Open mike 24/05/2015

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, May 24th, 2015 - 146 comments
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146 comments on “Open mike 24/05/2015 ”

  1. Sanctuary 1

    The Irish have voted for gay marriage in a referendum, good news. But in a week which featured a lot of nonsense about gender assignment surgery again wedging a bunch of hapless white male MP Labour twits what are the lessons for the left in NZ from the Irish referendum?

    Anyone who favours my posts by generously reading them will know I’ve lately been much taken by the ideas of Pablo Iglesias and Spain’s Podemos. One of the things that Podemos advocate is the left forming broad alliances for specific issues, looking not to the parliament for top down leadership, but rather by-passing the political & media elites to force change. This piece in the Irish Times –

    http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/fintan-o-toole-ireland-has-left-tolerance-far-behind-1.2223838

    notes that “…It looks like a victory for articulacy. This was indeed a superb civic campaign…” A civic campaign that gave the political elites in Ireland absolutely no choice. Compare and contrast a confused, ideologically exhausted Labour party bickering over gender re-assignment surgery with the sort of populism of Podemos, and the sort of mechanisms (referendums, civic campaigns) in Ireland and the sort of “new left” we need for the 21st century here in NZ is becoming clearer.

    • Draco T Bastard 1.1

      Podemos are interesting in that they’ve used Loomio in such a massively constructive way. They’re a true grass roots political movement.

      It’s what we need here in NZ. Where the representatives are representing the choices of the people and not their own desires and beliefs as we have now.

      • weka 1.1.1

        maybe the standardistas should set up a loomio and run through various scenarios/decisions based on current posts. See what happens when we have to actually work together 😈

    • weka 1.2

      “but rather by-passing the political & media elites to force change”

      Completely with you on that one.

      Can you recommend some reading on Podemos for someone who’s unfamiliar with it? Something easily accessible and not too dense to start with would be good.

    • Charles 1.3

      If you (or anyone) look into Ireland’s distant past, and where its culture has come from and the general default “mindset” of the Gaelic people, the way Gay marriage has been dealt with comes as no surprise.

      Without wanting to present the idea that the Irish are all a bunch of happy dancing leprechauns, unlike NZ, Ireland’s cultural heritage is one of the most advanced and… hmmm… “liberal” or “progressive” in the Western world.
      Where NZders traditionally seek advantage between peers, and maintain inequality between gender and sex, foreigners and locals, and enforcement of law comes from the State – as per their English/Monarchist roots – Ireland traditionally seeks equality and community, and enforcement of law is the decision of the family/clan – as per their Clan roots.
      In very loose terms, of course, but that’s the point: despite having a modern tendency to shoot each other over which street one lives in, and despite early culture still being Patriarchial, they are more prone to integration of all-comers lifestyle requirements (women, gays, and foreigners) , rather than exclusion. The source of the cultural echo being Brehon Law.

  2. AsleepWhileWalking 2

    Secret meeting in London to discuss making cash illegal, meaning total government control over taxation, spending….or more specifically what is able to be brought and sold.

    http://armstrongeconomics.com/archives/30862

    • b waghorn 2.1

      Cashless society is a natural evolution IMO all cash is is glorified shells and pebbles.

      • ianmac 2.1.1

        Probably inevitable b waghorn but this was suggested not as evolution but a sudden lurch. Imagine a cashless society where a Government agency could if they wanted, track a dissident and know exactly their activites. And no more coins for the buskers or charity collectors. Why even the very rich could be tracked and taxed so what a calamity that would be!

        • Colonial Rawshark 2.1.1.1

          Yes this is all part of implementing authoritarian big brother control and surveillance over every aspect of our lives. True democratic dissent will be ending shortly thereafter.

    • Draco T Bastard 2.2

      A cashless society will be a great step on the way to the total removal of money. Interestingly enough, it’s happening anyway:

      Approximately two-thirds of total spending in New Zealand is done electronically on eftpos and credit cards,” says Paul Whiston, spokesman for electronics payment provider Paymark.

      The question isn’t that we’re going cashless but if we’re going to continue to let the private banks control our money and our spending. I’m of the opinion that we need to stop that ASAP. When we go cashless it needs to be a government service, well backed up and with very strict rules about access.

      Going cashless brings about a number of advantages:

      1. It would be near impossible to lose money. Sure, you could drop your swipe card but that can easily be replaced and any money spent via it returned and the thief caught.
      2. It would be impossible for someone to break in to the server and steal your money that way either. They can’t transfer it out to another country because any NZ$ outside of the server doesn’t exist and any internal transfer will be readily apparent even if the hackers managed to hide their own tracks.
      3. Taxes. It would be incredibly easy for IRD to track where money is going and thus be able to determine who owes what taxes. In fact, they could do it in real time making a Financial Transaction Tax viable (At the moment implementation of an FTT would have many people moving to cash to prevent having to pay the tax).
      4. Crime. Money laundering would be a thing of the past. It’s difficult to launder ill-gotten cash when it doesn’t exist. Other crime networks would also be easily detected. Essentially, crime that involves money would be gone along with the money laundering.
      5. Inflation could be more accurately measured. Instead of having people go around shops recording the prices for a basket of goods all sales would be reported back with the system then automatically measuring inflation in near real time.
      6. The recording of every sale would be great for informing people where they would get the best deal via a government funded website similar to PriceSpy.

      As I say, it’s not a question of if we’re going cashless (We are already) but when, how and who controls it. IMO, we need to do so ASAP and we need to control it and not the private banks (although I’m sure that the private banks would love to rip us off some more for allowing us to use our own currency).

      • Colonial Rawshark 2.2.1

        You’re kidding yourself, backing the movement towards a cashless society when that movement is completely engineered, supported, and structured from the ground up by the large capitalist institutions.

        • weka 2.2.1.1

          Yep, the only way NZ will get to be cashless is if it is forced to do so (and people will just invent new forms of non-traceable tokens for recording exchange anyway). That we have increasing tech for managing transactions is a different thing than removing cash as well.

          I’m expecting increasing adverse events (weather, economy) that make a cashless society the far less resilient option.

          • Colonial Rawshark 2.2.1.1.1

            Absolutely. Trying getting food from a supermarket when the EFTPOS network goes down. Usually a “cash only” check out opens up, but fuck all people have enough cash on hand to use it, so you get hundreds of hungry people milling around surrounded by groceries unable to transact any business.

