Labour – a rock and a hard place

Written By: - Date published: 7:50 am, September 29th, 2014 - 93 comments
Categories: labour, leadership - Tags:

Following Labour’s disastrous electoral defeat, most journalists are having a fine old time putting the boot in. The party is tearing itself apart, the leadership contest reveals deep divisions, the various camps are plotting against each other, and so on and so on.

If Labour had elected to do nothing (and the leadership process was not going on) the narrative would be that Labour was ignoring the verdict of the voters, blinded by its own arrogance, incapable of learning and change, and so on and so on.

In short, Labour was damned either way, a rock and a hard place.

In my opinion Labour has got it right. A full review, including leadership, was the only plausible option. So heads down and just get through it. Remember that the last leadership process was good humoured, engaging and constructive. It lead to a big surge in membership and a significant lift in the polls.

I fully expect the current process to be conducted in the same constructive way (and I look forward to seeing it reported as such by those with a duty to educate and inform). The alternative is too dismal to contemplate.

93 comments on “Labour – a rock and a hard place ”

  1. ropata 1

    Media partly to blame, and National gleefully stoking the fire, but I am sick of Labour taking headlines with its internal issues.

    Can we please get an effective Opposition and media critical of National for a change?

    • r0b 1.1

      There is no way to avoid the headlines (in my opinion). If it wasn’t for the leadership contest it would be for the lack of one. We just have to get through the process, and get back to work.

      (I’m in transit all day, won’t be able to contribute to this discussion.)

      • aerobubble 1.1.1

        Labour does not stand for anything. When they get an opportunity in the media they don’t keep kicking the shit out of National, like National do them, they get all pissy about their own internal wrangles. When invited to discuss internal party matters, they should do what National does, and just make it about their political opponents.

        Its all about competence, and there just aren’t any, in Robertson, Shearer and Cunliffe, all three do a ‘Dunne’, about how looking down from their high position its this way or that. That’s not their job. Their job is singular, to talk down the opponents, laugh, smear, disgrace, and eat into them.

        Goff failed. Shearer failed, Cunliffe failed, Robertson was there all the time, helping them fail. Goff was 10,000 votes off from winning, had one pamphlet drop actually explain a CGT they would have won it.

    • David H 1.2

      Surely the best way to get the headlines to stop is to have NO comments at all coming for anyone in Labour. Every time a question is asked Silence, not even a NO comment. Starve the bastards

    • Eralc 1.3

      Or even just an effective Opposition focusing on the needs of New Zealanders for a change.

  2. Ennui 2

    I really welcome the review of the election prior to a leadership decision. I do not see how the party can be reconciled without this process.

    From this process one thing might just become evident early in the electoral cycle: whether or not Labour is relevant to the “Left”. The leadership it elects after the review will tell us clear as a day whether your “leftist” vote is safe with Labour, or whether you should go elsewhere. If it is any of the ABCs it will be a safe bet that Labour has lurched to the Right (aka the “Centre”), which will for people like me mean it is time to disown them forever.

    • Anne 2.1

      There is now a possibility the leadership will be decided before the review process is complete. That is crazy!! The party membership needs to know the outcome of that review before they vote. Even a week in advance of the voting period is better than nothing.

      • lprent 2.1.1

        The review at the earliest is due to finish in December two months away. If they run them sequentially then that means that it will be Feb or march before the leadership is settled.

        I don’t think that Labour or NZ will handle a 5 month wait. Waiting for the review would be fatal.

        They have to overlap.

        The review is probably going to get released about Dec 7, a week after that is almost into Xmas.

        • Enough is Enough 2.1.1.1

          We are not going to win the 2017 election in the next 5 months though. If it takes until February/March to sort this properly then so be it.

          I think if the selection comes before the findings of the review, the loosing faction will then use the process as a reason to attack the winner and ultimately continue the disunity.

          I think lets take a breath, have a painful look at what went wrong, then make a considered decision on who is best to unite the caucus and party.

          • lprent 2.1.1.1.1

            You are right that we can’t win in the next 5 months. But we can lose it. It takes a bloody long time to set in place structural changes to build election winning machines. The best time to make it happen is right after an election. People know what needs to be done then and are fired up to do it.

            5 months later? FFS I see it every post election here. Everything fall back as we all get on with our lives.

            A new leadership means new people who weren’t in the core of the campaign. They just repeat the same stupid mistakes of their predessors.

            The post election was muffed by Labour after 2008 and 2011. It looks to me like it is about to be again. Making it longer just makes it worse.

            • Enough is Enough 2.1.1.1.1.1

              You’ve been on the inside. I haven’t. So I won’t presume anything.
              Just make observations.

              The party can get on from today and start working towards building that election winning machine. And in my view they are getting on and doing that.

              My concern is all this bullshit caucus infighting, and the need for it to stop. If the party gives one faction any reason to whinge and cry, they will take it and the bullshit will continue.

              I can see the ABC’s causing trouble if a review that looks at, amongst other matters, leadership, is not finalised before the party votes on leadership.

