Speak Up

The Statistics NZ website shows that the average income for Kiwis in 2006 was $24,400 per year.
40% of us are earning less than $15,000, and 50% of us are making less than $20,000 per year.
Our minimum wage and average wage rate fall well-below our Australian counterparts. As a nation we are working an average of 887 hours per year. Why should any hard-working honest kiwi be living off such a meagre salary?
Many kiwis are struggling to put food on the table, buy clothing and shoes for their children and other necessities of life.
Whilst in sharp contrast; our politicians are earning ...

Three companies are planning 16 new indoor dairy farms for the Mackenzie basin in the central South Island. Housing up to 18,000 cows in "cubicle stables" for 24 hours a day for eight months of the year.
For this plan to follow through, the 3 companies must gain consent from Environment Canterbury, the application forms have already been lodged.

The Green Party raised the alarm about this prop ...

Lisa Kuka, mother of murdered Rotorua pre-schooler Nia Glassie, has lost her appeal today against her conviction and sentence for manslaughter.

The Court of Appeal said Kuka's prison term, (for nine years on two counts of manslaughter), could not be challenged or overturned.
Manslaughter charges against Kuka alleged she failed to provide the necessaries of life, and failed to protect a child from violence - thereby causing Nia's death.

Three-year-old Nia died of brain injuries on August 3, 2007. Evidence shows that she had been physically abused for some time beforehand, including being kicked and being put in a clothes dryer at top heat.
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Police, courts and local authorities were granted greater powers to crack down on illegal street racing as of December 1, 2009.
Transport Minister Steven Joyce said dangerous, disruptive and antisocial behaviour associated with illegal street racing would not be tolerated.

Street racers caught in the act will lose their licences and vehicles sooner because
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This year, murderer Bio O'Brien was sentenced to only 3 years imprisonment after aggressively attacking and killed Jasmatbhai Patel in a fit of road rage. Mr. Patel, 78, died the following day in hospital. In court O'Brien, 28, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter. As a result Judge Potts sentenced O’Brien only to 3 years in jail for a guilty plea and showing remorse.

Xue strangled his wife An An Liu, 27, before dumping her body in the boot of the family car and fleeing to Australia with their three-year-old daughter Qian ...

1080 is the name for a toxic poison with no antidote used by DOC (Department Of Conservation), to kill possums and rats. It is a substance that is classified as “extremely hazardous” by the World Health Organization. So harmful is the poison that it is banned in almost every country in the world except Australia and New Zealand, and next to outlawed in the US since 1972.
DOC is currently poised to drop 45,690 kilograms of 1080 poison bait (2kg per hectare) over 22,845ha of the Kahurangi National Park, in an area that includes the Heaphy Track.
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Lately there is a prominence of publicly naming policemen in newspapers, for behaving illegally or inappropriately whilst they have been off-duty.
For instance, earlier this year in March, three Auckland City constables were named and charged for assault. Another constable was named and charged for avoiding a blood test for drink driving using a legal loophole. And today, a retired police officer has been named and charged for ...

Lately it appears that our politicians perceive the spending of our taxpayer dollars is merely a nickel and dime issue. However, with the rest of the population facing economic struggle and inequality, it is not acceptable that politicians are rampantly revelling in perks such as expenses-paid travel for themselves and their girlfriends, on top of their salaries. What's more is the absence of consequence or disciplinary action.

The grand total for transport and accommodation for all MPs for the past six months is a shade under $7.7 million. This implies we would be running at around 15 million dollars of taxpayer dollars a year for MPs' travel and related expenses.
Former perk-buster Rodney Hide has used his MP's travel privileges to take his girlfriend on an overseas tour, leaving the taxpayer with a $25,163 bill for her flights.
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A referendum of Anti-smacking laws was taken into effect in 2009, expending nearly 9 million of taxpayer dollars. However, the fact is although the petition organisers collected signature numbers well above the required 10 per cent of registered voters (285,000) – the question was completely inaccurate and their description did not fit the purpose of the Anti-smacking law at all. The question asked:
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New Zealand currently has one of the highest tax rates in the world.
We operate under a "Progressive tax system" where income is taxed in brackets/categories according to Annual gross earnings.

The Personal Income Tax amendment made in April 2009 [see below for data] hardly addressed any of the tax issues. Tax bracket categories were increased for most groups. The only reduction made in tax rate was for the highest bracket ($70,000 and over) and only reduced by a meagre 1%.
The Tax rate is still much too high. And they by no means reflect the bulk of New Zealand. ...

The recession hitting our shores has resulted in many businesses cutting down on costs by making workers redundant. Redundancy and unemployment rates are through the roof, and most of us can say we are either effected or know someone effected by these employment cutbacks.
The Government is still attempting to respond to the high numbers on the unemployment/sickness benefit, the high demand seeking employment and the low supply for employers looking to hire.
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In attempt to resolve high road tolls, Government is preparing to raise the legal driving age from 15 to 17 or perhaps 16; and extend the Learner licence period from 6 months to one year.
In response to public pleas, Transport Minister Steven Joyce is preparing to propose a Bill to the Cabinet early next year. Joyce is also planning to propose the idea of making Restricted licence test stricter and possibly ban young people from driving high-powered vehicles. The Transport Minister often refers to the fact that statistics show that young drivers are responsible for 37 percent of serious injury crashes to support his proposal to government.
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“Quite frankly, I don’t give a shit what New Zealanders think,” and "White motherf*ckers have been raping our lands and ripping us off for centuries" are comments recently made by MP Hone Harawira in regards to questioning about the $53,000 of tax payer money he spent on travel in a period of 3 months.

MP Hone Harawira might’ve given an apology of sorts for his obscene and offensive racist comments towards other ethnic groups. And this isn’t the first instance where Harawira has demonstrated that he is unable to control his language. ...

The ACC spent $37 million on complementary and alternative medicine (Cam) in the 2007-2008 year up from $18.4 million in 2003-2004.
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Motorcyclists cost ACC less than other road users, a leading researcher says.

Several hundred motorcyclists rode down Christchurch's Colombo St to Cathedral Square on Saturday to protest against ACC proposals to increase motorcycle levies by up to $500.
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When you buy chicken from a supermarket you'd assume it's a good source of nutritional benefit, namely protein.
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