Tweets from a Donald Trump meeting

Written By: - Date published: 7:30 am, June 17th, 2016 - 88 comments
Categories: International, the praiseworthy and the pitiful, us politics, you couldn't make this shit up - Tags:

Donald Trump make America great again

Good twitter is an art form. Jared Yates Sexton, an American writer is one of the better exponents of the art.

He recently attended a Donald Trump meeting and tweeted the experience.

Here they are (H/t politicalscrapbook.net). Read them and be concerned.

88 comments on “Tweets from a Donald Trump meeting ”

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  1. vto 1
    17 June 2016 at 7:36 am

    holy shit

    as expected but still surprising and scary

    what to do?
    what to do?

    can’t sit and do nothing
    can’t sit and do nothing

    • Colonial Viper 1.1
      17 June 2016 at 10:10 am

      Democrats can cure Trump easy. They can put in Bernie Sanders as candidate, and Bernie will kill Trump at the polls by double digits.

      Or they can go with the establishment status quo Clinton, and give Trump every chance at the White House.

      What will it be Democrats?

  2. linda 2
    17 June 2016 at 8:16 am

    Sounds like the last bays of empire falling apart from the inside

  3. Fustercluck 3
    17 June 2016 at 8:17 am

    I used to wonder what it was like to live in Germany in the thirties as the Nazis ascended to power. Now I know.

    • Rosie 3.1
      17 June 2016 at 11:25 am

      The tweeter himself said it was Nuremberg rally level crazy, as much as he didn’t like to use the comparison.

      It really is something that does need to be compared and studied however, by sociologist’s, if it hasn’t already.

      • BM 3.1.1
        17 June 2016 at 11:29 am

        And you believe every word do you?, don’t think he may have used a bit of artistic licence to make it a bit more exciting for his targeted audience?

        • Macro 3.1.1.1
          17 June 2016 at 12:27 pm

          Have you been to the states recently?
          I went a couple of years back and from the moment I entered I couldn’t wait to leave. There is an undercurrent of hate and fear, the like of which I have never experienced anywhere else.

          • BM 3.1.1.1.1
            17 June 2016 at 12:52 pm

            Me personally, No.

            My partner though, spent a week there about a month or so back, according to her the Americans she dealt with were some of the nicest people she’s ever met.

            She did say the people in charge of security at airports and public buildings were terrifying, lots of guns and full on “you look like a terrorist to me” faces.

            Most of the Americans she met said they were rather disheartened by the political choices on offer with many saying they had no idea who to vote for, so probably wouldn’t vote.

            • weka 3.1.1.1.1.1
              17 June 2016 at 12:55 pm

              Would she vote for Trump?

            • Macro 3.1.1.1.1.2
              17 June 2016 at 2:44 pm

              That is definitely true. I met some very good people – and my daughter who was once stranded at LA airport whilst a humungous blizzard was blowing on the eastern sea board ( she was on her way to NY) was given royal treatment by some people with whom she stood in line and shared her gum. They saw that she was accommodated (8 bed mansion and private box at the ice hockey) while the she waited for a plane to cross the continent.
              I was there when the ebola scare was in full flight – one only had to turn on tv or listen to the radio to hear “OMG! we are all going to die!” on and on it went day after day.
              My cousin whom I was visiting (now American Citizen) has a son-in-law who is one of those gun carrying “you look like a terrorist” people at the LA airport and he is a very good person too. But still he runs a check of all the kids in the neighbourhood. etc. Underneath the layer of normality there is a tension. Why do police forces around the country need armed personnel carriers?
              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klgprtvi_X8
              Why do supposedly sane politicians pose for their christmas photograph toting guns?

        • Rosie 3.1.1.2
          17 June 2016 at 12:44 pm

          I’ve no reason to doubt the tweeters report BM, unbelievably shocking as it. If you didn’t know trump and his crazy supporters you’d think it was a fiction.

          This time around I’m not following the American Presidential campaign, just too tired and fed up. However what I’ve seen of Trump and his rallies just on two chanels of news and on RNZ I do believe the man is deluded and confused but has been charismatic enough to tap into a deep vein of hatred and anger in a disillusioned America, which he has used to his advantage.

          The reports of the tweeter are compatible with all other news reports in terms of the rhetoric but more personal.

          I would be feeling extremely anxious if I were living in America right now, especially if I were anything other than WASP.

          • Draco T Bastard 3.1.1.2.1
            17 June 2016 at 1:16 pm

            I would be feeling extremely anxious if I were living in America right now, especially if I were anything other than WASP.

            QFT

        • Draco T Bastard 3.1.1.3
          17 June 2016 at 1:12 pm

          No, he wasn’t using artistic license. A lot of the same deprivation applies in the US as applied in 1930s Germany that allowed Hitler to rise to power. We really are seeing the same process again.

          It’s what happens under capitalism when the rich and powerful take and take and take.

  4. Kelly-Ned 4
    17 June 2016 at 8:18 am

    Unbelievable.
    I am speechless.
    How can a large group of people be so mindless?

  5. Ad 5
    17 June 2016 at 8:19 am

    Politics is the entertainment industry for ugly people.

    When is ugly right?
    When is it on balance better to be ugly for the renewal of democracy?
    Did we want these kind of people to finally wake up?
    Is the left just jealous that they don’t have their own populist Lenin-scale demagogue?

    Or is the polis burning civility away deep into the molten core of irrational id too much for us?

    Seeing this set of texts on the same day as a British MP is shot dead tells us at least that politics is no mere exchange of arguments on a stage or tv interview set. It’s life and death.

    And the last thing we should do is to be tempted to form counter-militias, counter-demagogues, and dive swan-like backwards into that same molten core. Down that path, we may as well become ISIS.

    This is not a left-right contest anymore. This is a contest against rage.

