Latest news with #Hooton
Newsroom
5 days ago
- Business
- Newsroom
The young need state support just as much as the old
In a recent column in the NZ Herald, Mathew Hooton said that if superannuation can't be cut, then wage subsidies should be. As 'welfare costs are exploding' and there is no political will to carve 20 percent off the universal pension, he continued, we must stop providing families with child-related tax credits and accommodation assistance, which he describes as 'wage subsidies'. While this view may resonate with some, all developed countries have variants on state policies like Working for Families to support children, and a version of New Zealand Superannuation to support the old. Typically and confusingly it is often argued that Working for Families is either 'corporate welfare' (letting businesses get away with not paying workers enough for their families to live on), or 'communism by stealth' that puts 'the whole population on welfare'. By similar logic it could be argued that NZ Super puts everyone on welfare at 65 or is a form of corporate welfare because wages should be high enough so people can save for a pension for themselves. Mid-last century, in a world long gone, wages were set by arbitration to ensure that one full-time male breadwinner earned enough to support a 'typical' family with a wife at home, and several children. Even so, tax breaks and a family benefit for children were also necessary. In the 21st century we have very different family structures including two-earner families. It is ludicrous to expect employers to meet the needs of both low-income adults and their children. For example, a very low-wage worker with four children currently receives an extra $610 per week from Working for Families. If cut completely, the net wage would have to rise by around $32,000 a year to make up for it, by Hooton's logic. The increase in the gross wage rate would cripple employers, be too much for workers without children, and not enough for larger families. There is the argument that by wiping Working for Families, the money saved be given back in tax relief to workers. That's pie-in-the-sky thinking. If families were to be compensated, it would require a complex package of abating tax credits. Oh, but isn't that that what Working for Families currently is? It all becomes so circular. One million superannuitants are collectively paid $20b after tax each year. Around one million children are given just $3.3b in Working for Families each year. You read that right. Each year around one million superannuitants are paid around six times more than one million children through Working for Families. But it is true that Working for Families is badly designed and does not meet the main goal of child poverty prevention. It doesn't reward paid work, as it is intended to. It is in desperate need of reform. It's often said that Working for Families is all Labour's fault, but it did not magically come into being fully formed under the Helen Clark Government in 2004. The universal weekly family benefit and tax breaks for families in the 1950s evolved by the 70s and 80s to become a complex mix of family benefit and different family tax credits. In 1991 the National Party folded the universal family benefit into the targeted tax credits to become one weekly targeted payment per child called Family Support. There were further changes under National in the mid-1990s, and rewarding paid work became elevated as a fundamental principle. All that the Clark government did in 2004 was to change the name to Working for Families, then build on and expand the existing complex structure, with even more emphasis on paid work as a criterion. Then, the Ardern government introduced an additional significant payment, called Best Start, for children under three years old, universal for the first year. As a policy, Working for Families is a mess. In contrast NZ Super is a simple, unconditional universal payment indexed to wages. It is easy to access and, until the housing crisis, has been enough to prevent poverty in old age. It is a basic income floor that does not disincentivise paid work. It has a very gentle income test though the tax system, so that the very highest income earners still get around three quarters of a pension paid when there is no additional income. The extra assistance for families to meet the basic income needs of their children is a very different story. Working for Families is tightly targeted and assists only children of low- and middle-income parents. Moreover, the full payment is conditional on parents having paid work and receiving no core benefit or part benefit. These conditions result in 200,000 children in the worst-off families being excluded from around $5000 per year, or more for larger families. With this division between deserving and undeserving children it's no wonder child poverty is so intractable. Working for Families payments are not annually indexed and are increased only when cumulative inflation exceeds 5 percent. There is no wage link as for NZ Super. Furthermore, payments are subject to a draconian clawback equivalent to an extra tax of 27 percent from a very low base of joint parental income. That threshold will be lifted marginally next year to $44,900, but to pay for it, the rate of abatement rises from 27 percent to 27.5 percent and Best Start becomes income-tested. This very 'tight targeting' ensures child poverty persists for many families in paid work. The overlap of tax, Working for Families clawbacks, student loan repayments and loss of accommodation assistance, and now Best Start clawbacks, confirms for too many, that extra work effort does not lift them out of poverty. Children are invisible: that is the problem. Fundamentally we need to understand that low-income wages, benefits, and paid parental leave are for the income needs of adults, but children also have income needs. I would argue that rather than take more from children we take more from the top end of NZ Super through the tax system and direct the revenue for fixing not just Working for Families but also the other failing welfare measures such as the accommodation supplement, benefits and disability support. We do want to grow the economy but should not be done at the expense of the wellbeing of both our current and future workforce.
