Open mike 17/12/2014

Written By: - Date published: 6:24 am, December 17th, 2014 - 120 comments
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120 comments on “Open mike 17/12/2014 ”

  1. Colonial Rawshark 1

    Great, the west has started financial world war 3 with Russia. And this week Obama is going to sign into law the provision of lethal US military aid to Ukraine. Which is the US way of provoking Russia into sending armoured columns into Ukraine. Because just as the US would not allow nuclear missiles with a 10 minute flight time to Washington DC to be based in Cuba, Russia is certainly not going to allow similar in Ukraine.

    • Philip Ferguson 1.1

      And at the time when the Russkies had nuke missiles in Cuba, the Yanks had nuclear missiles in Turkey and Italy pointed at Russia. Although the deal was mutual removal, when the Soviet leadership removed their missiles from Cuba, the US government (Kennedy) kept theirs in Turkey and Italy.

      When you’re imperialist top-dog you make up the rules to suit yourself, as in the days when Britannia ruled the waves and waived the rules.

      Phil

      • nadis 1.1.1

        This is a good view of how both sides see each other:

        http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/viewing-russia-inside#axzz3M3XjUDKd

        Not sure what conclusions I’d draw from it, apart from sanctions can destroy the russian economy but won’t necessarily effect any political change. The Russian economy is dire, I’ve seen people blabbing on about how insulated Russia will be bvecause of their foreign reserves – these have declined 20% in 2014, 10% in the last 3 weeks. Previous examples of currency collapse show you can burn through all those in a month if things get dire. The Ruble will trade at 200 within 3 months. Just rewind to 1998. Banks have stopped quoting on USDRUB – that is the start of the death spiral. While the fall in the ruble insulates somewhat against the fall in oil, every other import becomes unobtainable for the average Russian. The real problem in Russia is too much is being siphoned off by Putin and his cronies.

        http://www.bloomberg.com/video/ruble-implodes-is-it-1998-all-over-again-mD4759gESfG4QbugVxZAdQ.html

        The only real pressure point on Putin is more likely to come from his oligarch mates:

        http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000339649

        I suspect that is the bet the Americans and Germans are making.

        • Skinny 1.1.1.1

          Putin is a declared billionaire and will have plenty of undeclared cash/gold and assets also stashed away in foreign Countries. Russia revolves on corrupt practices, it’s normal.

          I have a Russian girlfriend that studied management here. Apart from being stunningly beautiful, smart & quick witted, she was from a wealthy family. I once questioned her about where the wealth came from and joked ” your old man isn’t involved with the Russian mafia is he.” she laughed and said “everyone is linked to the mafia and black market, how you think my parents come here to NZ once a year and me travel home or holiday in Europe every year, it’s part of our culture.” She invited me to go out for dinner with them next time they come over. Her mother was warm and bubbly, her father was reserved and serious and spent alot of time talking stern on his mobile phone. He was big and tall and had the straightest back I’ve ever seen. I asked her later after we dropped them at their motel, your dad looks like an army man, she laughed and replied ex army General who fought with honour in Afghanistan, he has lots of medals. She told me the ex army men just transferred the power they had to running businesses. Sounded more like racketeering to me.

          • Colonial Rawshark 1.1.1.1.1

            Do you think that the current decaying American empire is a match for a Russia led by people like your g/f’s family.

            • Skinny 1.1.1.1.1.1

              You just have to look at Putin for your answer, he make the rest of the World leaders look like pussy cats. Coupled with the Russian’s close assoiation with China and I’d say no match whatsoever CV.

          • greywarshark 1.1.1.1.2

            @ Skinny
            It’s what you do when there is the opportunity. This country was stripped of great public entities which were bought relatively cheaply by fast guys, when Roger Douglas and Richard Prebble got the wind in their sails. Serious money was made when they either resold them at a profit or built other aspects into them.

            As soon as neo lib came in NZ and some top private positions were created in the place of public, a new guy in Auckland was off overseas with his wife and I think they managed to find hotel rooms at $2,000 a night. It seemed like a triumphal blow out at the cost of the stupid what they seemed to view as the ordinary mass of yobboes in the street. Their mantra was, and is, government can’t do anything right. The greed-gatherers got drunk on power and opportunity here just as they have in Russia.

            • Skinny 1.1.1.1.2.1

              Yeah Fay & his side kick merchant banker partner duped the taxpayer. I remember Fay’s first lieutenant drunkenly boasting at my sisters wedding how well they had done out of asset stripping our railways. I physically had to restrain my brother (who was a loco driver & got sucked into taking transrail shares by smooth talking Preeble) from knocking him out. This clown turned up at the swanky reception with a young hussey in tow and his own bottles of Dom. His ex was there and he started making a right Charlie of himself harassing her. My other brother and myself done the honours grabbed champagne Charlie and through him in the pool to cool off, much to everyone’s laughter. He stormed off, jumped in his porsche, dropped a burnout down the road like a spoilt brat. Yes plenty of money grabbing happening in the 80’s.

        • Colonial Rawshark 1.1.1.2

          I’ve seen people blabbing on about how insulated Russia will be bvecause of their foreign reserves – these have declined 20% in 2014, 10% in the last 3 weeks. Previous examples of currency collapse show you can burn through all those in a month if things get dire.

          Pah! Russian gold reserves have been climbing steeply all through 2012-2013-2014, including record purchases in the last couple of months. Whatever inaccurate and propagandised sources you are reading, you should get new ones.

          http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-12-31/russian-banks-buy-1814-tons-gold-2013

          http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-11-19/gold-rises-after-unusual-russian-central-bank-gold-buying-announcement

          • nadis 1.1.1.2.1

            Russian gold reserves might be increasing but not their total reserves.

