Open mike 13/12/2014

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, December 13th, 2014 - 48 comments
Categories: open mike, uncategorized - Tags:

Christmas hipsters cropped-1Open mike is your post.

The Standard is not a conspiracy – just a welcome outlet for the expression of views. Leaders that command respect will not be undermined by this.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Step up to the mike …

[This photo is in commemoration of Christmas and for Tom Jackson]

48 comments on “Open mike 13/12/2014 ”

  1. comment@whoar..how goff and shearer ‘sold’ the selling out of human rights to the rest of labour..and why john key is the most ‘dangerous’ new zealander..

    (excerpt:..)

    “..But the task was made easier by the strong advocacy of former Labour leaders Phil Goff and David Shearer within caucus..”

    (cont..)

    go to source/story>>http://whoar.co.nz/2014/commentwhoar-how-goff-and-shearer-sold-the-selling-out-of-human-rights-to-the-rest-of-labour-and-why-john-key-is-the-most-dangerous-new-zealander/

  2. Colonial Rawshark 2

    Undercover cops unmasked in US protest, draws firearm on Oakland protestors

    He told the Chronicle that the officer pulled a small baton out, then a gun, after the crowd started “surging” them. The Planet reported that more officers quickly moved in to disperse demonstrators.

    In a stunning admission, the patrol’s Golden Gate Division told the San Francisco Chronicle that officers had been dressing like and walking with protesters since the first demonstration on 24 November, attempting to gather intelligence to stop highway shutdowns.

    http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/dec/12/undercover-officer-pulls-gun-on-oakland-protesters

  3. Pat O'Dea 4

    Nuclear holocaust targetting humanity

    Meteor bombardment extinguishing 95% of all life

    Both possible end of the world scenarios

    Global warming targetting humanity and 95% of all other species.

    Happening now

    http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-solve-global-warming-its-the-energy-supply/

    How to Solve Global Warming: It’s the Energy Supply
    Carbon storage has to expand rapidly, or coal burning has to cease, if the world is to avoid dangerous climate change
    DAVID BIELLO
    April 13, 2014

    Well we know for certain that carbon Storage is a bust. So coal burning has to cease. There is no other alternative.

    New Zealand is well placed to set an example. Coal is only a small part of our electricity generation, and only continues at all due to government subsidies.

    Remove the subsidies for Solid Energy and Tiwai Smelter and coal production for electricity generation would cease within weeks.

    Move those subsidies to renewables, and economic dislocation caused by job losses and power shortages would be avoided. A switch to more labour intensive renewables would actually increase jobs as well as energy security.

    We need to get onto this now

    Whose on board?

    • Draco T Bastard 4.1

      Remove the subsidies for Solid Energy and Tiwai Smelter and coal production for electricity generation would cease within weeks.

      That wouldn’t do it as the price of electricity would increase to cover the lack of subsidies. You’d need to build enough renewable power supply to cover the removal of fossil fuel generation. Of course, we should actually be doing that.

    • Murray Rawshark 4.2

      Makes sense to me, Pat. We shouldn’t need to burn coal and we need alternative employment for miners.

  4. Philip Ferguson 5

    I’ve just stuck up on Redline the list of our top 30 articles in terms of hits. They are an interesting range – the top two are on the 1981 anti-tour protests and have nearly 20,000 hits. Others range from How capitalist ideology works through to an interview with an eyewitness at the 1970 Kent State killing of students by the Ohio National Guard to the women workers’ fight for equal pay at Ford Dagenham in 1968 to critiques of Gandhi to material on NZ workers’ conditions today to the 2014 elections to the 1986 homosexual law reform movement to the 1951 waterfront dispute.
    The list, with links to each individual article, is at: http://rdln.wordpress.com/2014/12/13/our-top-30-of-all-time/

    Phil

  5. Morrissey 6

    Looks like Wellingtonians are sick of boring one-sided games,
    public drunkenness and unfunny costume-bores

    Good riddance!

