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Is it fair when you have to borrow to pay tax on a new home but also other necessities of life - cars, washing machines, funerals? asks Vaughan Gunson. Photo/File

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

GST is a mongrel of a tax

13 Mar, 2019 11:30am
4 minutes to read

GST on new builds, work on existing homes, is contributing to homes being more expensive.

Demonstrators march for the climate in Brussels, Belgium last month. The movement was started by Greta Thunberg, a Swedish student, who initiated a solo protest last August. Photo/AP

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

#schoolstrike4climate movement arrives in NZ

6 Mar, 2019 11:30am
3 minutes to read

Greta Thunberg: "We are striking because we have done our homework and they have not."

A capital gains tax could have been introduced by Sir Michael Cullen, lead author of the Tax Working Group's report, when he was finance minister from 1999 to 2008. Photo/NZME

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Capital gains tax all about politics

27 Feb, 2019 11:30am
3 minutes to read

Over the past 20 years $1 trillion of capital income on houses, land has not been taxed.

Minister Phil Twyford and new KiwiBuild home owners Derryn Jayne and Fletcher Ross with PM Jacinda Ardern outside their Auckland home in October 2018. Photo/NZME

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Time for a rethink on KiwiBuild

20 Feb, 2019 11:30am
3 minutes to read

Government needs to reject half measures and use a range of tools to get the job done.

Housing Minister Phil Twyford opening 11 state houses in Whangārei recently. Building more state houses (state-owned apartments and townhouses) would help, says Vaughan Gunson. Photo/Michael Cunningham

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Lessons learnt in Kiwibuild debacle?

13 Feb, 2019 11:30am
3 minutes to read

Ministry now looking at companies to construct houses offsite and then truck them in.

Catching up on jobs around the house, one of the ways many Kiwis spend time during the Waitangi Day public holiday. Photo/File

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Giving thanks on Waitangi Day

6 Feb, 2019 11:30am
3 minutes to read

And like many of us, a midweek day at home getting on top of things is what I'll be doing.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern with Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May during a meeting in Downing Street, London on Monday. Photo/AP

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Two PMs sit down for a chat...

23 Jan, 2019 11:30am
3 minutes to read

Ardern: We'd like to negotiate a free trade agreement. May: Who would? Ardern: NZ.

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

A treasure to behold - the 'to do list'

16 Jan, 2019 11:30am
3 minutes to read

A list has authority, there's no elaborations, justifications or sub-clauses.

Teachers on the march through Whangārei last year. Unions will continue their comeback in 2019, says Vaughan Gunson. Photo/File

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

What's ahead of us in 2019?

9 Jan, 2019 11:30am
3 minutes to read

The three biggies: Unions, housing and global consciousness.

One thing I now appreciate is the extent to which women, and girls, have a lingering fear of men in everyday situations, like walking on city streets, says Vaughan Gunson. Photo / Getty Images

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Empathy, awareness grows from listening

19 Dec, 2018 11:30am
3 minutes to read

A consistent point made by women is the need to educate our sons.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists unveil the 2018 Doomsday Clock on January 25, 2018 in Washington, DC. Citing growing nuclear risks and unchecked climate dangers. Photo / Getty Images

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Economic growth is going to end

12 Dec, 2018 11:30am
3 minutes to read

We need to accept that massive societal change is going to occur, one way or another.

Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters. It's come as a surprise how much priority NZ First has given to strengthening ties with Trump's America, says Vaughan Gunson. Photo / Getty Images

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Loyal despite anti-nuclear stance

5 Dec, 2018 11:30am
3 minutes to read

We've just been a "weak member" as a conservative US think tank recently described us.

Whether or not council leaders support the construction of high-density social housing, like this Kiwibuild development concept plan for an Auckland suburb, it's going to happen, says Vaughan Gunson. Photo /Supplied

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Get ready - the UDA is coming to town

28 Nov, 2018 11:30am
3 minutes to read

The new authority will be able to override many local council decisions.

Cargo ships and containers at the Port of Los Angeles, the US' busiest seaport. Military tensions are being heightened with every tariff salvo fired, says Vaughan Gunson. Photo / Getty Images

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Global scenario to end Ardern's rule?

21 Nov, 2018 11:30am
3 minutes to read

A China-US trade war could escalate into something bigger.

Free universal dental care would be the most significant social policy introduced in my adult life, says Vaughan Gunson. Photo / File

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Free universal dental care remit brings hope

7 Nov, 2018 11:30am
3 minutes to read

There's widespread concern at people not being able to afford basic dental care in NZ.

