Open mike 22/08/2014

Written By: - Date published: 6:31 am, August 22nd, 2014 - 169 comments
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169 comments on “Open mike 22/08/2014 ”

  1. Jepenseque 1

    Herald Digi is a bit of a relief to nat supporters like me. Yesterday the election coverage seemed to reach a fevered pitch of anti nat sentiment but then eased. Thought JKs perf to Campbell interviewing was good, well controlled and importantly, patient. Corin Danns report on the news that night had a “tide has reached its peak and now turning type feel” – or maybe that is just the optimist in me! My take ilon this whole sorry saga is that it hasn’t dented my view of JK significantly. Judith Collins however is largely finished in my humble view. If nats get back will be very interesting what position she gets if any. Cheers

    • Enough is Enough 1.1

      The Nats drop 5% points.

      I expect them to continue to shred support like this every week between now and election leaving them at around 25%.

      Be very afraid National list members.

    • Tigger 1.2

      So you’re happy for Key to have either (a) overseen leaking to a blogger to destroy his enemies or (b) been so clueless that he didn’t know his office was doing that despite huge red flags that it was going on under his nose?

    • Molly 1.3

      Jepenseque, do you understand that your lack of critical reasoning and appraisal over the actions of John Key, Judith Collins and others within this National cabal allow external strategists to take over the “ownership” and focus of the National Party?

      There will be traditional National Party voters whose strong moral, ethical values will make them appalled at the use of abuse of office, misinformation techniques, and smear campaigns orchestrated through third parties as evidenced by the book.

      Complacency, such as yours, and lack of transparency of internal processes means that those with little scruples, and access to money can take over an already established party and its loyal membership with very little public bloodletting.

      It is no surprise to me that National made continual snide remarks about Labours internal leadership election, it’s agenda for discussion on female/male ratios, the Greens co-leadership, and the completely transparent hui that Mana undertook before joining up with the Internet Party. They did so, because the idea that membership has a transparent process within the party is a complete contradiction of what has been happening in National.

      Colin Craig, at least, put his vast financial resources into a fairly honest expression of what he is standing for – Something.

      The traditional National Party members should understand that when their leader, and our PM, consistently asks an electorate to vote for another party – this inexcusable public endorsement – is merely the slip of someone involved in much greater machinations behind the scenes. ACT policies are going through at a much higher rate than their 1.1% of support should allow.

      Those traditional National Party members who have shown integrity and ethics in the past, need to take a good hard look at what is going on. They may not recognise their own party in the Frankenstein it has become.

      • CnrJoe 1.3.1

        Very well put Molly

      • Dumbrse 1.3.2

        I agree. Vote LABOUR, but wait there’s more….. Vote Labour and you get Harawira, Haare, Norman, Turei AND WAIT FOR IT…..Krim Dot Con, all for your one Labour vote.

        Vote Labour. On On.

    • minarch 1.4

      you must have low standards…

      • Jepenseque 1.4.1

        Hi – I do think standards have dropped and there needs to be better behavior. Am just not seeing anything that implicates the PM such that I’d want to shift my support from the party. You can say that unsavoury elements should be strongly discouraged while still supporting the party platform and leadership.

        JK has been a bit too defensive I’ll say that and should have swung the axe more freely against unsavoury behavior. Maybe that would come after winning the election I hope – that is the sad fact of our political discourse that admitting weakness is losing (as DC has discovered also).

        Cheers

        • minarch 1.4.1.1

          My standards haven’t dropped at all ,

          I expect honesty (at the least) from our Politicians/Govt, always have & always will

          It seems quite obvious to me that the PM has tried to put in place some “firewalls” for plausible deny-ability ,

          whether those walls are going to hold or not is the only question in my eyes

          Not only is the PM weak and possibly a crook ,, he also appears to not even be particularly good at covering his tracks

          so hes not even very good at being crooked

        • Molly 1.4.1.2

          “Am just not seeing anything that implicates the PM ..”

          I’m guessing that you are not seeing anything, because you are deliberately not bothering to look.

          A trait shared by your PM – but it is not a reasonable or ethical one.

          And for me, admitting weakness or wrongdoing when it is realised IS strength, and winning. It is a requirement of a high standard – not an indication of a failed one.

          Your implied high “National Standard” is flawed – even if John Key passes it with a Merit.

          The “explaining is losing” approach has as much meaning as “Working for New Zealand” – a jumble of letters that happen to make up a sentence that translates into nothing of substance.

        • Draco T Bastard 1.4.1.3

          I do think standards have dropped and there needs to be better behavior.

          And yet don’t seem willing to do anything about it.

          Am just not seeing anything that implicates the PM such that I’d want to shift my support from the party.

          Despite all the evidence.

          JK has been a bit too defensive

          Dude, he’s been outright lying.

    • Murray Olsen 1.5

      You’re confirming my feeling that hard core Nact supporters are more like cult members than anything else. Evidence is not enough to make them think. They accept that NAct can break the rules because they’re doing god’s work. They approve of the mentality of coppers who bend the rules and bash confessions out of suspects, knowing that they can because they’re the good guys. That there are so many of you does not fill me with hope for the future of our nation.

  2. Craig Glen Eden 2

    So Key lied by his own words he has admitted he was briefed by Tucker during the time Tucker had discussions with the legal advisor he said Tucker advised him at that point due to the no surprises policy. Game over. However now he has made Tucker into a liar and the Ombudsman integrity is also in question I suspect as a result of being lied to by the Prime Minister and Tucker. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11312590

    Keys Dog Tucker you cant use the SIS for political purposes and you can not lie around your involvement about such matters. To quote Key “people go to jail for doing so”. Looks like Mr 22% will be back in charge.

    • Tracey 2.1

      funny you say that about English, see my reply below, currently in moderation, about a polling experience I had last night…

      Mr Key referred to the briefing from Dr Tucker while being questioned about the matter during his post Cabinet press conference on August 8, 2011, in the days following the document’s release.

      Responding to persistent questioning from then Scoop editor Alastair Thompson and Herald political editor Audrey Young, Mr Key said: “What happened is Warren Tucker didn’t come to me, he went to his legal adviser and his legal advisers told him this is the process they have to follow and when he was going through that process it was at that point he told me he’d release it because he has to tell me that under the no-surprises doctrine.”

      The footage spotted by a Herald reader comes after Mr Key’s version of events – that he was never directly briefed by Dr Tucker on Slater’s OIA request – was backed up yesterday by two senior public officials.

      Two letters emerged yesterday – one from Dr Tucker and another from Ombudsman Dame Beverley Wakem – which referred to Dr Tucker briefing the Prime Minister on the release of the documents.

      Dr Tucker and Dame Beverley both said later that they meant they had briefed Mr Key’s office and not the Prime Minister himself.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 2.2

      What happened is Warren Tucker didn’t come to me, he went to his legal adviser and his legal advisers told him this is the process they have to follow and when he was going through that process it was at that point he told me he’d release it because he has to tell me that under the no-surprises doctrine.

      Groundhog day 😀

      • Tracey 2.2.1

        And then Tucker lied for me and lied to the Ombudsmen as well. But what i want to talk about is Democracy. All this telling the truth is destroying our democracy. Soon you will expect your votes to count. Cant you all see how badly that could work out?

      • vto 2.2.2

        But hang on, didn’t Key say he wasn’t told?

        And he now says he was told? Is that correct?

        ..

        and didn’t he have a shocker in Christchurch. Tough luck – he has taken on the stench of whaleoil, that much is very very clear.

        Key now has a stink about him and the public are screwing up their noses.

        • One Anonymous Bloke 2.2.2.1

          Not quite: that quote dates from August 2011 😀

          • vto 2.2.2.1.1

            Aha, so he said he was told

            But now he is saying he wasn’t told

            What a great man our PM is

          • Tracey 2.2.2.1.2

            Now what we need is a ballsy journo to stick a microphone in Keys face and ask

            ” Prime Minister, were you lying in August 2011 or were you lying yesterday”

            Anyone who has done litigation will tell you that when there is a conflict, the version closest to the event everyone is trying to recall carries more weight.

            • Chooky 2.2.2.1.2.1

              +100 Tracey

            • One Anonymous Bloke 2.2.2.1.2.2

              What does it make of yesterday’s statement by the SIS that they only told his office? Red faces, clown shoes, totally undermined.

            • yeshe 2.2.2.1.2.3

              +100% Tracey. Hoist him in own petard. which literally means catch him in the smell of his own farts. This is so Nixonesque.

        • Dumbrse 2.2.2.2

          No, the left are screwing up their noses, the majority of NZ don’t give a fat rats arse. Check the polls.

      • Ant 2.2.3

        This all happened on the same day the request came in, must have been a busy day at the SIS…

    • Red Rosa 2.3

      +1. The Herald link has Key dead to rights.

      So he lied on the Tucker briefing – his own words condemn him. And somehow he has made liars out of Tucker and the Ombudsman as well. What, after all, did they finally say or finally mean?

      The average voter can be forgiven for confusion in this shambles, where ‘clarifications’ are evasions and ‘denials’ turn out to be confirmations.

      No wonder Key ‘welcomed’ the official enquiry if it won’t report till after the election.

