Not the one in the quad between the library archway and the English Dept? Or whatever they are in their current iteration? No, I think that was a copper beech. Anyway, sad!

The huge Copper Beech is still there
the Ginkgo was outside the Observatory tower
it created a foul…

I would be rather peeved if I was in a rental property and forced to tend silverbeet so I could learn about the wonders of fresh produce

You might not get to start on the silverbeet. If you piss off your fellow community gardeners you might be on compost duty.…

Goff has faced charges that this is a difference-for-difference's sake gimmick which would not only be an administrative hassle, but, worse, sets an unwelcome precedent which will fray the whole fabric of GST.

It…

Okay, inventors – get out there and do-

This is where a sari comes in handy. For the fuller figure out there there is a number of ways a sari can be tied and my man once proved to me such ways without a bra that work.(bloody ol' hippy)

But if only we could somehow give all the downtrodden, morbidly obese solo mothers living in squalor their own Les Mills personal trainer we could transform their lives.

Now, I know that's a quote from an illogical unreasonable person, but I'm sure there are people reading it going "yeah actually,…

Watched a family gather bags of cones one year.

ditto the Ginkgo trees, there'll be some sad harvesters this year when they find out the one in The Arts Centre has gone – a victim of the Earthquake apparently (well removed so cranes could get in I heard)

She's clearly been guzzling back the doubles at the self-help cabinet again. Debs, put down 'The Secret' and step away from the shelf.

Gold

I have a friend who's lived for years in a small street in Bondi Junction, where the street trees are well-established macadamias. They crop heavily, but outsiders keep an eye on them, and at the crucial time they do a dawn sweep with all the…

But the units who did get their gardens set up were very happy with them.

Reminds me of this good old drug taking hippie.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLNasWaJnJY&feature=related

George, that's a very cool idea. Also good for children in the houses, to learn about gardening etc, and promote an interest in the well-being of the property.

One of the saddest things I've had to do, a while back, was turn my late dad's excellent garden…

Debs, put down 'The Secret' and step away from the shelf. We've talked about this before. You know it's for your own good. We're only trying to help you.

Deborah Hill Conehead self-satirises and offers an alternative 'solution'. What would really help is the power of…

$250m could help set up an awful lot of community vege gardens and fruit orchards – something that is happening anyway and restricted mainly by funding for the skilled coordination and negotiation involved as well as some materials.

My brother was employed by Housing NZ to just that in a…

There is a great middle eastern place near Hell's Pizza on Dominion road that has cheap supplies and nice hummus if you don't feel like making it yourself.

We're surely getting close once again to a priori conceptions of falafel...

Meredith's is indeed very expensive but a memorable experience. The smaller places seem to often do one dish very well and the rest of the menu ... um ... less well. I like Zap2's green curry but the rest…

Remind me again how this happened?

long answer is long.

But short answer is because costs to growers are much higher and supermarkets have found there is a reasonably high tolerance for inflated prices.

One practice that is particularly unpleasant is supermarkets buy all the fruit and then store it.…

We've got entire bureaucracies built around establishing that what the label says is accurate.

Fresh fruit and veg, so underrepresented in the bureaucracy stakes.

underlying expense of eating fresh produce.

Remind me again how this happened?

Cause I remember being able to buy boxes of fresh apples/plums/peaches in season for…

Partnering between local schools, Councils, community groups and businesses seems to work,…

If you genuinely eat zero fruit and veg, then the rebate didn't do anything to make you eat them (would a GST reduction have been different?).

Yes a GST reduction would be different. Lets agree that messing with GST probably isn't the best way…

I have yet to hear anyone put a good case for sugar, or transfats, for instance.

Which sounds nice and easy when you're assessing the baking aisle, but what about some of the others?

Canned green beans have excellent nutrient retention and are available year-round, clearly healthful. Except, there could…

Additionally taxing UN-healthful food would allow for unbounded manipulation – the price difference could be as big as we wanted. However, we're back to having to decide what is and is not healthful.