        • Draco T Bastard 2.2.1.2

          As I said, we need to stop the large capitalist institutions from doing it and do it ourselves via our government. Private industry should not have control of our money and they will have if we don’t do something to stop them.

          • Colonial Rawshark 2.2.1.2.1

            Yours are all fantasy conditions. I’m talking about what the actual conditions are, now, today. The fact is that moving to a cashless society, which is simply a part of moving to a fully online security and surveillance state, needs to be opposed on all fronts.

            • Draco T Bastard 2.2.1.2.1.1

              Moving to a cashless society needs to be done properly but it does need to be done.

              • Colonial Rawshark

                That’s nothing more than a recital of faith from the Religion of Progress.

                • Draco T Bastard

                  Nope. We need to keep track of our resources so that we can use them sustainably and for the benefit of NZ. Cash doesn’t allow us to do that in a meaningful way as it’s so easily untraceable.

                  • The Murphey

                    Q. How do you come up with this sort of thinking Draco ?

                    Q. Do you actually believe in your own thoughts ?

                  • Colonial Rawshark

                    We need to keep track of our resources so that we can use them sustainably and for the benefit of NZ.

                    That has got nothing to do with having a cashless society. Societies have managed to keep a close eye on their resource use for millenia without electronic money. Often on stone tablets and papyrus.

                    You are linking ideas as pre-requisites when they are not.

                    • Draco T Bastard

                      Societies have managed to keep a close eye on their resource use for millenia without electronic money.

                      Not really. They’ve been able to keep track of transactions but not resource use in relation to what resources are actually available. This is a rather important development that we need to implement to help us becoming a sustainable society.

                    • Colonial Rawshark

                      Whatever Draco. Ancient armies on the march could keep track of their provisions and their rate of use precisely but you imagine it your way.

                    • Draco T Bastard

                      /facepalm

                      How much oil is left in NZs wells?
                      How much food is produced daily on NZs farms?
                      How much water is there available to those farms to produce that food?
                      How much iron ore in our black sands?
                      How much titanium?

                      Now, how much is available sustainably (ie, in perpetuity) and how much is actually being used?

                      There’s a reason why I kept saying in relation to. One of the main reasons that Rome collapsed was over use of resources. They ran out of the resources needed to maintain the empire.

                      A cashless society would allow better booking keeping of the use of those resources. Of course, we still need to measure what resources we have available.

                    • Colonial Rawshark

                      Yeah I’m over this Draco.

      • sabine 2.2.2

        you see and all your points are why i like cash – the government issues legal tender, and it is untracable unless othewise marked.

        as for the cashless world fantasy, and then you have a day or three without electricity and non of your eftpos machines works.

        As for your bullet points: essentially all of you points listed we already have with our eftpos accounts.

        * Any purchase you make is already tracked, just have a look at your bank statements. (anyone can have access to that, as identity thiefs and hackes have proven on more than one account)

        * you are already getting ads in regards to your spending….Just look at the farmer emails that come courtesy of your farmer card, google, hack even the aa knows what you buy on your smart cad, every single one of your online purchases is recognised adn will reflect the next ads you see courtesy of google

        * the government could/should prevent tax evasion, but considering that the polititians are at the front of tax evasion, maybe we should simply stop dreaming that they will do something to prevent it. 🙂

        * loose your bank card and you risk loosing more then just a 20 $ bill.

        * anyone who knows how to hack can steal more then just your money from your bank account….i think they made a few movies about that already.

        * criminals don’t care what government do. They will find a replacement for cash, like cigarettes, coffee, chocolate, sexual favors, etc etc

        * non criminals with no access to a bank card will also find a replacement of official cash such as cigarettes, coffee, chocolate, work for food/housing, sexual favours for food/housing or jobs, … etc etc (this was how life was handled in the direct year/s after the war ended in germany. my grandmother and my mother had a few stories of cleaning cigarette butts, rolling new zigs out of them and selling them for a few pennies or some potatoes)

        No for the poor, cash is king, because it is untracable. Having a Food card that prohibits certain stores, or certain foods, or certain hygiene articles etc etc is not going to make your life easier.
        those that are rich or very rich already have their cash less society, and their bank accounts in switzerland, singapore, hong kong and london and they still don’t pay any tax.

        • Colonial Rawshark 2.2.2.1

          also note that the legalised gangsters and banksters in our society seem to transact their business electronically and cashlessly just fine. It’s their system after all.

          • Draco T Bastard 2.2.2.1.1

            Which is why I keep saying that we need to take it off them.

            • NicTheNZer 2.2.2.1.1.1

              I don’t think a purely government operated banking system is a good idea. The current system has the advantage of creating a separation of roles between government regulators and the banks themselves.

              The standard of regulation is not strong and should be increased but that is another issue.

              Ireland seems to show what happens when politicians get too cozy with bankers. An entire political party lost its hegemony due to massive corruption which was fueling a property bubble there.

        • Draco T Bastard 2.2.2.2

          you see and all your points are why i like cash – the government issues legal tender, and it is untracable unless othewise marked.

          That one sentence shows that you failed to understand what I said. The most important being that we actually need to track resources used. That’s not an option, not if we want to become a sustainable society.

          as for the cashless world fantasy, and then you have a day or three without electricity and non of your eftpos machines works.

          Shit happens and it really doesn’t happen that often. We mitigate against it but it’s still going to happen. As an example I’m pretty sure that a hell of a lot of Wellington couldn’t go shopping during the recent storm nor for some time after.

          As for your bullet points: essentially all of you points listed we already have with our eftpos accounts.

          I’m pointing out that the private sector shouldn’t actually have that information because of the many point you make about advertising and tracking.

          loose your bank card and you risk loosing more then just a 20 $ bill.

          As I pointed out, there’s actually less risk because of the nature of electronic transactions. A simple call to the help desk to report it lost and it gets frozen.

          anyone who knows how to hack can steal more then just your money from your bank account…

          There’s a risk of that but a) not as high as people believe and b) we need to risk a bit to become a better society.

          criminals don’t care what government do. They will find a replacement for cash, like cigarettes, coffee, chocolate, sexual favors, etc etc

          And that would be why we still have police.

          Having a Food card that prohibits certain stores, or certain foods, or certain hygiene articles etc etc is not going to make your life easier.

