Open mike 28/06/2016

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, June 28th, 2016 - 94 comments
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94 comments on “Open mike 28/06/2016 ”

  1. Paul 1

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

    It was 4 degrees in Christchurch last night.
    Not very warm to be sleeping in a car.
    Not very warm to be sleeping in a container.
    Not very warm to be sleeping in a garage.
    Not very warm to be sleeping on the street.

    The mainstream media may think the Zac Guilford, Lydia Ko and Mark Todd are all important news items, but they are not.
    The majority of the media is doing everything they can to support Paula Bennett and move homelessness off the headlines.

    “Try walking in my shoes, it’s not actually that easy.”
    This was the challenge TA set to Prime Minister John Key. But really it’s a challenge for us all.

    • I Feel Love 1.1

      Don’t forget Millie has found love in Greece.

      • Paul 1.1.1

        This is the Herald’s lead story online…’Manager who stole $730k from Wanaka health centre had stolen before’
        not Brexit
        not homelessness.

        What a joke!

        • tc 1.1.1.1

          You could write that headline any day and substitute minister for manager and abuse/disregard process for stolen.

          But hey that would be journalism which has no place in granny’s celebrity, fear mongering, distraction agenda.

        • save nz 1.1.1.2

          @Paul – Granny’s main focus is to warn the business owners and shareholders and the public against workers! Don’t trust them, they steal! Don’t trust anyone for that matter! The world is a scary place that only ‘The bachelor’ and ‘cops 4’ can lighten your day.

        • Greg 1.1.1.3

          White collar criminals do little to not jail time, and pay back none of the money, as compared to the full conviction rate and claw back of any benefit fraud.

    • tc 1.2

      Zac Guildford, an overrated sports jock with issues. Did he have his pants on this time ?

  2. Paul 2

    Should we be worried after Brexit?
    Rachel Stewart thinks so…
    What do you think?

    OBR policy a scary bank secret

    Let’s talk about the Reserve Bank’s open bank resolution policy.

    The what? The open bank resolution (OBR) is an extremely important piece of policy that most New Zealanders have never heard of. Trust me, I have asked around and they haven’t.

    If you have debt, it will likely not concern you in the slightest. If you have savings, then, like me, you will possibly endure sleepless nights.

    It is not entirely hushed up but you do need to go looking to find it.

    First, some context………

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/opinion/9988749/OBR-policy-a-scary-bank-secret

    • weka 2.1

      James Shaw has been doing work on this too in the past few weeks. I think the concerns were there even without Brexit but I’m not sure why it’s come up now.

    • Halfcrown 2.2

      Yeah and this after seeing year after year after year these arsoles paying themselves massive bonuses after the BIG bailout in 2008.

      As I have said on many occasions I would not trust this incompetent Double Dipping Dickhead from Dipton with the local Boy Scouts Jamboree money.

      I find it amusing that the likes of Prat Henry thinks he’s so Wonderful. Not surprised the international elite like the IMF thinks he’s first class as he’s of the same ilk and is borrowing heaps to keep us in hock for ever.

      • Halfcrown 2.2.1

        The other thing is, In Australia all the major trading banks have to have a deposit guarantee for the customer deposits.

        As the major banks in NZ are Australian owned we now have a situation that if the major banks fail and they bring in the OBR New Zealanders will be financing Australians
        How about that for a fucking MIckey Mouse set up. As I have said on many occasion, This shower of shit as a government could not organise a piss up in a brewery.

        “Every other country in the OECD protects savers’ deposits with deposit insurance. Australians saving with the parent banks of ANZ, BNZ, ASB, or Westpac all have their deposits guaranteed up to $250,000. Kiwis saving with these same banks get no protection whatsoever.”

        blog.greens.org.nz/2016/06/21/national-leaves-kiwi-savers-the-most-vulnerable-in-oecd/

    • Bill 2.3

      heh – I thought it was Cullen who had legislated for using customer deposits to bail the banks at the tail end of the last Labour led government. Guess I was a wee bit off the mark.

