Some thoughts…

Written By: - Date published: 2:04 pm, August 30th, 2014 - 113 comments
Categories: accountability, capitalism, corruption, crosby textor, election 2014, Judith Collins, kremlinology, Politics - Tags:

So Judith Collins is gone.

This is English’s faction taking control of dealing with the Dirty Politics mess. There’s no way Bronwyn Puller would have placed a privacy complaint against Collins without English knowing. She’s still tight with the National Party and with his faction.

I have no doubt the email that Key used to sink her came from inside the National Party. Why else would it go straight to Key’s chief of staff and why would it be taken so seriously if he didn’t know its provenance?

I’d say that since English deliberately distanced himself from Collins in his PREFU stand up – which was coordinated with Key changing his position to say she was
“unwise” – they have been working to get to this point and cauterize the wound.

About the same time Steven Joyce dropped away from commenting on it.

It’s not taken much for National’s factions to come to the surface as I’ve previously posted there’s been a cold war on for a while:

It’s no secret that the small but vicious Collins faction has been worrying the rest of the party for some time. Fran O’Sullivan points to her sacking of John Judge as a reason for this, but Collins has caused many other, less public ructions and her proxies, Cameron Slater and Simon Lusk many more again.

There’s no doubt now that English is running the show. The question is will the remnants of Collins’ crew fight back or is it all over for them? And what happens to Steven Joyce?

This will really be a test of that famous National Party discipline.

113 comments on “Some thoughts… ”

  1. Paul 1

    Doesn’t this story actually present us with even more questions about Key’s role in the Dirty Politics saga?

    • One Anonymous Bloke 1.1

      Yep. He’ll be hoping it’ll take the heat off, it’s more a case of “one down, now, who’s next?” The spotlight turns to point directly at the PM(‘s office). The Slater/Ede correspondence is yet to be released, unless I’ve missed something. 🙂

  2. adam 2

    I think the cold war, just became a hot war.

    • Kiwiri 2.1

      Those who live by “Dirty Politics”, die by “Dirty Politics”.

      [Paraphrasing Matthew 26:52]

  3. Paul 3

    Another thought.
    Jarred Savage and the Herald needs investigating for their role in the whole Dirty Politics saga.
    http://jononatusch.wordpress.com/2014/08/30/serious-questions-for-jared-savage-the-nz-herald/

    The Herald already has dirty hands with Glucina drip feeding gossip from these vile sources, now one of their journalists implicated.

    • mickysavage 3.1

      Questions should be asked about why Key got the chance to release the email and herald got to break the story. I wonder if it was related to Fisher’s mea culpa a couple of days ago?

      • Paul 3.1.1

        The Herald’s editors could be shown to have very grubby hands on this.

      • Ant 3.1.2

        http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10442284/Judith-Collins-resigns-says-shes-a-victim

        Stuff are saying the SST were working on a story about these emails for tomorrow’s paper:

        Vigilante hacker Rawshark is the man who hacked Slater’s emails then gave them to Nicky Hager ​.​

        Since the book​ Dirty Politics release Rawshark has also been parcelling out caches of emails to media.

        Fairfax’s Sunday Star Times newspaper had flagged it ​was due to print a story about the emails tomorrow.

        The emails detail a covert public relations campaign including attacks on the credibility of the SFO and Financial Markets Authority.”

        • mickysavage 3.1.2.1

          So it was damage minimisation …

          • karol 3.1.2.1.1

            Well, Gower is till calling at a National Party inside job – Hager also, saying they wanted a reason to ax her, but not to blame it on Hager’s book.

            • Ant 3.1.2.1.1.1

              We’ll see tomorrow I guess, if whaledump releases an identical screen grab then it might explain the surprisingly shoddy cellphone picture that the PM’s office released.

              • karol

                Hager didn’t seem to think it was among the whaledump emails he received and used for his book.

                • Ant

                  Depends if Hager was given absolutely everything. The book barely mentions this, and the hacker seems pretty adept at media management and might have their own agenda.

                  Also, the SST seems well set to run with something big tomorrow, interviews with Adam Feeley etc. Will all depend on what runs tomorrow.

                  • karol

                    This is what Gower said tonight on 3 News – and it’s in print under the video:

                    The email was written by her friend, Whale Oil blogger Cameron Slater, and leaked to Mr Key’s office by someone whose identity the Prime Minister won’t reveal.
                    […]
                    This message did not come from the hacker who took Slater’s emails for the book Dirty Politics.

