Turei for peace & freedom: rejects politics of fear

Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, November 5th, 2014 - 102 comments
Categories: accountability, democracy under attack, greens, iraq, Metiria Turei, Spying - Tags:

Metiria Turei delivered a very strong speech in response to Key’s ministerial statement on national security.  The video of Key’s statement is here.

metiria turei

The text of Turei’s speech is here.

Some extracts:

Mr Speaker

The Green Party stands for peace and freedom.

Peace is the best weapon we have in achieving personal security. It is a simple fact that New Zealanders are safest in a peaceful world.

And our democracy is only as strong as our personal freedoms. When personal freedoms are eroded our democracy is weakened.

Today, John Key has eroded both our quest for peace at home and abroad, and eroded New Zealanders personal freedoms.

By offering support the US led war with ISIS we are part of a strategy that reduces the prospects of enduring peace in the Middle East; and in the process we are also being told that we have to give up freedoms here at home too.

[…]

Supporting war, either directly with boots on the ground, or through other actions, is one of the most important decisions we, as a nation, can ever make.

It is our view that through our intelligence gathering activities and support for the US led efforts, that New Zealand is part of the American war effort.

What John Key has set out is our clear support for those fighting the war with ISIS.

Today I am announcing that the Green Party does not support any form of military engagement with the war effort. This includes training support for the Iraqi army.

Regardless of how the Government seeks to frame it, the reality is that any military assistance is a contribution to the war effort.

It is our view that the war effort will not result in peace, it is a strategy without an end point and has a low chance of success.

It is a myth that Western intervention can destroy ISIS.

A war will not solve what is, at its heart, sectarianism in Iraq.

Ten years of war waged by America could not solve the tensions that divide Sunni and Shia Iraqis or divide extremists from the moderates. How will this time be different?

Even an intensive, decades-long American ground effort — something that is politically not on the table — might only make the problem worse. ISIS’s presence in Iraq and Syria is fundamentally a political problem, not a military one.

[…]

The world can defeat ISIS, and build a lasting peace. We in the Greens are committed to this outcome, but there are better ways to achieve it than through Western military intervention.

The Green Party strongly supports a commitment to additional humanitarian aid in the region and a commitment to find an enduring political solution to the war in the Middle East, especially now that we are in a key position to do so on the Security Council.

By contributing humanitarian aid, New Zealand can demonstrate that our primary concern is for the needs of the victims, especially children.

By contributing our independent foreign diplomacy at the UN, New Zealand can demonstrate our commitment to collective peace and security — the only real long term solution to the horror of war and terrorism.

If New Zealand wants to make a difference on the Security Council, by going in clean, we’ll be more credible advocates for finding a political solution in the Middle East.

[…]

Any military deployment in the Middle East will undermine our peace and security here at home.

While this is not a compelling reason to avoid engaging in conflict around the world where it is just and the outcome will be lasting, this US-led war against ISIS does not justify those costs we will bear here at home.

Rather than eroding our civil liberties, now is the time to strengthen our tolerant and free society.

Rather than shutting down, now is the time to open up.

Let’s look at what enlightened leaders are doing to reduce the risks posed by foreign fighters, rather than relying on the failed policies of the Abbot Government in Australia.

Joining the US-led war in the Middle East is already increasing the climate of fear back here at home.

We see it in the Prime Ministers speech today and in his recent statements.

Fear pervades the drip feeding of allegations that rise suspicions about our neighbours and others who share our community.

Fear is the tried and true playbook of those who seek to build artificial walls between us.

We reject becoming a nation of fear.

[…]

Conclusion

Mr Speaker

Today I speak on behalf of a truly independent foreign policy that works for peace as the best form of security.

A foreign policy that aligns foreign and domestic interests.

I speak on behalf of our personal freedoms. I put them on a pedestal, only to be eroded in the most extreme of circumstances.

And I speak on behalf of those New Zealanders who believe in alternatives to war and fear; those who aspire to peace and freedom.

We can build a better world, but it will require a better approach than the one outlined by the Prime Minister today.

Read the full speech at the above link.

stop politics of fear

Today Metiria Turei was bold and clear.  She showed a positive way forward.  I give her a standing ovation!

peace and security

Update: inthehousenz ondemand video of Turei’s speech here.

Rather than accept the narrative Key is trying to build, Turei identities and rejects that narrative. At the same time, she provides an alternative narrative, with a positive way forward.

Update #2: Youtube video of Metiria Turei’s speech.

Video and text of Kennedy Graham’s speech explaining the reasons for the Greens’ position on ISIL

102 comments on “Turei for peace & freedom: rejects politics of fear ”

  1. Karen 1

    Fantastic speech.

    Imagine if Metiria was running the country what a great country this would be!

    • karol 1.1

      Rather than accept the narrative Key is trying to build, she identities and rejects that narrative. At the same time, she provides an alternative narrative, with a positive way forward.

      Just what the left needs.

    • Chooky 1.2

      +100 …Great speech for PEACE by Metiria Turei !

      …and a pity she isn’t Prime Minister of New Zealand!

      …she speaks for peace loving women and men everywhere

    • Saarbo 1.3

      @Karen

      I agree

  2. Tracey 2

    humanitarian, rebuild and military medical aid. thats our role, imo, and something we are very good at. remember last time we got told the sas were “just training iraqis”…. turned out they were leading missions.

  3. Tracey 3

    taleban

    then

    al queda

    then

    isil

    which has been wiped out and no longer poses any threat?

  4. Ad 4

    +1 Tracey
    I would support those kinds of roles.

  5. les 5

    Metiria and Russell have the luxury of knowing how to appeal to their electorate without compromise, whereas Labour are cursed to walk the tightrope of the middle .

    • karol 5.1

      There doesn’t need to be a compromise from Labour. Shearer’s speech was pretty good on substance about ISIS. But he also seems to have somewhat contradicted Annette King’s leader’s speech – she went much more for accepting what Key said and his framing.

      Shearer identified the ISIS problem as a regional one, it isn’t threatening the world, but the west is internationalising it.

