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How much is enough? How much is too much? Some people’s eyes light up at the thought of money.

They see power and influence flowing from money. In pursuit of prestige, mana, standing, they make the mistake of thinking money is the only pathway to achieving that. But it is not.

Money can’t buy you happiness. And money can’t buy you love, as The Beatles told us all those decades ago.

Instead of greed, it is what you do with money that is the important thing. How you treat your workers, how you support your community, how you make a better world and tomorrow for the generations to come.

Unfortunately, selfishness grips control of those who are easily led and in whom altruism is a foreign concept. Before you know it, money is the be-all and end-all of their existence.

This week’s damning decision from the Employment Relations Authority against Dunedin bakery owner Anesly Joy Samuel is one all who take advantage of their staff, as they foolishly covet great wealth, need to learn from.

Samuel treated his employees disgracefully, as if they were enslaved in a modern-day sweatshop. The authority, and the Labour Inspectorate, found they were actually working more than 80 hours a week while only being paid wages for 40 hours.

As well as that, the investigation discovered he did not keep timesheets, and asked a staff member to provide false and misleading information on minimum wages, public holiday payments, annual holiday entitlements and work location to the inspectorate and Immigration New Zealand.

Just to top off Samuel’s reprehensible behaviour, he ‘‘repeatedly threatened the workers’’ to bully them out of pursuing their case, the investigation said.

His repugnant behaviour has come back to bite him, with the authority ordering him to pay $299,038 in arrears and penalties for not paying staff their correct wages, holiday and sick leave pay. Penalties of $139,000 are for the Crown, with $19,000 to the three employees, who will also be owed $141,038 in arrears of their due wages and holiday entitlements.

Samuel operated the Romeeco Bakery and then opened Knox Cafe and Bakery next door, opposite Knox Church.

The judgement against him is entirely appropriate, given the outcome of the investigation. We  also applaud the authority for naming and shaming Samuel and this series of incidents, which must rank highly for their egregiousness in any list of other significant southern cases.

There is no point having these laws if they are not enforced, not just for the badly treated staff members but also for businesses which do play by the rules and struggle to compete.

This is a victory for fair play and the underdog, one that will hopefully provide a shot across the bows for any other greedy business owners out there looking to cut corners.

And another thing 

Who needs fireworks?

Those crackling, flashing pyrotechnics have been doing their annoying thing over the past few nights, despite the sales ban by some retailers, such as The Warehouse.

Forget them. Look up at the stunning, shimmering Southern Lights instead, something truly out of this world.

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Making money and aspirations for wealth beyond our wildest dreams is something we have all been guilty of. For some a business is the route to private jets, titles and political influence, for others it's a Powerball ticket.
However the world's richest are plundering the planet. Billionaires have huge carbon footprints. According to new research, the richest 1% of people - smaller than the population of Germany - are expected to account for 16% of total emissions by 2030. However, the total emissions produced by the richest 10% could be sufficient on their own to exceed the aligned level for 1.5 degrees in 2030, regardless of what the other 90% of the world's population do.
Just some food for thought.

OK...ill bite; according to what new research? How would a researcher get a list of ALL the people in the world so they could figure out who comprised the top 10%? Why would they want to look at that as a statistic? What would it prove? Use just a little common sense when you post stuff like that! it's ridiculous!

If you can not see why my comment is relevant in the current climate, I suggest it is you who needs to use a little common sense.
Tackling extreme inequality and targeting the excessive emissions linked to the consumption and investments of the world’s richest people is vital for the future of the planet. In keeping with the Paris climate goals, every person on Earth needs to reduce their CO2 emissions to an average of 2.3 tonnes by 2030, about half the average of today.
The study was done by the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI).
The paper shows that the fight to keep 1.5C within reach is not being hampered by the consumption of most people on the planet, but by the excessive emissions of the world’s richest citizens, said Tim Gore, author of the report. He also said, the climate and inequality crises should be tackled together.
It makes sense to me - getting rich for personal gain at the expense of the poor less privileged is what this opinion piece is about and I agree with the editor - Instead of greed, it is how you make a better world and tomorrow that counts.

So there is no study. It's all just made up! Like it or not, everything that everybody does has a cost regardless of how good ones intentions may be. If somebody is going to front the money, they have the right to cover their costs and make a profit. Even for ventures with the intent of making the world better. If you believe otherwise you are naive. If you believe you don't need money, well you are just plain stupid. I've worked hard for everything I have. I set my companies price on products based on what the market will bare. Sometimes, I make a lot. Most times I make a fair profit. You seem to forget a good portion of what I make gets taken by the government in taxes. Too much in my opinion. Those taxes are used to build the utopian dream you describe. Unlike you I don't need nor do I want the government attempting to build utopia. I want less government in all aspects of my life. You want to pay more in taxes? Fill your boots mate. But until you are making payroll for 650 people and their families dot lecture me or anybody else on how much money I can make! Maybe, start you own business and see just how difficult it is as opposed to pontificating about things you know 0 about

Wow! Take a chill pill Red_Pill! Please read again what I have written and stop putting words in my mouth and jumping, no leaping to conclusions about me or my thoughts. I have made a comment and reported on a study that has been done. If you disagree with the reports findings or conclusions that's up to you but please do not make it personal.

There is no published study delineating the findings you describe. As far as personalising it, people need to be called it when the proclaim crap like this! Utter nonsense that no self-respecting individual would publish. Stop being so gullible mate!

I don't care too much for money.
Money can't buy ME, love.

The most expensive thing we buy is government. They are a big business. Yes we need to punish the trampling of our Bill of Rights.

For what does it profit a man to gain the world but lose his soul.

In part, Guy Fawkes celebrates a push back against tyrannous government. It’s super easy to make simple fireworks to compete against those big businesses like the Warehouse and the Beehive with their minimum wage slaves.

Good Lord, Red. I thought you were a veteran, not Captain of Industry.

A train driver...just a simple train driver. Rode a train down from the north island. Now, pride myself on being a Captain of industry. Cause if you can drive a train you can do anything. My hats off to you Hull for the recognition. Cheese rolls to you and all your friends!

This article highlight migrants ripping off their own people. The liquor barons are the worst, They have been charged multiple times. Why do we tolerate this? If you come to this country and treat people like this, fines aren't enough. They are a joke. They don't pay them and carry on doing it under another business name. Deport them, no matter how long they have been here. We have brought this upon ourselves by allowing open immigration over many years - all the more reason too restrict immigration. It should be a privilege to come here - not a right to exploit workers.

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