Open mike 22/12/2014

Written By: - Date published: 6:55 am, December 22nd, 2014 - 65 comments
Categories: open mike - Tags:

Micky Savage christmasThe Authors of the Standard are now in holiday mode. Posting will be less regular and dependant on individual author enthusiasm. Open mike will continue every day and prepare yourself for some year in review posts and some recycling of old stuff. And as R0b has said be nice to each other.

Open mike is your post.

The Standard is not a conspiracy – just a welcome outlet for the expression of views. Leaders that command respect will not be undermined by this.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy). Step up to the mike …

65 comments on “Open mike 22/12/2014 ”

  1. karol 1

    Patrick Gower uses the f word on TV – video

    Because someone told him he was talking in a “fucking library”.

  2. Paul 2

    Clean Green New Zealand.
    This government is destroying our environment.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11377716

    • mac1 2.1

      “More than 40 swimming beaches hit with a “caution” label for water quality.”

      “14 per cent of 350 monitored beaches ( which is actually very close to 50 beaches).

      “Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith described the country’s beach water as “generally very good”.

      “It really is only 14 per cent where we do have a problem.”

      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11377716

      What a total abdication is that bald-faced acceptance by Nick Smith that ‘only’ 14% is a problem. Note the ‘only’! The question immediately comes to mind. What would be intolerable for Nick Smith?

      There are 350 beaches monitored. One seventh of this is 50 beaches contaminated to a level that if you go in the water 10 times, statistically, it will make you ill.

      It makes me ill to think of the contamination of ‘clean, free NZ’, and it makes me angry to think of the acceptance of this by the Minister responsible.

      What a Christmas present for Kiwis on holiday in their own country.

      • Paul 2.1.1

        Our dear leader is holidaying in Los Angeles and Hawaii.
        So he’s pretty relaxed, no doubt.

        • mac1 2.1.1.1

          I’m just thinking of those 1000 kids that came and saw their Santa with bright eyed wonderment, and the kids of New Zealand who they represent, and the risk that one in seven ‘cautioned’ beaches puts them in.

          Dear leader no doubt has a swimming pool at his beach home.

    • The Al1en 2.2

      While a lot of blame can rightly be apportioned to this government, the main reason why NZ’s clean and green image is so tarnished is because of the people and their shocking treatment of this lovely country.
      Big issues like cleaning up inland and marine waterways are of course vital and should remain a focus of the green party and environmental campaigners, but broken glass in the gutters, litter, oil down drains won’t change until kiwis accept their responsibility for the mess and strive to rectify the bad behaviour.
      Not to diminish the good work done by many, the biggest protection our land can receive is when the populace actively start caring for it like they love it.

      One could argue that the clean green image is really a con job, based on the fact that a small population inhabits a large land mass. Where I see people here, I see mess like most other places.

      • b waghorn 2.2.1

        I couldn’t help a rye smile when I saw the greens wanting subsidies for beach communities when most beach communities are play grounds for the top 10% these days and they should fund there own sewerage.
        And another thing if that article had of fingered rural streams as the worst this thread would be 50 posts long calling for the taring and feathering of farmers.

        • The Al1en 2.2.1.1

          As a green voter I’d probably be one of them, certainly having a pop at farmers who won’t fence or riparian plant the waterways that run through their properties.
          I would especially have had a moan how as a city dweller a portion of my regional rates go towards schemes that pay some farmers to do what they should be doing by right anyway.

          • b waghorn 2.2.1.1.1

            So your fine with tax payers funding peoples secondary houses waste but you’re against a small amount of regional tax you pay going towards securing water quality for the nation ?

            • The Al1en 2.2.1.1.1.1

              Taking the latter first, that’s one way of framing it, but I prefer my take on it – Farmers should be fencing off the waterways at their cost because it’s their stock that pollute them.
              I am happy to pay taxes, even for things I don’t use, so that isn’t really an issue. I’d be much happier still, to improve the shitty water ways, if farmers did the right thing, took responsibility in the first place and didn’t burden me due their neglect or bad practices.

              As for the waste water funding scheme, I don’t know enough about it (read anything) to comment with any authority.

  3. Tiger Mountain 3

    Bully boy ex policeman Mike Sabin, Northland Nat MP, is up for a “see ya round” cheque as per other embarrassing tory back benchers. ShonKey promised “higher standards” but since randy old goat Richard Worth through Lee, Wong, Heatly, Gilmour, Hauiti, Henare, Williamson, Crusher etc and even his own office, has patently failed to deliver.