    • Tracey 5.2

      labour keeps thinking it has to win 20% of the people who voted for national. or wait for that is simply not true. while they think it they will have to all but be national to win when people get sick of key and his govt.

      if they assume 5-10% of nat voters are there cos they dont feel they have an alternative or dont agree with everything nats says and does they can frame their own argument. king is not the person for that.

    • Paul 5.3

      Don’t remember Labour not being courageous over nuclear weapons in the 1970s and 80s.
      It can be done.

  6. karol 6

    unbelievable. Stuff reporters give a brief account of various speeches, but totally ignore Turei’s speech.

    Actually they ignore King’s speech, too.

    Obviously women are not up to commenting on issues of international security!

  7. Disabled Liberation Aotearoa NZ DLANZ 7

    Good speech Metiria as its time for a big rethink on World politics…
    Regards
    Doug Hay
    Cordinator DLANZ

  8. Aerobubble 8

    Switched onto QT and waited for QT to start. After nat, came lab, green, nzf, and I was thinking that’s that, but no. The four headed hydra, Maori, NF and ACT. Key promised he wasn’t going to have a monster, but there they were all talking like they mattered, that they had not given over themselves to National, four speeches for the government and three against from the opposition. Surely if a party is a minister they shouldn’t bore the pecks of us bunging up parliamentary time.

    • alwyn 8.1

      I see what you want. We can have a speech from the Government and then one from each of the Opposition parties. In this case it would be 1 Government and then 3 Opposition speeches. Other parties, providing they support the Government, will then be silenced. Seems very fair, but what would you have done if Hone had scraped back in?.
      Alternatively I suppose we could have 1 Government and 1 Opposition speech. That would roughly match the representation in Parliament.
      I guess we would simply have the Labour, Green and New Zealand First leaders fight it out to see who gave the speech. Alternatively we could give the privilege to the one who could sing Kumbaya the longest.

      • karol 8.1.1

        Actually there were also speeches from other MPs – Mc Cully, Finlayson, one of the new NZF MPs, Kennedy GFraham from the Greens, etc.

        The list is here – it was a debate.

        15 speeches, including the first one from Key.

        • alwyn 8.1.1.1

          Hey, I’m in favour of what happened. I think all the party views need to be given, regardless of the party’s size.
          I was just pointing out that “aerobubble” doesn’t seem to want any such thing. Reading his comment seems to be an espousal of the view that only the opposition should have any time allocated.
          I was only suggesting equally silly alternatives to the approach he seems to desire.

          • Aerobubble 8.1.1.1.1

            Glad you agree, four head monster it is. Oh, Collins made the point however much she loathes the greens and there call not to send troops, she welcomes there input. So even she defends the four headed monster. How I ask you can a one seat party have anything extra to say, they are hardly over every portfolio, they signed up to bats foreign policy, what insult themselves by trying to differentiate, how is this any different from brownlee claiming greens were backing labour over Iraq.

            Then the biggest joke of all, the terrorism of guy Fawkes, a cultural part of our parliamentary history, and the Maori party thinks its irrelevant. Why give them the opportunity to make arises of themselves? They are ministers, if the want to have an alternative voice, find a mp from their party who isn’t a minister.

  9. Ad 9

    I would vote for someone who said something along these lines:

    “This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence – economic, political, even spiritual – is felt in every city, every statehouse, every office of the federal government. We recognise the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to component it’s grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society. In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted.”

    This is from President Dwight Eisenhower, 1961.

    As a former five star general and leader of the US forces, he should know.

    If only Jerry Mateparae could summon this kind of clear warning, for our new context.
    Or indeed anyone.

    • JanM 9.1

      The lid has been lifted – the evil ones have escaped. What are the chances of putting them back and shutting the lid?

  10. Zolan 10

    I particularly like how she references Key’s speech as evidence and thereby pre-emptively frames future statements in terms of psychological manipulation,
    Obvious to cynics, but I’d like to see more people asking not just “What is he saying?” but also “What is he trying to do with speech?”

  11. Paul 11

    Great speech.

  12. alwyn 12

    “By contributing humanitarian aid, New Zealand can demonstrate that our primary concern is for the needs of the victims, especially children.”

    Why do I think that Turei is simply waffling? Just who does she plan to be the providers of this humanitarian aid she talks about, and where will it be done?

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/alan-henning-beheaded-aid-workers-family-numb-with-grief-over-his-murder-by-isis-9774983.html

    • karol 12.1

      Kennedy Graham explains more of the Greens position in his speech.

      he explains that he has looked at international law, and the UN Council decisions and findings on ISIL. Graham says that ISIL is doing nasty terrorist stuff, and should be stopped. However, he so far has seen no evidence that military action is the best way to do that.

      he says, the evidence points to looking for a diplomatic solution while also supplying humanitarian aid.

      Part of the problem is, that whenever the US goes into the middle east and starts trying to end atrocities by one group, dictator or another, they fail in the long term. They just antagonise many locals, and manage to stir up more conflict. The radicalness and brutality of ISIL has grown out of those earlier conflicts.

      So military action by the west actually can make the situation worse.

      Shearer also says that Key is overstating the threat of ISIL to NZ. It is a regional conflict – it is complex, between various groups in the region.

      NZ has a very good record in providing humanitarian aid during crises.

      • Chooky 12.1.1

        thanks karol …the Green Party position is eminently sensible….and so is Shearer

      • Tracey 12.1.2

        but it is easier for key supporters to pretend that the greens support isil than explain that.

    • Tracey 12.2

      are you saying that strikes against isil wont result in innocent people being killed maimed or homes destroyed putting them in need of humanitarian aid. you are brighter than that comment alwyn.

      • alwyn 12.2.1

        No I am not saying that innocent people won’t be hurt. I am saying that the idea that we can provide “humanitarian aid” in these areas is fraught with extreme danger to the people doing it, as is exhibited by what happened to the totally innocent gentleman from Britain.
        I think that Meteria’s speech shows a complete divorce from reality, and the things she proposes are pure fantasy.
        The people in ISIS (or IS or ISIL or whatever they are labelled today) are not amenable to rational discussion or diplomacy.

