Nat asset sales lies

Written By: - Date published: 7:07 am, November 23rd, 2011 - 53 comments
Categories: assets, economy, election 2011, national, privatisation - Tags: , , ,

You can’t trust anything the Nats say. John Key has a long history of lying.  Other Nats add their own lies to the mix.  Three lies in particular have been both recent, and significant for the election.

The first was Key making up (on the most dubious of “sources”) the nonsense that rating agency S&P had said that a credit downgrade was more likely under Labour.  S&P flatly denied it. Ouch.

The second lie was Key’s often cited excuse for not raising the minimum wage – it will “cost 6000 jobs”.  It turns out that in fact Treasury gave him the opposite advice: “The balance of probabilities is that a higher minimum wage does not cost jobs”.

Last night TV1 revealed the third lie, on the explosive topic of asset sales:

Ombudsman called in over asset sales

Two major aspects of National’s asset sales plan are in question.

ONE News has discovered that the party has very limited official advice to back up its claims about restricting foreign investors and big businesses buying up the assets. ONE News has been fighting since August to have this made public under the Official Information Act.

Finally this morning, ONE News found out that despite claims that up to 90% of these assets will remain in New Zealand hands, the Treasury has not provided the Government with any detailed analysis on that aspect of the asset sales policy. …

In August, National said it expected New Zealanders would end up owning 85% to 90% of those companies, and just 10% to 15% would end up in foreign hands.

“These companies will remain firmly and overwhelmingly in New Zealand control,” Tony Ryall, State Owned Enterprises Minister, said in August.

Information blocked

ONE News used the Official Information Act to seek the expert advice given to back up those claims.

The Government refused to release the information about the asset sales so ONE News called in the Ombudsmen to investigate.

The response to the ONE News complaint reveals the Government has received very little official advice to back up some of its major claims about the asset sales programme.

In fact Treasury admits it has not provided the Minister of Finance with any advice about a possible 10% cap on shares held by any single company or individual. … The Ombudsmen’s ruling also says that the basis for the 85% to 90% domestic take-up rate and the 10% cap for any one shareholder was oral advice provided by Ministerial advisers and informal discussions with market contacts. …

In other words the Nats have been advising themselves about whatever fairy story they want the public to believe. And they’ve been caught out just days before the election. Read on for plenty more disturbing revelations in this report:

A significant amount of information is being held back from the public about this asset sales programme. In fact five official reports on asset sales policy are being kept secret.

The Ombudsman has made an official ruling that the Government was right to refuse the release of these papers. The ruling says it is too early in the sales process, and if the information got out now it could affect the amount of money gained from these assets. The ruling also says the negative economic impact of that could be significant given the total asset sales price is expected to be between $5 billion and $7 billion.

ONE News has argued that people need this information to judge whether the asset sales policy stacks up, given they are about to go to the polls in a few days’ time. The Ombudsman will hear ONE News’ final case tomorrow and make a final ruling probably by Thursday. That would leave one day for this to be debated before people go to the polls to vote on Saturday.

We’re being asked to vote to sell our best performing assets on the basis of lies and incomplete information. In the best case, if the Ombudsman decides that the public has a right to know what’s going on, we get one day to assimilate it before the election. It’s nonsense, it’s a travesty, it should never have come to this.

53 comments on “Nat asset sales lies ”

  1. Colonial Viper 1

    And these lies the only be the very tip of a massive iceberg of deception that the Right Wing is pulling on every NZer. I’ll be out again today making it clear to voters that a vote for National is a vote to sell our great country out to foreign ownership.

  2. bill 2

    Both Phil Goff and Andrew Little supported selling Air New Zealand to Quantas isnt it being a bit hypocritical to be saying what they are saying now?

    [ you need to actually look at what happened when Labour bought AirNZ, rather than just repeat Kiwiblog’s latest lie. Also, learn to spell Qantas. Eddie]

  3. kriswgtn 3

    Key was on Breakfast comparing the partial sale of Trade me to his plans for selling our Kids future to his mates

    TRADEME is owned by Fairfax u dick WE own these assets not you or ur tory mates..

    I have been going hard out on Facebook and have managed to persuade a few younglings to vote
    Not many had heard of the youth rates plan

    seems the story isnt and hasnt been getting across or maybe they dont care i dunno

  4. Lazy Susan 4

    None of National’s so called reasoning behind asset sales stacks up. Most business commentators and economists think it’s a dumb idea and an overwhelming majority of New Zealander’s oppose it. Seeing as National focus group the life out of every other policy why are they so comitted to this one when it’s so widely opposed?

    Two reasons – pig-headed ideology and a nice big hand out to their wealthy mates who can then price gouge and asset strip.

    John Key is tired and the brand is damaged – his star has passed the pinnacle of it’s trajectory. If, and it’s a big if, National do form the next government, once the asset sales programme kicks in Key’s brand would take bigger and bigger hits. Key knows this and I reckon if National gain another term he will resign within 12 months “to spend more time with his family” before any asset sales begin. That’s when Kiwibank, ACC and numerous other assets will go up for sale – the firesale will be unstoppable and we will become defenceless clients in our own country.

