Reaction on the end of conference

Written By: - Date published: 11:52 pm, November 18th, 2012 - 40 comments
Categories: david cunliffe, david parker, david shearer, labour - Tags:

In my opinion, Robert Winter at idle thoughts of an idle fellow has probably the most accurate assessment of the effect of the David Shearer speech at the Labour conference.

My own post was stalled whilst writing because my head keeps shifting from prose to code, my back hurts (damn those conference chairs), and I keep reading the reaction of others in the feed. When I found his post I dumped what I’d written and I’m going to quote in full without permission because Robert hasn’t left an email on his site. Hopefully he won’t mind and if he does then I’ll probably hear about it – but I’ll get his email as well (hint hint).

Just remember that r&f = rank and file.

That speech

It was a good speech, cleverly introduced by Anuschka Meyer – strong on values and traditions, hard on National’s failures, with a powerful overview of where Labour differs from National across many policy areas, and some concrete housing stuff. More on that later.

It was also notable for its opening plea for unity against the real target (National) – a clear reference to what is now a complex internal debate for Labour. The r&f have demanded and won a more democratic process. This is good. Caucus is smarting, and now knows, I hope that it is not a question of who is above and below the salt.

Was it the speech to keep him in his job? This is now an interesting question. Mr Shearer will feel a little constrained, having called for unity if he is considering, first, gaining an immediate endorsement and, second, moving against Mr Cunliffe. The r&f would not take kindly to that. Equally, however, the sense that a pro-Cunliffe clique overplayed its hand in the conference is growing. The r&f call for a more democratic party is not fungible with r&f support for Mr Cunliffe. He is in notice, I think, that the party is more interested in winning in 2014, and profoundly less interested in internecine strife in the caucus. That warning has gone out to others too, such as Mr Jones.

So, as I see it now, the onus has been thrown back by the r&f to caucus to behave reasonably and in the interests of the party. This will, I think, serve Mr Shearer’s purpose well, at least in the short term.

The other obvious backroom discourse is that the two Davids – Parker and Cunliffe – make an excellent team in the economic portfolio – potentially a winning one. Anything that weakens that team is seen by many to be very wrong. So, again, we have a pressure for accommodation.

Such pressure may not be able withstand other, more fragmenting pressures, but what is clear is that the layers of complexity in the party have not been reduced by the advent of a a more democratic process.

It was, all in all, a damned good conference.

I almost agree completely with Robert and his assessment of the r&f. They were happy with the speech and most were happy with the conference outcomes. While there were the few moments of procedural and equipment comedy on the remit floor, Robert Gallagher and Jordan Carter and their helpers did a efficient job of getting the remits dealt with in good humour. It was a damn good conference.

I’d make that 3 David’s – add David Clark with his revenue shadow on to that as well. I had a talk to him on Friday. He pointed me to another infrastructural issue at the IRD that needs looking at. After I do some reading on current big iron systems, catch up on my paid employment, and get my coding fix – I’ll write on them.

I have to thank the working press for their toleration of my presence during the weekend. I will probably see you in other party conferences if I am able to attend. Also the NZLP for allowing me to attend in a media observer role.

And finally a booby prize for Cameron Slater. There were a few photos taken of me during the conference that may eventually wind up on the net. A conference that you were probably unable to attend because they’d looked at your previous behaviour that got you banned at a National party conference. So we didn’t meet. But if you can find them you’ll have something to photoshop in your usual considered editorial fashion. 😈

40 comments on “Reaction on the end of conference ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. xtasy 1
    19 November 2012 at 3:01 am

    Maybe bring into the picture “Anushka Meyer” now, since we had Key present his dear wife on occasions. So goes the US style Hollywood circus polly game. I hate it by the way, but it seems they are all getting into this now.

    It was a mixed bag to me this “conference”. Shearer sort of tried hard, did score a few points, but I am a critical person, looking at the real game changing aspects, which I missed.

    Also the housing plan sounds good on the surface, but it needs refining.

    The leadership is still in question, as Shearer on video is lacking, not the same as words read out of the speech text.

    Labour will continue to “struggle”, I am afraid, I wish it more gusto and power and success, but I am left wondering. So if that is going to carry into 2013, do we have to wait another 2 years for “salvation”??? NO I cannot bear anymore, I am close to EXPLODING already.

