The party I will vote for ….

Written By: - Date published: 10:39 am, December 13th, 2013 - 157 comments
Categories: benefits, child welfare, class war, cost of living, democratic participation, economy, education, employment, greens, infrastructure, local government, poverty, quality of life, sustainability, workers' rights - Tags:

… will be one that has effective policies to make a more equal society, will seriously address the concerns of those least well-off, and not just pander to the narrow concerns of people on, or who aspire to, (comfortable) middle incomes.

This means policies to

* increase the amount of state houses

* ensure affordable rents for those who need or want them

*ensure secure and safe housing for all

* ensure jobs are available for all who need/want them

* re-construct worker friendly and fair employment laws and policies

* rework social security so that it ensures true social security for all New Zealanders

* ensure those most at risk of living in poverty have the concerns taken seriously and relevant policies to ensure they are fully included in our community and social provisions: those at most being Maori, Pacific people, and low income women, especially those with young children.

* ensure that services provided by WINZ and ACC work for New Zealanders, and end the punitive and restrictive approach to responding to the needs of New Zealanders that have been honed by Key’s government

* acknowledge the positive contribution to society and its economy of unpaid work: such as child rearing, care of the elderly, the sick, and those with disabilities, participation in various local and community organisations

* ensure all Kiwis have sufficient income to live on, and to participate in society and local communities

* make a quality education available to all (early childhood, schools, job training, university courses, adult education) throughout their lives

* ensure that all our young people have access to quality education, work, and housing, as a basis for their future lives

* ensure independent and democratic local authorities that serve all of their communities

* ensure democratic governance at a national level

* re-construct public service broadcasting, integrated with online ondemand media and news services

* ensure democratic processes, and the protection of the rights of individuals and organisations in relation to state surveillance services

* ensure that NZ sovereignty is not over-ridden by international trade agreements – meaning that the content of the TPP needs to be made public

* end the selling of state assets  and begin to work to return the powercos to the state

These are some of the most crucial in terms of influencing my party vote, with the ones in red bold having the highest priority.  Other provisions support these priorities and ensure they are achievable.  Economic and financial policies should follow from these highest priorities and ensure they are achievable.

So far, my party vote is still with the Greens, as they come closest to meeting my list of priorities:

* on housing;

* on policies to ensure everyone has “decent work, a living wage and [is] treated with respect”

* on advocacy for those on lowest incomes, families with children in poverty: Kevin Hague’s recent post, “Reducing child poverty is the best investment”

* on advocacy for education: Catherine Delahunty post, “Ideas from Green education forum”

 Presenting the Values and Policies

The arguments for a more fair, inclusive and equitable society are already out there.  They are in the book, The Spirit Level (Part Six), as reviewed by Bunji in a series of posts on The Standard in 2010. (Part One; Part Two, Part Three; Part Four; Part Five).

The arguments were addressed in E W Thomas’s Bruce Jesson lecture this year: “Reducing inequality: a strategy for a cause“.

The issue of the inequality gap was presented in a graphic and easily understood an Inside New Zealand documentary on TV3 earlier this year, Bryan Bruce’s “Mind the Gap”.

http://youtu.be/__2EdGFdgTA

These are the kinds of policies and arguments that need to be highlighted and promoted in order for New Zealand to be a livable and secure place for the future of everyone.

Mind the gap zombie economics

And we need a slogan/phrase that can be used and re-used, in order to hang a whole raft of values and policies on.  Any ideas?

157 comments on “The party I will vote for …. ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. Fisiani 1
    13 December 2013 at 10:56 am

    Make New Zealand as Great as North Korea

    • Paul 1.1
      13 December 2013 at 11:05 am

      Thought you might think of a more original slogan/ insult.

      • Draco T Bastard 1.1.1
        13 December 2013 at 3:13 pm

        All indications are that Fisiani can’t think. He certainly has never come up with anything new – just repeats National’s slogans.

    • Frank Macskasy 1.2
      13 December 2013 at 11:12 am

      Rightwing cliches – no original thought required.

      • Frank Macskasy 1.2.1
        13 December 2013 at 11:16 am

        Isn’t it interesting that, on the one hand, RWNJ’s demonise the unemployted for being “lazy dole bludgers” – but on the other hand, if someone suggests that we “ensure jobs are available for all who need/want them”, then that is North Korean communism?!

        Nothing better epitomises the contradictions of the right wing mind than trying to reconcile issues like these…

  2. shorts 2
    13 December 2013 at 10:58 am

    not a big fan of slogans or phrases – but can see the merit for a population that generally isn’t engaged with politics – tbh national has the best slogan… they just refuse to honour it, or amend it to reflect their interests only benefit a very select few

    With ya on the Greens as my party of choice – Labour is my preferred party of choice due to their history and ‘traditional values’ but still haven’t convinced me they won’t leave me regretting giving it to them

    I want to live in a country where we all get given a fair chance of a fulfilling life… that sin’t solely based around consumerism or being a wage slave – a proper better future for all

  3. Bill 3
    13 December 2013 at 10:59 am

    Y’know, if we had democracy, all those matters – bar the strengthening of central or remote bureaucratic governance structures, would have been dealt with as a matter of course. Can’t exactly call for democracy though, can we? Not when so many people think that the systems of governance we presently have constitute democracy.

    (sigh) So no good slogans or phrases from this quarter…

    edit. How do you message an end to De-Mock-Crazy or some such? I dunno.

    edit 2. Missed your reply before doing edit 1.

    • karol 3.1
      13 December 2013 at 11:01 am

      So maybe we need a phrase that means democracy, but that has wide resonance with the majority of Kiwis?

      • Bill 3.1.1
        13 December 2013 at 11:08 am

        Thing with that is that most have been used over the past 100 years or so…socialism (severely tainted and misconstrued)….communism (likewise)…anarchy (same).

        Then there are the secondary impacts of democracy that land themselves to slogans…power (to the people!???). That ones so trashed that people hurt themselves when they fall over laughing.

        And off the top of my head, I’m thinking that anything pertaining to an individual person has been hi-jacked and twisted to refer to bollocks selfishness.

        I think the term ‘democracy’ has to be reclaimed and invested with appropriate meaning. But hey….

        • karol 3.1.1.1
          13 December 2013 at 11:19 am

          The neocons/”neoliberals”, 1980s+ have done a very good job of hijacking the language of left wing discourse, in order to imprint their own values, as you indicate. It permeates mainstream political and news discourse as well as popular culture generally.

          How to reclaim the language and discourse of the left, with truly left wing values?

          We have all the research evidence and arguments to support a more democratic society. The problem is how to communicate it to the MSM and the general population.

          • Tat Loo (CV) 3.1.1.1.1
            13 December 2013 at 2:25 pm

            You focus on concrete issues with moral values that people can understand and participate in. You don’t try and communicate detailed policy facts and figures.

            • Arfamo 3.1.1.1.1.1
              13 December 2013 at 2:34 pm

              Simple graphs – clear images – these are better than too many facts & figures for reaching the wider voting public. But you need those facts and figures in the background to back you up for the inevitable challenges and counter-images.