            I wouldn’t rely on ZeroHedge for great insight. “Tyler Durden” has been calling for a market correction in the S&P500 since about 1400, though he went remarkably quite around 1700. great gossip site but that’s what you’d expect from a convicted Bulgarian inside trader. His view on the world is always distinctly bearish – to paraphrase many others he has called about 35 of the last 2 market corrections. And he has a distinct political bias – which is fine, just correct for that.

            Russia has been a buyer of gold, latest data I can see (31/10/14 via IMF) is that their total reserves are USD416.2 billion, of which gold holdings are 37.575 million oz. At $1193 per/oz that gold is worth about $44.8 billion, so a bit more than 10% of reserves. A ton of gold sounds impressive but is “only” worth around US$38.7 mm. So a purchase of 77 tons of gold is ~3 billion. Not too significant in the scale of Russia’s reserves or in the daily turnover of gold trading – London bullion exchange clears around $18 billion of physical gold a day, then add in futures trading.

            Russia has around US$700 billion of foreign debt with 125 billion due in 2015 – that won’t roll over. Before the current turmoil the Russian govt was planning on spending 1.5 trillion rubles over the next 3 years, will be a lot more now.

            Just wait and see how this current ruble devaluation pans out – right now Russia is experiencing full on capital flight – when the dust settles we’ll see what position a) their reserves are in, b) domestic inflation, c) growth. I’m picking all 3 will be disastrous. Plenty of smarter people than me are seeing a bleak outlook.

              • Colonial Rawshark

                Russia has all the energy in the world. It also has about 40% of the EU’s gas requirements.

                It just needs to wait things out and continue to work with the rest of the BRICS.

                Let’s see how things play out. My bet is Russia wins.

                • nadis

                  no your 40% number is incorrect. It’s 28% and the most dependent countries are the ex-soviet satellites.

                  http://www.vox.com/2014/7/25/5936521/why-europe-wont-punish-russia-in-one-map

                  I don’t think Russia will disappear, they’ve survived worse than this. The first link I put up today is a much more nuanced view of what might happen. But equally Russia won’t win either – fascist states never do, but they can lash out militarily.

                  • Colonial Rawshark

                    Be careful who you are calling “fascist” – it is the declining US empire which is an amalgamation of corporate, financial, governmental and military power that lashes out internationally.

                    • nadis

                      If you do a checklist of the classical signs of a fascist state, no major nation ticks as many as Putin’s Russia.

                      The US has got a long way to decline. Russian GDP is now about $950 billion.

                      Here’s how that compares to some other entities:

                      State of North Rhine Westphalia $800 billion
                      City of Los Angeles $630 billion
                      City of New York $1.1 billion
                      Chicago+ Boston + Philadelphia $1.02 trillion
                      States of Washington + Maryland + Indiana$ 1 trillion
                      State of Texas 1.4 trillion

                      To really put it in perspective, Russian nominal GDP is now about 6 times larger than NZ.

                      Go Putin!

      • greywarshark 1.1.2

        @ Philip F
        Britannia ruled the waves and waived the rules.
        Very neat aphorism I think.

    • adam 1.2

      They already have the cash for this misadventure their CR. Or there reassurance fund.

      A back door to funding and a new term we may hear more of – The European Initiative.

      http://www.publicintegrity.org/2014/12/11/16479/long-term-blank-check-war-spending?utm_source=email&utm_campaign=watchdog&utm_medium=publici-email&goal=0_ffd1d0160d-40abf15259-100020097&mc_cid=40abf15259&mc_eid=c346e018f7

  2. “..More Nails in the Drug War Coffin: Top Stories of 2014..

    ..There’s been so much going on with drug policy reform this year -’

    – it wouldn’t all fit in a ‘Top 10″ list..”

    (cont..)

    http://www.alternet.org/drugs/drug-war-coffin-nails-top-stories-2014-0

    • (also of interest..is that ex-junkie russell brand has done a doco on drugs..

      ..that has been very well received..)

      “..This might be the only time almost all of Twitter agree with Russell Brand..

      ..This week has seen a social media turn-around for the star –

      – following the airing of BBC 3′s Russell Brand: End the Drugs War..”

      (cont..)

      http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/this-might-be-the-only-time-almost-all-of-twitter-agreed-with-russell-brand-9928057.html

      ‘cos unlike what some claim..my campaigning on this isn’t just because i want to smoke a joint..(i can do that already..eh..?..)

      ..it’s also because of my experience/history of having been addicted to heroin/cocaine/crack etc..

      ..that showed me that just about everything that is now done about ‘drugs’..is just so so wrong..on so so many levels..

      ..(and don’t get me started on that vile muck methadone..the ‘nazi-smack’..

      ..a textbook illustration/example of the maxim of the cure being worse than what it purports to heal..)

    • emergency mike 2.2

      Interested and encouraging list that Phil.

      Jebus, 105 opiate overdoses in the US per day

  3. karol 3

    Hard News top ten words of the year: “Dirty Politics” #1:

    #dirtypolitics is, of course, the hashtag version of Dirty Politics, the title of a book by screaming conspiracy theorist Nicky Hager, whose insistence on pursuing his rights has currently brought the entire New Zealand legal system to a halt. The aftermath of the book’s publication also gave rise to Whaledump (third) and Rawshark (eighth).

    “I can only suppose that a hacker has penetrated the special Google voting software,” said a near-comatose Brown. “I’ve asked Pete George to investigate.”

  4. Philip Ferguson 4

    Some Australian left-wing commentators on Sydney siege.

    On the first day: http://rdln.wordpress.com/2014/12/16/on-the-sydney-siege/

    On the day after: http://rdln.wordpress.com/2014/12/16/the-sydney-siege-the-day-after/

    And something the mainstream news media, for some reason, choose not to cover much at all; US drone strikes and how they kill 28 people for every one target: http://rdln.wordpress.com/2014/12/17/us-drones-target-one-murder-twenty-eight/

    Phil

    • vto 4.1

      Somebody should ask John Key’s view on his mates murdering 28 people for every 1 target …. drill down into it with Key ….

