“But he hasn’t got anything on!”

Written By: - Date published: 3:43 pm, January 13th, 2015 - 64 comments
Categories: Abuse of power, activism, business, democracy under attack, International, Media - Tags:

The self righteousness of the leaders who marched in Paris was there for all to see, but few in the media decry and point out the hypocrisy. How smug the World leaders feel, marching for freedom of expression and the media which they largely control and use for their political purposes. So who will speak out. Who will cry out in their own countries

“But he hasn’t got anything on“?

s 162 (4) (a) (v) Education Amendment Act places a statutory obligation on Universities to be the critics and conscience of Society. It is worth quoting some of it in full here

In recommending to the Governor-General under subsection (2) that a body should be established as a college of education, a polytechnic, a specialist college, a university, or a wananga, the Minister shall take into account—

  • (a) that universities have all the following characteristics and other tertiary institutions have 1 or more of those characteristics:

    • (i) they are primarily concerned with more advanced learning, the principal aim being to develop intellectual independence:

    • (ii) their research and teaching are closely interdependent and most of their teaching is done by people who are active in advancing knowledge:

    • (iii) they meet international standards of research and teaching:

    • (iv) they are a repository of knowledge and expertise:

    • (v) they accept a role as critic and conscience of society; and

Jane Kelsey spoke of this obligation when recently interviewed by the SST and Dame Anne Salmond  Distinguished Professor at the University of Auckland and 2013 Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year refers to it today in her brief, but challenging, analysis of NZ’s role in silencing its own press voices for political purposes. Having “tenure” used to be a way to guarantee a lifetime position as a researching/teaching academic thereby removing the fear of sacking for speaking out. I understand those days are largely gone?

For those who want a better understanding of the critic/conscience idea there was a good paper written in 2000 which gives a good overview.

Kudos to Jane Kelsey, Anne Salmond and all those who put their heads above the crowd and shout “But he has no clothes on!” It is not enough to be smug because we have better freedom of expression than China, or other regime with worse record. One act of incursion into our press freedom is one too many if we want to decry the actions of others.

 

note: 2 comments were under Anne’s article when I posted this.

Hat tip to Olwyn and OAB

 

 

64 comments on ““But he hasn’t got anything on!” ”

  1. One Anonymous Bloke 1

    It’s well past time we had a discussion about what constitutes treason in a democracy. When does deliberately poisoning the well of public discourse in pursuit of self-interest or a political agenda cross the line?

    Can it ever?

    • tracey 1.1

      well, we need to start with the concept of treason. An outdated concept best left to the 20th to 10th century?

      “reason
      ˈtriːz(ə)n/
      noun
      noun: treason; noun: high treason; plural noun: high treasons

      the crime of betraying one’s country, especially by attempting to kill or overthrow the sovereign or government.
      “they were convicted of treason”
      synonyms: treachery, lese-majesty; More
      disloyalty, betrayal, faithlessness, perfidy, perfidiousness, duplicity, infidelity;
      sedition, subversion, mutiny, rebellion;
      high treason;
      rarePunic faith
      antonyms: allegiance, loyalty
      the action of betraying someone or something.
      plural noun: treasons
      “doubt is the ultimate treason against faith”
      synonyms: treachery, lese-majesty; More
      disloyalty, betrayal, faithlessness, perfidy, perfidiousness, duplicity, infidelity;
      sedition, subversion, mutiny, rebellion;
      high treason;
      rarePunic faith
      antonyms: allegiance, loyalty
      historical
      the crime of murdering someone to whom the murderer owed allegiance, such as a master or husband.
      noun: petty treason; plural noun: petty treasons”

      on its face the cabinet manual deals with it perfectly well… sadly the manual needs to be included in the Crimes Act for this PM to apply it 😉

      • One Anonymous Bloke 1.1.1

        The function of the fourth estate is vital to democracy. Can deliberate, consistent, malicious subversion of that duty cross the line into criminality, and if so, how?