    Key’s silence on this so far indicates there will indeed be a by election sooner rather than later.
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11377730

  4. North 4

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11377732

    Front page of the Herald this morning – $50,000 ‘impost’ to get Auckland City FC home for Christmas ? Against reported additional $640,000 EXTRA winnings from their sterling efforts this pales, surely ? Did the article with that headline even need to be written ? Like it’s gonna ruin their Xmas ?

  5. Pat O'Dea 5

    “The ocean has risen” “It is what it is”

    A 2014 poll by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication shows majorities of women, minorities and young people support candidates who strongly endorse climate action, the New York Times reported earlier this week. “That poll found that 65 percent of Hispanics, 53 percent of blacks and 53 percent of unmarried women support candidates who back climate-change action.”

    As the Times noted, those were all groups crucial to the outcomes of the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections.

    As Miami floods and the North Polar ice cap threatens to disappear. In the US women, black people and minorities want the government to do more. Polls show similar trends in New Zealand, but for the third election in a row, despite government weakness and vulnerability on climate change, the Left here were not able to take advantage of this government weakness as much as they were in the US. And despite the best efforts of Greenpeace and other NGOs their ‘Climate Voter’ campaign, was not able to get climate change into a mainstream election issue. There were a number of reasons for this, but IMHO the main one, is that the two major parties generally share a consensus on climate change and so it was not in their best interests to debate it. National and Labour have now been put on notice, the Green Party have determined that for the next three years, as well as child poverty, climate change will be the Green Party leading campaigning issue.

    Declaration: Pat O’Dea is the Mana Movement spokesperson for climate change

    • batweka 5.1

      Maybe but Labour were a completely mess, I don’t think them being more focussed on CC would have made much difference.

      That’s good news about the GP. Have they said anything about this publicly?

  6. BLiP 6

    Cracker end-of-year programme from the Media Watch team at National Radio including a look at the coverage of the Sydney “siege”, the return home of the resident ABC correspondent, and some fun general piss-taking.

  7. AsleepWhileWalking 7

    Protests against the coming “gag law” in Spain which makes protest illegal:

    http://wolfstreet.com/2014/12/20/spain-takes-a-giant-step-backward-towards-its-dark-past/

    Here’s a quick breakdown of the financial sanctions the government seeks to impose (and, of course, collect upon) for acts of political protest or disobedience:

    • Surrounding a government building: €30,000
    • Criticizing or insulting the country, government or head of state during a protest or on social media: €30,000
    • Participating in a demonstration that does not have the government’s prior approval: €100 – €1,000
    • Organizing a demonstration that turns violent: €30,000
    etc etc

    …Meanwhile in Venezuela death squads are going around executing those who are suspected of protest, and in the UK there is a proposed law currently being discussed that will require government approval for expressing public opinion (!)

  8. adam 8

    I’m sure this will be blown up today.

    http://nypost.com/2014/12/20/2-nypd-cops-shot-execution-style-in-brooklyn/

    What is worrying, this is an obviously propaganda piece by the post.

    I feel sorry for all the families involved, and I’m very sorry you and yours are being used for political purpose – when this should be dealt with as the tragedy it is, for you and yours.

    • Bearded Git 8.1

      4000 handgun deaths a year in Guatemala. I can never understand why the US gets so much of our media’s attention.

      • Paul 8.1.1

        Easy.
        US corporations and banks control much of the world’s media.

      • KJS0ne 8.1.2

        Partly it’s the ‘us and them’ dichotomy, it’s where you average kiwi draws the line in the sand. The people you include in your ‘us’ group, you care about, because you have a sense of cultural kin, of ownership in the existential sense. Think about it. What is it that makes you pissed off when say your friend’s television is stolen, but some guy in Porirua has his house burnt down and you don’t really care? It’s a sense of ownership of your friend being ‘MY’ friend as opposed to ‘THAT’ guy.

        Unfortunately, by the numbers, more people include the USA in the ‘us’ category, and Guatamalans in the ‘them’, because culturally, we’re much closer to the USA than Guatamala, which is exotic and foreign. It’s tribalism.

        • Murray Rawshark 8.1.2.1

          I think we feel culturally closer to the seppos, and that this is used by American agents such as FJK in the service of his masters. I’m not sure we actually are close, and I know I’m not. I identify far more with Latin Americans than I do with seppos.

