Great Barrier? No barriers.

Bill Ralston eyes up the barter economy of Great Barrier Island in the Hauraki Gulf.

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4th February, 2012

This year I have decided to institute a new financial regime because of the payment system used by some of my clients. Apart from this column, most of the stuff I do is advice and consultancy work for large institutions, both public and private. I sweat away all month and at the end I submit an invoice based on the hours I’ve worked. In theory, by the 20th of the following month, they should have deposited some cash into my bank account. Note the words “in theory”. In practice, many of these commercial behemoths suddenly decide they’ll get around to paying at, say, eight weeks instead ...

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