Open mike 30/11/2012

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, November 30th, 2012 - 62 comments
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62 comments on “Open mike 30/11/2012 ”

  1. muzza 2

    You know people inside of government are involved in the drug industry when….

    Thinking back, Muldoon was cozy with the gangs, reckon they must have just been talking about “current affairs”

  2. Dv 3

    From PPTA website

    So what Langstone is saying is that Novopay could cope with 90000 individual contracts.
    BIZARE

    http://www.ppta.org.nz/index.php/resources/media/2504-media-novopay-scapegoat

    Attempts by Lesley Longstone to pin problems in the payroll system – also known by teachers as Novopain, No-pay and Novovirus – on the collective agreement smacked of desperation, particularly since it was the teachers on the agreement who were having the least problems with their pay, he said.

    The secretary is looking to blame the collective agreement rather than face the fact it was blatant cost-cutting that led to the mess the payroll system is in.”

  3. vto 4

    .
    Christchurch is heading directly for Stalingradesque stature

    • muzza 4.1

      VTO – Ch Ch will not be rebuilt, not the way it should be at least, the reasons why in my opinion are that its about the mining,/drilling, and Antarctica.

      Agendas have a whole different set of plans for Chch, because if there was an apetite to rebuild it for the locals, and benefit of NZ, it would we well underway by now…

      This is see through even by NZ abysmal record of being run on corruption!

  4. vto 5

    The government is running out of money.

    GST refunds have been later than usual and without explanation. Government is well behind in its payments for the Chch Stalingrad makeover. Teachers are being underpaid for weeks.

    Is there reality to this reality?

  5. Professor Longhair 6

    What Really Happened in Gaza
    by NORMAN FINKELSTEIN

    November 29, 2009

    The official storyline is that Israel launched Operation Pillar of Defense on 14 November, 2012 because, in President Barack Obama’s words, it had “every right to defend itself.”

    In this instance, Israel was allegedly defending itself against the 800 projectile attacks emanating from Gaza since January of this past year.

    The facts, however, suggest otherwise.

    From the start of the new year, one Israeli had been killed as a result of the Gazan attacks, while 78 Gazans had been killed by Israeli strikes. The ruling power in Gaza, Hamas, was mostly committed to preventing attacks. Indeed, Ahmed al-Jaabari, the Hamas leader whose assassination by Israel triggered the current round of fighting, was regarded by Israel as the chief enforcer of the periodic ceasefires, and….

    Read more….
    http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/11/29/what-really-happened-in-gaza/

  6. Tiresias 7

    Lifted from a comment to a piece on another site concerning Spanish President Mariano Rajoy Brey’s double-cross of the Spanish people (pursuading them to convert their savings deposits in Spanish Banks into ‘preference’ shares in a failed attempt to save the banks from bankruptcy they are now facing a 39% ‘haircut’ just to earn a bail-out loan to the banks from the EEC), this seemed to me a perfect summary of John Key and his acolytes:

    “He hails from what Ljubiša Mitrović calls the “comprador bourgeoisie.”

    Comprador bourgeoisie is the upper layer of the bourgeois class…. It is not national in character and is socially irresponsible. It is a blind servant of foreign capital, ruthless in the exploitation of the domestic workforce and dictatorial in relation to its fellow countrymen. Its homeland is where its interests are. It is the agent of the megacapital in the function of global economy. It is a “Trojan horse” of the foreign TNCs [Transnational Corporations]… Its god is the god Mammon, the capital. Its aim is to amass capital, and it puts profit above individuals. It is a predatory class of the nouveau riche and often bon vivant and parasitic upstarts. It is a peculiar jet-set of bandit economy…..

    If they wish not to be discarded by the citizens and most of the nation, political parties and elites would have to stop deceiving the citizens and articulate their real interests in the struggle for social change.

    Ljubiša Mitrović, “THE NEW BOURGEOISIE AND ITS PSEUDO-ELITE IN THE SOCIETIES OF PERIPHERAL CAPITALISM”
    http://facta.junis.ni.ac.rs/pas/pas2010/pas2010-01.pdf

  7. vto 8

    I just love how sexism issues always run in just one gender direction in this country. At least it is consistent in its inconsistency.

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/life/8017140/Law-school-magazine-blasted-for-sexist-ad

    • weka 8.1

      Well I guess when sexism itself stops being a predominantly one way flow against women, others might love whatever it is you are loving too.
       
      btw, the example you give is such glaring example of sexism, and the ground we have lost in recent years, that I’m really at a loss to know why you used it. How about you provide a similarly garing example of sexism running the other way?

      • vto 8.1.1

        all of the ads that show men as lard arses with fat bellies, unshaven, sloppy and slobbery, lazing on the couch while the women go out and do the right stuff.

        There are countless of them. It is a well acknowledged phenomenon.

        The fact that male complaints don’t run to the level of female complaints about the same issue speaks to perhaps the very nature of men vs women more than to the actual sexism on display.

        But in this region on which i opine the current general society-wide opinion (which you reflect imo) I would suggest reflects a 50s charm in reverse. In the 50s, such a response as your own mr weka, was the norm and the issue considered well overblown and lacking in reality.

        It is like looking through a mirror

        • karol 8.1.1.1

          You mean those ones where the guy is portrayed is being very smart in manipulating women to run around after them?

          • vto 8.1.1.1.1

            I can’t picture one of them. Which one are you thinking?

            • karol 8.1.1.1.1.1

              This is the nearest ad to the one of was thinking of – that I could find quickly.  Based on sexist stereotypes with women’s bodies there to be looked at, while the guys are in control (no matter how slobby they are), and are smart-a*ses.

