Returning Hipkins as PM, the man who waged war on Auckland, turned us into prisoners, caused stagnation & will tax your family home, is unthinkable

Whatever the (glaring) faults of the Nats and Chris Luxon, who has disappointed many of us, the idea of returning Opposition Leader Hipkins to Prime Minister next year is unthinkable. Hipkins is the man who threw Auckland into endless lockdowns as recently as 2021-22 and wrecked the education of a generation of Kiwi school children who spent that time doing nothing or surfing the Web. He failed to recognize his "elimination policy" had long-before reached its expiry date. We still loathe the man up here in Auckland. Last week he had the gall to visit the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and tell them all how he wanted their vote. I'm surprised anyone was in the meeting, since Hipkins' policies were designed to all but wipe commerce in Auckland. Truth is, Hipkins is desperate for our economy to keep doing badly so he can get his foot in the door at the next election.

Hipkins has just told OneNews that Labour will be campaigning on "tax reform". Then he repeated the cliche that in NZ, "too much investment was going into property rather than productive businesses that create jobs". I know of no evidence whatsoever such a statement is true. In nearly every country in the world, people have for centuries piled into property as being a low risk, high yielding asset. Hipkins added, "We've got to rejig the tax system so that the burden of taxation is more evenly spread". The only way Labour can push people into not buying properties & into the incredibly risky business of buying businesses is by taxing the family home. However, every time I've heard born-again capital gains tax supporter Labour MP (and former Revenue Minister) David Parker speak on the topic, he's said Labour would make the family home exempt. How can one say you are doing tax reform to avoid people buying property and then make property exempt? Only a very small proportion of Kiwis are landlords, and of the ones that are, they typically have just one investment property.

The good news is that by confirming - as DownToEarth.Kiwi long-ago predicted - Labour would propose "tax-reform" for Election 2026, which means introducing new taxes to go after those with capital, ensures they will lose. Why? Although the Nats have been weak performers, Hipkins is going to turn the next election into one about taxes. But no one trusts him to use the tax revenue that he raises through new taxes wisely. Look at his track record - an explosion of bureaucracy & wasteful spending that he personally oversaw last time he was PM. He bears responsibility for NZ's stagnation. Before the last election he declared NZ was one the fastest growing economies in the world when we're one of the slowest. He should go the way of Adrian Orr, Ardern and Robertson, and resign. There must be another University, not just Otago, that can offer this failed former Labour Leader who doesn't know when to quit, and wants us to forget his past, the job of Vice Chancellor?

It beggars belief: why do PM Luxon & Minister Bishop's 100 foreign investors "visiting" NZ next week comprise 50 local Auckland firms?

This Blog does genuinely try to be non-partisan, making it neither a friend of National, nor Labour. We're doing what State Broadcasters Radio NZ & One News should be doing, but are not, since they became a front for Labour, Greens & Te Pāti Māori. On that note, its quite an accusation, and maybe something is wonky with my sources, but it looks like the PM & Infrastructure Minister may have not told the truth about their Investment Conference, held next week in Auckland. I'd like to believe I'm wrong. Here goes. The Beehive has formally announced: "Going for growth: International investment summit to boost infrastructure & jobs: About 100 of the world’s high-profile investors, business leaders & construction companies are expected to visit NZ in March for a global investment summit." The statement is signed by PM Luxon & Minister Bishop. What's the problem? Today the NZ Herald says, "Revealed: The international businesses invited to Auckland investment summit". Look at their list of 100 international businesses who are "visiting" Auckland (in the words of the Beehive). By my count, fully one half of them are local Auckland businesses.

How can one make that extraordinary claim? The Guest List, in terms of Auckland law firms alone, reads: Bell Gully (where Finance Minister Willis' father was a partner), Buddle Finlay, Minter Ellison Rudd Watts, Simpson Grierson & Russell McVeigh. Jeepers. On top of them the Big Auckland Accounting Firms KPMG and BDO have piled in. As well as Big Monopoly Banks ANZ, ASB, BNZ and Westpac. What boggles belief is that the folks most responsible for exporting investment capital out of (not into) NZ in the form of our local asset managers (who buy stocks in places like the US, using Kiwi Saver and other funds) fill out the Guest List like flies on rotting meat. They include Craig's Investments, First Cape (it owns JB Were), Simplicity, Jarden, Milford Asset Management & NZ Super Fund. Why has Big Monopoly Fletcher Building been invited? Isn't one point of the conference to increase competition Will its CEO tell potential foreign investors NZ is a terrible place to invest so he can get the work? The companies we've named above make up nearly 20% of the attendees. Where is (Solar Panels) Blackrock? The United Arab Emirates? It is so bizarre, it can't be true. Surely the list in the Herald is the wrong one?

From an economist's point of view, this doesn't look like a conference where overseas firms will be sizing up Foreign Direct Investments in NZ, which, by definition, means taking stakes with significant control of projects. It looks more like Auckland fund managers trying to get money from bigger funds for their funds so they can slice off commissions. It looks like Big Auckland Law Firms touting for work. Why were they given official state entry, whereas smaller law firms were not? Does Finance Minister, Nicola Willis, who is attending, like how her Dad's law firm, Bell Gully, is also attending, whereas smaller firms like TGT, one of NZ's finest, are not? Did Willis invite Bell Gully? Foreign investors shouldn't be told what lawyer to hire. Will the PM tell them, "And Nicola can put you in touch with a good one" ? Why invite any? Inviting Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (NZ) is odd. Its Chairman is Don Brash, former National Party Leader. Doesn't he already know about opportunities in NZ? One doesn't want to pour cold water on things, but can National please become the real deal, rather than trying to pull off marketing & PR stunts like Ardern? The Beehive writes that 100 overseas firms are "visiting" NZ to discuss investments. No they are not. The PM says his conference is about Foreign Direct Investment, not short term portfolio investments, which NZ already has no problem attracting. The Kiwi $ is one of the world's most traded. But we're not after that kind of "hot money". New Zealand is after long term investments that bring technical expertise with them. By my count, fully one half of the 100 attendees are local firms, most of them middle-men on-commissions. What's going on? I must be wrong.