Open mike 15/06/2016

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, June 15th, 2016 - 60 comments
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60 comments on “Open mike 15/06/2016 ”

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  1. Draco T Bastard 1
    15 June 2016 at 6:19 am

    Douglas Rushkoff on How Growth Became the Enemy of Prosperity – and How To Fix It

    In his new book, Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus: How Growth Became the Enemy of Prosperity, noted media theorist and author Douglas Rushkoff takes on the failure of the digital economy to make things better for more people. At the core of Rushkoff’s critique is what he calls the “obsolete economic operating system that emphasizes growth” and the abandonment of core values that occur once companies go public and succumb to short-term thinking.

    Rushkoff suggests a shift away from the growth pressures of publicly traded markets and platform monopolies — and toward collaborative models that build on the contributions and add to the wealth of their workers, communities, and consumers.

    Some interesting points about how the old capitalist business forms are proving even more destructive in the new digital age.

    • Greg 1.1
      15 June 2016 at 7:39 am

      Remember when Google was on a bender about digitizing books, and being some information depository, it aint anymore.

  2. Paul 2
    15 June 2016 at 6:26 am

    Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
    We have become a cruel, greedy, uncaring and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.

    Cruel, uncaring

    • Paul 2.1
      15 June 2016 at 6:41 am

      If put your head up and show ‘the government that it has holes in its social housing policy and that Paula Bennett has not been doing her job in terms of fixing these problems”, expect trouble.

      Marae has fears of ‘smear campaign’

      The Auckland-based marae which opened its doors to the homeless is worried it is the victim of a smear campaign by the staff of the Social Housing Minister.

      http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/306393/marae-has-fears-of-'smear-campaign‘

      • tc 2.1.1
        15 June 2016 at 6:51 am

        Maybe they can get the Maori party to sort it out being besties with national and voting to sell state houses. /sarc

      • Greg 2.1.2
        15 June 2016 at 7:47 am

        How did the staffer know about the police investigation, who told her or did she dig it up.

        • dv 2.1.2.1
          15 June 2016 at 8:12 am

          Bennet was told by Hurimoana Dennis.
          Then the staffer told the media.

          i wonder how the staffer got to know?

          • GregJ 2.1.2.1.1
            15 June 2016 at 9:01 am

            Implausible deniability has been de rigueur for this government for most of its term.

          • North 2.1.2.1.2
            15 June 2016 at 5:56 pm

            Hasn’t Bennett more or less acknowledged that in her debriefing with her staff she imparted the knowledge Mr Dennis had very honourably given her ? If that’s the story the trashy thing is as guilty as sin, if one step removed. As someone said she has “form”.

            That effete fuck Key then comes on and says – “Paula wears her heart on her sleeve……she wouldn’t lie to me”.

            FFS ! There’s no such thing as a lie in the culture of their fetid, corrupt world so what’s that assurance worth ?

    • save nz 2.2
      15 June 2016 at 12:56 pm

      Thanks for the link, Paul.

  3. vto 3
    15 June 2016 at 9:11 am

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/florida-nightclub-shooting/81076654/obama-clinton-lay-into-trump-for-proposed-muslim-ban

    Donald Trump and his supporters are mimicking H1tler.

    100%

    The USA is today in about the place late 1920’s Germany was in just before they elected H1tler, with all his rhetoric blaming the muslims, I mean the jews, for everything

    There is no difference

    Trump is exactly like H1tler

    100%

    scary
    ignorant
    just scary

    • Colonial Viper 3.1
      15 June 2016 at 9:19 am

      why did 25% of Germans vote for Hitler? Because they were sick of seeing their country and their lives being humiliated and broken by the powerful and the rich.

      • RedLogix 3.1.1
        15 June 2016 at 9:38 am

        Agreed … Trump is only succeeding because the left has been put out of business, mainly by the elites imposing their self-serving zombie ideologies, and partly by our own divisiveness and failures.

        The spectacle of the Democrats closing out the only authentically left-wing and popular candidate for generations, in favour of their own insider … will not be lost on many US voters. The message is loud and clear “this way lies no hope”.

        • vto 3.1.1.1
          15 June 2016 at 10:16 am

          I don;t disagree at all and those factors are very real..

          still scary though as to where such rhetoric leads…… it is this which is scary…. and i dont think Trump even understands any of that… or perhaps he does …

          Then to have Winston Peters come out the last two days with all of his rhetoric trying to out-pimp Trump – well, say no more…. Peters is again becoming populist with no care for the truth of his mutterances or positions and the effect those could have on encouraging hate and divisiveness ..

          .. Peters claiming “we have it here too”… what a load of complete bullshit. If this carries on then Peters will be back to his previous Clark-years form of lies and bullshit, the wanker

      • M. Gray 3.1.2
        15 June 2016 at 9:39 am

        Like what is happening in our country under National

  4. Colonial Viper 4
    15 June 2016 at 9:25 am

    placing NATO forces, including German military units FFS, right on the borders of Russia is not only assanine of the west, it is damn provocative and dangerous. Russia has already announced that it now has to add targets in Romania and Poland to their standard military plans.

    Imagine Russia stationing 30,000 troops, missile batteries and fighter bomber squadrons in Cuba under the guise of a training exercise.

  5. fisiani 5
    15 June 2016 at 10:18 am

    Anyone know what are the likely voting preferences of immigrants arriving since the last election. Would it be the same makeup as the population at large? If they are mostly low skilled is that a euphemism for Labour voters? If however they are ambitious and hard working is that a euphemism for National voters? I wonder how those with Chinese sounding names will vote? Perhaps a clue is that Asian membership of the National Party has doubled in the last two years.