        • Tracey 12.2.1.1

          What you think isn’t always reliable as evidenced when you suggested Graham had no experience (although you deliberately changed it to “served”) in conflict zones to discredit his views when it turned out he did.

          It is neither fantasy nor a divorce from reality, it is her view. Many countries provide humanitarian aid but don’t join the war. many clean up the results of war but didn’t join the war. We have excellent medical and engineering units well equipped to provide exactly that, medical care and repair of damage inflicted by those joining a war and trained to deal with conflict zones.

          That you disagree with her is fine. But changing Karols words to suit your rhetoric, trying to mock Graham and not resiling when you were proven false in your mockery and resorting to emotive phrases like “divorce from reality” just makes you look foolish on this occassion.

        • karol 12.2.1.2

          Turei’s view, is that of the Green Party, informed by Graham’s analysis and experience. It is very much based in reality.

          You are ignoring the links to various informed analyses on the dangers of NZ sending combat troops to counter ISIL.

          Here’s another from Gordon Campbell.

          alwyn, it’s you who are ignoring the evidence and insisting on your fantasy that NZ sending troops to combat ISIL will have any significant impact on stopping the ISIL atrocities, now or in the future. The main outcomes of Key’s announcements will be to make NZ more of an international terrorist target, while adding extra state surveillance powers in NZ – the outcome of which will be to mainly limit democracy here, and do nothing to combat “terrorism”.

          John Key has his own fantasies of power – of the glow of being tied to Obama’s militarism and presidential power.

          • alwyn 12.2.1.2.1

            Gordon Campbell. Is he the one who worked for the Green Party in the leader’s office in Parliament?
            In the meantime I would ask that you provide me with a single piece of evidence to support YOUR fantasy when you claim that

            “alwyn, it’s you who are ignoring the evidence and insisting on your fantasy that NZ sending troops to combat ISIL will have any significant impact on stopping the ISIL atrocities, now or in the future”.

            Just one little piece of evidence that I have done, or said any such thing. Surely you wouldn’t have made it up?

            What I DID say was that any idea that we can solve the problems of the middle east in the way that Turei suggests is the fantasy.

            [karol: alwyn, there has been plenty of evidence here to show that what Turei and Graham argue is not a fantasy, but a reasoned approach based on evidence. The alternative to the use of diplomacy, supported by humanitarian aid (as argued by Graham and Turei), can only be to send combat troops. This is what Turei and Graham were arguing against, and what Key has been weighing up. The only thing stopping Key sending combat troops is likely to have been the awareness that it would not be popular with most kiwis.

            My point about Key’s fantasy, is that there is no evidence that sending troops, or the softer version of supporting the US-led military-based initiative will do anything to solve the ISIL problem.

            If you keep repeating the broken-record troll line that the Greens’ argument is fantasy, your comments will be deleted or sent to moderation.]

            [lprent: Or I could start figuring out how to reduce workloads. ]

            • alwyn 12.2.1.2.1.1

              OK. I got a bit upset.
              What upset me was, not that you accuse John Key of having fantasies, but that you specifically accused ME of sharing them. When you start a sentence with my name and then continue with the words “your fantasy” you are accusing me of holding views that I have never expressed.

              The gist of your comment reads
              “alwyn, it’s you who are …. insisting on your fantasy …. sending troops “. That is the bit that I never said and do not believe.

              I withdraw my comments on my interpretation of the Green Party beliefs.
              On the other hand I don’t see that the only alternative is to send combat troops and I don’t see any real evidence that Key does either. His words were very carefully chosen so as not to say that.

              • karol

                Fair enough.

                Yes, Key’s words are very carefully chosen. And there is plenty of evidence to show that Key relies a lot on Curia polling to decide how he will frame an issue – his comments about talking daily with DPF during the election for example.

                Initially, Key seemed to be sounding out the idea of sending combat troops in the last couple of weeks. He seemed keen – the double messages about NZ’s supposed signing up to join the US military effort a couple of weeks back. The result probably after Curia polling) seems to be he decided against sending the troops in support, re training, etc.

                He has gone for what could be seen as a softer option. Some are sceptical that the NZ troops will only be used in an advisory capacity.

                The speeches by Turei and Graham lay out the Greens reasons for not sending support troops – it has to do with the lack of support for the US-led initiatives. Graham discusses in as much detail as possible, his reasons for rejecting such support: the lack of transparency of how the decision by the “allies” (other than NZ) to send combat troops arrived at; the lack of any valid argument that justifies the action and that it will achieve the stated aims of crushing ISIL.

                Other opposition speakers in the House yesterday, were concerned that NZ sending non-combat troops would not eventually get drawn into some active combat.

                So, it seems to me, there is evidence to support the Greens’ stance of diplomacy, plus humanitarian support at this stage.

                There is a lack of evidence to support the decision to send either combat, or support troops and other zones in which ISIL are operating.

                • Tracey

                  he also knows that when they have told the public one thing about the role of say, the sas, that doesnt mean that is what the sas is actually doing. he will find a way to tell kiwis what they want to hear while delivering for his pals.

                  • karol

                    See also Phil Goff’s question 6 in Question Time today – re the track record in Iran, Key’s changing assurances over time, etc.

                    • alwyn

                      I shall read the answer when the transcript goes on-line.
                      I don’t really understand why they bother asking questions addressed to the PM on a Thursday. They have to ask something but the PM, and the leader of the opposition, are never in the house on a Thursday so they get the answer from English or more commonly Brownlee.
                      I guess that is why questions on Thursday are asked by the more junior (in rank, not years in the House) members of the opposition parties.Key is held to the reply given but it really isn’t the same is it.