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/sevens/64117821/NZ-Rugby-bailout-Wellington-in-bid-to-save-sevens

    • CC 6.1

      Nah Morrissey – saving for year on year 4% rate rises so the Council can spend more on toys for the rorters, rentiers and rip-off merchants of the Property Council, Employers Chamber of Commerce and whoever else it is that have the Mayor and most of the Councillors in their pockets.

      • millsy 6.1.1

        The money should be spent on buying back their power network (Wellington Electricity Lines Ltd) and making that the basis of turning Wellington into NZ’s first smart city (and providing a nice revenue stream back to the WCC), then buy back CityLink and have the city wired for high speed internet.

        Surely Jackson can fund his own film museum, and the airlines can fund their own airport extension.

    • Draco T Bastard 6.2

      Watching sport has got to be the most boring thing ever. IME, even getting drunk doesn’t help.

  6. Pat O'Dea 7


    Are the US Republican senators, Chris Gibson and Garret Graves. the US version of Mike Minogue and Marilyn Waring?

    Mike Minogue and Marilyn Waring once brought down New Zealand’s conservative Muldoon government over nuclear ship visits, setting the scene for New Zealand to become nuclear weapons and nuclear power free.

    Now in the US, Grist asks: “Can A Pair Of Republican Congressmen Make The House Fold On Climate Change?”

    Both Gibson and Graves referenced concerns in their districts as driving factors, with Gibson saying his district has been hit with “three 500-year floods in the last several years, so either you believe that we had a one in over 100 million probability that occurred, or you believe as I do that there’s a new normal.”
    In reference to sea level rise in Louisiana, Graves said “for us to stick our heads in the sand and pretend it’s not happening is idiotic, and it puts the lives of two million people who live in south Louisiana in jeopardy.”
    Joel Finkelstein, director of strategic communications with Climate Advisers, a D.C.-based consulting firm, told ThinkProgress he thinks it’s too early to say these two statements represent any sort of trend, but probably just a couple positive highlights amid a sky of doubt.

    As Steve Abel Greenpeace New Zealand addressed a climate march in Auckland the day after the election and said this: “I will not say much about yesterday’s election result, except to say this; Some of our greatest victories have been achieved off the back of a retrograde government”

    So who knows?

    Anything is possible.

    It is our duty as citizens and activists to keep the pressure on the torys to do something about climate change.

  7. (inspired by manhires’ go at it..i have done my own whoar-list of xmas-presents for pollies..)

    (excerpt:..)

    john key:..a gift-voucher from his local legal pot-shop in hawaii..

    bill english:..a copy of the popes speech:..’why you..as a good-catholic..shouldn’t screw over the poor..’

    cont..

    http://whoar.co.nz/2014/comment-whoar-the-whoar-list-of-xmas-presents-for-politicians/

  8. While the debate rages about how far Labour has to prostitute itself over spying on NZers to gain credibility with Herald columnists, a little country in South America with 3.5 m people, proves that social democracy can thumb its nose not only at the media but the banksters, big tobacco, and the TPP and legalise marijuana as a bonus.
    It already lives in the jingoist folk lore of this country as the country in whose shores the Graf Spee scuttled itself to avoid a Kiwi battery.
    Uruguay under the Broad Front Party.
    http://truth-out.org/news/item/27932-uruguay-takes-on-london-bankers-marlboro-mad-men-and-the-tpp

    • And for what a NZ LP would look like if its persists in its Blairite right wing adaptation to “public opinion”:

      …A more basic reason is that without a party armed with a programme that holds out hope of a society based on social solidarity, a living wage, really necessary and fulfilling jobs, people are left to their individual fears and private despair.

      Labour simply does not dare to advance a plan to eradicate unemployment and insecure under-employment. This could only be done with a programme of major public works to build, equip and staff more houses, schools and hospitals, to turn the paltry minimum wage into a living wage, to unshackle the unions so they can strike to force up pay, to prepare defences against the effects of climate change.

      Despite widespread public support they dare not pledge to renationalise the rail companies or the Royal Mail. Despite promising to repeal Lansley’s Health and Social Care Act, they do not dare proclaim that they will end PFI and cancel all the PFI debts – with no compensation to the parasites profiting from them.

