Open mike 07/10/2012

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, October 7th, 2012 - 67 comments
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Step right up to the mike…

67 comments on “Open mike 07/10/2012 ”

  1. Te Reo Putake 1

    Snoop weighs up the difference between Romney and Obama. Turns out the name ‘Mitt’ is the decider. That and the dancing horse.
     

  2. Kevin Welsh 2

    Looks like it’s been the dumb fuckers leaving and much smarter people arriving…

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/7779840/Key-changes-tack-with-brain-exchange-tag

    • Bill 2.1

      Ah. The market provides again. Whoop. We have a brain exchange now. Wonder if Johnny Boy picked his up as a ‘not worth trading’ commodity that had been discarded on the trading room floor?

      Or is it just me who has images of ‘Futurama’ and heads in jars?

      • Dr Terry 2.1.1

        Have no fear Bill, by no means do you stand alone in this (and other) sound opinions concerning “Johnny Boy”! (The problem is that too many of us are much too often feeling alone and thus vulnerable – this is what Johnny and cohorts do to us). Maybe I am not making much sense of this!?

        • KJT 2.1.1.1

          Yeah right.
          In my industry we are losing all our young competent people and replacing them with poorly trained ring ins from overseas.

          The average age of the Kiwis that are left is 57.

          • muzza 2.1.1.1.1

            In my industry we are losing all our young competent people and replacing them with poorly trained ring ins from overseas.

            Indeed this is what I see also, and its not limited to any one industry. The ring ins also cost less, because they have little to no idea what a job might pay when they arrive, so it works to suppress wages nicely for the “owners”, quality be damned!

            I work amongst entire swathes, some of who can barely speak english, which while not in of itself a problem, it most certainly becomes one in the work place.

      • Tim 2.1.2

        The brain drain term was obviously just “mis-sold”. (I just mis-purchased a bottle of wine that tasted really cheap and nasty) – should I take it back? I’ll give it a go. Oh… and I mis-purchased a load of fruit that was individually packaged in plastic.

    • muzza 2.2

      We really do live with truly twisted liers, repeating the truly twisted thoughts of the spin team behind the faces…

    • David H 2.3

      Oh yeah right they are so smart, that they are going to come to live in NZ for shit wages, and even shittier conditions, in a country run by a fool. Now there’s a Tui Ad.

    • Murray Olsen 2.4

      My own experience is that a lot of the bright Kiwis are leaving, with the jobs going to third rate remnants of the empire from South Africa, Zimbabwe and Britain. This seems particularly true in universities and the public service, especially in the higher echelons. For example, to speak of Longstone, Rebstock, or those filling the ranks of the spy agencies in terms of a brain exchange may have been accurate in the days of live sheep exports, but haven’t they stopped? In my own field, most of the best people are in the academic diaspora, while semi competent self promoters from overseas are slowly filling the positions in Aotearoa.

  3. Jokerman 3

    THE DARK NIGHT

    In the delicious night,
    In privacy, where no one saw me,
    Nor did I see one thing,
    I had no light or guide
    But the fire that burned inside my chest.

    That fire showed me
    The way more clearly than the blaze of moon
    To where, waiting for me,
    Was the One I knew so well.
    In that place where no one ever is.

    Oh night, sweet guider,
    Oh night more marvelous than the dawn!
    Oh night which joins
    The lover and the beloved
    So that the lover and beloved change bodies!

    In my chest full of flowers,
    Flowering wholly and only for Him,
    There He remained sleeping;
    I cared for Him there,
    And the fan of the high cedars cooled Him.

    The wind played with
    His hair, and that wind from the high
    Towers struck me on the neck
    With its sober hand;
    Sight, taste, touch, hearing stopped.

    I stood still. I forgot who I was,
    My face leaning against Him,
    Everything stopped, abandoned me,
    My worldliness was gone, forgotten
    Among the white lilies.

    -John, The Weavers Apprentice

    He said to Moses, “I Will Be What, Where and How I Will Be”

    so back to the books, semi-monasticism, with a little gardening on the side.
    ( and they all said “tfft” 🙂 )

    Go In Peace

    -j

  4. David H 4

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/7779714/Businesses-targeted-in-student-visa-scam

    Private Training Establishments and businesses making a killing. it makes the word private a very dirty word, when used in conjunction with education.

    And you gotta love a battler..
    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/7779571/Jobless-battler-takes-on-Winz-for-a-3-cause

    • Draco T Bastard 4.1

      Re second link:

      Through Crown Law, Winz is fighting the decision and the case will be heard in the Dunedin High Court on Wednesday.