    • weka 5.1
      17 June 2016 at 8:25 am

      These kind of people? What do you mean?

      • Ad 5.1.1
        17 June 2016 at 8:57 am

        The kind of people identified by the tweets in the Trump rally.

        • weka 5.1.1.1
          17 June 2016 at 9:14 am

          Such as? I don’t see the tweets identifying certain kind of people, I see it identifying behaviours. Making people who vote Trump ‘other’ is part of the problem I think.

          • Ad 5.1.1.1.1
            17 June 2016 at 9:39 am

            Sexton’s quotes were quite specific to specific people, and from the crowd generally, making specific comments. Which as you could see clearly was what I was referring to. And yes, those kind of people are generating a whole bunch of ‘otherness’.

            • weka 5.1.1.1.1.1
              17 June 2016 at 10:14 am

              Specific people are individuals, not ‘kinds of people’. Despite you believing that who you were referring to is clear, you still won’t say what you meant so I will assume you are referring to conservative working class people.

              Trump supporters are creating ‘otherness’. And if we other them as well, what happens next?

              • Ad …
                17 June 2016 at 11:52 am

                What I was referring to, very precisely, was what was identified in the tweets, which was what I named clearly in 5.1.1.

                You’d best direct your incomprehensible question to Jared Yates Sexton.

                • weka …
                  17 June 2016 at 12:26 pm

                  Yeah but you won’t say what you perceived was identified in the tweets. I saw a bunch of behaviours being named. You saw ‘kinds of people’ but won’t way what you mean by that.

                  If by ‘kinds of people’ you are saying you mean people who wear Trump t-shirts, I’m not sure that that has any meaning.

                  • Lanthanide …
                    17 June 2016 at 12:53 pm

                    The kinds of people who exhibit those behaviours.

                    Clearly there are two sets of people: those that exhibit the behaviours, and those that don’t.

                    Trying to boil it down to “working class people” is stupid, because the working class set of people are orthogonal to those two sets: some of them will fall into the “don’t exhibit” set, and others will fall into the “do exhibit set”.

                    So don’t try and boil it down any further than what was already said – the people who exhibit those behaviours – because it doesn’t make any sense to try to break it down further.

                    • weka …
                      17 June 2016 at 12:54 pm

                      In this case, conservative working class people then, right?

                    • Lanthanide …
                      17 June 2016 at 1:06 pm

                      @weka:
                      No.

                    • weka …
                      17 June 2016 at 1:34 pm

                      Did you edit your previous comment? It helps if you state that you have edited, because I didn’t see the bits about working class when I replied.

                      I think calling ‘those kinds of people’ the ones exhibiting certain behaviours is a cop out. It’s still an othering.

                    • Lanthanide …
                      17 June 2016 at 2:29 pm

                      Yes, it is an othering, if you are in the set of people who don’t exhibit those kinds of behaviours, and the people you are talking about are in the set of people who exhibit those kinds of behaviours.

                      Just like saying “black people” is othering if you’re a white person.

                    • weka …
                      17 June 2016 at 3:57 pm

                      that’s not what othering means Lanth.

                    • Lanthanide …
                      17 June 2016 at 4:36 pm

                      @weka,
                      Then I don’t believe this is othering, it’s simply stating a fact.

                      There exist people in the world that exhibit a certain set of behaviours, call this set A. There exist people in the world that don’t exhibit those behaviours, call that set B.

                      I don’t think it’s ‘othering’ to make a statement of fact – set A exists. If you are a member of set B, that might be ‘othering’. You’re saying it’s not.

  6. weka 6
    17 June 2016 at 8:22 am

    I’m not surprised, this is why some of us have been saying that despite Clinton being evil, Trump being president is worse. Trump could change the US in ways that would take generations to recover from. And bear in mind what he and that would be like in the coming decade of global instability, increasing extreme weather emergencies and resource depletion.

    That second to last tweet is the stand out for me. Yes, disenfranchisement is a big part of the picture, but so is the worst of humanness being actively encouraged. He’s fanning the flames of every bullying, racist, misogynist, homophobic etc sentiment he can find and then he is encouraging violence and repression. Intentionally.

    • Anne 6.1
      17 June 2016 at 11:11 am

      Spot on weka!

    • Lanthanide 6.2
      17 June 2016 at 1:01 pm

      But you can also look at it from the other angle – desperate times call for desperate measures. Hitler was popular because of Germany’s diminished presence in the world.

      I don’t think America is really in “desperate times” – yet. But if we’re right about the coming global instability, then America could be in desperate times in the mid 20’s. So Trump, or someone like him, could sweep to power then, even if he loses in 2016.

      But, if we elect Trump now in 2016, and it’s a disaster (as we suspect it would be), then that might prevent an even bigger disaster occurring in 2024 when Trump-lite runs and wins, after 2 terms of Hillary.

      Or to boil it down, a demagogue president like Trump may be an inevitability for America in the next 2 decades. It is probably better that we have such a president sooner, so Americans can “get it out of their system” and learn from their mistakes, rather than later, when the demagogue would be likely to do more damage.

      Purely fantasy conjecture of course.

      • BM 6.2.1
        17 June 2016 at 1:06 pm

        Donald Trump is currently 70, can’t see him being too much of a force in the mid 20’s.

        • Lanthanide 6.2.1.1
          17 June 2016 at 1:07 pm

          I did say “someone like Trump” or “Trump-lite”.

          The other point for a future Trumpian president, is that should Trump fail to win now, it won’t because he didn’t energise a lot of American voters – it will be because he didn’t get a majority of the votes.

          So a future candidate can look at this campaign, dissect the entrails and work out what it was that Trump did wrong, and what things he did well, and use that information to make a better run for the presidency.