And also not addressing the price of healthy food to any great extent. It's all well and…

What Labour is trying to do is price signal. If you can reduce the price of healthy food relative to unhealthy food, people should eat more of it.

Except that this decrease is really fiddling at the margins. It's like the whole milk vs soft drink issue. Remove GST on…

However, we're back to having to decide what is and is not healthful.

I have yet to hear anyone put a good case for sugar, or transfats, for instance.

– Removing tax on "healthful food" – even assuming there was a way to define it that wouldn't be a perpetual nightmare – might improve affordability. However, there is…

But when you put it like that, as food stamps, suddenly it doesn't sound like such a good thing. It is, however, the effect this proposed exemption is dreaming of.

Zero GST on produce seems to be the carrot to the food stamp stick.

If you give them a general tax rebate, they'll use it on whatever, in which case people will be asking why the…

If most folks are like me they'll see that check and think ooo I can buy that nice bottle of Pinot Noir or new shoes.

But that's fair enough, isn't it?

If you genuinely eat zero fruit and veg, then the rebate didn't do anything to make you eat them…

Amy, and that'll be done six times a year? Our fruit and vege prices fluctuate dramatically, so it's not a once-a-year exercise to carry out that kind of calculation.

Prices and availability obviously fluctuate. This is why I referred to an "annual" cart in the first place: you can't buy…

If most folks are like me they'll see that check and think ooo I can buy that nice bottle of Pinot Noir or new shoes.

The most effective way of changing purchasing patterns is to change prices. Make healthy food cheaper or unhealthy food more expensive. Other things work…

1) Design a "standard" annual fruit+veg shopping cart in line with 5+ A Day recommendations and so forth.

2) Compute price of cart, and thus GST.

3) Send everyone in the country a check for the GST amount.

4) Er...

5) That's it.

What timing. Bernard Hickey is tiring of the kool aid.

By the looks of it, at the very least he's going Gareth Morgan (from apostle to agnostic). At most he could even be going Joseph Stiglitz (apostle to outright apostate).

What timing. Bernard Hickey is tiring of the kool aid.

Instead he sculled a whole case of Red Bull. FFS, Bernard, you've changed your mind. People do that. No need to carry on as if Paul Krugman is threatening to castrate you with his Nobel medal if you don't recant…

If government wants people to eat that expensive fresh food, then levelling the costs out would seem a good idea.

In which case, a better solution needs to be found than meddling with GST. Ignoring the compliance cost issue, ignoring the implementation cost issue, the seasonal price fluctuation of most…

May I suggest that anyone in Auckland who objects to paying GST on their fruit and veg (or banana pancakes for that matter) simply do their shopping at the Avondale or Otara markets?

Just because you pay cash and get no receipt is no reason to presume the stall-holders are…

unhealthy heavily processed "foods "

The fact is, the end to end cost of such food is often less than fresh, even though fresh food is paradoxically used as an input. If food is passed through a factory, debulked, processed, stablised and preserved so it can sit on shelves, that…

I'm not sure if anyone ever claimed that it would solve obesity, or any such miracles.

Indeed, but Labour have made it clear the measure is designed to tackle an obesity epidemic. I was merely pondering whether the removal of GST from healthy foods in Australia had made any difference.

I've been noticing similar conversions amongst former ACToid acquaintances, and this predates the recent scandals. Laissez-faire has never been popular during depressions.

Sadly long term memory is however.

What timing. Bernard Hickey is tiring of the kool aid.

I've been noticing similar conversions amongst former ACToid acquaintances, and this predates the recent scandals. Laissez-faire has never been popular during depressions.

If this policy is all about tackling obesity, why then does Australia still have such an obesity problem? They've had exemptions on food for years. Most stats I've been able to locate on Google rank Australian obesity levels on a par with our own.