    • DoublePlusGood 5.1
      15 June 2016 at 10:56 am

      If they parasite and leech off society, is that a euphemism for National voters? If they want to fight for basic employment rights in their jobs, is that a euphemism for Labour voters?

      • fisiani 5.1.1
        15 June 2016 at 1:05 pm

        Take off the blinkers. National have increased benefits, extended free GP care and prescriptions to children, assisted beneficiaries into employment. increased operations, doctors, nurses and funded more medications. Sometimes the visceral venom of the Left defies credulity. In every portfolio there has been progress. Would a new immigrant want to support a winning succesful team or take a punt on a dispirite bunch of economically illiterate whingers.

  6. Richardrawshark 6
    15 June 2016 at 10:59 am

    Good News Stories this morning

    Cameron and Carrick finally getting called out on their lies, perfect timing, someone’s using their head and timing it to keep him out of the election.

    http://www.newshub.co.nz/nznews/health/health-advocates-accuse-whale-oil-of-defamation-2016061507#axzz4BWVpjCuN

    Microbes discovered that eat and poo electricity, microbes that could revolutionize energy and at the same time clean up the planets pollution. Good to see their is a glimmer of hope for this planet.

    http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160613-there-are-microbes-that-eat-and-poo-nothing-but-electricity

  7. Nessalt 7
    15 June 2016 at 11:41 am

    Christ on a stick. An author at the standard has proposed a viable, inter connected, well reasoned alternative to current practises rather than just blindly criticising then coming up with an ill-thought through, impractical ideological alternative with no connection to reality. Well done Weka.

    Nice post too

    [moved to OM for being off topic and looks like an old argument too. You are all welcome back in the sustainable fishing thread if you can put your comments in context of the post. Nessalt, thanks for the ups but it would have been better without slagging off other authors – weka]

    • Draco T Bastard 7.2
      15 June 2016 at 12:49 pm

      Actually, there’s been several workable solutions posted on here. You just refuse to accept them because of your own failed ideology.

      • Nessalt 7.2.1
        15 June 2016 at 3:47 pm

        I think I can remember two other plausible, workable, alternatives presented on the standard.
        One by Lprent in relation to something computer / network related and how it could be used to further societal cohesion.
        Then something by Bill, also on mitigating harm to the environment while sustaining society in all it’s functions. including the bits you don’t like. That pay for you to sit around on a computer. which was developed and nurtured by capitalism and free market ideology. And without which no one would listen to you.

        • Draco T Bastard 7.2.1.1
          15 June 2016 at 3:57 pm

          which was developed and nurtured by capitalism and free market ideology.

          Capitalism has always been against the welfare state and democracy. Just need to look at the actions of this government to see that.

          Also, it wasn’t capitalism that developed the computer but heavy state intervention. Apple and its products would not exist without government funding and research.

          Capitalism destroys. Always has done, always will do.

        • Colonial Viper 7.2.1.2
          15 June 2016 at 4:01 pm

          Just remember that large, upfront and early Federal Gov investment was what made the transistor and computer networking possible. Private companies have been leveraging off that for many years now, but they never had to take the initial risk or expense of doing the early investment themselves.

          • Nessalt 7.2.1.2.1
            15 June 2016 at 5:26 pm

            And the government never would have made any grants if it wasn’t perfectly suited for growing the economy and improve the access of millions to information and capitalism in a short space of time. capitalist imperatives have nurtured more societal improvements than any other form of ism has. look how globalism combined with capitalism have raised more than 90% of the worlds population out of actual poverty. not the relative poverty that is an ephemeral concept and is routinely trotted out as a “valid” argument.

            • Colonial Viper 7.2.1.2.1.1
              15 June 2016 at 5:46 pm

              you’re retrospectively assigning motivation half a century after the fact.

              Bell Labs for instance, was funded as a non profit research centre, within an entity that was entirely government owned.

              It’s a bit contrived of you to start giving capitalism credit for socialist tax payer funded activities.

            • Draco T Bastard 7.2.1.2.1.2
              15 June 2016 at 9:14 pm

              And the government never would have made any grants if it wasn’t perfectly suited for growing the economy and improve the access of millions to information and capitalism in a short space of time.

              Back in the 1950s I really doubt any one was dreaming of the WWW or even individuals having computers.

              capitalist imperatives have nurtured more societal improvements than any other form of ism has.

              Nope. It always destroys them because the capitalists take all the wealth for themselves. That’s what cutting government spending and taxes is about.

              look how globalism combined with capitalism have raised more than 90% of the worlds population out of actual poverty.

              I’m pretty sure if you went to the people before capitalism introduced them to poverty and asked if they were in poverty they’d say no. And you probably wouldn’t find any either as those societies worked together to ensure that everyone lived well.

        • One Anonymous Bloke 7.2.1.3
          15 June 2016 at 5:24 pm

          Now you know that public money was used in the development of much of the computer industry and internet, will you simply go on telling the same lies as before? I think so, because it suits your personal belief system, too much of which is based on lies for you to change.

          You can’t even acknowledge the successes of social-democratic mixed economies, ffs.

          • Nessalt 7.2.1.3.1
            15 June 2016 at 5:30 pm

            what lies? it’s all true. capitalistic imperatives to provide a free market are essential to a government performing it’s duty to society. Government can never provide the kind of planning and distribution to make some thing like the uptake of personal computers work. and they certainly can’t bludgeon anyone into making a sustainable fishing farm like the one proposed. it’s success will be judged by the notion that it’s owners can make a profit based off low barriers to entry. boom- free market.

            understand this, government intervention is successful when it’s propagating just causes like free market capitalism is a once off. it’s only when they guarantee bank and finance company deposits etc that it becomes a problem. purely because the government is now involved and markets are distorted.

