When you inherit a fiscal deficit and a blowing out of the national debt, you have to make some hard decisions.
NZ has to be returned to a fiscal surplus to yes see greater investment in infrastructure, education, health and importantly the battle against crime. Crime is complex issue, for sure often connected to poverty, and yeah even me would say a link back to colonialism. But you also have to give your Police & Justice systems all the tools, to deter criminal behaviour. If not it's bad for all, except the crims.
When I visited ChCh last year, I was shocked to be told I shouldn't park my particular rental car on the street, at my mate's place in Cashmere, as it was at a high risk of being stolen. Apparently it was the make & model car thieves would drive around looking for. That stuff is just unheard of here in Aussie. Of course in a tragic ironic sense Australia is dumping some of it's worse crims as 501s in Aotearoa who have almost zero connection to their birth country.
For last few years some of NZ's best (and worst) have been leaving the country, mostly for Australia. Nearest neighbour, bigger economy, more opportunities, higher av wages, warmer weather, same language, similar culture, no entry visa requirement - it's a no brainer.
Of the ones I meet here in QLD (I've been in Aussie on & off since 2006), the warmer weather, higher wages, far lower crime, and general sense that 'success' is encouraged (a bit more American in that sense/less tall poppy stuff) seem the main factors for the move. Many of those NZers have come here to start a business. Virtually all of them are scathing of the 6 years of the Ardern/Hipkiss Govt. It's a constant refrain they felt no love, their productive hard work not recognised, and life all got too hard.
Where NZ has been shark recently regardless of who has been in government is it's Productivity Growth. Productivity compares the amount of goods and services produced (output) with the amount of inputs used to produce them. Productivity growth is hugely important ito obtain strong economic growth (GDP growth) and thus high GDP per capita. ie without productivity growth your living standards as a nation start to drop. Yes copied from elsewhere!
NZ has to be returned to a fiscal surplus to yes see greater investment in infrastructure, education, health and importantly the battle against crime. Crime is complex issue, for sure often connected to poverty, and yeah even me would say a link back to colonialism. But you also have to give your Police & Justice systems all the tools, to deter criminal behaviour. If not it's bad for all, except the crims.
When I visited ChCh last year, I was shocked to be told I shouldn't park my particular rental car on the street, at my mate's place in Cashmere, as it was at a high risk of being stolen. Apparently it was the make & model car thieves would drive around looking for. That stuff is just unheard of here in Aussie. Of course in a tragic ironic sense Australia is dumping some of it's worse crims as 501s in Aotearoa who have almost zero connection to their birth country.
For last few years some of NZ's best (and worst) have been leaving the country, mostly for Australia. Nearest neighbour, bigger economy, more opportunities, higher av wages, warmer weather, same language, similar culture, no entry visa requirement - it's a no brainer.
Of the ones I meet here in QLD (I've been in Aussie on & off since 2006), the warmer weather, higher wages, far lower crime, and general sense that 'success' is encouraged (a bit more American in that sense/less tall poppy stuff) seem the main factors for the move. Many of those NZers have come here to start a business. Virtually all of them are scathing of the 6 years of the Ardern/Hipkiss Govt. It's a constant refrain they felt no love, their productive hard work not recognised, and life all got too hard.
Where NZ has been shark recently regardless of who has been in government is it's Productivity Growth. Productivity compares the amount of goods and services produced (output) with the amount of inputs used to produce them. Productivity growth is hugely important ito obtain strong economic growth (GDP growth) and thus high GDP per capita. ie without productivity growth your living standards as a nation start to drop. Yes copied from elsewhere!
Since 2011, annual productivity growth in NZ has averaged in at just 0.2% – one of the worst in the OECD. It's a boring topic, but one that should be front & centre in Kiwi's minds. If NZ want's great public services (including being able to look after the most disadvantaged well), how does the poor productivity growth get turned around. What can be done to incentivise the private sector to invest in R&D, increase automation, add value to primary products not just ship them overselves cheaply in a raw form etc etc etc
Seeing thousands of people move to Australia, many highly skilled, only to replace them with low skilled migrants to pick fruit, drive an Uber, get ripped off by a dodgy immigration agent - that's just making the productivity situation worse. That's somehow got to be turned around. Needs a bipartisan approach, which of course means it will never get the attention it deserves
Seeing thousands of people move to Australia, many highly skilled, only to replace them with low skilled migrants to pick fruit, drive an Uber, get ripped off by a dodgy immigration agent - that's just making the productivity situation worse. That's somehow got to be turned around. Needs a bipartisan approach, which of course means it will never get the attention it deserves