Open mike 09/10/2012

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, October 9th, 2012 - 114 comments
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Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner).

Step right up to the mike…

114 comments on “Open mike 09/10/2012 ”

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  1. Jenny 1
    9 October 2012 at 6:13 am

    Besides lying and breaking the law, how far will the National Government and our state forces go to please our US ally?

    Will John Key and our military leaders condemn our Afghan interpreters and their families to certain death?

    Will our courts without hearing the evidence against him, condemn Kim Dotcom to prison conditions which may well constitute torture under the UN conventions against torture?

    Just last week Juan Mandez the UN Rapporteur on Torture came out with a statement against the extradition of suspected Islamist terrorists to the US because they will be subjected to a type of incarceration that risks being constituted as torture under the UN conventions against torture.

    US state no longer upholds legal rights: “Violates the law”, lawyer

    At 7:20 on the tape

    ….. the solitary confinement they will be put in, the lack of communication they will be under, their ability to do anything there, may well constitute torture under the UN torture convention.

    “People cannot be sent to the United States because they will be tortured in US custody.”

    Michael Ratner President emeritus of the Centre for Constitutional Rights (CCR) in New York and chair of the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights in Berlin.

    Should Dotcom be worried that these conditions will be imposed on him?

    Going by the anti-terror tactics used in his arrest and the secret anti-terror organisations that have been deployed against him. The chances are more than even, that Kim Dotcom will find himself in an underground cell under 23 hour solitary confinement in ADX Florence.

    “A cleaner version of hell”

  2. muzza 2
    9 October 2012 at 7:34 am

    Your right to resell your own stuff is in peril

    CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — Tucked into the U.S. Supreme Court’s busy agenda this fall is a little-known case that could upend your ability to resell everything from your grandmother’s antique furniture to your iPhone 4.

    At issue in Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons is the first-sale doctrine in copyright law, which allows you to buy and then sell things like electronics, books, artwork and furniture as well as CDs and DVDs, without getting permission from the copyright holder of those products.

    Under the doctrine, which the Supreme Court has recognized since 1908, you can resell your stuff without worry because the copyright holder only had control over the first sale.

    Interesting….

    • David H 2.1
      9 October 2012 at 10:27 am

      Madness. Pure and simple madness. But what can you expect from the land of the Paranoid and Insane?

      • Colonial Viper 2.1.1
        9 October 2012 at 11:25 am

        Its what PC game makers have been trying to do for years. Kill the second hand market for PC games with copy protection (e.g. limited numbers of licence activations) in order to force people to buy new copies of games at premium prices.

    • aerobubble 2.2
      9 October 2012 at 12:09 pm

      But wait. If we need to recycle more, as the worlds raw material run out, then we need to
      regulate materials better. If, as I believe, producers need to take responsibility for the waste,
      then it follows that ownership in a object isn’t just the holder. This idea then is more in tune with
      our per-industrial forebears, sole ownership of any property was essentially theft.
      The whole idea behind legislation, its preventative effect, requires a invasion not so invisible
      hand into the market place in order to direct the effects of the market towards social goods.
      Away from slavery, serfdom…monopolies, regulatory capture (obviously our current regimes
      are in denial about that particular one).

      Information should be free, ideas should never be patentable (including genes).

      • Draco T Bastard 2.2.1
        9 October 2012 at 12:19 pm

        Information should be free, ideas should never be patentable (including genes).

        QFT

    • Draco T Bastard 2.3
      9 October 2012 at 12:17 pm

      The case stems from Supap Kirtsaeng’s college experience. A native of Thailand, Kirtsaeng came to the U.S. in 1997 to study at Cornell University. When he discovered that his textbooks, produced by Wiley, were substantially cheaper to buy in Thailand than they were in Ithaca, N.Y., he rallied his Thai relatives to buy the books and ship them to him in the U.S.

      He then sold them on eBay, making upwards of $1.2 million, according to court documents.

      haha, that’s funny.

      Of course, what we’re actually seeing here is the actions of capitalism to control the market clearly showing that we do not have a free-market. And the reason why we don’t have a free-market is because capitalism would never survive in one.

      BTW, reports are that the TPPA will ban parallel imports.

  3. vto 3
    9 October 2012 at 9:01 am

    Watching Nigel Latta’s Darklands program last night was sad and depressing. It was about the circumstances that led to Nia Glassie’s death at the hands of her family in 2007. It looked at the broken families and the cycle of violence.

    A question occurred to me… When did these broken dyusfunctional families come into existence? I understand how such dysfunctionality can arise and how difficult it is to break, but I don’t understand when this started. Using the Nia Glassie example, she was effectively killed by the Curtis brothers who were raised in an incrediblty violent household, especially from their father Bill Curtis.

    So Bill Curtis must also have been raised in similar circumstances, I assume, following the accepted logic and wisdom around this issue. Bill Curtis looks like he would be a baby boomer, meaning he was born around 1950-60. His parents would therefore probably have been born around 1930-40. Did Bill Curtis’s parents start the cycle? Or was it their parents again?