          One thing fivethirtyeight has already highlighted is that Trump seems to be very disparaging of data-mining and on the ground get-out-the-vote organising. So that’s a fairly easy thing for a future candidate to understand, and correct.

        • Grant 6.2.1.2
          17 June 2016 at 1:24 pm

          How old was Reagan when he left office? How old is Mugabe?

      • weka 6.2.2
        17 June 2016 at 1:14 pm

        That’s based on Clinton not doing anything to address white working class issues in her first term right?

        I get the argument. I suppose mine would be that if Trump wins now he could do so much damage in 4 years that the idea of a democractic election (such as they have in the US) would no longer be real.

      • Psycho Milt 6.2.3
        17 June 2016 at 1:23 pm

        Hitler was popular because of Germany’s diminished presence in the world.

        I’m not someone with a third of the vote can be called “popular.” He only got in because the communists decided they’d rather have a fellow totalitarian ideologue running things than those contemptible democracy-loving “social fascists” of the Social Democratic Party. Trump isn’t going to have that kind of gift served up to him on a plate, thank Christ.

        • Foreign waka 6.2.3.1
          17 June 2016 at 9:10 pm

          Hitler was popular because after the WWI, when the Monarchy was ended (as in most Euro Nations), the Treaty of Versaills has put quite an onus on Germany and albeit the Waimarer Republic, established at the time was able to reform the system, it was the great depression and deflation policies that prepared the road for his success in the 1930 (12 years after WWI). Not that it is ever excusable what Hitler did but everything has context. The first great war,the economic strangulation of the newly established republic and in close succession the great depression, the allied forces blockade that led to around 900 000 of people starving to dead (literally) was what made people cry out for someone to change their plight – and Hitler was the man of the hour. It could have been anybody if the promise would have fit the cry for help.
          As for the Russians involvement, they certainly were – together with the allies, Britain, France and USA.
          http://www.wintersonnenwende.com/scriptorium/english/archives/articles/starvation1919.html

          There is no such situation in the USA today.

          The only similarity I can see is that each individual has the same capacity to be extremely brutal or a humanitarian – upbringing will play a role, but put someone under enough stress and it will be the inner strength that decides the outcome. Fear is a bad adviser.

    • Pat 6.3
      17 June 2016 at 1:27 pm

      “I’m not surprised, this is why some of us have been saying that despite Clinton being evil, Trump being president is worse. Trump could change the US in ways that would take generations to recover from”

      ….and when Hilary is elected all these people and their views will magically disappear?

      • weka 6.3.1
        17 June 2016 at 1:29 pm

        Of course not, why would you ask that?

        • Pat 6.3.1.1
          17 June 2016 at 1:34 pm

          why would I say that?….because Trump is Trump BECAUSE of the support not the other way round.

          Clinton is not change

          Change is what is being incoherently demanded, so Clinton or Trump the problem remains and grows.

          • weka 6.3.1.1.1
            17 June 2016 at 1:52 pm

            Yes, I’m just not sure why you are saying that in response to me or my comments. It doesn’t really appear related (and is a given anyway).

            • Pat 6.3.1.1.1.1
              17 June 2016 at 2:02 pm

              maybe because your strenuous objection to ‘othering’ of Trump supporters inferred that they were simply misled individuals who would somehow see sense if they were led by the right kind of person.

              • weka …
                17 June 2016 at 3:26 pm

                Fuck that, I don’t believe that at all. I thought the fanning the flames analogy was clear enough (you can’t fan flames that aren’t already there, therefore the bigotry already exists). Instead of making assumption about something I say why not check it out? The comments you replied to aren’t even in that subthread, they’re about something else.

  7. Pat 7
    17 June 2016 at 8:40 am

    Trump rally,Yazidi genocide and MP shot…..just another day?

    • vto 7.1
      17 June 2016 at 8:44 am

      well put pat

      clearly not just another day

      clearly signs of particular times

      ignore at peril

      • Pat 7.1.1
        17 June 2016 at 10:04 am

        this is the same world that is going to co-operate on climate change?

        • b waghorn 7.1.1.1
          17 June 2016 at 12:47 pm

          Holy shit that is exactly the conclusion I’ve come too in the the last week or so. No they can’t cooperate.

          • Pat 7.1.1.1.1
            17 June 2016 at 12:51 pm

            not a hope in hell

          • weka 7.1.1.1.2
            17 June 2016 at 3:59 pm

            Remember how the Cold War ended? The fall of the Berlin Wall? The end of apartheid in South Africa?

            Don’t give up hope yet.

            • Pat 7.1.1.1.2.1
              17 June 2016 at 9:21 pm

              you think the cold war ended?….former Yugoslavia ,Crimea and Syria

            • b waghorn 7.1.1.1.2.2
              17 June 2016 at 9:33 pm

              I’ll always hope us humans can evolve past being silly tribal apes. And I’ll keep voting for a positive government.

              • Pat …
                17 June 2016 at 9:38 pm

                evolution is a slow process….if we haven’t got there now we arnt likely to anytime soon.

  8. Greg 8
    17 June 2016 at 9:24 am

    Its a circus for sure, and this is just only the nomination race, the Presidential election is going to be crazier.
    America’s has had its share of fascism, we should’nt be surprised how polarized their politics now is, generational War on Terror, and economic instability.
    NZs political polarization is when Maori get used as a divisive political football,
    Labour and National being as guilty. Helen Clarks Trump moment was in the seabed and foreshore act, and her UN approval CV in the 2007 Tuhoe terrorist camp raids, and police actions against political dissenters and protest groups.

  9. save nz 9
    17 June 2016 at 9:38 am

    That’s 25 years of charter schools in action.

    That’s 35 years of neoliberalism in action.

    That’s 2 trillion dollars spent on the middle east war that did not get spent on ‘making American great’ i.e. domestic spending.