                    The Prime Minister’s office says the source wasn’t anonymous, but confidential; they know who it is.

                    • Tracey

                      redacted? if it isnt one of the recipients isnt the pm worried it has been sourced illegally.

    • Inky 3.2

      I really can’t recall reading any of Savage’s stuff. Does he show a bias to the right or does he play it straight down the middle? And by bias, I don’t mean simply break stories that don’t help the left, I mean clearly and unfairly slant his writing?

  4. Paul 4

    As this article says, serious questions for Jared Savage and the NZ Herald.
    Remember the Herald’s Glucina’s role also in Dirty Politics.
    http://jononatusch.wordpress.com/2014/08/30/serious-questions-for-jared-savage-the-nz-herald/

    A quick search of Savage’s articles in the Herald show a lot of reporting on the Donghua Liu story.
    Wonder who his sources were?

  5. disturbed 5

    Of the dirty dozen Collins is first off the rank next could be either Ede or another shadowy Office of the PM figure, but Key will burn anyone in his sights to stay on top of the pile.

    It’s in his genes, remember the smiling assassin case where his job was to sack 300 Merrill Lynch employees, when stock market crashed in 2007?

    While at Merrill lynch in 2001 “Some co-workers called John Key “the smiling assassin” for maintaining his usual cheerfulness while sacking (some say hundreds) of staff after heavy losses from the 1998 Russian financial crisis.”

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Key

    These are mean assed people we are dealing with, they eat each other.

  6. Ad 6

    I seriously thought the impact of Hagar’s book would be limited. Now the floodgates of revenge are unstopped within National.

    I predict -5% from National
    +3% to New Zealand First to about 8%
    + 1 to Labour to 27%
    + 1 to Greens to 14%

    Also a Cabinet-wide ban on using Whaleoil, whoever is in power

  7. disturbed 7

    Next Gone Key please
    Back in Wikapeadia filles ShonKey was hauled before SFO.

    mmmmm!

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Key

    Key forestalled the accusation by declaring that he had left Elders months before the event, that he had no knowledge of the deal, and that his interview with the Serious Fraud Office during the investigation into the affair could only have helped to convict the people involved. This statement was supported publicly by then-SFO director Charles Sturt.[24][25]

    Labour MPs criticised Key for not releasing specific policy information at their annual conference. Key responded that National would set its own policy agenda and that there was adequate time before the next election for voters to digest National Party policy proposals.[26]

  8. disturbed 8

    Next thought,

    This was also on the link I sent above,

    Wikipedia records Key hauled in front of the same SFO that Collins interfered with, any similarities?

    Key forestalled the accusation by declaring that he had left Elders months before the event, that he had no knowledge of the deal, and that his interview with the Serious Fraud Office during the investigation into the affair could only have helped to convict the people involved. This statement was supported publicly by then-SFO director Charles Sturt.[24][25]

    Labour MPs criticised Key for not releasing specific policy information at their annual conference. Key responded that National would set its own policy agenda and that there was adequate time before the next election for voters to digest National Party policy proposals.[26]

  9. outofbed 9

    How strange I was just dropping off a billboard in Karori.
    And drove past a very grey looking Bill English going into his house just as the news came on RNZ about Collins,
    It was quite surreal

  10. Not a PS Staffer 10

    Time to cancel you NZ Herald subscription?
    To speak to a Customer Representative, call 0800 100 888
    between 6am & 5pm Monday to Friday, or 6am & 10am Saturday and Sunday
    Or email them on subscriptions@nzherald.co.nz.

    If you want to make a stronger complaint contact the two APN Directors who control the NZ Herald. They are
    [deleted]
    And
    [deleted]

    This information came from the NZ Herald site and from The Companies Office.
    It was not supplied by Judith Collins or Cathy Odgers.

    [lprent: Don’t put people’s names and *home* addresses up on the site. ]

    • ghostwhowalksnz 10.1

      Dont be silly.

      Did you know subscriptions are a money loser for the Herald, so they save money when they dont have to print and deliver a newspaper.

  11. Bill 11

    Geoff. Judith Collin’s isn’t gone. She’s simply no longer a minister and JK stated quite unequivocally that when/if her name is cleared, she’s back on board. Also National got the opportunity to go into damage control and kill a story before it was published by the SST. That’s no small thing to be gifted on a plate.

