Open mike 25/11/2014

Written By: - Date published: 6:30 am, November 25th, 2014 - 221 comments
Categories: open mike - Tags:

greed-is-goodOpen mike is your post.

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

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Step up to the mike …

221 comments on “Open mike 25/11/2014 ”

  1. AsleepWhileWalking 1

    The Law Commission is given another chance now that Collins is no longer around to dismiss their recommendations
    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/63498551/Sex-victim-reforms-back-on-table

    • Draco T Bastard 1.1

      So, National are now doing exactly what Labour said it would do.

      Where’s the attack lines about dropping the presumption of innocence?

  2. North 2

    Guyon Espiner interviewing Russel Norman RNZ Morning Report 6.42 this morning – tetchy-like conflating by Espiner of yesterday’s leak of the guts of the Gwyn Report with the Report’s apparent finding that the Prime Minister’s Office used the SIS to damage political opponent Goff.

    Excellent devil’s advocacy Guyon, or failed facile distraction Guyon. Whichever it is Norman made hay. The Prime Minister’s Office (TODAY’S definition of that term please?) used the SIS for perceived political gain.

    On a day when it is sought to extend the powers of the very agency commandeered by the Prime Minister’s Office (TODAY’S definition of that term please?) for perceived political gain.

    What has happened to New Zealand ?

    • North 2.1

      Ha ! – 7.12 am Suzie Ferguson Morning Report with Nicky Hager…….in her singularly obtuse way seems she too is picking up the ball of – “A leak….a leak…..Oh My God how frightening……give me answers” – (my paraphrase).

      This is not the devil’s advocacy – it’s a framing designed to distract. Who commanded that ? Who said “this is the way we spin it……” ?

      • Paul 2.1.1

        Unbelievable.
        The abject failure of NZ media.

      • Olwyn 2.1.2

        They almost certainly don’t need commands as to how to spin it. The imperative to retain access to the warm, cosy inner circle goes without saying, the question is then about how to frame things accordingly.

      • ghostwhowalksnz 2.1.3

        Notice how the narrative would change if the leak was ‘TO THEM ONLY’

        “we can reveal that……”

        • ghostwhowalksnz 2.1.3.1

          moderation seems to be delaying ordinary items again.
          Normally I dont mention it, but could be because of high level bugging from NSA, you know because they can.

          • Anne 2.1.3.1.1

            Linking to TS and individual posts and comments is also frustratingly slow. It started yesterday…

            [r0b: lprent is working on it as and when he has time…]

      • Tracey 2.1.4

        Given it was leaked yesterday why does the media only notice it today? Advanced knowledge of Keys squeals of labour leaked it?

  3. amiriterawshark 3

    In the aftermath of what’s come out on SIS and PM’s office manipulating information with intent to smear a opposition politician, Labour should vote against the new anti terror laws that this Govt wants to push through under urgency, because it will be abused to spy on ordinary citizens and used to smear political opponents.

    • Skinny 3.1

      Key was very nervous during the election, until Dotcom left him off the hook. The behavior between our spy agency and the ruling Govt is gross misconduct. Key has now been proven to have abused his power and must now face the music.

      Let’s be clear what has happened here in akin to cold war type spying and propaganda. We should be marching on parliament calling for his (head) resignation.

      • Draco T Bastard 3.1.1

        Can’t recall KDC leaving Key “off the hook”. In fact, I seem to recall the revelations that KDC made very public.

    • Colonial Rawshark 3.2

      Labour should vote against the new anti terror laws that this Govt wants to push through under urgency, because it will be abused to spy on ordinary citizens and used to smear political opponents.

      Labor in Australia had no issue supporting Tony Abbott in pushing through new empowering surveillance and terror legislation. Makes you wonder doesn’t it.

      • Draco T Bastard 3.2.1

        I stopped wondering some time ago – the old Labour parties around the world are part of the status quo that we need to change but we won’t get that needed change from those parties.

    • Murray Rawshark 3.3

      Labour would vote against them anyway, except that they no longer deserve to call themselves Labour. The laws are bad, and unnecessary.

  4. Jrobin 4

    Dirty Politics fallout perfect setting to show the contrast between Labour’s new leader and Key. The honest straight shooter versus the slippery striptease artist.

    • @ jobin..

      “..The honest straight shooter versus the slippery striptease artist..”

      that pretty much summarises why little will beat key in ’17…

      ..(labour could adopt it as a major theme of their ’17 campaign..)

      • adam 4.1.1

        Just keep calling him Honest John.

        Every time he says anything the left and the whole left, should respond by calling him Honest John, no sarcasm, no spinning it, nothing, just delivered plain and flat day in and day out for the next 3 years.

  5. Dont worry. Be happy 5

    Morning Report went with the leak that Key was conspiring with the SIS to win an election…..by attacking the obvious target, the leader of the Green Party…..not kidding….over the morality of leaks.

    They then “ran out of time”. Indeed. The MSM media have long run out of things….ethics, courage, mana, relevance. Not sure if they have gone back to this “item” which looks suspiciously like a consitutional crisis in any democracy….hurled radio across room.

  6. sabine 7

    Dear Leader and Dear wannabe Leader English misspoke when they announced a surplus. It instead is going to be a small deficit. A very very small deficit, so small that it could be mistaken for a surplus.
    Math, who is still doing it?

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11363728

    also too, As long as dear Leader has a 100 million + for a Flag referendum and pretty brightly colored currency he has his legacy sorted.
    Priorities, Dear.Leader.has.them.

  7. Whateva next? 8

    Morning report TRYING to swing the narrative saying the “leak” of the IGIS report “dirty politics” …are you avin a laff?

    • Paul 8.1

      Yes they keep going on about it. Someone is writing their scripts. 4th reference to this terrible leak as Andrew Little is asked if he knows about it. Someone needs to challenge these media charlatans about their narrative.
      A leak a few hours before the release of a document that is already coming out or using the spy agencies to attack and smear your political opponents.

      Which is more important Radio New Zealand?

      Does anyone esle find Suzie Ferguson to be the most shallow of interviewers?
      Always trying to trip up…

    • ghostwhowalksnz 8.2

      Thats the same line that is appearing in Slater as well.
      Goff leaked SIS report, Slater leaked Goff briefing. Nothing to see here.

      You can tell Key has been busy yesterday afternoon. Somehow the secret briefing to Goff , which is misrepresented, is all the same as a peek ahead of an embargo of an official investigation.

      As usual the Key and his office hides his fingerprints over their background work on opinion leaders.

  8. Jenny Kirk 9

    Sorry to break into this thread – its fascinating what’s starting to come out … and some in the media are finally starting to do their jobs properly!

    But I have an urgent request to make of Standard Posters. Thanks.

    The deadline for getting basic submissions into the Env.Protection Agency is Thurs 27 Nov – to object to a multi-national bringing in yet another pesticide which will further harm BEES. Bees are hugely important to our eco-system, and are already being threatened with varooa and other factors. So its important to try and get as many submissions in as possible. They need only be brief. Extra information is below the first link:

    Submissions close on November 27. NO time to waste ….. please send in a basic submission opposing this application

    Bayer/Syngenta are trying to apply for a licence to import a pesticide that has been banned in the EU and is linked to millions of bee deaths… If we send in enough submissions objecting to this, we have a chance to stop them.

    Links:

    http://www.epa.govt.nz/…/Submissions-sought-on-Poncho-Votiv…

    http://www.epa.govt.nz/…/APP202077_APP202077_Application_Fo…

    http://agri.eu/bayer-and-syngenta-are-suing-eu-on-pesticide…

    • cricklewood 9.1

      Hi Jenny, just want to preface this by saying I think all neo insectides should be banned in nz…
      But Poncho is already widely used in nz and the product they are trying to now import is of lower concentration and contains bacillus which is a beneficial fungus that has much promise in terms of an organic pest and disease control.
      It seems to me that this product is an improvement on current practice and in the absence of any movement towards banning this chemical group entirely blocking this product will be counter productive.

