Media roundup

Written By: - Date published: 7:42 am, September 16th, 2014 - 64 comments
Categories: accountability, International, Media, Spying - Tags: , , ,

NZ Media has got the message, leading with coverage of the Greenwald / Snowden evidence of mass surveillance of New Zealanders, and the surprise revelation of two US “spy bases” in NZ.

Best coverage so far from Andrea Vance (who has done excellent work over years on GCSB / spying related issues). Today:

‘Moment of truth’ – do believe the hype

When people tell you the “moment of truth” was an anti-climax, a fizzer, a nothing – don’t believe them.

Edward’s Snowden’s appearance, by livestream, in the Auckland Town Hall last night was remarkable. It had nothing to do with Kim Dotcom’s spurious claims about a Hollywood plot. …

Snowden says New Zealand had access to X-KEYSCORE, the data harvesting programme at the centre of the global spying scandal which his whistle-blowing sparked last year. Not only that, but the Government Communications Security Bureau contributed to its development and expansion.

Snowden also says the NSA operates a facility in Auckland. None of Snowden’s previous disclosures about the US, Canada, Australia and Britain have been disputed.

His assertions came after journalist Glenn Greenwald published details of Project Spearhead – GCSB’s masterplan for mass surveillance. He backed up his reporting with NSA documents showing the operation was underway, and US and New Zealand spies were waiting for domestic legislation to complete the project.

In his captivating broadcast, Snowden raised two extremely important questions. Firstly, why did Key not make details of Project Spearhead public during the public debate about the new spying laws? That trashes Key’s claims about enhanced transparency on intelligence and security issues.

Secondly – and this is the point which demolishes Key’s counter attacks this week – why was the GCSB planning (and partly implementing) a programme of mass surveillance when it would have been illegal? For the GCSB/NSA proposals to get off the ground, the agencies needed that law reform. ….

Snowden’s bombshell was not about Speargun, or Cortex (the cyber-protection scheme Key says GCSB now deploys). It was about X-KEYSCORE. And the onus is now on Key to explain how that does not amount to wholesale spying.

Where some media are falling down, in my opinion, is in portraying Key’s release of previously classified documents as “setting the record straight”. It isn’t, it’s a distraction (CORTEX) that in the big picture is relevant to the interpretation of the new GCSB legislation, but has no bearing on the main revelations (Speargun, XKEYSCORE).

For NZ media coverage see also:
As it happened: Kim Dotcom’s ‘Moment of Truth’
US spies have two bases in New Zealand: Snowden
US spy base in NZ?
Greens: Key must ‘come clean’ on XKeyscore
Snowden: NSA has facility in New Zealand
Project SPEARGUN underway

Some international coverage:
The Sydney Morning Herald: “Edward Snowden reveals tapping of major Australia-New Zealand undersea telecommunications cable”,
The Wall Street Journal: “Edward Snowden Accuses New Zealand Leader of Deception Over Surveillance”,
The Guardian: Kim Dotcom accuses New Zealand government of mass spying,
ABC News: Snowden: NSA Collects Mass Data on New Zealanders
CNN: Snowden, Assange, Greenwald, Dotcom: Can this gang of four take down a PM?

The Guardian: Greenwald, Dotcom, Snowden and Assange take on ‘adolescent’ John Key

Please anyone add to the list above or in comments.

Update: Video of the event here…

64 comments on “Media roundup ”

  1. Tracey 1

    EXACTLY

    This is my intial take on Key’s documents

    So thrilled to someone else, if not the media picking up that CORTEX was only being talked about from December 2013.

    Those papers, from my (admittedly) quick reading do NOT state that mass surveillance had not happened before that time and would not happen.

    It appeared that CORTEX and its formation as a “business case” was authroised by PM in December 2013….

    On 3 April 2012 an Option 1 and Option 2 (the later included Option one) were explored with Option 2 the preference. Option 1 would provide “an automated investigative capability” and an “effects” defence option” – not explained in the documents.