    Remember Key has only ever offered an assurance that Kiwibank etc. will not be up fo sale “while I’m Prime Minister”. He will want to have a legacy as ” NZ’s most popular Prime Minister” – not as the guy who sold us out.

    • queenstfarmer 4.1

      Remember Key has only ever offered an assurance that Kiwibank etc. will not be up fo sale “while I’m Prime Minister”.

      And what would you have him do? He can no more limit what his eventual successsors may do than Phil Goff can control what his successor will do. Why it was just the other day that Labour Party stalwart mickysavage said on this very site:

      And by the way I would actually support the sell down of Air New Zealand shares…

      So, if mickysavage one day becomes (or re-becomes!) leader of Labour, AirNZ would presumably be on the block. And other assets that meet his criteria for sale.

    • Draco T Bastard 4.2

      Seeing as National focus group the life out of every other policy why are they so comitted to this one when it’s so widely opposed?

      They are solely in power to pass our assets off to themselves and their rich mates making all the rest of us serfs – if we’re lucky.

    • Pigheaded ideology is what pigs think when their noses are in the trough.

  5. So let me get this straight…….

    – NZdrs have paid for and own a series of assets.

    – The governments wants some more money.

    – They say we have money.

    – They want our money.

    – So they are going to sell us shares in what we already own.

    – So we hand over our savings, assume a risk that we will lose our money, in hope that we will get a return bigger than the rate of inflation.

    – The government will then take our money and use it to plug gaps in their budget created by giving tax cuts to the rich.

    To convince us that it is a good idea and hide from us the downside….

    – They announce, (3+ years after they first announced the sale and just before the election), a new idea that the money will go into a fund with laudable aims – except all of those aims should be a part of their normal budget.

    – They hide the fact that they have no Treasury advice on who will be able buy the shares.

    – They ignore the fact that because of increased inequality, increased unemployment, a low wage economy, an internationally recognised low rate of savings – only the rich and institutions will be able to buy the shares.

    – To hide this and to make us feel good they use terms like “mum and dad investors”

    – They ignore that fact that they cannot prevent the shares being on sold to foreign interests.

    – In the week before an election based in asset sales it is revealed that they have a number of reports from government departments that they refuse to release using the excuse that they “commercial sensitive”.

    • Uturn 5.1

      +1

      Now if you could only sum it all up in four words or less, a nice slogan, so it would hold all the power of the truth but none of the pesky thought, reflection and realisation required to comprehend it, you’d get through to NZ voters.

      It’s utterly frustrating knowing that people will not accept any information that isn’t in the form of a soundbite. And if information does get through, the next hurdle is whether the person feels they like the idea or not – not if it’s true or right.

    • insider 5.2

      The Govt buys and sells assets all the time and no-one seems to care. It buys property and sells it off when it has no more use for it. It’s been doing that pretty much since our founding. Look at how many schools have been closed and the land sold off in the last 20-30 years, or old railway lines or road alignments. Why have these passed under the radar? Surely there is no philosophical difference.

      • Uturn 5.2.1

        They haven’t passed under the radar. What do you want – to jump in a time machine and revisit the arguments that happened in the past?

        If I come round to your house and steal your stuff and I’m not caught, though you later find out some stuff is gone, it’s ok with you for me to do it again? And if you don’t report the theft immediately, the police can disregard you complaint – since you aren’t really all that bothered.

        That must be it.

        Your words imply that silence and the inaction of the disempowered and ignored is approval; that memory is reality (once momentarily forgotten, the original deed did not happen); that no one may learn from experience; and that levels of importance do not exist.

        What other amazing ingenuine gymnastics will you try next?

        That a person, held in custody or oppressed for any reason, has no human value, no rights, or choice of their own.

        That all the people in the history of the world that you personally didn’t meet or can remember, didn’t exist. And everything you don’t know right now, but that others do and don’t say, also doesn’t exist.

        Once someone commits to a behaviour, or consents to an action, they may not ever change their consent, or consider changing their minds. That changing one’s mind in the face of considered evidence is hypocrisy.

        Or that since people stub their toe and don’t see a doctor, those with internal bleeding should not see a doctor either.

        And of course, anyone who doesn’t agree or reflect your values is stupid and unworthy of being heard.

        Are you a troll, or do you just not understand the English language?

      • mik e 5.2.2

        yeah its not selling your best preforming assets at bargain basement prices as for rail assets the vultures made in excess of $ billion dollars out of the land they got for nothing!
        Insider trading they call it they were punished by the courts but the ill gotten gain is in a swiss bank account. Third world banana republic style

  6. Karl Sinclair 6

    Supposedly the NATs really care and selling the Assets for much needed cash to pay for Schools, Health etc…. yeah right….. Its another TAX, just delayed…..

    Unfortunately if you begin to dig into similar experiments in raising cash you see the picture is not so pritty, see below

    Taken from: Public Services International Research Unit

    http://www.psiru.org/node/16067

    UK citizens pay £24billion extra for PPPs, profits go to tax havens

    “Since PFI was first devised in 1992, more than £70bn ($114bn) of capital has been raised to provide new hospitals, schools and prisons, new roads and defence projects. These services are being provided now. But payment for them – including their running and maintenance – will cost taxpayers, including children yet unborn, £240bn to 2050. This is equivalent to about one-seventh of current national income.”

