Open mike 26/03/2015

Written By: - Date published: 6:32 am, March 26th, 2015 - 214 comments
Categories: open mike - Tags:

imageOpen mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).

Step up to the mike …

214 comments on “Open mike 26/03/2015 ”

  1. Paul 1

    The NZ Herald spends 3 weeks ignoring Northland with stories of XFactor, The Bachelor and Top Gear, then when a poll comes out it simply can’t ignore, it employs its puppet political editor Trevett to minimise the issue.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11422947
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11423073

    Sleazy rag for the corporate elite.

  2. the two lessons labour must take away from this northland bye-election are:

    1)..how to work with other progressive-parties to vote tactically to defeat the right..

    2)..and that they should be starting now –

    ..to work up a how-to-save/help-the-provinces plan…

    ..(and not just aspirational-bullshit/words..)

    ..’cos – as northland shows – safe tory seats can be up for grabs..

    • Paul 2.1

      Great to have you back phil

    • Adrian 2.2

      1)..how to work with other progressive-parties or any other old mountebank that comes along to vote tactically to defeat the right..

      .

    • felix 2.3

      Hi phil,

      Another lesson I’ve been thinking about is the difference between National’s messaging and Winston’s messaging.

      National’s is all about wanting to govern. If you don’t vote for us, we might not be quite so much in charge any more.

      Winston’s is all about wanting to represent. They’re not listening to you, they’ll listen to me.

      I realise that the circumstances don’t translate exactly to a general election, but I think there’s a lesson for everyone in those underlying themes.

      • Olwyn 2.3.1

        Well spotted Felix – I think you are right. Not only that, I think the line between wanting to govern and wanting to represent may well be the most important in a democracy. Key’s regime has relied on people mistaking one for the other. Winny has put pressure on that idea. That is one of the things that makes the by-election more exciting than most.

        • Draco T Bastard 2.3.1.1

          +1

          National are authoritarian and thus for them being in government is telling people what to do.

    • Anne 2.4

      ..how to work with other progressive-parties to vote tactically to defeat the right..

      Lesson number one.

    • At the risk of repeating myself …
      http://thestandard.org.nz/peters-for-northland/#comment-990796

      I find it funny the way there’s this narrative floating in the air – “Labour never talks to its allies on the left! Labour should act in a more united way!” – but in this case, the fact is that *Winston* should have talked to Labour earlier if he wanted a clear field.

      • mickysavage 2.5.1

        Yep and as has also been repeated here and elsewhere an overly aggressive support by Labour for Winston may drive swinging right voters back to the nats.

        • greywarshark 2.5.1.1

          Tell them to put their schlongs away then. Stop swinging and sit tight and concentrate on the place where the cross-hairs find the best model for the real future that extends to 2050 and beyond. Then fire at the other lot.

      • felix 2.5.2

        It’s not just something Labour needs to do. It’s something every party who wants to change the government needs to do.

        For example as I noted the other day Labour and The Greens have been doubling up questions in the house which is a terrible waste.

      • marty mars 2.5.3

        “if he wanted a clear field”

        I think that is a key point – imo he didn’t particularly want or need a clear field. The clear field would have been advantageous to labour as the largest opposition party because it would have mitigated any ambiguity regarding who to vote for. But I’m not sure how low the labour vote has to go up there before someone goes – whoops.

    • Chooky 2.6

      +100 p u…i missed your incisive commentary

  3. felix 3

    Serious question:

    What is the best role for Grant Robertson in the shadow cabinet / actual cabinet?

    He’s a very talented guy and he seems to be working hard in finance, but I don’t think it’s his thing. There must be a portfolio that’s a better fit.

    • millsy 3.1

      Tertiary Education.

    • adam 3.2

      I never understood why Grant never took on the welfare portfolio. He’s passionate, he’s at his best when fighting for the underdog, and he could change hearts and minds if he threw his all at it.

      It’s a incredibly tough position – it would require him to bring his A+ game. As the Tory scum constantly engage in – hate the benny game. Just a thought.

      • Welfare/social development has become one of those weirdly gendered portfolios, which is pretty much the only reason I can come up with for Anne Tolley getting it after Bennett.

        • Puddleglum 3.2.1.1

          That’s an interesting observation Stephanie.

          I’d assumed that it was National, in particular, wanting to leverage the view that women, in general, are caring. Therefore, any ‘tough on beneficiaries’ policies could be disguised as ‘tough love’.

          But your comment also suggested to me that it might be the prominence of ‘solo Mums’ in the rhetoric about ‘welfare’ and ‘welfare dependency’ that is behind this ‘gendering’ of the role.

          ‘Welfare’, I’d hazard, today more readily conjures up DPB recipients rather than the unemployed in many people’s minds.

          Further, when it comes to the unemployed, unemployment rate fluctuations make the counter to ‘tough on beneficiaries’ approaches easier to articulate: that is, what is needed is jobs rather than tougher benefit measures.

          By contrast, numbers on the DPB are less easily explained by changes in the economy (though they are still related, indirectly, through general social dislocation leading to pressure on relationships, abuse, etc.).

          Therefore having a woman front getting tough primarily on other women becomes a tactic to avoid charges of sexism in welfare policies.

          There’s also the fact that much welfare ‘toughness’ is aimed at ‘youth’. Once again, a woman fronting such policies can be blurred by the connoted notion of ‘motherly care’.

          • Stephanie Rodgers 3.2.1.1.1

            +1 to all that, and especially your last paragraph: can you imagine the things Bennett has said in the past coming out of Steven Joyce’s mouth, or Simon Bridges’? It would read far less for-your-own-good “benevolently”.

        • adam 3.2.1.2

          Odd, ant it. Patriarchy will do strange things to people.

    • Sport? He might be just the guy to save rugby from its terminal decline.

      • Draco T Bastard 3.3.1

        Personally, I’m in favour of rugby’s terminal decline.

        • Colonial Rawshark 3.3.1.1

          I think they should commercialise the whole enterprise even more, raise ticket prices further and bump up the price of venue beer another $2.

        • b waghorn 3.3.1.2

          The thing killing rugby is there’s to much bloody rugby and there’s no full on tours playing mid week games against the provinces .

    • Anne 3.4

      He’s an analytical thinker. He did a great job unraveling the various strands of the GCSB saga last year.

    • Lanthanide 3.5

      What has he even done in finance? Is there something recent he’s done that is making you say this? Or is it the lack of anything that is making you say this?

      • felix 3.5.1

        Just that when he’s in the house challenging English and Joyce it doesn’t seem like he’s thinking on his feet. It seems like he has his lines rehearsed, like he’s been cramming for a test, and isn’t that comfortable going off-script.