      • Halfcrown 2.3.1

        The Double Dipping Dickhead from Dipton (National) introduced that very quietly (not reported on TV or in Granny) in 2011.
        The banks don’t make their customers aware of it either

        • Colonial Viper 2.3.1.1

          I believe that these changes were mandated by the international central banking authority, the BIS (Bank of International Settlements). Another key institution of the power elite that most have not heard of.

  3. swordfish 3

    Right, so we’re now witnessing a long-planned coup against Corbyn that was always scheduled to happen at some point in the immediate wake of the EU Referendum result, regardless of outcome.

    Naturally enough, the PLP plotters needed to fabricate some sort of plausible-sounding pretexts and seed them in the MSM.

    What I find interesting, though, is just how internally incoherent these pretexts are.

    Despite the most authoritative polls taken on Referendum Day all suggesting Labour voters went heavily for Remain … 63/37 (Lord Ashcroft), 65/35 (YouGov), 60/32 (with 8% not voting) (Survation) … and the likelihood (based on the detail of the figures) that even Labour’s working and lower middle class C2DE voters (as a whole) either mildly favoured Remain or were relatively evenly split … Corbyn’s critics have pushed the notion that he has to go because “millions of Labour voters” defied his authority by ignoring his advice to support Remain. He clearly can’t command Labour voters’ respect, the argument goes.

    At the same time, however, they’re also pushing the rather contradictory idea that he didn’t campaign hard enough for Remain, indeed appeared to be lukewarm and somewhat sceptical of the EU at best (in which case, the minority of Labour supporters who chose Leave did not, in fact, defy him !)

    Utterly incoherent.

    I mean, you could mount a reasonable argument that Corbyn got it pretty much right by keeping both types of Labour voter happy – going through the paces of formally supporting Remain while making it clear the EU needed significant reform.

    It’s also a fact that Tory voters were rather more divided than Labour ones (42/58 in favour of Brexit – Lord Ashcroft Poll), (39/61 Brexit – YouGov). Does that mean Boris Johnson shouldn’t stand because he failed to exercise authority over a large-ish minority of Tory voters ?

    And what about Nicola Sturgeon ? According to the Lord Ashcroft Poll, as many SNP supporters in Scotland voted Brexit (36%) as Labour supporters throughout the UK (37%). Should she also resign given that her Party is pro-Remain ?

    The other implausible pretext comes courtesy of The Guardian:

    It’s supposed to be some sort of Shock !, Horror ! King-Hit:

    “Leaked internal Labour Party polling of people who voted for Labour in 2015 reveals that nearly a third (29%) would support a different party if a general election was held today … It shows that just 71% of those who voted for Ed Miliband’s party in May last year say they would vote Labour now.”

    And, in another article from The Guardian:
    “Leaked internal Labour party polling suggested that Labour would attract nearly 3 million fewer votes than it did in the 2015 general election if one were called today.”

    On Kiwiblog, David Farrar approvingly quotes the article, commenting that: “Labour MPs know they’ll do even worse than in 2015.”

    The Guardian, I suspect has read far too much into the figures, smuggling some highly questionable assumptions into their analysis.

    For starters, they fail to realise just how much churn there always is in public opinion. 71% loyalty to a Party is pretty typical in the UK. Take, for example, the latest Survation Poll conducted just a few days ago, immediately following the Referendum (and almost certainly after Labour’s Internal Poll):

    2015 Labour voters = 73% Loyal, 15% Other party, 12% Don’t Know
    2015 Tory voters = 71% Loyal, 13% Other party, 16% Don’t Know
    In this Poll, Lib Dem loyalty was just 60% and, among people who had either voted for Other parties in 2015 or Not Voted, there were significant swings to Labour (far greater than movement to the Tories). Which is why Labour and the Tories were neck-and-neck on 32% each.

    And I can cite plenty of other polls over the last year that say the same. There’s nothing at all shocking about 71% loyalty.