    I’ve no idea where you’re getting ‘Camp English’ on the ascendency from. Key is (still) king of the castle and is (still) untarnished and (still) has all his players in play.

    • weka 11.1

      Bet SST still run a story tomorrow. I doubt the story is dead. Both Key and Collins are running the line that she will be cleared. From Key’s pserpective all he has to do is defer things until after the election. But if more comes out tomorrow that will be harder to do. Twitter speculation is that there will be a full whaledump tomorrow.

      https://twitter.com/toad001/status/505541093497532416

    • weka 11.2

      Bet SST still run a story tomorrow. I doubt the story is dead. Both Key and Collins are running the line that she will be cleared. From Key’s pserpective all he has to do is defer things until after the election. But if more comes out tomorrow that will be harder to do. Twitter speculation is that there will be a full whaledump tomorrow.

      twitter.com/toad001/status/505541093497532416

    • Inky 11.3

      I heard Key say she wouldn’t be back after the election. Sounded to me like he felt it was a hanging offence.

  12. Rodel 12

    Step 1 During the debate Cunliffe asks what Key is going to do about Collins.
    Step2 Winston claims that Collin’s people ask if he’ll join them after ousting John Key.Collins denies.( ‘He’s a liar’)
    Step 3 Key suddenly releases an old (2011) email from Slater implicating Collins
    Step 3 Key sacks Collins- well… accepts her resignation
    Step 4. Collins unfriends Slater
    Step 5. Benson Pope relaxes over a whisky.
    Step 5. I have a whisky too.

  13. Steve 13

    Sorry but this looks very suspicious. Key has now been given the excuse to get rid of Collins without backtracking on his previous stance. If he had changed his mind, without new information, he would have looked weak and given credence to the seriousness of the allegations in “Dirty Politics”

    Collins, in particular, has been his achilles heel for the last couple of weeks. In addition he says this new email is ” far more serious” than the matters, relating to Collins, that have gone before. So in one hit he has:

    1. Appeared to be a strong leader.
    2. Got rid of his achilles heel that is Collins
    3. Re-inforced the mantra that the other allegations in ‘Dirty Politics” were “not serious” and ” a left-wing smear”.

    Sadly, to me, looks like the Nats knew this info was on the way anyway and have used it to benefit Brand Key. What we don’t know yet is how deep the fissures in the National Party are and whether they’re enough for them to eat their very own darling Mr Key.

    I suspect things are about to become even more interesting over the next 3 weeks as the NATS appear to be now donky deep in this stuff.

    • Weepus beard 13.1

      Some rumours about that Cactus Kate delivered the email.

    • Kiwiri 13.2

      Damage control. But that won’t lessen the unease but deny the disease.

      With all respect to Geoff who said:
      they have been working to get to this point and cauterize the wound ,

      I had suggested what Nats need is political chemotherapy.

  14. disturbed 14

    IMPORTANT, – URGENT.

    Today we call officially on all opposition parties.

    They must join together and must meet in an emergency forum to set the discussion surrounding the whole matter of political corruption within the Hager book and the laying of the grounds for the public interest in a truly independent commission of enquiry into the whole Slater gate affair with Team Key and His “black ops” “Dirty Politics” scandal reaching right back to when the records start with the Key Government and before.

    There will never be a more correct urgent time to jump on this issue and destroy the cancer before it destroys us all.

    • Martin 14.1

      fully agree.

    • dave 14.2

      couldn’t agree more there needs be a royal commission to restore confidence in the system the key government needs investigating there corrupt they are not of good character they need to take close look at what these vile people have been up to it needs to extended to the media ,corporates and cronies .

  15. BLiP 15

    I call bulshit. The email, most likely, did not come from inside National Ltd™ and nor has National Ltd™ any intention of cleaning up this shit heap of FAIL. Right now, inside National Ltd™, even as I type, its about cover your arse, duck for cover, or head for the hills and wait for a cushy job to come up. Any National Ltd™ member who has been selected to stand for the party and won their seat since Nicky Hager’s “The Hollow Men” is now suspect. Any National Ltd™ MP who has been involved with John Key’s dirty-ops department is now suspect. The rot starts at the head and, when it comes to National Ltd™, the rot is complete, from gills to tail.

    • weka 15.1

      Russell Brown’s theory is that Key needed a reason to dump Collins that wasn’t from Hager’s book, and then this email appeared.

      I’m not sure though, because presumably Hager and/or his informants had this email too? And more to come tomorrow from whaledump.