      • vto 1.1.2

        Does treason even have the same purpose anymore ?

        Society is far more disjointed and members do not owe, let alone feel, allegiance to a “country” today. Witness recent “terror” attacks in the countries at war Canada, US, Australia, UK and France all being from within.

        So it seems dead as a concept. I guess in the past it was to ensure the society was protected but that too is unnecessary and not part of our world today.

        And also, can treason exist when the “victim”, the government, is acting in treasonous manners itself against its citizens? I mean, who the fuck is being betrayed today?

        But I imagine it will remain as it is a set of the largest jackboots in the land that the government has to beat, bash and kill anybody who threatens it, not matter its own legitimacy in its actions.

      • Colonial Rawshark 1.1.3

        Remember the oligarchy comprised of the 0.001% is loyal only to their own; they are in fact the most class driven and identity conscious people in the world.

        • tracey 1.1.3.1

          take a peek at the shareholders of SKYCITY, apart from ACC it’s owned by Banksters

          • Colonial Rawshark 1.1.3.1.1

            It makes sense for them to invest in casinos, because that is what they have turned our “financial markets” (and in fact our entire economies) into.

          • Jones 1.1.3.1.2

            Got to launder their clients drug money somehow…

          • Murray Rawshark 1.1.3.1.3

            Tracey, are the banks actually the owners, or are they running shareholder umbrella groups to hide the names of the real shareholders? (And I don’t mean the illuminati or anything of that nature).

            • tracey 1.1.3.1.3.1

              I didnt go back that far, but apart from ACC they are all Banks… jp morgan, HSBC and so on.

              • Murray Rawshark

                Yes, I saw that, but my understanding of something like HSBS Nominees is that it’s a custodial company formed to hold shares for the actual owner. The bank itself doesn’t own the shares.

                If you practised commercial law, maybe you could throw more light on this?

              • Sacha

                What is ACC doing investing in an organisation that causes harm to New Zealanders? Do they have tobacco and booze shares as well?

    • Murray Rawshark 1.2

      I think that when Debbie Leyland and her friend threw eggs at Lizzie, they could have been charged with treason. Instead they were found guilty of assault in her majesty’s courts and given the maximum sentence of 6 months. I suspect the lot in power at the moment would push for a treason charge, unless the law has been changed. I’d rather get rid of the concept because it will invariably be used against the left.

  2. vto 2

    Good idea to concentrate in these areas traditionally at risk in times of war-mongering lying-arse politicians …………

    especially given blanket spying, increasing police state, freedom of expression under attack ..

  3. Paul 3

    World leaders at Paris march criticized for freedom of speech records.
    Hardly proponents of free speech!

    http://mashable.com/2015/01/11/world-leaders-freedom-of-speech-paris-march/

    Daniel Wickham, a London-based blogger, detailed the contradictions and poor records of some of the leaders at the march in a long Twitter storm.

    https://twitter.com/DanielWickham93

    “So here are some of the staunch defenders of the free press attending the solidarity rally in Paris today,” he wrote.

    1) King Abdullah of Jordan, which last year sentenced a Palestinian journalist to 15 years in prison with hard labour
    http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Jordanian-Palestinian-who-writes-for-Post-sentenced-in-Jordan-to-life-with-hard-labor-341596

    2) Prime Minister of Davutoglu of Turkey, which imprisons more journalists than any other country in the world http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2013/dec/18/journalist-safety-turkey

    3) Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel, whose forced killed 7 journalists in Gaza last yr (second highest after Syria)
    http://en.rsf.org/press-freedom-barometer-journalists-killed.html?annee=2014

    4) Foreign Minister Shoukry of Egypt, which as well as AJ staff has detained journalist Shawkan for around 500 days http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2014/12/20/photojournalist-shawkan-describes-endless-nightmare-behind-bars/

    5) Foreign Minister Lavrov of Russia, which last year jailed a journalist for “insulting a government servant” http://en.rsf.org/russie-journalist-arrested-after-17-09-2014,46974.html