      Which is more important? 28 people in Pakistan, or 2 people in Sydney?

      • Manuka AOR 4.1.1

        Meanwhile, while the NZ pm is trying to spin the events as justification for enhanced surveillance, the Aus pm is noting the abject failure of their newly upgraded system.

        Despite multiple charges against him, obvious signs of instability, and calls from within his own community for his investigation, and he himself virtually jumping up and down saying “Pick Me! I’m going to do something!” – though “known to them”, the deranged loner was “Not on the appropriate watchlists”.

        “If I can be candid with you, that is the question that we were asking ourselves around the national security committee of the cabinet today,” Mr Abbott said.

        “How can someone who has had such a long and chequered history, not be on the appropriate watch lists, and how can someone like that be entirely at large in the community?”

        NSW Premier Mike Baird echoed this: “We are all outraged that this guy was on the street … the community has every right to feel upset. I’m incredibly upset,” he said.

        http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/tony-abbott-martin-place-siege-gunman-was-known-to-asio-but-not-on-terror-watch-list-20141216-128hdj.html

      • phillip ure 4.1.2

        @ vto..

        ..key has been quite open about how we help with the targeting of those drone attacks..

        ..those attacks in which 28 innocent men/women/children are slaughtered..

        ..for every ‘terrorist’ killed..

        ..his hands are drenched with/in the blood of these innocents..

        ..and as this is done by him in our name..

        ..so are ours..

        ..we..by siding with america..by actively helping in the execution of these killings..

        ..and by in general being such eager spear-carriers for america..

        ..we are also ‘the bad guys’..

      • greywarshark 4.1.3

        I was wondering if someone has worked out an Israeli body count rate of exchange. Perhaps 1 Israeli = 20 Palestinians, 5 houses, 2 olive groves, 1 school, and 1 hospital.
        It’s a tough world currency this balancing the political values for each side, though fairly stable in its extreme unfairness.

  5. (we need some of this to happen here..)

    “..Mom Calls C-SPAN To Scold Pundit Sons On Live TV..”

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/16/mother-calls-cspan-to-yell-at-brothers-on-live-tv_n_6334652.html

  6. adam 6

    A list and explanation of roles of those responsible for the US breaking their own constitution and using torture.

    http://www.publicintegrity.org/2014/12/12/15221/whos-responsible-cias-torture-policy?utm_source=email&utm_campaign=watchdog&utm_medium=publici-email&goal=0_ffd1d0160d-40abf15259-100020097&mc_cid=40abf15259&mc_eid=c346e018f7

    With more state house evictions coming soon – Let me keep reminding people – YOU ARE NOT ALONE. Neoliberalisms madness has infected the whole western world.

    http://libcom.org/news/protest-staves-eviction-liverpool-family-16122014

    I meant to put this up a few days ago – Asks some tough questions about health and our attitude towards that concept.

    http://libcom.org/blog/healthcare-only-tiny-part-health-13122014

    I know this is an old blog – but re-read this the other day – and found it very much on the money.

    http://libcom.org/library/dear-jamie-oliver

    • ianmac 6.1

      Watched all your links Adam. Pretty depressing stuff. No wonder people don’t want to know and skirt around the difficult stuff.

  7. mac1 7

    I’ve been listening to Mr Ludbrook, president of the Northland Fed farmers saying that because the deaths on quad bikes died of crushing injuries and not of head injuries, that the wearing of helmets should be a personal issue. This in response to a Marlborough couple getting $20,000 fines each for repeated refusal to wear quad bike helmets, purchasable for about $120.

    Surely the fact that people don’t die of head injuries is a tribute to the wearing of helmets? All those people who hit their heads on the ground, rocks, trees, posts etc have survived- great.

    Or is he saying that there are lots of people not wearing helmets and having accidents but their heads don’t get involved fatally?

    Or is he saying that the people who died of crushing injuries weren’t wearing helmets but got no head injury?

    Or they were wearing helmets but got no fatal head injury – which is what I’d expect if they wore helmets?

    It defies logic to argue that helmet wearing should be a personal issue because people who die on quad bikes die of crush injuries but didn’t get head injuries because they wore helmets.

    In other words, can he argue logically that the absence of death by head injury had nothing to do with helmets?

    I think the man is a libertarian fishing for arguments to not be forced to wear a helmet on a quad bike, especially when repeated refusals might cost the offender $20,000.

    He’s been on National radio, but the interviewer did not challenge his logic nor did the other side get an airing as to 1) why people should wear helmets on quad bikes, 2) why they should be compelled and 3). why a fine of $20,000 should apply and be awarded.

    Nor did the particular aspects of this case get discussed. In all fairness to the judge, the lawmakers, the enforcing agencies, the court system, farm employees, farming family members and the taxpayer, the issue should have been more widely discussed rather than only permit a muddled-thinking libertarian talk about being reasonable.

    • Rosie 7.1

      I didn’t hear the Ludbrook interview, just the news about the fines. I suspect their will be a RW backlash about the “unfairness” of the fines.

      My thought at the time was the couple had been warned several times about not wearing their helmets on their quad bikes, so they had plenty of opportunity to prevent receiving the fines. Why didn’t they comply? Serious question.

      The agriculture sector is up there for workplace injuries:

      http://www.dol.govt.nz/whss/statistics.asp

      and I seem to recall Helen Kelly from the CTU mentioning the highest rates for workplace death last year occurred in this sector, ahead of the forestry sector.

      So why would you want to chance it by not wearing Personal Protective Equipment? What do you have to lose by simply just putting your PPE on in the workplace, the farm? Your stubborn pride?

      • mac1 7.1.1

        My concern is not for those two fined but for workers and families in the industry.