      Meantime, it would be good to see Collins, Ede etc tracked down and put on the spot.

      • Chooky 2.3.1

        +100…still no sign of Ede…who is he and what does he do ?! He needs to go under the magnifying glass.

        Slater has said Ede is “gutless” ( as if Slater is taking the rap and Ede is into it up to his eyebrows ie far more guilty in the dirty tricks)

        ….John Key never mentions Ede except to indicate he has nothing to do with leaks…this is a sure sign Ede is pivotal .

      • politikiwi 2.3.2

        I wonder if he’ll now play the “well I can’t comment on that as an inquiry is under way” card?

        It must be hard being FJK at the moment. That manion in Hawaii must be looking pretty damn tempting.

        Just do it, John – fuck off back behind your towering fences and let the rest of us clean up your mess.

  3. Tracey 3

    last night Curia polled me. Trying to getting a handle on which policies matter and liar in chiefs honest man image is being tarnished. They didnt put it that way, its my interpretation. Things like name first party that springs to mind

    Best education
    Best health
    Best able to keep interest rates low
    Can best form a stable and something government
    Regardless of who i will vote for who do i think will win the election
    Whose views mirror mine on immigration

    And so on

    Interesting question stuck in my mind

    Chap said he was going to ask my view on party l leaders

    I could choose from

    Very favourable-favourable-neutral-unfavourable-very unfavourable

    Norman

    Key

    Peters

    English

    Cunliffe

    Given English doesnt actually lead a party…

    And

    What does this tell us about what the national party and cmr farrar think is important to National….and where they are focusing their attention. No turei, sadly…and no joyce

    • veutoviper 3.1

      I had the same Curia Poll last night. (Landline about 7pm, Wellington). – and agree with your interpretation as to what they were after.

      The party leader question stuck out for its inclusion of English – but the exclusion of Turei, Flavell, Harawira, Harre. I pointed this out.

      Throughout the questions, I made it clear what I thought of Key (not positive!) that I was reasonably politically aware, knew Farrar’s connections to Curia, and knew what the policies of the various parties were – answered with a variety of Labour, Greens, Mana, and even one NZF (definitely not on immigration though).

      The question that also stood out for me was the loaded one asking to make a choice between two options as to what was more important in a leader. I cannot remember the exact words as I am currently full of flu and drugs, but I think that the options were something along the lines of honesty and transparency vs experience and stability. Hope you can remember Tracey – and correct me if I am wrong.

      Anyway, my response was that that question was totally loaded – and I would expect both options. IIRC the interviewer told me that a lot of people had said the same.

  4. RTM 4

    Whaledump’s campaign against the Key regime may use new technology, but it echoes the efforts of generations of left-wing pamphleteers, like the trade unionists who fought National PM Sid Holland’s police state in 1951:
    http://readingthemaps.blogspot.co.nz/2014/08/the-whaledump-tradition.html

    • and all the way back to the ‘chapbooks’ of the 17th century..

    • swordfish 4.2

      And not just trade unionists. My grandmother was active in helping set-up a civil rights group in 51 aimed at challenging the Holland Government’s draconian moves. It involved a number of Labour Party, liberal and left-wing activists. And I think I’m right in saying both she and my mother were involved in distributing pamphlets around their neighbourhood in Wellington putting forward the wharfies’ side of things. Which, of course, was illegal under the temporary Police State. There were quite a few people doing that throughout urban NZ. Like whaledump, they weren’t gonna just sit back and allow a bunch of overly-privileged Tory smegheads to destroy basic democratic rights.

      Great to witness Whaledump’s current efforts. David vs Goliath – and David’s winning.

      • Tracey 4.2.1

        Last night paddy gower went all conspiracy theorist about who the hacker is. He surmises thatby drip feeding they are showing political savy. Jesus paddy, you dont need a political science degree to work out drip feeding is good.

        According to the herald the hacker says this is personal. I am wagering its related to the death of the young man on the coast…

        • yeshe 4.2.1.1

          something deep in my bones tells me the hacker is likely female, unexpectedly … and I’ll take that wager with you re the death of Judd, the young coaster.

          • veutoviper 4.2.1.1.1

            My gut feeling is also that the hacking was related to the death of the young West Coaster and WO’s despicable response – and that the person fronting Whaledump is a woman. But I also think that there is a possibility that the Whaledump fronter is not in fact the hacker per se.

            • yeshe 4.2.1.1.1.1

              and we will likely never know, but at least we can thank her/him/them here on TS.

              • Tracey

                you dont think the gcsb and sis are working on it

                • yeshe

                  yes, but don’t think they’ll make any progress ! btw new whaledump again lusk 2

                • minarch

                  If they are using TOR its very unlikely he could be tracked,

                  unless JK has had a word with his pals at the NSA

                  even then it wouldnt be easy

              • Rosie

                yeshe and veutoviper. I’ve made a mental note on your feeling about the identity of the Whaledumper (whaledumpress?) and or hacker.

                When Campbell Live interviewed the father of Judd Hall earlier this week it went through my mind that it could be someone from the West Coast, when he talked about Judd being an IT student.(A girlfriend or friend who was also an IT student?)
                I think I recall Hagar saying the person who sent him the info wasn’t politically motivated.

                Speculation aside we owe that person(s) our humble gratitude. They’ve done the right thing.

          • Man in a Barrel 4.2.1.1.2

            I’ve never visited WhaleDump, but applying Occam’s razor to this matter and asking who has the technical resources, knowhow and incentive to hack into a secured computer system it’s hard to see past a certain KDC.

            • yeshe 4.2.1.1.2.1

              just try harder .. cut some eye holes in your barrel !! it’s not him. and the dump today shows that slater paid someone $11k for the work. Def not Kim Dotcom.

              • Man in A Barrel

                Speculation is fruitless…

                Nevertheless were this simply a revenge attack on Slater for his disgusting comments regarding Judd Hall it’s had Collins, Key, Ede et al very firmly in its sights despite the fact they had nothing to do with that particular pile of Slater shit.

                And I understand we only have a ‘hint’ from Hager as to the hacker’s motives and misdirecting him, too, would be a very logical thing to do if one wanted one’s motives disguised.

                Don’t understand the $11k reference, tho’, or why that would exclude KDC.

                • Murray Olsen

                  If someone gets into a computer, they take everything there. It’s pretty obvious to a reasonable person that a piece of shit that would post what he did about Judd Hall would have a hard drive full of foul excrement. And lo and behold, he did!

                  You need an air hole in your barrel as well. You’re suffering from lack of oxygen.

                  • Man in a Barrel

                    Plenty of oxygen in my barrel thank you. And a good view from it, too.

                    I invite you to apply Occam’s razor to the following three scenarios:

                    1. Someone with a reasonable knowledge of IT is deeply offended with Slater’s comments concerning Judd Hall and decides to take action on behalf of Hall. He accordingly assaults WhaleOil with DoS attacks, fills the comments sections with ads for Viagra, penile enhancements, baldness treatments and links to web-sites for sheep-shaggers. If he has a lot more technical knowhow he digs deeper into the site for mailing lists and captures commentators’ email addresses, and sends them boundless revolting spam under the heading “If you like WhaleOil, you’ll like…”
                    2. Someone with a high level of IT knowledge hacks Slater’s site in the off-chance of finding embarrassing material, and finds he has a veritable treasure-trove of stuff that embarrasses both Slater and the National Party, and in fact is likely to be more damaging to the latter. Accordingly – presumably on the grounds that revenge is a dish best eaten cold – he hands to lot over to Hager hoping a) that he will use it and b) is willing to wait for the months it takes to make a book out of it and publish it in anticipation that the resulting odium will satisfy his quest for revenge against Slater and despite the fact that his actions will almost certainly result in a Government-whipped Police and Intelligence Service attempt to track him down as the hacker, the latter probably supported by the vast resources of the US counter-intelligence services.
                    3. A private individual with huge IT resources and knowhow who already has a very good reasons to be p****d-off with the National Government and who has just launched his own brand-new political party which is never likely to get into bed with the said Government, uses those resources and knowhow to get some extremely damaging dirt against the said Government, and has the nous to know that releasing it himself will considerably undermine its impact – as well as exposing him to criminal charges. Hence he sensible elects to use an innocent and well-respected journalist as cover, and for additional cover points the finger away from himself at someone else with a perfectly understandable motive for releasing it.
                    • Man in a Barrel

                      And I would add to 3. above that the person concerned has already promised his own startling revelations to come with regard to the said Government, and who stands to gain even more credence for them if the ground has already been prepared.

                    • Murray Olsen

                      I’m not convinced. Dotcom has already been arrested for hacking and would be stupid to risk getting caught up in this when he already has his own stuff via Greenwald. Dotcom may be many things, but he’s not silly.

                      I believe that when Nicky Hager says it’s not Dotcom, it’s not. To use Occam’s razor on your scenarios, I’d have to count up the assumptions in each of them, and you’ve made so many I just don’t have time.

                    • Man in a Barrel

                      You’re not wrong. KDC would be unwise to get fingered for breaking into Slater’s site. That’s why, IF he did it and I’ve no evidence for that, he would be both wise and likely to cover his tracks.