              • McFlock …
                13 December 2013 at 2:43 pm

                exactly – it’s a tiered system, imo.

                • Colonial Viper …
                  13 December 2013 at 2:57 pm

                  Yes that idea works. Left wing principles and values at the top of the pyramid, increasing detail going down.

                  • McFlock …
                    13 December 2013 at 4:08 pm

                    No, because principles are broader than a chart of a specific policy that affects an individual voter.

                    It’s no good on the hustings taking 15 minutes to get to the point that you’re going to cut the taxes of the workers you’re talking to.

                    The principles are why. Where we fall down is that it’s easier to yell “show me the money” than keep an audience engaged while describing a 5-level system of progressive taxation.

              • Draco T Bastard …
                13 December 2013 at 3:34 pm

                You mean like this?

                The correct link for the one in that comment is actually here.

            • karol 3.1.1.1.1.2
              13 December 2013 at 2:36 pm

              Yes, but the concrete issues and values need to be able to be backed up with detailed policy, facts, figures etc. Otherwise we end up with empty slogans like “A brighter future”.

              • Colonial Viper …
                13 December 2013 at 3:21 pm

                I’d have to disagree. I’ll begin a bit off the point though: “A Brighter Future” with almost no published policy totally smashed all the detailed policy work Labour had ready in 2011. One reason was because National understood the mood and temperament of the nation better than Labour did.

                So to be clear, concrete issues and concrete values do NOT need to be backed up with detailed policy facts and figures EXCEPT to have them around for the policy wonk types (and journalists) who get thrills from that stuff. But literally 90%-95% of people don’t care.

                Edward Bernays and his relation Sigmund Freud figured this almost out a century ago. However the intellectualised academic policy wonkish Left still doesn’t appear to understand that this is why it is owned at every turn by the Right Wing. The Left even often ends up using the Right’s value frameworks and languaging, it’s so damn persuasive and appealing. It’s quite pathetic to watch, actually.

                So to follow on – let’s use some concrete examples to illustrate. *See what I did there*

                The people who marched against the Tour in 1981. Concrete issue, concrete values, concrete action. How many of the marchers knew the ratio of Blacks to Whites in SA? Knew the history and interplay between the English, Dutch and local tribes? Knew how many political prisoners and deaths had occurred because of Apartheid? Knew the proportion of GDP totally reliant on exploited Black labour? Knew how the system of apartheid had evolved and strengthened over time?

                Doesn’t matter one bit, does it? Racism is wrong, apartheid is wrong, a security state which attacks it’s own people is wrong (values); there is a sports tour of NZ which is happening (concrete issue); STOP THE TOUR!!! (concrete action).

                It’s really fucking simple and NZ has seen it work over and over. Let’s go again.

                NZ nuclear weapons ban: Nuclear weapons and nuclear war are VERY BAD (values), there is a US warship visiting NZ (concrete issue), SAIL OUT THERE AND BLOCK THE FUCKER (concrete action).

                Is this rocket science? Did people need to know the facts and figures behind the warship coming to NZ and estimates of how likely it was to be actually carrying nuclear weapons? NO. It’s IRRELEVANT.

                FFS what has happened to the Left in this country, is it living inside its frickin head these days, because it has no real world muscles left to flex.

                • Arfamo …
                  13 December 2013 at 3:48 pm

                  Yup. Keep it simple. Keep it clear. Keep it in the public mind. Constantly. But figure out what it is first. Blip’s list comes to mind. Lots of detail. But what’s the clear & simple message?

                • karol …
                  13 December 2013 at 3:54 pm

                  CV, you do a disservice to protesters on those campaigns.

                  I was in the UK at the time of both. however, at the time, many people participating at the forefront of left wing campaigns there (anti Thatcher’s policies on education, mining, employment, welfare, etc) were very familiar with relevant facts and data. They spent a lot of time researching and discussing them.

                  There was less of the distracting element of a society saturated with multi-media back then.

                  • Arfamo …
                    13 December 2013 at 4:05 pm

                    How effective were they in getting rid of Thatcher?

                    • karol …
                      13 December 2013 at 4:16 pm

                      Good point. They weren’t. But they did succeed in mobilising pretty widespread support. Thatcher’s mob compromised the media, ensuring the messages didn’t become dominant in the MSM.

                      The whole “Anti-nazi league” campaign did get a lot of support, Greenham Common women became well known in their campaigns against US nuclear bases in Britain.

                      The miners strike got constant media attention and a lot of grass roots support.

                    • McFlock …
                      13 December 2013 at 4:29 pm

                      The miners strike got constant media attention and a lot of grass roots support.

                      but somewhere along the line they lost the labour party.

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      13 December 2013 at 5:13 pm

                      How effective were they in getting rid of Thatcher?

                      Sometimes you resist just because *fuck the other side getting it all their way.*

                  • Colonial Viper …
                    13 December 2013 at 5:05 pm

                    many people participating at the forefront of left wing campaigns there

                    Yes I think it is important for the leaders and organisers “at the forefront” of campaigns to have a good grasp of the facts and figures. But that’s a very small minority of people. It’s the values, the symbolism and the concrete action which has made the left wing effective and brought about the masses in the past. Not the facts, figures and policy detail.

                    • Murray Olsen …
                      13 December 2013 at 8:56 pm

                      CV, while I agree with your basic point, it is important that the small minority that knows at least some of the technical stuff grows. Otherwise we become hostages to populism and a reliance on philosopher princes and princesses. At least to some extent, this approach is what allowed Douglas to steal the workers’ party. I remember protesting at the time, mainly about GST, and being able to explain to people why it was the worst type of regressive taxation and an attack on the poorer strata of society. This was a case where the right can make a bullshit argument on the basis of fairness and percentages, and the more of us that know a bit of this stuff, the better. The same thing applies to global warming and many other issues today. The right will lie and we need to be able to deflect and uncover their lies. We need people to be able to do this in the pubs, at the markets, at sports clubs, in fact in all places where workers spend time. We can’t rely on overturning their arguments just on blogs.

                    • Rogue Trooper …
                      13 December 2013 at 10:58 pm

                      and what is the down-side of “philosopher princes and princesses”? Anne Salmond and Michael King come to mind.

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      14 December 2013 at 12:12 pm

                      Hi M.O.

                      Agree with your points as well. However I also think that the psychology research is quite clear: even (especially?) intelligent well educated, highly numerate people heavily filter the facts and figures they attend to through the prism of their own values, allegiances and biases.

                  • ghostrider888 …
                    13 December 2013 at 7:47 pm

                    Reminiscing ; abandon nostalgia other than for entertainment and propaganda.

                • McFlock …
                  13 December 2013 at 4:27 pm

                  I think you belittle many of the tour protestors, CV.
                  Many of them knew at least the basics of apartheid, knew the words “Sharpeville” and “Biko”, knew that blacks were the majority in SA (even if they didn’t know the exact percentages) and more importantly had access to people and resources that would go into greater detail if they needed it.