        I was a farm worker for three years, and safety was an issue. I can imagine the 18 year old farm worker told by his non helmet wearing boss, or the child told by their non-helmet wearing mother or father, to get on the quad bike and go do a job. No helmet provided, no helmet available, and no expectation that a prudent person should wear one.

        The element of compulsion gives protection to the vulnerable. As it did with compulsory bike helmet use for our helmet wearing kids who longer got jeered at by the foolish but could quote the law and find safety with it.

        • Rosie 7.1.1.1

          “My concern is not for those two fined but for workers and families in the industry.”

          Absolutely mac1. It’s those with the responsibility for others safety (eg, boss, parent as above) that need to lead by example. It’s their duty to promote a safety culture.

          Too often in NZ, workplace H&S protocols are cynically referred to as tick box exercises. Too many times I’ve seen employers grudgingly and speedily go through an H&S procedure with a new employee without any thought for the reason or importance of it, and seem to miss the concept that they need to promote a safety culture not just for the sake of compliance but for safety itself.

          • Skinny 7.1.1.1.1

            Yes and with the regulator Work Safe being empowered the Bosses are all positioning the liability back on the workers, which is just typical.

            • b waghorn 7.1.1.1.1.1

              Once a boss tells a worker to were a helmet then surely it is up to the worker to do it , bosses cannot monitor there workers at all times.

      • b waghorn 7.1.2

        I think the fines are excessive a drink driver is far more dangerous and 3rd time offenders get $1000 fine

    • greywarshark 7.2

      mac1
      Talking about bike helmets, I was surprised at the fervent negative attitude of a man in a bike hiring business who says that his European customers won’t wear them. He talks about Netherlands where nobody wears helmets. They also have a very flat country and are more self centrolled and disciplined than we are in my opinion.
      I have heard others putting down helmets. Why do they think we now have them?
      Some men are just so narcissistic and self-centred that they have trouble obeying any rules and guidelines.

      • phillip ure 7.2.1

        “.. Why do they think we now have them?..”

        control-freak/nanny-state gone mad..

        ..that’s why we ‘have them’..

        ..and far be it from me to speak for all men..

        ..but i think as many women wd oppose cycle-helmets as do men..

        ..helmet-hair is gender-neutral..

      • RedBaronCV 7.2.2

        No doubt the non helmet wearing promotors also expect the rest of us to pay their medical costs. Funny how individual choice is not equated with individual responsibility.

        • vto 7.2.2.1

          wear a helmet when you drive a car then – same argument exactly

          sheesh

          • northshoredoc 7.2.2.1.1

            How is it the same argument ?

            Surely a better but still not correct argument would be to wear a seat belt when you drive a car.

            • vto 7.2.2.1.1.1

              Do you recall the argument for forcing people on bikes to wear helmets? The number of head injuries in the average bike accident.

              How many people who have a car crash on the open road come out without head injuries?

              Same argument

              Wear a helmet when you drive a car.

              • batweka

                For that argument to have any weight you would have to provide stats and analysis on car accident head inuries that could be prevented by helmet wearing.

                • vto

                  Hey I aint a professor having to prove some thesis.

                  Try anecdote as a first step. Average open road car crash – how many without head injuries? I would suggest very few. Certainly more head injuries than non-head injuries. Makes the argument for car helmets more compelling than the argument for cycle helmets, actual ..

                  • batweka

                    “Try anecdote as a first step. Average open road car crash – how many without head injuries? I would suggest very few. Certainly more head injuries than non-head injuries. Makes the argument for car helmets more compelling than the argument for cycle helmets, actual..”

                    I think that prohibition laws are based on stats and risk vs benefit. So we don’t reduce the open road limit to 50km/hr because the lives lost at 100km are not worth the lots time if we all drove more slowly. In order to make that judgement for society as a whole, the numbers would have to be crunched.

                    Anecdata is fine in some situations, but in this case I really do think you’d have to compare head injuries preventable by helmets in cars and weight that up against other factors like moveability, head space, inconvenience etc.

                    If we really wanted to reduce head injuries in car accidents we would lower the speed limit and redesign roads and put check points outside every pub car park.

                    • vto

                      I think the only reason this hasn’t been attempted is the same sort of reason that alcohol is given a free run in our society – it would make too many people grumpy. Cyclists are a small group but car drivers are everyone.

                      I think the argument and the stats and facts would win but people don’t always like facts and stats, they prefer to stick head in sand, fingers in ears, and cry “nya nyah nyah – cant hear you…”

                    • batweka

                      The reason cyclists were made to wear helmets is because it was an easy thing to do with great benefit.

                      Ditto seat belts. And prohibiting cell phone use in cars.

                      Wearing a helmet in a car is not straight forward for a whole bunch of reasons, so it’s not as simple as saying it would be unpopular.

                    • vto

                      Not if the helmets were light like cycle helmets or slim and close fitting, or even made of glass so that sight is not obstructed……

                      Seems to be fine for motor-racing drivers and they need far more of those convenience things like manouervering (can never spell that word) and wide vision and quick physical actions than those of us dawdling around in Honda citys and Hillman avengers..

                    • Draco T Bastard

                      Car Accident TBI

                      Over half of all reported traumatic brain injuries are the result of an automobile accident.

                      Bicycle Helmet Usage and Head Injury Prevention

                      Each year over 600,000 people are treated in emergency departments (EDs) for bicycle-related injuries and 824 die from this type of injury. Head injury is the most common cause of death and serious disability in bicycle-related crashes; head injuries are involved in about 60 percent of the deaths, and 30 percent of the bicycle-related ED visits.

                      Of course, the reason why we’re seeing airbags in cars is because people would refuse to wear helmets in them.

                    • @ weka..

                      “..Wearing a helmet in a car is not straight forward for a whole bunch of reasons,..”

                      cd u give us a couple of those reasons..?

                      ..’cos following yr logic around cycle-helmets..

                      ..the case for car-driver helmets is compelling..

