

And that’s our sampling of “news you can use” for Tuesday 10th November.

Brought to EveningReport by Newsroom Digest. –]]>