Open mike 26/11/2012

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, November 26th, 2012 - 117 comments
Categories: open mike - Tags:

Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to Policy in the banner).

Step right up to the mike…

117 comments on “Open mike 26/11/2012 ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. KhandallaMan 1
    26 November 2012 at 7:18 am

    Annette, Phil and Trevor are upsetting the balance in the Caucus. 
    Instead of making space for the newer generation to shape itself they are tying them all up with their apron strings.
    The current mess owes much to Annette, Phil and Trevor meddling like ageing parents. 
    Their individual motives are irrelevant. The pattern is universal. 

    An early declaration that they will bow out in 2014 and retirement to the back benches in Shearer’s forthcoming re-shuffle will set the scene.  These steps will significantly change the profile and dynamic of the Caucus. 

    If Shearer wants “to move on” he needs to cut the apron stings with Annette, Phil and Trevor. 

     
    • David H 1.1
      26 November 2012 at 10:04 am

      They should have gone when Helen went, But they won’t they will want to bludge off the Taxpayer for another 3 years.

  2. just saying 2
    26 November 2012 at 8:00 am

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10849776

    Goff has already declared an intention to stand. Why am I not surprised?

    Note the ironic headline. It’s getting to be old hat in the Crosby-textor PR world for protagonists to brazenly declare themselves to be particularly virtuous in regard to a glaring fault, and accuse their opponents of being particularly guilty of it. I can imagine Key, apparently sincerely, confiding in an audience that he is compassionate to a fault, and that he has to be careful to ensure that his kind heart doesn’t prevent him making essential tough decisions.

    It seems the only way Goff can be stopped from doing whatever the hell he likes, is for his local LEC and party members to vote for a different candidate to represent them at the next election.

    I’m thinking about lobbying the party (however one does this kind of thing) about mandatory limits on the time representatives are allowed spend in parliament. I’m thinking five terms in total (which can be served as a block or across time) and two terms leading the party.

    • Socialist Paddy 2.1
      26 November 2012 at 8:14 am

      Shame. There is a perfectly good replacement waiting in the wings. Michael Wood would bring some youth and vigor to the position.

      • JazzaBelle 2.1.1
        26 November 2012 at 10:36 am

        An early announcement by that three would add another jolt of enthusiasm into the activist base.
        The party is damaged by the perception that it has been stalled since 2008.
        That is an aspect of the very vocal frustration expressed at the Conference, at branch and LEC meetings and in Email and blogs.
        Annette things her advice to Sherer us helping. It is not. Last weekend was a mess created by the HO, the leadership and their confidants.
        If anger-management-problem Hipkins and the PR machine keep blaming Cunliffe they will miss hearing the message from the members.

      • David H 2.1.2
        26 November 2012 at 2:16 pm

        And thats the message that needs to be sent. Old guard out and lets please have some new blood!

    • Lanthanide 2.2
      26 November 2012 at 10:47 am

      “I’m thinking five terms in total (which can be served as a block or across time) and two terms leading the party.”

      How long was Helen in parliament? Wasn’t she elected in the 80’s?

      This is a bad idea.

    • prism 2.3
      26 November 2012 at 12:08 pm

      js
      +1 To limitation of terms. But 5? (15 years). Say four – 12 years enough, and if we changed to a four-year parliamentary term then that would revert to three – 12 years. Getting politicians out of their seats seems to require a shoe horn, or in some cases a car jack. And there is a lovely sense of ownership and pride at being an electorate that has its own MP in the House.

      Overseas they are having difficulties choosing or holding onto the leadership – France for instance. And if you let the military or religious get into politics (Israel, Egypt, Burma etc) – you are halfway or even 90% stuffed and car jacks against tanks and military personnel are laughable unless some desperate group turn the jack into an IED (Innovative/Improvised Explosive Device?)

  3. Te Reo Putake 3
    26 November 2012 at 8:07 am

    Good result for redundant kiwi workers thanks to union activist Kymberley Inu. WINZ have finally accepted that redundancy pay should not extend the stand down before benefit payments start. Now all WINZ have to do is make sure that their call centre staff stop lying to redundant workers about their entitlements.
     
     

    • just saying 3.1
      26 November 2012 at 8:12 am

      A really important victory!

    • Bill 3.2
      26 November 2012 at 8:16 am

      I thought that came in a few years back (after, of course, I was forced to spend all my redundancy at a rate equal to benefit payments before I could claim any entitlement)

    • higherstandard 3.3
      26 November 2012 at 8:17 am

      Sounds like WINZ call centre is similar to the IRD, according to my accountant there is a huge difference in relation to the advice and service you receive depending on who’s on the other end of the line, mind you the same could be said of the places I’ve worked in over the years.

    • Te Reo Putake 3.4
      26 November 2012 at 9:50 am

      A lot of the difficulty at the WINZ (and ACC) call centre is the prevailing philosophy on openness. Best practice is to overprovide information, and point out to an applicant everything they may be entitled to, ensuring the correct benefit is paid from the start. However, under a bash the bennie philosophy, it appears that call centres are encouraged to be frugal in their information provision. Or just straight out lie.

    • David H 3.5
      26 November 2012 at 10:07 am

      Yeah but will they back pay or reimburse, ALL those that they have made to use said redundancy payment??

      Tui Moment

  4. Chalupa Batman 4
    26 November 2012 at 8:41 am

    http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/2012/11/rodney-hide-on-rorts-in-government-tendering/

    So anybody on the left want to take out a National MP?

    • Descendant Of Smith 4.1
      26 November 2012 at 9:03 pm

      The thing that I think is frustrating about government departments these is the seeming inability to simply use the local tradesman in the local communities.

      The tendering process simply gives most work to the biggest firms and local small businesses miss out.

      Over time the cost goes up cause someone has to pay the motel bills of the workers travelling to these towns and the small local business closes.

      It’s just another step in the breakdown of government departments being part of local communities.

      The days of government departments giving a local family the towel laundering to do to help them out financially are long gone but so are many small local electricians, builders, etc who did the local work.

      The above type rort seems to reflect a type of commercial nepotism – look at how many things Jenny Shipley has been involved in – vetting CV’s that turned out to be fake, power company sales, train sales, earthquake recovery advice for example.

      National contracts for everything from laundry to toilet paper to property leasing to planning work just seem to consolidate the power to give contracts in the hands of a few with plenty of cases of disaster e.g. backhanders for leases.

      Part of any tendering should include considering local economies just as large national tenders should consider NZ contracts first e.g. building trains. biggest or cheapest should not be the only consideration.

      • Draco T Bastard 4.1.1
        26 November 2012 at 10:34 pm

        National contracts for everything from laundry to toilet paper to property leasing to planning work just seem to consolidate the power to give contracts in the hands of a few with plenty of cases of disaster e.g. backhanders for leases.

        That’s not just National but Labour and every local government since the 1980s. It’s simply easier to negotiate with a single company that can supply everything than it is to negotiate with many small companies. Prior to the 1980s and the Rogernomic trashing of the economy most of those would have been done in-house. If the government wanted a building then it went and bought the land, built the building on it and then hired the cleaners to keep it clean. Nowadays they look to see who can make the biggest profit from government funds for the same services which inevitably costs more.

