Open mike 16/04/2015

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, April 16th, 2015 - 104 comments
Categories: open mike - Tags:

openmikeOpen mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Step up to the mike …

104 comments on “Open mike 16/04/2015 ”

  1. Paul 1

    Milk prices in continuous decline.
    Auckland house prices out of control.

    And a government unwilling do anything about these crises.
    Hope some of those million people who voted for this bunch of clowns realise the error of their ways.

  2. logie97 2

    John Key, “Unprincipled? Moi? Pfffft.”
    Well, Armstrong appears to think so John Boy. Odd thing is that has taken Armstrong so long to realise what many of us have noticed for years.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11433314
    “PM’s defence of Bridges devalues principles”

    • les 2.1

      Armstrong is more even-handed these days…no hope for Roughan though.

    • Sabine 2.2

      all of this blather for that

      “Bridges could do himself and National a power of good, however, by coming clean and apologising. It would end this unseemly episode and make it harder for Labour to exploit when Parliament resumes”

      to make it harder for Labour to exploit!!! Dear Mr. Armstrong, if the National Party played by the rules Labour would find nothing to exploit.

      just another pinhead.

  3. Sanctuary 3

    Andrew Geddis gives David Farrar quite the spank on Pundit, the sarcasm is worth several weeks of frantic lobbying from the anorexic penguin for a funding cut to Otago university.

    http://www.pundit.co.nz/content/three-signs-that-national-knows-simon-bridges-did-wrong

  4. Paul 4

    Kim Hill.
    What a breath of fresh air listening to her intellect.

    • Or Mary, as Nick Smith likes to call her. Muppet.

    • ScottGN 4.2

      And how! Though I can’t help but wonder if she was asked to fill in for Ferguson (rather than one of the usual fillers) because the ratings are sliding?

      • Lanthanide 4.2.1

        I’ve been wondering why Ferguson is suddenly off the air. Hadn’t heard any announcement. I did catch Kim Hill doing the voice-over for the ad for Morning Report for this week, yesterday, which seemed a bit of an odd choice. Almost like this is going to be for more than just this week; surprised that Guyon didn’t do it.

        But if the ratings are sliding, putting Kim Hill on temporarily is not really the fix – putting her on permanently is.

        • tracey 4.2.1.1

          annual leave?

          • Lanthanide 4.2.1.1.1

            Certainly possible. But it’s a bit unusual that Kim Hill has taken over, as they usually have other people available to fill in.

            The last time Kim was on, was when Geoff Robinson took 1 month leave. They had 2 weeks of Kim Hill (and made a small issue about it being her return to the programme after 15+ years or something) and 2 weeks of someone else – can’t recall who.

            To put Kim Hill on now instead of one of the other regular fillers-in, with no particular acknowledgement, seems a little fishy. Remember Kim Hill does have a Saturday morning show that must take at least a few days to prepare for.

            • tracey 4.2.1.1.1.1

              Not like you to delve into conspiracy theories

              • Colonial Rawshark

                Learn to follow your nose, not ignore it.

              • Colonial Rawshark

                Learn to follow your nose, not ignore it.

              • Lanthanide

                Where am I theorising any particular course of action has been, or will be, taken?

                All I’ve done is simply state that it’s a bit odd the way she’s been put on, pointing to the only other exceptional case where Kim Hill was on MR and contrasting what is happening now with what happened then.

                Edit: veuto has just given the likely reason for Ferguson’s absence, which is what my post at 4.2.1 was trying to elicit, to see if anyone else knew.

        • veutoviper 4.2.1.2

          I recall hearing on RNZ National a week or so ago that Susie Ferguson was going to Gallipoli to report from there.

          I am thoroughly enjoying Kim’s return, with the standard of interviewing having gone up massively this week. Follow-up questions are based on what is actually said by the person being interviewed, rather than appearing to be read from a predetermined list of questions; fewer interruptions; and longer more indepth interviews vs the usual rushed, time limited interviews which really annoy me.

          They have made no mention of how long Kim will be on this time, whereas last time she subbed when Robinson took a month’s leave, RNZ kept saying that she was only on for two weeks, with Susie Ferguson (I think) doing the other two weeks.

          I also have the impression this time that Kim is almost playing first fiddle, with Espiner playing second fiddle. Strange.