            • Draco T Bastard 7.2.1.3.1.1
              15 June 2016 at 9:29 pm

              capitalistic imperatives to provide a free market are essential to a government performing it’s duty to society.

              The government has always done that far better when it wasn’t done through capitalism. In fact the last thirty years have shown a decrease in the ability of our government to do right by our people – as the increasing poverty and homelessness proves.

              Government can never provide the kind of planning and distribution to make some thing like the uptake of personal computers work.

              Actually, the PC you’re using is proof that they can. Read The Entrepreneurial State to get an idea of how the entire process was planned over decades by a small government office. An office that researched what was needed and then chose the research to fund to bring about that end. If that small government office hadn’t done that planning there’d be no way that we’d have the computers that we have today.

              and they certainly can’t bludgeon anyone into making a sustainable fishing farm like the one proposed.

              No. What they’d do is fund the research into producing such sustainable farms and then make that research publicly available. Just like the US government did and does with computers in fact.

              it’s success will be judged by the notion that it’s owners can make a profit based off low barriers to entry.

              Have you noted climate change and our polluted cities and water ways?
              That’s the result of capitalism and the profit motive. Capitalism is unsustainable and always destroys the society that tries it as history proves.

            • One Anonymous Bloke 7.2.1.3.1.2
              16 June 2016 at 3:29 pm

              What lies? You’re still telling them. Are you going to read The Entrepreneurial State as suggested, or are you happy to wallow in ignorance and dishonesty?

              I bet you invent some strawman instead. Go on, pretend you’re arguing with a Communist, that’ll work 🙄

  8. feijoa 8
    15 June 2016 at 12:34 pm

    zerohedge

    anyone read this? Not sure if the link will work, as I am link challenged, but it’s hiding away on zerohedge about guess what, our real estate boom

    • dv 8.1
      15 June 2016 at 1:05 pm

      And this on Interest.co
      http://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/82115/kerry-mcdonald-analyses-many-challenges-country-faces-and-concludes-we-need-effective

      Here is a taster

      Auckland is booming but it’s the struggling regions that contribute most exports and tourist destinations – the critical determinants of living standards.

      o Excessive, low value immigration is a disaster. It boosts GDP, so is politically attractive, but increases housing demand and prices, is causing serious social problems, puts pressure on Government spending AND, most importantly, reduces the living standards of New Zealanders. Building more houses for more people who don’t add economic value just digs a deeper hole!

      o Immigration inflates house prices but much of the increase in house prices reflects the large tax subsidy to investors in housing, compared with savers.

      o High volume – low value tourism is destructive. It adds little economic value but puts serious pressure on the environment and fundamentally erodes New Zealand’s desirable features.

      o Deliberate policy targeting of savers and savings is politically expedient but bad policy, and damaging, economically and socially.

      o Low productivity is a critical weakness, contributing to low incomes, low tax payments and low living standards – and welfare dependency.

      o The windfall gains from Auckland house prices should be substantially taxed, to fund critical National projects, such as restoring river water quality and more effective social programs. River water quality is a disgrace!

      o The Public Service needs to be sorted, urgently. It has too many serious policy and performance failures. It has too many weaknesses and is too much a lap dog rather than a source of leadership and free and frank advice and information. “Better Public Service” is dead in the water!

  10. fisiani 10
    15 June 2016 at 1:34 pm

    So how come in 9 hard years of Labour they never made huge increases in benefits, increased operations or doctors or nurses and refused to fund Herceptin. Take off the blinkers and come over to the Force.

    • Richardrawshark 10.1
      15 June 2016 at 2:15 pm

      Fisi had an epiphany last night woke at 3 am all sweaty, I finally found a good one to post on that bloody lefty standard, he thinks to himself.

      the standard snores in shock.

      • Rosie 10.1.1
        15 June 2016 at 3:37 pm

        “the standard snores in shock.”

        Too true. fisiani bores me to tears so it’s always a scroll through when he’s around. Fastest scroll through ever in fact.

  11. Penny Bright 11
    15 June 2016 at 2:03 pm

    Have you heard of the RCEP?

    It’s the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

    It’s like the TPPA – but with China and without the USA.

    But RCEP – like the TPPA is looking after BIG business and investor interests – under the cover of secrecy.

    But there is a Public Meeting happening this Friday night, in Auckland, which YOU can attend, with expert speakers who will explain and enlighten you!

    Please come if you can and SHARE this event?

    https://m.facebook.com/events/1036071006486196?acontext=%7B%22ref%22%3A3%2C%22action_history%22%3A%22null%22%7D&aref=3

    TPP + RCEP = Double Trouble – Auckland

    Friday 17 June 2016 at 6:30 PM

    St Matthew-in-the-City
    (187 Federal St) (Corner of Wellesley and Hobson Sts)

    Doors open at 6pm. LIMITED CAPACITY. $5 Koha. Thanks.

    Public Meeting

    Talks and discussion on the TPPA (Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement) and the RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership). These are two massive international treaties that spell Double Trouble.

    Find out more!

    The TPPA is being steamrolled through Parliament against the wishes of the majority of New Zealanders, but it is in deep trouble in the US and other countries. It may never be ratified and may never come into force. We need to keep up the pressure.

    Meanwhile, the RCEP, led by China contains many of the same dangerous provisions as the TPPA. It is still in negotiation and the next round of talks is being held in Auckland on 12-18 June. If the TPPA doesn’t go through, it will be the RCEP that sets the rules for trade and investment, and for New Zealand’s laws and democratic rights.

    Like the TPPA, the RCEP negotiations are shrouded in secrecy. We need to know what the New Zealand government is saying on our behalf. We need transparency.

