Open mike 16/05/2016

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, May 16th, 2016 - 91 comments
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91 comments on “Open mike 16/05/2016 ”

  1. Paul 1

    This cartoon by Sharon Murdoch is brilliant and sums up the government’s attitude to New Zealand and the super rich.

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CicjGnrU4AAp7t9.jpg:large

  2. Paul 2

    John Key’s New Zealand.
    People living in cars, garages, in cold mouldy houses and on the street.
    Children go to school without food.
    Our suicide rates, imprisonment rates, domestic abuse rates, obesity and levels of inequality soars.
    Unemployment levels rise.
    Debt levels keep climbing.
    Housing both owned and rented becomes unaffordable to more and more people.

    Meanwhile our corrupt and venal ruling class, led by an ex banker Key, takes the side of the global uber rich against the interests of NZ citizens.

    What an ugly, selfish and cruel place we have become.

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/303946/auckland-housing-'we've-lost-the-plot

    • b waghorn 2.1

      According to key on henry the cause of people living in cars is because we aren’t hard enough on moving people out of housing nz houses.

      • weka 2.1.1

        Ah, the merry go round approach. They’re using it for benefits and jobs so why not housing?

      • Paul 2.2.1

        A cynical response.
        What a repulsive man.

      • Ffloyd 2.2.2

        I don’t think Winz has Security guards at the door to keep people with weapons out. More likely the people trying to access all this HELP that Mr Key is confident that Winz is just waiting there to immediately assist. He would be “very surprised”!!! if Winz didn’t do this. I would be BLOODY AMAZED and SHOCKED! if they DID.

    • John shears 2.3

      @Paul, Ugly Selfish & Cruel sums it up . I am reminded of NZ in the days of John A Lee as described in ‘Children of the Poor’ sad and disgusting.

    • Draco T Bastard 2.4

      The Salvation Army and the Mangere Budgeting Service say the government can’t continue to ignore the growing numbers of people forced to live in cars, shipping containers and garages.

      Of course it can. National have been ignoring poverty for decades now and haven’t lost a wink of sleep over it.

      “People are sort of halving their garage and having one family on one side of the garage, and another family on the other. These are the sorts of situations that are now emerging in this housing crisis,” he said.

      And probably charging a pretty penny for it as well.

      Speaking to Morning Report today, Prime Minister John Key said it was not acceptable that people were living in cars or under bridges.

      Mr Key said people in those circumstances should seek help from Work and Income.

      He said he would be amazed if the agency left people living in cars, particularly if children were involved.

      Says all the right words while putting in place policies that prevent that from actually happening.

      Mr Key said the government was doing what it could to help people in housing difficulty…

      Yeah, like kicking people off of benefits for no reason whatsoever.

      Mr Key said the government’s approach, including encouraging community groups to provide housing, would help.

      Well, I suppose that it will help a few rich people get richer. Won’t help the people actually in trouble though.

  3. Sirenia 3

    $1.2 billion of state money is apparently going to private landlords to house poor people in often poor housing. A lot of good quality state and public housing could be built or renovated with that money. With some firm regulations to keep rents down we could house everyone well again. This has happened in the past in NZ so could be done again.

    • AsleepWhileWalking 3.1

      It is probably higher than that. Amounts over AS limits are picked up by TAS.

  4. cowboy 4

    I was appalled at Nick Smiths arrogance and denial on the weekend political shows. Especially so in light of the damning footage of people living in cars and the proliferation of families living in garages. The human cost especially for the kids brought up in those situations must be horrendous. Not the New Zealand I ever thought id see.

    It seems his Namesake in Kaikoura is afflicted with a similar dose of arrogance.

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/79943215/johns-kitchen-coordinator-janette-walker-labels-kaikoura-mp-stuart-smith-out-of-touch

    No wonder he is too busy to attend to his constituents issues, he has been too busy spruiking baby formula for Chinese donors to the National Party.

    • John shears 4.1

      Cowboy Agreed what a waste of space he is.

    • North 4.2

      Crooked, amoral bastards !

      (1) Deny, deny, deny the problem…..

      (2) Belatedly acknowledge we’ve lost our way…..

      (3) Declare that kids living in cars is not OK…..

      (4) Mock-earnestly wank on about what must be done…..

      (5) Borrow $3 billion for tax cuts to buy votes 2017…..