    A recent report by the European Services Strategy Unit also showed that PFI projects had been sold on repeatedly, generating profits of over £10 billion. At least 90 of the 700 existing PFI projects are now owned by companies based in tax havens, so that UK citizens did not even receive tax revenues on these profits made out of government spending. http://www.european-services-strategy.org.uk/news/the-ps10bn-sale-of-shares-in-ppp-companies-new

  7. marsman 7

    No mention in Stuff about the Asset Sales Scam.

  8. Karl Sinclair 8

    Need to Know – A PBS video on Privatizing infrastructure:

    This sums up the game of Privatisation – basically it highlights how risk is transfered to the public while profit goes to the Companies….

    http://video.pbs.org/video/2132368113/

    • LynW 8.1

      Thanks Karl for both links on privatisation. Very well explained. I just can’t understand why the polls continue to show NZr’s are supporing Key despite his proposed asset sales!

  9. Tom Gould 9

    Unbelievably inept that Espiner and the producer at One News didn’t seem to get that the “ministerial advisors” providing the advice are actually paid Tory political flunkies working for Tory ministers.

    • Keny Joh 9.1

      Rather bemused by the interview with 2 key economists on Asset Sales this morning on National Radio. I thought the economists and Radio NZs analysis was a little lite. Admittedly they only have a few sounds bites to get across their points, but I think the issues are little deeper. Questions such as the following were not asked: who assumes the risk (public); who gets the profit (private); and are public service employees competent enough to mix it up with big business? Interesting that the video: Need to Know – A PBS video on Privatizing infrastructure described by previous blogger seems to cover off these points….

      • Afewknowthetruth 9.1.1

        KJ

        Step outside the slave camp and you start to see a lot of hidden truths. Stay inside the slave camp and you will see and hear what the slave masters want you to see and hear.

        NR is an important channel for promotion of misinformation and DAU (disaster as usual).

    • tc 9.2

      Not inept but willfully omitted, Gluon knows exactly what’s going on…they all do.

      It’s called ‘controlling the mesaage’

  10. Herodotus 10

    What is national suppose to do when the logic, facts and public support is so totally opposed to this policy? Bend the truth to justify the policy outcomes. But unlike keeping the age of entitlement for retorted at65 key has not said he will resign should this policy be changed. He maybe just kicking the tires, pity he cannot see how distasteful this is to many

  11. Simon 11

    Key confirmed on RNZ this morning that he is not negotiable on assets sales. They will go ahead regardless of public opinion, regardless of coalition arrangements.

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/2503239/john-key.asx

    • tc 11.1

      That’s because it’s in his job description when recruited from business to front these clowns getting back into power…..looky here a state housing raised, solo mother success story, style and image first and foremost.

      blag another term so we can say ‘mandate to sell’ then off you go job done, by the way how many shares do you and your mates want ?

      • Afewknowthetruth 11.1.1

        tc

        Spot on, though I prefer to use the term ‘criminals’ when obvious malfeasance is involved and ‘clowns’ when acts of utter stupidity are involved.

  12. Blue 12

    No one really expected the Nats to have any real advice, did they? They haven’t sought any over any of their other idiotic policies, so why would they start now?

    They govern by ideology alone.

  13. Tangled up in blue 13

    It turns out that in fact Treasury gave him the opposite advice: “The balance of probabilities is that a higher minimum wage does not cost jobs”.

    Well that’s not quite true

    Let’s recap. Gower paints Treasury as supporting a two dollar increase in the minimum wage when in fact they fought against a twenty-five cent increase in 2010.

    http://offsettingbehaviour.blogspot.com/2011/11/treasury-on-minimum-wages.html

  14. jaundiced 14

    Am I missing something?

    I can’t find references to where the Government claimed they were relying on detailed Treasury advice on asset sales.

    All Guyon Espiner has found is that Treasury has not provided the Government with any detailed analysis of expected ownership after sales.

    Given the issues with Treasury advice in the past, I can only conclude that this is not necessarily a bad thing…

  15. Penny Bright 15

    http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1111/S00456/secret-state-owned-assets-documents-must-be-released.htm

    I agree with the Green Party 100% on this matter.

    ‘Secret State-Owned Asset’ documents MUST be released before the election.

    How can the public ‘cast an informed vote’ without the FACTS?

    Penny Bright
    Independent Candidate for Epsom
    Campaigning against ‘white collar’ CRIME, CORRUPTION and ‘CORPORATE WELFARE’

  16. Afewknowthetruth 16

    I suspect the global elites now recognise there is very little time left to loot the public purse before it all goes down. Their attempts to defy the laws of physics, chemistry, geology etc. are increasingly seen to be failing, and now they are struggling to even hold their phoney money system together.

    The US ‘super-committee’ has effectively admitted there is nothing they can do to prevent collpase (almost certainly before 2014). Maybe that is why faith in US political institutions is now measured as a single digitit percentage. And the Eurozone is already falling apart. NZ, Australia, Canada and a few other places provide the last reasonably stable places in which the looters can make a few fast bucks prior to the collapse.

