Archive
Life in Lock Down: Day 31 & 32
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April 25: Day 31 of living in lock-down…
It’s ANZAC Day. I was planning to get up early to stand outside… but didn’t wake up till much later. I guess that’s my body telling me it had other plans (mostly involving rest).
It’s another work-day so prep accordingly and hit the road. It’s reassuring that there are no cars at the nearby Park N Ride. With it being a fine, sunny summer-like day, it will not bode well if people decide to flock to parks and beaches.
And traffic did appear to be slightly heavier than during the week. Which meant people were making the most of a fine Saturday/ANZAC Day to get out and drive somewhere. Not good.
In the harbour, the red freighter was still sitting where it had first been spotted;
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It seems a double-standard that the crew of the freighter are expected to be in quarantine whilst flight crew on Air New Zealand flights are exempt from the same protocols.
Traffic around the Terrace Tunnel was definitely busier than during the working week (such as it is).
Queues at Chaffer Street New World stretched around the block. Good personal distancing on the footpath. Though as my experience at other supermarkets showed, people struggled to maintain that distancing in the aisles. Some forgot; others couldn’t care less.
Both beaches at Oriental Bay were largely deserted;
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Campervans at the Evans Bay Marina carpark had changed; some had gone; others had arrived.
Question; do these campervans have GPS tracking? If so, the companies leasing these vehicles should be able to determine when they are on the road, flouting lock-down.
Meantime, in another example of lazy thinking mixed with self-entitlement, the owners of Black Sands Lodge seem unable to understand what lock-down and stay at home means in simple english;
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The Lodge owners asserted,
Owners of an Auckland lodge offering a “get-away” escape during alert level 3 say they are well within their rights to do so because they are an essential service.
More like taking-the-piss.
Businesses that are scrupulously respecting the lock-down and suffering because of lost income must be spitting with fury at outfits like Black Sands Lodge and it’s owners.
When I start taking holidays again (and by Thor, I need one), it won’t be at Black Sands Lodge. Like, ever.
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Current covid19 cases: 1,461
Cases in ICU: 1
Number of deaths: 18
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April 26: Day 32 of living in lock-down…
Day of from work. But housework remains; dust and dirty laundry wait for no man, woman, or virus.
It’s still lock-down so I stay home. Though I wonder if I’m the only bugger doing it. Glancing out the window, my neighbours (couple in their late 20s) are loading up their car with household items, including what looks like camping gear. At around 1pm they drive off.
It’s the 1pm daily announcement; there are nine new cases but mercifully no deaths.
The couple return about an hour later. They’ve dropped of the items to god-knows-where.
On Radio NZ, epidemiologist Michael Baker answers questions from listeners. Thankfully, RNZ has weeded out the more gormless ones from conspiracy theorists nutcases and the question and answer session is productive.
The issue of Sweden’s light-handed approach to the pandemic is raised. Sweden has opted for no lock-down and instead left it to individuals to keep themselves safe. It’s a libertarian’s masterbatory wet-dream.
Swedes are paying for their light-handed approach in blood. According to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center global data-base, as at 5.00PM on 26 April, their death toll stands at 2,192;
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Sweden’s population is approximately ten million, just a little over twice Aotearoa New Zealand’s. But the death toll from covid19 is nearly 122 times ours.
There those who would makes excuses that such a death toll is a worthwhile price to pay to open up the economy again. The usual refrain is that fatalities are mostly amongst the old who would be dead anyway soon from old age and/or age-related causes.
Which is untrue, as covid19 also kills younger people. The youngest, to date, was a six week old baby.
A lax approach demands a high price which will be paid by others than mercenary capitalists, and their political puppets, who are desperate to see consumers spending their dollars again.
It’s ironic that the cries of over-reaction by critics to the government-mandated lock-down are able to do so only because that lock-down has been (relatively) successful. When idiots like David Seymour assert;
“That really I think is not quite right. I think the risk posed by the virus is not as great as it was sold to us.
The Prime Minister said tens of thousands of people would die if we do nothing. I don’t think there was any plausible scenario given what we know now about the virus in general – especially in New Zealand – where that would happen.
If we know that the virus was not as bad as we thought, and the lockdown is worse than we thought, then the right thing to do is to actually change the balance between the lockdown measures and the virus.”
— they are playing with people’s lives for political gain (votes).
And when populist, right-leaning media such as Newstalk ZB misrepresent statements from experts;
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— then it compounds confusion in the public mind.
In fact, Dr Wiles did not say “NZ is unlikely to see a coronavirus outbreak“.
Within the text of the article, beneath the staggeringly misleading headline, her actual statements are published;
Auckland University’s Siouxsie Wiles says we are likely to see cases here due to the high number of overseas cases, but told Mike Hosking the number of cases is likely to be limited.
“We don’t have the same population density and when small number of cases come in, they can be easily isolated and stopped.”
The misleading headline has been quoted ad nauseum by right–winger trolls on social media who have either not read the actual text of the article, or have willfully exploited the lie to sow uncertainty. (Many of the trolls are pathologically misogynistic in their smears against Dr Wiles.)
When government hands out taxpayer’s dollars to prop up the msm, I hope they by-pass NewstalkZB. A media company that peddles outright lies is not fit to survive.
With nine new cases in Aotearoa New Zealand, the question begs to be asked; where and how are transmissions taking place? We have passed through two cycles of transmission/symptomatic of the virus. How is it being spread?
If, as I suspect, people are breaking their ‘bubbles’, then they should be held to account. They are holding the entire country to ransom.
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Current covid19 cases: 1,470
Cases in ICU: 1
Number of deaths: 18
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References
Day 31
Fairfax/Stuff media: Beach lodge offers discount ‘get-away’ accommodation during coronavirus Alert Level 3
RNZ: Covid-19 update 25 April – Five new cases, one death
Day 32
RNZ: NZ’s responses to Covid-19 and polio vastly different
RNZ: Time will tell on Sweden’s relaxed approach to Covid-19
Mediaworks/Newshub: Coronavirus – Six-week-old US baby youngest to die with COVID-19
Mediaworks/Newshub: Siouxsie Wiles claps back at David Seymour’s claim coronavirus risk ‘not as big as it was sold’
NewstalkZB: Siouxsie Wiles on NZ is unlikely to see a coronavirus outbreak
Twitter: @JintyMcGinty35
Twitter: @miscreantinc
RNZ: Covid-19 – Nine more cases, no new deaths
Must Read
Democracy Now: Madrid’s Ice Rink Turned to Morgue as Spain Exceeds China in Coronavirus Deaths
The Independent: Is Sweden having second thoughts on lockdown?
The Out And Abouter: Reached For Comment, Coronavirus Says It’s Also Very In Favour Of Reopening The Economy Immediately
Elemental: Hold the Line
Other Blogs
Resource
Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center
Previous related blogposts
The Warehouse – where everyone gets a virus
Life in Lock Down: Day 7 (sanitised version)
Life in Lock Down: Day 8 (sanitised version)
Life in Lock Down: Day 16 – Bad Friday
Life in Lock Down: Day 22 – Is that a light at the end of a four week long tunnel?!
Life in Lock Down: Day 24 & 25
Life in Lock Down: Day 27 – and it’s been a shit day
Life in Lock Down: Day 28 – An Open Letter to Prime Minister Ardern
Life in Lock Down: Day 29 & 30
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Acknowledgement: Royston
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This blogpost was also published on The Daily Blog on 27 April 2020.
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Life in Lock Down: Day 22 – Is that a light at the end of a four week long tunnel?!
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April 16: Day 22 of living in lock-down…
Fifteen new cases reported today, definitely a downward trend. Best of all, no further deaths. Our government and our Prime Minister are on the right track.
Meanwhile, Barry Soper has joined a small, select group of foolish people (predominantly middle aged, privileged white men) who continue to belittle the government’s efforts – and considerable success – to contain and eliminate covid19. I won’t link to his Herald article. But suffice it to say he has joined a tiny, irrelevant-but-noisy clique of ‘cup-a-soup’ instant-experts who whinge that our success at containing the virus indicates our leaders “went to far”.
It indicates no such thing.