      (6) 2018 – “What’s that you say, children living in cars ?”

      From the top, altogether now, (1)…..(2)…..(3) etc etc etc.

      Crooked, amoral bastards ! They simply do not care…..

    • North 4.3

      Stuart Smith National MP……arrogant pig !

      “Smith said he had visited various social agencies around Blenheim but had not spent time at John’s Kitchen. He said he had a full diary and had no plans to visit the Blenheim social service.”

      • Cowboy 4.3.1

        Just like Todd Barclay. Another arrogant and entitled Nat in a safe rural seat.

        I see Winston is taking it to the Nats with a public meeting in Gore next week. I think they smell blood with Barclay. Maybe he should stop in at Kaikoura on the way home.

    • Gangnam Style 4.4

      Someone is making a bunch of money “decontaminating” state houses that’s for sure.

  5. adam 5

    A 17 minute video which does a really good job of summing up what happening in USA. I’d suggest you skip across the clapping part at start and get into the real meat of the topic Abby Martin is talking about.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbEUsFxcdpo

    • Bill 5.1

      Like her observation that Bernie Sanders, for all the criticism that anyone may want to throw at him, has taken the essential message of Occupy: the sentiment the mainstream wanted to shut down and shut out – and he’s taken it right into the heart of the mainstream.

      I think that’s true.

      • adam 5.1.1

        I have real problems with Sanders, but when Abby said that – I thought she is right. And I think the longer Sanders keeps in the race, the more the message will sink in.

        17 more attack pieces on Sanders in the New York Journal last week. That is 16 more than against Trump. So he must be doing something right.

    • ianmac 5.2

      Is there a market in NZ for an Abby Martin or a Bernie Sanders? Andrew could maybe but where could he get a forum? TV? Radio? Newspaper? Live audience? With the News tied up by the Right and a well oiled machine to undermine alternative voices how can we get such a message as Abby’s out there? Oh Dear!

      • adam 5.2.1

        We have voices like Abby Martin. Did you forget you were commenting on an alternative news source ianmac.

        The idea is not to despair. Indeed, voices are being heard. Ideas are out there. It’s not all about the labour party.

        We have a voice, we only have this system, because we let it happen. And the more people react around the globe, slowly but surly people here will get the message too.

        Because tax cut, and the free market are not delivering freedom and liberty for all.

        • ianmac 5.2.1.1

          Not sure what you mean by alternative news source though. We are interested so we click “play”, but can you imagine Puckish Rogue or Matthew Hooton clicking on?

          • adam 5.2.1.1.1

            You may have noticed I don’t read much NZ news, a few links from here. For me it’s the evening report, and scoop every-other day. I just don’t do the so call MSM or as I call them, the corporate media.

            I read a lot of international news, and that take on NZ is rather different. Actually, I find it funny when I read the likes of Puckish and others, they have no idea what the rest of the world thinks. And seem to enjoy it that way.

            I don’t care what Puckish or Hooten click or not. I’m more interested in a informed, engaged, hopeful, and democratic readership.

            • ianmac 5.2.1.1.1.1

              The point is that many of us on the “Left” are sympathetic to the urgency for a fair and inclusive society, but this does not reach the PRs or the Hootens. The Key believers who I know are allergic to any such talk. So the question is still how do we engage at least “middle” swinging voters?

  6. ianmac 6

    “Prime Minister John Key has signalled National will campaign in 2017 on a $3 billion package of tax cuts.”
    English says not likely. Key says yes.
    See what they are doing? Testing the waters since tax cuts benefit mostly the rich, it may not be politic to actually deliver more tax cuts for the rich.

    • Jenny Kirk 6.1

      Yeah – I’ve just read that as well. Today’s Herald online. You think they”re testing the waters, ianmac ? Maybe they are.
      Or maybe they’re preparing everyone for a big fudging of the country’s economy (ie hey we have a surplus, we can now give that away to our voters !) Whichever it is, I’m pretty sure we’re going to see some big pork barrel politics rolled out next year.
      Yuk ! and it’ll be very grubby …….

      • Paul 6.1.1

        So even less for the unemployed , abused women, mental health, schools, hospitals, the poor, the vulnerable……

        Ugly, selfish, cruel.
        2016 New Zealand.