    6) Foreign Minister Lamamra of Algeria, which has detained journalist Abdessami Abdelhai for 15 months without charge
    http://en.rsf.org/algerie-journalist-held-without-trial-in-17-11-2014,47235.html

    7) The Foreign Minister of the UAE, which in 2013 held a journo incommunicado for a month on suspicion of MB links
    https://cpj.org/2013/08/uae-authorities-release-egyptian-journalist-after.php

    8) Prime Minister Jomaa of Tunisia, which recently jailed blogger Yassine Ayan for 3 years for “defaming the army”
    http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/tunisia-blogger-jailed-military-court-should-be-released-2015-01-06

    10) The Attorney General of the US, where police in Ferguson have recently detained and assaulted WashPost reporters
    http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2014/08/13/washington-post-reporter-arrested-in-ferguson/

    11) Prime Minister Samaras of Greece, where riot police beat & injured two journalists at a protest in June last year
    http://en.rsf.org/greece-riot-police-injure-woman-13-06-2014,46435.html

    12) Sec-Gen of NATO, who are yet to be held to account for deliberately bombing and killing 16 Serbian journos in ’99
    http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/no-justice-victims-nato-bombings-20090423

    13) President Keita of Mali, where journalists are expelled for covering human rights abuses
    https://cpj.org/2013/05/malian-army-expels-french-journalist-from-gao.php

    14) The Foreign Minister of Bahrain, 2nd biggest jailer of journos in the world per capita (they also torture them)
    http://cpj.org/2014/02/attacks-on-the-press-in-2013-bahrain.php

    15) Sheikh Mohamed Ben Hamad Ben Khalifa Al Thani of Qatar, which jailed a man for 15 ys for writing the Jasmine poem http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/10/qatar-court-upholds-sentence-against-poet-20131021123723850815.html

    16) Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, who had several journalists jailed for insulting him in 2013
    http://www.jpost.com/National-News/Palestinian-journalist-jailed-for-insulting-Abbas-308014

    17) Prime Minister Cerar of Slovenia, which sentenced a blogger to six months in prison for “defamation” in 2013
    http://en.rsf.org/slovenia-blogger-gets-six-months-in-jail-16-05-2013,44621.html
    2:07 AM – 12 Jan 2015

    18) Prime Minister Enda Kenny of Ireland, where “blasphemy” is considered a criminal offense
    http://en.rsf.org/ireland-making-blasphemy-an-offence-takes-04-01-2010,35672.html

    19) Prime Minister Kopacz of Poland, which raided a magazine to seize recordings embarrassing for the ruling party
    http://en.rsf.org/poland-violating-confidentiality-of-20-06-2014,46487.html

    20) PM Cameron of the UK, where authorities destroyed documents obtained by The Guardian and threatened prosecution
    http://en.rsf.org/uk-government-s-culpable-20-08-2013,45073.html

    21) Saudi ambassador to France. The Saudis publicly flogged blogger @raif_badawi for “insulting Islam” on Friday http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/09/saudi-blogger-first-lashes-raif-badawi

    • Wayne 3.1

      So are all leaders and all nations are equally as bad? Judging by your list, I think not.

      Because I think (going by your list of “offences”) there is a pretty big difference between say Ireland and Saudi Arabia.

      After all being caught going 110 kph is quite different to dangerous driving, even if they are both traffic offences.

    • millsy 3.2

      19) Prime Minister Kopacz of Poland, which raided a magazine to seize recordings embarrassing for the ruling party

      Probably worth mentioning that Polish women enjoyed a high level of sexual and reproductive freedom under communism (and control over their own bodies — access to abortion and contraception) prior to the Catholic controlled Solidarity “union” coming to power in 1989.

      Now they are back under the thumb of the Catholic Church.

      Oops.

  4. Ad 4

    Not sure this post is going down the right path. Academics haven’t been a social or media force in this country for 30 years (with noble exceptions). They no longer have the will to oppose – just like NZ trade unions, they take small often very small wins where they can.

