Most allegations against Julian Assange dropped

Written By: - Date published: 6:39 pm, August 18th, 2015 - 94 comments
Categories: Abuse of power, colonialism, democracy under attack, Europe, human rights, International, patriarchy, uk politics, us politics, you couldn't make this shit up - Tags: , , ,

I’ve always considered the handling of Julian Assange’s case by the Swedish and UK authorities as being politically motivated in the extreme. LPrent voiced the very same suspicion about the Swedish prosecutor Marianne Ny way back in 2010 and that has been the way things have played out. The idea has been to make an example out of Assange and to demonstrate how miserable life can quickly become for you if you cross the elite establishment as a whistleblower. Now we learn that Swedish prosecutors have let most of the allegations against Assange drift past the statute of limitations where they must be dropped.

Swedish prosecutors on Thursday officially dropped their investigation into three cases surrounding WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, according to a report from Agence France-Presse.

The charges being dropped involve one count of sexual assault and one count of unlawful coercion, according to reports. Swedish law stipulates that suspects must be questioned before the statute of limitations expires, otherwise they can no longer be charged for the crimes. Prosecutors had until Thursday to bring charges against Assange.

To be very clear, Assange and the Ecuadorans have left an open invitation to Swedish authorities to question him in the UK, for years now:

Ecuador 1

The fact that Swedish authorities never did, but instead allowed the allegations to legally expire, suggests to me that the prosecution had insufficient grounds or perhaps motivation, to proceed with from the very start.

This now means that there has been no justice for anyone: not for Assange who has been trapped in an office building for 5 years, nor for the female complainants in Sweden. The most serious charge of rape against Assange still stands because the statue of limitations on that allegation is 10 years. But there are few signs that Sweden is moving with any urgency to question Assange on that allegation either. The plan appears to be to simply let Assange rot away in a corner, one day at a time.

Meanwhile it has surfaced that Swedish authorities have questioned 44 other people in the UK during the course of other investigations, during the time of the Assange saga. Just not Assange himself. You cannot make this stuff up.

Meanwhile, UK human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said that by agreeing to interview 44 people in the UK, but not Assange, Sweden was “guilty of double standards and victimization,” adding they are “making an exception of him.”

“It is wrong to deny Assange the option to be interviewed in the UK, which has been extended to others and which he has been offering for five years,” the Press Association cited him as saying.

“The Swedish authorities are not applying the law about overseas interviews consistently and fairly. They are acting in an exceptional and discriminatory way towards Assange. Julian Assange has been in various forms of detention for five years, without ever having been charged with any offence. This amounts to pre-trial punishment and is a gross abuse of his human rights and the legal system.”

As I said, Assange’s case has been managed in an utterly political and cynical manner by the authorities, from the very start.

94 comments on “Most allegations against Julian Assange dropped ”

  1. Tory 1

    Assange is “not trapped”, he can leave at any time.

    • Colonial Viper 1.1

      Yes he can leave for Guantanamo Bay or Fort Bragg, at any time.

      • lurgee 1.1.1

        Nonsense. He was living at an English stately home for months, under orders to report to a police station daily, before he decided he preferred Ecuadorian hospitality. If he was going to bundled into any helicopters and rendered to Bulgaria, it would have been easy enough to do it then.

        Wikileaks has done some useful work but don’t confuse the organisation with the pathetic figure of Assange.

        • Yeah sure, that’s why they spied on the ecuadorian embassy.

          I think the allegations are serious and that there’s legitimate questions to answer, but it’s also ridiculous anyone’s talking about extraditing assange to the USA, too, which seems to be what is behind the attempts to extradite Julian to Sweden.

    • Weepus beard 1.2

      …and walk straight into the 12 million quid police cordon?

  2. Tory 2

    Conspiracy theories are great as you don’t need to supply evidence, just opinion. At the end of the day all will be revealed in 2020, unless Assange chooses to leave before then.

    • Weepus beard 2.1

      What’s happening in 2020? That when you leave primary school?

    • Draco T Bastard 2.2

      The point you seem to be missing is that the evidence that we do have is heavily indicative of an actual conspiracy against Assange.

    • lprent 2.3

      Making up bullshit theories like that is easy as well.

      The US has a strong history of extracting people illegally from other countries and shoving them in front of kangaroo courts or just holding them without any charges or court appearances. They do it with the complicity of gutless idiots like you who tend to regard accusations as being a conviction.