      • karol 15.1.1

        It isn’t a whaledump email. Gower said it was sent to news media and JK from a known source who prefers not to be named.

        • weka 15.1.1.1

          Do you mean the information meant to come out tomorrow, or the email from today? Both?

          • karol 15.1.1.1.1

            The email that caused Collins to resign; copy of it was sent from someone known to Key.

            • Ant 15.1.1.1.1.1

              Wouldn’t they just use it as a threat to make her to resign without the rigmarole then so she could take stress leave or whatever on her own terms? She might be super cray and resist, but this seems way too pyrrhic to be anything other than last minute harm minimisation.

              If this email is the best case scenario then what was the worst case?

              • karol

                Yes. It seems a lot of people think it’s harm minimisation.

              • weka

                “Wouldn’t they just use it as a threat to make her to resign”

                Not if the media also has the email and it was about to be published tomorrow.

                “It isn’t a whaledump email.”

                I could be an email that whaledump has as well. Which begs the question of why Hager didn’t use it. Didn’t have it?

            • Rodel 15.1.1.1.1.2

              Karol
              Wouldn’t be KFC, sorry I mean KDC would it?

            • Kiwiri 15.1.1.1.1.3

              At the end of the day, and then …

              Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
              Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
              To the last syllable of recorded time;
              And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
              The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!

              As in that dark and powerful Shakespearean tragedy, the lady went first …

              ’tis thought, by self and violent hands / Took off her [political] life

              and then Macbeth was defeated.

              • Clemgeopin

                “and then Macbeth was defeated.”

                ….muttering the words, ‘Et tu, Slate?’

              • A bit of an aside, but I bet there’s not extensive quoting of Shakespeare on WhaleOil.

                I’m from working class origins yet embrace literary and artistic insight (i.e., I don’t see it as ‘elitist’ but, rather, something to have access to and enrich myself from). I despise the attitude that determinedly does not want to enlighten and improve itself.

                I think St Augustine said something similar to some Greek/Turkish fishermen who asked him whether or not they’d be sent to hell for being ignorant. His response? “No, but God will punish you for not wanting to be less ignorant” (or words to that effect).

                • Inky

                  Slater’s into hunting in a big way, isn’t he? Does he have his own guns?

                  • Murray Olsen

                    Yes. He often writes about them. For some unknown reason, he is considered a fit and proper person to hold a firearms licence.

    • joe90 15.2

      Hmm…

      Laura McQuillan @mcquillanatorz · 3h

      Asked if the redacted email recipient is John Key’s source, Cameron Slater says “I doubt that she passed it on” –

      twitter.com/mcquillanatorz/status/505552726516719616

      • karol 15.2.1

        So who is it they they claim we all now know is the source? – [feeling stupid]

        • BLiP 15.2.1.1

          Whaledump, surely? He/she gave it to the media which, in turn, provided a copy to John Key so that he could comment on an upcoming story. Rather than simply wait until publication, John Key is trying to seize the situation and hamper any momentum it has before it reaches him personally. As Mr Gould has pointed out, we can now expect lines like “National Ltd™ has recognised there is an issue and it is being dealt with”, “move along now, nothing to see here”, “we are focussed on the issues that matter and New Zealanders will judge for themselves who is behind all this”, “its time to talk about law and order, health, education, and the economy” . . . never mind the fact that this issue is now the defining issue of the election. It is John Key’s legacy, after six years, this is what he has left New Zealand to deal with.

          Well, that’s my guess.

          • karol 15.2.1.1.1

            Gower reckons Key’s office know the name of the person that sent this latest email. Whaledump would not be disclosing any real name to Key.

            PS: check the comments below the tweet linked to above.

            • BLiP 15.2.1.1.1.1

              Patrick Gover and the rest of the MSM cannot be trusted with any speculation because we don’t know who’s feeding it into the narrative. I’m going for Occam’s Razor on this one. Whaledump has handed the media a portion of the emails and has shot off to Valuatu, probably at the MSM’s expense. Also, if Gover is correct, the fact that John Key knows the name of the person who sent the copy of the email he released does not mean that the person is a not journalist. IMHO.

              • karol

                Gower says this is what the PM’s office told him. See my quote and link above as to what Gower actually said.

                • weka

                  Hmmm, trust Gower and/or the PM’s office, tricky isn’t it.