          I would love to see Kim back on Morning Report permanently, but doubt that she would want the early starts permanently with her other interests.

          She would be great on Checkpoint, though IMO.

          I intend emailing RNZ in the next day or so, putting all of the above to them.

          • Paul 4.2.1.2.1

            If you do, please can you post a copy of the actual letter here?
            Many others may want to send a similar message!

            • veutoviper 4.2.1.2.1.1

              Will do, Paul. May have to wait until Sun or Mon. Again impressed this morning; and Kim certainly seemed to be the lead, with Espiner in second place.

          • Lanthanide 4.2.1.2.2

            Ah, that explains it, thanks.

    • Brigid 4.3

      Indeed!! She’s just such a gem
      But Nick Smith is just such a liar. ‘The Melbourne housing market is in just as bad a state as Aucklands’ he says. An outrageous lie that is.

      • Skinny 4.3.1

        The Nat’s will be spewing the reality show Our First Home exposed the truth about Aucklands over heated property market. It got worst when the deputy reserve bank chap comes out swinging the next day mooting its time for the Government to introduce a capital gain tax.

        Ouch!

  5. Gosman 5

    It looks like the election of a hard left leaning government in Greece is making things worse and it is getting very close to the point where it will default and then be forced from the Eurozone.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11537495/Black-hole-in-Greek-finances-grows-as-Athens-is-pushed-to-the-brink-of-euro-exit.html

    • Paul 5.1

      Well the Torygraph is a reliable unbiased source isn’t it?

    • tracey 5.2

      It may default and declare a kind of Country Bankruptcy. That’s how it is done in a capitalist system isn’t it? Borrow, try to make it work, live large in the meantime and if worse comes to worse fold up the company, fuck the creditors and reinvent. Mark Bryers is a pin up boy for this, but on a smaller scale of course.

      • vto 5.2.1

        ha ha, yep, black hole being balanced in the usual yin and yang fashion by the white infinite money-printing machine elsewhere. black hole vs white infinity.

        The fallacies and myths of the financial system are on full display in Greece that is for sure. It is just not as people like gosman, who are completely lost in the system, see it.

      • Draco T Bastard 5.2.2

        The Tories don’t like admitting that countries can default and that they should when they can’t repay the loans.

        Of course, countries shouldn’t be taking out loans at all, ever but the Tories hate that truth even more.

        And the Tories hate those realities because they view government as a perfectly safe place to get money for nothing.

      • Jeeves 5.2.3

        Excellent plan- time tested- never fails.
        Ask any rich person.

        • Tracey 5.2.3.1

          like the financial advisor suggesting students do it to free themselves from debt? or the companies that liquidate to avoid legal liability?

    • Skinny 5.3

      A smart move to force the Germans to cough up for World War 2 days. Hope they include interest on top 🙂

      • tracey 5.3.1

        Haven’t they already paid for that? Did we get Reparations from UK for slaughtering our men in WWI… Passchendaele, Somme, Gallipoli etc… oops I mean the germans and Turks.

      • Pasupial 5.3.2

        I’ve been following this story for the last while, and Greece certainly does have a case – though the amount claimed varies depending upon the context:

        Athens hit back at Berlin’s description of its demand for a staggering €278.7bn (£202bn) in compensation as “stupid”…

        “The response may have been ‘this is foolish, you have plucked this number out of the blue’ but for me it was also very positive,” Costas Isychos, the deputy defence minister, told the Guardian. “There was an admission that despite disagreeing with the figure a debt is owed, and that is very good.”…

        the figure could in fact be much bigger when interest payments were also taken into account…

        Greek officials had 400,000 pages of records obtained from the US national archives chronicling atrocities committed by the Third Reich.

        Crimes ranged from reprisal executions to the pillaging of the country’s cultural heritage and an interest-free forced loan, officially estimated by the general accountancy office at €10.3bn, which was extracted from the Bank of Greece to fund Hitler’s Africa campaign. The Greek defence ministry is in the process of translating the data and digitalising microfilms.

        “The occupation forces were extremely methodical in their reports to superiors, listing massacres and the shooting of victims, including women and children, the destruction of homes, you name it,” he said. “Greece, for example, was the biggest exporter to Nazi Germany of precious metals such as chrome. Some 279,000 tonnes were exported but never paid for.”