    That’s why this idea of Labour being 3 million voters down is such utter rubbish. Not only will a reasonable chunk of their currently “disloyal” 2015 voters be in the Don’t Know category (many of whom will end up choosing Labour again) but also the usual degree of churn means that Labour will be largely compensated (or, as the latest Survation suggests) more than compensated by significant swings from people who voted for other Parties in 2015.

    Corbyn’s critics are selling a lie.

    • Ad 3.1

      And his Preferred PM stats are still better than Little’s.

      Rolling Corbyn is like Brexit itself: revolution always sounds good while you plot get everyone emotional and even while you do it.

      Then you wake up and reach for the plan. And there isn’t one.

    • BM 3.2

      Corbyn screams instability, which is the last thing you want while the country is about to go through a period of instability.

      I don’t think the UK economy would survive Brexit and Corbyn as PM, so he’s out the door.

      • save nz 3.2.1

        @BM – I think the screams are from the Labour supporters as their preferred leader is knifed in the back by his own party, at a time where the instability of the Conservatives could be utilised by looking like Labour is the stable safe haven. Apparently Labour’s personal careerists politicians and hungry warmongers are more interested in their own dramas and career climbing and appeasing their lobbyists to actually do something like shutting up, 9months in about their leader and actually helping win the next election.

        Funny enough voters can easily work it out and learn politics in not worth it, and not vote.

        • BM 3.2.1.1

          At a time where the instability of the Conservatives could be utilised by looking like Labour is the stable safe haven.

          Never happen while Corbyn is at the wheel, which is why he has to go.

          If Corbyn stays, the Labour party won’t be able to capitalise on the disarray within the conservatives.

          The man is voter poison.

          • Richardrawshark 3.2.1.1.1

            When was the last time you were in the UK BM?

            Talking from your arse or from living there?.

          • Richardrawshark 3.2.1.1.2

            “The man is voter poison.”

            This is a big Fat complete lie and the opposite of actual reality.

            London is not the whole UK BM.

            It’s mostly London MP’s too who resigned, good riddance to champagne socialists IMHO

            As for the people who live in the UK and vote labour, the majority want Corbyn the stupid posh soft southern part of Labour thinks it knows better

          • Stuart Munro 3.2.1.1.3

            Corbyn screams of the end of the neo-liberal accomodation. The voters love him.

          • framu 3.2.1.1.4

            name me one other time in recent history when a potential party leader got queues out the door at a meeting

        • Kevin 3.2.1.2

          Smart choices on his new Shadow Cabinet, heavy on Northerners and a few Scots.

          Is this the beginnings of the Blairite/Mandelson purge?

    • Incognito 3.3

      Bryan Gould made some surprising comments in the NZ Herald today, but perhaps not all that surprising if you know the man, which I don’t:

      Analysis of the voting pattern will surely show that a majority of Labour voters favoured leaving.

      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11664386

      • Bearded Git 3.3.1

        Yes he got that completely wrong Incognito-see my comment below the article.

    • Pasupial 3.4

      swordfish
      Thanks for that, I was wondering percentage of that alleged (cherry-picked?) 29% had gone to undecided rather than another party. This seems to me to be the coup that was scheduled for after the local body elections earlier in the year, which then had to be rainchecked when Labour’s vote heldup (except in Scotland). This line seems to neatly sum up the antidemocratic mindset of the Labour traitors:

      Corbyn’s critics have pushed the notion that he has to go because “millions of Labour voters” defied his authority

    • Colonial Viper 3.5

      The Guardian have always hated Corbyn, favouring the Blairlite candidates from the start

    • miravox 3.6

      “Corbyn’s critics are selling a lie.”

      They’ve had so much practice at it. They have no credibility with the electorate, imo. But meanwhile the Tory’s are managing the Brexit fallout (they’ve had a lot of practice at that!) and are looking composed (relatively speaking).