              The one I was thinking of has a guy on a couch phoning a woman in another room to change the TV channel for him. 

          • QoT 8.1.1.1.2

            Yep. Sorry, dudes, but an eternity of being portrayed as mere objects for male consumption ain’t actually equivalent to a cultural meme which absolves all men from being competent, compassionate, or active participants in a relationship. Oh noes, it makes men look bad – where “looks bad” = “provides an excuse to be completely self-centred”.

        • weka 8.1.1.2

          “There are countless of them. It is a well acknowledged phenomenon.”
           
          I don’t know those, please link to some examples. Make sure they are ones that show a similar level of sexism as the law student example.
           
          “The fact that male complaints don’t run to the level of female complaints about the same issue speaks to perhaps the very nature of men vs women more than to the actual sexism on display.”
           
          Nope, that demonstrates that institutionalised and culturally sanctioned sexism against women is far more prevalent, difficult to combat, and damaging.


           
          yes, men get stereotyped in various ways to their detriment, but the dymanics of how that happens, and why, and how it affects men and society are different than the millenial-old forces of suppression of women.

          • vto 8.1.1.2.1

            “yes, men get stereotyped in various ways to their detriment, but the dymanics of how that happens, and why, and how it affects men and society are different than the millenial-old forces of suppression of women.”

            Millenial old? You mean it has been going on forever?

            ” but the dymanics of how that happens, and why, and how it affects men and society are different ”

            Sure it is different. How does that affect the issue raised though? These ads indicate a pervasive and detrimental sexism in the portrayal of men. Like they do for women. But their status as issues are unequal – that was my point.

            As for which is the more damaging, sexism against men or against women, well that is a very good question. I suspect we cannot see the wood for the trees on that issue actually.

            Here is another question mr weka – how exactly is this ad sexist, relative to today’s standards in the advertising world? What singles it out? What makes it so different from so many other countless advertisements that use sex to sell (by both sexes)?

            • weka 8.1.1.2.1.1

              “Millenial old? You mean it has been going on forever?”
               
              No, I mean it’s been going on for 5,000 years.
               
              ” These ads indicate a pervasive and detrimental sexism in the portrayal of men”
               
              Which ads? Do you mean the one you linked to? Or the ones that you still haven’t linked to that show an equal degree of sexism against men?
               
              “As for which is the more damaging, sexism against men or against women, well that is a very good question. I suspect we cannot see the wood for the trees on that issue actually.”
               
              Maybe for you. For me and many other people, of all genders, it is very obvious.
               
              “Here is another question mr weka – how exactly is this ad sexist, relative to today’s standards in the advertising world? What singles it out? What makes it so different from so many other countless advertisements that use sex to sell (by both sexes)?”
               
              Interesting questions with interesting answers but sorry mrs vto, it’s Friday night after a long week and I don’t feel like doing anyone’s homework. We might get lucky and someone posts a link to sexism 101. However I am reluctant to provide information for you while I am still waiting for examples of the ads you were talking about. Fairs fair.

  8. Rogue Trooper 9

    You know, people, that our visit to you was not a failure. We had previously suffered and been insulted,
    in Phillipi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in spite of strong
    opposition. For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to
    trick you. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little
    children. We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God,
    but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. For you know that we dealt with each of
    you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting, urging you.We sent Timothy to strengthen and encourage you in your “faith” so that no one would be unsettled by these trials. You
    know quite well that we were destined for them. In fact, when we were with you we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out this way, as you well know.
    (this was on a sign-post as I entered Thessalonica).

    “At the present moment we are confronted by a choice: either a mass “civilization”, technological and
    “conformist”-the Brave New World (not!) of Huxley, hell organised upon earth for the bodily comfort
    of everybody-or a different Civilization, which we cannot yet describe because we do not know what it will be; it still has to be created, consciously by people. If we do not know what to choose, or in other
    words, how to “make a revolution”, if we let ourselves drift along in the stream of history, without
    knowing it, we shall have chosen the power of suicide, which is at the heart of the world.”
    (Presence,31) and that concludes Chapter 3

    While Ellul was writing his masterpiece he, also, enjoyed the Brandenburg Concertos which is a more
    uplifting concert than Jim Mora chasing his tail with “How Much is That Doggie in The Window……..
    the one with the rageddy tail, how much is that doggie in the window, I do hope that doggy’s for Sale”

  9. ianmac 10

    Robin Duff in commenting on that silly piece by Langely on the 28 November, points out that in the days of School Cert 50% of all students failed. Now we are told that only 20% fail. If you believe the constant 20% “fail” call from politicians, then the system must be doing better and better.
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10850846

  10. Professor Longhair 11

    Loud applause as President Abbas addresses the U.N.

    It’s in the bag….
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifnMN3yhdrk&feature=player_embedded

  11. aerobubble 12

    Is being a shareholder a privilege or a right? After hearing that citizenship is a privilege not a right I was just wondering if the national socialism edict applied also to property.

    • vto 12.1

      Privilege, rights, blah blah. There are no such things. There is only an ability, which may be fleeting or long-lasting. People have an ability to be shareholders. People have an ability to become citizens. Some of these things may be considered a privilege afforded to only them and in many ways that is true. But there aint no rights, except those where there is an ability under law or norm, and that qualification would seem to render a right not a right, in the wider existence sense. Make sense?

      As for property – sheesh, good luck. It seems to be not a matter of any such thing but solely a matter of what you can get away with, especially under Key. 2c

    • Draco T Bastard 12.2

      Is being a shareholder a privilege or a right?