                  I think today we’ve lost that continuum of knowledge, if not depth. But we’re working to get it back.

                  • Colonial Viper …
                    13 December 2013 at 4:59 pm

                    Many of them knew at least the basics of apartheid, knew the words “Sharpeville” and “Biko”, knew that blacks were the majority in SA (even if they didn’t know the exact percentages) and more importantly had access to people and resources that would go into greater detail

                    I agree with everything you said here. For the activists and organisers it’s crucial to know more and be able to tell more. But for 90% to 95% of the public the values and the symbols are far more important than the facts and figures. “Sharpeville” became a symbol, as did the martyrdom of Biko.

                    • McFlock …
                      13 December 2013 at 7:27 pm

                      But they had to know why Biko and Sharpeville were symbols. And they had to be confident that when confronted by the apartheid supporter who called the Biko story a lie or exagerrated, they could know why that guy was full of shit. They had to know some background, and know where to get more info. Otherwise the symbol becomes disconnected from the cause.

                      I really think you’re selling the majority of protestors short. And I think your assumption is why the anti-apartheid campaign had more of an effect and connection with people than “the left” has today. Pro or con, almost everyone had to take a position. They couldn’t pretend it didn’t exist.

                    • Rogue Trooper …
                      13 December 2013 at 7:55 pm

                      Bob Marley loved and resonated with much of the New Zealand he met; (New, now there is a word to leverage, again; well, what else is there? sitting around 34-35% (hope that is close). CV employed “New Labour” around the time of the Curran (Labours IT/C 😀 spokesperson) nonesense.. ‘Cause there certainly aint no New National 😀

                • weka …
                  13 December 2013 at 5:27 pm

                  Tat, your analogy with the Tour and the NZ Peace Movement fails, because both those things DID have concrete details backing the protests. As has been discussed, how much people protesting knew the details varied, but the details and analysis were definitely there.

                  The reason it’s not irrelevant is because (a) the people that do know inform how the protest gets developed, and (b) the media will take things much more seriously if there is substance to it. The general public will too.

                  I don’t want to get into why National got away with the Brighter Future thing (that’s a very complex thing), but I do know that Labour get given shit when they produce vacuous slogans and don’t back that up with anything. People want substance. Sure there are lots of people who don’t care about being presented the detail, but there are also lots who do, including people who are influential.

                  Presentation of policy needs to be varied to meet the varied needs of voters. As a Green voter, I’m still appalled by the fact that for a long time I could go to the Labour Party website and not find out policy detail. It’s definitely better now, but still makes me less trustful of Labour and just feels like more of the same neoliberal ethos that Labour knows best and isn’t that transparent with its voters. I’m not suggesting that improving the website will grab the 800,000 voter’s attention. I’m saying it’s a symptom of something that still isn’t quite working right. Why should people trust them to run teh country?

                • ghostrider888 …
                  13 December 2013 at 7:45 pm

                  was reflecting on those progressions carried out by New Zealand yesterday (Good thread if I don’t find my way back out).

          • Tim 3.1.1.1.2
            13 December 2013 at 6:09 pm

            …. not JUST the language of LEFT wing discourse karol. They’ve hijacked language generally.
            They steal words and phrases and bastardise them to push an agenda, and/or completely turn them on their head.
            For me it became evident in the 80’s during all that period of ISO 9000 tik-a-box mentality where you could become compliant on paper, and rewarded on that basis, but in reality, completely useless and not fit for purpose.
            They use anything and any idea, process or practice that theoretically has merit, but they corrupt and redefine it to associate it with their specific agendas.

            Kaizen (as in continuous improvement) was one such piece of buzz.

            ….Gawd don’t get me started! …. it’s an endless list of buzz and bullshit – but the latest attempt at neo-liberal mutation is “learnings”.
            Sad to say I heard Cunliffe use it once and it damn near made me put my stake in the ground (there and then) NOT to vote for the bugger! If EVER I hear it again coming from His lips – that’ll be it.

            Reclaiming the language/discourse of the left is high, high, high on the agenda – but it’s not just of the left. It’s reclaiming the language full stop – preventing it from being corrupted in a way that normalises the neo-liberal. It’s the Mathew Hooten/Crosby-Textor raison d’etre.
            All of which means that the reclamation of PS broadcasting/telecasting (a democratic, modern-day Public Sphere) is probably one thing that’s high on the list.

            (Btw – that reclamation can actually be easily achieved without complication or the pissing around that I fear is likely to occur. Not only can it easily be achieved, but it can be done in a way that utterly munts things like Sky monopolies and all those other cosy little deals and nudge nudge wink winks that have been going on within a reasonably short length of time.)

            I LIKE YOUR LIST ….

            I’d add to it though by ensuring that the Public Service is
            DEfcknCORPORATISED!, and returned to a Public (a Citizenry, a collective) S E R V I C E! – NOT a ‘corporate King/master of the Universe service, or a Minister of Parliament’s ‘Service’, or a bizzniss leader ‘service. A Public S E R V I C E representing citizenry and those that actually vote (or don’t, as the case may be).

            EVERYTHING that was promised during that 80’s Public Service reform programme …
            – such as de-politicisation
            – such as fishinsy n fectivniss
            – such as greater accountibility and transparency
            – such as productivity improvements and reduction in bureaucracy
            – etc
            has not come to pass and in fact is actually worse.

            Christ Almighty! – Purchase Agrements for predefined ‘deliverables” FFS!!!! that even extend into areas such as our Healthcare ‘industries’.

            These days, our Public Service/Administrative wing is effectively a series of
            little fiefdoms headed by really really REALLY overpaid (and often incompetent) CEO’s and senior management.
            Rank and file public servants run things in spite of their so-called ‘leadership’, rather than because of them …. struggling under a culture of box-ticking, under-resourcing, cost-reduction at the coal face whilst the seniors and CEO continue to wallow in the trough, being blamed for any failures on the one hand whilst any successes are down to the CEO (or seniors).

            Geez – just take a look at MoBIE for a start! WHAT a bugger’s muddle of an administrative contraption – I mean to say – it’s come to pass that issues of Health and Safety are considered more in ‘economic development’ terms than they are as a social (or societal) issue! MoBIE FFS – perhaps the perfect example of a bullshit castle.

            Then there’s Internal Affairs FFS (currently in the news)! …..
            – redundant permanents replaced by mismanaged contractors – forever growing in number who think nothing of swanning in sometime after 9am, taking banker’s lunches and then slipping away early to avoid the rush;
            – ever increasing number of meetings attended by an ever increasing number of contractors that have no outcomes
            – working on poorly defined projects that are effectively attempting to re-invent the wheel
            – project mismanagement
            – etc!

