Little’s leadership

Written By: - Date published: 11:09 am, February 1st, 2015 - 97 comments
Categories: Andrew Little, leadership, polls - Tags:

Two positive pieces in The Herald today on Andrew Little’s leadership. First:

Has Key met his match?

More than half see potential in new Labour top man

The public’s honeymoon with new Labour leader Andrew Little is showing few signs of easing more than two months after he was chosen to lead a divided party.

A 3 News Reid-Research poll has revealed 55 per cent of voters think Little is potentially a better match for Prime Minister John Key than his Labour Party leader predecessors.

The poll, which has a margin of error of +/- 3.1 per cent, is part of a series of polls on the post-election political situation that will be broadcast on 3 News tonight. 3 News political editor Patrick Gower said the poll result was a huge boost for Little.

Early days yet, but things still going well for Andrew Little’s leadership. I wouldn’t expect any big movements in the 3 News poll tonight, but that 55% positive support for Little is good news.

Rodney Hide penned the second piece:

Little captures our attention

Little’s speech was more interesting [than Key’s] by far. … And here’s the money quote: “As a union leader I was always conscious that wealth had to be created first before it could be shared. We need to do what’s right for business so we can do what’s right for workers and their families and to keep skills in New Zealand.” Little recognises the need to create wealth before it can be spent.

As did the Labour leaders before him, who all produced surplus budget policies.

And he acknowledges that business creates wealth – and, by implication, not Government. That’s a big statement from a Labour leader. He told us how as union leader he helped business to help workers and their families. He’s not a “worker-versus-business” guy. He worked with Fonterra to achieve productivity gains and so boost the pay to workers and farmers. The bit about farmers is important. He understands the economy is interconnected and farmers are part of his economic equation. It’s all good news.

Little spoke of reducing inequality. Good. And even here he was interesting: he says the spin-off of reducing inequality is better growth. That, too, would be better for business and farmers.

Reducing inequality is better for growth. If only the Nats understood this too.

Jobs and growth are his focus. And small business. That sets him apart from Key who, in his deals with Warner Bros, SkyCity and Rio Tinto, is tied to the big end of town.

And so on.

Now I know some are reading some Machiavellian “reverse psychology” intentions into Hide’s support, but I think they overestimate both his complexity and his influence. I take the comments at face value, that Andrew Little’s leadership is receiving broad-based support. And that’s good news, because that’s what we need for the Left (as a whole!) to win.

97 comments on “Little’s leadership ”

  1. aerobubble 1

    Zero hour contracts means workers can earn less than the benefit in a week; driving down employment stats as employers can retain more staff on flexible time, all for the greater good of 🙂 the nation; stand downs make it impossible to get a benefit to make up the shortfall. so why should workers bear the burden of keeping nz competitive. surelylexibility should mean a higher wage than a full timer as its a burden extra

  2. Skinny 2

    Playing the National lite card only to grasp power, if successful then Labour switch to their radical Left agenda. This will be headlines close to the 2017 election.

  3. One Anonymous Bloke 3

    The Herald reminding the National Party who decides the outcome of elections around here.

  4. Neil 4

    It is good to see something positive about Andrew Little & Labour, I was so amazed that Rodney Hide actually wrote something positive about Andrew Little, that I just about fell off my seat. I was equally amazed that the Herald published something positive about Andrew also considering the Herald has been pro National for so long & anti Labour. Lets all hope publications like the Herald have seen the light & are starting to see through Key for what he really stands for.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 4.1

      Don’t hold your breath.

      This is The Herald reminding Key and National the value of propaganda. The war criminal Blair gave evidence at the Levenson media enquiry:

      He described the Murdoch press, “in a speech before leaving office as “feral beasts,” he said he had decided to “manage” rather than confront them, for fear of “being torn to pieces” if they turned against Labour, or against him personally.”

      The Herald is still a short distance away from the tabloid excesses of the British media; that doesn’t mean they aren’t playing the same game.