It demonstrates that our leaders did what they were supposed to. Unlike the Orange Moron who squats in the White House’s Oval Office, who rails against others; blaming them for the disaster over-taking the United States, and refusing to accept responsibility for his gross ineptitude.
These armchair experts point to Australia and Sweden as models we should have copied.
Let’s look at Australia and Sweden, and compare to Aotearoa New Zealand;
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Australia’s population is five times ours – but their death rate is seven times higher.
Sweden, which opted for no lock-down (and may now be regretting it) has a population a little over twice ours – but their covid19 death toll is a staggering 134 times ours.
Which underscores the craziness of critics with agendas and armchair “experts” who claim Aotearoa New Zealand “over-reacted”. This graph – whilst not 100% scientific, is still a bloody accurate illustration of wilful human absurdity;
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Acknowledgement: @gdinwiddie
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Whatever garbage Barry Soper, Mike Hosking, Gareth Morgan, Simon Bridges, “Dr” Simon Thornley, et al, are peddling does not gel with the reality that our death rate is inarguably lower than Australia’s or Sweden’s.
In an exercise of bizarre reverse-logic, they have confused our success rate with the notion that we “over reacted”. Without doubt our low death rate is a result of considered measures based on sound science and mathematics.
If our lower death rate is a “failure”, I look forward to celebrating a “failure” rate of zero new infections and zero deaths.
New Zealanders can count themselves fortunate we have the steady leadership of Prime Minister Ardern to guide us through this crisis.
Now imagine if Barry Soper, Mike Hosking, Gareth Morgan, Simon Bridges, and “Dr” Simon Thornley were in charge. No, I don’t want to either.
No details of any travel around the Hutt Valley and Wellington – today was a sick day spent at home.
But I did get the opportunity to watch Prime Minister Ardern’s 1pm public address this afternoon. Then RNZ’s Checkpoint. Unfortunately, what followed next were the usual gormless questions and whining; “Why can’t I go hunting if they can go swimming? Why can’t I leave my bubble to go live in my other home? Can I hug my mum? Why can’t my [insert business here] open?Why can’t I XYZ?”
Up till now I never realised just how childishly whiney some supposed adults can be. Even teenagers would roll their eyes in exasperation. A zombie apocalypse starts to look like a refreshing, welcome change.
Personally, I doubt if we should be faffing around with jumping from Level to Level. For one thing it breeds confusion. The gormless questions read out by Lisa Owen on Checkpoint is plenty of proof of that. Secondly, it is hard to enforce. Level Four was more back and white. Level Three-Plus has a wide-ranging gray area.
We should stick to Level Four and drive this damnable virus to extinction (hey, it’s us or It!); and then come off the Level System entirely. That would provide more certainty. And drive Hosking, Soper, Bridges, Seymour, Thornley, et al, into fits of apoplexy. (Payback for having to hear/listen to their ignorant witterings over the last three weeks.)
Let’s hope our esteemed PM and her team know what they’re doing.
After which we can look at re-building what’s left of the economy; holding a Commission of Inquiry (not for blame-gaming but to see how we can do better next time); and reform welfare and/or implement a UBI. We had to do too much ad hoc tinkering to the welfare system as it groaned under the burden of thousands losing their jobs.
Though on the positive side, a whole bunch of middle class folk suddenly discovered that welfare was not the “luxury lifestyle” many right-wing pundits and polis have lied about.
The other issue for a Commission is to look at how well prepared our health sector was. I believe we got through this not by studious pandemic-planning by Higher-Ups, but by the sheer guts and initiative shown by health workers on the ground. And while we’re about it, let’s look into DHBs. Some of their behaviour needs scrutiny.
All too early, as yet, but after the crisis is over there will remain much work to do.
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Postscript:
Also agitating to open up our economy; this character. I’m guessing a bit of self-interest involved?!
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Current covid19 cases: 1,401
Cases in ICU: 3 (2 critical)
Number of deaths: 9
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References
The Independent: Is Sweden having second thoughts on lockdown?
RNZ: Fifteen new cases of Covid-19 in NZ, no further deaths
Must Read
Democracy Now: Madrid’s Ice Rink Turned to Morgue as Spain Exceeds China in Coronavirus Deaths
The Independent: Is Sweden having second thoughts on lockdown?
The Out And Abouter: Reached For Comment, Coronavirus Says It’s Also Very In Favour Of Reopening The Economy Immediately
Elemental: Hold the Line
Other Blogs
Previous related blogposts
The Warehouse – where everyone gets a virus
Life in Lock Down: Day 7 (sanitised version)
Life in Lock Down: Day 8 (sanitised version)
Life in Lock Down: Day 16 – Bad Friday
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Acknowledgement: Rod Emmerson
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This blogpost was also published on The Daily Blog on 17 April 2020.
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Can we afford to have “a chat on food in schools”?
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1. We’ve had the ‘chat’
We should all know the facts and stats by now;
In 2006/07 230,000, or 22 percent, of New Zealand children were still living in poverty. That is, in households with incomes below the 60 percent median income poverty line, after taking housing costs into account. This is more than the entire population of North Shore City (205,605) or the Manawatu-Wanganui region (222,423) and means one adult and one child were living on $430 a week before housing costs. (see: Brief Statistics on Child Poverty in New Zealand 2004-2008)
By 2011/12, approximately 270,000, or 25%, of New Zealand children were living in poverty. (see: Solutions to Child Poverty)
A recent UNICEF report placed New Zealand amongst the worst in developed countries for child wellbeing, ranking us 25th out of 34 developed countries. We are now behind Australia and Britain also for homicide rates, child health, and safety. (See: NZ ranked poorly on child welfare)
The same UNICEF report rated our country third for clean air and fourth for children’s education outcomes in reading, maths, science and literacy. I’m sure clean air and high achievements in readin’, writin’, ‘n ‘rithmetic, will mean a lot to young chldren going to school with empty bellies… (Note sarcasm.)
In 2011, Dennis McKinlay, executive director at Unicef New Zealand, said,
“New Zealand currently spends US$14,600 ($17,500) per child whilst, in comparison, Scandinavian countries spend US$50,000 per child under six. Other countries, like the Netherlands, spend less but have better outcomes. The stark reality is that poor outcomes for children are costing New Zealand $6 billion per year in areas such as health, welfare services, crime and justice.”
Acknowledgement: NZ Herald – Study: Quarter of NZ kids in poverty
McKinlay was 100% on the mark when he said spending on children should not be considered as a social cost but as an economic investment for the future of the country.
We have lost our moral compass when we demand tax cuts ahead of good policies that benefit our children.
The situation is so dire for many families that their households are often empty of food. After rent, power, and other fixed costs are taken out of their meagre incomes, there is simply not much left for discretionary spending on things like food, medication, clothing, etc.
As a blogger, “Burnt out Teacher” (Amanda Kennedy), recently wrote on The Daily Blog,
“You have $440 dollars after tax from your minimum wage job. $290 of it goes on your rent. You have $150 left. You pay $198 towards your power bill. Your car needs registering at a cost of $290.97. You owe Watercare $58.20 for last month. You need at least $15 of petrol to get to the doctor and back (the doctor will cost another $20 per child) because your children have asthma and your house is damp and cold. Both kids need new shoes for winter. Your boyfriend just beat you up. You are crying. How much debt are you in, and what are your kids going to eat today? ”
Acknowledgement: The Daily Blog – Hungry Kids Annoy Frazzled Lobby Group Director
To those who care enough, I encourage you to read “Burnt out Teacher’s” full blogpost. It makes for sobering reading.
2. More ‘chat’?
On 7 May, Children’s Commissioner, Dr Russell Wills, wrote an op-ed piece for the Dominion Post;
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Acknowledgement: The Dominion Post – Time for a chat on food in schools
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As Dr Wills said,
“ We need solutions that recognise the many complex causes of child hunger and poverty if we are to use the limited resources we have to make a real difference to children’s education and health outcomes.
Blaming parents is unhelpful and simplistic.”
So far, so good.
However, in the next sentence from Dr Wills gave cause for concern,
“ I am not a fan of overseas models of fully state-funded school cafeterias. They tend to provide poor food, assume state responsibility for a parent’s role, create dependence, cost a lot of money that could be better spent elsewhere, take up school management time, and provide no role for parents, business or community organisations.”