    What I am trying to ascertain is when this destructive feature arose in these families. Was it in the 1950s? Or was it in the 1930s? Or was it the generation prior to that? Once that is established the next questions would seem to be around what circumstances existed in NZ at that particular time to ignite this destruction..? When and what circumstances?

    • Antonina 3.1
      9 October 2012 at 9:40 am

      Hi vto – my personal theory is that a large number of men came back to NZ from WW2, put everything behind them , married, raised a family, worked hard etc. Many were severely traumatised and the effect on children was sometimes extreme. Just a theory.

    • Enough is Enough 3.2
      9 October 2012 at 9:46 am

      It is a great question VTO and would be a fascinating study.

      I am not sure it is a 20th century problem. Discipline, was mistaken for violence for generations. Society as whole decided to break the cycle of violent discipline in the second half of last century.

      The Curtis family was more violent that most others, but having a father that beat the shit out of his kids for them spilling some milk was not uncommon at all. It was not considered dysfunctional.

      I don’t think it began during any period. I think it ended as a result of the left campaigning against domestic violence.

    • Tiger Mountain 3.3
      9 October 2012 at 9:53 am

      There are studies of this on the net. Once over lightly intro here at Te Ara http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/child-abuse/5

      Essentially child abuse and neglect has always been with us. The ‘idyllic’ 50s and 60s were also a time of widespread ‘stranger’ child adoption, fostered out children and private and state run childrens/teens homes and borstals often with violent cultures. Mental health care was institutionalised with little public scrutiny with elctro shock therapy–ECT and ‘chemical straightjackets’ being worse than some disorders. Priests and others charged with looking after kids were often happily kid fiddling away.

      Corporal punishment was the norm, can you imagine todays school kids being repeatedly whacked with leather straps and canes? Poorer kids were effected more as ever, the government used to run health camps where disadvantaged kids would go for 6 weeks and be properly fed up. Some is family bred, the abused as modern research show often go on to abuse. Spousal assault was viewed by the Police as a domestic until recent times, rape in marriage was not considered possible again until recent times. So New Zealand has definitely a dark sadistic past and some of us maintain it is still there in some with the bennie bashing etc.

      So while today there is more reporting and social work around abuse and public campaigns that have made a difference there is also more of the factors that promote child abuse. It can be about power too, alienated men and women rendered useless by unemployment and poverty lash out at the vulnerable and feel good about themselves for a small while in obviously the most twisted way.

    • David H 3.4
      9 October 2012 at 10:42 am

      Yes I watched it as well, and of being that age myself I’m 57 I noticed the same thing when growing up in England. Alcoholism mixed with PTSD and god knows what other mental problems after WWII and there were NO psychologists and very few Psychiatrists and the favoured form of Torture treatment was the Electro shock therapy where they fried your synapses and screwed with your memory. So of course people kept away from the Doctor and also it’s not the image of a Man in the 50’s&60’s to have mental problems. And of course this attitude has just been handed down from Father to son and it’s a destructive cycle.

      edit:Damn The word Torture should have a strike through, for some reason it didn’t work.

    • Jokerman 3.5
      9 October 2012 at 11:24 am

      Truth in All The Above.
      This can be one dark freakin country unfortunately. It is It is Extremely Necessary and Sufficient that
      We Seek The Light

      🙂

    • Draco T Bastard 3.6
      9 October 2012 at 12:23 pm

      When did these broken dyusfunctional families come into existence?

      IMO, When the nuclear family started to become the norm and extended families and community integration were shut down.

      Was it in the 1950s? Or was it in the 1930s?

      As far as NZ goes, I’ve heard that it was imported from Britain in the 19th century.

    • insider 3.7
      9 October 2012 at 1:09 pm

      Labour was in power so it must be their fault, just like everything happening now is Key’s 🙂

    • vto 3.8
      9 October 2012 at 3:57 pm

      Hmm, all interesting points. There is surely an element of the old school “discipline” hangover from colonists and other immigrants carrying over to the different norms of today. But it is seemingly more prevalent in polynesian families so how would that have transferred to them so viciously? I can understand how it has come about in families of british background but not how it has come about in the others, and when it comes to that when and how did it arise? We are told that it didn’t exist in pre-european maori society yet it exists today – when did that happen? In the generation of Bill Curtis’ parents born around 1930’s? Or the generations prior to that? 1930’s, 1950’s, 1910’s, 1880’s? When did it start? And then, why?

  4. Jokerman 4
    9 October 2012 at 10:36 am

    The Poor
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/oct/08/new-delhi-westminster-cavalier-poor?
    Monbiot on The Poison of Colonisation
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/oct/08/empire-torture-kenya-catastrophe-europe?
    Chavez The Faithful
    http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/08/venezuela-election-hugo-chavez?
    Commodus
    http://www.smh.com.au/business/markets/stocks-commodities-weaker-on-world-outlook-20121009-279v8.html?
    The Olive Pit
    http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article36907.html?

    For the upright will live in the land,
    and the blameless will remain in it;
    but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
    and the unfaithful will be torn from it.
    -Pr 3:21

    God Bless Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers (“I Should Have Known”)

    • just saying 4.1
      9 October 2012 at 11:35 am

      Thanks Jokerman.
      The Manibot link was particularly powerful, and is very pertinent to the discussion at 3, above.