        Having seen him operating far more naturally, comfortably and skillfully in other areas I can’t help thinking that the finance portfolio is a waste of his abilities.

    • get him working on a comprehensive plan to regenerate the provinces..

      ..devolving central-govt to those provinces wd b a good place to start..

      ..a plan that will be ready to present to the electorate in ’17…

      ..and i repeat – not just words/aspirational-bullshit..

      ..and if they need buildings in those provincial towns – for this to happen..

      ..a universal basic income wd free up all of those work and income palaces..for such a much more useful purpose..

      .eh..?

    • BLiP 3.7

      Education with the promise of Foreign Affairs if Labour gets in next time, I reckon.

      That’s because isn’t Finance like the No. 2 spot? Anything which looks to him like a demotion could be problematic so would probably have to be done softly-softly. He’s been clambering up the Parliamentary ladder since arriving in the Beehive Bubble back in 1999. Since obtaining the Wellington Central seat from his old boss in 2008, he’s spoken for State Services, Arts, Culture and Heritage, Foreign Affairs, Tertiary Education, Health. and, I think, Employment,

      But, yeah, Blinglish is just laughing at him. Not a good look.

      • phillip ure 3.7.1

        i hear that robertson is a ‘brain’..and possibly more left than many wd imagine..

        (both good qualities..)

        ..but in all the time i have been doing commentaries on q-time –

        ..i have rarely – if ever – seen him gain any traction – against anyone…

        ..in any portfolio-role..

        ..and this was the main reason i discounted him for the leadership..

        • Chooky 3.7.1.1

          yes …Grant the Robertson is becoming more and more attractive as we run down the list

          …i for one regret voting for Little…turned out to be more Little Labour…no coalition cooperation and no shakeup of Spies

          • Colonial Rawshark 3.7.1.1.1

            Don’t be too regretful. Grant and his allies in caucus, who have helped taken Labour to this point over the last few years, would have sidled up with the establishment powers even closer and faster.

            • Chooky 3.7.1.1.1.1

              +100 CR….Yes you are so correct!!!…thanks for reminding me….and I was/is a Cunliffe and Nanaia Mahuta Labour supporter first and foremost

      • felix 3.7.2

        “That’s because isn’t Finance like the No. 2 spot? Anything which looks to him like a demotion could be problematic so would probably have to be done softly-softly.”

        Yeah there is that perception and it’s an unhelpful one. It’s not like it’s step up the pay scale.

        Really the most important job is the one you’re best at. I’m sure if Grant was asked where he thinks he’s got the most to offer, he wouldn’t say finance.

  4. northshoreguynz 4

    What’s with all the pop up ads. They’re everywhere and a fucking nuisance.

  5. millsy 5

    I hope everyone remembers that I was the first one either on the blogs or the media to call Winston standing for Northland.

    • what date was that..?

      ..so i can check my whoar-archives..

      ..’cos i called him both standing – and winning – and the reasons why – pretty early on..

    • rawshark-yeshe 5.2

      I do believe you did exactly that Millsy .. I remember quickly replying to you with a Go Winston message and specially I recall because it was against the general grain of what was happening ! Well spotted Millsy !!

    • alwyn 5.3

      What a lot of enthusiasts claiming part of the glory.
      No doubt they are all followers of the comment most often attributed to JFK.
      “Victory has a thousand followers, defeat is an orphan”.
      http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/johnfkenn110295.html

      Anyone willing to say that they were responsible for claiming that Labour and the Greens were sure to win the last General Election?
      I seem to remember lots of predictions of very high percentages for Labour and the Greens.

      • Clemgeopin 5.3.1

        “Anyone willing to say that they were responsible for claiming that Labour and the Greens were sure to win the last General Election?
        I seem to remember lots of predictions of very high percentages for Labour and the Greens”

        Yes, I was one of them. And I was wrong and way off. Shit happens!

        This is what I had, in August, guessed/estimated/predicted the election result would be:

        http://thestandard.org.nz/leading-voices-tv-debates/#comment-863295

        • alwyn 5.3.1.1

          Congratulations for telling about it.
          Personally I think that I am never wrong.
          I only remember the things I get right.
          Thus I have no memory at all of ever having got something wrong.
          Like most people I guess.

  6. felix 6

    Pretty smooth move from Winston yesterday, announcing a bill to remove name suppression from pedophiles.

    He said there had been many cases of sexual violence where the offender hid “behind a cloak of secrecy imposed on the basis that secrecy protects the victim”.

    “In cases where the victim wants exposure of the crime and not secrecy, the sub-judice rule, name suppression and the legal cone of silence will be removed.

    “In addition to this measure, we will also introduce a sex offender register, so parents and families can know if one of these offenders is in their community or in their neighbourhood,” Peters said.

    That’s got to be worth a few votes in Mike Sabin’s old electorate.

    • mickysavage 6.1

      I wonder if he will turn up to Parliament today?

      • felix 6.1.1

        I suspect he would only want to be there when Key is. Unless he’s got something special he wants to say, of course…

      • veutoviper 6.1.2

        Don’t think so. Winnie has been announcing his daily schedule days in advance on Facebook and Twitter.

        Today he has a full schedule up Nprth.

        https://www.facebook.com/winstonpeters/photos/a.192328297459972.57555.155656867793782/1086963464663113/?type=1

      • phillip ure 6.1.3

        @ m.s..

        probably not – thursday q-time is for the second-stringers – from all parties..

        ..(except of course – the/that dweeb from act..)

      • North 6.1.4

        No. Saw him in Kaikohe lunchtime today. In the bus, no actually, inside the Chinese eating place opposite where the bus was parked…….outside the RSA. My ‘Means-To-An-End-MMP-Democracy” buzz was well satisfied by this consummately professional character who appeared to be in fine fettle !

        “All bullshit !” some might say…….Well maybe but at least I’m not being required to totally misconfigure my respect settings as in the case of ThePonceKey. At least you can meet Winston without Joyce and Osborne crowding down on you recommending you genuflect !

        Anyway, it’s not inapposite that a guy with whakapapa in the North going back 300 hundred years might represent Northland. Or are we gonna be stubbornly ‘pure’ and have MMP a cry for “More Mendacity Please” ?

        The ever vaunted ‘Invincibility’ starts to crumble the second Winston gets elected !

    • outofbed 6.2

      I heard Sabin resigned to “spend more time with his family”

    • weka 6.3

      Smooth is one word for it. Opportunistic is another.

      • felix 6.3.1

        Not mutually exclusive…

        • weka 6.3.1.1

          true. I haven’t looked at the bill to see its worth, but people using sexual abuse of children for political gain is fucked up. Popular though.

