None so blind as those who invent their own reality

Written By: - Date published: 7:12 am, October 23rd, 2013 - 93 comments
Categories: john key, slippery - Tags:

Is the Prime Minister John Key who claims to know what Labour has supposedly said in secret talks with SkyCity (talks that Cunliffe denies have happened) because it’s ‘all over town’ the same Prime Minister John Key who couldn’t be bothered to read a police report on one of his ministers who is now going to be tried for the offences investigated in said report? Asking for a friend.

93 comments on “None so blind as those who invent their own reality ”

  1. amirite 1

    The same PM who didn’t know he had TranzRail shares, who’forgot’ that he has been regularly meeting with his mate Ian Fletcher, whom he later employed as a GCSB boss; ‘didn’t know’ that one of the richest men in NZ, Kim Dotcom, lived in his own electorate and has been sought after by USA authorities, etc etc etc…It’s amazing how easily he can memorise unsubstantiated gossip, isn’t it?

    • ghostwhowalksnz 1.1

      John Banks is running a master class on the art of what you know and what you forget

    • Morrissey 1.2

      The same PM who didn’t know he had TranzRail shares, who’forgot’ that he has been regularly meeting with his mate Ian Fletcher, whom he later employed as a GCSB boss; ‘didn’t know’ that one of the richest men in NZ, Kim Dotcom, lived in his own electorate and has been sought after by USA authorities, etc etc etc…

      Key also “couldn’t remember” whether or not he supported apartheid football in 1981.

      • Draco T Bastard 1.2.1

        While remembering that he was on the edge of his seat as John Walker made the finish line in the 1976 Olympics.

  2. deWithiel 2

    Meanwhile back in MSM lalaland, the New Zealand Herald headlines its editorial inability to understand (or perhaps its disinclination to report) David Cunliffe’s unequivocal statement that there has been ‘no undertaking with SkyCity’: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11144472. Pathetic.

    • Nicolas 2.1

      I read that article and, honestly, did not think they misrepresented Cunliffe’s statement. Yes, he said no deal had been struck between SkyCity and the Party, but he also did NOT take a clear position like that taken by Metiria and the Greens.

      She made it clear that the Green Party, if given the chance, would repeal the deal and impose stricter regulations around gambling. Cunliffe, on the other hand, basically said what doesn’t need to be said. Parliament is our supreme law-making body and that won’t change under his watch. How revolutionary, huh?

      No offense, but it is actually a bit pathetic when people continue to overstate the “right-wingness” of the NZ Herald. I’ve heard heaps of people also refer to our MSM as too “Lefty”. I wonder who’s right?

      • Tat Loo 2.1.1

        No offense, but it is actually a bit pathetic when people continue to overstate the “right-wingness” of the NZ Herald. I’ve heard heaps of people also refer to our MSM as too “Lefty”. I wonder who’s right?

        The main source of revenue for papers like the New Zealand Herald are major corporate advertisers pitching wares at the upper middle class and wealthy. Not at the unemployed and underprivileged.

        So of course the NZ Herald pitches right wing with a bias towards the moneyed side of town, it only makes business sense for them to do so, sprinkled with the occasional token Lefty contribution.

        Cunliffe, on the other hand, basically said what doesn’t need to be said. Parliament is our supreme law-making body and that won’t change under his watch. How revolutionary, huh?

        Judging by your non-chalance, it seems like you don’t understand the true implications of what he is saying. Don’t worry, other people will.

        • Tat Loo 2.1.1.1

          TV3 interview with David Cunliffe on Skycity issue, and MP payrises.

          http://www.3news.co.nz/Cunliffe-hedges-bets-on-SkyCity-deal/tabid/1607/articleID/318403/Default.aspx

          Firm, calm responses – the government has a sovereign responsibility to govern in the public interest and to regulate gambling harm. Nice one DC.

          • King Kong 2.1.1.1.1

            Now we know who you are the fawning, for some reason, just feels a little more sickening.

            • Crunchtime 2.1.1.1.1.1

              That sentence makes no sense. Your poor use of the english language is just a little sickening.

              Comment from DC was firm and calm. I’d add “authoritative”. That’s not fawning. That’s descriptive.

              • fender

                King Kong is shattered that Colonial Viper is Tat Loo. The Kong was hoping that CV was a nobody like himself and the truth is really hurting the apes sense of self worth.

                • King Kong

                  What? You mean the quack healing, Chinese fella who has come as close to dead last as you can get in every political race he has entered.

                  Truly striding the earth like a colossus.

                  • Rogue Trooper

                    to you the prize for initiating the fall of the RW commentators into the abyss…carry on…didn’t take you long.