  5. Tim 5
    9 October 2012 at 10:49 am

    Muff McGillicuddy to visit Malaysia, Indonesia

    http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1210/S00137/mccully-to-visit-malaysia-indonesia.htm
    What do you reckon might be on his agenda?

    How to help bail out Australia with its refugee “problem” perhaps? ….and of course at the same time find a way of legitimising recent POINTLESS NZ legislation to do with those countless waves of “boat people/queue jumpers/illegals” we supposedly going to get.

  6. ianmac 6
    9 October 2012 at 10:50 am

    Nearly missed this from yesterday. Hope Draco doesn’t mind but it seems important to me:

    Draco T Bastard 26
    9 October 2012 at 12:01 am

    “Spin me a brain exchange”, said Dear Leader!

    I offer this salient piece of advice to Dear Leader and the National Party; if we expect commitment from New Zealanders – then, as a nation, we must show commitment to our young folk, and to each other.

    That involves old fashioned concepts and values such as pride in our country. Not just our flag or rugby team or latest successful movie by Peter Jackson – but pride in a nation that invests in each citizen with universal, free education; food in schools programmes; decent housing; comprehensive free healthcare for our young people; fair wages sufficient to raise a family on; everyone paying their taxes (no exceptions for capital gains, sorry), and ensuring that no one is left behind.

    A simple clear statement of aspiration which would suit many, -I reckon.

  7. karol 7
    9 October 2012 at 11:01 am

    In the last hour, Winston Peters has issued a press release saying he has evidence that the PM’s office knew about Dotcom earlier than previously stated.  Key claims his staff didn’t pass the information on to him?

    The Prime Minister confirmed in reply to a written question from New Zealand First that his office knew about Dotcom in July last year.

    “In July 2011 one of my staff was advised by Hon Simon Power’s office by phone that Hon Power was declining an OIO [Overseas Investment Office] application from Kim Dotcom.

    “This information was not conveyed to me as it was routine,” Mr Key said in his written reply.

     
     
     

    • Colonial Viper 7.1
      9 October 2012 at 11:10 am

      Simple question:

      “Does the PM hold any concerns that he has been kept isolated from other important information by his staff?”

    • Anne 7.2
      9 October 2012 at 11:12 am

      “Mr Key’s involvement in the whole fiasco stinks like a sweaty Hobbit’s armpit in summer,” says Mr Peters.

      Love it.

      • marty mars 7.2.1
        9 October 2012 at 6:09 pm

        Just listened to the news and it was all bad for key, real bad – Winston ripping key. I’m starting to believe that he might go down for this.

        • karol 7.2.1.1
          9 October 2012 at 6:17 pm

          It’s the headline story on TV3 6pm news, and Garner reckons it’s not good news for Key.
          TV One News haven’t included it in it’s headline summary.  It’s leading with the cuts to youth wage.
          I’ve taken to recording the 6pm news on My freeview so I can switch between them, and stop and start – flick through the ads.

    • Treetop 7.3
      9 October 2012 at 7:43 pm

      I would like to know what documentation Dotcom has got from Power in regard to OIO if any and what the documentation from OIO is to Power and Dotcom. As well if Key signed anything to do with the OIO regarding Dotcom.

    • Poission 7.4
      9 October 2012 at 8:34 pm

      Different story to what he said in Parliament,where he now has to make a personal statement.Which which will be the third statement ( 3 strikes).Winston if framed correctly can now call him a liar in parliament thanks to Lockwood’s ruling.

  8. Anne 8
    9 October 2012 at 11:26 am

    Seriously:

    ”Why would Mr Power relay the information to the Prime Minister’s office if it wasn’t for the consumption of the Prime Minister?”

    There’s a pattern developing here and its been going on for a long time.

    No-one tells John Key anything to do with Kim Dotcom! Could an instruction have been issued along the lines:

    If its to do with that Dotcom guy, I don’t want to know?

    • ianmac 8.1
      9 October 2012 at 11:59 am

      Of course the Right Honourable Prime Minister John Key (Knighthood Pending), would be constantly thinking of high level Philosophical Aspirations for his Gated Planet Key, and therefore the trivial matters like Growing Unemployment, National Security Mega-upload, and unobtrusive constituents such as Kim Dotcom would not dare to be referred to him.
      Beggars belief John Key. Either Dishonest, or Incompetent. Choose one.

      • Anne 8.1.1
        9 October 2012 at 12:58 pm

        Dishonest

        • Jackal 8.1.1.1
          9 October 2012 at 3:19 pm

          It’s called Plausible Deniability, a term first coined by the CIA. What Key and the GCSB are doing is taken directly out of their handbook:

          In politics and espionage, deniability refers to the ability of a “powerful player” or intelligence agency to avoid “blowback” by secretly arranging for an action to be taken on their behalf by a third party ostensibly unconnected with the major player.

          • ianmac 8.1.1.1.1
            9 October 2012 at 8:27 pm

            Yes. I can imagine Powers phone clerk in PM’s office. The clerk tells a special person. The special person tells Key in a lift or somewhere private. Key nods and says “I did not hear what you just said. Get it?”
            The trouble with that is that the clerk knows Key knows.