              Is it not better to remove that potential cause for crying, before everyone has their say? Lets not give the caucus reasons to act like idiots.

            • Granted 2.1.1.1.1.2

              If Labour had been in a position to form a coalition, would they still have been having a leadership vote? Or is it just because of the result and Cunliffe’s resignation.

              When you see the Labour Caucus basically imploding at the moment you wonder how the same group of people will recover to win credibility with the public.

              If a public company went through this sort of issue they would likely end up in receivership.

              Is the new leader selection process proving to be a success? I wonder if it is part of the problem.???

          • BM 2.1.1.1.2

            I don’t think 2017 is a realistic objective.
            2020 is what labour should be aiming for.

        • dave brown 2.1.1.2

          The review by ‘independent’ people is just a ruse to shift the discussion away from the members onto focus groups.

          It should be the members who do the review.
          It will be the members and union ranks who have been pissed off by dirty politics inside and outside the Party that will draw their conclusions about why labour lost the election and vote for the best leader.

          And this internal dirty politics continues with those those who are shitting on Party democracy right now, with Robertson already using ‘dirty politics’ in the media to criticise Cunliffe’s statement about being ‘ashamed to be a man’.

          Here we have a gay man who doesn’t see how dangerous it is to rubbish Cunliffe’s statement in support of women against male violence. Would he similarly rubbish Cunliffe saying that he is ashamed to live in a society where homophobia leads to violence against gays and gay suicide?

          Then there is the self-proclaimed Right faction poster-boy Stuart Nash talking on the media despite a Party ban. Nash needs a whipping but that wont happen when the chief whip is Hipkins.

          • Enough is Enough 2.1.1.2.1

            What makes you say there is a ban on MPs speaking to the media?

            And do you have even a shred of evidence that Grant is using ‘dirty politics’, or has criticised Cunliffe about his man apology?

          • red blooded 2.1.1.2.2

            A few observations:
            1) “The review by ‘independent’ people is just a ruse to shift the discussion away from the members onto focus groups.It should be the members who do the review.”

            While members should certainly be PART of the review, and their perspectives are valuable (including those who are constantly dismissed on this site as “ABC” and so somehow innately wrongheaded) – the fact is that members already vote Labour; we are not the ones who needed convincing and failed to be convinced. Any review should certainly be conducted independently and have a strong focus on people who have voted Labour in the past, gave their electorate vote to Labour but not their Party vote, or have shifted towards Labour this time.

            2) “It will be the members and union ranks who have been pissed off by dirty politics inside and outside the Party that will draw their conclusions about why labour lost the election and vote for the best leader.”

            So the “best leader” is one who is selected only to appeal to members and union affiliates? We’d better get used to those cross benches, then…

            3) “And this internal dirty politics continues with those those who are shitting on Party democracy right now, with Robertson already using ‘dirty politics’ in the media to criticise Cunliffe’s statement about being ‘ashamed to be a man’.”

            Robertson has declared his intention to stand as leader. He’s not “shitting on Party democracy” – he’s using a perfectly valid way of communicating with members. There’s nothing wrong with him speaking out in the media – it would be odd if he didn’t.

            Plus, to be frank, Cunliffe’s “ashamed” statement may (or may not) have been sincere, but it was cringe-making for those of us who saw it at a distance. I for one wanted to shout at the TV – it was so obviously going to become a stick to beat him with. There are plenty of other ways that he could have expressed his empathy and support for women who are abused by men. This was just wrong-headed. (And that’s from a woman who has always identified as a strong feminist.)

            4) “Here we have a gay man who doesn’t see how dangerous it is to rubbish Cunliffe’s statement in support of women against male violence. Would he similarly rubbish Cunliffe saying that he is ashamed to live in a society where homophobia leads to violence against gays and gay suicide?”

            Perhaps he would if instead of saying that he was appalled by the oppression and stigmatisation that gay people still live with, or the violence inflicted upon them by others because of their sexuality, or the lack of support for people struggling with these issues, he said that he was ashamed of being heterosexual! The criticism of this statement has always focused on the way it rubbished so many good men, was poorly worded (an easy sound-bite to mock him with) and to be honest the apparent lack of sincerity – not on the idea that we should give support to women in crisis.

            We are in the process of choosing our next leader. Perhaps it will be Cunliffe again, perhaps it will be Robertson. Perhaps someone else has yet to declare. We need to listen to each, consider what they say, how they say it, look at their records and try to judge their leadership qualities (including their team-building abilities). Rubbishing those we don’t agree with while lionising the one we do doesn’t help this process. We all need to reflect, and to allow others to do so, and then we all need to get behind the next leader.

            • Skinny 2.1.1.2.2.1

              More than anything Labour Heads didn’t put enough of thought and thus a ‘cautionary’ note into the final policy draft that went out to the LEC committee and members to vote on. The 2 policies that really hurt were the capital gains tax and the raising of the pension age to 67. I remember attending a policy meeting where DC was there and spoke about the newly proposed CGT, this was year ago btw. I watched the baby boomers in the room carefully, they sat bristled at the idea, but none were prepared to talk against it. So while the intention of a CGT was the right thing to do, obviously the baby boomer generation saw it as depriving them of their gains when they sell their nest egg rental. So that policy put off plenty in this bloc of voters.