            I mean …. the ONLY reason that bugger’s muddle has been allowed to tok up its $7m plus
            budget is probably because it’s got an ass-licking ideologue of a Munsta at its helm

            By the way, Does LABOUR have any policies to remedy any of the above? So far – I think not. If I thought it’s do any good – I’d take out a loan to provide a fact-finding musshib to som. ewhere lije Japan, or Iceland, or Norway

            In short tho’ karol – ADD decorporatisation of the PS to your list – and in so doing we might see the ‘servants’ with a livable income whilst the ticket clippers neutered.

            • karol 3.1.1.1.2.1
              14 December 2013 at 8:34 am

              I pondered making public service broadcasting a priority. I agree with you on its importance. At the time of posting I decided the other things should have higher priority, but with PSB as a necessary enabling service – to get rid of all the Orwellian hijacking of language and return more honesty and transparent meaning to public discourse.

      • Tiger Mountain 3.1.2
        13 December 2013 at 12:33 pm

        Sometimes a tagline makes sense but only in a time and place…
        “Peace, Bread, Land”
        (Soviets charting new territory, down with monarchy and bourgeoisie, up the workers and peasants, a century later history gives its own comment on the outcome in the demonstrably unsuitable first location for a class revolution.)

        “Give Ireland back to the Irish”
        (a class analysis would say which Irish? the bosses as well, when the meaning was clearly hands off Brits and the Irish themselves will sort out the rest, so a nationalist call)

        “Make things happen”
        (Labour led by Norm Kirk 1969 campaign, involving further planned state development)

        “Time for a change”
        (Norm Kirk 1972 campaign.)
        It was literally time for a change just as now is, as several of Karol’s comprehensive pieces and supporting links illustrate. But slogans are now almost in Ron Burgundy territory–ShonKey’s “show us the money”, and the old US–“wheres the beef?”

        Several posters above want “their” country back and therein lies the problem for all cross class parties like it or not. “A fair go for all” is not possible in a capitalist regime. “A fairer go for many” may be possible with a Green/Labour/Mana government. Mana really is the only hard out left parliamentary grouping as a hybrid of Māori Nationalism and marxist left. So then the reality of MMP accommodations come into play with only one Mana MP.

        The three current positive components of an MMP left grouping could say in very general complementary terms (nb I am not a slogan writer) :
        Vote Labour: For union rights, state housing, full social security, fair trade, repeal reserve bank act
        Vote Green: For our neighborhoods and planet, a sustainable Aotearoa, organic future
        Vote Mana: Take back your rights… protect our whenua, no child left behind, universal free healthcare, community development, independent foreign policy

        So no one slogan to rule them all.

      • Flip 3.1.3
        13 December 2013 at 4:41 pm

        I’ll have a go at a slogan. What about

        ‘You are the government’

        A bit challenging and reminds people of democracy and their responsibility.

      • AmaKiwi 3.1.4
        13 December 2013 at 11:52 pm

        “Binding referendums,” the ONLY real democracy.

  4. Fair Observer 4
    13 December 2013 at 11:22 am

    [deleted]

    [lprent: Already banned. Another IP for autospam. ]

    • Bill 4.1
      13 December 2013 at 11:24 am

      Does that involve empowering citizens at the same time? Or you just want to throw them to the tender mercies of ‘the market’ as so many ‘rational optimising economic units’ to be chewed up and spat out?

      • Paul 4.1.1
        13 December 2013 at 11:35 am

        He won’t answer. He made the classic right wing glib cliche to distract real debate.

        • Bill 4.1.1.1
          13 December 2013 at 12:14 pm

          Well, the question was kind of rhetorical…I think I can guess his position. Shame if there is no response though. As a person fairly entrenched in a left wing perspective, I don’t particularly savour ‘big government’ or (to put it another way) remote bureaucratic forms of governance either.

          So, on that point, we are on the same page. And the cross-over of left and right isn’t unusual – just give a moment’s thought to Wikileaks and Snowden…the motivation of Assange and Snowdon are similar but their politics worlds apart.

          The glitch with the perspective of many self labelled ‘right wing libertarians’ is that they believe the economy to be a neutral environment. If it was, then I’d be in total agreement with them vis-a-vis diminishing and removing state or bureaucratic structures of governance. But it’s not. To make it neutral would require democratising it. And I’m curious – are ‘right wing libertarians’ consciously anti-democratic? Or do they position themselves where they do because they honestly fail to recognise the anti-democratic and vicious nature of the market economy?

          Maybe they are all basically misanthropic. But then again, maybe they just haven’t thought things through thoroughly enough. And if that’s the case, then there’s more worth to discussion with them than there is with the statists from the ‘old left’…the Stalinists, Leninists et al.

          • Tiger Mountain 4.1.1.1.1
            13 December 2013 at 1:07 pm

            I don’t buy your labelling of the ‘old left’ or the right being more worthy of discussion with.

            One should try and engage with most people, how to handle differences is one of the most important skills of a politically active person. “Work with and struggle against” as an old saying goes.

            • Bill 4.1.1.1.1.1
              13 December 2013 at 1:21 pm

              Oh – you don’t have to ‘buy it’. Truth is, I spent years and wasted a lot of time and energy on discussions and dialogue with authoritarian leftists. Their thoughts are invariably locked down (Ye olde ‘party line’) and they exhibit a flexibility of mind and level of intelligence I’d usually associate with religious cultists. (ie, they have not a lot of either) I’m over them. Everything they touch turns to shit and I simply can’t be fucking bothered with them any more.

              • Rogue Trooper …
                13 December 2013 at 8:12 pm

                the master is a servant ; Game Theory, the ‘predators’ succeed in the short term yet unsustainable…oh wait, we could find that out from a historical book 😀

          • Rogue Trooper 4.1.1.1.2
            13 December 2013 at 8:09 pm

            😀 , hmmm

    • karol 4.2
      13 December 2013 at 11:26 am

      Please explain how that would decrease the inequality gap and ensure a more democratic and inclusive society? in short, how would it ensure that those with most wealth and power don’t rule in their own interests, and undermine the well being of those with least power and wealth?

      • Rogue Trooper 4.2.1
        13 December 2013 at 8:19 pm

        ‘explaining is losing’; consider the media environment; The Clash and their marketers knew, slogans and lettrism ; no magic being utilized by ‘the dark side’, just imitation, ’cause they are unable to create sustainable sh*t for themselves; oh no, that wouldn’t do.

    • Arfamo 4.3
      13 December 2013 at 11:29 am

      You’ll be voting for the Civilian Party then, by the sound of things.

    • framu 4.4
      13 December 2013 at 11:51 am

      what if you reduce govt so much that it allows other powerful entities to interfere with the lives of citizens?

    • Draco T Bastard 4.5
      13 December 2013 at 3:45 pm

      In a democracy everybody is part of the government thus making it smaller is going from a democracy to oligarchy. Oligarchies are oppressive so what you’re actually saying there is that you want an oppressive, authoritarian government which will most likely be the rich and powerful.

    • Murray Olsen 4.6
      13 December 2013 at 9:05 pm

      I agree. Make the government smaller by getting rid of Brownlee and Bennett, then Collins and Dunne. There’s a whole alphabet to work through. We have nothing to lose but our feelings of nausea.