NZ Herald
7 days ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Don Brash v Matthew Hooton defamation case: High Court hears Brash wants ‘unreserved apology'
Brash has said Hooton's comments suggested he was dishonest, lacking in integrity and corrupt. But Dickey told Associate Judge Grant Brittain, KC, that the remarks were not as offensive as suggested and Hooton had already apologised. The court heard any rewards in the case would be nominal, not substantial. Dickey said at one point Brash seemed to suggest 'iwi' were paying Hooton, which was totally unfounded. Brash's views on the Treaty of Waitangi and race relations were largely what Hooton's monologue was about. Specialist defamation lawyers Peter McKnight and Ali Romanos appeared for Brash. Romanos said the remarks were serious because Hooton was not 'some random person on Reddit' but an established figure with gravitas. Romanos said Brash wanted an unreserved apology from Hooton. He said some 3500 people might have heard the initial podcast monologue, which was later circulated to more people on social media. McKnight said it was not right to strike out a case with 'very serious matters alleged'. He argued the case should go to trial. McKnight asked for today's strike-out application to be dismissed and costs awarded. Associate Judge Brittain reserved his decision but indicated a judgment on the strike-out application would likely be made in about a fortnight. Hooton was not in the courtroom today. Brash was, but he declined to comment afterwards. Brash, apart from also being a former Reserve Bank Governor, leads the Hobson's Pledge lobby group. Hooton is a columnist for the Business Herald and has worked in political and corporate communications and strategy for clients including the National Party. John Weekes is a business journalist covering aviation and court. He has previously covered consumer affairs, crime, politics and court.
Scoop
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Daily Blog Backs Compulsory Military Service
Press Release – Socialist Equality Group While advertising itself as liberal and left wing, the Daily Blog promotes the same nationalist and militarist agenda as the entire parliamentary establishment, the union bureaucracy and the corporate media. The Daily Blog, which supports New Zealand's opposition Labour and Green Parties, published an article on May 5 enthusiastically endorsing right-wing New Zealand Herald columnist Matthew Hooton's proposal for compulsory military training. Writing that 'universal military service isn't such a stupid idea,' the blog's editor Martyn Bradbury suggested that it be for a period of 10 months and apply to all people aged 16 to 18 not in education or training. Participants could choose to do charity or environmental work, such as planting trees, in addition to military training. Such a scheme, Bradbury declared, is 'incredibly important for the fabric of our society:' it would instill 'strong civic values' and a 'sense of self identity and nationhood.' This echoes Hooton's statement that military service would 'help with nation-building and social cohesion.' Bradbury concluded his article with the patriotic slogan: 'Don't ask what Aotearoa New Zealand can do for you, ask what can you do for Aotearoa New Zealand!' The Daily Blog is silent about the real purpose of military service: funnelling young people into the armed forces so they can be used as cannon fodder in the service of imperialism. The armed forces have experienced significant levels of attrition in recent years, which the right-wing National Party-led government is determined to turn around. The government, supported by the Labour Party, has committed to doubling military spending. The ruling class aims to integrate New Zealand more fully into the US imperialist build-up to war against China, as well as the NATO war against Russia and efforts to carve up the Middle East. Across the world, the ruling class is responding to the breakdown of capitalism by militarising society and preparing young people to fight. Conscription is now being openly discussed in Germany, Britain and other European countries, as the imperialist powers seek to violently redivide the world and reduce large parts of it to colonial slavery. While advertising itself as 'liberal' and 'left wing,' the Daily Blog promotes the same nationalist and militarist agenda as the entire parliamentary establishment, the union bureaucracy and the corporate media. This is not the first time that the blog has called for military training for unemployed youth. In 2016, it backed a similar proposal by the right-wing nationalist New Zealand First Party, which is part of the present coalition government. Bradbury has friendly relations with Hooton, who was a regular guest last year on The Working Group, a political podcast co-hosted by Bradbury. Hooton is a former advisor to both the National Party and its far-right coalition partner, the ACT Party. Both Hooton and Bradbury said military service should be funded as part of the plan to double military spending from 1 to 2 percent of gross domestic product, with an additional $12 billion over the next four years. This will be funded with deep cuts to healthcare, education and other public services. The Daily Blog has attacked the government from the right, demanding an even bigger increase in military spending to 3 percent of GDP. 