                      Maybe it was someone in KDC’s office who did it – in which case we have it on very high authority that no blame can be attached to KDC for what his officials do and would also justify Hager’s claim that it wasn’t DotCom who dun it ‘cos he himself personally didn’t.

      • Karen 4.2.2

        You’ve probably seen it Swordfish, but if you look at part 2 of the documentary ‘1951’ (available on NZonScreen) you may see some of the people who were part of that group.

  5. Adrian 5

    The video that the Herald has as Craig says has got to be the last nail.

    • Tracey 5.1

      Why? Do you really see him resigning?

      Funny it was a reader who found the heralds video, not the herald

      • Craig Glen Eden 5.1.1

        No he wont resign now but even if elected the Prime Minister will have to face an inquiry.This will be rehashed over and over.

        • Tracey 5.1.1.1

          ah, kind of nixon ish, he might survive the election but not the aftermath?

          Curia is polling peoples views of party leaders. The five leaders they have chosen?

          Norman
          Key
          Peters
          English*
          Cunliffe

          • english is not a party leader
          • Rodel 5.1.1.1.1

            Tracey
            Might Curia’s poll be paid for by Bill English? (out of his own pocket of course)

          • McFlock 5.1.1.1.2

            I think it’s evident that however the election turns out, this is dunnokeyo’s last.
            He just doesn’t want it any more.

            What I find interesting about the poll is that there was no mention of Joyce, just English. If they’re positioning for after the election, maybe Joyce will be inserted as an option in the next poll. Or maybe curia’s working for English, and Joyce is behind the ball when it comes to getting the numbers.

            • Colonial Viper 5.1.1.1.2.1

              Curia works for National. And the balance of power has begun to shift to the English faction once again.

              Re: Joyce. There’s every possibility he has been ruled out (for the moment) because some of the material involves him. Context: Collins would have been keen to undermine Joyce at every turn over the last couple of years.

              • McFlock

                so joyce and collins knobbled themselves and each other with dirty tricks, and now collins is weak and key is on the back foot Blinglish is about to sneak through the middle?

                Seems plausible.

                • Colonial Viper

                  I’ll add that this may not be about English becoming National leader – it may only be about securing positions for people in his faction. Or it could be both.

      • phillip ure 5.1.2

        @ tracey..re reader finding vid..

        ..and what’s with all the journos there in that 2011 press-conference..?

        ..have they collectively got the memory/attention-spans of fucken goldfish…?

        ..(and all the relevant action in that 16 min 2011 vid is in the first 7-8 mins..

        ..the rest just has the odd wry laugh..as key promises..hand on heart..that the asset-sales will pull in $7 billion..and the like..)

        • Tracey 5.1.2.1

          indeed sir. Audrey did her piece on the herald poll thru gritted teeth, probably very grateful it showed nats at 50% so she still show some positivity.

          Its other reporters stepping up…

        • yeshe 5.1.2.2

          there is also a Q&A from that time mentioned yesterday that also proves the question — did he lie then or yesterday ?? will try to find the link

    • Weepus beard 5.2

      Interesting that exactly the same questions were being asked then as now. There was a fair bit of nose pulling from John Key which, as some people have said, looks like was he does when under pressure.

  6. Chooky 6

    ‘Herald Poll – Why the Greens will hit 15%’

    By Martyn Bradbury / August 22, 2014

    “I think the Greens are on track for 15%. Their clever mix of policies which have targeted the soft urban liberal vote of the National Party rather than tack harder Left in a crowded political spectrum is giving them the ability to pull both sides of the political divide with them which gives the Greens unique prospects at the election…

    • Ant 6.1

      The Greens definitely do benefit from people who for all intents and purposes are right-wing in outlook but see the Green Party as another type of lifestyle brand.

      However, I disagree about NZF, I think they will surge, especially if the Conservatives are looking dire come Election Day.

      • Chooky 6.1.1

        @Ant …I agree with you…. NZF will SURGE!..Winnie will be working his way around the country doing his magic

        (….Bradbury always underestimates Winston Peters …for his own reasons I suspect)

        Last election I went to a rally with my Mother and her elderly friend ( both old school teachers)…..and it was amazing the numbers of well heeled farmers and farmers wives there….of the sophisticated,sort ( once were beautiful young people, now beautiful stylish old people) very well and expensively dressed , hair immaculate ( they looked better than your average wannabe venal NACT)…and they looked intelligent and vibrant ! ( unlike your average NACT of the boring unthinking variety)

        ….they were just eating out of Winnies hand….hanging on every word….and by God what a master he is at wooing the crowd!…what an entertainer!…what a showman!

        ..Winnie had the regional rural hall packed with several hundred people….no chairs left , people packed around the edges of the hall, struggling to squeeze in through the door( as latecomers we had to stand)….He had the crowd on their feet at times applauding!

        …..there was something in his speech for everyone ( and even i ,a committed Greenie, was wooed…it was an experience I wont forget)

        …and hardly a mention about the meeting in the newspapers….Winnie flies under the radar

        ….Just think where New Zealand would be today if the National Party had appointed him as Leader…It would be a very different New Zealand!

        (…instead the old National Party has been privatised and corrupted by John Key’s cuckoo NACT Party)

    • swordfish 6.2

      I’d be cautious about reading too much significance into the Greens’ latest poll rating. In previous elections, the Greens have enjoyed an upward poll surge in the final few weeks of the campaign. And on Election day, they generally end up about a point down on their poll average for that final month. So, on past experience, I would expect them to start peaking at about this point.

      Having said that, the Greens do tend to do slightly better than their monthly poll averages from 2, 3, 4 or more months out. It’s just that – because of that last-minute surge in the final weeks of the campaign – they finish slightly down relative to where they were in the final round of polls.

      I think 13% is significantly more likely than 15%.

      • Chooky 6.2.1

        …yes I am aware of that….and Labour usually does much better on the DAY ( when some of those ‘undecided’ for the pollsters go and vote)

        …lets hope the ‘undecided’ Labour voters are not so dispirited by the polls they stay home this time (as the NACTs want them to)

      • Bearded Git 6.2.2

        @Swordfish-I’m not sure if anyone can predict the script this election will follow. The Greens could surge to 16% if disillusioned Nats drift to other parties.

        • swordfish 6.2.2.1

          Yeah, but (despite frequent claims to the contrary on the blogosphere) Tories tend not to swing Green. Twice as likely to swing Labour’s way. And three times as likely to move into Undecided / Non-Vote territory.

          • Bearded Git 6.2.2.1.1

            @swordfish and agreeing with phillip ure at 6.2.3

            I know what the normal trends are but National have lost control of events and the Greens never seem to put a foot wrong. With IMP in the mix, Labour’s policies starting to resonate (especially in Dunners and Chch) and whaledump dropping bombs the election is in a state of flux.

            But all good for the Left!

            David Parker and Labour’s Waitaki candidate Glenda Alexander were excellent at a meeting in Wanaka last night, btw.

            • swordfish 6.2.2.1.1.1

              BG and Phillip. Fair enough, but I will say that my Tories tend not to swing Green point is predicated on very recent (ie 2014) poll data, reinforcing the trends of both 2008 and 2011.

              I’m a big fan of relying on hard data. And I’m cautious about anything that borders on grand hopes or wishful thinking.

      • phillip ure 6.2.3

        @ swordfish..

        ..while i respect yr skills at reading the runes of elections-past..

        .i wd submit the differences between now and 2011 mean less weight should be put on looking back..to predict what will happen this time..

        ..’cos really..2011 and 2014 are chalk and cheese..

        ..key being at the height of his powers/appeal to the public..going for only his second term..(having spent his first term ‘softening-up’ the electorate..)

        ..whereas now he is shown by hagers-revelations to be just a lying ‘dirty’-politician..seeking a third term..and with the key-gloss of 2011 well and truly worn off..

        ..and an ignored mana party last time..vs. the unable to be ignored internet/mana phenomenon now..

        ..poverty/inequality an unmentionable last time..front and centre now..

        ..the environment..still serious group-denial last time..a different tack now..

        ..are just a few of the current factors that must seriously skew any ruminations/conclusions based purely on past results..

        ..and the greens now are a different beast to 2011..

        ..and much more appealing to middle-nz/disillusioned/soft-nats..and not only because green-issues/concerns are now mainstream..and they too are looking for politicians with solutions..

        ..turei in particular has grown in stature since 2011..

        ..and is far more confident/poised/convincing than just three yrs ago..

        ..and so the timing for her/norman would seem to be ‘right’..

        ..all of this leads me to think that all/most past-bets are off..

        • swordfish 6.2.3.1

          Phillip, see my reply to BG at 6.2.2.1

          • phillip ure 6.2.3.1.1

            @ swordfish..i am not predicting a wholesale defection to the greens..(and of course those who swing between national/labour cd return to labour..

            .(.what is uncertain is just how many in national will still prefer key..dirty hem and all..)

            ..but the greens are no longer the unthinkable option for many on the right..

            ..that they were for so long..

            ..norman and turei don’t ‘scare’ anyone..

            ..and that change was not apparant as recently as 2011..

            ..and all of that must translate into votes for the greens..