  9. (an f.y.i/how-to..)

    “..8 Tips for the Discerning Cannabis Consumer..

    ..What to ask – what to pay – what to look for –

    – and what to avoid when it comes to buying premium flower..”

    (cont..)

    http://www.alternet.org/drugs/8-tips-discerning-cannabis-consumer

  10. hooton has given a particularly brisk account of the govt/key/sky-deal blowout..

    ..on nat-rad..

    ..the word ‘muppets’ was used repeatedly..

    ..ryan was shushing him in the end..(!)..(twice..!..)

    ..williams was his usual useless-as stuff…

    ..barely able to string a coherent thought/sentence together..

    (..no matter how much ryan tries to coach/steer him into one..)

    ..he managed to slag nicky hager..

    ..(oh..!..and his (supposed) adversary..’matthew’..has become ‘matt’..

    ..will it be ‘m’ in 2015..?..)

    ..plus he/williams urges labour to just ignore the poor/missing-million..and to chase the centre..’

    ..he then said there are only ‘pockets of poverty’..and both he and matt snigger/sneer in unison at the idea of 25% being in poverty..

    ..he is such a vile neo-lib sellout..

    • and hooton repeats his serious slagging of laila harre..

      ..a slagging that is totally unjustified..by any account..

      ..after harawira disappeared after his car accident..

      ..and things disintergrated..

      ..harre carried the campaign on her own..

      ..and to heap the defeat on her shoulders is a sick joke..

      ..and i know from the mana side of things..that i have not heard a bad word said against harre..

      ..just the opposite..

      ..from harawira down to to a lowly foot-soldier like myself..

      ..there is nothing but praise for harre..

      ..(praise re-emphasised both publicly and privately by harawira..to my ears..post-election defeat..)

      ..on this..hooton is talking absolute/utter shite..

      ..with his claims that harres ‘reputation has been destroyed’..

      ..fucken laughable..really..

      (..the only takeaway was hooton revealing the biggest cheer of all on election nite at natty-hq..

      ..was for kelvin davis beating harawira..

      ..make of that what you will..

      ..(in this tweedle-dee/tweedle-dum world..)

      ..and just who are the ‘haters’ here…?..

      ..aside from preachers of it..like hooton..)

      • marty mars 11.1.1

        Exactly phil – Laila is respected within Mana as she is respected elsewhere. Personally, for me she is a hero and great part of this country.

        • tracey 11.1.1.1

          hooton said it was a view amongst people he talks to… so that rules out genuinely mana and ip people

          • phillip ure 11.1.1.1.1

            “..hooton said it was a view amongst people he talks to..”

            the rightwing-ratbags for whom she has always been the devil incarnate..

            ..that’s who ‘he talks to’..

            ..that’s what pissed me off..

            ..that he tried to present/spin the views of these wankers into some universal dismay/disdain amongst nz’ers @ harre..

            ..he is such a tosser..

        • RedLogix 11.1.1.2

          Now there is something we can unambiguously agree on marty.

  11. philj 12

    Media Watch on RNZ is just about the only competent and critical program left on RNZ. Wallace and Kathryn are not up to scratch. And Mourning (sp) Report is now sensationalistic. trivialialising, unbalanced and irrelevant. This is a serious issue for NZ and goes under the radar. TVNZ is a poor joke with Hoskins/Henry etc. The MSM media in NZ is a mess. How many folk are switching off?

    • Paul 12.1

      Yes the NZ media is dire. I watch and listen to very little now.
      Propaganda is dull and predictable.
      One other small beacon of thinking media you don’t mention – Wayne Brittenden still as good as ever.

      So I rely on the internet for news now.

      Amongst other sources, I follow this site, the Daily Blog, read the Guardian, read Counter Punch website for news , Wings over Scotland website. I enjoy the perspectives of journalists such as George Monbiot, Robert Fisk, Owen Jones, John Pilger, Chris Hedges and Seamus Milne.
      For NZ news, I enjoy reading the perspective of Dita De Boni.

      At least I am aware that what we see in the MSM is propaganda. There are an increasing number of people who realise that the media is not telling us the important stuff.

      However, quite clearly, the propaganda machine is working. There is no way the establishment in NZ could have done what it has done in the past 30 years without the media being a key part of it.