    Featured speakers:

    Dr. Jomo Kwame Sundaram – former senior UN official, researcher on the TPPA
    Dr. Jane Kelsey – Law Professor, University of Auckland
    Sanya Reid Smith – Senior Researcher, Third World Network Malaysia
    Dr. Joshua Freeman – Doctors for Healthy Trade
    Barry Coates – Spokesperson, It’s Our Future

    Dr. Sundaram is a prominent Malaysian economist, who has served as the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) from 2005 until 2012. He was founder chair of International Development Economics Associates (IDEAs), and sat on the Board of the United Nations Research Institute For Social Development (UNRISD), Geneva. In 2007, he was awarded the Wassily Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought.

    A prominent critic of the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), Dr. Sundaram has co-authored a report, published by the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University, entitled Trading Down: Unemployment, Inequality and Other Risks of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. Dr Sundaram’s research indicates that the economic models used to legitimise such treaties do not take into account that they work to increase unemployment and inequality.

    Dr. Jane Kelsey is one of New Zealand’s best-known critical commentators on issues of globalisation and neoliberalism. She is an active member of a number of international coalitions of academics, trade unionists, NGOs and social movements working for social justice.

    Sanya Reid Smith is a Legal Advisor and Senior Researcher at the Third World Network, an international coalition specializing in North-South policy issues. Sanya travels the world in tireless advocacy for social justice, on topics including access to medicines, womens’ rights and environmental sustainability.

    Dr. Josh Freeman is a Clinical Microbiologist at Auckland City Hospital and an honorary academic at the University of Auckland School of Molecular Medicine and Pathology.Doctors for the Protection of Health in Trade Agreements (known as Doctors for Healthy Trade) is a growing coalition of New Zealand doctors and colleagues in health in New Zealand and elsewhere, with a core group of predominantly full-time clinicians.

    Barry Coates is spokesperson for It’s Our Future and former Executive Director of Oxfam New Zealand. He has played a prominent role in campaigning on trade and climate change internationally and in New Zealand, and is a passionate advocate for sustainability and social justice. It’s Our Future is the leading coalition in New Zealand opposing the TPPA and similar treaties.

  12. Puckish Rogue 12
    15 June 2016 at 2:22 pm

    Because I loves me some political scanda, is this the reason Bernie Saunders is still staying in the race and not conceding defeat:

    http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jun/12/wikileaks-to-publish-more-hillary-clinton-emails-julian-assange

    • aerobubble 12.1
      15 June 2016 at 3:11 pm

      When the race started Sandars did not get the press, well maybe in the US, but i have not heard him speak, let alone understand his platform. Now sure r you can argue that he was new and took time to catch Clinton incumbant establishment name recognition. Though Trump branding long ago has been drummed into us all.
      But that just democracy when media hold the keys to who gets airtime.

      Sandars is still in because hes got leverage to get Clinton concessions. No problem with that. Question is really for me, will Republicians vote for Trump and have him define their party, like George junior, in the hopes he is a Ronald, even though both are now historically patsy establishment Presidents who created the mire that is western democracy.

      • Puckish Rogue 12.1.1
        15 June 2016 at 3:49 pm

        The first time I came across Saunders was on the John Oliver show, it wasn’t complimentary as I recall

        • Rosie 12.1.1.1
          15 June 2016 at 5:31 pm

          I first saw Sanders many many years ago on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and it WAS complimentary.

          You know what? Sanders went down so well he was given a huge round of applause and whistling by the audience. Jon Stewart was really impressed too and he said something along the lines of “Hey America, take a look at our future President!” Uncanny eh.

          As for aerobubble’s question, I can’t reply to that. I’m barely following the American Presidential campaigns this time around. I’m just too tired.

        • Rodel 12.1.1.2
          15 June 2016 at 9:05 pm

          SANDERS

  13. s y d 13
    15 June 2016 at 3:48 pm

    Mr Teina Pora, wrongfully imprisoned for 21 years.
    “awarded” $2,520,949.42 compensation?
    $13.70 per hour…… Less than the minimum wage. Shameful.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11657075

    • dv 13.1
      15 June 2016 at 3:50 pm

      Tax free?

    • Puckish Rogue 13.2
      15 June 2016 at 3:54 pm

      I hope its put in trust for him, I’m guessing he’ll be making a lot of new “friends” right about now

      • Halfcrown 13.2.1
        15 June 2016 at 4:45 pm

        I agree with you there Puckish. I am sure his lawyers are giving him good sound advice in that area.

        • dv 13.2.1.1
          15 June 2016 at 5:05 pm

          Yep at current rates he should be able to get at least 60k pa, and have some walking around money.

      • North 13.2.2
        15 June 2016 at 6:13 pm

        Like any 2.5 mill’ Lotto winner. Of course it wouldn’t have anything to do with what I suspect to be your subliminal sense that he’s a lobotomised brown boy in a sea of equally unworthy brown people. Which sense was the problem right from the start of course.

        I read somewhere there’s a still serving Auckland cop who was involved in his persecution from day one whom to this day still angrily maintains that Teina Pora’s as guilty as sin. May karma hunt that bastard cop down.

  14. Richardrawshark 14
    15 June 2016 at 4:34 pm

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11657048

    so fkn arrogant this Bennett. read the last line!

    • North 14.1
      15 June 2016 at 6:21 pm

      Paula Trash aye ? The staffer loses his/her job there could be some uncontrolled talking. Of course Paula Trash is gonna publicly decline the invented offer of resignation. Makes the trashy lying thing look the magnanimous non-bully she is not.

  15. save nz 15
    15 June 2016 at 5:01 pm

    Government turned dictator – even the Fed farmers call Nationals proposed power grab on RMA excessive!!!

    Kleptocracy Grab elert!

    https://blog.greens.org.nz/2016/06/15/government-needs-to-start-again-with-rma-changes/

    extract..