            ..if the mud recently worn by key sticks/worsens..

            ..(and we/he still have the dotcom/greenwald spook-dump five days before election..to look forward to/to dread..)

            ..and i’m picking that dump won’t reflect well on the clark-labour-govt era..

            ..key only really ramped-up what was already there..

            ..so i am sure labour are dreading those townhall revelations as much as national/key..

            ..and i’m forgetting that master-stroke from the greens..and one guaranteed to assuage any national-voter doubts re the greens..

            ..their auditing by infometrics of their economic/fiscal-policies..

            ..(that move is on my ‘smart-thinking-award’ shortlist..)

    • Enough is Enough 6.3

      I think the Greens are untainted by the stench around Wellington.

      Non beltway people are just think, typical politics and turning off both major parties.

      The Greens have never been in government so can’t be tarred by that brush.

      They are principled good people with the best policy and the best brains.

      Party Vote Green people for a cleaner Parliament.

      • phillip ure 6.3.1

        @ enough..

        ..i agree with all you say..

        ..but wd also add an un’tainted’ internet/mana party as another voting option for those desiring a ‘cleaner’ political world..

        ..time for some idealism in politics..methinks..

        • adam 6.3.1.1

          Always time for idealism in politics Phillip.

          But then again I’m a unreconstructed anarco-communalist.

    • Draco T Bastard 6.4

      It would be good to see the Greens with 15%+

  7. Bearded Git 7

    Things are changing quickly in this election. Key/Cunliffe popularity has changed from 73.3 versus 10.5 to 64.8 versus 14.6. People are getting to know Cunliffe at last.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/election-2014/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503581&objectid=11312362

    In terms of policy it was all positive for Labour and Greens from Dunedin and Christchurch on Morning Report this morning.

  8. yeshe 8

    new Whaledump … 3 mins ago … http://pastebin.com/ntEhGCtM

    after Lusk …

    edit .. oh my goodness !! This will have the Nats eating each other .. it’s going to be like honey to fire ants!

    THANK YOU, WHALEDUMP, WHOEVER YOU ARE !! THANK YOU.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 8.1

      …and the “last last” political dump later. Someone has a sense of humour 🙂

      • yeshe 8.1.1

        🙂

        • yeshe 8.1.1.1

          Lusk to Slater ( if I am permitted to post it ?)

          “Todd has to work on not annoying people. Tim has to work on not being a tool. Louise has her structure and plan in place for 2011. Jonathan is going well, solid guy. Hekia needs to watch her temper. Quinn shouldnt get ticked off at caucus for doing things like points of order when JK is speaking.

          Aaron has done a fair bit of the intellectual heavy lifting and will go a long way if he remembers to sing himself the tigger song before breakfast every day. Amy shouldnt dance quite so much but is regarded as very, very safe and capable. Michael Woodhouse is highly regarded as a competent guy in health.

          They have been helped a lot by CJ Tremain, but National need to lift their game and professionalise their ongoing training and career management of backbenchers.”

      • Inky 8.1.2

        I saw that. Is it possible it’s not a joke and that he/she will be stopping at this point? Surely there’s a lot more ammo in the bandolier?

        • yeshe 8.1.2.1

          inky, re-reading the tweets, whaledump has made it clear this is not about party politics, and also that today the last political dump. reads to me like there is much more to come … popcorn ready again ! ( anyone know the code for the popcorn emo btw ? thx)

    • adam 8.2

      I think Lusk, is a devil in a blue suit.

      If the national party faithful don’t deal with him and his kind, they can kiss their party good-bye.

  9. tricledrown 9

    come on left
    while we have to sheat home Nationals corruption we are drowning out our own policy like regional development national are very light on Development !
    Milk Logs and natural disasters are their policy Joyce is good at getting his meagre policy across but grant Robertson is good also we need to pair back on the exposing of John Keys Corruption be way more considered in and focused on sheating the blame where it lies Pun!
    Reduce the column inches on the standard of nationals own doing and focus on our policies at least half the posts should be about the difference in policy between our positive regional and economic development policies!
    Better funding for education better funding for preventative health care.
    More openness in democracy!

  10. Tracey 10

    Cameron Slater, 1/29, 7:20am

     

    just emailed the press council asking how to join

     

    if i join everything the cunts won’t be able to touch me

    • yeshe 10.1

      Tracey .. all this, and it’s only two months worth of their comms ? Filthy filthy people .. and look at the names they are quietly advising ( until now anyway !).

      Can you see where some prosecutions might come from ?

      • Hayden 10.1.1

        Perhaps someone could look at this as well:

        ————————-
        Aaron Bhatnagar, 5/27, 8:41am

        Because I imagine that Simon’s graduates will have factions lining up against the in pre-selection meetings.

        them in pre-selection meetings
        ————————-
        Cameron Slater, 5/27, 8:42am

        yes…but there are ways to combat them

        they say paid advisors must be declared

        in other words npaid ones don;t have to be…

        oh dear

        hunting coaches though…not related to politics

        fishing coaches th same
        ————————-
        Aaron Bhatnagar, 5/27, 8:43am

        LOL

        investment advice – Simon is after all an investment advisor isn’t he?
        ————————-
        Cameron Slater, 5/27, 8:45am

        yes
        ————————-

  11. tricledrown 11

    Now we are just wallowing in their Mire even KDC has recognized thats not a good ststrategy let the News Media have the feeding frenzy the have smelt the blood their not goig to let it go because of ratings !
    lets get back to offering a Cleaner more Positive alternative to National!
    By the way their Rowing add is better than Labours Muldoon esque reds under the bed !
    I hope the greens come up with something better labours add looks decidedly Amateur!

  12. Tracey 12

    Simon Lusk, 1/29, 11:32pm

     

    you know you have won the argument when the far left are on your side

     

    Mr Norman says a capital gains tax would bring in over four billion dollars a year, enough to make a significant reduction to debt, and is also advocating capping government borrowing.

     

    telling that he wants to reduce debt and cap borrowing not piss away other peoples money on halfwitted projects like climate change promotion.

     

    you could give him politician of the week for being more fiscally conservative than Bill English who never talks about debt reduction or capping government borrowing. He just watches and commentates.

     

     

    February 3, 2011

    Simon Lusk, 

  13. ianmac 13

    Listened to David Cunliffe yesterday in his hour long interview with the 4 from the Herald. Very specific and very fluent and very intense. Wide ranging knowledge.Excellent. 9/10

    Today I listened to Key in the interview recorded before the “Book.”
    He dissembled a lot. Not very knowledgeable about some areas. Mumbled and “ahh” and “umm” a lot. Figures at his fingertips over trade and capital investment. False equivalents. 4/10

    I am biased but was not at all impressed. (Bill English is much more fluent and concise but not as loveable.)

  14. karol 14

    Slater faces prosecution re- the Blomfield case.

    Whale Oil blogger Cameron Slater is being prosecuted for the same thing he is complaining about – using someone else’s private communications without their permission.

    And the prosecution could see the blogger ordered to produce in court original copies of information used in Nicky Hager’s Dirty Politics.

    • Tracey 14.1

      i am sure it is all part of slaters plan. He is more intelligent than anyone else remember. I read he said that somewhere so it must be true

      • McFlock 14.1.1

        my personal theory is that it is why he was gifted the best blogger media award – a little help pleading “journo” from the folk who need him for throwing dirt.

        • Tracey 14.1.1.1

          i think amongst his emails he says, about himself, that he is not a journalist. Cant place it right now so only have memory to go on.

          • McFlock 14.1.1.1.1

            lol
            Nice for the prosecutors to know exactly what to look for during discovery.

  15. yeshe 15

    Crsoby and Textor sailed to sea

    in a beautiful dark blue boat;

    but they sailed away for a year and a day

    ‘cos Key couldn’t get the vote !

  16. yeshe 16

    AND MORE TO COME FROM WHALEDUMP LATER TODAY !! such a shame for the Nats when this is their launch weekend … and with the timing, it must be truly fetid I think as whaledump seems to have skills … making popcorn ..

    edit:
    https://twitter.com/whaledump

    with an invoice from slater to lusk 2012

  17. i hope someone is using these whaledumps/dirty-politics’-info..

    ..and working on/up an infographic detailing/explaining/linking-up this far-right toxic-tree..

    ..and showing just where all those branches/tendrils extend into..

    ..i can’t see the right/neo-lib holdouts in labour coming out of that exercise looking too crash-hot..

  18. i wd expect the next round of polls to show labour slumping further..

    ..and not only because they are seen by many as too close to the neo-lib fanaticism that got us to this toxic/unequal/poverty-blighted/blighted-rivers country/society..that we currently are..

    ..and aren’t really promising the wholesale changes/recipies needed..

    ..but also because parker has been..during this polling period..talking up his/labours’ plans to raise the pension-age..(a policy they have made a pigs’ ear of selling to a sceptical/dubious electorate..and esp to maori/p.i/workingclass..)

    ..and just that will see the labour vote collapse/fan out further..

    • Anne 18.1

      …because parker has been..during this polling period..talking up his/labours’ plans to raise the pension-age..(a policy they have made a pigs’ ear of selling to a sceptical/dubious electorate..and esp to maori/p.i/workingclass..)

