Open mike 25/05/2016

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, May 25th, 2016 - 82 comments
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Step up to the mike …

82 comments on “Open mike 25/05/2016 ”

  1. Paul 1

    Another day in John Key’s neo-liberal nightmare.
    We have become a cruel, ugly and selfish nation under his wretched leadership.

    Affordable housing search leaves children out in the cold
    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/80285333/affordable-housing-search-leaves-children-out-in-the-cold

    Beneficiaries $417 million in debt to WINZ
    http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/201801902

    Winz pays $60k in motel bills for mother of eight
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11643936

    Rents in City of Sails jump $20 a week to record high
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11643964

    • dv 1.1

      Winz pays $60k in motel bills for mother of eight

      THAT was a LOAN.

      • Herodotus 1.1.1

        But from the herald we have this …
        Social Development Ministry housing chief Carl Crafar said the family was evicted from the house last July due to the meth contamination.
        “They are currently not eligible for a Housing NZ house, and have admitted to using meth in their past three Housing NZ properties,” he said.
        But Jane said the contamination occurred before she moved into the house three years earlier.
        “I have never used meth or cooked it in my life,” she said.
        Can someone out there help me ? Ministry said they have admitted to using and that is the reason they are not eligible, and yet they refute this.

        http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11643936

        • Puckish Rogue 1.1.1.1

          Either he or she is telling porkies, if he can’t offer up proof then he’s lying, simple as that.

          • Draco T Bastard 1.1.1.1.1

            You do understand that you can’t prove a negative don’t you?

            • Puckish Rogue 1.1.1.1.1.1

              I would assume there’s some form of written communication or verbal communication (I delete nothing at work because you never know…), if there isn’t then he shouldn’t be making allegations like that

        • b waghorn 1.1.1.2

          Using meth shouldn’t be grounds for kicking someone out anyway , referring them to get help with their meth smoking should be the answer.

          • Puckish Rogue 1.1.1.2.1

            If its true that its three properties that’ve been affected then yes refer them to get help with meth smoking by all mean but remember that’s three families that now can’t use those houses

            Personally speaking if you’re a meth user then you shouldn’t be looking after/having more kids until you get clean

            • Psycho Milt 1.1.1.2.1.1

              Why can’t they use those houses? Someone’s smoked some toxic chemicals in them at some point – well, that used to happen multiple times a day in two thirds of NZ houses in the 1960s, and nobody felt like they couldn’t live in those houses. It’s a crock of shit.

              • Puckish Rogue

                http://scienceline.org/2010/04/are-you-living-in-a-former-meth-lab/

                http://www.livescience.com/23721-meth-lab-toxins-cleanup.html

                Well fair enough for you but I’m thinking its better that people don’t live in P houses

                • framu

                  “The problem here, as toxicologists explained to the Science Media Centre back in March, is that residues from meth being smoked – as opposed to manufacture, which involves dangerous chemicals and real health risks – pose, at worst, a “minimal” risk of toxicity.”

                  from hard news

                  which links to these experts

                  The issues with a lab house are real and dangerous – the issues with a house thats just had it smoked in appear to be very low to non existent.

                  It appears that the health guidelines are only really concerned with high level lab contamination and have very little to say on residue from consumption

                  The whole issue is more a moral panic created by operators trying to ramp up business in an environment where theres no licensing, no oversight, inadequate regulations and theres no right of appeal (false positive test results)

                • Your links are about houses that have been used as meth labs. Those are indeed dangerous – houses in which someone might have smoked a pipe now and then, not so much.

            • b waghorn 1.1.1.2.1.2

              Your assuming all meth users are completely addicted and that any level of contamination is toxic to life.
              I think its just a useful diversion for this government s inability to deliver its brighter future.

              • Puckish Rogue

                Your assuming all meth users are completely addicted and that any level of contamination is toxic to life.

                – I just think being addicted to something like meth means you shouldn’t be in charge of kids

                – While not any contamination is toxic if (and at the moment its still if) what’s said is true and that’s three houses that’ve been contaminated then I wouldn’t be surprised if that was starting to affect the kids which, as far as I’m concerned, is child abuse

                – but that aside shouldn’t we, as a society, be erring on the side of caution anyway when its comes to kids safety?