    More is expected, but I fear, other opposition offers the medicine I see more fitting.

    Good bye Labour, it was nice flirting, I cannot see us getting back together.

    • mike 1.1
      19 November 2012 at 10:31 am

      Good bye xstay. I have a feeling that your ‘flirting’ with ‘other opposition’ will end in the same disappointing way. You obviously carry the heavy burden of being smarter than the collective which, i understand, can be crippling.

      • xtasy 1.1.1
        20 November 2012 at 1:14 am

        mike: No, yesterday has proved to me and many others: Labour is DEAD, lost and offers no plan for the future of this society. It is led by a weak leader, who freaks out when another competent competitor just starts mentioning a few things. He is weak as, Mr Shearer, he is not leadership material, he has to go and start a witch hunt to get rid of a critic, to protect his turf.

        That to me is the END of LABOUR NZ.

        This party is NO option anymore, for anyone seriously thinking and wanting of left and progressive policies. He comes with his “sickness benefit roof painter story”, a bit a a dressed up, vague housing scheme, which will only support the middle class, but give crap to the real poor, so that is just more divisiveness and a scramble for the bizarre “centre” that is also falling apart anyway.

        Good Bye Shearer and Labour, you had your days and times!

  2. Jenny 2
    19 November 2012 at 3:54 am

    Another CCI event.

    • Jenny 2.1
      19 November 2012 at 5:08 pm

      My reaction on the end of conference is that it was a conference of a party that has apparently deliberately decided to ignore Climate Change.

      I gently tried to point this out by showing that even in the US Climate Change gets a bigger mention.

      And further that this policy of ignoring climate change is not a vote winner even in the American coal belt.

      (A fact some may be uncomfortable with.)

      Imagine if you will, a Labour Party conference in 1938 that deliberately decided that rather than headline the threat of facism, went even further, decided to ignore completely all mention of the building global Nazi menace. If you can possibly imagine this, then you might realise how ridiculously forced the modern Labour Party’s decision to ignore Climate Change looks.

      From the absence of any released policy on this topic coming from conference and going on the last Labour government’s record on supporting coal mining and mineral exploration in the Seabed and Foreshore, the Labour Party under the current leadership is dead set on continuing to support deep sea drilling, and fracking, and a massive expansion of coal exporting as sick tactic for making money by subverting our Kyoto commitments by exporting our CO2 pollution.

      • lprent 2.1.1
        19 November 2012 at 5:32 pm

        You should read the policy book of remits, then have a look at my post about the remits that were actually voted on. Out of the enormous piles of remits that went to regional conferences. I think that there were about a hundred remits that went to the workshops. There were maybe 8 ones that managed to make it to the remit floor and get voted on.

        The ones on climate change didn’t get enough support from groups of delegates. While there are quite a few greenies amongst Labour members, they aren’t particularly well organised compared to even a chaotic young labour group..

        If you want something to get through in Labour as policy, you have to organise cooperatively, own it, and push hard. Ummm looking at the gentle and benign history of the union movement I wonder where that came from?

        • karol 2.1.1.1
          19 November 2012 at 5:37 pm

          Was the gender/women’s remit as on here, passed? p24, I think.

        • Jenny 2.1.1.2
          19 November 2012 at 9:06 pm

          This shows the importance leadership, any leader worth their salt and reasonably well informed should be able to form their own opinions and express them. They wouldn’t have to be dragged to it.

          This is why we call them leaders.

      • McFlock 2.1.2
        19 November 2012 at 5:36 pm

        How did remit 26 go?

  3. Jenny 3
    19 November 2012 at 4:50 am

    President Obama on climate change:

    “We want our children to live in an America that isn’t threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet.”

    Barack Obama November 7, 2012

    David Shearer on climate change:

    ”

    “,

    * November 18, 2012

  4. Hilary 4
    19 November 2012 at 7:22 am

    Radio NZ news leading with headlines about an ‘acrimonious conference’. Not what I gathered from following twitter, Facebook and the Standard. No reporting in any media of the most significant policy from my perspective – to lower the voting age to 16.