      ..and just that will see the labour vote collapse/fan out further..

      I fear you might be right.

      • Colonial Viper 18.1.1

        Absolute electoral tone deafness. NZF and Greens will benefit most from National’s troubles IMO. Winston will be the force to be reckoned with.

    • The Al1en 18.2

      “i wd expect the next round of polls to show labour slumping further..and not only because they are seen by many as too close to the neo-lib fanaticism that got us to this toxic/unequal/poverty-blighted/blighted-rivers country/society..that we currently are..”

      Define many. Do you mean, on current polling, the 45% that vote national, the 30% that vote labour or the 13% that vote green?
      That’s 88% accounted for, which doesn’t leave many to be classed as ‘many’. Less partisan and blinkered rethink needed?

  19. rnz is reporting key is going with yesterdays’-version..

    ..heh..!..i know it’s an overworked/used word..

    ..but this is getting fucken more surreal by the minute..

    ..and the campaign-proper hasn’t even really even started yet..

    ..whoar..!..

    ..i dunno about anyone else..but my pulse is racing..

    • Tracey 19.1

      So he was lying in 2011? Even tho, memory wise, thats closer to the actual event.

      Thing about lies, is the more you tell, the harder it is to recall them…

      • adam 19.1.1

        The questions become, if he is now in the habit of lying – and it appears, that he has had this habit for some time.

        Will rehabilitation be enough?
        What drugs can he take to fix this vexing issue?
        Is stress exasperating his condition?
        If the people around him know he’s lying, do they fib as well to keep him happy, or are the confronting the issue?
        Time for some tough love?
        Or would isolation be the best option?

        Lying continuousness is a serious medical condition – it’s time we took a more sombre approach.

  20. yeshe 20

    Is CrayCray Craig’s complete and deafening silence on Dirty Politics due to his name being mentioned by Lusk as a potential client included in the dump today?

    • Tracey 20.1

      he is hoping for a poll slump by nats, then a phone call, and then a safe sear. He doesnt want to threaten that by saying what he thinks of the appalling behaviour. At least this is my take on what mr christian moral high ground is doing

      • yeshe 20.1.1

        interesting thoughts as always .. thx Tracey. Maybe they could gift him Papakura 😀

        Hoping someone on the ‘trail’ will ask him a about the Lusk connection.

  21. yeshe 21

    NEW WHALEDUMP Lusk2 available …

    http://wikisend.com/download/438974/Lusk%202 but I couldn’t open it with Adobe .. had to use Office instead.

  22. joe90 22

    Master of nothing.

    Cameron Slater, 6/10, 6:38am

    haven’t spoken to him

    Just got three files of all of labour’s online donations and cc details

    Simon Lusk, 6/10, 6:38am

    interesting

    Cameron Slater, 6/10, 6:38am

    from my it support person

    only $11k

  23. lprent 23

    I was just asked by RadioNZ if I was the Whaledumper. Chortle….. My response was (paraphased) “Nah. That kind of thing was interesting 30 years ago. I’m 55 – why would I want to do it now”.

    They were doing something on the OMSA, the daft online standards. Otherwise known as the complaint line with a wrist slap. Good for people who intend to push the bounds of defamation like Whaleoil. I have to wonder why Farrar is joining….

    In other news, Matt Blomfield pointed this article out to me. The privacy commission is targeting Cameron Slater for leaking from stolen emails and documents

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11312691

    Slater filed a complaint with the Privacy Commission after Hager used years of hacked email and social media conversations to write the book, which paints a picture of a National government which encourages attack politics through blogs.

    But the Commission has recently decided Slater had breached the privacy of businessman Matt Blomfield after the blogger published dozens of posts on Whale Oil based on a computer hard drive he had obtained.

    It passed the case to the office of the Director of Human Rights Proceedings, which is now prosecuting him over five days in October.

    Barrister Simon Judd, who is prosecuting the case for the Director of Human Rights Proceedings, said Slater was defending the case by claiming he was a journalist and not subject to the Privacy Act.

    He said it would be argued Slater was not a journalist – and even if he was, the material he published on Mr Blomfield was not a “news media activity”.

    It is going to be interesting listening to Slater squealing that it is ok when he does releases stolen data, but not when someone else does it to him.

    So paradoxically I suspect that his action against Hager will depend on him losing this one…… Oh the irony

    😈

    • Tracey 23.1

      investigating the wrong thing i see, the msm

      • Inky 23.1.1

        I keep seeing the term MSM popping up everywhere, I’m not familiar with it. Can someone explain?

        Also, yesterday someone had transcribed Key’s embarrassing 10 or 11-minute interview and I’ve lost the link. Does anyone have it?

        • Rich 23.1.1.1

          Mainstream media. The short version is derogatory but on a scale depending on who’s using it.

  24. rob 25

    my wish

    Whenever the media publish things about Slater, they use a picture of a kitten or flowers in a field, at the end of the day

  25. ianmac 26

    Here we are. Panic over.
    “Prime Minister John Key says nothing has changed after a video emerged from 2011 appearing to contradict his claim he was never told by the SIS it intended to release politically sensitive secret documents to Whale Oil blogger Cameron Slater.
    Speaking to media outside Mt Roskill Grammar school this afternoon, Mr Key denied the video was a contradiction.”

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11312794

    • Tracey 26.1

      Did mr key deny it or his office?

      • yeshe 26.1.1

        Did anyone else see a reference and clip yesterday from a Q&A segment from August 2011 where Key likewise confirmed what he is now denying ? I heard it last night, but can find no record of it anywhere on line … and Q&A archives seem not to have it either …

      • yeshe 26.1.2

        maybe we need a new generic term for Key and his office .. I suggest ” Mr Key’s orifice was quoted today” or SIS can claim they briefed Mr Key’s orifice .. would save some time for us all.

      • ianmac 26.1.3

        His office cannot speak because the people in it are all hiding.
        In future I guess any mis-speak from Key can be explained by blaming his office. “No. Not me what done it. Its them silly clowns back in the office. No just because my lips move does not mean it is me who is talking! Are people stupid or sumthing?”

    • Chooky 26.2

      ‘Government’s Own Guidelines Show John Key Would Have Been Informed Of SIS Release To Whaleoil’

      By Selwyn Manning / August 21, 2014

      Analysis by Selwyn Manning.

      “SSC-GuidelinesINFORMATION THAT I HAVE ACQUIRED, sourced from the State Services Commission, states in black and white the tight guideline requirements that must be followed whenever the SIS informs a Prime Minister of any pending release of sensitive intelligence information.

      The official guidelines further cast doubt over the Prime Minister John Key’s version of events that the Prime Minister was not made aware that intelligence documents were being declassified and prepared for fast-track release to Cameron Slater….

  26. Blue 28

    Interesting. Donghua Liu has changed his plea:

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11312852

    Frank Macskasy have you seen this?

  27. Inky 29

    This is a snortingly funny quote from a story on Simon Lusk by Andrea Vance on the stuff site, 25/05/2013, when you consider how tight he is with grace-less Slater and in light of the pair’s grace-less, vicious plotting as outlined in the whaledump postings:

    Vance: He [Lusk] says he prefers to work for individuals – and only those on the Centre-Right.

    “Many on the Left lack grace and I find it hard to deal with people who lack grace.”

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/8717357/Seriously-happy-to-upset-the-status-quo

    • ianmac 29.1

      Ironic Inky. As you say Slater must be the most graceless inhuman bloke around.
      Your find shows just how significant Google is.

  28. Inky 30

    As someone who’s not a political animal but whose interest has been piqued by the whaledump postings, I’m at a loss when Slater and his cronies refer to people by their initials or first name. I’m sure many others are in the same situation, so that the relevance of a lot of it is lost on me, which obviously defeats the purpose.

    If anyone here has an “in” with a mainstream journo, it might be useful if it was pointed out to them that printing a “Whaledump Who’s Who” would help a lot of people understand who and what Slater etc are talking about.

  29. Rodel 31

    Amidst all the Hagersaga I’m missing Colin Craig- (the boy named Sue)
    Christine The earnest and soooo sincere advocate for the nuclear’ family..(insert Tui comment)
    Jami Wit= the pillosopher supreme.. (well, you see….the answer is yes and know or maybe no.)
    Wotsisname ? the ACTor from Epsom. (‘ Never mind who I am, Just vote for me dummies)
    but most of all Jonny Banks the convicted one.(Now if I can just get rid of that Commie sex machine, I could be a super mayor – after I’ve finished my PD)

    I’m bored… Hopefully Crosby will have sent John a new parrot mantra by the time I’ve read Nicky’s book by the end of this weekend.

  30. North 32

    John Key reckons “[MyOffice] am prepared to give evidence on oath” – Snort – Laugh – Out – Loud.

    • Rodel 32.1

      North
      I think you mean John Key’s orifice’?
      No. Sorry that’s Cameron.
      Yes , Tucker advised John Keys orifice..not Key himself.
      (must go to bed)

  31. North 33

    John Key reckons he’s prepared to give evidence on oath. Snort – Laugh – Out – Loud.

