Open mike 27/01/2016

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, January 27th, 2016 - 147 comments
Categories: open mike - Tags:

openmikeOpen mike is your post.

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

Step up to the mike …

147 comments on “Open mike 27/01/2016 ”

  1. Ad 1

    Even though every January in Auckland is now subtropiCal, good gravy this is the worst.

    • ScottGN 1.1

      You’re living at the wrong end of the country.

    • Macro 1.2

      Yes even though an El Nino usually brings dry weather to the eastern side of the country – apart from December when we had just 11 mm of rain at Paeroa (closest met recording site for us on the Coromandel) and were looking at an extreme drought over the plains – this month has already exceeded the long term average for rainfall and we are looking at more!
      It seems that with the increase in average temperatures and the shift south of the Halley Climate Zone that our climate – particularly in the north of the country is moving rapidly to a phase in our climate patterns. Humid as hell here today! 20 something feels like 30 something.
      WE will need to wait a few years to see if this is going to be the new normal for el nino. Interesting times.

    • Draco T Bastard 1.3

      Gills needed.

  2. Paul 2

    The Herald and Audrey Young pimps for Key.
    Accepts this statement without challenging it.

    “This is a free-trade deal that gives us access to 800 million middle-income consumers. Its economic benefits are about two-and-a-half times the size of the China FTA.”

    Corporate rag.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11580027

    • Molly 2.1

      News on TV1 was similar.

      Their piece on the government assessment of the TPPA, related the annual costs of the TPPA, and displayed the cumulative benefits.

      Don’t usually watch the news, and don’t think I’ll be doing it again very soon.

    • Rodel 2.2

      “This is a free-trade deal that gives us access to 800 million middle-income consumers. Its economic benefits are about two-and-a-half times the size of the China FTA.”..
      Yeah. I heard that and thought..Mmm Interesting..then realized it was from Mr Key’s mouth.and consumed a grain of NaCl

  3. Whispering Kate 3

    Listened to RNZ at 7.00 – 7.20am this morning, up until that time not a dicky bird on the meeting at the AK Town Hall last night over the TPPA . I watched Bomber’s live feed last night and it was excellent. So it wasn’t important enough for RNZ to even bring up the crowd and the very interesting speeches made and inform NZ listeners. NZ First, The Greens and the Maori Party were all completely against the TPPA, Labour’s speech was anti losing our sovereignity but didn’t actually come out and say there were anti the TPPA itself – quite vague I thought. Be interesting if any of the MSM bring it up during the day.

      • The lost sheep 3.1.1

        A crowd of only 800?
        Gee, I would have thought the Unions alone could have provided a stronger show of support than that.

        • Paul 3.1.1.1

          Any comment on the actual content of the meeting?

          • The lost sheep 3.1.1.1.1

            Yup.
            The small public attendance indicates that not many citizens were motivated to go along and listen to it.

            • Paul 3.1.1.1.1.1

              The content of the speeches…not the people attending.

              • The lost sheep

                The ‘content’ of last nights meeting has been debated endlessly here and elsewhere including the MSM. I’m not interested in going through it all again. (As was pointed out last night, i agree it is likely the U.S. Congress will torpedo it anyway).

                My point is that after all that debate, the small attendance in response to the call to ‘fill the Town Hall’ indicates only a very small % of citizens are buying into the ‘Corporate-National Party Conspiracy / loss of Sovereignty’ content that most of the speakers were pushing.

                There is a lesson there for you Paul. Once you pass the point where you invoke a conspiracy as part of a discussion, you will also have lost your connection to the views of the great majority of citizens.

            • mary_a 3.1.1.1.1.2

              @ The lost sheep (3.1.1.1.1)

              You seem to have missed the fact that the meeting was also live streamed through The Daily Blog, which in itself would have attracted a large number of viewers, for those of us who were unable to attend the meeting itself.

              Have a think about that.

        • Chooky 3.1.1.2

          The Town Hall was packed full…in the report I heard

          • The lost sheep 3.1.1.2.1

            Ground floor full and a few upstairs. That’s half full in a venue that holds over 1600….anyway you look at it, it’s a very low response……

            http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/295019/critics-say-tpp-not-a-done-deal

            • Tautoko Mangō Mata 3.1.1.2.1.1

              Like many others I watched on the live feed and sent a donation to
              https://givealittle.co.nz/org/itsourfuture.

              It was an excellent and informative meeting.

            • Macro 3.1.1.2.1.2

              There was well over 800. I know, I was there. The ground floor was full, and that is is far more than half the seating capacity. The upper floors were about 1/3 full. That would make around 1200 at least if the seating capacity is as you say 1600.
              I suppose if they were to have said that there were 1600 people then you would have said – “pppppft only that many! ”
              The talk was also live streamed and there were over 10,000 on that site so way more interest than you make out.

              • The lost sheep

                0.09% of Aucklands population turns up to the meeting, and (a claimed) 0.2% of the total population stream the broadcast…

                Now if i was claiming those kind of figures as evidence of public support for the TPPA, you would be saying what?

                • dv

                  Well those are interesting %- about the % increase in GDP from the tppa!!!!

                • Macro

                  No wonder you are a lost sheep! What sort of an idiot argument is that?
                  Had the Town Hall been full to overflowing – you would have argued – well that’s only 0.15% of Aucklands population etc etc….
                  The facts of just what this nonsense agreement is about are only just emerging – and they are proving to be as bad if not worse than was feared.
                  So we have a compliant media who only reiterate the lies and propaganda of the Government and make no real analysis of what they are told. What can you expect of the population who are treated by a govt as mushrooms – kept in the dark and fed bullshit? It is surprising that as many did turn up.
                  I drove up to the event from the Coromandel. It took almost 3/4 of an hour to “drive” from tip top corner to the Civic Car Park. The traffic going south at that time was even worse. No need to remind me why I no longer live in Auckland. I would strongly suspect that if one didn’t have to go out on an evening in Auckland these days one wouldn’t. The congestion on the motorway being a very strong disincentive.