    • Jim Nald - Once Was National 4.1
      19 November 2012 at 8:33 am

      The conference was open to media on Planet Earth.
      Media folks were seen physically present and so the question is which planet were they inhabiting mentally?

  5. karol 5
    19 November 2012 at 7:52 am

    As a non-Labour person (who sometimes votes Labour and would like a strongly left Labour-led government):  the weekend started out very hopeful on Saturday, and with the Sunday morning remits….. then somehow for me it turned less hopeful.  And it’s confusing and part of my hopeless feeling, that the Labour membership generally seems pretty happy with the conference.

    I am now feeling quite despondent about NZ left wing politics.  This is even though there were some very good remits, and a welcome shift to a more democratic membership participation at the conference.

    The MSM were dreadful – stirring up conflict and avoiding the substantial issues, except for the housing policy – at the latter was a a very big disappointment to me. I’m not sure how much Team Shearer fed that MSM obsession with drama and conflict & anti-Cunliffe stirring?

    I see that Shearer/Labour is touting the conference as a “new direction” for Labour – this is particularly upsetting as that is exactly the words I used in a couple of posts.  But this is not the “new direction” I was thinking of.

    The Labour Party’s “new direction” is kind of partly what I am looking for:

    a shift towards a more interventionist government; some good policies on asset sales, local government etc;
    and a bit of a shift away from neoliberalism. 

    But it is still pretty centrist (the housing policy is too focused on building houses for the private, home-buying market). And all the policies are focused on the middle-classes:  albeit the socially responsible, community minded (to a limit) middle-classes.  It is largely a view from a middle-class lifestyle, targetting the comfortable, but slightly insecure middle-classes.

    Yes, Shearer has stopped talking about the deserving and underserving poor/beneficiaries – now he’s just not talking about the poor or beneficiaries at all.  They seem to have totally disappeared from the Labour landscape.   

    And Shearer is now sounding so macho – I couldn’t even consider voting for a party he leads, with the kind of political values he represents. I can’t see how this leadership stoush can have a good outcome.

    I felt so despondent last night and this morning, that I was fantasing about giving up writing blog posts and moving to the country – a less expensive life-style. 

    But thank goodness we still have the Greens and Mana – the Labour conference has, ultimately confirmed for me that the choice is now between Mana and the Greens. 

    • felix 5.1
      19 November 2012 at 8:01 am

      I’m glad you articulated that karol, so I don’t need to. 😉 I tried, but all I came up with was “Meh”.

      ps you can move to the country and keep blogging…

      • karol 5.1.1
        19 November 2012 at 8:15 am

        Well, it’s reassuring my response is not totally unique.

        Actually, you’re right.  if I gave up working and retired to the country, I’d probably have more time for blogging – but then I couldn’t join the Green, Mana and anti-poverty demos. 

        • Macro 5.1.1.1
          19 November 2012 at 2:04 pm

          Oh yes you can!! The Greens have a very strong presence here in Thames. And there is still need to preserve the Coromandel from ever more mining.
          You sentiments expressed above are mine as well. 🙂
          And we need more of you blogging Karol

    • just saying 5.2
      19 November 2012 at 8:26 am

      ditto what Felix said.

      What makes me saddest is that it seems Shearer is now out hunting with his pack of dogs to prove his Macho capacities. But the head of the slain beast he plans to hold aloft isn’t Cunliffe’s actually. It’s ours.

      • Greg Doolan 5.2.1
        19 November 2012 at 1:25 pm

        Agreed. A pack of losers that will do anything to retain power. What Labour needs now, what the country needs now is transparent democracy. National are doing dodgy deals with Sky City and who knows who else behind the public’s back. But what alternative does Labour in its present form offer? We do not need a self interested, vision less cartel to be running Labour into the ground or to be running New Zealand. Shearer and his allies behave like members of the Chinese Communist Party, spreading disinformation, performing hatchet jobs on any perceived threat and conniving in the back room to retain central control of everything. Labour with its present leadership is unvotable, even for someone like myself who has NEVER voted for anyone else. If David Cunliffe does manage to wrestle control away from this bunch it will not be a moment too soon for both the party and New Zealand.

