Johnty

S&P downgrades 18 councils, blaming Govt S&P cuts 18 council debt ratings by one notch with another cut possible for Dunedin & Wellington; S&P cites new Government's abrupt reversal of 3 Waters, cuts to capital grants & new unfunded mandates

The Government’s push to reduce its own borrowing to lower borrowing costs for all is backfiring because it turns out pushing costs and debt out and on to councils in an abrupt and chaotic way has just forced S&P to cut 18 council debt ratings. 1/4 thekaka.substack.com/p/s-and-p-do...

Grim from the latest Westpac-McDermott Miller survey of consumer confidence in NZ:
"Only two in ten men and fewer than one in ten women expect good economic times in New Zealand over the next year."
That's going into an election year.

"I don't believe that the government should be involved in casino gambling." - Minister Brooke van Velden

The same minister selling 15 online gambling licenses to mostly overseas operators.

#BreathtakingHypocrisy

Public health doctors say Simeon Brown is meddling in the submissions they can make and it's having a "chilling effect".

Doctors and health experts should be free to do their job without being micro-managed by Simeon Brown.

Dire climate report lays out records for ocean heat, shrinking ice cover Each of the past eight years has set a new record for ocean heat and ice cover is shrinking to new lows, the State of the Global Climate Report says.

Latest report from World Meteorological Organisation shows climate change is continuing to get worse. Yet many Govts, including NZ, are rolling back climate policies. This is grossly immoral . www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Breaking: Luxon/Willis full of crap on debt.

No free lunch in overseas investment (not even a late or inedible one) Comment: In its eagerness to be busy and open to business, the Government invites not mutually beneficial trades but investment ram-raids, writes Rob Campbell

Rob Campbell, Bernard Hickey, Simon Wilson and Craig Renney all warning us about the hidden costs in PPPs compared to cheaper govt investment.

In short it's debt for our grandkids.

No free lunch in overseas investment (not even a late or inedible one) #nzpol
newsroom.co.nz/2025/03/17/n...

#BHN Can someone explain to me how Brian Tamaki is not also sitting in the dock beside his church members as his incitement to the violence seems crystal clear?

This is from his 'sermon' the day after the event

More tonight at 9pm
#nzpol @chewienz.bsky.social

"at absolutely no point will I ever ever do anything to oppose Trump. Did you know I have a book out?"

🚨🚨🚨
So we're hitting the crisis point, with the apparent defiance or evasion of court orders on deportations and immigration, plus shutting down agencies, cancelling grants, and firing civil servants contrary to existing law. And claims from DOJ that Article II of the Constitution enables autocracy.

Good lord #nzpol thespinoff.co.nz/politics/17-...

Act Party leader David Seymour said while there is “an element of truth” that the University of Auckland is independent and can do what it wants, he intends to “appoint better people” to the university council who he said have the “ultimate say”.

Seymour said he was frustrated the university hadn’t ”quite got the memo that the people changed the government”.

I dunno man I kind of think threatening to make political appointees to a university specifically to axe courses you disagree with is, in fact, the exact opposite of academic freedom but, you know, I’m not a learned free speech advocate like you so what do I know.

www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/david-sey...

PPPs are more expensive, slower & riskier than Govt DIY Luxon pitches for “tens of billions” of pension funds for motorways, prisons & hospitals, but the deals are too small or infrequent to garner interest; PPPs are also poor value for money for taxpayers

The Government’s PPP drive ignores that they cost twice as much as Govt-funded projects, they’re often late, fiendishly complicated, beset by litigation & vulnerable to public bailouts. The projects themselves are mostly lucky to generate BCRs >1, even without accounting for climate & health cost.

A reminder to Kirikirora people that in the weeks following the Christchurch shootings, it was patched-up Mob members who stood guard over the mosque here in Claudelands. And they were very welcome at the time.

A rare misstep from Simeon Brown, Ayesha Verrall exposing an utter pothole in the Health funding #NZPol

#Resisters

@bluewavesurfer.bsky.social
@indivisiblebaltoco.bsky.social
@mindy25.bsky.social
@vviper420.bsky.social
@imamad24.bsky.social
@funkynewt.bsky.social
@jpp197187.bsky.social
@mommio.bsky.social
@tikifire.bsky.social
@thegoodadoptee.bsky.social
@elliot-hanes.bsky.social

Yep. He could stand up to them in cabinet not give them a space for promoting division and gun reform.

Luxon says NZ must confront forces that led to mosque attacks on the sixth anniversary Prime Minister says the country must continue to confront the forces which led to the deadly attacks on 15 March 2019.

a member of HIS government, called a Keffiyah a "terrorist tea towel"...not a peep from him then, so maybe there is a place eh luxo
the government he leads is also trying to loosen our gun laws, at the behest of the of the gun lobbyist that is part of his government

www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Surgeon warns NZ could be heading towards ‘Americanisation’ of health system Dr Phil Bagshaw says the Government’s plan to use private investment to fund public health infrastructure could lead to one of the “most inefficient and most expensive” health systems in the world.

"We'll end up with a system like the United States, which is the most inefficient and the most expensive in the whole world.”

www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/3606...

Labour’s lead grows over National in latest poll The new poll shows a Chris Hipkins-led coalition would govern if an election was held today, but Christopher Luxon says the public will be able to judge his record next year.

There's that Talbot Mills on Friday, just like I said it'd drop. National at 31%, Labour at 34% www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360...

may they all RIP

& the sad thing is even the good people of bsky were saying “oh this isn’t true, they’re not this bad”.

RACIST stamp over Simeon Brown's face

Officials have said this will save the lives of 111 Māori & Pasifka people & you decide to go against official advice.

I'm sorry the only word for that is...

Muslim community fears more mass shootings if gun laws rolled back More people will die in mass shootings if firearms restrictions are rolled back, members of the Muslim community say.

As we approach the anniversary of March 15 it is important to remember that one of the things to come out of that was that lawmakers came together and banned high powered semiautomatic weapons. Only the ACT Party voted against it.

www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Winston's war on woke moves into the classroom The NZ First leader has claimed victory as sex-ed guidelines are removed, while the Opposition says his focus on diversity and relationships imitates the US president.

Our Govt is using Trump-like tactics to score points by targetting our kids. Poor quality school lunches. Attempts to shutdown student protests. Demanding kids attend 100% regardless of health.
And now? Removing up-to-date info on sex/gender/consent education. #nzpol
www.stuff.co.nz/politics/360...

A safe haven that blows $800 million ship building contracts 🧐

Screenshot of a NZ Herald story that reads "Sobering. Government books sink further into the red than expected" over an image of failed finance minister Nicola Willis

Are we back on track yet? #nzpol

‘Socialist agenda’: US family selling NZ farm after losing dispute with council Curt and Tricia Zant, who moved to New Zealand in 2015, are selling up after losing an argument with the local council over “liberty” and property rights.

A classic of the genre: 'I love the people, I love the culture, I love the land' but also 'I moved here to here to change the country and bend your laws to my will and ideology'

www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/3606...

Imagine getting up in the morning and thinking "Today I'm going to make life worse for the lowest paid people in Aotearoa, because then rich people will ask me to join their think-tanks."