                  • The lost sheep

                    “So we have a compliant media who only reiterate the lies and propaganda of the Government and make no real analysis of what they are told. What can you expect of the population who are treated by a govt as mushrooms – kept in the dark and fed bullshit? It is surprising that as many did turn up.”

                    That’s nonsense.
                    Anyone googling TPPA will immediately have access to all the various view out there on the TPPA.
                    In fact the first link that comes up is http://itsourfuture.org.nz/what-is-the-tppa/, and 5 of the first 10 results are anti-TPPA sites.
                    Are you seriously suggesting citizens are prevented from accessing information freely available on the internet?

                    And The MSM has comprehensively covered all the views on the TPP.
                    In that first page of results the first MSM page that comes up is this..
                    http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/76141808/the-transpacific-partnership-tppa-explained-in-five-minutes
                    Please note the article carefully covers the objections to TPPA, including direct comment from Kelsey.

                    The second article from MSM that comes up is this
                    http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/world/76250812/tppa-nonsigning-risks-marginalisation-and-decline-for-nz-economy
                    Once again please note the main point of the article is to express the views of critics of the TPPA.

                    If we go to the Herald, the first thing we find is this report of last nights meetings.
                    http://m.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11580056
                    Surprise surprise, it comprehensively reports the critical views of the TPPA.

                    Second on The Herald list is this, published in The Northen Advocate..
                    http://m.nzherald.co.nz/northern-advocate/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503450&objectid=11578273

                    ETC ETC ETC. I’ve been following the TPP story through the MS and FREE media here in NZ, and IT IS UTTER BOLLOCKS to allege there is lack of freely available/unbalanced information.
                    The ‘mushroom’ meme is complete bullshit. (For any issue, not just the TPP)

                    The people are well informed and have information freely available to them from any source that wants to put information out there.
                    The reason so few of them supported the meeting last night is that after absorbing all the information, there simply aren’t that many people who are deeply concerned about the TPPA.

                    • Macro

                      All what you say is true, however the most consistent message, and the one all the articles leave the reader with, is the advice that the TPPA is the propaganda spread by the Govt that the really good for NZ, not to worry about all the expert analysis they don’t know what they are talking about.

                      The people are well informed and have information freely available to them from any source that wants to put information out there.

                      That is complete and utter bollocks as any independent survey of the electorate would show. The full text was only released by the govt yesterday!
                      You may have been following the discussion – but you are not everyone.
                      Just as an aside, what you get as a result of a google search and what your friend or neighbour gets as a result for the same google search, you might be surprised to know, are highly likely to be completely different, based on each individuals web browsing habits.

                    • The lost sheep

                      All what you say is true, however the most consistent message, and the one all the articles leave the reader with, is the advice that the TPPA is the propaganda spread by the Govt that the really good for NZ, not to worry about all the expert analysis they don’t know what they are talking about.”

                      I didn’t see that as being the most consistent message, and I’m not sure if I saw the media putting it that way anywhere?

                      There has a been a wide range of opinions expressed and if I anything I would say the bulk of the MSM coverage centered around the objections to the TPP.

                      But having been given the info., (such as the widely reported fact that the negotiations were secret), and hearing the various opinions, ‘the people’ are then perfectly free to go and follow their own sources and make their own minds up about what they think and how motivated they are to do something about it. Or not.

                      That is simply democracy, and most people see it as such.
                      But when the weight of democratic opinion goes against either the Far Right or Far Left they always tend to see it as the result of bias or the idiocy of ‘the people’.
                      Much easier to swallow than the idea that the majority of people are reasonable and simply don’t agree with you.

                    • Macro

                      Actually the weight of opinion in NZ is against the TPPA – or haven’t you read that fact.
                      So I wouldn’t hold a great deal of candle to your opinion that they are all for it or don’t care.

            • Paul 3.1.1.2.1.3

              You seem very unwilling to debate the actual content of what Lori Wallach and Jane Kelsey said to a disputed number of people at the town hall.
              It did seems to highlight the misinformation your master Key has been telling us.

            • lprent 3.1.1.2.1.4

              *sigh* another idiot sheepie who is too lazy to look it up and probably can’t read anyway.

              http://www.aucklandlive.co.nz/Our-Venues/Auckland-Town-Hall/Great-Hall.aspx

              The centrepiece of Auckland Town Hall is the Great Hall, seating up to 1,529 people on three levels.

              So that is your first lie – I guess you like emulating the idiot liar John Key?

              Second is that I think that the bottom floor was full from the video – that is more like 1200. The upper floors had people (overflow) up there. I suspect the ‘800’ was just wrong. It was a midweek evening event. I was still working at 7pm, I watched on video.

              Thirdly, compared to what? Just think of the right and its events where you are lucky to get 50 fools out unless the government or the National party cough up free grog. Even then it is less than this.

              Basically you are a complete idiot.

              • The lost sheep

                The centrepiece of Auckland Town Hall is the Great Hall, seating up to 1,529 people on three levels.
                So that is your first lie – I guess you like emulating the idiot liar John Key?
                Second is that I think that the bottom floor was full from the video – that is more like 1200. The upper floors had people (overflow) up there. I suspect the ‘800’ was just wrong. It was a midweek evening event. I was still working at 7pm, I watched on video.