  10. joe90 10
    17 June 2016 at 9:56 am

    Clearing out of Greensboro. Thanks for the retweets and comments. Trump’s candidacy is a virus that needs cured.

    Obligatory.

  11. BM 11
    17 June 2016 at 10:08 am

    Reads like fiction to me.

    Known for our tabloid, muckraking style, stories broken here have featured across the print and broadcast media:

    http://politicalscrapbook.net/about/

  12. Lanthanide 12
    17 June 2016 at 10:12 am

    Only a matter of time until someone does some under cover filming of one of these rallies and it gets global airplay?

    Only a matter of time until someone is seriously injured or killed at one of these rallies?

  13. Colonial Viper 13
    17 June 2016 at 10:12 am

    Thanks to the power elite who have led America down this dead end path. Well done. Now they’re going to try and take the entire planet with them.

    • weka 13.1
      17 June 2016 at 10:35 am

      Yep, and Trump is one of them. The bigots are equally responsible.

      • Colonial Viper 13.1.1
        17 June 2016 at 1:04 pm

        Perhaps but Trump isn’t the power elite. He is the next step down – very wealthy but (previously) with few ties to the real decision makers – the investment bankers, MIC, national security state.

        The power elite are the power holders within institutions like JP Morgan and Lockheed Martin, the NSA and the CIA.

        • weka 13.1.1.1
          17 June 2016 at 1:17 pm

          but only because he didn’t play the game right, right? He’d be one of them if he could. And if he becomes president, he is one of them, he’s in the club. He might be breaking the rules, and he has his own agenda, but I don’t think there is any doubt that he is an authoritarian power monger too. Maybe he is just greedy for a different kind of power.

        • marty mars 13.1.1.2
          17 June 2016 at 1:43 pm

          I don’t see how you can think that trump is some maverick giving it to the man – he is doodoodeep in with them, he is one of them. Very few ties with investment bankers? you have got to be kidding me…

    • Foreign waka 13.2
      17 June 2016 at 9:15 pm

      Astounding that they belief that this war they spread is survivable.

  14. Byd0nz 14
    17 June 2016 at 10:15 am

    Made in America,
    Mad is America,
    Break up of America,
    All is chaos,
    The future looks bright.

  15. riffer 15
    17 June 2016 at 10:44 am

    It’s all looking a little too much like this:

  16. Bob 16
    17 June 2016 at 10:55 am

    This is what happens when a country moves too far to the right and the right wing party tries to distance itself from the opposition.
    Wholly shit, please tell me Trump is purely trying to whip up support and doesn’t actually believe half of the shit coming out of his mouth. If he does and he somehow finds a way to win, I really am concerned about where the US could be heading (as if they weren’t bad enough already).

  17. Rosie 17
    17 June 2016 at 11:23 am

    That was, akshully, very chilling to read. Very frightening in fact. If those tweets are a true account of the rally, and I’ve no reason to doubt they aren’t, then that is incredibly worrying crowd behaviour.

    Aside from the crowd reactions to trump and statements from them I was intrigued and a bit shocked that there were many intoxicated people there. It’s so out of context for a political setting (unless you’re an EDL member, but then again these attendees sound a bit like the American version of EDL) That is so off the hook.

    Out of control.

  18. joe90 18
    17 June 2016 at 11:38 am

    Nothing new under the sun.

    In the 1924 presidential election, the most hyped candidate was an egotistical and fabulously wealthy businessman who many politicians did not believe would really run.

    That man was legendary carmaker Henry Ford, and the resemblance between his political un-career and Donald Trump’s is striking.

    Ford was impulsive, hated experts of any kind, and refused to commit to a platform, specific policies, or even a political party. Instead he ran—for Senate in 1918, and (kind of) for president in 1924—on his reputation as a captain of industry and force of nature.

    “I will move my whole force down [to Washington], then they will know that I have arrived,” Ford declared as he announced his political ambitions. He lambasted incompetent politicians, and his inner circle claimed he would save the “average man” from corrupt elites.

    Summing up Ford’s appeal, a former governor endorsed him as “a builder.” His supporters called him “master of big things.”

    Henry Ford did not want to make America great again in the sense of emulating the past. He hated tradition and claimed to have invented the modern age.

    http://priceonomics.com/henry-fords-campaign-to-make-america-great-again/

  19. Kelly-Ned 19
    17 June 2016 at 11:44 am

    In light of the above tweeted comments the following NZ data result is seriously disturbing (from NZCPR.com)
    I most sincerely hope that 71% of NZers don’t think Trump will be the best President.
    That should be translated to mean that I think Clinton is the best, but maybe she will be the lesser of two evils? Perhaps?

    *In last week’s poll, 71% of readers thought Donald Trump would make the best US President, 21% supported Hilary Clinton, and 8% were unsure.

    *Last week’s feedback can be viewed on the NZCPR.com website.

  20. Bill 20
    17 June 2016 at 11:50 am

    When the deeply dishonest “rational” and “understanding” facade of those arguments as to why we can’t “reasonably” accommodate those immigrants and foreigners that we “all love”, “have nothing against”, “my best mate’s an immigrant” drop away…

    First they ‘reluctantly’ singled out the foreign temp worker.
    First they demonised the rich foreign investor (but not the domestic one).

    And it was all seemed so reasonable at the time…

  21. Rodel 21
    17 June 2016 at 12:41 pm

    I like this from one of the twitter comments.
    “Trump is dangerous he is not making America great. He is making America hate.”

    • Stuart Munro 21.1
      17 June 2016 at 1:54 pm

      It’s a brave rightwinger that awakens Blake’s tiger – or a stupid one.

  22. mary_a 22
    17 June 2016 at 3:37 pm

    A very dark, disturbing, ugly part of history repeating itself it seems, this time in the US!