      They dare to neither borrow nor tax to spend beyond a few marginal areas (the mansion tax, and a tax on the tobacco companies). In short, in a time of depression that is coming to resemble the 1930s, Labour dare not even turn to a neo-Keynesian state spending programme. Why? Because only the fear of revolution or inter-imperialist war compelled the capitalist class to do this 60 years ago, and again in the 1940-50s when the rise in profit rates allowed them to do it.

      Neither applies as yet, so the neo-Keynesians remain an academic fringe that only the TUC listens to. Labour, who would have to try and implement such a policy, knows well that the markets would wreak a savage revenge on them. What happens can be seen across the channel where François Hollande came in promising change and an end to austerity and has ended up trying to impose a demolition of the French social model, based on Gerhardt Schroeder’s Agenda 2010.

      Under pressure from UKIP, Cameron knows too that he can drive Labour to the right, with no danger that this will win them any votes but rather the likelihood that it will demoralise and dishearten Labour activists. Miliband’s jerky “puppet on a string” style reflects the fact that he is indeed being pulled by forces outside himself and his Blue Labour advisors – and indeed outside the Labour Party itself. That is why he looks “weak” – he is weak. This is not, however, a personal characteristic, but a political and a social one.

      http://www.workerspower.co.uk/2014/12/british-left-general-election-2015/

      • greywarshark 9.1.1

        Looking at the workerspower link. So what would that savage revenge look like?
        Labour, who would have to try and implement such a policy, knows well that the markets would wreak a savage revenge on them.
        What happens can be seen across the channel where François Hollande came in promising change and an end to austerity and has ended up trying to impose a demolition of the French social model, based on Gerhardt Schroeder’s Agenda 2010.

        Could Labour recover within their five year? electoral cycle? What if they asked the people who were struggling and didn’t see a way ahead, to stick with them bravely and make their period in government work. The point that there are vast number of people not in the 1% or near it must make a difference. People power should be able to count for something.

    • Draco T Bastard 9.2

      The language of the Capital Economics report is telling:

      Capital Economics concludes that given Vazquez’ promises of continuity and more social spending, and the Uruguayan economy running at full capacity, any attempt to bolster domestic demand most likely will generate more inflation and more strains in the balance of payments.
      “Our view is that policymakers need to tighten fiscal policy and pass supply side reforms to boost medium-term growth,” says the report.

      Translation: This country is doing really well and so should shoot itself in the feet so as to stop being a good example and making us look stupid.

  9. Ad 10

    For those like me who will miss The Colbert Report, which has usefully satirised the right with hyper-patriotism for many years now, a review quote from Salon:

    “With a boyish grin and a twinkle in his eye, Colbert reminded us that we are all patriotic when we ask more of our nation, when we refuse the status quo, when we favor truth over hyperbole, and when we remain committed to fighting for our values.”

    I will certainly miss that show.

  10. Colonial Rawshark 11

    The New York Times finally tells the truth about USA’s unemployment crisis, broken labour force, unemployed youth “hiding out” in education in order to be able to pull down student debts, and old people forced to put off retirement as their pensions and saving have been destroyed.

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-12-12/devastation-americas-working-class

    • millsy 11.1

      That link you posted lead to a paleo-conservative/libertarian blog.

      Though, I did end up going through it and found this:

      http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-12-10/leaked-document-ukraines-government-set-eliminate-everything

      It looks like the EU/USA is using Ukraine as a social laboratory for a post GFC libertarian state with extremely small government. Which is what I have thought all along.

      • Colonial Rawshark 11.1.1

        Zero Hedge does post a wide range of articles, from the libertarian/neocon end of the political spectrum to referencing John Michael Greer and the Automatic Earth. They are very good at identifying how broken the financial system and financial markets are, as well as the tightening grip of oligarchic rule.

        And yes, they do a bit of beneficiary bashing and public sector/union bashing from time to time as well – the consequence of having a lot of different authors with lots of different political economic views.

        All in all I rate ZH a positive however, and another welcome break away from the MSM.