Dr Wills may or may not realise that by issuing the statement that “fully state-funded school cafeterias… tend to provide poor food, assume state responsibility for a parent’s role, create dependence…” – he is perpetuating several unhealthy prejudices which the politically rightwing and conservative religious groups use to oppose food in schools for children.
Namely the extremist neo-conservative group, the so-called “Family First”, which also stated,
“ It also creates a dependence on a service which may not always be able to be provided…
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It also creates a dependence on a service which may not always be able to be provided.”
Acknowledgement: “Family First’: Food In Schools Will Feed The Problem
Hopefully it is a mere coincidence that Dr Wills’ comments seem to mirror the extremist views of “Family First”.
Where Dr Wills’ op-ed piece falls down is his proposals for how to provide food in schools. Dr Wills proposed that schools be responsible for growing their own food, and to operate in partnerships with businesses. He promoted philanthropy rather than state intervention.
I asked for feedback from the principals of two low decile schools, and from Bryan Bruce, documentary-maker, child poverty campaigner, and producer of the documentary, “Inside Child Poverty“, on Dr Wills’ proposals.
I first asked all three; having read Dr Wills’ op-ed piece, “Time for a chat on food in schools”, what was their overall view on the points he had made?
“The points he makes are quite valid. I think he is right that we do need a different approach to the way cafeteria type models run overseas. NZ general has its main meal in the evening – however in saying that these children often only eat what they are given at school and don’t eat much in the evening. To form a group to look into the best way to supply food is a good idea.”
“ Overall, his comments are generally valid and his suggested solutions have merit – but only if you regard the solutions as short-term solutions. The real solution to child poverty is for structural changes to NZ society and changed government policies, particularly ensuring a decent living income for all. With this approach, all families would be able to afford the food, afford the time to put into their kids (not working 2 jobs, or working early morning shifts, etc). Education for parents to help with budgeting, cooking, etc would also fill a gap. Without this approach, the proposed solutions rely on businesses, charities, and schools.”
“ I am not a fan of overseas models of fully state-funded school cafeterias. They tend to provide poor food, assume state responsibility for a parent’s role, create dependence, cost a lot of money that could be better spent elsewhere, take up school management time, and provide no role for parents, business or community organisations.”
“ I think he is right. We need to look for a nutritious alternative that does not take school time – we are there to provide education not food. The food needs to be provided by an independent source that is reliable.”
“ I worked in UK schools for 4 years from 1999-2002, and saw the ‘school dinners’ (lunches) programme in operation. I don’t know about the cost to the authorities, but I don’t think it took up much school management time. The food quality was variable, but this is easily changed with the right will, as showed by Jamie Oliver’s crusade to make school dinners healthy.”
“ You can find good and bad examples of state funded cafeterias. So we know how bad it could be – let’s regulate the process from the start and model ourselves on the best ones – like the one I visited in Sweden . It is in a migrant area and the food was nutritious, tasty and much enjoyed by the kids .”
My next point; Dr Wills suggested that, “in some schools parents and whanau are encouraged to help garden, harvest veges, cook and serve the food. This teaches gardening and cooking skills, and helps build relationships between parents, whanau and teachers”
“This is a glorious hope – but it wont work in the long term. Yes it is great to grow veges and encourage parents to be involved but this won’t supply the lunches everyday. The parents are not reliable enough to turn up everyday and make lunch – for it to work properly it needs to be a commercial venture. Schools have to have a fully guaranteed liunch programme everyday that they don’t need to worry about.”
“Great if it works. Problems include vandalism to gardens, and difficulty to have parents regularly available. Yes it may help with relationships but not necessarily – relationship are better built over students’ education.”
“While I think its a very good idea to teach kids how to grow food, but the idea of sustaining a school food programme on a grow your own basis would take up most of the playing fields and leave the kids with little time for anything else .”
I then asked, is this practical practical in the short term? Long term? Would gardening, harvesting veges, cooking and serving the food be more time consuming than the provision of fully state-funded school meals? Where would vegetables be cooked?
“I have no idea where the food would be cooked on a large scale. You have to employ people who have the skills to provide food on a large scale everyday. We would have nowhere at present that you could cook or eat on a large scale.”
“I believe it would be [more time consuming than the provision of fully state-funded school meals].
With the UK school dinners, the schools have commercial kitchens. This school [Taita Central School] certain doesn’t have the necessary kitchen facilities.”
“Food is a fundamental health need. Let’s put in the Swedish model – full time caterers and school restaurants. This will create jobs, ( for chefs, cooks, builders) which will stimulate our economy, reduce our health spend on crisis care for obese, diabetic and future adults with dodgy hearts.”
Dr Wills further claimed that, “teachers involve students in the growing, harvesting and preparation of the food, so the programme is linked to learning goals. In many cases NGOs partner schools and businesses to provide the programme.”
Is a Public Private Partnership a desirable proposal? Or reliance on a a current ideological fad?
Does reliance on “teachers involve students in the growing, harvesting and preparation of the food” take students away from an already packed curriculum and place more demands on teachers and other staff?
“Teachers do not have time to do this on the scale that is needed to feed the whole school. Being out in the sunshine gardening is lovely – but what about winter!!! We won’t get to National Standards in Reading, Writing, and Maths if we are out gardening all day. To have small class gardens that we have where children grow vegetables and take them home is great and teaches the skills of growing food but this won’t work on an everyday basis to feed everyone.”
To Dr Wills suggestion that “teachers involve students in the growing, harvesting and preparation of the food, so the programme is linked to learning goals. In many cases NGOs partner schools and businesses to provide the programme” – Mike Fackney responded,
“This is fine, but not something which can really continue on an on-going basis, particularly with all the other expectations the government has on schools.”
And when asked “Is a Public Private Partnership a desirable proposal? Or reliance on a a current ideological fad?” – he replied,
“It’s never really a desirable proposal for schools to rely on private support.”
Bryan Bruce was even less enthusiastic at Dr Wills’ proposals,
“We seem to be going back to the 19th Century idea of relying on charities and volunteers to look after the poor. Haven’t we learned anything ?
In my view it’s like this – teachers are not hired to be caterers. They are doing it out of compassion. Are we now asking them to be full time gardeners as well.”
Dr Wills also said ; “In many cases NGOs partner schools and businesses to provide the programme… It gives businesses an opportunity to give back to their communities, the cost to the taxpayer is reduced and the food is nutritious. Notice that these models leave responsibility for running and funding programmes with communities.”
He also states,
” However, I think there could be two potential roles for government funding. First, there is a place for a co-ordination role to bring together schools and businesses, and manage the programme and the workload for principals and business owners.
Second, there is an argument to match government funding to philanthropy on a sliding scale.
For example, $3 for every $1 raised in a decile 1 school, decreasing for better-off schools.
Matched funding like this encourages communities to build and own their own solutions, and incentivises businesses to give to their communities rather than replacing philanthropy with taxpayer funding, which has the opposite effect. Funding could be made available only to programmes that adhere to agreed standards, raising the quality of programmes. None of this requires legislative change.”
Dr Wills appears to be promoting a State/Philantropy Partnership policy. Is this a practical means by which to promote food in schools, or is it an abrogation of duties which should be the State’s responsibility on this issue?
What happens where businesses or private philantropy is not forthcoming – especially in poorer areas with high unemployment and few businesses? And would private businesses expect a quid pro quo, ie, advertising on school grounds?
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Photograph: Upper Hutt School, Upper Hutt
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“This again puts pressure on schools to spend time on activities other than teaching children!! There is no money in the community. $10 is alot of money in Cannons Creek. We do not charge more that $2 or $3 for a school trip and subsidise the rest with school money. We have no school fees and provide such things as sunhats, beanies, shoes, socks, etc ourselves. I think there needs to be further investigation into how poor is poor. It may only be small groups of decile 1 schools that need this support.”
To Dr Wills’s comment that “in many cases NGOs partner schools and businesses to provide the programme… It gives businesses an opportunity to give back to their communities, the cost to the taxpayer is reduced and the food is nutritious. Notice that these models leave responsibility for running and funding programmes with communities.”