          Doing that would have to be illegal and any government that tries should immediately go to jail for a minimum of 5 years. I did say strict rules about it.

          those that are rich or very rich already have their cash less society, and their bank accounts in switzerland, singapore, hong kong and london and they still don’t pay any tax.

          That requires other tax and law changes but one point I should point out is that, with a cashless society, NZ$ would only exist in NZ on the government servers.

          • Colonial Rawshark 2.2.2.2.1

            That requires other tax and law changes but one point I should point out is that, with a cashless society, NZ$ would only exist in NZ on the government servers.

            Not if you want a convertible currency

            • Draco T Bastard 2.2.2.2.1.1

              I never said that offshore people couldn’t have NZ$, only that they would exist only in the government servers.

              • Colonial Rawshark

                jeeezus Draco that still means that the NZD would not be a convertible currency. It would be like the renmenbi from four or five years ago.

          • mikesh 2.2.2.2.2

            It will make it easy for banks to introduce negative interest rates.

            • Colonial Rawshark 2.2.2.2.2.1

              Which they effectively do anyway, charging “fees” on small deposits.

              • mikesh

                That’s not the same thing as negative interest.

                • Colonial Viper

                  oh you mean like the difference between the “finance rate” and the “interest rate” in a consumer debt agreement?

                  The bank takes money from you for holding your deposit. Thats effectively a negative interest rate, albeit you are correct technically that it is not the same thing.

                  • mikesh

                    [The bank takes money from you for holding your deposit. Thats effectively a negative interest rate, albeit you are correct technically that it is not the same thing.]

                    Interest charged, whether positive or negative, is proportional to the amount deposited and varies with the duration. A bank charge is a fixed charge intended to cover the bank’s processing costs.

                    We could of course avoid both negative interest and and bank charges by only using cash. Which would be one reason the banking fraternity would be very much in favour of bringing about a cashless society.

                    • Colonial Viper

                      to cover the bank’s processing costs? I know what you are saying but that is not true. Its straight out gouging of our economy to the tune of billions a year.

                      You can regard those charges and interest as separate or categorise them differently as much as you like but the bottom line is that they are taking money off you for holding your deposit and you can calculate that as an effective negative interest rate based on the principal that you have with them.

                    • mikesh

                      [You can regard those charges and interest as separate or categorise them differently as much as you like but the bottom line is that they are taking money off you for holding your deposit and you can calculate that as an effective negative interest rate based on the principal that you have with them.]

                      If we were to abolish (positive) interest I don’t see how the the banks could remain in business were it not for bank charges. Even state owned banks wouldn’t want to have to rely on subsidies from the taxpayer to meet their running costs.

                    • Colonial Viper

                      not sure what world you are living in man, if you’ve been following the news, the banks with direct access to the Fed funds window get their money for free, then lend it to us charging us shitloads.

                      Lack of bank profitability is not an issue we are facing right now but i am sure that the banksters find your concern touching.

                    • mikesh

                      [not sure what world you are living in man, if you’ve been following the news, the banks with direct access to the Fed funds window get their money for free, then lend it to us charging us shitloads.]

                      Whatever. Bank charges and interest (positive or negative) are still two different things. So if the banks charged negative interest on deposits it would place an additional burden on depositors – additional, that is, to bank charges, which are generally accepted by customers as a reasonable charge for the services provided in operating cheque accounts, clearing of cheques, provision of plastic cards, etc. If the banks started charging negative interest I would want to be able to take my money out of the bank and operate mostly in cash. This however would not be possible in a cashless society.

          • sabine 2.2.2.2.3

            1. the private sector allready has all the information, especially the banks.
            2. loose your card in the morning, or have your bag stolen, and not know it for a few hours….your idendity is stolen, and your money is gone, and someone signed you up for a loan. Happens all the time, and been happening for years. Even when peeps call in to cancel a card, with wave and pay the chances are you are gonna loose more than a bit.
            3. Identity theft, and subsequent financial abuse is a big issue. It does not just happens every now and then. This is what the FBI says about financial crime together with Identity theft.
            4. In cash less world the cops will be payed off with Cigarettes, booze, sex, chocolate etc etc etc. They will be as corrupt as they are today.
            5. Food cards have been already introduced by WINZ http://www.workandincome.govt.nz/individuals/payment-card/ and now, the approved businesses that one can use are not forcibly the cheapest businesses to use for someone on welfare. (but heck we must take away choice in the name of welfare fraud, lest they buy something that offends our, mine, yours and humpty dumpty sensibilitys. Cause we all know lazy, bludgers and the likes. – Still waiting for the government to resign.
            6. And the government servers are immune to hacking, will never crash, always work and …..Novo pay?

            • Draco T Bastard 2.2.2.2.3.1

              1. Yes and they shouldn’t
              2. and 3
              3. Last time I lost a CC I called them up and they asked me what was my last transaction stopping it from that point. There hadn’t been any other transactions but I’m sure that they would have taken the correct action in correcting them if there had been including the return of any monies spent. Can’t do that with cash
              4. Which means we need procedures that find and correct that corruption
              5. yep and they need to be removed
              6. Nope but then, neither is cash – stolen wallets have been around forever. And Novopoay wasn’t a government problem per se but a private sector problem brought about by the dismantling of government over the last 30 years

        • RedBaronCV 2.2.2.3

          And the trouble with Winz payment cards is that people can’t use cash at the local market where the vegs are so much cheaper.

          • Colonial Rawshark 2.2.2.3.1

            This is all designed to fuck with peoples lives and to remove control from people over even the smallest details of their day.

            An authoritarian big brother security and surveillance centralised state is the absolute inversion of a democratic, liberal society.

            • The Murphey 2.2.2.3.1.1

              Odd that there are a number who post here that seemingly can’t or won’t connect the dots between the total financial disaster foisted upon the planet and its inhabitants and the to move towards a ‘cashless’ society

              Note: Cashless can’t and won’t work unless all nations implement it at the same time and if that ‘big bang’ was to come into effect the consequences would be nothing short of catastrophic

              It is impossible to rid the world of cash money and impossible to police the creation of ‘unofficial’ forms of cash money which is why the exercise is propaganda which has been openly talked about by the establishments for an age now

              In my opinion the forces behind this blindly believe such a system of control will lead to the utopian digitized slave state but are forcing the swing back towards localized production and community based society as human beings realize what is necessary for the their own survival

              • Colonial Rawshark

                Yep. It’s hardly a conspiracy theory when they are basically laying it out in the open.