                Achully (JK impression), the 0.09 figure I quoted was based on the generous assumption that there were 50% more people there than the report stated.
                1200 in fact.
                If it was only 800 the figure would have been 0.06.
                Bald Fact is, seeking a show of support in a city of 1.3m they could not fill a 1500 seat hall.

                Thirdly, compared to what?

                50,000 at the 1981 Springbok Tour or Kiwis Care protests. 8000 Farmers who protested Rogernomics, or the 1000 that came to the Town Hall for the GCSB Bill. Or the 35,000 that made the effort to attend the ‘Big Boys Toys’ event, or the 5000 that made the effort to get to Piha during the weekend.
                Compared to what is 1200 people an indication of a high level of public support?

                Basically you are a complete idiot.

                And you owning the site doesn’t make that any less of a bullshit and pointless ad hominem cheap shot.

              • Chooky

                +100 Iprent…have to agree with you

      • cogito 3.1.2

        I liked this bit:

        “But one audience member, Ian, said he was furious with the deal.

        “I’ve got to the stage now where I think petitions and protests are part of a social contract where people who are outraged think ‘Oh I’ve done something, I’ve done something’ and the Government just goes ahead and ignores them anyway.

        “I think what we need is not protests and petitions but riots. We need to change this Government’s opinion and we need to change everyone else’s opinion and make them wonder why are people behaving the way they are. I think we need mass civil disobedience.” ”
        http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/295019/critics-say-tpp-not-a-done-deal

      • Andre 3.1.3

        I find it incredibly ironic that the route to protecting New Zealand’s best interests lies in a bunch of completely-out-of-their-mind Republicans motivated entirely by partisan malice towards Obama going even further out of their minds and taking a few more of their slightly-less-irrational colleagues with them.

        • Colonial Viper 3.1.3.1

          Don’t mix up the decision making and attitudes of the oligarchic elite with the views and anxieties of ordinary Americans struggling to get ahead or stay ahead.

          • Andre 3.1.3.1.1

            I was referring to members of congress, both House and Senate.

            • Macro 3.1.3.1.1.1

              Yep! We may or may not be saved by the greedies who want more extortionate clauses in the Agreement not less!
              Just a small handful have to change their mind one way or the other. It’s no done deal yet.
              But the scary thing is this:
              If our idiotic govt ratify this deal – before the thing is signed off by congress – and they (congress) then only agree to new extortionate clauses that further lengthen the time frame for IP etc (as the republicans want) then we are further shafted!

              • Andre

                I thought the TPA legislation that has already been passed means Congress has to put it to a straight yes/no vote, they can’t try to tinker with it.

                • Macro

                  That was what I thought too – until listening to Lori last night – it seemed that that was a possibility. Maybe I got her wrong – but she was stressing that many in the GOP were against TTPA because the time limits on generic drugs etc was not long enough for big pharmac to collect even more money. It seemed that the issue was that they would only agree if the got their way.

                • Craig H

                  Theoretically they can’t tinker with it, but they could repeal the legislation if they really wanted to. It wouldn’t surprise me either way, to be honest.

              • Stuart Munro

                Who is it that rush in where angels fear to tread? The Gnats. Of course.

    • Rosemary McDonald 3.2

      Despite the rest of the household disconnecting from our stretched broadband so we could watch the live stream…we kept losing the feed. Very annoying…does anyone know if it was recorded? And available?

    • Gangnam Style 3.3

      The Sound just had something about some Farmers (Fonterra or Farm Fed) were in support of it. Followed by intelectual heavy weight Leah Panapa saying she agrees with Winston Peters that the Maori Party are “brownmailing” John Key & the other presenters all agreed & one guy mentioned “& you & Winston are maori followed by a joke about Winston being half scottish half Maori so he tanned easily but was cheap.” No wonder Key likes to go on those stations.

  4. Paul 4

    I wrote this post two days ago this post two days ago suggesting that New Zealand is highly vulnerable to the oncoming economic tsunami.
    http://thestandard.org.nz/keep-calm-and-carry-on/

    Seems like one of the word’s major rating agency agrees with me.
    http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/201786930/fitch-revises-down-nz's-economic-outlook

    • Puckish Rogue 4.1

      You mean this:

      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11580203

      “Fitch Ratings has affirmed its AA credit rating for New Zealand, but says the outlook for our agricultural exports means future growth won’t be quite as strong.”

      “The report from Fitch said GDP growth for New Zealand was still expected to pick up to 2.4 per cent and 2.6 per cent in 2016 and 2017 respectively – a slower pace than it forecast in its review in July last year.”

      • Paul 4.1.1

        Yes, this bit..

        ‘Ratings agency Fitch has highlighted weaker prices for New Zealand’s agriculture exports – including dairy – for its revised outlook on growth.
        It has left the country’s sovereign rating unchanged at AA, but had revised-down its assessment of New Zealand’s near-term growth prospects because it said the outlook for prices of the country’s agricultural exports had deteriorated.’

        Care to comment on Rod Oram’s outlook, pr?

        http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/201786811/business-commentator-rod-oram

        • Puckish Rogue 4.1.1.1

          As the link you referenced states we have growth, lower then expected growth yes but growth that’s better than most

          • Paul 4.1.1.1.1

            Care to comment on Rod Oram’s outlook about the TPP , pr?

            • Puckish Rogue 4.1.1.1.1.1

              Why? Its his opinion nothing more nothing less, it doesn’t change the outlook that NZs GDP is growing and whats more important GDP growth or Rod Orams opinion?

              It has as much relevance as this opinion

              http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/72604363/Former-PM-Clark-backs-controversial-TPPA-trade-deal

              Well actually you’d say it has more relevance all things considered

              • Paul

                So you don’t care to comment.
                I was interested to see how you argued against his clear concerns about the TPP.