          • Colonial Rawshark 6.3.1.1.1

            Winston figured out a perfect way to point out the hypocrisy of National’s ‘law and order’ ‘personal responsibility’ tropes. And given how charged the subject area is, it could be called “fucked up”, it could also be called politically courageous because from the UK example we know what happens when you let “prominent” people get away with this kind of criminal behaviour unchecked.

            • Chooky 6.3.1.1.1.1

              +100 CR…good points…I do not believe pedophiles should have name suppression…and yes “politically courageous”

              (it always puzzles me the antipathy some people have for Winston in impugning the worst motives to him….he has always come in for a lot of covert racism imo…and of course the Nacts loath him)

              • rawshark-yeshe

                I think Winston is suggesting no name suppression for felon or victims when the victims do not wish it. Would be very good, but also allows victims of incestuous pedophilia to be protected if they or the one healthy parent want it for them. Excellent I think, meaning no more name suppression because of ‘being famous’ or ‘prominent’.

          • felix 6.3.1.1.2

            To be clear weka, when I said it was a smooth move I meant he found a way to talk about [r0b:del] without talking about [r0b:del].

            I’m not commenting on the value of the bill, and as neither of us have seen it I presume you aren’t either.

          • Pasupial 6.3.1.1.3

            weka

            I think it comes back to what Felix said at comment 2.3:

            National’s is all about wanting to govern… Winston’s is all about wanting to represent.

            There is a clear interest in this issue in Northland voters. With some seeing the continued name suppression of Prominent New Zealanders’ accused of child sex offending as being due to political interference rather than a concern for the victims’ wellbeing.

            Contariwise, from MS’ March 20th post:

            One of the legacies of Mike Sabin’s time in Parliament has resurfaced. He claimed to be responsible for the development of a private member’s bill where the right to silence would be compromised if the complainant was charged with certain offences against children. If the bill is passed an adverse inference can be drawn if the defendant exercised the right to silence.

            http://thestandard.org.nz/national-wants-to-take-away-our-right-to-silence/

            The difference between the two approaches seems clear to me in this instance. National being focused on removing citizens’ right to a fair trial, NZF on consulting with the victims of crime during court decisions regarding their privacy.

    • rawshark-yeshe 6.4

      there was great applause when Winston spoke about it in the main street of Russell …

  7. weka 7

    Anyone else having trouble editing their comments? I’ve lost my permissions for the past few days.

    edit, but only some of them it seems. Maybe the ranty ones with 😈

    edit edit, Lynn this is one I couldn’t edit http://thestandard.org.nz/peters-for-northland/#comment-991059

  8. ankerawshark 8

    RE Grant Elliot and the cricket. Yes amazing play from Grant E, holding his nerve, hitting the winning six.

    Just as good if not better is the man he has been shown to be.

    1. Compassion and empathy for the losing team. “It could have been me sitting on that field crying”. His automatic response to go to the guy lying on the field (you can’t rehearse that).

    2. His comments about why he got into cricket “it wasn’t the wickets or the runs, but it was the team comradery. I want to be remembered as a good team member not for how many runs I scored”

    3. Watching cartoons the next morning with his four year old and wheeling his young baby around in a pram to help get him to sleep, day after major cricketing triumph.

    THIS IS SUCH A GOOD MODEL FOR OUR YOUNG MEN AND FOR ALL OF US. Its about empathy, compassion, working as part of a team and looking after our children. Go Grant Elliot. A true hero.

    ps I have used quotation marks, but haven’t quoted him verbatim.

    • Puckish Rogue 8.1

      Bet all those Elliot nay sayers are being very quiet now but good on Jonation Millmow for admiting to being wrong about Elliots selection

    • Hami Shearlie 8.2

      I said the very same thing yesterday – Grant Elliot is the very best we have imported in a long long time!! Great cricketer but an even greater person – one for kids to emulate and be proud of!!

  9. ianmac 9

    Mai Chen shines a bit more light on the St Bedes boys. Not as straight forward as it seemed:

    “The rowing case does not change the ability of schools to discipline their students for misbehaviour as long as the school follows due process and ensures that the particular punishment proposed was not disproportionate.

    In this case, the judge found that the school had not carefully considered all of the individual circumstances for each of the boys….
    The court said that “it is at least seriously arguable that to make the decision based on the emailed report of a head coach who was not present when the incident took place, without interviewing the boys in question or the other participants, and without gathering information on the consequences of the decision to assess whether it was proportionate to the alleged misbehaviour was unfair and in breach of natural justice”
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11422882

    • mac1 9.1

      Does the fact that the two young men involved were on a good behaviour bond from antics at the previous Maadi Cup alter how a decision is made and the outcome?

      As for the consequences of the action. First, it was serious enough that a similar incident breaching airport security got a rocket for a senior cabinet minister, and secondly to have not punished a second breach of rules with the consequences having been already spelled out, would really handicap a school’s internal discipline and also in the the end disadvantage the boys concerned.

      Further consequences are to the school. St Bede’s does not need further publicity of this kind. I am an old boy of the College. It was not then bagged in the opinion columns as a school for the elite or for the rich. I went to school with the sons of North Canterbury farmers and Lyttelton watersiders both.

      Now it is seen as a school of privilege emasculated by litigious parents producing spoilt and narcissistic brats.

      I knew a few St Bede’s rowers. They trained fabulously hard and were successful. I never heard of any misbehaviour from those guys. I wonder what they would think of these two?

      • logie97 9.1.1

        The uninitiated out there might like to see what is involved in drawing up a RAM for an excursion these days – all because of these sorts of parents. And then despite their elected Board of Trustees approving them, the parents still leap up and down if their little one gets injured.

    • logie97 9.2

      Yep saw that comment. Who’d be a teacher/school wanting to arrange or participate in inter-school events these days. Since Picot (and sadly Lange’s reforms) the profession has been well and truly screwed.

    • ankerawshark 9.3

      I am sorry Ianmac. I beg to differ on this.

      These boys broke the law. The school responded quickly. I think Mai Chen is writing from a legal point of view, which of course is her job, but it doesn’t make it right or a helpful stance.

      From a parenting point of view, what these boys have learnt is that they can do something quite serious ( a criminal offence) when they are already on a warning from previous behaviour. That those who are responsible for the boys, (the school, its a school trip) can be over riden by using money and a good lawyer. This is a very poor outcome indeed.

      I am not sure why a school should have to follow due process under such circumstances. They only have to make sure that they don’t break the law themselves e.g use corporal punishment.

      The parents should have told there kids they would have to wear the punishment.

      I

  10. greywarshark 10

    Compare the result of a school banning the inclusion of a pupil of sporting merit in an important school away game, because that pupil’s parents couldn’t afford the expensive blazer that was part of the prescribed team uniform, to the golden boys dealt with above. Now is there natural justice in the difference of opportunity to get their chance between these two cases?