    Option one was at that time agreed for implementation

    If “an automated investigative capability” refers to X-KEYSCORE then mass surveillance was implemented on NZers in 2012 or 2013?

    Also agreed for implementation was “directing NCPO to work with the GCSB and other agencies on any wider cyber security policy issues” related to Option 2

    Option 2 required a business case in 2013

    2 September 2013 Cabinet rescinded the decision for a developed business plan for Option 2.

    That suggests between January 2013 and September 2013 the GCSB was developing a business case for option 2 because they could not know the decision would later be rescinded?

    Wouldn’t it be cool if the PM had released the plan they had put together for option 2 as of that date. No security issues around it cos we werent going to use it, right?

    Oh and don’t you all feel reassured that both Collins and Banks were at the meeting to discuss and assess all this?

    meanwhile in another world

    “Edward Snowden is a hero in my eyes, not a villain. He sacrificed his life as he knew it for the public good by stealing thousands of documents as evidence of what the NSA and other spy agencies were doing. From exile in Russia, few could disagree with his views on mass surveillance: it’s okay only with democratic consent.

    But he has not provided evidence beyond circumstantial that the GCSB is actually conducting mass surveillance on New Zealanders. He is really saying, trust me.

    If it’s not good enough for Key to say it over the GCSB, it’s not good enough for Snowden. Show me the evidence.” Audrey Young

    She needs to listen again, read John Key’s documents again, engage her investigative mind and write a new column. Her hero even gave her a list of questions to ask.

  2. Tiger Mountain 2

    It took a group of pros to show the local journos how to do their jobs last night.

    Whether many if any will now start consistently doing it is an entirely different matter.

    While I can be disparaging about these people they have contributed to what was and still could be a stolen election. Giving ShonKey a free ride at the least for their media masters and in some cases being directly involved in the dirty tricks by turning tip based OIA based stories around in milliseconds to try and stitch up opposition politicians and activists.

    • Tracey 2.1

      The proof is in the questions those journalists asked being about DotCom’s smoking gun and not a focus on what they had been told and shown. had ANY of them read or understood the documents Key released? Had they jotted down a wee timeline as they read key’s documents? If they had, as they listened to snowden and greenwald they would have started to notice interesting stuff…

      BUT instead they were just gleeful that because Warners said “it’s a fake”, DotCom had “lost”

    • Sheryl J 2.2

      Yes Tiger Mountain, “It took a group of pros to show the local journos how to do their jobs last night.”

      What a privilege it was to listen to well-informed, articulate, and courageous people speak out on our behalf and do the job that our own woeful journalists should have been doing all this time!

      • Rosie 2.2.1

        + 100 Tiger Mountain, Tracey and Sheryl J.

        I bet there were journalists squirming in their seats last night. Greenwald should be an example and a hero to them.

        • blue leopard 2.2.1.1

          +200

        • Richard Christie 2.2.1.2

          Greenwald should be an example and a hero to them.

          Except that they, all the Gowers and Jonolists, will hate him, for showing them up as the incompetent, bought and paid-for stooges that they are.

          • Tracey 2.2.1.2.1

            some light amidst the darks elf interest of journalists

            “Last week I resigned from my regular Friday morning slot on NewstalkZB, which I have been doing for 15 years, because I didn’t want to be on the same platform as Cameron Slater, another commentator on the station, while there are allegations that his views involve cash for comment.

            I’m all for free speech when there are genuinely held views, but I believe that if you are paid to express them by big industry or politicians with an agenda, that is not fair.

            Over the years I have been writing Wendyl Wants to Know for the Herald, I have been offered many incentives to write nice things about processed foods for food producers. I have turned them all down because my readers have to trust me. Objectivity is the first rule of journalism.” Wendyl Nssen

            • yeshe 2.2.1.2.1.1

              many a true word printed with typo …

              ‘some light amidst the darks elf interest of journalists’

              superb visual, thx Tracey !

              and kudos to Wendyl in this instance — and let’s remember she only ever published photos from hidden cameras of celebrities canoodling in secret when she could prove they were celebrities canoodling in secret, when she was editor of Women’s Day.