Mike replies,
“A far easier way is that it’s organised through the taxation system (i.e. a fairer taxation system) and provided by government – as schools are.”
As for the rest of Dr Wills’ comments above, Mike says,
“All of this sounds like an organisation nightmare.”
“If we want to rebuild a fair an equitable society where every child gets a fair go you can’t have kids in poor schools gardening to grow their dinner while kids in rich schools get their lunch provided and spend their school time doing maths and reading. If the public school system does not treat every child equally (and it already isn’t) then watch the gap between the rich and the poor get bigger and bigger.”
Dr Wills also suggests that , “ … we need a small project to bring together schools, NGOs, officials and experts to reach a consensus on what food in schools done well looks like. From there we could develop guidelines and standards for food in schools programmes. ”
Is this a viable, necessary step? Or a case of “talking heads around a table” whilst the problem of hungry children goes unaddressed?
“This sounds like a great idea – count me in. If this is going to be addressed properly and a long term healthy solution found then it needs a focused approach. With the right people and funding it could move quite quickly.”
When I asked, can we afford Dr Wills’ suggestion “Maybe it’s time for a cup of tea on food in schools?“, Bryan Bruce was less than impressed,
“ Forget the cup of tea and the charity and poor kids being constant gardeners – let’s get on and feed our kids properly so the teachers are freed to do their job and our kids can learn the 21 st Century skills they will need to earn money, pay their taxes and grow our economy.”
Ruth also offered her thoughts on matters arising from Dr Wills’ ideas.
Questons such as; who cares and tends to the gardens during school holidays? Are school staff expected to tend to garden plots during holidays?
Ruth O’Neill
“I can tell you that the class gardens all go to seed over the xmas break and then it takes all of term 1 when the soil is rock hard to get them up and running again. Then in the winter they are like a bog!!! On any given weekend people will come into the grounds and trash them, throw alcohol and broken glass bottles in them. Urinate in them – would you want your child doing the gardening?? Or people steal the veges.”
What about schools that have little or no spare land for gardens?
“Exactly??? Or who have high vandalism.”
I then asked how much food can be grown to sustain anywhere from thirty to a few hundred school children in any given school? The respone from Ruth was fairly predictable,
“ You could not grow enough food to maintain the whole programme. It is also a question of having the right veges on the right day to make the soup or the sandwiches. You need lettuces and tomatoes everyday!!”
And of course the also-obvious question which I put to Ruth – what do children eat whilst crops are growing?
“Exactly – totally impractical unless it is on a massive commercial scale for a big group of schools and the funding to buy in produce when needed to supplement supplies.”
And is a “chat” really necessary – or is it time to Just Do It; to get on with feeding our children and leave the “conversation” to some other time? (It’s easy for middle class professionals to want to engage in public debate. Especially on a full belly.)
Ruth O’Neill
“It needs addressing and in a timely manner – the chat would need to lead to actions and funding.”
“All of the above are very valid concerns.”
This blogger concurs with Bryan, Ruth, and Mike; Dr Wills has suggested some positive ideas – but the prospect of turning our schools into vast agricultural plots to feed hungry child is simply not practical.
Children go to school, first and foremost, to learn.
Those children from low-income or impoverished families should not be made to become mini-farmers.
Teachers go to school, first and foremost, to teach.
They do not expect to add Farm Manager to their C.V.
Child poverty is here, in our country. Whilst right wing conservatives ‘tut-tut’ and wag their judgemental fingers at the problem (I refuse point-blank to call it an “issue”), children through no fault of their own are going hungry and their learning experience is diminished.
As a nation, it is almost as if we have embarked on a deliberate course of increasing poverty and ensuring the advent of the next generation of impoverished New Zealanders.
If that is our aim, then we are exceeding all expectations. The UNICEF report referred to above proves that poverty is a growth industry in this country.
The time for “chat” is over.
3. “Feed The Kids” Bill in Parliament – Chat with MPs
The Mana Party in Parliament has a Bill before the House. The bill is designed to fund nutritional breakfasts and lunches to all their students in decile 1 and 2 schools.
For more info, see: Feed the Kids Bill
As their website points out,
- Feeding the kids should be our first priority as a nation.
- The Bill aims to set up government funded breakfast and lunch programmes in all decile 1-2 schools.
- It’s a simple, easy and immediate way to address growing levels of child poverty in Aotearoa and has been a key recommendation of leading organisations such as the Children’s Commissioner’s Expert Advisory Group on Solutions to Child Poverty.
- The Bill is expected to come before Parliament for its first reading on Wednesday 5 June. So far Labour, Greens, Maori Party, NZ First, and Independent MP Brendan Horan have agreed to support it.
- We need one more vote to get it passed and to a select committee for further consideration.
One more vote.
That’s all it will take.
Accordingly, Documentary-maker and child poverty campaigner, Bryan Bruce, is encouraging people to write to all MPs, asking that they vote for the Bill. As Bryan wrote on his Facebook Page,
You’re 7 years old. It’s winter. You haven’t had breakfast and you’re hungry. What do you want to hear?
“Why doesn’t your Mum feed you in the morning? I hope you’re not going to grow up to be a bad parent like her?”
OR
“Hey! Here’s some Milo. There’s toast over there and weetbix , milk and fruit on the table. Help yourself.”
We can’t change tomorrow if we don’t do the right thing today.
Please contact your local MP and ask them to support the Feed The Kids Bill. You will find their email addresses here:
Bryan even suggests a pre-formatted letter to send,
Dear [or Kia ora] (name of MP)
My name is…………. I live in your electorate . I urge you to commit to cross- party talks on how to end Child Poverty in New Zealand.
Please begin by agreeing to Cross-Party discussions on how we can implement a policy of supplying healthy meals in schools and show good faith by supporting the Feed The Kids Bill as a first step.
Yours faithfully………
Even something as simple as,
Dear [or Kia ora] (name of MP)
Please support the Feed the Kids Bill. Nothing is as important as ensuring that all children have a decent chance in life.
Yours faithfully………
Or,
Dear [or Kia ora] (name of MP)
Please support the Feed the Kids Bill. This is so important to me that I’ll be basing my vote at the next election for those candidates/parties who support this Bill.