              Then we look at the message being sent to the blue collar workers, that bodies are shot from years of abuse on the tools. Most are lucky to even make it to beyond 60 let alone 65 so raising it to 67 was so off putting, especially when John Key capitalises saying “he would rather resign then up the age. Many gave Labour the middle finger and tragically voted National in protest or were that disgusted snubbed voting at all.

              My point is mixed messages to the 2 main bloc’s ya trying to capture.

              As far as Leader goes DC,GR & Shearer are all out. Popular is and does as far as I’m seeing it so Jacinda Ardern is it. But first position her as deputy to Parker and make the transition midway through next year.

            • dave brown 2.1.1.2.2.2

              Redblooded you missfire on most of your points.

              1) The membership are the party, the voting public isn’t. MPs are members too, and they along with the wider members make policy, select the candidates, and elect the leader.
              They are in the best position to judge whether they got their policy wrong or failed to get it across, not focus groups, or random commentators and shock jocks.

              Those who forced a leadership contest complained that the leader was responsible for the defeat. The best way test this complaint is not to rely on an ‘independent’ body that is separate from the Party but those engaged in the party. As already pointed out on this thread, the Review is being allowed to get in the road of the democratic process.

              2) Ditto

              3) Robertson is exploiting the ‘stick to beat’ Cunliffe with for being “less than a man” and being ‘sorry’ on behalf of all men. This is misrepresenting what Cunliffe said and appealing to all those you say ‘cringed’ on behalf of all ‘good’ men and women, fearing the redneck backlash that would lose Labour votes. I will support a leader who does not fear the redneck backlash and does not self-censor his beliefs to get redneck votes.

              4) It goes without saying that if Cunliffe said he was ashamed to be a kiwi because of our homophobic culture he would be saying it as a heterosexual man. Most rednecks would probably think that is the definition of ‘kiwi’ anyway.

              That is the point here isn’t it, that the Labour Party should be campaigning against the prevailing sexist homophobic culture that perpetuates inequalities by gender and sexual orientation. Robertson is signalling that he is an opportunist prepared to court rednecks for popularity.

              I actually think that to prove you wrong, and show that Robertson should pull back from what could degenerate into a contest of who gets the most redneck votes, Cunliffe should say that as a heterosexual kiwi he is ashamed to live in a society in which homophobia is still rife. That would make it clear before any Party member mistakenly tries to exploit it, or any cynical shock jock tries to smear Cunliffe with homophobia, that he will not stoop to such dirty politics.

          • waikatosinger 2.1.1.2.3

            You want the members to do the review? Sure there are plenty of strong opinions to be found there. But most of those opinions were made in all of ten seconds on the basis of nothing more than gut feeling. People are just running around blaming all the usual stuff that they like to blame. A review would involve actual evidence and a more comprehensive discussion. I hope.

      • Eralc 2.1.2

        I agree, Anne. There’s always an inherent risk when structure is decided before strategy.

  3. Jenny Kirk 3

    Anne and Ennui – didn’t the last election fiasco result in a review that went nowhere ? Won’t the same thing happen again unless we get a Leader who is prepared to make the Party change what is needed to change . So I don’t think the review is relevant to the Leadership contest – and in fact, if Cunliffe becomes leader again, the review might have more meaning and recommendations made MIGHT get implemented. However I don’t see that happening if DC doesn’t become leader. The other contender/s are too wedded to the “bad old ways” !

    • Anne 3.1

      Its a rock and a hard place alright. My thinking was: the neo-liberal proponents might be held in check if the review highlights the fact – and I think it will – that the lack of unity inside the party can in large part be put down to the divisive tactics some of them have practiced since Helen Clark’s iron fist was removed.

      But you’re right lprent, the time lag is too risky. Ideally they should run alongside each other and there is sufficient feed-back to indicate where the main problems lie and that, in itself, could assist members when choosing the leader.

  4. Iron Sky 4

    God could have run for labour and still lost.

    Humm, the MSM and the tag team on RNZ of Suzie and Guy are loving kicking the carcass. The attack machine has not gone to sleep but has been reinvigorated (lesson in that labour et al, watch your backs). They are being a little ‘Tricky’ no. The right own the air waves. They have started the 2017 campaign already.

    Does the MSM/National put the same vigor into asking National if they should clean up their act? They don’t ask because 1/3 of the voting public have spoken i.e.

    Children, it’s OK to do the dirty like National

    Who has the power to control your life right now and should be under the spotlight, National maybe. The MSM et al are just little parochial no?

    Nationals Götterdämmerung machine can be brought down.

  5. Tom Gould 5

    It’s not the media at fault. It’s Labour at fault. But until that penny drops in certain circles, the decline will continue. The fact is the public doesn’t like the current leader and the vast bulk of them don’t see the party as the solution to their problems. Otherwise the government would have changed a week ago. The review will not change anything unless it extends beyond the comfort of the echo chamber. Those in charge of Labour these days are so committed to the notion they are fundamentally correct that the leadership and review are little more than a sloppy PR exercise.