      It’s an injustice as the shareholders benefit from the work of others without having to work themselves.

      • TheContrarian 12.2.1

        Some shareholders do not benefit and in fact lose it all.

        • Draco T Bastard 12.2.1.1

          Yeah, just like the SCF investors lost everything… Oh, wait

          Oh, I know, The Pike River shareholders… No, they didn’t lose everything either – the miners did.

          Yes, I’m sure that if we look really hard we will find some shareholders somewhere, some when that have, as a matter of fact, lost everything. I think we’ll find it far less often than the workers losing everything.

          • TheContrarian 12.2.1.1.1

            I have lost money in shares before – it happens all the time to people.

            P.S. I am a worker and a shareholder – it isn’t one or the other.

          • McFlock 12.2.1.1.2

            Not quite, DTB.
               
            The little shareholders lose everything.
            The director shareholders and “preferred” (read:”already rich”) customers of financial advisors don’t lose.
                   
            I recall a tv documentary about a glasses factory that was on the edge – a new CEO came in, changed it to sunglasses, encouraged workers to invest their pensions in share options, and lost it all. It then turned out that he had been paying himself £30,000p.a. more than the other two shareholder/directors (who were already doing okay). People lost their retirement savings, and he was saying “at least we gave it a go”. Fuckwit. And he was small-time compared to most of the plutocrats.

      • Rogue Trooper 12.2.2

        Hey, how ya doin, sorry i couldn’t get through, just leave your name…and your number…and I’ll get
        Back to You.

        I find the discussions on TS the last couple of days very interesting, and sure am glad that I never keep
        copies of the comments the fat cats claw me to write. We’re not gonna be Orphans anymore, We’re not
        gonna take it anymore, more, more…

        -Twisted! 🙂 Sisters

      • aerobubble 12.2.3

        some may argue that shareholders who do not work on their holdings are failing in their duty to themselves, i.e. due diligence.

        I would say that share owning is a privilege, just as companies have a duty not to harm their good will when taking decisions that create pollution, destroy communities and degrade the planet. In fact most companies could be said to be brats since they support an economy that needs five planets to support.

        As for citizenship, how can that be a privileged? most are born into it, sure some reject the privileged and change citizenship (unless their current nationality allows for dual citizenships), then maybe they have a privilege???

  12. karol 13

    Sand mining is going to be trialed in NZ, with the impacts not as yet known.  Tomorrow, a surfer will finish a protest paddle from Taranaki to Piha.

    Surfer Dave Rastovich is used to paddling into the waves, but tomorrow he’ll finish an epic 350km paddle from Taranaki to Piha.

    The New Zealand born Australian set out from Taranaki on a paddle-board on November 16 in protest against sand mining on the West Coast.
     
    The 35-year-old will be welcomed at the West Auckland beach from 11am by former Waitakere mayor and activist Bob Harvey and local surfers….

    Kiwis Against Seabed Mining and global organisation Surfers for Cetaceans, which Rastovich co-founded, have joined forces for the campaign. Sustainable Coastlines and Greenpeace have also offered their support.

     
    “All would be threatened if the sand flow is interrupted and a coastline littered with flawless waves could be irretrievably altered,” Rastovich said.

    Gotta admire the guy’s stamina. It seems NZ is being used as an international test ground for sand mining.

    • Draco T Bastard 13.1

      http://www.mbendi.com/indy/ming/iron/au/nz/p0005.htm

      Ironsand from the Waikato North Head is used for steel-making at BHP New Zealand Steel’s Glenbrook mill, which uses about 1.2 Mt of concentrate per year. About 1.4 Mt per year of titanomagnetite concentrate from Taharoa is exported.

      We’ve been mining the sands in NZ for decades.

      And, no, I’m not supportive of what’s being proposed.

    • joe90 13.2

      More details about the proposals and likely impacts of sea bed mining.

      http://kasm.org.nz/

      • karol 13.2.1

        Thanks, DTB and joe.  So the problem is the large scale of seabed mining that’s being proposed now?  Plus the fact that they are looking to extract a range of different minerals than have previously been extracted?

        • Draco T Bastard 13.2.1.1

          It’s the range and extent without any consideration for what damage it will do. Throw in the fact that it’s typical unsustainable dig it, mine, sell it BS that we don’t seem to be able to get away from under capitalism.

          • TheContrarian 13.2.1.1.1

            So on one hand you don’t want to go ahead with underseas mining to any great extent yet on the other you want NZ to be totally self-sufficient and make all it’s own TV’s, Computers, vehicles etc etc.

            Can’t have one without the other Draco my’man

            • Colonial Viper 13.2.1.1.1.1

              New TV’s, smart phones and other misc. shit aren’t going to be that important in future, to quality of life.

              • muzza

                They aren’t important now, other than that people have been spun into beleiving they are..

                You know, toys, games and entertainment, while the important people get on with the scheming!

  13. Rogue Trooper 14

    as I cycled in and leant over Mill (eee, by gum) I lobbed a fellow tradesman half a round of shrapnel
    to complete his purchase; The young men serving (Elderly Woman Behind The Counter in A Small
    Town?) exclaimed! “you don’t see many Good Samaritans these days” (can’t escape those biblical
    foundations, I’m just learning about the sociology of Law as we speak) and I engaged them over
    “current events” (intimating my modest comprehension of them). Their Replies, Unanimous,
    “The world is disintegrating”, well I chose not to weld any defence against those conclusions.

    When will the pseudo-Tory Neoliberal Nightmare Mongers accept that they are on a ………………….
    Hiding to Nothing? Freakin “bad faith” parasites.