  3. Tracey 3

    from Gordon Campbell

    “Footnote: Since our Prime Minister has been willing to use character assassination as his first line of defence, it’s worth pointing out that Glenn Greenwald has had an international reputation for accuracy and honesty that far transcends his current relationship with Kim Dotcom. It was because of Greenwald’s reputation and expertise on security issues that Edward Snowden contacted him to release the information that has been crucial to the public’s understanding of the systems of global surveillance. Greenwald brokered the release of that information with the Guardian – arguably the world’s best newspaper – and has since been hired by the Guardian as a regular columnist.

    Another heavyweight in the country this week is the international lawyer Robert Amsterdam, now on Dotcom’s legal defence team. Previously, Amsterdam was the main legal advocate for the now-freed Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky. More recently, Amsterdam has represented Thailand’s former leader Thaksin Shinawatra – and also spoken out on behalf of the government of his sister Yingluck Shinawatra, who was recently deposed by anti-democratic forces, via a military coup. It may suit Key to try and depict such people as lackeys of Dotcom. In fact, we’re fortunate to have people of such calibre in the country at all, to debate matters of personal freedom and national independence on the eve of an election.”

    • Rich 3.1

      The Shinawatras are hardly democrats, in fact they seem to be rather corrupt, that deal with the telecom in Thailand shows that clearly. I’m also not sure that I like the idea that his biggest claim to fame seems to be dealing to the UN.

      Has he supported any progressive entities?

  4. rich the other 4

    Sorry but for me , no surprises and no concerns about any of this .
    What is truly surprising , Assange and Snowden have been releasing information for the last couple of years , the damage they have managed to inflict on any country or politician is almost nil .
    This is a good result for the free world , their lack of success in undermining anything or anyone can give us confidence that the free world operates in a much cleaner fashion than some would have us believe .

    • framu 4.1

      never mind that everything snowden and greenwald have exposed has turned out to be true

      I fail to see how our failure to hold our leaders to account once exposed is a good result for anyone except for those that have escaped punishment

      but yes – were sorry for you as well

    • Tracey 4.2

      we have a freer world by thinking we are freer when we are actually closely watched…. ohaaaaaay

      makes you wonder why John Key didnt trumpet that last year by saying there was aplan from our allies to spy on you all, but I said to quote Amy Winefield “No, no no!”

      But he didnt. We know it’s not cos he believes in keeping security issues secret…

      They tried to make me spy on my people but I said, ‘No, no, no.’
      Yes, I’d been planning to but what would happen if you knew, knew, knew
      I have got the lines and if Obama thinks I’m fine
      He’s tried to make me probe you but I said no, no, no.

      thought I’d found a way for sure
      even changed the law
      ‘Cause there’s nothing
      nothing you can do t’ stop me
      That I can’t lie my way through

      They tried to make me spy on my people but I said, ‘No, no, no.’
      Yes, I’d been planning to but what would happen if you knew, knew, knew
      I have got the lines and if Obama thinks I’m fine
      He’s tried to make me probe you but I said no, no, no.

      The man said, ‘Why do you keep lying here?’
      I said, ‘I got no idea
      I’m gonna, I’m gonna get my knighthood
      So I always keep Slater near.’
      He said, ‘I just think you’re the best,
      I said post for me to pass the test’

      They tried to make me spy on my people but I said, ‘No, no, no.’
      Yes, I’d been planning to but what would happen if you knew, knew, knew
      I have got the lines and if Obama thinks I’m fine
      He’s tried to make me probe you but I said no, no, no.