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Lesson for all of us in unwinding of Jami-Lee Ross

24 Oct, 2018 11:30am
3 minutes to read

The beauty of tragedy is that the drama allows us to reflect on our own human failings.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, with Climate Change Minister James Shaw. Governments need to give up on the impossible dream that we can tackle global warming and continue to grow the world's economy. Photo / File

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Opinion: Why we need courageous politicians

17 Oct, 2018 11:30am
4 minutes to read

50/50 chance we can avert the worst effects of global warming; but there's a big cost.

Kerikeri petrol prices on Monday. A petrol tax, in its impact on working people, is little different to GST. It's an added weekly expense if you have no choice but to use a car to get to work, says Vaughan Gunson. Photo / File

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Opinion: Take the GST off petrol

10 Oct, 2018 11:30am
4 minutes to read

To tax necessities when capital gains aren't taxed is an undeniable injustice.

A long trail of traffic just south of Pohuehue on State Highway 1. Electric rail, coastal shipping, affordable public transport, a small fleet of private electric cars, cycling, and our own two legs, is the future of transport in Northland, says Vaughan Gunson. Photo / File.

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Detail lacking in National MPs' promises

3 Oct, 2018 11:30am
3 minutes to read

Time to stop misleading people with vague promises and omissions of detail.

Guy Body's cartoon in Monday's NZ Herald. There's no way PM Ardern was going to sprinkle her stardust at the UN without having an increase in refugee numbers in her pocket, says Vaughan Gunson.

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Rise in NZ refugee quota welcome

26 Sep, 2018 11:30am
3 minutes to read

Jacinda Ardern now has an opportunity to speak on the world stage about refugee crisis.

New Zealand First's Winston Peters, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and James Shaw from the Green Party talk with media after outlining the next steps in the Coalition Government's plan for a modern and prosperous New Zealand at an event on Sunday in Auckland. Photo / NZ Herald

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Jacinda, Winston and James tune up for the fans

19 Sep, 2018 11:30am
3 minutes to read

The next 12 months will be crucial for the long term future of the band.

Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant General Tim Keating speaks during the Anzac Day Dawn Service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park on April 25, 2018 in Wellington. Photo / Getty Images

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Mayoral welcome for returning troops?

12 Sep, 2018 11:30am
3 minutes to read

Keating: Mayors and civic leaders need to welcome our soldiers back properly, as heroes.

Teenagers, according to a recent American study, aren't using Facebook nearly as much as older generations. Only 51 per cent of those aged 13 to 17, writes Northern Advocate columnist Vaughan Gunson. Getty Images

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Opinion: Has Facebook done its dash?

5 Sep, 2018 11:30am
3 minutes to read

For a national social platform to work it would need most of the population logged in.

Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, left, with Foreign Minister Julie Bishop after a party meeting in Canberra. Australia's ex-prime ministers can at least be thankful they're removed by vote, not gutted with a sword, writes Northern Advocate columnist Vaughan Gunson. Photo/AP

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

A choice between two giants for Australia

29 Aug, 2018 2:00pm
3 minutes to read

The juggling act involved in appeasing both Beijing and Washington is getting unworkable.

Fonterra's Kauri site north of Whangarei. The debate about how the export dairy industry operates in this country isn't going away, writes Northern Advocate columnist Vaughan Gunson. Photo/File

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Vaughan Gunson: A choice our family can make

22 Aug, 2018 11:00am
3 minutes to read

Bella Vacca one of a new breed of environmentally conscious producers in primary sector

I can confirm what's common sense - smaller class sizes make a difference. In maths speak that's

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Money is there to pay teachers more

15 Aug, 2018 11:00am
3 minutes to read

Increase government spending to the same percentage of GDP as Australia, that'll nail it

Medical cannabis supporters during a march in Auckland last year. Labour's bill, as it currently stands, does not allow possession of cannabis for people suffering from chronic pain (but not at risk of dying anytime soon), writes Northern Advocate columnist Vaughan Gunson. Photo/File

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Politicians dragging chain on legalising cannabis for terminally ill

8 Aug, 2018 11:00am
3 minutes to read

Whangārei MP Reti's bill may force Labour to sort out its own cannabis legislation out

Any tax levied on tourists enjoying our harbour, and publicly supported assets like the Hundertwasser, could go towards helping fund free public transport, writes Northern Advocate columnist Vaughan Gunson.

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Tourist tax to fund free public transport in Whangārei

1 Aug, 2018 10:30am
3 minutes to read

International Visitors Carbon Emissions Offset and Free Public Transport Levy

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Opinion: Hundertwasser building here to stay

25 Jul, 2018 2:00pm
3 minutes to read

The creative friction between builders and preservers is a necessary part of progress.

Nurses strike outside Whangarei Hospital on July 12. Photo/Michael Cunningham

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Vaughan Gunson: Ten reasons to support the nurses in their fight over pay and conditions

18 Jul, 2018 2:00pm
3 minutes to read

If nurses aren't paid more, they'll keep leaving to go overseas.