                • Puckish Rogue

                  I can’t actually argue against it specifically as my work won’t allow me (well everyone really) certain functions on the internet so I can’t listen to it

                  However my points do stand, which opinion is considered more relevant Rod Oram or Helen Clark

                  • Andre

                    You’re spending your working day arguing with strangers on the internet? Is that your job? Or are you misusing the time your employer is paying you for?

                    • Puckish Rogue

                      You can judge how busy am I and what times I’m busy by how many comments I post and when I post them

                    • Paul

                      But if you’re not paid what possible motivation do you have for coming on this site day after day looking for an argument?

                    • Puckish Rogue

                      Same as most of the people on here I guess. I care about this country, I believe National under John Key is the best current option for NZ (ok not this so much) and I like to see what other other peoples opinions are

                  • Paul

                    I was simply interested in your opinion about Oram’s critique of the TPP.

                    ‘I can’t actually argue against it specifically as my work won’t allow me’

                    2 questions.
                    Are you only allowed to troll in certain areas?
                    Haven’t your masters given your lines to make this argument?

                    • Puckish Rogue

                      I realise that you’re making the suggestion I get paid for doing this (I wish) but no its simply certain apps and web pages aren’t allowed to be accessed

                      Theres some security measures at play I guess

          • BlueSky 4.1.1.1.2

            All growth is not good growth. See cancer.

  5. Paul 5

    ‘From heatwave to violent storms: New Zealand’s mad weather’
    Amazing that the Herald still can write an article about the weather without any reference to climate change or El Nino.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11580068

    The dumbing down of NZ continues apace.
    Won’t be long till we’ve reached this level of ignorance…

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

  6. Michael 6

    http://thehill.com/policy/finance/267065-trade-notably-absent-from-white-house-recap-of-pelosi-reid-meeting

    Interesting article. Obama met with Democratic leaders about the legislative agenda and the TPPA was not really discussed. Many Democrats oppose the TPPA, as do all three Democrats running for President.

  7. Chooky 7

    Big risks for New Zealand with the signing of the TPPA…Rod Oram spells it out

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/201786811/business-commentator-rod-oram

    “Business commentator Rod Oram on the recently available New Zealand research papers on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, and New Zealand’s role in the TPPA.”

    • Rodel 7.1

      Thanks Chooky
      “Business commentator Rod Oram on the recently available New Zealand research papers on the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, and New Zealand’s role in the TPPA.”
      Oram gives a pragmatic analysis far more balanced and reasonable than the usual TPPApologists.

  8. joe90 8

    Now I know I shouldn’t laugh ~snort~ but this from the beige badgers site –

    Cameron Slater said on Facebook today that the police won’t be appealing the High Court ruling in the Hager case. He doesn’t sound like a happy chap.

    Then the Police ring me and tell me that they aren’t going to appeal the High Court ruling in the Hager case. So the lefty cunts who stole my data, and tried to steal an election all get away with their criminality.

    They say they are pursuing other avenues, but yet again Nicky Hager has laundered stolen goods, made plenty of money and tried to influence an election…with zero consequences.

    It is days like this that you really question whether or not karma exists…or why you even bother doing what you do. Still there is much to be thankful for.

    Despite everything I still think I am very blessed and lucky to live in this country…though I’m not sure how long can bothered living here anymore. I might just go back to my place of birth (Fiji) or live somewhere totally different…like Israel….because New Zealand really doesn’t feel like home sometimes.

    • Anne 8.1

      Talk about projection!

      • weka 8.1.1

        That’s what I thought. Tried to influence an election, lol.

        Although I think we are all on the same page with Cam in wondering why he even bothers.

    • Rosie 8.2

      He’s always such a cry baby, wanting attention and sympathy because he didn’t get his way. Fine if he wants to move to another country, he doesn’t contribute anything to this one. He should do us all a favour and just get on with it, leave, and quit bleating.
      Israel would suit him. He can go join the IDF. He was there a while ago, as their guest, sociopathic sicko that he is.

      Well worth a little indulgent snort joe90

    • b waghorn 8.3

      I’d donate a bit towards transporting the rancid whale to Israel!
      Should we start a givalittle

    • Lara 8.4

      If he leaves NZ for good to go back and live in Fiji I bet we could have a whip round and pay for his plane ticket, on the agreement that it’s one way with no return. Ever.

    • Expat 8.5

      Joe 90

      Cams comment
      I might just go back to my place of birth (Fiji) or live somewhere totally different…like Israel….because New Zealand really doesn’t feel like home sometimes.

      Good riddents to ya, the sooner the better!!

    • North 8.6

      Bugger off to Israel then Slater, you mad bastard ! There you can bash over some Palestinian kids and get applauded for it !

      Doubt that NatziYahoo’ll have you in his phone list though. That’ll be tough won’t it slug ?

  9. greywarshark 9

    I came on this quote while browsing. The woman, Fran Peavey, makes a good point that is very relevant in these difficult times.
    (Make a comparison with Whaleoil musing as in Joe90 comment – Fran is trying to do good things for life to thrive on earth, Whaleoil isn’t even useful to spray on pest insects.)

    “Now, of course, the biggest criticism of heart politics is that it’s ‘so naive’. And it’s true, there is a lot of evil and despair in the world which makes it difficult to know if we will he able to make the changes necessary for life to thrive on earth.