    We should be concerned.

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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    22 hours ago

  • Gordon Campbell On Israel’s Political Split, And The New Caledonia Crisis
    The split opening up in Israel’s “War Cabinet” is not just between PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his long-term rival Benny Gantz. It is actually a three-way split, set in motion by Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. It was Gallant’s open criticism of Netanyahu that finally flushed Gantz out into the open. ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    23 hours ago

  • After much debate, the Auckland Future Fund was approved. So what should it be used for?
    On Thursday 17 May, the Mayoral Proposal for Auckland’s Long Term Plan 2024-2034 was passed by Auckland Council, 20 to 1. It is set to be formally adopted by the Governing Body at its June 27th meeting. The entire process took 8 hours, with the vast majority of that time ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    1 day ago

  • The State of the Planet with Chlöe & Marama.
    Pakanga o muaTukua, ka ngaroPuritia taku ringaNgaro ana te ara ki pae rauThere's a battle aheadMany battles are lostBut you'll never see the end of the roadWhile you're travelling with meLate yesterday morning I headed to Wynyard Quarter to see Marama Davidson and Chlöe Swarbrick give their pre-budget State of ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago

  • It’s up to Willis now
    Maybe the Prime Minister and his Finance Minister expected the worst, so they mounted a stout defence of the Budget tax cuts to their party faithful at a party conference over the weekend. In turn, they were greeted with applause, which, though it may have been less than wildly enthusiastic, ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago

  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #20
    A listing of 34 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, May 12, 2024 thru Sat, May 18, 2024. Story of the week “The legislation I signed today [will] keep windmills off our beaches, gas in our tanks, and ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago

  • Bernard’s pick ‘n’ mix 6 @ 6:06am on Sunday, May 19
    TL;DR: Here’s six links that stood out to me in the last day in Aotearoa’s political economy to 6:06am on Sunday, May 19:Aotearoa-NZ is the seventh worst in the OECD’s homelessness rankings, just behind the United States and just ahead of Australia. BlackRock thinks rate hikes actually worsen inflation because ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • Lords of the flies
    Halfway up a historic tower in York, we are neither up nor down. At the top you will have views of a city steeped in antiquity, made and remade by Romans, Normans, Vikings, Tescos. Below, you will find a retired minister happy to tell you all about this most astonishing ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago

  • Fact Brief – Does breathing contribute to CO2 buildup in the atmosphere?
    Skeptical Science is partnering with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. This fact brief was written by Sue Bin Park in collaboration with members from our Skeptical Science team. You can submit claims you think need checking via the tipline. Does breathing contribute to CO2 ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Is it time to take the Interislander away from Kiwirail?
    David Farrar writes – The Herald reports: KiwiRail’s seemingly endless requests for more money is damning. At one point, KiwiRail assured Robertson when he was the Finance Minister that the worst-case scenario would be an extra $300 million before requesting $1.2 billion a few months later. Not what most people ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Behind Blue Eyes.
    No one knows what it's likeTo be the bad manTo be the sad manBehind blue eyesNo one knows what it's likeTo be hatedTo be fatedTo telling only liesHave you ever wondered what life must be like for Mike Hosking? Seeing things in black and white through blue tinted specs? In ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Road food
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past two week’s editions.Share More Than A FeildingBike bling, London Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Some Reader Feedback For Your Weekend
    Hi,I think we all made it through another week — congratulations. I’ve been digesting the new Arab Strap record, which is astonishing. In other news, I’m going to be doing a Webworm popup in Auckland, New Zealand on Saturday July 13. I’ll bring a bunch of merch, and some other ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    3 days ago

  • Thinking About the Property Rights in Resource Decisions As Well As Transaction Costs.
    The Fast-Track Approvals Bill enables cabinet ministers to circumvent key environmental planning and protection processes for infrastructure projects. Its difficulties have been well canvassed. This column suggests a different way of thinking about the proposal. I am going to explore the Bill from the perspective of its proponents with their ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Can Shane Jones be trusted in making Fast-track decisions?
    New Zealand First Cabinet Minister Shane Jones has become the best advertisement against the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill. In selling the radical new resource consenting processes, in which ministers can green light any mine, dam, or other major development, Jones seems to be shooting the proposal in the foot. ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago

  • Seymour appeals to PPTA to call off meetings on charter schools – but does he seriously believe he...
    Buzz from the Beehive Associate Education Minister David Seymour is urging the PostPrimary Teachers Association to put learning ahead of ideology. He wants the union leaders to call off their teachers meetings around the country where they hope to muster the strength to undo the government’s plans to establish several ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • Police don’t fight crime
    What are police for? "Fighting crime" is the obvious answer. If there's a burglary, they should show up and investigate. Ditto if there's a murder or sexual assault. Speeding or drunk or dangerous driving is a crime, so obviously they should respond to that. And obviously, they should respond to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • Two central banks
    Michael Reddell writes –  I got curious yesterday about how the Australia/New Zealand real exchange rate had changed over the last decade, and so dug out the data on the changes in the two countries’ CPIs. Over the 10 years from March 2014 to March 2024, New Zealand’s ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • TVNZ hīkoi documentary needs a sequel
    Graham Adams writes that 20 years after the land march, judges are quietly awarding a swathe of coastal rights to iwi. Early this month, an hour-long documentary was released by TVNZ to mark the 20th anniversary of the land-rights march to oppose Helen Clark’s Foreshore and Seabed Act. The account ...
    Point of OrderBy gadams1000
    4 days ago