    • ianmac 10.1

      You are right about the privilege of the few greyshark.. (It is estimated that the injunction would have cost $20,000.) The apparent escape of the two young men must be a very poor life-lesson for them.
      The young men must be held accountable. Absolutely.
      The crime is not in dispute by anyone.
      The poor process is what is at stake here. If a student is caught with say drugs at school he is still entitled to a process before sentence is carried out. The more serious the crime the more important the process must be.
      I guess in this case had the school been a bit more careful with the process the courts would not be involved. (eg:Maybe the teacher in charge should have spoken to the boys concerned?)

    • alwyn 10.2

      Do you have an example of a case where someone was banned for not having a blazer, or is this just a hypothetical you have made up?
      If so what was the school and what was the final result?

  11. Please note as JMG states, “… this post is about attitudes toward science…”

    Scientists have by and large treated the collapse in scientific ethics as an internal matter. That’s a lethal mistake, because the view that matters here is the view from outside. What looks to insiders like a manageable problem that will sort itself out in time, looks from outside the laboratory and the faculty lounge like institutionalized corruption on the part of a self-proclaimed elite whose members cover for each other and are accountable to no one. It doesn’t matter, by the way, how inaccurate that view is in specific cases, how many honest men and women are laboring at lab benches, or how overwhelming the pressure to monetize research that’s brought to bear on scientists by university administrations and corporate sponsors: none of that finds its way into the view from outside, and in the long run, the view from outside is the one that counts.

    …That is to say, I don’t agree with the anti-vaxxers, the climate denialists, the creationists, or their equivalents, but I think I understand why they’ve rejected the authority of science, and it’s not because they’re ignorant cretins, much as though the proponents and propagandists of science would like to claim that. It’s because they’ve seen far too much of the view from outside.

    http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.co.nz/2015/03/the-view-from-outside_18.html

    It is a very thoughtful and interesting post not least because of some of the ‘discussions’ held here.

    • Colonial Rawshark 11.1

      JMG is always good, but on the matter of the failure and decline of science in modern society, he is spot on.

      • DoublePlusGood 11.1.1

        Give me science over lies, fraud and ignorance any day of the week. At least when people try fraudulent science, science has a tendency towards outing that in the long run.
        Also, I recommend Demon Haunted World by Carl Sagan for y’all on here. It’s an exemplary laying out of the benefits and importance of science, the dangers of magical thinking and pseudoscience, how to detect bollocks, and the consequences of neglecting scientific education of the general public. It also discusses the importance of science communication.
        A book that similarly underlines the important of communicating science to the public, how fraud in science and pretend science fields alike operate, and how the media can improve on reporting and be more responsible in this area in general is Bad Science by Ben Goldacre.

        • weka 11.1.1.1

          “Give me science over lies, fraud and ignorance any day of the week.”

          That’s nice, but it misses the points. One is that people outside of the science culture have good reason to not let science’s authority rule. Good reason.

          The other is that science perpetuates degrees of lying, fraud and ignorance all the time, and this is part of the good reason why people don’t trust it. This doesn’t mean that science is inherently corrupt, it means that it’s sufficiently corrupt to have lost its authority. When scienceheads like yourself accept that, we can do something about it. As long as you are in denial about it, it’s not going to change.

          • DoublePlusGood 11.1.1.1.1

            The main thing with science is to foster a culture against authority. You are right that the public shouldn’t be considering scientists as authority figures, just as they shouldn’t anyone else, really. All scientists should be doing is seeking evidence, evaluating it, and proposing policy/solutions/decisions to come out of that, in a transparent manner for public/official debate and examination.
            The problem comes when any of those things get violated – something is decided without evidence, the evidence is incorrectly obtained or presented to the public, evidence is evaluated with bias, information is concealed from public, official and scientist scrutiny. Any time someone just gets more favour because they’re ‘the expert’ there’s the potential for objectivity to be lost. A culture of objectivity needs to be fostered.
            Of course, that works against human nature, and we see that everywhere outside of science as well. Science at least does have a tendency to revisit things, and out old lies – the whole aim of the scientific method after all is to prove things through evidence, to re-examine conclusions, to question authoritarian proclamations. Science needs to do that better. But at least the core fundamentals are there in its methodology, which simply isn’t true in other fields.
            Homeopathy, for instance, is a field where people make up bollocks that sounds sciencey, ignore that actual science has proven that homeopathy cannot work, people hide evidence from public scrutiny, and refuses to acknowledge mountains of evidence that show it does not work. That’s no way to do things. When the same occurs in a scientific field, there will be scientists who will vigorously criticise the flimsy science. That should be encouraged further, and transparency of information should be encouraged further, as scientists can’t exactly criticise, say, a drug company with dubious studies supporting the use of a drug if those studies are not open for criticism.
            When the light of such criticism is not available and so decision makers and the public cannot make appropriate decisions, then the public is being dealt a great disservice and this erodes public confidence in science and decision makers.
            That is no argument in favour of pseudoscientific bollocks though. What would be the point in doing science properly if we do not hold everything else up to the same standard? That is why I will always critique fraudulent practises, be they within accepted medicine, or outside.

            • Colonial Rawshark 11.1.1.1.1.1

              Homeopathy, for instance, is a field where people make up bollocks that sounds sciencey, ignore that actual science has proven that homeopathy cannot work, people hide evidence from public scrutiny, and refuses to acknowledge mountains of evidence that show it does not work. That’s no way to do things.

              Oh fuck off. The intelligent well educated stupidity and prejudice you spilt here under the self-proclaimed banner of “objectivity” is amazing. For starters I’ve never met a homeopath who tried to make what they do or how it works “sound sciencey”. And I’ve never met a user of homeopathics suggest that they were taking them because they were impressed by how “sciencey” homeopathy is. That is entirely your projection.

              Cluebat: the status of science and technology in the modern world is so mediocre now, being characterised as “sciencey” or “scientific” is as much a liability as it is an asset.

              Now back to the basics of why people do often choose homeopathy. Its quite often because they have found that medical interventions fuck their bodies up or don’t work for them or best of all, fuck their bodies up AND don’t work for them, and so they go to something else which does a better job. Maybe the homeopathy is only a better placebo, but at least its not destroying their health further.

              • Colonial Rawshark

                …and I’m speaking as someone who doesn’t even use homeopathy and would be very unlikely to in the foreseeable future…

  12. Short history lesson

    They’re following in the footsteps of their ancestors who were persecuted and illegally imprisoned. Descendants of south Taranaki iwi Ngāruahine were in Dunedin today to visit sites of significance – including caves where scores of their ancestors were incarcerated.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jh7JLHQKk6k

    Very powerful and emotional and sheds light on our past and the way to the future.

    and imo THIS should be top of the news – this work is happening every day around this country and it is ignored for the most part. Imagine if citizens understood this – my how this country would improve.