    “We don’t know, but we have to do our bit because I know, one day, I’ll be lying on my bed and the Grim Reaper will come and I’ll want to be able to tell myself I did the best I could.

    http://www.jobsletter.org.nz/hpx/fran98.htm
    edited

  10. Puckish Rogue 10

    https://www.greens.org.nz/news/press-release/greens-cut-through-spin-independent-policy-costing-unit

    Now heres something I can fully support and get behind, if the left want to protest to force change then this would be a very good start

    Its only a couple of million a year so I think its a very good idea by the Greens

    • alwyn 10.1

      At last something useful.
      It probably shouldn’t be in Treasury though. It would be better as an independent agency of Parliament. That would keep any disgruntled party from attacking Treasury if they don’t like the figures that are produced.

      The thing that would have to be settled is what they look at of course. It would be an overwhelming job if they had to cost every little bit of waffle from a back bench MP.
      Someone who says, say, that the schools in his/her electorate should be repainted more frequently because they are close to the sea and look scruffy earlier.

      On the other hand their press release only says it would “be available” to political parties. It should be required. It should also require that any proposed policy of a party, at least in election years, must be supplied to the unit with sufficient time for it to be costed before it is announced.

      Getting policies out of Winston’s lot might be a problem. They seldom contain enough detail to be evaluated.

      • Puckish Rogue 10.1.1

        I think it would be a useful tool for the public to see what lunacy each party is suggesting

        Might make politicians pull their heads in a little

      • framu 10.1.2

        also – as an independant body it would create a system where the actual policy (not the PR sound byte) has to be submitted to be costed – then it all becomes OIA-able (one would hope)

        so lack of detail/rushed/poorly thought out policy would become exposed as well as the costings, allowing us to see behind the media and PR rhetoric

        (yes im thinking of a certain bullet point policy platform 🙂 )

        • Puckish Rogue 10.1.2.1

          See, the left and right can agree on things 🙂

        • weka 10.1.2.2

          There would be some inbuilt confidentiality clauses. Not sure what that means (maybe that Treasury can’t discuss it with other parties until the party releases it?).

          • framu 10.1.2.2.1

            if its public upon release, that in itself creates its own checks and balances.

            So i think that wouldnt be too big an issue

            a party that releases policy to late risks the media missing it and the public thinking theres something being hidden in the details

            The mere fact that both costings and policy details are in the hands of people outside the party, and can be released to the public together, would create a certain amount of pressure to be a bit more upfront (we can only dream of course 🙂 )

            • weka 10.1.2.2.1.1

              One place for potential abuse (looking at you National Party office) is where the costings are done and not released (including in other than election years). It’d be useful to see more of the Green Party’s thinking on how the whole thing would work.

              • framu

                thats why i think a fully independant body would be better – just some sort of way that MPs cant get their hands on the released data before anyone else

                • alwyn

                  I can’t see why MPs shouldn’t see the numbers first. Indeed it is better they do because they might come to their senses and scrap a crazy proposal. The numbers should be released immediately after a policy is publicly announced.
                  For the same reason I’m not that keen on the system being subject to the OIA act if it means that people can request costings done for a party where the policy was not then put to the public.
                  After all a party might consider a policy proposal. It gets costed and then they realise it really isn’t sensible and drop it. I don’t think it would be fair that the fact that they looked at something should be sufficient to have details released via an OIA request at a later date.
                  Something like a party considering reinstating the railway line from Napier to Gisborne. The cost might turn out to be, picking a number from the air, $500,000 per train. Very sensibly they scrap the idea. Someone then OIAs the calculation and attacks them for economic illiteracy.

                  • Puckish Rogue

                    These are good points

                  • Brigid

                    Well yes that is the way the MSM performs these days. They make attacks that are unjustified because the idea is as you put it IS “sensibly scrapped”

                  • Draco T Bastard

                    Someone then OIAs the calculation and attacks them for economic illiteracy.

                    But they do have a very legitimate and simple defence in saying that they didn’t go through with it/removed it from their platform. Of course, if they then went through with it they’d be rightly decried by all and sundry.

                    BTW, that’s a really bad way to determine if a railway line is worthwhile or not.

                • weka

                  There might need to be back and forth communication between the unit and the party while the costings are done. After the costings are done the party might need time and other processes to happen before the info is released. Maybe a time delay until it is made public?

                  • framu

                    yep – good points weka and alwyn

                    nothing wrong with being able to step back and change tack if a plan isnt working, and nothing with an outside pair of eyes being the one to show you your errors

                    im more talking from the point a party decides to go public with a given policy

                    • Puckish Rogue

                      and just like that a policy is improved that has both cross party appeal and will appeal to the voter in the street

                      a good days work I feel

                    • weka

                      I thought your points pertinent too framu. We don’t know enough about the proposal yet.

      • Draco T Bastard 10.1.3

        Getting policies out of Winston’s lot might be a problem. They seldom contain enough detail to be evaluated.

        I was thinking that it would be National that would have difficulty having their policies costed as they’re all simply make believe.

        • alwyn 10.1.3.1

          I realise you are unlikely to be a great fan of the Tax-Payers Union but they put quite a lot of time and skilled effort into a costing exercise before the last election.
          They came up with a final result set as follows
          http://www.taxpayers.org.nz/final_results_published

          “The Bribe-O-Meter now reflects the costs of all policies announced. It shows that of the main parties:
          •the Greens have promised to spend the most, $6.54 billion, or $3,857.77 per household during the next Parliamentary term;
          •the Labour Party have committed to a policy programme worth $5.81 billion, or $3,423.16 per household; while
          •National have committed to $1.4 billion, or $823.62 per household of new spending.”

          They were unable to get any information out of New Zealand First.
          They had independent experts look at, and re-calculate the cost of the main policy planks of each party. You are entitled to your views on the National Party compared to other parties but I consider I am entitled to take the view that you don’t know what you are talking about and your statements are “all simply make believe”.