    Man, now the children at the feet are getting it…

    On a different, more reassuring note, at the “couch” this morning, Two, not just one, but Two very
    learned consultants reassured me that everything I have concluded about our society’s disease over
    the passing of this year is valid; It is not us, the people who Post and comment on The Standard
    who are “mad”;

    If you are a right-wing greedy capitalist snooping on the wisdom of socialist commentators…
    grab a Hand Mirror, it is You who are Ideologically Impure fools.

  14. Rogue Trooper 15

    btw, how those A zaleas smelling down South?

    • McFlock 16.1

      synopsis? because every single time I’ve followed a link to wo, it’s been a fucking waste.

        • McFlock 16.1.1.1

          Why pay poor people not to breed, rather than simply paying them to get addiction treatment/be drug free?
               
          And yes, it is aimed at poor people because money is only an “incentive” if you don’t have enough of it.
                    

          • Chalupa Batman 16.1.1.1.1

            Why pay poor people not to breed, rather than simply paying them to get addiction treatment/be drug free?

            – Addiction treatments take longer, don’t always work and are more expensive whereas sterilization is quick, simple (for the guys) and reversible

            • McFlock 16.1.1.1.1.1

              You’re missing the point. Even if sterilization were 100% effective.
                       
              This will not prevent drug-affected babies (and I’d love to know what the prevalence of drug-affected babies is in NZ – why do “we need this here”?).
                       
              Attack the cause, not the symptom. The cause is a failed drug policy. 
                       
              But that would involve considering a public health issue rationally, rather than just succumbing to the regular tory hatred of the poor. 

              • Chalupa Batman

                Its not “hatred of the poor”, its recognizing that some people aren’t fit to be parents. Its a charity set up to stop some people from making make mistakes.

                Shame on you if you can’t (don’t want to) see that

                • There is absolutely no way I could ever support such a program.

                • McFlock

                  Why do we need it in NZ?
                  What is the extent of addiction-related harm against children in NZ?
                  Would greater protection be made if such funds were diverted towards education, antenatal care, housing, or benefit levels?

                  This is an ill-considered policy that believes the best way of protecting poor children is to eradicate them using rich-person’s privilege. It therefore suggests to me that eugenics is a real risk. You might not think that, but that’s exactly the reason it is a risk.

                  • Chalupa Batman

                    Its not policy, its a private charity. Its not about protecting children its making sure people don’t have the children in the first place.

                    Considering the person on the clip actually went out and adopted 4 “crack babies” it says to me she wants to help these people rather then mouth platitudes

                    • McFlock

                      I wasn’t doubting her commitment.

                      Just the ethical issues of abusing people’s needs to make decisions for them about what they do with their bodies, the benefits of sterilization as opposed to addressing the problems of drug addiction, the apparent obliviousness to risks of that policy (implemented by private charity or not) sliding into old-school eugenics, and most of all I doubt whether we “need” such a programme here.

                      Feel free to provide actual evidence for the extent of the problem in NZ and why this solution” is appropriate for that problem if it exists here. You know, just something to demonstrate that tories don’t just want it because it’s American, therefore bright, shiny and wonderful.

  15. weka 17

    Jackal said this in another thread –
     

    It’s not about a me supporting a centre left or left government, it’s about the left halting internal bickering and focusing on what the real problem is. Without the left focusing on National’s destructive agenda, there won’t be a centre left or left government to choose from. In other words, you won’t get a left government by undermining the centre left… It’s as simple as that.
     

    I disagree but it’s an interesting point. How many people are feeling like we can’t afford another centre-left govt and we may as well go for what we really want at this time? Or are people feeling like we cannot afford another 3 years of NACT, so better to support a centre left govt if that’s the only viable option?

    • rosy 17.1

      we can’t afford another centre-left govt and we may as well go for what we really want at this time
      ^^ this.

      And the option that says if you fundamentally disagree with the party bureaucracy (not the party principles) you have a right to express dissent. We’re not Nact after all.

    • Colonial Viper 17.2

      The time of half measures is almost at an end. You can’t kick the can further down the road if you are just about out of road.

      My prediction: by the time the 2014 elections roll around, peak debt, peak oil, peak unemployment will be breaking upon the world. New Zealanders will be coming back from Australia by the thousands.

      If we aren’t careful what we will presented with after the election is back-breaking knee-capping austerity (from National) or grinding, gut wrenching, nail pulling austerity (from Labour).

      The period from 2014-2017 is not one to be wished on any government, good luck to whoever is in power then.

    • ianmac 17.3

      Weka: I totally agree with what Jackal writes. It is not that he is commenting on the rights or wrongs of the leadership or the Leftness or not. He is condemning the nit-picking, mean-spirited suicidal behaviour of the so called “supporters of the Left.”
      It seems to me there is far more energy being spent on attacking the Labour leadership, than on the pressing duplicity of the so-called “Right.”