      • Jenny Kirk 9.1.1

        Taken a while for me to get back to you Cricklewood – but I don’t think NZ should rely on Bayer’s statements that Poncho Votivo is going to be better than just using ordinary Poncho as they have been doing up to now.

        Bayer’s credibility on this has been questioned in the UK. See comment in Wikipedia about it.

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

        ” Following on the release of the EFSA report in January 2013, the UK Parliament has asked manufacturer Bayer Cropscience to explain discrepancies in evidence they have submitted to an investigation.[49] ”

        And it seems fairly obvious from other information on the same Wikipedia site that this is fairly new science, and needs further investigation. NZ is too often used as an “experiment” for such things – to the detriment of our eco-systems.

        ” ….. In 2012, several peer reviewed independent studies were published showing that neonicotinoids, including clothianidin, had previously undetected routes of exposure affecting bees including through dust, pollen, and nectar; that sub-nanogram toxicity resulted in failure to return to the hive without immediate lethality, the primary symptom of colony collapse disorder; and showing environmental persistence in agricultural irrigation channels and soil.

        “These reports prompted a formal peer review by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which stated in January 2013 that neonicotinoids, including clothianidin, pose an unacceptably high risk to bees, and that the industry-sponsored science upon which regulatory agencies’ claims of safety have relied on may be flawed and contain several data gaps not previously considered. Their review concluded, “A high acute risk to honey bees was identified from exposure via dust drift for the seed treatment uses in maize, oilseed rape and cereals. ……… ”

    • Draco T Bastard 9.2

      Your links don’t work as you haven’t copied the entire links. You’ve copied the shortened ones that are used for display purposes.

  9. Jenny Kirk 10

    apologies re bold above in my request for submissions against Poncho Votivo – meant only to have one line bold – to draw it to your attention.

    [karol: fixed]

    • Clemgeopin 10.1

      @Jenny and @Cricklewood.

      Contradictory posts there! Confusing!…..Made me think of Hamlet…’To be or not to be’!

  10. Penny Bright 11

    Let’s look at the underpinning LAW covering the role role of the SIS (and the Prime Minister?) on this now. about to be proven case of VERY ‘Dirty Politics’:

    New Zealand Security Intelligence Service Act 1969

    http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1969/0024/latest/DLM391813.html

    4AA Political neutrality of New Zealand Security Intelligence Service

    (1)The Director must take all reasonable steps to ensure that—

    (a) the activities of the Security Intelligence Service are limited to those that are relevant to the discharge of its functions:

    (b ) the Security Intelligence Service is kept free from any influence or consideration that is not relevant to its functions:

    (c) the Security Intelligence Service does not take any action for the purpose of furthering or harming the interests of any political party.

    (2) The Minister may not direct the Security Intelligence Service to institute the surveillance of any person or entity or any class of person or entity within New Zealand.

    (3) The Director must consult regularly with the Leader of the Opposition for the purpose of keeping him or her informed about matters relating to security.

    (4)Subsection (2) prevails over section 4(1).

    ______________________________________________________________________________________

    Haven’t yet been able to find the section which covers ‘Offences’ and ‘Penalties’ if this above-mentioned LAW has been breached ….

    Not sure either, to whom to make a complaint – but I’m sure I’ll find out …..

    Penny Bright
    ‘Anti-corruption whistle-blower / Public Watchdog’

  11. i am actually quite looking forward to doing my commentary on questiontime this afternoon..

    ..and i don’t recall feeling that much before…

  12. tricledrown 13

    The illegal recording of Phil Goffs breifing backfires on the SIS,s WarrenTicker John Key and his Office and Cameron Slater.
    Goff should go to the Police!
    Afterall Slater has managed to have the Police search Nicky Hagers private property!

    • alwyn 13.1

      What is this “The illegal recording of Phil Goffs breifing” you are talking about?

      • tricledrown 13.1.1

        Mentioned on 9 to noon this morning that the SIS were secretly recording Warren Tuckers breifing to Phil Goff.
        No warrant was sought if their was Key has more questions to answer.

        • Colonial Rawshark 13.1.1.1

          Sheeezus having a crew in the SIS illegally, unaccountably and covertly surveil Opposition political leaders for purposes unknown.

          It’s all fucking down hill for our democracy.

  13. johnm 14

    “Free” markets radically restrict choices to individual consumption…exaggerating the most negative aspects of human potentiality. It turns you into someone who is dedicated to maximizing individual gain without social concern… creates a sociopathic society and is completely unsustainable:

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

  14. Weepus beard 15

    “I have received an unreserved apology from the NZSIS for providing incomplete, inaccurate and misleading information to my office.

    “I’m aware that current NZSIS Director Rebecca Kitteridge has also apologised to Phil Goff, which is appropriate.

    – John Key

    John Key gets the SIS to apologise to him too, conveniently diluting the spectre of any further criticism and framing him as just as much of a victim in all this as Phil Goff, in fact more so since he adds Kitteridge’s official apology to Goff as an afterthought to his own apology.

    Staggering.

  15. Weepus beard 16

    Comments go to moderation after an edit. What’s up?

    Edit: All my comments now going to moderation. Have I done something wrong?

    [r0b: No not you, a database glitch is causing random problems – many are affected – we’re trying to keep clearing the queue]

    • lprent 16.1

      As r0b said it is a problem in the db. Probably caused by some recent ‘upgrades’ causing a deadlock clash.

      I spent way too many hours last night just sorting out what the problem is. It turns out to be a deadlock clash on a particular record in the options table. Hopefully some of the changes I have put in will prevent the outright death of the site as happened yesterday morning. But I’m unsure of which modules are triggering the clash. It has probably been there since last week, but required an increase in traffic for it to become apparent.

      During this evening, I will be searching for the problem module I will be turning off modules one at a time, then seeing if the issue shows up.

      It is complicated in that it only happens semi-randomly and only on the working system. I need a sufficient number of comments happening at the same time to see it, and I will need to be in position to read the error logs to see if what I am doing is working. In other words I have to be at home rather than work.

      This evening…

      • The Al1en 16.1.1

        And I thought I had dramas with a cpu fan alert on this mornings boot up.
        Sure sounds like it won’t be, but hope the fix is as quick as my 30 seconds connector re-seat.

  16. weka 17

    Re welfare payments and voter enrollment, has anyone heard anything about this other than what’s below? I’m hoping that Labour are being quoted out of context rather than this being a true reflection of their furthering bene bashing and stigmatisation of an underclass of people. Also looks like there is a racism element.

    Anyone got futher info on the judge’s review into Te Tai Tokerau?

    Welfare payments could hinge on enrolling to vote, if the Labour Party gets its way.

    It says New Zealand should follow other countries and make enrolment a pre-condition of state support – like benefits or state housing.

    Labour’s made the suggestion in its submission to a judge’s review of voter enrolment and turnout issues in Te Tai Tokerau.

    Party general secretary Tim Barnett also believes people aren’t enrolling to avoid their address becoming publicly available – including to debt collectors.

    He says more people should be able to join the private electoral roll.

    https://nz.news.yahoo.com/election/a/-/25591287/no-welfare-without-enrolling-to-vote-labour/

    • The Al1en 17.1

      First I’ve heard about it, but on principal, I’m not really opposed. One have to have an ird number among other requisites to get state assistance, so enrolling to vote doesn’t mean much in the big scheme of things. The right to not vote isn’t hindered, so no big deal is my gut reaction.
      Of course if getting payments from winz or ird IS reliant on actually voting, then that’s a different matter entirely and one I’d rally against.