                    • karol

                      Also check out Kennedy Graham’s question #8

                      And NRT’s tweets in response:

                      First:

                      Brownlee refuses to rule out that “trainers” will escalate into combat role #nzqt #MissionCreep

                      Then:

                      Again, Brownlee’s refusal to give a solid commitment can only be interpreted as an admission of guilt #nzqt

                      Then:

                      Government refuses to commit to A-G giving a legal opinion to the House on justification for war with ISIS #nzqt

                    • Tracey

                      but then alwyn, even when john key answers stuff we have to double check in which capacity he has answered… 😉

  13. fisiani 13

    Turei is guilty of gross naivety. Hers was a truly appalling speech decried from all sides of the House. Her woolly headed thinking is reflected in so many of the comments above which are so out of kilter with people living in the real world. Peace is not a right. It is an ideal. Allowing the genocide to continue because it’s not in our backyard is moral cowardice. The decision to not send the SAS will certainly disappoint our troops who were keen to help the defenceless innocents. Every measured cautious step by John Key applauded by every other party was denigrated by the Greens. It was a sickening abdication of humanity in favour of currying favour with the 10% of New Zealand who believe that pacifism is morally superior to crushing the bastards.

    • JanM 13.1

      And ‘crushing the bastards’ has worked well so far, yes?

      • fisiani 13.1.1

        Historically of course it has.

        • JanM 13.1.1.1

          You’d better ask yourself who writes history

          • fisiani 13.1.1.1.1

            The winners , not losers like the wimpy Greens.

            • Craig Glen Eden 13.1.1.1.1.1

              Whats wimpy about establishing the cause of conflict and resolving those issue. It does however take serious thinking and resolution skills. If you are so sure war is the answer why dont take your own advice, time to man up fisiani and join the army no wimpy excuses either. Get over there put your boots on the ground flex your muscles you tough thing.
              .

              • fisiani

                Every day the barbarians commit atrocities and the Greens want to establish the cause of the conflict and resolve those issues. No wonder the Greens are stuck at 10%. Go on give them a big hug. That will stop them chopping heads off. You cannot reason with the unreasonable.

                • Paul

                  So are we heading to the Ukraine too?
                  What about Nigeria?
                  And the Congo?

                  Atrocities going on in all of the above fish.
                  Want to volunteer other people’s kids to those wars as well?

                  • Tracey

                    stop that. key goes where the us tells him to go and fishi parrots the lines. you are expecting him to think for himself….

                • Chooky

                  @fish…vote you go to the front lines and deal with ISIS

                • karol

                  And in the long run, a better and longer lasting outcome through diplomacy – and less bloodshed.

                  Jumping in with military gusto can just increase the tensions, prolong the bloodshed, and end up with the situation worse than before the military action.

                  Lessons of the past via the Guardian:

                  It is hard not to respond emotionally to a terrorist act in the heat of the moment. When we see videos of western journalists being beheaded or TV footage of small children being blown up by IRA bombs it seems obvious that the only answer is force. It is easy to regard any suggestion that we should ever talk to people capable of such savagery as immoral.
                  […]
                  I am an unlikely peacenik. I grew up in a military family, and I was involved in the decisions on all of Tony Blair’s wars. I do not think that war is always wrong: sometimes it is necessary to stop a dictator, prevent massive human-rights abuses, or expel an invader. But I have also seen that in the modern world, civil wars are the greatest threat to humanitarian security. If you want to fight starvation, the spread of disease, and mass rape – or to help suffering children, whether child soldiers or the victims of war – then the most important thing you can do is to help end armed conflicts, which is why I have decided to dedicate the rest of my life to that goal.
                  […]
                  We usually delay talking to armed groups too long, and as a result, a large number of people die unnecessarily. General David Petraeus admitted that, in Iraq, the US left it far too late to talk to those “with American blood on their hands”. We delay because it is argued that talking is too risky – but experience suggests the real risk lies in not talking.

                  • Tracey

                    and yet we are unmoved by the preventable deaths and maimings in our workplaces. we are more likely to die or suffer serious permanent injury from being at work than in a terror attack. no outrage.

                  • karol

                    I’ve added a link to the text and video of Kennedy Graham’s speech to the post. Here is the text for the conclusion of Grhama’s speech:

                    I am no stranger to crises. I worked as a Kiwi diplomat on the Thai-Cambodia border in the early 1980s. I took parliamentarian missions into Haiti and Burundi during the height of their domestic crises. I have visited Gaza and the West Bank and have witnessed house demolitions. I have travelled in the Syrian eastern desert as the clouds of war of 2003 were forming. I have experienced riots in Jordan during the days of 9/11 , and I have visited the refugee camps recently on the Jordan border with Syria. I know how emotion and rationality wage war in the human psyche when we are under severe strain, both individually and collectively. Nothing in my personal experience persuades me that military action is the politically wise response. It requires diplomatic negotiation towards a durable political settlement, supported by humanitarian aid. We should not support any military action against ISIS.

                • framu

                  “You cannot reason with the unreasonable.”

                  shame your to unreasonable to spot the irony of what you just said

            • RedLogixFormes 13.1.1.1.1.2

              Revealing fisi. I always knew you to be a bastard –

        • Tracey 13.1.1.2

          taleban… still going
          al queda still going

          your statements get funnier and funnier

        • DoublePlus Good 13.1.1.3

          So the previous two Iraq wars were successful in bringing lasting peace to the region? No, they weren’t. So piss off until you know what you’re talking about and can engage your brain.

      • Tracey 13.1.2

        heres an article suggesting an outcome from military intervention to “crush the bastards”.

        http://www.globalresearch.ca/libya-a-nation-in-despair/5411041

    • karol 13.2

      The naivety is all with the people who believe Key’s lines about ISIL and the need to step up surveillance in NZ. Key’s Nats are very skilled in the politics of deception.

      Others like Shearer have pointed out that Key is over-stating the threat of ISIL or Muslim radicals to NZ.

      And Key waffles on the details of the threats – just makes vagues statements of alleged numbers of ISIL supporters in NZ. Then he hides behind the secrecy of national security lines.

      Unlike Key, Shearer and Kennedy Graham have experiences in conflict zones and trouble spots. Graham goes through the issue in logical steps and explains how the Greens came to the decisions as outline by Turei.

