Labour govt 2020-23

[dobby41]

https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/south-...ry-of-the-year

And for the record, Taiwan beats NZ hands down as far as managing the pandemic is concerned - less deaths and no disruption to its economy.

Self praise is no praise.

This is an interesting study in the response of NZ and Taiwan from Lancet (so a bit of heft and rigor)
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/l...044-4/fulltext

Probably the most fundamental difference between the situation of Taiwan and New Zealand was that in Taiwan responsiveness to pandemic diseases and similar threats is embedded in its national institutions. Taiwan established a dedicated CDC in 1990 to combat the threat of communicable diseases. By contrast, the equivalent organisation in New Zealand (the NZ Communicable Disease Centre, a business unit within the Department of Health) was closed in 1992 with its functions transferred to a newly formed Crown Research Institute (ESR) and then contracted back to what became the Ministry of Health. In addition, Taiwan established a National Health Command centre (NHCC) in 2004 following the SARS epidemic. This agency, working in association with the CDC, was dedicated to responding to emerging threats, such as pandemics, and given the power to coordinate work across government departments and draw on additional personnel in an emergency.

In short, they learnt a lot from SARS but we didn't (or maybe because it didn't affect us much we didn't need to since we only had 1 case reported).

I do wonder if people here would have accepted mass masking and cell phone tracking from the outset - I suspect not.
Taiwan, with their SARS history, were more pre-disposed to accepting this as 'normal'.

[artemis]

....
Go back to the 'good old days' where the low income rented from the state and those who could afford it rented privately.
The rot set is when Housing Corp went to 'market rent' and accommodation supplements that were available to private landlords (or people renting via private landlords). Housing Corp moved away from their decades old purpose of providing housing to the less well off.... .

Not quite sure what you mean by this. Are you saying public housing should not have market rent as a max rent for the home regardless of the household income?

When the accommodation supplement came in it applied to all rents and mortgage payments based on location and household circumstances. That is no longer the case since social housing moved to income related rents. What should it be?

Can you clarify?

[justakiwi]

OK Balance .... the reality is that it is not Jacinda who is cynical .... it is you.

Definition of “cynical” below:

cynical



(sɪnɪkəl)
1. ADJECTIVEIf you describe someone as cynical, you mean they believe that people always act selfishly.
...his cynical view of the world.
Synonyms: sceptical, mocking, ironic, sneering More Synonyms of cynical

cynicallyADVERB [ADVERB with verb]As one former customer said cynically, 'He's probably pocketed the difference!'


2. ADJECTIVE [usually verb-link ADJECTIVE]If you are cynical about something, you do not believe that it can be successful or that the people involved are honest.
It's hard not to be cynical about reform. [+ about]
It has also made me more cynical about relationships.
Synonyms: unbelieving, sceptical, disillusioned, pessimistic More Synonyms of cynical



Take a good look at the points above. You have displayed every single one of them. Over and over and over again. Your constant reference to “cynical Cindy” is you projecting your own cynicism onto her. Sadly, you seem to be the only one unable to recognise that.

But Merry Christmas anyway!

On the contrary, I do not make promises and articulate high principles like transparency and accountability in government and then, cynically break said promises and go back on said principles.

You may have low aspirations of your leaders which tells a lot about who and what you are but there are those of us who still believe in some basic values and principles.

Cynical Cindy - you are welcome to her.

[artemis]

....
Labour tried with KiwiBuild (and failed dismally) but it was never going to work as the target was just stupid (lack of tradies etc).

More the etc than the lack of tradies, in particular the targeted group of first home buyers don't want them despite financial incentives. As witness the hundreds of 'affordable' Kiwibuild homes unsold or under construction, plus those sold to or underwritten by the government. The Kiwibuild Unit had and has a lot of staff, some highly paid, plus big fees paid for legal advice and also a lot of input from real estate experts. Not so expert as it turned out.

Tradies are not the problem, developers were lining up and rubbing their hands with glee. Poor policy, poor planning and poor execution despite Kiwibuild being policy since 2012 - there is the problem.