    • Te Reo Putake 17.2

      Sounds like an excellent idea. Beneficiaries are the most disenfranchised sector of our society and a group that has so much to gain from the political process, so anything that gets them involved has to be welcomed.

      • weka 17.2.1

        The way I read it, if you’re not enrolled you can’t access welfare. Or if you are already on welfare and you don’t enroll, then WINZ would stop payments. Given that WINZ have a very long history under Labour and National govts of treating beneficiaries like shit, to me this looks like it will yet again marginalise and penalise the most vulnerable people.

        If Labour wants to get better enrollment, use a carrot not a stick.

      • b waghorn 17.2.2

        As they enrol they could offer some free political ed courses to cover why we should vote and how MMP works.

        • Draco T Bastard 17.2.2.1

          They should probably make that a compulsory part of their 13 week How To Get A Job courses.

      • Karen 17.2.3

        I think it is an absolutely appalling idea that would further demonize beneficiaries. Why should people who need state assistance by forced to enroll? Encouraged, as in having the forms available and getting them completed if the person agrees would be okay , but I really object to making it a requirement of receiving help.

        • Te Reo Putake 17.2.3.1

          Well, change the law then, Karen. It is a legal requirement to be enrolled. If a person wants state assistance, why shouldn’t they be required to follow one of the most basic rules of being a kiwi?

          • weka 17.2.3.1.1

            That’s not the issue at all TRP. It’s whether one sector of society should be punished if they don’t enroll (and an already badly marginalised sector at that).

            If you want to force people to enroll, do it across the whole population not just beneficiaries.

            “If a person wants state assistance,”

            Would you include students, pensioners, public servants etc too then?

            • Colonial Viper 17.2.3.1.1.1

              And this is how Labour goes down the track of making ACC claimants, beneficiaries, etc jump more and more hoops, just to stay still.

            • Tracey 17.2.3.1.1.2

              And dock a fine from wages through IRD for everyone who didnt enrol or vote… Simple integration of ird and electoral data…

              • Colonial Viper

                Integrating IRD and electoral data…in this age of big brother surveillance, what could go wrong!

                • Tracey

                  I agree. Merely pointing out Labour isnt making a point of punishing this group for not enrolling, when they could. Ergo a deliberate choose to focus on beneficiaries. I struggle with how Wekas point has been taken by many here.

            • greywarshark 17.2.3.1.1.3

              is getting r and d state assistance? Science grant? Depreciation write off?
              Special new laws that say everybody has to work any hour required for someone marginally different, and called an employer. Arts and sport charity tax writeoff? Should be for those aiding the poorest!

            • Draco T Bastard 17.2.3.1.1.4

              If you want to force people to enroll, do it across the whole population not just beneficiaries.

              Essentially, we already do. If you’re not enrolled and the Electoral Commission knows your address you will be told to enroll on pain of being fined. I don’t know if they actually fine people as I always enroll but I have received their threats.

        • weka 17.2.3.2

          “Encouraged, as in having the forms available and getting them completed if the person agrees would be okay , but I really object to making it a requirement of receiving help.”

          Thanks for getting the point Karen.

        • Draco T Bastard 17.2.3.3

          Why should people who need state assistance by forced to enroll?

          You do understand that it’s already compulsory to be enrolled don’t you?

          • weka 17.2.3.3.1

            of course. But some people here are failing to see the difference between the existing situation and what Labour are supposedly proposing. The existing situation targets all NZers who come into contact with the electoral commission*. There is no targeting by class. Labour are suggesting an additional scheme that specifically targets a class of people with threat of additional penalities. I’m really surprised to have to be explaining this tbh.

            *I seem to remember things like change of address forms at the PO triggered this, don’t know if they still do.

          • Murray Rawshark 17.2.3.3.2

            So what? WINZ is not a law enforcement agency. They’re supposedly there to help people, but Labour once again sees a chance to bash the disenfranchised of our society.

            • Te Reo Putake 17.2.3.3.2.1

              Yes, Murray. “Bash them” by making them do something they have to do by law and takes all of 5 minutes. Oh, the humanity.

              • Murray Rawshark

                What is your ACT membership number? You should be “sense of entitlement” spokesperson and take a bit of the load off Seymour.

                • Te Reo Putake

                  Hilarious. Keep fighting to keep the poor down where you think they belong, Murray. You’re doing great work, even though it must be hard to see through the ragged little eyeholes in your white sheet.

                  • Colonial Rawshark

                    TRP – you are using the classic dirty politics framing of “you Lefties WANT the poor to STAY POOR for your own ends”

                    • Te Reo Putake

                      Er, nope. Interesting perspective, though, CV and you’ve made me stop and think for a moment or two.

                      It’s been a weird thread in a lot of ways. Most people commenting clearly want to be on the side of the beneficiaries, but a few seem to think filling out a form is beyond them. It’s the condescending from the likes of our xenophobic friend Murray that I’m finding hard to take. This came from the judicial review into Te Tai Tokerau. It’s the poor and the young in Te Tai Tokerau that aren’t on the roll. Think how that disenfranchisement effected mana, for example. If this was already policy, Hone might still be an MP.

                      Enrolling is a civic duty. It’s not too much to ask that when people ask for support from the state, that the state asks them to fulfill a minor, but important, clerical matter. It’s easy to do, and a one time thing. It’s a practical matter, as well. How else do you get to these people? Go round knocking on doors? Another naff yoof video? If the non-enrolled are coming to WINZ to apply for a benefit or whatever, then they are right there and available to fill out the form. It’s just not a biggie in practical terms, but it does seem to be part of the social compact between citizen and country.

                    • weka

                      TRP, you generally have interesting perspectives that you bring to ts, irrespective of whether I agree with them or not. But in this case you are just being an ignorant, entitled prick who obviously has no clues about how WINZ operates on a day to day basis, nor how increasing prejudices against beneficiaries are impacting both individuals and the culture as a whole.

                      “Most people commenting clearly want to be on the side of the beneficiaries, but a few seem to think filling out a form is beyond them.”

                      You said going online or going to the PO. Some people can’t access those things easily. It’s already difficult to get on a benefit, not because people aren’t trying to access entitlements, but because WINZ excels at putting barriers in the way.

                      Telling people that they now have to go to the PO can make that much harder. I’ve lived in places where there is no PO and no WINZ office. Some beneficiaries or people in need of a benefit don’t have cars, or are too ill to travel, or too socially isolated to get a ride. Some struggle with paper work, or having the right ID. There will be issues around ‘case managers’ being arseholes and using this new hoopjumping in mean and puntive ways.

                      In many cases that extra requirement that you think is easy peasy will mean the difference between the person getting the benefit this week or not getting it until next week or the week after, or sometime down the track. For people under the poverty line that can be catastrophic, either they don’t have enough food for that time, or they have to cancel an urgently needed doctors visit for themselves or their child, or their phone gets cut off because the telco are arseholes too.

                      I’m not making this shit up, it already happens all the time and you want to give WINZ another stick with which to either beat or trip up people.

                      I don’t believe you don’t care, so I assume you are incredibly naive about WINZ actually works. As I said upthread, it might be different if Labour could bring themselves to even mention fixing the clusterfuck that WINZ is. But then all they have to do in this instance is do what Little has suggested instead of what you are suggesting ie have the forms there to be used on a voluntary and supported basis.

                      “How else do you get to these people?”

                      “these people” Seriously?

                    • weka

                      Part 2,

                      “It’s just not a biggie in practical terms, but it does seem to be part of the social compact between citizen and country.”

                      Right, so target all citizens. But you’re not suggesting that, why is that?

                      Instead you are suggesting that the govt target a distinct class of people. This class is already subjected to heavy duty prejudice from many in NZ, so any furthering of separating this class from everyone else will just reinforce the prejudice. I’m guessing that you fail to appreciate how much of a problem this is.

