What do the partners in the City law firms earn in NZ? Reputedly incomes way over a million dollars a year. A bunch of them took the wage subsidy, even though business boomed for many of their firms during the lock-downs as they were called upon to sort out disputes, like who should pay the rent on commercial buildings. They never disclosed their incomes, since partnerships don't have to disclose their accounts publicly. They hid behind a wall of silence. Most only returned the subsidy after Sir Roger Douglas and myself called them out in the Media. You can read the story here. Many repaid the day after we put them on the front page news - not before.
Lawyers dominate our boardrooms, even though most have no industry specific knowledge - whether its the Big Banks, Kiwi Rail, or Fletchers. You name a monopoly in NZ and you will likely find the boardroom stacked with lawyers. Its a proper old boys & old girls club. Chapman Tripp threatened Auckland University with defamation unless it took down an article written by a colleague of mine about Foodstuff's monopoly powers. Lawyers, more than any other group, are putting up the cost of living in NZ.
Now the Kings Counsels have written a letter saying that much of the Constitution of this country is only entitled to be written by judges - no-one else is allowed to tell us what are the "principles" behind the Treaty - even though most Kiwis don't believe such principles even exist. Forget Māori having a say in the matter. Forget Parliament. Let alone plumbers, shop-keepers, doctors, nurses, builders, teachers, or engineers. None of us count. Why has the letter that Kings Counsels wrote to the PM, quoted in Parliament by MP Willie Jackson, gone & wrecked the Kiwi economy? Because it has thrown into chaos the security & clarity of our property rights, and as this year's Economics Nobel Prize reminded us, it is that security & clarity that determines long run productivity growth. My advice to investors, domestic or foreign, is to not invest in NZ. Why? Since a bunch of self-interested lawyers and their judge mates now run the show in this country. They're playing those who identify as Māori off against those identifying as non-Māori, all for their fee income. Wait until the big law firms bleed the Iwi Trusts dry, since those firms thrive on disputes & now have whole departments set up to "advise" the Trusts. It is judges who are writing the legal principles which now govern the economic incentives faced by all of us - that affect the opportunities of our children. How hard to work as a student is now dictated by NZ's legal profession - since university places and jobs have come to be decided on how much applicants align with the chosen constitutional "principles" our judges have decided upon.
New Zealand's legal profession has got too big for its boots. The Kings Counsels who wrote to PM Luxon should disclose their incomes, since they have entered the political arena, and in that arena you must disclose your finances so people can work out your conflicts of interest. What did the Counsels earn during Covid, when the rest of the country suffered? How much have they siphoned off the Māori economy as fee income? Go on, tell us. Of course you wont. You will just go and slink back into the darkness & leave none of us not knowing where you are coming from.
Now the Kings Counsels have written a letter saying that much of the Constitution of this country is only entitled to be written by judges - no-one else is allowed to tell us what are the "principles" behind the Treaty - even though most Kiwis don't believe such principles even exist. Forget Māori having a say in the matter. Forget Parliament. Let alone plumbers, shop-keepers, doctors, nurses, builders, teachers, or engineers. None of us count. Why has the letter that Kings Counsels wrote to the PM, quoted in Parliament by MP Willie Jackson, gone & wrecked the Kiwi economy? Because it has thrown into chaos the security & clarity of our property rights, and as this year's Economics Nobel Prize reminded us, it is that security & clarity that determines long run productivity growth. My advice to investors, domestic or foreign, is to not invest in NZ. Why? Since a bunch of self-interested lawyers and their judge mates now run the show in this country. They're playing those who identify as Māori off against those identifying as non-Māori, all for their fee income. Wait until the big law firms bleed the Iwi Trusts dry, since those firms thrive on disputes & now have whole departments set up to "advise" the Trusts. It is judges who are writing the legal principles which now govern the economic incentives faced by all of us - that affect the opportunities of our children. How hard to work as a student is now dictated by NZ's legal profession - since university places and jobs have come to be decided on how much applicants align with the chosen constitutional "principles" our judges have decided upon.