Yours faithfully………
The MPs email addresses,
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| Adams, Amy | National Party, Selwyn |
| Ardern, Jacinda | Labour Party, List |
| Ardern, Shane | National Party, Taranaki-King Country |
| Auchinvole, Chris | National Party, List |
| Bakshi, Kanwaljit Singh | National Party, List |
| Banks, John | ACT New Zealand, Epsom |
| Barry, Maggie | National Party, North Shore |
| Beaumont, Carol | Labour Party, List |
| Bennett, David | National Party, Hamilton East |
| Bennett, Paula | National Party, Waitakere |
| Blue, Jackie | National Party, List |
| Borrows, Chester | National Party, Whanganui |
| Bridges, Simon | National Party, Tauranga |
| Browning, Steffan | Green Party, List |
| Brownlee, Gerry | National Party, Ilam |
| Calder, Cam | National Party, List |
| Carter, David | National Party, List |
| Clark, David | Labour Party, Dunedin North |
| Clendon, David | Green Party, List |
| Coleman, Jonathan | National Party, Northcote |
| Collins, Judith | National Party, Papakura |
| Cosgrove, Clayton | Labour Party, List |
| Cunliffe, David | Labour Party, New Lynn |
| Curran, Clare | Labour Party, Dunedin South |
| Dalziel, Lianne | Labour Party, Christchurch East |
| Dean, Jacqui | National Party, Waitaki |
| Delahunty, Catherine | Green Party, List |
| Dunne, Peter | United Future, Ohariu |
| Dyson, Ruth | Labour Party, Port Hills |
| English, Bill | National Party, Clutha-Southland |
| Faafoi, Kris | Labour Party, Mana |
| Fenton, Darien | Labour Party, List |
| Finlayson, Christopher | National Party, List |
| Flavell, Te Ururoa | Maori Party, Waiariki |
| Foss, Craig | National Party, Tukituki |
| Genter, Julie Anne | Green Party, List |
| Gilmore, Aaron | National Party, List |
| Goff, Phil | Labour Party, Mt Roskill |
| Goldsmith, Paul | National Party, List |
| Goodhew, Jo | National Party, Rangitata |
| Graham, Kennedy | Green Party, List |
| Groser, Tim | National Party, List |
| Guy, Nathan | National Party, Otaki |
| Hague, Kevin | Green Party, List |
| Harawira, Hone | Mana, Te Tai Tokerau |
| Hayes, John | National Party, Wairarapa |
| Heatley, Phil | National Party, Whangarei |
| Henare, Tau | National Party, List |
| Hipkins, Chris | Labour Party, Rimutaka |
| Horan, Brendan | Independent, List |
| Hughes, Gareth | Green Party, List |
| Huo, Raymond | Labour Party, List |
| Hutchison, Paul | National Party, Hunua |
| Jones, Shane | Labour Party, List |
| Joyce, Steven | National Party, List |
| Kaye, Nikki | National Party, Auckland Central |
| Key, John | National Party, Helensville |
| King, Annette | Labour Party, Rongotai |
| King, Colin | National Party, Kaikoura |
| Lee, Melissa | National Party, List |
| Lees-Galloway, Iain | Labour Party, Palmerston North |
| Little, Andrew | Labour Party, List |
| Logie, Jan | Green Party, List |
| Lole-Taylor, Asenati | NZ First, List |
| Lotu-Iiga, Peseta Sam | National Party, Maungakiekie |
| Macindoe, Tim | National Party, Hamilton West |
| Mackey, Moana | Labour Party, List |
| Mahuta, Nanaia | Labour Party, Hauraki-Waikato |
| Mallard, Trevor | Labour Party, Hutt South |
| Martin, Tracey | NZ First, List |
| Mathers, Mojo | Green Party, List |
| McClay, Todd | National Party, Rotorua |
| McCully, Murray | National Party, East Coast Bays |
| McKelvie, Ian | National Party, Rangitikei |
| Mitchell, Mark | National Party, Rodney |
| Moroney, Sue | Labour Party, List |
| Ngaro, Alfred | National Party, List |
| Norman, Russel | Green Party, List |
| O’Connor, Damien | Labour Party, West Coast-Tasman |
| O’Connor, Simon | National Party, Tamaki |
| O’Rourke, Denis | NZ First, List |
| Parata, Hekia | National Party, List |
| Parker, David | Labour Party, List |
| Peters, Winston | NZ First, List |
| Prasad, Rajen | Labour Party, List |
| Prosser, Richard | NZ First, List |
| Robertson, Grant | Labour Party, Wellington Central |
| Robertson, Ross | Labour Party, Manukau East |
| Roche, Denise | Green Party, List |
| Ross, Jami-Lee | National Party, Botany |
| Roy, Eric | National Party, Invercargill |
| Ryall, Tony | National Party, Bay of Plenty |
| Sabin, Mike | National Party, Northland |
| Sage, Eugenie | Green Party, List |
| Shanks, Katrina | National Party, List |
| Sharples, Pita | Maori Party, Tamaki Makaurau |
| Shearer, David | Labour Party, Mt Albert |
| Simpson, Scott | National Party, Coromandel |
| Sio, Su’a William | Labour Party, Mangere |
| Smith, Nick | National Party, Nelson |
| Stewart, Barbara | NZ First, List |
| Street, Maryan | Labour Party, List |
| Tirikatene, Rino | Labour Party, Te Tai Tonga |
| Tisch, Lindsay | National Party, Waikato |
| Tolley, Anne | National Party, East Coast |
| Tremain, Chris | National Party, Napier |
| Turei, Metiria | Green Party, List |
| Turia, Tariana | Maori Party, Te Tai Hauauru |
| Twyford, Phil | Labour Party, Te Atatu |
| Upston, Louise | National Party, Taupo |
| Wagner, Nicky | National Party, Christchurch Central |
| Walker, Holly | Green Party, List |
| Wall, Louisa | Labour Party, Manurewa |
| Wilkinson, Kate | National Party, Waimakariri |
| Williams, Andrew | NZ First, List |
| Williamson, Maurice | National Party, Pakuranga |
| Woodhouse, Michael | National Party, List |
| Woods, Megan | Labour Party, Wigram |
| Yang, Jian | National Party, List |
| Young, Jonathan | National Party, New Plymouth |
.
I leave the final word to Bryan, from his Facebook page,
OK, let’s get some things straight about providing free healthy meals in schools.
1. First of all let’s decide on the principle before arguing about the detail.
Let’s admit there is a significant problem of children turning up to school hungry and that a lot of kids are eating low cost foods that contain a lot of sugar and fat , causing obesity , diabetes and long term health problems.
And at least get the Feed The Kids Bill to Parliamentary Select Committee. You can argue all you want about how it should be funded or what’s going to be on the menu there.
If you don’t think we have a community responsibility to feed children and/or educate their palates to healthy eating habits – then read no further it will only make you angry.
2. It doesn’t fill a hungry kids tummy to point at their parents and shout “Your problem is you have bad parents”. This page takes the view that kids don’t get to choose their parents and we have a community responsibility to ALL our kids to make sure they grow up healthy. And if that means feeding them for free- then that’s what we do.
3. No one is going to force feed any child food they don’t want to eat or is culturally inappropriate. If you watch the video below which I filmed in Sweden for the documentary you will see children from multi -cultural backgrounds CHOOSING their food. And Yes children with allergies are catered for and Yes children can still bring their own lunch prepared by the parents .
4.Free healthy school meals can be paid for without raising taxes. We just choose to re-distribute the existing pool of tax payer money and give up on some other things. Here are some suggestions, I’m sure you can think of other ways we could spend smarter.
(a) We could fund school meals out of the Health vote rather than the Education vote. In a document released under the Official Information Act I revealed that children under 14 receive 10% of the money set aside for health care. But children under 14 represent 20% of our population. So we could fund some of it – if not all of it – by giving kids their fair share.
(b )It is a well accepted health statistic that for every $1 we spend on preventing disease we save $4 in expensive hospital cure. So within a few years the scheme will fund itself out of what we save. If we DON’T do it, taxpayers will be spending much more than they are now on the Health budget in the future.
(c) We could make children a spending priority. National plans to spend a billion a year on Roads of National Significance over the next 10 years. What about Children? – aren’t they of National Significance? I’d much rather feed our kids than be able to by – pass small towns while driving to Auckland .
(d) We could pay the pension to people when they actually stop working and not just because they reach 65.
(e) We could spend more energy making sure people paid their taxes . Last year the IRD detected about a Billion dollars worth of tax evasion mostly by businesses. It’s estimated that the real tax evasion in NZ is between 4 and 5 Billion.
If you pay PAYE you can’t cheat your taxes. So we could easily pay for free school meals if more adults played fair.Let’s impose greater penalties for tax evasion, and let’s stop thinking of tax as a bad thing. Tax is a good thing – it’s giving to ourselves. That’s how we can have schools and hospitals and yes even Roads Of National significance. Tax is the price of civilisation. Get over it.
Now whether you agree with some of the above, all of the above or none of the above , let’s at least agree that The Feed The Kids Bill should at least go to Select Committee after its First Reading so the issue can be properly debated.
Please contact your local MP today and urge them to support the Feed The Kids Bill.
You can find their contact details here, just click on their name :
http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/MPP/MPs/MPs
Thank you,
Bryan
This blogpost was first published on The Daily Blog on 10 May 2013.
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Acknowledgement
My sincerest appreciation and thanks go to Bryan Bruce, Mike Fackney, and Ruth O’Neill for taking time out of their busy schedules to respond to my questions.