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    The operating system (OS) is the heart and soul of a computer, orchestrating every action and interaction between hardware and software. But have you ever wondered where on a computer is the operating system generally stored? The answer lies in the intricate dance between hardware and software components, particularly within ...
    14 hours ago
  • How Many Watts Does a Laptop Use? Understanding Power Consumption and Efficiency
    Laptops have become essential tools for work, entertainment, and communication, offering portability and functionality. However, with rising energy costs and growing environmental concerns, understanding a laptop’s power consumption is more important than ever. So, how many watts does a laptop use? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t straightforward. It depends on several ...
    14 hours ago
  • How to Screen Record on a Dell Laptop A Guide to Capturing Your Screen with Ease
    Screen recording has become an essential tool for various purposes, such as creating tutorials, capturing gameplay footage, recording online meetings, or sharing information with others. Fortunately, Dell laptops offer several built-in and external options for screen recording, catering to different needs and preferences. This guide will explore various methods on ...
    14 hours ago
  • How Much Does it Cost to Fix a Laptop Screen? Navigating Repair Options and Costs
    A cracked or damaged laptop screen can be a frustrating experience, impacting productivity and enjoyment. Fortunately, laptop screen repair is a common service offered by various repair shops and technicians. However, the cost of fixing a laptop screen can vary significantly depending on several factors. This article delves into the ...
    14 hours ago
  • How Long Do Gaming Laptops Last? Demystifying Lifespan and Maximizing Longevity
    Gaming laptops represent a significant investment for passionate gamers, offering portability and powerful performance for immersive gaming experiences. However, a common concern among potential buyers is their lifespan. Unlike desktop PCs, which allow for easier component upgrades, gaming laptops have inherent limitations due to their compact and integrated design. This ...
    14 hours ago
  • Climate Change: Turning the tide
    The annual inventory report of New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions has been released, showing that gross emissions have dropped for the third year in a row, to 78.4 million tons: All-told gross emissions have decreased by over 6 million tons since the Zero Carbon Act was passed in 2019. ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    15 hours ago
  • How to Unlock Your Computer A Comprehensive Guide to Regaining Access
    Experiencing a locked computer can be frustrating, especially when you need access to your files and applications urgently. The methods to unlock your computer will vary depending on the specific situation and the type of lock you encounter. This guide will explore various scenarios and provide step-by-step instructions on how ...
    16 hours ago
  • Faxing from Your Computer A Modern Guide to Sending Documents Digitally
    While the world has largely transitioned to digital communication, faxing still holds relevance in certain industries and situations. Fortunately, gone are the days of bulky fax machines and dedicated phone lines. Today, you can easily send and receive faxes directly from your computer, offering a convenient and efficient way to ...
    16 hours ago
  • Protecting Your Home Computer A Guide to Cyber Awareness
    In our increasingly digital world, home computers have become essential tools for work, communication, entertainment, and more. However, this increased reliance on technology also exposes us to various cyber threats. Understanding these threats and taking proactive steps to protect your home computer is crucial for safeguarding your personal information, finances, ...
    16 hours ago
  • Server-Based Computing Powering the Modern Digital Landscape
    In the ever-evolving world of technology, server-based computing has emerged as a cornerstone of modern digital infrastructure. This article delves into the concept of server-based computing, exploring its various forms, benefits, challenges, and its impact on the way we work and interact with technology. Understanding Server-Based Computing: At its core, ...
    16 hours ago
  • Vroom vroom go the big red trucks
    The absolute brass neck of this guy.We want more medical doctors, not more spin doctors, Luxon was saying a couple of weeks ago, and now we’re told the guy has seven salaried adults on TikTok duty. Sorry, doing social media. The absolute brass neck of it. The irony that the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    16 hours ago
  • Jones finds $410,000 to help the government muscle in on a spat project
    Buzz from the Beehive Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones relishes spatting and eagerly takes issue with environmentalists who criticise his enthusiasm for resource development. He relishes helping the fishing industry too. And so today, while the media are making much of the latest culling in the public service to ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    17 hours ago
  • Again, hate crimes are not necessarily terrorism.
    Having written, taught and worked for the US government on issues involving unconventional warfare and terrorism for 30-odd years, two things irritate me the most when the subject is discussed in public. The first is the Johnny-come-lately academics-turned-media commentators who … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    20 hours ago
  • Despair – construction consenting edition
    Eric Crampton writes – Kainga Ora is the government’s house building agency. It’s been building a lot of social housing. Kainga Ora has its own (but independent) consenting authority, Consentium. It’s a neat idea. Rather than have to deal with building consents across each different territorial authority, Kainga Ora ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    20 hours ago
  • Coalition promises – will the Govt keep the commitment to keep Kiwis equal before the law?
    Muriel Newman writes – The Coalition Government says it is moving with speed to deliver campaign promises and reverse the damage done by Labour. One of their key commitments is to “defend the principle that New Zealanders are equal before the law.” To achieve this, they have pledged they “will not advance ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    20 hours ago
  • An impermanent public service is a guarantee of very little else but failure
    Chris Trotter writes –  The absence of anything resembling a fightback from the public servants currently losing their jobs is interesting. State-sector workers’ collective fatalism in the face of Coalition cutbacks indicates a surprisingly broad acceptance of impermanence in the workplace. Fifty years ago, lay-offs in the thousands ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    22 hours ago
  • What happens after the war – Mariupol
    Mariupol, on the Azov Sea coast, was one of the first cities to suffer almost complete destruction after the start of the Ukraine War started in late February 2022. We remember the scenes of absolute destruction of the houses and city structures. The deaths of innocent civilians – many of ...
    22 hours ago
  • Babies and benefits – no good news
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Ten years ago, I wrote the following in a Listener column: Every year around one in five new-born babies will be reliant on their caregivers benefit by Christmas. This pattern has persisted from at least 1993. For Maori the number jumps to over one in three.  ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    23 hours ago
  • Should the RBNZ be looking through climate inflation?
    Climate change is expected to generate more and more extreme events, delivering a sort of structural shock to inflation that central banks will have to react to as if they were short-term cyclical issues. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMy pick of the six newsey things to know from Aotearoa’s ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    23 hours ago
  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours, as of 9:16 am on Thursday, April 18 are:Housing: Tauranga residents living in boats, vans RNZ Checkpoint Louise TernouthHousing: Waikato councillor says wastewater plant issues could hold up Sleepyhead building a massive company town Waikato Times Stephen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    24 hours ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the public sector carnage, and misogyny as terrorism
    It’s a simple deal. We pay taxes in order to finance the social services we want and need. The carnage now occurring across the public sector though, is breaking that contract. Over 3,000 jobs have been lost so far. Many are in crucial areas like Education where the impact of ...
    1 day ago
  • Meeting the Master Baiters
    Hi,A friend had their 40th over the weekend and decided to theme it after Curb Your Enthusiasm fashion icon Susie Greene. Captured in my tiny kitchen before I left the house, I ending up evoking a mix of old lesbian and Hillary Clinton — both unintentional.Me vs Hillary ClintonIf you’re ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 day ago
  • How extreme was the Earth's temperature in 2023
    This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blog In 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
    1 day ago
  • Backbone, revisited
    The schools are on holiday and the sun is shining in the seaside village and all day long I have been seeing bunches of bikes; Mums, Dads, teens and toddlers chattering, laughing, happy, having a bloody great time together. Cheers, AT, for the bits of lane you’ve added lately around the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Ministers are not above the law
    Today in our National-led authoritarian nightmare: Shane Jones thinks Ministers should be above the law: New Zealand First MP Shane Jones is accusing the Waitangi Tribunal of over-stepping its mandate by subpoenaing a minister for its urgent hearing on the Oranga Tamariki claim. The tribunal is looking into the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • What’s the outfit you can hear going down the gurgler? Probably it’s David Parker’s Oceans Sec...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point  of Order first heard of the Oceans Secretariat in June 2021, when David Parker (remember him?) announced a multi-agency approach to protecting New Zealand’s marine ecosystems and fisheries. Parker (holding the Environment, and Oceans and Fisheries portfolios) broke the news at the annual Forest & ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Bryce Edwards writes  – Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Matt Doocey doubles down on trans “healthcare”