      And could you please be less of a idiot, and actually use the reply button.

    • Colonial Viper 2.4

      can you read? try reading the post and making a relevant comment.

    • Anne 2.5

      Colonial Viper writes a post based on the facts as we know them, and supplies links to back the evidence and Tory mumbles… Conspiracy theories are great as you don’t need to supply evidence, just opinion. The fall back position of mentally challenged ‘tories’ who can’t produce a cogent opposing argument.

  3. Chooky 3

    +100 Good Post…the consensus amongst human right groups and feminists is that he was set up…even the women concerned in Sweden deny making charges he raped them

    …here is Assange interviewed

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX2FDs8zswc

    • just saying 3.1

      i can’t really be bothered – but links for that consensus?
      Also, the charges came from the testimony of the women….
      Still, don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story.

      • Colonial Viper 3.1.1

        just noting that no charges have been laid against Assange by the prosecutor, even after 5 years.

        • just saying 3.1.1.1

          I was asking Chooky to verify two claims s/he made in the above comment.
          No proof has been forthcoming.

          • Chooky 3.1.1.1.1

            @ just saying…where have you been?…certainly NOT following this story

            http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/aug/23/women-against-rape-julian-assange

            http://johnpilger.com/articles/assange-the-untold-story-of-an-epic-struggle-for-justice

            http://johnpilger.com/articles/the-siege-of-julian-assange-is-a-farce-a-special-investigation

            “According to documents released by Snowden, Assange is on a “Manhunt target list”. Washington’s bid to get him, say Australian diplomatic cables, is “unprecedented in scale and nature”. In Alexandria, Virginia, a secret grand jury has spent four years attempting to contrive a crime for which Assange can be prosecuted. This is not easy. The First Amendment to the US Constitution protects publishers, journalists and whistleblowers….

            “One of the women’s messages makes clear that she did not want any charges brought against Assange, “but the police were keen on getting a hold on him”. She was “shocked” when they arrested him because she only “wanted him to take [an HIV] test”. She “did not want to accuse JA of anything” and “it was the police who made up the charges”. (In a witness statement, she is quoted as saying that she had been “railroaded by police and others around her”.)

            Neither woman claimed she had been raped. Indeed, both have denied they were raped and one of them has since tweeted, “I have not been raped.” That they were manipulated by police and their wishes ignored is evident – whatever their lawyers might say now. Certainly, they are victims of a saga worthy of Kafka.

            For Assange, his only trial has been trial by media. On 20 August 2010, the Swedish police opened a “rape investigation” and immediately – and unlawfully – told the Stockholm tabloids that there was a warrant for Assange’s arrest for the “rape of two women”. This was the news that went round the world.

            In Washington, a smiling US Defence Secretary Robert Gates told reporters that the arrest “sounds like good news to me”. Twitter accounts associated with the Pentagon described Assange as a “rapist” and a “fugitive”.

            Less than 24 hours later, the Stockholm Chief Prosecutor, Eva Finne, took over the investigation. She wasted no time in cancelling the arrest warrant, saying, “I don’t believe there is any reason to suspect that he has committed rape.” Four days later, she dismissed the rape investigation altogether, saying, “There is no suspicion of any crime whatsoever.” The file was closed.

            ….Katrin Axelsson and Lisa Longstaff of Women Against Rape wrote: “The allegations against [Assange] are a smokescreen behind which a number of governments are trying to clamp down on WikiLeaks for having audaciously revealed to the public their secret planning of wars and occupations with their attendant rape, murder and destruction… The authorities care so little about violence against women that they manipulate rape allegations at will. [Assange] has made it clear he is available for questioning by the Swedish authorities, in Britain or via Skype. Why are they refusing this essential step in their investigation? What are they afraid of?”

            http://www.rt.com/op-edge/212411-assange-wikileaks-whistleblowers-usa/

            http://johnpilger.com/videos/julian-assange-in-conversation-with-john-pilger

            • just saying 3.1.1.1.1.1

              The articles you have cited were disputed at the TS and many other places at the time (and long afterwards). Feel free to use the search engine.

              Women against rape is a small group and does not constitute anything like a consensus of feminists and human rights groups.

              I think many of us are sick to death of having the same arguments over and over, like some sort of ground-hog day.

