Tax on, tax off
While Labour copped flack for a payment going to the people overseas and the deceased, National seemingly confirmed, benched, reinstated and re-clarified a tax policy in the space of 36 hours.
Mōrena and welcome to The Bulletin for Friday, August 5, by Anna Rawhiti-Connell. Presented in partnership with Z Energy.
In today’s edition: water infrastructure in parts of Auckland cannot handle more housing; builders welcome report into building supplies; more women working in construction; but first, two tribes go to war over tax and cost of living payments.
Nicola Willis and Chrises Luxon, Hipkins and Bishop (Images: RNZ/Angus Dreaver, Getty Images, RNZ/VNP/Phil Smith, Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)
Dead people receive cost of living payment
It feels like a bad week for policy when you’ve got one party defending a cascade of cost of living payment issues and another inspiring the headline “The tax policy flip flop gets flippier”. The Herald’s political editor Claire Trevett, in a very funny piece (paywalled), described trying to get clarity on cost of living numbers as “watching octopuses play Twister”. In the house on Wednesday, opposition leader Christopher Luxon asked the prime minister whether Kiritapu Allan was correct when she stated that the cost of living payment scheme had been developed "essentially overnight”. Allan made the “essentially overnight” reference on Tova O’Brien’s show on Today FM on Wednesday morning. On it went, as the prime minister distanced herself from a Labour Party fundraising email about the payments and we learned that the payments had gone to people who are dead.
36 hours of tax policy confusion from the National Party
On Wednesday morning Luxon told RNZ that lifting the tax thresholds in line with inflation would have been the most “simple and elegant” way to deal with rising costs. The Herald’s Thomas Coughlan published a story on Thursday morning about opposition finance spokeswoman Nicola Willis confirming the party’s tax policy was “on the bench for now”. The policy in question was one put forward for Budget 2022 and included adjusting the bottom three tax thresholds to account for the inflation. Chris Hipkins issued a press release saying the confusion showed National was in "disarray". Chris Bishop called the attack "dirty political tricks" from Labour. By yesterday afternoon National were promising even bigger tax cuts in its 2023 election manifesto, if economic conditions allow.
Cost of living payments “fiddling around the edges”
On the latest episode of Gone By Lunchtime (GBLT), Annabelle Lee-Mather said the cost of living payment is “fiddling around the edges'' and asked why the government hadn’t sorted out more systematic issues like the cost of food and electricity, or spent the money wiping out the debt people have with Work and Income. Former National MP Paula Bennett said beneficiaries deserve the payment more than anyone, a position shared by Green Party co-leader Marama Davis. Fellow GBLT-er, Ben Thomas has questioned the government’s lack of vision in his latest Stuff column, while Shane Te Pou has questioned whether Luxon is up to the job (paywalled).
“Tit for tat on tax”
This stuff is all good grist to the mill for political commentary. Politics is sport and politics is theatre. They say “the government you elect is the government you deserve”. However, and I accept this might be a bit high-minded for a Friday, people who don't spend all day immersed in beltway banter might be hoping for a bit more than sport, theatre, press release ping pong and guesstimates about how many people got a payment they’re not entitled to. Ah well, it’s a fresh week next week and maybe there will be less “tit for tat on tax”, as described by RNZ’s political editor Jane Patterson. Or perhaps more good souls will donate their cost of living payments to charity.
Te Rourou, Vodafone Aotearoa Foundation is on a mission to halve the number of young people in Aotearoa experiencing exclusion and disadvantage. Now, as they celebrate 20 years of service to communities – and over $47 million invested into 1,000 organisations – the foundation has created Stories Of Change. This new series highlights the foundation’s mahi, telling the stories of 20 community groups and individuals who are building a more awesome Aotearoa. Read the stories here. (Sponsored)
Builders welcome Commerce Commission report on building supplies
Yesterday the Commerce Commission released its report into building supplies. Thankfully, I’m well read on Gib now. The commission has not recommended breaking up any existing building supply companies like Fletcher Building, whose subsidiary Winstone Wallboards dominates the Gib market, but did recommend that market competition be a deliberate objective of any regulation. Your Place Building director Josh Chapman said Gib was the only product on his merchant’s shelf and the only product that the council would approve without resistance, and that regulation is needed to solve this issue as “it is hard to change at the level of the builder.”
Water infrastructure in parts of Auckland can not handle more housing
Auckland Council’s planning committee met yesterday and voted in favour of new zoning policy allowing for intensification, with exemptions for some areas of Auckland’s rural towns, coastal areas at risk of erosion, areas of cultural significance to Māori and special character neighbourhoods. Fourteen councillors were in favour and seven abstained. It was also revealed that many suburbs including Devonport; Henderson-Massey, Howick, Mt Eden, Herne Bay, Grey Lynn and Ponsonby have water, wastewater and stormwater constraints. The council agreed that these constraints will exempt these areas from the government's intensification rules.
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More women working in construction
With unemployment now having climbed to 3.3% within the industry, builders are now crying out for workers. With this ascent and historically driven as a mostly male-dominated field, they’re getting serious about hiring the other half of the population. On the latest episode of When the Facts Change, Bernard Hickey talks with Kiwibank economist Mary Jo Vergara about a surprise rise in employment growth for women in construction.
Click and collect
No one is running against James Shaw for Green Party co-leadership.
Auckland mayoral candidate Leo Molloy’s media adviser steps down, social media agency resigns.
A drop in our vaccination rate is not bad news.
“Severe” water restrictions are “probable” over summer in Wellington.
New Zealand is unlikely to have monkeypox vaccine before community transmission.
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What's a worse way to go: submerged in a vat of vino or blown to bits at a steampunk party? Alex Casey ranks every murder from the past seven seasons of Brokenwood Mysteries. Toby Manhire gets to the bottom of that New Zealand climate change news story from 1912 that keeps going viral. Toby Manhire has also been following Brian Tamaki's plans to disrupt this year's local elections. Comedian Ed Amon writes about what it means to go from being "the brown guy" on a lineup to one of many brown faces in a comedy show happening this weekend. And Emily Writes finds a silver lining to the fact our Facebook feeds are all filled with pointless junk we didn't ask for now.
All Blacks team announced, White Ferns T20 match against England underway
All Blacks coach Ian Foster has announced the starting team for the test against the Springboks in Mbombela, South Africa on Sunday morning (NZT). Scott Barrett starts at lock, Samisoni Taukei’aho will start at hooker in place of Codie Taylor, and Angus Ta'avao comes in at tighthead prop ahead of Nepo Laulala.
At the Commonwealth Games, the White Ferns are playing England in T20 cricket. Because I have to hit send at some point, it could be over by the time you read this after the White Ferns were all out for 72. At time of send, England were 41-1 after five overs, requiring 31 to win from 90 balls.
It’s Friday so… introducing Princess Twilight Superworm
That’s the name the children at New Lynn Kindergarten have picked for Auckland Council’s newest tunnel boring machine. If I were a contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race, I'd say it’s giving aspirational earthiness. The machine will be used for tunnelling stormwater drains. I really feel like we’re getting the hang of this naming thing, moving past the briefly amusing but somewhat gormless “Machiney McMachineface” pattern. Other contenders included Elsa Unicorn and Rapunzel Flower. I love it. They had a brief and stuck to it. No flip flops, walk backs, clarifications or statements required here.