      I don’t want them to think again
      I just, need to delude them
      I’m gonna change their minds
      Everytime I change my lines

      They tried to make me spy on my people but I said, ‘No, no, no.’
      Yes, I’d been planning to but what would happen if you knew, knew, knew
      I have got the lines and if Obama thinks I’m fine
      He’s tried to make me probe you but I said no, no, no.

  5. fambo 5

    Good to see all this is finally getting some international coverage

  6. karol 6

    Keith Ng’s analysis is excellent on the differences between CORTEX and SPEARGUN – totally different systems in different locations – the first is with businesses and IPs and the 2nd sits on major network pathways.

    Agree with him about the email, too.

    The greens and Norman have come out with a very quick and excellent response. It shows why we need a strong Green Party in the House to continue to press for a change in the way things like state surveillance are done.

    From the above linked 3 News article on Norman’s response.

    The Green Party is calling for the Prime Minister to be truthful about the use of surveillance programme XKeyscore following revelations of mass surveillance last night.
    […]
    Greens co-leader Russel Norman says John Key needs to explain whether or not and to what extent the programme is being used in New Zealand.
    “Prime Minister John Key has no choice but to start answering questions about what it means for New Zealand to be a member of the Five Eyes network, and what the specifics of the Five-Eyes spying is.”
    He says Mr Key’s releasing of the documents and explanations so far have been a “red herring”.
    “What he must come clean on is XKeyscore and declassify all information relating to it.”
    “The one thing that needs protection is New Zealanders’ privacy and rights. It is critical there is a public debate and public acceptance of this kind of mass surveillance before it is done. It cannot be secretly imposed on us.”
    He says New Zealanders have the right to know what the country’s spy agencies do and what it means for private information.

    • fambo 6.1

      I’m always amazed by just how fast the Green Party gets out excellent press releases on virtually every issue of the day, often barely an hour or two.

      • Rich 6.1.1

        This is not a new issue for the Greens, though. They’ve had plenty of time to think about it.

        • karol 6.1.1.1

          Agree, Rich. And ditto for issues related to child poverty, fair employment laws, etc. This shows their readiness to take a strong position in government. They have well worked out policies and positions, based on solid values. The have experienced people able to respond well and consistently to new events and situations as they arise.

  7. Jeeves Ponzi 7

    For what it’s worth….

    I listened as intently as I could, particularly to the young Snowden, who I trust completely.
    I don’t recall him saying there were two secret bases run by Americans in NZ.

    My impression was that there are two junctions/nodes/processors within NZ ( I assume Tangimoana and Waihopai) which form part of a network and which the NSA can extract data.

    The MSM are alive this morning with propogating an easily refutable and false conspiracy- and we do this again and again-

    He mentioned there was ‘one’ in Auckland and one ‘farther north’- but I think as a young American he probably mistook Wellington for Auckland- and was referring to Tangimoana. Also he seemed to mistakenly refer to the NSA at times instead of the GCSB.
    Greenwald at times referred to our ‘President’ and ‘Congress’ – but we all know what he meant-

    Can somebody please post the actual transcript of his ( Snowden)specific statement ??

    Just like with Hager’s book I find myself shouting at the radio ; “He never said that!!!”

    • @ jeeves..

      ..”..I don’t recall him saying there were two secret bases run by Americans in NZ…”

      well..he did say it..

      …can i suggest you go and watch it online..?

      ..if still in any doubt..

      • yeshe 7.1.1

        phillip .. r u certain the word he used was ‘bases’ ? and didn’t he say NSA rather than Americans ? ( and yes, I will go back and listen)

        Don’t think what he mentions are required to be identifiable satellite stations .. maybe more like secure rooms with staff of one or two or three ?

        Paul Buchanan on TVNZ this am suggested one could be a room at the Akld US Consulate …

      • Jeeves Ponzi 7.1.2

        @ P Ure –

        ….”But you know there are actually NSA facilities in NZ that the GCSB is aware of … and one of them is in Auckland. Another one is in the north of the country … I’ll leave it there.”….