                      ..(especially if you are going to be driving over 50 k per hr…

                      ..now there’s a policy..!..target the speedsters..!..)

                • i think we should all have to wear big rubber/foam-rings..

                  ..around our waists..

                  ..all the time..

                  ..then we wd be at no risk of bumping into each other..

                  ..why should everyone else have to pay for those injuries..?

                  ..when universal rubber/foam-rings wd take care of that..?

                  ..and yes..!..rugby players/the all blacks..wd have to wear them too..!..

                  ..do you know how much acc now pays out each yr on rugby-injuries..?

                  ..whoar..!

                  ..it makes bike-injuries look like chump-change…

                  ..and yes..it will change the game..

                  ..but you can’t be too careful now..can you..?

                  • b waghorn

                    Save on birth control to re stopping people bumping into each other

                    • yes..the benefits of the ring-solution are many and multi-faceted..

                      ..and a natural form of contraception is definitely one of them..

                      ..as only rubber/foam fanciers/fetishists will be turned on by the ring..

                      ..it wd probably save acc money/make financial sense for acc to supply the compulsory-rings for free…

                      (and hey..!..if peter jackson is looking for a new ring-riff.?

                      ..to make a new trilogy out of..

                      ..and then a prequel-trilogy after that..?

                      ..just saying..!..)

                    • and of course..cyclists that fall off..will just bounce..

                      ..and roll down the road..

                    • and i am pretty sure that weka..representing the control-freak wing of the greens..

                      (‘you must wear a helmet..!..and no..!..you can’t smoke a joint..!..

                      ..and don’t you even think of getting on a bicycle after smoking a joint..!’..

                      ..i think the greens actually support breathyliser-locks on all bikes..

                      ..’blow before you go..!’..)

                      ..will be in wholehearted support of the idea of the ring…

                      (..probably wishes she thought of it..)

                  • vto

                    I have always said that cars and trucks should be made of soft bouncy rubber rather than bone-crunching flesh-tearing metal.

                    • now yr talking..!

                      ..those wellington buses cd definitely do with big rubber bump-guards..

                      ..metal on flesh hurts so…

                    • miravox

                      “I have always said that cars and trucks should be made of soft bouncy rubber rather than bone-crunching flesh-tearing metal.”

                      Could make pedestrians wear helmets when crossing roads…

                      The social cost of road crashes involving pedestrians is estimated at $290 million annually (four year average to 1999).

                      …or we could design and built roads and paths that are fit for purpose and let people go about their business without being armour-plated.

  8. Rosie 8

    I heard this song on the radio this morning. It is an evocative piece of atmospheric electronica music written for Eric Garner, the man who died at the hands of Police, earlier on in the year. You might recall they suspected he was selling tax free fags.

    We Are Temporary explain:

    “The five-minute 22-second piece includes some of Garner’s last words, as recorded on cellphone video, on July 17 to the NYPD, seconds before one of its officers put Garner in a chokehold and killed him. At the 2:25 mark, the bass and drums cut out as Garner can be heard telling the officers, “I’m minding my business; please, just leave me alone. I told you the last time, please just leave me alone.”

    It’s not an easy listen, says Roberts, who’s 35 and lives in Bushwick. “It is a little manipulative. I’m aware of the fact that Garner’s life and the situation might be more complex than the video shows, but I think what I wanted to do is allow the music to create empathy for a person who was dying.

    “For me, there’s something really desperate and childlike in ‘please,’ and I wanted that to come across.” ”

    http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/2014/12/listen_to_i_cant_breathe_the_song_about_eric_garner.php

  9. Paul 9

    ‘What can you say about a society whose food production must be hidden from public view? In which the factory farms and slaughterhouses supplying much of our diet must be guarded like arsenals to prevent us from seeing what happens there? We conspire in this concealment: we don’t want to know. We deceive ourselves so effectively that much of the time we barely notice that we are eating animals, even during once-rare feasts, such as Christmas, which are now scarcely distinguished from the rest of the year.’

    http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/dec/16/perpetual-denial-food-meat-production-environmental-devastation

  10. Clemgeopin 10

    JIM MURPHY ELECTED SCOTTISH LABOUR LEADER.

    Mr Murphy, addressing Labour party members at the Glasgow Emirates Arena, declared: “This is a fresh start for Scottish Labour. Scotland is changing and so too must Scottish Labour. I’m ambitious for our party because I’m ambitious for our country.”

    “The majority are fulfilled, getting on, getting by, being successful. A minority are falling behind, denied opportunity, trapped, unable to escape the hardship of their upbringing.

    “That inequality is wrong and it is my driving purpose, it is our driving purpose, it is the Scottish Labour Party’s driving purpose to end that type of inequality once and for all.”

    Mr Murphy said the best way to tackle poverty was to boost the economy.

    “The most effective anti poverty measure is a successful economy,” he said.

    “It’s about backing businesses, it’s about creating jobs, because if redistribution is our aim, which it is, then we need more wealth not less. We want more entrepreneurs, not fewer. A growing middle class that more families are able to join.

    “The debate about how we spend our wealth starts with how we earn it.”

    Read more here:
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/11291800/Jim-Murphy-announced-as-new-Scottish-Labour-Party-leader.html

    • Murray Rawshark 10.1

      He sounds just like FJK.
      “It’s about backing businesses, it’s about creating jobs, because if redistribution is our aim, which it is, then we need more wealth not less.”

      We just need to wait for that “more wealth” to be made before the redistribution starts. Somehow, I don’t think we should hold our breath.

  11. Colonial Rawshark 11

    What it means to piss off the western empire: financial, banking and capital attack

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-12-16/western-banks-cut-liquidity-russian-entities

    Presenting Russia’s banks: now cut off from the outside world as the second cold war goes nuclear, at least when it comes to the financial system:

    Such banks as Goldman Sachs Group Inc. this week started rejecting requests from institutional clients to engage in certain ruble-denominated repurchase agreements and other transactions designed to raise cash, according to people familiar with the matter.