I'm not sure if anyone ever…

What timing. Bernard Hickey is tiring of the kool aid.

Even Bollard in his book talks about entering a different world, with very different assumptions about the control of markets and the availability of credit, although not quite as vividly as Bernard.

I feel like a priest who has been wrestling with his belief in god and has now decided god does not exist.

It's time for me to recant and to say what I've been thinking for months: the economic god of…

If enforcement is the problem, we have a judicial system that doesn't require money for representation. We have CAB. Google it.

I used to do volunteer consultations for the local CAB some years ago. If someone had come in with a tax problem I would have stared blankly at them…

might change any of their habits over this, and even then I'm very dubious

I'll go along with you on some of your other points but I'll dispute this.

The WHO study Russell linked as well as many other studies prove that consumer purchasing patterns are heavily influenced by…

The public and media discussion too often drops into being framed only in neoliberal…

A general increase in income won't lead to an increase in healthier food, as you haven't changed the priority by changing the relative prices.

I read once that Texan oil barons were a case in point, with all the t-bone steaks and what-not.

Your faith in the free resources is touching, but very, very naive.

Yeah fine, I don't claim ever to be an expert but I actually used all those free services and they do work for those of us that want to budget correctly.

You'd think so, wouldn't you? But it's…

Poorer people spend more of their money on food, so this change would make more difference to the poor than the rich.

Do they buy a lot of fresh food though? It's always more expensive, for the obvious reason that it's better, and it doesn't stay fresh for long. I…

Incidentally Matthew, do you work in a call centre? Because "the computer won't let us" is the standard excuse CSRs use for business failings?

Have I said it can't be done? Have I said it's impossible? Have I said computers can't be made to do it? Have I? No, I…

If enforcement is the problem, we have a judicial system that doesn't require money for representation. We have CAB.

And the CAB lawyer will represent you before the TRA? Prepare your response to a demand for arrears? Explain to you how to classify your various horticultural produce? Pull the other…

Poorer people spend more of their money on food, so this change would make more difference to the poor than the rich.

Umm shouldnt that be expressed as percentages of income?
Anyway time for a story told by Kiefer Sutherland's grandpapy, Keifer tries to look suitably serious in the short…

FFS having a really good nanny in government would suit me just fine.

Funny how free-market cheerleaders who point to Singapore as a model to follow, typically overlook one of Lee Kuan Yew's bigger gems:

If Singapore is a nanny state, then I am proud to have fostered one.

Poorer people spend more of their money on food, so this change would make more difference to the poor than…

Oh, along with the traditional IT attitude that processes should be adjusted to fit the systems.

Certainly every respectable IT person should at least consider the cost/benefit of a change, and the alternatives that either already exist or could be developed. Usually they have a broader picture of the true…

Maybe we could look at a Karmically
based Good Service Tax system
balanced with the Gross National
Happiness index...

A GoNaH tax?

(WoWC reference, apparently)

Which leads to the political own goal in this. How can Labour attack the recent tax cuts/GST hike as regressive when they introduce their very own regressive tax cut?

They can't. GST is a flat tax, any cut in it would be flat as well.

I know some of the team…

FFS having a really good nanny in government would suit me just fine.

Mary Poppins seems to be poppin' up
in all these fiscal debates lately
– some subtle nanny-technology
at work perchance, and the Pleiades
are above the horizon...

Maybe…

Oh, along with the traditional IT attitude that processes should be adjusted to fit the systems.

Ah, yes... because central and local government have such a brilliant track record of bringing large-scale IT projects in on schedule, on budget and working from day one... (Just take the sarcasm as read,…

If IRD suspected a store was claiming beer as carrots, they can audit the till records, do some test buys and look for them, etc. (the auditors will also check that sort of thing). Then the store gets fined several times the tax, which is a good reason not to…

Authority? As per usual I imagine. The rest of your waffle is just that. It's called best business practice Matthew Poole, if you're interested in one. Doh!