      • The Murphey 2.2.3

        http://www.cnbc.com/id/101266173

        Cashless society: A huge threat to our freedom

        1. It would be near impossible to lose money. Sure, you could drop your swipe card but that can easily be replaced and any money spent via it returned and the thief caught.

        What you meant to say is it will be impossible to stop the bank or other institutions taking your ‘money’

        2. It would be impossible for someone to break in to the server and steal your money that way either. They can’t transfer it out to another country because any NZ$ outside of the server doesn’t exist and any internal transfer will be readily apparent even if the hackers managed to hide their own tracks.

        Your faith in technology is bizarre and your understandings primitive while simultaneously endorsing Capital controls which will be immediately implemented and you can wave good-bye to freedom of movement….for everyone else

        3. Taxes. It would be incredibly easy for IRD to track where money is going and thus be able to determine who owes what taxes. In fact, they could do it in real time making a Financial Transaction Tax viable (At the moment implementation of an FTT would have many people moving to cash to prevent having to pay the tax).

        Corporations already do business electronically so you have not thought this through at all

        4. Crime. Money laundering would be a thing of the past. It’s difficult to launder ill-gotten cash when it doesn’t exist. Other crime networks would also be easily detected. Essentially, crime that involves money would be gone along with the money laundering.

        Q. You understand the crime networks own and control the financial systems eh ?

        The banks will continue laundering they will not even break stride while stopping your access anytime they like

        5. Inflation could be more accurately measured. Instead of having people go around shops recording the prices for a basket of goods all sales would be reported back with the system then automatically measuring inflation in near real time.

        You don’t understand what you’re talking about or what inflation is or the causes

        6. The recording of every sale would be great for informing people where they would get the best deal via a government funded website similar to PriceSpy.

        Yes we are aware of your big brother authoritarian preferences which you openly parade once again

        • Colonial Rawshark 2.2.3.1

          You don’t understand what you’re talking about or what inflation is or the causes

          It’s bizarre actually as current day point of sale systems already allow real time monitoring of economic activity and prices throughout the retail and service sectors.

          • Draco T Bastard 2.2.3.1.1

            The problem being that it’s the corporates with the information and not the people. And that information is then used against the people rather than supporting them.

            • Colonial Rawshark 2.2.3.1.1.1

              The information is already there, its already being collected in real time, the infrastructure already exists to do all of that, further the government already has the capability to take all that information, sort it search it and store it into perpetuity

              Seems to me the answer is already right there in front of our faces if you want to go down that road (to a turnkey authoritarian central state).

        • Draco T Bastard 2.2.3.2

          What you meant to say is it will be impossible to stop the bank or other institutions taking your ‘money’

          No, if I’d meant that then I would have said that.

          … endorsing Capital controls which will be immediately implemented and you can wave good-bye to freedom of movement….for everyone else

          That’s below your usual standard of meaningless drivel but still meaningless.

          Corporations already do business electronically so you have not thought this through at all

          Actually, I have. The problem is that you didn’t get the full article which states that the servers would be government owned and no NZ$ would exist outside of those servers. This means that it would be very easy to trace where money has gone and thus what taxes the corporations owe on it.

          You understand the crime networks own and control the financial systems eh ?

          Which, again, is why I keep saying that our monetary system needs to be removed from the control of the corporates.

          You don’t understand what you’re talking about or what inflation is or the causes

          Yes I do.

          Yes we are aware of your big brother authoritarian preferences which you openly parade once again

          Allowing people to see where they can get the best deal is Big Brother? Man, are you fucken delusional.

          • The Murphey 2.2.3.2.1

            Allowing people to see where they can get the best deal is Big Brother? Man, are you fucken delusional

            No it’s the faith in such systems who would own the systems and how the information will be used is delusional

            Before we even begin to discuss the delusion that the ‘government’ will be in control of any such systems

            Q. How do you propose the government will ‘assume control’ over the private banking system which currently operates throughout most of the worlds nations ?

            Q. Do you believe governments event want to take control ?

            • Colonial Rawshark 2.2.3.2.1.1

              corporations, the government and the 0.01% are all merging into the same authoritarian establishment…

            • Draco T Bastard 2.2.3.2.1.2

              How do you propose the government will ‘assume control’ over the private banking system which currently operates throughout most of the worlds nations ?

              I don’t expect them to. I expect them to assume control of the NZ system and integrate it into the global systems. I expect other governments to follow suit.

              Do you believe governments event want to take control ?

              This is an important point about democracy – it’s not parliament that are the government but the people.

              • The Murphey

                I don’t expect them to. I expect them to assume control of the NZ system and integrate it into the global systems. I expect other governments to follow suit.

                Q. How would you remove the barrier of ‘state capture’ ?

                Do you believe governments event want to take control ?

                This is an important point about democracy – it’s not parliament that are the government but the people.

                Yeah great but that’s currently not the situation going around the Western World

                • Draco T Bastard

                  Yeah great but that’s currently not the situation going around the Western World

                  Yes, we need to do something about that.

          • Colonial Rawshark 2.2.3.2.2

            Dude the way you insist that centralised infrastructure locking people in to establishment systems is the only way ahead, is pretty bloody scary.

            Its like you have never paid attention to how payment systems are used by the elite as weapons of war against Russia, Wikileaks, Kim Dotcom etc. Anybody and any organisation the establishment of the day thinks is a dissenter and a threat to them. And now you want to tie everyone in NZ to similar?

            Sorry mate, get fucking lost.

            • The Murphey 2.2.3.2.2.1

              Forced vaccinations and cashless society…

              Q. Why the heck would anyone wish to be living under such conditions ?

              • Colonial Rawshark

                The modern Left appears riven with incoherancy and incongruent principles. Patients rights but force vaccinations. Abortions more available but treasure babies. Cut down emissions but increase consumption of the masses.

                • sabine

                  question.

                  why are you here if you despise the modern left so much.

                  would you not be happier hanging with the modern right?

                  • Colonial Viper

                    a fair question. The pot needs to be stirred if there is any hope of this stew getting better. The pro-establishment greasers and the political careerists won’t.

                    btw the “modern right” are just as locked into ultimately self defeating behaviours. They just spend more of the time in power during.