      • ianmac 6.1.2

        I think Jenny, that previous tax cuts were seen as good for the rich and the Middle-poor saw it as pretty mean. So they are careful this time to make sure that it is their supporters who are happy. Litmus test?

    • dv 6.2

      Mean while national debt

      NZ$ 116,890,480,060

      Interest
      5,577,213,742 per year

    • Tricledrown 6.3

      Another distraction.
      It will be if you vote for us deal just before the election their will be cuts to get more wait till after the election.

  7. Chooky 7

    ‘Boris Johnson likens EU drive for ‘superstate’ to Hitler’s, prompts shower of anger’

    https://www.rt.com/uk/343090-johnson-eu-hitler-napoleon/

    “A frantic backlash has followed a remark by London’s ex-mayor, Boris Johnson, who said modern EU bureaucracy pursues the same goals as previous European “integrators” Napoleon and Hitler did and thus creates a “massive democratic void.”…

  8. Rosemary McDonald 8

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/303970/electricity-industry-shake-up-on-the-cards

    At the moment, the cost of getting electricity from the source to the consumer is spread evenly….regardless of where you live.

    This is about to change….

    “Based on all the signals from the Electricity Authority to date, I am picking that the Transmission Pricing Methodology will go significantly towards a beneficiary-pays approach rather than a one-price-for-everyone that is in place at the moment,” he said.

    “It is likely to produce much more efficient investments in transmission assets over time.”

    In its proposal last June, the authority estimated some power bills would fall and some stay the same. However Auckland and Northland would pay 4.5 percent more and the Far North and the West Coast 10 percent more.”

    OK…so power users are now “beneficiaries” and those “beneficiaries” living in two of the most economically challenged areas of New Zealand will be paying 10% more for transmission charges.

    Consumers in the Far North already pay eye watering power bills…

    • ianmac 8.1

      Marlborough had its own dam to supply much of our electricity, but under the Bradford reforms small dams such as ours were instead given to the main grid. Our daily line charge is $1.99 per day or $61.69 per month. In the city I believe it is far less per day.
      So I think the line charges will increase under the User Pays plan that the Electricity Authority is looking for. And those in the country at the end of a line will pay more. Great for Dairy farms?

      • dv 8.1.1

        Our charge is $2.18 per day in city.

        • ianmac 8.1.1.1

          Ouch dv. Recently I changed from my $1.99 per day to 33cents per day by signing up as a Low User. We pay more per Kw @ 33cents per kw. But as long as we stay under 8,000 kw per year we gain on the deal. ie 22kw per day is the break even point.
          I read somewhere yesterday that a person working for a provider (Mercury?) was told to avoid offering Low User and try to divert customers onto different contract. Mmm.

          • dv 8.1.1.1.1

            Damn I hadn’t noticed till I noticed!!!

          • instrider 8.1.1.1.2

            Maybe that was because they are trying to protect people who sign up for the low rate getting pummeled when they go over the limit. It’s not going to be suitable for most customers with families.

    • Draco T Bastard 8.2

      User pays strikes again by pushing the price up. More profits for the already rich sourced from the most impoverished.

      You’d almost think that the government was trying to push people out of those places by making it so that the people already there can’t afford to live there. Is this about cleaning out the impoverished from desirable areas to make way for the uber rich that NZs becoming a bolt-hole for?

      • Rosemary McDonald 8.2.1

        Straight out of the “How To Make a Zombie Town” manual.

        • Molly 8.2.1.1

          But the opportunity is there for those towns to get out of the system entirely, via schemes such as the Blueskin Power Co-operative.

        • instrider 8.2.1.2

          It’s the opposite. It is passing costs on to those that are not located close to power sources. That should advantage many regional consumers and businesses who live close to power sources. This is good for most places except Auckland north. The west coast would be better off if they had managed to be allowed to build the hydro schemes they wanted

          • Draco T Bastard 8.2.1.2.1

            Wow. Do you actually read the tripe that you write?

            Advantaging people who live closer to power supply than those that live further away pushes people who live further away to move closer thus causing those regional towns to close down, to become Zombie Towns.

            • instrider 8.2.1.2.1.1

              Most of the so called zombie towns are closer to power supplies than Auckland . So cheaper power would (in theory) help make them more attractive and less zombie like.