Other Blog Posts
The Daily Blog: Hungry Kids Annoy Frazzled Lobby Group Director
References
NZ Herald: Food parcel families made poor choices, says Key (17 Feb 2011)
Scoop: Government Policy Impacting Child Poverty Levels (30 May 2012)
NZ Herald: Poverty not only reason for suicide spike, says Key (30 Oct 2012)
Fairfax Media: Time for a chat on food in schools (7 May 2013)
Additional
Mana Party: Feed the Kids #fact sheet
Facebook: Community Campaign for Food in Schools – NZ
The Children’s Social Health Monitor: Child Poverty and Living Standards
Other blogposts
The Pundit: Children’s Commissioner fronts for Nats on food in schools: Corporate agenda rules
And from the nasty side of Conservative Rightwing politics
“Family First’: Food In Schools Will Feed The Problem
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= fs =
Guest Author: David Cunliffe on Scandinavian Economic Development
– Hon David Cunliffe, Labour Economic Development and Associate Finance Spokesperson, Clean-tech Cluster Chair
Published 30 September 2012
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Scandinavian Economic Development Speech: Fast Forward – Growing Good Jobs
Speech to Laingholm District Citizens Association, Laingholm, 30 September 2012
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Robert Louis Stevenson, the man who wrote ‘Treasure Island’, once said: “Everybody lives by selling something”.
In these days of economic treachery, this sounds like a very negative statement.
Everybody lives, today, by selling something.
But actually, the phrase: ‘Everybody lives by selling something’ is merely stating a simple truth.
In order to survive I must breathe air.
In order for me to breathe air, there need to be green plants producing oxygen.
So, when I breathe in, I’m breathing in air that was mostly made in the green plants.
But this is not a one-sided trade. I don’t just breath in air, I breathe out carbon dioxide, which is in return breathed in by the green plants, and converted back into oxygen, for me to breathe once more.
The green plants and I need each other. We trade what we produce, and both sides survive and prosper as a result of our necessary partnership.
Ecologists call this process of mutually-beneficial trading ‘symbiosis’.
WINNERS AND LOSERS
Motivational speakers have a simpler term: they call this process ‘win-win’. There’s no winner and loser when I trade my carbon dioxide to the green plants and get oxygen in return. I need the oxygen; the plants need my carbon dioxide in order to convert sunlight into food.
Provided both sides play fair, this is truly a win-win situation.
The problem is, too often over the last 30 years, and some would say for much longer, the world’s economic system has not been win-win for the average person, indeed for most of us. It’s been win-lose: they win and you lose.
The rich speculators and traders get richer, while the rest of us get poorer. Like it or not, our country is going backwards.
What happened? This widening gap isn’t the Kiwi way. What’s changed over the last thirty years?
Let’s have a quick recap of history. As a result of the Great Depression of the 1930s, the New Zealand Labour Party – like its counterparts around the world – legislated to rein in speculation, to protect jobs and to protect human rights.
Most of New Zealand’s great economic assets, such as our farms, our roads and our forests, grew and prospered as a direct result of these policies. As our nation grew more prosperous, the wealth was widely shared. No children needed to starve in the New Zealand I grew up in.
However, the 1980s and ’90s saw the rise of a philosophy developed by the rich, for the rich. It was called Neo-Liberalism.
Neo-Liberalism is based on the idea that it’s a dog-eat-dog world. Neo-Liberalism is based on the idea that greed is good, that we’re all locked in an economic life-and-death-struggle with each other. Neo-Liberalism says that compassion is for suckers. Neo-Liberalism says that if the world is going to the dogs, it might as well be the top dogs. Indeed, to borrow from Oliver Stone’s Wall Street, not only is greed good, “it’s legal.”[i]
When the British Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher was asked about the effects that her Neo-liberal policies would have on society, she replied:
“There is no such thing as society… There are individual men and women.”[ii]
The amazing thing about the Neo-Liberals is their wilful blindness to how badly their ideas have failed. Not just once, but repeatedly. Neo-Liberal policies directly caused two of the largest financial crashes in history. Did they apologise? No way. Like some mad doctor, when the first dose of medicine didn’t work, they wanted to double the dose.
And so, the Neo-Liberal bandwagon rolls on. Right here in New Zealand, the National Party is still trotting out the same discredited economic policies that got us into this mess in the first place.
I have just returned from Denmark and Finland, and I am convinced there are lessons for us all in how these Scandinavian countries run their economies. In particular, we need to take note of why the Scandinavian countries are slowly winning while many other European countries are rapidly losing.
Let’s take a quick look at the ‘Scandinavian model.’
The ‘Scandinavian model’ isn’t really Scandinavian at all. It could also be called the traditional New Zealand model. A model based on the idea that the economy is like a farm or garden. If you want a garden to grow, then you have to dig the soil and plant the seeds. You have to feed and nurture the plants and you have deal to the weeds when they grow up amongst the crop.
If this sounds like simple common sense: it is.
Any farmer will tell you that you get back from a farm what you put in. If you let weeds grow, you get a farm full of weeds. If you nurture your soil, livestock and crops, you have a good chance of a healthy farm, and a healthy return on your investment.
Which countries are currently surviving the recession best? The ones with the Scandinavian economic model.
According to Neo-Liberal economic theory, the Scandinavian countries should have collapsed by now. After all, they have large numbers of public employees on decent wages. Large trade unions. Very high taxation. A huge amount of government spending. I’m not arguing for a carbon-copy, but it has worked for them.
While the Neo-Liberals in America, Britain and New Zealand have been targeting those on welfare, blaming them for the world’s problems, the Scandinavian countries have been doing the opposite. That is, they’ve been helping those on welfare to get jobs, not blaming them for being poor.
After taking a big hit from the global financial crisis in 2009, the Scandinavian economies have bounced back strongly, while most of the rest of Europe seems stuck in reverse.
What’s the Scandinavian secret? The Scandinavian people have mastered the art of win-win.
For example, on my recent visit, I saw the Danish approach to economic development.
Denmark doesn’t tell its businesspeople what to do. Instead, Denmark sees its businesspeople as partners. The Danish government sits down with its key business groups. The two sides plan a workable strategy. After listening to its voters, workers and business partners, the Danish government doesn’t muck around. Incentives, sector plans, skills training, research and development, industry investment, targets and timetables are all actively used to get the economy moving and to keep it moving.
There is real symbiosis; it’s a win-win partnership, and the whole country benefits.
No surprise then, that Finland and Sweden came third and fourth respectively in the latest World Economic Forum competitiveness survey.[iii]
This competitiveness is driven by a government that understands how to invest in its people. According to the World Economic Forum, the key to the Scandinavians’ success is largely the result of a high level investment by the government and industry in education and training.[iv] The Scandinavians understand that ignorance is poison.
The Scandinavians know they cannot compete with China for low labour costs. They don’t bother to try. Instead, the Scandinavians have learned the value of working smarter instead of merely working harder.
Scandinavian bosses and workers don’t see each other as natural enemies. They may not always get along and they may not always agree, but they understand clearly that bosses and workers need each other.
I wish our government understood this.
GROWING JOBS, NOT WEEDS
So what would a good farmer do to grow the farm called New Zealand? What practical tools and lessons can we take from the small, smart countries of Scandinavia?
Good soil
A good farmer ploughs the soil to create the conditions for healthy growth.
Getting the economic basics right is important.
The first economic basic that we need to get right is trust. Whether it’s with respect to John Banks skirting around the truth or John Key burying his head in the sand over the Dotcom saga, New Zealand’s reputation as an honest country in which to do business is under serious threat.
We have to restore trust, both in New Zealand and overseas. Investors won’t come to New Zealand if they think we’re a banana republic.
And make no mistake about it: Labour welcomes investors to New Zealand. However, we welcome investors who come as partners, not masters. Our country is not for sale. New Zealanders do not wish to become tenants in their own country.
We also need to stabilise our currency, so that businesses have some certainty. We need to keep the New Zealand dollar from continually rising, because if the dollar is too high then our exported goods become too expensive. Other countries do this – so should we. The high New Zealand dollar is making life hard for exporters and it’s simply ruining manufacturing in New Zealand.
As my colleague David Parker has said recently, targeting inflation alone is an old orthodoxy that few countries support[v]. We need more balanced objectives, and a broader range of tools to achieve them.
We also need to stop the housing market from spinning out of control. Not only do high housing prices make homes unaffordable for many ordinary families, but housing booms are usually followed by housing busts. We’ve had quite enough economic train wrecks in recent years, thanks very much.
But economic and financial stability is about more than just keeping prices stable.
Watering the soil
Good farmers don’t just dig the soil, they keep it watered.