    • greywarbler 4.7
      13 December 2013 at 9:35 pm

      Labour the Party that can turn NZ around.
      Labour the Party that will give you an honoured place in a working society that works for you.

      • AmaKiwi 4.7.1
        14 December 2013 at 12:24 am

        I don’t crave “an honoured place in a working society.” I crave a society that works.

        Wouldn’t it be more efficient if we ended the 6 or 9 year swings to one extreme followed by the next 6 or 9 years undoing it and swinging to the opposite extreme?

        Do you really trust politicians (Left and Right) to prioritize anything above bribing their supporters so they can get re-elected?

        What is so frightening about binding referendums?

        • greywarbler 4.7.1.1
          14 December 2013 at 1:19 pm

          Well it seems to me that people are not respected in the present society and by the present government. And honouring people would mean that government did not act to just throw away jobs in exchange for ‘Market rules Okay’ graffito from economic Talibans. What is wanted and needed too is an economy that provides jobs, that works in a way that people’s work benefits them and that benefit circulates work as they buy things they need from other NZs, and that money circulates between the people, sustaining all. Then you get the jobs that we crave.

          But no the present economy is just for the few in the particular sector that has been chosen to be the winner. And that the NACTs do this is so surprising, in that they have said that planned economies, and picking winners and directing the state to get behind such businesses, is a communist plot. Yet here the NACTs are doing this full-on.

          They are bloody hypocrites and unseeing, unthinking liars, mendacious in the extreme. As you can pick when you hear O’Reiilies and Townsends and Round Table or their proxies. Such as Right Wing Thinkers imported from the best Right Wing Think Tanks overseas where they grow such people in a special bath of nutritive brain-enhancing serum that makes them immune from the reason of thinking of the needs of ordinary people.

  5. Papa Tuanuku 5
    13 December 2013 at 11:36 am

    Yep lets turn the dynamic around. we create a check list of what we require, and the parties have to earn our vote.

    • AmaKiwi 5.1
      14 December 2013 at 8:49 am

      The parties write the rules. The parties decide, NOT the people. Which is why that referendum was non-binding.

      • red blooded 5.1.1
        14 December 2013 at 5:44 pm

        Binding referenda assume that the people voting have all the relevant information, have had a chance to process and discuss it in a respectful forum, have knowledge of linked issues and foresight to predict all possible consequences… We elect governments and pay a professional public service so that we don’t HAVE to have a binding referendum every time there’s a difficult decision to be made. I’m bloody glad that the “bring back the right to smack children” referendum wasn’t binding, for example. The levels of disinformation and mass hysteria that accompanied that (atrociously worded) referendum make me very glad that we do not govern ourselves through binding referenda.

        • Colonial Viper 5.1.1.1
          14 December 2013 at 6:08 pm

          What you are indicating is a need for more community discourse and better media/information channels.

          Not for devolving more responsibility and authority to Wellington.

  6. Craig Y 6
    13 December 2013 at 12:03 pm

    Those zombies look too downmarket. Surely if they’re supposed to be neoliberals, they should be dressed in slightly distressed corporate threads?

  7. Natwest 7
    13 December 2013 at 12:20 pm

    C’mon Karol – what a waste of energy typing your wish list; why not just say I want to vote for a Communist Party!

    Live in a Nanny State – with welfare from craddle to grave.

    Where is individual personal responsibility/ownership on your list, or the term, “if its to be, its up to me”?

    • Paul 7.1
      13 December 2013 at 12:26 pm

      Further glib slogans from the right. No thought or brain thereby engaged. Diversion intended.
      If only NZ was a nanny state, 29 miners would still be with their families.
      Those neoliberal ****** ripped away the rules that would have protected them.
      Glad to see you don’t care about them NW.

    • bad12 7.2
      13 December 2013 at 12:48 pm

      Natwest, Where is ‘individual personal responsibility indeed’, were you not watching the TV for the 60 odd seconds of explosive dust blown out of a little place called the Pike River Mine, individual personal responsibility is simply another stick the ‘haves’ use to attempt to beat upon the ‘have not’s,

      When the number of Employment Positions in our Economy match precisely the number of those Able to work, then and only then will i entertain a failed notion of ‘personal responsibility’,

      the abridged version of the above is as usual: Fuck off Noddy…

    • Tat Loo (CV) 7.3
      13 December 2013 at 2:09 pm

      Hey Natwest what level of “personal responsibility” has the Pike River board and Whitall shown? Yeah, that’s right I already figured you were full of shit.

      • Matthew 7.3.1
        13 December 2013 at 3:23 pm

        I think you will find many on the right of the political spectrum are in favour of corporate manslaughter legislation

      • TightyRighty 7.3.2
        13 December 2013 at 4:08 pm

        What level of personal responsibility do you take for drinking champagne by your father in laws pool in remuera while kids go starving at christmas?

    • karol 7.4
      13 December 2013 at 2:21 pm

      Natwest, I’m all for responsibility…. to our community and society. The righties have a very narrow version of individual responsibility – which means only being responsible for one’s own selfish requirements.

  8. McFlock 8
    13 December 2013 at 1:01 pm

    “It takes a village to raise a nation”

  9. kenny 9
    13 December 2013 at 1:56 pm

    Anyone looked at Social Credit’s policies lately? Most of this wish list is covered by them. Labour and Green’s? Phuust!

  10. Liz 10
    13 December 2013 at 2:34 pm

    Better a Nanny State than a Bully State.

  11. Saarbo 11
    13 December 2013 at 3:08 pm

    Absolutely superb Karol!!!

  12. Matthew 12
    13 December 2013 at 3:21 pm

    So we are getting rid of undemocratic Maori Boards??

    If thats the case I’m starting to come around to the socialist thinking!

  13. Tim 13
    13 December 2013 at 3:28 pm

    “The party I will vote for” …….
    sad sad sad really that you once could have RELIED on that party to have been Labout.
    Even it it’s darkest hours and days, you could be guaranteed of a better outcome than had you explored the limited alternatives under an FPP system.

    Personally, I’ve given Labour every opportunity to stick to its pronciples. I never left them – THEY left me.

    They are a real bugger’s fckn muddle atm! Mainly (probably) because of an ‘old guard’ that just cannot get over themselves – their egos, their senses of entitlement, their stroking of each other’s perceived ‘rights’ (which of course are utterly and completely self-constructed – that is of course, if they subscribe to any democratic sort of principles)

    The Party I will vote for …. is currently NOT Labour (after a lifetime) – and nor will it be 20-something first and second time voters realated to me.
    I considered a Lab/Breen split vote.
    Not even!
    Maybe 2017 ((maybe not)
    The party I will vote for will be a true opposition to the policies of the current junta.
    It’ll be a clear and unambiguous rejection and publicly-announced disdain for an ideology which has had a 30 year trial run and failed, and it’ll be one where it’s MP’s and others in positions of power have been purged (and left to join their offspring in Imperialist “land’s of the Free”, or Wainui pretenders, or Hataitai fag-hags who may have socially liberal values – but who have been captured by neo-lib economic buzz and fear of losing their existing levels of comfort as they near their retirement (all the while with disingenuous appreciation of others fearing their loss of comfort and standard of living).