    • David H 5.1
      26 November 2012 at 2:40 pm

      The Chaos one what an ad for Gaffa tape. “Even keeps a Rocket in one piece until it’s fired.”

  8. Dr Terry 8
    26 November 2012 at 10:39 am

    Great column (as usual) from Tapu Misa, today’s Herald.

    • just saying 8.1
      26 November 2012 at 10:55 am

      Cheers for the tip Dr T.
      Tapu Misa on Shearer – recommended:

      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10849903

      Maybe the world hasn’t gone mad after all.

    • karol 8.2
      26 November 2012 at 10:56 am

      Thanks for the heads up, Dr T.  It’s here.  Misa is watching from outside any LP faction, thinks Cunliffe has faults, saw no evidence of a coup, and thinks Shearer is not doing as well as Goff during last electoral cycle – hence, no wonder some LP members are not happy.

      Besides, as far as I can tell, the smearing and whispering campaigns (so vague as to be impossible to defend) have all been targeted at that other David. ….

      The rank and file is said to have favoured Cunliffe but Shearer narrowly won the caucus vote, led by the old guard, who, it’s now well known, deeply dislike Cunliffe (though why is not clear, even in a town not known for keeping secrets. One Labour MP who asked what Cunliffe had done to deserve such antipathy is still none the wiser). …

      Those at the conference were certainly excited. I watched it on YouTube and was less smitten. Maybe you had to be there to feel the rapture.  

      However good, it was asking a lot of one speech. Especially when Shearer’s subsequent TV appearances show him bumbling his way through straightforward questions on Labour’s new housing policy and Cunliffe’s summary execution.  

      It’s nonsense to say this doesn’t matter.   There is no “rightful leader” of the Labour Party. The position isn’t Shearer’s by right, nor Cunliffe’s for that matter. It ought to be threatened if enough people feel the incumbent hasn’t earned it.

    • deuto 8.3
      26 November 2012 at 10:59 am

      You bet me to it – a top notch summation in my opinion.

      Here is the link.
      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10849903

      I have read all the comments here over the last week or so – and agree with many of them, but have had other more pressing matters to deal with following the death by choice of a long standing friend.

      Tapu’s article says what I have been thinking but much more succinctly than I could have managed.

      I am still deciding whether to join Labour as many have suggested. Leaning toward doing so but only to add my voice and vote to the further democratisation of their internal processes to allow members a far greater say.

      EDIT – Now see that Karol provided the link as I was typing my comment. EDIT 2 – and js!

      • Rosie 8.3.1
        26 November 2012 at 2:26 pm

        Sorry for the loss of your friend deuto. Take care

      • just saying 8.3.2
        26 November 2012 at 5:38 pm

        Really sorry Deuto. There aren’t any words, so I won’t even try.
        I hope you have all the love and support you need to get through.
        Warmest wishes.

  9. Pete 9
    26 November 2012 at 10:49 am

    From The Guardian:

    The existence of an extraordinary global network of sham company directors, most of them British, can be revealed.

    The UK government claims such abuses were stamped out long ago, but a worldwide joint investigation by the Guardian, the BBC’s Panorama and the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has uncovered a booming offshore industry that leaves the way open for both tax avoidance and the concealment of assets.

    More than 21,500 companies have been identified using this group of 28 so-called nominee directors. The nominees play a key role in keeping secret hundreds of thousands of commercial transactions. They do so by selling their names for use on official company documents, using addresses in obscure locations all over the world.

    This is not illegal under UK law, and sometimes nominee directors have a legitimate role. But our evidence suggests this particular group of directors only pretend to control the companies they put their names to.

    The companies themselves are often registered anonymously offshore in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), but also in Ireland, New Zealand, Belize and the UK itself. More than a score of UK agencies sell offshore companies, several of which also help supply sham directors….

    Further details from the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists

  10. Socialist Paddy 10
    26 November 2012 at 11:17 am

    Feck

    Josie Pagani is on Radio New Zealand feeding Hooton with attack lines against Labour concerning Labour’s change to a more democratic policy formation process which binds MPs to an agreed platform.

    Which side is she on? 

    • deuto 10.1
      26 November 2012 at 11:33 am

      Good question – certainly not on Labour’s side except perhaps the ABCs.

      I noted that, for once both at the start of this section and at the end, Ryan did not introduce Hooten and Pagani as being Hooten from the right and Pagani from the left.

      Interesting. Related to Shearer’s non-answer yesterday perhaps?

      • Matthew Hooton 10.1.1
        26 November 2012 at 11:51 am

        That’s exactly right. Kathryn carefully weighs up what has been said on The Nation and Q&A etc and then carefully changes the way she introduces people accordingly. It’s all part of the neoliberal conspiracy (in which Radio NZ is obviously involved).

        • quartz 10.1.1.1
          26 November 2012 at 12:08 pm

          To give deuto, his/her due, that’s about half as unlikely as most of the batshit crazy stuff you come out with hooton.

        • deuto 10.1.1.2
          26 November 2012 at 12:17 pm

          Well it got a reaction from you!

          While you are here – a question for you totally unrelated to the above.

          Do you have a middle name – and does it start with the letter “R”?

          Edit – comment and question are to Matthew Hooton.

        • felix 10.1.1.3
          26 November 2012 at 1:43 pm

          “That’s exactly right. Kathryn carefully weighs up what has been said on The Nation and Q&A etc and then carefully changes the way she introduces people accordingly.”

          Don’t be so flip, Matt. By your own standards, this deviation from Ms Ryan’s longstanding and well-known weekly routine is most likely clear evidence that she’s mounting a takeover of Radio New Zealand at this very moment.

          ps my highly placed friends at RNZ confirm that this is the case.

          • Anne 10.1.1.3.1
            26 November 2012 at 6:50 pm

            What’s more, I understand the actual coup is going to take place on Xmas day, but nobody will know it’s happened until the second week of January when they return from their hols by which time Ms Ryan will have it all signed and sealed.

        • muzza 10.1.1.4
          26 November 2012 at 2:44 pm

          Honesty from Hooten – You will know full well that those in radio/tv/print MSM are only the representatives/mouthpieces of who the owners want to be peddling their version of “news”.

          Of course the whole thing is total BS!

          Well said Hoots!

        • Skinny 10.1.1.5
          26 November 2012 at 5:11 pm

          I just can not take anything Hooten says seriously as a political commentator. Dog whistling & bending the truth is about it from Matthew these days. Too much of a rabid extreme neo liberalist point of view, which we can do without. >>>face the corner like a naughty child.

    • KhandallaMan 10.2
      26 November 2012 at 12:12 pm

      SP, you are one of a dwindling number that listens to the 9 to 12 show in RNZ. It is as journalistically weak as the Jim Mora show in the afternoon. 

      • prism 10.2.1
        26 November 2012 at 12:26 pm

        KMan
        So who do you listen to on radio if you’re dissing 9toNoon? And where is the daily best and fairest political discourse found in the land?

        • Lanthanide 10.2.1.1
          26 November 2012 at 1:02 pm

          Checkpoint is very good. Morning Report is worthwhile when they interview someone important.

          Otherwise not much else worth listening to. Kim Hill is good but she’s not daily.

