“Collect it all”, “exploit it all”: 5 Eyes economic surveillance

Written By: - Date published: 9:10 pm, May 15th, 2014 - 54 comments
Categories: accountability, capitalism, democracy under attack, john key, slippery, Spying, us politics - Tags:

I am in the process of watching the videos of Glenn Greenwald, as interviewed on Democracy Now about his new book No Place to Hide.  It’s posted on the Daily Blog by Selwyn Manning.  I am in the middle of the first video.

It’s mind blowing stuff. The extent of the NSA-led 5 Eyes surveillance systems is a leap from sci fi into our daily lives. ( NSA is the US state surveillance agency, and the 5 Eyes include the equivalent agencies in the UK, Aussie, Canada and NZ’s GCSB).

GCSB Key

There is a strong focus on economic surveillance in the use of the systems.

The first post and video, as Manning explains the significance of the latest revelations for NZ:

In this interview Glenn Greenwald reveals and describes new collection postures – or new methods of surveillance used by the the United States’ National Security Agency (NSA) etc.

The interviewee makes references to dragnet “Sniff it all’, ‘Know it all’, ‘Collect it all’, ‘Process it all’, ‘Exploit it all’, Partner it all’, data surveillance taking place in all parts of the world.

The Partner it all reference raises questions as to the accuracy of New Zealand and Australian government assurances that such surveillance is not targeting citizens of these countries.

A graphic slide follows, demonstrating the surveillance methods.

For New Zealand, the latest information indicates that John Key and GCSB boss Ian Fletcher have questions to answer – they appear to have misled the people of NZ. Manning states:

The public interest demands the Prime Minister explain how this information is not incongruous to his assertions that New Zealand citizens are not having their communications data trawled, netted, and processed by the Five Eyes network – operations that appear to include the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB).
Some of the new stuff Greenwald talks about in the interview:
He outlines the extent of the economic surveillance that includes spying on the UN, oil companies, corporations, and the US department of commerce, and much more.  The NSA has spied on the Brazilian company Petrobras, spied on international economic conferences, the World Bank, the IMF, and the Swift banking system. The NSA has “customers”  like the CIA, and the US departments of agriculture and commerce, which make requests of the NSA.
After all the fuss that the US authorities, and others have made about the intensive surveillance in commercial technologies, alleged to be done on behalf of the Chinese government, there’s this at about 17 minutes 14 seconds into the video – Greenwald says that his new book describes this intrusive and wide-reaching practice by the NSA:

..all over the world, people buy routers and switchers and servers, which are the devices that let corporations or municipalities or villages provide internet service to large numbers of people at once …

…when somebody orders a product from Cisco [for example as well as other US companies], Cisco then ships it to that person. The NSA physically intercepts the package – takes it from FedEx or from the US mail service, brings it back to NSA headquarters, opens up the package and plants a back door device on one of these devices, reseals it with the packer e-seal and sends it on to the unwitting user, who then provides internet service for large numbers of people – all of which is instantly redirected into the repositories of the NSA.

The Snowden material includes email communications describing how they do this, along with photos of it being done.

GCSB protest-17

Greenwald then talks about the cooperation among the 5 Eyes partners. At about 28 minutes into the video, he says his book includes a letter from a “high level Australian official” who asked the US government to help it to spy on Aussie citizens.

Of importance with respect to the questions John Key and Ian Fletcher need to be asked, Greenwald explains

If you listen to these governments, in response to the stories that we’ve been reporting, what they’ll say is, to their own citizens, “You don’t need to worry because there’s all these restrictions on how we can spy on you. Yes, we can spy on the rest of the world as much as we want, but” these governments say, “when it comes to you, our wonderful citizens, we have all kinds of legal restrictions,..

This is the kind of thing that Key and Fletcher have said to us. Greenwald refers to a document, published for the first time, that he claims shows these governments,

will ask their surveillance partners to spy on their own people, and then give them the fruits of that surveillance. So they can learn everything that they want to know about their own population, while pretending to abide by the legal restrictions that have been imposed on them.

So, Mr Key, what exactly do you know about all this?  What haven’t you been telling us?

Part Two of Greenwald’s interview has been posted here on The Daily Blog.

54 comments on ““Collect it all”, “exploit it all”: 5 Eyes economic surveillance ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Mike the Savage One 1
    15 May 2014 at 9:20 pm

    This is a good reference, and also to TDB, which I am getting more interested in – for a political blog.