    • Iron Sky 5.1

      Hey, Tom Gould.

      “It’s not the media at fault”

      Question: How was the perception of the National Party put together?

      Heres one answer

      They needed “independent” experts, corporates, bloggers and MSM to speak their message incessantly

      Perception is everything.

      Yours truly

      Mum & Dad investor

      • Tom Gould 5.1.1

        Wrong question. It is essentially the same media, certainly largely the same gallery pack, that saw Helen Clark and Labour win in 1999 and again in 2002 and again in 2005. So how come it’s all the media’s fault?

        • Iron Sky 5.1.1.1

          Nice point and in a small part it has merit.

          However your assuming the media had no effect at all in your comment (the Gallery is a subset of the media machine) and the context (i.e. setting) is completely different (dirty politics, Kim Dotcom).

          Tom, you give an all or nothing response, your assuming a constant media with X% right and Y% left bias. We could go into hard numbers if you want? or just go read the MSM.

          Also your making the assumption that I think its all the medias fault, not at all.

          They, however, had a huge impact. You seem to think they don’t. Contrast DC v JK responses by the media.

          From my perspective the majority of the MSM are a hell of a lot more right leaning as they need to cover up the big lie that is National.

          Pam Corky sums it up best for me:

          “puffed up little xxxx”

          or her piece in the Herald: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11331543

          The same reasonable call can be made to media bosses and the family of these egomaniacs before 2017. Puffed up little shits that they are.

          The irony here, is that I’m referencing the Herald…. you can take the piss out of me for that.

          • Tom Gould 5.1.1.1.1

            I guess it depends on your perspective. From the viewpoint of many in Labour the media is right wing. But this is the very issue at hand. The media may simply be reflecting the perspective of the bulk of the public. So who is out of step? The media and the bulk of the public? Or Labour? Of course many individual reporters are egotistical pseudo-celebrities who often rant crazy opinions based on little or no research and analysis of actual facts. And it is clear that the likes of Henry and Hosking are arch-Tories. But the notion that the entire apparatus of the media is some kind of right wing plot to destroy Labour cannot be sustained. Effective, astute and sophisticated media management can make a huge difference. Just ask John Key and Steven Joyce.

    • Anne 5.2

      The fact is the public doesn’t like the current leader and the vast bulk of them don’t see the party as the solution to their problems.

      The public doesn’t like the current leader because they have been bombarded day after day, week after week, month after month with subliminal negative messaging, false stories, distortions and policy misrepresentation. It’s been the result of an unholy alliance between a corrupt National government and a greedy, shallow and increasingly complicit (and corrupt in some quarters) MSM – both of whom are acting out of self preservation at all costs.

      If you haven’t read “Dirty Politics” read it. If you have, then read it again because you don’t appear to have assimilated the over-riding message!

      • Ant 5.2.1

        Yep agreed Anne, until Labour develop a comms strategy to counter that, or at the very least take some of the sting out of it, they’re toast, changing leader won’t do much.

      • greywarbler 5.2.2

        @ Anne 5.2
        the public doesn’t like the current leader because they have been bombarded day after day, week after week, month after month with subliminal negative messaging, false stories,

        And people get fragments only of reality, they might not see or hear anything other than some faux story by a suit looking directly at the camera, with a you can believe me gaze, or dominating the air waves. When that’s all the public gets, when can a different narrative, a different perception get into their minds?

        And people become habituated to celebrities and their biases and they think s/he is okay and amusing and I can see past their excesses but it’s insidious – soak your minds in it and the toxic potion will get in.

        We have so much mind stimulation going on all the time that there is not even the short time for reflection and shifting to long-term memory after the information goes through the amygdala for a moment of rational thought. There is our problem – all assesed for us by scientific study of the brain. And so how do we help people feed their brain with rational thought and learn the truth?

      • Andrea 5.2.4

        ‘What would Winston do?’

        He went walkabout. And talkabout. And met with real live people for the three long years of out of parliament. And it worked. (And so did he.)

        Whenever DC did that on this last campaign, people discovered he wasn’t the (fill in the gap) they’d been told he was.

        I liked his messages and vision. He’d be my choice, for sure. He comes over as a Level 5 leader (in Jim Collins’s ‘Good to Great’ style).

        It’s time in the political cycle to start moving away from consolidation and obsolescence, and be heading toward progress. Crank up the flywheel and build the momentum. Cast out fear.

        Left stands for progress and uplifting whether you’re worker or enterpriser or even a corporate. If you won’t even put the seeds in the ground, there’s no hope of a harvest ahead.

      • Chooky 5.2.5

        +100 Anne

    • Hanswurst 5.3

      It’s not the media at fault. It’s Labour at fault.