    The party I will vote for – for the first time ever – will NOT be Labour – i.e. unless a Cunliffe manages to pull enough strokes to ensure the old guard is defunct. And, probably not even entitled to cosy little positions on Health related boards of governance, or Sporting bodies, or academia, or anywhere that simply allows them to keep clipping the ticket on the gravy train to Kiwi Hell.

    Another 3 years of this Natzi and Natzi-lite shite’s going to ensure my renouncing NZ citizenship.

    • Tim 13.1
      13 December 2013 at 4:38 pm

      (btw lprent – I tried to edit the obvious spelling and grammaticals – but was met with a ‘Not Authorised; response.)

      By the way ….. David Cunliffe has a good line directed towards the Bennet-like assholes – it’s “pulling the ladder up”.

      He should be aware that those pulling the ladder up are not limited to the Natzis – but include the Mallard, Goff, King and Parker contingent

      • Paul 13.1.1
        14 December 2013 at 12:34 am

        Until Labour get rid of its ACT neoliberal doctrinaire clique, it will never have my vote or many others. Labour once sought to resist capitalism…no longer

  14. Rogue Trooper 14
    13 December 2013 at 8:25 pm

    Labour, no hesitation. Many other well-meaning people will vote Green ‘party’; this time, I’m going Labour / Labour, as I am not of Maori descent.

    • Murray Olsen 14.1
      13 December 2013 at 9:13 pm

      Nor am I of Maori descent, but Aotearoa is. That’s why at least one of my votes will go to Mana if I’m around.

      • Rogue Trooper 14.1.1
        13 December 2013 at 10:53 pm

        unable to do that where I live from what I understand. however, all Mana to Hone (and whanau).

        • karol 14.1.1.1
          14 December 2013 at 8:26 am

          Do you need to be on the Maori roll to vote Mana? I didn’t think so.

          I really like Mana’s policies. I have thought about giving them my vote. They are still a possibility for me. But I still have some concerns about the masculine dominance of the party.

          I like the Green’s democratic and non-macho style. The medium is as important as the message: the means as important as the policies.

          • Rogue Trooper 14.1.1.1.1
            14 December 2013 at 9:51 am

            I must clarify this; they have tended to campaign for the Maori seat here; it may be possible to give them a party vote.

            • Murray Olsen 14.1.1.1.1.1
              14 December 2013 at 7:58 pm

              It is. You can party vote for Mana in any seat.

              As for masculine dominance – yeah, that worries me as well, but I do see signs that it’s changing. A lot of the younger Mana militants coming through are women, both Pakeha and Maori.

              • Rogue Trooper …
                14 December 2013 at 8:38 pm

                well, in that case, votes from me are sorted. Thanks (not sure how I became unclear about this, as in my less-informed days I have given a party vote to the Maori Party). sigh

  15. myrlock 15
    13 December 2013 at 10:47 pm

    Power to the People.

  16. Chris 16
    14 December 2013 at 12:30 am

    The Party I would vote for would take back control of strategic assets i.e. energy, water, transport including rail, coastal shipping, airline, airports and roading.

    They must also ensure any Trade Agreements do not impinge on NZ sovereignty.

    They must not use any agency domestic or otherwise to spy on NZ citizens/ residents for or on behalf of foreign agencies without just cause and must have in place a judicial committee to approve any such surveillance.

    Reverse legislation that has reduced a persons right to legal representation of their choice and the right to being present at trial.

    Plus all of Karols wish list.

    • Paul 16.1
      14 December 2013 at 12:36 am

      The party I vote for should represent the interests of ordinary people, nor large multinational corporations.

  17. Ad 17
    14 December 2013 at 7:38 am

    My underlying focus would be to make a richer New Zealand (as per Green Party slogan 2008). Addressing inequality would be part of that, but only a part.

    Of course this means addressing housing with building more, continuing to deflate housing as an investment asset class. And I prefer Labour’s proposed programme to achieve that.

    But I would focus more on the following, because Karol’s approach focusses too much on trying to rebuild the country through the state.

    This means policies to:

    – Prefer policies that enable more companies paying higher salaries find New Zealand attractive
    eg Enable universities, Crown Research Institutes and companies to partner and form accelerated growth companies
    eg triple size of NZVIF
    eg Give tax breaks to companies that are domiciled here
    eg confirm Goff’s policy of greatly decreased land sales to foreigners

    – Support the environmentally-based branding of New Zealand
    eg triple the fines of waterway polluters
    eg form a single large national park the length of the South Island
    eg promote higher value tourism, globally

    – Support tax breaks for families and income earners, and a culture of saving
    eg don’t tax first $15,000 of income
    eg the Greens idea of a NZSuper fund default option

    I have no faith that the state really has the current capacity to address inequality in its current state and people can’t wait for the state to rebuild that capacity.

    People need incentives, higher salaries and incomes, ways to get off the bottom faster, and ways to retain more money here.

    • karol 17.1
      14 December 2013 at 8:29 am

      The master’s tools.

      • Ad 17.1.1
        14 December 2013 at 8:40 am

        Slave

        • karol 17.1.1.1
          14 December 2013 at 9:21 am

          You seem to be wanting to use capitalism rather than the state to dismantle capitalist capture of politics.

          “The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.” – Audre Lorde

          • Colonial Viper 17.1.1.1.1
            14 December 2013 at 9:29 am

            “The state” has got us to where we are over the last 100 years. From colonialism, to unrestrained resource extraction and ecosystem destruction, to the plundering of the wealth of foreign nations and peoples, to the ignition of unnecessary and false wars.

            So what makes you believe that “the state” is now prepared to change around 180 degrees?

            “The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.” – Audre Lorde

            I know that this is obvious and I know that you know it as well: from Thatcher to Clinton to the Bush’s to Shipley and Key: “the state” has been the most powerful tool at “the master’s” disposal, and of course actually has been since antiquity.

            Given that context, tell me what you think Audre Lorde’s quote actually means.

            You seem to be wanting to use capitalism rather than the state to dismantle capitalist capture of politics.

            Have you thought that many politicians quite like the idea of big money in politics (and especially after politics)?

            Given that, how exactly do you propose that we convince them (force them) to “dismantle the capitalist capture of politics”?

            • karol 17.1.1.1.1.1
              14 December 2013 at 9:48 am

              The state is not the same as government and its politicians. It includes, we the people.

              Political/legal definition of “the state”

              As a noun, a people permanently occupying a fixed territory bound together by common habits and custom into one body politic exercising, through the medium of an organized government, independent sovereignty and control over all persons and things within its boundaries, capable of making war and peace and of entering into international relations with other states. The section of territory occupied by one of the United States. The people of a state, in their collective capacity, considered as the party wronged by a criminal deed; the public; as in the title of a case, “The State v. A. B.” The circumstances or condition of a being or thing at a given time.