    • Bill 12.1

      I only heard of people gathering there by accident – someone on the bus had seen them in passing. They remarked (and I agree), that the council could have at least closed the road for the duration so that people didn’t have traffic driving through the middle of them. (It’s not a vital road – the next turn on the left constitutes only the most minor of inconveniences.)

      Also. Rongo Rock was more or less obscured by vegetation until a couple of years ago. I don’t know who tidied the area up. And yeah…that wall around the harbour is being conveniently buried under asphalt by the on-going road widening project.

    • Hateatea 12.2

      I was there on a previous trip by Te Atiawa, I think, and it was deeply emotional and moving. The links between Ngai Tahu and Taranaki hapu was cemented forever in those holes in the rocks. Ka maumahara tonu.

      PS Marty, how do you get the macrons to work here?

  13. Ovid 13

    Bribery and corruption a growing threat in NZ

    Deloitte’s full report is here.

    Of the respondents with more than 5,000 employees, 47% have experienced a domestic corruption incident in the last five years. This compares to 20% reported by respondents with less than 5,000 employees

    The top five types of incidents account for 69% instances and are:
    i. Undisclosed conflict of interest (16%)
    ii. Supplier kickbacks (15%)
    iii. Personal favours (14%)
    iv. Inappropriate gifts/hospitality (13%)
    v. Providing confidential organisational
    information to a third party (11%).

    This is serious. It is a case of inadequate enforcement by the government. Further, by playing favourites in their lackluster dealings with the private sector, this government has helped to create this environment and, indeed may well have behaved corruptly itself.

    • Draco T Bastard 13.1

      One thing that seems we need is a review and update of corruption laws in NZ and a good educational push as to what corruption is and what people can and should do about it when they find it.

    • gsays 13.2

      hi ovid, while not exactly the same, i think this is related to blips post on keys lies.

      by this i mean the slipping standard of; langauge, the increased spending on spin doctors by government departments, the secret lobbying of mps…

      it is off putting and teaches our youth that this behaviour is ok.

    • freedom 14.1

      National proves their lack of a real plan by once again chasing the horse that bolted. A Government with a plan would have likely included these new measures in the recent changes to employment legislation. Changes which were strongly objected to by many groups, and which highlighted the very scenarios these measures are meant to curtail.
      I wonder how much of this new policy was only written in the last week?

  14. AsleepWhileWalking 15

    US has voted to send non lethal aid (night vision equipment, humvees, etc) to Ukraine.

    Check out what NATO is seeking to defend in Ukraine, and why (if there is a reason) the US is provoking war against Russia:

    http://www.brotherjohnf.com/archives/381397

  15. BLiP 16

    The investment chapter of the TPPA has been leaked at Wikileaks. Among the revelations are details of a planned creation of a secret, unaccountable court and the granting of vast, internationally applicable legal powers to corporations.

    Download leaked chapter in PDF format here —> https://wikileaks.org/tpp-investment/WikiLeaks-TPP-Investment-Chapter.pdf

  16. Clemgeopin 17

    Broking News:

    John Key is flying directly from Japan to Dargaville. Because of the long almost sleepless journey, he has decided that soon after coming down to Earth, he will lie some more and feel quite relaxed after that.

    He says Osborne is an underdog. So, soon after embarking, he will announce another, a ‘little bit’ longer bridge, to surpass the S.Franscisco golden one and connect Broadwood to Tuatapere. Both Key and parrot say that Northland deserves it.

    But that is not all. There is more! The most exciting news titbit is that Key is bringing along, for moral support, Park Geun-hye Hangul:박근혜 as well as 内閣総理大臣, Naikaku-sōri-daijin.

    Rumour has it that Elizabeth 2 is also considering making a quick lightening visit to Kawakawaka at the end of the day over the weekend. At this stage that is likely to be on either Saturday or Sunday.

  17. adam 18

    Stephanie, well written piece on the hand mirror really needs to read by everyone here.

    Wonderful analysis Stephanie, I really enjoyed it.

  18. Puckish Rogue 19

    Hes good is Winston:

    A new bill to remove name suppression from paedophiles when the victims want their attacker named, is to be introduced to Parliament by NZ First.

    Leader Winston Peters, who is in Northland campaigning as for the by-election in which he is a candidate, announced the new policy today.

    He said there had been many cases of sexual violence where the offender hid “behind a cloak of secrecy imposed on the basis that secrecy protects the victim”.

    “In cases where the victim wants exposure of the crime and not secrecy, the sub-judice rule, name suppression and the legal cone of silence will be removed.

    “In addition to this measure, we will also introduce a sex offender register, so parents and families can know if one of these offenders is in their community or in their neighbourhood,” Peters said.

    99.9% vote winner right there (hell I’d even consider voting for him on the basis of that)

    • Colonial Rawshark 19.1

      The man has his finger on the pulse of the nation, that’s for sure.

      • Puckish Rogue 19.1.1

        I’d still prefer Labour over WinstonFirst anyday of the week but credit where its due and hes in his element

    • alwyn 19.2

      I have one problem with this proposal, and it isn’t publicising the names of paedophiles.
      The crime is, by definition, child molestation. The victims are the children, NOT, primarily their parents. How can a child, say aged 6, possibly give an informed request that their molester should be named? That is the reason that the name suppression that the name suppression is given and I don’t see how they can possibly understand the situation enough to ask for the lifting of name suppression if it leads to them being identified.
      I was once a juror in such a case. I found it quite sickening. It was held in a closed court. The public were not admitted and only the judge, jury, defendant and the lawyers were allowed throughout the trial. I was most grateful that we were, at the end, excused from Jury service for five years.
      There was no possible way that the child concerned could possibly be old enough to understand what it meant to ask that the defendant should be identified.

      • McFlock 19.2.1

        good point.

        Separately, I despise sexo registers – it’s one thing to police-check workers in a position of trust, but registers end up with someone thinking that the “John Smith” who moved in down the road is “John Smithe” the pedo in the other end of the country, and John Smith has his life torn apart or ended by malicious gossip or drunken mob justice.

  19. Clemgeopin 20

    Rocky start on the streets for John Key’s on his tour of Northland today!

    One woman he stopped to speak to told Key “No use talking to me I’ve already voted”, before giving him an earful about the region being neglected. She told Key she had given her vote to NZ First leader Winston Peters.

    At a local haunt of Mark Osborne’s campaign team, Blah Blah Blah Cafe & Bar, Key got a warm welcome from diners and had a quick lesson in making coffee.

    Key took many selfies.