                    The energy and resource crunch is coming, fast.

                  • swordfish

                    CV (or CR depending on the time of day) is simply engaging his critical faculties. Something I wish a few more of my fellow Lefties would do.

                    • Colonial Rawshark

                      Chur. The older I get the less of an establishment loyalist I feel like being. Especially when “the establishment” is that which has lead us to this shite place in history.

                • DoublePlusGood

                  “Abortions more available but treasure babies”
                  These aren’t contradictory. Indeed a society that protects the rights and wellbeing of women is going to be a better society for babies.

            • Draco T Bastard 2.2.3.2.2.2

              Its like you have never paid attention to how payment systems are used by the elite as weapons of war against Russia, Wikileaks, Kim Dotcom etc.

              I’m quite aware of that which is why I keep saying, and you keep ignoring, that these systems need to be removed from the elites control.

              Anybody and any organisation the establishment of the day thinks is a dissenter and a threat to them. And now you want to tie everyone in NZ to similar?

              They’re already in that position – I want to remove them from it.

              The point that you seem to fail to understand is that we do need a system. It’s not optional.

              • Colonial Rawshark

                Dunno who the uncorruptible angels you are going to get to run your all seeing all reaching system. Maybe you want it run by AI?

                • Draco T Bastard

                  Dunno who the uncorruptible angels you are going to get to run your all seeing all reaching system.

                  I don’t expect incorruptible angels – I expect everyone to have a say/voice/power rather than just a few. Overall, everyone isn’t corruptible but a few are.

                  • The Murphey

                    I don’t expect incorruptible angels – I expect everyone to have a say/voice/power rather than just a few. Overall, everyone isn’t corruptible but a few are

                    Q. Will you be proposing a solution about how you foresee this coming about ?

    • mikesh 2.3

      I suspect that we all may start using cigarettes as cash as in the POW camps. A cashless society would give the banks too much control.

  3. Chooky 3

    ‘Robert Fisk: Who is bombing whom in the Middle East?’

    http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/robert-fisk-who-is-bombing-whom-in-the-middle-east-10222938.html

    “It amazes me that all these warriors of the air don’t regularly crash into each other…”

    Into this mess walks New Zealand troops ….at the command of jonkey Nactional and chicken hawks

    …the New Zealand Labour Party along with the Green Party and NZF and Mana/Int co-Left ( who opposed sending them there in the first place)…..should demand NZ troops are pulled out now!

    • ianmac 3.1

      Chooky. The article on the sidebar “After Vietnam: changes in imperialist strategy” gives a different take on the Middle East activity. Essentially that the West now has learned to get the unfortunates to carry out the bloodshed by proxy. Suits us to see the barbaric bad guys as an excuse to carry out remote “defence” activity. No more disasters labelling USA as bad guys as in Vietnam eg MiLai Massacre.
      https://rdln.wordpress.com/2015/05/23/after-vietnam-changes-in-imperialist-strategy/

      • Colonial Rawshark 3.1.1

        Essentially that the West now has learned to get the unfortunates to carry out the bloodshed by proxy.

        Uh, this has been a hallmark of western empire for 400 years

  4. Incognito 4

    Debunking the child poverty myths by Rob Stock is an excellent read, in fact a must read.

  5. Camp Taji, were NZ’s troops are stationed is surrounded by ISIS on three sides with one side open towards Baghdad. Baghdad is facing an ISIS assault. That is according to the New York Times propaganda rag du jour in the US (Responsible for the yellow cake story that got the US invading Iraq in 2003 in the first place) that is.

    The distance between ISIS troops and Camp Taji is only ± 15 km.

    Why don’t we hear about this in the MSM?

      • Clemgeopin 5.1.1

        From the link:

        Vice President Joe Biden declared in early April that “ISIL’s momentum in Iraq has halted, and in many places, has been flat-out reversed.”

        A couple of weeks later, the President proved equally upbeat following a meeting with Iraqi leader Haider al-Abadi: “We are making serious progress in pushing back ISIL out of Iraqi territory. About a quarter of the territory fallen under Daesh control has been recovered. Thousands of strikes have not only taken ISIL fighters off the war theater, but their infrastructure has been deteriorated and decayed. And under Prime Minister Abadi’s leadership, the Iraqi security forces have been rebuilt and are getting re-equipped, retrained, and strategically deployed across the country.”

        But that was so last month. Post-Ramadi, conservatives like Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, have lost no time in labeling such views out of touch and “delusional.” And, indeed, Obama sounded strangely detached on Tuesday when he told The Atlantic that ISIS’s advance was not a defeat.

        “No, I don’t think we’re losing,” he said, adding: “There’s no doubt there was a tactical setback, although Ramadi had been vulnerable for a very long time, primarily because these are not Iraqi security forces that we have trained or reinforced.” It was rather like the captain of the Titanic telling passengers that the gash below the waterline was a minor opening that would soon be repaired.

    • Maui 5.2

      Because the mainstream media only report what the Defence Force wants them to. Journalists get to be embedded within military forces on the ground, only if they tow the line and report what the hierarchy wants.
      John Pilger talks a little about general western media bias here, from 12:40 in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41YTAZHIWN8

  6. weka 6

    The first really big polar blast of the season arriving today, straight off the edge of Antarctica. Bundle up folks, esp in the South which is expecting heavy dumps of snow.

    http://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/orthographic=173.90,-52.04,512

    http://www.metservice.com/warnings/severe-weather-outlook

  7. Colonial Rawshark 7

    US government documents show rise of ISIS was predicted, supported and considered an “asset” in getting rid of Assad

    Supporting militant Sunni extremism in Syria and Iraq would also act to curb Iranian influence, it was noted. Fueling militant Islamic extremism in Syria/Iraq has also given the same security and surveillance state the excuse to demand more power and more budgets to use on its own western citizens.

    However, the newly declassified Pentagon report proves unambiguously that years before ISIS launched its concerted offensive against Iraq, the US intelligence community was fully aware that Islamist militants constituted the core of Syria’s sectarian insurgency.

    Despite that, the Pentagon continued to support the Islamist insurgency, even while anticipating the probability that doing so would establish an extremist Salafi stronghold in Syria and Iraq.

