World trade at record levels; US factory prices inflate higher; commodity prices turn back up; Shanghai cargo airport hit with shutdown; UST 10yr 1.29%, oil and gold up; NZ$1 = 69.4 USc; TWI-5 = 72.8

Absolutely. The first oil-embargo (1967) wasn't effective; the second (1973) was.

The repercussion were all energy/work/growth-underwrite related, and lasted all decade. The neoliberals weren't a a cause, they were a repercussion. To arrogant, in the main, to see themselves that way, but that's what they were. But their ideology doesn't fit the facts (as indeed, most currently-held ones don't) and is thus in tatters; Trump, Collins, they're going nowhere: no direction and shooting from the hip. Actually, they've been that way for a while; I saw Key in the Milk and Money docco, lambasting water-scientist Mike Joy - how did a nation vote for that for nine years?

All the pipes paid for by generations of ratepayers?

I worry this will backfire and split the country. The only winners would be those few who can get their snouts into the trough.

frazz, the next comment you make with any semblance of intelligence will definitely be the first!

Do you honestly think that you or my mokopuna will see $1 of that. I can tell you that you will certainly see huge water costs along with the rest of us. Tell me whose pockets do you think the money will end up going into?
Lets look at some numbers.
5 million people = say 1.67million houses at say $1,600 water costs per house according to West Coast mayor.
Total income $2.67 billion per year income.
They plan to borrow $150 billion so they have to pay for the interest on that. So already their numbers are starting look to way off. Ok I know that there will be other commercial and industrial income streams so lets double the income to $5.3 billion. On long term interest rates that still looks light at 3.5% of the borrowed money.
And then they have to do some real stuff and run the enterprise with what if anything that is left after you pay the interest bill. If we work back through the existing running costs given by the mayor we end up with 1.67 m houses x $600/year = $1 B/year just for houses. But remember we doubled things to include industries and other businesses, So $2 B/year (just to do what they are doing now) But they are going to do more than what is being done now lots more. Twice? well that's going to cost $4B/yr. But wait they are also going to have to run a bunch of centralist bureaucratic top heavy organizations to achieve this. How much extra will that cost? $1 B/yr?
So lets see. $5.3 B/yr to fund the interest on $150 B, $4b/yr of real output, $1B on top heavy organizations. It doesn't even begin to add up.
So what will really happen? Nothing like the water improvements promised. Larger annual costs than the $1600/yr water costs described which you will pay.
if after all the bullshit settles and it does get up and running delivering questionable water improvements at questionable costs and does make a profit. Maori will be entitled to half of it. By the time that filters through all the elders and "betters" clicking the ticket before it gets to you, how much do you think will be left? If each of the 800,000 Maori in NZ received $100/year that would equate to $80 M/year. Twice that$160M/year. Do you see the above system producing that for you? Even if you do get that, is that going to go anywhere near the extra $1,000/ year/property (if we are lucky) that the water services will cost? We will all be going backwards even Maori.

I am afraid that Mahuta has been sold a bunch of beads and blankets or she is trying to sell us same. The real question is who is behind all this and pushing this line of BS and why. Scottish Water? Maybe maybe not. When you look at it that $150 B loan is the thing that stands out the most. Well it all stands out as pretty crazy but lets just focus on that for a minute. Without that loan accruing normal interest rates, The interest rates that you would not have to pay would release a cash flow of Several billions of dollars per year. This could all be spent as capital improvements to our water systems each and every year. To put that into perspective, that is a Fulton Hogan sized companies NZ operation plus a reasonable chunk of it's larger Australian bushiness, purely devoted to upgrading our water assets year after year. Can the country actually efficiently spend money and get real assets in our hands back that fast. I doubt it. They cant even manage to build a few houses. Sure they could splatter it all about and fritter it away pretty quickly. We have seen plenty of that recently, but where is it going and what are we getting back that is real? The other question is what is wrong with our water systems that it needs such an enormous injection. Mostly we are well served. Anyway that is just about the cashflow from interest we could save by not borrowing. What about the quantum of money if we borrowed $150 B? How could we spend that in any meaningful time frame when we would be struggling to spend the interest on it. Presumably if somebody gave you a dollop of $150 B you would stick it in the bank and probably earn higher interest than you are paying because to make this fly the interest rates we would be paying must be pretty low. That means that we would be having to invest in capital improvements just to keep up with the surplus cash-flow plus profit on the interest received less the interest paid. It just doesn't make sense. The key to it is that loan. It's like the mortgage on the house. The bank owns the house. So who ever is loaning us that money effectively owns our water resources. Not Maori or councils. Who ever has lent us that money will be calling the shots. Could it possibly be the Chinese? Do you think that they would like to own our water assets and have a stranglehold over the whole country? This is exactly the sort of thing that we are seeing them do with countries all around the world through their Belt and Road scheme. Buying off countries through seemingly cheap huge loans that will never be paid back. It is entirely possible that Mahuta is selling out all NZ for beads and blankets. Don't expect Collins and the National Party to object because as we saw during their term they were totally in the pocket of the Chinese.

Having cornered themselves by disclaiming any notion of tax grabs that had been in mind prior to the 2017 election this Labour government is resorting to taxing by stealth, but this one here is even worse, tax by subversion. Any attempt to legislate this prior to the next election will undoubtedly get the people marching. Certainly with sinister hidden agendas like this nobody in their right mind would give any government more than a three year term period.

Yrs Murray. And why would we try to set up a race based politicl system. South Africa gave up on that idea decades ago.

It is the last part of The Three Musketeers novels (that being the first title.) Would need to start there and it is the best of them, Iron Mask the next best. If you are looking for a more modern historical fiction try and get A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, best read I have had in many a year.

"My grandchildren matter more than myself."

Finally - someone is thinking about kids

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300390708/under12s-…

"Cases are on the rise among children in New South Wales, but to date this hasn’t been accompanied by a large increase in paediatric hospitalisations. Recent data show increased rates of hospitalisation among children in the US with Covid-19 compared to last year, alongside rising infections with the Delta variant. But even though the rate has gone up, it remains low. ..."

"Reassuringly, a recent study found only a small proportion of children had symptoms beyond four weeks after their initial Covid infection, and almost all children had recovered by eight weeks.."

The article then goes on ask, so What is the benefit of injecting kids? Yes, good question.
And that old cracker, herd immunity & collective benefit comes up .... sigh

We can rest assured, the drug companies wont be cutting any corners to popping out another few million jabs indemnity free ...

. . my comment was not an endorsement of Bezos , anything but ...
.
But ... we've lost a mega contract to the UK , thanks to our MIQ ... the UK's TV & film industry is robust ... our's isn't ... the LOTR contract was a biggie , a keeper ...

I don't blame Bezos (which doesn't mean I like the guy) but Bezos making a profit by risking his own money is fair enough (so long as others can compete). What aggravates is remembering ATEED boasting how the Auckland film studio facilities was a justification for ATEED and its $50m pa of taxpayers money. ATEED has disappeared but the memory lingers on. If a facility is a worthy investment risk leave it to investors putting their own money into it.