      • Pete George 4.1.1

        How daft is it that you turn good coverage into a bitch about something?

        It almost looks like you’re trying to sabotage anything positive about Labour here.

        Little has built on a good start and it’s being recognised. He could do well for Labour but will need support from the base. That obviously isn’t your interest.

        • One Anonymous Bloke 4.1.1.1

          🙄 and 😆 at poor butt-hurt Petty lashing out.

          Cynicism about The Herald equals sabotaging Labour, ‘apparently’.

        • Skinny 4.1.1.2

          We all know Little has started well. Do you think if Little had come in as leader instead of Cunliffe he would have got such a dream run? I bloody doubt it, and it’s years away from the next election.

          Hide is just pumping up ACT the extreme Rights stocks so they can rebuild as a force in politics. I note Hooton has been doing the same. Snakes & ladders of the political game.

          • weka 4.1.1.2.1

            “Do you think if Little had come in as leader instead of Cunliffe he would have got such a dream run?”

            I’ve been thinking about that. It’s almost like Labour needed to go through the Cunliffe year, get things off its chest, or even just have things in plain sight, and then it could move on. I also doubt that Little would have been ok if he’d come in as leader at that time.

            • Skinny 4.1.1.2.1.1

              The son of a preacher was too fake, you either liked him or hated him so to speak. Little would have won the election in my view. He simply wins in 2017, Key will be overthrown next year. They will probably have to go to the polls with Brownlee as PM.

  5. Anne 5

    Now I know some are reading some Machiavellian “reverse psychology” intentions into Hide’s support, but I think they overestimate both his complexity and his influence.

    Couldn’t agree more. Far from dumb, Rodney Hide is nonetheless like many NZers who have a less than esoteric understanding of the complexities surrounding some political (and other) topics. I give as an example an argument I had with Hide many years ago about the importance of preserving historical buildings for posterity. He genuinely didn’t comprehend. All he could see was a bunch of shabby wooden structures which he couldn’t conceive of being restored to their former glory. Waste of money he thought… “Pull em down and put modern buildings in their place” he said to me.

    Such people don’t like or trust intellectuals for the same reason, and I believe this was the underlying cause of their antipathy towards Helen Clark and more latterly Phil Goff, David Shearer and David Cunliffe.

    Andrew Little on the other hand has had years of valuable experience dealing with such people from the pinnacle of the business world… through to the local union representative. He knows how to get his message through to them without upsetting too much their ‘black and white’ view of the world.

    • weka 5.1

      “Now I know some are reading some Machiavellian “reverse psychology” intentions into Hide’s support, but I think they overestimate both his complexity and his influence. I take the comments at face value, that Andrew Little’s leadership is receiving broad-based support. And that’s good news, because that’s what we need for the Left (as a whole!) to win.”

      It is of course possible to be both.

      It’s not reverse psychology so much as he probably does see positives about Little. But how he presents them amongst the dogwhistles is what makes him not to be trusted.

      Gower’s got his anti-Green thing in full spin too. I think it’s fine to see positives in the media about Labour and Little and to highlight them, but let’s not forget that the likes of Hyde and Gower are fundamentally opposed to a left wing govt to the point of doing what they can with their power to prevent that from happening.

  6. weka 6

    Glad to see Labour getting some good news, and well done Little and his team. I think his cautious response about these things going up and down is wise too.

    Gower, “The Greens will have their worry beads out.”

    🙄 I think the Greens will be going, fantastic, now we have a chance of being part of a left wing government. It’s hard to see how Gower could make his bias any more obvious (either that or he’s stupid).

    • Pete George 6.1

      Maybe you should wait until tonight’s poll result. Which is presumably polled pre-Norman’s announcement on Friday.

      It’s going to be a tricky leadership transition period for the Greens, especially if Labour pick up their support again.