The lifeblood of business is capital, but many private investors have taken flight since the crash of 2008. A business community without investment is like a field without irrigation: without some water, the crops will wither and die.
I’m not advocating the government dolling out taxpayer funds to big business. There’s been too much of that already. Taxpayers are sick of it. I’m sick of it.
However, there’s no reason that the government can’t help those who are helping themselves.
For example, suppose a private company needs to do some expensive research and development, and this research and development benefits the whole country.
As another example, suppose a private company is researching a cure for Kiwifruit disease? Labour’s research and development tax credits would help that company find a solution.
Accelerated tax depreciation for short-life technology, and other measures soon to be announced, would also assist the innovation process.
Those kinds of policies could be part of a broader win-win approach. That’s how things work in the Scandinavian countries. That’s how the Scandinavians gets results.
Investment also comes from savings. For those who don’t know it, New Zealanders in recent times has had some of the lowest levels of savings in the developed world.[vi] This is wrong for two reasons: one, without savings, our citizens have no fall-back position if something goes wrong. Two, because when people save these savings can be invested wisely.
That’s why Labour’s universal KiwiSaver plan lifted our savings rate four times faster than National’s alternative. Under Labour’s policy, New Zealand would have more capital available for local investment, rather than relying so heavily on foreign-owned banks.
That’s a lesson the Scandinavians have learned and that our Aussie mates have also got right. We need to get it right as well.
Another area in which Labour is streets ahead of National is in the area of capital gains tax. Let me explain this very briefly: many New Zealand businesses have given up investing in useful and productive areas. Why? Because the New Zealand tax system encourages business to invest in the wrong places. That’s because many of the richest New Zealanders have grown rich from capital gains. They buy a piece of land for a million and sell it for three million. That’s a cool two million dollar profit, much of it tax-free. Regardless of how they earn their income, everyone should pay the same rate of tax.
Investing in property for capital gains not only makes home buying unaffordable for many families, it sucks billions away from productive investments.[vii]
Worse still, history has shown that what goes up generally comes down, and often with a crash.
What a capital gains tax does is encourage all investors to put their money into areas that produce something. This will have the effect of dampening the current property bubble, while freeing up billions for investment in areas like computer technology or energy production.
This is not some freak theory; it’s acknowledged internationally. That’s why there are only two other developed countries that don’t have a capital gains tax.
Pro-growth tax reform, including a capital gains tax and the restoration of tax credits for research and development, is needed to water the soils: feeding real Kiwi businesses and creating real Kiwi jobs.
Planting the seeds
Good farmers carefully sow and nurture the seeds and tend the crops as they grow to maturity.
The seeds of our economy are the innovation and ideas that can be raised in our universities, businesses, garages and garden sheds.
Kiwis are an innovative, creative people. Our capacity for working wonders with reduced resources has led us to developing the world’s first electric fences, jet boats and so on. The list is almost endless and the ideas are often brilliant. But too often, unless the inventor has deep pockets, too many good ideas don’t get off the shelf. Once the seed capital from ‘friends, fools and family’ runs out, often, so does the business. The sad fact is that – even during the economic good times, four out of five Kiwi business start-ups withered and died in the first two years.
In Japan and Korea, four out of five new businesses survive past two years[viii]. The difference is that in Japan and Korea, there is comprehensive government support for small business development. Support with budgeting. Support with obtaining investment. Support with business plans. Support with taking successful products and showing them to the world.
Last week, the New Zealand Herald told the sad story of how 32 of New Zealand’s biggest high-tech companies have been sold off overseas at an early stage[ix]. That’s like ripping out a crop when it’s half-grown. It’s madness.
Labour welcomes positive investment, but we want to avoid the best and brightest of our young companies being continually hollowed-out from Kiwi ownership.
We need policies that will help young Kiwi companies grow for longer, and become stronger, right here in New Zealand. We know the main problems: a lack of capital to support growth, a lack of experience in trading outside of New Zealand, difficulty communicating with overseas customers and a difficulty delivering the product or service around the world. David Shearer, who is also our Innovation Spokesperson, will be speaking more on our ideas in this area shortly.
Labour also believes that government should try to buy Kiwi-made products where possible and appropriate, and ensure that Kiwi companies have a fair chance to sell to their own government. Taking a hard look at government procurement is also a part of Labour’s policy mix.
The government should also have a strong policy of avoiding products that cause significant environmental harm and those that rely on the cynical exploitation of workers, especially women and children.
Rebuilding manufacturing, sectors and regions
Good farmers have a plan for every paddock on the farm. We need a sustainable growth strategy for every industry sector and region.
Sadly, however, since National took over many regions have slipped backwards, and this is no accident. The East Coast and Northland have skyrocketing youth unemployment. Wasting a generation of young Kiwis in our regions is not good enough. Take forestry for example. We don’t build enough quality products with our own wood. Instead we cut down the trees and ship the logs to ‘sweatshops’ overseas. Under the current New Zealand government policy, there’s simply no incentive to do otherwise.
A similar thing happens in dairy. Our milk is mainly shipped overseas as commodity products like milk powder, while too often those that develop these ingredients into branded products get most of the benefit.
It’s even worse with our seafood. Did you know that for the next four years it is legal for New Zealand companies to catch fish in our waters using Korean boats manned by Filipino sailors who are treated like slaves?[x] This fish, in some cases, is then sent to Asia for processing, then shipped back to New Zealand for sale in our supermarkets. This is madness.
Both the International Monetary Fund and the credit rating agencies have said New Zealand’s biggest weakness is that too great a share of our total exports is selling raw commodities like milk and logs at low prices. Instead, we need to be making something more valuable out of our milk and timber before we export them[xi]. That’s the Scandinavian way.
In case anyone has missed the headlines of the last few weeks about massive layoffs at Tiwai Point, Norske Skog’s Kawerau mill, Solid Energy’s Huntly and Spring Creek mines, Nuplex and APN in Auckland, and many, many others – manufacturing is in crisis in New Zealand.
40,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost since 2008 when National came to government and there are more layoffs to come[xii]. Some 65,000 more New Zealanders are unemployed[xiii] and that’s not counting what Bill English now calls the “safety valve”[xiv] of 54,000 other New Zealanders giving up and moving permanently to Australia in the last year alone – an all-time record.
So we desperately need a high-value manufacturing strategy in this country. Gone are the days when manufacturing was just some unskilled worker bolting two parts together. That style of manufacturing is now inevitably done in low-wage countries. In most cases, we simply can’t compete with Asia when it comes to large-scale, low-cost manufacturing.
However, we’re not out of the race, by any means. According to Statistics New Zealand, there are about 22,700 manufacturing businesses in New Zealand[xv], which together produce about $20 billion of sales[xvi]. $20 billion.
I believe we could triple that, not by lowering our environmental standards or paying our workers less, but doing what we do so well.
New Zealand is very good at thinking small and thinking smart. We can do small production runs of specialist items. We can process raw materials that were gathered nearby. We can produce products on demand for our local market or international markets.
Above all, we can think smart. We can take an idea from concept to manufacture, often on a budget that wouldn’t pay for lunch in America or Germany.
Should the government be backing the manufacturing sector? Absolutely. Just look to the Scandinavian example.
Prof Göran Roos, a leading Scandinavian industrial economist, points out that every dollar in manufacturing business leads directly to $1.74 in turnover elsewhere in the economy[xvii]. And he and others point out that with increasing linkage between manufacturing and high value services in global trade, you can’t win without manufacturing capability. Buy a new car, get a regular servicing package.
The Scandinavians understand that a successful manufacturing strategy provides high-value jobs, good incomes, and helps reduce our overseas debt.
Labour will work with unions and businesses to enhance skills training to help support a strong manufacturing heart. The heart of a high-performance manufacturing sector is highly-productive workplaces with excellent training and decent living wages.
Like in the Scandinavian countries, we want workers to have the training and support to adapt to changing jobs with ‘flexicurity’ throughout their lives. Flexicurity: it means ‘flexible security’[xviii].
This is important. Look at what’s happening with the West Coast coal miners. After a lifetime of hard work in the coalmines, these miners are now facing the economic scrapheap[xix] thanks to National’s plans to railroad the sale of Solid Energy. The miners must now adapt to a changing world. Can they do this overnight? Of course not.