        Soon, experts would also be scouring historical archives obtained from Russia, he said. “I formally requested the archives two weeks ago when I visited Moscow and was told that they do indeed have them,” he said of records that ended up in the possession of Russian and American forces at the end of the war.

        http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/08/greece-germany-war-reparations-demands

        And speaking of Russia:

        Russia’s lower house of parliament is setting up a working group to calculate how much money to demand from Germany for World War II reparations…

        Degtyaryov, a member of the nationalist LDPR party, believes that Germany should pay 3 or 4 trillion euros to Russia for the “destruction and atrocities” that Germany committed during World War II, the newspaper reported.

        “Germany paid compensation for 6 million victims of the Holocaust, but has ignored the 27 million Soviet people who were killed [during World War II], 16 million of whom were civilians,” Degtyaryov was cited as saying.

        http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/russian-lawmakers-want-germany-to-pay-reparations-for-world-war-ii/515373.html

  6. Pasupial 6

    I certainly won’t be volunteering to assist the privitised meals on wheels program, once I have the free time again (if that ever happens). Seems I’m not the only one:

    a volunteer driver resigned over the plan to truck meals on wheels from Auckland.

    Age Concern executive officer Susan Davidson said ”a couple of handfuls” of other volunteers had voiced concerns about the Compass Group outsourcing proposal. Some were unhappy with the idea of volunteering to deliver meals for the multinational food giant…

    Ms Davidson said she contacted the board last week with concerns the proposal could make it more difficult to attract volunteers.

    She also wanted to know from the board whether volunteers would be required to perform extra tasks with a different meal provider.

    ”We know that volunteers are always time poor, and we are very concerned that the meals on wheels service doesn’t become burdensome.”

    Some looked less favourably on spending their time volunteering for a profit-making entity, she said.

    http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/339236/volunteer-quits-over-food-plan

    From this earlier article it seems likely that Compass’s business model involves externalising any problems regarding food-handling/ safety onto volunteers:

    Grey Power Otago president Jo Millar said the board should have been more open from the start about the ”ridiculous” idea.

    ”What facilities are there going to be if they can’t truck this food down south in the mid-winter?… Meals would be heated before delivery, but Mrs Millar said many older people ate in the evening. Heating meals twice was potentially ”extremely unsafe”…

    ”Compass Group intends to work closely with volunteer organisations in Dunedin and Invercargill who deliver meals, to improve the information available and communication to recipients on safely handling their meals when they are received,” chief operating officer Julian Baldey said.

    http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/336234/frozen-meals-south-slammed

    • tracey 6.1

      Best thing volunteers can do is vote with their feet. Give their time to a different organisation until this bizarre situation is altered.

      Compass Group is going to lecture the volunteers on how to properly do what some have been doing for years? Volunteers should start send invoices for their time.

      • weka 6.1.1

        “Best thing volunteers can do is vote with their feet.”

        Except that will leave people without meals. Would be good to see some of the families getting involved.

        “Volunteers should start send invoices for their time.”

        This is a very good point. If this is about business model ideology, how come they’re not paying for deliver?

        • tracey 6.1.1.1

          Sometimes you have to inflict a short term pain to achieve a greater goal. How long do you think this Compass crowd will leave food undelivered if volunteers “strike”?

        • Draco T Bastard 6.1.1.2

          This is a very good point. If this is about business model ideology, how come they’re not paying for deliver?

          Because then they wouldn’t make as much profit for the bludgers shareholders.

        • Murray Rawshark 6.1.1.3

          The volunteers have not signed a commercial contract to ensure delivery of the meals. Compass Group has. Therefore it is the responsibility of Compass Group to deliver the meals. They would be advised in advance and have enough time to do something other than give their CEO a raise and donate to NAct.

          • weka 6.1.1.3.1

            If so that would be awesome. Are you sure the Compass’s contract includes delivery though? or just provision of meals?