                I think its just a useful diversion for this government s inability to deliver its brighter future

                – Probably not wrong there

                • b waghorn

                  ” I wouldn’t be surprised if that was starting to affect the kids which,as far I’m concerned, is child abuse ”

                  Going by that argument the kids of anyone who smokes tabbaco in the house or car with them is also a child abuser who should have their kids removed.

                  • Puckish Rogue

                    I wouldn’t have a problem with that, if you’re deliberately harming your childs health then its child abuse.

                    • Molly

                      “…if you’re deliberately harming your childs health then its child abuse….”

                      Unfortunately, the solution to this is not as simple as removing the child. CYFS – who are struggling to create a safe environment for children in their care know this all too well.

                      While some children undoubtedly benefit from removal, many others struggle with the loss of family connection and the care that is offered is often piecemeal and fragmented.

                      As bwaghorn points out above, there are numerous incidents that can be considered “child abuse”. What about the teenage girl that is supported in her quest for plastic surgery at a young age, or those children brought up to think that poverty is the fault of the poor? Abuse is still abuse, even if it is not physical.

                      Child removal from a family is something to approach with caution, reserve and comprehensive support, not from some arbitrary perspective of abuse.

                    • I wouldn’t have a problem with that, if you’re deliberately harming your childs health then its child abuse.

                      Good job no-one thought that back when two-thirds of NZers were smokers, or we’d have run out of non-smoking foster parents in short order. And the cost of identifying and “decontaminating” all those filthy smokers’ houses – the government would still be paying off the debt now. At some point, you have to take the stick out of your arse and accept that not everyone achieves your own level of righteous propriety.

                    • Puckish Rogue

                      So how many of those caregivers now have cancer or died from cancer or how about increased rates of cancer in kids in those households?

                    • Heaps among the people who were doing the smoking, fuck-all for anyone else.

                      Still, for the sake of argument: suppose the government were to accept your view that someone smoking tobacco in a house is child abuse and we should err on the side of caution. The smoking rate in NZ is still something like 20%, which means an enormous number of tenants need to be banned from state housing and evicted along with their kids so that their houses can be “decontaminated.” The country doesn’t have that many motels, let alone that much money to waste on loan sharking. Is there any point at which you might start to think “This is a really dumb idea?”

                • reason

                  What about the lead puckish ???

                  http://www.listener.co.nz/current-affairs/ecologic/the-dreaded-lead/

                  Now that is a poison ………………

                  Meth contamination seems to be more of a problem for scientists like Paula bennet, real estate agents and the meth cleaning company’s.

                  While meth labs are dangerous and toxic….. the presence of meth itself ….and at levels of 1 two millionth of a gram over 10 sq cms would pose zero health dangers…….,hopefully the meth scam leads to something being done about all the lead contaminated houses poisoning our kids and pets …….

                  “EFFECTS ON ADULTS

                  • Can damage the brain, affect fertility, increase the risk of miscarriage or stillbirth, and raise blood pressure. In pregnant women, lead can cross the placenta and damage the fetus. Also linked to anaemia, seizures, hearing loss, nausea, fatigue.
                  • Possible symptoms: headaches, irritability, aggressive behaviour, insomnia, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, constipation, anaemia.
                  SOURCES

                  • Lead-based paint peeling off or being unsafely removed from your house or a neighbour’s. Previous shoddy renovations.
                  • Soil and house dust.
                  • Food (lead particles can coat the skin of vegetables; wash before eating).
                  • Lead-painted toys or furniture, some Ayurvedic and Chinese herbal medicines.
                  • Pica: children eating dirt or paint.
                  • Hobbies: particularly indoor shooting and leadlighting.
                  • Drinking water from lead pipes.
                  EFFECTS ON CHILDREN

                  • Can be permanent and irreversible.
                  • Low levels are often undetected: no obvious symptoms. Child might be fatigued, irritable, losing weight, pale or weak.
                  • Can lead to learning disabilities, diminished IQ, behavioural problems, malformed bones, organ damage, hearing problems, slow growth.
                  • Very high levels can cause seizures, coma, death.
                  WHAT PARENTS CAN DO

                  • Take your child to a GP. Ask for a blood test if there is concern about lead exposure. Make sure siblings are tested if high levels are found.
                  • Frequently wash your child’s hands, toys, dummies.
                  • Test house dust and soil, as well as paint (on furniture and house surfaces).
                  • Never dry-sand lead paint or acrylic that may have lead paint underneath.
                  • Paint lead surfaces with acrylic. Discard contaminated carpets. Replace or cover contaminated soil.
                  • If working with lead, wash clothes separately and shower before cuddling kids.