    • lprent 5.3
      19 November 2012 at 8:49 am

      Labour isn’t a particularly radical party because of the range of people it represents. It is also 96 years old as a organisation which often makes change seem glacial. But these changes made over the weekend and the ones still in the pipeline as part of the review are going to help a lot at breaking the internal stasis that the party has had since the 80’s.

      You can blog from the country. Just keep adding your voice to the discourse, it is worth having. I kept getting people pointing out over the weekend how useful TS was for reading mind-widening debate, and part of that was that we were providing a place for the whole of the labour and frequently the green movement to talk.

      If you move, just do what I did when I brought my apartment – first exclusion criteria was what the local exchange was equipped with (ie when was it upgraded) and how far away was I from it. I can work with just a good link and did so for many years. The only things that keep me pinned in the city are the engineers with their delightful toys and Lyn who has her own support ecosystem that she works in.

      • karol 5.3.1
        19 November 2012 at 9:19 am

        Thanks for your response, Lynn, and for providing a space for the expression of a wide variety of left wing views and discussions.  

        I guess the slow change in Labour is the reason why I’ll continue to vote for the more radical, smaller and newer parties.  Long live MMP!

        My early retirement fantasy this morning has passed.  I won’t be moving to the country just yet – it’s really my long term retirement plan, to live more cheaply.  But I am an Aucklander born and bred and will find it difficult to leave it for many reasons. 

    • Jenny 5.4
      19 November 2012 at 9:25 pm

      Not all is lost karol. Phil Twyford gives us all a shining example of political behaviour that is completely non-sectarian, or self interested, handing over a space on Red Alert to Hone Harawira, as in celebration of Ngati Whatua’s recent settlement, Harawira recounts his time spent during the Bastion Point occupation.

      http://blog.labour.org.nz/2012/11/15/remember-bastion-point/

      All power to you Phil.

    • xtasy 5.5
      20 November 2012 at 1:20 am

      Shearer and his camp have “panicked” – frightened to death. They now want to demote Cunliffe, put him on the back bench and disencourage an admittedly not “easy” member, to play any sensible role in Labour in future.

      This is like a stab in the back to a third to half of Labour supporters.

      It is indeed such a short-sighted, panicy, dumb and ignorant move by Shearer, he will lose all credibility in the next months.

      Cunliffe will likely leave politics and Labour, and I would not blame him. We will end up with less than mediocre hangers on, idiots, wannabes and mainstream adherents, making NO difference at all on the political field in NZ.

      Key and his gang are laughing, highly up-spirited. The LEFT are disposed off by Labour, forced to seek an alternative.

      THIS is the time to start a new left of centre, major, appealing party right now, the time could never be better to unite the left and bring them under one umbrella, that is Greens, left Labour (disillusioned), Mana and who else may come on board.

      Wake up and get this started, someone. It is OVERDUE!

  6. mickysavage 6
    19 November 2012 at 8:10 am

    Gawd it is now being reported that Shearer is considering disciplinary action against Cunliffe.

    WTF?  What has he done?  Supported a more democratic selection process for the party’s leader?  Suggested that he may or may not be involved in a process that is perfectly within Caucus’s rules?

    If Shearer wanted to discipline anyone there is a serial leaker that needs stern action and Shane Jones is busily trying to undermine relationships with the party’s most important coalition partner? 

    • Jim Nald - Once Was National 6.1
      19 November 2012 at 8:19 am

      Shearer and Robertson need to take a deep breath and pause to think more deeply.

      • mickysavage 6.1.1
        19 November 2012 at 8:24 am

        After Sunday’s speech Shearer should have sat down and tried to unite the Parliamentary party.  This macho swaggering stuff is not helpful.

        • Pissed-off Member 6.1.1.1
          19 November 2012 at 10:28 am

          Oh fuck off, Cunliffe fucked up the one showcase we get every year for his own petty political interests. (And you helped.)

          He should retire to the backbenches, for the sake of the party.

          • lprent 6.1.1.1.1
            19 November 2012 at 11:07 am

            Ah no. The remits and amendments were all on the agenda. That was what was dealt with. It was also the distinct focus of the conference and they voted to make the caucus more responsible to the members.

            The current leadership wasn’t an issue, although it could be in the mandatory February leadership vote that got deferred from last year. Basically you’re so wrong that it was clear that you weren’t there.

