With issues of cost of living, austerity and economic inequality making a comeback in New Zealand politics, there is likely to be an increasing focus on the incomes of this country’s super-wealthy and on the question of whether such people are also ‘suffering’ or prospering during these austerity times. In this regard, two recent newspaper reports provide conflicting evidence on the plight of CEOs. Jennie McManus, a very business-friendly journalist reports on Stuff that ‘Kiwi CEO salaries have been hammered harder by the recession than those of general staff’, while Christopher Adams says in the NZ Herald that the average pay of the bosses rose by an average of 14% last year. This blog post unpacks some of the figures and claims. [Read more below]
The mass of Wikileaks cables relating to New Zealand ('Kiwileaks') have suddenly exploded into New Zealand political scene. I’ve got a copy of a 613-page PDF file of all the recent Kiwi Wikileaks – which you can download here: Wellington US Embassy cables. The Herald on Sunday published details of the leaks yesterday. The paper published a few of my comments (‘Bryce Edwards: Foreign meddling laid bare’), and also in these stories: Key exposed over Dalai Lama and NZ-US peace deal sacrificed for votes - cable. This blog post provides an extensive list of links to some initial stories and analysis in the mainstream media and blogosphere. The list is being updated regularly. [Read more below]
Are New Zealand politicians overpaid? According to a new Massey University survey, Cabinet ministers are indeed grossly over-remunerated. Voters apparently think that ministers should be paid about $135,000 a year instead of receiving the $245,000+ salary they currently get. This blog post examines the detail of the survey, looks at some of the reasons that politicians are held in such low regard, and argues that MPs and ministers should only be paid the average wage. In effect serving in Parliament should be considered a representative honour and duty, not just a career, and therefore parliamentarians shouldn’t be treated as being above – and separate from – society via an extravagant pay packet and lifestyle. [Read more below]
The 6th annual Listener ‘power list’ is out this week – seeking to shine a light on who makes up the modern New Zealand Establishment. This blog post offers an extensive critical summary of, and commentary on, the Listener’s list. Highlights include:
Politicians do well on the power list. Although there are only 12 MPs in the whole list, 4 out of the top 5 are politicians. New entries include Simon Power, Judith Collins, Tony Ryall and Nick Smith.
The Listener sure to do love John Key – although he’s too managerial and not rightwing enough
The A-list ‘Top 10’ has been expanded by the peculiar inclusion of Phil Goff in the #11 position!
One significant change in the A-list is Rodney Hide’s elevation from #7 to #4,
Notably, Rightwing Treasury boss John Whitehead jumps into the A-list at #9
Air New Zealand’s Rob Fyfe’s sudden inclusion at #6 of the A-list is a bit trivial
The Listener heralds the inclusion of the country’s senior receiver, Michael Stiassny at #7, as ‘the most telling detail about this year’s Power List’
Tariana Turia, is the only woman in the Top 10 power list at #8
There are seven women on the power list this year; there are seven Maori
The Environment category is distinguished by the arrival of five completely new environmental power listers – including Gareth Morgan. Nick Smith surges into the #1 spot from nowhere
Four of ‘Business & Economy’ places go to either new entries or re-entries on the power list
All five of last year’s Maoridom power listers have been delisted from this category in 2009; Pita Sharples is #2, transferring from #6 on the 2008 A-list, and coming in for criticism from the Listener
In the Media category, John Armstrong of the New Zealand Herald is #3. And David Farrar has finally made the power list.
To answer the question of “who runs New Zealand?”, it’s worth looking to the small trendy beach town on Omaha Bay in Rodney District, an hour’s drive north of Auckland. It’s here that the rich of Auckland have their multi-million-dollar holiday homes, and as Bill Ralston has observed, ‘The wealthy beach community of Omaha is to Auckland what the Hamptons are to New York’. What’s particularly insightful about Omaha is that it is a representation of more than just The Establishment in New Zealand, but instead it appears to contain three separate settlements that represent three different Establishments in New Zealand. And in understanding the distinctively different nature of these three Establishments at Omaha beach, we can better understand who now runs this country. [Read more below]
Thirty staunch leftists gathered outside the Government’s Jobs Summit on Friday in Manukau, South Auckland. In the face of the growing recession they had come to chant on behalf of the working class that ‘We won’t pay for your crisis!’. In his latest From the Left column (‘New Zealand not ready for Irish anger – yet’) Chris Trotter draws attention to the very different protests being held against neoliberal recession in the ‘Celtic Tiger’ economy of Ireland – where the numbers involved are somewhat larger: ‘an impressive 100,000 demonstrators marched through Dublin’s fair city to vent their anger at the centre-right’. Trotter points out the very different nature of the working class mood in the two comparative countries, and suggests that the slogan most likely to resonate with New Zealand workers at the moment is actually ‘We are all in this boat together’. A number of other interesting left commentaries on the Jobs Summit can also be found on the blogosphere. [Read more below].
The cover story of the latest Metro magazine is all about power in Auckland, and who wields it. However, like the Listener’s latest Power List, Metro’s attempt to explore the configurations of power in Auckland ends up being rather more celebratory and celebrity-focused than cerebral. Senior writer Simon Wilson has updated last February’s feature on The Auckland Influentials – this time seeking to provide ‘a hundred bite-sized chunks of knowledge about Auckland and how it works’. The focus is apparently on answering the questions of: ‘How does the city work? Who are the key people for getting things done?’. In the following blog post I’ve attempted to filter out some of the more important insights into the Auckland Establishment. Therefore, this post is a continuation of the series on liberation about Who runs New Zealand? [Read more below]
The question of who runs New Zealand is infrequently examined in the media (or even that much in our universities), but it obviously deserves the attention of anyone interested in understanding politics or wanting any kind of social change. Fortunately, for the last five years the Listener has been publishing its annual Power List in an attempt to do just this. Although it’s always more journalistic and celebratory than analytical and critical, the exercise does nonetheless always shine a light on the people involved in running New Zealand. And it indicates some significant trends. This year there has been some major changes to the list, partly representing the fact that the outgoing Labour Government’s favoured businesspeople, ‘thinkers’ and lobbyists are now out in the cold as a change of government brings about different influences, but also because the Listener probably wants to dazzle us with new faces that are supposedly wielding great undiscovered power. This blog post offers a critical summary of, and commentary on, the Listener’s list. [Read more below]
More evidence that our parliamentarians constitute a “political class” - rather than merely being representatives of the people - is provided by Tim Donoghue writing yesterday about the business and financial activities of Jim Bolger - see: It pays to be a former PM in the Dominion Post. The list of Bolger’s wealthy pursuits indicates how politicians from all colours of parties are afforded the opportunity of an affluent lifestyle after leaving politics. The experience of being a politician in NZ certainly opens doors to lucrative post-politics careers. [Read more below]
The ‘greying establishment figures’ of Auckland are being superseded by a new generation of businesspeople, artists, politicians, journalists and sportspeople. This is the view of Metro magazine, which in 2007 attempted to identify who makes up the emerging influential set of Auckland. This blog post surveys the results of Metro’s roll-call of ‘Aucklanders in their 40s and younger who will make a difference in their fields over the next decade’. [Read more below]
Should religion be deemed a charitable cause? And should the state subsidise religious proselytisation? These are questions asked by an article in the Listener this week. The argument put forward is that there are very wealthy and powerful religious charities in New Zealand that profit from their tax-exempt status. And the Government is about to make it even easier for such not-for-profit groups to collect greater funds. This is the first blog post of many in a series examining the contemporary Establishment in this country. [Read more below]