      At fault for what, though? The media are supposed to inform the public of political developments without fear or favour. However, they have gunned for Cunliffe and gone soft on Key; just look at the difference between the reactions to Cunliffe’s inconsequential letter from 2003 compared to how they treated Key’s daily evolving story about how he came to appoint Ian Fletcher to the GCSB role. That mode of operation is a pretty big fault from where I’m sitting, and the fact that Labour can be criticised for failing to handle that fault adroitly doesn’t stop it from being one.

      • blue leopard 5.3.1

        +1 Well said, Hanswurst

        • Chooky 5.3.1.1

          Yup …John Key and Nactional have NOT been held to account by the media

          …the media instead concentrated on attacking David Cunliffe ….and Dotcom ….and Hone Harawira …..and playing up the divisions in the Left coalition alliance parties and within Labour caucus

          ……the msm is now a BIG part of the problem..it has been dumbed down ..it has lost integrity ….and they operate like a pack of hyenas …the msm is both bought and scared …so they go for the easy targets …like school yard bullies

          • Chooky 5.3.1.1.1

            ‘Internet MANA the election and the media’

            By John Minto / September 29, 2014

            “I’ve been very critical of media reporting of Internet MANA during the election campaign and not surprised at the predictable response from representatives of the corporate media establishment…

            – See more at: http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/09/29/internet-mana-the-election-and-the-media/#sthash.PietUV1M.dpuf

          • blue leopard 5.3.1.1.2

            +1 Absolutely agree Chooky.

            One thing that I am puzzled by and would like to see an improvement in the left about, is how they deal with the media. I would like them to become way more savvy with the media and become more skillful in countering spin (rather than responding in a manner that makes the spin seem like it actually has some substance)

            I think a big ‘fail’ is in order with the way that the left chose to deal with the spin surrounding Dotcom and Dirty politics – particularly with reference to Labour – who apparently first thought that it was better to stay fairly silent on these matters and then thought it would be better to join in on the attacks on Dotcom.

            For example, I think not coming out strongly with respect to Dirty Politics caused some perception that Labour conducts such too.

            Why can’t the left strategists work out that appealing to those who will never agree with you is foolish when it will put off those who would agree with you, but end up getting put off because you were pandering to base hysteria and spin.

            Strategists need to supply a narrative that counters the spin, which is, after-all, solely based on the lowest common denominator base instincts that people react from. Provide a story to lead people out of this way of reacting.

            Stronger counter narratives are required by all left-wing parties. The Greens are the most skilful with counter-narratives, though, but even they fail sometimes.

            • Chooky 5.3.1.1.2.1

              +100 blue leopard …..to deal with the spin and black ops PR and msm bias … will require training and be an art in itself…which the Left politicians MUST acquire

              ….i think there is needed some pretty intensive professional media and psychology training to deal with these right wing attacks and get the message out

              ( that is ….once the Left Parties and the Labour Party in particular gets its shit sorted out…i always thought Labour had a branding problem but it goes deeper than this)

              • blue leopard

                +100… I don’t know why they haven’t been training in this type of skill already – pretty obvious they haven’t….or their trainers are duds…lol

  6. les 6

    Labour strategy is way wrong.They need to hire Crosby Textor or…Stephen Joyce.Keep things simple.The public cannot digest policy detail…when they hear the word tax…they react negatively.Three or 4 broad concept issues delivered consistently by a unified party is whats required.

    • Iron Sky 6.1

      Les and Tom

      I agree with you on a simple point, they have to use the same level of expertise to run
      a more successful perception campaign.

      You don’t however show the full picture by simple saying its labours fault. A little too dumbed down my friends.

      Yours truly

      Mum & Dad investor

      • les 6.1.1

        Unless you can accept it is Labours fault,there is no hope .Blaming dirty politics,the media is not constructive.Maybe Kelvin Davis in 2020.

        • Iron Sky 6.1.1.1

          Les, come on

          Eyes wide shut?

          There is the KISS principle (Keep It Simple Stupid) i.e. keep the message to small sound bites so everyone can remember it, Your not using that.

          Your using KBS (Keep being simple) my friend. Yup, I heard the GFC was labours fault to.

          Thank god we have the National party that condones dirty politics…. just like asset sales (i.e. 1/3 of voters say its ok)

          I feel a little bit Dextorish

          Yours truly

          Mum and Dad Investor

          • Eralc 6.1.1.1.1

            There’s no way anyone could say the GFC is Labour’s, or anyone in NZ’s, fault. This is the first time I’ve heard that. It was global – like many other countries, NZ was just a tile in the long line of falling dominoes.

    • marie 6.2

      “Keep things simple.The public cannot digest policy detail…when they hear the word tax…they react negatively.Three or 4 broad concept issues delivered consistently by a unified party is whats required.”

      Absolutely true!

  7. BobJ 7

    A rock and a hard place for sure. The next several weeks are going to be difficult, primarily because the ‘media’ has nothing else to do, they fully expected to be spending lots of time interviewing Winston daily, interviews with DotCom and the IMP as they headed to Wellington and all manner of things, if the result had gone another way there would have been weeks of things for them to be commenting on.