      “We disagree strongly with a number of elements of the decision. We are appealing to the High Court against some of the conclusions the tribunal has reached in deciding the Ministry [of Social Development] failed to comply with the Privacy Act, and most of the orders made by the tribunal,” chief executive Debbie Power said. “In particular we are appealing the order that we review our processes.”

      Holmes now believes he won’t see the cash awarded him and was “very annoyed” to get the appeal papers this past week.

      Gee, what a surprise. WINZ fucks someone over and then complains about being caught doing it.

    • weka 4.2

      Second link – that is such an awesome story, someone should give that guy a fucking medal. His original enquiry was over a $3.73 mispayment and WINZ fucked it up so badly that the HRC eventually awards the guy $17,000 in damages.

      It should be noted that the kinds of mistakes reported in the article are pretty standard, so this case seems groundbreaking to me. WINZ have just been told by the Human Rights Commission that their processes at a system and institutional level are broken and need to be fixed.

      It will be interesting to see what the courts do with it. Won’t be the first time that WINZ have lost a battle in the High Court due to not treating a beneficiary properly with respect to entitlements. 

      Edit: actually the Human Rights Tribunal which is part of the Dept of Justice (not the HRC).

    • Murray Olsen 4.3

      Some Dunedin people who were part of the recent National Day of Action are organising support for the old battler. He won’t be alone at the High Court on Wednesday.

  5. Dr Terry 5

    The numbers who are brave enough to see through Key and his gang, must at all costs hang in there with patience. Despair will mean victory for them, as tempting as it is to submit to despair.

    • muzza 5.1

      Sounds reasonable…

      So who will be turning it around then, if you were pressed for an an answer Dr T?

      • Dr Terry 5.1.1

        muzza. First of all I must look to myself and my own thoughts and actions, next to my family and friends, then by my contributions through the Green Party and the Labour Party (especially Mr Cunliffe), and, most importantly, I would look to you in person! (Actually, I am not finished yet, but this will do for starters).

        • muzza 5.1.1.1

          Quite right Dr T,

          We can only positively influence what we directly touch, and if all people started with themselves, and worked outwards from there, it would be a very good start. If we are able to influence so well, then it could perhaps turn into being able to influence what we do not directly touch. Thats when things could get very interesting indeed.

  6. Dv 6

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/sunday-star-times/latest-edition/7779753/Payroll-chaos-latest-burden-for-teachers

    A ”shambolic” Education Ministry payroll system is threatening to shatter the resilience of Christchurch teachers who are already at war with the Government, principals say.

    They say the $29 million Novopay system, implemented in August, is an added burden for Christchurch schools affected by the Government’s recent education shake-up, involving closures and mergers.

    Since Novopay was introduced, some schools have had to foot the bill when staff were underpaid and in other cases ex-staff members have reappeared on the payroll.

    • David H 6.1

      Ummm What was wrong with the old system???

      • Dv 6.1.1

        >>>Ummm What was wrong with the old system
        It worked!!!

        I think, but I don’t really know that the new system is web based.

        Maybe ianmac or some one more connected can tell us.

        The reappearance of teachers on the payroll who have resigned is odd.
        Obviously one problem is the data transition.

        • Tony P 6.1.1.1

          Yes it is web based and has caused a lot of trouble for the ancillary staff in schools who deal with payroll. Apparently Novopay knew they weren’t ready but the MOE insisted they commence operations. Most teacher’s thankfully haven’t had problems, it’s support staff, relievers and part time staff who appear to have had the most problems.

          • tc 6.1.1.1.1

            Sounds familiar, experienced supplier says ‘not ready’ normally due to the feckless incompetence of the client but gets told to go live anyway.

            Ryalls been doing that in the DHB’S backend, gotta have those ticks in boxes, job done bonuses for the mangers all around.

            Supershity is still cleaning up after sergeant Ford, Rortney and Shonkeys forced shambles and is effectively still 7 councils once you scratch the surface with the same mad as meat axes managers bullying people around, they just get paid more now like bully boy McKay.

          • BonnieW 6.1.1.1.2

            Talent2 not being ready? – they had more than four years!!!

        • ianmac 6.1.1.2

          Sorry DV. Not connected but will ask neighbours. When the Ministry said fewer than 100 had problems I thought that it was a politically motivated number because who would be able to show that it might be thousands?

        • Dv 6.1.1.3

          One of the ‘thing’ that has irritated one teacher (Part time) that I know is their pay has been reduced by 3 cents a pay.
          It is apparently that each calculation is rounded as it is done. and not at the end.

