I’m currently considering undertaking an undergraduate Law Degree; but after some research it seems like everybody is doing it! Considering that over the past ten years there has been a rise in solicitors from around 20000 to a 110000 …
Original post:
Two A Penny Law Degrees…?
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The Government has no plans to change superannuation entitlements or raise the age of eligibility in the face of a Treasury report’s dire warnings of the burden of an ageing population.
Treasury secretary John Whitehead today warned New Zealand’s net debt could reach $2 trillion by 2050 if government spending followed historic trends.
The statement showed the Government was currently issuing about $250 million a week in debt.
Releasing the treasury’s long term fiscal statement this afternoon, Mr Whitehead said “as a nation we are going to have to make some choices about what we want”.
“The only options that are feasible are options of changing taxes around.
Finance Minister Bill English said the Government would not go back on its promise to retain entitlements but the next round of tax cuts would not be happening in the short term.
“If we can get some better results on the economy then we will get some more tax revenue in. We will need to collect all the current amount of tax,” he told reporters.”
Growth in Government spending has averaged 6. But in the shorter term there isn’t an option on giving away a whole lot of revenue.2 percent over the same period.3 percent a year for the past 15 years, in total more than 20 percent higher than economic growth, at 5.The shift in the past three years was partly due to lower revenue and increased expenses from the recession, and revised growth and revenue predictions.
The statement more than doubled the projected net debt from the 2006 forecast to 223 per cent of GDP by 2050 if things did not change.
Mr Whitehead noted the imminent threat to government spending liabilities from the increasing 65-plus age bracket.
Also contributing to the shift was the increased expense of new Government policies over the past three years.
“By 2050 the ratio of people 65 and over to those of working age will double,” Mr Whitehead said.
A quarter of Government spending currently went towards that group, which made up 12 per cent of the population. .
Mr Whitehead emphasised he did not expect the worst case scenario to come true, but it was up to the Government to make the necessary choices to address the fiscal issues highlighted in the statement. Treasury’s given the same advice about super for 20 years, it hasn’t changed.
“Future Governments haven’t made the undertakings the current Government has made.”
More people were choosing to stay on at work longer and Mr English expected that to increase. We made an undertaking and we are sticking to that undertaking.”
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The death toll from Australia’s Black Saturday bushfires has been revised down from 210 to 173.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman said the number of deaths had been changed after “extensive examinations”.
Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe said after remains were scientifically examined some that were initially believed to have belonged to two or more people turned out to be a single person. .
“Over the past six weeks we have gone through tens of thousands of records and documentation, working closely with the Red Cross and the Coroner’s Office to ensure that the figure we have is as accurate as it possibly can be at this time,” he said.
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Deputy Commissioner Walshe said animal remains had also been eliminated during the identification process that had reduced the death toll
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It beats a desk job
Tuesday, 30 December 2008
Gisborne Herald
ON DUTY: As a surf lifesaver, Rachel Cederwall gets to spend every day of summer on the beach.
Surf lifesaver Rachael Cederwall may just have the most scenic workplace in Wellington Oriental Bay beach.
"Who wouldn't really want to be spending their working day on a beautiful sunny beach? At this stage of my life it is quite perfect.
The 18-year-old self-confirmed beach bunny patrols the capital's favourite beach on weekdays from 11am to 7pm."
A typical weekday sees Ms Cederwall and a lifesaving companion set up the swimming flags, prepare lifesaving devices such as paddle boards and first aid kits, and dish out sun-smart advice.
"I would rather be at a beach getting paid than sitting behind a desk everyday.
"It is probably a bit closer to working at a swimming pool than working at a big-surf beach.
Working at Oriental Bay is different to patrolling a surf beach, something she has done many times since becoming a lifeguard at the age of 15.
"Over the past few years there have been instances where people haven't been able to get back in. But there are still hazards that aren't at pools that you have to deal with, such as the raft anchored offshore."
There have been no serious incidents on her watch. It is things like that, rather than somebody being swept out in a rip, that we have to deal with. But it did sometimes have its perks.
She said keeping an eye out for swimmers in trouble meant there wasn't a lot of time to socialise while on the job. .
"Occasionally somebody will give us a free icecream.. "It is a great cause, a community-based thing . I like giving back something..
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She has returned to Wellington for the summer after completing her first year at Otago University, where she studied geography and anthropology