              • Gangnam Style

                “I think its just a useful diversion for this government s inability to deliver its brighter future.” – Yes! C’mon Garner do an investigation into the meth testing business now you have gone social warrior & suddenly give a shit about the poor.

        • Sabine 1.1.1.3

          http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/80094682/work-and-income-keeps-clients-in-dark-says-poverty-group

          Quote: The Auckland woman with the $78,000 debt said she was evicted from her Housing New Zealand house after it was found to be contaminated with methamphetamine. Despite being cleared of drugs by a CYF investigation, the woman said she was blacklisted by Housing NZ, forcing the family into emergency accommodation. Quote End

          Someone is lying, its either the women, or CYF or Winz.

        • Anne 1.1.1.4

          “I needed help due to my falling into a deep depression due to what I was getting accused of,” she said.

          That comment suggests to me she is telling the truth. Anyone who has been through a situation where false allegations are leveled at them and their denials etc. are not believed, knows how devastating the consequences can be.

          “They are currently not eligible for a Housing NZ house, and have admitted to using meth in their past three Housing NZ properties,” he said.

          A convenient re-write of what really happened methinks. A typical Public Service track covering response if my former experiences are any indication – although not to do with Winz or Housing NZ.

        • alwyn 1.1.1.5

          I think the word you mean is “deny” rather than “refute”.
          Refute means
          “1.prove (a statement or theory) to be wrong or false; disprove”
          Her claim may be true but I can see no proof of the statement.

          • One Anonymous Bloke 1.1.1.5.1

            Your Prime Minister doesn’t know the difference either.

            • alwyn 1.1.1.5.1.1

              “Your Prime Minister”.
              I really think you should be saying “OUR Prime Minister”.
              Whether you like it or not, and assuming you are a New Zealander, he is your PM as well.

    • Chooky 1.2

      +100 Paul… re ‘Beneficiaries $417 million in debt to WINZ’

      http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/201801902

      USURY is what this jonkey nact government is about and it is contrary to what the founding values and principles of egalitarian New Zealand was all about…and it is a violation of Maori culture and heritage

      Definition of usury:

      …the action or practice of lending money at unreasonably high rates of interest.
      …”the medieval prohibition on usury”
      …synonyms: extortionate money lending, shylocking; informal loan-sharking
      archaic…interest at unreasonably high rates.

      A history of Usuary:

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usury

      Usury (/ˈjuːʒəri/[1][2]) is, today, the practice of making unethical or immoral monetary loans that unfairly enrich the lender. Originally, usury meant interest of any kind. A loan may be considered usurious because of excessive or abusive interest rates or other factors.
      Historically in Christian societies, and in many Islamic societies today, charging any interest at all can be considered usury.[3][4][5] Someone who practices usury can be called a usurer, but a more common term in contemporary English is loan shark.
      The term may be used in a moral sense—condemning taking advantage of others’ misfortunes—or in a legal sense where interest rates may be regulated by law.
      Historically, some cultures (e.g., Christianity in much of Medieval Europe, and Islam in many parts of the world today) have regarded charging any interest for loans as sinful.
      Some of the earliest known condemnations of usury come from the Vedic texts of India.[6]
      Similar condemnations are found in religious texts from Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (the term is riba in Arabic and ribbit in Hebrew).[7] At times, many nations from ancient China to ancient Greece to ancient Rome have outlawed loans with any interest. Though the Roman Empire eventually allowed loans with carefully restricted interest rates, the Christian church in medieval Europe banned the charging of interest at any rate (as well as charging a fee for the use of money, such as at a bureau de change)…

  2. Rodel 2

    Not a bad interview this morning,7.30ish by Susy F with the P.M..on the housing crisis (sorry-..’housing challenges’).
    She allowed him to waffle on sounding baffled, trying to evade answering, …. ‘the reality is ‘… ‘most New Zealanders’…. ‘of course the previous Labour government didn’t do a helluva lot.’….etc. etc. Little by Little he’s losing his grip.

    • Wyndham 2.1

      Yes Rodel.
      An amazing flow of largely meaningless drivel. Con-man extraordinaire. When will the good folk of this country see the man for what he is?
      Or should that be for what he isn’t?