  32. Alistair Connor 34

    John Key:

    Key denies video was a contradiction – Election 2014 – NZ Herald News

    Mr Key said he “probably should have” clarified that it was his orifice which was briefed over the OIA release, not him. “But, to be honest, that wasn’t the big issue at the time.” It was “definitely not the case” that he was briefed about the release while on holiday either, he said. “I’d be more than happy for my phone records to be [seen].” “There’s no dispute that somebody in my orifice was briefed. I don’t think anybody disputed that and, in fact, ultimately the inquiry’s undertaken [and] those people will be spoken to. […]
    “No, not at all. In the context of that video, I meant ‘my orifice’. Frankly the demarcation wasn’t significant back then.

  33. Draco T Bastard 35

    BFM interviews of party leaders on tertiary education.

    http://www.95bfm.co.nz/assets/sm/217365/3/tertiaryedu.mp3

  34. This whole key issue is a non event, barring key has been lazy in his communication. Did he lie who knows, barring he is willing to swear under oath, as are other parties that he did not . This whole business of trying to turn key into a right wing monster is ridiculous. So is the right demonising of Cunliff I believe both men have good of nz at heart but just have different prescriptions of getting their. People either are more predisposed one way or the other. The personality attacks from the likes of the standard, whaleoil are infantile and reflect extremes of both sides and just turn people off.

  35. Draco T Bastard 37

    Solar energy that doesn’t block the view

    Researchers have developed a new type of solar concentrator that when placed over a window creates solar energy while allowing people to actually see through the window. It is called a transparent luminescent solar concentrator and can be used on buildings, cell phones and any other device that has a flat, clear surface.

    This is the type of technology that should be getting a priority for government R&D funding simply because we need to replace the use of fossil fuels.

    • ianmac 37.1

      Does this mean that a house could cover all the north facing windows with transparent luminescent solar concentrators and power up the house or in a car etc?
      An evolution from solar panels then?

      • Draco T Bastard 37.1.1

        It’s an evolution in directing solar energy onto photo-voltaic cells. I suspect that because the energy so directed would be such a narrow band of electromagnetic spectrum that the cells could also made more efficient as well.

  36. Murray Olsen 38

    This is interesting. From the whaledump site today:

    Cameron Slater, 6/10, 6:38am

    haven’t spoken to him

    Just got three files of all of labour’s online donations and cc details

    Simon Lusk, 6/10, 6:38am

    interesting

    Cameron Slater, 6/10, 6:38am

    from my it support person

    only $11k

    Simon Lusk, 6/10, 6:39am

    they will have the shits with you pretty seriously

    Cameron Slater, 6/10, 6:39am

    they are fucking broke

    its doing my head in on best way to do the story

    i thought a post each morning promising a data dump each afternoon

    Simon Lusk, 6/10, 6:39am

    yes but do a deal with someone too

    Cameron Slater, 6/10, 6:39am

    then a post dumping data each after noon

    Simon Lusk, 6/10, 6:40am

    it is worth something

    Cameron Slater, 6/10, 6:40am

    have to abe a daily

    but i want this to drip feed all week

    the traffic is going to be masive

    Simon Lusk, 6/10, 6:40am

    promise to stop

    Cameron Slater, 6/10, 6:40am

    once i start though they will all have it so maybe not give to a network

    Simon Lusk, 6/10, 6:41am

    if trev resigns and lets darren have his seat

    there are so many cunty plays you can make

    Cameron Slater, 6/10, 6:41am

    which means the hits will just keep opn flowing

    i eant to devastate the cunts

    this will make me bigger than nicky hagar

    %———————————————————————————————–
    Looks like Slugboy paid his IT person $11,000 for the Labour data. Was this for being shown how to access it? He also talks about how much he can make from it. This suggests that it was accessed for financial gain. He thinks it’ll make him being than Nicky Hager. Haha, only in kilograms, you fat fool.
    I’m seeing it as more and more likely that he’ll end up behind bars. Great. He’s written often enough about what should happen to prisoners.

  37. Draco T Bastard 40

    And the hole gets deeper:

    In other words, the Gannaway Mercer NZ companies represent the New Zealand end of the international Maharal network.

    There’s another link between these Gannaway Mercer NZ companies: each and every one of them is 100% owned by GCSL (New Zealand) Limited, whose director, since January 2011, is Catherine Michelle Odgers of Hong Kong. That’s our Cathy Odgers, of course.

    Now, the Maharal network is an important part of the so-called Russian Laundering Machine,

    My bold.

    • yeshe 40.1

      Hi Draco .. OMG ! such an important post .. wanna re-post today where folks can catch it ? And I think maybe they cd read the end four or five paras and conclusions, then go back into all the details.

      So sad for NZ, and so shaming it will be when it call comes out, as surely now it must ?

  38. bad politics 41

    http://www.lifebuzz.com/rethink/

    Rethink Homelessness asked homeless people on the streets of Orlando, Florida, to write down a fact about themselves that other people wouldn’t know just by walking past them.

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    National is planning to breach te Tiriti o Waitangi by amending the Marine and Coastal Area Act to effectively make it impossible for the courts to recognise Māori rights over the foreshore and seabed. But its also been playing dirty in other ways. Earlier in the year it announced changes ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    21 hours ago
  • Today’s 10 Politics Headlines: Luxon flails and Simeon Drives

    1/ Jobseeker numbers are going the opposite way of Luxon’s KPIs. Against a target of minus 50,000 by 2030, the new forecast shows the Government is looking at an increase of 24,000 jobseekers in its first term.In Thomas Coughlin’s report, Upton responds by blaming Labour: “We inherited an economy in ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 day ago
  • Kaka project: What could a revamped Entrust do with/for/to Vector?

    Long story short, I interviewed transport and energy activist Patrick Reynolds this week about the bid to run Entrust by a new campaign group he’s part of called More for you; better for Auckland. There’s a lot more detail in this GreaterAuckland post and on ‘Better’s’ website.They’re campaigning to win ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Missing the Feckin’ Targets

    And although my eyes were openThey might just as well have been closedAnd so it was laterWhen the miller told this taleHe said that her face at first just ghostlyAnd then turned a whiter shade of paleSongwriters: Keith Reid / Gary BrookerI want to talk about two things today, subjects ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Deadly floods and streams of non-solutions

    Long stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer:Central Europe is reeling from the devastating effects of Storm Boris, which has so far caused 21 deaths and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Weekly Roundup 20-September-2024

    Welcome to the end of the week, as we head towards the spring equinox. Let us brighten your week with links to stories about how to make our city a little greater. This roundup is brought to you by a largely volunteer crew. If you’d like to support our work ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 day ago
  • Three years of recession deeper than GFC

    Kia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, September 20:New Zealand’s total GDP contracted less than expected in the June quarter, but per-capita GDP extended its three-year-long slump at a rate that is faster than ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • That’s Gangsta!

    The gang patch legislation finally passed in the House after a long period of fanfare from National. Gangs won’t be allowed to publicly display gang insignia on the body or in vehicles, and if they’re very naughty i.e. caught thrice, police will be able to enter private homes to search.How ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 day ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 20

    The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-host talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate news, including media coverage of extreme events and how big tech is gobbling up so much renewable power growth; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • A very healthy distrust of how this Government is handling health across the board is needed…

    And alongside that, is the ultimate question for the public, and indeed Opposition Parties trying to appeal for enough of the public to support a change from this heinous direction of travel being imposed on us: how much of the damage here can even be stopped in time? Let us ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    2 days ago
  • Hang up on him David, just stop

    There is a story I want to tell, but I'm not going to begin with it because it would be too abrupt. I'll start by telling you that I'm a big fan of the way Nicola Toki conveys her message. And Nicola Toki is a big fan of the way Jane ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Tax the rich!

    We already know that the rich people aren't paying their fair share. But it turns out its worse than that: we're a tax-haven! Our rich people pay lower taxes here than in any comparable country: Well-off New Zealanders are paying less tax than their peers in nine similar OECD ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • Worse and worse

    Cancer Minister Casey Costello is in trouble again over her secret, magically appearing tobacco policy document. The Ombudsman has already found that she acted contrary to law in refusing requests for it; now she has been referred to the Chief Archivist over a possible breach of the Public Records Act ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • NZ’s lack of a capital gains tax means the richest here pay vastly less than elsewhere

    The lack of a capital gains tax means the richest Kiwis are sitting pretty compared to taxpayers overseas. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, September 19:New Zealand’s richest ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Verrall to Levy: “Health NZ NDAs are North Korean – Get rid of it.”

    Open article. Note the video of the Health Select Committee excerpts starts at 1:22 In watching the Health Select Committee yesterday, it became clear to me why Margie Apa remains Health NZ CEO.During Levy’s testimony, Apa sat like a rock next to her boss. She nodded supportively, scribbled notes to ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • The Show Must Go On

    Empty spaces, what are we living for?Abandoned places, I guess we know the score, on and onDoes anybody know what we are looking for?Another hero, another mindless crimeBehind the curtain, in the pantomimeHold the lineDoes anybody want to take it anymore?The show must go onSongwriters: Brian May / Freddie Mercury ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Managing on-street parking for local benefit

    This guest post by Malcolm McCracken originally appeared on his blog Better Things Are Possible, and is republished here by kind permission. The case for Parking Benefit Districts: managing on-street parking for local benefit Parking is often the centre of debate in our cities; particularly on-street car parks, who gets ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    2 days ago
  • Doubling down?