    Whereas the crowds are speaking now, and in their millions, and they have political and media sentiment fully on their side. This is no time to do what the left usually does when it sees a win in front of it: quibble about everyone else’s motives, and then decry all efforts as simply too hard.

    British, German and French people and politicians are all acting, and in their millions. They are all putting different shades of meaning on it, sure. But the right and the left are being co-opted by television together towards well established progressive goals.

    This is probably the first time since the GFC that we have seen real populist fervour over a values issue.

    The left were completely unsuccessful in sustaining the GFC as a political crisis.
    But the left can help steer the crowds already on the street, with enough good tactics, theming, and leadership.

      • Ad 4.1.1

        As indicated, those slain magazine workers are now a small part of a far larger dynamic fully in play.

        • One Anonymous Bloke 4.1.1.1

          Well I suppose I dishonestly co-opt your political narrative spit on your grave too then, Tovarishch.

      • johnm 4.1.2

        OAB They’d be stopped if it were anti semitic, because the subject is moslem it’s ok. The moslem faith with no doubt at all is being picked on. Charlie Hebdo is an organ of western prejudice against the moslem faith: Shame on them! Time to stop and relate to moslems in a human and decent way.

        • One Anonymous Bloke 4.1.2.1

          The notion that drawing Mohammed is a fatal challenge to Moslems is racism. Of course the Moslem faith is being picked on. So is the Christian faith, and the Zoroastrian faith, and the Hindu faith, and the neo-Liberal faith, and all the other mumbo-pocus. Why wouldn’t it be?

    • tracey 4.2

      That is because the 80’s saw a move to profit motive for universities, in a minor way, and to neuter the statutory obligation to speak out. Those who do so, do so at some risk to their funding and thereby their livelihoods.

      Owen Glenn funded business school in Auckland is but one example.

      Jane Kelsey has been pre eminent in steering the crowds on the streets regarding TPP, without her I wonder how prominent the issue would be? So, I respectfully disagree about the importance of academics in this re-steering of society.

      Did you read Prof Salmond’s piece?

      • Colonial Rawshark 4.2.1

        That is because the 80’s saw a move to profit motive for universities, in a minor way, and to neuter the statutory obligation to speak out.

        Just remember that academic PhD economists through the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s played a pivotal role in establishing the theoretical rationale and intellectual cover that right wingers used to undermine all of western society.

        Those who do so, do so at some risk to their funding and thereby their livelihoods.

        It’s more severe than that in the teaching of economics – you cannot get published in the important journals if you deviate too far off the accepted neoliberal orthodoxy. All the editors and peer review panellists on those journals are neoliberal economists. The publishers of those journals are large corporations like Elsevier.

        As Steve Keen once put it, imagine having the Catholic Church in charge of what gets OK’d to be published and what doesn’t, for the entire world of religious and spiritual belief.

        No peer reviewed journal publications means no promotions, no grants, and finally, no job.

        • McFlock 4.2.1.1

          Yes and no – the neolib economists provided an excuse for thatcher et al, but when most of the same economists realised that the reality didn’t match the theory they stopped getting calls from thatcher et al.

          There was an interesting bbc doco called ISTR “Pandora’s Box” that finished an episode with one of those economists saying something along the lines that he occasionally woke up at night with the worry that the leaders simply used his initial advice to justify their actions, and didn’t care about the negative results.

          The thing is that people who hire economists are usually the ones with money, so short-term economist training and academics who might have to bounce between academia and the private sector have a vested interest to follow the doctrine of the moneyed, rather than any doctrine that helps society as a whole.

          • Colonial Rawshark 4.2.1.1.1

            According to Steve Keen, most neoliberal/neoclassical academic economists believe strongly that the work they are doing is altruistic and helping society as a whole.

            • McFlock 4.2.1.1.1.1

              You can convince yourself of anything if you don’t look at the downsides too closely.