              I find it wearying that some of the same people are coming back to make the same arguments, feigning being babes in the woods – as if they had never heard the counterarguments. That strikes me as dishonest. Continue to disagree by all means, but be honest about it.

              • Chooky

                My citations and links speak for themselves and there are many , many others from the women concerned and those others sceptical of the accusations made against Assange

                ….where are your citations ?….you dont have any credible ones…they have all been discredited and that is why you refuse to put them up!….makes me think you are disingenuous and a tr..l

                …interesting that those crying rape against Julian Assange are not the women concerned or feminist groups against rape….but males with a political agenda to get Assange

                …are you putting words and false accusations into these women’s mouths and using them for your own ends?…in which case it is you who are disrespecting, if not abusing, women

                • just saying

                  interesting that those crying rape against Julian Assange are not the women concerned or feminist groups against rape….but males with a political agenda to get Assange
                  LOL

                  The women concerned have not retracted their statements – the statements from which the charges were laid. Of course they are “crying” rape.

                  But I’m not going to bother with what is rape. Google it if you’d like to know

                  • Colonial Rawshark

                    Just noting again that no charges – none at all – have been laid against Assange.

                    • McFlock

                      Only because in Sweden formal charges are laid immediately going before the courts, rather than earlier in the process as under UK law.

                      Assange tried the “no charges have been laid” gambit in his extradition hearings, and the British courts called bullshit on it.

                    • Colonial Rawshark

                      No charges McFlock. And not only that, investigations are now going away too. That’s how politically motivated and hamfisted the Swedish prosecutor has been in her judgement.

                      Time is proving that the original Swedish prosecutor was right in her judgement: Assange has no case to answer to.

                    • McFlock

                      You’re recycling old propaganda:

                      Although it is clear a decision has not been taken to charge him, that is because, under Swedish procedure, that decision is taken at a late stage with the trial following quickly thereafter. In England and Wales, a decision to charge is taken at a very early stage; there can be no doubt that if what Mr Assange had done had been done in England and Wales, he would have been charged and thus criminal proceedings would have been commenced. If the commencement of criminal proceedings were to be viewed in this way, it would be to look at Swedish procedure through the narrowest of eyes. On this basis, criminal proceedings have commenced against Mr Assange.

                      My bold.

                      Your line that there are no charges suggests that there is no case for Assange to answer. This is patently false.

                      The investigations are not “going away”. They are becoming redundant because Assange has purposefully fled justice for longer than the period stipulated in the statute of limitations. This says nothing about the prosecutor, but much about Assange.

                    • Colonial Rawshark

                      And the fierce criticisms of the poor conduct of the Swedish Prosecutor from the Swedish Bar Association, the Swedish Court of Appeals and others, McFlock?

                      Glad you hold the work of the Swedish prosecutor in high esteem though.

                    • McFlock

                      Get all the more fierce whenever you try to change the subject away from your oft-repeated inaccuracies.

                      Maybe Ny should have pursued the case with more alacrity rather than letting him sit in his self-imposed cell. That doesn’t mean there is no case to answer and no substance to the allegations.

                      But then it’s perfectly possible for someone who does good work to also be imperfect and make mistakes.

                    • Colonial Rawshark

                      McFlock, you personally dislike Assange and all that he stands for; I think the criticisms of the Swedish prosecutor by legal authorities in Sweden are well founded and Assange is paying a high price for her lack of “alacrity.”

                      That doesn’t mean there is no case to answer and no substance to the allegations.

                      The case is going away bit by bit.

                      I wouldn’t be surprised if the Swedish prosecutor Ny runs down the clock on the rest of the allegations as well.

                      The first Swedish prosecutor had it right when she decided that Assange had no case to answer.

                    • McFlock

                      you personally dislike Assange and all that he stands for

                      Where do you get that from? I don’t even know the man. And wikileaks has done a tremendous global public service.
                      I just wish he had the integrity to face justice, rather than fleeing to the shelter of America’s closest ally and then jumping bail when he lost the extradition hearing.

                      Ny isn’t the one sitting in an Ecuadorean embassy. Now was Ny the one who demanded a bilateral treaty in order to arrange for the criminal interview of one individual when multiple multilateral treaties already cover the process.

                      I think I read somewhere that the UK is worried they’ll spend another ten million watching a bail-jumper, so might be chalenging the legality of the asylum claim given that the criminal investigation is not political. Assange is obviously set to stay there another five years, otherwise.