    I think that this stuff is worth researching reveals heaps and more, but this may here be wrongly placed as only being about “economics”.

    This is about damned PRIVACY, dear all, damned PRIVACY, and think about that, please! We are all watched all over, more than most think, even here, while I write this, I fear.

    • karol 1.1
      15 May 2014 at 9:37 pm

      Yes, it’s about privacy – or more importantly intrusions into our daily lives. But that is all done in the service of corporate power – we are all just saleable commodities.

      • Colonial Viper 1.1.1
        15 May 2014 at 10:10 pm

        It’s done in the service of corporate power and political control – including if necessary, blackmail and intimidation.

        The security state started full surveillance of Barack Obama when he was running for Senator. They will also have full email, text, phone call, web and internet search records going back at least a few years for every candidate standing for Parliament this year.

        There is no possibility of an actual democracy and free country under these conditions, where the deep state knows every thing about every facet of your life and what you are doing, while the citizens know absolutely nothing about what the activities of the power elite and the deep state.

  2. mickysavage 2
    15 May 2014 at 9:58 pm

    Good post Karol. I have a go at a post but ran into writer’s block …

    There was a passage from Greenwald’s book which I thought explained a great deal.

    Deciphering the archive and the NSA’s language involved a steep learning curve. The agency communicates with itself and its partners in an idiosyncratic language of its own, a lingo that is bureaucratic and stilted yet at times boastful and even snarky. Most of the documents were also quite technical, filled with forbidding acronyms and code names, and sometimes required that other documents be read first before they could be understood.

    For me this summed up the Government response perfectly. Key’s interview with John Campbell was a perfect example. Of course everything is OK, we have nothing to worry about, there are legal protections and this Government respects our privacy.

    But there is nothing stopping Governments spying on each other’s citizens as a proxy.

    And can you imagine the Government having this much power and access to information and not exercising it?

    • Colonial Viper 2.1
      15 May 2014 at 10:14 pm

      Deciphering the archive and the NSA’s language involved a steep learning curve. The agency communicates with itself and its partners in an idiosyncratic language of its own, a lingo that is bureaucratic and stilted yet at times boastful and even snarky

      The language is designed to hide the immoral, unprincipled and unconstitutional purposes behind the activities.

      Like a blandly worded technical plan for the efficient liquidation of Ukranian Jews in World War 2.

  3. Selwyn Manning 3
    15 May 2014 at 9:59 pm

    Hi Karol, thanks for the reference. Much appreciated. You are right to follow the economics thread, as this is being used as part justification for surveillance alongside other definitions of national security. It appears that economic and commercial security was given a parity comparable to defence/offensive security in large part during the GW Bush presidency and expressed in the 2002 National Security Strategy document.

    There is also a commercial/service element expressed now within New Zealand’s new GCSB and TICS legislation.

    The commercial element is often overlooked when we evaluate/debate the merits or otherwise of security responses to threats. Remember, the NZ SIS gave potential negative economic consequences when justifying its issue of a Security Certificate against then asylum seeker Ahmed Zaoui back in the early 200s. The SIS only coughed up that gem of information when forced by the High Court to present a summary of justifications for the issuing of the Security Certificate.

    David Fisher over at the Herald is also doing great work in making sense of this stuff. As is Russell Brown at Public Address. Definitely worth checking out.

    • karol 3.1
      15 May 2014 at 10:05 pm

      Thanks, Selwyn.

      I don’t know as much about it as some of you guys. I have been following the shift towards a more extensive embracing of economic surveillance. The appointment of Ian Fletcher, with his background was part of that.

      There seems to me so much information coming out via Snowden, I need to digest it a bit at a time.

  4. Anne 4
    15 May 2014 at 10:14 pm

    One of the unintended (no doubt) ironies is that it is inevitable that the NSA – or maybe one of the other 5 Eyes countries on their behalf – is spying on John Key.

    • Colonial Viper 4.1
      15 May 2014 at 10:22 pm

      They are spying on John Key, on Angela Merkel, on Barack Obama, etc.

      The real question actually is WHO is spying on them and WHY

      In addition to the economic aspects (eg it has been shown that the NSA spied on G12 negotiators at a major meeting) this kind of security state surveillance activity has to be seen in a wider context of increasing social deprivation and resulting social unrest in many western nations.

