News Zealand

Summary

Natalia Cleland of Downtown Community Ministry (DCM) discusses the organization's work with marginalized and homeless individuals in Wellington. DCM has been providing support for 54 years and focuses on ending homelessness and advocating for the most vulnerable. They have government contracts for housing first and outreach services, but also rely on donations. The conversation explores the increase in homelessness in New Ze...

Summary

Infrastructure New Zealand is an industry body representing infrastructure building companies and other stakeholders. They advocate for infrastructure projects that are best for the sector and the country. The politicization of infrastructure and the lack of stable funding have led to a significant infrastructure deficit in New Zealand. The government's approach to infrastructure has been inconsistent, leading to uncertainty...

Hunch.co.nz

Welcome to Aotearoa Tomorrow. I’m Arthur Falls. Today we have Michael Goldthorpe, a managing partner of the PR firm Hunch. Hunch was involved in developing the Labour party’s PR strategy for their unsuccessful reelection campaign this year so hearing about how Michael views the campaign is really valuable. It is rare to get a deep analysis of any competition from a losing side and doubly rare to get one from a Public rel...

https://berl.co.nz/

Welcome to Aotearoa Tomorrow. I’m Arthur Falls. Today we are speaking with Hugh Parsons, an economist at BERL, one of our largest advisory organisations. Hugh’s focused on ecological biodiversity and the Emissions Trading scheme which is the focus of this interview. New Zealand has agreed to reduce its emissions under the Paris climate accord. The ETS is supposed to help with this by putting a price on the emissi...

Summary

The conversation explores the topic of income inequality and the declining share of labor in the total income of society. Geoff Bertram, an economist, discusses the historical trends and factors that have contributed to this phenomenon, including neoliberal policies and the erosion of labor bargaining power. He also highlights the concentration of wealth and excessive profits in certain sectors of the economy. The conversati...

Summary

Max Rashbrook discusses the disparities in wealth and income distribution in New Zealand, highlighting the impact of low wages and underemployment. He explores the challenges of increasing the minimum wage and the need for higher value sectors in the economy. Rashbrook also emphasizes the lack of government investment in research and development and the influence of the real estate market on capital allocation. He concludes ...

https://www.nzinitiative.org.nz/

Are local councils contributing to the housing crisis? If so how? And more importantly, is there a solution to be found in public policy.

Eric Crampton has some answers for us. He’s an economist at a think tank called the New Zealand initiative, which traces it’s roots to the business roundtable, a think tank formed in the 80s. The business roundtable is a historically interesting organisation because...

Links:

https://informedfutures.org/?s=paul+spoonley

https://informedfutures.org/challenges-to-social-cohesion/

Today we’re joined by Paul Spoonley a researcher focused on social cohesion – the sense of connection that binds together the many cultures that make New Zealand, Aotearoa their home. I contacted him because of his involvement with a university of auckland-led organisation called the center for informed futures.

Part of Paul’s...

In this conversation, Arthur Falls interviews Moko Tepania, the mayor of the Far North, discussing his popularity, the challenges of local governance, and the dynamics between local and central government. Moko emphasizes the importance of community engagement, the realities of budget constraints, and the need to empower communities in decision-making. The discussion also touches on the complexities of fulfilling legal obligations ...