  • The missing Green MP
    David Farrar writes –  The Herald reports: Suspended Green MP Darleen Tana has passed an unpleasant milestone: she has now been absent for as many parliamentary sitting days as she has been present for this year. Tana is on full pay while she is suspended, and will benefit from a ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • The contest for the future heart and soul of the Labour Party
    Peter Dunne writes –  It is no coincidence that two Labour should-have-been MPs are making the most noise about public sector cuts. As assistant general secretary of the Public Service Association, Fleur Fitzsimons has been at the forefront of revealing where the next round of state sector job ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Lobbying for Waikato’s Medical School causing problems for the Govt
    Bryce Edwards writes –  It’s becoming a classic case study for why lobbying deals with politicians need greater scrutiny. Former National Minister Steven Joyce runs a lobbying company with a major client – the University of Waikato. The University desperately wants $300m+ of taxpayer funding to establish a ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on the psychological horror film Possession
    This is one of the (extra) weekly columns on music or movies. Plenty of solid analyses of Possession exist online and most of them – inevitably – contain spoilers. This column is more in the way of a first-timer’s aid to getting your initial bearings. You don’t need to have ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    4 days ago

  • Portrait of a Man.
    I am painting in oil, a portrait of a manWho has taken all the heart aches,And all the pain he can stand.I am using all the colors of blue,I have here on my stand.I am painting in oil, a portrait of a man.This has been an interesting week for me. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago

  • The Hoon around the week to May 17
    Helen Clark joins the Hoon as a special guest talking whether Aotearoa should join Aukus II, and her views on the fast track legislation and how Luxon and the new Government are performing. File Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Weekly Roundup 17-May-2024
    We’re at the end of another week. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked if the Herald’s poor journalism will cost lives On Tuesday Matt covered Wayne Brown’s proposal for public transport in the Long ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago

  • Rishi’s relaunch
    With an election due in less than nine months, Britain’s embattled PM, Rishi Sunak, gave a useful speech earlier this week. He made a substantial case for his government, perhaps as compelling as is possible in the current environment. Quite an achievement. His overall theme was security, first pulling ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    4 days ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #20 2024
    Open access notables Publicly expressed climate scepticism is greatest in regions with high CO2 emissions, Pearson et al., Climatic Change: We analysed a recently released corpus of climate-related tweets to examine the macro-level factors associated with public declarations of climate change scepticism. Analyses of over 2 million geo-located tweets in the U.S. showed that climate ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • The thrilling possibilities of charter schools
    You can be all negative about these charter schools if you want, but I’m here to accentuate the positive. You can get all worked up, if you want to, by the contradiction of Luxon saying We’re going to make sure that every school in the country is teaching exactly the same ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • This Unreasonable Government.
    Losing The Room: One can only speculate about what has persuaded the Coalition Government that it will pay no electoral price for unreasonably pushing ahead with policies that are so clearly against the national interest. They seem quite oblivious to the risk that by doing so they will convince an increasing ...
    Bowalley Road
    5 days ago

  • Supreme Court weighs in on name suppression
    Name suppression decisions can be tough sometimes. No matter your views on free speech, you have to be hard-hearted not to be torn by the tug of the competing arguments. I think you can feel the Supreme Court wrestling with that in M v The King. The case for ...
    Media Law JournalBy Steven
    5 days ago

  • Is This A “Merchants” Government?
    The Merchants of Menace: The Coalition Government has convinced itself that the “Brahmins’” emollient functions have become much too irksome and expensive. Those who see themselves as the best hope of rebuilding New Zealand’s ailing capitalist system, appear to have convinced themselves that a little bit of blunt trauma is what their mollycoddled ...
    Bowalley Road
    5 days ago

  • This is what corruption looks like
    When National first proposed its Muldoonist "fast-track" law, they were warned that it would inevitably lead to corruption. And that is exactly what has happened, with Resources Minister Shane Jones taking secret meetings with potential applicants: On Tuesday, in a Newsroom story, questions were raised about a dinner Jones ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • Take that, Vladimir – and be warned: we have plenty more sanctions (at least, we hope so) in our ...
    Buzz from the Beehive One day – hopefully – we will push that Russian rascal, Vladimir Putin, beyond breaking point.  Perhaps it will happen today, when he learns that Foreign Minister Winston Peters is again tightening the thumbscrews. Peters announced further sanctions, this time on 28 individuals and 14 entities ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago

  • More Harm Than Good.
    How Labour’s and National’s failure to move beyond neoliberalism has brought New Zealand to the brink of economic and cultural chaos.TO START LOSING, so soon after you won, requires a special kind of political incompetence. At the heart of this Coalition Government’s failure to retain, and build upon, the public ...
    Bowalley Road
    5 days ago

  • The Ombudsman fails again
    In 2020, the Operation Burnham inquiry reported back, finding that NZDF had lied to Ministers and the New Zealand public about its actions in Afghanistan. The inquiry saw a large number of documents declassified and released, which raised another problem: whether they had also lied to the Ombudsman in his ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago

  • No Time To Think: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    “Members of Parliament don’t work for us, they represent us, an entirely different thing. As with so much that has turned out badly, the re-organising of MPs’ responsibilities began with the Fourth Labour Government. That’s when they began to be treated like employees – public servants – whose diaries had ...
    Bowalley Road
    5 days ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Lobbying for Waikato’s Medical School causing problems for the Govt
    It’s becoming a classic case study for why lobbying deals with politicians need greater scrutiny. Former National Minister Steven Joyce runs a lobbying company with a major client – the University of Waikato. The University desperately wants $300m+ of taxpayer funding to establish a third medical school in New Zealand, ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    5 days ago

  • Picking Sides.
    Time To Choose: Like it or not, the Kiwis are either going into AUKUS’s  “Pillar 2” – or they are going to China.HAD ZHENG HE’S FLEET sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks ...
    Bowalley Road
    5 days ago