    This is a re-post from And Then There's Physics I wrote a post a little while ago commenting on a Sabine Hossenfelder video suggesting that she was now worried about climate change because the Equilibrium Climate Sensitivity (ECS) could be much higher than most estimates have suggested. I wasn’t too taken with Sabine’s arguments, and there were others ...
    2 days ago
  • Too much haste & waste in Simeon Brown’s need for speed

    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāLong story short, the Government’s myopia of only choosing transport policies that reduce travel times means we’re missing out on the health benefits of more cycling and walking, along with the health cost savings from fewer accidents, less pollution and mentally healthier ways of getting ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • What seemed so simple is now so complex

    The Health NZ rescue that seemed so simple back in July was presented to a Select Committee yesterday as a complex challenge that could take some years to sort out. In July, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said Health NZ was on track to record a deficit of $1.4 billion for ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • The utterances of Shane Jones

    Let us consider the utterances of Shane Jones.Let us consider the derogatory terms of abuseNow is not the time for Green Wombles, it's black and white decision making.We will stand with the energy industry and ensure they are not monstered by Green Termites nibbling away at our economic capital.The Green ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Ukrainian militia receives defective shipment of pagers that just send and receive messages

    There’s been a major setback for one Ukrainian-backed militia on the Russian border, after the group ordered a large shipment of pagers to use as improvised explosive devices. The plan was to litter the pagers throughout abandoned homes and buildings in hopes of wounding Russian soldiers. But upon arrival of ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    3 days ago
  • A constitutional shitshow

    Last month, we learned that the government was half-arsing its anti-gang legislation, adding a significant, pre-planned, BORA-abusing amendment at the committee stage, avoiding all the usual scrutiny processes. But it gets worse. Because having done it once, they're now planning to recall the bill in order to add another such ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • Political Round Up

    Note: An earlier version of this article noted Levy was a “party time Health NZ commissioner” - this has been updated - forgive my Freudian slip.Dr Lester Levy is charging $320,000 a year to be a part time Health NZ commissioner. Rachel Thomas reports that Levy is still teaching 2 ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Postcard from Sydney: Southwest and City Metro extension

    This is a guest post from Sydney reader Nik Clement After 2 years in Auckland I moved back to Sydney just over a year ago. While in Auckland, I went to the opening of Puhinui station and used it a fair bit, living in Manukau Central and being able ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    3 days ago
  • Tolling revolt brewing in National heartland

    Kia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Wednesday, September 18:Locals gathered in Woodville last night to protest at the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s decision to toll the new road linking the Manawatu and Hawkes Bay, saying ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • The doom spiral

    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In his last post, Zeke discussed incredible warmth of 2023 and 2024 and its implications for future warming. A few readers looked at it and freaked out: This is terrifying and This update really put me in a ...
    3 days ago
  • Government directs Te Puni Kōkiri to conduct Māori Language Week in English

    The coalition government has issued a directive to Te Puni Kōkiri, the Ministry of Māori Development, instructing them that – in the interests of clear communication – they are to conduct this year’s Māori Language Week primarily or exclusively in English. The directive is in line with the Government’s policy ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    4 days ago
  • Government celebrates fact that New Zealand’s healthcare is so good people are queuing up for it a...

    At yesterday’s post-cabinet press conference, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, flanked by his Health Minister Shane Reti and someone we can’t independently verify was a real sign language interpreter, announced that he had some positive news for the country. “Alright team, I’m just going to hand over to uh, Dr. Shane, ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    4 days ago
  • Heartwarming: Thoughtful driver uses indicator to tell you what they’ve just done

    It’s 4:10pm in the morning, and you’re in the middle lane heading north on the great southern motorway of our nation’s capital, Auckland. There are no cars directly in front of you, but quite a few in the lane to your left. Suddenly, without warning, a black ute enters your ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    4 days ago
  • NPC teams will now be allowed to actually use the Ranfurly Shield in play

    Following decades of controversy, the governing body of New Zealand rugby, New Zealand Rugby, has ruled that the team currently holding the Ranfurly Shield may once again use it in play during the National Provincial Championship (NPC). The ruling restores the utility of a prize that for many years was ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    4 days ago
  • Climbing out of the hamster wheel

    I arrived home with a head full of fresh ideas about mindfulness and curbing impulsive aspects in my character.On the second night home I grabbed a piece of ginger and began swiftly slicing it on our industrial strength mandolin, the one I have learned through painful experience to treat with ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • More Notes From Stinky Town

    Good morning, folks. Another wee note from a chilly Rotorua morning that looks much clearer than yesterday. As I write, the pink glow in the east is slowly growing, and soon, the palest of blue skies should become a bit more royal.A couple of people mentioned yesterday that I should ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Make it make sense: why axe valuable local projects?

    Last week, Matt looked at how the government wants to pour a huge chunk of civic infrastructure funding for a generation  into one mega-road up North, at huge cost and huge opportunity cost. A smaller but no less important feature of the National Land Transport Plan devised by Minister of Transport ...
    4 days ago
  • Driving blind at higher speeds

    An open letter by experts about plans to raise speed limits warns the “tragic consequence will be more New Zealanders losing their lives or suffering severe injury, along with a substantial burden on the nation's healthcare and rehabilitation services”. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • 2024’s unusually persistent warmth

    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink My inaugural post on The Climate Brink 18 months ago looked at the year 2024, and found that it was likely to be the warmest year on record on the back of a (than forecast) El Nino event. I suggested “there is a real chance ...
    4 days ago
  • National plan for 2000 more Kiwis a year in prison

    Open for allYesterday, Luxon congratulated his government on a job well done with emergency housing numbers, but advocates have been saying it‘s likely many are on the streets and sleeping in cars.Q&A featured some of the folks this weekend - homeless and in cars. Yes.The government’s also confirmed they stopped ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • I Found a Note in a Tree

    Hi,On most days I try to go on a walk through nature to clear my head from the horrors of life. Because as much as I like people, I also think it’s incredibly important to get very far away from them. To be reminded that there are also birds, lizards, ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Politicians need to lift their game

    Declining trust in New Zealand politicians should be a warning to them to lift their game. Results from the New Zealand Election Study for the 2023 election show that the level of trust in politicians has once again declined. Perhaps it is not surprising that the results, shared as part ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    5 days ago
  • Police say they won’t respond to bomb threats anymore as ‘it’s never anything’

    Police Commissioner Andrew Coster says that New Zealand’s police force will no longer respond to bomb threats, in an attempt to cut costs and redirect police resources to less boring activities. Coster said that threat response and bomb disposal was a “fairly obvious” area for downsizing, as bomb threats are ...
    The CivilianBy Ben Uffindell
    5 days ago
  • A dysfunctional watchdog

    The reality of any right depends on how well it is enforced. But as The Post points out this morning, our right to official information isn't being enforced very well at all: More than a quarter of complaints about access to official information languish for more than a year, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Climate Change: The threat of a good example

    Since taking office, the climate-denier National government has gutted agricultural emissions pricing, ended the clean car discount, repealed water quality standards which would have reduced agricultural emissions, gutted the clean car standard, killed the GIDI scheme, and reversed efforts to reduce pollution subsidies in the ETS - basically every significant ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Vegas Baby

    Good morning, lovely people. Don’t worry. This isn’t really a newsletter, just a quick note. I’m sitting in our lounge, looking out over a gloomy sky. Although being Rotorua, the view is periodically interrupted by steam bursting from pipes and dispersing—like an Eastern European industrial hellscape during the Cold War.Drinking ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Why Entrust Needs New Leadership

    I am part of a new team running in the Entrust election in October. Entrust is a community electricity trust representing a significant part of Auckland, set up to serve the community. It is governed by five trustees are elected every three years in an election the trust itself oversees. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • London Bridge is falling down

    In the UK, London is the latest of council groups to signal potential bankruptcy.That’s after Birmingham, Britain’s second largest city, went bankrupt in June, resulting in reduced sanitation services, libraries cut, and dimmed streetlights.Some in the city described things as “Dickens” like.Please, Sir, Can I have some more?For families with ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Govt may kick elderly out of hospitals

    The Government is considering how to shunt elderly people out of hospitals, and also how to cut their access to other support. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāKia ora. Long stories short, here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Monday, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Getting the nephs off the couch

    The so-called “Prince of the Provinces”, Shane Jones, went home last Friday. Perhaps not quite literally home, more like 20 kilometres down the road from his house on the outskirts of Kerikeri. With its airport, its rapidly growing (mostly retired) population, and a commercial centre with all the big retail ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • De moralibus orcorum: Sargon of Akkad, Rings of Power, Evil, and George R.R. Martin

    I have noted before that The Rings of Power has attracted its unfortunate share of culture war obsessives. Essentially, for a certain type of individual, railing on about the Wokery of Modern Media is a means of making themselves a online livelihood. Clicks and views and advertising revenue, and all ...
    6 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #37

    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, September 8, 2024 thru Sat, September 14, 2024. Story of the week From time to time we like to make our Story of the Week all about us— and ...
    6 days ago
  • Salvation For Us All

    Yesterday, I ruminated about the effects of being a political follower.And, within politics, David Seymour was smart enough on Friday to divert attention from “race blind” policies [what about gender blind I thought - thinking of maternity wards] and cutting school lunches by throwing meat to the media. Teachers were ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A warm embrace

    Far, far away from here lives our King. Some of his subjects can be quite the forelock tuggers, but plenty of us are not like that, and why don't I wheel out my favourite old story once more about Kiwi soldiers in the North African desert?Field Marshal Montgomery takes offence ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Literal clowns are running the place, we must put a timeout on this stupidity… right Aotearoa?