                    • Murray Rawshark

                      There is nothing condescending or xenophobic in what I have said. I don’t know where you keep your head, but if it was in a place not too dark, you might have some idea how WINZ treats people. Giving them extra powers to cut people’s income is ridiculous.

                      I’m glad you find what I say hard to take, because you are out of touch with reality here.

                    • RedLogix

                      Nah – I agree with TRP.

                      If you are in the WINZ office looking state assistance – it’s not onerous to be filling out a simple form at the same time. And no-one is suggesting that WINZ could withhold any benefit because you’re missing ID or some detail necessary to enroll.

                      FFS – beneficiaries are grown ups, not children who are all rights and no responsibilities.

                      It this sort of stupid, stupid line that just fucks off the majority of New Zealanders.

                    • weka

                      Sorry Red, but you have no idea how WINZ actually functions.

                      If the govt sets policy that receiving a benefit entitlement is dependent on voter enrollment, then it can be guaranteed that some ‘case managers’ will use that to deny people entitlements. This kind of thing happens all the time already. It won’t matter if there is a memo saying it’s ok to grant leeway for wrong ID etc, some WINZ staffers will still deny entitlements.

                      There is a lot of discretion in WINZ on how to enact policy, which is why you get such huge discrepancies from office to office or area to area on how beneficiaries get treated, or entitlements get given.

                      There is no problem with providing forms for people to be encouraged to fill in, but as soon as you tie it to entitlements there will be abuse by staff and people falling through the cracks because the system is so fucked up. All for what? You think people forced to enrol on pain of loss of income are actually going to be incentivised to vote? For the govt that just treated them like shit? Really?

                      If you want to change voting culture in NZ, then patronising, damaging policy from govt is not the way to do it.

                    • RedLogix

                      If the govt sets policy that receiving a benefit entitlement is dependent on voter enrollment,

                      Not being suggested.

                      Yeah WINZ can be a pack of basterds – but that’s a separate matter.

                      And others have also made the excellent suggestion that every time anyone interacts with a government dept there should be an expectation that an enrollment is either confirmed or completed.

                      We need to start taking democracy a lot more seriously in this country. Australia gets along just fine with compulsory voting.

                    • Te Reo Putake

                      Oh, bollocks, weka. If they are applying for a benefit, then they are already filling out forms somehow, whether in person or online. So it’s no biggie to do the enrolment at the same time. You haven’t thought that one through at all.

                      And all citizens are targetted. Have you forgotten that already? It’s the law, d’oh! This is about access to a group of people who are not on the roll. It’s about the practical aspects of getting them on the roll when they are already in the process of interacting with the state.

                      btw, you might be very, very surprised about my circumstances and my current relationship with the welfare system. I’m entitled, but not in the way you seem to think!

                    • weka

                      “If the govt sets policy that receiving a benefit entitlement is dependent on voter enrollment,”

                      “Not being suggested.”

                      Except this is exactly what this conversation is about – whether Labour (or Tim Barnett) suggested that benefits be dependent on voter enrollment. Plus, if you think that’s not true then why did you make the proviso that wrong ID would exempt someone?

                      IF you want to have a conversation about how to encourage or enable beneficiaries to enrol to vote, that’s an entirely different conversation, as has been made bloodly clear on a number of occasions. Stop muddying the waters.

                      “Yeah WINZ can be a pack of basterds – but that’s a separate matter.”

                      No, it’s not. Because if Labour were to suggesting benefits being dependent on enrolment, then that’s being suggested by a party that so far refuses to even talk about how to fix WINZ let alone develop policy, so for all intents and purposes any proposal would be enacted by WINZ as it is now.

                    • weka

                      “If they are applying for a benefit, then they are already filling out forms somehow, whether in person or online. So it’s no biggie to do the enrolment at the same time. You haven’t thought that one through at all.”

                      Mate, you’re the one that thought it was about a trip to the post office. Make up your mind and tell me what you’ve thought through. The look at the real life examples that Murray and I have given and tell me what you’ve thought through about those scenarios.

                      “And all citizens are targetted. Have you forgotten that already? It’s the law, d’oh!”

                      That’s already been addressed at least twice in this conversation. Are you not actually reading what people say? All citizens are NOT being targeted in the way we’re discussing, that’s the whole bloody point of the original comment.

                      “This is about access to a group of people who are not on the roll. It’s about the practical aspects of getting them on the roll when they are already in the process of interacting with the state.”

                      Fine, so make it voluntary then, no problem.

                      “btw, you might be very, very surprised about my circumstances and my current relationship with the welfare system. I’m entitled, but not in the way you seem to think!”

                      I can only go on what I see here, which quite frankly has come as across appallingly in the past half day.

                    • Draco T Bastard

                      If the govt sets policy that receiving a benefit entitlement is dependent on voter enrollment, then it can be guaranteed that some ‘case managers’ will use that to deny people entitlements.

                      No they can’t. When they apply for a benefit and the case manager finds that they’re not enrolled they then have a requirement to go through the form with the applicant making them enrolled at the same time as the application goes through. The ones already on the benefit get a notice through the mail that they have to sign and send to the Electoral Commission.

                      Another option is to make it so that anyone on a benefit is automatically enrolled but this could be tricky with those few who engage in fraud.

                      Fine, so make it voluntary then, no problem.

                      Why? It’s not a voluntary act – people actually have to be enrolled.

      • weka 17.2.4

        “Beneficiaries are the most disenfranchised sector of our society and a group that has so much to gain from the political process, so anything that gets them involved has to be welcomed.”

        Actually no. Beneficiaries under both Labour and National govts for the past 25 years have been increasingly worse off. Treating them like a special caste in NZ whereby they are penalised for not enrolling is completely the wrong way to go about engaging them in the political process in ways that will help them. It just reinforces that the govt (left or right) thinks that they have less value than everyone else.

        • Te Reo Putake 17.2.4.1

          Actually, yes. They have the most to gain from the political process if they participate, precisely because they have got so little from it in recent years. As the old saying goes, if you don’t vote, don’t complain. Your support for keeping beneficiaries disenfranchised is puzzling, weka. One of those rare occasions where you and the right agree?

          • weka 17.2.4.1.1

            You’re not listenting TRP, and you are missing the point of the thread. I completely support the govt enabling beneficiaries to enrol. I don’t in any way support a scheme whereby they would be penalised for not enrolling. This is because (a) many are already too vulnerable to not fall through the cracks, and (b) it further stigmatises beneficiaries in a state that already treats them as an underclass and uses legislation and policy to reinforce this.

            I”m puzzled why you would support that.

            I’m also puzzled as to why you support welfare assistance having increasing conditions beyond need. That’s Paula Bennett’s line.

            You see the scheme and think increased beneficiaries on the roll. I see the scheme and see the people who will end up fucked over by the system, how that will both increase feelings of powerlessness amongst beneficiaries and feelings of antagonism amongst bashers.

            • Te Reo Putake 17.2.4.1.1.1

              Giving people money is not a penalty, it’s an incentive.

              • weka

                Labour aren’t proposing to give people $ for enrolling, wtf are you talking about?

                I am curious to see if you will continue to run this line of benefits being a gift rather than something that all NZers are entitled to, esp because of the irony of you comparing my position to that of a right wingers.

                • Te Reo Putake

                  “Labour aren’t proposing to give people $ for enrolling, wtf are you talking about?”

                  Did you not read your own comment and link?

                  “I am curious to see if you will continue to run this line of benefits being a gift ”

                  Never said that. Are you Phil Ure in disguise?

                  • weka

                    Can’t back up your argument so resorting to ad hominems? 🙄 Plus phil ones at that, how ironic.

                    • Te Reo Putake

                      That’s not an ad hom, it’s pointing out that you did to me what Phil did to you yesterday. Don’t make shit up, weka, you’re much, much better than that.

