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Have to love Taxinda desperately trying to blame the evil corporations for the petrol rises her governments taxes have caused.
My favourite line was her saying even if we took the exudes off the petrol companies could leave the prices up. Nothing to do with us, honest!
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Like I said, they are going to try and eradicate the tahr and trout are next .
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12137630
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@kirwan said in NZ Politics:
Have to love Taxinda desperately trying to blame the evil corporations for the petrol rises her governments taxes have caused.
My favourite line was her saying even if we took the exudes off the petrol companies could leave the prices up. Nothing to do with us, honest!
Could someone with a better understanding of economics than me (and the current government) give their take on this? Obviously labour introducing the tax against all advice is what kicked it off, but interested to understand what's happening now and how it can be fixed if at all.
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@jegga He doesn't address the major issue in NZ politics which the rise of St Cindy has done nothing to distill.
The Nats have no likely coalition partner and none on the horizon. So unless Winston does a total about face (unlikely but not impossible) then they have to do what no previous govt has done and take >50% of the party vote. Now if John Key couldn't do that it's very unlikely Bridges (or Crusher) will be able to.
National support is holding up really well but I figure that already reflects those that are pissy with Winnie for rolling National last year.
So they really need NZF to poll as high as possible without reaching 5% and hope that allows them to gain a majority. Or the Greens to do likewise or Simple Simon's wet dream - both.
I can't see either party failing to get to 5% next time. The greens are probably most exposed as Winnie is promoting his independence and pork barrelling as if there is no tomorrow but I think they have a hard core support above the threshold.
So what's National's alternative-some sort of right wing / Christian coalition emerging? Almost happened with the Conservatives but for Colin Craig's indiscretions. Any other rich pricks out there that want to fund a vanity project?
At this stage I think their best bet is a total rebrand of ACT that allows them to gain a couple of percentage points and bring some overhang MP's on board - unlikely thought that seems.
Otherwise cue much wailing about changing MMP and prepare for another 3 years of really important stuff like Neve's first tooth.
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@dogmeat said in NZ Politics:
At this stage I think their best bet is a total rebrand of ACT that allows them to gain a couple of percentage points and bring some overhang MP's on board - unlikely thought that seems.
Yep, you just nailed it. I think Peters has a risk of dropping below 5%; he'll have money, but once in government is no longer 'anti the establishment'. Also, his natural constituency is dying off. I cannot see Shane Jones getting there -- he can't even win an electorate.
But, this is MMP. The down side for the current labour led government is that any anti-govt votes can only go to National. Greens and NZF prop it up, so it's National (or another minor party)
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@dogmeat I can see Mark Mitchell taking over as national leader and apparently him and the poison dwarf get on ok . The author of that magnificent rant did kind of address it here
I’m interested to see how the gunts antipathy towards introduced animals and hunting or fishing plays out . There’s a lot of money tied up in those areas and it’s never really been that political . Next on the agenda is probably wiping the whitetail and red deer out on Stewart island . A coordinated backlash against such idiocy wouldn’t hurt the gunts but it would likely hurt labour.
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phew, Govt. in surplus!
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12139494
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@taniwharugby said in NZ Politics:
@jegga just not yet...
Whenever I see/hear Bridges he comes across like he's trying far too hard to be likable and does not sound genuine.
Simon Bridges looks like someone who talks about themself in the third person.
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@no-quarter said in NZ Politics:
@kirwan said in NZ Politics:
Have to love Taxinda desperately trying to blame the evil corporations for the petrol rises her governments taxes have caused.
My favourite line was her saying even if we took the exudes off the petrol companies could leave the prices up. Nothing to do with us, honest!
Could someone with a better understanding of economics than me (and the current government) give their take on this? Obviously labour introducing the tax against all advice is what kicked it off, but interested to understand what's happening now and how it can be fixed if at all.
Actually she’s probably not wrong about that, but it’s her fault. The economic theory is that companies will maximise their profits by charging the maximum that the market will bear.