'We can't pretend we are in a benign environment any longer,' Bradbury wrote on March 3, echoing the government's mantra. He supported moves to create a New Zealand-based drone manufacturing industry and to improve surveillance and combat capabilities, to push back against what he called 'our Chinese Economic Overlords' and to act independently of the United States. This vast military build-up is not about defending New Zealand or establishing its 'independence.' The country has not come under foreign attack since British colonisation in the 19th century. Rather, the aim is to maintain New Zealand's status as a minor imperialist power in the Pacific region, in an alliance with the US. This is why New Zealand has sent troops to successive criminal US-led wars—including against Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq—and is contributing personnel to the bombing of Yemen and training Ukrainian troops to fight against Russia. Bradbury says New Zealand's navy and air force must be capable of patrolling the 'Realm of New Zealand,' which includes far-flung Pacific island colonies—the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau—and parts of Antarctica. In February, Bradbury published an article supporting Hooton's inflammatory call for New Zealand to invade the Cook Islands in order to overturn its economic agreements with China. In an article on May 4, Bradbury ranted that 'China has managed to gain enormous power in NZ by economically owning us, having a huge diaspora living here and gaining access to bottling our water.' He demanded that 'proven collaborators' of the Chinese Communist Party 'be expelled from the country immediately.' This closely resembles the anti-Chinese demagogy of the NZ First Party. The Daily Blog has repeatedly echoed the war propaganda of the CIA and the Trump administration, including the fascist lie that COVID-19 originated in a laboratory in Wuhan. Bradbury has hysterically attacked the Socialist Equality Group as 'Chinese enablers' and demanded that it be investigated by the New Zealand intelligence agencies for 'possible treason,' because of the SEG's opposition to its warmongering. None of Bradbury's middle class 'left' collaborators has opposed his pro-war positions. These include the Labour-aligned BHN podcast (where Bradbury is a regular guest) and John Minto, the leading spokesperson for the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa. Minto's futile appeals to the government to sanction Israel for its genocide in Gaza are published on the Daily Blog alongside Bradbury's demands for greater military spending and conscription, and his unhinged attacks on the SEG and on Chinese people. The Daily Blog was founded in 2013 with financial support from three trade unions: Unite, the Rail and Maritime Transport Union and the New Zealand Dairy Workers Union. The union bureaucracy is supporting New Zealand's military build-up, while suppressing opposition to the government's austerity measures. The Public Service Association, the largest union, which has helped to impose thousands of redundancies across multiple government agencies, has demanded more funding for the Defence Force to ensure that 'our military is combat ready.' There is widespread opposition to war, as seen in the anti-genocide protests. But a real movement against imperialist war can only be built in opposition to the entire middle class nationalist milieu represented by the Daily Blog, which seeks to chain workers to the capitalist parties, including Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori, and the trade union apparatus. What is required is the mobilisation of the working class against capitalism, the root cause of war and the attacks on living standards and public services. To unite workers of all nationalities and backgrounds, workers must defend the rights of immigrants and reject the Daily Blog's anti-Chinese xenophobia and its threats against Pacific island countries. By Tom Peters, Socialist Equality Group 9 May 2025
Scoop
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Daily Blog Backs Compulsory Military Service