  11. Rogue Trooper 11
    26 November 2012 at 11:56 am

    and the answer to the meaning of life is 4:2, jumping jack flash to 5;
    Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer
    everyone.
    (well, that was a colossus of a small book)

    -The Killing Moon (Echo and The Bunneymen) hanging aroound Villiers Terrace.

  12. Pascal's bookie 12
    26 November 2012 at 12:12 pm

    Whatever you think of the Hobbit, the films, Jackson, or anything else; this article is %100 Pure John Key:

    http://t.co/sp4yplKz

    • Lanthanide 12.1
      26 November 2012 at 1:05 pm

      Love this part:

      “People that are into it are really into it, and they just can’t get enough of it.

      “It’s one of those things where if it’s your big thing they just have an insatiable appetite for this stuff,” he said.

      “In its own world, in its own way, it’s a franchise like a James Bond thing. Those people just love it.”

    • vto 12.2
      26 November 2012 at 1:09 pm

      ha ha yep, this line is classic John Key “Will watch the movie, wont need to read the book”.

      You see, John Key is one of the shallowest people to ever be Prime Minister. He has no depth and he shows no depth. There is nothing to him… shallow

      • tc 12.2.1
        26 November 2012 at 1:31 pm

        Or get a convenient opinion about it and go with that rather than have to admit his favourite part was probably from LOTR.

        The hollow men like their puppets shallow vto, makes them less likely to go off script if they lack the brains to go unscripted. Case in point the hard talk interview.

      • Reagan Cline 12.2.2
        26 November 2012 at 8:48 pm

        I get the impression he is pretending to sound typical of one of the majority who support him. A crowd pleaser. Another “populist politician”. Someone in the New Zealand National Party picked a winner !

    • felix 12.3
      26 November 2012 at 1:31 pm

      Last line of the article says it all. What a despicable little interloper he is.

    • seeker 12.4
      26 November 2012 at 6:17 pm

      “In its own world, in its own way, it’s a franchise like a James Bond thing. Those people just love it.”

      Tolkien would have been thrilled to hear this description and comparison. You are right PB – 100% pure neanderthal John Key.

    • David H 12.5
      26 November 2012 at 10:02 pm

      But judging from everything he says, I thought he couldn’t read. 😉

  13. Rosie 13
    26 November 2012 at 2:44 pm

    Did anyone see that article on 3 news over the weekend about an American entertainment lawyer who has written a book about the negotiations between our govt and Warners regarding the ammendment of our employment law? The author appeared (justifiably) critical of the proceedings and consequences. Due to slight squiffiness at the time I missed most of the information. If anyone knows the author or the name of the book I’d be keen to know.

    Are you hobbited out? I am.
    http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/columnists/dave-armstrong/7995832/Hobbit-fatigue-setting-in-already

    All the Hobbit marketing around town at the moment does nothing except leave a bad taste in the mouth.

    • deuto 13.1
      26 November 2012 at 3:08 pm

      I think this might be what you were referring to, Rosie.

      http://www.3news.co.nz/Book-slams-Govts-accommodating-position-to-Warners-with-The-Hobbit/tabid/1748/articleID/278037/Default.aspx

      And i am hobbited out before it even begins – avoiding downtown Wellington for the next week or so.

      [On a different subject, thanks for your earlier message. Been difficult but not unexpected. In the last few weeks, I’ve become something of an expert on estate management/executor as there is no money for lawyers etc but getting there. It has highlighted a great gap again between the situation for the have and the have nots. Don’t think that many people realise that the support for those less well off financially that used to be available in such matters through the Public Trust no longer exists – they now charge for everything at close to legal firm rates. Free wills are also a thing of the past. May write something up for Open Mike on this in the near future when I get some free time.]

      • Rosie 13.1.1
        26 November 2012 at 4:02 pm

        Hi deuto, thanks for the link, thats much appreciated. Will see if the library will get this book in:-)

        (Re Hobbit madness: My volunteer work day is a Wednesday and the worksite is just off Courtenay Place which means its going to be fun fun fun getting home! The bus stop at the Embassy theatre end of Courtenay Pl is being closed for the parade and moved to wakefield st. I checked it out with the bus co and they said “with all the chaos going on who knows if your bus will be there on time and what time you will reach your destination” 10 points for honesty!)

        And separately:Your friend was lucky to have you as a friend. It is sad that even in death inequality lingers. I have heard of families being unable to cope financially with expected or unexpected loss. This adds a really unfair burden to those already coping with grief. When you do have time it would be good to read of your thoughts and experiences in managing the affairs of your friend’s estate. I think it would be helpful for those of us who are unfamiliar with these circumstances

    • David H 13.2
      26 November 2012 at 10:04 pm

      I live in Levin so I don’t get battered by it. And I have never read any of the books or seen any of the movies. Also I gave up on Jackson movies after King Kong what a slow boring movie that was.

  15. gobsmacked 15
    26 November 2012 at 5:44 pm

    David Shearer interview on BfM this morning:

    http://95bfm.com/default,208812,labour-party-leader-david-shearer.sm

    It’s not his worst interview … he even shows a bit of passion at the end. But it’s mostly waffle.

    The funny part is him going on about Bloggers – he gets really tetchy!

    “Bloggers aren’t voters”, he insists. Thanks, Dave.

    • karol 15.1
      26 November 2012 at 5:53 pm

      Lots of “bottom lines”.

    • Chalupa Batman 15.2
      26 November 2012 at 5:55 pm

      I thought he didn’t read them?

    • QoT 15.3
      26 November 2012 at 6:03 pm

      “Bloggers aren’t voters”, he insists. Thanks, Dave.

      Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot?

    • Draco T Bastard 15.4
      26 November 2012 at 6:13 pm

      Well, the bloggers aren’t voters who will vote for Shearer anyway (not the way he keeps insisting on insulting them).

      • seeker 15.4.1
        26 November 2012 at 6:19 pm

        True- not now any way DTB

        • karol 15.4.1.1
          26 November 2012 at 7:27 pm

          What Shearer actually says about

          Earlier in the interview he says he believes that he should “play the ball and not the man”  And that he’s not going to go back and “re-rehearse” his reasons for demoting Cunliffe. i.e he’s not going to explain that.

          Blogger bit starts at 5.17 mins:
          Then from about 5.37:

          Ah yes, but at the end of the day, the bloggers are not the voters.  In fact they’re a long, long way away from the voters, to be  perfectly frank.  When you go round the country and I talk to the people, I have a better sense, I believe, than bloggers sitting there in front of a computer, quite frankly.  Especially when they are sort of blogging anonymously.  i don’t have a.  I don’t listen to them.  i don’t read them. I do what I believe is right.

          It seems being anonymous, particularly impairs one’s understanding of what voters think.

          • gobsmacked 15.4.1.1.1
            26 November 2012 at 7:37 pm

            bloggers sitting there in front of a computer

            As opposed to right-wing journalists who show their approval of Shearer, by using goose-feathers and parchment?

          • Te Reo Putake 15.4.1.1.2
            26 November 2012 at 7:38 pm

            “It seems being anonymous particularly impairs one’s understanding of what voters think.”
             
            Indeed. That whole anonymous voting thing must really grind his gears too. It totally devalues the opinions of the voters when they cast their ballot in secret.

