When we ‘celebrated’ Labour Day weekend this week, there really wasn’t a hell of a lot to praise.
‘Less than adequate’ – Govt proposes ACC reform
The Government is proposing changes to a controversial Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) scheme in a move that could affect hundreds of thousands of New Zealand workers.
ACC Minister Carmel Sepuloni wants to introduce new rules for ACC’s Accredited Employers Programme, which is used by more than 100 major companies across the country. The changes will affect 25% of the New Zealand workforce.
Under the scheme, employers are given a discount on their levies if they promise to care for workers hurt on the job. They are bestowed with powers normally reserved for the Government and trusted to fund the rehabilitation and compensation of injured staff.
The disgusting right myth spread by right wing liars is that NZ is an over taxed, over regulated economy when that is total bullshit!
In a recent column, Max Rashbrooke highlighted the horror of NZs under regulated market…
The bad news is that, to investigate 200,000-300,000 terrible rentals, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has employed a frontline inspectorate numbering … 37. Each inspector will have to check somewhere between 5000 and 8000 rentals.
…there is only 37 inspectors of rental properties for 300 000 terrible rentals?
Similar poorly funded regulation is apparent in the 82 labour inspectorates who are supposed to police hundreds of thousands of migrant worker exploitations!
Time and time and time again in New Zealand we see an old boy matrix of vested interests who occupy market dominance and act like a monopoly, duopoly or oligopoly raking in vast wealth while leaving the local small and medium sized operators outside the cosy relationships!
Up and down NZ, small and medium enterprises are unable to compete because of the lack of basic regulation in the market!
We’ve seen it with the Supermarket duopoly, the medicinal cannabis oligopoly, the Gib Board monopoly – each time under regulated and poorly regulated capitalism continues to screw over us the consumers at a time of a cost of living crisis!
Frustration inside the drainage industry has reached boiling point recently with anti competitive practices and crony capitalism that would make your average South American Drug Cartels blush.
Justice for Drainage is a new push from those in the independent drainage community to highlight the manner in which the industry is dictated to by a duopoly which in turn is pushing up the housing costs to first time home buyers, councils and state housing…
Justice for Drains has put out a Poll to the private drainage contractor community and 99% claim costs are too high, 100% want an investigation into the duopoly practices that keep prices high and 99% want the Government to step in.
We never consider the costs of drainage and how a duopoly within the industry keeps these costs high and are ultimately inflating costs for Councils, home buyers and State housing!
Here were anonymous quotes from those in the industry who wish to remain anonymous because they fear reprisals from the duopoly players.
“We can only finish jobs with the support of the Independent Companies. The Big player charges double”
“Increasing costs we have to pass on to our clients”
“Getting uneasy handing our prices to customers.. Really feel for our customers as this is another cost of living increase that they dont need.”
“Investigate the other companies Hynds own to block competition.”
“Competitive pricing wont exist until the company Split up.”
“No competition / Not Fair for people who live in NZ”
“Pricing controlled by the Big Guys”
“Tax payers foot the bill for everything!”
“Bloody Horrible”
“I have to pass these costs on to the NZ Public who is bearing the excess pricing again!”
“Just like the Supermarket Rip OFF”
“PRICE GOUGING FOR YEARS”
“Hynds and Humes have been over pricing products for 20+ years.”
…Comrades, I’m not looking for socialism, just basic regulated capitalism!
Have Labour dropped the ball again on properly regulating another market?
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As part of a family that runs a SME I can say it is not a lack of regulation that is crippling SMEs – it is the exact opposite. Legislation and regulation are based on screwing over the small guys that can’t afford a separate HR manager or HSO.
This government can’t and won’t do anything as Big Corporate is now a being of the left not the right. Logically flowing on from the “you will own nothing and be happy” mantra of the WEF and the “Big Government” desire of most socialist Western Governments – they don’t want to help small business independence.
Indeed they want you dependent on them instead.
Well said Frank.
A change of Government will see a change for the better.
Mate, same here business wise. Regulations out the wazoo but many simply have to be ignored as we dont have the resourses needed to comply with them and thats only the ones we know about.
so why do you keep voting ACT/nat panzerboi?
I will be voting Act or NZ First as the lesser of all evils Gargar. Quite frankly there ain’t a decent political right wing values party in New Zealand and hasn’t been for 30 odd years.
I will be voting for one of those parties due to the state of disrepute that the current government has placed us in by spending billions on corporate welfare and woke vanity projects; spiraling inflation/cost of living; out of control crime; a failed corrections service; a collapsed health service; increasing child pover(d)y; a deeply inefficient public service; and a concerted drift to an ethno state whereas admission to public services is based on your genealogy amongst other reasons.
