'The cuts will continue until the economy improves'

Morena. Long stories short on Wednesday, December 4, with more detail and analysis in the podcast above:* Health Minister Shane Reti says spending cuts will continue for an extra year into 2027 because of a delay in Health NZ achieving a ‘surplus’.* Finance Minister Nicola Willis can’t supply a select committee with evidence austerity works to grow economies. * The actual evidence via the OECD, IMF and World Bank shows budget cutting doesn’t work to grow economies, instead reducing GDP, especially when the tightening is done during a recession when monetary policy is tight. * Three opinion polls published over the last week show the Governing National-ACT-NZ First coalition lead over the Labour-Green-Te Pāti Māori Opposition bloc has evaporatedas the recession grinds on and concerns about health escalate.Charts du JourIMF research showing Willis’ strategy increases debt-to-GDPRoy Morgan’s NZ poll showing Govt honeymoon is overThe Kākā’s Journal of Record for Wednesday December 4* Housing and population: Stats NZ released in-depth 2023 Census data on families, households, location, socioeconomic metrics, and housing via the Aotearoa Data Explorer. Findings include that 55,779 households always experienced significant problems with mould in 2023, as compared to 64,386 in 2018. * Transport: Control of regional transport policy and planning will be returned from Auckland Transport to Auckland Council under significant Auckland travel reforms announced by Transport Minister Simeon Brown & Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown. The Government will create a new Auckland Regional Transport Committee to develop a 30-year plan for Auckland. NZ Herald* Health: Te Whatu Ora Health NZ's newly-released statement of performance indicated budget cuts will continue until 2027, including more voluntary redundancies. Health Minister Dr. Shane Reti said Te Whatu Ora was "making encouraging process" towards lowering its “deficit.” 1News* Electricity: Electricity retailers will not be able to disconnect customers with medical power needs under new Electricity Authority consumer protection obligations coming into effect from 2025. Under the obligations, electricity retailers will also need to ensure any fees or charges are "reasonable".* Climate: A global study including NIWA scientists found that warmer temperatures reduce the ability of wetlands to store carbon. The researchers buried teabags in wetlands across 28 countries and collected them at different time intervals, with better-preserved teabags indicating the wetland’s better ability to store carbon.* Privacy: The Privacy Commissioner reported a record high 1003 complaints were submitted last financial year. Privacy Commissioner Michael Webster said many complaints focused on agencies being "unwilling or unable" to meet their Privacy Act obligations by giving people access to information held by the agencies.Cartoon du Jour: ‘We’re just not that into him’Timeline-cleansing nature pic of the dayMā te WāBernard 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