      Combine this with law changes in the USA enabling the use of US military forces against US citizens on US soils, and in the UK allowing the British Government to strip citizenship from immigrants leaving them stateless,with no legal protections, becoming simple uncomplicated legal targets for say, drone strikes.

      When the power elite grant themselves powers on this scale, history has shown that they will eventually be used against the ordinary citizens, not if, but when.

  5. Mike the Savage One 5
    15 May 2014 at 10:22 pm

    While we all agree on much, be aware, that we happen to live, oh, gosh, horrible, in a CAPITALIST SYSTEM, and yes, what are yo all going to do about it? I have my answers, which I will not publish here, for your own “protection”, but hey, this is absurd, you want a socially inclusive, fair and just society, but tend to now accept, that the capitalist system can “deliver’ this.

    I fear you are IDIOTS, and that is what you will be proved as, no matter from where you are and what you stand for . People will need to rethink and re-plan and more, all over the planet, and [prepare for the future, which will not be easy. Best wishes, HC

  6. AmaKiwi 6
    15 May 2014 at 11:46 pm

    When Key, Obama, Cameron, Abbott say, “You can trust me” it is irrelevant.

    These powers are not given to individuals but to the offices they hold. Even if I do trust these particular men, I cannot trust that the people who will hold their offices during the rest of my life will ALL be trustworthy.

    Key is expecting us to accept it is impossible for another Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Putin to come to power. History shows it is highly probable one will.

    These spy tools will insure their absolute control over us all, including our PM.

    • AmaKiwi 6.1
      15 May 2014 at 11:52 pm

      Are Key supporters happy this spy data might soon be in the hands of David Cunliffe?

      This is EVERYONE’s fight.

    • Colonial Viper 6.2
      16 May 2014 at 8:35 am

      When Key, Obama, Cameron, Abbott say, “You can trust me” it is irrelevant.

      Not only irrelevant, but alarming that all would use this same worn out formula in destroying democracy and civil rights. For it was none other than Thomas Jefferson who said this famous quote:

      In questions of power let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.

      And so, these rulers and their crony governments have been at every step undermining the constitution and its civil rights, replacing principled law with law which would be more at place in a military dictatorship, and subverting the courts.

      While I see the NZ Herald Online front page bleats on about National reducing Government debt, the same debt that National ran up in the first place. No longer simply farcical or funny, we are now entering dangerous times.

  7. thatguynz 7
    16 May 2014 at 12:34 am

    Isn’t it funny that when Nicky Hager wrote about precisely this topic in his 1996 book “Secret Power” he was labelled as a kook and a conspiracy theorist. Where are all those naysayers now? Gosman?

    More to the point why isn’t John Key (as the current minister in charge of intelligence services – god knows any of the previous PM’s could be pulled up on the same issue) being absolutely reamed over his blatant mistruth that NZ’ers aren’t being spied on by the GCSB. Granted, historically they haven’t been directly spied on by the GCSB – the GCSB just supplied the target or word list to the NSA, GCHQ etc who technically did the spying for them and then feed the results back. Nonetheless, it is semantics, the outcome was still the same. Why did it take a US based whistleblower to finally wake NZ up to a reality that was exposed 18 years ago?

    • framu 7.1
      16 May 2014 at 8:03 am

      the lie bit is soo bad that im surprised key isnt openly laughed at during interviews

      heard a great little exchange last night on the radio, where key basically admitted the lie

      he did the usual line hes been running, but when the journo dug a teeny bit further key repsonded with (paraphrasing) “if you listen closely to what i said you will see im telling the truth”

      yes, quite – your well known for such linguistic wriggle room mr key

      • karol 7.1.1
        16 May 2014 at 8:34 am

        As reported in this morning’s article my David Fisher, Key gives himself a little wriggle room:

        John Key has said he is aware of “some” but not all of the tools used by the Government Communications Security Bureau amid fresh questions over an intrusive piece of spyware showcased by the United States’ NSA to their Kiwi partners.

        The Prime Minister stuck to his position in refusing to talk about “operational” details of the spy agency’s work.
        […]
        Mr Key refused to say whether the NSA helped fund the GCSB, despite Snowden documents showing Canadian and United Kingdom agencies received funding.

        2 significant points there.

        • emergency mike 7.1.1.1
          16 May 2014 at 2:55 pm

          “Asked if he knew the tools used by the GCSB, he said “some of them”. “I don’t go into the techniques the GCSB or SIS use.””