      • One Anonymous Bloke 6.1.1

        🙄

        Because Labour support could only come from the Greens, Gower’s little parrot.

        • weka 6.1.1.1

          I’m just curious how the GP is supposed to get in govt if Labour don’t do well.

          Besides which, the GP want change not power. Unlike Gower. Or Mr Beige Vower.

          • One Anonymous Bloke 6.1.1.1.1

            Gower’s lies aren’t meant to make logical sense: he just has to repeat them over and over again: dann lĂźge grĂźndlich.

            A manifestation of prejudice designed to reinforce prejudice, rather than present any sort of argument. A substance-free appeal to emotions.

            Only a beige parrot would mistake them for serious political analysis.

  7. I know some are reading some Machiavellian “reverse psychology” intentions into Hide’s support

    I wouldn’t call it “Machiavellian”, both because that term is woefully, inaccurately over-used but also because it’s not about some grand, complex scheme. The fact is, Hide says:

    The David Cunliffe experiment of tacking left is over.

    … when many people’s criticisms of Cunliffe’s leadership is that he moderated his initially strong leftwing statements.

    Praising Labour leaders for ~appreciating the middle voter, not those crazy Greenies~ is bog-standard rightwing dogwhistling, designed to make lefties freak out that Little is selling us all down the river.

    This is classic Hide/Hooton/Farrar say-whatever-needs-to-be-said-to-spread-the-narrative. In this case, reinterpreting Little’s state of the nation as an appeal to “the centre” so as soon as he announces any definitive, progressive policy they can say “oh dear, he’s tacking left, middle New Zealand won’t like that.”

    • b waghorn 7.1

      You may be right about Hyde playing games I don’t know ,but as a middle of the road sort of person I saw it in a positive light towards little and I doubt many Joe average kiwis wouldn’t see it that way to.

      • You’re right, most people don’t read newspapers/political opinion pieces/with the same critical analysis as a pols geek like me.

        Which is exactly the point: most people reading that column are going to get a vague sense of:

        – Rodney Hide likes what Andrew Little is saying
        – This is because Andrew Little isn’t a crazy leftie
        – Unlike those whacky Greens, but he does still have to work with them
        – Hmm, maybe I’ll keep voting National / this is why voting is pointless they’re all the same

        And lo, it came to pass that voter turnout was depressed and a lot of people like That Nice Mr Key.

        (I must point out that none of this is because I think people are stupid, and I do not subscribe to rubbish like Martyn Bradbury’s endless bitching about “muddle Nu Zilind”. I just acknowledge not everyone is a political animal and not everyone works in professional communications like me.)

        • b waghorn 7.1.1.1

          I think Little might be lefter than he’s given credit for but he knows he’s going to have to box clever and not scare the masses ,
          I’ll be interested to see what he says on the green party when it comes up.

          • One Anonymous Bloke 7.1.1.1.1

            Don’t worry, there’ll be no shortage of right wing vested interests buying as many scary column inches as they can afford.

    • I agree and I also think that these right wing commentators use praise whether faint or loud to set up there own ‘credibility’ base – as in “look I’m fair, I wrote that and now I’m writing this” when they unleash their real agenda – that agenda is to ensure the right stay in power.

      • Exactly! “How can you call me a rightwing hack, I said nice things about Andrew Little that one time”.

        Slater does the same based on his semi-regular attacks on parts of the National Party which he doesn’t like.

        • Sacha 7.2.1.1

          And Farrar’s Taxpayers Onion tells off govt departments too, so there. Innoculation is not a new tactic.

          • emergency mike 7.2.1.1.1

            Agree with Stephanie and marty’s points here. It’s like some people haven’t heard of the ‘build them up so we can knock them down’ technique perfected by the British press.

    • Incognito 7.3

      The way I interpreted Hide’s opinion piece was that he’s trying hard to build a (new) narrative to box in Little. Perhaps the “Angry Andy” narrative wasn’t powerful enough.