        ….”When I’m typing in this search, I say where in the world, which sensor I want it to go to. I know there is mass surveillance in NZ, because one of those sensor networks is in NZ.”….

        Point taken @ P Ure
        – but in the context of ‘internet/information/metadaa’ etc
        – the term ‘NSA facility’ may mean nothing more than a junction box.

        Or in fact less than that- it may refer to a “sensor” point.

        I’m not suggesting this is ‘better’ than “secret American bases”-
        But it is a significantly different picture- and deniable on a whole different level.

        So again- for what it’s worth- I still don’t recall him saying there were “two secret bases run by Americans in NZ”

        Does anyone have a different transcript to the one I’ve given?

        Some of the MSM are busy this morning propogating the idea that there are big grey bruildings in the bush in west Auckland full of khaki clad young American busy spying on us…. This will be painted by Government as a loony and laughable conspiracy being put about by Snowden and Dotcom—-

        But again I am screaming at the radio – “He never said that !!!”

        Am I still wrong?

        • phillip ure 7.1.2.1

          isn’t the point of this news the fact that america has two ‘bases’/’facilities’/’rooms in embassies’..

          ..whatever you want to call them..whatever they are..

          ..it’s what they do that matters..surely..?

          ..and it was quite chilling last nite when snowden talked about how he could with ease read emails/txts etc of new zealanders..from his workstation in hawaii..

          ..so this is what they do/are doing..

          .spin john..spin..

          ..see john spin..

    • Rich 7.2

      He did say that, but in the north of the country which is where Auckland is by my reckoning, which is a little strange, maybe he meant the north of the South Island?

    • karol 7.3

      Snowden used the word “facility” not base. He specified one was in Auckland – I would have thought the specific name of the location was one that he knew the facility by when working for the NSA.

      The other in the “North of the country” could probably be anywhere in the North island.

      The name Pakiri came to my mind as it had a WWII radar station there. However, i think it is now defunct.

      Has there ever been an undersea cable bringing telegraph into that region in the history of the coast from Mangawhai down to the North Shore?

      • Jeeves Ponzi 7.3.1

        THanks for that- and remember when you get an overdraft at the bank – they call it an ‘overdraft facility’
        – it doesn’t mean a shed full of money and a guy sitting there in a Westpac uniform.

    • freedom 7.4

      if you zoom in on NZ you will see the ‘new’ cable that is meant to go live 2015/16 is based well north of Auckland. What exists there right now is anyone’s guess
      http://www.submarinecablemap.com/#/

  8. Tautoko Viper 8

    Although Robert Amsterdam’s speech last night was less significant than Greenwald’s and Snowden’s. there were a few key points which need to be heeded.
    The most immediate threat for NZ is the John Key Government-backed TPP/TPPA and how it will undermine the sovereignty of this country: this point has been picked up by RNZ in the discussion of how El Salvador is being sued by OceanaGold, who also mine in NZ. If the TPP to be signed by NZ contains an Investor-State Disputes Settlement system, then NZ will be laying itself open to similar lawsuits.
    http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/20149780

    A vote for John Key and National is a vote against the rights of this country to make its own laws in the best interests of NZ citizens.

    A vote for National and TPP is giving large corporations a “legal” platform from which they can bully NZ and ride roughshod over many laws that NZers would like to make in order to protect the environment and the health and well being of our citizens.

    • yeshe 8.1

      agreed TV .. but who has said they will not sign TPPA ?

      Greens ? IPM? and ?