Press Release – Socialist Equality Group While advertising itself as liberal and left wing, the Daily Blog promotes the same nationalist and militarist agenda as the entire parliamentary establishment, the union bureaucracy and the corporate media. The Daily Blog, which supports New Zealand's opposition Labour and Green Parties, published an article on May 5 enthusiastically endorsing right-wing New Zealand Herald columnist Matthew Hooton's proposal for compulsory military training. Writing that 'universal military service isn't such a stupid idea,' the blog's editor Martyn Bradbury suggested that it be for a period of 10 months and apply to all people aged 16 to 18 not in education or training. Participants could choose to do charity or environmental work, such as planting trees, in addition to military training. Such a scheme, Bradbury declared, is 'incredibly important for the fabric of our society:' it would instill 'strong civic values' and a 'sense of self identity and nationhood.' This echoes Hooton's statement that military service would 'help with nation-building and social cohesion.' Bradbury concluded his article with the patriotic slogan: 'Don't ask what Aotearoa New Zealand can do for you, ask what can you do for Aotearoa New Zealand!' The Daily Blog is silent about the real purpose of military service: funnelling young people into the armed forces so they can be used as cannon fodder in the service of imperialism. The armed forces have experienced significant levels of attrition in recent years, which the right-wing National Party-led government is determined to turn around. The government, supported by the Labour Party, has committed to doubling military spending. The ruling class aims to integrate New Zealand more fully into the US imperialist build-up to war against China, as well as the NATO war against Russia and efforts to carve up the Middle East. Across the world, the ruling class is responding to the breakdown of capitalism by militarising society and preparing young people to fight. Conscription is now being openly discussed in Germany, Britain and other European countries, as the imperialist powers seek to violently redivide the world and reduce large parts of it to colonial slavery. While advertising itself as 'liberal' and 'left wing,' the Daily Blog promotes the same nationalist and militarist agenda as the entire parliamentary establishment, the union bureaucracy and the corporate media. This is not the first time that the blog has called for military training for unemployed youth. In 2016, it backed a similar proposal by the right-wing nationalist New Zealand First Party, which is part of the present coalition government. Bradbury has friendly relations with Hooton, who was a regular guest last year on The Working Group, a political podcast co-hosted by Bradbury. Hooton is a former advisor to both the National Party and its far-right coalition partner, the ACT Party. Both Hooton and Bradbury said military service should be funded as part of the plan to double military spending from 1 to 2 percent of gross domestic product, with an additional $12 billion over the next four years. This will be funded with deep cuts to healthcare, education and other public services. The Daily Blog has attacked the government from the right, demanding an even bigger increase in military spending to 3 percent of GDP. 'We can't pretend we are in a benign environment any longer,' Bradbury wrote on March 3, echoing the government's mantra. He supported moves to create a New Zealand-based drone manufacturing industry and to improve surveillance and combat capabilities, to push back against what he called 'our Chinese Economic Overlords' and to act independently of the United States. This vast military build-up is not about defending New Zealand or establishing its 'independence.' The country has not come under foreign attack since British colonisation in the 19th century. Rather, the aim is to maintain New Zealand's status as a minor imperialist power in the Pacific region, in an alliance with the US. This is why New Zealand has sent troops to successive criminal US-led wars—including against Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq—and is contributing personnel to the bombing of Yemen and training Ukrainian troops to fight against Russia. Bradbury says New Zealand's navy and air force must be capable of patrolling the 'Realm of New Zealand,' which includes far-flung Pacific island colonies—the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau—and parts of Antarctica. In February, Bradbury published an article supporting Hooton's inflammatory call for New Zealand to invade the Cook Islands in order to overturn its economic agreements with China. In an article on May 4, Bradbury ranted that 'China has managed to gain enormous power in NZ by economically owning us, having a huge diaspora living here and gaining access to bottling our water.' He demanded that 'proven collaborators' of