      • Pete George 7.3.1

        It was a stupid narrative and only Slater seemed to be trying to push it.

        • One Anonymous Bloke 7.3.1.1

          And John Key.

          And the New Zealand Herald.

          And David Farrar.

          Only they didn’t “seem” to be doing it – I’ll leave the weasel words to you.

          • Sacha 7.3.1.1.1

            Just a beige coincidence, surely. Oh, you mean someone wrote a book last year about similar conniving?

          • Pete George 7.3.1.1.2

            Are you making that up or do you have evidence?

            I don’t remember seeing Farrar use it. Nor Key. Only once by Steven Joyce in Parliament on 26 November (the “cut the crap” day which I thought was good from Little).

            Searching NZ Herald they reported that from Parliament but that’s the only hit on ‘Angry Andy”.

            And only from Slater (frequently) since.

            If you have other evidence I’ll add it to my post.

            • One Anonymous Bloke 7.3.1.1.2.1

              Yes, I have evidence, gained from one simple Google search using the terms “Andrew Little angry”.

              Google tailors its results though, so I expect you’ll just end up reading interesting facts about beige.

              • Pete George

                Well it will be simple for you to prove it with your evidence.

                And if you don’t I’ll presume you’re buillshitting again.

                • Incognito

                  A Google Advanced search on “Angry Andy” on the Kiwiblog site or domain gave me 50 hits. Do you want me to list all 50 links for you?

                • One Anonymous Bloke

                  🙄

                  No-one cares what the chief fact-checker presumes. Sad and true.

                  Can you do something for me, Pete? Every time you plagiarise my remarks at Yawns, include the following disclaimer, there’s a dear.

                  OAB says: get your petty unoriginal shite, right here at Yawns, with Petty George, the beige parrot.

                  • Pete George

                    So you must have bullshitted again. And have switched to your usual diversion and evasion.

                    • One Anonymous Bloke

                      Or, I’m not providing you with links on principle. I told you how to find them, and that was more than you deserve.

                      No wonder your fact checking website was such a complete embarrassing failure, just as everyone said it would be.

                      I’ll post the links if you’ll give me your word that you won’t use them, or any material they contain, at Yawns.

                      Edit: and 3News.

                    • Pete George

                      You’re digging yourself deeper. Caught out lying? Unless you can prove you weren’t.

                    • One Anonymous Bloke

                      Key, Joyce, Farrar, 3News, The Herald, even Jamie Mackay has no trouble finding the facts.

                      Either find the links yourself, or commit to not using them at Yawns. Your choice.

                    • Pete George

                      It seems clear “you are unable to substantiate with some proof”. Hard to see that as anything but a lying smear followed by lame excuses diversions.

                      Thanks, you’ve been helpful.

                    • One Anonymous Bloke

                      What you find hard is none of my concern. What you find credible loses credibility thereby, as a result of your persistent banal unoriginal mendacity, as has been demonstrated here many many times.

                      You’re a liar, your website is a vehicle for lies. My contempt for it is matched by my contempt for you, and what’s more, it’s widely shared. The contempt, that is, not your website.

                      This website’s boring, mindless, mean.
                      Full of pornography.
                      The kind that’s clean…”

                      Apologies to Johnny Clarke

                    • Pete George

                      OAB – so you either made a false assumption or dishonestly made up an accusation, then in any case turned it into a lie with a series of lies when challenged, and then you resorted to making dirty insinuations.

                      Not a good look is it. You couldn’t get much lower or dirtier, but knowing you you’ll try.

                    • One Anonymous Bloke

                      🙄

                      You can lash out angrily as much as you like, Petty (although puce and beige don’t really mix), my position won’t change 😆

                    • Pete George

                      I’m not angry at all. Are you? You’re the one who keeps lashing out.

                      I’ve just calmly held you to account and put your lies and abuse on record.