    “Federated Farmers, for example, described the proposed Ministerial powers as “excessive” and the provisions which allow central Government to intervene directly in local council plans as “heavy handed”. Sir Geoffrey Palmer, presenting evidence for Fish and Game, described the powers as a “constitutional outrage”.

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    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    21 hours ago

  • After much debate, the Auckland Future Fund was approved. So what should it be used for?
    On Thursday 17 May, the Mayoral Proposal for Auckland’s Long Term Plan 2024-2034 was passed by Auckland Council, 20 to 1. It is set to be formally adopted by the Governing Body at its June 27th meeting. The entire process took 8 hours, with the vast majority of that time ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    23 hours ago

  • The State of the Planet with Chlöe & Marama.
    Pakanga o muaTukua, ka ngaroPuritia taku ringaNgaro ana te ara ki pae rauThere's a battle aheadMany battles are lostBut you'll never see the end of the roadWhile you're travelling with meLate yesterday morning I headed to Wynyard Quarter to see Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick give their pre-budget State of ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago

  • It’s up to Willis now
    Maybe the Prime Minister and his Finance Minister expected the worst, so they mounted a stout defence of the Budget tax cuts to their party faithful at a party conference over the weekend. In turn, they were greeted with applause, which, though it may have been less than wildly enthusiastic, ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago

  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #20
    A listing of 34 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, May 12, 2024 thru Sat, May 18, 2024. Story of the week “The legislation I signed today [will] keep windmills off our beaches, gas in our tanks, and ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 day ago

  • Bernard’s pick ‘n’ mix 6 @ 6:06am on Sunday, May 19
    TL;DR: Here’s six links that stood out to me in the last day in Aotearoa’s political economy to 6:06am on Sunday, May 19:Aotearoa-NZ is the seventh worst in the OECD’s homelessness rankings, just behind the United States and just ahead of Australia. BlackRock thinks rate hikes actually worsen inflation because ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Lords of the flies
    Halfway up a historic tower in York, we are neither up nor down. At the top you will have views of a city steeped in antiquity, made and remade by Romans, Normans, Vikings, Tescos. Below, you will find a retired minister happy to tell you all about this most astonishing ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Fact Brief – Does breathing contribute to CO2 buildup in the atmosphere?
    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. Does breathing contribute to CO2 ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Is it time to take the Interislander away from Kiwirail?
    David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: KiwiRail’s seemingly endless requests for more money is damning. At one point, KiwiRail assured Robertson when he was the Finance Minister that the worst-case scenario would be an extra $300 million before requesting $1.2 billion a few months later. Not what most people ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Behind Blue Eyes.
    No one knows what it's likeTo be the bad manTo be the sad manBehind blue eyesNo one knows what it's likeTo be hatedTo be fatedTo telling only liesHave you ever wondered what life must be like for Mike Hosking? Seeing things in black and white through blue tinted specs? In ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Road food
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past two week’s editions.Share More Than A FeildingBike bling, London Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Some Reader Feedback For Your Weekend
    Hi,I think we all made it through another week — congratulations. I’ve been digesting the new Arab Strap record, which is astonishing. In other news, I’m going to be doing a Webworm popup in Auckland, New Zealand on Saturday July 13. I’ll bring a bunch of merch, and some other ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    3 days ago

  • Thinking About the Property Rights in Resource Decisions As Well As Transaction Costs.
    The Fast-Track Approvals Bill enables cabinet ministers to circumvent key environmental planning and protection processes for infrastructure projects. Its difficulties have been well canvassed. This column suggests a different way of thinking about the proposal. I am going to explore the Bill from the perspective of its proponents with their ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Can Shane Jones be trusted in making Fast-track decisions?
    New Zealand First Cabinet Minister Shane Jones has become the best advertisement against the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill. In selling the radical new resource consenting processes, in which ministers can green light any mine, dam, or other major development, Jones seems to be shooting the proposal in the foot. ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago

  • Seymour appeals to PPTA to call off meetings on charter schools – but does he seriously believe he...
    Buzz from the Beehive Associate Education Minister David Seymour is urging the PostPrimary Teachers Association to put learning ahead of ideology. He wants the union leaders to call off their teachers meetings around the country where they hope to muster the strength to undo the government’s plans to establish several ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • Police don’t fight crime
    What are police for? "Fighting crime" is the obvious answer. If there's a burglary, they should show up and investigate. Ditto if there's a murder or sexual assault. Speeding or drunk or dangerous driving is a crime, so obviously they should respond to that. And obviously, they should respond to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • Two central banks
    Michael Reddell writes –  I got curious yesterday about how the Australia/New Zealand real exchange rate had changed over the last decade, and so dug out the data on the changes in the two countries’ CPIs. Over the 10 years from March 2014 to March 2024, New Zealand’s ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • TVNZ hīkoi documentary needs a sequel
    Graham Adams writes that 20 years after the land march, judges are quietly awarding a swathe of coastal rights to iwi. Early this month, an hour-long documentary was released by TVNZ to mark the 20th anniversary of the land-rights march to oppose Helen Clark’s Foreshore and Seabed Act. The account ...
    Point of OrderBy gadams1000
    4 days ago