          • Draco T Bastard 10.1.3.1.1

            The Bribe-O-Meter now reflects the costs of all policies announced. It shows that of the main parties:

            •National have committed to $1.4 billion, or $823.62 per household of new spending.

            And what was the cost of the policies that they implemented quick smart (i.e, had them ready to go) but hadn’t told us about?

            • alwyn 10.1.3.1.1.1

              Pray tell.
              What were they? No doubt you can tell us the details.

              • Draco T Bastard

                Well, that would be the thing wouldn’t it? ALL policies would have to made available for costing before being put into place so that we can judge them on them.

                • alwyn

                  In other words you can’t think of anything that National has done in the last 15 months that wasn’t announced prior to the election.
                  You claim that ” the policies that they implemented quick smart (i.e, had them ready to go”
                  Then you can’t think of ANYTHING they did that they implemented without having told us about it.
                  Pretty desperate aren’t you?

                  • Draco T Bastard

                    Pretty desperate aren’t you?

                    Nope.
                    State housing sell off comes to mind. After promising not to sell state assets.
                    Changes to beer laws.

                    There’s probably more but I can’t recall them ATM.

                    All policies should be costed first before they’re even put to first reading.

                    • alwyn

                      You really are desperate aren’t you?
                      National Social Housing Policy.
                      The very first policy highlight they listed was

                      “Reformed social housing sector to ensure it is fit-for-purpose including passing legislation to facilitate a shift from state housing to a range of new social housing providers.”

                      Look at it
                      https://www.national.org.nz/docs/default-source/PDF/2014/policy/social-housing.pdf

                      Now what word there don’t you understand?

                      As for changes to the beer laws. How much did you think that cost, and why did you really think it merited a policy statement?
                      Personally I think it would, given the duty on alcohol, probably have meant more rather than less money for the state.
                      Give up. You are just talking more and more drivel the longer you go on.

    • weka 10.2

      And Key has already nay sayed the idea, quelle surprise. FFS he rejected it within hours of the proposal being made public. Joyce is open to the idea though, lol. As is common with Green Party ideas and policy, the business community response is positive.

      http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1601/S00113/nationals-obstruction-of-ind-costings-unit-not-surprising.htm

      Prime Minister John Key said it was “not a terribly good idea”. He said it would require a funding boost for the Treasury and would not achieve the Green Party’s goal of greater transparency because the results would be manipulated for political gain.

      “They would just ignore it if they didn’t like the numbers,” he said.

      What’s the political term for this, when you accuse other people of bad behaviour that is in fact a classic example of one’s own bad behaviour?

      • Puckish Rogue 10.2.1

        This is one time I’d fully support a protest

        • weka 10.2.1.1

          Feel free to phone your local MP or email Key and Joyce 🙂

          • Puckish Rogue 10.2.1.1.1

            They still haven’t replied to my latest invoice so I might just let rest for a bit

          • alwyn 10.2.1.1.2

            I took your advice and tried to contact my local MP. He did his best imitation of Sergeant Schultz in Hogan’s Heroes and came out with
            “I see nothing, I was not here. I did not even get up this morning”
            It sounded roughly like that anyway although with the Wellington Central MP one can never be sure.

      • alwyn 10.2.2

        “What’s the political term for this, when you accuse other people of bad behaviour that is in fact a classic example of one’s own bad behaviour”
        The phrase Green Party Press Statement comes to mind.

      • alwyn 10.2.3

        You link to a Green Party Press statement where we can see what Meteria says.
        However you put in quotes from John Key
        “Prime Minister John Key said it was “not a terribly good idea”. He said it would require a funding boost for the Treasury and would not achieve the Green Party’s goal of greater transparency because the results would be manipulated for political gain.”
        Where does this come from? I would like to see his full statement. before I join PR on the barricades.

      • vto 10.2.4

        weka’s posted Key quote “Prime Minister John Key said it was “not a terribly good idea”. He said it would require a funding boost for the Treasury and would not achieve the Green Party’s goal of greater transparency because the results would be manipulated for political gain.”

        Isn’t John Key admitting there tht Treasury work is manipulated for political purposes?

        quelle surprise again….

        corruption within Key’s regime, admitted to by regime leader himself

  11. BLiP 11

    Hmmm . . . interesting. Hamish Rutherford, Wellington business bureau chief for Fairfax has tweeted that New Zealand has dropped to fourth place on the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). I can’t confirm this because the information is embargoed until later today (5am Berlin time) but its not something I would be entirely surprised by. New Zealand led the rankings until John Key and his National Ltd™ neoliberal thugs turned up. We dropped one place in, I think, 2011 and now it would appear we’re gaining downward momentum.

    • alwyn 11.1

      That’s 5pm today isn’t it?
      Are you going to post then if it is out?
      Shame really. We were 1 in 95 and 96 and then dropped to 4 while Winston was Treasurer. Probably not coincidental.
      We then wandered around in the 2= to 3= range until 2005.
      Straight 1 or 1= from 2006 to 2013.
      Even 4th is hardly a disaster though is it? 4th of about 200 countries. Probably back to the early years of the decade in fact.

      • BLiP 11.1.1

        Confirmed – New Zealand has dropped to fourth place! .

        • Molly 11.1.1.1

          Is this the corruption index that uses surveys of business people to come up with data?

          I’ve had a look at their site, but can’t find the definitive breakdown of their research.

          They do have:

          “Based on expert opinion, the Corruption Perceptions Index measures the perceived levels of public sector corruption worldwide.”

          It appears they use surveys of national TI chapters:

          “The NIS assessments offer a comprehensive evaluation of the integrity system in a given country. They are conducted by local in-country organisations, generally TI national chapters”

          Special offer is free membership for one year for the NZ TI Chapter.