                    • Clemgeopin []

                      You are quite a mendacious thread derailing litigant. Then you go and use all these comments to write detailed articles about TS conversations to fill pages of your boring website like you did yesterday and like you do so very often! Seems like a cunning, poor and silly scheme of a nincompoop! Try writing about some real worthwhile issues man!
                      For example, how about writing about the huge wealth and income inequality, Key’s dodgy traits, the brilliance of Catton, the RW rogues…Just four topics for you to grapple with as a start.

                    • One Anonymous Bloke

                      🙄

            • marty mars 7.3.1.1.2.2

              “If you have other evidence I’ll add it to my post.”

              Good that you are admitting your comment-rolling is to help build your posts – well done you 🙂

      • b waghorn 7.3.2

        I hoped Little would of taken ‘angry andy’ and run with it ,started the odd speech with ‘damn right I’m angry and this is why…..’

        • One Anonymous Bloke 7.3.2.1

          “I’m angry”.

          Do you write headlines for The Herald by any chance?

          • b waghorn 7.3.2.1.1

            There’s a lot to be angry about at the moment in this world , shying away from showing it because a mentally I’ll blogger is trying to use it against you is no good.

        • Murray Rawshark 7.3.2.2

          Not a bad thing being angry when short sighted fools are relashed bout that and at the end o the day, most kiwis dowan an duncare about any worrung about a owzin crys. They know my gumint is a trong gumint an will looafta their bestrests.

  8. Pastimes for the irrelevant:

    Milo tasting.

    Nit-picking.

    Cross word puzzle.

    Very cross word puzzle.

    Nit counting.

    Shipwreck in a bottle.

    Finger wagging aerobics (to the tune of Beige Monday)

    Sorting the James Last and Val Doonican collection in alphabetical order

    Nit sorting.

    Sorting the James Last and Val Doonican collections in chronological order.

    Nit circus.

    Sorting the James Last collection in alphabetical order and the Val Doonican collection in chronological order.

    Sorting the James Last and Val Doonican collections collectively in chronological order.

    Integrating the Roger Whitaker collection with the now combined James Last and Val Doonican collection.

    Realising that the Roger Whitaker collection was integrated with the James Last and Val Doonican collection in alphabetical order.

    Apoplectic word puzzle.

    Resort combined Roger Whitacker, James Last and Val Doonican collection in chronological order.

    Segregate Roger Whitaker, James Last and Val Doonican collections and sorting them all in alphabetical order.

    Sorting out entire Internet.

  9. Penny Bright 9

    Labour, in my view, need to show that they have well and truly ditched neo-liberal Rogernomic$.

    So – when are Labour going to come out hard and strong against the proposed Wellington Supercity, and the disastrous Auckland – PROVEN ‘Supercity for the 1%’ – which has PROVEN to be ‘Rogernomic$’ at local government level?

    Penny Bright

    http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz

  10. Penny Bright 10

    I note that two people who are pushing very hard for the proposed Wellington ‘Supercity’ are Porirua City Councillor Ken Douglas (in my considered opinion – a most treacherous ‘Rogernome’ – who arguably did very nicely himself out of ‘Rogernomics’), and Fran Wilde (Greater Wellington Regional Council Chair) who from 1984 – 1987 was the Chief Labour Party Whip during those pivotal ‘Rogernomics’ years.

    Lest we forget ….

    Penny Bright

    http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz

  11. Justme 11

    55% say Little is a POTENTIALLY better match to Key, than the other labour leaders.

    I wouldn’t be celebrating on this one. It is like being asked which would you prefer, a kick to the nuts, or having them cut off, and then proclaiming that most people prefer getting kicked in the nuts, as a positive thing.

    The big question is, do people prefer Little to Key? Remember, the wording of the questions.

    • The Chairman 11.1

      Indeed, Justme.

      To claim Key has met his match or Little is a formidable opponent based on the result of that question is clutching at straws.