    Key obviously knows we are in the early stages of systemic failure and is finding it increasingly difficult to keep up the pretence that he will provide the average NZer with anything other than destitution if re-elected. Lying continuously when things provide the facade of going well is obviously a lot easier for him than lying continuously when things are going badly.

    Just what game Goff is playing is hard to decide. He too must know the entire global Ponzi scheme is facing systemic collapse. Perhaps Goff’s lowish poll ratings make it easier for him to keep pretending the system has a future. It must be quite comforting knowing you are not going to have to deal with the triple tsunami* that is thindering up the beach.

    * post peak oil collapse, unravelling of fiat currencies and evironmental collpase.

    • Afewknowthetruth 16.1

      Sorry, I didn’t get to the editor quickly enough. Old age brings the ‘joys’ of failing eyesight and less nimble fingers.

      the triple tsunami* that is thundering up the beach.

      * post peak oil collapse, unravelling of fiat currencies and evironmental collapse.

  17. With all the talk about asset sales I just thought I’d do a bit of digging. Here is what I came up with. Again, one for your John Key voting mates: http://aotearoaawiderperspective.wordpress.com/2011/11/23/is-john-key-heading-for-a-position-with-goldman-sachs/

  18. Tom Gould 18

    And now MonKey is all over RNZ lying that he has actually “narrowed” the gap with the Aussies and we are doing better than them? Looks like his ‘ministerial advisors’ have been texting him again? Same guys who gave him the ‘S&P’ info, and the ‘asset sales’ info. When will the brain dead idiots in the MSM wake up that he is lying and scamming them? Ignorant fools.

    • Afewknowthetruth 18.1

      TG.

      ‘When will the brain dead idiots in the MSM wake up that he is lying and scamming them?’

      MSM is part of the misinformation system and cannot expose the truth.

      ‘In almost all other cases, the big well-funded media are owned by corporations or rich individuals.

      Now to own a national newspaper or television or radio station, you need to be rich; very rich indeed. I once saw the costings for the takeover of a tabloid newspaper: it required a minimum capitalisation of £400 million: almost four billion rand. You need, in other words, to be a multi-millionaire.

      Now what multi-millionaires want is what everybody wants: a better world for people like themselves. A better world for multi-millionaires is, by definition, a worse world for everybody else, for the simple reason that it relies upon vast levels of inequality. They don’t want everyone to become a multi-millionaire: in such circumstances there would be no point in being one. They want to remain richer and more powerful than everyone else.’

      http://www.monbiot.com/2004/10/06/no-longer-obeying-orders/

  19. What happens to the current management of the SOE if it becomes partially privatised ?

    Do they have to reapply for their jobs and will the first thing the company does be to up the salary package and ensure only the ‘best quality’ applicants need apply ?

    jobs for the boys you reckon ?

    • insider 19.1

      HAve you ever seen the board of an SOE? If you want jobs for the boys, go look at the red and blue tides that regularly sweep over them.

      SOEs already have to compete for managers in the market, so their salaries should not be affected.

    • KJT 19.2

      The ones I know are already salivating at the share options and higher pay they expect to get.

      • insider 19.2.1

        Frequently our expectations on salaries and benefits are not matched by the reality of the market… or maybe that’s just for me.

        The heads of Meridian and Mighty River are already on >1m. They’ll probably get more if they reach targets because a listed company is more complex (assuming they keep their jobs that is) and they’ll likely incentivise share value growth. But the others need to look at their counterparts at Contact and Trustpower, or Powerco, or Wellington Lines etc. If those guys are getting them, then yes they might improve, but if they are on par, change shouldn’t be dramatic unless performance change is dramatic.

  20. Afewknowthetruth 20

    trav.

    Thanks for that. Presumably Key is already on the GS payroll and collecting a retainer. And presumably the bonus comes upon satisfactory completion of the looting.

    ‘a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money.’

    Goldman Sachs: The Wall Street Bubble Mafia

    July 1st, 2009

    This was published last week in Rolling Stone issue 1082-83. As of now, Rolling Stone has not posted this article online.

    THE GREAT AMERICAN BUBBLE MACHINE

    From tech stocks to high gas prices, Goldman Sachs has engineered every major market manipulation since the Great Depression – and they’re about to do it again

    By MATT TAIBBI

    The first thing you need to know about Goldman Sachs is that it’s everywhere. The world’s most powerful investment bank is a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money. In fact, the history of the recent financial crisis, which doubles as a history of the rapid decline and fall of the suddenly swindled-dry American empire, reads like a Who’s Who of Goldman Sachs graduates.