[dobby41]

Not quite sure what you mean by this. Are you saying public housing should not have market rent as a max rent for the home regardless of the household income?

When the accommodation supplement came in it applied to all rents and mortgage payments based on location and household circumstances. That is no longer the case since social housing moved to income related rents. What should it be?

Can you clarify?

Sure.
If you go back Housing Corp charged rent for State Houses based on a % of the family's income.
I don't think you could rent from a private provider and get the state to pay anything.
That changed - state houses were charged at 'market' rent and then people were given a subsidy (a 2 step transaction) in the form of the Accommodation Supplement. The Accommodation Supplement was then also available to use for private landlords - effectively state housing was subbed out.
The rental market started in earnest.
If the state had enough houses they could offer income related rents only - remove the subsidy paid to private landlords.

[Joshuatree]

OK Balance .... the reality is that it is not Jacinda who is cynical .... it is you.

Definition of “cynical” below:

cynical



(sɪnɪkəl)
1. ADJECTIVEIf you describe someone as cynical, you mean they believe that people always act selfishly.
...his cynical view of the world.
Synonyms: sceptical, mocking, ironic, sneering More Synonyms of cynical

cynicallyADVERB [ADVERB with verb]As one former customer said cynically, 'He's probably pocketed the difference!'


2. ADJECTIVE [usually verb-link ADJECTIVE]If you are cynical about something, you do not believe that it can be successful or that the people involved are honest.
It's hard not to be cynical about reform. [+ about]
It has also made me more cynical about relationships.
Synonyms: unbelieving, sceptical, disillusioned, pessimistic More Synonyms of cynical



Take a good look at the points above. You have displayed every single one of them. Over and over and over again. Your constant reference to “cynical Cindy” is you projecting your own cynicism onto her. Sadly, you seem to be the only one unable to recognise that.

But Merry Christmas anyway!

IMO from observing the innumerable reactional and irrational pedantic posts,Unbalanced has a classic Classic case of Gynophobia(fear of women) mixed in with narcissim.Can never be wrong. Like OCD its a hard one to shift, hard to outwit oneself. But it is possible if one takes responsibility, is aware of their condition and truly want to grow and unfold into a balanced sentient human being with empathy for others.

[artemis]

Sure.
If you go back Housing Corp charged rent for State Houses based on a % of the family's income.
I don't think you could rent from a private provider and get the state to pay anything.
That changed - state houses were charged at 'market' rent and then people were given a subsidy (a 2 step transaction) in the form of the Accommodation Supplement. The Accommodation Supplement was then also available to use for private landlords - effectively state housing was subbed out.
The rental market started in earnest.
If the state had enough houses they could offer income related rents only - remove the subsidy paid to private landlords.

But state housing rent is all income related.

[artemis]

Take aim at opinions for sure but some recent posts look remarkably like personal attacks from posters with different opinions.

[Bjauck]

But state housing rent is all income related.

With income related rent and the accommodation supplement, together with untaxed leveraged long-term (5+ years) capital gains, the returns from investments in residential housing are effectively very well subsidised by taxpayers. And the current government is continuing that policy.

[artemis]

With income related rent and the accommodation supplement, together with untaxed leveraged long-term (5+ years) capital gains, the returns from investments in residential housing are effectively very well subsidised by taxpayers. And the current government is continuing that policy.

Income related rent only applies to housing owned by the taxpayer or community housing providers. And most housing by a long way is owned by owner occupiers.

Personally I am not in favour of taxpayer housing subsidies but that ship has sailed now of course. The AS was originally introduced to solve an income problem, not a housing shortage. Since then the shortage has escalated due mainly to various government policies, and that has led to price and rent rises. And a shortage along with increased costs and compliance allows a lot more scope for landlords to minimise risk.

While more and more state housing seems to be a preferred option these days, that is a huge burden on the taxpayer and still leaves the impact on neighbours of last resort housing.