                  • les

                    didn’t the Swedish prosecutor say one of the women didn’t know what rape was …because she wasn’t a lawyer!:)

                    • McFlock

                      Don’t think so. Where did you get that tidbit?

                    • les

                      ‘Within days of the chief prosecutor’s dismissal of the case, Borgstrom, a lawyer, announced to the media that he was representing the two women and had sought a different prosecutor in the city of Gothenberg. This was Marianne Ny, whom Borgstrom knew well, personally and politically. – See more at: https://newmatilda.com/2015/07/31/julian-assange-untold-story-epic-struggle-justice#sthash.TwZN0GpV.dpuf

                      ‘Borgstrom was asked by a Swedish reporter why the case was proceeding when it had already been dismissed, citing one of the women as saying she had not been raped. He replied, “Ah, but she is not a lawyer.” Assange’s Australian barrister, James Catlin, responded, “This is a laughing stock… it’s as if they make it up as they go along.” – See more at: https://newmatilda.com/2015/07/31/julian-assange-untold-story-epic-struggle-justice#sthash.TwZN0GpV.dpuf

                    • Tracey

                      I don’t know about Sweden’s Legal system but I know in NZ that victims don’t determine if a charge is laid, the police do, taking into account a number of things from victim’s view to definition’s under the law. perhaps that is what the prosecutor meant (not that I am in her head)

                    • Colonial Rawshark

                      My lawyers in Sweden, Per E. Samuelson and Thomas Olsson, were able to review the phone records that are part of the investigation, including SMS traffic between the two women and between SW and some of the witnesses. My lawyers notified me via email on 8 December 2011 of the content of twenty-two of these messages.109

                      While the younger woman was at the police station on 20 August 2010, her phone records show that she wrote that she:

                      did not want to put any charges on JA but that the police were keen on getting a grip on him (sv: få tag på honom) (14:26);110

                      and that

                      she was “chocked [sic: shocked] when they arrested JA because she only wanted him to take a test (17:06)”.111

                      The woman concerned told a friend that she felt that she had been “railroaded by police and others around her”, according to the latter’s police statement.112

                      According to the younger woman’s phone records, who the ‘rape’ allegation is associated to, she wrote at 07:27 on 21 August 2010 that she

                      “did not want to accuse JA for anything”;

                      and at 22:25 that

                      “it was the police who made up the charges”.113

                      Although the police initially opened an investigation into ‘rape’ in relation to woman AA, there was no allegation in her testimony that she had been raped. She expressed in her statement to the police that she consented to sex (“frivilligt gått med på att ha sex med Assange”) and subsequently tweeted on 22 April in 2013 “I have not been raped”.114

                      This was from an affadavit submitted by Julian Assange and his legal team.

                      https://wikileaks.org/IMG/html/Affidavit_of_Julian_Assange.html#efmNdPNvM

                    • McFlock

                      So no, the prosecutor did not say that.

                    • les

                      no the prosecutor did not actually say that.The lawyer that advocated for Ny to become prosecutor said it.@Tracey ,the Police surely have to determine the likelihood of a prosecution succeeding if a charge is laid on the basis of hard evidence pertaining to a complaint/allegation.

                    • McFlock

                      The women’s own lawyer said that, yes.

                      Of course, maybe the legal definition of rape is not the same as the popular definition in sweden, so it’s perfectly possible for both to be correct. Maybe she thought she could consent to sex while unconscious, or something.

              • One Anonymous Bloke

                +1

  4. McFlock 4

    Hey, those other 44 people interviewed in the UK: how many had diplomats insisting on written terms before a simple interview?

    If Assange wants to confine himself for another five years, who cares. Running to the UK because you’re afraid of rendition is pretty unbelievable, IMO. Germany, France maybe. The USA’s closest ally? yeah, nah.

    edit: BTW, “dropped” is a bit inaccurate. The official investigations have been stopped because he’s waited for the stature of limitations to expire.

    • Colonial Viper 4.1

      the prosecution waited for the statute of limitations to expire. You should be asking why the Swedish Prosecutor made such a huge deal of the case when she re-launched it then sat on her hands waiting for the clock to run down. Then again it was crystal clear back in 2010 that she was acting as if she was politically compromised and had no interest in justice per se.

      Now time has shown that with these allegations she apparently had no real case to proceed with (which by the way is exactly as the original Swedish prosecutor had determined).