                    • weka

                      Bullshit. If you’re not running the line that benefits are a gift in return for enrolling, then just clarify.

                      I’ve been extremely clear on what I am talking about and the issues I’ve brought up. You still aren’t getting it.

                    • Te Reo Putake

                      OK, I’ll clarify: You’re running a strawman argument, claiming something I never said. Got it now?

                    • weka

                      No, and that’s just disingenuous debating. Quote what I said and correct it. I don’t know what you are referring to. And by correct it, I don’t mean another smart arse version of ‘you’re wrong’, I mean add something to the understanding in this conversation.

                    • Te Reo Putake

                      Ok, to further clarify:

                      “I am curious to see if you will continue to run this line of benefits being a gift”

                      Never said it and don’t believe it to be true.

                    • weka

                      no, I mean go back to the thing I was referring to and clarify why you didn’t mean what I interpreted it as. I already know you disagree with me, I don’t know why or what you originally meant.

                    • Te Reo Putake

                      I’m not sure what part of my explanation that I don’t think benefits are a gift you aren’t getting. I didn’t say they were, but you said I did say it. Hence my reference to a strawman argument. I didn’t say, it but you attacked me for saying it.

                      Anyway, this is getting pretty circular and the long suffering LP is about to spend the rest of the evening rejigging the site, so probably time to move on. It’ll be interesting to see tomorrow whether this issue is the first crack at Andrew Little from the dirty politics team at Nat HQ. That’s probably the bigger picture.

                    • weka

                      Ok, I’ll explain tomorrow and hopefully you can then clarify what you actually meant.

                      I’m curious what will happen with McQuillan’s Little vs Tim Barnett thing, and what the actual source of all this is.

                      Little has handled it well, here and on twitter. He’s building trust that’s been missing for a long time.

          • Tracey 17.2.4.1.2

            Actually its you and the right who are in agreement. Take a vulnerable section of society seeking help and treat them very differently from everyone else.

            • Te Reo Putake 17.2.4.1.2.1

              It’s treating them the same as everyone else, Tracey. It’s a legal requirement to be enrolled.

              • Tracey

                You are being deliberately obtuse.

                No one else has their income threatened if they dont enrol.

                • Te Reo Putake

                  Wrong, Tracey. If you don’t enrol, your income can be garnished to pay the fine.

                  • weka

                    Still being obtuse. All earning people can have their pay garnered. You support and extra, much more likely penalty for one class of people. A vulnerable class at that.

                    • Draco T Bastard

                      Actually, it’s a much less likely penalty as it can all be done, including the enrollment and automatically putting people on the private list, when you apply for state assistance.

                    • weka

                      Still missing the point. The most vulnerable will be those who fall through the cracks in the system you just suggested. It also doesn’t address the huge number of people already on benefits. There will be lots of beneficiaries that will do ok in what you propose, but the ones that don’t are the ones already being penalised by systems that expect them to behave in certain ways when they can’t. I suspect that you and TRP are largely unaware of the very real barriers that such a system would create for the people most in need of assistance.

                    • Te Reo Putake

                      No, weka, I support an incentive to get people on the roll. It’s an easy peasy process, either online or at the Post Office, and as it’s in the interests of the people concerned, I still find it weird that you would object.

                      ps, best you look up the meaning of ‘obtuse’. It’s not what you seem to think.

                    • weka

                      I think you are being “annoyingly insensitive or slow to understand” (obtuse, from the dictionary).

                      “No, weka, I support an incentive to get people on the roll. It’s an easy peasy process, either online or at the Post Office, and as it’s in the interests of the people concerned, I still find it weird that you would object.”

                      That comment tells me two things.

                      One is that you have no idea how difficult it can be navigating WINZ’s various systems in order to obtain basic entitlements, and the kinds of barriers that might making getting to the PO or online difficult for people needing a benefit ie not ‘easy peasy’. I suspect quite a high degree of ignorance if you can’t imagine any number of scenarios where people would fall through the cracks of an already extremely dysfunctional and punitive system. I would give you some examples but I think it’s obvious that you have no goodwill towards understanding at this point in the conversation. I hope this changes.

                      The other is that you are still not listening to what I am saying. I’m not objecting to the govt enabling enrollment of beneficiaries. That you still suggest this this far into the converation is just bullshit.

                    • Draco T Bastard

                      The system is dysfunctional and so it requires fixing but that isn’t an argument against requiring people to be on the electoral role (which is already compulsory) to receive a benefit.

                    • weka

                      It is when there are better alternatives, and when the compulsory route will make the lives of vulnerable people harder and/or ensure more people fall through the cracks.

                      The compulsory bit is unnecessary, discriminatory, and counter-productive.

                  • Tracey

                    Can you point to Labours media release to make that a formal policy of theirs

    • McFlock 17.3

      aren’t we legally required to be enrolled anyway?

      I haven’t had a think about tying enrolment to benefits (although my reflex thinks it’s ookey), but certainly tack the forms onto every other government form.

      • weka 17.3.1

        “but certainly tack the forms onto every other government form.”

        with what penalties for failing to comply?

        Perhaps workers who don’t enrol could have their pay docked?

        • McFlock 17.3.1.1

          Why bother? Just having a quick section whenever a house is leased, a benefit signed up for, or licence/registration renewed would significantly boost the enrolment stats.

          The real trick would be getting people out to vote.

        • Tracey 17.3.1.2

          Snap! Instant fine deducted by IRD?

        • Draco T Bastard 17.3.1.3

          Perhaps workers who don’t enrol could have their pay docked?

          As with any fines the law is legally able to do that.

          • weka 17.3.1.3.1

            And yet tha state isnt actively pursuing non enrolled, but Labour suggest targeting beneficiaries with penalties.

            • Draco T Bastard 17.3.1.3.1.1

              It does actively pursue the non-enrolled as I point out above. If they find them or not is another question.

              • weka

                By actively pursuing I mean taking money off people. You’ve admitted you don’t know if this currently happens.

          • Tracey 17.3.1.3.2

            Right. But Labour has not chosen to focus on getting that group of people compliant with law under threat of cutting income, have they?

      • The Al1en 17.3.2

        The only problems I see with the plan is that it’s only those on assistance being compulsory enrolled, and is therefore discriminating and privacy (as noted). A better and fairer way would to have ird handle it.
        Everyone has a number and a card from birth (or through residency/citizenship), so they know how old you are, why not every election cycle they send an email or letter to everyone over 18 to verify their details. That way addresses wouldn’t appear on the electoral role, just lots of numbers.

        Too simple?

        • weka 17.3.2.1

          The whole point of my comment was the fact that Labour are targeting beneficiaries and want to use penalties (if the article is correct).

          Whether the govt should be trying to increase enrollments across the whole population is a completely different conversation, so please don’t confuse things here.

          edit, that was a reply to The Al1en whose comment has just disappeared. Now reappeared.

          • Tracey 17.3.2.1.1

            Has Labour published data to support the notion that those receiving benefits are disproportionately represented amongst non registered voters?

            • Murray Rawshark 17.3.2.1.1.1

              Not as far as I know, but several people here seem to be blaming unenrolled beneficiaries for Key winning the election. I’m appalled that people who can think of themselves as being on the left can think like this.

              We have a dysfunctional society where no social contracts are honoured by the government, so let’s bash beneficiaries who don’t feel compelled to participate in it. Bloody great. Hunger macht frei!

              • RedLogix

                but several people here seem to be blaming unenrolled beneficiaries for Key winning the election.

                Speaking for myself – absolutely not.

                The clear message being conveyed is that enrolment is an obligation on all citizens. And that every opportunity should be taken to make it easy and efficient for them to do so.