                • BLiP

                  Hmmm . . . okay, fair nuff, and thank you. Now that I think a little more about it. an email like the one released by John Key would, I believe, have featured writ-large in “Dirty Politics”. So, yeah, I’m the the same boat, now; where did it come from?

        • Weepus beard 15.2.1.2

          Odgers.

  16. Frida 16

    When you read the email, it reads as if Cactus was a party to it. Eg ‘Cathy can update separately….’
    There is a redacted name at the top. Put 2 and 2 together?
    Also, as Paddy Gower raised on the news tonight, who is the addressee ‘mark?’
    Full inquiry please. This stinks.

  17. joe90 17

    Yeshua.

    Patrick Gower ‏@patrickgowernz 11m

    Was Mark Hotchin involved in the campaign to get rid of Adam Feeley? If so, huge questions about state of NZ politics.

    twitter.com/melmac21/status/505613881515851776

    edit: with bells

    Auckland’s most expensive house, the seven-bedroom mansion on exclusive Paritai Drive partly financed by former Hanover Finance director Mark Hotchin, has been sold to businessman Deyi Shi for $39 million.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11164421

  18. karol 18

    Tweet from David Lawson:

    @norightturnnz @JudithCollinsMP Feely investigates Hotchin,Colins takes out Feely, Hotchin sells Paritai to Collin’s Husbands boss Sone Shi?

  19. joe90 19

    with bells

    Auckland’s most expensive house, the seven-bedroom mansion on exclusive Paritai Drive partly financed by former Hanover Finance director Mark Hotchin, has been sold to businessman Deyi Shi for $39 million.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11164421

  20. joe90 20

    Yeshua.

    Patrick Gower ‏@patrickgowernz 11m

    Was Mark Hotchin involved in the campaign to get rid of Adam Feeley? If so, huge questions about state of NZ politics.

    twitter.com/melmac21/status/505613881515851776

    Auckland’s most expensive house, the seven-bedroom mansion on exclusive Paritai Drive partly financed by former Hanover Finance director Mark Hotchin, has been sold to businessman Deyi Shi for $39 million.

    nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11164421

  21. Rich 21

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/10442284/Judith-Collins-resigns-says-shes-a-victim

    703 comments, and on a read of the first 20 the only favourable ones will be paid for and as rare as hen’s teeth. It is not possible for this current government to win this election. It is possible for them to take it, but not to win it.

  22. Frida 22

    I just googled ‘Cameron slater mark hotchin’ out of morbid interest. Back in 2011 when crown law/FMA froze hotchin’s assets, whale oil ran a series of posts defending the guy…
    This is potentially huge.

    • Bill 23.1

      …when bubby toothy sharky things run out of chum….. 😉

    • Blue 23.2

      Slater needs to go hard on this one to cover his tracks.

      If Odgers was the leaker (and it’s hard to imagine that it could be anyone else) then that means a decision was made to throw Collins under the bus as a last-ditch attempt to preserve the right’s chances of an election victory.

      Slater professes a personal friendship with Collins, so he couldn’t be the one to swing the axe. Odgers had to do it. But the question is, was Slater complicit in it?

      • One Anonymous Bloke 23.2.1

        Nah, Odgers panicked. There’s no strategy here other than avoiding prison.

  23. joe90 24

    Peter Aranyi – 2 July 2011 :Hotchins Carrick Graham connection.(scroll down}.

    h/t Morgan Godfery.

  24. Pete 25

    And now Slater has laid a complaint against the PM. For those who can appreciate a good metaphor, this scene from Skyfall reminds me a lot of the current state of the National Party.

    http://youtu.be/_yI1hjITn8Q

  25. RedBaronCV 26

    And from the NBR article.
    “Mr Hooton’s company Exceltium has had a longtime contract to promote the iPredict political marketplace, which is run by Victoria University and lets its 7000 registered users bet on the likelihood of various political events.”

    How much money are our young people having to borrow to pay fees to Victoria so they can support expenses of this sort?

    I was at a session at Vic some years back when a staff member appeared in the room to promote ipredict. I had a look and was sure it wasn’t operating as it should -possible to make money by placing a straddle – I’ve said so on here before.
    So what exactly does Vic think it’s doing?? Is it spending funds on ipredict, facilitating it, something else?

  26. From the link to the sale of the Hotchin mansion:

    Mr Shi [the purchaser] speaks limited English and is more at home on the golf course, playing daily. He has teed off with Prime Minister John Key, whose portrait hangs in the company’s boardroom.