Yes, Sofie, and there's a hell of a lot of small businesses out there who don't have the means to hire "tax specialists"…

But, as others have mentioned, then whoever did that would be the Nanny State.

So wear the badge with pride.

Seriously the job I want my government representatives to do is manage the things I cannot manage on my own. I want a government that is willing to take on…

Yeah enforcement is always the area where I thought this would come completely unstuck.

We've seen anecdotes in here this year from people who've been told that the restaurant's EFTPOS machine is "out of order", so can they please pay cash. Cash goes into the restaurantuer's pocket, tax man never…

GST is already the most-disputed part of our tax system and it's incredibly simple.

How? Who disputes it?

Businesses, one assumes. That tidbit was from one of my tax lecturers, who's also a consultant to the IRD. I assume she knows what she's talking about when she tells students…

"How do you encourage healthier eating habits and make is easier for the lower income brackets to achieve those habits?"

Picking on the "low income brackets" again.
Maybe the the real question is how do you encourage the human race to stop acting like a bunch of arseholes to each…

Identify broad categories of manifestly unhealthy foods (which BTW is much easier to do scientifically) and add a duty to them. And I know for certain that adding duties is easy for supermarkets and grocers etc because they already do it for other manifestly unhealthy things.

But, as others have…

Coming late on this but I think Tom has a valid point on this

No he claimed we were only arguing because we were brainwashed. In fact we are having a discussion between more and less knowledgeable people about the complexities of the proposal.

@Ben
Ok I accept your opinion…

GST is already the most-disputed part of our tax system and it's incredibly simple.

How? Who disputes it? We know what an exemption is. Yes it's simple. A fresh fruit and veg is a pretty simple exemption as well.
There was no outcry when big bad tobacco was taxed again.Fair?…

I do find it curious though how commonly the negative reactions centre on "Current exemptions good and rational; any other exemptions fiendishly complicated and irrational."

Nobody's saying that exempting fruit and veges isn't rational, even those of us who think the idea's bloody stupid. We're saying that current exemptions are…

Isn't the correct question; do the benefits of making the system more complicated outweigh the costs?

Which is, really, the point that Ben and I are trying to make. Not only is there a taxpayer-borne cost of increased IRD activity around compliance, because the room for error and exploitation increases…

Thanks for the overview of some of the classes of exemption, and possible reasoning.

I do find it curious though how commonly the negative reactions centre on "Current exemptions good and rational; any other exemptions fiendishly complicated and irrational."

Given that consumption taxes serve to discourage consumption,…

The next question is if you have $250 mil to redistribute, is this the best use? Esp. considering that it benefits the well-off more…

The thing that has struck me about this debate though is how BRAINWASHED by neo-liberal orthodoxy large parts of the population has become, where the efficiency of the tax system and purity of the economic model is now the dominant consideration in thinking about taxation.

Coming late on this but…

The alternative is that…

But if the same Farmer takes the same Carrots to the Farmers Market and sells them direct to…

poor programmers

Less poor as all the changeover work sends rates up. (rubs hands, gleefully).

For smaller business, the accounting isn't hard, I've done it (as do all UK firms). All you do is when posting an invoice, you enter the GST amount charged by the supplier. That works for…

do you really expect to see many businesses becoming exempt from GST?

Depends on the rules and if they make vegies zero rated or exempt, and whether the turnover limit is applied on total or taxable turnover.

The GST exemption limit is $60k. While that's a couple of hours business…

Ben, bollox. You could replace all the relevant IT systems in the NZ grocery industry for a few tens of millions, which is a fraction of the saving to the public.

If it was only the grocery industry that paid GST on food that might make sense. Unfortunately every…

I look forward to the purists, and believers in "universal" GST, extending it to rents, mortgage interest, currency exchanges, transport of imported household goods, bank fees, etc. etc.

Purists like Dr Cullen ?