      All over for Labour thanks to the Blairites. Shouda held off… but then they have July 6th to worry about…

    • miravox 3.7

      Owen Jones on the plight of UK Labour

      Jeremy Corbyn is being blamed for sins principally committed by others. It is remarkable, when you think about it. The left is accustomed to being savaged by the Conservatives for promoting policies that would cause economic chaos and threaten the future of the country. That’s what they claimed against the modest social democratic proposals of Ed Miliband at the last general election. Look at what these people have now done to Britain. History may judge the Tory Brexiteers to be the architects of the most radical, and ruinous, proposition to be offered and (presumably) implemented in Britain since the war.

      Launching a coup in the Labour Party at this moment has diverted attention away from those responsible for this national crisis — not least by staggering resignations to ensure Labour’s woes dominate the news cycle for as long as possible. The opposition has a crucial role right now in filling the vacuum and offering leadership and a plan for dealing with the coming turmoil. The nation’s crisis has been deepened as a consequence of this political paralysis. It will now be harder to define the coming crisis as a Tory-created crisis…

      The conclusion provides food for thought.

      • Pasupial 3.7.1

        This in Politico is hardly unbiased (being based on a leak from an MP who has obviously chosen their side already), but I found this interesting:

        The Labour Party now faces an internal constitutional crisis, unable to remove a leader his MPs will not serve.

        MPs emerged shell-shocked from the meeting, and told POLITICO they were contemplating the very real possibility that it will have to split. The Parliamentary Labour Party is now considering electing its own leader in a move which would essentially create a separate party. This nuclear option is being referred to by MPs as a “universal declaration of independence.”

        http://www.politico.eu/article/inside-account-of-labour-mps-attacks-on-jeremy-corbyn-shadow-cabinet-resignations-brexit/

        It seems incredible that the revolting Labour MPs would sacrifice their careers in this fashion. Given the UK’s FPP system, two Labour parties splitting the vote would be electoral suicide. Perhaps they’ve got lucrative “consultancy” positions lined up for when they are turfed out of parliament?

        Speaking of breakups, this is interesting in light of the Plaid Cymru suggestion of Welsh independence (though that’s generally their answer to anything). Perhaps a Celtic confederation is on the cards? You could could argue that Scotland and Northern Island have more in common than the Republic of Eire and NI (though you’d have a lot of argument from catholic Ulstermen).

        former Labour lord chancellor and justice secretary Charlie Falconer is consulting constitutional lawyers on whether a new federal relationship would be a legally sound alternative route to a full divorce between the EU and all parts of the UK… a possible federal deal where each devolved region could negotiate their own membership of the EU, while staying in the UK.

        Although the UK as a whole voted by 52% to 48% to leave the EU last Thursday, Scotland voted 62% to 38% to remain and Northern Ireland voted by 56% to 44% to stay…

        Those involved admit the “associative status” proposal is theoretical and based in part on two previous decisions by the EU to modify its normal membership rules. Diplomatic sources in Brussels said the only realistic route for Scotland to stay in the EU after Brexit would be to apply as an independent country.

        https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/jun/27/scottish-labour-seeks-possibility-federal-uk-brexit-aftermath?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

        • Olwyn 3.7.1.1

          With regard to what is going on in Labour, I think that the results of 2008 are coming to a head in the UK, triggered by the Brexit. I was interested in this comment by RedLogix on last night’s daily Review: http://thestandard.org.nz/daily-review-27062016/#comment-1195717

          It is a comment on Labour’s right wingers, dated 1981, and it occurred to me that prior to Thatcher, etc. Labour right wingers did actually a have a devil’s advocate role to play, and they also helped to keep Labour policy from jeopardising the fortunes of the country as a whole, as well as protecting the party from accusations of communism. The third way period placed this lot in ascendancy, but since 2008 the right have held such economic sway that not rocking the boat has come to mean supporting austerity and not doing a single meaningful thing that a Labour Party exists to do. Now I see an unholy panic in UK Labour at the thought that the actual left might get mileage out of the Brexit. But the thing is, there is actually nothing attractive now for a market-centred Labour to convincingly pitch to the voters. If they cannot represent their abandoned constituents they have no further purpose.