                  • fender

                    How many political races have you had the monkey-balls to enter, ape shit?

                    • King Kong

                      I have far too much integrity to be a politician.It would also require me to take an enormous pay cut.

                    • bad12

                      You mean KK you have far too little intelligence or political nous for any political party to come within a mile of you,(yawn another ‘fantasy’ millionaire who spends all day at the Standard)…

                  • Tat Loo

                    What? You mean the quack healing, Chinese fella who has come as close to dead last as you can get in every political race he has entered.

                    Second just behind the Deputy Prime Minister, and MP for Clutha-Southland, the Hon. Bill English. Not too bad for a first tilt, I thought 😉

                • Rogue Trooper

                  lol

        • Nicolas 2.1.1.2

          Actually, the conclusions reached by the likes of Gavin Harris, Geoff Kemp, Richard Mulgan, Bryce Edwards and Nicky Hager (all of whom, I assume, know more about our media than you) is that our media outlets’ inadequacies are NOT derived from their servitude to “right-wing corporate interests”. Primarily, our journalists are not unscrupulous, but under-resourced. They are pressured into promoting entertaining, rather than informing news so that advertisers are happy, but there is no indication whatsoever they are puppets for big political players in the background.

          So no, I don’t buy into the idea outlets like the Herald are completely biased towards one side or the other; I think they’re mostly incompetent, particularly in the face of an increasingly sophisticated PR industry.

          Which reminds me, your last comment made you seem like a bit of a spinner, mate. I don’t care if it originates in the Right or in the Left, spinning stinks. “Firm, calm” responses? DC deserves praise AND criticism when they’re due.

          • Tat Loo 2.1.1.2.1

            Most journalists (not jonolists) are pretty fair minded. There are exceptions of course.

            But if you really believe that papers do not take an editorial line on many issues, which they have done since day dot, you’ve missed something.

            So no, I don’t buy into the idea outlets like the Herald are completely biased towards one side or the other; I think they’re mostly incompetent, particularly in the face of an increasingly sophisticated PR industry.

            That’s weird, you jumped from describing the problem as being a lack of resources, to the problem being incompetence.

            Which is it?

            Also no one was claiming “complete bias”. That was just something you chucked in yourself.

          • karol 2.1.1.2.2

            I agree with Tat on this. It’s more about a “bias” rather than being a deliberate attempt to present a right wing view as much as possible. The bias comes from the corporate media, the editors selected to be sympathetic to corporate interests, and the whole infotainment approach to the MSM – the latter part of the neoliberal revolution – it often diverts from crucial issues and focuses on superficial conflicts, dramas, and accessible visual representations. A neoliberal view is embedded in such an approach – the medium is the message.

            It’s not so much due to biased individual journalists, who I believe do their best to present the news fairly. But they work within the parameters set by the editors and management, and are selected so as being likely not to rock the corporate boat too much.

            Sometimes the approach is deliberately supportive of the right wing: eg the NZ Herald’s “Democracy under attack” campaign. Most often the bias is less deliberate and more subtle.

          • karol 2.1.1.2.3

            Nicolas, you are misrepresenting some of the guys you mention – certainly that’s not Hager’s view. This is what he said in his Jesson lecture.

            We live in an era where the public spaces are cluttered with paid spokespeople and commercial agendas: where lobbyists for foreign-owned banks are more likely to be heard commenting on economic news than community groups, where legions of other PR people vie to promote their clients’ interests and where the public spaces available for real democratic activity are shrinking. This is about the cumulative impact of an ever-growing, professionalised industry for political and media manipulation: more and more paid manufacturing of news, more and more paid voices in so-called public discussion, greater influence of corporate election donations, fake community groups, more scripting of politicians by unseen advisers and so on; all of it tending to crowd out ordinary people or citizen groups that don’t have a PR company and a large advertising budget. If we have more and more and more of this stuff pouring into the public spaces, at what point do we realise that the river is no longer fit to swim in or to drink?

            These profound changes to the way politics occurs have unfortunately coincided with the multiple crises occurring within the news media. Exactly when better journalism is needed to compensate for so much organised manipulation of news and politics, highly commercialised media organisations have (with notable exceptions) become more superficial, more susceptible to vested interests and less thoughtful about what counts as legitimate news and commentary. In recent years, for instance, two major news organisations have published regular political and election columns by David Farrar, without telling their readers that he earns his living as the chief pollster for the governing party, the National Party, including being the person who regularly briefs the prime minister on the poll results. He has also appeared regularly as a “political commentator” on Newstalk ZB and breakfast television. A good measure of media organisations is to look at the balance in their choice of political commentators. Most are not balanced.

            More like that in the lecture, where Hager outlines the problems in a lot of detail.