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/personal-taxation/news/article.cfm?c_id=690&objectid=230461

One of the reasons Residential Rent is exempt is because if you taxed Renters, to be fair you'd have to impute a *rent* component into mortgage payments for Home Owners…

Didn't Peter Dunne campaign not too long ago on zero GST on council rates? Mind you, it depends on his target constituency.

Well, yes... just as I'm sure it takes precisely zero imagination to figure out why Goff isn't announcing sin taxes on butter and sugar (or banning tobacco) any…

I look forward to the purists, and believers in "universal" GST, extending it to rents, mortgage interest, currency exchanges, transport of imported household goods, bank fees, etc.…

why not bring in a flat tax for income tax?

ssshhhhhhh!! they'll hear you!!

The Revolution has colonised our brains, and its not just policymakers who are the victims, but ordinary people as well. And the inability to even entertain that there might be a different way of doing things is a real problem).

Hey hang on...
There was a Revolution. I'm a victim,…

and loopholes
the true answer is not to raise it in the first place if you are concerned about those who can't afford things

I don't think Tom is Sanctuary, but I'm aware of various sneering comments about PAS that he's posted elsewhere under his own name.

Oh, on reflection it looks like I was wrong.

. I think rents are exempt. Is that true?

Residential yes, but if one rents a space to live and run a business from, gst is charged on the rental but then tax can be claimed back for a portion of the rent for the area that one lives in,…

I find it hard to believe that the cost of implementing a GST exemption would be that high. Exemptions already exist which suggests the systems have the ability to define exemptions and all you are doing is changing what fits that definition.

A few exemptions, on a sectoral basis. Not…

I find it hard to believe that the cost of implementing a GST exemption would be that high. Exemptions already exist which suggests the systems have the ability to define exemptions and all you are doing is changing what fits that definition.

I think the point is that the exemptions…

The thing that has struck me about this debate though is how BRAINWASHED by neo-liberal orthodoxy large parts of the population has become, where the efficiency of the tax system and purity of the economic model is now the dominant consideration in thinking about taxation.

I plead guilty. But then…

Depending on the exact GST rules, small greengrocers and farmers would have their compliance costs substantially reduced as they'd no longer need to account for GST at all.

I do not recall ever seeing a greengrocer who only sold fresh fruit and veges.

There is however an enforcement cost which is…

dots joined

I don't think Tom is Sanctuary, but I'm aware of various sneering comments about PAS that he's posted elsewhere under his own name.

Didn't Peter Dunne campaign not too long ago on zero GST on council rates? Mind you, it depends on his target constituency.

Yes. A tax cut for people who own expensive properties.

And then Cunliffe said;…

Hey, someone's got to take up the fight against "the middle class wankfest of the blogsphere", I guess...?

Ohho SNAP!

The trouble with reducing the tax on "healthy food" is that different people can have very different dietary requirements so what is a healthy food for me may be a bad choice for my elderly father or your toddler. What percentage of the population does a food need to…

But, Rich, do you really expect…

Yes if…

There are plenty of alternatives to capitalism, they're just scary to the Labour party and their acolytes.

The thing that has struck me about this debate though is how BRAINWASHED by neo-liberal orthodoxy large parts of the population has become

Whereas, Tom, I've long become used to how rude and patronising you can be.

Tom: I still think a little greater income tax would help more in Education, Health, Security. A survey a year or so ago showed…

purity of the economic model

Boggle.

I suppose this is a start, but if you really wanted to lower food prices you'd set up government run supermarkets that offered produce at fair cost plus running expenses only to the public.

Ecotopia! Actually, I always rather liked the idea of having really basic food requirements available at…

The thing that has struck me about this debate though is how BRAINWASHED by neo-liberal orthodoxy large parts of the population has become, where the efficiency of the…

The trouble with reducing the tax on "healthy food" is that different people can have very different dietary requirements so what is a healthy food for me may be a bad choice for my elderly father or your toddler.