        • miravox 3.7.1.2

          “It seems incredible that the revolting Labour MPs would sacrifice their careers in this fashion. Given the UK’s FPP system, two Labour parties splitting the vote would be electoral suicide

          Yes. This is a very high stakes play from the Blairite wing. The UK (un-united kingdom) really does need to convert to to proportional representation. The limits of FPP are glaring with this break-up on the left. The trouble is, the Conservatives are comfortable with the status quo. Meanwhile, citizens with the most difficult living conditions are unrepresented (again!) if Corbyn is ousted.

          On a lighter note – a celtic confederation has been sorted! … 🙂
          https://twitter.com/hashtag/UnionOfCraic?s=04

      • Incognito 3.7.2

        The opposition has a crucial role right now in filling the vacuum and offering leadership and a plan for dealing with the coming turmoil.

        This vacuum is rapidly & easily filled by the far-right, which is all too keen to offer leadership and obviously has strong views on how to deal with present and future turmoil.

        Here in New Zealand we worry and complain about the lack of a strong opposition but it ain’t nothing compared to what goes on and has been going on for some time in Europe.

        If the UK or the World indeed goes into recession (again) all Hell could break loose (again).

  4. Greg 4

    Key is getting a lot of publicity with so called wonderful opportunities in a FTA with England/Britain, its like wow, its two years away, and they cant even negotiate a deal as of yet.
    Constant claims by National claim more trade will raise wages and improve our living costs is unproven.
    Its a fiction because the complete opposite happens.

    Has employment costs increased for apple growers, since the Aussie market was opened up,
    Prices for apples have tripled in the supermarket for low quality fruit.
    Is there any evidence any primary producers have increased their employment costs on the back higher export volumes

    FYI, I grew up on an a 3 acre apple orchard in the Tron.

    • save nz 4.1

      Exactly – it is pretty clear that so called ‘trade deals’ do not work for consumers or workers.

      In the UK supermarkets own everything, so that when you get an apple it has been picked before it is ripe so tastes horrible and has hundreds of food miles.

      • Greg 4.1.1

        Most get put into cold storage here before being shipped.

        I am waiting for anyone to post some proof how increases in trade volumes have added to employment costs,
        which would happen if wages increase, wouldnt it?

        • save nz 4.1.1.1

          Free market seems to work only theoretically. Most of it’s admirers do all their work paper pushing and making a killing on ‘the markets’ rather than growing or producing real stuff. Now we have the GFC because some banks got some maths whizzes to make up some new products with debt to ‘produce’ something theoretical. No lessons learnt there by the look of it.

  5. Hanswurst 5

    Given that the petition to keep Mike Hosking has just over 2,700 signatures, as against the approximately 21,700 signed up to get rid of him, and given that the pace at which the latter is gathering supporters still far outstrips the former, the question must be asked as to whether getting rid of him is really enough, or whether the only appropriate option might not be to sack him, proclaim his sacking in a special announcement across all channels to the musical backdrop of What a Wonderful World, revoke his passport, prohibit his dining at any restaurant or public bar, or purchasing any edible produce fresher than twenty-one weeks old, and legislate to replace the overnight programme of all free-to-air channels with uninterrupted repeats of his least flattering moments in broadcasting, mostly drowned out by pre-recorded flatulence.

    A big thank you to all of the right-leaning Standard readers who advocated increasing the merriment of the rest of us by creating a counter-petition for keping him. Your contributions are always appreciated.

  6. integralenz 6

    Dam-ning article on the Ruataniwha dam. Exposes, yet again, Nick Smith’s deliberate negligence and incompetence. An interesting read. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/the-country/news/article.cfm?c_id=16&objectid=11664300

    • Greg 6.1

      Another National ideological driven gambit to make the taxpayers pay for it,
      while privatizing the profit, so who will own the water rights?

