Guest Blogs & Sponsored Posts

Really good to hear the push to ensure New Zealand history is taught in the country’s schools in a coherent manner has paid off, with the prime minister announcing changes to the curriculum yesterday.

Suicide is about Alienation

I was at a community meeting recently when a woman, who runs a business on High Street, and was evidently so frustrated with Goff and the council that she told the meeting, “I don’t like John Tamihere or his track record – but I intend to vote for John Tamihere.” There was momentary silence in the room as we all took this in.

Back in 2018 I argued that Labour’s cornerstone policies – Fees Free tertiary, KiwiBuild, and the Families Package – were really for the middle class rather than the poor. They follow a theme continued from Helen Clark’s time in power, where interest-free student loans, Working for Families, and KiwiSaver all achieved similar outcomes. 

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.