the Chinese Communist Party 'be expelled from the country immediately.' This closely resembles the anti-Chinese demagogy of the NZ First Party. The Daily Blog has repeatedly echoed the war propaganda of the CIA and the Trump administration, including the fascist lie that COVID-19 originated in a laboratory in Wuhan. Bradbury has hysterically attacked the Socialist Equality Group as 'Chinese enablers' and demanded that it be investigated by the New Zealand intelligence agencies for 'possible treason,' because of the SEG's opposition to its warmongering. None of Bradbury's middle class 'left' collaborators has opposed his pro-war positions. These include the Labour-aligned BHN podcast (where Bradbury is a regular guest) and John Minto, the leading spokesperson for the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa. Minto's futile appeals to the government to sanction Israel for its genocide in Gaza are published on the Daily Blog alongside Bradbury's demands for greater military spending and conscription, and his unhinged attacks on the SEG and on Chinese people. The Daily Blog was founded in 2013 with financial support from three trade unions: Unite, the Rail and Maritime Transport Union and the New Zealand Dairy Workers Union. The union bureaucracy is supporting New Zealand's military build-up, while suppressing opposition to the government's austerity measures. The Public Service Association, the largest union, which has helped to impose thousands of redundancies across multiple government agencies, has demanded more funding for the Defence Force to ensure that 'our military is combat ready.' There is widespread opposition to war, as seen in the anti-genocide protests. But a real movement against imperialist war can only be built in opposition to the entire middle class nationalist milieu represented by the Daily Blog, which seeks to chain workers to the capitalist parties, including Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori, and the trade union apparatus. What is required is the mobilisation of the working class against capitalism, the root cause of war and the attacks on living standards and public services. To unite workers of all nationalities and backgrounds, workers must defend the rights of immigrants and reject the Daily Blog's anti-Chinese xenophobia and its threats against Pacific island countries. By Tom Peters, Socialist Equality Group 9 May 2025
Scoop
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Daily Blog Backs Compulsory Military Service
The Daily Blog, which supports New Zealand's opposition Labour and Green Parties, published an article on May 5 enthusiastically endorsing right-wing New Zealand Herald columnist Matthew Hooton's proposal for compulsory military training. Writing that 'universal military service isn't such a stupid idea,' the blog's editor Martyn Bradbury suggested that it be for a period of 10 months and apply to all people aged 16 to 18 not in education or training. Participants could choose to do charity or environmental work, such as planting trees, in addition to military training. Such a scheme, Bradbury declared, is 'incredibly important for the fabric of our society:' it would instill 'strong civic values' and a 'sense of self identity and nationhood.' This echoes Hooton's statement that military service would 'help with nation-building and social cohesion.' Bradbury concluded his article with the patriotic slogan: 'Don't ask what Aotearoa New Zealand can do for you, ask what can you do for Aotearoa New Zealand!' The Daily Blog is silent about the real purpose of military service: funnelling young people into the armed forces so they can be used as cannon fodder in the service of imperialism. The armed forces have experienced significant levels of attrition in recent years, which the right-wing National Party-led government is determined to turn around. The government, supported by the Labour Party, has committed to doubling military spending. The ruling class aims to integrate New Zealand more fully into the US imperialist build-up to war against China, as well as the NATO war against Russia and efforts to carve up the Middle East. Across the world, the ruling class is responding to the breakdown of capitalism by militarising society and preparing young people to fight. Conscription is now being openly discussed in Germany, Britain and other European countries, as the imperialist powers seek to violently redivide the world and reduce large parts of it to colonial slavery. While advertising itself as 'liberal' and 'left wing,' the Daily Blog promotes the same nationalist and militarist agenda as the entire parliamentary establishment, the union bureaucracy and the corporate media. This is not the first time that the blog has called for military training for unemployed youth. In 2016, it backed