Government cutting funds to groups keeping tamariki out of state care, ignoring social investment approach; Defence saves money by not fixing mouldy homes, ignoring costs to health system
Yeesh, that press release from Karen is pretty aggressive. Is anyone closer to this? I can see a change from fee for service to outcomes contracts on the OT website. I know that in lottery/gambling trust money funding all costs are pre approved and anything not spent is on these approved costs needs to be returned. I can’t imagine that there is any change in agreements yet that would be at audit stage?
That cartoon annoyed me immensely. It echoed the view that Orr has ‘made a mistake and changed his mind’ being spread by the Blue team and its supporters, rather than given new evidence he had to take action to ‘save the economy’.
Thanks Bernard. Comprehensive and succinct as always. The blatant racism, punching down on our most vulnerable, and callous disregard for democratic norms sicken me. A government is meant to govern for the greater good not act like a ruthless corporate ridding itself of 'unwanted' expenses.
Meanwhile…. While this coalition is tearing the fabric of our society apart, Jacinda Ardern is to speak at the US Democratic National Convention, as part of a global panel on ‘Healing the Nation’ a discussion on the global fight for democracy. (Stuff).
To be very clear, the "new" Road Policing Programme is new in name only. It is the same money and the same work that has always been delivered by the police in road safety. It is the same work on introducing drug testing that has been in play for several years. It is using the same testing targets as before, increasing for trend.
But now the police have "incentive" payments, meaning road safety can now be dismissed as "meeting quotas" to make extra money they should be funded for anyway.
Road safety advisors and strategists are being cut or have been. So the police are likely to collect data that will go wasted for the next three years, or give up collecting because who cares.
Always the same tactic. Publish a big number that will impress those that cannot digest more than 280 characters when in rea life it is yet anothet budget cut.
I watched this interview only last night and could not believe it. We just had the Inquiry into abuse in care tabled and yet the politicians with crocodile tears are creating the next generation of victims. And they do it deliberately with full knowledge this is what will happen. They can't say noe they didn't know. They know and they choose to enrich themselves and their donors.
Because it is a coalition government with ministers inside cabinet from each of the coalition parties we have this silo-isation of government activity.
Deputy Education Minister David Seymour cuts school lunches whilst Education Minister Erica Stanford wants to improve our performance in maths.
The police are tasked with reducing crime, whilst an ACT minister is putting more guns into the community.
So on and so forth.
And Luxon cannot / will not bang heads because he can't risk a coalition partner throwing their toys out of the cot.
I subscribed today, as I read your Sunday newsletter. This government is so short termist and cruel. It seems to think that by cutting support costs to non-productive members of society that it will increase employment, but instead all it is doing is cutting funding for the most vulnerable members of our society, children, those with both mental and physical disabilities and the elderly…all because they cannot produce. Why are unemployment rates rising? Because they have removed a huge amount of infrastructure spend and made huge numbers of people redundant. Healthcare suffers. Teachers are ready to walk out. Tradies are leaving! The assault on the kaitiaki of the land is unreal. Māori offered to share with tangata tiriti, and instead they were run rough shod over for years. Now as we move towards restoring equity people complain. Keep reporting, Bernard. We need it!
Re: #2, if you can't run a business paying people a good living wage, you shouldn't be in business. Re: #3, I'm sick of the govt's rhetoric "we can't afford to fix mould in state houses/ train and employ more medics, teachers, care workers/ switch to a green economy/ support the disabled beyond simply not letting them die/ etc", because these are policy CHOICES, not a shortage of funds. The choice was to keep land lords sweet and incentivise residential housing 'investment'. That is why there is 'no money'. I could scream....
Yeesh, that press release from Karen is pretty aggressive. Is anyone closer to this? I can see a change from fee for service to outcomes contracts on the OT website. I know that in lottery/gambling trust money funding all costs are pre approved and anything not spent is on these approved costs needs to be returned. I can’t imagine that there is any change in agreements yet that would be at audit stage?
That cartoon annoyed me immensely. It echoed the view that Orr has ‘made a mistake and changed his mind’ being spread by the Blue team and its supporters, rather than given new evidence he had to take action to ‘save the economy’.
Basically nobody, including the Reserve Bank, anticipated how bad the Minister of Finance's budget would be.