    But it didn’t… the election finished on the night, National has gone quiet, IMP and the Greens are (intelligently) keeping their discussions to themselves, which leaves only the one show in town and its going to get all of the focus, probably even more so than any single event before the election, have seen more Labour MP’s in the media in the last two days on a weekend than in the last week before the election.

    Oh and the early election will exacerbate it, with a later election there is usually a few weeks to wrap it up before the likes of The Nation and Q&A close down, the nighty news shows move on to what’s the hottest present this Christmas and the reporters all head out onto the Christmas party circuit, this year there is going to be a six week vacuum just waiting to be filled.

  8. Blue 8

    I’m getting really sick of the MSM coverage and I wish they would just fuck off and chase something else for a while. They’re so boring and predictable – you don’t even have to read the articles because you know what they say already.

    You can write your own article by just choosing random combinations of the words below:

    Cunliffe – ego – shambles – drubbing – Robertson – gay – Shearer – divided – worst – responsibility – rejected – mistake – caucus – electorate – Labour – centre – leader – resigned – appeal – voters – hat – ring – defeat.

    • Puckish Rogue 8.1

      If Labour ever stopped being a collective clusterfuck then the media would move on but from the pov of the media its easy pickings

  9. framu 9

    unless the review is looking at the fact the membership want more of a say and the caucus want to run things themselves in spite of whatever the membership decide then the problems will never go away.

    and just on that media point – yes the media are little shits who had it in for cunliffe – BUT, the only things labour can do is present a united front and call the media out every single time they try and frame the debate, BUT – dont moan about the media – be blunt, point out their failings, but laugh at them and suggest that their lines are so transparent that ‘most NZers could see right through them’

    public disunity, trying to do it FPP and allowing the media to lead them round by the nose were the big failings IMO

    • GregJ 9.1

      I agree that it is pointless to moan continually about the Mainstream Corporate Media. The left needs to find ways to circumvent it and speak directly to people. It’s not going to be easy in an age of mass media though.

      Of course once the left is back in power – then it’s time for some hard looks at media power and concentration and alternatives to the present media structures.

      • Iron Sky 9.1.1

        Humm,

        GregJ your point on moaning. I agree they need to find away to circumvent corporate media. It is fair to articulate what is wrong, but there is come point where push comes to shove… i.e. accurate problem identification then remedial action.

        Famu
        “the only things labour can do is present a united front and call the media out every single time they try and frame the debate, BUT – dont moan about the media – be blunt, point out their failings”

        I agree

        Remember how the, its Ok to be Dirty National Party (TM), closed channel 7, imaginatively changing the management structures of Maori TV, TVNZ and RNZ.

        Labour have to battle this to. It aint easy. Attack on soooooo many fronts.

        Yours truly

        Mum and Dad investor

      • Puckish Rogue 9.1.2

        then it’s time for some hard looks at media power and concentration and alternatives to the present media structures.

        – Let me guess state-funded “neutral” (but really left-wing) media outlets? To, you know, add balance

        • GregJ 9.1.2.1

          Oh – at the very minimum a strong public service broadcaster liberated from the commercial model of a State Owned Enterprise.

          But so, so much more than that – a strong independent oversight of broadcasting with powers to regulate if the industry won’t (increased involvement of the Commerce Commission in media regulation and oversight), regional TV, community/low-power radio, changes in the criteria for allocating Radio/TV spectrum, much tighter control over foreign ownership of media (coupled with, ultimately, a breaking up of the duopoly of print and radio & the monopoly in pay television).

          Then there is public access to digital content and internet, fair use vs copyright legislation over content plus a whole raft of things around structures for democratic & community access to communication and content.

  10. Michael 10

    Will the reviewers bother to ask Party members for their views or will this exercise simply consist of one bunch of insiders congratulating another bunch of insiders on their strategic and tactical brilliance that lead to another crushing defeat? I think we should told or, even better, consulted.

  11. Treetop 11

    The country wanted another National led government, the result is the evidence. Had Graig not stood, National would have done much better.

    The review has to address:
    1. Why has the Labour caucus had three leaders in three years?
    2. Why did Goff and Shearer really resign?
    3. The back stabbing and disloyalty to the leader is poison within the caucus.
    4. What was the direction of the party and why did this fail?
    5. What individual strengths and weaknesses stood out?

    • The Lone Haranguer 11.1

      They might also ask their own members:
      1) What embarrassed you most during the campaign? (ifanything)
      2) Did you volunteer and help in any way?
      3) Did you support our electorate candidates in your area?
      4) Would you proudly have a biggish Labour sticker on your car?
      5) Would you proudly have a biggish Labour sign on your fence at home?

      Those sorts of questions will tell something of the depth of commitment that Labour supporters had in the recent general election

  12. Skinny 12

    Many within Labour do the Party and themselves no favours by talking to the media. Often less is more and considering the current generation of media hacks purporting to be objective journalists they are unwittingly taking part in being attacked. Once you knock back every man and his dog being interviewed the media are forced to rethink their conduct. I would elect key media spokes people and limit which outlets get an interview.