    Bankers and traders say the moves to restrict some ruble transactions have become increasingly widespread among major Western financial institutions this week, even as the same institutions continue to try to profit from the ruble’s wild swings. The moves, which the banks are deploying to protect themselves against further swings in the currency, have the potential to add to the strain on Russia’s financial system.

    Goldman in recent days largely stopped doing longer-term ruble-denominated repurchase agreements, or repos, in which securities or other assets are swapped in exchange for cash, said a person familiar with the matter. The Wall Street bank is still doing short-duration ruble repos, those that mature in less than a year, this person said.

    • nadis 11.1

      What do you expect?

      You come to me for a loan and I say what is your collateral?

      You say “these Russian ruble denominated assets”

      What would you do?

      • Colonial Rawshark 11.1.1

        This is about assets; It’s a financial cold war between a dying empire and its pretenders. There’s nothing else to be said about it.

        • Ad 11.1.1.1

          Not sure who you want me to have sympathy for here.

          This US corporate action won’t kill them – it will drive their clients and their assets into the hands of China. That isn’t in US interests either state or corporate.

  12. (while looking for something else..i stumbled upon this..

    ..back in february i told labour what they had to do to avoid a caning from national/key..

    ..i guess they weren’t listening..

    ..and what i warned of..they didn’t heed..

    ..and what i said would happen if they didn’t..did..)

    http://whoar.co.nz/2014/commentwhoar-ed-the-mire-labour-find-themselves-in-how-to-get-out-of-that-mire-and-how-to-avoid-an-election-campaign-caning-from-keynational/

  13. ianmac 14

    An excellent write up. Just glanced at it then was hooked.
    The New Yorker:
    The Big Kill
    New Zealand’s crusade to rid itself of mammals.
    By Elizabeth Kolbert
    …”Sirocco’s chaperone, a Department of Conservation ranger named Alisha Sherriff, had brought along a little metal container, which she passed among the visitors. Inside was half a cup’s worth of Sirocco’s shit.

    “Have a good sniff,” she suggested.

    “It’s earthy!” one woman exclaimed.

    “I think it smells smoky, with notes of honey,” Sherriff said. When the container came to me, I couldn’t detect any honey, but the bouquet did strike me as earthy, with hints of newly mown hay. Sherriff had also brought along a ziplock bag with some of Sirocco’s feathers. These, too, had a strong, sweetish scent.

    New Zealand birds tend to smell, which was not a problem when the islands’ top predators were avian, since birds hunt by sight. But, as mammals hunt with their noses, it’s become yet another liability…..”
    http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/12/22/big-kill

    • greywarshark 14.1

      Looked up Sirocco NZs spokesbird and after a few shots of a wise and questing kakapo who pops up but yek! The well known conservationist, laying down his life for the planet.

      • phillip ure 14.1.1

        is it nick ‘the gurner’ smith..?

        • greywarshark 14.1.1.1

          No that’s my point. It’s Key looking confidentially enthusiastic – Smith might have appeared further on but I cut the connection fast. Too much yek is toxic, I have to watch my health.

          The authorities warn about legionella when handling compost etc, and a mask should be worn. As yet no health alerts have gone out about watching and listening to yek but I think they are overdue. However it should be added, that there is likely to be a window of contamination with yek as in ebola. Trouble is no-one is sure of how to know when the threshhold of infection is crossed.

  14. b waghorn 15

    In a regularly article in the ‘Rural News’ titled agtwits called a “irreverant and hypothetical look at what’s happening in the rural world”
    sbrowninggreen:Don’t you you just love MMP when a tree-hugging,organic-munching,treat Ebola-with-homeopathy nutjod like me gets into Parliament and is given the green party’s responsibility for ag#whythegreenssuck#iamaclown.

    Damienoconnormp: So the self serving unionist beat the gaggling gay for the leadership of the party viola,I’m back on the back bench again.#evenwheniwnilose#whatdidisaywrong

    @littleandrewlabour:I have little interest in farming,Little to offer agriculture and Little chance of changing labours anti-farming attitude. I guess I’m to little to late.#redflag#unionforever

    Johnkeypm: I was going to text Andrew Little to congratulate him on winning the Labour leadership.However, I can’t because it would mean that I’m in proactive contact with a vile,poisonous, delusional loser.#delete message
    #roflmao

    I’ve copied as accurately as possible seems pretty nasty in spots for what’s meant to be light hearted

    • Tracey 15.1

      Wow!

    • greywarshark 15.2

      Sounds as if the writer has played rugby a lot and gone straight back on the field after being slightly concussed too many times. It has cumulative effects I’ve heard. Add regular jars of ale and after a while of that, anything that differs slightly from the known and prescribed norm is strange and amusing.

      • b waghorn 15.2.1

        It reeks of attack to me .further on in the same paper there’s this
        “WANTED” A Political home for labour agriculture spokesman Damien O’Connor. A solid, talented and knowledgeable performer, he has been hung out to dry by his own party which seems to have no interest in agriculture apart from imposing a cgt and cuddling with the Greens who essentially want a return to peasant farming.

        • vto 15.2.1.1

          This is evidence of the ignorance in the farming sector.

          It is no wonder that for generations they have claimed they want to leave the land in a better state than when they got it, yet the evidence shows that they have done exactly the opposite.

          Ignorance on a grand scale.

          • b waghorn 15.2.1.1.1

            See claiming all farmers are bad just confirms some of what fukwits like who ever wrote that stuff i posted above say about the left, there are plenty of good farmers doing good stuff.

            • vto 15.2.1.1.1.1

              Of course there are, including a big chunk of mine …

              It was a generalisation and I didn’t say all farmers are bad – I merely looked at the claims they have on average been making for the last couple of generations or so, and looked at the average evidence around those claims, and come up with an answer to their claim.