          Now I know that is sort of trivial, BUT really irritating.
          Why can’t they just round at the end.

  7. Draco T Bastard 7

    Financial Warfare: Destabilizing Iran’s Monetary System

    While combating the challenges that economic sanctions represent is an arduous task for any government, it is important to recognize that these sanctions are not aimed against Iran’s government, but at its poor and merchant population. An unnamed US intelligence source cited by the Washington Post claims:

    ”In addition to the direct pressure sanctions exert on the regime’s ability to finance its priorities, another option here is that they will create hate and discontent at the street level so that the Iranian leaders realize that they need to change their ways.”

    Washington has long engaged in psychological operations that aim to foment the kind of “hate and discontent” among Iran’s factory workers, merchants, shopkeepers, students, and manufacturers – as part of a series of measures taken to coax widespread social discontent and unrest throughout the country to topple the government.

    Magical Thinking, Meteorology and Economic Forecasting.

    In banking terms the UK has close to £2 trillion in unsecured loans. This level of debt is not neutral. This level of debt has a huge impact. Part of the problem is that debt incurs rent. Yes, the principle cancels out, but interest payments don’t. We don’t know what the average rate of interest is on all this debt, but let’s assume it’s 10%. That means that interest payments are about 47% of GDP. Almost half the annual income of the UK. That is very far from a neutral amount, and may well be an underestimate. If we take the population in 2010 to be 60 million, then in 2010 we all owed nearly £120,000. This is probably a bit higher now because the government is worth less.

    Emphasis mine.

    • mike e 7.1

      DTB after 3 years of Tory Austerity the RWNJ’s have increased the National debt by more than 20% after saying repeatedly that austerity was the only answer to the UK”s economy Austerity has made it far worse

    • Colonial Viper 7.2

      That means that interest payments to banks and financial bondholders are about 47% of GDP.

      For the sake of clarity: this is where all the money being “saved” by austerity is going.

      • muzza 7.2.1

        http://www.johnpemberton.co.nz/html/debt_graph_info.pdf

        New Zealand government official stats show $318 billion NZ originated private institution credit money. They then treat as assets and deduct what has been invested overseas and come up with what they call Net International Investment Position which appears much less alarming despite that money competting to find profit in an international financial system where the international debt is also unrepayable from the day its born.
        Even if the foreign investments from NZ where able to be repatriated in quick time they would come back to only the wealthiest few who control them and not benefit wider society as implied. Just more smoke and mirrors;
        http://www.parliament.nz/en-NZ/ParlSupport/ResearchPapers/3/4/6/00PlibCIP121-New-Zealand-s-International-Investment-Position.htm

        $318 billion debt based money supply at annual interest rate of 7% equals $22 odd billion interest repayment that is essentially rent upon a revolving line of credit that circulates as our money supply.
        Given most of that interest finds its way back to the same largest owners of larger international banks who own largest stake holdings in Australian banks who own NZ banks, it puts to shame the 1.3 billion they give back in tax and shout from the roof tops as being so beneficial to the prosperity of the nation?

      • Draco T Bastard 7.2.2

        Exactly CV.

  8. AsleepWhileWalking 8

    Herald gets headline wrong. Should read, “Meathead says raping a woman built his character”

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10838938

    Piss off, loser. “The People” don’t want you as much as your brain damaged mind would like to imagine.

    Quote:

    “Tyson served three years in prison after the 1991 rape of an 18-year-old woman in an Indianapolis hotel room.

    He insisted during a visit to London, however, that the negative experiences in his life have shaped his character.

    “Anything that I would have got away from, being in prison, having fights, biting (Evander) Holyfield; (the) lack of that, my life would be miserable,” Tyson said as he launched a new range of boxing gear.”

  9. Tim 9

    Jesus H. Christ!…….check THIS out!
    http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/columnists/john-hartevelt/7778670/Key-must-press-on-to-fix-spy-agency

    “But the prime minister deserves some credit for his willingness to turn over more information about the secretive spy agency…….” (John Hartevelt)

    Who IS this guy?

    Straws. at. clutching
    a-wishin. a-hopin
    Faith and hope
    carry on Major
    Chin up
    itchim, smetchim, goan fowid, oim rilexed

    • Tim 9.1

      Oh…apologies… I see from the link I just posted that John Hartevelt is a “columnist”. Let’s commend Fairfax for being charitable

      • Dr Terry 9.1.1

        Tim. Fairfax is showing its true colours, that’s about all. Indeed, Key apologised NOT for himself but for his minions who suffered through absence of his leadership. Key did “the right things” only under immense duress. So, he is a Saint? Even worse people than him have been canonised.