              You want to deny much of regional NZ the benefit of lower power costs by forcing them to pay the same as wealthy aucklanders

      • instrider 8.2.2

        So you think that relatively rich Auckland should be subsidised by relatively poor Dunedin?

        • Draco T Bastard 8.2.2.1

          As it is if there’s any subsidies, and I doubt if there are, it will be from Auckland to the rest of the country. If this change goes ahead then there really will be subsidies – from the rest of the country to Auckland as the rest of the countries prices go up – especially those in poorer areas.

          At a national level it really doesn’t cost any more to maintain the lines in Northland than in Auckland. Charging some areas more and some areas less isn’t about economics or incentives but about making more profit for the lines companies/generators.

          • McFlock 8.2.2.1.1

            At a national level it really doesn’t cost any more to maintain the lines in Northland than in Auckland.

            Maybe not (although I suspect there’s more in the way of tree trimming and suchlike in rural areas, and farther travel times for the crews).

            However, the cost of getting the power from the source to the local 240V area would vary wildly according to distance (both in maintenance and power loss), durability, and accessibility.

          • instrider 8.2.2.1.2

            You’re wrong. We are talking about the relative cost of shifting power from a generator to a consumer. It is in fact a lot more expensive to build 100km of power line than it is to build 50km.

            Auckland has no substantial power plants nearby except Huntley, which doesn’t run all the time and is reducing output. So Auckland’s power has to travel a lot further than say Dunedin’s. You also get greater line losses. Yet Dunedin power companies are basically charged the same per mw as Auckland power companies and for no other reason than it’s easier.

            • xanthe 8.2.2.1.2.1

              It is not in the interest of the lines companies to promote a distributed renewable generation model and they have by anti-competitive and pricing models held the inevitable move to such a system back for as long as they could . now the end game begins

            • Draco T Bastard 8.2.2.1.2.2

              It is in fact a lot more expensive to build 100km of power line than it is to build 50km.

              Good job I didn’t say build then isn’t it.

              Yet Dunedin power companies are basically charged the same per mw as Auckland power companies and for no other reason than it’s easier.

              And fairer considering that we all paid to build the infrastructure equally.

              Splitting things up like this actually breaks the economy and the scale that building nationally produces. That’s what we’ve been seeing for the last thirty years and why things keep getting more expensive.

              • instrider

                You cant just maintain the grid you sometimes have to build new stuff. Just recently 470m was spent on new lines in auckland. Another billion was spent on lines to Auckland. All this gets paid for by consumers. Your method makes it much more expensive because there is no pressure to keep down costs. If aucklanders were faced with fully funding the infrastructure they benefit from, they might have gone for less costly options. Remember much of this new investment was the result of socialized transpowwer not actually maintaining the network adequately.

              • joe90

                Good job I didn’t say build then isn’t it.

                Yeah, but do you appreciate the factors involved – distance, voltage, conductor size, equipment sizing, selection and siting, workmanship, power factor, unbalanced/unequal phase/load distribution, leakage, overloading, abnormal operating conditions – and that’s only transmission.

    • Molly 8.3

      And to my mind, a better system would be to require those that use over a standard amount – a higher usage charge.

      I remember a few years ago, hearing that some households have a power bill of over $700/wk. This usage reflected the need to keep the pool heated, the landscaping lights on, the multiple power vampire appliances on standby.

      At the time, a discussion was being had regarding the necessity to upgrade the power infrastructure. I thought then – and I still do – that charges (like taxes) should be progressive, if you are using significantly more than a standard amount for the number of people living in your household then you pay a higher usage charge.

      • Draco T Bastard 8.3.1

        Yep. Nationalised power generation and reticulation. Each household/business gets a set amount per month free (fully covered by taxes) which is enough to run a household on and after that they get charged and as they use more they get charged more per kilowatt.

        This implements actual supply and demand. The people who demand more pay more. As it is we actually have it around the other way with those who demand more paying less per unit. This incentivises incredibly poor economics.

  9. Tautoko Mangō Mata 9

    I think National are in deep trouble and are becomingly increasingly desperate.
    Key’s “ejection” from debating chamber, Matt Hooton’s “deeply “sanitised column, and now “look here, tax cuts” are panic responses to the current mess.
    NZers are not happy at links to corruption and the smirching of our country’s reputation. More principled conservatives are uneasy.