  • Universities offer course in self-serving cowardice
    Henry Ergas writes –  When in Randall Jarrell’s Pictures from an Institution, a college president is accused of being a hypocrite, the novel’s narrator retorts that the description is grossly unfair. After all, the man is still far from the stage of moral development at which the charge ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • The teacher trainee challenge
    David Farrar writes –  Radio NZ reports: The Education Review Office says too many new teachers feel poorly prepared for their jobs. In a report published on Monday, the review office said 60 percent of the principals it interviewed said their new teachers were not ready. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • Words and (in)actions
    New Zealand’s economic performance and the PM’s vision   Michael Reddell writes –  When I wrote yesterday morning’s post, highlighting how poorly both New Zealand and its Anglo peer countries have been doing in respect of productivity in recent times (ie, in the case of New ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago

  • What do you hope for/fear from the budget?
    Hi all,Firstly - thank you! You guys are awesome. The response I’ve received to last night’s mail has been quite overwhelming. It’s a ghastly day outside, but there are no clouds in here.In case you didn’t read my email and are wondering what on earth I’m talking about you can ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on ACT’s charter schools experiment
    If there was still any doubt as to who is actually running this government – and it isn’t the buffoon from Botany – then this week’s announcement of a huge spend up on charter schools has settled the matter. While jobs and public services continue to be cut in the ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    5 days ago

  • Drought fuels wildfire concerns as Canada braces for another intense summer
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gaye Taylor As widespread drought raises expectations for a repeat of last year’s ferocious wildfire season, response teams across Canada are grappling with the rapidly changing face of fire in a warming climate. No longer quenched by winter, nor quelled by the ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus and pick ‘n’ mix for Thursday, May 16
    Half of Christchurch City Holdings Ltd’s directors and its chair resigned en masse last night in protest at Christchurch City Council’s demand to front-load dividends File Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The chair of Christchurch City Council’s investment company and four of its independent directors resigned in protest last ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago

  • Controversial proposal could threaten coalition
    The University of Waikato has reworded an advertisement that begins the tender process for its new $300 million-plus medical school even though the Government still needs to approve it. However, even the reworded ad contains an architect’s visualisations of what the school might look like. ACT leader David Seymour told ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago

  • Of Rings of Power Annatar, Dramatic Irony, and Disguises
    As a follow-up to the Rings of Power trailer discussion, I thought I needed to add something. There has been some online mockery about the use of the same actor for both the Halbrand and Annatar incarnations of Sauron. The reasoning is that Halbrand with a shave and a new ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago

  • The future of Nick's Kōrero.
    This isn’t quite as dramatic as the title might suggest. I’m not going anywhere, but there is something I wanted to talk to you about.Let’s start with a typical day.Most days I send out a newsletter in the morning. If I’ve written a lot the previous evening it might be ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • The PM promises tax relief in the Budget – but will it be enough to satisfy the Taxpayers’ Union...
    Buzz from the Beehive The promise of tax relief loomed large in his considerations when  the PM delivered a pre-Budget speech to the Auckland Business Chamber. The job back in Wellington is getting government spending back under control, he said, bandying figures which show that in per capita terms, the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Fucking useless
    Yesterday de facto Prime Minister David Seymour announced that his glove puppet government would be re-introducing charter schools, throwing $150 million at his pet quacks, donors and cronies and introducing an entire new government agency to oversee them (the existing Education Review Office, which actually knows how to review schools, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago

  • Setting things straight.
    Seeing that, in order to discredit the figures and achieve moral superiority while attempting to deflect attention away from the military assault on Rafa, Israel supporters in NZ have seized on reports that casualty numbers in Gaza may be inflated … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    6 days ago

  • Far too light a sentence
    David Farrar writes – Newstalk ZB report: The man responsible for a horror hit and run in central Wellington last year was on a suspended licence and was so drunk he later asked police, “Did I kill someone?” Jason Tuitama injured two women when he ran a red ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Unwinding Labour’s Agenda
    Muriel Newman writes –  Former US President Ronald Reagan once said, “Freedom is a fragile thing and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation.” The fight for ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • Sequel to “Real reason Waitangi Tribunal could not summons Chhour”
    Why Courts should have said Waitangi Tribunal could not summons Karen Chhour Gary Judd writes – In the High Court, Justice Isacs declined to uphold the witness summons issued by the Waitangi Tribunal to compel Minister for Children, Karen Chhour, to appear before it to be ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • The Govt’s Fast-Track is being demolished by submissions to Parliament
    Bryce Edwards writes –  The number of voices raising concerns about the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill is rapidly growing. This is especially apparent now that Parliament’s select committee is listening to submissions from the public to evaluate the proposed legislation. Twenty-seven thousand submissions have been made to Parliament ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • A generation is leaving at a rate of one A320-load per day
    An average of 166 New Zealand citizens left the country every day during the March quarter, up 54% from a year ago.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The economy and housing market is sinking into a longer recession through the winter after a slump in business and consumer confidence in ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago

  • NZUP RORS back to life
    The government has made it abundantly clear they’re addicted to the smell of new asphalt. On Tuesday they introduced a new term to the country’s roading lexicon, the Roads of Regional Significance (RoRS), a little brother for the Roads of National (Party) Significance (RoNS). Driving ahead with Roads of Regional ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    6 days ago

  • School Is Out.
    School is outAnd I walk the empty hallwaysI walk aloneAlone as alwaysThere's so many lucky penniesLying on the floorBut where the hell are all the lucky peopleI can't see them any moreYesterday morning, I’d just sent out my newsletter on Tama Potaka, and I was struggling to make the coffee. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago

  • How Are You Doing?
    Hi,I wanted to check in and ask how you’re doing.This is perhaps a selfish act, of attempting to find others feeling a similar way to me — that is to say, a little hopeless at the moment.Misery loves company, that sort of deal.Some context.I wish I could say I got ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago

