As the countless graphs of Covid-19 cases have shown us, what comes up must invariably come down. Justin Connolly asks if we need to think that way about the economy. There have been many funny posts circulating on social media about life in Covid-19 lockdown. One in particular caught my eye because it was funny, … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Government proposes hefty ETS changes, wide ranging review of road rules, and Dunedin’s stadium promises tussle with Christchurch. Everyone serious agrees that carbon emissions are too high, so how to actually go about bringing them down? The government has set out a way forward, with proposals … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: GDP growth slows in the latest quarter, questions raised over utter NZDF incompetence, and NZTA sends money intended for light rail elsewhere. The numbers are in, and GDP growth has slowed down for the second quarter of the year. Radio NZ reports it is the slowest level … Read more
The wellbeing budget is a genuinely big idea, and deserves to transcend a messy week, writes Duncan Greive. Nineteen-thirty-four was not a good year for the USA. Five years into the Great Depression, and five years from the worst world war. The economy stubbornly static, dangerous fascists rising across the Atlantic, the dust bowl at … Read more
Now that we know what the Wellbeing Budget is, the question is how we can create the right political and social environment to support it, says Grant Thornton’s Barry Baker. Growing up in Southland in a single-parent home, my family relied on the Domestic Purposes Benefit and the generosity of charities like Birthright. During that … Read more
The pension probably will still be around when today’s youth retire, but refusing to change the system at all will mean a tougher working life, writes Jenesa Jeram. It’s hard to make young people care about New Zealand Superannuation. I should know. Even when confronted with David Seymour’s warning that “NZ baby boomers are building … Read more
An unexpectedly high growth number might herald the end of a harsh winter for the government, writes Duncan Greive. A toxic combination of the oozing Curran-Handley wound, fear-mongering business confidence surveys and Winston Peters stumbling around like the last guest at a wedding have made this a bad week, worse month and generally infuriating winter … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Government gets timely economic figures boost, Whaitiri’s ministerial career is over, and tax working group hedges bets on capital gains. Sometimes the news just comes at you fast, and yesterday was one of those days. For the government, some of it was the best of times, and … Read more
Business confidence has fallen off a cliff. Economist Cameron Bagrie says it’s meaningless, but other bad indicators can’t be ignored. The economy is headed for recession if you believe the readings from business confidence. Thankfully we can largely ignore business confidence readings. We can’t ignore other survey measures though that are saying growth has slowed … Read more