              • Colonial Rawshark

                And seriously, what are the downsides as long as the $130K p.a. assoc professor pay keeps rolling in

        • tracey 4.2.1.2

          it depends on what came first the cart or the horse. Academics study, hypothesise and speculate. Politicians latch onto particular ones which serve their ideological ends, not quite the same as “the economist made it happen”.

          • Colonial Rawshark 4.2.1.2.1

            It really is a team approach by the corporate oligarchy. Different organisations and professions have different roles to play. Each has access to different kinds of capital.

            The Left on the other hand has fuck all to play with.

            NZ Labour keeps insisting that it has the advantage in “on the ground” organising, but as we have seen, the use of methodologies based in the 70’s and 80’s is woefully insufficient in the modern day.

            As I mentioned, the academic economist (and the undergraduates they train whom are eventually hired by investment, retail and central banks) provide the theoretical and intellectual cover.

            Most of our politicians (MP’s) aren’t smart enough to develop novel economic paradigms without being handed them on a plate by such people.

            Politicians are also just one part of the team used by the corporate oligarchy.

            • Ad 4.2.1.2.1.1

              Blogs have dump trucks more power, and are more persuasive, than academic journals.

              • Olwyn

                However, publication in academic journals allow people to get academic jobs and keep them. Blogs do not have that particular power.

              • Colonial Rawshark

                Blogs have dump trucks more power, and are more persuasive, than academic journals.

                99% of what what is written in 99% of blogs is trite and meaningless.

                Bloggers rarely get grants, government funding, or access to policy teams and top level decision makers.

                • Murray Rawshark

                  “Bloggers rarely get grants, government funding, or access to policy teams and top level decision makers.”

                  Not on the left, at least. We know Whalespew and that Farrar thing do. There may be others.

      • Ad 4.2.2

        Yes I read it.

        I would have taken more notice if it was by Ted Thomas.
        She is a glorious luvvie. But she ain’t no challenge to nuthin’.

        • Olwyn 4.2.2.1

          I agree that Ted Thomas is very good, but the linked article by Anne Salmond clearly and unequivocally points out some important fields in which our safeguards and freedoms are being eroded: the fourth estate, the public service, law and academia. That they are being eroded matters hugely, since their strength or weakness in largely makes the difference between actual progressiveness and window dressing.

          You were going on elsewhere about how the left should build on the outpouring of feeling in Paris, but that is very hard to do when the institutions that would safeguard any gains are eroded. Under such circumstances, propaganda can end up being protected by “free speech” while people like Nicky Hager still find themselves under investigation. I would not be so dismissive of Anne Salmond.

          • tracey 4.2.2.1.1

            nor would I (dismissive of Salmond). She gets into the MSM and speaks truth to power. Ad’s view that is “nuthin” is at best odd.

  5. johnm 5

    A collection of war criminals: Cameron and Sarkozi helped destroy Libya ( Through the agency of NATO and its bombing of Gadaffis civil defence forces defending a beneficient social order for all )
    Which now is suffering a civil war. Netanyahu bombs women and children as collective punishment in Gaza. Poroshenko massacres with artillery and bombing and sniper fire Russian Ukrainians with the ok of Merkel and Hollande and Cameron ( along with Warshington they could stop all this in a heartbeat with pressure on Porky to make peace with the separatists ). They are all part of the U$ Warshington hegemony system that finances and arms anti Assad fighters in Syria. The Hebdo killers learned their trade in Syria. Blowback anyone? IMHO NZ is politically a zombie nation it’s so provincial and fearful of understanding the reality out there in the big bad world. Keep getting fed BS by Shonkey: enjoy.

    • tracey 5.1

      Interesting that Netanyahu marched within a week of scoffing at Palestine wanting to join International Criminal Court which would make both israel and Palestine subject to charges of war crimes. Yup, he loves freedom does benjamin

      • joe90 5.1.1

        Netanyahu huh.

        In France, freedom of speech is considered a universal right, while in Israel such a weekly would not be able to exist because of the Israeli law that bans “offending religious sensibilities.” During my years as a cartoonist I have had to become familiar with the laws restricting the Israeli press.