            • gobsmacked 8.1.1.1.1.1
              9 October 2012 at 8:52 pm

              If the staffer was Phil de Joux (as rumoured) then he would know not to tell Key.

              Plausible deniability is more than just “I didn’t hear”, it’s having staff who know the drill in the first place. Those who have worked with Brand Key since he was in opposition (as de Joux has) would know automatically that protecting the Brand is paramount.

              • Colonial Viper …
                9 October 2012 at 9:18 pm

                Now it begins to work against Key however, as it looks like what it is: a pattern of deliberate ignorance brought about by a strategy of active avoidance.

                • McFlock …
                  9 October 2012 at 9:29 pm

                  there’s a reason one-trick ponies are not regarded highly. 
                  Oh, I’ll grant them it was a good trick for a couple of elections, but they need to pull finger and find something else doubleplus fast. 

                • marty mars …
                  9 October 2012 at 11:55 pm

                  I agree – active avoidance + deliberate ignorance = shifty. And once that sticks down he goes.

    • Lanthanide 8.2
      9 October 2012 at 12:06 pm

      “No-one tells John Key anything to do with Kim Dotcom! Could an instruction have been issued along the lines:

      If its to do with that Dotcom guy, I don’t want to know?”

      I’ve been thinking this for a while.

      Key is very adamant he’d never heard of Dotcom before the raid. So I think there won’t be any evidence to contradict this claim, because he’ll have made sure there isn’t.

    • insider 8.3
      9 October 2012 at 1:14 pm

      Why. So that his office can decide if he needs to know. They are all paranoid gatekeepers of information. Same thing happened under Clark. Just cos Heather Simpson knew about things didn’t mean HC did.

      • mickysavage 8.3.1
        9 October 2012 at 1:32 pm

        BS on that insider.

        Helen Clark had this amazing really scary ability to know what was happening around her.  She knew most ministers’ portfolios better than they did.

        Key is the opposite.  It seems that all sorts of carnage can happen around him and he has no idea, and he never sees it coming.

        To compare him to Clark is to compare chalk and cheese. 

        • insider 8.3.1.1
          9 October 2012 at 1:44 pm

          Mickey I was comparing processes not people. I don’t think anyone would disagree that Clark was a micro manager and is a once in a generation event. but even she did not know everything her office knew at all times. Flunkies filter. That’s their job.

          • gobsmacked 8.3.1.1.1
            9 October 2012 at 2:09 pm

            Flunkies filter. That’s their job.

            Perhaps. But once your boss is telling the country that he had never heard of Dotcom before the raid, then it’s certainly the flunky’s job to tell the boss: “Excuse me Sir, the office knew” – so the PM can stop giving hostages to fortune.

            Unless, of course, the flunky has been told (directly or not) that such information should not be passed on, even after the fact.

          • Draco T Bastard 8.3.1.1.2
            9 October 2012 at 4:19 pm

            I don’t think anyone would disagree that Clark was a micro manager and is a once in a generation event.

            May have been a once in a generation event (I doubt it though as far too many people don’t get to sit in the spotlight to be able to tell) but I don’t think she was a micro-manager – she didn’t move into managing someone else’s responsibility unless that someone else fucked up. Just a manager that knew what she should have known.

            Flunkies filter. That’s their job.

            They filter it down to bite size pieces – they do not keep it from the person they work for.

            • insider 8.3.1.1.2.1
              9 October 2012 at 4:37 pm

              No they also filter out stuff that they don’t consider important or relevant, and timing and context are important criteria in those decisions. You’re saying the boss gets to hear about absolutely everything the minions know, just in précis. Organisations don’t work that way, because i suspect we all know that huge amounts of information gets passed on between individuals for a range of reasons, but not all of it is useful. Can you say that every single email you’ve received this week contained something relevant to you?

              • gobsmacked …
                9 October 2012 at 5:53 pm

                No, but I can say that if my boss ever goes on TV and says he’s never heard of somebody, and I had previously had a phone call from a senior colleague about that somebody, then I would make damn sure I told my boss about it after he’d gone on telly. To save his blushes, or mine.

                So … Did Key’s office tell him AFTER Dotcom became NZ’s Number One news story?. There is a gap of eight months between then and now – during which Key has said nothing about it … until today. Until he was forced to.

                Your “hear about absolutely everything” line is classic evasion by hyperbole. It’s THE thing for Key, and has been since February. Why has he wanted not to know – or say?

              • mickysavage …
                9 October 2012 at 6:05 pm

                If they thought that the Dotcom stuff was immaterial and Key did not have to know about it then it is difficult to know what he would have to know about.

                Is that what you really mean insider? 

                • insider …
                  9 October 2012 at 6:25 pm

                  I’ve called ministers offices plenty of times and passed on info I’ve had no expectation of them hearing at the time. I’m briefing the officials just in case something related comes up and they can use it if they see fit. In July 2011 kdc probably was irrelevant to the pm. I don’t disagree that since January something should have been said by one of his officials somewhere.

              • Draco T Bastard …
                9 October 2012 at 6:35 pm

                No they also filter out stuff that they don’t consider important or relevant, and timing and context are important criteria in those decisions.