      • Bearded Git 2.1.1

        Agreed Rodel and Wyndham. Key completely unfocused and rambling. Not for the first time. He was probably contemplating yesterday’s Reid Research poll showing his popularity at 36.7 where once this poll had him in the 60’s. It’s impossible to stick the teflon back on once it has flaked…..and he sounded flaky in that interview….Paul has posted the audio address below.

        • gangnam style 2.1.1.1

          Every second word Tolley said on RNZ on last nights Checkpoint was ‘meth lab meth lab meth lab’ (OK I exaggerate but she was repeating it over & over like a chant)

          • framu 2.1.1.1.1

            almost as if she was instructed

            notice how often nat MPs say that in regards to state housing?

          • Bearded Git 2.1.1.1.2

            Yes and on The Panel a few weeks ago an expert said in most cases all that needed to be done in “Meth Lab Houses” was wash the walls, carpets and curtains rather than the massive total recladding costing tens of $1000’s that is being done in most cases now-operators have turned this into a nice little earner while at the same time causing state houses to be out of service.

            My understanding is the “meth lab” houses represent a tiny fraction of state housing stock-any info on this out there?

            • Gangnam Style 2.1.1.1.2.1

              Also as a side note, it was on that Mihingarangi Forbes show last Sunday about Talleys workers being sacked for failing drug tests. Yet when this guy on the show got his own test done privately it came back clean so Talleys had to reinstate him. Who needs unions eh?

    • greywarshark 2.2

      Rodel
      lol

      • greywarshark 2.2.1

        Wyndham
        When will the good folk of this country see….? I am beginning to wonder how many in this country are good folk. I am losing respect for fellow NZs who can happily go about their business finding sneers to belittle those suffering hardship and indignity.

        I guess it was the good folk that were off in their 4WDs without a care knowing they would be saved at great expense of money and time and sacrifice of others’ rest and family time. This while more ordinary people unable to afford such foolhardy outings, face demands from the gummint for huge amounts of money they don’t have, just for the necessities of life.

        And the government itself keeps being elected so it can go on making a hash of being responsible, planning for the country, enabling businesses that are good employers to flourish and employ locals, and what about government managing the economy prudently and intelligently.

        What do the ‘good folk’ think about this – ‘She’ll be right’ (I’m all right!). I think they are aliens come down amongst us. Try to recognise them and keep them at a distance, as you never know when their chests will break open and a new foul heart will ooze its way out to continue the species.

    • TC 2.3

      A decent interviewer would have dissected his dribble and wiped his face with it.

      Letting him wibble on exposes nothing new and lets him off the hook.

      She is ineffective as designed

      • Bearded Git 2.3.1

        I’d normally agree totally TC-Susie not up to the job-but this morning allowing him to dribble on (he couldn’t be stopped per the booted-out-of-house episode) kind of worked to show him up as the duplicitous [supply other adjectives here] character he is.

        • TC 2.3.1.1

          Thats not news though is it he does that all the time.

          However if she did a half decent job and didnt allow his scripted BS you increase the chance he puts his foot in it.

          Letting him ramble plays into nacts hands as hes perfected that years ago.

          • whispering kate 2.3.1.1.1

            She needed to shut off his microphone and then say “have you finally finished, can I now continue my question”. Some hope of that.

  3. b waghorn 3

    In the budget tomorrow will be lots of money to build flash hotels for wealthy tourists and SFA for people without homes

  4. adam 4

    If you interested on a different view on China – from the inside. Try this blog, some awesome resources. Very new, and is updated, when they can.

    http://chuangcn.org/

  5. Paul 5

    Suzie Ferguson shows that our PM doers not care for the nation’s most vulnerable citizens.
    “Isn’t it grotesque to dangling tax cuts while there are families living in motels and cars?”

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/201801957

    • Rodel 5.1

      Yes Paul. That was a good final question: Note the dodgy answer.
      “Isn’t it grotesque to dangling tax cuts while there are families living in motels and cars?”
      .