  10. NickS 10

    http://littlegreenfootballs.com/article/41015_Video_by_Simpsons_Animator_Lucas_Gray-_Why_Obama_Now/

    Not that the right will ever abandon a failed policy in the face of overwhelming evidence that it doesn’t fucking work 🙄

  11. smokeskreen 11

    Just a random thought….whatever happened to the Cullen Fund which seems to have sunk without trace never to be seen again? Does anybody know?

  12. Draco T Bastard 12

    More news from Planet Key.

  13. Jenny 13

    Blood on our hands?

    New Zealand’s Afghan interpreters go public, pleading to New Zealanders for their lives.

    Will Key and our military leaders heed their call and do the right thing?

    Or will New Zealand’s ill advised ten year involvement in the Afghan war result in one final outrage?

    A former Afghan interpreter who now lives in Christchurch said it felt as though his colleagues had been “used and abandoned” by the New Zealand Government.

    Diamond Kazimi, 19, was granted asylum in New Zealand last year after serving as a translator with the troops in Bamiyan for 18 months.

    Interpreters lived on base with the soldiers, ate with them, went on patrols with them and were like brothers, he said.

    Since his move, the Linwood College pupil has been involved in pre-deployment training for New Zealand soldiers heading to Afghanistan. He agreed the troops should withdraw.

    “But don’t leave the interpreters behind to die for helping. Do you even care about these people who have done a service to New Zealand soldiers?”

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/7779871/Dear-Mr-Key-please-don-t-leave-us-to-die

  14. Draco T Bastard 14

    So, while Key is over in Hollywood talking up making films here Weta are importing workers.

    Overseas film making crew are pouring into New Zealand while the prime minister is in Los Angeles claiming Hollywood investment in New Zealand creates jobs.

    Speaking this weekend on TV3’s The Nation programme this weekend, Wellington city councillor Jo Coughlan and NZCTU president Helen Kelly agreed 400 overseas technicians had recently applied for visas to work at the Weta post production facility in the capital.

    Seems somewhat self-defeating to subsidise multi-national conglomerates to bring work here to NZ only to give those jobs to foreigners. Especially while we have such massive unemployment.

    • Colonial Viper 14.1

      Good old Peter Jackson screwing NZ workers yet again. I hope those Weta employees who marched against union protections understand a bit better what is happening now.

    • karol 14.2

      Yes, I saw that before I went to work this morning.  Also, as I recall, someone (probably Kelsey) said something about the TPPA rules will make it harder for films by NZ production companies to use the web to market or distribute their films. 
      All about Hollywood protecting their market advantage.  Why would they want to concede anything to the NZ industry?

  15. just saying 15

    http://www.academia.edu/1273785/The_three_Ds_of_welfare_reform_disability_disgust_and_deservingness

    From the Australian Journal of Human rights an interesting analysis of the deliberate strategy of manipulating public disgust towards welfare beneficiaries, by the Howard government, in order to further the aims of the neoliberal elites in changing public beliefs about distributive justice and social rights.

    Apologies for the poor reproduction of the text. I’m not sure why it has transferred badly from the link. embolding mine.

    Via the Feminist Carnival Down Under.

    …..While parliamentary debates were a key means for promulgating a discourse of disgust, the most common device used by the Howard government to reframethe welfare recipient as untrustworthy, lazy and morally deficient was the media release. For the period between the initial launch of the welfare reform project bySenator Newman in September 1999 and the successful passage of the
    EmploymentandWorkplaceRelationsLegislationAmendment(WelfaretoWorkandOtherMeasures) Act2005
    (Cth) in December 2005, a search on the Factiva database reveals over 3125 media publications that directly linked welfare, social security, Centrelinkor pensions to fraudulent claims and welfare ‘cheats’. As a crude measure, thisrepresents approximately 1.47 newspaper articles across the country daily.
    5
    Much ofthe media campaign was fed by the political elite in order to mark out the welfarerecipient as unworthy of redistributive public welfare. The notion of the disgusting‘welfare fraudster’ (Vanstone 2002, 1) was repeated extensively through the rulingparty’s term in office. Consistent repetitive moral discourses of fraud spanned severalyears and acted to criminalise the welfare recipient:……

    …..‘morally untrustworthy welfare recipient’ was produced andreproduced. With each repetition, powerful moral discourses eventually becameaccepted as unquestioned social truths in the Australian public sphere (Soldaticand Fiske 2009)
    . Ultimately, disgust aroused the public senses to haunt, disturb anddisrupt the established normative notions of deserving tied to disability entitlements.Disgust, with its insidious stickiness, oozed subtlety (see Ahmed 2004; Lawler 2005),underpinning and emerging within public discourses on the welfare subject, thusforming the ‘glue’ required to combine the range of necessary contingencies to shiftthe public understandings of distributive justice and social rights.