              And if I might be so bold as to generalise even more – I see this all the time in our circles. That which you outlined in your original comment above is, imo, the average view of the average farmer (including the bad ones, and excluding the good ones). They are very pig-headed and stubborn. They spend so much time in their one world that they cannot fathom anything different ( or so says my opinion, after most of life in and out of such circles) – which is of course a very human trait and if I was now a farmer I would likely be doing the same ….

              • Jimmy

                Prejudice and preconceived ideas confirmed then vto. Sigh

                • vto

                  No you are wrong Jimmy.

                  Not pre-judged because as mentioned opinion is based on a lifetime of direct and indirect experience.

                  And not preconceived because as mentioned opinion is based on a lifetime of direct and indirect experience.

                  You should learn the meaning of words before using them. Sigh.

                  • Jimmy

                    I understand the terminology no problem vto, just dont beleive you.

                    • vto

                      If you understand the terminologies than next step is to learn how to use them properly.

                      As for not believing my claim – non problema. It is my experience but you haven’t been by my side during that time so I can see how it can be difficult.

        • greywarshark 15.2.1.2

          @ b waghorn
          It just reeks of some of the empty minds we get here regularly. Bereft of any sense of how little they utilise their own intelligence they build themselves up by mocking those who do. Unwilling to test their own ideas and find them wanting, they hold onto untested myths which they accept as sureties, and then throw scorn on those who look outside the square for different possibilities.

          Those people consider different ideas that when tested may prove unsuitable. Those who never dare to think out something individually, only to find it doesn’t work, or isn’t correct, remain safe, always protecting themselves from the scorn their type pours out on the thinkers and questers.

          • b waghorn 15.2.1.2.1

            The reason I put these things here is to highlight what turns up in rural papers on occasion, in the hope that if any readers here that are linked to Labour and the Greens might come up with ways to counter it.

  15. Tracey 16

    Sssorry if this has been posted before.

    I was watching Newsroom, a US tv show which traverses many issues. On this episode one of the journalists is interviewing someone who has created an App enabling “citizen journalists” to post the whereabouts of celebrities on a map for the titilation of fellow citizens.

    It turns out it was based on a real website called gawker stalker and a real interview. It made me think of the constant pandering to base human behaviour that is substituting journalism.

    It reaaly is worth watching, especially for the website owners reactions.

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2-avakrRUaU

  16. Murray Rawshark 18

    From Mohammad Reza Alizadehfard: Syd Hostage: Who was Haron Monis?
    1. He was born in Iran in a city called Borojerd.
    2. His birth name is Mohammad Hassan Manteghi Borojerdi.
    3. He was the director of a travel/tourism agency in Iran
    4. He stole about $200,000 from his customers and escaped to Australia.
    5. Iranin authorities through Interpol police asked Australian
    government to hand him back to Iranian judiciary system. However,
    Australia refuses to do so as He claimed he is a political refugee and
    Iranian regime prosecuted him because of his liberal/democratic beliefs.
    Australian government gave him political asylum in 1996.
    6. In 2007
    Sheikh Kamal Mosalmani, head of Australian Shia Council, wrote a letter
    to ASIO warning them about his suspicious activities.
    7. He presented himself as a Shia cleric with no confirmed official or formal education.
    8. In 2014 Nov, he announced on his website renouncing Shia Islam and
    paying allegiance to “the Caliphate of time Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi”, the
    head of ISIL. Australian government was aware of his conversion and
    support for ISIL in the last month.
    (This the exact Arabic quote from his website:
    أطيعوا الله و أطيعوا الرسول و أولي الأمر منكم
    البيعة مع الله و رسوله و أمير المؤمنين – أبايع الله و رسوله و خليفة المسلمين
    الحمد لله رب العالمين و الصلاة و السلام على نبينا محمد و على اله و
    أصحابه أجمعين و التابعين منهم والسلام على أمير المؤمنين خليفة المسلمين
    إمام عصرنا الحاضر و الحمد لله الذي جعل لنا خليفة في الأرض و إماما يدعونا
    إلى الإسلام و الإعتصام بحبل الله سبحانه و تعالى. و الحمد لله الذي
    شرّفني ببيعة إمام زماننا . إنّ الذين يبايعون خليفة المسلمين فإنما
    يبايعون الله و رسوله يد الله فوق أيديهم . و قال رسول الله صلى عليه و سلم
    من مات و لم يعرف إمام زمانه مات ميتة جاهلية . والحمد لله الذي لم يجعلني
    من الذين ماتوا و لم يعرفوا إمام زمانهم . و الحمد لله على نعمة الإيمان و
    كفى بها نعمة و أفوض أمري إلى الله إنّ الله بصير بالعباد
    والسلام على من اتبع الهدى
    هارون – سيدني أستراليا
    الإثنين 24 محرم 1436
    ————————————————————————————————————————————————————
    في الزمن السابق قد رفعت راية غير راية الإسلام فأستغفر الله و أتوب اليه و
    أقسم بالله العظيم أن لا أرفع راية غير راية رسول الله صل الله عليه و سلم
    ————————————————————————————————————————————————————-
    9. And as you all may know he has been charged for writing hate letters
    to Australian soldiers ‘family, 40 sexual assaults and killing of his
    wife. The last but not least he was known to have psychological issues.
    So, If we want to play blame game who is the one to be blamed first and foremost?
    %————————————————————
    From me: While real political refugees get treated like shit, it looks like criminals who steal from people the government doesn’t like get the red carpet treatment. Compare this case with what happened to Ahmed Zaoui in Aotearoa.

    • Colonial Rawshark 18.1

      Plenty of egg to go around the Australian security, surveillance and immigration services.

      The answer must to reward such stellar performance by giving them more powers!