      • richard 2.1.2

        …but he also did NOT take a clear position like that taken by Metiria and the Greens.

        I am hoping that Cunliffe’s milk and water response was an involuntary hangover from the days of non-commitalism that plagued labour for years.

  3. bad12 3

    There is something bizaare about Slippery the Prime Ministers little ‘faux revelation’ over what Labour might or might not do when it becomes the Government in 2014 with regards the ‘Sky-city deal’,

    i watched this story on TV3 news last night and the comparison in the two leaders of the respective parties, Labour and National was stark, Slippery the PM looking every bit the disheveled used car salesman gave off an air of desperation as He tried to convince God only knows who for God knows what reason that He has the inside gossip from within the Labour Party on what they would do with with the shoddy Sky-city deal struck by that company and Slippery’s National Government,

    On the other hand David Cunliffe looked every bit the composed Prime Minister in waiting as He quietly without undue rhetoric poo pooed Slippery the PM’s latest flight from the factual world of reality,

    Why the desperation tho, there has to be a reason why Slippery is trying to light a fire, one reason may be that Nationals own paid for Party polling is matching,(or worse), than what has been revealed by the last couple of Roy Morgans,

    The other, Blubber boy, the stench, the woeful trail of wreckage among the Party faithful in Auckland has as yet left the Parliamentary National MP’s blissfully untouched, without knowledge of, involvement in, and, if you will having all taken the vows of silence over,

    Except now, there is the rumor that Len Brown was tipped off by none other then a National Party MP that National’s own shit-spewing publicity organ in the form of Blubber boy was about to ‘out’ Brown,

    Is the Prime Ministers starting of a fire of distraction really just a pathetic ham-fisted attempt to divert attention away from what is as yet only the tiny whiff of a deeper story which leads right back to Nationals Parliamentary wing’s hands having been sullied by a deeper and as yet unreported involvement in this affair,

    Blubber boy reckons there is more yet to be revealed about the ‘Brown affair’, obviously believing anything that one says is always going to be a 50/50 proposition, BUT, if there is More to come, then, under fire from His own, i would suggest the only scandal, if He has one to release, can only be with regards a deeper involvement in the ‘Brown affair’ from Nationals Parliamentary wing than has so far been revealed…

    • MrSmith 3.1

      Perhaps Key is just trying to tell someone he has the GCSB in his pocket along with the SAS and The filth, so basically he know everything, so a warning maybe be careful Mr/Mrs before you …………………. etc.

  4. BM 4

    No doubt Cunliffe has been talking out of both sides of his mouth.
    Honestly, you don’t score a million dollar pad in Herne bay being a raving communist.

    All this cancel this, take back that stuff is complete bull shit said to keep the the paid up party members placated.

    One song sheet for the Labour sheeple, another one for business.

    • Tat Loo 4.1

      What should be worrying you is that many small and medium business owners quite like the new Labour message; after waiting for John Key’s brighter future for 5 years it’s no wonder.

      • BM 4.1.1

        What a load of horse shit

        Higher wage costs,crippling environmental taxes, another 10 tons of government bureaucracy and unionists poking their nose into their business every 5 minutes.

        Yeah, wow small to medium businesses are practically gagging for a new Labour led government.

        The only ones who don’t care are the big boys such as Sky city as they control the show, they’re above all that.

        • vto 4.1.1.1

          What a load of horse shit.

          I think you will find that most businesses would rather an equal and prosperous community where people earned enough to live on. That way their businesses prosper.

          You should get out more.

          • Tat Loo 4.1.1.1.1

            Correct – what BM regards as “higher wage costs” in fact equals “higher discretionary income for customers” – which is a great thing for small business.

        • MrSmith 4.1.1.2

          “Yeah, wow small to medium businesses are practically gagging for a new Labour led government.”

          We are BM, more money in the working man and woman’s pocket, so they can save it for their first home or spend it as they see fit, retailers and small business owners will be rubbing there hands together in glee as they were the last time Labour were running the show, when a lot of hard working people made their fortunes, not sitting on their asses trading bits of paper, but with sweat and hard work.

      • King Kong 4.1.2

        Perhaps you might like to provide the details on how you know these sme owners are signing up for their little red books.

        Talking to your dairy owner each morning doesn’t equate to “many”

        • One Anonymous Knucklehead 4.1.2.1

          If they were actually being offered little red books you might have a point.

          What they’re actually being offered (among other things) is the higher per capita GDP that always accompanies a Labour led government.

