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The world has changed a lot in the last thirty years, but New Zealand’s tax system hasn’t. Since the 1980s New Zealand’s taxation policy has remained the same, despite substantial economic and social changes. The system may be familiar, but is it fair? Deborah Russell and Terry Baucher’s lively analysis shows why answers to this question cut to the heart of whether New Zealand can be considered an egalitarian country. Drawing on the latest evidence and using plain language, they explore thorny issues such as the taxation of housing, multinationals and inequality between generations. The remedies proposed in this short book will help change the way New Zealanders think about tax in the twenty-first century.
The task of living in modern New Zealand – and especially in modern Auckland – is not just to understand how to live with different peoples, but how to adapt to the future that has already happened. New Zealand is a nation that exists on Pacific Islands, but does not, will not, perhaps cannot, see itself as a Pacific Island nation. Yet turning to the Pacific, argues Damon Salesa, enables us to grasp a fuller understanding of what life is really like on these shores. After all, Salesa argues, in many ways New Zealand’s Pacific future has already happened. Setting a course through the ‘islands’ of Pacific life in New Zealand – Ōtara, Tokoroa, Porirua, Ōamaru and beyond – he charts a country becoming ‘even more Pacific by the hour’. What would it mean, this far-sighted book asks, for New Zealand to recognise its Pacific talent and finally act like a Pacific nation?
Our seas are literally rising, but under the surface of our politics too, something is also happening. Everywhere there is a growing mood for change, increasing unease and greater efforts to live more sustainably. World leaders and scientists agree that climate change is real, and around the world we can see its effects. Yet despite the scientific and political agreement, meaningful action by governments eludes us. Bronwyn Hayward tackles this inertia head-on. In Sea Change, she argues that our best hope of combating climate change lies in people-driven climate action. She shows how to reclaim our status as political actors and come together to work towards social and climate justice.
Two Hundred and Fifty Ways to Start an Essay about Captain Cook, No. 29: With a Non-argument that’s Actually an Argument. Captain Cook? It’s all so very complex. I’m going to sit on the fence. (Whose fence? On whose land? Dividing what from what? You only have a fence when you fear something or when you’re trying to keep something in. Or, as a renovation show on TV informed me, when you want to upgrade your street appeal.) Alice Te Punga Somerville employs her deep research and dark humour to skilfully channel her response to Cook’s global colonial legacy in this revealing and defiant BWB Text.
The ripples the earthquake sent across the region and down the years continue to affect our lives, our livelihoods and endeavours. On 4 September 2010, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck 30 kilometres west of Christchurch. Half a year later, a 6.3 aftershock hit Christchurch, killing 185 people and causing widespread damage throughout the city. In November 2016, multiple faults ruptured near Kaikōura in a massive 7.8 earthquake. Paul Gorman reported on the Christchurch and Kaikōura earthquakes. In Portacom City he describes his own deeply personal story of working as a journalist during the quakes, while also speaking more broadly about the challenges that confront reporters at times of crisis.
‘I began to pull the threads of my experience back together. Instead of divergent stories about public failure, private torment, and postnatal distress, I started telling myself a united story: the truth, or as close as I could get to it.’ A Rhodes scholar and former Green MP, Holly Walker tells the story of how she became one of New Zealand’s youngest parliamentarians, how motherhood intervened, and how she found solace and solidarity in the writings of women. This short book makes a passionate case for the role of literature in political change and personal resilience, and for the importance of women’s voices in the public sphere.
There is a deep dysfunction in the way we talk about oil and mining. Battles over oil and mining developments in New Zealand are fierce and polarised. Often presented as a simple trade-off between conservation or quick profit, the debate leaves little space for discussion across ideological divides. The Ground Between provides a rare account from someone who has worked within this contested arena. Drawing on his experience with local and international mining companies, governments and NGOs, Sefton Darby reflects frankly on the state of resource extraction in New Zealand. Seeking to reset the debate within a global context, this book is ultimately about how we – as a country – make decisions around contentious issues.
Covid-19 has had a devastating effect on New Zealand tourism, but the industry was already troubled by unchecked growth and questionable governance that has put pressure on the environment, infrastructure and communities. In this urgent collection of essays, nine writers outline their vision for sustainable tourism, the barriers to achieving it and how they can be overcome. This BWB Text is a rallying call for a genuine tourism ‘reset’ that puts the environment first and creates more meaningful exchanges between visitors and their hosts.
Better Lives provides a comprehensive overview of immigration in New Zealand, showing how immigration is not just an economic imperative that needs to be managed, but an opportunity to enhance people's lives. This book shifts immigration debate in Aotearoa in exactly the right direction.
My philosophy towards personal finance is that you need to give as much care and attention to your inner wealth and well-being as you do to your budget, spending habits, savings account and net worth. When you get the two areas working in tandem, that's where you'll find your personal financial flow. Do you want to save money but still live well? Are you dealing with a huge student loan or credit-card debt? Feel like you're locked out of the housing market? If so, this book is the answer. Money Matters features links to online tools and a wealth of practical guidance. Now is your chance to: become debt-free save and budget successfully decide whether to rent or buy your first home understand KiwiSaver set out on the path to financial freedom. Money Matters will show you how to live the life you want and still get ahead financially. Find your flow and the money will follow!