  • The missing Green MP
    David Farrar writes –  The Herald reports: Suspended Green MP Darleen Tana has passed an unpleasant milestone: she has now been absent for as many parliamentary sitting days as she has been present for this year. Tana is on full pay while she is suspended, and will benefit from a ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • The contest for the future heart and soul of the Labour Party
    Peter Dunne writes –  It is no coincidence that two Labour should-have-been MPs are making the most noise about public sector cuts. As assistant general secretary of the Public Service Association, Fleur Fitzsimons has been at the forefront of revealing where the next round of state sector job ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Lobbying for Waikato’s Medical School causing problems for the Govt
    Bryce Edwards writes –  It’s becoming a classic case study for why lobbying deals with politicians need greater scrutiny. Former National Minister Steven Joyce runs a lobbying company with a major client – the University of Waikato. The University desperately wants $300m+ of taxpayer funding to establish a ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the psychological horror film Possession
    This is one of the (extra) weekly columns on music or movies. Plenty of solid analyses of Possession exist online and most of them – inevitably – contain spoilers. This column is more in the way of a first-timer’s aid to getting your initial bearings. You don’t need to have ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    4 days ago

  • Portrait of a Man.
    I am painting in oil, a portrait of a manWho has taken all the heart aches,And all the pain he can stand.I am using all the colors of blue,I have here on my stand.I am painting in oil, a portrait of a man.This has been an interesting week for me. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • The Hoon around the week to May 17
    Helen Clark joins the Hoon as a special guest talking whether Aotearoa should join Aukus II, and her views on the fast track legislation and how Luxon and the new Government are performing. File Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Weekly Roundup 17-May-2024
    We’re at the end of another week. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked if the Herald’s poor journalism will cost lives On Tuesday Matt covered Wayne Brown’s proposal for public transport in the Long ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago

  • Rishi’s relaunch
    With an election due in less than nine months, Britain’s embattled PM, Rishi Sunak, gave a useful speech earlier this week. He made a substantial case for his government, perhaps as compelling as is possible in the current environment. Quite an achievement. His overall theme was security, first pulling ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    4 days ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #20 2024
    Open access notables Publicly expressed climate scepticism is greatest in regions with high CO2 emissions, Pearson et al., Climatic Change: We analysed a recently released corpus of climate-related tweets to examine the macro-level factors associated with public declarations of climate change scepticism. Analyses of over 2 million geo-located tweets in the U.S. showed that climate ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago

  • The thrilling possibilities of charter schools
    You can be all negative about these charter schools if you want, but I’m here to accentuate the positive. You can get all worked up, if you want to, by the contradiction of Luxon saying We’re going to make sure that every school in the country is teaching exactly the same ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • This Unreasonable Government.
    Losing The Room: One can only speculate about what has persuaded the Coalition Government that it will pay no electoral price for unreasonably pushing ahead with policies that are so clearly against the national interest. They seem quite oblivious to the risk that by doing so they will convince an increasing ...
    Bowalley Road
    5 days ago

  • Supreme Court weighs in on name suppression
    Name suppression decisions can be tough sometimes. No matter your views on free speech, you have to be hard-hearted not to be torn by the tug of the competing arguments. I think you can feel the Supreme Court wrestling with that in M v The King. The case for ...
    Media Law JournalBy Steven
    5 days ago

  • Is This A “Merchants” Government?
    The Merchants of Menace: The Coalition Government has convinced itself that the “Brahmins’” emollient functions have become much too irksome and expensive. Those who see themselves as the best hope of rebuilding New Zealand’s ailing capitalist system, appear to have convinced themselves that a little bit of blunt trauma is what their mollycoddled ...
    Bowalley Road
    5 days ago

  • This is what corruption looks like
    When National first proposed its Muldoonist "fast-track" law, they were warned that it would inevitably lead to corruption. And that is exactly what has happened, with Resources Minister Shane Jones taking secret meetings with potential applicants: On Tuesday, in a Newsroom story, questions were raised about a dinner Jones ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • Take that, Vladimir – and be warned: we have plenty more sanctions (at least, we hope so) in our ...
    Buzz from the Beehive One day – hopefully – we will push that Russian rascal, Vladimir Putin, beyond breaking point.  Perhaps it will happen today, when he learns that Foreign Minister Winston Peters is again tightening the thumbscrews. Peters announced further sanctions, this time on 28 individuals and 14 entities ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • More Harm Than Good.
    How Labour’s and National’s failure to move beyond neoliberalism has brought New Zealand to the brink of economic and cultural chaos.TO START LOSING, so soon after you won, requires a special kind of political incompetence. At the heart of this Coalition Government’s failure to retain, and build upon, the public ...
    Bowalley Road
    5 days ago

  • The Ombudsman fails again
    In 2020, the Operation Burnham inquiry reported back, finding that NZDF had lied to Ministers and the New Zealand public about its actions in Afghanistan. The inquiry saw a large number of documents declassified and released, which raised another problem: whether they had also lied to the Ombudsman in his ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • No Time To Think: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    “Members of Parliament don’t work for us, they represent us, an entirely different thing. As with so much that has turned out badly, the re-organising of MPs’ responsibilities began with the Fourth Labour Government. That’s when they began to be treated like employees – public servants – whose diaries had ...
    Bowalley Road
    5 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Lobbying for Waikato’s Medical School causing problems for the Govt
    It’s becoming a classic case study for why lobbying deals with politicians need greater scrutiny. Former National Minister Steven Joyce runs a lobbying company with a major client – the University of Waikato. The University desperately wants $300m+ of taxpayer funding to establish a third medical school in New Zealand, ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    5 days ago

  • Picking Sides.
    Time To Choose: Like it or not, the Kiwis are either going into AUKUS’s  “Pillar 2” – or they are going to China.HAD ZHENG HE’S FLEET sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks ...
    Bowalley Road
    5 days ago