  6. Tautoko Mangō Mata 6

    It is interesting to see that US is trying to kneecap the World Trade Dispute Settlement Body, no doubt so as to a means of introducing its own ISDS system through the back door via TPP and TTIP.
    “Greg Shaffer on the Appellate Body Reappointment Controversy”

    Now, the USTR has taken its most extreme step to date by proclaiming that it will block the reappointment of the South Korean judge Seung Wha Chang. (Appellate Body members are elected for a four-year term, renewable once). The reason given is not because Mr. Chang demonstrated a lack of judicial competence or independence. On the contrary, Mr. Chang is a former national judge who has a doctorate from Harvard Law School and is the endowed Nomura Visiting Professor of International Financial Systems there. Rather, the USTR opposes judge Wha Chang because he participated in decisions against the United States.
    ……
    The United States has a history of building and undermining international institutions. Following the horrors of WWI, an isolationist US Senate refused to ratify the Versailles Treaty, which drastically impaired the new Permanent Court of International Justice. Then, after the horrors of WWII, the Roosevelt administration spurred the creation of the United Nations and the International Court of Justice. Later, in the 1980s, the Reagan administration withdrew from recognizing the ICJ’s administration when the ICJ decided against it in the Nicaragua case, undermining that body.

    It takes decades to create international institutions, often built out of tragedy. They can be undone overnight. With the Transpacific Partnership uncertain, will President Obama’s legacy on trade be destroying the WTO?

    http://worldtradelaw.typepad.com/

    NZ should not ratify the TPP. It is a big mistake to be bound to the US.

  7. Chooky 7

    Suzie Ferguson indulges in a little unthinking USA anti Russia, anti Putin propaganda…and is complicit in blaming Russia for the shooting down of the Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 in July 2014 in Ukraine… This despite international evidence to the contrary

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201801979/mh17-lawyer-confident-ahead-of-lawsuit

    ‘BBC shrugs off Kiev’s demand to say ‘Russian aggression’ instead of ‘civil war’ ‘

    https://www.rt.com/news/343000-ukraine-bbc-civil-war-aggression/

    ‘‘It remains our belief’: US insists rebels downed MH17 with BUK missile, ignores Dutch report’

    https://www.rt.com/news/318613-usa-rebels-mh17-buk/

  8. adam 8

    Oh my goodness. Samantha Bee gets a incredible interview with Frank Schaeffer, the guy who was instrumental in establishing the religious right in the USA, and around the world.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhLY0JqXP-s

  9. Puckish Rogue 9

    So budget time…

    I’m not going to predict exactly what is in the budget (my contacts have gone cold ;-)) but what I will predict is that there’ll be something in there no ones expecting that will take the wind out of the oppositions sails

    This prediction is based on nothing more then the prior history of National doing something different and encroaching on the left side of politics

    • TC 9.1

      Repurposing labour policy as their own seems to be SOP.

    • b waghorn 9.2

      Yes there’s no doubt there will be , but instead of reporters seeing it as the opposition forcing the government to act, they’ll run around like giddy little twerps trying to embaress the opposition.

  10. Anne 10

    It had to happen:

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11644241

    Helen Clark’s enemies are at it again. This time in New York. They can’t bear the thought of an ultra- intelligent and strong woman such as Helen Clark having that sort of power.

  11. Gangnam Style 11

    I was thinking the $1000 a week loan for motels was a good example of why the so called ‘public/private model’ of WINZ & HNZ is a load of shit & just adds to costs & wastes time.

  12. Rosie 12

    PM aint bovvered by his declining popularity and says he “slept like a baby”

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/80356136/prime-minister-john-key-not-losing-sleep-over-new-poll

    Don’t babies wake up in the night crying with a wet nappy?

    • joe90 12.1

      Bob Dole after his presidential flop – “I slept like a baby. I woke up every three hours and cried.”

      • Rosie 12.1.1

        Lols. Not a bad line for a Republican.

        Our PM might have also woken up in the middle of the night demanding a bottle.

        Maybe “slept like a log” would have been more suitable. Logs don’t cry and wet themselves.

  13. adam 13

    The forced privatisation of Public schools in Mexico. Government response to claims this is taking jobs and hurting education?? Firing anyone who opposes the so called reforms.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THKV9ReDyi4

  14. adam 14

    OK last videos of the day.

    The Coup d’état in Brazil is being exposed slowly.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmnZY4E8S2U

    And the coup leader is having his house protested, with the usual response from the right.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CK3GTvIgY4

  15. Et Tu Brute 15

    This story isn’t going to go away anytime soon. In short; highly respected Rotorua journalist Phil Campbell fired off some question to Labour’s Rotorua LEC. He got a reasonable reply and would have left it at that. The candidate’s husband however jumped in and CCd Phil Campbell into a rant in which Phil Campbell was called a ‘nobody’.