    The TPP ram-it-through-as-quickly-as-possible approach is not going down well, the housing situation is beyond crisis and younger people are becoming more politised as they see their future being affected detrimentally by poor current political choices.
    Parata’s school funding changes will probably initiate a revolt…all good!

    • Puckish Rogue 9.1

      Well it is possible that National are in deep trouble I don’t think they are, they certainly would have been had the Panama Papers come up with anything substantial but as it is its reinforced the notion that Labour are crying wolf and, surprisingly to my mind at least, that the Greens are more level headed of the opposition

      I suspect that the worries you share are not shared with the voting public however as its my own opinion I may well be wrong so, unfortunately, we’ll just have to wait for the next opinion polls to come out

      I think it’ll be bad news for Labour, minor negative news for National, good news for Winston First and minor positive news for the Greens in that whatever voted National loses will go to Winston and some of what Labour loses will go to the Greens

    • Chooky 9.2

      +100 TMM…no matter what Hooton and jonkey’s Nact supporters spin….jonkey has been shown up !

  10. Tautoko Mangō Mata 10

    The first time the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement was brought before Whanganui District Council, it sparked a walkout……..
    The TPP will be back before council this month when the local authority will again be asked to consider the impact the 12-nation deal will have on its business.
    TPPA Action Whanganui has made a submission to the annual plan, asking council to consider a range of areas it believes to be threatened by the agreement.
    Among the action group’s concerns are the council’s ability to control water rights, to procure work from local businesses and its support of iwi rights.

    “The demands of the TPP threaten all of the above and council needs to do its homework and plan to put measures in place, removing all present weaknesses around these matters before possible ratification of the TPP,” spokeswoman Denise Lockett said. She believed some council business would be undermined by the trade agreement and urged council to fight to retain its decision-making power.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/wanganui-chronicle/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503426&objectid=11639520

  11. Hami Shearlie 11

    According to the Director General of the UN office in Geneva, the number one reason people leave Syria is not to escape war, it’s to find educational opportunities for their vast numbers of children – well their solution is really simple: stop mindless shooting, build your own universities, and work hard to pay for them like we in the West do – simple really. Pretending to be refugees to come and mooch off people in the West is just not on. Thanks for finally telling us the truth Mr Moller! The people of the West don’t appreciate being lied to over and over again!
    http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/refugee-crisis-facts-un-michael-moller_uk_5734277ee4b01359f6866db0

  12. dukeofurl 12

    Any links to IPCC for that ?
    “My guess is that we will hit 2 deg C by 2030.”

    Surely it will all come right by vertebral subluxation or some such discovery

    [Flaming and trolling. Shifting to Open Mike.] – Bill

    • weka 12.1

      You think that the IPPC knows what CV thinks? CV just posted his best guess based on being informed.

      “Surely it will all come right by vertebral subluxation or some such discovery”

      That’s out and out flaming. Reread the post and see if you still think picking a fight is appropriate.

      • dukeofurl 12.1.1

        Someone whos whole career is built on quack medicine ( unless he one of the few who do follow more mainstream ideas) will always pluck unsupported views out of the ether.
        Its a common error to confuse weather with climate.
        For Dunedin
        http://www.metservice.com/towns-cities/dunedin
        Monthy highest for April is 25 , historical average 24….. yyawn nothing to see but chooks flapping their wings who will never fly

        • weka 12.1.1.1

          Troll. There’s probably a special name for denialist trolls, but I can’t be arsed with someone so blatantly stupid.

          • McFlock 12.1.1.1.1

            The name is definitely not “drolls” 🙂

          • dukeofurl 12.1.1.1.2

            Perhaps you could give the temperature data for your location to show the Dunedin numbers are against the trend.
            NZ long term trend is 1C per century. Thats what its called baby, global warming.

            So you arent with the medical community who believe most chiropractric is modern quackery ?

  13. Rosemary McDonald 13

    Little steps up….http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/80013933/prime-minister-john-key-says-homeless-families-should-contact-work-and-income

    “Labour leader Andrew Little: PM ‘out of touch’ with families in hardship”

    If the comments section is anything to go by (and why not?) JK and Co are in deepest of smelly stuff…..

    • ianmac 13.1

      Tried to imagine a car family arriving at Work and Income asking for accommodation. Waiting list? Sorry. Can’t help.