              Can we do away with an organised government as a part of the state? I doubt it.

              But we can strengthen the role of the people within the state: more pressure from below. ad is focusing a lot more on just a re-jigging of the system from above.

              • Rogue Trooper …
                14 December 2013 at 9:59 am

                real political power seems to concentrate in the hands of the few.

                • karol …
                  14 December 2013 at 10:01 am

                  the power of the non-elites is always in the massive numbers of people.

                  The many working together can be more powerful than the most powerful few.

                  • Ad …
                    14 December 2013 at 10:18 am

                    But in the end it’s the few that make it happen.
                    Someone with a bank account writes the cheque.

                    You can’t crowd-fund the state. It’s too big, too complex, and too important to leave to uninformed opinion other than at the really high level every three years.

                • Flip …
                  14 December 2013 at 3:00 pm

                  The key to democracy is that power is granted by the masses/people. Power is meant to serve the people.

                  When power becomes self-serving or used in the service of an elite few and people realise this, it is just a matter of time before the masquerade is exposed in a democracy and the traitor is removed. Secrecy is used to maintaining the mask as long as possible.

                  Power can be maintained by force, fear and apathy. Wealth is a tool used to maintain power.

                  Another slogan to add to the others ….

                  ‘Labour for a better quality of life.’

                  ‘Labour for the people’

                  ‘Labour for …’

                  • Colonial Viper …
                    14 December 2013 at 3:07 pm

                    it is just a matter of time before the masquerade is exposed in a democracy and the traitor is removed

                    I don’t think it happens this way; further removing one individual is never effective when the “masquerade” is actually a whole machinery in of itself.

                    • Rogue Trooper …
                      14 December 2013 at 3:12 pm

                      =

                    • Flip …
                      14 December 2013 at 3:36 pm

                      By machinery I’m supposing you are meaning the civil service? So how would you like to see the ‘machinery’ changed or modernised?

                      Because we operate a democratic representative government then those who betray those they represent will be removed and unmasked.

                      Here is a thought…
                      Perhaps a flaw lies in politicians representing geographical areas and not actually people groups……

                      The politicians we have represent a constituency. Perhaps the politicians we have are a reflection of our society. Eeeek that is a horrible thought in some cases.

                    • Rogue Trooper …
                      14 December 2013 at 3:40 pm

                      both of the concluding two thoughts definitely Warrant consideration.

              • Colonial Viper …
                14 December 2013 at 10:10 am

                I noticed you side stepped the point that central government is a major tool of “the masters” by using a dictionary definition.

                The state is not the same as government and its politicians. It includes, we the people.

                Maybe it’s just me, but apart from public/civil servants and politicians, I know of no one who refers to themselves or considers themselves part of “the state.”

                And when people talk about “state control” or “state subsidies” or the need for “state action” they mean activity taken by politicians in Wellington, and not the pol sci sense of the Crown representing all of us.

                • karol …
                  14 December 2013 at 10:54 am

                  But the post is all about putting pressure on politicians via our vote. It’s all about people stating publicly what they want from left wing politicians.

                  • Ad …
                    14 December 2013 at 11:00 am

                    You made a very thoughtful post, with clear evaluative criteria.
                    I hope all who vote are as thoughtful, whether they agree with you or not.

              • Ad …
                14 December 2013 at 10:16 am

                Well the last time what you proposed was actually put in place was the local government reforms, in which all local governments had to report on triple bottom lines, and had to consult on everything. The result is perversely opposite: terms like ‘sustainability’ and ‘consultation’ have been hollowed and degraded of meaning, major consultation exercises such as the Long Term Plan have almost to a year been ignored, and despite it all there’s a fast waning belief in democracy.

                Give people all the free will in the world, all the power, and after a week of happening and scones with their neighbors they will revert to selfishness and accumulation as a permanent state of affairs.

                I would love to think that in a natural state we would all revert to Thomas More’s Utopia. Human practise says otherwise.

                • Colonial Viper …
                  14 December 2013 at 10:21 am

                  Don’t buy into the false neolib theory of “utility maximising individuals.” Behaviour is far more complex than that.

                  Give people all the free will in the world, all the power, and after a week of happening and scones with their neighbors they will revert to selfishness and accumulation as a permanent state of affairs

                  For some perhaps. And that’s because western culture has been deliberately replaced with corporate consumerist culture, and so we are enabling more narcissistic sociopaths than ever.

                  But a lot of NZers still understand perfectly well “he who dies with the most toys, still dies.”

                  • Ad …
                    14 December 2013 at 10:42 am

                    I’ve seen moments of unity in New Zealand that were good, and many that were evil.
                    The previous referendum people were convinced in huge majority of the right to smack their children, and the one before that to utterly reject compulsory superannuation.
                    I ain’t doing futile marches any more. Unions are not in our lifetime going to get beyond 25% of the employed. Be real about the scope for change here.

                    • Arfamo …
                      14 December 2013 at 10:51 am

                      I had a visit yesterday evening from a successful capitalist friend. Had a printing business. Worked all hours in it and made heaps of dosh. Very comfortable. Had to retire recently aged 66 because of health problems so sold the business and did a couple of overseas trips, and now looking for things to do to occupy his time when not doing therapy for his health issues.

                      Mentioned his daughter, 20, had been working part-time on minimum wage at a cafe while she studied. Studies over, can’t get a job in her field. Wants to leave home and start an independent life. She tried to increase her hours at the cafe from 20 to 40 hrs pw. They wouldn’t let her. She thought about getting extra hours at another cafe. Owners told her she can’t – her contract forbids her working for any other employer in the same or similar industry.

                      He hates the Nats now.

                    • lprent []
                      14 December 2013 at 11:17 am

                      That kind of restraint of trade clause is almost certainly illegal in a part time job.

                    • Arfamo …
                      14 December 2013 at 11:21 am

                      I’ll tell him that. If I recall correctly he said the contract also forbids her working for another cafe for four or it might even be six months after she ceases employment with them. I wonder how widespread this sort of contract is.

                      One of his trips was to Europe. He’s originally from the Netherlands. One of the things he noticed was that people in Europe still have a life to enjoy after work and on weekends, whereas he’s noticing fewer and fewer do here now.

                    • Colonial Viper …
                      14 December 2013 at 12:19 pm

                      Yeah totally unenforceable.

                      Like trying to tell a building labourer that he can’t work for any other construction firms in the city.

                      And the cafe owner would have to demonstrate why that particular employee was so special that their working for another similar employer would materially damage the business (would a whole lot of the cafe’s patrons shift their business to the new cafe to follow the employee for instance? Seems very unlikely).

                    • Arfamo …
                      14 December 2013 at 12:30 pm

                      Still, what does she do? If she takes them to the ERA and is successful she’ll have to work for arseholes who’ll do their best to dismiss her for something. And will any other cafe owner employ her if she’s seen as “trouble”.

