If National wins ...

[Major von Tempsky]

A couple of good current affairs segments over the weekend.
1) An expo on Northland 1 year after NZF took the seat. National representatives interviewed displayed National's lack of a plan for the region & how they want to dismantle existing infrastructure, instead of providing more! The region has started to boom in the last year & this government's policy is holding us back. The 10 bridges promised is now 4 and are still only at the planning stage!
2) A democrat that is close friends of the Clintons and worked in the Clinton administration I believe, visiting NZ was interviewed about the TPPA. His view that basically it was a corporate take over, that would make it much harder for governments to right policy that protects its people in regards health, welfare and the environment.

It's very easy to find an overseas "expert" to say anything you like on TPPA, and face it, the grovelling media regards anyone from overseas as an "expert"! However I'd like to refer to you to your very own left left leaning Listener, in the second to last issue it ran an interview with the very highly regarded retired Governor of the Bank of England, Dr Mervyn King, who opined that TPPA was a good thing for NZ. Somewhat more expert than any Clinton groupie. Mervyn King is regarded as having played a major part in navigating the UK through the Global Financial Crisis and the European ones since then.

[Daytr]

How many things can you get wrong in one post MVT?
Where did I say he was an expert?
I am not left leaning, well to be fair, I am on some things, but not on others, however I do think the Listener is a good quality publication.
Typically anyone who uses the word opines automatically triggers a fast forward switch in my brain, as it says a lot about the user in my view & its not good.
From what I have read about King, is that many lay blame for him not identifying the bubbles and reacting to what was gong on in the UK that helped caused the GFC. He may well have assisted in its recovery by cutting rates to almost zero , however his record is chequered at best.

[elZorro]

I'm not sure you can trust 'economists'.

As expected, the economic future sentiment in regions like Waikato, Taranaki and Southland is strongly negative at the moment. Urban areas are still positive, along with house prices of course. House sales are included in GDP figures, and this govt then uses them to tout a 2% GDP increase for NZ over the last year. Meanwhile the value of our dairy exports plummets down from a high, forestry is going badly too. As John Gascoigne notes, it's time we had better indicators than total GDP, on which to base our progress.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/economy/ne...+31+March+2016

I know he's right. Sometimes I've gone looking for a suitable chart to show the trend in an econometric indicator that I know will probably look bad for the National Govt. I'll look on govt websites and find that these graphs or charts don't exist. I can make my own graph/chart by using the spreadsheet data that they have to compile, but "they've" studiously avoided making it easy to see what's going on.

[craic]

. Sometimes I've gone looking for a suitable chart to show the trend in an econometric indicator that I know will probably look bad for the National Govt. I'll look on govt websites and find that these graphs or charts don't exist. I can make my own graph/chart by using the spreadsheet data that they have to compile, but "they've" studiously avoided making it easy to see what's going on.[/QUOTE]

Thats easily the biggest admission you've ever made that you hunt around in the system, desperately searching for anything that you can possibly find to attack the government and when you can't find anything, you claim that the government must have hidden it. What do you do when you find anything that the government did right? At least the majority of voters over recent elections find enough good to elect National and keep them there. The negative attitude thatfreely admit to is a disease of the left and always has been.

[fungus pudding]

Sometimes I've gone looking for a suitable chart to show the trend in an econometric indicator that I know will probably look bad for the National Govt. I'll look on govt websites and find that these graphs or charts don't exist. I can make my own graph/chart by using the spreadsheet data that they have to compile, but "they've" studiously avoided making it easy to see what's going on.

Oh dear eZ. Just because you may not find the negative side of an argument does not mean 'they' have hidden it. That's paranoia. If you spent as much time looking for good news, about anything at all, rather than looking for anti-National govt. to post here, life would be a whole lot better for you. You will find anything you look for about any political party - any economic report - any subject you care to name in fact. Give yourself a rest.

[elZorro]

Thats easily the biggest admission you've ever made that you hunt around in the system, desperately searching for anything that you can possibly find to attack the government and when you can't find anything, you claim that the government must have hidden it. What do you do when you find anything that the government did right? At least the majority of voters over recent elections find enough good to elect National and keep them there. The negative attitude that (you) freely admit to is a disease of the left and always has been.

That's an absolute cop-out, Craic. You should be denying that this govt massages stats like no other previous govt in NZ, rather than having a go at me for trying to find out the truth.

If I have to chart a series of numbers to clearly show this govt isn't doing very well at some metric or another, why doesn't Treasury or a govt department always do the same? In the case of annual GDP, the solution to hide a whole lot of poor economic stats under that label is to keep net immigration figures high, to keep the pressure on housing, so new houses get built and other houses change hands. This increases the GDP figure, without having to show that export income is dropping like a stone in some manufacturing areas like dairy and heavy equipment.

[craic]

That's an absolute cop-out, Craic. You should be denying that this govt massages stats like no other previous govt in NZ, rather than having a go at me for trying to find out the truth.

If I have to chart a series of numbers to clearly show this govt isn't doing very well at some metric or another, why doesn't Treasury or a govt department always do the same? In the case of annual GDP, the solution to hide a whole lot of poor economic stats under that label is to keep net immigration figures high, to keep the pressure on housing, so new houses get built and other houses change hands. This increases the GDP figure, without having to show that export income is dropping like a stone in some manufacturing areas like dairy and heavy equipment.

But you're not looking for the "truth" elZ - You're looking for anything that suits your opinion - once again a leftie trend. Now I must go and find out why my big chainsaw will not start - a rightie trend.

[westerly]

National and it’s war on govt. expenditure. Student allowances paid, down from $78m to $58.7m since 2010. Rob Stock reports on the sneaky reductions in social expenditure in a Press article on the non indexing of government programmes.
Interesting that Govt. super. is not subject to this insidious erosion. John Key’s promise?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/7833...se-of-families

westerly

[fungus pudding]

National and it’s war on govt. expenditure. Student allowances paid, down from $78m to $58.7m since 2010. Rob Stock reports on the sneaky reductions in social expenditure in a Press article on the non indexing of government programmes.
Interesting that Govt. super. is not subject to this insidious erosion. John Key’s promise?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/7833...se-of-families

westerly

Interesting that govt. superannuation is adjusted annually because the legislation requires it. Where does Key's promise come into it?

[craic]

Wow! Daytr and Winnie will be delighted with the upturn in the Northland economy. 69,000 cannabis plants grown by locals and harvested by the police. 41 firearms taken into police keeping. 124 locals arrested in the biggest operation in decades.