  11. Murray Rawshark 12

    John Ansell getting stroppy with Mana. My lay opinion is that he doesn’t have a leg to stand on.
    http://mananews.co.nz/wp/?p=1237

    • Manuka AOR 12.1

      Ansell is accusing Joe of making death threats to him.
      Did he make the threats? (I don’t know the background..)

      • lprent 12.1.1

        As I read it on twitter, no he did not. Ansell’s view appears to be that because someone did not do something (that they didn’t need to do) and other people made threats, that he was responsible.

        As far as i could see, Ansell appears to have the same lunatic views as Cam Slater. That the world (and the PM) should make their laws operate the way that right wing lunatics prefer that they should.

        Seriously John Ansell sounds like he has gone off the edge and founded his own universe.

        Ah here (Murray has a link). http://mananews.co.nz/wp/?p=1237

        • North 12.1.1.1

          Ansell behaves like a pompous, verbose, entitled dick/bully. As his communication confirms. Interesting that he should expressly acknowledge his preparedness to ‘threaten’ a man who never threatened. And that he should demand ‘grovelling’. Which in my understanding is not actually an essential to satisfactory disposition of a civil action.

          Don’t worry, I’m sure there are a number of lawyers at the very top of the legal profession who would be only too happy to engage Joes’s defence. For gratis. And even if not for gratis, certainly for no more than could easily be raised from decent people who find pompous, verbose, entitled, dick/bullies quite repugnant.

          Outcome – ugly persona Ansell pays tens and tens of thousands to the Jones lawyer, and gets hit with a hefty order for costs. There is a karma which says that sooner or later and to their humiliation the entitled always overreach. We are about to see it in action.

      • Murray Rawshark 12.1.2

        Joe made no threats whatsoever. Some other guy posted that if someone could give him the addresses of Ansell and a few others, like the Ancient Celtic NZ racist, he’d go and chop their heads off and put them in a museum. It seemed pretty obvious to me that it was not a threat, but was aimed at Ansell’s always saying how violent Maori are and how they used to preserve heads.

        I’ve never heard of Ansell successfully suing anyone, although he did threaten me once when I asked him when he’d dropped King- from his surname. Or something along those lines.

  12. The Murphey 13

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-12-12/presenting-303-trillion-derivatives-us-taxpayers-are-now-hook

    Q. What could have been offered up as the collateral this time?

    303tn. Interesting number.

  13. Sable 14

    Opening NZ up to oil exploration, threatening our tourism industry and clean green label is the work of economic morons:

    http://rt.com/business/213783-canada-dollar-oil-price/

  14. A VOTER 15

    For the sake of this nation Labour cannot continue compromise with national on any level like they have done on this 24hr surveillance bullshit it is the worst thing they could have done they should have begun and a process of organizing a national strike this is deplorable that the freedom that was fought for in WW2 IS NOW FUCKING SHIT
    Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it
    There is not one reason to employ this crap
    You me and everyone who does anything that annoys this govt can be tapped searched property seized arrested without one single reason or notice of defense being recorded
    You could turn up dead and the police could be kept ignorant of any of it that is the extent of having a warrant less power by the govt enacted
    God Defend NZ from bloody FASCISTS

  15. North 16

    Anyone else got a sense of sheer ‘vandalism’ going on here ? And I’m not talking about the rotten tagging.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/property/news/article.cfm?c_id=8&objectid=11373559

    Living in an old rented bungalow in Jervois Road Herne Bay long time ago (which had a ghost by the way) I’d specially note this beautiful construction. As on Sunday mornings seeking remedy for the self-inflicted thick head I’d stumblingly make my way down the Auckland City Council’s concrete steps to the cool cleansing waters of the harbour beach below. The young socialist-‘ish’ eye was appeased.

    Seems like nowadays ANY beauty bows not just to the successes but also to the failures of the rich. Worse frankly on account of their not being here to be confronted by the consequences of their busted machinations.

    A compelling architectural and creators’ expression – wasted. Entries on someone’s balance sheet. Bloody shame !

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    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Two bar blues
    The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • AT Need To Lift Their Game
    Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
    6 days ago
  • Christopher's Whopper.
    Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

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