    As an example I am an elected spokesperson to the media, I got a call from a Heard reporter last week wanting me to comment on a pleading industrial scrap (strike notice). While TV3 News was trying to blow things up quickly, I down played the notice as a warning for the company to pull their heads in, nothing more and a likely settlement would be reached shortly. I then asked the reporter what do you think the newly elected National Government will do should too much be made in the media about a much about nothing issue? I then admonished the reporter and gave the answer that by commenting to you it just plays into the governments hands with their proposed employment law changes. The reporter grudgingly replied yeah I get what ya saying. I said good thanks for understanding, and hey if it turns to crap I’ll give you the head up first and call you, they were rapt and nothing of real note to be seen the next morning.

    • Chooky 12.1

      +100…good play…Labour and the Left should ignore the shills and cultivate those in the media who are not corrupted

      in this regard i would suggest that Morning Report needs to be approached with caution or ignored (boycotted)

  13. Adrian 13

    I just heard Robertson say on radio that he would have done a better job than Cunliffe in the election.
    Bullshit.
    Two old Labour seats, New Lynn =Lab 28.44% party vote.
    Wellington Central = 23.44% pv.
    Robertson is the most narcissistic self unaware divisive problem in Labour. He couldn’t even get the party vote to match Labour overall.

    • Treetop 13.1

      Playing the man and not the ball.

      I did not watch The Nation yesterday but saw on 3 news last night that Robertson said on The Nation nine times 25% of the party vote. There were some “we” in front of this and this was an acknowledgement that it included him.

    • word 13.2

      +1 Adrian.

  14. Charles Temworth. 14

    Robertsons comments enjoying a beer and the rugby don’t strike a chord with anybody he isnt the new face of Labour hes the old face of the caucus that need s to be cleaned out.

  15. Charles Temworth. 15

    Adrian couldnt agree more with what you are posting ,he is talking BS non stop isnt going to work he is definitely not the answer ,his underhanded beltway approach is just old stale and what needs to go Now!

  16. aerobubble 16

    The Labour leadership should be given to the MP that can pour the most scorn and derision upon National, get on TV the most, bitch talk Key into the dust. Instead, they all sound like PM in waiting, like they just are going to wait until the nation is fed up with Key.

  17. dale 17

    Just maybe after six years the voters like what the government are doing. Perhaps they are sick of being told what to hate by the left. Have they ever considered that their ideas for a better future are just plain wrong and that the voters know that. The left has treated the voters with contempt for long enough.

  18. SeanExile 18

    Ah yet again another post who reckons the media is to blame.
    How about this, lets blame all the voters who didn’t agree with us and boycott them. Its a great idea. And while at it lets ban all papers who doesn’t agree with us and banish all journalists who happens to write the truth to Antarctica where they get to sit and read election material and pamphlets designed by Michael Foot. That should serve them, having had the audacity of actually writing something we don’t want to hear…
    Thats irony if you missed it.

    No the media isn’t to blame. Of course not. The media is doing its job. Some may not like them, some may think they should act differently, that they are unfair. Unfortunately they aren’t. They are professionals and they don’t all follow a secret agenda that is against Labour. We get the media we deserve. Always.

    And for those of you that haven’t met the media, Id say more journalists vote left than right. They aren’t exactly your Steven Joyce kind of people. More the opposite…

    • word 18.1

      @Sean. The media are most definitely to blame, they have a lot to answer for. The media are a mindless pack of pitbulls with a lynch mob mentality, and are way over the top, abusing their position of power in their one and only role, which is to push national party propaganda, and to discredit and undermine national’s opposition in any way possible.

      msm do not operate in this country’s best interests, they operate in what is the best interest of the national party.

  19. Adrian 19

    Sean exile, have you read any of Trevett or vance?. Trevett’s hate and vitriolic filled diatribes against DC are verging on pathological even committable. Certainly if anybody could be bothered to take her to court she would lose hands down.
    Henry and Hoskings are exactly the same and these are opinion makers who have been manoeuvred into positions and told their ridiculous salaries are dependent on how successful they are at destroying Labour leaders.

    • Chooky 19.1

      +100…add to that list Sean Plunket

      • ropata 19.1.1

        Lisa Owen turns nasty and vindictive over any Labour party news. Chasing DC down the hall after the election making snide remarks. Claiming that DC’s resignation speech was “putting the knife in”. She just goes psycho for no apparent reason. Is there a reason why?

        If she’s one of NZ’s “best” journos (according to TV3), that explains a lot

    • word 19.2

      Every day they breach the Journalists code of Ethics without fear, they all should be investigated and that Andrea Vance is an A grade nasty bitch, wonder how much national pay her?

  20. Marcus 20

    I disagree, I think the Labour caucus provide more than enough laughs for Trevett et al to choose from. I dont blame the MSM, I blame the Labour caucus as they feed the stories to the reporters. The disunity is bizarre the leaks are an insult to Labour supporters.