      Key’s peddling of the politics of fear have all the hallmarks of Crosby Textor – much like John Howard’s use of the boat people issue to manipulate public opinion. Turei called Key and the Nats on their manipulation of the politics of fear.

      It was the MPs on the government benches who tried to shout Turei down – they don’t seem to be able to tolerate criticism or having their manipulations identified.

      • alwyn 13.2.1

        “… Kennedy Graham have experiences in conflict zones and trouble spots. ”
        I would love to know just where Graham served in “conflict zones”.
        He may have served at the UN in New York and worked at Canterbury University but they hardly count as conflict zones do they?
        Just where did he get his experience of such places?
        I imagine you would have said, a few weeks ago, that there was no likelihood of problems in Canada.
        Meanwhile perhaps you can tell me just how Turei plans to provide the humanitarian aid without risking the lives of the people who are expected to supply it?

        • karol 13.2.1.1

          You clearly didn’t watch Graham’s speech from today’s debate.

          At the end he said he had worked as a diplomat on the Thai-Cambodia border in the early 80s. He took parliamentary missions into Haiti and Burundi “at the height of their domestic crises”. He “visited Gaza and West Bank and witnessed house demolitions”. He travelled in the Syrian eastern desert in 2003 when war was developing. He experienced riots in Jordan around the time of the 9/11 events. He recently visited refugee camps on the Jordan border with Syria.

          NZ can assist with humanitarian aid with people in or from conflict zones, the same way they always do. they can work with displaced people from Middle East conflict zones – and that was Key’s suggestion

          The Red Cross and UN contingents do it all the time.

          Why don’t you try doing some research for yourself, instead of me doing it all for you?

        • Tracey 13.2.1.2

          experience in conflict zones not served. you even quoted it correctly then misrepresented it. very disingenuous alwyn.

          • alwyn 13.2.1.2.1

            Don’t be silly Tracey. I used the word “served” because it appears to be the standard word used by diplomats for what they do. Many countries use “Foreign Service” for what we call Foreign Affairs and Trade.
            For example I will show you examples about Graham from Wikipedia and Canterbury Law school where they talk about his “service”.

            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Graham
            ” He has served in the New Zealand Foreign Service for sixteen years,”
            http://www.laws.canterbury.ac.nz/people/graham.shtml
            “Dr. Graham served in the NZ foreign service for 16 years”

            There are lots of other examples, and I don’t accept I have misrepresented it at all.
            For the second one at least, since he probably wrote it, it is likely to be the phrase he would use himself.

            • Tracey 13.2.1.2.1.1

              Pin meet alwyn, he would like to dance on your head.

            • framu 13.2.1.2.1.2

              so you used a word that you thought appeared to be used for a general thing your not sure about to discuss a specific situation you dont know the facts about?

              then you turn around and insist everyone else is wrong?

              really weird jay

      • Paul 13.2.2

        Assisted by paid puppets like fisi.
        The gullible and naive are those who believe Key’s snake oil.
        Remember those weapons of mass destruction in 2003?
        Fool you once….

    • Murray Rawshark 13.3

      Fuck off and enlist in the Iraqi Army then, fizzy anus. You’re probably allowed to now that they’re on Key’s side. Make sure you don’t join the wrong team though. I hear it can be confusing over there and they all look the same. Wouldn’t want to lose your passport.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 13.4

      If it crushed the bastards I’d be all for it, and it doesn’t. Fourteen years ago they were a campground: now they’re a country. At which point do you admit that the strategy* has failed, Fisiani?

      *unmitigated incompetent clusterfuck.

    • AmaKiwi 13.5

      @ finiani

      “Allowing the genocide to continue because it’s not in our backyard is moral cowardice.”

      I am confused.

      Are you talking about the genocide of the Palestinians?

      • AmaKiwi 13.5.1

        @ finiani

        “Allowing the genocide to continue because it’s not in our backyard is moral cowardice.”

        Like our noble defense of the genocide against the Australian Aborigines?

        US and UK spent uranium artillery has ensured the Iraqi people will be eventually wiped out by cancer and birth defects.

        • Tracey 13.5.1.1

          it’s ok, he can’t answer today he is signing up to go fight.

        • meconism 13.5.1.2

          On that, if Iraq is a ‘nuclear war’ zone, which depending on your view of DU it is either is or it isn’t, are we, under the Nuclear Free legislation allowed to be deploying there anyway?

  14. Craig Glen Eden 14

    karol owning alwyn boom!

  15. The next Prime Minister maybe.
    She presents her case very well.

  16. Jay 16

    I agree with fisiani. We all know the saying about how evil triumphs. What Turei wants to do is the equivalent of. . .Nothing. I see a woman being stoned to death. Woman and children massacred. Men beheaded while their fellow captives watch and wait for their turn. If that was happening across the road would you offer the victims humanitarian aid? How will that stop anything? If they weren’t wanting to spread across the world maybe we could cover our eyes, but I believe we’re in this like it or not.

    [karol: Jay, please make an effort to read some of the replies to similar comments above, together with the evidence and supporting links. You are adding nothing to the discussion by repeating the same smear lines, based on nothing substantial other than your own imagination. It just looks like broken-record trolling. Anymore of this mindless smearing will see the comments either deleted, or sent to moderation.

    NZ has a very good record of providing humanitarian aid in crisis zones. I linked above to John Key saying that providing humanitarian aid was a possible alternative to sending troops.

    It’s not fantasy to supply such aid NZ does it often. There is a government agency that manages such initiatives]

    • Tracey 16.1

      Jay

      I just want to say how much I am enjoying your posts. Subtle parody. Fabulous, and mocking fizzi at the same time. Well done.

  17. tricle up 17

    Has anyone seen a donation fund for Ebola,within our borders we are expected to provide the necessities of life render assistance or else, but as a collective group our accountability diminish s some what outside our borders.The question of aid is admiral to the middle east..It would be blissful to ignore the images of human folly and disaster if one could.Turei has balanced our small contribution to reality and the risks involved …

  18. Robert Alexander 18

    Wow, she is deluded. She said nothing of substance.