    By now, most of us know the major players. As George Bush’s last Treasury secretary, former Goldman CEO Henry Paulson was the architect of the bailout, a suspiciously self-serving plan to funnel trillions of Your Dollars to a handful of his old friends on Wall Street. Robert Rubin, Bill Clinton’s former Treasury secretary, spent 26 years at Goldman before becoming chairman of Citigroup – which in turn got a $300 billion taxpayer bailout from Paulson. There’s John Thain, the rear end in a top hat chief of Merrill Lynch who bought an $87,000 area rug for his office as his company was imploding; a former Goldman banker, Thain enjoyed a multibillion-dollar handout from Paulson, who used billions in taxpayer funds to help Bank of America rescue Thain’s sorry company. And Robert Steel, the former Goldmanite head of Wachovia, scored himself and his fellow executives $225 million in golden parachute payments as his bank was self-destructing. There’s Joshua Bolten, Bush’s chief of staff during the bailout, and Mark Patterson, the current Treasury chief of staff, who was a Goldman lobbyist just a year ago, and Ed Liddy, the former Goldman director whom Paulson put in charge of bailed-out insurance giant AIG, which forked over $13 billion to Goldman after Liddy came on board. The heads of the Canadian and Italian national banks are Goldman alums, as is the head of the World Bank, the head of the New York Stock Exchange, the last two heads of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York – which, incidentally, is now in charge of overseeing Goldman – not to mention …

    But then, any attempt to construct a narrative around all the former Goldmanites in influential positions quickly becomes an absurd and pointless exercise, like trying to make a list of everything. What you need to know is the big picture: If America is circling the drain, Goldman Sachs has found a way to be that drain – an extremely unfortunate loophole in the system of Western democratic capitalism, which never foresaw that in a society governed passively by free markets and free elections, organized greed always defeats disorganized democracy.

    The bank’s unprecedented reach and power have enabled it to turn all of America into a giant pump-and-dump scam, manipulating whole economic sectors for years at a time, moving the dice game as this or that market collapses, and all the time gorging itself on the unseen costs that are breaking families everywhere – high gas prices, rising consumer-credit rates, half-eaten pension funds, mass layoffs, future taxes to pay off bailouts. All that money that you’re losing, it’s going somewhere, and in both a literal and a figurative sense, Goldman Sachs is where it’s going: The bank is a huge, highly sophisticated engine for converting the useful, deployed wealth of society into the least useful, most wasteful and insoluble substance on Earth – pure profit for rich individuals.

  21. mike 21

    I can see it clearly, John Key once finished raping our country, getting on a plane for some high-powered job overseas saying, “Thanks New Ziland, ackshully I’ve been great.”

    He really looks tired, that mask must be heavy. I’m thinking he’s wishing he was back on Wall St gleefully squeezing money out of the middle class without pretence. Or as he put it “just executing orders.”

  22. Robert M 22

    The partial asset sales are only a short term adjustment and pallative to get $6 billion captial to help us get thru the next three years without great structural adjustment. An argument can be made they are a useful capital raiser for these business’s. In reality these business’s cant be fully privatised and sold without disaster anyway. The power companies are vital and absolutely economically and constitutionally strategic. The Government will have to maintain at least a 51% control. There is ample evidence from the last 20 years in NZ and enron’s exploitatiion of power supply in California that complete private control in likely to lead to blackouts, disruption and anarchy. In the case of Air NZ a fully privatised Air NZ will either go bankrupt or pass completly into foreigh control.
    So these asset sales are only a short term pallative and the Nats or Labour will have to adopt more radical policies in the medium term. Real money thru privatisation and restructuring has to mean radical change in health and education and this has largely already happened in the US, UK and Aus.

    • Draco T Bastard 22.1

      There is ample evidence from the last 20 years in NZ and enron’s exploitatiion of power supply in California that complete private control in likely to lead to blackouts, disruption and anarchy.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Auckland_Blackout
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Auckland_power_crisis

      Plenty of evidence here as well.

      • tang 22.1.1

        Of course there would be blackouts they would squeeze every cent and put in their pocket rather than invest in the company and leave the government of the day to buy it back when it has been shrivelled to almost nothing.

      • insider 22.1.2

        Unfortunately for you draco both those issues were due to local or central govt monopolies that had underinvested or designed and maintained their systems poorly.

        In 2008 the private company Contact helped avert a crisis by bringing back into service its outdated New Plymouth power station after Genesis and Meridian played fast and loose with the system.

        • mik e 22.1.2.1

          Insider trading BS again Their was a drought you idiot

          • insider 22.1.2.1.1

            Go and read the review of winter 2008 and it will tell you that the failure of Meridian and Genesis to act responsibly and agree hedges instead of muscling up to each other was a key driver of supply fears. AS a result there was a significant percentage of energy generation opportunity wasted that could have been utilised. Two SOEs acting badly pushed the power system to its limits. ANd you guys worry about privitisation.

        • Draco T Bastard 22.1.2.2

          It was actually due to being changed from service driven to profit driven. Also, the lines in Auckland were sold a long time ago into private hands.

          • insider 22.1.2.2.1

            No Draco, read the incident report. It was pure and simple bureaucratic incompetance that had been going on for years. The cables had never been adequately maintained. Change in ownership structure was irrelevant – the managment stayed the same.

            Note: Vector is 75% owned by the local councils through the consumer trust holding company. It’s basically a reconstitued MED with a few private shareholders. Next to nothing private about it. You really should read the pages you link to.

  23. tang 23

    So lets make our votes count and vote labour the only party big enough to stop this shananigan from happening. Why not release the papers for goodness sake we are in a democracy but we seem to enjoy being dictated to by this shonkey John.