    • karol 6.2
      19 November 2012 at 8:20 am

      Actually, for me, that might be a better outcome – especially if Cunliffe joined or lead another party.  Although, I do think Cunliffe is still pretty much centre-left.

      • lprent 6.2.1
        19 November 2012 at 8:56 am

        Yes he is. You’ll find that anyone who has been put in charge of finance and given full exposure to the trade offs on policies vs revenues always are regardless of their other political beliefs. Micheal Cullen being a good example.

        If they aren’t then make contingency plans to leave the country before they get real power.

    • Colonial Viper 6.3
      19 November 2012 at 8:34 am

      MS – lots of double standards are being applied here. Can’t Shearer lead his own caucus to achieve a 60% confidence vote by February any other way? Here’s a brilliant management idea – how about trying to work with ALL the people you lead, not just a favoured portion?

      • Raymond A Francis 6.3.1
        19 November 2012 at 9:06 am

        Yes, this was Miss Clark’s way, what did she do when asked to stand down, boot the enemy out, no she chose to hold them close and work with them to gain the Government benches

        • Jim Nald - Once Was National 6.3.1.1
          19 November 2012 at 9:14 am

          Quite.

          If Shearer demonstrate that he has broad shoulders and can work with all in caucus and the wider membership, then he shows that he can work with other parties under an MMP Government. Then he gains the wider support from general voters.

  7. Robert Winter 7
    19 November 2012 at 9:07 am

    Thank you for your comment. I concur with you about David Clark (though I always want to add “five” to his name – the generation to which I belong remembers the thumping “Bits and Pieces”). Another point that I should have made more clearly is that the successful demand for constitutional change – inevitable after the irritation in the r&f caused by last year’s election process – was the driver of the conference. The politicking by some – and the strange shifts in the affiliates – should not be allowed to marginalise the desire for a more open party structure that drives many delegates. And, to be fair to Mr Shearer, who co-sponsored the constitutional process, he’s done nothing but praise and support it. The decisions made are, of course, also a signal to the r&f that they too must now step up, Opening the party to more democratic processes also places greater responsibility on the r&f to create a party that can win elections and implement a social democratic programme. This must be positive.

  8. Rhinocrates 8
    19 November 2012 at 9:09 am

    Chris Trotter’s commentary on Morning Report today was good, pointing out first that the speech was a classic Labour speech, full of genuine Labour values… and then Shearer, the fool, starts muttering darkly about revenge and “me me me me me me.”

    http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/mnr/mnr-20121119-0816-labour_needs_to_heal_personality_clashes-048.mp3

    Claire Robinson was her usual ghastly, shallow self.

    • xtasy 8.1
      20 November 2012 at 1:24 am

      Rhino: That exposes exactly his WEAKNESS as a supposed “leader”!

      He cannot handle criticism and competition, so he is slowly becoming a little dictator within the ranks, and sadly the little underlings from front and half back row jump up and largely support him. They are mostly cowards and useless idiots. Labour is HISTORY! GONE, GONE, this party has NO FUTURE anymore. It is DEAD!

      Bring in a NEW force, a new, truly left party, with real plans and ideas, as Shearer and consorts are just a pale shade of what we have now, they are the funeral coffin carriers of left and progressive policies.

      It is ALL over with Shearer and Labour, gone, gone and surely gone for ever!

  9. dave brownz 9
    19 November 2012 at 12:21 pm

    Well everyone to their own bubble. Social Democracy just ties workers to the sinking capitalist ship.
    How fast you go down is outside your control. What you wear or what speeches you listen to are mild distractions. Capitalism is sinking and in other places in this world workers are refusing to go down without a fight. Marikana? What a lesson. The most advanced Social Democracy in the world is so crony capitalist that workers are now rebelling and getting shot by ‘socialists’. The Arab Spring is a big lesson that Israel is now learning. You cannot demand the freedom to oppress without stirring up revolution. When generations xyz finally realise they havnt anything to lose but their fear then you will get a real party of labour – one that rejects capitalist barbarism for rational collective ownership and control of the earth’s wealth.

  10. tracey 10
    19 November 2012 at 4:07 pm

    How is it cunliffes fault that the media shadowed him and reported and reported and reported him. if he had said nothing how different the outcome??

