NZ Politics

If we do go with bilingual signs, I really hope we get a better design than what we currently have.

The Expressway signs of are a classic example, is Te Ara Puke the name of this expressway, or the name for an expressway? The sign doesn't provide that information.

The minimum wage will increase by 2 percent, from $22.70 to $23.15, from 1 April.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment recommended in its review that the wage be increased by 4 percent to $23.60, ...

ACT's campaign promises for a three-year freeze on the minimum wage, reversing new sick leave entitlements, and the scrapping of the 2 January public holiday did not make it into the party's coalition agreement with National.

National campaigned on a proposal to adjust the existing tax thresholds, but as part of coalition negotiations with ACT last year, it agreed to consider whether the "concepts" of ACT's tax policy could be incorporated "subject to no earner being worse off than they would be under National's plan".

In simple terms, ACT would immediately axe the lowest tax threshold of 10.5 percent, meaning the government would collect more revenue from all income earners.

Some of that extra revenue would then be returned to low-and-middle income earners through a targeted tax credit to ensure they were not worse off.

The money left over would allow the government to reduce the higher tax rates at the top of the income scale - dropping the 33 percent rate to 30, and the 39 percent rate to 33

I thought this was incredibly fucked up. Parliament seems like a pretty toxic workplace, but put constant threats in too of that and its not hard to see how it could affect a person.

Shaw said that Parliament was a stressful place for anybody.

"However, Golriz herself has been subject to pretty much continuous threats of sexual violence, physical violence, death threats since the day she was elected to Parliament and so that has added a higher level of stress than is experienced by most Members of Parliament.

"And that has meant, for example there have been police investigations into those threats almost the entire time that she has been a Member of Parliament, and so obviously if you're living with that level of threat in what is already quite a stressful situation then there are going to be consequences for that," Shaw said.

Problem solved.

Apparently two incidents, and $15k taken according to the Herald.

NZ herald has more details

I feel so sorry for James Shaw.

Does anyone know what the procedure is here if Golriz needs to step down permanently? Does she stay a member until the next election, does the next person on the list step up?

The government has announced it plans to urgently repeal legislation which would have required Inland Revenue to report on the tax system's equity, efficiency and certainty.

The party of choice is going to force people to have to drive to get around by ensuring there are no viable alternatives. Worst government in a generation by far.

What, then, would the proposal change?

"Nothing," says Andrew Geddis, a professor of law at the University of Otago.

Legislation is intended to solve problems, he says. "What is the social problem here that requires a solution? English is already an official language. It can be used in all public settings."

Geddis refers to the policy as "virtue signalling": "There seem to be some people out there who fear English is under threat and is somehow going to be overtaken in New Zealand. This [policy] seems to be a way to try to respond to that fear."

The government will find out at noon today whether it has reaped about $1 billion from selling carbon credits, or whether it earned nothing and will have to wait until next year.

The income will be at least partly used to fund National's promised tax cuts.

The Emissions Trading Scheme requires many big fossil fuel polluters, including petrol and electricity companies, to give up one carbon credit for every tonne of carbon dioxide they emit. The annual supply of credits is capped, and the government sells them at quarterly auctions.

The money used to be ring-fenced for things like retiring coal boilers and helping towns adapt to extreme events, but that won't be the case under the coalition.

Tad hysterical, don't you think?

College of Public Health Medicine president Sir Collin Tukuitonga has said the reversal of the smokefree amendments would result in about 1000 extra deaths over the next decade, mostly Māori, and cost the health system $1.3 billion.

Calling that a "genocide" is a bit ridiculous.

National’s unaffordable tax cuts to be funded by… (checks notes) …giving more people lung cancer.

Does anyone else think RNZ is being less than impartial about this? They never had anywhere close to the venom this article has in six years of Labour led government.

And they absolutely hate Winston Peters, which is very amusing.

I expected better, to be honest.