Even if they did, they needed to wait and measure the impact otherwise they'd risk being blamed for being political.
Worthwhile discussion with Alan Kohler on Australia’s housing crisis: https://youtu.be/efvOJ8aXUSI?si=INe60mA7urpyCJuj
Who actually voted for this social destruction? These people appear to be foreigners. Armed with colonial ideas.
Thanks Bernard. Comprehensive and succinct as always. The blatant racism, punching down on our most vulnerable, and callous disregard for democratic norms sicken me. A government is meant to govern for the greater good not act like a ruthless corporate ridding itself of 'unwanted' expenses.
Meanwhile…. While this coalition is tearing the fabric of our society apart, Jacinda Ardern is to speak at the US Democratic National Convention, as part of a global panel on ‘Healing the Nation’ a discussion on the global fight for democracy. (Stuff).
To be very clear, the "new" Road Policing Programme is new in name only. It is the same money and the same work that has always been delivered by the police in road safety. It is the same work on introducing drug testing that has been in play for several years. It is using the same testing targets as before, increasing for trend.
But now the police have "incentive" payments, meaning road safety can now be dismissed as "meeting quotas" to make extra money they should be funded for anyway.
This government are masters of doublespeak.
Yes indeed. It appears they are putting in $300m extra over 4 years including $73m for incentive bonuses... whilst putting the speed limits up.
65% are to be done in high-risk places, but who is collecting data about that? (because "back office" jobs are gone.)
Road safety advisors and strategists are being cut or have been. So the police are likely to collect data that will go wasted for the next three years, or give up collecting because who cares.
Matt at Greater Auckland website analyses the policing budget - surprise, surprise - it is a cut.
https://www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2024/08/19/road-policing-reduction/
Always the same tactic. Publish a big number that will impress those that cannot digest more than 280 characters when in rea life it is yet anothet budget cut.
That is a great piece. Captures all the salient points.
I watched this interview only last night and could not believe it. We just had the Inquiry into abuse in care tabled and yet the politicians with crocodile tears are creating the next generation of victims. And they do it deliberately with full knowledge this is what will happen. They can't say noe they didn't know. They know and they choose to enrich themselves and their donors.
https://youtu.be/2BGKEGzH8Kg?si=I5NOrWp0zTnvgHaD
You can smell the short termism on their breath
No even short term - straight out cliff jump.
Because it is a coalition government with ministers inside cabinet from each of the coalition parties we have this silo-isation of government activity.
Deputy Education Minister David Seymour cuts school lunches whilst Education Minister Erica Stanford wants to improve our performance in maths.
The police are tasked with reducing crime, whilst an ACT minister is putting more guns into the community.
So on and so forth.
And Luxon cannot / will not bang heads because he can't risk a coalition partner throwing their toys out of the cot.
I subscribed today, as I read your Sunday newsletter. This government is so short termist and cruel. It seems to think that by cutting support costs to non-productive members of society that it will increase employment, but instead all it is doing is cutting funding for the most vulnerable members of our society, children, those with both mental and physical disabilities and the elderly…all because they cannot produce. Why are unemployment rates rising? Because they have removed a huge amount of infrastructure spend and made huge numbers of people redundant. Healthcare suffers. Teachers are ready to walk out. Tradies are leaving! The assault on the kaitiaki of the land is unreal. Māori offered to share with tangata tiriti, and instead they were run rough shod over for years. Now as we move towards restoring equity people complain. Keep reporting, Bernard. We need it!
As a matter of interest here is the response of the CEO Whaikaha to the “damming “ report https://www.whaikaha.govt.nz/assets/Independent-Review/06_AUGUST-CABINET-Paper-Appendix-3-CE-Letter-to-Minister-no-redactions-needed.pdf
Re: #2, if you can't run a business paying people a good living wage, you shouldn't be in business. Re: #3, I'm sick of the govt's rhetoric "we can't afford to fix mould in state houses/ train and employ more medics, teachers, care workers/ switch to a green economy/ support the disabled beyond simply not letting them die/ etc", because these are policy CHOICES, not a shortage of funds. The choice was to keep land lords sweet and incentivise residential housing 'investment'. That is why there is 'no money'. I could scream....