Those who wonder why incomes in NZ are so much lower for various occupations compared with Australia only need to look at this table, taken from this webpage.

It shows the current status for 2019 and the projected figure for 2023 both in nominal US dollars and adjusted for what is known as Purchasing Power Parity which takes the local cost of things into account.

Australia ranks 11th highest and NZ is 24th highest.  On a Purchasing Power Parity basis, Australia drops to 21st and NZ drops to 35th.  Hmm.

But pure dollar comparisons don’t take into account ‘quality of life’, which for many is as important if not more so.

by Roger Childs

Today’s Wellness Budget takes seriously the need for a step-change in the way we support the wellbeing of New Zealand Children. —Children’s Commissioner, Andrew Beecroft

“Wellbeing” in line with the Left’s traditional approach

It was heralded as a “Wellbeing Budget” and the Ardern government has delivered one. Even though they lacked the courage to signal a capital gains tax, Labour has addressed many of the social issues that National neglected in its recent nine years in office. Of course, there are spokespeople from various interest groups saying “not enough!”, but others are using words like “ timely” and “ highly appropriate”.

(Emmerson/NZ Herald)

Since the 1890s, Liberal and Labour governments have pushed out the ship of state and initiated most of the economic, financial, cultural and social reforms which we take for granted today. Then the conservative parties coming into power have accepted the changes and played to their farming, big business and banking constituency. One exception to this acceptance, was PM Muldoon’s short sighted, knee-jerk rejection of the Third Labour Government’s Super Fund which, if left intact, would have made us one of the world’s richest countries per capita.

A budget which tackles social issues

Grant Robertson’s second budget may turn out to be one of the most significant in our history.

The cornerstone is lessening social disparities and reducing family poverty. Indexing benefits to wage rises has long been mooted and will now become reality. Furthermore, allowing people at the lower end of the social spectrum to earn more before allowances are affected will increase the incentive to find work. Moving to end school ‘donations’ will also help cash-strapped parents who struggle to cover the costs of sending their kids to school properly fed, clothed and resourced. There is also a big funding boost for children in state care and additional spending on improving education and health infrastructure, as well as measures to reduce homelessness, will also help in the battle to reduce inequalities.

The $1.5 billion mental health package is great news. It is not a ‘silver bullet’, but the increased funding and resourcing in this crucial sector will address the significant problems New Zealand has across the social spectrum and hopefully lead to a reduction in our appalling suicide rate.

Other welcome measures are the $1 billion for KiwiRail and the $229 million to start the long overdue clean-up of waterways and wetlands. The 25-year+ neglect of our rail network has been a disgrace and the proposed improvements will hopefully encourage greater use of this established infrastructure for moving freight and possibly reduce big truck road congestion.

The National Party may protest about the likely slowing of economic growth, but this is line with world-wide trends and would have happened regardless of who was in power. Labour has in fact delivered a highly responsible budget. As well as addressing a wide range of social, cultural and environmental needs, it will keep the national debt low and deliver surpluses.

However, as we know, predicting the future is an inexact science and the only certainties in life are death and taxes. The weather, natural hazards, global financial markets and the incompetent maverick in the White House may yet upset the Kiwi apple cart.

See the first post on this theme for more.

“Future Air Surveillance Capability: Boeing P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft
$273.8 million operating, $1.7 billion capital. This initiative enables the continuance of air surveillance, resource protection, and search and rescue services. Funding buys four Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.”

Could not satellites achieve that and be a lot cheaper?

There are plenty of comments that could be made about Jacinda & Co.’s Budget delivered yesterday, and are being made by others, but this was one of the stark contrasts.

And of course, there’s $168 million allocated for the buy-up of the semi-automatic rifles that Jacinda & Co. rushed to ban in April.

National Party leader Simon Bridges says that it will actually cost over $500 million. The problem for him and his party is that they supported Jacinda & Co.’s knee-jerk reactionary ban — a blatant betrayal of what they had told people in their 2017 manifesto. Tut, tut.

Who else thinks that money should have instead been provided to build proper shelters for the homeless?

by Ralph McAllister

Great times at the Auckland Writer’s Festival

It was a wonderful day last week when I attended the Auckland Writers Festival and had the huge pleasure of listening and meeting two of my favourite authors, John Boyne (left above) and Markus Zusak (right).

Each spent an hour enthralling capacity audiences of over 2000 readers with their stories about their latest works, Bridge of Clay and A Ladder to the Sky.

It is no secret that both were my Best of the Year novels in 2018.

What did surprise me was the skill, the wit, the erudition of these men and their modesty.

Offers not taken up!

I suggested to Zusak that if he got sick of writing he could have a career as an actor.

I offered Boyne a beer at his signing session.

Both overtures were rejected, gently.

But Boyne did say in his blog later that he had never had a beer placed in front of him at a signing before!

The other frisson came as I realised that all the people milling around in the foyers were there, not for a football match, but because of books, because of reading.

Auckland was again responsible for this yearly event which now ranks as one of the world’s best.

Fascists in England not treated well

Meanwhile, two fictions emanating from real life.

After the Party by Cressida Connolly takes us to the world of Our Leader in 30’s England.

Phyllis has returned from overseas and is adjusting to life with her family.

Her sisters (shades of the Mitfords) invite her to a summer camp of the Great Britain First movement. Our Leader is, of course, Oswald Mosley. Sorry, Sir Oswald Mosley.

When the war began, collaborators or seeming sympathisers were not treated too kindly by the British government.

The subsequent catastrophes which befall Phyllis are described in painful bewilderment by her older self.

Beautifully written this is at once a social history of the times and a rattling good story.

Highly recommended.

Survival in Revolutionary France

Little by Edward Carey is told in the first person by the woman who became Madame Tussaud. It is a gripping story of survival in revolutionary Paris of the eighteenth century.

Marie grows up learning about drawing, anatomy, wax and people. She survives, despite the daily evidence of horror and chaos in the streets.

Try to obtain the beautifully presented hardback edition with its superb illustrations, a joy to hold and admire.

Years ago I lived for a while in the apartment above Madame Tussaud’s in Amsterdam.

Walking through the dimly lit deserted museum after a night out was fun, as we said goodnight to Hitler and Pope John and others who took our inebriated fancy.

What memories!

“Put your thinking cap on. How much oil do you think this whalepot would hold? Worked it out? Then come into the Kapiti Coast Museum in Elizabeth Street any time between 1-4 pm any Friday, Saturday, Sunday in June and July to see the whalepot and fill in your entry form in the Great Museum Whalepot Competition.”

It’s not specified what winners will get, but, “There will be prizes in primary and secondary school student and adult categories. The winner will be announced and prizes presented at 3 pm on Sunday July 28 at the Museum.”

Good news for cricket fans and and even if you’re not in balmy English weather ( 🙂 ) you can follow it all on the Sports channels! In this tournament there’s even a team from Afghanistan.

The full schedule of matches is on this website

A letter circulating on social media yesterday which confirms 460 teachers earn less than the minimum wage.  Someone asked, “How many are on the minimum wage? If there are 460 below, I’d guess there are plenty more on or just above (and I mean cents above) the minimum wage. And how can we as a nation justify paying so little to people preparing the next generation?”

What does Jacinda, who gets nearly $500,000 a year from taxpayers, think about that?  She probably doesn’t — too busy setting up the next photo-op.