      • philj 12.1.1

        Thanks Paul,

        Yes, I find Wayne Brittenden a shining light. I wonder how much longer he will survive, along with ‘Media Watch’. There is plenty of good information on the net but I think most people just accept the Jim Mora ostrich approach to journalism (?) RT tv on the net, has some real journalism. There is a need for a quality centre/left Channel on the tv or internet. Can’t stomach our ‘market’ dominated TVNZ and MSM.

  12. batweka 13

    Sarah Kendzior nails it, again.

    Lessons of week: shooting woman doesn’t matter, shooting cop does. Threatening women online doesn’t matter, threatening corporation does.

    Would it be that all lives were valued and all deaths mourned. Would it be that rights were for all, their violations universally deplored.

    https://twitter.com/sarahkendzior/status/546822435279216640

    • Colonial Rawshark 13.1

      The safety and security of the power elite: their corporations and their enforcers is of course placed first and foremost.

  13. Colonial Rawshark 14

    BBC World Service said to be losing global propaganda war against Russian and Chinese news services

    http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/dec/21/bbc-world-service-information-war-russia-today

    • Paul 14.1

      In the comments below the Guardian below, which were generally derisive of the article, I saw this one.

      ‘If nothing else, it’s interesting that the BBC inadvertently reveals here, that its true peers are the Chinese and Russian state media.
      I would suggest high level BBC staff are very aware of this, but of course can’t admit to it– as any propagandist who openly admits to being a propagandist, isn’t a very good one.’

      And a link to this interview.
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1SUQ1qtdb0

      • Colonial Rawshark 14.1.1

        An insightful comment there, which paralled my thoughts when I first read that article.

        In the west we are in fact a very highly propagandised people (due to both what we are told as selected facts and narratives in the MSM, but especially what we are not told about) – the fact that many still cannot see it is a testament to how effectively it has been carried out.

        • Paul 14.1.1.1

          It is amazing how the whole Ukraine story, for example, has been portrayed by the western corporate media. Just a tiny bit of independent research shows up the misinformation that is going on.

          • Colonial Rawshark 14.1.1.1.1

            We are being taken to the edge of superpower war by western leaders, who John PIlger says, is pumping our airwaves full of the same raw propaganda of the 1960s Cold War.

            Pilger also recently said – Russia has been making only purely defensive moves this year, despite being portrayed as the aggressor and occupier. The US would have turned Sevastopol into a major NATO base by now if Russia had not re-occupied Crimea.

    • tricle up 14.2

      Propaganda abroad at home it is just plain old spin.It would be easier to say all views are helpful leaving the word true to sit on the sideline looking for a conclusion …

      • Colonial Rawshark 14.2.1

        It’s not just spinning the facts though; as I remarked above it is also what does not get reported, who does not get airtime, which perspectives never get mentioned.

        In the recent CIA torture report coverage for instance, the MSM never interviewed any of the hundreds of people who were tortured for months or years at a time at the hands of US personnel or contracted agents, because that would have put a human face on to what had actually been done – not just crimes against humanity, but crimes against innocent human beings.

  14. Philip Ferguson 16

    One of the stories of the year, which didn’t really get raised during the elections although it should be of vital concern to the whole labour movement, is the denouement of Pike River.

    Key had promised that virtually heaven and earth would be moved to get the remains out and then quietly went along with the highly-disputed claim that it was not possible to go into the mine for this retrieval.

    It’s hard to believe that it is now three years on. Three years of hell for the families and friends of the 29 human beings who died at Pike River because it was an unsafe operation and because successive governments, National and Labour, had run down mine inspection. I can’t say that Andrew Little, as head of the EPMU, exactly covered himself in glory in relation to the issue either. For instance, his giving the Pike River Company a clean bill of health deserves scrutiny.

    Anyway, here’s a list of articles that myself and several other folks wrote about the killings at Pike River – and, let’s be clear, these 29 people died *unnecessarily*; they were killed by a company that put profit before safety. The articles below are in chronological order I think.

    Pike River Blues: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2011/09/26/pike-river-blues/

    Pike River lessons: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2011/12/05/pike-river-lessons/

    Pike River: ‘cashflow’ versus workers’ safety: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2012/11/01/pike-river-cashflow-versus-workers-safety/

    Pike River company’s safety breaches killed 29 workers – it’s official: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2013/05/08/pike-river-company-found-guilty-of-safety-breaches/

    What’s the latest at Pike River?: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2013/10/22/whats-the-latest-at-pike-river/

    Pike River third anniversary: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2013/11/20/pike-river-third-anniversary/

    Pike River injustice: taking up Helen Kelly’s offer: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2013/12/13/pike-river-injustice-taking-up-helen-kellys-offer/

    Pike River – the final cover-up?: https://rdln.wordpress.com/2014/11/07/pike-river-the-final-cover-up/

    Phil

    • Te Reo Putake 16.1

      “I can’t say that Andrew Little, as head of the EPMU, exactly covered himself in glory in relation to the issue either. For instance, his giving the Pike River Company a clean bill of health deserves scrutiny.”