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/67510289/northland-byelection-rocky-start-for-john-keys-tour

    • ScottGN 20.1

      RadioNZ went so far as to say people on the street in Dargaville were saying to Key “Go Winston” or “Vote Winston”.

    • McFlock 20.2

      I love the name of the cafe – perfectly suited for the tories.

      blah, blah, blah – then have a wet lunch…

    • Murray Rawshark 20.3

      Granny reported that Penny Bright was in Dargaville holding up a poster about Mike Sabin when FJK visited. Good one, Penny.

  20. McFlock 21

    Another forestry worker killed on the job.

    We really need to stop killing our workers. What’s an insult on top is that the dead seem to be usually amongst our lowest paid but hardest-working people.

    • Draco T Bastard 21.1

      Supposedly it’s the investors that are taking all the risk but it’s the people at the bottom who actually lose everything while the investors get bailed out by government.

      • McFlock 21.1.1

        Yep. Worst case for the investors is that they lose everything except what’s in the family trust or spouse’s name, declare bankruptcy and start again.

        To reference Clint Eastwood, it’s a hell of a thing, killing a man. You take away everything he’s got, and everything he’s ever gonna have.
        Not to mention their families.

        But we desperately need to change the flag, first… /sarc

        • gsays 21.1.1.1

          hi mcflock, i read in the paper that a 31 yr old tau henare (no relation to the mp) was massively injured in 2012 when a log rolled on him.
          the company (harvest pro, a subsidiary of kiwi forrestry international) was prosecuted by mbie and ordered to pay $40,000 reparation to mr henare in may 2014.
          the company appealed the decision and lost in oct 2014.
          now the wriggly bastards are claiming the company is in financial trouble.

          two things: when the state awards reparation, howabout the state pays the reparation then claims the money from the company.
          second, put one of these executives in jail.
          corporate manslaughter.
          5 years.
          then we may see more than just lip service being paid to worker safety.

  21. u.s. court has ruled that kim dotcom will lose all of his seized assets..

    ..he has tweeted this:..

    “..Kim Dotcom ?@KimDotcom 2h2 hours ago

    US Judge who ordered Megaupload to die WITHOUT TRIAL just ruled I’m disentitled & dispossessed WITHOUT TRIAL.

    The US Govt gets all my assets..”

  22. The Chairman 23

    Is it time for Willow Jean Prime to now concede defeat and tell her supporters to vote for Winston?

    She is polling at around a mere 10%, however that 10% could end up becoming the deciding factor. Especially with Key heading to Northland to rally and bolster support.

    Therefore, not only could this potentially rob Peters of the win, but also result in leaving egg on Labours face.

    Surely Prime and the Party don’t want to be remembered as the ones that allowed National to slip in?

    Thoughts?

    • Chooky 23.1

      +100…time for her to urge her vote to Peters

    • Clemgeopin 23.2

      No, that would be an immediate as well as a long term strategic mistake. It will incense ex Nat voters to come rushing in to vote for Osborne. The tactics that Labour, Little and Willow Jean Prime have adopted here is the correct one and is much superior. The voters will have got the message by now.

      The people who may now still vote WJP will be those who will vote for Labour under any circumstances and the ex Nat/ACT/Cons/FNZ voters that do not wish to vote Winston or the Nats this time around, but do not also wish to not take part in the by-election.

      • McFlock 23.2.1

        I agree.

        If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

      • ScottGN 23.2.2

        I agree entirely with this assessment. Little has done the best he can to get the message across (and it seems to have worked). But those rusted-on Labour voters who have supported the party through thick and thin should be able to go vote for the Labour candidate with their heads held high.

        • The Chairman 23.2.2.1

          @ ScottGN

          And achieve what exactly? Potentially allow National to slip in?

          I don’t think there are too many die hard Labour supporters that would want to achieve that.

          • McFlock 23.2.2.1.1

            The thing is that if you start regarding voters as your candidate’s winged monkeys to unthinkingly do your bidding no matter what, the voters tend to kick back (as the nats have just found out).

            Peters is well in front. Prime has lost almost all her vote. The nats are foreshadowing a defeat – even fisi doesn’t think osbourne will win. Prime issuing dictats to labour voters will only serve as a foil for the nats to claim persecution and maybe claw even more votes back. Prime endorsing peters is about as useful as ACT endorsing osbourne – comic relief that distracts from the campaign.

            • The Chairman 23.2.2.1.1.1

              @ McFlock

              Recommending Peters is not robbing voters of their right to decide, thus isn’t regarding voters as “candidate’s winged monkeys”.

              But Prime doing so (recommending Peters) would have an impact on that 10%.

              The Nats have already claimed persecution and played the victim card, thus it makes no difference.

              The election result isn’t a foregone conclusion, begging the question, does Prime and Labour really want to take that risk and potentially allow National to slip in?

              Are the benefits of Prime continuing the fight worth the potential risk?

              Surely Prime and the Party don’t want to be remembered as the ones that allowed National to slip in? The time to act is quickly running out.

              • felix

                For a start, what McFlock said.

                Ad also this: Little and Prime have both been pretty clear in their messaging.

                Anyone who has heard that message and still intends to vote Labour, well there probably isn’t much you could say to convince them otherwise.

                And anyone who hasn’t heard that message yet, with 2 days to go, what makes you think they’ll hear it now?

                • The Chairman

                  @ felix

                  Better late than never, but I agree it should have been done some time ago.

                  A public statement advocating Peters would make national news, relieving her core supporters from their loyalties, freeing them to select Peters.

                  • felix

                    I disagree entirely.

                    • McFlock

                      as do I.
                      Voters are already free to select whomever they want, it’s not like a candidate releases them from oathes of fealty. Instructing them as if they are servants can only piss voters off.

                    • The Chairman

                      @ felix

                      It’s generally expected for one to put forward your reason why you disagree.

                      @ McFlock

                      I was talking about a public statement freeing her core and loyal supporters of their loyalties.

                      Recommending Winston is not telling or instructing them what to do. But it would encourage some.

                    • Colonial Rawshark

                      The Chairman: Prime should simply organise fifty Labour volunteers to help Winston out over the next few days. That’s the best assistance she can give him at this point.

                    • Kiwiri - Raided of the Last Shark

                      @ CR
                      Yeah, why not?
                      Action speaks louder than words.

                    • McFlock

                      They’re not bound, so how can they be freed?

                    • felix

                      @The Chairman,

                      I did, you just didn’t fucking read it.

          • ScottGN 23.2.2.1.2

            McFlock pretty much covers it.

      • The Chairman 23.2.3

        @ Clemgeopin

        National’s low polling and Key’s final push will help rally National support regardless, thus Prime now conceding could potentially counter that.

        It’s already largely perceived Labour support Winston, thus your assertion has failed to eventuate .