    Citizen Science writes –  Last week saw two significant developments in the debate over the treatment of trans-identifying children and young people – the release in Britain of the final report of Dr Hilary Cass’s review into gender healthcare, and here in New Zealand, the news that the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • A TikTok Prime Minister.
    One night while sleeping in my bed I had a beautiful dreamThat all the people of the world got together on the same wavelengthAnd began helping one anotherNow in this dream, universal love was the theme of the dayPeace and understanding and it happened this wayAfter such an eventful day ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Texas Lessons
    This is a guest post by Oscar Simms who is a housing activist, volunteer for the Coalition for More Homes, and was the Labour Party candidate for Auckland Central at the last election. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's pick 'n' mix of the news links at 6:06 am
    The top six news links I’ve seen elsewhere in the last 24 hours as of 6:06 am on Wednesday, April 17 are:Must read: Secrecy shrouds which projects might be fast-tracked RNZ Farah HancockScoop: Revealed: Luxon has seven staffers working on social media content - partly paid for by taxpayer Newshub ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Fighting poverty on the holiday highway
    Turning what Labour called the “holiday highway” into a four-lane expressway from Auckland to Whangarei could bring at least an economic benefit of nearly two billion a year for Northland each year. And it could help bring an end to poverty in one of New Zealand’s most deprived regions. The ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six-stack of substacks at 6:26 pm
    Tonight’s six-stack includes: launching his substack with a bunch of his previous documentaries, including this 1992 interview with Dame Whina Cooper. and here crew give climate activists plenty to do, including this call to submit against the Fast Track Approvals bill. writes brilliantly here on his substack ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • At a glance – Is the science settled?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    3 days ago
  • Apposite Quotations.
    How Long Is Long Enough? Gaza under Israeli bombardment, July 2014. This posting is exclusive to Bowalley Road. ...
    3 days ago
  • What’s a life worth now?
    You're in the mall when you hear it: some kind of popping sound in the distance, kids with fireworks, maybe. But then a moment of eerie stillness is followed by more of the fireworks sound and there’s also screaming and shrieking and now here come people running for their lives.Does ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Howling at the Moon
    Karl du Fresne writes –  There’s a crisis in the news media and the media are blaming it on everyone except themselves. Culpability is being deflected elsewhere – mainly to the hapless Minister of Communications, Melissa Lee, and the big social media platforms that are accused of hoovering ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Newshub is Dead.
    I don’t normally send out two newsletters in a day but I figured I’d say something about… the news. If two newsletters is a bit much then maybe just skip one, I don’t want to overload people. Alternatively if you’d be interested in sometimes receiving multiple, smaller updates from me, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Seymour is chuffed about cutting early-learning red tape – but we hear, too, that Jones has loose...
    Buzz from the Beehive David Seymour and Winston Peters today signalled that at least two ministers of the Crown might be in Wellington today. Seymour (as Associate Minister of Education) announced the removal of more red tape, this time to make it easier for new early learning services to be ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Will politicians let democracy die in the darkness?
    Politicians across the political spectrum are implicated in the New Zealand media’s failing health. Either through neglect or incompetent interventions, successive governments have failed to regulate, foster, and allow a healthy Fourth Estate that can adequately hold politicians and the powerful to account. Our political system is suffering from the ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Was Hawkesby entirely wrong?
    David Farrar  writes –  The Broadcasting Standards Authority ruled: Comments by radio host Kate Hawkesby suggesting Māori and Pacific patients were being prioritised for surgery due to their ethnicity were misleading and discriminatory, the Broadcasting Standards Authority has found. It is a fact such patients are prioritised. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • PRC shadow looms as the Solomons head for election
    PRC and its proxies in Solomons have been preparing for these elections for a long time. A lot of money, effort and intelligence have gone into ensuring an outcome that won’t compromise Beijing’s plans. Cleo Paskall writes – On April 17th the Solomon Islands, a country of ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Climate Change: Criminal ecocide
    We are in the middle of a climate crisis. Last year was (again) the hottest year on record. NOAA has just announced another global coral bleaching event. Floods are threatening UK food security. So naturally, Shane Jones wants to make it easier to mine coal: Resources Minister Shane Jones ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • Is saving one minute of a politician's time worth nearly $1 billion?
    Is speeding up the trip to and from Wellington airport by 12 minutes worth spending up more than $10 billion? Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me in the last day to 8:26 am today are:The Lead: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Long Tunnel or Long Con?
    Yesterday it was revealed that Transport Minister had asked Waka Kotahi to look at the options for a long tunnel through Wellington. State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the ...
    3 days ago
  • Smoke And Mirrors.
    You're a fraud, and you know itBut it's too good to throw it all awayAnyone would do the sameYou've got 'em goingAnd you're careful not to show itSometimes you even fool yourself a bitIt's like magicBut it's always been a smoke and mirrors gameAnyone would do the sameForty six billion ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • What is Mexico doing about climate change?
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The June general election in Mexico could mark a turning point in ensuring that the country’s climate policies better reflect the desire of its citizens to address the climate crisis, with both leading presidential candidates expressing support for renewable energy. Mexico is the ...
    3 days ago
  • State of humanity, 2024
    2024, it feels, keeps presenting us with ever more challenges, ever more dismay.Do you give up yet? It seems to ask.No? How about this? Or this?How about this?When I say 2024 I really mean the state of humanity in 2024.Saturday night, we watched Civil War because that is one terrifying cliff we've ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Govt’s Wellington tunnel vision aims to ease the way to the airport (but zealous promoters of cycl...
    Buzz from the Beehive A pet project and governmental tunnel vision jump out from the latest batch of ministerial announcements. The government is keen to assure us of its concern for the wellbeing of our pets. It will be introducing pet bonds in a change to the Residential Tenancies Act ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • The case for cultural connectedness
    A recent report generated from a Growing Up in New Zealand (GUiNZ) survey of 1,224 rangatahi Māori aged 11-12 found: Cultural connectedness was associated with fewer depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms and better quality of life. That sounds cut and dry. But further into the report the following appears: Cultural connectedness is ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Useful context on public sector job cuts
    David Farrar writes –    The Herald reports: From the gory details of job-cuts news, you’d think the public service was being eviscerated.   While the media’s view of the cuts is incomplete, it’s also true that departments have been leaking the particulars faster than a Wellington ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On When Racism Comes Disguised As Anti-racism
    Remember the good old days, back when New Zealand had a PM who could think and speak calmly and intelligently in whole sentences without blustering? Even while Iran’s drones and missiles were still being launched, Helen Clark was live on TVNZ expertly summing up the latest crisis in the Middle ...
    4 days ago
  • Govt ignored economic analysis of smokefree reversal
    Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • True Blue.
    True loveYou're the one I'm dreaming ofYour heart fits me like a gloveAnd I'm gonna be true blueBaby, I love youI’ve written about the job cuts in our news media last week. The impact on individuals, and the loss to Aotearoa of voices covering our news from different angles.That by ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Who is running New Zealand’s foreign policy?
    While commentators, including former Prime Minister Helen Clark, are noting a subtle shift in New Zealand’s foreign policy, which now places more emphasis on the United States, many have missed a key element of the shift. What National said before the election is not what the government is doing now. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #15
    A listing of 31 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, April 7, 2024 thru Sat, April 13, 2024. Story of the week Our story of the week is about adults in the room setting terms and conditions of ...
    5 days ago
  • Feline Friends and Fragile Fauna The Complexities of Cats in New Zealand’s Conservation Efforts