That’s where the government can help, not with a handout, and not by lowering environmental standards or strip-mining national parks, but with an investment in the future of those workers and an investment in the future of our entire country. It’s time to recognise that our most valuable resource is not just our land, but our people.
Clean and green
Another crucial sector is clean-tech. Labour leader David Shearer has called for a clean, green and clever economy for good reason – there are almost seven billion people on the planet[xx].
It’s obvious now to most governments, including not only the Scandinavians but also most of Europe, China, Korea and Japan, that we simply can’t keep living the wasteful and destructive ways of the past. As government regulations around the world get tougher, there’s a huge global market for clean technology. That is, technology that makes more effective use of our precious resources while reducing pollution and wastage.
You may rest assured; our competitors are investing heavily in clean technology. Why is New Zealand not doing more to win in the global green race – the $6 trillion export market for clean-tech[xxi]?
There are already some great ideas being developed, but building a strong clean-tech sector will only happen if the government sends the right signals. For example, the more we require our power generators to act responsibly, the more we are encouraging the development of alternative ways of generating electricity.
But the National government is going the other way – scrapping Labour’s biofuels obligations and effectively wiping out the infant biofuels industry. Now they have the gall to say biofuels will save Kawerau[xxii]. Shameful.
Labour believes there is no inherent conflict between positive business and the environment.
Labour is not opposed to environmentally responsible mineral and energy exploration. However, Labour never forgets that most of New Zealand’s export dollars come from living things. A wise government, like a good farmer, needs to protect and nurture the source of our wealth.
We are interested in investments that have a win-win outcome. Investments that create jobs and exports, balanced with appropriate responsibilities to our communities and the environment.
Nobody in Parliament, and nobody in this room, will still be here in 100 years. However, those who follow us will enjoy the gifts we give and will endure the mistakes we make. That thought alone should make us pause.
GROWING JOBS AND HOPE
We need better from our government. We need a comprehensive strategy that includes planning, research, financial incentives and assistance with helping local companies sell their products overseas.
It’s not rocket science; it’s common sense.
Kiwis are very decent people. They know they’ve been conned by Neo-liberalism and its National-Act acolytes. They want to do something about it. They want to reclaim that wonderful sense of fairness, safety and honesty that used to be the hallmark of this country.
In my remarks today I have stressed three key things:
First, contrary to the failed Neo-liberal policies that got the world into this mess, it’s really clear to you, to me and to the incoming Labour government, that we all do better together when we all win together. Think Scandinavia. Think symbiosis.
Second, it’s in Kiwi DNA to understand farming – the role of government in helping to create an innovative, job rich economy should be like a good farmer.
- Tending the soil to get the fundamentals right. Irrigating it with capital and fertilizing it with skills and technology.
- Planting the seeds of future success through a step change in innovation.
- Having a plan for each paddock – our industry sectors and regions – so we can be the best we can be. Understanding that it is crucial to have high value manufacturing and clean technology developed alongside making the best sustainable use from our resources.
- And never forgetting that our most valuable asset is always our people. Investing in education, skills and lifelong learning; building decent high performance workplaces, and using the power of government to reward good business practices.
Third, we need a government that listens, that works in partnership, then takes action. We can rebuild this economy. We can make this country the envy of the world again. But we need a government that acts, like a good farmer, not one that just sits on the fence, watching the weeds grow, and letting the farm go to ruin.
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REFERENCES AND READINGS
[i] Internet Movie Database, Gordon Gekko quotes, available at http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0012282/quotes
[ii] Keay, D. (1987, September 23), Margaret Thatcher interview, Women’s Own.
[iii] Schwab, K. (ed.), ‘The Global Competitiveness Report 2008–2009’, World Economic Forum, available at: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2012-13.pdf
[iv] ibid.
[v] Hon David Parker’s recent Finance portfolio statements are available at http://www.labour.org.nz/portfolios/finance
[vi] Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012, June 7). Household saving rates – forecasts: Percentage of disposable household income, DOI: 10.1787/2074384x-table7.
[vii] New Zealand Labour Party (2011), David Cunliffe talks about the debt propelled economy (video), available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjyHctIljPM
[viii] Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan. Briefing note.
[ix] Wishart, S. (2012, September 24), ‘Kiwi high tech for sale’, New Zealand Herald, available at http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10836029
[x] Ministry for Primary Industries (2012, February), Ministerial Inquiry into Foreign Charter Vessels, available at http://www.fish.govt.nz/en-nz/Consultations/Ministerial+Inquiry+into+Foreign+Charter+Vessels/default.htm
[xi] International Monetary Fund (2012, June 7 and prior), New Zealand and the IMF series, available at http://www.imf.org/external/country/nzl/index.htm
[xii] Newson, B. (2012, September 12), ‘Nothing ‘inevitable’ about mass redundancies’, EPMU statement, available at http://www.epmu.org.nz/news/show/173416
[xiii] Statistics New Zealand (2012), Quarterly Employment Survey: June 2012 quarter, available at http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/income-and-work/employment_and_unemployment/QuarterlyEmploymentSurvey_HOTPJun12qtr/Definitions.aspx
[xiv] Cited by Tarrant, A. (2012, September 21), ‘Record loss of migrants to Australia in year to August, Stats NZ says; Nearly net 40,000 cross Tasman to the ‘lucky country’’, interest.co.nz, available at http://www.interest.co.nz/news/61231/record-loss-migrants-australia-year-august-stats-nz-says-nearly-net-40000-cross-tasman-lu
[xv] Statistics New Zealand (2012, September 10), Survey and methods section, ‘Quarterly economic survey of manufacturing’, available at http://www.stats.govt.nz/surveys_and_methods/completing-a-survey/faqs-about-our-surveys/quarterly-economic-survey-of-manufacturing.aspx
[xvi] Statistics New Zealand (2012, September 10), Table 1: All Manufacturing section, ‘Economic Survey of Manufacturing: June 2012 quarter’, available from http://www.stats.govt.nz/~/media/Statistics/Browse%20for%20stats/EconomicSurveyofManufacturing/HOTPJun12qtr/esm-jun12-qtr-tables.xls
[xvii] Roos, G., (2012, June 29), Is Manufacturing in Decline?, special presentation.
[xviii] One European interpretation of ‘Flexicurity’ is detailed at European Commission – Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion section (n.d.), Flexicurity, available at: http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=102&langId=en
[xix] Sabin, B. (2012, September 25), ‘Spring Creek miner’s 5th redundancy’, 3news, available at http://www.3news.co.nz/Spring-Creek-miners-5th-redundancy/tabid/421/articleID/270538/Default.aspx
[xx] World Bank estimate cited in Google Public Data set. Granular global population analysis is available from the WolframAlpha knowledgebase (2012), available at http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=world+population&lk=4
[xxi] Innovas, cited in Pure Advantage (2012, May), New Zealand’s Position in the Green Race, p. 2.
[xxii] Hon Steven Joyce, National Party MP and Economic Development Minister, cited by Radio New Zealand (2012, September 11).
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How to kill your kids
Gosh, just what New Zealand needs; an instruction manual from religious nutters on how to beat your children to death. Because, as we all know, we don’t have enough beaten; raped; maimed; and murdered children in our society.
Just a reminder how “good” we are at beating our children to death, here. But maybe ten children murdered each year, plus the hundreds more who suffer permanent injuries/maimings, aren’t enough? Because it seems that there are “helpful” individuals out there who are willing to put together a ‘manual’ on how we can do it more efficiently.
And if it’s based on the scribblings of a 2,000+ year old religious text – all the better. Personally, I’m waiting for a book on child-discipline according to the ancient Aztec Sun God worship .
I wonder if the next child killer; standing in the dock on charges of murder; will hold up this book and use it as an excuse for his/her behaviour?
“God said I can beat my child!”
How many deranged serial killers have also claimed to hear God’s voice?
“Data sets for the years 1997 to 2001 from each country include all deaths and hospitalisations from assault. The results show that a child in New Zealand is almost three times more likely to die from assault than a child in Sweden.”
So do we really need this book? It seems we’re pretty good at it already.
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