  7. locus 7

    oh the irony…

    London Young Labour have just blamed Corbyn for not mobilising more Labour voters to vote against Brexit

    – with only 30% of young voters turning up to vote, you’ve got to wonder whether LYL are just spoilt kids of Blairite era dinosaurs

    http://www.politico.eu/article/inside-account-of-labour-mps-attacks-on-jeremy-corbyn-shadow-cabinet-resignations-brexit/

    • Bearded Git 7.1

      The lazy buggers don’t turn up to vote and then blame Corbyn.

      In fact 3.5 million people aged under 35 were not registered to vote in the UK. If most of these people had got their act together and voted 70% Remain, Remain would have won.

      There is an inherent contradiction with those in their 20’s at the moment; on one hand they say F%^& It I’m not going to vote, the whole system is rigged/crap; on the other hand they whinge when old people vote and so get what they want. My niece in England is a classic example.

  8. jcuknz 8

    Priorities ? People raising 16 million, 11 already found thank you generous NZ, for some Art Centre while people are homeless.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 8.1

      Yes, because it was artists who attacked workers’ rights and refused to ensure that wages kept pace with inflation, and failed to build enough state housing.

      These false dichotomies (we can have housing or art and not both) are the very stuff of witless populism that made such a dog’s breakfast of the Brexit debate.

      Bravo.

    • jcuknz 8.2

      Just checked this comment at KB ” Vote: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 11″ 🙂

    • Colonial Viper 8.3

      Perhaps the art centre donors could run a bake sale and give the poor people cake

  9. dv 9

    AND England got beat by ICELAND in the soccer euro cup.

  10. Ad 10

    Iceland beat England!

    Iceland, same population as Wellington!

    Leeeeeeeewserrrrrrrs!

    • mickysavage 10.1

      Stand by as Jeremy Corbyn gets the blame …

    • Richardrawshark 10.2

      Calling my mum a lewsser eh?

      Iceland.. lol She got up to watch it, huddled in her blanky, poor thing.

    • Bearded Git 10.3

      Big mistake widening the competition to 24 teams to let in the lesser football nations like England.

  11. ianmac 11

    1 hours ago:
    “Jeremy Corbyn has vowed to dig in as Labour leader despite the resignations of 46 members of his front bench and an expected vote of no-confidence from the vast majority of his MPs.

    Mr Corbyn is facing the biggest rebellion against a party leader in modern UK history, brutal in its scale and determination, yet he has refused to budge. Propped up by a hard core of loyal MPs and by the unions, he said on Monday that he would not leave until he was defeated in a leadership contest. ”
    http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/568a85c0-3c87-11e6-8716-a4a71e8140b0.html#axzz4Cox2Qvki

    • BM 11.1

      If he doesn’t go the Labour party will split.

      A Lexit could be on the cards.

    • Karen 11.2

      There is another excellent but extremely depressing post from Owen Jones on the current state of the Labour Party in the UK.

      https://medium.com/@OwenJones84/my-thoughts-on-the-plight-of-labour-38413229f88#.rjpdpzeuw

      • ianmac 11.2.1

        You’re right Karen. Depressing.
        MMP would allow the different factions of the Left to participate.
        Wonder if the Conservative Party will splinter?

        • Cricklewood 11.2.1.1

          Nah, if there’s one things that tories the world over know it’s how to swallow dead rats to stay in power.

          • whateva next? 11.2.1.1.1

            it’s the only thing they have, but it seems to work for them, like a panza unit.Unfortunately, Labour being a democratic party, allowing for debate, gets interpreted as being rudderless, rather than respectful of others opinions

            • Cricklewood 11.2.1.1.1.1

              There’s democratic and then there is stupid which uk labour seems to be.
              They had the option of shutting up looking united and pushing for a snap election instead they go for the nuclear option that will likely end in a drawn out bitter leadership challenge.
              I wouldn’t be surprised if the tories shuffle in a new leader and call an election while labour is in disarray in the midst of a leadership election.