    • Skinny 11.2

      Which Gower will spin around to, this is not a great result for Andrew Little considering the others all failed, yet a strong 45 % still doubt Little can beat the flogged also rans.

      The poll result details clearly has Pete G fizzing at the bung.

  12. The Chairman 12

    The first political poll of this year has actually seen Labour slip down 1%

    http://home.nzcity.co.nz/news/article.aspx?id=200809

    Labour’s new leader, coupled with their support of new surveillance laws, SME tax defaulters amnesty, and zero tolerance failed to muster voter support.

  13. The Chairman 13

    Rodney Hide says the David Cunliffe experiment of Labour tacking left is over, claiming it’s good news for Labour as he believes they have to win the middle to win Government.

    Well here is something to ponder:

    Labour’s housing policy to fill market voids and build new homes comes from the left and was widely liked by voters across the political spectrum.

    Therefore, why is it often assumed (largely by right-wing pundits and a number of right within the left) Labour has to tack right to win the centre vote?

    • One Anonymous Bloke 13.1

      What makes you think they believe it?

      • The Chairman 13.1.1

        That’s assuming I believe they believe it, which of course is irrelevant and doesn’t answer the question asked.

        Whether they believe it or not it’s what they often tout and advocate.

        We are now seeing similar happening to the Greens with the departure of Norman.

        • One Anonymous Bloke 13.1.1.1

          Well, you asked “why is it often assumed…?”

          If you think they don’t believe it the answer to the question is pretty obvious: they’re acting in bad faith, with who knows what motive – and I can think of a few.

          • The Chairman 13.1.1.1.1

            If acting in bad faith is the answer, why is Labour taking the advice on board ?

            • One Anonymous Bloke 13.1.1.1.1.1

              Who says Labour’s taking the advice on board? On any given day, you’ll find everyone from John Key to John Armstrong to Matthew Hooton to Gosman to Fisiani to Redbaiter offering “advice” to the Left, not to mention a steaming pile of beige banalities from wannabes.

              If you think Labour has moved to the Right make your case. If you think they’ve done so on the advice of tr*lls, salaried or otherwise, I think you may be wrong 😉

              • adam

                One Anonymous Bloke, I believe labour don’t have to track to the right. They are right. If we measure a party on the most important issue – political economy – Labour is a right wing party. No tracking needed, just a bunch of fluff, some pretty pictures, and bang – the left can get fooled again – or is that stabbed in the back again, by these traitorous lovers of liberalism.

                • One Anonymous Bloke

                  There are lots of different ways to look at that: on the one hand Lab6 will be farther to the left than Lab4, so clearly they’ve tracked left in the meantime. How “Liberal” is Kiwibank or WFF?

                  On the other hand some cynics say that the Sheeple are like a metronome with a decadal pulse, which implies that all you need to get reelected is to wait your turn irrespective of policy.

                  Still others that the media controls the narrative, or that possible narratives are controlled by other external factors, or that Labour represents a marriage between pragmatism and principle.

                  Reality is somewhere in all of that. Labour are to the right of me, I know that much.

                  • adam

                    But Franco could have been considered left of Mussolini. Still didn’t make Franco a left winger.

                    What worries me, and always worries me – is that we will be feed fluff again, lies again and told this or that is left wing – when in reality it is not. Kiwibank is still a part of liberalism and fits a liberal approach to economics. Working for families – again, still part of a liberal economic approach – no matter how much the right in this country may want to call it communism. Both help working people, and don’t get me wrong, this is a good thing – but both are a good fit with liberal economics – which essentially is a nightmare for working people.

                    I’m not convinced labour can do anything fundamentally good for working people. They have sucked from the sewer of liberalism for so long – they just can’t change people lives for the better.

              • The Chairman

                Labour’s appeal to SMEs of late clearly implies a further re-positioning to the right.

                I’d point to new policy, but it’s yet to be announced.

                But Adam is correct. Labour are most closely aligned with National.