          However, it does usually cost to be a member, and you have a very interesting membership (price on request) for above $1,000,000 business turnover.

          “Platinum, Gold, Silver, or Copper

          For more information and to apply for Platinum, Gold, Silver, or Copper membership, please contact us by email at admin@transparencynz.org.nz. “

          I would say that it would be simplicity itself to game this system.
          After all “perceived corruption” is not the same as actual corruption – it all depends on the perspective and knowledge of the perceiver.

          Let’s all sign up for that free membership and wait for next year’s survey…

          • BLiP 11.1.1.1.1

            Dunno, sorry. Bryce Edwards has a good piece on the situation. He writes . . .

            . . . To arrive at New Zealand’s reduced score of 88 out of 100, Transparency International has aggregated seven separate annual assessments by independent agencies such as the World Bank and the World Justice Project. All seven assessments provide a score out of 100 on governance issues (which are 92, 93, 81, 83, 98, 88, 83). In comparison to New Zealand’s score of 88, three Nordic countries have registered higher scores (Denmark 91, Finland 90, and Sweden 89). This is why New Zealand is now behind them all, in fourth place . . . Of course the Transparency International index is one of perception. It is impossible to actually measure real corruption – by its very nature corruption is somewhat hidden and intangible – and therefore other metrics are necessary as proxies

            . . . which seems to indicate a certain robustness about the indexing but an unfortunate lack of clarity about exactly how the scores were calculated. Not too sure what to make of it all except that it serves to confirm corruption, or at least the perception of corruption, is a feature of the National Ltd™ government.

      • North 11.1.2

        Oh Trollwyn stop it ! I note that to make it all seem just peachy you’re reduced to looking down. Not up where the Higher Standards are meant to be. Higher Standards was always just a cyncical bullshit mantra. Which even you now acknowledge. Eyes downcast.

  12. BLiP 12

    The US Senate has just voted 50-49 in what is a stunning denial of reality . . .

    The Senate rejected the scientific consensus that humans are causing climate change, days after NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared 2014 the hottest year ever recorded on Earth . . . The chairman of the environment committee, Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., is an enthusiastic denier of climate change, saying it is the “biggest hoax” perpetrated against mankind.

    “The hoax is there are some people so arrogant to think they are so powerful they can change the climate,” Inhofe said Wednesday on the Senate floor. “Man can’t change the climate” . . .

    . . . and this is the nation which holds the trump cards in any ISDS suits against the government resulting from legislation New Zealand might like to pass in order to meet its commitment to helping ameliorate climate change.

  13. Puckish Rogue 13

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11580306

    “Two-thousand-and-sixteen is going to be a most fascinating and explosive year in New Zealand politics,” he said. “We don’t believe that the government can hold up to the next election. The reason for that is the seeds of their own destruction are there now.”

    What the deuce is Winston on (about?)

  14. alwyn 14

    In further news the Wellington City Council sets out to blow $8 million dollars on a scheme to have a flight from Wellington to Canberra 4 times a week.
    http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/76161963/new-singapore-airlines-flights-to-cost-wellington-ratepayers-millions
    I guess that they have to find some way to try and fulfil the Mayor’s dreams of a connection to Asia.
    There is no further news on the Councils responsibility to provide an emergency source of water to Wellington Hospital in the event of an earthquake.
    Not as sexy as councillors jetting of to exotic climes on their “sister city” jaunts I guess.

  15. North 15

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11580542

    Advanced corruption ? What of the vaunted Higher Standards ? Snort !

    The fish rots from the head and The Gauche Man is significantly along the path to amoral.

    • alwyn 15.1

      I must admit, old chap, I don’t feel quite so bad that we were 4th with a pretty good score of 88.
      I am glad I don’t live in the leftist paradises like Cuba, score 47, Greece at 46, or the favourite of the hard left idiots, Venezuela with the wonderful result of 17.
      Tell me dopey. Would you prefer to live here, number 4, or the hero of the left Venezuela at position 158 out of 167?
      Actually I wouldn’t be too surprised if our drop was due to the very dodgy dealings of Wellington’s left led council that I commented on just above your drivel.
      Do you approve of their activities?

      • vto 15.1.1

        Funny thing is that corruption is merely another set of bureaucracy and rules that get factored into business. No problem. Once the bureaucracy and rules are known then all is good and everyone carries on. Just check business in Australia. Remember also Bjeikle-Petersen and Hinz who was Minister of Police and Minister of Racing at the same time in Queensland…. ha ha ha… what a larf

        Corruption ..;.. pffftt …. innocent naïve kiwis living in la-la land….

        though makes for good media and presentation as something else to beat certain countries over the head with eh….

        … we could start on Dick Cheney and co and business interests in war too

        ha ha
        corruption
        why was lord Ashcroft here having secret talk with our PM? ha ha.
        corruption

      • Gangnam Style 15.1.2

        “Left led council” flogging that dead horse again? Always blame someone else isn’t it God forbid the leader of the country has anything to do with the leading of the country, oh no, its the lefties the lefties!

        • alwyn 15.1.2.1

          Do you approve of what the Wellington Council is up to?
          Dishing out ratepayers money an dodgy schemes while refusing to provide for the continued operation of an essential service like the Wellington Hospital if we had an earthquake.
          Seriously, do you see that as a proper activity?
          And yes, the Mayor is definitely on the left and she is on the small group of councillors who are involved in these secretive activities.

      • North 15.1.3

        Again Trollwyn…..looking down. You’re excellent as a troll…..until you get busted in it. As you always do.