            • Murray Rawshark 6.1.1.3.1.1

              The hospital lawyers and their executives should lose their jobs if all Compass has to do is drop the food at a depot in Dunedin. Bugger it, they should lose their jobs anyway for this outsourcing rubbish. Compass has a shiny website, but the contract is obviously not on it.

              http://compass-group.co.nz/our-brands/medirest/

    • Chooky 6.2

      ‘meals on wheels’ has been a godsend to many elderly and disabled!….seems crazy to mess with something which has enabled many frail people to stay in their own homes

      • marty mars 6.2.1

        + 1 yes mum used meals on wheels and although she struggled with the meals sometimes, the service is needed and necessary – kia kaha to everyone who volunteers.

        • Chooky 6.2.1.1

          +100..I know someone well into her nineties who has them and she lives in her own home by herself …and my Mum in her eighties has just started getting them …and they are delicious and nutritional….i am very impressed with this service as it is!

    • RedBaronCV 6.3

      Compass Group intends to work closely with volunteer organisations in Dunedin and Invercargill

      but do they ask themselves whether the volunteer organisations want to work closely with Compass. Tosser he’s just me me me. Why should people do his work for free so his profit is larger?

      • Chooky 6.3.1

        agreed!…volunteer work is done for love and care of fellow human beings ( something John Key’s Nact govt and friends do not understand)

        ….in a way it is an obscenity this outfit Compass is taking over for profit

        ….i expect the standards and the whole ‘meals on wheels’ service will decline, if not crash

        ….the sooner this govt is out the better

  7. Clemgeopin 7

    New York Times article : Trans-Pacific Partnership

    “Even if current negotiations over the trade agreement end with no deal, the draft chapter will still remain classified for four years as national security information. The initial version of an agreement projected by the government to affect millions of Americans will remain a secret until long after meaningful public debate is possible.

    National security secrecy may be appropriate to protect us from our enemies; it should not be used to protect our politicians from us.

    And the secrecy of trade negotiations does not just hide information from the public. It creates a funnel where powerful interests congregate, absent the checks, balances and necessary hurdles of the democratic process.

    Free-trade agreements are not just about imports, tariffs or overseas jobs. Agreements bring complex national regulatory systems together, such as intellectual property law, with implications for free speech, privacy and public health.

    Secrecy has real costs. Because the negotiating process combines a general shield from the public with privileged access for industry advisers, the substance of American free trade agreements does not represent truly national interests. It represents the interests of those members of industry who sit on the office’s Industry Trade Advisory Committees, which have regular access to negotiating information.”

    Read more here:

    http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/04/14/opinion/dont-keep-trade-talks-secret.html?_r=1

    • tracey 7.1

      Thanks for the link. And all this BS about needing to keep it confidential cos of preserving bargaining positions when they are all spying on each other and data trawling, meaning everyone knows EXACTLY where others bottom lines are.

    • Draco T Bastard 7.2

      And the point that no one seems to be addressing is that we don’t need free-trade agreements anyway. We just need to state the conditions that we would be willing to trade under and make it up to the other countries if they then choose to meet those conditions or not. This could bring about a race to the top rather than the race to the bottom that the present FTAs are producing.

  8. tracey 8

    From Bill Rosenberg at CTU

    ““On one measure, the average hourly wage (including overtime), the wage gap was between 5% and 10% during the 1990s, rose to 21% in 2005, then fell to 10% in 2008. By the end of 2010 it was back to 21% and that is where it still was at the end of 2014.
    That doesn’t take into account “benefits” in addition to wages such as the 9.5% contribution that Australian employers are required to make to their employees’ superannuation. On a measure including that, the pattern is similar to the average hourly wage but the gap is much bigger. It rose more or less steadily through the 1990s to a 45% peak in 2005. It fell to 34% in the year ending March 2009 and then began to rise again. By the year to March 2014 the gap was 42%.” ”

    http://union.org.nz/economicbulletin166

    full report here
    http://union.org.nz/sites/union.org.nz/files/CTU-Monthly-Economic-Bulletin-166-March-2015-2.pdf

    Seems odd, aye, when you consider how marvellous Key and English say our economy is compared to Oz, that it’s not reflected in some wages?

  9. weka 10

    Internation news gathering site on Universal Basic Income

    UBIEurope

    Unconditional Basic Income (UBI) is an amount of money, paid on a regular basis to each individual unconditionally and universally, high enough to ensure a material existence and participation in society. UBI is a step towards an emancipatory welfare system.

    http://paper.basicincome-europe.org/

    Love the term ’emancipatory welfare’.