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

    5 days ago
  • Or is that just they want us to think?
    Nice guy, that Peter Williams. Amiable, a calm air of no-nonsense capability, a winning smile. Everything you look for in a TV presenter and newsreader.I used to see him sometimes when I went to TVNZ to be a talking head or a panellist and we would yarn. Nice guy, that ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • Fact Brief – Did global warming stop in 1998?
    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Did global warming stop in ...
    6 days ago
  • Arguing over a moot point.
    I have been following recent debates in the corporate and social media about whether it is a good idea for NZ to join what is known as “AUKUS Pillar Two.” AUKUS is the Australian-UK-US nuclear submarine building agreement in which … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    6 days ago
  • No Longer Trusted: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    Turning Point: What has turned me away from the mainstream news media is the very strong message that its been sending out for the last few years.” “And what message might that be?” “That the people who own it, the people who run it, and the people who provide its content, really don’t ...
    6 days ago
  • Mortgage rates at 10% anyone?
    No – nothing about that in PM Luxon’s nine-point plan to improve the lives of New Zealanders. But beyond our shores Jamie Dimon, the long-serving head of global bank J.P. Morgan Chase, reckons that the chances of a goldilocks soft landing for the economy are “a lot lower” than the ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    6 days ago
  • Sad tales from the left
    Michael Bassett writes –  Have you noticed the odd way in which the media are handling the government’s crackdown on surplus employees in the Public Service? Very few reporters mention the crazy way in which State Service numbers rocketed ahead by more than 16,000 during Labour’s six years, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • In Whose Best Interests?
    On The Spot: The question Q+A host, Jack Tame, put to the Workplace & Safety Minister, Act’s Brooke van Velden, was disarmingly simple: “Are income tax cuts right now in the best interests of lowering inflation?”JACK TAME has tested another MP on his Sunday morning current affairs show, Q+A. Minister for Workplace ...
    6 days ago
  • Don’t Question, Don’t Complain.
    It has to start somewhereIt has to start sometimeWhat better place than here?What better time than now?So it turns out that I owe you all an apology.It seems that all of the terrible things this government is doing, impacting the lives of many, aren’t necessarily ‘bad’ per se. Those things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Auckland faces 25% water inflation shock
    Three Waters became a focus of anti-Government protests under Labour, but its dumping by the new Government hasn’t solved councils’ funding problems and will eventually hit the back pockets of everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 8:06 am today are:The Government ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Small accomplishments and large ironies
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Share Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Song of Saqua: Volume VII
    In order to catch up to the actual progress of the D&D campaign, I present you with another couple of sessions. These were actually held back to back, on a Monday and Tuesday evening. Session XV Alas, Goatslayer had another lycanthropic transformation… though this time, he ran off into the ...
    6 days ago

