Guest and sponsored opinion pieces published on The Daily Blog, offering diverse perspectives within clear editorial guidelines.
Yesterday’s announcement by the government to reset Kiwibuild to include lower desposits, rent-to-own and shared equity schemes has welcome echoes of the scheme that allowed my “working class” Mum and Dad to build a new home in Christchurch in the early 1960’s.
While this is a step very much in the right direction a rate of the 0.8 per cent per day cap on interest rates and fees over the life of a loan limited to 100 per cent of the amount borrowed, these draconian contracts will still be a poverty trap for many.
Many people have commented on the last two posts and I would spend all of my day on Facebook answering the issues raised by individuals so let me just cover a few the larger issues and accusations raised.
Some people seem so wrapped up in their private rights these days they overlook the fact that the Public Good can override personal beliefs.
As of last evening there have been 778 confirmed cases of Measles in Auckland and there is a child in Starship hospital in a critical condition as a result of this totally preventable disease.
Two good things this week. (1) The Warehouse reached an in-principle agreement with First Union to pay the living wage…
Six months ago, I thought Labour would be returned at the next General Election – as a result of National losing. Today, I reckon National will gain the Treasury Benches – as a result of Labour losing.
I’ve worked on murder cases that remain unsolved because a mistake was made early in the investigation and instead of owning up to it the police have mothballed the case rather than admit their officers are just like everyone else – that they sometimes make mistakes.
My apologies for not commenting much at the moment. I’m working on two big projects that are gobbling my time . One is the Trade Secrets doco which has become such a multi-headed monster and another I can’t talk about for a few months.
John Laing, a director and old friend, rang me three or four years ago and asked was I interested in writing a TV feature about CNN journalist Peter Arnett finding and interviewing Osama bin Laden in the 1990s.