    These people are inept on every level. They’re inept to the detriment of our internal politics, cohesion and increasingly our international reputation. And they are reveling in the fact they are getting away with it. We cannot even have “respectful debate” with a government that clearly rejects the very ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    7 days ago
  • Fact brief – Does manmade CO2 have any detectable fingerprint?

    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park from the Gigafact team in collaboration with John Mason. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Does manmade CO2 have any ...
    7 days ago
  • Judge Not.

    Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Matthew 7:1-2FOUR HUNDRED AND FORTY men and women professing the Christian faith would appear to have imperilled their immortal souls. ...
    7 days ago
  • Managed Democracy: Letting The People Decide, But Only When They Can Be Relied Upon To Give the Righ...

    Uh-uh! Not So Fast, Citizens! The power to initiate systemic change remains where it has always been in New Zealand’s representative democracy – in Parliament. To order a binding referendum, the House of Representatives must first to be persuaded that, on the question proposed, sharing its decision-making power with the people ...
    7 days ago
  • Looking For Labour’s Vital Signs.

    Flatlining: With no evidence of a genuine policy disruptor at work in Labour’s ranks, New Zealand’s wealthiest citizens can sleep easy.PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN has walked a picket-line. Presidential candidate Kamala Harris has threatened “price-gauging” grocery retailers with price control. The Democratic Party’s 2024 platform situates it well to the left of Sir ...
    7 days ago
  • Forty Years Of Remembering To Forget.

    The Beginning of the End: Rogernomics became the short-hand descriptor for all the radical changes that swept away New Zealand’s social-democratic economy and society between 1984 and 1990. In the bitterest of ironies, those changes were introduced by the very same party which had entrenched New Zealand social-democracy 50 years earlier. ...
    7 days ago
  • Kōrero Mai – Speak to Me.

    Good morning all you lovely people. 🙂I woke up this morning, and it felt a bit like the last day of school. You might recall from earlier in the week that I’m heading home to Rotorua to see an old friend who doesn’t have much time. A sad journey, but ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Winning ways

    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on anything you may have missed. Street architecture adjustment, KolkataShare Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • 48 seconds on a plan that would reverberate for a million years

    Despite fears that Trump presidency would be disastrous for progress on climate change, the topic barely rated a mention in the Presidential debate. Photo: Getty ImagesLong stories short, here’s the top six news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Using blunt instruments and magical thinking to ignore evidence of harm

    The abrupt cancellations and suspensions of Government spending also caused private sector hiring, spending, and investment to freeze up for the first six months of the year. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāThis week we learned:The new National/ACT/NZ First Coalition Government ignored advice from Treasury that it didn’t have to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Is This A Dagger Which I See Before Me: A Review and Analysis of The Rings of Power Episode 5 (Seaso...

    Another week of The Rings of Power, season two, and another confirmation that things are definitely coming together for the show. The fifth Episode of season one represented the nadir of the series. Now? Amid the firmer footing of 2024, Episode Five represents further a further step towards excellent Tolkien ...
    1 week ago
  • In Open Seas; A Book

    The background to In Open Seas: How the New Zealand Labour Government Went Wrong:2017-2023Not in Narrow Seas: The Economic History of Aotearoa New Zealand, published in 2020, proved more successful than either I or the publisher (VUP, now Te Herenga Waka University Press) expected. I had expected that it would ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Sept 13

    The podcast above of the weekly ‘Hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers on Thursday night features co-hosts and talking about the week’s news with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on the latest climate science on rising temperatures and the climate implications of the US Presidential elections; and special guests Janet ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Do or do not. There is no try

    1. Upon receiving evidence that school lunches were doing a marvellous job of improving outcomes for students, David Seymour did what?a. Declared we need much more of this sort of good news and poured extra resources and funding into them b. Emailed Atlas network to ask what to do next c. Cut ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • Dangerous ground

    The Waitangi Tribunal has reported back on National's proposed changes to gut the Marine and Coastal Area Act and steal the foreshore and seabed for its greedy fishing-industry donors, and declared it to be another huge violation of ti Tiriti: The Waitangi Tribunal has found government changes to the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Climate Change: National wants to cheat on Paris

    In 2016, the then-National government signed the Paris Agreement, committing Aotearoa to a 30 (later 50) percent reduction in emissions by 2030. When questioned about how they intended to meet that target with their complete absence of effective climate policy, they made a lot of noise about how it was ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Treasury warned Govt lower debt limits meant less ‘productivity-enhancing investment’

    Treasury’s advice to Cabinet was that the new Government could actually prudently carry net core Crown debt of up to 50% of GDP. But Luxon and Willis instead chose to portray the Government’s finances as in such a mess they had no choice but to carve 6.5% to 7.5% off ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago

  • Tourism on the table for Pacific Ministers’ meet-up

    Tourism and Hospitality Minister Matt Doocey will meet with Trade and Tourism Minister of Australia Don Farrell and Fiji Deputy Prime Minister Manoa Kamikamica in Rotorua this weekend for a trilateral tourism discussion. “Like in New Zealand, tourism plays a significant role in Australia and Fiji’s economy, contributing massively to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • Young people report on family and sexual violence

    The Te Puna Aonui Expert Advisory Group for Children and Young People has presented its report today on improving family and sexual violence outcomes for young people, to the Minister for the Prevention of Family and Sexual Violence, Karen Chhour.  The presentation at the Auckland event was an opportunity for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • $18 million being invested in the victims of crime

    The Government is putting more than $18 million towards improving the experience of the criminal justice system for victims, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and Minister for Children Karen Chhour say. “No one should experience crime, but for those who through no fault of their own become victims, they need to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago
  • Landmark phonics check in te reo Māori

    For the first time, schools can use a purpose-built tool to check how a child is progressing in reading through te reo Māori. “Around 45 schools are trialling a New Zealand first te reo Māori phonics check, known as Hihira Weteoro. It will help kaiako (teachers) focus on what ākonga ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago
  • New sea walls safeguard Ōpōtiki’s transformation

    Two new breakwater walls at Pākihikura (Ōpōtiki) Harbour will provide boats with safe harbour access to support the continued growth of aquaculture in Bay of Plenty, Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones say. The Ministers and leaders from Tē Tāwharau o Te Whakatōhea and other ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kitmap to improve access to science infrastructure

    Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced an online platform to optimise the use of New Zealand’s science and technology research infrastructure and to link the public and private sector. “This country is home to world-class science, technology, and engineering expertise. Kitmap is set to empower Kiwi innovators, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Driving the uptake of low emission heavy vehicles

    The Government has launched the Low Emissions Heavy Vehicle Fund (LEHVF) to promote innovation and offset the cost of hundreds of heavy vehicles powered by clean technologies, Energy Minister Simeon Brown and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts say. “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech on replacing the Resource Management Act

    Replacing the RMA Hon Chris Bishop: Good morning, it is great to be with you. Can I first acknowledge the Resource Management Law Association for hosting us here today. Can I also acknowledge my Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Simon Court, who is on stage with me. He has assisted me in establishing the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Replacement for the Resource Management Act takes shape

    Two new laws will be developed to replace the Resource Management Act (RMA), with the enjoyment of property rights as their guiding principle, RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Parliamentary Under-Secretary Simon Court say. “The RMA was passed with good intentions in 1991 but has proved a failure in practice. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Tough laws pass to make gang life uncomfortable

    Legislation passed through Parliament today will provide police and the courts with additional tools to crack down on gangs that peddle misery and intimidation throughout New Zealand, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “From November 21, gang insignia will be banned in all public places, courts will be able to issue non-consorting orders, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • New levy rates set to ensure continued funding of FENZ

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government has agreed to the rates for the redesigned levy that will fund Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) from July 2026.  “Earlier this year FENZ consulted publicly on a 5.2 percent increase to the levy. I was not convinced that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Police allocate Officers to Beat and Gang Units

    The Coalition Government welcomes Police’s announcement today to deploy more police on the beat and staff to Gang Disruption Units.  An additional 70 officers will be allocated to Community Beat Teams across towns and regional centres.  This builds on the deployment of beat officers in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch CBDs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Consultation begins on significant updates to the biosecurity system

    Proposals to strengthen the country’s vital biosecurity system, including higher fines for passengers bringing in undeclared high-risk goods, greater flexibility around importing requirements, and fairer cost sharing for biosecurity responses have been released today for public consultation. Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says “The future is about resilience and the 30-year-old ...
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