Quote from RNZ Checkpoint website

"During an interview on Radio New Zealand's Checkpoint programme on Wednesday evening, Chris Simmons said John Banks had suggested that the Dotcom donation be split.
However, an hour later he said he had not meant to imply that - even though he clearly says so in the interview."

Sounds like he has the same condition that Banks has.

Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson yesterday admitted John Banks had lobbied him about Dotcoms application to buy his cCoatesville mansion. And it is reported that Banks also says he has never advocated on behalf of Chen or Wang associated with Natural Dairys bid to buy Crafar Farms. Chen & Wang have got into trouble with the Commission Against Corruption in HongKong.Sources close to Banks mayoral campaign believed Jack Chen had offered up to $50,000 at the dinner Banks attended at Chens home.

53 Foreign policy roles will be lost in job cuts @MFAT In a leak to the Labour Partys Foreign Affairs spokesperson Phil Goff. A witchunt is underway after top level information revealed sensitive details about job cuts at Foreign Affairs before it was seen by Cabinet Ministers.

John Key promised us 36,000 new jobs last March in the last Budget, but only 20,000 eventuated far less than the increase in those seeking employment.
In the last quarter jobless rose 12,000-basically 1000 on the scrap heap each week.
Poorly executed economic development is a recipe for a longer deeper recession and growing social misery.
So an unemployment rate of 6.7% This Government and John Key have failedus all.

Said on TV1 news tonight that it could take another three years for unemployment to fall. That's a nightmare.

That 160, 000 people are those that are formally 'Unemployed' and are not those who are unemployed and looking for work but who have an employed partner, or those who are working just a few hours a week but too many to be counted. Like me. My full time job was halved. I'm damn glad to get it but still it's half the hours and half the income I had before. And that requires a lot of adjusting. But as I say, I consider myself one of the lucky ones.

Three more years of this?! Aue!

This Governments economic list of failures is growing 1000 more jobless each week, a worsening current account deficit,growing international debt, and a growing wage gap with Australia. And A Zero Budget promises "Not Brighter Future" and is likely to see an increase in unemployment,and lead to more hardship and inequality in New Zealand.

O Dr Livingstone - what other answer can you think of to reverse this deplorable situation, than to demand a higher savings and investment rate from all of us?
Or do you want to rely on the rich alone to pull us out of that mess?

Personally, I don't think they alone can do it.

"Rely on the rich alone to pull us out of that mess???" Hahahaha! They've got their well-shod feet right where they always want them - on our throats - and their hands on the levers of governments all around the world. They're not pulling anything but our money out of our pockets.

How to reverse this deplorable situation? Well not by continuing to do what we've been doing for thirty years and expecting a different outcome, surely?

Let me count the ways...

Let us not send jobs offshore but do more and make more here.
Let us not bring in 10000 Irish tradespeople but train some of the 160000 NZers officially unemployed to do the work.
Let us educate more engineers and scientists and do much much more R&D.
Let us not sell profitable publicly owned assets into private hands that must make a profit which would not be reinvested in the further development of the assets.
Let us raise the wage rates of the poorest paid; the vitally important caregivers, cleaners and so on, without whom our families, workplaces and communities grind to a halt
Let us use our tax take to stimulate our economy so our people get back to work, to earning, to spending, to saving, and to paying more tax.
And, let us tax the rich; those whose incomes are over $150000pa, more than we do now because they've got most of the money now and organising our government to get their hands on what's left, and that isn't doing a damn thing for the rest of us.

The provinces are being hit hard by unemployment. Manawatu--Wanganui 8.9%, and Northland 8.7% and Waikato 8.6% BOP 8.5%, Gisborne-Hawkes Bay 8.5% Wheres our recovery John? Have you sold that off too.?

Arandar, on your suggestions on how to reverse the deplorable situation:

1. Sendig off jobs delivers easier profits for entrepreneurs and lower living costs (prices) to consumers - and reversing it requires more investment, and the latter requires a higher savings rate for new capital or borrowed capital repayment.

2.Again, with imported labour quicker results are achievable in emergencies, when there haven't been the resources saved and invested in time consuming and costly training.
In olden times, trainees paid for their apprenticeships, and without that, the public will have to raise the capital to finance that. So, arandar, it could be done by raising our savings and investment rate, or should only employers be expected to be responsible for it?

3. Again, more education and spending on R &D does require more saving & investment not only in education etc, but also in industry etc to have the jobs available for the educated - or lose them to overseas employers!

4. Let us not sell profitable public assets - one excuse for selling them at present is in the argued need for quick cash to get "out of the red" - and indeed that could be overcome by universal "belt tightening" support for raising our savings, investment and debt reducion rate through the NZ Super Fund savings resumption as suggested earlier - but still not approved by you unless a political party of your persuasion stood for it. (But they are too timid to lead along that line without known public support)
So - just not selling and not saving more only prolongs the status quo as it is - with things getting worse if our consumption remains above the income what we earn.

(Continuing in the next post, to prevent an unintended "wipe-out" of the material written.)

Please, no more.

You win. I lose.

Well done.

Not in my eyes you don't, arandar!!