        Moreover, Prime’s core supporters (around 10% of the vote) are still supporting her, which of course could end up becoming the deciding factor robbing Peters of the win.

        It’s largely agreed the best thing for Northland from Primes current perspective is to keep National out. Continuing the fight won’t achieve that, but it may allow National to slip in.

        Is the benefits of Prime continuing the fight really worth the risk?

        • Clemgeopin 23.2.3.1

          “Is the benefits of Prime continuing the fight really worth the risk?”

          Yes. She isn’t ‘fighting’ as you put it. She has said what her ‘realistic’ chances of winning here are at this by-election. She is coming a distant third. She knows that and so does everyone.

          It is UP TO the voters themselves to figure out what is best for them and for Northland now. It is NOT for her or for Labour to explicitly tell people to vote for Winston or someone else. It would be both arrogant and stupid.

          If some people (Lab or Nats etc) still wish to vote for her, at least they have her name for them to cast their vote to.

          If this makes Winston lose, so be it! It is not HER fault!

          • The Chairman 23.2.3.1.1

            @ Clemgeopin

            By still running and not turning away votes she is still in this fight.

            But as you rightly put it, only to come in at third place. What’s the point of that?

            It’s not unknown for people to concede defeat and recommend their supporters support another candidate.

            And in this case it would be the wise thing to do. The risk out weights the benefits.

            Her name will remain on the ballot regardless, thus voters will still have that choice.

            Conceding and recommending Peters is her decision, thus she will be held accountable. Especially so if the decision results in it all going pear shaped.

            • b waghorn 23.2.3.1.1.1

              Labour is going to look a right Arse! If NZF is rejuvenated into a 10%+ party from this and then they go with national in 2017 time may prove that labour should of gone all out .
              The only real winner if Winston wins is NZF .

              • The Chairman

                @ b waghorn

                Labour initially went all out, got nowhere, hence changed their position.

                Winston was always the only one that could potentially be the winner.

                Labour never really had a chance.

                • b waghorn

                  I realize labour had no chance ( although it would’ve been interesting if Winny hadn’t of stood) but it’s possible that labour might have been better off in the long run if the Nats get in .
                  I hope I’m wrong and Winston rides into town and kills the tpp and force the nats into behaving better.

                  • Colonial Rawshark

                    Labour is NOT going to kill the TPPA if National signs NZ up to it.

                    • b waghorn

                      Hope fully today’s wiki leaks might ad some pressure
                      I could never vote for or support a party that let’s corporates sue a country for doing right buy it’s citizen’s

                    • Colonial Rawshark

                      I’ll be the apostrophe killing Nazi today, if you’ll excuse me kind sir

                      lets corporates sue (no contracted word after “it” like “it is” etc.)
                      its citizens (no possessive apostrophe required)

                      (I used to get this wrong for years…)

                      😉

                  • The Chairman

                    @ b waghorn

                    Peters knows he will be on a two year trial, ensuring he’ll have to perform if he wants to retain the seat going forward.

                    In the meantime, Labour are going to have to learn how to form better relationships or massively increase their support, because the way they are polling they will never win in 2017 without partners .

                    • Colonial Rawshark

                      And it’s even more than that: LAB + GR *cannot* form the next government, even together, without another party.

        • swordfish 23.2.3.2

          Not so sure you can call them her “core supporters” or “die hard Labour supporters” or (ScottGN’s) “rusted-on Labour voters”. Haven’t got time to go into the rationale at the moment, but I get the distinct impression that most of Prime’s 10% are Green voters. Looks to me like the overwhelming majority of Labour supporters have already strategically decided on Winston.

          Back in the early March poll, 2014 Green voters already comprised almost as much of Prime’s 16% support as 2014 Labour voters. Half of the Labour constituency at that point had already decided to go Winston (well before Little’s nudge nudge wink wink). Since then, the weight of evidence suggests the swing to Peters over recent weeks has come disproportionately from Labour voters- leaving the Greens as Prime’s core support base.

          • The Chairman 23.2.3.2.1

            @ Swordfish

            That’s speculation. And it would be flawed to think all those supporting her are Greens. There will be the loyal ones.

            Therefore, an announcement advocating Winston would have some impact. Moreover, will help her and the Party to save face if National slip in.

            • Chooky 23.2.3.2.1.1

              +100 The Chairman….doubt very much whether Green voters would be so stupid as to support Prime or Labour especially as they have no show of winning

              …Greens generally understand MMP and vote tactically…

              the only people who will be supporting Prime will be Labour voters

              …also NZF voters and Green voters are often interchangeable in their voting habits and work well together

              • swordfish

                In the earlier (March 5) TV3 Reid Research Poll, 43% of Greens said they would vote Prime, 34% said Peters.

                Compare that to Labour voters – 35% Prime / 48% Peters.

                It appears that close to 70% of Labour voters are now strategically voting Winnie.

          • ScottGN 23.2.3.2.2

            Interesting swordfish. You’re basically saying though, that Green voters won’t vote tactically too. They’ve shifted to Prime in the absence of a green candidate and refuse to move to Winston even though it looks a good bet that he’ll win the seat.

            • swordfish 23.2.3.2.2.1

              Yep. I think there’s a stubborn sector of the Green vote (a large minority) that won’t go Winston.

              My comment was based entirely on the last two TV3 Reid Research Polls of Northland.

              Just in the last two hours, of course, Colmar Brunton have released their latest – with the overall results very close to TV3’s. Colmar Brunton suggests:
              (1) Prime is on 9%
              (2) 28% of Labour supporters are still intending to vote Prime and that
              (3) 20% of Northlanders intend to Party-Vote Labour at the next General Election…

              …So…28% of 20% = 5.6
              …So…5.6 is 62% of 9%…
              …Which means, according to this latest Colmar Brunton, the majority of Prime’s supporters (62%) are, indeed, Labour people. So Colmar Brunton’s results would suggest my assertion above is wrong.

              But I’m pretty sure the latest TV3 results will suggest otherwise (they haven’t released any breakdowns yet so we’ll have to wait to be sure). Given that 2014 Green voters were almost neck-and-neck with 2014 Labour voters in terms of Prime’s support-base back in the early March Poll, and the evidence that Labour voters have swung heavily to Peters over the last month, you’d have to assume that, in the latest TV3 Poll, Greens make up the lions share of Prime’s diminished support.

              • swordfish

                Here’s an interesting finding from the latest Colmar Brunton:

                When asked whether National’s Bridge / Broadband promises would effect their vote…

                75% No, will make no difference
                20% Yes, Less Likely to vote National
                4% Yes, More Likely to vote National.