a similar proposal by the right-wing nationalist New Zealand First Party, which is part of the present coalition government. Bradbury has friendly relations with Hooton, who was a regular guest last year on The Working Group, a political podcast co-hosted by Bradbury. Hooton is a former advisor to both the National Party and its far-right coalition partner, the ACT Party. Both Hooton and Bradbury said military service should be funded as part of the plan to double military spending from 1 to 2 percent of gross domestic product, with an additional $12 billion over the next four years. This will be funded with deep cuts to healthcare, education and other public services. The Daily Blog has attacked the government from the right, demanding an even bigger increase in military spending to 3 percent of GDP. 'We can't pretend we are in a benign environment any longer,' Bradbury wrote on March 3, echoing the government's mantra. He supported moves to create a New Zealand-based drone manufacturing industry and to improve surveillance and combat capabilities, to push back against what he called 'our Chinese Economic Overlords' and to act independently of the United States. This vast military build-up is not about defending New Zealand or establishing its 'independence.' The country has not come under foreign attack since British colonisation in the 19th century. Rather, the aim is to maintain New Zealand's status as a minor imperialist power in the Pacific region, in an alliance with the US. This is why New Zealand has sent troops to successive criminal US-led wars—including against Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq—and is contributing personnel to the bombing of Yemen and training Ukrainian troops to fight against Russia. Bradbury says New Zealand's navy and air force must be capable of patrolling the 'Realm of New Zealand,' which includes far-flung Pacific island colonies—the Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau—and parts of Antarctica. In February, Bradbury published an article supporting Hooton's inflammatory call for New Zealand to invade the Cook Islands in order to overturn its economic agreements with China. In an article on May 4, Bradbury ranted that 'China has managed to gain enormous power in NZ by economically owning us, having a huge diaspora living here and gaining access to bottling our water.' He demanded that 'proven collaborators' of the Chinese Communist Party 'be expelled from the country immediately.' This closely resembles the anti-Chinese demagogy of the NZ First Party. The Daily Blog has repeatedly echoed the war propaganda of the CIA and the Trump administration, including the fascist lie that COVID-19 originated in a laboratory in Wuhan. Bradbury has hysterically attacked the Socialist Equality Group as 'Chinese enablers' and demanded that it be investigated by the New Zealand intelligence agencies for 'possible treason,' because of the SEG's opposition to its warmongering. None of Bradbury's middle class 'left' collaborators has opposed his pro-war positions. These include the Labour-aligned BHN podcast (where Bradbury is a regular guest) and John Minto, the leading spokesperson for the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa. Minto's futile appeals to the government to sanction Israel for its genocide in Gaza are published on the Daily Blog alongside Bradbury's demands for greater military spending and conscription, and his unhinged attacks on the SEG and on Chinese people. The Daily Blog was founded in 2013 with financial support from three trade unions: Unite, the Rail and Maritime Transport Union and the New Zealand Dairy Workers Union. The union bureaucracy is supporting New Zealand's military build-up, while suppressing opposition to the government's austerity measures. The Public Service Association, the largest union, which has helped to impose thousands of redundancies across multiple government agencies, has demanded more funding for the Defence Force to ensure that 'our military is combat ready.' There is widespread opposition to war, as seen in the anti-genocide protests. But a real movement against imperialist war can only be built in opposition to the entire middle class nationalist milieu represented by the Daily Blog, which seeks to chain workers to the capitalist parties, including Labour, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori, and the trade union apparatus. What is required is the mobilisation of the working class against capitalism, the root cause of war and the attacks on living standards and public services. To unite workers of all nationalities and backgrounds, workers must defend the rights of immigrants and reject the Daily Blog's anti-Chinese xenophobia and its threats against Pacific island countries. By Tom Peters, Socialist Equality Group 9 May 2025
