The 2016 Household Incomes Report

The Ministry of Social Development has released their annual income report based on Stats NZ and other data. The findings are very different to what many would have you believe. A summary:

median household incomes rose 3% in real terms last year

median household incomes have risen 3% (real) on average every year since 2011

New Zealand’s net gains from HES 2009 to HES 2016 are better overall than for many OECD countries (we had better income growth than most)

The share of income received by the top 1% has declined slightly from a peak of 9% in the mid 1990s and is lower than most OECD countries … Continue Reading

Ian will be greatly missed

Martinborough has lost one its its most colourful community minded characters, Ian Cresswell. He was a doer and a talker, you certainly knew where he stood on any issue but he didn’t just talk about it he would be out in the town gaining support for his latest scheme and there were many.

You’ll appreciate I don’t live in Martinborough but many people in the district knew Ian as I did because he was involved in so many things. I have had more than a few disagreements with him but as long as you were prepared to listen to his view he was happy, agreement was not compulsory. … Continue Reading

Call for a vote

The Local Government Commission have seen fit to proceed with a Final Proposal for the amalgamation of the three Wairarapa district councils into a single Wairarapa District Council.

There are two options:

Do nothing and the proposal will proceed

Petition for a poll to determine if the proposal for amalgamation will proceed

Wairarapa Voice Incorporated is pursuing option 2, petition the LGC for a poll to decide if the proposal will proceed. We have been checking out the process and the legal requirements of how to comply with the rules. Wairarapa Voice will be gathering signatures throughout the Wairarapa. … Continue Reading

A sugar tax?

Like rust, the researchers of public health keep trying to corrode our tax system. Like rust, they never sleep. They were at it again this week, holding a “fizz” conference at Auckland University in the hope of persuading political parties to put a tax on soft drinks in their platform for the coming election.

A tax that even if there was no substitution would result in an average calorie drop of 3 calories a day!
My only interest as a citizen of this country is in the integrity of our tax system. This is the thing health taxers never consider. … Continue Reading