                      And if she leaves and tries to work for another cafe, what’ll happen when they ask her previous employer for a reference?

                      Still, her dad’s got the dough to fund her fight if he wants to I guess. I still wonder how many others have unlawful contracts like this.

                    • Rogue Trooper …
                      14 December 2013 at 12:59 pm

                      sshhh, frothing secrets.

                  • Rogue Trooper …
                    14 December 2013 at 11:04 am

                    better to throw the toys out of the cot and concentrate on the surroundings
                    (of to the hikoi now, that has arisen in response to the prevalence of young people taking their own lives ).

                • Rogue Trooper …
                  14 December 2013 at 10:52 am

                  Mike Williams is ‘campaign manager’ for the pro-Amalgamation lobby here in the bay; interesting aside.

                  • Ad …
                    14 December 2013 at 10:59 am

                    Auckland united has forced real change in central government. Some but not all of what it wanted is being achieved. Local government needs the strength to force the hand of the state into open partnership.

                    • Rogue Trooper …
                      14 December 2013 at 11:02 am

                      a little secret: I support amalgamation, he he, however, not at the loss of participation (representation? wotteva!, that boat has sailed).

          • Rogue Trooper 17.1.1.1.2
            14 December 2013 at 9:56 am

            The intersection of Poetry and theory.

          • Ad 17.1.1.1.3
            14 December 2013 at 10:20 am

            A whole lot more fun than your attempt to paint the Cistene Chapel with a roller.

    • Colonial Viper 17.2
      14 December 2013 at 9:35 am

      My underlying focus would be to make a richer New Zealand (as per Green Party slogan 2008). Addressing inequality would be part of that, but only a part.

      Good ideas but getting off fossil fuels, readying for major and inevitable climate impacts, and preparing for the upcoming and massive GFC II must be the absolute top priorities for the nation.

      • Rogue Trooper 17.2.1
        14 December 2013 at 9:58 am

        all the richer for what we value.

      • Ad 17.2.2
        14 December 2013 at 10:10 am

        In terms of electricity production we are fine for fossil fuels.

        In terms of transport, well, you’d have to make an effort term by term, but it’s incredibly slow. Something like “All public sector fleets including public transport go fully electric” would be a good policy signal to the rest of us. Meanwhile, the market signal of price per barrel would be the fastest market signal by a country mile. And hopefully Scion and Z Energy go into mass production of ethanol from biofuels… but it’s such a long-view hope.

    • Chooky 17.3
      14 December 2013 at 11:38 am

      +100….Ad sounds good to me…..from the perches…my political Xmas list

      …..for me the New Zealand environment comes FIRST ( I am sick of anthropocentric politics…. maybe i am a jaded misanthropist… but in fact looking after the environment means all NZers are looked after….the environment is our greatest asset….and quality of life…eg we should all be able to swim in and enjoy our rivers and go freedom camping and fishing …especially the poorest of us….)

      1.) this means vote Green
      2) this means looking after our rivers, coasts,lakes , mountains, wetlands and National Parks ( and stopping the encroachments of the Capitalist dogs whose ‘God is money’ and want to get rich from exploitation and degradation of our natural environment)
      3) this means keeping the population as is…our environment cant take much more !…(nor can those NZers at the bottom of the heap stand increased competition for scarce resources)
      4) this means Tangata Whenua environmental values, ecofeminist values and ecospirituality values
      5) this means Stop ALL sales of NZ Land to non NZers…and make every effort to buy this land back
      6) this means Stop all sales of State Assets…. and where they have been sold …buy them back
      7) this means no more motorways ( they degrade the environment for everyone and the money is better spent elsewhere eg railway system and affordable public transport )
      8) this means a futuristic railway system and public transport system
      9) this means going the Scandinavian/Swiss way ….not the American way
      10) this means looking out for NZers quality of life before profit for the few exploiters
      11) this means a GREEN ECONOMY and GREEN ECONOMICS and GREEN SPIRITUALITY

  18. Chooky 18
    14 December 2013 at 1:25 pm

    …Yes ( smirk) this Chook is a natural propagandist and pamphleteer….not too subtle … especially at this time of year.

    ….and YES us Chooks love their Greens! (…. pity Winnie is not a Green)

  19. Chooky 19
    14 December 2013 at 2:52 pm

    @ Rogue Trooper….some distinctions required on the Winnies

    ‘Winnie the Pooh’ is a GREENIE !….he is very concerned about his HONEY POT and the health of BEES….and the irresponsible use of insecticides which kills bees, also biosecurity….so that makes ‘Winnie the Pooh’ a natural Greenie

    (….Piglet and Owl are also GREENIES as is Rabbit and EEYORE …. who have told me so…Christopher Robin also votes Green because of his friends and also because he is a good friend of Charles HRH)

    ‘Winnie the Winston Peters’….. of NZ First is not a Greenie ……But he does share some of Green concerns re population/immigration and sale of State Assets and sale of NZ land to foreigners

  20. Chooky 20
    18 December 2013 at 7:05 am

    Thanx RT….Tigger also enjoyed that!

    Tigger wants it known that he is also voting Green in solidarity with all the Tiggers around the world who are concerned about their jungles

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    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
    8 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
    11 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
    12 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
    13 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
    13 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
    14 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
    14 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
    15 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
    17 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
    18 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
    20 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
    2 days 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
    3 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
    4 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
    5 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

  • $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
    7 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
    9 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
    10 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
    11 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
    11 hours ago

  • Anzac commemorations, Türkiye relationship focus of visit
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  • Minister to Europe for OECD meeting, Anzac Day
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    13 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 ...
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    1 day 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 ...
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  • 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 ...
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  • Cost of living support for low-income homeowners
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  • Government backing mussel spat project
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  • Government focused on getting people into work
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  • 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 ...
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  • Earthquake-prone buildings review brought forward
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  • 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 ...
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  • Government consults on extending coastal permits for ports
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  • Inflation coming down, but more work to do
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    2 days ago

  • School attendance restored as a priority in health advice
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  • Unnecessary bureaucracy cut in oceans sector
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    3 days ago

  • Patterson promoting NZ’s wool sector at International Congress
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  • Removing red tape to help early learners thrive
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  • RMA changes to cut coal mining consent red tape
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  • McClay reaffirms strong NZ-China trade relationship
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  • 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 ...
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  • 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 ...
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  • Antarctica New Zealand Board appointments
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  • Finance Minister travels to Washington DC
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    4 days ago

  • Pet bonds a win/win for renters and landlords
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    4 days ago

  • Long Tunnel for SH1 Wellington being considered
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    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 ...
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  • 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 ...
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  • 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 ...
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  • Roads of National Significance planning underway
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  • 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 ...
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  • NZ welcomes Australian Governor-General
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    1 week ago

  • Pseudoephedrine back on shelves for Winter
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  • 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 ...
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    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 ...
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  • NZ and US to undertake further practical Pacific cooperation
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