  24. anne 24

    Here is the reason that John Key has blocked any release of the paper work,he claims it would affect the price of the assets or some weak excuse, the reasons are more sinister than that.
    He didn’t want the public knowing the real truth because.

    On 1st November 2011 he appointed these following advisors to the crown with regard to
    the sale of tax payer paid assets.
    The Deutsche Bank, this bank bought the Bankers Trust,the bank where Key learned his first
    steps in the Derivatives trade now causing the Global financial collapse.
    Craigs Investment partners, Criss Tims who is an ex Golman Sachs Investment Advisor.
    Australian Lazard who have already been in NZ preparing our assets for sale.
    Key met with Timothy Geithner,who is a sub serviant to Rober Rubin who is a Golman Sachs man.
    So our tax payer paid Assets are in great danger and the rhetoric of selling them to ‘mums and dads’ is an absolute lie,this needs to be exposed,shame it didnt come out earlier,its never too late though.

  25. anne 25

    Also those bankers that traded in the derivatives that are causing the global financial crisis are finding their way into those countries governments and ruling parties.

  26. anne 26

    Why is it that a man who also partly responsible for the 1987 near crash on our nz dollar be in such a position that allows him to have the power to sell tax payers assets,just because he can,
    he has deliberatly run up debt in order for there to be an excuse for a sale.In 1987 The then gov of the nz reserve bank phoned new york and told bankers trust to stop the raid on our dollar.
    To think this man is in control of our enconomy is downright scary.

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    How to Retrieve Deleted Call Log on iPhone Without a Computer: A StepbyStep Guide Losing your iPhone call history can be frustrating, especially when you need to find a specific number or recall an important conversation. But before you panic, know that there are ways to retrieve deleted call logs on your iPhone, even without a computer. This guide will explore various methods, ranging from simple checks to utilizing iCloud backups and thirdparty applications. So, lets dive in and recover those lost calls! 1. Check Recently Deleted Folder: Apple understands that accidental deletions happen. Thats why they introduced the Recently Deleted folder for various apps, including the Phone app. This folder acts as a safety net, storing deleted call logs for up to 30 days before permanently erasing them. Heres how to check it: Open the Phone app on your iPhone. Tap on the Recents tab at the bottom. Scroll to the top and tap on Edit. Select Show Recently Deleted. Browse the list to find the call logs you want to recover. Tap on the desired call log and choose Recover to restore it to your call history. 2. Restore from iCloud Backup: If you regularly back up your iPhone to iCloud, you might be able to retrieve your deleted call log from a previous backup. However, keep in mind that this process will restore your entire phone to the state it was in at the time of the backup, potentially erasing any data added since then. Heres how to restore from an iCloud backup: Go to Settings > General > Reset. Choose Erase All Content and Settings. Follow the onscreen instructions. Your iPhone will restart and show the initial setup screen. Choose Restore from iCloud Backup during the setup process. Select the relevant backup that contains your deleted call log. Wait for the restoration process to complete. 3. Explore ThirdParty Apps (with Caution): ...
    3 hours ago
  • How to Factory Reset iPhone without Computer: A Comprehensive Guide to Restoring your Device
    Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
    10 hours ago
  • How to Call Someone on a Computer: A Guide to Voice and Video Communication in the Digital Age
    Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
    11 hours ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #16 2024
    Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications: Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
    11 hours ago
  • Where on a Computer is the Operating System Generally Stored? Delving into the Digital Home of your ...
    The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
    11 hours ago
  • How Many Watts Does a Laptop Use? Understanding Power Consumption and Efficiency
    Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
    11 hours ago
  • How to Screen Record on a Dell Laptop A Guide to Capturing Your Screen with Ease
    Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
    11 hours ago
  • How Much Does it Cost to Fix a Laptop Screen? Navigating Repair Options and Costs
    A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
    12 hours ago
  • How Long Do Gaming Laptops Last? Demystifying Lifespan and Maximizing Longevity
    Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
    12 hours ago
  • Climate Change: Turning the tide
    The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    13 hours ago
  • How to Unlock Your Computer A Comprehensive Guide to Regaining Access
    Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
    14 hours ago
  • Faxing from Your Computer A Modern Guide to Sending Documents Digitally
    While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
    14 hours ago
  • Protecting Your Home Computer A Guide to Cyber Awareness
    In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
    14 hours ago
  • Server-Based Computing Powering the Modern Digital Landscape
    In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
    14 hours ago
  • Vroom vroom go the big red trucks
    The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    14 hours ago
  • Jones finds $410,000 to help the government muscle in on a spat project
    Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    15 hours ago
  • Again, hate crimes are not necessarily terrorism.
    Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    18 hours ago
  • Despair – construction consenting edition
    Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    18 hours ago
  • Coalition promises – will the Govt keep the commitment to keep Kiwis equal before the law?
    Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    18 hours ago
  • An impermanent public service is a guarantee of very little else but failure
    Chris Trotter writes –  The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    19 hours ago
  • What happens after the war – Mariupol
    Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
    20 hours ago
  • Babies and benefits – no good news
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three.  ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    21 hours ago
  • Should the RBNZ be looking through climate inflation?
    Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    21 hours ago
  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours, as of 9:16 am on Thursday, April 18 are:Housing: Tauranga residents living in boats, vans RNZ Checkpoint Louise TernouthHousing: Waikato councillor says wastewater plant issues could hold up Sleepyhead building a massive company town Waikato Times Stephen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    21 hours ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the public sector carnage, and misogyny as terrorism
    It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
    22 hours ago
  • Meeting the Master Baiters
    Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 day ago
  • How extreme was the Earth's temperature in 2023
    This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blog In 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
    1 day ago
  • Backbone, revisited
    The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Ministers are not above the law
    Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • What’s the outfit you can hear going down the gurgler? Probably it’s David Parker’s Oceans Sec...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point  of Order first heard of the Oceans Secretariat in June 2021, when David Parker (remember him?) announced a multi-agency approach to protecting New Zealand’s marine ecosystems and fisheries. Parker (holding the Environment, and Oceans and Fisheries portfolios) broke the news at the annual Forest & ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Bryce Edwards writes  – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Matt Doocey doubles down on trans “healthcare”
    Citizen Science writes –  Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • A TikTok Prime Minister.
    One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Texas Lessons
    This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links at 6:06 am
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours as of 6:06 am on Wednesday, April 17 are:Must read: Secrecy shrouds which projects might be fast-tracked RNZ Farah HancockScoop: Revealed: Luxon has seven staffers working on social media content - partly paid for by taxpayer Newshub ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Fighting poverty on the holiday highway
    Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six-stack of substacks at 6:26 pm
    Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • At a glance – Is the science settled?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    3 days ago
  • Apposite Quotations.
    How Long Is Long Enough? Gaza under Israeli bombardment, July 2014. This posting is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
    3 days ago
  • What’s a life worth now?
    You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Howling at the Moon
    Karl du Fresne writes –  There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Newshub is Dead.
    I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Seymour is chuffed about cutting early-learning red tape – but we hear, too, that Jones has loose...
    Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Was Hawkesby entirely wrong?
    David Farrar  writes –  The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • PRC shadow looms as the Solomons head for election
    PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time. A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Climate Change: Criminal ecocide
    We are in the middle of a climate crisis. Last year was (again) the hottest year on record. NOAA has just announced another global coral bleaching event. Floods are threatening UK food security. So naturally, Shane Jones wants to make it easier to mine coal: Resources Minister Shane Jones ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • Is saving one minute of a politician's time worth nearly $1 billion?
    Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Long Tunnel or Long Con?
    Yesterday it was revealed that Transport Minister had asked Waka Kotahi to look at the options for a long tunnel through Wellington. State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the ...
    3 days ago
  • Smoke And Mirrors.
    You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • What is Mexico doing about climate change?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
    3 days ago
  • State of humanity, 2024
    2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Govt’s Wellington tunnel vision aims to ease the way to the airport (but zealous promoters of cycl...
    Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • The case for cultural connectedness
    A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Useful context on public sector job cuts
    David Farrar writes –    The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated.   While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On When Racism Comes Disguised As Anti-racism
    Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
    4 days ago
  • Govt ignored economic analysis of smokefree reversal
    Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • True Blue.
    True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Who is running New Zealand’s foreign policy?
    While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #15
    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 7, 2024 thru Sat, April 13, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week is about adults in the room setting terms and conditions of ...
    4 days ago
  • Feline Friends and Fragile Fauna The Complexities of Cats in New Zealand’s Conservation Efforts