        But note that the law against offending religious sensibilities is not a law against racism, smut or slander (there are other laws for that). This is a very specific draconian law, a real anti-Wolinski law. The law prohibits illustrating Moses, Jesus or Mohammed in a way that would hurt the feelings of believers

        […]

        I found out about the law only years later, when my caricature in a well-known newspaper that criticized the cruel pre-Yom Kippur custom of kaparot — swinging a chicken over one’s head to atone for sin — was brought up for discussion in the Knesset. (And there weren’t even any boobs in the picture!)

        From the rostrum, the police minister compared my work to the caricatures in the Nazis’ Der Stürmer, and on the minister’s instructions my editor and I were summoned for questioning. Sometime later I was cut from the paper’s staff.

        Since learning about the law, I’ve noticed court decisions based on it. In 1997, Tatiana Soskin was sentenced to prison for drawing her famous “pig poster” in Hebron. In 2006, a campaign ad for the Shinui party was banned because of offense to religious sensibilities.

        http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.636511

        • tracey 5.1.1.1

          and the israeli ultra orthodox paper removing pictures of women from photos for “modesty” sake…

  6. One Anonymous Bloke 6

    Lieutenant Kijé.

    a clerk miswrites an order promoting several ensigns (praporshchiki) to second lieutenants (podporuchiki): instead of “praporshchiki zh … – v podporuchiki” (“as to Ensigns (names), [they are promoted to] Second Lieutenants”, he writes “praporshchik Kizh, … – v podporuchiki” (“Ensigns Kizh, (other names) [are promoted to ] Second Lieutenants”. The Emperor Paul decides to promote the nonexistent Kizh to first lieutenant (poruchik); he quickly rises through the ranks to staff captain and full captain, and when he is promoted to colonel the emperor commands that Kizh appear before him. Of course no Kizh can be found; the military bureaucrats go through the paper trail and discover the original mistake, but they decide to tell the emperor that Kizh has died. “What a pity,” the emperor says, “he was a good officer.”

  7. Ross 7

    Tracey, can I underline your story with a repeat of my comment to Mickey Savage’s post yesterday on this topic (and that many seem to have missed). It is a simple and chillingly incomplete list to which I can now add three names: Jon Stephenson, Andrea Vance and Nicky Hager. So, before I paste the list can anyone enlighten me as to any University’s response to these atrocities?

    Each name is an act of State sanctioned terror on American and British (and NZ) journalists over the last few years. These are ordinary working journalists and photographers going about their lawful duty to observe, record and report. These were important events like Occupy Wall Street, Earth Day and NATO demonstrations, and the Ferguson shootings. Arrested. Assaulted. Detained. Harassed. For being journalists. I list them below, each to their own line so they don’t get absorbed into a category: Arrested Journalist, that can be used as a label to dismiss them. Each to their own line because each is a death, the end of our freedom.