  • The Rings of Power: Season Two Teaser Trailer
    I have hitherto been fairly quiet on the new season of Rings of Power, on the basis that the underwhelming first season did not exactly build excitement – and the rumours were fairly daft. The only real thing of substance to come out has been that they have re-cast Adar ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    6 days ago

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

  • Talking Reo with the PM
    “The thing is,” Chris Luxon says, leaning forward to make his point, “this has always been my thing.”“This goes all the way back to the first multinational I worked for. I was saying exactly the same thing back then. The name of our business needs to be more clear; people ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • Waitangi Tribunal’s authority in Chhour case is upheld – but bill’s introduction to Parliament...
    Buzz from the Beehive It’s been a momentous few days for Children’s Minister Karen Chhour.  The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court decision which blocked a summons order from the Waitangi Tribunal for her. And today she has announced the Government is putting children first by introducing to ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago

  • Government to rollout roadside drug testing
    The Coalition Government will introduce legislation this year that will enable roadside drug testing as part of our commitment to improve road safety and restore law and order, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.  “Alcohol and drugs are the number one contributing factor in fatal road crashes in New Zealand. In ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    15 hours ago

  • Minister responds to review of Kāinga Ora
    The Government has announced a series of immediate actions in response to the independent review of Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “Kāinga Ora is a large and important Crown entity, with assets of $45 billion and over $2.5 billion of expenditure each year. It ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago

  • Pseudoephedrine back on shelves
    Associate Health Minister David Seymour is pleased that Pseudoephedrine can now be purchased by the general public to protect them from winter illness, after the coalition government worked swiftly to change the law and oversaw a fast approval process by Medsafe. “Pharmacies are now putting the medicines back on their ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago

  • New Zealand-China Business Summit
    Tēnā koutou katoa. Da jia hao.  Good morning everyone.   Prime Minister Luxon, your excellency, a great friend of New Zealand and my friend Ambassador Wang, Mayor of what he tells me is the best city in New Zealand, Wayne Brown, the highly respected Fran O’Sullivan, Champion of the Auckland business ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • New measures to protect powerlines from trees
    Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced that the Government will make it easier for lines firms to take action to remove vegetation from obstructing local powerlines. The change will ensure greater security of electricity supply in local communities, particularly during severe weather events.  “Trees or parts of trees falling on ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • Wairarapa Moana ki Pouakani win top Māori dairy farming award
    Wairarapa Moana ki Pouakani were the top winners at this year’s Ahuwhenua Trophy awards recognising the best in Māori dairy farming. Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka announced the winners and congratulated runners-up, Whakatōhea Māori Trust Board, at an awards celebration also attended by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Finance Minister ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago

  • DJ Fred Again – Assurance report received
    "On the 27th of March, I sought assurances from the Chief Executive, Department of Internal Affairs, that the Department’s correct processes and policies had been followed in regards to a passport application which received media attention,” says Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden.  “I raised my concerns after being ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • District Court Judges appointed
    Attorney-General Judith Collins has announced the appointment of three new District Court Judges, to replace Judges who have recently retired. Peter James Davey of Auckland has been appointed a District Court Judge with a jury jurisdiction to be based at Whangarei. Mr Davey initially started work as a law clerk/solicitor with ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Unions should put learning ahead of ideology
    Associate Education Minister David Seymour is calling on the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) to put ideology to the side and focus on students’ learning, in reaction to the union holding paid teacher meetings across New Zealand about charter schools.     “The PPTA is disrupting schools up and down the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Craig Stobo appointed as chair of FMA
    Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly today announced the appointment of Craig Stobo as the new chair of the Financial Markets Authority (FMA). Mr Stobo takes over from Mark Todd, whose term expired at the end of April. Mr Stobo’s appointment is for a five-year term. “The FMA plays ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • Budget 2024 invests in lifeguards and coastguard
    Surf Life Saving New Zealand and Coastguard New Zealand will continue to be able to keep people safe in, on, and around the water following a funding boost of $63.644 million over four years, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey say. “Heading to the beach for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago

  • New Zealand and Tuvalu reaffirm close relationship
    New Zealand and Tuvalu have reaffirmed their close relationship, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says.  “New Zealand is committed to working with Tuvalu on a shared vision of resilience, prosperity and security, in close concert with Australia,” says Mr Peters, who last visited Tuvalu in 2019.  “It is my pleasure ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • New Zealand calls for calm, constructive dialogue in New Caledonia
    New Zealand is gravely concerned about the situation in New Caledonia, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.  “The escalating situation and violent protests in Nouméa are of serious concern across the Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says.  “The immediate priority must be for all sides to take steps to de-escalate the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • New Zealand welcomes Samoa Head of State
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon met today with Samoa’s O le Ao o le Malo, Afioga Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II, who is making a State Visit to New Zealand. “His Highness and I reflected on our two countries’ extensive community links, with Samoan–New Zealanders contributing to all areas of our national ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Island Direct eligible for SuperGold Card funding
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has announced that he has approved Waiheke Island ferry operator Island Direct to be eligible for SuperGold Card funding, paving the way for a commercial agreement to bring the operator into the scheme. “Island Direct started operating in November 2023, offering an additional option for people ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • Further sanctions against Russia
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters today announced further sanctions on 28 individuals and 14 entities providing military and strategic support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  “Russia is directly supported by its military-industrial complex in its illegal aggression against Ukraine, attacking its sovereignty and territorial integrity. New Zealand condemns all entities and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago

  • One year on from Loafers Lodge
    A year on from the tragedy at Loafers Lodge, the Government is working hard to improve building fire safety, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “I want to share my sincere condolences with the families and friends of the victims on the anniversary of the tragic fire at Loafers ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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