True, but while the nutritional benefits of fruit & veg may be…

If there was a tax on selling houses it should be set low, like 1%, or put only on the capital gains.

The Aussies still have stamp duty (even on car sales as well as houses I think), which is part of the complex array of taxes over here. I'm…

Buggered if I know how banks and real estate agents escaped GST other than voices in high places. But I ask myself: would Labour introduce a capital grains tax?

I'd imagine if every time you sold your house you had to hand over 10/12.5/15% to the government of your sale…

I suppose this is a start, but if you really wanted to lower food prices you'd set up government run supermarkets that offered produce at fair cost plus running expenses only to the public.

Or buy it off the peasants at a centrally determined price.

the new owner of the Segway company
has died driving one off a cliff...

Can someone let me know when the 'too soon?' period is over?

My first reaction on reading that story was not socially acceptable.

quiche 22...?
perhaps a masculine salad
in lieu of a mesclun salad?

Moche ado about legumes...

Is a peanut a fresh, unprocessed fruit or vegetable?
Well, it's not animal or mineral...
it…

On the other hand, if this makes the price of fresh truffles come down, I'm all for it.

mescaline salad

You can get that at the supermarket these days? Awesome!

The staff at Kapai cafe always ask me if I'd like "mescaline" in my sandwich. They never give it to me, though, and my salads seem to end up full of green leaves.

My impression of this is that those most opposed to it are those least likely to have to worry about the cost of their grocery bills eg Peter Dunne, Katherine Rich and Bill English.

I'm tempted to say something really rude – instead you're welcome to start doing my grocery…

I'd seen similar stuff elsewhere. The problem is that most of the easily identifiable unhealthy food makes money for some business. So the argument gets trotted out that governments should protect business.

When I saw the policy, I immediately thought, good for all those small scale businesses that do most…

Is a peanut a fresh, unprocessed fruit or vegetable?

Well, it's not animal or mineral... it grows on a tree.

Is it fresh? I'm not sure, but I doubt things that were fresh but have aged are going to suddenly attract tax after they've been in the supermarket for a…

You can get that at the supermarket these days? Awesome!

Haven't you noticed those little potplants and cacti supermarkets sell.

You can get that at the supermarket these days? Awesome!

I've always been thankful for the name of that salad, it produces such fantastic alternative spellings.

The actual legislation will almost surely specify that both cut and whole fresh fruit and vegetables will be exempt.

That's pretty much what every other piece of legislation that makes a category called "fresh fruit and vegetables" does.

mescaline salad

You can get that at the supermarket these days? Awesome!

Is Slicing processing? how about Washing?

Sliced and washed products are still fresh, and are exempt.

A salad of mescaline salad with whole baby tomatoes is exempt, but one with sliced large tomatoes, is not? , or is partially exempt?

Both salads exempt.

whole carrots are exempt, but bags of…

Unhusked peanuts are presumably exempt , but salted ones are not?

Is a peanut a fresh, unprocessed fruit or vegetable?

Is Slicing processing? how about Washing?

Yes. No.

Vaughan Gunson of the Tax Justice campaign says claims the GST system is universally applied is "not true".

...

Revenue Minister Peter Dunne said in July it is "simply… not New Zealand's policy to have a non-universal GST".

But Mr Vaughan [sic] lists several…

It’s easy for anyone to decide if a product is a fresh and unprocessed fruit or vege.

well maybe.

Is Slicing processing? how about Washing?

A salad of mescaline salad with whole baby tomatoes is exempt, but one with sliced large tomatoes, is not? , or is…

industy sectors convincing them that, say, mutton chops, cream and butter are 'health foods'

Mmmm mutton chops ...
Mental health food?

But assuming it is passed on in its entirety to consumers – not a given – a 15% move in fruit and vegetable prices is insignificant in comparison to the seasonal movement in prices, or even the gap between different outlets at any time of year.