      • McFlock 4.1.1

        That’s a lot of tea-leaf reading you have there.

        BTW, how many of those 44 interviews were of people in UK police custody, rather than being sheltered in an embassy?

        • Colonial Viper 4.1.1.1

          i included the diplomatic communique from Ecuador to Sweden, just for you, McFlock. Obviously, the Swedish prosecutor has run the clock down on Assange, while seeing fit to interview dozens of others in the UK during the very same time period.

          Its almost like Swedish authorities travelling to London were instructed NOT to question Assange, even though he was literally just a cab ride away.

          • McFlock 4.1.1.1.1

            Almost but not quite.

            Protip: nonsensical demands are not a sign of diplomatic good faith.

            • Pascals bookie 4.1.1.1.1.1

              Oh, weird how that wasn’t in the OP.

              • Colonial Viper

                thats just the Swedes making last moment noises with no evidence, to save face on their many years of compounding prosecutorial errors.

                Julian Assange has never, and would never seek, asylum in Sweden because he views that country as being thoroughly under US influence with a politically compromised legal system.

                • Pascals bookie

                  Funny how the Ecuadorian Embassy had no comment to rebut it then. I guess rt news is more reliable than Reuters?

                  • Colonial Viper

                    i have no doubt Reuters correctly reproduced what the Swedish official claimed.

                    • Pascals bookie

                      Why no rebuttal though? If it’s just spin, and the Embassy didn’t turn the prosecutor away, why the silence about it?

                    • Colonial Rawshark

                      Reuters didn’t do any independent fact checking of the Swedish claims – they just repeated them.

                      As for Ecuador – why would they play games of megaphone tag in the media with Sweden, which appears desperate to save face on their 5 year prosecutorial fuck up.

                  • Arbed

                    Ecuador did make a rebuttal, a very strong one.

                    http://www.cancilleria.gob.ec/deputy-foreign-minister-xavier-lasso-rejects-statements-made-by-british-minister-swire/

                    Assange had agreed in April interview dates of 17/18 June. However, the Swedish prosecutor sent her formal request to Ecuador to enter its embassy and use its premises on 12 June, at 17:35 after the working day was over. Following the weekend, this gave Ecuador 2 days in which to process it. The prosecutor knew on 16 June that the formal permission was not yet in place. We know all this because the correspondence between the prosecutor and Assange’s defence team and between Ny and Ecuador has been released under FOIA requests:

                    http://www.scribd.com/doc/272977456/Assange-Marianne-Ny-Undermattan-2015-4
                    (as you can see, she is trying to set all sorts of obstructive pre-conditions, ie. wanting a 2nd DNA sample instead of using the one held on the UK’s database since Assange was arrested in December 2010)

                    Despite the fact she knew her request to Ecuador had been too late, she decided to send a junior prosecutor anyway, together with tipping off a photographer from Swedish tabloid Expressen to capture the moment her junior was “turned away”. Things didn’t go according to Ny’s plan, however:

                    https://justice4assange.com/Prosecutor-cancels-Assange-meeting.html

                    Eyewitness account of the Expressen paparazzi photographer: http://wiseupaction.info/2015/07/16/sweden-fails-to-call-another-chapter-in-the-pre-trial-punishment-of-julian-assange/

                    She herself had booked a long holiday beginning 18 June and not returning to work until 8 July (although her spokesman in Sweden was claiming she was still on holiday and unavailable to comment on 24 July). What sort of prosecutor books herself a 5-week holiday if she knows the statute of limitations on a career-defining case of global significance is about to run out?

                    • Colonial Viper

                      A prosecutor who never had any intention of delivering justice either to Assange or the complainants.

                    • Pascals bookie

                      Well I’m confused, I thought the story was that Ecuador was willing and all set to go and the Prosecutors were refusing to interview him; but now you’re telling me that the prosecutors were too eager to interview and the Embassy hadn’t given the right permissions.

                      Which is it? Does it all depend on which needs to be said to make Assange more victimy at any given moment?

                    • Colonial Viper

                      Who cares PB; the Swedes and the US would like to see Assange rot without freedom a day at a time and they are getting their wish.

                    • Pascals bookie

                      So you admit you argue different lines depending on need, good oh.

                    • Colonial Viper

                      If you can see past your animus toward Assange, you would understand that the actions of the Swedish prosecutor have precluded the possibility of justice for everyone involved in the case.