          Er, shouldn’t the minister for the GCSB be aware of ALL the tools they use? Him being the one and only elected official responsible for it’s “I can’t talk about it but trust me” ‘oversight’?

          Hands up who feels another John Key brain fade coming on?

      • karol 7.1.2
        16 May 2014 at 9:37 am

        This is last night’s Checkpoint clip, in which Key says that:

        http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/ckpt/ckpt-20140515-1750-labour_says_pm_needs_to_front_up_on_latest_gcsb_allegatiosn-048.mp3

        This is what went down:

        Key said:

        We don’t talk about the operations of the operational details of the GCSB but we have given two assurances which I continue to stand by, and that – ah we don’t undertake the mass surveillance of New Zealanders. We don’t collect metadata on a mass basis of New Zealanders. And we never use our partners to circumvent the law.

        On further questioning Key said:

        I’m quite happy to stand by the two statements I’ve just made and if you listen to those very carefully you’ll understand them.

        But, that looks like 3 statements to me.

        Anyway, the reporter then went on to say that the GCSB originally said they believed metadata was not included in the official meaning of “communications” in the law. Last year’s revision to Act doesn’t refer to metadata. However, an official statement of the Act’s intention says that metadata is treated the same as content, which means warrants would be required.

        • karol 7.1.2.1
          16 May 2014 at 9:57 am

          With Key’s statements in mind, looking at the Snowden material (link just added to the bottom of my post above), this comes to mind.

          The US has been collecting data via transnational telecoms cables and routers as it passes through the US.

          p. 105:

          FAIRVIEW – Corp partner since 1985 with access to int. cables, routers, switches. The partner operates in the U.S., but has access to information that transits the nation and through its corporate relationships provide unique accesses to other telecoms and ISPs. Aggressively involved in shaping traffic to run signals of interest past our monitors.

          Also, as in Keith Locke’s post today, a lot of GCSB’s active spying is on supposedly friendly governments.

          The US already has a wealth of data collected on Kiwis. Presumably, they can supply it to NZ when required….?

    • Tracey 7.2
      16 May 2014 at 9:15 am

      and Hager is often right because love him or hate him, he bases his work on documented evidence. You have to read his work to know that though.

  8. Tautoko Viper 8
    16 May 2014 at 7:44 am

    I have concerns that the US is able to influence our election by spying on the opposition MPs either using NSA/GCSB and putting the info into Key’s top drawer. This gives Key time to counter or spike any opposition ideas. When you look at the way the US has interfered with South American countries, then you would not find it difficult to believe that they would go out of their way to help retain John Key who is pro US. Time to shut our NZ eye!

    • framu 8.1
      16 May 2014 at 8:05 am

      yup – the USA’s leadership has a long and sordid history of dirty tricks in other peoples back yards

      and while some might cry “tin foil hat” your theory isnt that implausable once we consider historical and current events

  9. AmaKiwi 9
    16 May 2014 at 8:44 am

    For 35 years, the most powerful American was not a President. It was J. Edgar Hoover, who had blackmail info on every US president from Roosevelt to Nixon.

  10. Tracey 10
    16 May 2014 at 9:10 am

    GREAt post karol. Thanks again for this.

    I briefly posted when Ian Fletcher appeared at the Privacy Forum and reportedlt said

    “First of all it would be illegal if we were doing that and we don’t act outside the framework of the law, that’s a really important point to start with”.”

    Funny, if we don’t do it, why on earth would we waste time and money on a presentation, taking people away from their valuable work, to examine how and why to do it? Mr Fletcher, is that good use and time on taxpayer,s money??

    he then told us

    “He also offered an assurance that neither the GCSB or any foreign agency was engaged in the mass collection of metadata or information about New Zealanders’ communications which can be sifted for patterns that might point to areas of interest for authorities.

    “We don’t do that stuff. It’s important to keep on saying that.””

    Again Mr Fletcher may have been telling the truth, we weren’t doing it, but we were still in training from the NSA on how and why to do it. Forked tongue?

    And he appeared to be honest about his desire to divert attention from the very stuff just revealled by Mr Snowden

    “Mr Fletcher said his speech to the forum today was intended to “move the debate to start thinking about the kind of organisation, rules and framework for order that our community might want to have so that we can all live our online lives as safely as we can”.”