      • North 13.1.1

        And mum or dad gets angry and mouthy under the pressure of it when they’re basically told to go away and come back in three weeks once they’ve seen the budgeter – for whom there’s actually a month long waiting list anyway.

        “Oh well……trespass notice for you if you can’t behave !”

        More in the narrative – “These people are scum who’ve done it to themselves !”

    • Gangnam Style 13.2

      Theres room here for Labour, I need them to be the opposite of National before they get my vote, also imagine debating National on this with a Nat trying to justify homelessness. Like we saw with Key defending not paying tax (“if you are a Mexican worried about your countries inheritance laws”), they look weak & out of touch.

  14. Puckish Rogue 14

    https://imperatorfish.com/2016/05/10/a-brief-history-of-the-labour-party/

    For those that have a sense of humour click on the link, I’m sure its not completely serious

  15. Michael 15

    Just as well Labour’s got such progressive policies to deal with climate change then, isn’t it?

    [Shoddy attempt to derail. Shifted to Open Mike] – Bill

    • Draco T Bastard 15.1

      The RWNJs have obviously had their C/T lines handed to them.

    • Michael 15.2

      Why? Your post concerned climate change. I observed that Labour has nothing in the way of policy to deal with the issue. Is criticism of Labour fobidden on this site then?

      [lprent: No – read the policy. Idiots who are just trolling lines written by a PR wanker and who don’t say anything worth reading are. If you’d have been serious then you would have pointed that out, and have been pointed to those really easy to google links like this page. It took me all of 10 seconds to find.

      Banned for one week.

      I figure that with your obviously piss-poor comprehension levels this will should hopefully be enough time to read the site policy. However if you get stuck on the big words – like policy and self-martyrdom, then I suggest you consult a dictionary. (Drat that may be beyond a trolls comprehension).

      It is a book or a website that defines words.

      Try this word as a test and clear description of you – “dickhead” ]

  16. joe90 16

    Warren on the ticket and Trump really will get his hate on.

    “You want a running mate who can take the fight to the other side with relish,” said a Clinton veteran. “Geography doesn’t matter, but attitude and talent and energy and bringing excitement to the campaign, Senator Warren does all that.”

    In many ways, a Warren pick makes perfect sense. She’s widely respected and admired for her anti-Wall Street crusades, and she is already playing a lead role in the Democratic fight against Trump on social media. As a hero to many of the same people who currently support Clinton’s Democratic rival Bernie Sanders, her presence in the Clinton campaign could help unite the party. And she would bring extra firepower to what is sure to be a brutal general election.

    There’s just one problem: She’s a woman. Is a presidential ticket big enough for two of them?

    For voters who are already uneasy about the prospect of a woman in the White House (hint: mostly white men), a Warren addition might be the final straw. They’d go Trump for good. But it seems unlikely that those who pine for the days of Mad Men were going to vote for Clinton anyway. And some argue that Clinton doesn’t really need more white men, as they’re a declining portion of the electorate.

    http://qz.com/684589/in-an-election-dominated-by-misogyny-a-clinton-warren-ticket-might-just-work/

    • dukeofurl 16.1

      A good pick but unlikely.
      Democrats have their minimum core 18 states, which they have won every election since 1992, with 242 electoral votes

      They just need an extra one or two like Florida , and 28 EVs, to win the Presidency,

      Logic says a figire who can bring a state like Florida or another region has best chance of being VP pick

  17. Chooky 17

    So did they really land an American man on the moon or not?…imo NOT! ( the biggest USA porky of all time?)

    ‘Invisible maelstrom: NASA flies spacecraft through magnetic explosions above Earth (VIDEO)’

    https://www.rt.com/viral/343121-nasa-magnetic-explosions-spacecraft/

    “NASA has made its first ever observations from the heart of a ‘magnetic reconnection’ event thanks to its Magnetospheric Multiscale mission (MMS).

    The mission, consisting of four identical spacecraft, was launched in March 2015 to observe these reactions in the magnetosphere – scientists had previously only witnessed reconnection in the laboratory…

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  • 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
    3 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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
    8 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
    9 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
    11 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
    22 hours 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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 ...
    1 day 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 ...
    1 day 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
    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
    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
    2 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
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Two bar blues
    The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
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