What's wrong & what's right with NZ?

[Maki]

What is wrong with NZ is unfairness.

People who are in a relationship are taxed individually on income but when it comes to benefits they are regarded as a unit. People are punished for being in a relationship and would be better off splitting up with one of the partners renting from the other.

If you lose your job you will NOT recieve any unemployment benefit while you have money in the bank.
That means that people who have payed their taxes for decades, lived a frugal lifestyle and saved money are punished, while people who have thrown money away on drugs, alcohol and gambling and therefore do not have a cent to their name get rewarded and recieve full benefits. How ludicrous is that?

[alanzs]

What is wrong with NZ is unfairness.

People who are in a relationship are taxed individually on income but when it comes to benefits they are regarded as a unit. People are punished for being in a relationship and would be better off splitting up with one of the partners renting from the other.

If you lose your job you will NOT recieve any unemployment benefit while you have money in the bank.
That means that people who have payed their taxes for decades, lived a frugal lifestyle and saved money are punished, while people who have thrown money away on drugs, alcohol and gambling and therefore do not have a cent to their name get rewarded and recieve full benefits. How ludicrous is that?

It is amazingly stupid! There needs to be a system that every worker, government and employer contributes to. When you get unemployed, you can get YOUR benefit, because you paid into it, your employer did as well as the government. This current system is totaly unfair and, frankly, unjust!

[Finn]

Right: NZ is such a lovely country.
Wrong: NZ is such a lovely country.

[SPman]

-Sport teams are soft, aka All Blacks
-Kids are turning feral and violent

Well, there you go then - get the kids playing sport.......

wrong - too many whinging Kiwis.......

[popelli]

It is amazingly stupid! There needs to be a system that every worker, government and employer contributes to. When you get unemployed, you can get YOUR benefit, because you paid into it, your employer did as well as the government. This current system is totaly unfair and, frankly, unjust!

thats what they have in the uk, sounds great except the payout is absurdly low unless you have 17 children

and after 6 months it stops and becomes means tested and takes your partners income and savings into consideration

the system in nz also allows payment to cover mortgage outgoings, the system in the uk does not they expect you to sell your house and live off the proceeds before they will pay out the dole once the 6 months copntribution based allowance ceases

no system is fair but the system in nz is better than in many other places

[Genestho]

Well, there you go then - get the kids playing sport.......

..

Agreed, what's the old saying... "In sport, and outta court"

[jonbuoy]

Good: Easy lifestyle, not much in the way of red tape to get things done, beautifull scenery, great roads, new empty country, great people, no class system.

Bad: 24 hour flights, a thankfully small minority of narrow minded self superior slack jawed hillbillies, gangs who are more powerfull than the police, isolated.

[Paul in NZ]

the best thing about NZ is you can post shit about whats wrong with it and 5 mins later the thought police aint smashing your door down.... Oh - and nearly no one shoots at me on the way to work - pretty cool..

[marty]

If God didn't intend us to run down little old ladies, he wouldn't have invented bicycles and pedestrian crossings.

Why, I continue to wonder, is there no road user more obnoxiously self-righteous than a motorcyclist observing a bicyclist breaking a rule?

Mate - in 3 weeks I'm spending a week in central Auckland - staying at Crown Plaza. Locking the car in the carpark and ripping up central Auck on the Aggressor Shit I'm gonna have fun....I'm gonna hunt out scooters and draft em

Or cut them off....

[peasea]

Well, there you go then - get the kids playing sport..............

I thought going feral and turning violet WAS playing sport.

[peasea]

Agreed, what's the old saying... "In sport, and outta court"

That's a dumb-arse mantra if ever I heard one. An interest, yes. What's wrong with taking your kids fishing? Building kitset aeroplanes or boats? You can have a shitload of fun and soak up heaps of hours together with a modern r/c toy and if you bust it up you can spend more hours fixing it with your kids in the shed. Remember slot cars? Bloody great fun, for hours too!

Too much (waaaay too much) emphasis is placed on sport in NZ, the world doesn't revolve around sport regardless of what the ball-chuckers might have you believe. No wonder there's no fucking tradesmen in the world, youngsters don't get the chance to build stuff, make stuff, fix stuff or fiddle with Meccano any more, sport is so much more important. NOT!

[jrandom]

Mate - in 3 weeks I'm spending a week in central Auckland - staying at Crown Plaza. Locking the car in the carpark and ripping up central Auck on the Aggressor Shit I'm gonna have fun....I'm gonna hunt out scooters and draft em

You'll undoubtedly see me around town bicycle-couriering it up, then. Remember to wave!

[Genestho]

That's a dumb-arse mantra if ever I heard one. An interest, yes. What's wrong with taking your kids fishing? Building kitset aeroplanes or boats? You can have a shitload of fun and soak up heaps of hours together with a modern r/c toy and if you bust it up you can spend more hours fixing it with your kids in the shed. Remember slot cars? Bloody great fun, for hours too!

Too much (waaaay too much) emphasis is placed on sport in NZ, the world doesn't revolve around sport regardless of what the ball-chuckers might have you believe. No wonder there's no fucking tradesmen in the world, youngsters don't get the chance to build stuff, make stuff, fix stuff or fiddle with Meccano any more, sport is so much more important. NOT!

Well said!
Sorry, that saying was the thing that sprung to mind at that point!!!
I agree with your post!!! 100%
We used to make quite eleborate huts and go carts as kids, fishing!

I have a lawn mower for my lads to pull apart (and maybe one day put back together!!), and they have their own tool boxes!
Agree with the Tradesmen theory too!

[Winston001]

That's a dumb-arse mantra if ever I heard one. An interest, yes. What's wrong with taking your kids fishing? Building kitset aeroplanes or boats? You can have a shitload of fun and soak up heaps of hours together with a modern r/c toy and if you bust it up you can spend more hours fixing it with your kids in the shed. Remember slot cars? Bloody great fun, for hours too!

Too much (waaaay too much) emphasis is placed on sport in NZ, the world doesn't revolve around sport regardless of what the ball-chuckers might have you believe. No wonder there's no fucking tradesmen in the world, youngsters don't get the chance to build stuff, make stuff, fix stuff or fiddle with Meccano any more, sport is so much more important. NOT!

Great post! We do tend to forget that physical and mental activity is far wider than sport. Not all kids are good at sport and in fact are put off because their efforts can be so disappointing.

Doing stuff with your kids is fun and rewarding. There are a heck of a lot of life skills they will only get from mum and dad.

[Voltaire]

right: Twisties ( Aussies Twisties are rubbish).
wrong: Tomato Sauce flavour chips.

Apparently Australia saved us from the worst of the recession.....

So here goes.....

Go the Wall .....go the Walla... go the Wallab......no can't do it.