New Zealand's legal profession has got too big for its boots. The Kings Counsels who wrote to PM Luxon should disclose their incomes, since they have entered the political arena, and in that arena you must disclose your finances so people can work out your conflicts of interest. What did the Counsels earn during Covid, when the rest of the country suffered? How much have they siphoned off the Māori economy as fee income? Go on, tell us. Of course you wont. You will just go and slink back into the darkness & leave none of us not knowing where you are coming from.
Professor Robert MacCulloch holds the Matthew S. Abel Chair of Macroeconomics at Auckland University. He has previously worked at the Reserve Bank, Oxford University, and the London School of Economics. He runs the blog Down to Earth Kiwi from where this article was sourced.
12 comments:
As I wrote in a comment a couple of days ago, the KCs who signed the letter are only a quarter of the KCs alive at the moment. One assumes they were all approached to sign the letter so if that is the case, about 75% refused. KCs are also a very small portion of lawyers in the country. I don't know how many lawyers there are, but the number would be many thousands. KCs aren't partners of firms. Barristers aren't allowed to be.
This column is just as bad as the behavior and insults coming from Te Pati Maori. Not all Maori are again Seymour's bill, and of those who are, the vast majority are not abusive. They are all entitled to their opinions. The same with lawyers, politicians, media, dentists and taxidermists. It's when they become abusive and personal that harm arises, but those standards need to apply to both sides.
This column is the type of thing that gives ammunition to those against the bill.
Reading this puts me in mind of that old joke about the parts of the body having a meeting to determine who is in charge. the outcome was that the rectum was the boss. Read into that what you will.
How refreshing to read an article from a Professor I can agree with.
Bemused by this column: trying to think if there's a category of people I really dislike, whether I want to write about them, and also whether I want to condemn them publicly in my professional academic capacity....
In my line of work I have been surprised by how many investors are pulling their money. The main reason is risk, they don't perceive New Zealand as having a politically stable future. A case in point would be at the last election one party mooted the idea that Iwi should be given first right of refusal on all private land sales. These ideas backed by media and legal professionals mean the country is surely doomed.
Has the Waitangi tribunal got all of those (now exposed) KC’s on a retainer?
this column is a breath of fresh air as it articulates the reality of life in NZ. It gives voice to the frustrations and fears most thinking kiwis have for the future stability of the country and the profession most responsible for the administrative dog's breakfast that operates at the legislative level of governance. Our property rights are seriously threatened our news media is racist and treasonous and ignorant our politicians are spineless and not very bright. Few have read any NZ history. I am with the prof all the way.
Often an attitude problem. Young law students need to pass certain courses and maintain a certain GPA. Most other students do not. Elitism starts to develop--and law students think their law courses more important than any other uni course, and that non-law lecturers should accommodate their needs. Law students get grumpy when they earn marks lower than a B+ in non-law courses and are the first to want assessments re-examined. Comment based on 30 years teaching at a NZ uni.
Builders , engineers and related construction experts give a 50 year guarantee for their work. Lawyers give an opinion .
Yes, not an expert on practising lawyers, but some law students wanting to maintain grades do have a sense of entitlement; conclusion based on my own long academic career.
Basil, I think you'll find ten years is typically the limit ignoring specific product warranties. But still, lawyers are often wrong with little comeback. After all, 50% that end up in court lose their cases, and then that can get all overturned on appeal, and then yet again on taking it further. With so much uncertainty and apparent lack of real responsibility by way of skin in the game, one wonders why the public puts up with them charging so much? But lawyers, Maoris, and money certainty have a natural affinity.
I'm not sure why barristers even bother taking an oath. They are the only ones in a courtroom allowed to tell massive porkys either about their client ( the accused if one is the prosecuter) KC's and their ilk are in court to see who can deliver the best drama. Then these story tellers go on to be learned judges and the public is supposed to believe in their integrity!!
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