  12. Halfcrown 12

    There is definitely something wrong with the climate. Apart from being the warmest winter so far, my Garlic which I plant on the shortest day and pick on the longest, normally would not show it’s head until mid/end of July, and that would only be poking just above the surface.
    It is now the 28Th June 7 days after the shortest day and it is about 30 mm in growth out of the ground. Worrying times, not for the Garlic but for the planet.

    • jcuknz 12.1

      Interesting +1

    • Colonial Viper 12.2

      That suggests your soil temp this year has been 1 deg to 2 deg warmer than normal over this period. Which is utterly massive. And it’s 15 deg C down here at the moment. Which for Dunedin is warm spring time weather.

  13. ianmac 14

    Oh boy! An hour ago:
    “Britain should have a second referendum on the terms of leaving the European Union if it can secure a deal to control its borders, a Cabinet minister says.

    Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, becomes the first minister to suggest Britain could hold another vote on Brexit, despite the Leave victory last week.

    He says the new prime minister must be allowed to “negotiate a deal” with Brussels and “put it to the British people” either by calling a general election or having another referendum…..”
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11664894

  14. Draco T Bastard 15

    Privatisation and profiteering strike again:

    The Electricity Authority is investigating claims New Zealand’s largest electricity generating company manipulated the electricity market to maximise its own profits.

    The case concerns an electricity price spike early this month, during which wholesale prices shot up for two short periods from a norm of $60 to $70 a megawatt hour to an average of $230.

    A small power retailer, Electric Kiwi, said Meridian Energy withheld cheap electricity from the South Island to drive up the price.

    When will we learn that privatisation always costs us more and thus stop voting for the psychopaths hell bent on selling our stuff?

  15. Gangnam Style 16

    “Captain Cook Highway”, I dunno if someone has it in for Foster-Bell but he’s pretty good at sticking his head above the parapet. How about Kupe Highway?

    “The first the PM knew about Paul Foster-Bell’s idea to rename SH1 ‘Captain Cook Highway’ was today. He’s not keen.” – Newshub

    • mauī 16.1

      They really needed Paul to hit the news a few weeks ago when either Panama came out or the homeless hit the news. Useful distraction.

      • Gangnam Style 16.1.1

        10% of NZrs own more than 60% of the wealth, 40% of NZrs own less than 4%. Though Foster-Bell hardly going to distract us from that surely?

        • Gangnam Style 16.1.1.1

          It’s OK though, John Key said it was the same under Labour, yup Labour did it too.

        • ianmac 16.1.1.2

          Key says it is OK because he reckons it was about the same as when Labour was in power. So it is Labour’s fault.
          OOps. gangman snap.

          • Gangnam Style 16.1.1.2.1

            Astounding isn’t it ianmac, so why vote National when you get the same as Labour, so much dissonance & white noise. When shown a problem Key just shrugs his shoulders & sings “It wasn’t me”.

  16. ianmac 17

    Foreign Minister McCulley fronts up on Checkpoint tonight to explain at length the story of a lowly Embassy staffer was wanted for discussion with S Korean police over a minor matter.
    What! You might find that odd given McCulley’s total absence over very serious issues like sheep and Ombudsman reports. Mmmm!

    • Anne 17.1

      Mmmm alright.

      I asked yesterday if… anyone knows what Murray McCully has been up to lately?

      I have a suspicion it might be something to do with an Ombudsman, and some minor ‘Kiwi businessman’ in Korea is a convenient distraction?

      • ianmac 17.1.1

        Yes my point Anne. Very visible on the miniscule. Missing on the big stuff. Typical of them all.

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    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
    6 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
    7 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
    9 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
    10 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
    13 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
    15 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
    18 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
    2 days 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
    2 days 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
    2 days 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
    14 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. ...
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    1 day ago
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