  • Comprehensive Partnership the goal for NZ and the Philippines
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon held a bilateral meeting today with the President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr.  The Prime Minister was accompanied by MP Paulo Garcia, the first Filipino to be elected to a legislature outside the Philippines. During today’s meeting, Prime Minister Luxon and President Marcos Jr discussed opportunities to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • Government commits $20m to Westport flood protection
    The Government has announced that $20 million in funding will be made available to Westport to fund much needed flood protection around the town. This measure will significantly improve the resilience of the community, says Local Government Minister Simeon Brown. “The Westport community has already been allocated almost $3 million ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago
  • Taupō takes pole position
    The Government is proud to support the first ever Repco Supercars Championship event in Taupō as up to 70,000 motorsport fans attend the Taupō International Motorsport Park this weekend, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. “Anticipation for the ITM Taupō Super400 is huge, with tickets and accommodation selling out weeks ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    17 hours ago
  • Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
    Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced an increase to the Rates Rebate Scheme, putting money back into the pockets of low-income homeowners.  “The coalition Government is committed to bringing down the cost of living for New Zealanders. That includes targeted support for those Kiwis who are doing things tough, such ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago
  • Government backing mussel spat project
    The Coalition Government is investing in a project to boost survival rates of New Zealand mussels and grow the industry, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has announced. “This project seeks to increase the resilience of our mussels and significantly boost the sector’s productivity,” Mr Jones says. “The project - ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • Government focused on getting people into work
    Benefit figures released today underscore the importance of the Government’s plan to rebuild the economy and have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker Support, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “Benefit numbers are still significantly higher than when National was last in government, when there was about 70,000 fewer ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • Clean energy key driver to reducing emissions
    The Government’s commitment to doubling New Zealand’s renewable energy capacity is backed by new data showing that clean energy has helped the country reach its lowest annual gross emissions since 1999, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. New Zealand’s latest Greenhouse Gas Inventory (1990-2022) published today, shows gross emissions fell ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago
  • Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forward
    The Government is bringing the earthquake-prone building review forward, with work to start immediately, and extending the deadline for remediations by four years, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Our Government is focused on rebuilding the economy. A key part of our plan is to cut red tape that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Thailand and NZ to agree to Strategic Partnership
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and his Thai counterpart, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, have today agreed that New Zealand and the Kingdom of Thailand will upgrade the bilateral relationship to a Strategic Partnership by 2026. “New Zealand and Thailand have a lot to offer each other. We have a strong mutual desire to build ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
    RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Transport Minister Simeon Brown have today announced the Coalition Government’s intention to extend port coastal permits for a further 20 years, providing port operators with certainty to continue their operations. “The introduction of the Resource Management Act in 1991 required ports to obtain coastal ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Inflation coming down, but more work to do
    Today’s announcement that inflation is down to 4 per cent is encouraging news for Kiwis, but there is more work to be done - underlining the importance of the Government’s plan to get the economy back on track, acting Finance Minister Chris Bishop says. “Inflation is now at 4 per ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
    Refreshed health guidance released today will help parents and schools make informed decisions about whether their child needs to be in school, addressing one of the key issues affecting school attendance, says Associate Education Minister David Seymour. In recent years, consistently across all school terms, short-term illness or medical reasons ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sector
    Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones is streamlining high-level oceans management while maintaining a focus on supporting the sector’s role in the export-led recovery of the economy. “I am working to realise the untapped potential of our fishing and aquaculture sector. To achieve that we need to be smarter with ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Patterson promoting NZ’s wool sector at International Congress
    Associate Agriculture Minister Mark Patterson is speaking at the International Wool Textile Organisation Congress in Adelaide, promoting New Zealand wool, and outlining the coalition Government’s support for the revitalisation the sector.    "New Zealand’s wool exports reached $400 million in the year to 30 June 2023, and the coalition Government ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Removing red tape to help early learners thrive
    The Government is making legislative changes to make it easier for new early learning services to be established, and for existing services to operate, Associate Education Minister David Seymour says. The changes involve repealing the network approval provisions that apply when someone wants to establish a new early learning service, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • RMA changes to cut coal mining consent red tape
    Changes to the Resource Management Act will align consenting for coal mining to other forms of mining to reduce barriers that are holding back economic development, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The inconsistent treatment of coal mining compared with other extractive activities is burdensome red tape that fails to acknowledge ...
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