The Quest apartments under construction in central Whangarei in 2015. We have to consider the need for multi-level apartment buildings even in Whangarei, writes Northern Advocate columnist Vaughan Gunson. Photo/File

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Time to embrace apartment living

11 Jul, 2018 1:00pm
3 minutes to read

The quarter-acre section will continue to have its place, but it's not the answer.

Jacinda Ardern during the facebook livestream with baby Neve blanketed on her lap, expressing enthusiasm for the Government's Families Package, which took effect from July 1. File/Photo

NORTHERN ADVOCATE | Business

Vaughan Gunson: Ardern not quite saint of child poverty reduction

4 Jul, 2018 11:00am
3 minutes to read

Saintly title closer if Government followed Child Poverty Action Group recommendations.

Jacinda Ardern and Clarke Gayford with their newborn girl Neve Te Aroha Ardern Gayford on June 24. This is the novelty factor of Jacinda and child, it's a historically powerful image, writes Northern Advocate columnist Vaughan Gunson. Photo/File

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Vaughan Gunson: Image capital in Labour's court

27 Jun, 2018 11:30am
3 minutes to read

Image-making is a fact of political life and crucial to the appeal of popular leaders

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Opinion: Time to debate future of Super Fund

20 Jun, 2018 12:30pm
3 minutes to read

$38.5 billion super fund + Government's assets ($22.2 billion net debt) = $16.3b surplus.

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Opinion: Ditch QBD weekend for Māori New Year

13 Jun, 2018 10:30am
3 minutes to read

It should be two days off, one either side of a weekend in June.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at Te Kura o Otangarei School in Whangarei to announce some of the Government's spending plans for the $46 million Northland package.

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Vaughan Gunson: Where were the Greens?

6 Jun, 2018 2:00pm
3 minutes to read

Case for rail would be enhanced if mega-trucks were removed from our roads.

Mitre 10 announced it would no longer use plastic bags from July 1. Photo / File

NORTHERN ADVOCATE | Business

Vaughan Gunson: Ban single-use plastic bags now!

30 May, 2018 11:00am
3 minutes to read

The whole cycle of consumption and disposal is quite simply irrational.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Finance Minister Grant Robertson eat cheese rolls ahead of the first Labour budget on May 17.

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Vaughan Gunson: Labour has to straddle the fence

23 May, 2018 11:00am
3 minutes to read

Both National and Labour just don't fear ordinary working people enough.

The Greens are calling for te reo to be a compulsory part of the curriculum until Year 10. I've no problem with te reo being part of a broad education prior to secondary school, says Vaughan Gunson. Photo / File

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Compulsory te reo plan revives bad memories

16 May, 2018 11:00am
3 minutes to read

From my experience as a learner and teacher, we learn best when we're self-motivated.

Crown owned land adjacent to Pūriri Park, Māunu, is being eyed for a state housing development.

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Sightings of Yimbies called for

9 May, 2018 11:00am
3 minutes to read

Let's hear the Yimby (Yes In My Back Yard) voices, says Vaughan Gunson

China's growing military and political presence, built on its spectacular economic performance, means it's not so easily pushed around, says Northern Advocate columnist Vaughan Gunson.

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Vaughan Gunson: What's best for Korean Peninsula?

2 May, 2018 2:00pm
3 minutes to read

The North Korean crisis was giving the US an excuse to build up its forces in the region.

Wallabies fullback Israel Folau tweeted gay people will go to 'HELL' . These are backward ideas, dangerous ones, that need to be called out, not excused by cultural relativism, writes Vaughan Gunson.

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Vaughan Gunson: Folau's hell for gays post unacceptable

25 Apr, 2018 1:00pm
3 minutes to read

Does Folau truly believe in a fiery hell where gay people experience pain for eternity?

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern with Climate Change Minister James Shaw speaking after receiving the End Oil petition from Greenpeace NZ at Parliament on March 19. Photo/File

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

U-turn signal on fossil fuel welcome but...

18 Apr, 2018 1:00pm
3 minutes to read

Banning off-shore oil and gas exploration was easy, much harder decisions lie ahead.

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, centre, leaves the office of Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein after meeting with her on April 10 (NZ Time) in Washington, DC. Getty Images

TECHNOLOGY

Healthy perspective on things online needed

12 Apr, 2018 11:30am
4 minutes to read

Should the likes of Facebook, Google and Amazon be allowed to run as virtual monopolies?

The double tracking and electrification of our existing railway network, plus link to Northport, would provide Northlanders with an efficient connection to the rest of the country for centuries to come.

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Opinion: Forward thinking needed

28 Mar, 2018 10:00am
3 minutes to read

We are closer now to the end of the fossil fuel era, so the stakes are much higher.