          • QoT 15.4.1.1.3
            26 November 2012 at 7:47 pm

            As a blogger I, of course, cannot talk to people around the country, because I’m chained to my desk. I do not have friends, family, workmates, old school chums. I cannot have conversations around the water cooler either literally nor figuratively.

            Whereas David Shearer, travelling from photo op to photo op to meet people who have chosen to show up to see him (and are thus totally unbiased), yeah, he’s the one with the unvarnished view of social reality for NZers.

          • vto 15.4.1.1.4
            26 November 2012 at 8:00 pm

            If people like Shearer are so upset about anonymity then let’s see a law proposing that voting in the general election be made public instead of secret.

            Do Shearer and all those others bleating about anonymity actually know why voting is secret?

            and while at it – another bloody fail on his presentation on the tv3 news. For fucks sake sharpen up. What a dopey answer to the question about whether $50k sections are available in Auckland. Somebody get a PR Training Course for Shearer for a Christmas present.

            Each opportunity stuffed up like that is another whack on a coffin nail for Labour. Imo.

            2c from behind the curtains in front of the computer removed from reality.

            • quartz 15.4.1.1.4.1
              26 November 2012 at 8:25 pm

              Fuck he’s awful: http://95bfm.com/assets/sm/208812/3/shearernov26.mp3

               
              It’s not like he just stumbles on difficult concepts or unusual syntax. In this soft student radio interview he actually says “these houses are… um… are…………. um built.” How the fuck is this guy going to cope standing on a highly lit stage with people attacking him and communicate even the simplest of economic ideas. The motherfucker can’t even remember that you “build” houses!!! What the fuck does his addled brain think you do with houses??? Roll them up and fucking smoke them??? It’s like he’s missing the elemental structures of language, like that part of his brain responsible for simple syntax isn’t functional.
               
              And they say that anyone that points this out is part of a conspiracy??? That’s like saying the enlightenment was a smear campaign. Stupid fucking cunts.
              • Herodotus …
                26 November 2012 at 8:51 pm

                He has revert back to form after a glorious 30 minutes 8 days ago, with his lack of confidence in knowing the subject (54sec in). I do not blame David for this, it is those who thought out the policy without thinking about the “how” aspect (A King and others). Even the artist impression (33 seconds in) does not enter reality to a 90m2 house on a 120m2 section. A good idea easily dismissed by poor planning Fail to plan or plan to fail??
                http://www.3news.co.nz/Labour-dreaming-with-housing-plan–property-developer/tabid/370/articleID/278168/Default.aspx

                • QoT …
                  26 November 2012 at 8:56 pm

                  Oh my fucking god. I know I’m biased, but for any politician that’s just fucking embarrassing. Couldn’t they even get an intern to go on Trademe and scope out the prices of sections before the Leader went out to look like an utter numpty on TV?

                  (Probably Cunliffe’s fault that Shearer didn’t have the numbers.)

                  • Herodotus …
                    26 November 2012 at 9:12 pm

                    And he lives in this city. Had it been Damien O’Connor, English, Parata, Dyson you could perhaps understanding not knowing the city.
                    Still would like to know the originators of the policy and why the nos. don’t balance, and why Shearers minders let him out without being well briefed especially for a photo opportunity (driving prices down by 25-30% bulk buying just as well there was not the obvious follow up question).So a $220-$250k house really costs for us today $275-$315k + land. Funny thing that sounds correct for development on a 650m2 on the extremities of Auckland ;-). Shearer fact check: Yes
                    http://www.pokenovillageestate.co.nz
                    Many here under estimate how difficult it is to carry out a successful photo op is (Key is gifted here) given what just went down !!!
                    http://tvnz.co.nz/one-news/video

                    • gobsmacked …
                      26 November 2012 at 9:39 pm

                      Many here underestimate how difficult it is to carry out a successful photo op

                      If a politician creates a perception, the media (especially TV) will look for confirmation.

                      Shearer created the “er … um” perception during the leaders’ debate and then either (a) did not do anything about it, or (b) did, but hasn’t learned, perhaps cannot learn.

                      He is never going to shake that perception, and a speech is irrelevant (when only one person is allowed to talk).

                      It is hard to exaggerate the level of incompetence here. Think of all the UNPLANNED things that can go wrong (protestors turning up, gotcha questions off-topic, awkward member of public intrudes, pratfalls – the list is long). This was none of those things. It was a straightforward question on exactly what Shearer was there to promote. It doesn’t get any easier for a campaigning politician. It can get much tougher though.

                  • Rhinocrates …
                    26 November 2012 at 9:23 pm

                    (A) Roll eyes.
                    (B) Sigh
                    (C) Face/palm
                    (D) Nod with a weary implication of “Yep, I expected something like that”
                    (E) Make tea.
                    (F) Note to self, “Oh yeah, that reminds me of the GCSB tape thingy.”

                    Can I say “All of the above”?

                    Simpler questions and answers:

                    Q: Why did Wall Street fuck the global economy?

                    A: John Key.

                    Q: Why is the UN so ineffective?

                    A: David Shearer.

              • prism …
                26 November 2012 at 9:57 pm

                quartz
                Are you alleging that David Shearer, or some other politician, commits incest? This is a serious and sensitive term and not just a run of the mill swear word. You are throwing around sexist insults like a farmer with a muckspreader. Swear words are more effective when used sparingly.

          • David H 15.4.1.1.5
            26 November 2012 at 10:27 pm

            Nice one David Bloggers are not voters huh? Well we all have a vote so you are one down there. But even if you are right and we are a minority of voters, a lot of us are the minions that help in the 1001 little jobs that are essential to the smooth running of the election campaign. Imagine NO envelope stuffers, No one to drive those that can’t get to the polling booth, No one to make the thousands and thousands of phone calls a lot to abusive people, NO one, to do that what you have forgotten to do, the tasks you don’t have the time to do. Yep as voters we may not matter. BUT do you really want to piss us off????

          • lprent 15.4.1.1.6
            26 November 2012 at 10:43 pm

            Ah yes, but at the end of the day, the bloggers are not the voters. In fact they’re a long, long way away from the voters, to be perfectly frank.

            Jez. Did he ever read the comments on his own posts at Red Alert? I guess he must have because he even answered some of them. I wonder if he thought that because he was a blogger that his opinion was abnormal.

            But the point is that mostly we work and deal with work mates, are involved with family (usually several families in my experience) and friends, etc etc and some of us have been doing this for decades that hopping on social media rather than watching TV for a few hours makes us “different”.

            FFS: doesn’t he have any kids around? The problem is that as any parent of teens can tell you, this is pretty much the norm for a hell of a lot of people who are current and future voters and under the age of 40. If they aren’t talking on blogs then they’re on facebook, twitter, or their phones. Many do all of those at the same time. The group who read political blogs typically have rather large friend lists so they literally broadcast whatever they’re interested in off to hundreds of people…

            About the only thing I have ever seen slow people down in their headlong rush towards digital communications is when they have very young kids. And that is mostly because kids adore the technology, especially touch screens and keyboards…

            Where does he live – in some mythic present where it is still the 70’s or 80’s?

      • Rogue Trooper 15.4.2
        26 November 2012 at 10:06 pm

        well, at least people can learn something helpful along the way

  16. Draco T Bastard 16
    26 November 2012 at 6:12 pm

    This is interesting:

    This information showed the successful CNR tender was $31.3 million and the Hillside tender was $37.7 million – a difference of only $6.4 million (Otago Daily Times, 21 November 2012).