  10. infused 11

    Waiting for Stephs post on Paul Henry.

    • Paul 12.1

      He called her Mary twice.
      Suggests she rattled him.
      Good.
      Nice to see these arrogant ministers actually asked some hard questions for a change.

    • vto 12.2

      That is what a good interview is.

      More please.

      • Scintilla 12.2.1

        Kim wasn’t going to let him get away with not answering the question of what the govt was going to do about the “demand side”. Smith tries to blame it on the ‘good news’ that people aren’t abandoning ship for Aussie now (like this hasn’t been inflating for a long time). I think the penny has dropped – difficult for it to drop any harder when the RB says something has to be done to avoid whatever the fashionable euphemism is for “disaster”.

        Andrew Little is trying to stare the gnats down and make them be the ones to have to make that unpopular (with their constituents) decision to apply a CGT and stricter LTV ratios for multiple property investors. Good work.

        • hoom 12.2.1.1

          She didn’t make any particular reference to the other forms of demand though.
          Like overseas investors, multi-house owners etc.

          Nor alternatives on supply end like Govt building houses & selling them at low cost.

          Also: is Kim only temping for Mary or is this a permanent change due to the flagging listnership?

          • Scintilla 12.2.1.1.1

            Kim was asking the questions, not answering – that was Nick Smith’s duty as Minister for Housing. He did not want to address any solutions to the demand side, he fobbed that off onto English as Finance Minister. Smith did not see why as Minister of Housing, he should address what the Reserve Bank had to say about doing something like a CGT and LTV ratios to rein in the Auckland housing market. As if it was nothing to do with him. Really??

            They built vast numbers of new houses in Ireland and Spain to feed the market just before it all went tits up too.

      • Paul 12.2.2

        It’s called journalism.
        In threat of extinction in John Key’s New Zealand.

    • Chooky 12.3

      it is great to have Kim Hill back on Morning Report!

    • Hateatea 12.4

      I didn’t think that Dr Smith could be worse at Housing than he was at ACC but he is. How could he be so unprepared that he got the hosts name wrong, not once but twice!

      Lovely to hear real interviewing of politicians by a person who can think on their feet and keep to the topic not be diverted by the spin.

      I am a HUGE Kim Hill fan and wish she could do more of this. Maybe she needs to be cloned 😉

  11. saveNZ 13

    +++STOP PRESS+++

    Granddaddy Herald actually ran a story with a commentator from Environmental Defense Agency. It didn’t even appear censored. Since most of my comments never make it through moderation of Granddaddy here is my comment…

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11433214

    If we want to preserve clean green environmental NZ the public has to fight for it and for protection for the environment under the RMA. They also need to work together at a local level and with local and central government help to preserve it.

    The RMA should be strengthened not weakened, it is already so weak as practically powerless mostly due to having council’s resource consent officers as the first line of defence.

    Look at ports of Auckland. The council is doing nothing effective and allowing them to legally to steal the publicly owned harbour and zero public input and environmental effects are needed to do it.

    Yesterday Campbell Live ran a story about NZ water being bottled and exported to China while a local farmer’s crops died due to drought.

    This country has gone mad! Nothing makes any sense anymore!

    We have lost our identity as a country in this soup of neoliberalism and corporate welfare and quest with zero questions asked trade agreements that are depriving decent Kiwis of a future.

    Someone needs to read parliament a bedtime story, of the golden goose.

    NZ environment is being destroyed. Soon no more golden eggs left in the fire sale.

    God knows what will happen with TPPA. Now is the time to lobby.

    http://www.itsourfuture.org.nz

  12. Bearded Git 14

    I’m sure someone else has probably posted this anti-Hosking rant but here it is:

    http://gregorycoopersblog.blogspot.co.nz/2015/04/a-rant-about-mike-hosking.html?m=1

  13. Draco T Bastard 15

    ust when hope and courage are called for, Labour promises bean-counting

    Labour has allowed the Conservatives to frame its politics. Frames are the mental structures through which we perceive the world. The dominant Tory frame, constructed and polished across seven years by its skilled cabinet makers, is that the all-important issue is the deficit. The financial crisis, it claims, was caused not by the banks but by irresponsible government spending, for which the only cure is austerity.

    Labour has pretty much done the same thing here. It’s why they keep on about the 9 successive surpluses.