    If I understood the Pm corectly last night he said he couldn’t comment on the NSA presentation and so on cos he doesn’t know the detail of what the GCSB is doing. He then porceded to answer a follow up question with an answer that couldn’t be possible unless you did know that detail?

    from the herald today

    “Asked if he knew the tools used by the GCSB, he said “some of them”. “I don’t go into the techniques the GCSB or SIS use.”

    But he repeated his oft-stated position that there was no mass surveillance of New Zealanders and that partners in the Five Eyes network were not used to get around the law.”

    • karol 10.1
      16 May 2014 at 9:33 am

      Where did you hear the PM last night? radio? TV?

      • Tracey 10.1.1
        16 May 2014 at 9:51 am

        tv3

        I was fascinated by their news coverage… if anything sold the govt a lil short on the budget but gave the 5 eyes coverage quite high billing.

        • karol 10.1.1.1
          16 May 2014 at 10:00 am

          I got bored with the saturation budget coverage (a lot of sound and fury – more spin from the government than anything useful), and switched to looking at the Greenwald videos.

    • karol 10.2
      16 May 2014 at 10:10 am

      The 3 News Report.

      It’s the same statements as played on Checkpoint.

      Basically, you are saying, Key doesn’t know all the tools used by GCSB, but then indicates he must know when giving an assurance that they don’t use the 5 Eyes partner’s to circumvent the law.

  11. Anne 11
    16 May 2014 at 9:42 am

    A brief interview on RNZ with former GCSB head, Sir Bruce Ferguson on RNZ on the latest revelations. What I found very interesting is that he was not aware of the information supplied by the Canadians re- the spying on the Brazilian govt. and other Brazilian entities which occurred during his term as chief.

    I can’t say I know Bruce Ferguson but I did have a few dealings with him 20 odd years ago when he was a senior Air Force officer. Unlike John Key, who happily lies if its in his interest, I have no doubt whatsoever that if Ferguson says he had no knowledge of it then he is telling the truth. And if he knew nothing about it then that must mean the prime-minister of the day, Helen Clark knew nothing about it.

    I don’t consider such information as an “operational matter” and it is deeply concerning if the head of the GCSB and the prime-minister of the day were not kept in the loop. What other information might have been withheld from them?

    • karol 11.1
      16 May 2014 at 9:50 am

      Keith Locke has posted today on the material showing that Key must have known about the spying on Brazil.

      • Anne 11.1.1
        16 May 2014 at 10:01 am

        I haven’t read Keith Lock yet karol, but it should be remembered that Bruce Ferguson was essentially booted out of the GCSB by John Key. For public consumption he retired early. And we all know Key replaced him with someone he personally knew. The position was temporarily filled… until he was able to get his man back to NZ.

        • karol 11.1.1.1
          16 May 2014 at 10:11 am

          Ferguson was also a military man. Key replaced him with someone with more of a focus on digital and economic surveillance.

          • Anne 11.1.1.1.1
            16 May 2014 at 10:31 am

            Key replaced him with someone with more of a focus on digital and economic surveillance.

            Yes, and it doesn’t take much imagination to figure out from where the “instructions” were emanating. I distrust Key in every sense of the word and – as I’ve said here before – he is ultimately NOT working in the interest of New Zealand and New Zealanders.

          • Tracey 11.1.1.1.2
            16 May 2014 at 11:11 am

            yup someone with digital experience but we are noy doing mass digitial finance… if correct it was a stupid appoint 😉

          • Huginn 11.1.1.1.3
            16 May 2014 at 6:40 pm

            Key replaced Ferguson with Ian Fletcher, who has a background in Intellectual Property.

            I wasn’t convinced by Ferguson on a Morning Report.

            Fletcher’s beginning to make the right sorts of noises when he talks about moving ‘the debate
            to start thinking about the kind of organisation, rules and framework for order that our community might want to have so that we can all live our online lives as safely as we can.’

            But first he has to concede that the Snowden revelations have led to a massive erosion of trust – and I don’t see that coming from him when he flatly denies that the GCSB has been involved with collecting our meta-data on the scale that we all think it has.

    • Tracey 11.2
      16 May 2014 at 9:53 am

      the problem is we view the very nature of spy agency work as deceptive… we are rarely going to believe anything they say.