    Local National list MP Michael Woodhouse was quoted as saying the difference between tenders was about 40% (Otago Daily Times, 16 November 2012).

    Ms Murray says the actual difference would appear to approximately 20%.

    So, we have a National MP either talking in ignorance or lying. But what about the $6.4m, what was so important that they couldn’t afford that?

    The number of employees earning over $100,000 a year reportedly increased from 405 in 2011 to 564 in 2012.

    KiwiRail now employs four people who earn over $440,000 a year compared to one in the previous year, at a cost of at least $2.4 million between them.

    Yep, apparently wages for the top executives.

    Nor is the closure due to lack of work, she says.

    According to the KiwiRail 2011/2012 annual report, it has 535 new wagons “and more to come”. KiwiRail has said on previous occasions at least 3000 are needed.

    “If that is true there is plenty of work for Hillside Workshops.”

    Plenty of work to do just no will at the top to do it. And, no, it’s not cheaper to get it all done by other countries. In real terms, it’s actually far more expensive.

    • prism 16.1
      26 November 2012 at 9:19 pm

      DTB
      Well doesn’t our economic policy follow Ricardos theory or something interpreted as – Each country should do (only) the things that it is particularly skilled at, and export that, and import other countries efficiently made items.

      And that explains why we are retreating into 19th century economic trends, with a hole in the middle caused by the vanished industrial age sector, and now concentrating on the labour-poor technological age.

      E&OE What do I know, I’m just a seeker after understanding.

      • Draco T Bastard 16.1.1
        26 November 2012 at 10:01 pm

        Well doesn’t our economic policy follow Ricardos theory or something interpreted as – Each country should do (only) the things that it is particularly skilled at, and export that, and import other countries efficiently made items.

        That’s the theory – it’s a load of bollocks as most of the free-market theory is. Transportation must make it far more expensive to produce what we use elsewhere. It’s only the capitalist paradigm and its profit drive, which the free-market theory is based upon, that can make it look cheaper.

  17. gobsmacked 17
    26 November 2012 at 6:27 pm

    Please. Make. This. Stop.

    Shearer on TV3 News … promoting the housing policy, asked a simple question about cost … and guess what? He does the goldfish – mouth open, nothing, mouth closed. For God’s sake.

    HE CAN’T COPE.

    Everybody knows this. And even you think David Cunliffe is the anti-christ, you know it. Shearer won’t survive an election campaign, and no amount of head-in-sand self-delusion will change that.

    Cut the crap, have a contest between Robertson and Cunliffe and anyone else, but just …

    Make. This. Stop.

    • Rhinocrates 17.1
      26 November 2012 at 6:53 pm

      May I suggest a sack of potatoes?

      Potatoes are unpretentious, firm and earthy. That will appeal to the heartland.

      They are not elitist, like artichokes.

      Potatoes do not talk much – this reflects the taciturn kiwi nature and shows that they understand the rule that “it is better be thought a fool and say nothing than open your mouth and remove all doubt.”

      Potatoes are discrete and tactful. This gives them the appearance of a Buddha-like wisdom. “Apolitical” as Shearer’s promoters would have it. Really, what could seem less political than a potato?

      Potatoes do not loose their composure under pressure. They do not stammer and insult anyone. They do not say, “citizens over eighteen who have access to the internet do not vote”.

      They’re good for you.

      Cut into small sections and deep fried, they are delicious.

      Baked and with sour cream they are delicious.

      Roasted they are delicious.

      Even mashed they are good.

      Face it: potatoes are great no matter how they are treated. They have resilience and composure under the most brutal of treatment and everyone likes them.

      David Cunliffe is not a potato.

      So let’s not beat about the bush here! A sack of potatoes is far better than David Shearer! You know it makes sense!

      Vote Spuds! Now!

      • Chalupa Batman 17.1.1
        26 November 2012 at 7:13 pm

        Bolger didn’t do too badly…

      • felix 17.1.2
        26 November 2012 at 9:24 pm

        I’ve got a few sacks of horse shit and sawdust and I’ll put any one of them up against Shearer AND your spuds if you wanna make it a three-way contest.

        My sacks are humming with life and energy, bursting with fresh and fertile ideas. This is the nourishment the grass roots are crying out for!

        Let’s grow a stronger party from the ground up!

        Horse Shit for Labour!

        • Rhinocrates 17.1.2.1
          26 November 2012 at 9:40 pm

          Potatoes smell better than horse shit, but I have to admit that sawdust, especially pine, has the advantage when it comes to fragrance. This is going to be a tough competition, but I submit that the nutritional value of potatoes is more appealing to the proles, I mean voters, and they will see through the facile appeal of your sawdust! Horse shit might appeal to rose bushes, but rose bushes aren’t voters!

          • vto 17.1.2.1.1
            26 November 2012 at 9:58 pm

            I’ll see your sacks of potatoes and horse shit and raise you three chickens.

            • Rhinocrates 17.1.2.1.1.1
              26 November 2012 at 10:08 pm

              Ha! Chickens make poor interview subjects. They wander about, making random clucking sounds and are notoriously prone to picking on those perceived to be weak, undermining the appearance of solidarity. On the other hand, a single potato will show calm and decorum under all circumstances and a whole sack of them will be likewise stoic and determined. This will indicate that the front bench is steady and unified, unlike the present state of affairs.

              • vto …
                26 November 2012 at 10:24 pm

                Put four tv channels on the telly… one of Shearer, one of a potato, one of a pile of horse shit (even with a sawdust garnish) and one of my three chickens…

                Which one do you imagine the people would most watch? One must think of the media.

                • felix …
                  26 November 2012 at 10:46 pm

                  The camera is a fickle mistress. Horse Shit has been spending a lot of time on the ground around the country, meeting and listening to the Real People ™ , and the Real People ™ are saying that when you get up close enough, Horse Shit really shines.

                  Besides, any sack of shit can get media training but what can you teach a chook or a spud?

                  • locus …
                    27 November 2012 at 9:27 am

                    pretty b**** funny… horse shit gets my vote and what with the worms and compost it’s win win for the spuds and chooks

      • Rogue Trooper 17.1.3
        26 November 2012 at 9:39 pm

        That is hilarious.

  18. joe90 18
    26 November 2012 at 6:56 pm

    Please, please can this be the real thing.

    Definitive Proof of Politifact’s Bias

    They also unfairly tarnish Michele Bachmann as a liar, when anybody who follows her already understands that many of her statements aren’t meant to be truthful in the first place — she simply says what she feels.

  19. BLiP 19
    26 November 2012 at 8:49 pm

    .

    Surprise, surprise . . .

    A political marketing expert says four of the country’s biggest newspapers were substantially biased in their coverage of last year’s election – mostly in favour of John Key.

    Massey University Associate Professor Claire Robinson assessed all the election images run in The New Zealand Herald, the Herald on Sunday, the Dominion Post and Sunday Star Times.

    She says Labour and Phil Goff have real grounds to feel they were unfairly treated . . .

    • karol 19.1
      26 November 2012 at 9:01 pm

      The press release that the above article is based on.

