The austerity Government that isn’t and the recession that wasn’t

The austerity Government that isn’t and the recession that wasn’t
Things are not looking too good for the West Island either. (Image: File)
Paul McBeth
Oof! The September quarter national accounts and the Government’s half-year update made for some pretty rugged reading last week.There’s red ink aplenty in the Crown accounts, with deficits as far as the eye can see and a persistent case of borrow-and-spend coming out of the Beehive. An operating surplus isn’t on the cards for a few more years, and the looming step-up in unemployment isn’t going to help matters, given our favoured form of taxation is at the income source.Much was made of the new operating balance me...

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TTR files fast-track application to mine Taranaki sand
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TTR files fast-track application to mine Taranaki sand

Seabed mining firm Trans-Tasman Resources has lodged its application to fast-track its project to harvest iron sands off the coast of Taranaki. The firm's parent company, Manuka Resources, told the Australian Securities Exchange (NZX) on Wednesday that the application was lod...

Staff reporters 16 Apr 2025