  11. deemac 11
    19 November 2012 at 10:10 pm

    the amendment that caused all the ructions was put on the agenda the day before conference, leaving no time for delegates to consult the people who’d sent them.
    It was NOT about making the leadership selection more democratic – that was already agreed by a huge majority – but about giving a MINORITY of the caucus a veto.
    And it was clear from some of the speeches in support of the amendment that many people had no idea of the hidden agenda behind it, ie to give Cunliffe a chance to roll Shearer.
    What should have been a great showcase for Labour’s plans was hijacked by Cunliffe.
    You may think Shearer should keep him on but I can’t think of any political party in the world that would tolerate disloyalty like this.

    • karol 11.1
      19 November 2012 at 10:14 pm

      the amendment that caused all the ructions was put on the agenda the day before conference, leaving no time for delegates to consult the people who’d sent them.

      Eh?  I’m not in the Labour Party, but I’m pretty sure I’ve known about his amendment for months.  it’s been in the public arena for a long time. 

    • lprent 11.2
      20 November 2012 at 7:28 am

      Many amendments are only put in the final booklet. It is the nature of having meetings done on a periodic basis by branches and LEC’s considering amendments by others.

      That is why delegates trusted by their branches and LECs are sent to conference – to exercise judgement.

      It was pretty clear that judgement tended towards making caucus more accountable to members and affiliates. That in itself was probably in response to a caucus that is increasingly seen as being made up by ex-staffers building a comfortable cocoon.

Recent Posts

  • EGU2024 – An intense week of joining sessions virtually
    Note: this blog post has been put together over the course of the week I followed the happenings at the conference virtually. Should recordings of the Great Debates and possibly Union Symposia mentioned below, be released sometime after the conference ends, I'll include links to the ones I participated in. ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 hours ago

  • Submission on “Fast Track Approvals Bill”
    The following was my submission made on the “Fast Track Approvals Bill”. This potential law will give three Ministers unchecked powers, un-paralled since the days of Robert Muldoon’s “Think Big” projects.The submission is written a bit tongue-in-cheek. But it’s irreverent because the FTAB is in itself not worthy of respect. ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 hours ago

  • The Case for a Universal Family Benefit
    One Could Reduce Child Poverty At No Fiscal CostFollowing the Richardson/Shipley 1990 ‘redesign of the welfare state’ – which eliminated the universal Family Benefit and doubled the rate of child poverty – various income supplements for families have been added, the best known being ‘Working for Families’, introduced in 2005. ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 hours ago

  • A who’s who of New Zealand’s dodgiest companies
    Submissions on National's corrupt Muldoonist fast-track law are due today (have you submitted?), and just hours before they close, Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop has been forced to release the list of companies he invited to apply. I've spent the last hour going through it in an epic thread of bleats, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 hours ago

  • On Lee’s watch, Economic Development seems to be stuck on scoring points from promoting sporting e...
    Buzz from the Beehive A few days ago, Point of Order suggested the media must be musing “on why Melissa is mute”. Our article reported that people working in the beleaguered media industry have cause to yearn for a minister as busy as Melissa Lee’s ministerial colleagues and we drew ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 hours ago

  • New Zealand has never been closed for business
    1. What was The Curse of Jim Bolger?a. Winston Peters b. Soon after shaking his hand, world leaders would mysteriously lose office or shuffle off this mortal coilc. Could never shake off the Mother of All Budgetsd. Dandruff2. True or false? The Chairman of a Kiwi export business has asked the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 hours ago

  • Stop the panic – we’ve been here before
    Jack Vowles writes – New Zealand is said to be suffering from ‘serious populist discontent’. An IPSOS MORI survey has reported that we have an increasing preference for strong leaders, think that the economy is rigged toward the rich and powerful, and political elites are ignoring ‘hard-working people’.  ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    10 hours ago

  • Melissa Lee and the media: ending the quest
    Chris Trotter writes –  MELISSA LEE should be deprived of her ministerial warrant. Her handling – or non-handling – of the crisis engulfing the New Zealand news media has been woeful. The fate of New Zealand’s two linear television networks, a question which the Minister of Broadcasting, Communications ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    11 hours ago