Usually, in a market with no real differentiation of product, they don’t get to test the upper reaches of what the market will bear because competition acts as a brake: your competitors step into the breach and take your market share if you stray too much from the pack. Unless you all work as a cartel and raise your prices in unison.
In this case, the government has stepped in and tested the limits for the oil companies. They’ve externally forced the price up and the oils companies now have evidence that although the market doesn’t like the price, it can afford the price. So if the government withdraws the tax why would any of them not just maintain the price where it is now? Nice of the government do this for the oil companies, wasn’t it?
The counter argument is that someone might undercut them to get bigger market share. But the companies seem to have been comfortable to share the market up till now, so what will change? Who knows.
It is the other side of the argument for government subsidisation of staples such as women’s sanitary products, where the deal is that if the government put say $2 towards the price of a box of tampons the health companies would probably maintain the price and pocket the subsidy, as they know that most women, despite not liking it, have a demonstrated history of being able to bear the current cost.
Bottom line, when governments try and manipulate markets it usually ends badly because most politicians are less smart than most CFOs.
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Thanks @JC, what a shambles.
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@jegga said in NZ Politics:
Hahahaha, this is for real .
The prison discussion (no way an endorsement of that bollocks article :
Spent a bit of time in a bar talking to an Aussie fella during finals footy.
He was retired and had spent his life as an Operations Executive in prisons in Australia working for the prison company which everyone probably knows (two letters and a number in the name) , and later for the Government in detention centresI cautiously asked, "mate, no offence as you've spent your working life in prisons, and I don't know more than a layman but, do current prisons actually work?"
His reply was emphatic:
"Fuck no!!"
Some points I remember, (some I may have mangled, his quotes included):
Costs 130k per prisoner per year
Companies approach government and offer to sell a 1000 bed prison for 30 years then it's gifted back to the gov ("Imagine the state of that facility in 30 years. Now the venture becomes a business similar to airlines and hotels - you gotta fill those beds. Sometimes it works at 10% of the population HAVE to be behind bars. Easy in NT, WA and QLD because the indigineous popn fills them. Politicians love this as they do no work and trot out the party line to the public. Eventually another contractor undercuts the first and corners are cut big time, leading to shambolic management of prisons"
By his estimation 25% of prisoners did one stupid thing out of emotion and ruined their lives for ever - these people(guys) have not "earned" prison time by their lifestyle
5% were born with the wrong wiring and nothing will fix them "I'd shoot them myself if given the chance, sad but true"
The remainder lost the "birth lottery" and were destined to be petty criminals like their fathers and grand fathers. These are the ones that we could fix with education in his opinion
As Ops manager he mentioned that the introduction of female guards totally consumed his time watching over them instead of watching over the prisoners. Prisoners have soooo much time they break guards (just chip away patiently, usually coercing little personal details and then expanding on the "rapport" over time), and you wouldn't believe the amount of pregnancies at all male prisons...
Overall everyone in the industry knows that prisons currently don't work as they should but nobody wants to do the hard yards on the 95% who needn't be in there.
His basic summation was never forget what a lottery birth is - most of his inmates were there simply for being born to the wrong family
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Just as a reference point, fuel prices in the UK have gone up around 20% in the last 2 and bit years since we arrived. The portion of the per litre cost that goes in levies and tax is around 55% (Auckland including new levy is around 48%)
Not saying two wrongs make a right just pointing out that the NZ situation is not unusual or unique nor are taxes/levies on fuel a domain of one political 'side' over another (didn't the last National govt add around 19c a litre?)
GST/VAT compounds any levies and the 'tax on a tax' argument is one that no Govt is happy to deal with.
Hard to argue 'user pays' on one hand then get pissed off when it happens.
BTW I am in complete agreement with JCs summation above. Consecutive Govts adding to the price per litre only encourage an industry that is effectively a proxy cartel to keep prices up as much as they know they can get away with.
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@virgil said in NZ Politics:
@jegga said in NZ Politics:
@virgil they do the same with acc and rates . It sucks
Yeah they are all a bunch of fluffybunnies ( it’s ok we can use that word now)
Speaking of which Russell Norman thinks Marama is a useless fluffybunny.
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