              • Chooky

                @swordfish…well sorry still don’t believe Greens would be voting Prime and Labour when it is dead dog vote…and by default a vote in support of the Nacts…(no matter what your stats say)

                …goes counter to all the Greens i know…who are pretty savvy…and not anti Winnie and NZF…in fact vote sometimes Winnie and sometimes Green and sometimes Mana/Int..

                Labour core voters tend to vote conservatively and tribally Labour…no matter what ie they dont think MMP and vote strategically

    • Ffloyd 23.3

      I see in the Northland Advocate Facebook that people are saying that they are being intimidated and harassed by phone calls that appear to be coming from national asking have they voted. One elderly man stated that he had already voted for Winston and was abused. Another said that she had one on her property stirring up her dogs until she told him to *go away* Apparently the *young turds* manning the phones supervised by Nikki Kaye. Key will do anything it takes to win this by election and imo it has nothing to do with making Northland a better and more prosperous place but everything to do with his inability to countenance losing. Nothing to do with NZ at all! We are not battling National Party but key’s huge pathological ego. If he loses this, that is his place in History gone. In six years he has APPARENTLY not set a foot wrong! Thank you nz herald for being so enabling. Oh and also thank you for the damage you have done to decent REAL kiwis and their lives in your diligent enslavement to president key. True kiwis you are not!

  23. all other media reporting how key was widely heckled today in daggers..

    ..but sky owned prime news..?..yeah nah eh..?

    • Karen 24.1

      These days Prime is supplied its news from Mediaworks (TV3).

      • phillip ure 24.1.1

        yes..i know..

        ..but they do know what their masters want..

        ..and ‘mediaworks’..?..

        ..they also ignored what is a major story in their soft coverage..

        ..sky..and mediaworks..u cd hardly slide a playing card between them in their soft-coverage of key/this govt they both owe so much to/are so in bed with…

        • Karen 24.1.1.1

          I recorded TVNZ & TV3 and have just watched the coverage. No sense that Key faced protestors or any hostility in either bulletin. Yet it was clear that he did from the Checkpoint report. It seems TV news are still pretending everybody loves Key.

          • alwyn 24.1.1.1.1

            So you believe that Checkpoint is right and TV1 and TV3 must be wrong?
            Why not the other way round? Would that go against the preconceptions you have?
            Yeah, right. Radio NZ is the untarnished, unbiased source of all truth.

            • gsays 24.1.1.1.1.1

              hi alwyn, rnz was not the recipent of a $32+M loan from the state so it could pay its broadcast fee.
              nor was minister of everything, joyce, a former director of rnz.
              maybe this helps.

              • alwyn

                I doesn’t help very much at all really.

                “nor was minister of everything, joyce, a former director of rnz.”

                What is that supposed to mean. Are you trying to say that he was a former director of TV1? Are you trying to say he was a former director of TV3?
                Wrong on both counts.

                The ” $32+M loan from the state” is also a furphy. The rules were changed to make firms pay for the entire life of a license at the beginning of the term, instead of year by year. All broadcasters were allowed to pay it off over time at a higher fee.
                Canwest, with which Joyce was NOT associated, took advantage of the option. It was available to all firms.

                • gsays

                  he was a former managing director of mediaworks radioworks division, and was critisized for showing a conflict of interest when approving the loan.

                  i am picking you are aware of this being the intelligent person you appear to be.

                  we all view things as we choose to.

  24. ScottGN 25

    It’s amazing the bullshit Key comes out with. He stood there in Dargaville today saying “no we’re not desperate I always intended to come come back in the final days etc” Except he’s supposed to be in Tokyo right now concluding a State Visit no less.

  25. I’m looking forward (in a naughty way) to watching labour hq cheering and yaying when winston wins – what a weird race and contest this has been. Worth it labour? I spose we’ll see won’t we.

  26. joe90 27

    Pumping tens of thousands of litres of whatever they use into the ground probably is “ultrahazardous”.

    On Tuesday, Maryland legislators passed legislation that would place strong limits on the extraction of natural gas in the state.

    The Maryland House of Delegates passed a three-year moratorium on hydraulic fracturing — or fracking — in the Western part of the state, while the Maryland Senate approved a bill that would impose strict financial liabilities on fracking companies and would declare fracking an “ultrahazardous and abnormally dangerous activity.” The bills must pass through the other chambers before heading to the desk of Republican Governor Larry Hogan for approval.

    Meanwhile, the Senate approved some of the strongest liability standards for drilling in the country. The bill, which passed 29-14, would require fracking companies to carry a $10 million insurance policy for six years after each drilling operation, and would hold companies financially liable for any health or environmental problems associated with drilling.

    http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/03/25/3638686/maryland-fracking-yes-no-maybe/

  27. Murray Rawshark 28

    How soon before we see Supreme Court Justice Sir Raynor Asher, Order of New Zealand?

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/67521088/name-suppression-continues-for-prominent-nzer

    • Anne 28.1

      So, “Raynor Asher” has bowed to political pressure? If the reason for the continued suppression is based solely on “protection for the victims” then someone influential should demand an explanation for his rationale. As far as I can tell, the victims never sought to have the suppression order continue. It was the alleged perpetrator who did so.

      In this case, the suppression order is likely to have to be removed at some point so why not get it over and done with?

      The NZ Justice System sucks!!!

  28. rawshark-yeshe 29

    The corruption runs deep, doesn’t it ? To deceive a whole country in three elections ? Shame on them all. No-one’s children are safe in this maelstrom.

    • rawshark-yeshe 29.1

      that is intended as a reply to murray and anne .. but it moved about somehow !! it is not about Len Brown.

      • adam 29.1.1

        It could be apply to Len Brown 🙂

        • rawshark-yeshe 29.1.1.1

          no, not really in this thread. I think children would not be unsafe with him.

      • Anne 29.1.2

        My fault rawshark-yeshe @ 30.1

        I forgot to hit reply when responding to Murray Rawshark @ 28.1.1 so deleted and re-posted. Always forgetting… 🙁

    • Murray Rawshark 29.2

      It actually makes me wonder if the alleged activities were not confined to only one member of the party. They could be more like the English Tories than I’d thought.

  29. Paul 30

    What the prat Hoskins thinks.
    Wonder how much POrts of Auckland pay him.

    He sounds mad.
    He talks to himself.
    “Len, as we have discussed in these columns before, is a fantasist.”

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11423079

  30. Hateatea 31

    Apologies if someone else has posted this but just found on Stuff
    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/67521088/name-suppression-continues-for-prominent-nzer

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • Relentlessly negative
    Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 hour ago
  • Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    Bryce Edwards writes –  It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 hours ago
  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    2 hours ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    3 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 hours ago
  • 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
    5 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
    7 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
    8 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
    8 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
    8 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    9 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    10 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    13 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    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
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    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
    6 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
    1 week 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 2024-03-19T05:17:52+00:00