  • The Hoon around the week to April 19
    TL;DR: The podcast above features co-hosts and , along with regular guests Robert Patman on Gaza and AUKUS II, and on climate change.The six things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    12 hours ago

  • The ‘Humpty Dumpty’ end result of dismantling our environmental protections
    Policymakers rarely wish to make plain or visible their desire to dismantle environmental policy, least of all to the young. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top five news items of note in climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, and a discussion above between Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    12 hours ago

  • Nicola's Salad Days.
    I like to keep an eye on what’s happening in places like the UK, the US, and over the ditch with our good mates the Aussies. Let’s call them AUKUS, for want of a better collective term. More on that in a bit.It used to be, not long ago, that ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    13 hours ago

  • Study sees climate change baking in 19% lower global income by 2050
    TL;DR: The global economy will be one fifth smaller than it would have otherwise been in 2050 as a result of climate damage, according to a new study by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and published in the journal Nature. (See more detail and analysis below, and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    13 hours ago

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • How extreme was the Earth's temperature in 2023
    This is a re-post from Andrew Dessler at the Climate Brink blog In 2023, the Earth reached temperature levels unprecedented in modern times. Given that, it’s reasonable to ask: What’s going on? There’s been lots of discussions by scientists about whether this is just the normal progression of global warming or if something ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 days ago

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Long Tunnel or Long Con?
    Yesterday it was revealed that Transport Minister had asked Waka Kotahi to look at the options for a long tunnel through Wellington. State Highway 1 (SH1) through Wellington City is heavily congested at peak times and while planning continues on the duplicate Mt Victoria Tunnel and Basin Reserve project, the ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    4 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
    4 days ago

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Govt ignored economic analysis of smokefree reversal
    Costello did not pass on analysis of the benefits of the smokefree reforms to Cabinet, emphasising instead the extra tax revenues of repealing them. Photo: Hagen Hopkins, Getty Images TL;DR: The six news items that stood out to me at 7:26 am today are:The Lead: Casey Costello never passed on ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 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
    5 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
    5 days ago

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

  • $41m to support clean energy in South East Asia
    New Zealand is demonstrating its commitment to reducing global greenhouse emissions, and supporting clean energy transition in South East Asia, through a contribution of NZ$41 million (US$25 million) in climate finance to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led Energy Transition Mechanism (ETM). Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Climate Change Minister Simon Watts announced ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 hours ago

  • Minister releases Fast-track stakeholder list
    The Government is today releasing a list of organisations who received letters about the Fast-track applications process, says RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Recently Ministers and agencies have received a series of OIA requests for a list of organisations to whom I wrote with information on applying to have a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago

  • Judicial appointments announced
    Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister David Jonathan Boldt as a Judge of the High Court, and the Honourable Justice Matthew Palmer as a Judge of the Court of Appeal. Justice Boldt graduated with an LLB from Victoria University of Wellington in 1990, and also holds ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 hours ago

  • Education Minister heads to major teaching summit in Singapore
    Education Minister Erica Stanford will lead the New Zealand delegation at the 2024 International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP) held in Singapore. The delegation includes representatives from the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) Te Wehengarua and the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa.  The summit is co-hosted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago

  • Value of stopbank project proven during cyclone
    A stopbank upgrade project in Tairawhiti partly funded by the Government has increased flood resilience for around 7000ha of residential and horticultural land so far, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones today attended a dawn service in Gisborne to mark the end of the first stage of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago

  • Anzac commemorations, Türkiye relationship focus of visit
    Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters will represent the Government at Anzac Day commemorations on the Gallipoli Peninsula next week and engage with senior representatives of the Turkish government in Istanbul.    “The Gallipoli campaign is a defining event in our history. It will be a privilege to share the occasion ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago

  • Minister to Europe for OECD meeting, Anzac Day
    Science, Innovation and Technology and Defence Minister Judith Collins will next week attend the OECD Science and Technology Ministerial conference in Paris and Anzac Day commemorations in Belgium. “Science, innovation and technology have a major role to play in rebuilding our economy and achieving better health, environmental and social outcomes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours 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
    24 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    2 days 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
    2 days 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
    2 days 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
    3 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
    4 days ago

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2024-04-19T10:14:15+00:00