                    • Pascals bookie

                      So my confusion about the fact your story keeps swinging through 180 degree shifts would be resolved if I just assume that Assange is a saint and interpret all and any facts to fit that?

                      I mean which is it? Was the Prosecutor refusing to do an interview that was completley ready to go without condition, or did the Prosecutor demand an interview without proper invitation?

                      Or both? Or either depending on your rhetorical need of the moment?

                    • Colonial Viper

                      If you have a point PB, make it. As I said, get past your personal animus towards Assange and it is easy to see that his case has been handled politically and exceptionally, precluding justice for all.

                    • greywarshark

                      PBs lost her cool! Normally PB is the epitome of thoughtful analysis and clear eyed argument.

                    • Pascals bookie

                      I made my point a few times.

                      I’m wondering why the story flips between:

                      a) The prosecutor refused an open offer to interview Assange in London,

                      and

                      b) the prosecutor denmanded to interview Assange without being properly invited.

                      Which is it?

                      All I’m getting response is weird claims that I can only see an inconsistency because I want to, or that I have lost my cool, or whatever. These are rubbish arguments. If there is a simple explanation ofwhy the story changes, I’d be keen to hear it. Not that keen on hearing about fantasies about what what I might be thinkng or why I think it.

                    • Pascals bookie

                      It’s interesting that you want to make it about me and all. I get that I’m fascinating, but why not stick to the subject?

            • dukeofurl 4.1.1.1.1.2

              And the letter reproduced further up, on official Ecuador embassy letterhead is another obstacle too ?

              He wants to be interviewed and they put in writing they want to help.

        • One Anonymous Bloke 4.1.1.2

          Tea-leaf reading – not to mention the wishful thinking (or is it just plain ol’ editorial dishonesty?) indicated by the use of the word “dropped”.

          • Colonial Viper 4.1.1.2.1

            the Swedish prosecutor sat in her office and watched the clock run down for 5 years. I presume she knows Swedish law on the statute of limitations. As I said it indicates the Swedes had no substantial grounds or perhaps no substantial motivation to press actual charges, from the start.

            This would match the judgement of the original prosecutor who determined that Assange had nothing further to answer.

            • McFlock 4.1.1.2.1.1

              Given that he’s been a self-imposed shut-in for longer than the maximum penalties for the offences that have just expired, I’m not sure the prosecutor is all that bothered.

              • Colonial Rawshark

                Exactly. Which is why there have been many calls in Sweden from legal and judicial commentators opposing her conduct in this case.

                • McFlock

                  The prosecutor should be bothered because a suspect locks himself up for longer than the potential penalty?

                  What are those people and organisations in sweden calling for in relation to Assange’s conduct in jumping bail?

                  • Colonial Rawshark

                    This post is about the Swedish criminal investigations being dropped, not about Assange’s UK legal situation.

                    Having said that, Assange jumped bail in order to seek asylum from political persecution. The Ecuadoran Government considered that his position had merit and granted him political asylum.

                    As I said above, many in the Swedish legal fraternity have been scathing about the Swedish prosecutor’s conduct in this case.

                    • McFlock

                      And how do “many in the Swedish legal fraternity” regard Assange’s conduct in this case?

                      Even in NZ sometimes diplomats decide that diplomatic expedience means that accused rapists needn’t face justice. Maybe Ecuador just wanted a bargaining chip. He’s nicely placed where they can find him if they want to make nice with somebody he pissed off.

          • Colonial Viper 4.1.1.2.2

            btw if you dont like the word “drop” blame Politico. They used it first. Maybe its your fanciful thinking accusing them of pro Assange editorial dishonesty?

            • McFlock 4.1.1.2.2.1

              Hmm. So you repeated it without checking its accuracy?

              • Colonial Rawshark

                If I were a journalist working with the resources of a multinational news service, I would have.

            • Tracey 4.1.1.2.2.2

              And you did repeat it. You could have made your headline Deadline for charging Assange expires…

              You didn’t, which is your choice, but do’t get annoyed with McFlock and blame Politico, own it brother.

        • dukeofurl 4.1.1.3

          Heres a BBC timeline of the Assange situation

          http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-11949341

          This bit is interesting

          20 November 2014
          Sweden’s Court of Appeal upholds the arrest warrant against Mr Assange, but criticises prosecutors for failing to move the investigation forward.