        • greywarbler 4.1.2.2

          KK

          Talking to your dairy owner each morning doesn’t equate to “many”

          That’s where our politicians get much of their background and backing for proceeding with their policies. They will often use the vague terms ‘people’ , or ‘everybody in NZ’ even. And they might include ‘overseas’ if they want to give an exotic authority to their precious brainfarts. Try listening, looking and thinking to them before coming here with your amused, bemused, naive questions.
          ook!

      • Populuxe1 4.1.3

        Given Labour’s message is mainly Blairite third wayism, I’m having difficulty spotting the difference.

    • Lanthanide 4.2

      “Honestly, you don’t score a million dollar pad in Herne bay being a raving communist.”

      You’re right. All you have to do is have bought your house sometime during the 90s and held onto it.

      Pretty easy.

      • Rob 4.2.1

        Lanthanide, you obviously do not live in Akl.

        When I returned from the UK in 92 I looked for housing in Auckland , finally settling on Onehunga which was the only suburb I could afford to buy in that was moderatly central. I paid 125K for the old 3 bed villa , that needed the full reno (rewireing, plumbing, lining, roof and pileing). Equivalent do -ups in Grey Lynn were 170K , Ponsonby were 200k and Herne bay was at least 250K , a shit load of money back then. Also my salary working in a science related business was 22K.

        Point being Herne Bay has been a very expensive suburb for along time and it is not open to poor strugglers.

        • fender 4.2.1.1

          It’s a good thing Cunliffe hasn’t claimed to be a poor struggler then eh.

          Can’t help admiring the guy though, he actually wants to improve things for strugglers. Whereas Key only cares for his rich mates.

    • bad12 4.3

      BM, aaah a good reply in the vein of the spastics knee can jerk after all, what i understand Labour leader David Cunliffe to be saying is that Labour once Government after November 2014, something i am sure has your knees twitching uncontrollably, is hardly going to stop construction of the proposed convention center in it’s tracks,

      Sky City seems to me to have the right to build such a convention center at it’s whim, however, Cunliffe has directly said that as the Government Labour and i assume the Green Party have the right to Legislate to ensure the minimization of harm from gambling and in this case pokey machines in particular,

      Put more simply, as YOU appear to all extents and purposes to be one, a simpleton that is, the next Labour/Green Government WILL Legislate for the number of pokey machines Sky-city are allowed on its current site in Auckland,

      To further simplify what will happen for you, in consideration of your obvious intellectual limitations, Sky-city will be allowed the same number of pokey machines on it’s present site as it had befor the ‘deal’ was struck with National,

      If Sky-city knowing this still ‘choose’ to build the proposed convention center what have they got to whine about…

  5. Philgwellington Wellington 5

    You are in the wrong place BM. You are clearly blue in a red/green zone;-)

  6. Lionel 6

    Go back to Whale Oil and Kiwiblog BM that is your home you are out of step with reality over here.

    • bad12 6.1

      BM and KK are over here at the Standard because of the fact that the comments they make stand out, over at the Sewerage pipes they are just minor dumps of intellectual defecation among the 1000’s of others talking shit,

      Neither of them have anything of a factual nature to impart their sole reason for commenting is to try and drag the Post off into unreadable Derrrr comments….

      • richard 6.1.1

        Poor little poppets. For the attention deprived, even being proved to be fools over and over again is better than getting no attention.

    • tc 6.2

      no being rostered on to TS is their role as shitelands is sitting on the naughty step so they’ve been very busy trolls lately. Maybe chris73’s day off.,

    • King Kong 6.3

      Did you just say “go back to the townships, you are not welcome here?”.

      I guess that makes me the Nelson Mandela of the Standard and BM the Desmond Tutu.

  7. Philgwellington Wellington 7

    Xox
    Donkeys go where Donkeys go. Kk go to the zoo, with the Donkeys.

  8. billbrowne 8

    Stand strong David, we don’t owe the MSM or the PM for that matter any policy-on-the-hoof just ’cause they want something to beat us over the head with.

  9. Zorr 9

    I’m just posting to say that New Zealand politics needs more representation by pink ponies. Please increase the pink pony quota 110% 🙂

  10. Vagabundo 10

    Hahaha, so it’s gotten to the point where Key has just claimed he has no ministerial responsibility over his own statements.

  11. ghostrider888 11

    66.6

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    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
    20 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
    2 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 ...
    2 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 ...

    4 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
  • The only thing we have to fear is tenants themselves
    1. Which of these acronyms describes the experience of travelling on a Cook Strait ferry?a. ROROb. FOMOc. RAROd. FMLAramoana, first boat ever boarded by More Than A Feilding, four weeks after the Wahine disaster2. What is the acronym for the experience of watching the government risking a $200 million break ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    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
    17 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
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  • NZ and the US: an ever closer partnership
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