      • greywarshark 18.1.1

        In the Alice books they have a tea party. I think they end up by picking on a dormouse which has been quietly sleeping and presents an easy target for malicious behaviour. When the tea party protagonists have used their cups and spoons, they move on to the next setting. But of course they eventually go round again to settings with old dirty utensils.

        It seems that some people with excessive powers are incapable of cleaning up their act. They carry their dirty habits with them, and the downward slide in standards and ‘hygiene’ goes on. More powers just increases the slovenly moral behaviour.

  17. Morrissey 19

    An excellent thought experiment

    Radio: “U.S. troops say they were locked in coffin-like boxes and endured countless near-drownings.”

    A Republican-voting housewife comments: “The Taliban says it was legal, so that’s OK with me.”

    https://twitter.com/astroehlein/status/544822901640531968/photo/1

  18. MrSmith 20

    I see Phil Goof has apologised.

    Little must be fuming having to put up with these fools, and he has every reason to be the angry man the right are trying to portray him as. Labour still need to sweep a lot more out the door before they will even be in the game next election, some of these old heads have to much baggage.

    Experience is a good thing for Lawyers, Tradesmen, Accounts etc, but not necessarily in Hookers or Politicians because eventually the Baggage gets to heavy to carry and the makeup starts to run.

  19. Morrissey 21

    Who Created Cartoon Character “Man Haron Monis” Behind “Sydney Siege” Circus?

    http://www.activistpost.com/2014/12/who-created-cartoon-character-man-haron.html
    by Tony Cartalucci , Activist Post

    Previously an outspoken critic of Iranian government, was interviewed by Australian media in 2001, loved Western society…

    As predicted, the suspect amid the “Sydney Siege,” has long been on the radar of Australian law enforcement, as well as a frequent visitor to Australia’s court system.

    Before that, however, he came to Australia as a political refugee, an opponent of what he called the “Iranian regime,” and was even interviewed by Australia’s ABC network in 2001 as part of an ongoing anti-Iranian propaganda campaign. ….

    Read more….
    http://www.activistpost.com/2014/12/who-created-cartoon-character-man-haron.html

    • greywarshark 21.1

      Saddam Hussein was a poster boy for a while, then he lost favour, was hunted and captured and is now dead. So all malefactors can find a golden period of amnesty and tolerance insufficient to make them happy and give them a long life.

      That Sydney guy was trouble with a capital T. But Oz politicians and spooks found him useful for their propaganda machine, and gave him a long rope, and the public have suffered from that. The deaths result from the hands of their Oz two-faced, machiavellian political masters who are subservient to an anti Middle East hegemony.

  20. Michael 22

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/miles-mogulescu/the-speech-that-could-make-elizabeth-warren-president_b_6319142.html

    I really, really, really hope Elizabeth Warren runs for US President in 2016. She’s the only one not afraid to attack the banks, and even Obama — her own party’s president. She may be one of the only ones left not bought and paid for by Wall St.

    • Morrissey 22.1

      Don’t kid yourself. She’s as corrupt and as heartless as anyone in Congress….

      At a town hall in August, she defended Israel’s shelling of targets in Gaza, saying that Israel had a right to defend itself against attacks from Hamas.

      “America has a very special relationship with Israel,” she said, according to the Cape Cod Times. “Israel lives in a very dangerous part of the world, and a part of the world where there aren’t many liberal democracies and democracies that are controlled by the rule of law. And we very much need an ally in that part of the world.”

      http://www.politico.com/story/2014/11/elizabeth-warren-israel-113141.html

  21. Morrissey 23

    Who will be Discredited When Venezuela Doesn’t Default? Nobody.
    https://zcomm.org/zblogs/who-will-be-discredited-when-venezuela-doesnt-default-nobody/
    by JOE EMERSBERGER, 17 December 2014

    In this article [1], Bloomberg (Ye Xie, Katia Porzecanski and Pietro D. Pitts) wonder who will seize Venezuelan assets if the government defaults.

    A better question would be “How will Bloomberg’s reporting change when Venezuela doesn’t default?”

    The global economic meltdown that took place a few years ago, and from which we are still recovering, answered for us. The reporting won’t change at all.

    Being an elite investor, big credit rating agency or highly regarded economist means never having to say you’re sorry. It is quite a prestigious group that couldn’t see (or wouldn’t admit to seeing) gargantuan housing bubbles in the USA and elsewhere that led to worst global economic recession since WWII. The big credit rating agencies gave mortgage backed securities the highest possible ratings just before they blew up. The Federal Reserve of Boston put out a paper [2] exploring why the vast majority of the professional economists proved as useless as “the markets”.

    We must add to the list of the “never-accountable-for-anything” corporate news agencies like Bloomberg who hype the “concerns” of all these people. The appalling track record is always a non-issue.

    [1] http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-15/who-gets-citgo-s-assets-if-venezuela-defaults-.html

    [2] http://www.bostonfed.org/economic/ppdp/2010/ppdp1005.pdf

  22. Draco T Bastard 24

    This pic is the lesson that the RWNJs, neoliberals and other Randian types have forgotten.

  23. nadis 25

    And you think the NZ media sucks up to the government……

    http://www.vox.com/2014/12/16/7402469/putin-russia-ads

    • Murray Rawshark 25.1

      They’re not that much different from what we get on Channel 9 in Brisbane. And yes, the Kiwi media does suck up to Key.

      • Paul 25.1.1

        The fact that our media are not reporting the reasons and geopolitics behind the collapse in oil prices shows that our media is not telling us what’s really going going on.
        Our media, not Russia’s, is the one we concern ourselves about, as it impacts on our own perception of reality more.

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  • “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
    2 days 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
    2 days 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 ...
    2 days 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 ...
    2 days 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
    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
  • 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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 ...
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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 ...
    6 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
    6 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
    10 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
    15 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
    17 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
    17 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
    1 day 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
    5 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
    5 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

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