      • thatguynz 11.2.1
        16 May 2014 at 10:14 am

        You’re right Tracey, valid point 🙂

        I’d also go so far to say that I actually believe that our membership of 5 eyes will in time prove to be detrimental internationally – if it isn’t already. Think of it in these terms – we currently have (what is touted to be) a fairly lucrative FTA with China and have stated that we are keen on growing this relationship. Politically and intelligence-wise however we are closely aligned with the US and Western bloc. Should the Asia-Pac situation between the US and China develop in a detrimental fashion, where will that leave us?

  12. karol 12
    16 May 2014 at 10:46 am

    I’m just scrolling through the PDF with Snowden material supporting Greeenwald’s book. On p 167, there’s this interesting document, headed: “Secret//Rel to USA, FVEY” (note micky’s point above about the dense coded language).

    What’s the threat?

    *Let’s be blunt – The Western world (especially the US) gained influence and made a lot of money via the drafting of earlier standards.
    + The US was the major player in shaping today’s Internet. This resulted in pervasive exporting of American culture and technology. It also resulted in a lot of money being made by US entities.

    P187 refers to collecting info on the “vulnerabilities” of “jihadists” AKA “radicalizers” – vulnerabilities is indicated as personal moral failings (sexual, financial) that could be used to undermine their credibility – ie smear campaigns.

    P190 – on “Online Covert Action” – previously made public – strategies circulated to NZL (GCSB).

  13. Tracey 13
    16 May 2014 at 11:09 am

    I suspect key would be chuffed if he were being spied on… plays into his need to feel important.

    • Colonial Viper 13.1
      16 May 2014 at 11:11 am

      What do you mean IF? He is (almost certainly) being spied on – as are we all. And so is every other leader allied with the USA. By the USA.

      • Tracey 13.1.1
        16 May 2014 at 11:13 am

        yup… but he sees it as a compliment. I wonder if they have to use uppers when going through hiz stuff.

      • MaxFletcher 13.1.2
        16 May 2014 at 11:20 am

        Exactly right.
        But you can’t be spied on if you are willing to just give away all that info anyway

  14. Tracey 14
    16 May 2014 at 1:03 pm

    the person overseeing the gcsb, the prime minister, must know all the tools being used because otherwise how can he determine if they are operating within the law?

  15. McGrath 15
    16 May 2014 at 7:50 pm

    No-one really cares about the GCSB story anymore. The only way that will change is if hard evidence of spying (eg hard disk of NZ metadata) is found in GCSB possession, and that I suspect is unlikely.

    • McFlock 15.1
      16 May 2014 at 8:20 pm

      move along, nothing to see here….

    • emergency mike 15.2
      16 May 2014 at 9:30 pm

      Yeah you may as well just shrug your shoulders and change the channel aye. Have another brew maybe.

      Anyone with half a brain should care about the implications of Snowden’s revelations. I’m sure that some peoples brains enter fog mode once a story has lasted more than one year, or a couple of weeks perhaps, but you should probably speak for yourself on this point.

    • Huginn 15.3
      16 May 2014 at 9:37 pm

      Disagree with you on this, Mcgraw.
      This is very important to a small group of voters who may not be very interested in politics. The sort of person who rarely reads a newspaper or watches the news on tv – maybe doesn’t watch TV at all any tv at all – but who is outraged, totally incandescent, that the NSA and GCSB have been weakening the Internet by building back doors into the infrastructure.

      People like this will vote for the Internet Party, and under MMP, their votes be very important.

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    TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    12 hours ago

  • The ‘Humpty Dumpty’ end result of dismantling our environmental protections
    Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    12 hours ago

  • Nicola's Salad Days.
    I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    13 hours ago

  • Study sees climate change baking in 19% lower global income by 2050
    TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    13 hours ago

  • Weekly Roundup 19-April-2024
    It’s Friday again. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week on Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt covered at the government looking into a long tunnel for Wellington. On Wednesday we ran a post from Oscar Simms on some lessons from Texas. AT’s ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    14 hours ago

  • Jack Vowles: Stop the panic – we’ve been here before
    New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’.  The data is from February this ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    16 hours ago

  • Clearing up confusion (or trying to)
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    17 hours ago