                And IF it is true that beneficiaries are over-represented in that persistently non-enrolled group, then they would be a logical starting point.

                let’s bash beneficiaries who don’t feel compelled to participate in it.

                They are not children – asking an adult to fulfill a very simple and universally required responsibility is not the same as ‘bashing’ them.

                And I don’t care if someone doesn’t feel like voting – we all have to do things we don’t feel like doing as part of our normal social obligations. I’m appalled that people who can see themselves as being on the left can think like this.

                • Murray Rawshark

                  Winz’s job is to stop people starving, not to punish them for not fulfilling some abstract social obligation. If what has been written here about how WINZ offices act even without this new power has not had any impact on you, I despair.

                  How about building a bloody society that is inclusive and gives all people a reason to participate? Nah, not when we can give some frustrated bureaucrat the power to make their life miserable. FFS.

                  • RedLogix

                    to punish them for not fulfilling some abstract social obligation.

                    Sorry but where did that idea come from?

                    Yes we all know WINZ needs fixing.

                    Want an inclusive society? Well voting for it is a start.

          • McFlock 17.3.2.1.2

            I’d like to see just what Labour are proposing. Media being what it is, it could be anything. Or a proto idea that will morph during policy development into something quite good, like enrolment available at all winz offices.

          • Jenny Kirk 17.3.2.1.3

            As far as I know, this is NOT Labour policy. It might have been a suggestion made to the review committee by an individual, but it has not been debated or decided upon by the Labour Party as a whole.

        • greywarshark 17.3.2.2

          having ird handle it. turn bennies over to the dark side where the quality of mercy is strained. now why don’t the police handle it!

          • The Al1en 17.3.2.2.1

            Yes ’cause case managers have a history of implementing policy with warmth and understanding.

            As an aside, I wouldn’t trust the police to handle the secrecy of vulnerable women very well, so probably best to stick with ird, who have dealings with everyone anyway since forever.

    • Tracey 17.4

      And pensioners?

    • Murray Rawshark 17.5

      Nah. They already find enough reasons to keep from giving needy people their entitlements. That Labour would even come up with this shows just how removed they are from the coal face. They should be thinking about making it easier to get help, not adding more things that incompetent WINZ workers can get wrong.

      • weka 17.5.1

        Interesting that they can suggest this but can’t even bring themselves to mention the need to fix the cluster fuck that is WINZ.

        • Murray Rawshark 17.5.1.1

          They do not want to be seen as being lenient on beneficiaries. I see this as very deliberate. While pretending concern, they are actually making things harder. I’m having a discussion about it on Facebook as well. In reply to someone who is openly Tory, I said this:

          “Have you ever been reliant on a benefit to eat, xxx? They would cut people off, then send them a letter 3 weeks later telling them about it. Then the person, who may actually be enrolled, would have to go into the office, possibly with no money and no public transport. Then, if security let them enter, they’d find that hadn’t brought the appropriate proof……I could go on, but I suspect you’re familiar with Kafka.”

          I’m surprised anyone would fall for it.

          • weka 17.5.1.1.1

            Sometimes I think people who’ve never had to deal with WINZ have cognitive dissonance, because how could something be so inanely dysfunctional with such large dollopings of meanness and cruelty? ‘cos this is NZ right? The kind case manager a WINZ will help you figure out the right forms and ID needed then it’s just a quick trip to the PO, hey presto! Besides, you’ve got nothing better to do, eh?

          • greywarshark 17.5.1.1.2

            @ Murray Rawshark
            Thanks for your efforts for the WINZ victims. It needs people to keep providing examples of their filthy behaviour and directives. It only needs to happen to one person to make it abhorrent, when it is widespread it can be beyond words. From those affected. So someone else needs to keep airing the disgrace.

  17. I did just write a reply that got lost during the latest site whiteout, and I fear, much like the moody blues original lost Knights in white satin, the redo won’t be anywhere near as, to quote their word, perfect.

    I did state it was discriminatory and add the notion of penalties for not enrolling is crass, but in isolation and not part of a new perverted red wedge, it’s not a shocker to comply. If it were benefits pegged to child school attendance or other such nonsense the game would change dramatically.

    Yes targeting beneficiaries is unfair, that’s why I suggested an alternative through ird. Solutions not problems and hopefully not misleading. If the system were implemented, unfair or otherwise, I would hope privacy for domestic violence victims and others with a need to keep their details secret, unlike the rest of us, would be argued for and demanded as part of the scheme.

    Other than that, at present I don’t share your fears or outrage, but will watch for any policy gossip or announcements if the paper ever gets firmed up, reserving my right.

    [lprent: Sorry about that. I suspect something is just not right on the system. Looks like I will have to take the system offline tonight and rebuild. Something that I have been trying to do incrementally for weeks will now be somewhat more abrupt. ]

    • The Al1en 18.1

      No worries, it probably wasn’t half as presentable as I’d imagined, so no tears over it. Truth be told, the second version was lots better, so make of that what you will about the first.

      I know I’m not alone in appreciating your craft and your dedication to maintaining and improving the site. :thumbs up:

  18. (questiontime-commentary..)

    http://whoar.co.nz/2014/new-zealand-parliament-list-of-questions-for-oral-answer-tuesday-25-november-2014/

    (excerpt..)

    ..finlayson nuts off a bit in reaction to tureis’ questions..where turei accuses the current spook-head of ‘interfering in the 2014 election’..

    ..’wrong and malignant’..next question ‘especially malignant’..’speaking filth like that’..

    (ed:..if he were able to shoot lightening out of his fingertips..which i am sure is a power he wd like to have..finlayson wd have zapped turei..eh..?..as it was he left spat-tacks splattered all over his desk..heh..!..)

    • RedBaronCV 19.1

      And Finlayson’s nasty quote seems to be the lead on whatever radio station I had on. balanced coverage – no way

  19. Draco T Bastard 20

    The Tech Worker Shortage Doesn’t Really Exist

    “There’s no evidence of any way, shape, or form that there’s a shortage in the conventional sense,” says Hal Salzman, a professor of planning and public policy at Rutgers University. “They may not be able to find them at the price they want. But I’m not sure that qualifies as a shortage, any more than my not being able to find a half-priced TV.”

    It’s about the US tech sector but I wonder how much it applies to different sectors here such as builders and labourers in Christchurch.

  20. chris73 21

    So to catch up with all the comings and goings, Judith Collins exonerated, John Key shown to have done nothing and the left wailing and gnashing their teeth in impotent fury

    So really its business as usual

    I’ll say Little probably did the best he could, in regards to the caucus reshuffle, with the paucity of talent he had though with Robertsons track record of supporting past Labour leaders finance might not have been the best thing to give him

  21. at first i was rather shocked at the decision by nat-rad to put tau henare on their panel..

    ..given how he is so often such a braying-boofhead..

    ..but after just sitting thru his second appearance as a panelist..(which inspired me to email mora asking if he had any henare-regrets..)

    ..i am now a supporter of him continuing in that role..

    ..with constant repititions of how he is a former national party person..

    ..with/by using his own words..

    ..henare could not be a clearer example of the serious lack of any depth in the national party gene-pool…

    ..and that is a good thing he is doing..

    (oh..!..b.t.w..henare said he shouldn’t have said lorde danced like an epileptic.that he should have said she dances like she is on ecstasy..

    ..good that he cleared that up for us..eh..?..)

    ..henare..a hoot a minute..

  22. Paul 23

    Tr***

    [lprent: Move it to OpenMike. ]

  23. Paul 24

    Mora’s interview of Judith Collins should be a reason for him to leave RNZ now.
    He is not a journalist of any calibre, just a light entertainer..with the emphasis on light.

    • yeah..wilson does all the heavy lifting..

      ..i thought that one was interesting for how resolutely collins threw slater under the bus..