  • Universities offer course in self-serving cowardice
    Henry Ergas writes –  When in Randall Jarrell’s Pictures from an Institution, a college president is accused of being a hypocrite, the novel’s narrator retorts that the description is grossly unfair. After all, the man is still far from the stage of moral development at which the charge ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • The teacher trainee challenge
    David Farrar writes –  Radio NZ reports: The Education Review Office says too many new teachers feel poorly prepared for their jobs. In a report published on Monday, the review office said 60 percent of the principals it interviewed said their new teachers were not ready. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Words and (in)actions
    New Zealand’s economic performance and the PM’s vision   Michael Reddell writes –  When I wrote yesterday morning’s post, highlighting how poorly both New Zealand and its Anglo peer countries have been doing in respect of productivity in recent times (ie, in the case of New ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • What do you hope for/fear from the budget?
    Hi all,Firstly - thank you! You guys are awesome. The response I’ve received to last night’s mail has been quite overwhelming. It’s a ghastly day outside, but there are no clouds in here.In case you didn’t read my email and are wondering what on earth I’m talking about you can ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on ACT’s charter schools experiment
    If there was still any doubt as to who is actually running this government – and it isn’t the buffoon from Botany – then this week’s announcement of a huge spend up on charter schools has settled the matter. While jobs and public services continue to be cut in the ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    5 days ago

  • Drought fuels wildfire concerns as Canada braces for another intense summer
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gaye Taylor As widespread drought raises expectations for a repeat of last year’s ferocious wildfire season, response teams across Canada are grappling with the rapidly changing face of fire in a warming climate. No longer quenched by winter, nor quelled by the ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus and pick ‘n’ mix for Thursday, May 16
    Half of Christchurch City Holdings Ltd’s directors and its chair resigned en masse last night in protest at Christchurch City Council’s demand to front-load dividends File Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The chair of Christchurch City Council’s investment company and four of its independent directors resigned in protest last ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • Controversial proposal could threaten coalition
    The University of Waikato has reworded an advertisement that begins the tender process for its new $300 million-plus medical school even though the Government still needs to approve it. However, even the reworded ad contains an architect’s visualisations of what the school might look like. ACT leader David Seymour told ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago

  • Of Rings of Power Annatar, Dramatic Irony, and Disguises
    As a follow-up to the Rings of Power trailer discussion, I thought I needed to add something. There has been some online mockery about the use of the same actor for both the Halbrand and Annatar incarnations of Sauron. The reasoning is that Halbrand with a shave and a new ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago

  • The future of Nick's Kōrero.
    This isn’t quite as dramatic as the title might suggest. I’m not going anywhere, but there is something I wanted to talk to you about.Let’s start with a typical day.Most days I send out a newsletter in the morning. If I’ve written a lot the previous evening it might be ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • The PM promises tax relief in the Budget – but will it be enough to satisfy the Taxpayers’ Union...
    Buzz from the Beehive The promise of tax relief loomed large in his considerations when  the PM delivered a pre-Budget speech to the Auckland Business Chamber. The job back in Wellington is getting government spending back under control, he said, bandying figures which show that in per capita terms, the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Fucking useless
    Yesterday de facto Prime Minister David Seymour announced that his glove puppet government would be re-introducing charter schools, throwing $150 million at his pet quacks, donors and cronies and introducing an entire new government agency to oversee them (the existing Education Review Office, which actually knows how to review schools, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • Setting things straight.
    Seeing that, in order to discredit the figures and achieve moral superiority while attempting to deflect attention away from the military assault on Rafa, Israel supporters in NZ have seized on reports that casualty numbers in Gaza may be inflated … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    6 days ago

  • Far too light a sentence
    David Farrar writes – Newstalk ZB report: The man responsible for a horror hit and run in central Wellington last year was on a suspended licence and was so drunk he later asked police, “Did I kill someone?” Jason Tuitama injured two women when he ran a red ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Unwinding Labour’s Agenda
    Muriel Newman writes –  Former US President Ronald Reagan once said, “Freedom is a fragile thing and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation.” The fight for ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Sequel to “Real reason Waitangi Tribunal could not summons Chhour”
    Why Courts should have said Waitangi Tribunal could not summons Karen Chhour Gary Judd writes – In the High Court, Justice Isacs declined to uphold the witness summons issued by the Waitangi Tribunal to compel Minister for Children, Karen Chhour, to appear before it to be ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • The Govt’s Fast-Track is being demolished by submissions to Parliament
    Bryce Edwards writes –  The number of voices raising concerns about the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill is rapidly growing. This is especially apparent now that Parliament’s select committee is listening to submissions from the public to evaluate the proposed legislation. Twenty-seven thousand submissions have been made to Parliament ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • A generation is leaving at a rate of one A320-load per day
    An average of 166 New Zealand citizens left the country every day during the March quarter, up 54% from a year ago.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The economy and housing market is sinking into a longer recession through the winter after a slump in business and consumer confidence in ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • NZUP RORS back to life
    The government has made it abundantly clear they’re addicted to the smell of new asphalt. On Tuesday they introduced a new term to the country’s roading lexicon, the Roads of Regional Significance (RoRS), a little brother for the Roads of National (Party) Significance (RoNS). Driving ahead with Roads of Regional ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    6 days ago

  • School Is Out.
    School is outAnd I walk the empty hallwaysI walk aloneAlone as alwaysThere's so many lucky penniesLying on the floorBut where the hell are all the lucky peopleI can't see them any moreYesterday morning, I’d just sent out my newsletter on Tama Potaka, and I was struggling to make the coffee. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • How Are You Doing?
    Hi,I wanted to check in and ask how you’re doing.This is perhaps a selfish act, of attempting to find others feeling a similar way to me — that is to say, a little hopeless at the moment.Misery loves company, that sort of deal.Some context.I wish I could say I got ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago

  • The Rings of Power: Season Two Teaser Trailer
    I have hitherto been fairly quiet on the new season of Rings of Power, on the basis that the underwhelming first season did not exactly build excitement – and the rumours were fairly daft. The only real thing of substance to come out has been that they have re-cast Adar ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    6 days ago