  5. vto 5

    The reality of conspiracy

    Is that everyone does it

    Every day

    Always have

    It is a base human trait

    Needed for hunting

    Or rugby

    And especially politics

    And power

    It is only a fool

    Who dismisses conspiracy theories

  6. infused 6

    Misleading to the extreme. Charges were not dropped. They expired.

    He’s a douchebag anyway. Yea yea comment i am as well. Dont care. He should come out of hiding and face up. Hes not locked in there.

    • dukeofurl 6.1

      hes not hiding, hes welcomed them in to talk to him, Ecuador has said it will help.

      Even the Swedish courts are saying to their prosecutors, why the delays

    • RedLogix 6.2

      Prosecutor fails to pursue charges in timely manner = Dropped.

    • Morrissey 6.3

      He’s a douchebag anyway.

      Yes, he should have been a sport and should not have co-operated with a conscience-stricken U.S. soldier, and should not have released this top secret to the world….

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rXPrfnU3G0

      • marty mars 6.3.1

        so chilling to see that again – good work from julian in getting it out there

        • Colonial Rawshark 6.3.1.1

          I get that a lot of people don’t like Assange. To that extent, the MSM smear campaign led against him by The Powers That Be worked beautifully.

          What I am surprised about is how obviously Assange has been set up from the start in terms of a political prosecution. And now it is all the more obvious with the prosecution falling over with investigations being dropped and no charges laid. No justice or due process for anyone. Not Assange, not the Swedish complainants, not Manning.

          Yet people still refuse to reconsider what they think they know about Assange and his case.

          It really demonstrates how powerful the MSM influence is in feeding and manipulating pre-existing personal prejudices.

          • McFlock 6.3.1.1.1

            Oh come on – you know damned well that the only reason he wasn’t put on trial was because he skipped bail when he lost the extradition hearings. Hearings which called bullshit on the “no charges laid” claim simply because “charges” occur at different ends of the investigation process in Sweden and the UK.

            The only reason the investigations are no longer happening is because he chose to skip bail for half a decade until the statute of limitations on thos offences expired.

          • Tracey 6.3.1.1.2

            On what basis do you completely dismiss the notion that a man who does “Good” on the one hand (Wikileaks) can do “Bad” (possibly sexually assault women) on the other?

            I don’t know Assange. Never met him. But I have met good men who have done bad things. Men who can throw a claok of well meaning social good over a darker side of their personalities.

            I also get that the US wants him, and wants him bad.

            WHY do you think Sweden bother laying the trumped up charges if they weren’t going to follow through, just to smear his name?

            • Colonial Rawshark 6.3.1.1.2.1

              On what basis do you completely dismiss the notion that a man who does “Good” on the one hand (Wikileaks) can do “Bad” (possibly sexually assault women) on the other?

              Where have I done this (“completely dismiss the notion” that a man can have good and bad sides) Tracey?

              WHY do you think Sweden bother laying the trumped up charges if they weren’t going to follow through, just to smear his name?

              The facts over time speak for themselves. Sweden has NOT followed through.

              But I have no idea why the Swedish prosecutors office flipped from saying Assange had no case to answer, to saying that Assange faces serious criminal allegations, to then sitting on their hands and letting the investigations expire.

              The main result has been to make Assange’s life miserable and limited under virtual house arrest – mission success?

              • Tracey

                I am glad that you don’t dismiss the notion and yet you seemed VERY convinced that Mr Assange did not unlawfully sexually connect with these two women, or it is strongly inferred in your post (above) and past by not allowing for that possibility in your comments and assuming with absolute certainty that it is all trumped up by the US to get him into their version of Gulag.

                You may be right, but to completely leave aside the possibility that 2 women were violated by Assange suggests you leave no room for the possibility I outlined above.

                IF Equador has not been as cooperative as they publicly stated they would be, then it would be very hard for the Prosecutor to advance the case with the offender safely behind closed diplomatic doors. You accept that sometimes countries say one thing publicly and do another when the spotlight moves?

                • Colonial Rawshark

                  I am glad that you don’t dismiss the notion and yet you seemed VERY convinced that Mr Assange did not unlawfully sexually connect with these two women

                  Where the hell did you draw that from?

                  FFS Tracey, the Swedish Prosecutor has dropped the investigations and has come under intense fire from the Swedish legal fraternity and others for her conduct in this case.

