Kia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Tuesday, November 19:
The News: The CEOs of Westpac NZ and Kiwibank are incensed over Facebook’s refusal to take scams seriously and are open to pulling their ads and brands off the platform completely, Duncan Greive reports for The Spinoff
In my view: Governments of both flavours and New Zealand’s biggest corporates have for years enabled or ignored the lack of action by Meta over hateful, dangerous and fraudulent content it both allows and profits from via Facebook and Instagram. It’s time to adopt tactics used overseas to push back hard against Facebook operating in a barely regulated way in Aotearoa, if only to save voters, consumers & businesses hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
Scoop: Thousands of families’ incomes have slumped because Working For Families’ tax credits aren’t available to those who lose their jobs, Thomas Coughlan reports for NZ Herald.
Deep-dive: RNZ’s Eloise Gibson takes a closer look at the Government’s hopes to use ‘blue carbon’ stored in the seas to meet its climate commitments.
Solutions: Māori wardens, Auckland Council and Eke Panuku have jointly created a place for the city's homeless to shower, wash clothes, store belongings and have some kai, RNZ’s Amy Williams reports.
Editorial Opinion: Former Treasury and Health official Kathy Spencer argues in The Post underfunding of hospitals and primary care are behind the systemic crisis.
(There is more detail, analysis and links to documents below the paywall fold and in the podcast above for paying subscribers. If we get over 100 likes we’ll open it up for public reading, listening and sharing.)
1. The News: Westpac & Kiwibank may abandon Facebook
The CEOs of Westpac NZ and Kiwibank say Facebook is rife with fraud and that its parent Meta is too busy making money from scam ads to try and stop them, Duncan Greive reports for The Spinoff. They are so incensed they are considering pulling their banks off the platform altogether.
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