    • Jokerman 15.1

      Excellent

    • kiwi_prometheus 15.2

      That’s why we need the ‘Big Kahuna’ by Gareth Morgan. http://www.bigkahuna.org.nz

      A Royal Commission quote from the site:

      “A system designed only to assist the poor helps perpetuate existing social and economic inequality in the longer run by reinforcing distinctions between the poor and the rest of society, and at the same time it may lock the poor into a cycle of poverty by its system of benefit abatement.”

      [ So the present system stigmatises the poor, may even keep them down ]

      “A further implication is that a highly targeted system will ultimately face considerable resistance from taxpayers unwilling to support a system perceived as rewarding the improvident and providing themselves with no return for their contributions.”

      [ So the present system is seen as unfair by many of those needed to contribute. So the neocon/liberal/right or whatever you want to call them can get a lot of political mileage out of this. ]

      When will the Left move to a new paradigm that stays true to the original goal of wealth redistribution and deals with the problems of the outmoded bloated welfare state?

      Raving on about the end of capitalism and patriarchy definitely won’t help the Left.

      • KJT 15.2.1

        For once I agree with you. Gareth Morgan has excellent ideas about income distribution and fair taxation.

        Abatement rates for those trying to get work on benefits are a definite obstacle to taking on part time or full time work. The same people who claim that tax rates of 30% stop the wealthy from working harder or staying here are fine with 100% or even more abatement rates for those who try and supplement their benefit or try and get into some work.

        The savings in not having to employ all the arrogant, holier than thou, twits in WINZ would be immense, for a start. Though so many of them would be unemployable elsewhere, that the number unemployed may increase.

        I also like his idea of wheedling out tax dodgers by taxing them on the risk free return rate on wealth. No one with 50 million is going to have no earnings from it. Obviously there are a lot of bludgers, using services provided by taxpayers, at the top end of the scale, when 50% of our wealthiest people pay no tax.

        I was interested in the GMI long before Morgan suggested it, but it solves a lot of problems.

        • prism 15.2.1.1

          KJT 15.2.1
          Good points. Particularly the benefit abatement rate that is so high. It is possible that those on benefits will always find employment only at the minimum wage. A sensible and pragmatic government would see benefits as a base and then want and help beneficiaries to extend themselves with some study at technics, particularly solo parents.

          Also to get some paid work to keep up their work profile, if no paid work then work regularly at some volunteer job, and look at helping with seasonal work in some form. This would be facilitated by transport and child care provision for instance. The demands of WINZ workers can create more financial burdens for struggling people. One of my cash-strapped relations with family worries as well, had to drive her own car at her own expense many kilometres to an orchard job only to find that work had been cancelled that day because of bad weather. I think it was demanded that she start on a certain day, and no allowance made for shut downs of the employer.

          The authoritarian attitude of the state and its servants in WINZ is to despise people who are struggling,and to disregard parents responsibilities and the child-raising skills needed despite all the professional and academic statements that good early childhood care creates well balanced children and citizens. Government should be assisting the opportunities for beneficiaries and low income people to have as good quality and useful life as possible, not to simply concentrate on employment league tables and concentrate on lesser numbers for their stats. Their goal should be to have happy people working and achieving at something that is suitable to their circumstances and that would benefit society and be cheaper to administer by $million.

  16. joe90 16

    Replying to Paul Broun and his lies straight from the pit of hell.

    Well, if the Big Bang is a lie from the pit of hell, then the Universe itself is lying to us, and I’m a liar repeating those lies that it tells us about itself. Here’s why.

    • Jokerman 16.1

      on the same wavelength. (in the beginning was the information, and the information was with…)
      Always love your posts joe. -Kirk Out

    • weka 17.1

      can you post a link that doesn’t need registration?

    • felix 17.2

      But look at the trade volumes on that spike yesterday, all ones and twos on the way up. Looks like some gaming going on as usual.

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  • 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 ...
    11 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
    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
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  • Prime Minister Luxon acknowledges legacy of Singapore Prime Minister Lee
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