        Piece of advice to VTO above – your comment just shits on Trollwyn, but given that he/she/it is concerned only to fellate The Gauche Man…… nothing you can say, however rational……

      • millsy 15.1.4

        At least in Cuba you would have decent healthcare.

        • reason 15.1.4.1

          I recommend watching ‘The act of killing’ ….. you can watch the trailer here http://www.actofkilling.com/

          It’s about the corrupt, murderous right wing gangster country Indonesia…. where murderers and paramilitarys with the aid of the u.s.a and the west took over …. and still run the country.

          Or you can watch the genocide and take-over of east-Timor http://johnpilger.com/videos/death-of-a-nation-the-timor-conspiracy ….. which was a direct result and flow on from what happened in Indonesia ……

          And if you’d like to know a bit more about Venezuela I recommend ‘ The war on democracy’, http://johnpilger.com/videos/the-war-on-democracy

          Big trigger warnings on all three documentaries though ……….. There is Graphic violent content regarding murder, mutilation and rape…….

          Committed by the sort of people and Governments alwyn supports …………….

          • alwyn 15.1.4.1.1

            “alwyn supports”
            Really? And just how did you come to this conclusion?
            Psychic are you? Or are you just delusional?
            I suppose I could recommend that you watch the film “The Killing Fields” and remember the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge.
            They were your favourite Government weren’t they? They were the people you most admired and Pol Pot was histories greatest humanitarian to you I suppose.
            I have at least as much reason to attribute those beliefs to you as you have to accuse me as you have done.
            Don’t make up lies about things, like my views on past world Governments, when you are completely and utterly ignorant on the subject.

            • reason 15.1.4.1.1.1

              I recommend learning about the murderous Khmer Rouge ……..And how the u.s.a govt helped bring them to power….. and once there voting for them and recognizing them in the UN. http://johnpilger.com/videos/cambodia-year-ten

              http://johnpilger.com/videos/cambodia-return-to-year-zero

              http://johnpilger.com/videos/cambodia-the-betrayal

              It was of course the Vietnamese army who rescued Cambodia from the Khmer Rouge … The u.s.a govt killed well over 1 million Vietnamese but that’s another story

              In ” The war on Democracy”: ” the film shows how serial US intervention, overt and covert, has toppled a series of legitimate governments in the Latin American region since the 1950s.”
              http://johnpilger.com/videos/the-war-on-democracy

              In interviews with Chavez and other footage we learn of the C.I.A involvement in military overthrow of his Govt…… which the people repelled.

              Venezuela has been under sustained economic attack from the u.s.a govt ever since which also labels it’s legitimate government criminal , terrorist etc etc…….. descriptions more fitting of Indonesia. http://www.actofkilling.com/

              To sum up I’m sure Alwyn supports the u.s.a govt ………….. which has helped create Pol Pot , Isis and supported more countries run by regimes with death squads ( wiki death squads ) than I have fingers on my hands ……………..

              • alwyn

                ” I’m sure Alwyn supports the u.s.a govt”
                Well that is a change of your opinion I suppose.
                You still have no reason at all for the statement however.
                I guess I will just have to comment
                I am sure that Reason’s beliefs have little to do with the real world and some, including the one above, are based on things about which he knows nothing.

    • b waghorn 15.2

      http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/295060/saudi-abattoir-deal-will-proceed-pm
      With this sort of stuff going on ,its surprising we’re still at 4 tha.

  16. greywarshark 16

    Leaky buildings, leaky government, leaky plumbing.

    Poor workmanship also bugs Milton Sands, a director at big Auckland pipe merchant Aquatherm.
    But he also estimated half of all plumbing products being used here had not been certified to the New Zealand standard, though many would still be good products.
    What it showed up, though, was the lack of controls.

    “Until we have some certifying body in New Zealand checking products, the end user is always at risk. It’s got to be [central] government; local government hasn’t got the resources.”
    It’s manifestly unclear just how many of the thousands of taps, cisterns and pipes for sale are a failure waiting to happen.

    The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has the power to warn about or ban building products – but it hasn’t ever done so.
    It said the “presence of this regulatory tool provides a threat that modifies behaviour and incentivises voluntary product withdrawal or change”.

    Sounds like some lines out of the neo lib textbook where the next page says that people will always prefer the cheaper price and the faster time for installation. (Which would lead to shonky jobs.) Is the textbook right?
    So the business might say, ‘What you going to do about it huh? Eh? Just what?’

  17. cogito 17

    Good on them. This is exactly what we need in our Aotearoa NZ – people who will stand up to Key and this govt.

    “Trans-Pacific Partnership: Ngati Whatua won’t take part in powhiri”
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11580689

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • At a glance – Does CO2 always correlate with temperature?
    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 ...
    4 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: In today’s ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Tuesday, March 19:Kāinga Ora’s dry rot The Spinoff DailyBill McKibben on ‘Climate Superfunds’ making Big Oil pay for climate damage The Crucial YearsPreston Mui on returning to 1980s-style productivity growth NoahpinionAndy Boenau on NIMBYs needing unusual bedfellows Urbanism SpeakeasyNed Resnikoff's case ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 hours ago
  • Relentlessly negative
    Negative yesterday, negative today. Negative all year, according to one departing reader telling me I’ve grown strident and predictable. Fair enough. If it’s any help, every time I go to write about a certain topic that begins with C and ends with arrrrs, I do brace myself and ask: Again? Are ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 hours ago
  • Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    Bryce Edwards writes –  It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 hours ago
  • Promiscuous Empathy: Chris Trotter Replies To His Critics.
    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    7 hours ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    8 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    8 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    9 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    12 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    13 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    13 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    13 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    14 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    15 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    17 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    2 days ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    11 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-03-19T10:01:14+00:00