      ..he cd well be off her xmas card list…

  24. Ross 26

    Regarding employers stealing from workers: Supermarkets Refund Docked Pay

    I asked yesterday, what is missing from this story?

    The Labour Party.

    Now all the news is about the government stepping in and putting this right. They get kudos. Labour gets to remain irrelevant!

  25. chris73 27

    I’m astounded that in spite of the warnings, in spite of what the moderators keep saying posters on here still think they can tell the moderators how to run the blog

    • felix 27.1

      I’m astounded that in spite of you knowing that pretty much nobody who reads your drek is convinced that you comment in good faith and are worth taking notice of, you continue to waste your time commenting here.

  26. Te Reo Putake 28

    Brown tongued headline of the week:

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/63525346/Cameron-apologises-to-Collins

    Cameron? Cameron!?

    I suppose it’s possible that the jonolist concerned is related to Slater, or a close personal friend, or is, perhaps, his lover, but really, that’s a little familiar, doncha think?

  27. Jenny Kirk 29

    Okay folks – I thought there was something weird with the comment that Labour would insist on people being enrolled to vote to be able to get a benefit : So I contacted Andrew Little and asked him. This is his answer.

    So be aware in future please – dirty politics in the media (and no doubt – also elsewhere) is alive and well and still playing in NZ !!

    Hi Jenny,
    They’ve made this up. They asked me whether electoral enrolment should be compulsory if you claim a benefit. I said it was compulsory regardless, but that enrolling on the electoral roll at the same time as you sign up to a benefit would make enrolment efficient. I said nothing about the benefit being conditional on enrolment. I have asked the media team to correct what ZB has written, but obviously it hasn’t changed yet. I will follow up.
    Andrew
    Andrew Little MP

    • Olwyn 29.1

      Thanks for that Jenny and thanks also to Andrew for the prompt clear reply.

      • Colonial Rawshark 29.1.1

        Indeed. It didn’t help with experienced Labour Party members like TRP going “hey what a great idea!!!”

        • weka 29.1.1.1

          That’s for fucking sure. Was enlightening though.

        • phillip ure 29.1.1.2

          @ col raw..

          ..+ 1..

        • Te Reo Putake 29.1.1.3

          Oh dear, how embarrassing for the few commenters here who reckoned it was “bene bashing” from Labour!

          • weka 29.1.1.3.1

            looks like you are the on doing the ‘phil’ here mate.

            go reread the opening comment.

            • Weepus beard 29.1.1.3.1.1

              Not sure what’s got into him. He backs that nonsense then calls a kid a huge scary man and backs US cops in the Ferguson case.

              Time for TRP to go to bed.

              • Te Reo Putake

                Oh, dear, beardie, you obvious didn’t watch the video of the ‘kid’ assaulting a shopkeeper. The ‘kid’ was 6ft 4 and weighed 280 pounds. He was definitely a scary dude, especially when robbing people. But none of that means I backed the cop (no ‘s’, he was on his own). You seem to have misread or misunderstood what I actually wrote. I have real doubts about what the cop did and whether the killing was justified. As you rightly pointed out, 12 shots is a lot. But as I pointed out, it’s America and that’s pretty much par for the course. Cops there don’t stop shooting till you go down. It’s their culture, it’s their training.

                • RedLogix

                  Exactly – in their gun soaked culture almost every interaction with a suspect has the potential for lead to start flying.

                  US cops see themselves very much in an arms race with their own citizens.

                • Colonial Rawshark

                  Maybe Brown was killed in a justifiable police shooting, TRP.

                  Was it also justifiable that his body was left lying uncovered bleeding on to a baking hot street for hours?

                  Was it also justifiable that the police officer stayed on duty on full pay after the shooting as if nothing had happened?

                  Was it also justifiable that the police appear to have lied multiple times about the actual circumstances around the shooting eg the relative positions of Brown and the police officer during the confrontation?

                  Was it also justifiable that despite widespread public anger and concern it has taken so long for the system to decide that no charges are answerable by the police officer?

                  etc

                  Basically TRP this is not just about anther young unarmed black man getting shot dead by some white guy with a gun and a badge (that happens all the time in the USA), this is about an entire system which treats young black men like worthless undignified shit.

                  • Te Reo Putake

                    Some good questions, CV. I don’t have all the answers but I’ll give a couple a crack:

                    The body being left there for four hours is probably Ok for forensic reasons, but it should have been covered out of respect. It wasn’t “baking hot” btw. 24-28 degrees according to weatherunderground (I checked just to see).

                    Full pay? Absolutely justified. That’s standard in employment law in most western countries.

                    Police lies? There don’t appear to be any, though the cop that shot him seems to have tried afterwards to say that at some point in the incident he came to the conclusion that Brown was the robber in the convenience store. That was seen as irrelevant by the jury, anyway (ie. they seemed to believe that the initial struggle, the running away and then the running toward the cop were grounds for the use of force, whatever crime Brown had already committed).

                    Time: The grand jury system is what they use in America. It takes time. At the end of it, 12 jurors decided there were not grounds for a prosecution. According to the Independent, the grand jury listened to 70 hours of testimony from about 60 witnesses, including three medical examiners. They also heard from Darren Wilson, the officer who fired the shots. It met on 25 separate days.

                    Was Brown a worthless undignified shit? Well, possibly. He was certainly a thief and a thug. But, that’s beside the point, because that behaviour wasn’t known for sure by the cop at the time. The real question is whether the shooting was justified in the circumstances at the time. Here in NZ, I would think not. In the US, apparently it was.

                  • greywarshark

                    Thanks colonial r 8.41 am
                    I feel that all the facts you have stated illuminates this horrible Missouri happening.

                    Why always the South? (Rhetorical. Don’t try to answer or explain. I already know.) Can’t they ever get a more humane and fair approach to all the people there? (Despair.)

                • Colonial Rawshark

                  Oh, dear, beardie, you obvious didn’t watch the video of the ‘kid’ assaulting a shopkeeper. The ‘kid’ was 6ft 4 and weighed 280 pounds. He was definitely a scary dude, especially when robbing people. But none of that means I backed the cop (no ‘s’, he was on his own).

                  But thanks for the description of how Brown was a big scary black criminal dude.

                  • Te Reo Putake

                    Did I say black? Why, no, no I didn’t. Naughty CV, that’s so very Brentist 🙂

                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cir05JyEsV0

                    Have a look for yourself and make up your own mind about whether he’s a scary dude:

                    http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=464_1408123040

                    Yep, that’s a scary dude. Dude certainly scared the shopkeeper.

                    • Colonial Rawshark

                      Jeezus you’re a shite.

                      A guy takes stuff from a convenience store, no weapon used but just grabs it, and its relevant to him being killed 10 minutes later by excessive police force, how?

                      You do think excessive police force was used against “scary” Brown, right? Because being black and “scary” is clearly justifiable grounds for being shot.

                    • Te Reo Putake

                      Have a coffee and re-read my comment. I specifically said it wasn’t relevant.

                    • Colonial Rawshark

                      But do keep mentioning it, anyway, for balance.

                      It’s quite clear that Brown did assault Officer Wilson. Why that resulted in Wilson shooting Brown to death at a distance of 10m and probably more, is the question.

                  • Te Reo Putake

                    Fuck, that’s a weird response, given that you’re the one perpetuating it, CV. That Brown was being a thug a few minutes before his death is actually irrelevant to the shooting, (though it might go to Brown’s state of mind) so why don’t you have a crack at responding to the more substantial matters? If you’re not keen, that’s fine, I do have other stuff to do this morning, but I wouldn’t mind have a reasoned discussion anyway because it’s a fascinating situation.

                    • Colonial Rawshark

                      That Brown was being a thug a few minutes before his death is actually irrelevant to the shooting

                      I personally would’ve thought it was irrelevant. But thanks to you for helpfully posting up video links to his earlier convenience store theft and assualt.