    Maybe I am old fashioned but I don’t believe anybody is a nobody. As Phil Campbell said in his reply, nobodies vote. Nobodies can become somebodies. Everybody deserves that basic human dignity and respect of being a human being, not a nobody. And can you get more elitist by inference suggesting you, in contrast, are a somebody?

    When will Labour get serious about disciplining its candidates and sticking to its values? These closet rightists need to either get out of politics or join National. It is simply embarrassing to have them representing the party of the average worker.

    http://www.steamnmud.co.nz/signs-covered-time-soon
    http://www.steamnmud.co.nz/whale-oils-whale-tale

    • joe90 15.1

      Yes, halfwit repeater repeating won’t go away.

      • Et Tu Brute 15.1.1

        You don’t think it is at all relevant?

        • Colonial Viper 15.1.1.1

          Poor political and media management at the local level.

          • Et Tu Brute 15.1.1.1.1

            Exactly. But that is why there are, or I believe there was, strong guidelines on public comment and interaction with the media and rules about bringing the party into disrepute.

            • joe90 15.1.1.1.1.1

              bringing the party into disrepute.

              If it was something particularly egregious, like, oh I don’t know, a personal relationship with a convicted criminal ratfucker or touching up little girl’s hair, I might give a fuck.

              • Et Tu Brute

                Well unlike you then I seem to have some standards for people I want to represent me.

  16. Draco T Bastard 16

    When myths of education become reality

    More recently Berliner, Glass and Associates produced a successor to the Berliner and Biddle publication entitled 50 Myths and Lies that Threaten America’s Public Schools – The Real Crisis in Education (2014). In the interim between the two works the influence of student testing has grown significantly and a plethora of vested interests has moved into the education space for ideological, political and financial reasons. Over three decades later the myths identified by Berliner, Biddle and subsequent writers have assumed the status of ‘facts’ in the eyes of many (Sahlberg, 2014), with additional myths/’facts’ added to the mix in a continuous, cumulative fashion, thereby adding to the strength and acceptance of the movement which, as will be seen, is thus self-fulfilling, with myth becoming reality.

    And this is what Charter Schools are for – to undermine and destroy public education so that the profiteers can make even more money from the public purse.

    • Ad 17.1

      Those shareholders had plenty of time to get alternative funding proposals together. They we commercially lazy for too long.

      I have little sympathy for farmer-investors who have had over a decade to force change and/or amalgamate with the other dominant players and/or persuade central government to amalgamate the industry together for meat, just as they did for dairy in the formation of Fonterra.

      Instead the Chinese stepped in, which means structural change for the meat industry is now permanently ruled out.

      The Chinese takeover has upsides as well as downsides.

  17. Gangnam Style 19

    This is when I first heard of Mike Sabin, was when he used to go on telly talking about the harm of P,

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/462985/Alcohol-and-tobacco-kill-more-than-P

    http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0805/S00476/methcons-meth-solutions-a-con.htm

    &

    http://www.methcon.co.nz/

    SO there’s your National/Meth scare link from 2008. Does Methcon offer testing/cleaning services as well? I did read somewhere that basically there is only one tester in the whole country.

  18. Chooky 20

    Monsanto…those bastards

    https://www.rt.com/in-vision/343977-world-march-against-monsanto/

    (oops doesnt the ACT Party support Monsanto ?)

    • Ad 20.1

      Monsanto are going to get swallowed up by the German seeds multinational Bayer. They’re just holding out for something in the region of $130 per share.

  19. Enough is Enough 21

    Go Steven Adams

    Awesome result

    Much respect

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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
    5 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
    5 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
    6 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
    7 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
    10 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
    21 hours ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    1 day ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    1 day ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    1 day ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Two bar blues
    The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • AT Need To Lift Their Game
    Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
    6 days ago
  • Christopher's Whopper.
    Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Funding hole for tax cuts growing by the day
    The pressure is mounting on the Government as it finalises its Budget Policy Statement, but yet more predicted revenue ‘goes missing’. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Climate Commission has delivered another funding blow to the National-ACT-NZ First coalition Government’s tax-cutting plans, potentially carving $1.4 billion off the ‘climate ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Luxon’s brave climate change promise
    The Government now faces the prospect of having to watch another tax raise the price of petrol when, only six days ago, it abolished the Auckland Regional Fuel tax. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon argued that the regional fuel tax imposed costs on lower-income people with less fuel-efficient vehicles  and that ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    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
    3 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
    5 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
    6 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
    19 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
    23 hours 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
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