Friday's Early Bird & Dawn Chorus: Choosing $30b of motorways instead of real wage increases

Briefly in the news in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, poverty and climate:* Over 100,000 teachers, nurses, doctors and supporters marched in most major cities and towns yesterday, demanding more than 1% per year wage increases offered by the Government, which would leave them getting real wage cuts and add pressure for more emigration to Australia.* The turnout was the biggest in 40 years, adding to signs the public are behind the strikes. A poll this week showed 65% of voters supported the campaign. The turnout would have been even greater, but Wellington’s march was called off because of the weather.* The cost of National’s 17 Roads of National Significance (RONs) has already blown out by up to $14 billion to around $30 billion since the party promised in early 2023 they could build the motorways and dig the tunnels for $17 billion, Marc Daalder reports for Newsroom. * Dairy farmers are set to receive $18.2 billion in cash payouts and dividends from Fonterra this season, thanks to bumper milk prices and a $3.2 billion capital return from the sale of its consumer products businesses. But ASB expects 40-60% of the capital return will be saved or used to repay debt, rather than spent into the economy, with most of the rest spent in retail, manufacturing, travel and real estate services.Subscribe in full as a paying subscriber to get more analysis and detail in the video and podcast above, and below the paywall. Today’s Picks n’ Mixes are also below the paywall. Paying subscribers can also access our webinars, our chat room and can comment on articles. Having paying subscribers allows me to open up articles occasionally for the public. I’ll open this one if we get over 100 likes.Chart of the day: ‘Wrong way. Turn around.’Table of the day: That’s B for Billions.Quote of the day: Value for money?“They can’t afford to properly resource the firefighters and nurses to do their job, but they have this extraordinary sense that somehow building these roads is going to be worth more money than they have.” Green Transport Spokesperson Julie Anne GenterToday’s Top Pick ‘n Mix Six* The Lead: Laura Walters for Newsroom Pro-$: Employment authority called in as Govt, unions try to break impasse ‘The Govt side is reaching for every tool in its employment relations kete – including a rarely used clause to try and force a deal on ‘bad faith’ doctors. But unions representing those workers say it’s more money and better conditions that will ultimately shift the dial.’* The Sidebar: Analysis by Marc Daalder for Newsroom: $5b-plus blowout for eight Roads of National Significance* Scoop: Megan Wilson for Rotorua Post via NZ Herald: Doctor collapses ‘mid-procedure’ after six hours with no break, nurse claims* Deep-dive: Explainer by Shanti Mathias for The Spinoff: The strong winds hitting Aotearoa, explained * Column: Audrey Young for NZ Herald-$: A moving tribute to Jim Bolger – from a Green MP, which refers to this (not paywalled) Steve Abel’s story about Jim Bolger* Op-Ed: Philippa Howden-Chapman for NZ Herald-$: Why ideology won’t house the disadvantagedTop Six Scoops and breaking news this morning* Rob Stock for The Post-$: Future insurance scenarios from bad to apocalyptic feature in Suncorp’s climate risk report ‘If the world rises to over 3 degree celsius, large parts of it become uninsurable, and while NZ produce will be needed, it will also likely also be inundated with climate migrants.’* Lucy Cooper for The Wairarapa Times Age-$: Midwives warn of crisis as Wairarapa scan services shut down ’Midwives say Wairarapa is on the brink of an ultrasound “crisis”, with pregnant women soon to have decreased local access to key scans after both private providers reduced their maternity services.’* Russell Palmer for RNZ: Children’s Minister accepts state care harm stats don’t provide full picture* RNZ: Prisoner waited four months for mental health help before suicide* Reuters: US sanctions Russian oil majors over Ukraine, prompting jitters in India and China* Reuters: China state oil majors suspend Russian oil buys due to sanctionsThe Best of the RestPolitics & Geopolitics* Deep-dive via RNZ: Thousands march through streets as part of nationwide strike action* Samantha Gee for RNZ: Workers abandon strike action after generator fails at hospital* Analysis by Derek Cheng for NZ Herald-$: Fish hooks and cautious support - GPs weigh up Labour’s new health policy* Louis Williams for RNZ: A question of intent: Takutai Moana Bill passes third reading* 1News: Right to repair: Davidson apologises after missing bill speaking slot* Column by Lyric Waiwiri-Smith for The Spinoff: Echo Chamber: Burn, baby, burn the bill ‘Willie Jackson called David Seymour ‘stupid in the head’, Marama Davidson missed a reading of her own bill, and two controversial laws were passed.’Economy, Business, Media & Tech* RNZ: Fonterra sale could inject $4.5b into economy* RNZ: New Air NZ boss wants ‘situational subsidy’ for domestic routes* David Chaston for Interest: Westpac cuts again to reclaim some market lows* Mandy Te for Interest: Could the surcharge ban lead to the end of EFTPOS?* Column by Martin Sandbu for FT-$:Are we worrying too much about public debt? ‘The real burden of debt is just returning to normal, and is even moderate by historical standards. Take the US government: it now needs to devote the same share of the economy to interest payments as it did in the late 1990s — just under 4 per cent.’* Analysis of NZIER study for MedicinesNZ by Pattrick Smellie for BusinessDesk (not paywalled):How Pharmac’s set-up risks higher health costs ‘ ‘Pharmac’s ability to wring low prices for off-patent modern medicines is outweighed by the fact that it works to a fixed budget. Underspending on modern medicines may be contributing to NZ’s higher demand for high-cost hospital and residential care services compared to other wealthy countries.’Housing, Transport, Poverty, Health, Living Costs, Income & Climate* RNZ: It’ll soon be easier to build granny flats in the backyard, if they’re small* Deep-dive by Mariné Lourens for The Press-$: Cancer centres a ‘necessity’ as cases are forecast to double by 2040 ‘Cancer patients will double by 2040. A prominent surgeon says dedicated cancer centres have now become a “necessity”, rather than an aspiration.’* Deep-dive by Mariné Lourens for The Press-$ Could this quick procedure be the answer to NZ’s new bowel cancer epidemic? ‘Christchurch surgeon Dr Phil Bagshaw says there is “a new epidemic” of bowel cancer increasingly affecting younger people, and a rethink of our screening approach is needed.’* Explainer by Serena Solomon for RNZ: Why apartment living is the dream for these families* Deep-dive by Jonathan Leask for LDR via RNZ: Millions flow into Canterbury flood protection pushCartoons of the day: ‘Just like you and me.’Timeline-cleansing nature picKa kite anoBernardPS: Here’s the PDF of my presentation used in the Dawn Chorus above. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit thekaka.substack.com/subscribe