    As Shoebridge told me, “The documents show that not only did the US government at the latest by August 2012 know the true extremist nature and likely outcome of Syria’s rebellion”?—?namely, the emergence of ISIS?—?“but that this was considered an advantage for US foreign policy. This also suggests a decision to spend years in an effort to deliberately mislead the West’s public, via a compliant media, into believing that Syria’s rebellion was overwhelmingly ‘moderate.’”

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-05-23/secret-pentagon-report-reveals-us-created-isis-tool-overthrow-syrias-president-assad

    • ianmac 7.1

      Imperialism by proxy?

      • Colonial Viper 7.1.1

        Pepe Escobar refers to this as the empire of chaos.

        the US has history of shipping in Islamic militants, training and arming them, in order to undermine entire states. And interesting isnt it how despite all these anti ISIS US airstrikes, ISIS is able to close in on Damascus and Assad quite rapidly.

  8. felix 8

    Something Draco has often bought up here is the need for us to get out of the mindset of needless duplication, i.e. everyone having everything in every home.

    This looks like an example of a step in an interesting direction: Four tiny homes on a shared piece of land. Each tiny home has its own bathroom, but the kitchen and living area is in a shared building.

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/home-property/68805274/Best-mates-build-tiny-row-of-houses-in-new-take-on-small-living-trend

    • Colonial Rawshark 8.1

      Yep. And these solutions are not new. Communitarian or social accommodation. Barracks, student hostels and monastaries all have set ups with similar principles. Simply update with modern ideas and for the modern sensibility – and voila – save a tonne of money on corporatised retirement accomodation.

    • weka 8.2

      Nice overview article. Biggest thing stopping this from happening in NZ is the lack of legal models for shared ownership.

      Chch was an ideal opportunity to work with these alternative housing options. I think a few people have done tiny homes there but not the shared resources bit.

      • Colonial Rawshark 8.2.1

        Biggest thing stopping this from happening in NZ is the lack of legal models for shared ownership.

        ???

        What do you mean??? Shared ownership of financial assets is an utterly standard situation. Whether it is company shareholders, spouses or people who have an account at a bank or managed by a hedgefund.

        • weka 8.2.1.1

          Outside of marriage it’s rare for people in NZ to share ownership of homes/land. It does happen but we don’t have good cultural practice yet on how to do it, and people get stuck on assets issues, what happens when someone wants out, how to make decisions collectively etc.

          There are many people wanting to do this but few really good examples that can be easily replicated. I know about it from people trying to go this with larger pieces of land, and it’s possible it might be easier on smaller suburban blocks. But again, Chch was the obvious opportunity and it hasn’t really happened. I think that’s because the right models don’t exist yet.

          • Colonial Rawshark 8.2.1.1.1

            Legal models for shared ownership of assets including property are a bog standard part of property and commercial law.

            Day to day living arrangements and how they would suit individuals living together are another matter.

      • joe90 8.2.2

        Biggest thing stopping this from happening in NZ is the lack of legal models for shared ownership.

        Off the shelf.

        http://www.homelegal.co.nz/tenancy-in-common/

        • weka 8.2.2.1

          Thanks. Let me clarify, by ‘model’ I mean the whole thing not just the legal structure. See my comment to CV above. Probably should have left the word legal out of my first comment.

          • Colonial Rawshark 8.2.2.1.1

            Everything from traditional Kiwi flatmates (shared cooking and shared bills) to communal student hostel living and everything in-between. There are many models and ideas familar to NZ culture to pick from. And if they don’t work, try out a Pasifika or Maori model extended family mode of living.

            • weka 8.2.2.1.1.1

              I’m talking about ownership. Try reading my comments properly.

              • Colonial Rawshark

                weka, I already answered above that there are many options for shared or joint legal ownership of assets including property.

                Now it is hardly my fault if you cannot accurately formulate what you are asking for. Ownership of assets falls under the area of commercial and property law. It’s very clear.

                • weka

                  🙄

                  I’m not asking for anything. I’m sharing some experience. I’m talking about what ordinary people are trying to do in sharing ownership of homes and why that is difficult in NZ. I’m guessing you are commenting again from a place of poor knowledge. If you can’t tell the difference between ownership and flatting, you could try listening instead of pontificating.

                  • Colonial Rawshark

                    So educate me. For starters maybe you can tell me what the non-legal aspects of property ownership structures you were referring to.

                    • weka

                      If a group of people buy land together with the intention of forming community, some of the issues that arise are around how to make decisions, and how to remove assets if someone wants to leave. Yes, the technicals on that exist, but how it plays out in real life isn’t always so straight forward (eg what happens if you want to sell but the other owners get to have a say in who buys in and you can’t find someone suitable?). There’s also a whole class thing that happens as well, around people with assets and how they protect them vs how they share them.

                      And how to just get on with each other in a living situation that many aren’t used to (I agree with you that Māori and Pasifika are better at this than Pākehā). The ‘model’ I am referring to is how to navigate this without having to reinvent the wheel all the time. Lots of people in NZ have done various models, and many have failed (esp intentional communities). There are some good successes too, but my original comment was pointing to these things not being cultural norms yet, so both regulations and patterns of relating haven’t evolved to support them.

                      In the linked article, the couples have known each other for 20 years. That makes a big difference.

                      Co-housing seems one of the more successful models in NZ, but most cohousing is for people with large buy in (eg they sell an existing house/have a big mortgage). I was interested in the article that was looking at medium level buy in (although I don’t think they talk about the land price), plus what felix was pointing to about shared ammenities.

                      I know of a few groups of people who’ve done rural subdivisions privately where the land is owned collectively but each family builds their own home. You need a certain group of people who know and trust each other for that to work. It does work, but it’s not common and I think the reason for that is that both around regulations on rural land, and that we’re not that good at sharing when it comes to larges amounts of assets, or how to make decisions in small groups once we get past whānau size. These are not unresolvable problems, we’re just not there yet.

                      Beyond that, and esp in response to what Maui said, I’m thinking of even lower buy ins. The moveable tiny home allows people more flexibility re commitment, and is way cheaper if land is rented instead of bought. There are still issues on how to live together.

                      Community Land Trusts are one of the models now being used in NZ. I’m not sure how successful that is yet and the one I am familiar with still has a substantial buy in.

                      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_land_trust

                    • Colonial Rawshark

                      There are a lot of nuances that you raise, and important ones weka.

                      In olden days, blood ties, tribal ties, religious ties, formed the basis of the trust, mutual understanding and common culture required for these things to work and work well.

