Potential POSITIVE effects of corona virus

[moka]

Liam Dann:The big investment question testing our Covid response.
Should we be opening the progressively opening our borders ... to movie moguls ... to Australians ... to foreign students?
I still think we could, but if we decide to loosen restrictions to benefit the economy then we need to accept we are taking more risk.
The more people we let through, the higher the chance that we'll be let down by careless travellers, or by a human error in processing them, or a combination of both.
Despite my own disappointment about the recent high-profile quarantine bungles, no leader can realistically guarantee operational perfection.
Is it the Government's role, as the guardian of our physical and economic health, to land on a risk assessment that aligns with majority of the population, or one that aligns with the experts? And which experts?
But as time marches on and the world gets on with living with this virus, New Zealanders will increasingly face tough choices between risk and reward.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/...ectid=12341031

[moka]

Visionweek: How to fix the post-Covid coronavirus economy, create jobs and look after Kiwis.

New Zealand should use the crisis to rethink the sort of future we want for our nation. And that to just pick up where we left off and scramble to get back to the way we were would be a mistake.
New Zealand had advantages, but the country's team of 5 million had to be rowing in the same direction, panelists said.
Threaded in amongst the big thinking and visionary plans was a surprisingly common theme: that foremost in our planning should be the ability to look after our most vulnerable; that while we ride out this C-calamity, those who have been hit hardest should be cared for.
Rob Campbell, said calls for change needed to be nationally and socially motivated, rather than personally motivated.
"Do we want to go back anyway? We shouldn't just try and recreate what we had. To me, we should try and create a better society than we had."
It was a sentiment that cropped up continually during the week; that yes, it's going to be grim and we need to get the economy going, but not at the expense of vulnerable New Zealanders or at the expense of the country's future.
Economist Shamubeel Eaqub thinks the purpose of the economy is to make sure New Zealanders are better off.
"And better off means not just this material terms, but also in non-material terms, in terms of wellbeing, in terms of happiness, in terms of mental health."
Not all businesses should be artificially propped up, Eaqub said. "Sometimes it is better for some businesses to fail and the market to work."
Tourism New Zealand CEO Stephen England-Hall rather than clamouring for the borders to reopen, talks about equity for all New Zealanders and says now is an opportunity to rethink how we handle tourism in the future.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/...ectid=12339177

[moka]

Ben Kepes: How about some economic stimulation that trickles up, not down.

Now, I have to state my view upfront that some of the problems we're facing now directly result from our current economic system that requires constant growth and consumption to fuel itself. While I don't have the alternative model all worked out, it seems less consumption would stand us in good stead.
But here's the thing, there is mounting evidence that the neo-liberalist theory of trickle-down economics doesn't work. Introduce wealth at the top and you certainly benefit the top strata of society, but generally, that results in increased property speculation which, rather than benefitting those lower down on the economic ladder, actually makes life worse for them through reduced affordability of housing and the like.
How about our government enacts a policy whereby procurement must take place domestically if at all possible. Imagine then, that in return for procuring locally, the government also enacted a policy whereby locally procured items would have to involve companies that pay the living wage.
All of a sudden those skilled technicians who make Police uniforms, who supply government stationery, and who supply the raw materials that Kainga Ora use to build state houses, would be paid a wage that was independently and neutrally assessed to be a living one.
But details aside, it seems to make sense to me. This is money that the government already spends. Simply spending it in New Zealand means our economy enjoys the financial benefits of that expenditure, not another economy.
In fact, I'd go so far as to suggest that the financial delta (ie the price difference between buying locally and buying from offshore) is more than made up for by the reduces government expenditure that would come from increased employment, better health outcomes (since people can eat better and afford better housing) and more optimal mental health outcomes (a gainfully employed citizenry is, generally speaking, a happier one).

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/...f=art_readmore

[Panda-NZ-]

Per capita growth should be a focus in most countries on the economic side. the overall gdp number has flaws and is easily manipulated.
Other things are just as important and should be included too.

[kiora]

Moka,I would hazard a guess that the majority of new arrivals are kiwis that have a right to live here?

[moka]

Moka,I would hazard a guess that the majority of new arrivals are kiwis that have a right to live here?

Air Commodore Darryn Webb said 98% are New Zealanders returning home.

And this Australian hasn’t been able to get back to NZ to play for her team, after she went home for lockdown. Magic's Australian recruit Georgia Marshall stranded back home in Australia. As an Australian citizen with a New Zealand working visa, Marshall meets the criteria to enter the country.
She's been approved by Australian immigration to leave the country, but New Zealand immigration has denied the 23-year-old's applications twice
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/sport...back-home.html

[moka]

A new study that indicates New Zealanders, as whole, are more content after the lockdown.
The average happiness of the 1000 Kiwis questioned increased from 69 per cent in January to 72 per cent in May.
Psychologist Susan Wall says this may seem counter-intuitive but it is because many of us have had the chance to slow down, re-focus and appreciate the simple things that matter, including time with family and friends.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/northern-...ectid=12342145

[moka]

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/...ectid=12360986
The brain gain. The 'staggering' potential of New Zealand's returning diaspora.

After decades worrying about the 'brain drain', thousands of high-achieving New Zealanders are coming home at once. Duncan Greive looks at what they're bringing with them – and the potential they have to help our imperiled economy.

It's a phenomenon seen across the country, with Gordon, Fifield and Morris part of an enormous group of returning New Zealanders, 33,000 strong and growing by the day, seeking refuge from a world riddled with Covid-19, but also by a destabilising populism and nationalism which, like the virus itself, seems mercifully absent from these shores.

It's a once-in-a-lifetime talent shock, the trio is part of a large group of returning New Zealanders, arriving in a compressed timespan, bringing a burst of international experience, capital and entrepreneurship to a country that has regularly lamented its stocks of all three. To demographer Paul Spoonley, distinguished professor at Massey University, it's "quite staggering" to watch in motion, and to contemplate its impact.

[Waltzing]

And one wonders how long some will stay. New Zealand is a very small market and after a few years back id say about 5 some will get very itch feet. Im feeling that way after a mere 12 months and im not even remotely a talent. And there are only 2 orchestra in the country or really one and half. Yes the beaches are great and there is now a rocket company here but really after a holiday of a few years their gaze will start to look to the heavens.

What you ask is wrong with whatching rugby every friday night... cant a chainsaw at hamilton park cater for your ears?

Dont forget the Dames and if you think london doesnt think it owns Kiri and Dame M think again....

Those pure world class talents need a big stage and that stage isnt here.

The really big talents in all fields must be shipped out especially when they are young to get that experience.

They will return but for some it will be decades before that happens and they cant stay here its not healthy.

[ynot]

But I can see it now, the H&S crackdown (read gravy train) will be people working from home and risking a paper cut.

You hit the nail on the head there Sideshow.
H&S BULL S**T gravy train has been exposed for what it truely is !