    • Blue 19.2
      26 November 2012 at 9:20 pm

      Cue squawking from the MSM: “We’re not biased, we /just have a really, really big crush on John Key/ don’t accept those findings, we can find a different expert with another opinion/ Oh John, you’re so cheeky! Ooh! /we are nothing but fair, balanced and objective/ but John is just so *hot*/ and we maintain that we have the best political coverage in NZ/ especially if you want to find out what John had for breakfast/.

  20. Descendant Of Smith 20
    26 November 2012 at 9:15 pm

    Interesting research on the genetic ( strictly speaking epigenetic) effects that aspects such as famine (poverty) have on future generations.

    http://protomag.com/assets/the-new-heredity

    Epigenetics as I understand is about the proteins that sit on top of the gene and that suppress or encourage the switching on and off of the gene.

    http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/obesity-epigenetics-and-gene-regulation-927

    The poverty that is currently being inflicted on New Zealanders now will likely have long lasting effects including those not born yet.

    On the other hand creating a more egalitarian distributed society with decent housing, sufficient food and heating and stable environments will likely have our future citizens coping more easily with problems such as climate change.

    What we create today suddenly seems more important.

  21. muzza 21
    26 November 2012 at 9:38 pm

    http://laudafinem.com/2012/11/21/public-confidence-in-nz-courts-on-the-verge-of-collapse-rogue-jurors-out-of-control/

    I’m sure people would have seen this sham by TVNZ last weekend, and I would advise the above link as must read!

    NZ really is controllably out of control!

  22. Rogue Trooper 22
    26 November 2012 at 9:45 pm

    This “Macdonalds” thingy (is that how you spell that cardboard food place?) is a bit of gaff innit

    simile without fries?

  23. Draco T Bastard 23
    26 November 2012 at 10:10 pm

    TVNZ7 survey results ‘concealed’

    Former broadcasting minister Jonathan Coleman announced in February 2011 that TVNZ7 would be canned. Two months later, he justified his decision by saying it had a weekly audience of only 207,000.

    He admitted in May this year that the figure, which he said was provided by officials, had been calculated wrongly.

    Mr Thomas said the research indicated that, by January 2010, more than 500,000 people watched TVNZ7 at least once a week.

    It showed TVNZ knew Dr Coleman’s figure was wrong, he said.

    TVNZ spokeswoman Megan Richards said the research was carried out as part of its reporting back to the Government. “So the Government was fully aware of the contents of each survey.”

    TVNZ believed the research was commercially sensitive “despite the non-commercial nature of the channel as a whole”.

    Oh, I bet it was commercially sensitive – TVNZ1&2 would have been losing audience share to TVNZ7.

  24. Rogue Trooper 24
    26 November 2012 at 10:32 pm

    at least people may learn something along the way

  25. joe90 25
    26 November 2012 at 11:05 pm

    Of 13,950 peer reviewed articles 24 rejected global warming: In One Pie Chart

    By my definition, 24 of the 13,950 articles, 0.17% or 1 in 581, clearly reject global warming or endorse a cause other than CO2 emissions for observed warming.

Links to post

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • Weekly Roundup 19-April-2024
    It’s Friday again. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week on Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt covered at the government looking into a long tunnel for Wellington. On Wednesday we ran a post from Oscar Simms on some lessons from Texas. AT’s ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    52 mins ago

  • Jack Vowles: Stop the panic – we’ve been here before
    New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’.  The data is from February this ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 hours ago

  • Clearing up confusion (or trying to)
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters is understood to be planning a major speech within the next fortnight to clear up the confusion over whether or not New Zealand might join the AUKUS submarine project. So far, there have been conflicting signals from the Government. RNZ reported the Prime Minister yesterday in ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 hours ago

  • How to Retrieve Deleted Call Log iPhone Without Computer
    How to Retrieve Deleted Call Log on iPhone Without a Computer: A Step–by–Step Guide Losing your iPhone call history can be frustrating, especially when you need to find a specific number or recall an important conversation. But before you panic, know that there are ways to retrieve deleted call logs on your iPhone, even without a computer. This guide will explore various methods, ranging from simple checks to utilizing iCloud backups and third–party applications. So, let‘s dive in and recover those lost calls! 1. Check Recently Deleted Folder: Apple understands that accidental deletions happen. That‘s why they introduced the “Recently Deleted“ folder for various apps, including the Phone app. This folder acts as a safety net, storing deleted call logs for up to 30 days before permanently erasing them. Here‘s how to check it: Open the Phone app on your iPhone. Tap on the “Recents“ tab at the bottom. Scroll to the top and tap on “Edit“. Select “Show Recently Deleted“. Browse the list to find the call logs you want to recover. Tap on the desired call log and choose “Recover“ to restore it to your call history. 2. Restore from iCloud Backup: If you regularly back up your iPhone to iCloud, you might be able to retrieve your deleted call log from a previous backup. However, keep in mind that this process will restore your entire phone to the state it was in at the time of the backup, potentially erasing any data added since then. Here‘s how to restore from an iCloud backup: Go to Settings > General > Reset. Choose “Erase All Content and Settings“. Follow the on–screen instructions. Your iPhone will restart and show the initial setup screen. Choose “Restore from iCloud Backup“ during the setup process. Select the relevant backup that contains your deleted call log. Wait for the restoration process to complete. 3. Explore Third–Party Apps (with Caution): ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    6 hours ago

  • How to Factory Reset iPhone without Computer: A Comprehensive Guide to Restoring your Device
    Life throws curveballs, and sometimes, those curveballs necessitate wiping your iPhone clean and starting anew. Whether you’re facing persistent software glitches, preparing to sell your device, or simply wanting a fresh start, knowing how to factory reset iPhone without a computer is a valuable skill. While using a computer with ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    12 hours ago

  • How to Call Someone on a Computer: A Guide to Voice and Video Communication in the Digital Age
    Gone are the days when communication was limited to landline phones and physical proximity. Today, computers have become powerful tools for connecting with people across the globe through voice and video calls. But with a plethora of applications and methods available, how to call someone on a computer might seem ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    13 hours ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #16 2024
    Open access notables Glacial isostatic adjustment reduces past and future Arctic subsea permafrost, Creel et al., Nature Communications: Sea-level rise submerges terrestrial permafrost in the Arctic, turning it into subsea permafrost. Subsea permafrost underlies ~ 1.8 million km2 of Arctic continental shelf, with thicknesses in places exceeding 700 m. Sea-level variations over glacial-interglacial cycles control ...
    Skeptical Science
    13 hours ago

  • Where on a Computer is the Operating System Generally Stored? Delving into the Digital Home of your ...
    The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    14 hours ago

  • How Many Watts Does a Laptop Use? Understanding Power Consumption and Efficiency
    Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    14 hours ago

  • How to Screen Record on a Dell Laptop A Guide to Capturing Your Screen with Ease
    Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    14 hours ago

  • How Much Does it Cost to Fix a Laptop Screen? Navigating Repair Options and Costs
    A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    14 hours ago

  • How Long Do Gaming Laptops Last? Demystifying Lifespan and Maximizing Longevity
    Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    14 hours ago

  • Climate Change: Turning the tide
    The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    15 hours ago

  • How to Unlock Your Computer A Comprehensive Guide to Regaining Access
    Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    16 hours ago