John Key and Barack Obama in the White House in April 2016.

WORLD

Opinion: Obama's era a missed opportunity

21 Mar, 2018 10:00am
3 minutes to read

So often the seeds are sown by the actions of political figures in the past.

Many burglars won't bother trying to break in if time and effort is involved.

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

I'd like the property back please...

14 Mar, 2018 10:00am
3 minutes to read

Theft is a tax levied on the divided society New Zealand has become.

New National Party leader Simon Bridges with his wife, Natalie, right, and deputy leader Paula Bennett.

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Road versus rail debate looms for Nats

7 Mar, 2018 10:00am
3 minutes to read

Will Bridges try to steer National towards a cross-party plan to rebuild the rail network?

Minister of Justice Andrew Little in Whangarei recently. Mr Little believes people who break the law are citizens which the state has a responsibility to bring back into society's fold.

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Inequality and incarceration

28 Feb, 2018 10:00am
3 minutes to read

New Zealand's prison rates are approaching the levels of the United States.

Global debt has reached a record high of US$233 trillion, which is 318 per cent of global GDP. The world economy is Greece, dangerously over-leveraged. PHOTO/FILE

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Financial debt cyclone coming

21 Feb, 2018 10:00am
3 minutes to read

Any global financial storm will hit New Zealand, like every other country in the world.

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Columnist Vaughan Gunson: Oh the humidity ....

13 Feb, 2018 10:43am
3 minutes to read

Kids should be able to go home when the humidity hits 99 per cent, says Vaughan Gunson.

Aged care workers at a picket line taking industrial action in a bid for better pay and conditions. Their protests resulted in a successful pay equity claim in 2017.

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

The pay equity tide has arrived

31 Jan, 2018 10:00am
3 minutes to read

Unionist and anti-unionist will be disappointed about the employment law reforms.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern with partner Clarke Gayford after announcing they are expecting a baby.

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Ditch working-mum thing, big picture first

24 Jan, 2018 10:00am
3 minutes to read

Ardern needs to keep the focus on reducing inequality and making housing affordable again.

The wire rope barriers now on the Brynderwyn Hills look like a good idea. More of them in Northland, please.

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Road safety nerds know what works

17 Jan, 2018 10:00am
3 minutes to read

What will snap us out of the lingering disrespect for human life on the roads?

Lorde performs at the 2017 VNZMA awards. The singer songwriter cancelled a show in Tel Aviv after listening to the arguments of her fans - a principled decision says columnist Vaughan Gunson.

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Lorde takes heat over cancelled Israel show

10 Jan, 2018 10:00am
3 minutes to read

The only solution is one state where Palestinians and Israelis have equal rights.

A ritual altar set for Sahmain, the pagan new year.

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Something old, something new to celebrate 2018

3 Jan, 2018 10:00am
3 minutes to read

Vaughan Gunson eyes a modern day pagan mash-up to celebrate 2018

Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un. Gone by Christmas 2018 and joining the celebrity golf circuit?

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

What will the year to come bring?

27 Dec, 2017 9:00am
3 minutes to read

Vaughan Gunson offers his predictions of what's just around the corner in 2018.

Te Matau A Pohe bridge in the background during a friendly match between a NZ 11 and the West Indies at Cobham Oval in Whangarei on Saturday. NZ and the West Indies play an ODI at the oval today.

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Nostalgia ahead of Windies Whangarei fixture

20 Dec, 2017 10:00am
3 minutes to read

I grew up in the '80s, which meant, like many of that generation, cricket was a big deal.

A family home with a solar power system.

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Time to debate merits of solar heating

13 Dec, 2017 10:00am
3 minutes to read

Fitting out 20,000 low income households with solar heating would cost $120 million.

Three buggies carrying Amish girls heading home from church use the main highway in Jamestown to get to their farm nearby.

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

A question of freedom, liberalism and the Amish

6 Dec, 2017 10:00am
3 minutes to read

Recognising this might help the debates we're having about a range of social issues.

Pine trees fill the horizon, the Glenbervie Forest in Whangarei. There are many reasons for planting trees and that's before getting to the big one, global warming, says Vaughan Gunson.

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

The age of guerrilla gardening is at hand

29 Nov, 2017 10:00am
3 minutes to read

500k, 1 or 2 billion, I don't care, let's just do it. Planting trees is a good thing.

Historian and Waitangi Tribunal member Robyn Anderson during hearings in stage two of Te Paparahi o Te Raki, also known as the Northland Inquiry, which is examining Ngapuhi's 600-plus Treaty claims.

NORTHERN ADVOCATE

Settlement process about access to wealth and opportunity

22 Nov, 2017 10:00am
3 minutes to read

How do we achieve equitable access to wealth and opportunity for all?