    The ISIS group are slaughtering entire towns, they’re selling young girls into forced marriages(read slavery) they’re killing anyone who refuses to convert to their narrow interpretation of Islam.
    Worse than that, they’re inspiring impressionable young men in western nations to kill innocent people.
    The Iraq government is calling western nations for help, they want their people and democracy to be protected.

    Humanitarian aid always plays a part in reconstructing after a war has been fought, but to ignore the desires of a nation under threat and just send “humanitarian aid” is a cop out. Do we send doctors to sew up wounds? Do we send psychologists to help with the people suffering PTSD? Do we send food to make up for their burnt crops? None of those options will help Iraqis with the threat they live with day to day. It has been made very clear that ISIS do not want to engage with diplomacy. Lots of humanitarian aid workers went to Syria, many of them were decapitated by ISIS.

    Sending only humanitarian aid is an insult to the Iraqis who live in fear of ISIS. No amount of food or medical supplies are going to stop their sons from being executed or their daughters from being raped.

    [karol:

    Wow, she is deluded. She said nothing of substance.

    Try reading the post, the speeches referred to, some of the comments above, and the evidence supplied in links, etc. It’s tiresome to keep replying to the same line of argument, based on no evidence.

    And see my warnings about repeating spin lines about Turei and “fantasy”. Saying she is “deluded” is a similar line. Turei was laying out the Greens position. Kennedy Grahams’ speech carefully outlined some of the reasoning and evidence behind the decision.

    Try using some evidence to show that sending troops will stop ISIL in its tracks, and/or engaging with the reasoning and evidence above. You are the one not providing anything of substance. Raise your game].

    • lprent 18.1

      Basically the joint idiots of George Bush and Tony Blair screwed up Iraq by *deliberately* lying about weapons of mass destruction, and then destroying all parts of their reprehensible but stable government.

      They left a irreconcilable mess behind. Do if anyone is to do it, then those countries the caused this screwup should also be those who clean it up and do it properly this time. Otherwise we should only be involved if it is done under a multilateral UN mandate that limits the amount of damage that gullible fools like John Key (a big support of NZ attacking Iraq back in 2003) can do.

      But in this new coalition of the bloody stupid, at a rough estimate they should probably start by demanding that the ministers of the ruling government in the south are fired and prevented from holding office again. Or that Iraq is partitioned into independent or semi-independent states. Fundamentally the role of the Iraqi government in recent years and its complete lack of responsible care of the delicate political balance in Iraq caused the power and military vacuum that ISIS walked into.

      Those militias in the area that who could have easily controlled ISIS (they have done it before before the US withdrawal) were pissed off enough at what “their” government had done to them, that they simply stood aside. That they preferred having ISIS running their area rather than Iraqi government backed by the US tells you just about everything you need to know about this conflict.

      In the meantime ill-informed stupid and mindless propaganda like your comment is about as useful to a debate as the usual mindless conservatives of former decades. All I could see when I read your comment was someone who was too ignorant to be bothered arguing with. A contemptible fuckwit who hadn’t bothered to find out much about the causes of a conflict before they wanted to put other people in danger. Another idiotic armchair general with the courage born of stupidity and distance from danger.

      • Robert Alexander 18.1.1

        I’m perfectly willing to argue with you. I’ll even engage with your points. Engage with mine! You will never grow as a person unless your ideas are challenged and I welcome you to engage with my arguments. There were some questions in my original post, start by answering them.

        What you are talking about is reconstruction. You are talking about what happens after the conflict is over. Creating new states, changing regimes; these things require cooperation from opposing sides. They require a sense of security for the people and trust between administrations. ISIS has shown over and over that they have no intention to take part in diplomatic cooperation. Their actions mean that the people living in Iraq have no security. Therefore these actions are not appropriate at this time.

        I would caution you against comparing the current situation to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. No sane person would argue that the 2003 invasion had no cause on current events, nor would they argue that the 2003 invasion was a good idea; but even so there are clear differences which should be taken into account.

        What makes this different to the invasion of Iraq in 2003 is that this time there is a clear enemy, who occupy a distinct geographic area with the intention of remaining in that area. In 2003 Al Qaeda were in Iraq however their intention was to cause disruptions in US and US aligned nations through terrorist attacks. They had no land to defend and no people to rule. That relative mobility made it easy for them to exit the area and reestablish themselves elsewhere. ISIS however have the intention of ruling a state under their interpretation of Islamic law. Anyone who lives in that area must submit to their rule or die. That is far more aggressive than Al Qaeda’s intentions.

        To fight Al Qaeda winning the hearts and minds of the people who live in the areas they occupy was important. Al Qaeda controlled no significant infrastructure and did not have large geographical control. Unlike ISIS they relied on being covert and unseen. This means they relied on the cooperation of multiple villages who were not necessarily under constant threat by Al Qaeda, and were not necessarily forced to change their way of life. Diplomatic engagement was crucial here; by knowing who was helping fund them it was possible to restrict their methods of supply and essentially starve them of funds.
        ISIS however have made who they are very public, they wish to rule the people in their territories and control oil fields. This means they could be self sufficient provided there is someone willing to buy their oil. With that continued cash supply they are able to perpetually oppress the people they rule over. No amount of winning the hearts and minds of the people living in the Islamic state will make a difference to their power because ISIS do not require those people to support them, they only need them to fear them.

        Military intervention is coming at the request of the democratically elected government in Iraq. Yes ultimately they will be the ones who form the peace and end conflict, however they do not have the capability to do that at the moment. If we do not help them with military support then it is very possible that ISIS will take Baghdad and kill every member of the current regime. Which would ruin the internal political structure and end the possibility of ever having an internal solution.

        Lastly as well staging weekly executions of people by the hundreds, ISIS is convincing people in western nations to kill innocent people. In both Australia and Canada there have been attacks on the public. That is the most horrifying aspect to me. I am on the side of democracy, ISIS has the intention of disrupting the strongest and least corrupt democracies in the world. No amount of “humanitarian aid” is going to stop ISIS from executing people who oppose them.