  • Faxing from Your Computer A Modern Guide to Sending Documents Digitally
    While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    16 hours ago

  • Protecting Your Home Computer A Guide to Cyber Awareness
    In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    16 hours ago

  • Server-Based Computing Powering the Modern Digital Landscape
    In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    16 hours ago

  • Vroom vroom go the big red trucks
    The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    16 hours ago

  • Jones finds $410,000 to help the government muscle in on a spat project
    Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    17 hours ago

  • Again, hate crimes are not necessarily terrorism.
    Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    20 hours ago

  • Despair – construction consenting edition
    Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    20 hours ago

  • Coalition promises – will the Govt keep the commitment to keep Kiwis equal before the law?
    Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    20 hours ago

  • An impermanent public service is a guarantee of very little else but failure
    Chris Trotter writes –  The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    22 hours ago

  • What happens after the war – Mariupol
    Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
    Open ParachuteBy Ken
    22 hours ago

  • Babies and benefits – no good news
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three.  ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    23 hours ago

  • Should the RBNZ be looking through climate inflation?
    Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    23 hours ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours, as of 9:16 am on Thursday, April 18 are:Housing: Tauranga residents living in boats, vans RNZ Checkpoint Louise TernouthHousing: Waikato councillor says wastewater plant issues could hold up Sleepyhead building a massive company town Waikato Times Stephen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    24 hours ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the public sector carnage, and misogyny as terrorism
    It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    1 day ago

  • Meeting the Master Baiters
    Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 day ago

  • How extreme was the Earth's temperature in 2023
    This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blog In 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 day ago

  • Backbone, revisited
    The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Ministers are not above the law
    Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • What’s the outfit you can hear going down the gurgler? Probably it’s David Parker’s Oceans Sec...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point  of Order first heard of the Oceans Secretariat in June 2021, when David Parker (remember him?) announced a multi-agency approach to protecting New Zealand’s marine ecosystems and fisheries. Parker (holding the Environment, and Oceans and Fisheries portfolios) broke the news at the annual Forest & ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Bryce Edwards writes  – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Matt Doocey doubles down on trans “healthcare”
    Citizen Science writes –  Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • A TikTok Prime Minister.
    One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • Texas Lessons
    This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    2 days ago

  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links at 6:06 am
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours as of 6:06 am on Wednesday, April 17 are:Must read: Secrecy shrouds which projects might be fast-tracked RNZ Farah HancockScoop: Revealed: Luxon has seven staffers working on social media content - partly paid for by taxpayer Newshub ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Fighting poverty on the holiday highway
    Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago

  • Bernard's six-stack of substacks at 6:26 pm
    Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • At a glance – Is the science settled?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Apposite Quotations.
    How Long Is Long Enough? Gaza under Israeli bombardment, July 2014. This posting is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
    Bowalley Road
    3 days ago

  • What’s a life worth now?
    You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Howling at the Moon
    Karl du Fresne writes –  There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Newshub is Dead.
    I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Seymour is chuffed about cutting early-learning red tape – but we hear, too, that Jones has loose...
    Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago

  • Was Hawkesby entirely wrong?
    David Farrar  writes –  The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • PRC shadow looms as the Solomons head for election
    PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time. A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Climate Change: Criminal ecocide
    We are in the middle of a climate crisis. Last year was (again) the hottest year on record. NOAA has just announced another global coral bleaching event. Floods are threatening UK food security. So naturally, Shane Jones wants to make it easier to mine coal: Resources Minister Shane Jones ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • Is saving one minute of a politician's time worth nearly $1 billion?
    Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Long Tunnel or Long Con?
    Yesterday it was revealed that Transport Minister had asked Waka Kotahi to look at the options for a long tunnel through Wellington. State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 days ago

  • Smoke And Mirrors.
    You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • What is Mexico doing about climate change?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • State of humanity, 2024
    2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago

  • Govt’s Wellington tunnel vision aims to ease the way to the airport (but zealous promoters of cycl...
    Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • The case for cultural connectedness
    A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Useful context on public sector job cuts
    David Farrar writes –    The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated.   While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell On When Racism Comes Disguised As Anti-racism
    Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    4 days ago

  • Govt ignored economic analysis of smokefree reversal
    Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • True Blue.
    True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • Who is running New Zealand’s foreign policy?
    While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago

  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #15
    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 7, 2024 thru Sat, April 13, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week is about adults in the room setting terms and conditions of ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Feline Friends and Fragile Fauna The Complexities of Cats in New Zealand’s Conservation Efforts

    Cats, with their independent spirit and beguiling purrs, have captured the hearts of humans for millennia. In New Zealand, felines are no exception, boasting the highest national cat ownership rate globally [definition cat nz cat foundation]. An estimated 1.134 million pet cats grace Kiwi households, compared to 683,000 dogs ...

    Gareth’s WorldBy admin
    5 days ago

  • Or is that just they want us to think?
    Nice guy, that Peter Williams. Amiable, a calm air of no-nonsense capability, a winning smile. Everything you look for in a TV presenter and newsreader.I used to see him sometimes when I went to TVNZ to be a talking head or a panellist and we would yarn. Nice guy, that ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Fact Brief – Did global warming stop in 1998?
    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Did global warming stop in ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago

  • Arguing over a moot point.
    I have been following recent debates in the corporate and social media about whether it is a good idea for NZ to join what is known as “AUKUS Pillar Two.” AUKUS is the Australian-UK-US nuclear submarine building agreement in which … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    6 days ago

  • No Longer Trusted: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    Turning Point: “What has turned me away from the mainstream news media is the very strong message that its been sending out for the last few years.” “And what message might that be?” “That the people who own it, the people who run it, and the people who provide its content, really don’t ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago

  • Mortgage rates at 10% anyone?
    No – nothing about that in PM Luxon’s nine-point plan to improve the lives of New Zealanders. But beyond our shores Jamie Dimon, the long-serving head of global bank J.P. Morgan Chase, reckons that the chances of a goldilocks soft landing for the economy are “a lot lower” than the ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    6 days ago

  • Sad tales from the left
    Michael Bassett writes –  Have you noticed the odd way in which the media are handling the government’s crackdown on surplus employees in the Public Service? Very few reporters mention the crazy way in which State Service numbers rocketed ahead by more than 16,000 during Labour’s six years, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • In Whose Best Interests?
    On The Spot: The question Q+A host, Jack Tame, put to the Workplace & Safety Minister, Act’s Brooke van Velden, was disarmingly simple: “Are income tax cuts right now in the best interests of lowering inflation?”JACK TAME has tested another MP on his Sunday morning current affairs show, Q+A. Minister for Workplace ...
    Bowalley Road
    6 days ago

  • Don’t Question, Don’t Complain.
    It has to start somewhereIt has to start sometimeWhat better place than here?What better time than now?So it turns out that I owe you all an apology.It seems that all of the terrible things this government is doing, impacting the lives of many, aren’t necessarily ‘bad’ per se. Those things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • Auckland faces 25% water inflation shock
    Three Waters became a focus of anti-Government protests under Labour, but its dumping by the new Government hasn’t solved councils’ funding problems and will eventually hit the back pockets of everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 8:06 am today are:The Government ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • Small accomplishments and large ironies
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Share Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago

  • The Song of Saqua: Volume VII
    In order to catch up to the actual progress of the D&D campaign, I present you with another couple of sessions. These were actually held back to back, on a Monday and Tuesday evening. Session XV Alas, Goatslayer had another lycanthropic transformation… though this time, he ran off into the ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    6 days ago

  • Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago

  • Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
    The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago

  • Taupō takes pole position
    The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago

  • Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners.  “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago

  • Government backing mussel spat project
    The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago

  • Government focused on getting people into work
    Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago

  • Clean energy key driver to reducing emissions
    The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    24 hours ago

  • Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forward
    The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
    RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Inflation coming down, but more work to do
    Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
    Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sector
    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Patterson promoting NZ’s wool sector at International Congress
    Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector.    "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Removing red tape to help early learners thrive
    The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • RMA changes to cut coal mining consent red tape
    Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • McClay reaffirms strong NZ-China trade relationship
    Trade, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay has concluded productive discussions with ministerial counterparts in Beijing today, in support of the New Zealand-China trade and economic relationship. “My meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao reaffirmed the complementary nature of the bilateral trade relationship, with our Free Trade Agreement at its ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Prime Minister Luxon acknowledges legacy of Singapore Prime Minister Lee
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon today paid tribute to Singapore’s outgoing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.   Meeting in Singapore today immediately before Prime Minister Lee announced he was stepping down, Prime Minister Luxon warmly acknowledged his counterpart’s almost twenty years as leader, and the enduring legacy he has left for Singapore and South East ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • PMs Luxon and Lee deepen Singapore-NZ ties
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. While in Singapore as part of his visit to South East Asia this week, Prime Minister Luxon also met with Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.  During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Antarctica New Zealand Board appointments
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has made further appointments to the Board of Antarctica New Zealand as part of a continued effort to ensure the Scott Base Redevelopment project is delivered in a cost-effective and efficient manner.  The Minister has appointed Neville Harris as a new member of the Board. Mr ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Finance Minister travels to Washington DC
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis will travel to the United States on Tuesday to attend a meeting of the Five Finance Ministers group, with counterparts from Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.  “I am looking forward to meeting with our Five Finance partners on how we can work ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Pet bonds a win/win for renters and landlords
    The coalition Government has today announced purrfect and pawsitive changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to give tenants with pets greater choice when looking for a rental property, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Pets are important members of many Kiwi families. It’s estimated that around 64 per cent of New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Long Tunnel for SH1 Wellington being considered
    State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the Government has also asked NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) to consider and provide advice on a Long Tunnel option, Transport Minister Simeon Brown ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • New Zealand condemns Iranian strikes
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters have condemned Iran’s shocking and illegal strikes against Israel.    “These attacks are a major challenge to peace and stability in a region already under enormous pressure," Mr Luxon says.    "We are deeply concerned that miscalculation on any side could ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Huge interest in Government’s infrastructure plans
    Hundreds of people in little over a week have turned out in Northland to hear Regional Development Minister Shane Jones speak about plans for boosting the regional economy through infrastructure. About 200 people from the infrastructure and associated sectors attended an event headlined by Mr Jones in Whangarei today. Last ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Health Minister thanks outgoing Health New Zealand Chair
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has today thanked outgoing Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora Chair Dame Karen Poutasi for her service on the Board.   “Dame Karen tendered her resignation as Chair and as a member of the Board today,” says Dr Reti.  “I have asked her to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Roads of National Significance planning underway
    The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has signalled their proposed delivery approach for the Government’s 15 Roads of National Significance (RoNS), with the release of the State Highway Investment Proposal (SHIP) today, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.  “Boosting economic growth and productivity is a key part of the Government’s plan to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Navigating an unstable global environment
    New Zealand is renewing its connections with a world facing urgent challenges by pursuing an active, energetic foreign policy, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.   “Our country faces the most unstable global environment in decades,” Mr Peters says at the conclusion of two weeks of engagements in Egypt, Europe and the United States.    “We cannot afford to sit back in splendid ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • NZ welcomes Australian Governor-General
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has announced the Australian Governor-General, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley and his wife Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley, will make a State visit to New Zealand from Tuesday 16 April to Thursday 18 April. The visit reciprocates the State visit of former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • Pseudoephedrine back on shelves for Winter
    Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced that Medsafe has approved 11 cold and flu medicines containing pseudoephedrine. Pharmaceutical suppliers have indicated they may be able to supply the first products in June. “This is much earlier than the original expectation of medicines being available by 2025. The Government recognised ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago

  • NZ and the US: an ever closer partnership
    New Zealand and the United States have recommitted to their strategic partnership in Washington DC today, pledging to work ever more closely together in support of shared values and interests, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “The strategic environment that New Zealand and the United States face is considerably more ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Joint US and NZ declaration
    April 11, 2024 Joint Declaration by United States Secretary of State the Honorable Antony J. Blinken and New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs the Right Honourable Winston Peters We met today in Washington, D.C. to recommit to the historic partnership between our two countries and the principles that underpin it—rule ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • NZ and US to undertake further practical Pacific cooperation
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced further New Zealand cooperation with the United States in the Pacific Islands region through $16.4 million in funding for initiatives in digital connectivity and oceans and fisheries research.   “New Zealand can achieve more in the Pacific if we work together more urgently and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Government redress for Te Korowai o Wainuiārua
    The Government is continuing the bipartisan effort to restore its relationship with iwi as the Te Korowai o Wainuiārua Claims Settlement Bill passed its first reading in Parliament today, says Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith. “Historical grievances of Te Korowai o Wainuiārua relate to 19th century warfare, land purchased or taken ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Focus on outstanding minerals permit applications
    New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals is working to resolve almost 150 outstanding minerals permit applications by the end of the financial year, enabling valuable mining activity and signalling to the sector that New Zealand is open for business, Resources Minister Shane Jones says.  “While there are no set timeframes for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Applications open for NZ-Ireland Research Call
    The New Zealand and Irish governments have today announced that applications for the 2024 New Zealand-Ireland Joint Research Call on Agriculture and Climate Change are now open. This is the third research call in the three-year Joint Research Initiative pilot launched in 2022 by the Ministry for Primary Industries and Ireland’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Tenancy rules changes to improve rental market
    The coalition Government has today announced changes to the Residential Tenancies Act to encourage landlords back to the rental property market, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “The previous Government waged a war on landlords. Many landlords told us this caused them to exit the rental market altogether. It caused worse ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Boosting NZ’s trade and agricultural relationship with China
    Trade and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay will visit China next week, to strengthen relationships, support Kiwi exporters and promote New Zealand businesses on the world stage. “China is one of New Zealand’s most significant trade and economic relationships and remains an important destination for New Zealand’s products, accounting for nearly 22 per cent of our good and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Freshwater farm plan systems to be improved
    The coalition Government intends to improve freshwater farm plans so that they are more cost-effective and practical for farmers, Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard and Agriculture Minister Todd McClay have announced. “A fit-for-purpose freshwater farm plan system will enable farmers and growers to find the right solutions for their farm ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • New Fast Track Projects advisory group named
    The coalition Government has today announced the expert advisory group who will provide independent recommendations to Ministers on projects to be included in the Fast Track Approvals Bill, say RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones. “Our Fast Track Approval process will make it easier and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-04-18T20:52:56+00:00