    Kristyna Wentz-Graff
    Lucy Kafanov
    Ryan Harvey
    JA Meyerson
    Keith Gessen
    Julia Reinhart
    Molly Crabapple
    John Bolger
    John Farley
    Natasha Lennard
    Kristen Gwynne
    Stephanie Keith
    Marisa Holmes
    Bob Plain
    Peter Harris
    Jonathan Meador
    Malina Chavez-Shannon
    Jonathan Foster
    Ian Grahan
    Susie Cagle
    Alisen Redmond
    Judith Kim
    Stephanie Pharr
    Katelyn Ferral
    Josh Davis
    Julie Walker
    Jared Malsin
    Jennifer Weiss
    Matthew Lysiak
    Karen Matthews
    Seth Wenig
    Justin Bishop
    Patrick Hedlund
    Paul Lomax
    Doug Higginbotham (working for TVNZ)
    Peter Harris (again)
    Faith Laugier
    Mark Taylor Canfield
    Yasha Levine
    Tyson Heder
    Calvin Milam
    Matthew Hamill
    Carla Murphy
    John Knefel
    Nick Isebella
    Justin Wedes
    Paul Sullivan
    Lorenzo Serna
    Jeff Smith
    Charles Meacham
    Renée Renata Bergan
    Stanley W. Rogouski
    Victoria Soble
    Zach Roberts
    Jennifer Dworkin
    Elizabeth Arce
    Alexander Arbuckle
    Adam Katz
    Susie Cagle
    Gavin Aronsen
    John Osborn
    Vivian Ho
    Kristin Hanes
    Yael Chanoff
    Kim Beavers
    Christina Kay
    Luke Rudkowski
    Carlos Miller
    Jerry Nelson
    Alex Darocy
    Bradley Stuart Allen
    Jacquie Kubin
    Elizabeth Arce
    Shawn Carrié
    Steve Rhodes
    Daniel Arauz
    Jessica Chornesky
    Jenna Lane
    Amber Lyon
    Kenneth Lipp
    Maximilian Braverman
    Joshua Lott
    Taylor Hall
    Jess E. Hadden
    Scott Olson
    Kerry Picket
    Ryan Reilly
    Wesley Lowery
    Ansgar Graw
    Frank Herrman
    Lukas Hermsmeier
    Ryan Devereaux
    Coulter Loeb
    Robert Klemko
    Rob Crilly
    Neil Munshi
    Denise Reese
    Trey Yingst
    Mary Moore
    Bassem Masri
    Bilgin Şaşmaz
    Tom Walters
    Pearl Gabel
    Matthew Giles
    Ryan Frank
    Antonio French
    Umar Lee
    Alan Lodge
    Ben Gibson
    David Hoffman
    John Warburton
    Nick Cobbing
    John Fraser Williams
    Roddy Mansfield
    Simon Chapman
    Ben Edwards
    Ursuala Wills Jones
    Justin Cooke
    Paul Smith
    Campbell Thomas
    Martin Palmer
    Maggie Lambert
    John Harris
    Rob Todd
    Jon Stephenson
    Andrea Vance
    Nicky Hager

    • tracey 7.1

      Thanks Ross

      Any further information on them and what they “did”?

        • tracey 7.1.1.1

          Thanks Joe90

          The point of Salmond’s article, to my reading, is that we cannot pretend all is good here because things are worse for journos elsewhere.

      • Ross 7.1.2

        I had my references attached to the original post Tracey. For fear of being tedious I left them off here. As to what they did – they were doing their jobs. Apparently it is routine now to assault, arrest, imprison and harass journalists in our culture, as they make notes and take photographs. This was news to me, even though I had read the “journalists arrested” headlines. It wasn’t until I decided to spend a lazy hour checking exactly how many and for what reasons that the horrifying truth emerged. It quickly became immaterial to me what they were arrested for or what happened to them. It’s the bald fact of it that makes my blood run cold. That and the utter silence of those you would expect to be crying out the loudest. Where is the leadership in this issue? As you say, where are the universities. Or for that matter the media themselves. It seems to me to not even be an issue at all (look at the reader numbers of both these related posts). To me, it’s strange beyond belief.

        Sadly I suspect it is because it is an issue too far up the Maslow hierarchy. When you have your baby at the table and no tucker in the cupboard well, you know, fuck the journos. Perhaps we have all been reduced to wage slaves who can only afford to think of our survival and leave these higher fancy issues like freedom to those who have the spare time. Like the 1%. Isn’t that a cheerful proposition.

  8. r0b 8

    Having “tenure” used to be a way to guarantee a lifetime position as a researching/teaching academic thereby removing the fear of sacking for speaking out. I understand those days are largely gone?

    Those days have been gone for decades – anyone is sackable. There are various other factors at work too which reduce academics’ willingness to speak out. It is IMHO one of the many symptoms of the growing sickness of society.

    • tracey 8.1

      I knew they disappeared bigtime in the 90’s. After the employment contracts act 1990 in fact..