        The reason I made the comment is because Metria Turei’s speach had no substance. or example at one point she even said “Let’s look at what enlightened leaders are doing to reduce the risks posed by foreign fighters, rather than relying on the failed policies of the Abbot Government in Australia.” then went on to say nothing about what the unnamed enlightened leaders were doing. If the Greens want an alternative plan then they should propose an alternate plan.

        • lprent 18.1.1.1

          The reason I made the comment is because Metria Turei’s speach had no substance.

          What I essentially said was that your ideas carried absolutely no substance and that you are idiot about the area you are talking about. Turei had a whole lot more substance than your obdurate stupidity (and I don’t think that much of hers).

          ISIS is a local militia with about 31k fighters according to the CIA. They are a particularly nasty group of religious maniacs running around in a political and military vacuum. But they simply aren’t that much of a danger. Someone needs to stop them. But kicking the Shia government out of Northern Iraq would probably achieve that very fast. Offer the Sunni’s a truly federated state and ISIS will get massacred a few month later. This is primarily a political issue not a military one.

          Over the last 5-10 years or so, ISIS have been running around avoiding conflict unless they have an overwhelming advantage. Which is why they got kicked out of Northern Iraq into Syria by the Sunni militas in the first place. Their only real skill appears to be propaganda.

          They managed to lay their hands on some fairly good military hardware because the Shia government troops ran away without fighting in northern iraq leaving their depots open for ISIS to plunder. The Shia garri-troopers in the north really didn’t want to fight for some fools in Baghdad, and when it didn’t involve their homes.

          The Sunni’s in the North didn’t fight them because they were less of an issue to them than the pig-headed fools of the current Iraqi government.

          To date ISIS hasn’t really had to fight anyone with military ability except the Kurds. In their battles with them both in North Iraq and around Kobane, despite the far superior ISIS numbers and superior numbers, ISIS has been having their testicles handed back to them on the tip of a bayonet. Their casualties appear to have been high because they have some pretty dumb commanders. The only thing constraining the Kurds kicking their arse is the lack of a decent supply line – ie Turkey’s politicians are being dickheads about the Kurds as usual.

          The number of recruits called from the west is a trivial trickle compared to somewhere like Tunisia or previously Libya. The urban fools from the west have approximately the military potential of wet wallpaper. My opinion is that the best use of them is to let them head off to the conflict. They will lower the military potential of ISIS, and we get rid of some juvenile fools getting their arses handed to them by the Kurds soldiers (including a sizeable contingent of women soldiers).

          The Chechen’s who left the Caucasus, settled in the middle east, and who now form about a thousand of the ISIS are the effective core of ISIS military. But they really have to concentrate to be effective. I guess that is why the US air power is hanging around for – their kurdish spotters to point them out.

          I really wish you idiotic armchair warriors (like John Key) would stop crapping your panties with fear, pull your fingers out of your panic orifices and look at this situation realistically. The best option at present is to simply provide weapons to groups like the kurds, SFA, and even the sunni tribesman – add some airpower to deal with the looted weapons that the US gave to the shia kurd government and wait a few months.

          The real issue is the political map after the the ISIS maniacs and probably the Assad regime get crushed on the ground.

          A few wet-eared teenagers from the west are rather iirrelevant. They are more of an issue staying here than getting killed in Syria/Iraq.

    • Robert Alexander 18.2

      Karol there is zero evidence for anything Turei has said in her speech at one point she said “Let’s look at what enlightened leaders are doing to reduce the risks posed by foreign fighters, rather than relying on the failed policies of the Abbot Government in Australia.” then went on to say nothing about what the unnamed enlightened leaders were doing.

      If you’re getting frustrated with people consistently posting a view contrary to your own then write an article addressing those points of difference. I would enjoy reading it.

      [karol: You are further showing off your ignorance. framu said it below. The main reason I put a warning on your comment, is because you said something I had already issued a warning about above. There is substance in Turei’s speech. For instance here:

      Ten years of war waged by America could not solve the tensions that divide Sunni and Shia Iraqis or divide extremists from the moderates. How will this time be different?

      Even an intensive, decades-long American ground effort — something that is politically not on the table — might only make the problem worse. ISIS’s presence in Iraq and Syria is fundamentally a political problem, not a military one.

      The post also points to Kennedy Graham’s speech outlining the reasons for the Greens position.

      You previous comment got a warning on it, because you did something I had already warned about above – calling Turei’s position deluded/fantasy.

      Now you are on a further warning for breaching The Standard policy – telling an author what to write.

      And I’m sending your comment to moderation for another moderator to consider whether you should be on auto moderation for arguing the point with me on this.]

      Apology accepted. I will release you comments from moderation

      • framu 18.2.1

        you – “Karol there is zero evidence for anything Turei has said in her speech”

        karol – “Try reading the post, the speeches referred to, some of the comments above, and the evidence supplied in links, etc. It’s tiresome to keep replying to the same line of argument, based on no evidence.”

        yeah – problem is karol is asking you to look at the supporting material – and your still only looking at the speech

        and your repeating the EXACT SAME ARGUMENT that has already been discussed upthread

        thats why theres frustration – not because of an opposing view, but because its a repetition that ignores the previous discussion

        • Robert Alexander 18.2.1.1

          I’ve read Kennedy Graham’s speech. I read it before my first comment. He made a good case for why we need to debate the issue more. He spoke of UN charter clauses and rhetorical questions. I have no problem with further debate. Yet when it came to claiming why ISIS had not yet reached a threat level for us to engage he offered no evidence. Not once in his speech did he acknowledge what is happening in Iraq or the influence of ISIS over radical people in western nations. He did not connect humanitarian aid to ending the threat of ISIS. If he has and I’ve missed it then by all means quote him for me.

          “not because of an opposing view, but because its a repetition that ignores the previous discussion”, yep my comment is on the whole consistent with other posters, who have also asked how humanitarian aid would end the ISIS conflict. The answer to those posts has largely been of the line. “Do more research”. Which implies that the answer is obvious. Clearly it’s not, or else someone at some point even once would have answered the question.