                Generally speaking, if it’s reaching the office of the PM then, at a guess, I’d say it was important enough for him to know about. He doesn’t need to know all the details but he does need to know about it. Sure, there’d be some that gets passed on to other ministers (wrong address) but stuff about intelligence operations would go to him.

                • insider …
                  9 October 2012 at 6:52 pm

                  There’s some confusion here- it was not an intelligence issue when either peters asked his question or powers office contacted keys. Your guess i think is wrong. Officials give each other heads ups all the time, just like peers in many organisations. That doesn’t mean the info is intended for the boss.

                  • Anne …
                    9 October 2012 at 7:13 pm

                    Bollocks insider. You’re not fooling anyone except yourself. When Simon Power contacted the PM’s office he was giving the PM a heads up on where things were at with Dotcom. That means he was given the information by a member of his staff.

                    John Key and his staff are indulging in “plausible deniability”. See Jackal @ 8.1.1.1

                    I wonder if the staff member was Captain Panic Pants?

                    • BloodyOrphan …
                      9 October 2012 at 7:38 pm

                      Awesome idea Anne ….

                      They could have a the “Panic Pants Suit” on the wall for the next “Not John Key” meeting.
                      That way he’ll never forget 🙂
                      Diapers on the outside maybe M8!
                      The “Protocol” Grows M8!
                      Imagine the Bus ride to the Beehive!

                    • Anne …
                      9 October 2012 at 7:47 pm

                      Sorry, it wasn’t Panic Pants – Deputy Chief of Staff. Still, that’s a very senior staff member and he didn’t tell Key? Pull the other one.

                      Here’s the TV3 news item – pretty damming of JK in my view.

                      http://www.3news.co.nz/Documents-show-police-knew-Dotcom-a-resident/tabid/370/articleID/272091/Default.aspx

                    • BloodyOrphan …
                      9 October 2012 at 7:55 pm

                      Actualy I remember that, Wasn’t it John Key himself who allowed Dotcom to buy the mansion?
                      (i.e. Vetoed his minister)
                      Would’ve been a Herald Article of course.

                    • insider …
                      9 October 2012 at 10:41 pm

                      If you are going to cry bollocks anne getting the facts right first would help your case. It was one of powers staff not power himself. That lowers the issue down the food chain quite significantly.

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      9 October 2012 at 10:48 pm

                      It came from Powers office, and went to the Prime Mincer’s office. Where is that picture of the monkey chiefs covering their eyes and ears when you need it.

                  • Jokerman …
                    9 October 2012 at 9:52 pm

                    “..the Magical Mystery Tour…they coming to take you away…take you away….take you away.”

                  • Josh …
                    9 October 2012 at 11:46 pm

                    The difference here is that in July 2011, Simon Power knew that the FBI was interested in Dotcom. Recall: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10816772

                    That is probably the reason why he chose to inform the PM’s Office of his intention to deny Dotcom’s overseas investment application. And if that’s the case, then Key probably had some prior knowledge.

                    The fact is Power deliberated over Dotcom’s application for three months before making a decision. Is it believable that he didn’t discuss it with the PM at some point?

  9. freedom 9
    9 October 2012 at 11:33 am

    the US govt knows one thing for sure, having the growing middle east wars as a distraction allows all sorts of space for what you get up to at home. Remember, in the modern Amerika you are a suspected terrorist first and a citizen second.

    “the extent that 1021(b)(2) purports to encompass protected First Amendment activities, it is unconstitutionally overbroad”
    http://www.documentcloud.org/documents/428766-hedges-v-obama-perm-inj.html

    This ruling has been overturned, then an injunction was won, then a stay was put on the injunction, so now a whole bunch of other judges have been asked by the big boss man to secure the stay permanently and get his ‘lock em up then ask the questions’ law rolling nationwide. Sure it’s over in America so what does it matter right? Not like they are gonna start spying on kiwis, imprisoning people without charges, ask for troops on the ground or start flying Drone missions over here . . .

  10. Jokerman 10
    9 October 2012 at 2:05 pm

    “The Gold War”
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10839360

    and business not looking too positive in the land of the long grey crowd either according to the daily fish and chip wrappings.

    (sorry Prism, it was “Infidels” by Bob Dylan i keep forgetting to reference)

    What a prophet dear Bob has been; The only international concert i have seen was Bob with Patti Smith at a stadium in Christchurch; Patti Smith, now she is as wonderful as Helen Kelly and Julie-Ann
    (i am such a man)

    -“The Minstrel In The Gallery….looked down upon the smiling faces…”

  11. captain hook 11
    9 October 2012 at 2:28 pm

    who read todays Dompost?
    one story is about Annette King complaining to the speaker of the house about craig (hamburger) heatley giving incoherent mumbling replies to oral questions.
    On the letters page one writer is complaining about Russell Norman getting too much time on teevee3.
    Nashnil cant have it both ways.
    If they put up up drawling bumblers on the floor of the house who cant make it in the world at large then tough luck.