      • burt 8.1.1

        Thankfully, the union grip imposing the unworkable fantasy that the employer owed you a job was reduced in the passing of the employment contracts act.

        Unfortunately this blog still runs like a Muslim extremist using banning like murdering. People who offend the sensitive souls who love a failed ideology get banned by the angry and self righteous lprent who’s anger management problems are mocked extensively in other blogs.

        Je suis TheStandard

        [RL: Dear burt – welcome back. You should know I have released you from moderation because well – the purpose of this blog is not to silence people. Consider the number of right wing commenters who have been here over the years. Many of them for very long periods. Yourself included. We may well have disagreed with what you were saying – but your right to say them was never in question. I ask you to accept that truth in good faith.

        At the same time, there is no question that the internet is also infested with fools and idiots whose purpose is not to express an opinion, but to disrupt and derail. They see a relatively open target like The Standard and have a go. That is an unfortunate reality we cannot ignore. What usually happens is that ordinary moderators like me will make an attempt to resolve this behaviour. If that does not work – Lynn wheels out his ‘repel the idiots cannon’ and gives them a broadside. (To be fair he does take a delicious pleasure in it. I see that as his reward for all the hard work he does keeping this place going for people like you.) If that does not work – they get banned.

        You are welcome to comment constructively here. But please do not assume bad faith on our part. That is just bad manners.]

        • RedLogix 8.1.1.1

          the union grip imposing the unworkable fantasy that the employer owed you a job was reduced in the passing of the employment contracts act.

          Fair enough. Legally all an employer really owes you is your pay for turning up and undertaking your assigned tasks.

          But any good employer knows that the relationship goes further than this. Good employers know that attitude, engagement, initiative, leadership and commitment are all highly valuable to the business. And that these qualities are not measured by hours worked or boxes ticked.

          So when you argue that ’employers don’t owe you a job’ that gets heard by most people as ‘you are as disposable as toilet paper’. How do you think most workers respond to that? Not very well either.

          Somewhere in between those two extremes lies a workable balance. And in real life that balance is best achieved between two powers with roughly equal influence. The bosses have considerable organisational power – and that is best balanced by workers having a matching organisational power as well.

        • tracey 8.1.1.2

          burt

          by allmeans criticise lprent but your choice of words and phrases reflect badly on you and make the intent all but meaningless…

          “like a muslim extremist”

          “banning like murdering’

          get a grip

        • gsays 8.1.1.3

          hi burt, i am keen to hear what you view a job to be to a worker and employer.

          whether it is something that is limited to a physical workplace, (factory, office, kitchen etc) and the relationships within.
          or if a broader, wider view is taken. fabric of community, investing in youth (work ethic, live skills etc).

          the first is a balance sheet view of life, the other is less tangible and not expressed in accounting terms but clearly has extremely high value.

  9. Chooky 9

    This piece by Keith Locke on freedom of speech is very good …freedom of speech is a core issue in the whole debate….and those in power will be looking to restrict it which is not good for democracy…in fact it will spell the end of democracy the tighter those in power seek to pull the noose on freedom of speech and dissent

    ‘Free speech for everyone, from Charlie Hebdo to the jihadists’

    By Keith Locke

    – See more at: http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/01/12/free-speech-for-everyone-from-charlie-hebdo-to-the-jihadists/#sthash.nrnntRGl.VPDYvuDK.dpuf

  10. Sable 10

    This has already happened in Australia. I was talking with an Australian academic a while back and what she said they are very much under a microscope. Say the wrong thing and its bye bye job. Quite a ruthless system, I’m not surprised to see it happening here.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • At a glance – Does CO2 always correlate with temperature?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    3 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 hours ago
  • Relentlessly negative
    Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 hours ago
  • Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    Bryce Edwards writes –  It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 hours ago
  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    6 hours ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    7 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    8 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    9 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    12 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    12 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    12 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    12 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    14 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    15 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    17 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    2 days ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-19T09:35:30+00:00