    • fdx 28.1

      Well it has given me a shit eating grin from ear to ear.

      Can’t hardly wait for tomorrows instalment!

      Can it get any better?

      More popcorn anyone?

    • blue leopard 28.2

      Try this one c/- KDC’s Twitter:

      http://www.lemonde.fr/pixels/article/2014/08/30/en-nouvelle-zelande-l-etrange-scandale-qui-mele-le-premier-ministre-et-un-blogueur_4479076_4408996.html

      Perhaps might give fdx an even wider grin?

      [sans the http part]

      • blue leopard 28.2.1

        Ooo spooky the ‘http’ part added itself automatically

      • Clemgeopin 28.2.2

        Why is KDC mentioned in the headline?

        • yeshe 28.2.2.1

          think it’s because it came from his twitter account ..

        • blue leopard 28.2.2.2

          While I don’t read french fluently, it is pretty clear the article is a run-down of John Key’s leadership and the scandal regarding Collins, it goes onto explain about whaledump and Kim Dot Com’s involvement in politics and concludes by explaining another revelation is set to occur on the 15th of September with Greenwald present. (I guess they may have thought KDC was more of a draw card than a picture of Collins or Slater)

          • Colonial Viper 28.2.2.2.1

            Fascinating how these political happenings in little ol’ NZ are making waves around the world.

            Foreigners can see here in Aotearoa a pattern of political malfeasance interwoven with media complicity and the surveillance state, a pattern which has parallels in other western countries.

            • blue leopard 28.2.2.2.1.1

              Yes! Hager made that point too and I like it.

              At the moment I’ve been feeling a real pride in the people in New Zealand who are getting active in fighting past the spin to get the truth out. It has seemed that we have been collectively asleep for so many years and now there are people really pushing to get things cleaned up.

              We have much more chance of turning this issue into a positive shift because we are a small country and because of the nature of our voting system.

              I will truly be glowing with pride in NZ (for once) if New Zealanders really wake up to what is at stake and do something about it with their votes and get rid of this bunch of degenerates.

              We need a functioning democracy – not a bunch of loons deceiving people into voting against their own best interests. I hope we collectively are up to ensuring this trend is halted and democracy is improved.

      • Rich 28.2.3

        That was written by;

        Grégor Brandy (Journaliste)

        Can we get some of those in this country after the election?

  27. weka 29

    Here you go fdx, just up on twitter,

    Today’s front page: The minister and the money man, the real story behind @JudithCollinsMP’s demise – a @SundayStarTimes investigation.

    https://twitter.com/SundayStarTimes/status/505690901075599360

  28. weka 30

    Here you go fdx, just up on twitter,

    Today’s front page: The minister and the money man, the real story behind @JudithCollinsMP’s demise – a @SundayStarTimes investigation.

    twitter.com/SundayStarTimes/status/505690901075599360

    • yeshe 30.1

      thanks weka … wonder which ‘money’ man they mean ? there are so many …. should be quite a day tomorrow !

      • CM 30.1.1

        Hotchin.
        Poo, meet Fan. Fan, meet poo.

        • yeshe 30.1.1.1

          😀 nice one CM !

          • dv 30.1.1.1.1

            Maybe Jones WAS right.

            http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/9826439/Shane-Jones-apologises-over-Collins-comments

            “Yesterday, Jones alleged Collins had been living at the Auckland mansion formerly owned by failed finance director Mark Hotchin, now owned by Oravida chairman Stone Shi.

            Collins had earlier said she and her husband had not stayed at the former Hotchin mansion, which is in Auckland’s upmarket Paritai Drive. Suggestions they had stayed there while their own house was being renovated were wrong.

            An emotional Collins said Jones’ comments were “hurtful” but she would not elaborate on what the comments might have meant.

            • Delia 30.1.1.1.1.1

              Well I doubt he came out with it just out of his head, same with Winston saying Judith sent a messenger to talk with him.

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    Inspirational: The Family of Man is a glorious hymn to human equality, but, more than that, it is a clarion call to human freedom. Because equality, unleavened by liberty, is a broken piano, an unstrung harp; upon which the songs of fraternity will never be played. “Somebody must have been telling lies about ...
    2 hours ago
  • Don’t run your business like a criminal enterprise
    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    2 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    7 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    9 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    10 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    12 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    24 hours ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    1 day ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    1 day ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

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

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