    Shearer and Ardern should lead. Who cares if Shearer isnt yet a sophisticated ‘politician’. I think that’s in his favour. He comes across as likeable and natural. He can learn to be more politician-like. Maybe his naturalness can make them look like the assholes most of them are.

    I respect Cunliffe’s performance, but there is no way the caucus will accept him back as their leader no matter what the party think.

    Robertson, Mallard, Cosgrove and the other schemers should be sent down to the bottom of the list. If the caucus keep leaking, and scheming against their leader then Labour are finished – who will still care about the Labour party. I won’t.

    • word 20.1

      David Shearer dropped himself in it during a parliamentary debate and John key revealed that he and David Shearer were having private talks without the knowledge of the Labour party. Do you remember Shearer saying he lost the confidence of caucus when he had to step aside. So why would caucus accept Shearer, who can’t speak more than 2 sentences without tripping over his words, back as leader?

      Even then David Cunliffe is still a far better alternative, and he does have the experience of the last year behind him to draw on.

      David Shearer’s role in all of this, was to get the ball rolling for his mate Grant Robertson, who has shown he is in it for himself. Robertson wasn’t prepared to lend a hand in unifying the party under another leader was he? and him and Shearer wasted no time in putting the boot in straight after the election. Shame on them.

      Jacinda Ardern? She is far from ready.

  21. Adrian 21

    Cunliffe hesitated for a microsecond while trying to work out Key’s deliberate lie and was crucified. Shearer spends minutes prevaricating. Go with the bloke who has been through the furnace.
    It has occurred to me that leadingLabour is like having to open the batting in a test match against Lillee , Thommo , Garner and Croft etc. If you don’t get one in the head the next will get you in the nuts, and you can’t keep dropping players because only the experienced will eventually survive.

  22. Marcus 22

    I prefer Cunliffe too but since caucus is set against him whats the point

    • word 22.1

      @Marcus, thats no reason to give up. And there are the affiliates AND the membership that take an active part in choosing the leadership as well. I too prefer David Cunliffe.

    • Hanswurst 22.2

      Let caucus worry about itself. The membership and affiliates don’t know exactly what goes on behind closed doors in caucus meetings, so there’s no reason for them to take speculation about it into account when voting for the leader. It’s also worth taking into account that Shearer or Robertson, should they win, will also have a fair chunk of the caucus to contend with who would have preferred Cunliffe or somebody else. Voting somebody other than Cunliffe is not guaranteed to be a vote for more effective unity. People who like Cuniffe as leader should vote for him; lies, leaks and speculation be damned.

  23. KJT 23

    What exactly would Robertson have done differently from Cunliffe, in the last 11 months, which would have lifted Labour’s vote?

    I am old enough to remember all the vitriol in the media, and elsewhere, against Helen Clark. Right from the first day she was up for selection.

    She stuck by her guns, and eventually they won.

    Doing a superb job.
    Unfortunately even as Prime Minister she was not able to achieve all of her goals when she was first selected, due too all the opposing forces..
    Big business “holding the country to ransom” in the “winter of discontent” for one.

    • Draco T Bastard 23.1

      Big business “holding the country to ransom” in the “winter of discontent” for one.

      We’ve really got to stop businesses trying that. I suggest that we treat it as an act of war against NZ and when they try it we instantly nationalise them.

    • Hanswurst 23.2

      Absolutely. At times in the early days of Clark’s leadership, it was easy as a Labour supporter to be demoralised by the impression from the media that Clark was the most reviled politician in the country and that Labour would never govern again. The Alliance were sometimes snapping at their heels in the polls and there were the beginnings of a narrative that Labour might be a spent force. Clark’s leadership was challenged by her caucus in the open, not just with cloaks and daggers, as is the case with Cunliffe’s now – yet Clark went on to serve as PM for three terms.

      Cunliffe has a very real fight on his hands, to be sure, but any suggestion that he is losing it significantly at this stage is seriously premature. That’s just what people like Trevett, Watkins, Armstrong and Key want you to think.

  24. Jay 24

    Seanexile is quite right. Any time the party we support is criticised we feel the reporter is biased. In my opinion, while some of them claim they have a duty to report “the truth”, I think it’s actually about publishing the most scandalous or interesting story. If the Herald suddenly decided to stop covering the fascinating labour party situation, everyone would just switch to another outlet. Honestly, you might not like what you’re reading, but you’re still reading it right? If you believe the main reason labour lost was a biased media then you might as well throw in the towel now cause the media won’t be changing one bit.

    • ropata 24.1

      And that’s how dirty politics wins. But not all the media operates that way, and this term will probably be a slow death for Key and cronies as they drip feed more evidence of cheating, lying, manipulation and cover-ups from the natty pinstriped wankers party.

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    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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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 ...
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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 ...
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days 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
    5 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
    7 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
    8 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
    21 hours 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    6 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
    7 days 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
  • Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity
    This year’s Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity and the contribution of Pacific communities to New Zealand culture, says Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti.  Dr Reti announced dates for the 2024 Pacific Language Weeks during a visit to the Pasifika festival in Auckland today and says there’s so ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

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