    Cats, with their independent spirit and beguiling purrs, have captured the hearts of humans for millennia. In New Zealand, felines are no exception, boasting the highest national cat ownership rate globally [definition cat nz cat foundation]. An estimated 1.134 million pet cats grace Kiwi households, compared to 683,000 dogs ...

    5 days ago
  • Or is that just they want us to think?
    Nice guy, that Peter Williams. Amiable, a calm air of no-nonsense capability, a winning smile. Everything you look for in a TV presenter and newsreader.I used to see him sometimes when I went to TVNZ to be a talking head or a panellist and we would yarn. Nice guy, that ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • Fact Brief – Did global warming stop in 1998?
    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Did global warming stop in ...
    5 days ago
  • Arguing over a moot point.
    I have been following recent debates in the corporate and social media about whether it is a good idea for NZ to join what is known as “AUKUS Pillar Two.” AUKUS is the Australian-UK-US nuclear submarine building agreement in which … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    6 days ago
  • No Longer Trusted: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    Turning Point: What has turned me away from the mainstream news media is the very strong message that its been sending out for the last few years.” “And what message might that be?” “That the people who own it, the people who run it, and the people who provide its content, really don’t ...
    6 days ago
  • Mortgage rates at 10% anyone?
    No – nothing about that in PM Luxon’s nine-point plan to improve the lives of New Zealanders. But beyond our shores Jamie Dimon, the long-serving head of global bank J.P. Morgan Chase, reckons that the chances of a goldilocks soft landing for the economy are “a lot lower” than the ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    6 days ago
  • Sad tales from the left
    Michael Bassett writes –  Have you noticed the odd way in which the media are handling the government’s crackdown on surplus employees in the Public Service? Very few reporters mention the crazy way in which State Service numbers rocketed ahead by more than 16,000 during Labour’s six years, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • In Whose Best Interests?
    On The Spot: The question Q+A host, Jack Tame, put to the Workplace & Safety Minister, Act’s Brooke van Velden, was disarmingly simple: “Are income tax cuts right now in the best interests of lowering inflation?”JACK TAME has tested another MP on his Sunday morning current affairs show, Q+A. Minister for Workplace ...
    6 days ago
  • Don’t Question, Don’t Complain.
    It has to start somewhereIt has to start sometimeWhat better place than here?What better time than now?So it turns out that I owe you all an apology.It seems that all of the terrible things this government is doing, impacting the lives of many, aren’t necessarily ‘bad’ per se. Those things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Auckland faces 25% water inflation shock
    Three Waters became a focus of anti-Government protests under Labour, but its dumping by the new Government hasn’t solved councils’ funding problems and will eventually hit the back pockets of everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 8:06 am today are:The Government ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Small accomplishments and large ironies
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Share Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Song of Saqua: Volume VII
    In order to catch up to the actual progress of the D&D campaign, I present you with another couple of sessions. These were actually held back to back, on a Monday and Tuesday evening. Session XV Alas, Goatslayer had another lycanthropic transformation… though this time, he ran off into the ...
    6 days ago
  • Accelerating the Growth Rate?
    There is a constant theme from the economic commentariat that New Zealand needs to lift its economic growth rate, coupled with policies which they are certain will attain that objective. Their prescriptions are usually characterised by two features. First, they tend to be in their advocate’s self-interest. Second, they are ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    7 days ago

  • Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago
  • Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
    The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago
  • Taupō takes pole position
    The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    15 hours ago
  • Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners.  “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago
  • Government backing mussel spat project
    The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    18 hours ago
  • Government focused on getting people into work
    Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • Clean energy key driver to reducing emissions
    The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forward
    The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
    RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Inflation coming down, but more work to do
    Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
    Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sector
    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Patterson promoting NZ’s wool sector at International Congress
    Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector.    "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Removing red tape to help early learners thrive
    The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • RMA changes to cut coal mining consent red tape
    Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • McClay reaffirms strong NZ-China trade relationship
    Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Prime Minister Luxon acknowledges legacy of Singapore Prime Minister Lee
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.   Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • PMs Luxon and Lee deepen Singapore-NZ ties
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.  During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Antarctica New Zealand Board appointments
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner.  The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Finance Minister travels to Washington DC
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.  “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Pet bonds a win/win for renters and landlords
    The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Long Tunnel for SH1 Wellington being considered
    State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • New Zealand condemns Iranian strikes
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel.    “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says.    "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Huge interest in Government’s infrastructure plans
    Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Health Minister thanks outgoing Health New Zealand Chair
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board.   “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti.  “I have asked her to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Roads of National Significance planning underway
    The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.  “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Navigating an unstable global environment
    New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.   “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States.    “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • NZ welcomes Australian Governor-General
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Pseudoephedrine back on shelves for Winter
    Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • NZ and the US: an ever closer partnership
    New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Joint US and NZ declaration
    April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • NZ and US to undertake further practical Pacific cooperation
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research.   “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government redress for Te Korowai o Wainuiārua
    The Government is continuing the bipartisan effort to restore its relationship with iwi as the Te Korowai o Wainuiārua Claims Settlement Bill passed its first reading in Parliament today, says Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith. “Historical grievances of Te Korowai o Wainuiārua relate to 19th century warfare, land purchased or taken ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Focus on outstanding minerals permit applications
    New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals is working to resolve almost 150 outstanding minerals permit applications by the end of the financial year, enabling valuable mining activity and signalling to the sector that New Zealand is open for business, Resources Minister Shane Jones says.  “While there are no set timeframes for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Applications open for NZ-Ireland Research Call
    The New Zealand and Irish governments have today announced that applications for the 2024 New Zealand-Ireland Joint Research Call on Agriculture and Climate Change are now open. This is the third research call in the three-year Joint Research Initiative pilot launched in 2022 by the Ministry for Primary Industries and Ireland’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Tenancy rules changes to improve rental market
    The coalition Government has today announced changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to encourage landlords back to the rental property market, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “The previous Government waged a war on landlords. Many landlords told us this caused them to exit the rental market altogether. It caused worse ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Boosting NZ’s trade and agricultural relationship with China
    Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay will visit China next week, to strengthen relationships, support Kiwi exporters and promote New Zealand businesses on the world stage. “China is one of New Zealand’s most significant trade and economic relationships and remains an important destination for New Zealand’s products, accounting for nearly 22 per cent of our good and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Freshwater farm plan systems to be improved
    The coalition Government intends to improve freshwater farm plans so that they are more cost-effective and practical for farmers, Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay have announced. “A fit-for-purpose freshwater farm plan system will enable farmers and growers to find the right solutions for their farm ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New Fast Track Projects advisory group named
    The coalition Government has today announced the expert advisory group who will provide independent recommendations to Ministers on projects to be included in the Fast Track Approvals Bill, say RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones. “Our Fast Track Approval process will make it easier and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

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