          I’ll pose mine again. Who are the enlightened leaders Turei referenced in her speech? and what are they doing?

          • karol 18.2.1.1.1

            It’s not a good idea to argue with moderating comments, but it is a banning offence to tell authors on TS what to write. Your last comment has been sent to moderation for that reason.

            It was your opening smear about Turei being deluded that prompted my original moderating comment. I had already warned others abotu it, and was warning you as well.

            Kennedy Graham asks for more evidence that employing troops in the area will stop ISIL. Neither the UN, the US and Allies, nor John key or any of his ministers have been willing or able to do that.

            Allied to that, is the very real likelihood that the kind of actions the US and allies are planning, will just make matters worse.

            Lynn (LPrent) above gives a very good outline of the problems (from someone well informed on military procedures).

            Humanitarian support is not meant to bring an end the conflict. Commenters above weren’t asking that. They were asking about who would provide tha aid, and how they could do it without being in extreme danger from ISIL.

            Kennedy Graham clearly says that the way forward is through diplomacy, because it is a political problem. He says NZ could also provide some supporting humanitarian aid.

            Several commenters above have pointed out that the military solutions already applied in Iraq in the last decade, have not solved the problems of tensions in the region. ISIL has grown as Al Qeada has weakened. The US and allies keep attacking one despot or brutal organisation in the area, merely to see another one take its place. Commenters above have linked to some examples of that.

            None of the people who keep asking about humanitarian aid, or who oppose the Greens position, have given any evidence that a military solution will work against ISIL.

            The Greens, and other opposition MPs are saying more consideration needs to be given to the causes of the problems.

            As Lynn points out, a military solution has to be done in a particular kind of way to be successful. And what do you do about this kind of situation:

            Those militias in the area that who could have easily controlled ISIS (they have done it before before the US withdrawal) were pissed off enough at what “their” government had done to them, that they simply stood aside. That they preferred having ISIS running their area rather than Iraqi government backed by the US tells you just about everything you need to know about this conflict.

            This indicates the the West needs to look very carefully at the political tensions in the area, and points to the need for a political solution, of which diplomacy will be a major part.

            NZ has a very good track record at providing humanitarian aid in crises zones, including conflict zones.

          • karol 18.2.1.1.2

            Who are the enlightened leaders Turei referenced in her speech? and what are they doing?

            Well, that would include leaders of countries who are not supporting the US-led coalition against ISIL. And it would include party leaders, or leaders of other organisations who are opposed to the US-led alliance.

            Turei mentions Doug Ollivant in her speech. He

            served as director for Iraq at the National Security Council during the Bush and Obama administrations and is now senior vice president of Mantid International, LLC, a strategic consulting firm that has business interests in the south of Iraq, including security, defense and aerospace clients.

            He says air strikes will work against ISIL when they are on the move. But they won’t work where they are bedded down among civilians, etc. And he doesn’t see anything to be gained by the US putting boots on the ground there. Also, he looks to political solutions:

            But reclaiming territory from ISIS will be another matter altogether. This will require a unified Iraqi effort—Arab and Kurd alike—under a new government with the will, legitimacy and resolve to accept the casualties that a ground offensive will require.

            Also, there are people like, British MP Rushanara Ali, who resigned from the UK Labour Party front bench over the ISIL issue.

            She further said in her letter that misconceived actions by the UK and other countries over the last decade, despite good intentions, had led to too many mistakes and far too many people in conflict zones paid the high price.

            “I appreciate the sincerity of Members of Parliament from all sides of the House who today support military action against ISIL. I know that British Muslims stand united in the total condemnation of the murders that ISIL have committed.”

            “However, there is a genuine belief in Muslim and non-Muslim communities that military action will only create further bloodshed and further pain for the people of Iraq,” she added.

            The leader of the Canadian opposition, Tom Mulcair,also opposed Canada joining the US-led coalition against ISIL.

            In a written statement released after the vote, Opposition Leader Tom Mulcair accused the government of “plunging Canada into a prolonged war without a credible plan to help victims of ISIL terror,” and “opening the door” to getting Canada involved in the “bloody” Syrian civil war.
            […]
            Mulcair’s New Democrats had proposed an amendment to overhaul the motion entirely and switch the focus to supplying arms to local fighters battling ISIS and increasing humanitarian support.
            […]
            “In response to the Conservatives’ ill-defined combat mission, New Democrats laid out a strong alternative action plan that would significantly increase Canada’s humanitarian response to this crisis,” Mulcair said.

            And Canadian Liberal MP Irwin Cotler abstained from voting on the action and,

            released a statement explaining that he feels the government motion is unclear on Canada’s involvement and did not share enough information for MPs to make an informed choice.
            […]
            “In particular — and this is reason enough for me not to support the motion — I am deeply disturbed by the prime minister’s statement that Canada would require the approval of the criminal Assad regime to carry out operations in Syria,” he wrote.

            • Tracey 18.2.1.1.2.1

              I also posted a link to an article yesterday suggesting that rather than demonising iran the west could do worse than examine iran as a model for other islamic states.

              iran is NOT expansionist despite the rhetoric of the west.

              it is an interesting article. I may have posted in the reds under the beds thread.

              there is an elephant in the room. the money made from war.

              cui bono

            • Robert Alexander 18.2.1.1.2.2

              Thanks **Begins reading**

      • Robert Alexander 18.2.2

        Karol: In all honesty I hadn’t read the rules prior to posting, and that initial comment was more emotionally charged than usual. I intended no offence by suggesting that you write an article. Reading the rules now.

        • karol 18.2.2.1

          Apology accepted. Your other comment that is in moderation is addressed to LPrent, in reply to his comment above. LPrent, is Lynn, the sysop who is responsible for most of the running of this site, and pretty much the main moderator. So, I’ll leave it up to him to respond to that comment.

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    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    1 day ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    1 day ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Two bar blues
    The thing about life’s little victories is that they can be followed by a defeat.Reader Darryl told me on Monday night:Test again Dave. My “head cold” last week became COVID within 24 hours, and is still with me. I hear the new variants take a bit longer to show up ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

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

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