The same could be…

Bahl et al.21 found that a 20% reduction in a soft drink tax resulted in a 6.8% increase in average soft drink consumption.

What kind of moron actually reduces tax on soft drinks!!!!?!?!?

I know!

The other part of the paragraph is relevant too:

However, had all of the tax…

It's not tricky to legislate for this. Existing food legislation *already* distinguishes between fresh, unprocessed, and processed foods.

Labour haven't promised to remove the tax based on a processed/unprocessed division.

They're going to split it on fresh produce, which as far as I know doesn't match current legislation.

I'm not…

It seems to find more virtue in punitively taxing unhealthy food and drink, based on their contents, rather than what food group they fall into.

I'd seen similar stuff elsewhere. The problem is that most of the easily identifiable unhealthy food makes money for some business. So the argument gets…

It looks at what evidence is available and concludes:…

So please don't fk that up for political points. It's…

It's not tricky to legislate for this. Existing food legislation *already* distinguishes between fresh, unprocessed, and processed foods.

This is is why, say, apples you buy at the supermarket do not have nutritional labeling written on them --- they are exempt from nutrition labeling.

So, there is absolutely no…

To me the GST on fresh produce is pretty arbitrary. In theory it's to help people buy healthy foods, but it only includes some healthy foods.

The arguments over what is healthy are long and very messy. Especially since the science around what is known to be healthy is actually…

Anything that enables people to buy more fresh fruit and veg is good.

The fact that the system won't be perfect is not a reason not to do it!

But given most retailers run software that tracks and reports who, what and when specific brands are purchased let alone mere food types then implementing different taxes for different product is not nearly the cost burden it would have been a few decades ago.

I don't think it's a problem…

Look, these things might have been hard to do in 1960 when the ledgers were done longhand with quill pens. We've got computers today and can process any rules the government want to implement.

Your technophiliac faith is touching, little one. Perhaps you could come around the next time I've…

these things might have been hard to do in 1960 when the ledgers were done longhand with quill pens.

When GST first appeared this was a real issue and the low cost of implementing New Zealand's simple system was a huge advantage.

But given most retailers run software that tracks…

Cheers, we're doing our best within the confines of our day jobs and social lives, neither of which real journalists are supposed to have...

I saw this on the tweet machine a while back and just remembered it now.

I had to stop myself from throwing my keyboard across the…

At this stage in the election cycle an opposition party needs (a) a vision and (b) a major wedge policy wedded to the vision. For National under John Key it was economic reform wedded to tax cuts, for Don Brash it…

Ah. But that would be the politically toxic "nanny state" at work ...

No, Russell, that would be Fonterra, Federated Farmers and the wine industry having a collective brain bleed at the thought of our major export markets following suit. Though I'm sure there are battalions of industry lobbyists from…

Good work Wellingtonista though

Cheers, we're doing our best within the confines of our day jobs and social lives, neither of which real journalists are supposed to have...

Last time I looked, milk, dairy and whole grain breads (which tend to be on the expensive side) were also part of a healthy, balanced diet.

I understand that an earlier version of the policy was limited to exempting GST off bread, milk and eggs but was vetoed by Labour's…

The universality of GST is meant to be its key feature, the thing that broadens the tax base. The world won't end if the principle is diluted, but it shouldn't be idly dismissed either.

Except that there are already exceptions (quite a few of them, and many in quite a…

Sure, most NZ firms have underdeveloped, inflexible systems, but that's their own stupid fault. The great…

Hon Dr MICHAEL CULLEN: I am aware of many countries that have appallingly inefficient GST systems where they exempt various articles, where they have differential rates, and where one has to differentiate between food taken away from a place and food consumed…

The Government would be better off introducing a tax on the junk food that is killing said people as well as costing taxpayers and absolute fortune in health care.

Ah. But that would be the politically toxic "nanny state" at work ...