                Kiwibank was a product of Alliance and WFF is an employer subsidy, aiding business while keeping wage demand down.

                • One Anonymous Bloke

                  Replying to both Adam & TC:

                  There’s little I’d disagree with in either of these comments. I think good solutions to the problem are to be found in the question “what are the possible* narratives” – and what are the forces that shape them?

                  Much beyond that is infertile territory for public discussion – as eloquently articulated by Pascal’s Bookie recently.

                  *electable, for example.

  14. The Chairman 14

    Jacinda Ardern says Mr Little’s speech was a “vision for where Labour wants to go and he couldn’t be expected to come out with the nitty-gritty of policy -TV3.

    Meanwhile, while the aspiration desired was widely accepted, aspirations mean little if they can’t be seen to be achieved. Therefore, many were left asking how will these aspirations be fulfilled? Thus, wanted to hear the nitty-gritty.

    With a number from Labour recently laying the election loss on voters not understanding their policy, one would think policy would be clear and at the forefront this time around.

    • Colonial Rawshark 14.1

      Labour has fucking shitloads of policy detail. At the last two elections Labour issued a magnitude more policy than National did. However it is Labour’s credibility, sincerity and unity which has torpedoed them time and time again.

      • The Chairman 14.1.1

        Yes, they do have policy. A number of which wasn’t well liked.

        But as far as their new vision goes, the policy detail was lacking.

        Perhaps they know that will also be widely disliked, thus are largely trying to get through on rhetoric?

        The speech got attention, thus it was a failed opportunity to get the policy across. If they really wanted to put it out there that is.

        • Colonial Rawshark 14.1.1.1

          Fair enough.

          At a macro level, creating jobs is easy. You have to spend into the economy. After that point you only need to decide: how to fund the spending (in our current system you have to have a mix of debt and taxes), what proportion of public/private spending you want, and what exactly is going to be invested in.

          • The Chairman 14.1.1.1.1

            How will the money be spent into the economy?

            And what safeguards will ensure that expenditure results well paid jobs, let alone creates new jobs?

  15. Colonial Rawshark 15

    As did the Labour leaders before him, who all produced surplus budget policies.

    Government budget surpluses are a major mistake for a nation which suffers from chronic current account deficit. Labour still doesn’t appear to understand this.

    Insisting on a government budget surplus means that the government will force the private sector, especially households, into a deficit position.

    In other words, a government budget surplus means that it is extracting more money out of the NZ economy than it is putting in. And because the current account is in deficit (money is being lost overseas) it means the domestic private sector will be the big loser.

  16. Penny Bright 16

    I was VERY involved in the Engineers Union in the 1970s / 1980 – 1981, was Vice-President of the Wairarapa Trades Council, and knew Ken Douglas from those ‘olden days’ – when he, in my considered opinion, was an advocate for working people – not the corporate 1%.

    Penny Bright

    http://www.pennybright4mayor.org.nz

  17. A Voter 17

    Dont you get tired of someone who has raised the national debt to the level and more of prior to Helen Clarkes govt and blaming it on the global recession ,falling dairy prices, increasing av oil prices,etc
    WHEN it is the chronic adherence to trad Tory concepts, hatred of socialism ,depowering the masses , involving the country in wars that are none of our business even to the point that military leaders of our country get to influence the policy of the elected govt by declaring media cannot be dissenting in their publishing information about the activities of the govt and its allies, also eavesdrops on everyones private communications and lies to the nation that it happens
    Selling the govt assets to feed the rich under the guise that trickle down will eventually raise the standards of all
    Well fuck you Key and all who swear allegiance to your self serving govt
    you are the worst that has happened to NZ on a par with Sid Holland
    You are a fascist or a bloody Zionist take your pick or add them together
    pretty much sums you up
    GO gettum Andrew and teach him a lesson about ethics that he wont forget

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

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 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
    9 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
    10 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
    23 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
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