                      I agree with you that its more difficult now and that it depends on each specific situation and each specific group of people and their dynamics.

                      If people want to be really arms length and independent away from each other then residential units or town house units might be used. But that’s not really communitarian living either.

                    • weka

                      what I find is that if you ask people you know who are talking about housing or home ownership whether they would share land with others, most people will just say no flat out, others will say yeah maybe, but it’s generally unclear what it means and how to do it and when they realise it’s a lot of work that becomes a barrier. A few will respond positively. What we need are models that make it much easier for the middle group to be more interested, as simple as say buying a house, or renting long term.

                    • weka

                      “In olden days, blood ties, tribal ties, religious ties, formed the basis of the trust, mutual understanding and common culture required for these things to work and work well.”

                      Yep that’s the one.

                      “If people want to be really arms length and independent away from each other then residential units or town house units might be used. But that’s not really communitarian living either.”

                      True, but it’s probably a step in the right direction. The set up in that article looks much more workable for most people I know than say an intentional community where families are more in each others space. It’s a mix of own space and shared space, and it sounds like they figured out how to make it work for them specifically. That’s closer to what most of us have been raised with so it makes sense.

                    • Colonial Rawshark

                      Appreciate you taking the time to share the thoughts you have on this topic. I think this kind of project is going to be an important way forward for many.

          • joe90 8.2.2.1.2

            Ownership models and protocols were covered in this episode of Kevin McCloud’s Grand Designs about a self build community.

            (If you can beat the geo-blocking)

            http://www.channel4.com/programmes/grand-designs/on-demand/26262-003

            google turns up a few examples too

            http://www.cohousing.org.uk/category/4/27/case-studies

            http://www.selfbuild-central.co.uk/first-ideas/examples/hedgehog-co-op/

            http://www.selfbuildportal.org.uk/case-studies

            • weka 8.2.2.1.2.1

              Thanks joe. McCloud is always good. Not sure if I’ve seen that one, will have a look.

          • joe90 8.2.2.1.3

            This answers a few questions about structure and ownership.

            http://www.lilac.coop/about-lilac/faqs.html#ecovillage

      • Maui 8.2.3

        Yep sign me up! I’ve thought about looking for a small piece of land to put a tiny house on. Unfortunately land parcels don’t come in sizes of 50sqm.. Minimum Lot sizes where I live would be around 300sqm according to Council zoning, so no chance of subdividing existing land. The most feasible way would be finding a friendly farmer who doesn’t mind you renting a portion of paddock.

        • weka 8.2.3.1

          Would you consider shared ownership?

          The great thing about moveable tiny homes is they circumvent so many regulations. Renting land is going to be a good option for many going forward. It also means no mortgage and thus not supporting the pro-CC global economy.

          • Maui 8.2.3.1.1

            Yeah, I would. The trouble is I don’t really know anyone else who wants to do this – maybe it’s time to join the Transition Towns group. And then finding a vacant piece of land close to the city is important for me too.

            • weka 8.2.3.1.1.1

              Sounds like a good plan.

            • Colonial Rawshark 8.2.3.1.1.2

              There will be a lawyer or planner here who can give you suggestions. From an amateur standpoint it sounds to me like you need a bit of land which can be zoned for high density housing. Buy the land as a group. Buildings can then come and go on to the land leasehold. Just an example. Need to talk to the local council and its planners early on as if the concept does not fit into the district plan in some way, it won’t be able to proceed.

            • Colonial Rawshark 8.2.3.1.1.3

              Alternatively, find a group of people and buy a 5 bedroom house together. Knock off the mortgage collectively in a few years. It’s then collective and supportive living in your own home – for the younger set it’d be called flatting.

        • Macro 8.2.3.2

          Another solution is the movable cabin (less than 10 sq m so no need for building consent). A shared utility provides the kitchen, bathroom (building consent required here – but once that hurdle over your on your way). Decks between cabins and utility allow flow. A separate cabin as communal living space.
          I’ve seen a number of these springing up at my local beach. 4 or 5 small cabins linked by decks sharing a communal utility and living space.

          • felix 8.2.3.2.1

            No need for a 10m2 cabin to be movable. Schedule 1 of the building act applies. The important part is that to be legal as sleeping acom, it must be used in connection with a dwelling on the same property, which is where the fully consented kitchen/bathroom/living room comes in.

            As long as you have this legal “dwelling” on the property, and your 10m2 buildings contain no cooking or sanitary facilities, you can have as many of them as you like. There may be restrictions on how many people can live on your property at any one time, but that’s a question for your local council.

            You also have to make sure they’re no closer to each other or to any building or boundary than their own height.

            • Colonial Rawshark 8.2.3.2.1.1

              Ahhhh ha good tip felix

              • felix

                Schedule 1 is here: http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2004/0072/latest/DLM5770963.html

                It lists all the building work that you can do without a permit. Clause 3 is the relevant one in this matter.

                The work still needs to comply with the building code standards (NZS:3604) so you can’t build them out out cellophane and coat hangers.

                And as noted above, you still need to comply with the district plan for your area as well.

                BUT as long as you haven’t made enemies with your council officers or your neighbours you’re probably not going to be inspected, and you can avoid all the extra cost and hassle of the consent process.

                • Colonial Rawshark

                  Yes…can’t really start a community living project in a sincere fashion by pissing everyone off…

            • Colonial Rawshark 8.2.3.2.1.2

              Referencing my own comment above

              Jointly buy a decent sized section with a small house on it. Due diligence on the LIM to ensure that all consents are present and correct. Then build a number of those 10m2 sleeping huts around the site, within what is considered a permitted activity.

              • felix

                Excellent idea.

                • Colonial Rawshark

                  Ideally there would be money (and consents) to refit the main house as a common space; additional bathroom, open plan living area/dining, high capacity kitchen etc.

                  Whole thing could be owned as a company with the residents as shareholders; people could then buy in/sell their shares and come and go as their life circumstances required.

              • Maui

                Heh now we’re talking, just don’t call it a commune 😉

                • Colonial Rawshark

                  LOL. Well, social isolation is a killer; if there was a common area with a bar, a pool table, some arcades and board games, hobby space, piano etc. that would be a lot of fun. A different kind of living than sitting in front of a screen surfing the interwebs 😯 lolz

            • weka 8.2.3.2.1.3

              Felix, what’s the limit on how many dwellings with kitchen/bathrooms you can have on a residential site?