  12. Jackal 12
    9 October 2012 at 2:53 pm

    National determined to increase exodus

    Be ready to wave goodbye to more of your loved ones, especially if they’re just trying to start out in the workforce…

  13. Jokerman 13
    9 October 2012 at 3:08 pm

    From the foregoing survey of conspicuous leisure and consumption, it appears that the the utility of both alike for the purposes of reputability lies in the element of waste that is common to both.
    In the one case it is a waste of time and effort, in the other it is a waste of goods.

    “Theory of the Leisure Class”
    -Thorstein Veblen; american economist and social scientist

  15. PlanetOrphan 15
    9 October 2012 at 4:26 pm

    6090 people have decided to sell their red zone properties to the Govt.

    The Govt is processing them a 50 per week ….
    That’s 121.8 weeks before they’re all paid (2.34 years)

    • vto 15.1
      9 October 2012 at 4:29 pm

      Ha yep, doesn’t pay to add up timeframes in Chch, they are too frightening.

      Also, see my post at Mr Wrong re the government’s current smoke and fire around not being able to pay its bills. Perhaps the two are linked …….

      • PlanetOrphan 15.1.1
        9 October 2012 at 4:39 pm

        Agreed, I’ve suspected this for some time now, hence all the belt tightening rhetoric.
        2.34 years before some people will even start to rebuild their lives.
        4.44 Years after the quake they start to rebuild.

        And Brownlee is calling them ungrateful ……
        What does this Gnat government actually do for us!.

    • BloodyOrphan 16.1
      9 October 2012 at 6:00 pm

      Those Americans are seriously paranoid, more than a little hypocrytical, and not willing to investigate the hardware properly for themselves.

      I’m sure a good Engineer could suss those switches out in short order.

      Hence the UK response.

      • RedLogix 16.1.1
        9 October 2012 at 8:23 pm

        and not willing to investigate the hardware properly for themselves.

        Maybe they don’t need to.

        There, sources report, Huawei readily admitted that it was undertaking such data interception and collection.

        The ISS conference is an annual gathering of Middle East and African law enforcement, intelligence and homeland security telecom operators responsible for “lawful interception, electronic investigations and network intelligence gathering,” according to the ISS agenda. A similar event is scheduled from March 4-6, 2013, also in Dubai.

        In its presentation, Huawei said that it had this capability using a particular technology called Deep Packet Inspection, or DPI.

        DPI is the key technology in high capacity data interception and mining, according to the WND source who asked not to be named but attended the Huawei briefing.

        WND has obtained a copy of Huawei’s DPI briefing.

        While Huawei’s presentation of its DPI capability was meant to show how it protected Huawei-equipped networks by detecting malicious code, sources said that the very same technology “can be very effectively used to conduct widespread industrial espionage and breach national telecommunications security.”

        While many of these techniques are not unique to Huawei, one only has to look at the CCP’s overtly totalitarian history vis a vis the internet (The Great Wall of China) to quickly conclude that they are wholly the authors of their own misfortune here.

        Or maybe not so paranoid after all.

  17. Dave Kennedy (bsprout) 17
    9 October 2012 at 4:58 pm

    I feel we should give due recognition to the the benefits that this National led Government is delivering to many….(or perhaps I should say some):
    http://localbodies-bsprout.blogspot.co.nz/2012/10/national-govt-brings-much-happiness-to.html

  18. Te Reo Putake 18
    9 October 2012 at 6:08 pm

    Video of Sydney cops tasering a student to death. Warning, contains nudity and police brutality.

    • felix 18.1
      9 October 2012 at 8:20 pm

      But that can’t be real TRP, everyone knows cops are the best of the best doing the hardest most thankless job around for entirely altruistic reasons.

      There’s no way the job would attract thugs and rapists and murderers, certainly not the kind of cowardly scum who would electrocute a man to death after they already had him in handcuffs.

  19. Pascal's bookie 19
    9 October 2012 at 7:19 pm

    If you haven’t seen the video of Gillard dealing to the, for now, leader of the opposition, it is soooooo well worth the 15 minutes.

    http://t.co/YbGgkwcL

    That’s a hiding.

    • Colonial Viper 19.1
      9 October 2012 at 8:01 pm

      Bloody hell. That’s a thrashing.

    • RedLogix 19.2
      9 October 2012 at 8:14 pm

      Makes Helen look downright meek and mild. Impassioned and intelligently coherent at the same time … bloody impressive.

    • Anne 19.4
      9 October 2012 at 8:25 pm

      +1
      I remember when Julia Gillard became Prime Minister of Australia, she spoke of Helen Clark as “having been her role model.” Well, I could see Helen Clark standing there making exactly the same speech. Congratulations Julia.

      • RedLogix 19.4.1
        9 October 2012 at 8:39 pm

        I agree, but while Helen refused to engage with the vile misogyny that was directed at her (does anyone else recall the filth that was being email circulated in the months before the 2008 election?) … it’s remarkable to see Gillard name it and shame it so very directly.

        • karol 19.4.1.1
          9 October 2012 at 8:41 pm

          it’s remarkable to see Gillard name it and shame it so very directly.
          Snap, RL.  I just said something similar.

    • felix 19.5
      9 October 2012 at 8:37 pm

      ‘kin A.