  • How to Retrieve Deleted Call Log iPhone Without Computer
    How to Retrieve Deleted Call Log on iPhone Without a Computer: A Step–by–Step Guide Losing your iPhone call history can be frustrating, especially when you need to find a specific number or recall an important conversation. But before you panic, know that there are ways to retrieve deleted call logs on your iPhone, even without a computer. This guide will explore various methods, ranging from simple checks to utilizing iCloud backups and third–party applications. So, let‘s dive in and recover those lost calls! 1. Check Recently Deleted Folder: Apple understands that accidental deletions happen. That‘s why they introduced the “Recently Deleted“ folder for various apps, including the Phone app. This folder acts as a safety net, storing deleted call logs for up to 30 days before permanently erasing them. Here‘s how to check it: Open the Phone app on your iPhone. Tap on the “Recents“ tab at the bottom. Scroll to the top and tap on “Edit“. Select “Show Recently Deleted“. Browse the list to find the call logs you want to recover. Tap on the desired call log and choose “Recover“ to restore it to your call history. 2. Restore from iCloud Backup: If you regularly back up your iPhone to iCloud, you might be able to retrieve your deleted call log from a previous backup. However, keep in mind that this process will restore your entire phone to the state it was in at the time of the backup, potentially erasing any data added since then. Here‘s how to restore from an iCloud backup: Go to Settings > General > Reset. Choose “Erase All Content and Settings“. Follow the on–screen instructions. Your iPhone will restart and show the initial setup screen. Choose “Restore from iCloud Backup“ during the setup process. Select the relevant backup that contains your deleted call log. Wait for the restoration process to complete. 3. Explore Third–Party Apps (with Caution): ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    19 hours ago

  • How to Factory Reset iPhone without Computer: A Comprehensive Guide to Restoring your Device
    Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How to Call Someone on a Computer: A Guide to Voice and Video Communication in the Digital Age
    Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #16 2024
    Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications: Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 day ago

  • Where on a Computer is the Operating System Generally Stored? Delving into the Digital Home of your ...
    The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How Many Watts Does a Laptop Use? Understanding Power Consumption and Efficiency
    Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How to Screen Record on a Dell Laptop A Guide to Capturing Your Screen with Ease
    Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How Much Does it Cost to Fix a Laptop Screen? Navigating Repair Options and Costs
    A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • How Long Do Gaming Laptops Last? Demystifying Lifespan and Maximizing Longevity
    Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Climate Change: Turning the tide
    The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 day ago

  • How to Unlock Your Computer A Comprehensive Guide to Regaining Access
    Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Faxing from Your Computer A Modern Guide to Sending Documents Digitally
    While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Protecting Your Home Computer A Guide to Cyber Awareness
    In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Server-Based Computing Powering the Modern Digital Landscape
    In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    1 day ago

  • Vroom vroom go the big red trucks
    The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago

  • Jones finds $410,000 to help the government muscle in on a spat project
    Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago

  • Again, hate crimes are not necessarily terrorism.
    Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 day ago

  • Despair – construction consenting edition
    Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • Coalition promises – will the Govt keep the commitment to keep Kiwis equal before the law?
    Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • An impermanent public service is a guarantee of very little else but failure
    Chris Trotter writes –  The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • What happens after the war – Mariupol
    Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
    Open ParachuteBy Ken
    1 day ago

  • Babies and benefits – no good news
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three.  ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Should the RBNZ be looking through climate inflation?
    Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours, as of 9:16 am on Thursday, April 18 are:Housing: Tauranga residents living in boats, vans RNZ Checkpoint Louise TernouthHousing: Waikato councillor says wastewater plant issues could hold up Sleepyhead building a massive company town Waikato Times Stephen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the public sector carnage, and misogyny as terrorism
    It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    2 days ago

  • Meeting the Master Baiters
    Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago

  • How extreme was the Earth's temperature in 2023
    This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blog In 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Backbone, revisited
    The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Ministers are not above the law
    Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • What’s the outfit you can hear going down the gurgler? Probably it’s David Parker’s Oceans Sec...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point  of Order first heard of the Oceans Secretariat in June 2021, when David Parker (remember him?) announced a multi-agency approach to protecting New Zealand’s marine ecosystems and fisheries. Parker (holding the Environment, and Oceans and Fisheries portfolios) broke the news at the annual Forest & ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Bryce Edwards writes  – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Matt Doocey doubles down on trans “healthcare”
    Citizen Science writes –  Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • A TikTok Prime Minister.
    One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • Texas Lessons
    This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    3 days ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links at 6:06 am
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours as of 6:06 am on Wednesday, April 17 are:Must read: Secrecy shrouds which projects might be fast-tracked RNZ Farah HancockScoop: Revealed: Luxon has seven staffers working on social media content - partly paid for by taxpayer Newshub ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Fighting poverty on the holiday highway
    Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago

  • Bernard's six-stack of substacks at 6:26 pm
    Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • At a glance – Is the science settled?
    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 ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Apposite Quotations.
    How Long Is Long Enough? Gaza under Israeli bombardment, July 2014. This posting is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • What’s a life worth now?
    You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Howling at the Moon
    Karl du Fresne writes –  There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Newshub is Dead.
    I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Seymour is chuffed about cutting early-learning red tape – but we hear, too, that Jones has loose...
    Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago

  • Was Hawkesby entirely wrong?
    David Farrar  writes –  The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • PRC shadow looms as the Solomons head for election
    PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time. A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Climate Change: Criminal ecocide
    We are in the middle of a climate crisis. Last year was (again) the hottest year on record. NOAA has just announced another global coral bleaching event. Floods are threatening UK food security. So naturally, Shane Jones wants to make it easier to mine coal: Resources Minister Shane Jones ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • Is saving one minute of a politician's time worth nearly $1 billion?
    Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Long Tunnel or Long Con?
    Yesterday it was revealed that Transport Minister had asked Waka Kotahi to look at the options for a long tunnel through Wellington. State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    4 days ago

  • Smoke And Mirrors.
    You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • What is Mexico doing about climate change?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • State of humanity, 2024
    2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Govt’s Wellington tunnel vision aims to ease the way to the airport (but zealous promoters of cycl...
    Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • The case for cultural connectedness
    A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Useful context on public sector job cuts
    David Farrar writes –    The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated.   While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell On When Racism Comes Disguised As Anti-racism
    Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    4 days ago

  • Govt ignored economic analysis of smokefree reversal
    Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • True Blue.
    True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • Who is running New Zealand’s foreign policy?
    While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago

  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #15
    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 7, 2024 thru Sat, April 13, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week is about adults in the room setting terms and conditions of ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • $41m to support clean energy in South East Asia
    New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago

  • Minister releases Fast-track stakeholder list
    The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago

  • Judicial appointments announced
    Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago

  • Education Minister heads to major teaching summit in Singapore
    Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa.  The summit is co-hosted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago

  • Value of stopbank project proven during cyclone
    A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago

  • Anzac commemorations, Türkiye relationship focus of visit
    Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul.    “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago

  • Minister to Europe for OECD meeting, Anzac Day
    Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago

  • Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
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    24 hours ago

  • Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
    The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
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    1 day ago

  • Taupō takes pole position
    The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
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  • Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners.  “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
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  • Government backing mussel spat project
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  • Government focused on getting people into work
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  • Clean energy key driver to reducing emissions
    The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
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  • Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forward
    The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
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  • Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
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    2 days ago

  • Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
    RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
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    2 days ago

  • Inflation coming down, but more work to do
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    2 days ago

  • School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
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    2 days ago

  • Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sector
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    3 days ago

  • Patterson promoting NZ’s wool sector at International Congress
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  • Removing red tape to help early learners thrive
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  • RMA changes to cut coal mining consent red tape
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    4 days ago

  • McClay reaffirms strong NZ-China trade relationship
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    4 days ago

  • Prime Minister Luxon acknowledges legacy of Singapore Prime Minister Lee
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.   Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
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  • PMs Luxon and Lee deepen Singapore-NZ ties
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.  During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
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  • Antarctica New Zealand Board appointments
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  • Finance Minister travels to Washington DC
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.  “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
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    4 days ago

  • Pet bonds a win/win for renters and landlords
    The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
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    4 days ago

  • Long Tunnel for SH1 Wellington being considered
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    5 days ago

  • New Zealand condemns Iranian strikes
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel.    “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says.    "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
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  • Huge interest in Government’s infrastructure plans
    Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
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    1 week ago

  • Health Minister thanks outgoing Health New Zealand Chair
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board.   “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti.  “I have asked her to ...
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  • Roads of National Significance planning underway
    The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.  “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
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  • Navigating an unstable global environment
    New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.   “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States.    “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
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    1 week ago

  • NZ welcomes Australian Governor-General
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
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    1 week ago

  • Pseudoephedrine back on shelves for Winter
    Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
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    1 week ago

  • NZ and the US: an ever closer partnership
    New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
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    1 week ago

  • Joint US and NZ declaration
    April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
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    1 week ago

  • NZ and US to undertake further practical Pacific cooperation
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research.   “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
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