              The advantages of having it be moveable are that you don’t need building consent above the 10m2 (which makes it much cheaper), and you don’t have to own land. It’s a very affordable way to get housing for people that either build, or pay someone to build.

              Or in Macro’s scenario, you don’t need the cost of a consented shared amenities block.

              (I have a feeling some councils have reduced the minimum dwelling size to prevent people from doing this).

              • felix

                “what’s the limit on how many dwellings with kitchen/bathrooms you can have on a residential site?”

                That’s down to the zone rules of your local District Plan. Where I am it’s one, or one + an ancillary dwelling (sometimes called dependent person’s dwelling or granny flat, which contains all facilities but is limited to a certain maximum size). I don’t know how much this varies from place to place.

                Macro’s scenario still includes a shared utilities building of some sort. This has to be consented.

                • weka

                  Ok thanks.

                  “Macro’s scenario still includes a shared utilities building of some sort. This has to be consented.”

                  But not if it’s moveable I think. Sewerage and greywater would have to be though.

                  • felix

                    Ah yes that’s right. Sewerage and greywater, and stormwater, and probably a potable water supply.

                    And if your section is big enough and in the applicable zone you’re allowed to dispose of all of that on site (with an engineer’s design specific to your site for the council to approve), so that could work with a mobile building of some sort.

                    • Macro

                      Yes I have a mobile building at my beach section – its actually bigger than 10 sq m and comes in 2 parts that are wheeled onto the site and then placed together. The advantage is that it can be quickly built off site and located and ready to use within the day, and moved t a new site if necessary. I bought mine new about 7 years ago and it has been moved from just north of Auckland to the Coromandel Peninsula in that time.
                      We have this technology in NZ and i never ceases to depress and astound me that such buildings were never employed to house those who lost there homes in Christchurch. It takes 6 weeks to construct these small dwellings and they are of a very high standard complete with bathroom 2 bedrooms and well equipped kitchen. carpeted, outside deck areas, the lot. I understand Alan Gibbs has one on his property north of Helensville as well – so it gives you some idea of the standard of finish.

                    • weka

                      + zillion re Chch. They could have set up apprentice and owner/builder schemes too, so they would have upskilled a whole bunch of locals. Instead the dumb fucks in charge spend all that money at the start on motorhomes that no-one wanted to live in.

                      What’s involved in the move Macro? Is the building towable? By what?

                    • Macro

                      the web site is here:
                      http://www.go-homes.co.nz/
                      They are transported to the site then moved into position using a standard 4×4 ute. Hooked up to facilities – caravan plug (builders pole), water, waste can be normal sewage collection – but we used a separate septic system on the farm (separate grey water and black water)
                      http://www.naturalflow.co.nz/

  9. weka 9

    @GenerationZer0: The final #climatemeeting is in Wellington tomorrow 7pm at Rydges Hotel, 75 Featherston St. #fixourfuture

  10. weka 10

    Good interview for anyone wanting to understand the Greens co-leadership contenders (being chosen next weekend), or just the GP in general.

    http://ruminator.co.nz/its-not-easy-being-green-while-running-for-male-co-leader/

    • Incognito 11.1

      Have you seen the recent posts here on TS re. XX not even trying anymore with the nice middle digit gesture? Key has never tried because he never has, he doesn’t, and never will give a shit; it has nothing to do with ineptness although there’s a lot of that too.

  11. Draco T Bastard 12

    Nothing to Lose But Our Fears

    The paradox is that the Labour leadership (not just in Britain but elsewhere in the English speaking democracies as well) are so paralysed by fear and lack of confidence that they have failed to notice that the world has moved on. All the major central banks have abandoned the cautious conservatism of conventional monetary policy. The IMF has turned its back on austerity as a proper response to recession. The OECD says that inequality is not the price that has to be paid for economic efficiency but is a major obstacle to that efficiency.

    Other countries have shown how living standards higher than our own can be raised still further through an appropriate policy mix. The way is open to learn from them and to offer the British people a new approach to running the economy – one that does not require us to choose between social justice and economic efficiency (or, for that matter, between Labour’s core values and Tory “aspiration”) but that recognises that we will all be better off if we give proper value to all our citizens and to the contribution they can all make to the general welfare. There is no mystery as to how this can be done if we only open our eyes; the necessary policy levers are just waiting to be pulled.

    Hammer -> nail.

    • Maui 12.1

      Ok, so basically he’s saying Labour needs a new Vision because they can’t move left or right.

      “As to precisely what alternatives should be adopted, why not at least begin to think about them? They are not in short supply.”
      For the uninitiated, what policy ideas do you think Gould is thinking of for Labour?

      • Draco T Bastard 12.1.1

        I think he’s saying that Labour need to stand on principles again and to believe in those principles. The RWNJs are wrong but they believe in what they’re saying and people can tell. Labour, on the other hand, don’t really believe in what they’re saying largely because they’re saying the same things as the RWNJs and people can tell that too.

        It’s pretty much a giveaway when both major parties are selling the same vision.

  12. Craig H 13

    The remits up for discussion today at the Labour Region 5 conference were clearly concerned about that. Linking minimum wage to the average wage so they move upward of their own accord rather than at a politician’s whim, taxing wealth as well as income, UBI (some of the remits had clearly come from someone who had read the Big Kahuna), abolishing youth, training and starting out minimum wage rates, repealing a number of ERA amendments, promoting collective bargaining and awards etc.

    The Future of Work was also a big part of the day’s activities, as Grant Robertson gave a speech and then we did some workshopping on it. This commission’s work will inform Labour policy in this area, and is huge. UBI was also brought up here, and I suspect will become Labour policy at some point in the nearish future.

    Housing was brought up, and it is acknowledged as a big part of any future Labour government.

  13. joe90 14

    heh

    Manchester MP Gerald Kaufman described the new SNP intake as ‘goons’ and their behaviour as ‘infantile’

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3093537/Invasion-McManiacs-Boorish-Boozy-Picking-fights-Nicola-Sturgeon-s-alarmed-Commons-antics-SNP-s-yob-MPs.html

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    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    9 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
    10 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
    12 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
    24 hours ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    1 day ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    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
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    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
    5 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • 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
    5 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
    7 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
    8 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
    21 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
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