      • Tautoko Viper 8.1.1

        Good point, yeshe.
        Labour need to say that they will not sign anything with an Investor- State Dispute Settlement system in a clearer way.
        This is in the
        Labour Party TPPA remit as passed
        http://www.itsourfuture.org.nz/labour-party-tppa-remit-as-passed/

        Remit 35: Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement

        c) Does not give overseas investors or suppliers any greater rights than domestic investors and suppliers, such as Investor-State Dispute Settlement, or reduce our ability to control overseas investment or finance;

        • Tracey 8.1.1.1

          Goff on behalf of Cunliffe has NOT said they wont sign it just that they think it should be looked at beforehand

  9. adam 9

    What disturbed me was the body language of some of the journalist. I think many had made up their minds, before they had heard what was said – armstrong being the prime example. In the snippets I’ve seen of the post presentation press conference, again some journalists were out there on their own waka. I think John A Lee said it best – paraphrasing – the media is not the friend of the working stiff, it’s got too many interests to support.

    • Richard Christie 9.1

      armstrong being the prime example

      yeah, to be expected, the NZ Herald just functions as Cameron Slater’s drop box and laundry service.

  10. yeshe 10

    So much going on, but maybe worth noting that yesterday afternoon in the High Court, Paul Davison QC for KDC proposed to the court the political interference of Key in granting residency for the purpose of KDC’s extradition.

    Isn’t this new info/evidence?

    And is it maybe why ‘the’ email was not fronted last night, but referred instead to the Parliamentary Privileges Ctte for investigation ? What does entering it into evidence mean I wonder ?

    I saw it on a news bulletin last night, but can’t find the link .. but what I saw was Davison himself raising what certainly seemed to be a fresh theory/evidence as far as NZ High Court is concerned ?

    Stuff has some of it …

    “His client believed the documents would show immigration delayed their decision on his residency in order to make it easier for the US to extradite him to face piracy and copyright infringement changes.”

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/10500925/Dotcoms-residency-fight-back-in-court

    • karol 10.1

      Thanks for that link, yeshe.

      I had thought that KDC had made the argument before about being set up for extradition by being granted residency in NZ. But am not sure if it was mentioned in court before.

      Basically KDC’s defence have said that they need more data released to them so they can prepare their case – this resulted in the case being delayed til February: July NBR article.

      This morning on Firstline Laila Harre supported the email evidence:

      Internet Party leader Laila Harre says she has “no doubt at all” an email that appears to show Prime Minister John Key has been lying about his involvement in Kim Dotcom’s residency and extradition is genuine.
      […]
      “The email that was published in the New Zealand Herald [yesterday] provides evidence, very clear evidence, that the Prime Minister did know about the existence of Kim Dotcom, and more than that, that he was involved very intimately in the process of this case,” Ms Harre said on Firstline this morning.

      Dotcom was expected to reveal evidence last night at his Moment of Truth event proving the email was real, but nothing came.

      “There was very clear legal advice on this issue to Kim – the strong advice to him was to make sure that this evidence was put before a proper judicial process. That is what Parliament’s privileges committee is. He followed the advice rather than his gut instinct to share everything publicly yesterday,” says Ms Harre.

      I am still puzzled as to why KDC didn’t have legal advice on the email well before yesterday. KDC has been claiming for a long time that he has evidence Key lied.

      • yeshe 10.1.1

        Karol … possibly this ’email’ is not the evidence KDC has always claimed to have ? Just an idea. It is puzzling, as you say.

        But methinks something very shrewd happened yesterday , but just not sure exactly what at this stage !

        1. Introduction of it into evidence at High Court ( at least in theory, can’t find if it was ‘the’ actual email)

        2. ‘The’ email was not referred to the Speaker as some reported ( Fat Chance Carter), but Hone Harawira has taken it to the Parliament Privileges Ctte which surely means it can not be made to disappear and evidence of its probity will be properly gathered.

        3. KDC said last night that Key would be given right of due process which was something Key had denied to him.

        Tracey and Micky posted about the High Court yesterday .. hopefully they will see these posts and add their fine minds.

    • Tracey 10.2

      entering it into evidence means that it is put to the Court as evidence of whatever it is said to prove and becomes part of the record of the Court and documents for the Judge to consider in coming to a decision.

      To my knowledge the political interference has been mentioned in Court before yesterday but this email was not.