                  That’s what I wrote this post about: there has been no justice for anybody given what Sweden has done.

    • Tracey 6.4

      yup… just like Banks

  7. greywarshark 7

    The Swedish don’t always make a stand against creeping fascism etc. The other Scandinavian countries were conflicted about Sweden’s neutrality in WW2. Was it overall a valuable diplomatic move for the area, or should they have fought back against the Nazis and end up as occupied territory like the others?

    It seems the Swedes are conflicted now too. Are they for all the good things that western democracy is supposed to believe in and stand by like transparency and as much open and fair dealing as possible, or, on the other hand, ambivalent.

    • Tracey 7.1

      And then there is the USA who has a history of being only very vaguely dismissive of facism IF they are making money from it, or agree with it…

    • Chooky 8.1

      +100 Raf…very interesting…lets hope justice is now meted out to the Swedish prosecutor and all the others who have played a part in this miscarriage of justice

      …”Sweden’s legal community is practically unanimous that the Assange case has been mishandled and driven by the prosecutor’s attempts to save face. The Secretary General of the Swedish Bar Association Anne Ramberg has said: “The Assange story has become a less than flattering adventure not only for the English courts’ handling of the case, but also for the Swedish prosecutor”. Svante Thorsell, an eminent defence lawyer and columnist, wrote that: “Something is rotten in the Assange case… the prosecutor’s passivity in this case is a crime against decency.” Former prosecutor Rolf Hillegren has called for her removal, stating that Julian Assange has been “discriminated against”. The editor of the Law journal Dagens Juridik, Stefan Wahlberg, told Swedish Radio that “the bottom line is it’s the prosecutor who has the responsibility, no one else!” and that “Prestige has played a big part.”…”

  8. Exile 9

    And why should the Swedish prosecutor travel to London?
    Because Assange is special? Because he deserves special treatment? Because he as the accused choose where he gets interviewed and how?
    Nah, were all equal in front of the law thank you. He has put himself in a very bad position. Its likely that the prosecutor would have dropped the rape-case should Assange had showed up, however the minor charges is likely to have stayed.

    The question then comes down to this, would a prosecutor, who has read the case and realised that Assange in general is an arsehole to women who helps him (nothing illegal in that) grant him special favours?
    Does she believe that h deserve this special favour or would she simply let him choose between the two alternatives that Swedish law states:
    A. Rot away at the embassy, an embassy who is more than fed up with Assange and his demands for special food from different restaurants everyday etc
    etc. A place where he isnt popular at all and thus dont enjoy his life.
    B. Travel to Sweden and be interviewed by the prosecutors office.

    if i was a prosecutor I sure would not give special treatment to someone whose behaviour towards women is what Assanges was. Probably because I don’t believe that men such as Assange deserve special considerations?
    What do you think?

    Lets remember this, Assange has been accused of a rape and inappropriate sexual behaviour by two left wing ladies with a background in the Labour and feminist movements. Had they been from NZ, at least one of them would likely have been a frequent poster on The Standard. These two ladies were part of his support network, were supporters of his movement and came from the entities that oppose the right in Sweden. This is hardly the evil US empire striking back against a whistleblower…
    My opinion; Assange is avoiding this because he knows that the lesser charges would probably (my speculation) have been proven correct and seen Assange sentenced to a year or two in a Swedish prison. A prison system that used to be humane but today is rather harsh and where ethnic minority gangs rule the prisonwings. A place where a blonde, proud and stubborn Australian would have suffered. Suffered a lot. I don’t blame Assange for avoiding that, I probably would have to.

    • Colonial Viper 9.1

      And why should the Swedish prosecutor travel to London?
      Because Assange is special? Because he deserves special treatment? Because he as the accused choose where he gets interviewed and how?
      Nah, were all equal in front of the law thank you.

      Do you really believe that we should all be equal in front of the law?

      Do you? I doubt it, despite your high and mighty protestations.

      Because if you had read the post instead of shooting your mouth off from the hip, you would have noted that the Swedish authorities have indeed travelled to the UK to question 44 other people regarding criminal investigations, during the time the Assange saga has in been in process, just not Assange himself.

      It seems clear that Assange is being treated very differently, and probably for politically motivated reasons.

      And you seem perfectly OK with that, despite mouthing that you think “we’re all equal in front of the law.”

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

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

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

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-19T09:13:46+00:00