    • karol 19.6
      9 October 2012 at 8:40 pm

      Thanks for the link.  My impression was that the Aussie house isn’t as shouty as the NZ one.  Gillard delivers her ticking off emphatically – but it’s in the way it’s stated, and the body language.
       
      The opposition front bench looks a glum ,rum, unimpressed and unimpressive lot.
       
      And Gillard does something I don’t recall Helen Clark ever doing: she publicly and clearly calls out the leader of the opposition, opposition MPs and members of their party for some of the slurs they have directed at her personally.  She calls them out for calling out to her in the House that she needs to be made “an honest woman”; she calls them out for the way they refer to her as a bitch and a witch.
       
      That’s the way to do it – take them on in public. Clark tried to avoid giving such slurs oxygen by publicly ignoring them.

      • Anne 19.6.1
        9 October 2012 at 9:11 pm

        Clark tried to avoid giving such slurs oxygen by publicly ignoring them.

        That’s true Karol but I don’t think Helen had much choice. Most of the vitriol was being spread in bars, sports clubs, work-places etc. With the exception of the ‘childless’ barb, very little of it came out in the House or by way of the MSM. The ‘Alan Jones slur’ on the other hand gave Julia the opportunity to get stuck into all of them.

        Most of the nasty stuff against Helen began very soon after she was selected to be the new MP for Mt Albert. She was extremely hurt by them, but because she didn’t know who was spreading them there wasn’t much she could do about it.

        She did come out in public over the disgusting stories about her husband, Peter Davis but it didn’t stop her opponents from continuing to spread those stories.

        • RedLogix 19.6.1.1
          9 October 2012 at 9:41 pm

          Thanks for that. It makes complete sense. All I can say is that the slurs, the jokes and nastiness while obviously less personal and pointed for us than it was for HC, it was still nonetheless felt by many of us on the left as a malign, shameful episode in this nation’s history.

          Collectively we owe her an apology.

          • mickysavage 19.6.1.1.1
            9 October 2012 at 9:55 pm

            Aye

            New Zealand’s loss was the United Nation’s gain.

            I saw Helen speak in NZ recently and I thought “why do we have this buffoon as a leader when we could still have Helen” … 

          • Anne 19.6.1.1.2
            10 October 2012 at 6:07 pm

            What I can tell you RedLogix is: most of the individuals who started the rumours lived in the locality, and they all ended up in ACT. Are you surprised?

  20. Jokerman 20
    9 October 2012 at 7:44 pm

    these Youth Wages; occupational trenching.into Agricultural Colleges.
    Low Wages.What is the incentive? only the stick of benefit sanctions.
    Low Wages.What is the incentive for productivity?
    Low Wages.What will the displaced boomers live on?
    Low Wages.Will keep young people domestically dependent.

    Targeting Beneath Vote Majority. How Slippery Is That?

    that Lovely Sister Wendy and her Art Illustrations.

    Pay It Forward

    Traditionally Modern

    these “niche schools”. I enjoyed the exploration of the Sikh School from Birmingham.

    “not counter-productive to their children” the Head suggested.

    They Teach All Faiths; Teachers of All Ethnicities and Religions

    Think Kura. (that John Tamihere, his mouth is less disciplined than Hone; arrogant! Wow!)

    Key’s Sunset Boulevard:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunset_Boulevard_(film)

  21. captain hook 21
    9 October 2012 at 8:07 pm

    what I want to see is David shearer giving kweewee his beans.
    that will be fun!

  22. Jokerman 22
    9 October 2012 at 8:29 pm

    When spiritually successful men go bankrupt
    http://gcxweb.org/Misc/LarryPile-OtherSideOfDiscipleship.aspx

  23. Feargal 23
    9 October 2012 at 8:29 pm

    As useful as a bucket of Dog Slobber – That’s our memory impaired leader – He and his Partys latest edition on the Jobs front. = $10,80/hr Jobs rate. Wooo Hooo economic Genius or what!
    He and his fool minions have just handed all Fast Food Corparates a 33% profit increase on the wage bill they currently pay their young workers.
    It’s a gift to companies already rolling about in a sea of excess cash. At the expense of the NZ worker.
    One has to ask how desparate are these eejit Tories. And what else are they not telling an increasingly impoverished NZ public.

  24. Te Reo Putake 24
    9 October 2012 at 8:32 pm

    Bernie Monk rips John Key a new one for weaseling out of the effort to retrieve the Pike River dead. It’s a new personal worst in a month of lows for Johnny Sparkles and National may as well stop standing candidates in the West Coast for a generation or two.
     
    “Mr Monk says he got the impression that the Pike River mine was no longer a priority for the Prime Minister – but told Mr Key that if he thinks that the issue will go away, it won’t happen”.
     
    Weirdly, Stuff’s front page are reporting Key’s latest bout of forgetfulness under the headline “Pike recovery revisted”, but. hey, who needs sub editors these days?