      When did he do that, Phil? And in what form?

      • Te Reo Putake 16.1.1

        Nah, it turns out Little didn’t give PRC “a clean bill of health”. In one of the links above he’s quoted incorrectly in reference to the site health and safety committee and a second factual quote is misused to give a false impression to fool readers (including Phil F., apparently). Opinion masquerading as fact.

        What is true is that the union could have done better, but as it was never told by the workers on site that there were issues and the company went out of its way to undermine safe mining best practice (including offering bonuses to workers to ignore the problems and just get the coal moving), it’s understandable.

        More importantly, it was hardly a matter the then National Secretary would know anything about prior to the explosion. He was based in Wellington, running the union as a manager, not doing the organising work of the local union rep and site delegates in Hokitika.

        • Ergo Robertina 16.1.1.1

          ”What is true is that the union could have done better, but as it was never told by the workers on site that there were issues and the company went out of its way to undermine safe mining best practice (including offering bonuses to workers to ignore the problems and just get the coal moving), it’s understandable.”

          That’s not true, according to Rebecca MacFie’s authoritative book on Pike River. The EPMU was not welcome at the mine, but it did know about the problem.

          ”There was only ever one walkout over safety, when mind deputy Dan Herk threw down the gauntlet about the lack of mine vehicles available to quickly evacuate workers in the event of an emergency. Herk called the local EPMU representative, Matt Winter, and said he was concerned for the men’s safety; Winter advised he should, therefore, walk out. Herk led the men out of the mine. Shortly afterwards Winter received an angry call from Pike’s human resources manager Dick Knapp, advising him to tell the men to go back to work; when Winter refused, Knapp threatened to sue the union. The issue the men were protesting about was attended to within a matter of hours, with the prompt repair of a broken-down vehicle that had been out of action for three weeks. Winter was aware of workers’ concerns about the lack of a proper exit, and he had heard about the series of methane ignitions in late 2008. He was also worried about the high number of cleanskins – workers new to mining – at Pike.” (page 180).

          It was quite widely known on the Coast that Pike was a safety risk, so of course the local EPMU rep was aware. And that’s the point, the danger was known, but the broken safety system meant nothing was done, and the idiot investment money flowing in kept the thing lurching on.

          ,

          • RedLogix 16.1.1.1.1

            It was quite widely known on the Coast that Pike was a safety risk, so of course the local EPMU rep was aware.

            I can personally confirm that fact. I can’t give details because it would blow my feeble little nom right out of the water – but yes – there were people in the industry who were not at all surprised by the news the day of the explosion.

          • Te Reo Putake 16.1.1.1.2

            ER, the quoted passage actually confirms what I said. When a specific issue was raised with the local rep, action was taken and the matter resolved. The ‘one entrance/exit’ design was signed off by the authorities, so not a lot that could be done there and rumours of ignitions that weren’t actually formally reported were of no help to the union or the men.

  15. RedLogix 17

    Heh – does this nasty little trick have a familiar ring?

    Labor MPs and officials are canvassing the future of the state’s opposition leader, John Robertson, after revelations he wrote a letter conveying a request from Man Monis, the gunman behind the Sydney siege.

    http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/john-robertsons-leadership-of-nsw-opposition-shaky-mps-20141222-12ccv7.html

    I’d wager that with this level of knife sharpening going on, NSW Labour is unlikely to repeat the Victorian effort.

    • Murray Rawshark 17.1

      Yep. It’s a Liberal beatup. Politicians quite often write letters representing constituents’ concerns, and rightly so. Abbott wrote a reference for a rock spider priest, saying what a great bloke he was. Their stupid Accountability Roundtable should worry about that. As they’re a more successful version of the Taxpayers’ Union, they won’t.

      Labor sucks anyway. In NSW there is a stench of corruption. I’m just hoping the Greens or someone else can grow a bit.

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    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    10 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    11 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    13 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
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