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Planter

67 comments · +961 / −224 · rank #1403 of 40,276

Minister, concerns from business aren't junk

A good article. It is not the Government or unions that creates most jobs. It is not the Government or unions that export goods to earn foreign currency. The proposed legislation removes the right of employers and employees to negotiate independently in good faith to make arrangements that suit them. It is trying to recreate a 1970s era when a Government-run national awards system forced everyone to be employed on standard terms. That is absurd in a modern society where people are looking for more flexible ways of working. There are cases of worker exploitation in low-wage industries so deal with those directly not with a wholesale removal of rights. The current approach is a recipe for disaster.

+57−19

Transport Minister Phil Twyford says light rail not primarily for tourists

Auckland desperately needs better public transport. Both central govt and regional funding will be needed. Aucklanders need to look at alternatives to cars. Those are all facts. Light rail to the airport is probably a really dumb idea that will cost a whole lot more than the current budget. That is an opinion but an informed one.

+38−5

The pitfalls of pitching for work from an out of touch public service

This article is uncannily accurate and applies across a wide range of categories of government procurement. The extent to which govt agencies waste the time and money of bidders is simply unethical. Some public servants also believe they are justified in taking one bidders proposal and handing it to another to steal their ideas. They need a serious wake-up call.

+21−2

Symbolic backdown undermines Government's untidy oil move

Regardless of views on fossil fuel use, the way this decision was made and communicated was very poor and showed a complete lack of understanding of how investors and businesses make decisions. The fact is that when a Government indicates that it will make policy decisions on a whim that cost investors or billions of dollars then those investors will simply look elsewhere to invest. NZ does not have the capital available locally to replace thise funds which makes it likely that economic growth will slow.

+17−1

PM says her agenda works 'hand in hand' with business, but can she explain it?

Good summary in the article. If individuals and companies are considering investment to hire more staff, buy new plant and equipment, upgrade technology, construct new buildings etc they need to be confident that they will get a return on that investment. Uncertainty about taxes, policies, new laws and future demand all increase that risk. All businesses accept that they face risk but the indecision and poor communication of the current Government escalates that risk for no good reason and few, if any, in Government seem to grasp the impact of that.

+17−2

Why Airbnb/Bookabach hosts shouldn’t pay commercial rates

They are two completely different issues. If someone is receiving income and not declaring it to Inland Revenue they are committing a crime. Do you have any basis at all for your 95% tax evasion estimate? Do you think people using a room at their house as an office should be paying commerical rates too? What about people hosting a homestay student?

+18−4

Get Wellington moving programme misses what the region needs

Agreed. The motorway to the airport was planned in the 1970s but the pre-Muldoon Labour govt cut the budget from two motorway tunnels to one then financial crises under Muldoons National govt prevented the motorway being extended to the airport. The road to the airport has been planned for 50 years.

+15−4

The case for tolling Transmission Gully does not add up

The EPA Board of Inquiry in 2012 was told by NZTA that tolls were not planned and thus the board had no need to consider their possible effects. That was the time to consider tolls - not now to plug the holes in the budget from unfunded spending plans. It is also clear that NZTA are only proposing tolls now because Phil Twyford told them to do so.

+9−3

New Zealand has issues, but the idea it is a 'low-wage economy' is a myth

Low productivity is more about levels of investment and levels of innovation than laziness. It could be argued that many emplyees make the effort and sacrifice to gain further qualifications that may not help productivity much because the skills gained are not always well-aligned with what our economy needs. I certainly agree with you thal low productivity is not something to blame on workers but I didnt read that in the article.

+7−1

Here's where house prices are falling fastest

A Newshub story on 15 September 2017 reported a 20% national drop in house sales and a 1.2% drop in Auckland sale prices. There is a drop-off in winter every year. Prices dont go up forever and prices in Auckland do seem to be stabilising but a winter drop-off in sales is not a property crash.

+8−3

Labour's bill to curb foreigners buying New Zealand homes becomes law

You very conveniently forget the housing boom from 2004-2008 under Helen Clark and Michael Cullen who did absolutely nothing about it while National introduced LVRs, new holiday home taxes and other measures to reduce house price inflation. Try referencing some facts next time you comment.

+23−21

Refugees in the Sahara Desert blame New Zealand for perpetuating a conflict

Give these people back their land? Western Sahara is not and has never been a country. The Sahrawi republic is recognised by less than 20% of the worlds countries. The land on which the phosphate sits was Spanish territory from the 19th century until 1975 and after a brief period of joint administration by Morocco and Mauritania it has been treated as part of Morocco since 1991. Moroccos claim to that area is not officially recognised but neither is that of any other country or group, including the Sahrawi republic. Algeria backs and arms and trains the Sahrawis for its own reasons. This is not a simple issue.

+1−0