In fairness National/Act can’t do worse. I could drag 20-30 unemployed people off the street and they couldn’t do worse. Literally we could vote in Peewee Herman, Grover, Gonzo, Beavis, Butthead and Patrick Starr and they could manage the country better than the current clown show. With Peters in tow the government was amusing in its ineptness but otherwise operational. The handbrake went and so did all the intelligence from the cabinet.
ACT have one raison d’etre’……sell public assets to their private donors…on the…cheap.
Yes, and Labour is doing the prepwork of bundling assets, renaming and then selling. 🙂 N and L one coin, two sides. Both shite.
Rich people and corporations get everything they want because of those big fat donations political parties get from them.
Remember that Jamie Lee Ross saga? Its no different no matter what political party you pick. Funny how they prosecute the givers of those donations but silence when it came to politicians receiving said donations.
They’re all corrupt.
Only the bad ones in each industry that need regulating, that make a bad name for all. Landlord s, cow boy trades people, middle managers, Real estate sharks
yes marco but as they exist all get regulated don’t blame ‘regulation’ blame the shitheads whose behaviour needs regulating
Frank the tank – Winston Peters all the way.
“Why can’t Labour regulate basic Capitalism? ”
Well, it’s because there’s nothing basic about our capitalism, that’s why.
Our capitalism is different to the capitalism of others in their countries because our capitalism is based upon a cadre of swine who’ve [self] legitimised what would be their otherwise criminal shenanigans. Our criminals steal money from our farmers then politely launder it through various self legitimising political institutions, law firms and banks. That dodgy shit’s been going on for generations and started when refrigerated shipping gave us and our Kiwi farmers a unique and exceedingly profitable market edge on the UK, Europe and the USA.
What’s most worrying for the crooks involved is if [it] where to all get out so to speak. Particularly in a language normal people could understand and I do wonder, on that note, what lies behind the recent act of parliament to de-jargonise legal speak. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/oct/20/new-zealand-passes-plain-language-bill-to-jettison-jargon
( Doesn’t that read as mad? It does, doesn’t it? A literal criminal swindle spanning 140 years. But it wasn’t criminal because no laws per se were broken likely because no laws to protect producers and farmers were ever implemented. Funny that. The farmers Union was disbanded and replaced by the dodgy old Federated Farmers however. Aye Boys?
It’s with no small amount of suspicion that I see old winston peters croaking out the same equally old brain fart rhetoric.
Why cant Labour regulate basic Capitalism?
Because they want to stay in power.
You lost me at Carmel Sepuloni. I don’t know what Jacinda sees in her?
No wonder Jacinda has had a guts full. She even gets blamed if someone leaves a hose running overnight.
So you introduce healthy homes standards with 37 staff to check on any complaints and people think you’re an arsehole. When Act get in I’m gonna be over them like a really bad case of scabies if someone so much as doesn’t trim their bush hanging over the footpath.
Panda
A good CEO/MD/PM would say: “OK great legislation but do we have the manpower? No? Come back when that’s sorted cause we don’t do laws we can’t execute”. So yes, the CEO/MD/PM needs to take the blame for letting them pass that bill ahead of being able to even manage it properly (like every bill/law pushed through by this Labour govt). As for the HH bill, turns out the worst landlord in NZ is the govt itself. Meanwhile they hunt down the mum and dad investors with a vengance. Anyway, as I was saying, a good manager…and that’s my main beef with Jacinda as PM. She is a terrible manager. Wants to be everyone’s friend. Which explains the heavy focus on PR and presentation over substance and delivery. Take OT…she should come down on that with the hammer of Thor. Starting with a public flogging of the ministers in charge.
Regulate regulate regulate. Central control central control central control. Well that’s working really well so far. Not.
we’re not regulated though are we cabbage for the last 30odd years of light touch regulation/open slather in NZ and look what it’s result is….lower standards than the the rest of the world from shitty streams to no labour protections to despotic landlords to any old additives in our food…the only place doing worse is the gud ‘ol US of A
The doctrine of Rogernomics doesnt allow them to change NZ’s history of neoliberalism. Neither Labour, Act or the Nats want to or even know how to change, move away from neoliberalism because its all they know.
Unfortunately, we are going down with the rest of the West that is in the current inflationary spiral, come recession, come depression for the rest of the decade.
Who knew the GFC would have such massive repercussions.
GFC manufactured by basically the entertainment industry out of hollywood using the flawed DMCA which exploits all tatou tatou sharing/love of anything cultural for dollars (right? right? fight for copyright?????) as for rogernomics us honky cunts got a saying about ‘a good rogering’ which you can see for free on any porn channel just hover over the thumbnail…no wonder our kids are confused and don’t want to breed! Roll over Beethoven indeed 🙁
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