                    • RedLogix

                      Both of you are correct. It isn’t mutually exclusive for Brown to have been behaving like a thug and threatening police – and the fact that young black people are treated like shit in the USA.

                      And their armed to the fucking teeth gun culture just about ensures bad outcomes.

                      When I’m not here I tend to take virtual hikes, vicariously enjoying the accounts of other people’s great adventures. One of them the CDT (Continental Divide Trail) takes you through the state of New Mexico for a month. It took me a while to understand exactly why so many of the journals expressed a very real fear of straying off the public route. (It’s not especially well marked in many places).

                      The reason is simple. Get found on a private ranch and the owner is quite likely to just shoot you on sight.

            • Te Reo Putake 29.1.1.3.1.2

              How so? And why do you think I was referring to you? You didn’t use that term or write in that vein, that I recall.

              • weka

                Because you’ve been misrepresenting me for half a day and have now retrenched into 2 – 3 sentence comments that don’t clarify. Fair assumption on my part I think, but I am ok with being wrong if you want to be more specific what you meant.

                • Te Reo Putake

                  I haven’t misrepresented you even once, but I have disagreed with you. To clarify for you, I was laughing at Murray being fooled and leaping to the assumption that Labour was “bene bashing”. No fool like an old fool.

      • greywarshark 29.1.2

        Andrew Little would be wise to answer such a question obliquely, saying that would be an overbearing approach, and undemocratic if just applied to beneficiaries. And comment that it might be an idea to encourage all teenagers to enrol during a civics course at school to help them to understand their role as citizens, perhaps as a pre-enrolment exercise which would result in a form being sent to them on attaining voting age.

    • weka 29.2

      Thanks so much Jenny! And Andrew. I’ll pass this on on twitter where I picked up the original story.

    • weka 29.3

      Ok, here’s the 3 tweets, in sequential order, from ZB’s Laura McQuillan, where the story originates.

      “Labour wants to see voter enrolment as a prerequisite to getting welfare, state housing and other government support”

      https://twitter.com/mcquillanatorz/status/536617756301336576

      “Labour leader & council disagree on voter enrolment – Barnett says it should be welfare pre-condition; Little says WINZ could help sign-ups”

      https://twitter.com/mcquillanatorz/status/536641098865590273

      “Asked if I was joking when I tweeted that Labour wants benefits tied to voter enrolment. No. Tim Barnett is the one pushing it.”

      https://twitter.com/mcquillanatorz/status/536659845118578688

      • ankerawshark 29.3.1

        Lying toads (the media). They are spinning again, trying to trip Andrew up.

        • weka 29.3.1.1

          Hard to know what’s gone on tbh. I’d like to see the judge’s review referred to, and also what the source is for the Tim Barnett bit.

          • Jenny Kirk 29.3.1.1.1

            Morning Weka and others (its now Wed 25 Nov) – just to clarify things re policy making in the Labour Party.

            Tim Barnett is the general secretary, and does NOT have a say in making Labour policy – that’s up to the members and MPs – so whatever ZB’s McQuillan was saying re Barnett suggesting any sort of policy via WINZ, he had no authority to say this (if, in actual fact, he did ….. which I’m wondering about).

            • weka 29.3.1.1.1.1

              Ok, so McQuillan was wrong to say ‘Labour’ intends etc, and should have said Barnett. She said in twitter this morning that her reporting was accurate. I’ve asked where the reporting is (apart from link in opening comment). I assume it was on air, but not sure how ZB archives.

    • miravox 29.4

      Thanks Jenny.

      I agree with Andrew. I reckon it would also be efficient if enrollment forms were available and encouraged when people sign up for many government services…. especially driver licence renewal and passports.

      Also a link to enrollment on most government websites with a little positive reminder about rights and responsibilities in a civil society.

    • RedBaronCV 29.5

      And how quickly does efficent become obligatory. Oh that’s right beneficiarys are not allowed to make adult decisions for themselves anymore. It’ll be shoved in front of them and they’ll be told they will be prosecuted otherwise. The Nact’s will pick this up, lets right wing businesses have all lower income addresses.

      • weka 29.5.1

        Yep. And unless a Labour govt starts addressing the real problems within the WINZ culture and tory proofs new policy, the next National govt will just enable WINZ to fuck with the benes using the new requirements.

    • McFlock 29.6

      lol

      good call on the fast response, too

  28. Weepus beard 30

    Just read that the police officer who shot and killed the lad in Ferguson, MO let go 12 rounds.

    12 rounds, and they still let him off.

    • Te Reo Putake 30.1

      What difference does the number of shots make? He was hit six times, and kept coming after being hit at least once. The question isn’t how many were fired, but was it legal for the cop to fire at all. Apparently it was. But then, it’s the States. Might have been different here, but I’m not entirely sure.

      btw, he wasn’t a ‘lad’. He was a fucken huge 20 year old man. Have a look at the video footage of him robbing and assaulting a shopkeeper a few minutes before his death:

      http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=464_1408123040

      That’s one scary dude.

      • Te Reo Putake 30.1.1

        Whoops, 18 yrs old, not 20.

      • Weepus beard 30.1.2

        I’m no expert but 12 attempts to subdue an agitated person says “him or me” rather than proper police training.

        • Te Reo Putake 30.1.2.1

          Yep, does seem a lot, though two shots were in the car when the initial struggle took place (one bullet grazed Brown’s hand). I’ve just been trying to find out what kind of gun it was, without success. There is no reference to the cop reloading, which suggests it was a 12 bullet clip, which I would have thought was unusual. It also suggests small calibre bullets, hence Brown not being stopped after initially being shot in the torso.

          Just as an aside, in my teenage years, I used to belong to a pistol club and good quite good at it. We used to help train the local cops. Back then, they were taught to fire in pairs (ie two shots at a time) and aim for the torso, because it was more likely that they would hit the person they were aiming at. One thing I remember is being told that when someone is hit, it’s not like in the movies and they do not get blown off their feet. Forward momentum continues, which seems to be the case with Brown.

          By the way, I suspect “him or me” probably is proper police training in the states! The cop says in his testimony that they are taught not to back down from a threat.

          • McFlock 30.1.2.1.1

            standard size magazines for semi-auto pistols can be anywhere from 10-20 rounds for anything from 9mm up.

            Not that the cop thought the kid was a roobbery suspect at the time.

  29. greywarshark 31

    Ergo he has time to waste, or it is part of his comfort blanket of survival in today’s uncertain times – he gets certainty of being from the reliability of a reaction from the inmates here when he pokes his stick at us. I have a poke at TS commenters, they react, therefore I am.

    • Weepus beard 31.1

      Nice diagnosis of Chris there. I was interested when he said he was busy at work. I wonder what his employer thinks of his forum activities?

      • McFlock 31.1.1

        [furtively adjusts tie]
        let’s not start telling employers that blogsites exists, k?
        I might have some ‘splaining to do… 😀

  30. Murray Rawshark 32

    I am not, and never will be on the side of people who think it’s a good idea to encourage people by potential starvation and homelessness. I’m appalled at some of the posts supporting this idea.

  31. weka 33

    That was quick!

  32. lprent 34

    Back up and running. The question now is if change the database from MySQL 5.6 to Mariadb 10.1.1 will fix the issue. The Aria XtraDB data base is meant to be a whole lot better at deadlock handling. If not then I will shift it to the Aria db

    I guess we will find out if the auto moderation comments continue.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    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 Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    5 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    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
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity
    This year’s Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity and the contribution of Pacific communities to New Zealand culture, says Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti.  Dr Reti announced dates for the 2024 Pacific Language Weeks during a visit to the Pasifika festival in Auckland today and says there’s so ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-19T02:17:16+00:00