  26. Jokerman 26
    9 October 2012 at 8:38 pm

    oops,
    Headless Chickens
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dooaY06DwKA
    (very distorted)

  27. Jokerman 27
    9 October 2012 at 9:13 pm

    tempting Destiny.
    other than those abominations, increased gestation of ethnic sectarianism may successfully parasite WASP capitalism

    critical reflection
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foucault%E2%80%93Habermas_debate

    “Verlaine…verlaine….verlaine….verlaine…”

  28. starlight 28
    9 October 2012 at 9:39 pm

    I found this article by putting in the search engine ‘john key and bank of america’

    It says that shonkey was the head of global forex at meryll lynch as they
    transfered enough debt into the irish economy to completely wipe it out
    along with the middle us classes and their homes.
    Key started borrowing $380 million a week here in nz and i can remember
    he was borrowing more than needed, ‘his reply from memory was that it
    was ‘cheap money’,what he didn’t tell the tax payers of nz is that he has
    substantial shares in the bank of america where he got those ‘nz’ loans.
    From observations it seems that our ‘dear leader’ is steering nz in the
    same direction as those economies he has overseen in his bankster days,
    i would bet that he is still ’employed’ with them as a pm’s job is not a long
    one, just long enough to cause a country immeasurable damage,there is a
    concerning pattern emerging in correlation with what i have read.
    Some good reading on www. mediawhore.co.nz.
    Also bank of america bankrolls bathurst,so that is why the front bench
    of the nacts are pushing the enviromentalist to back off court action,key
    is ‘shonkey’ deep in this as well, what a ‘slippery’ slope, when we try to
    deceive’ eh shokey.

  29. prism 29
    9 October 2012 at 11:37 pm

    I don’t think that Greens and Labour should jump in unequivocally to the Chinese-USA techno dispute. Back doors have been mentioned in the Chinese programs well Microsoft was accused of doing this. And as the USA is trying to flex its muscles over China we should be wary and try to remain neutral.

    Unfortunately Australia feels threatened by its closer Asian neighbours and welcomes USA defence, there is a contingent in Darwin I think now, and as it aligns with the USA and we tend to integrate with Oz and sign up for TPP (all done in secret), it will be hard to think for ourselves if we ever get round to that.

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  • 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 ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    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 ...
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    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 ...
    Skeptical Science
    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 ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    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 ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 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 ...

    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    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 ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 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 ...
    Bowalley Road
    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 ...
    Bowalley Road
    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 ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    6 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
    10 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
    16 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
    17 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
    19 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
    20 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
    23 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
    23 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
    4 days ago

  • PMs Luxon and Lee deepen Singapore-NZ ties
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.  During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Antarctica New Zealand Board appointments
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner.  The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Finance Minister travels to Washington DC
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.  “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Pet bonds a win/win for renters and landlords
    The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Long Tunnel for SH1 Wellington being considered
    State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • New Zealand condemns Iranian strikes
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel.    “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says.    "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Huge interest in Government’s infrastructure plans
    Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Health Minister thanks outgoing Health New Zealand Chair
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board.   “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti.  “I have asked her to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Roads of National Significance planning underway
    The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.  “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Navigating an unstable global environment
    New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.   “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States.    “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • NZ welcomes Australian Governor-General
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Pseudoephedrine back on shelves for Winter
    Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • NZ and the US: an ever closer partnership
    New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Joint US and NZ declaration
    April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • NZ and US to undertake further practical Pacific cooperation
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research.   “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Government redress for Te Korowai o Wainuiārua
    The Government is continuing the bipartisan effort to restore its relationship with iwi as the Te Korowai o Wainuiārua Claims Settlement Bill passed its first reading in Parliament today, says Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith. “Historical grievances of Te Korowai o Wainuiārua relate to 19th century warfare, land purchased or taken ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Focus on outstanding minerals permit applications
    New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals is working to resolve almost 150 outstanding minerals permit applications by the end of the financial year, enabling valuable mining activity and signalling to the sector that New Zealand is open for business, Resources Minister Shane Jones says.  “While there are no set timeframes for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Applications open for NZ-Ireland Research Call
    The New Zealand and Irish governments have today announced that applications for the 2024 New Zealand-Ireland Joint Research Call on Agriculture and Climate Change are now open. This is the third research call in the three-year Joint Research Initiative pilot launched in 2022 by the Ministry for Primary Industries and Ireland’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Tenancy rules changes to improve rental market
    The coalition Government has today announced changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to encourage landlords back to the rental property market, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “The previous Government waged a war on landlords. Many landlords told us this caused them to exit the rental market altogether. It caused worse ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Boosting NZ’s trade and agricultural relationship with China
    Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay will visit China next week, to strengthen relationships, support Kiwi exporters and promote New Zealand businesses on the world stage. “China is one of New Zealand’s most significant trade and economic relationships and remains an important destination for New Zealand’s products, accounting for nearly 22 per cent of our good and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Freshwater farm plan systems to be improved
    The coalition Government intends to improve freshwater farm plans so that they are more cost-effective and practical for farmers, Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay have announced. “A fit-for-purpose freshwater farm plan system will enable farmers and growers to find the right solutions for their farm ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • New Fast Track Projects advisory group named
    The coalition Government has today announced the expert advisory group who will provide independent recommendations to Ministers on projects to be included in the Fast Track Approvals Bill, say RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones. “Our Fast Track Approval process will make it easier and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

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