      • yeshe 10.2.1

        thx Tracey .. and second day of hearing today …

        • yeshe 10.2.1.1

          @Tracey and Karol … this from today before court … fascinating to me …

          Speaking to the media outside court, Kim Dotcom’s lawyer Paul Davison says they have presented evidence of a meeting four years ago between Mr Key and the Chief Executive of Warner Brothers.

          “There was a meeting back in October 2010 attended by the senior people of immigration of New Zealand and the Minister of Immigration,” Mr Davison says.

          “But that’s as far as the evidence goes at this stage.”

          The elusive Warner Brothers email won’t be part of any evidence presented today.

          http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/dotcom-s-lawyers-back-in-court-6082608

  11. dave 11

    I think it was privilege to hear from such learned people god I hope key falls this weekend the last 6 years have just one big lie rock star economy to this and dirty politics key is out of control

    • yeshe 11.1

      It was almost as if our media had been summoned before the erudite and eloquent Deans of Faculty and found wanting in their exam results !!

  12. ewingsc 12

    New Zealand ~ Who’s Running The Show & In Whose Interests?

    https://vimeo.com/106165738

  13. yeshe 13

    Toby Manhire tweet … wonder who ?

    Toby Manhire ‏@toby_etc 1h
    @gtiso worth noting that a number of NZ senior journalists (I know of at least three) were actively trying to collaborate with Greenwald

  14. Iron Sky 14

    Other world wide: Articles about The Moment of Truth

    Note, use different search engines. Note was not conducted in any other language

    http://time.com/3377692/snowden-nsa-new-zealand/

    http://www.ketknbc.com/news/snowden-assange-greenwald-dotcom-can-this-gang-of

    http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/09/15/edward-snowden-says-nsa-is-collecting-mass-surveillance-data-on-new-zealanders/

    http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-edward-snowden-new-zealand-mass-surveillance-20140915-story.html

    Note the right wing nature of most of these publications….

    They are on the ball in terms of timing

  15. Sable 15

    It was refreshing to see a real journalist in action on The Moment of Truth not the mostly right wing, biased muppets, we have inflicted upon us in this country.

    Still the reality is the job of reporting on the fabulous work of these dedicated people falls to media organisations who are in my opinion in many cases nothing less than scribes for this shady government. You can hardly expect an accurate, objective outcome.

  16. yeshe 16

    This tale of two men .. from a comment on Stuff, but it’s worth a post here imo .. from SJDjack:

    “One, a large German made his wealth rather innocuously in the field of file sharing & the internet. It is yet to be proved that what he did was illegal & the ramifications were the possible diluting of several multinational media companies profits & consequently that of their generally wealthy shareholders.

    For this he has been arrested, imprisoned, vilified, abused & insulted by the government of the country he has chosen to call his home.

    The other man, an NZer, made his vast fortune as a derivatives & money trader. Working mainly on Wall Street he was employed by the company that ultimately precipitated the huge financial collapse that bought ruin to millions of people who lost their savings, investment & future.

    At the time the derivatives trading they carried out was considered illegal.

    This company morphed into The Bank of America, in which John Key still has large investments & to which NZ owes vast amounts of money by way of loans.

    One man is portrayed as a conspirator who is intent on destabilizing the government & disrupting the peaceful lives of our citizens; the other portrayed as the smiling face & much admired leader of the current government that is pursuing the intruder.

    As I watch this bizarre interaction unfold I hope for a clear & complete resolution so that a return to transparent, honest, compassionate & inclusive government for the people of Aotearoa might begin.”

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    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
    3 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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
    7 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
    8 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
    11 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
    22 hours 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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 ...
    1 day 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 ...
    1 day 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
    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
    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
    2 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    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
    3 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
    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
    4 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
    4 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
  • Two bar blues
    The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • AT Need To Lift Their Game
    Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
    6 days ago
  • Christopher's Whopper.
    Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    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
    4 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
    6 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
    7 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
    20 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
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