    Sure, we need to be aware of government spending but the government doesn’t really need to run a surplus – especially if they’re the sole creator of NZ$.

    • Draco T Bastard 16.1

      And that proves, beyond doubt, that the reason why we have poverty is because a few people have far too much income.

      The one thing we cannot afford is the rich.

      • hoom 16.1.1

        Indeed.

        Its particularly interesting in that it confirms something I’ve suspected for a long time: Those big pay increases top management constantly give themselves if spread among lower paid staff can make significant difference to the lower salaries.

        There is one thing I’m a bit sus about which is why he was on 1mil+ to start with.
        It could be he just one day suddenly truly realised he had a ridiculous salary vs his staff & decided to do something about it.

        But there could be some dodgy tax rort type reason for it too.

  14. Clemgeopin 17

    Johh Key has said he admired Robert Muldoon a lot.

    One can discern Key’s attitude to news, press, current affairs and investigative journalism, if you see what Muldoon’s attitude to those were.

    Watch the excellent part 4 of the link below to make the connection:

    http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/50-years-of-new-zealand-television-episode-one-2010#

  15. Clemgeopin 18

    John Key has just asked this question:

    “Key: Would people watch publicly funded broadcast TV?”

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv-radio/67802231/key-would-people-watch-publicly-funded-broadcast-tv

    My response is this:

    ‘Yes, Prime Minister, there is a need for publicly funded news, current affairs and investigative journalism in order to inform the public and to hold the government to account. Look at the UK and US where there are 24 hour government funded news/current affairs channels. It is not good enough in a democracy to simply provide dumb down channels/programmes only for entertainment or for the lowest common demographics, based on maximum advertising revenue. It is astonishing that as a Prime Minister he would even ask such dumb questions. He needs to get some enlightenment and values into his thinking.”

  16. Draco T Bastard 19

    1st Color Image of Pluto

    NASA’s New Horizons mission to Pluto has returned its first color image of the dwarf planet and its largest moon, Charon.

    The new photo, taken on April 9 from a distance of about 71 million miles (115 million kilometers), is already revealing insights about Pluto and Charon, as well as suggestions of the science to come when New Horizons flies by the Pluto system on July 14, NASA officials said.

  17. Good bye to Dorthy Jellicic who died Tueday . A great worker for the underprinviledged she will be missed by all who knew her,
    I am just glad that my wife and I had dinner a couple of months ago with Dorothy and husband Paul it was a last farewell for us.
    Dorothy was a dedicated democratic Socialist and her death is lose to the who;le Labour movement . Good Bye Dorothy it was a pleasure to have had you as a friend .

  18. what can we do about a person like this

    A hunter from the US who has killed dozens of wild animals has been sent death wishes by furious social media users after a picture showing her lying down next to a dead giraffe was circulated.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11433332

    disgusting human

  19. Clemgeopin 23

    See what a nitwit Nick Smith is! And he is the ‘Minister’ for housing! He has no clue, or pretends not to have any clue, on what REALLY needs to be done to solve the massive housing problem, especially in Auckland! The incompetent talking head is a fool and needs the sack.

    Go to these two links to see what I mean:

    [1] The talking head at a public meeting:

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/home-property/67799605/what-auckland-properties-can-you-buy-for-550000

    [2] With Kim Hill this morning on RNZ:

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/20174921/building-and-housing-minister-on-reserve-bank's-housing-warning

  20. joe90 24

    Urban safaris.

    Robert C. Bates—a 73-year-old reserve deputy who allegedly got the job thanks to his financial contributions—was ultimately charged with manslaughter for mistakenly shooting Eric Harris. But according to the Tulsa World, authorities first tried—apparently in vain—to cover up his lack of training.

    http://gawker.com/tulsa-authorities-reportedly-falsified-reserve-deputys-1698133492?

  21. lprent 25

    Ok, I have just modified the method for setting the comment details to client side rather than server side.

    This should fix the problem with the occasional cached pages showing up in other peoples browsers.

    Haven’t checked on Internet Explorer 🙂

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    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    4 hours ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    4 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    5 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    9 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    9 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    9 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    10 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    11 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    12 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    14 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    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
    4 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    6 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

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 hours 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
    7 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
    9 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
    10 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
    23 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
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  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
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