  • At a glance – What ended the Little ice Age?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    7 days ago

  • Talking Reo with the PM
    “The thing is,” Chris Luxon says, leaning forward to make his point, “this has always been my thing.”“This goes all the way back to the first multinational I worked for. I was saying exactly the same thing back then. The name of our business needs to be more clear; people ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • Waitangi Tribunal’s authority in Chhour case is upheld – but bill’s introduction to Parliament...
    Buzz from the Beehive It’s been a momentous few days for Children’s Minister Karen Chhour.  The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court decision which blocked a summons order from the Waitangi Tribunal for her. And today she has announced the Government is putting children first by introducing to ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago

  • Australia jails another whistleblower
    In 2014 former Australian army lawyer David McBride leaked classified military documents about Australian war crimes to the ABC. Dubbed "The Afghan Files", the documents led to an explosive report on Australian war crimes, the disbanding of an entire SAS unit, and multiple ongoing prosecutions. The journalist who wrote the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago

  • Government to rollout roadside drug testing
    The Coalition Government will introduce legislation this year that will enable roadside drug testing as part of our commitment to improve road safety and restore law and order, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.  “Alcohol and drugs are the number one contributing factor in fatal road crashes in New Zealand. In ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago

  • Minister responds to review of Kāinga Ora
    The Government has announced a series of immediate actions in response to the independent review of Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “Kāinga Ora is a large and important Crown entity, with assets of $45 billion and over $2.5 billion of expenditure each year. It ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago

  • Pseudoephedrine back on shelves
    Associate Health Minister David Seymour is pleased that Pseudoephedrine can now be purchased by the general public to protect them from winter illness, after the coalition government worked swiftly to change the law and oversaw a fast approval process by Medsafe. “Pharmacies are now putting the medicines back on their ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago

  • New Zealand-China Business Summit
    Tēnā koutou katoa. Da jia hao.  Good morning everyone.   Prime Minister Luxon, your excellency, a great friend of New Zealand and my friend Ambassador Wang, Mayor of what he tells me is the best city in New Zealand, Wayne Brown, the highly respected Fran O’Sullivan, Champion of the Auckland business ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    24 hours ago

  • New measures to protect powerlines from trees
    Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced that the Government will make it easier for lines firms to take action to remove vegetation from obstructing local powerlines. The change will ensure greater security of electricity supply in local communities, particularly during severe weather events.  “Trees or parts of trees falling on ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Wairarapa Moana ki Pouakani win top Māori dairy farming award
    Wairarapa Moana ki Pouakani were the top winners at this year’s Ahuwhenua Trophy awards recognising the best in Māori dairy farming. Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka announced the winners and congratulated runners-up, Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board, at an awards celebration also attended by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Finance Minister ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • DJ Fred Again – Assurance report received
    "On the 27th of March, I sought assurances from the Chief Executive, Department of Internal Affairs, that the Department’s correct processes and policies had been followed in regards to a passport application which received media attention,” says Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden.  “I raised my concerns after being ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • District Court Judges appointed
    Attorney-General Judith Collins has announced the appointment of three new District Court Judges, to replace Judges who have recently retired. Peter James Davey of Auckland has been appointed a District Court Judge with a jury jurisdiction to be based at Whangarei. Mr Davey initially started work as a law clerk/solicitor with ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Unions should put learning ahead of ideology
    Associate Education Minister David Seymour is calling on the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) to put ideology to the side and focus on students’ learning, in reaction to the union holding paid teacher meetings across New Zealand about charter schools.     “The PPTA is disrupting schools up and down the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Craig Stobo appointed as chair of FMA
    Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly today announced the appointment of Craig Stobo as the new chair of the Financial Markets Authority (FMA). Mr Stobo takes over from Mark Todd, whose term expired at the end of April. Mr Stobo’s appointment is for a five-year term. “The FMA plays ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Budget 2024 invests in lifeguards and coastguard
    Surf Life Saving New Zealand and Coastguard New Zealand will continue to be able to keep people safe in, on, and around the water following a funding boost of $63.644 million over four years, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey say. “Heading to the beach for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • New Zealand and Tuvalu reaffirm close relationship
    New Zealand and Tuvalu have reaffirmed their close relationship, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says.  “New Zealand is committed to working with Tuvalu on a shared vision of resilience, prosperity and security, in close concert with Australia,” says Mr Peters, who last visited Tuvalu in 2019.  “It is my pleasure ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • New Zealand calls for calm, constructive dialogue in New Caledonia
    New Zealand is gravely concerned about the situation in New Caledonia, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.  “The escalating situation and violent protests in Nouméa are of serious concern across the Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says.  “The immediate priority must be for all sides to take steps to de-escalate the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • New Zealand welcomes Samoa Head of State
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon met today with Samoa’s O le Ao o le Malo, Afioga Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II, who is making a State Visit to New Zealand. “His Highness and I reflected on our two countries’ extensive community links, with Samoan–New Zealanders contributing to all areas of our national ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Island Direct eligible for SuperGold Card funding
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has announced that he has approved Waiheke Island ferry operator Island Direct to be eligible for SuperGold Card funding, paving the way for a commercial agreement to bring the operator into the scheme. “Island Direct started operating in November 2023, offering an additional option for people ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Further sanctions against Russia
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters today announced further sanctions on 28 individuals and 14 entities providing military and strategic support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  “Russia is directly supported by its military-industrial complex in its illegal aggression against Ukraine, attacking its sovereignty and territorial integrity. New Zealand condemns all entities and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • One year on from Loafers Lodge
    A year on from the tragedy at Loafers Lodge, the Government is working hard to improve building fire safety, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “I want to share my sincere condolences with the families and friends of the victims on the anniversary of the tragic fire at Loafers ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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