Christopher Luxon, New Zealand Prime Minister 2023

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Forums › Politics › Christopher Luxon, New Zealand Prime Minister 2023

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#3247445 11-Jun-2024 13:28

SaltyNZ:
invisibleman18:

If you have a 12.30am finish (which it can easily be with bill readings etc) and then a 7.30am start, it doesn't seem unreasonable to have somewhere to sleep and shower in Wellington rather than adding an hour commute onto both ends of that. But if it's your own mortgage free place then it doesn't feel right to be claiming an allowance - the rules probably need reviewing.

Probably thousands of people who have those hours, nearly all getting paid a hell of a lot less than an MP. And they don't get free accommodation to make up for it.

Agreed, I said the rules need reviewing.

sen8or

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#3247561 11-Jun-2024 17:03

freitasm:

gzt: Luxon and the National team will reduce the frequency of post cabinet press conferences apparently. It's been my impression they have been feeling some difficulties there.

https://newsroom.co.nz/2024/06/10/luxon-reduces-frequency-of-post-cabinet-press-conference/

Isn't that what Trump did when he got cornered?

I seem to remember a previous PM who cancelled appearances on a morning breakfast radio show too, but whatever way you cut it, less transparency is rarely a good thing

quickymart

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#3247634 11-Jun-2024 19:18

SJB:

I seem to remember one of his last Press Secretaries (they were all called Miss D Blonde) didn't hold a single press conference in over a year.

Stephanie Grisham? I read her book, ironically titled "I'll Take Your Questions Now". Very interesting what went on behind the scenes in the Trump administration.

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#3247680 11-Jun-2024 21:40

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2024/06/national-labour-lose-support-in-new-poll-support-for-christopher-luxon-plummets.html

Interesting to see another poll with support for Luxon dropping, even with the tax cuts being announced.

freitasm

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Geekzone

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#3247683 11-Jun-2024 21:51

Tax cuts, you say?

quickymart

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#3247689 11-Jun-2024 22:10

freitasm:

Tax cuts, you say?

😃 maybe I should have said "after the budget announcement" - sorry about that.

GV27

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#3247724 12-Jun-2024 06:57

I find these stories more useful than what individual MPs may or may not be doing:

https://www.thepost.co.nz/politics/350307443/23-mps-rent-back-their-own-homes-taxpayers-expense

Twenty-three MPs are claiming an allowance of between $34,00-$52,000 to stay in their own Wellington homes, a perk that sees the taxpayer help politicians pay off their mortgages.

Worth considering that there is an asset limit on the accommodation allowance that ordinary people can get in the form of social support, which would realistically rule out anyone with a house in the first place.

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sir1963

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#3247725 12-Jun-2024 07:15

freitasm:

Tax cuts, you say?

Including Inflation and current prices...just another block of Cheese...

JPNZ

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#3247733 12-Jun-2024 08:02

sir1963:

freitasm:

Tax cuts, you say?

Including Inflation and current prices...just another block of Cheese...

I think he means tax technically wasn't cut, they just shifted the brackets.

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gzt

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#3247758 12-Jun-2024 10:51

quickymart:
freitasm: Tax cuts, you say?
😃 maybe I should have said "after the budget announcement" - sorry about that.

does seem to have fallen somewhat short of the $250 promised in marketing

ezbee

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#3247875 12-Jun-2024 13:50

Its all fiscal responsibility until its my perks and my pay increase :-)

Tax cuts ?
Landlords seem to like theirs along with a promised progression for more.

Cost of landlord tax break increased by $800m to $2.9b
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/cost-of-landlord-tax-break-increased-by-800m-to-29b/B7ZMET343BHQTHVOBCSQDM4ARY

Government also cutting building of social housing and other housing programs.
While Kiwibuild did not deliver on the over-the-top numbers, it has created more homes.
Building companies have been able to backstop larger developments with a portion of Kiwibuild.

Nearly 1300 homes on hold amid government review
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/517044/nearly-1300-homes-on-hold-amid-government-review

""
Official Information Act documents showed if all the developments linked to KiwiBuild that were paused went ahead, they would result in 1,283 homes.

Those included 690 KiwiBuild homes and 593 market homes.

KiwiBuild works by underwriting a portion of homes in new developments. In return, participating developers agree to sell them to eligible buyers below or at the programme's price caps.

Market homes are developments not underwritten by the government, but which are able to be built because of the extra money freed up for the developers by their other properties being underwritten.
""

GV27

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#3248388 13-Jun-2024 13:15

ezbee:

Official Information Act documents showed if all the developments linked to KiwiBuild that were paused went ahead, they would result in 1,283 homes.

Those included 690 KiwiBuild homes and 593 market homes.

KiwiBuild works by underwriting a portion of homes in new developments. In return, participating developers agree to sell them to eligible buyers below or at the programme's price caps.

Market homes are developments not underwritten by the government, but which are able to be built because of the extra money freed up for the developers by their other properties being underwritten.
""

Pretty normal with the change in Government. From memory HLC held off on the Northcote development post-2017 which was slated to go ahead with the Axis first home program that had been balloting houses at Hobsonville Point for the same prices the revised Kiwibuild ("Our costings are totally up to date, honest! Oh wait") ended up landing.

Still a little weirded out by that as a name tbh.

Handle9

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#3249715 16-Jun-2024 21:07

GV27:

The whole allowances scheme needs to be heavily revised. Big fan of the 'pay them a nominal amount extra depending on where they're coming from' and letting them work out how to cover the costs themselves.

That's exactly how the accommodation allowance works.

Incidentally it's how my accommodation allowance works in the UAE. I use it to pay the mortgage in a house I own.

SaltyNZ

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#3249749 17-Jun-2024 08:39

Handle9:

That's exactly how the accommodation allowance works.

Incidentally it's how my accommodation allowance works in the UAE. I use it to pay the mortgage in a house I own.

The differences are that a) the UAE is not a 45 minute drive from your regular place of residence and b) presumably your employer is aware of what you are doing and is OK with it. MP's employers are the taxpayers who are in some cases deciding between rent and food. Many of them are not OK with an MP who lives 45 minutes from work claiming an accommodation allowance to pay off their own property.

To be honest though I am a bit surprised your employer would be OK with it. Before I started at Vodafone I spent over 5 years commuting every week from Sydney mostly to Auckland. If I had told them I was buying an apartment in Auckland I expect they probably would have given me a bit to move my stuff over but they sure as hell wouldn't have kept paying me an accommodation allowance to live in it.

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SaltyNZ

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#3249864 17-Jun-2024 09:54

Great to see Chris Luxon making good on his promise to fly commercial if elected.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon was "frustrated" and "disappointed" as he left Papua New Guinea on Sunday after a Defence Force plane breakdown, Trade Minister Todd McClay says.

We are in a recession that this government created and it would be inappropriate for us to actually commit and spend new money on planes in a recession, and therefore my personal view is we travel commercial.

What I'd say to you, there's a whole bunch of options - you know, commercial travel; charter travel - there's a whole range of other options available to the New Zealand government.

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