Vance on Key’s “crass opportunism”

Written By: - Date published: 4:01 pm, December 16th, 2014 - 75 comments
Categories: john key, journalism - Tags: , ,

75 comments on “Vance on Key’s “crass opportunism” ”

  1. mickysavage 1

    Very well put.

    Interesting that Stuff went the whole 9 yards and added a photo to the tweet.

    Payback time for dirty politics?

    • karol 1.1

      Yep. Saw that tweet and the article. Andrea Vance has become very good at looking critically at surveillance issues.

  2. Paul 2

    From the article
    “Other than furthering his own political ends, his (Key’s) comments were unhelpful and serve only to unnecessarily heighten anxiety in the community.”

    • tc 2.1

      “..heighten anxiety in the community ” is some of the nact’s finest work.

      • Paul 2.1.1

        Contrast our sleazy politicians response with the comments by both Europeans and Australians.

        ‘New Zealand politicians have no direct interests in the cafe tragedy, but it presented an ideal opportunity to champion anti-terror laws, rushed through Parliament last week. As the hostages cowered in the Sydney city-centre cafe yesterday, MP Mark Mitchell was declaring New Zealand’s law changes “100 per cent justified.”
        Just last week, Nils MuiĹžnieks, The Council of Europe commissioner for human rights, offered a compelling counter-view.
        He condemned “secret, massive and indiscriminate” surveillance being undertaken by the Five Eyes intelligence network, of which New Zealand is a part,saying it “cannot be justified by the fight against terrorism or other important threats to national security”.’

        ‘Australia has not seen an immediate backlash in the wake of the siege. Rather, thousands of messages of support were posted online for Muslims.
        Key’s crass opportunism is a jarring contrast to the simple generosity of Australians who adopted #illridewithyou.’

  3. emergency mike 3

    Interesting looking at the comments. Very strongly split over this article. Sadly, the “I for one welcome our all-knowing spy-lords” comments appear to be winning. Along with the ridiculous “Would u rather Key said nothing about it?!?!” false alternative geniuses.

    • Paul 3.1

      Sadly Key’s scaremongering will appeal to an ill informed public fed on a diet of celebrity news, sport and reality T.V. Large swathes of the population have a very poor knowledge of world issues and be scared easily.
      They are easy to manipulate and Key knows this.

  4. Ad 4

    This guy can play the keys of anxious causality like a black grand piano.

  5. Liberal Realist 5

    Good to see NZ has at least one journalist that still retains some sense of critical analysis.

    As soon as I heard about the situation in Sydney I knew that Key and NAct would start beating the ‘anti-terror’ drum and that they did. Beginning with Mitchell feeling vindication for his party as they rammed through the most current round of ‘civil rights removal’. How utterly predictable! And of course the ignorant myopic fools who in turn beat the drum for NAct as coined above by emergency mike – “I for one welcome our all-knowing spy-lords”.

    • Paul 5.1

      Wasn’t Mitchell the Nat whom Lusk and Slater got placed in a safe seat, mentioned in Dirty Politics?

      • Liberal Realist 5.1.1

        Correct. Lusk & Slater were implicated in manipulating the Rodney candidate selection in Mitchell’s favour. Mitchell was also in the thick of DP and threatened defamation proceedings against Nicky Hager. His offices in Wellington were also broken into and a number of items taken. It is also alleged that this personal email was hacked.

        • One Anonymous Bloke 5.1.1.1

          Who cares what Mitchell asserts happened? His threatened defamation proceedings amounted to precisely jack shit, eh. Not to mention his mercenary ethics.

      • saveNZ 5.1.2

        Mercenary Mitchell paid Slater to get his safe Nat seat in parliament. They manipulated the National selection process and MSM to get him in. Now Mad Mitchell is putting our terror laws through. I’m scared already. So good that we have politicians of such moral standards creating our laws. NOT.

        • Paul 5.1.2.1

          Mercenary.

          ‘Mitchell worked for eight years as a private security contractor and spent time in Iraq, including the siege of the Italian-run An Nasiriyah compound in Southern Iraq by the Mahdi militia in 2004.’

          Sounds ugly.

          • One Anonymous Bloke 5.1.2.1.1

            “After leaving the police, Mitchell worked for eight years as a private security contractor and spent time in Iraq.”

            Wikipedia.

            As though monetising an illegal war wasn’t enough shame to bring upon his family, he now cites and derives further profit from his experiences in much the same way as Haron Monis quoted God.

            • Paul 5.1.2.1.1.1

              The more you read about him, the more you are appalled.
              Making money out of misery.
              As the heading of this thread says, crass opportunism….but much worse.
              And this is the guy who promoted our new spy laws.
              Horrible.

              Here’s Mitchell’s bio. Through the gloss of the SST article, given what happened in Iraq, this is not a nice read.

              ‘British kidnap and ransom risk-management firm Control Risks had been contracted by the British government to set up the security programme for the interim coalition government in Iraq. Someone he knew worked there and wanted Mitchell on board. His job would be to protect the diplomats and officials working for the interim government.
              “It seemed like an interesting opportunity, and there was this sense of history in the making. What was happening in the Middle East was having a pretty profound effect on the rest of the world.”
              Mitchell faced daily threats at the Coalition Provisional Authority Government base in An Nasiriyah, in southern Iraq.
              The work involved transporting government officials to meetings around the country and protecting the sites where they lived. He was shot at, and his vehicles were blown up in roadside bomb attacks, but he was proud that no-one was hurt or killed on his watch.
              In 2004 he did a stint training Iraqi security forces, including the National Guard and police, in crisis management, before deciding to go home for good.
              BUT THE draw of the Middle East and the work pulled him back. The next call was from the Kuwait global logistics firm supplying food to the military forces in Iraq.
              Agility Logistics was being targeted by Al Qaeda and the militia, and many staff were killed. They wanted Mitchell to improve security.
              “Security was being subcontracted and I discovered fairly early on that when the heat was on, our people weren’t a priority. One week, we lost 32 staff.”
              So the company set up subsidiary Threat Management Group to take security in-house. As CEO and shareholder, Mitchell grew the company from eight staff to about 500 in the first year.
              The quality of their work soon won them top-level contracts, including protecting crucial infrastructures like ports, and keeping supply chains open.
              Mitchell also became adept at kidnap and ransom negotiations, dealing with more than 100 hostage negotiations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and Darfur.’

              • vto

                Sounds like Mitchell is the danger to innocent people.

                • Paul

                  Has certainly made a lot of money out of other people’s misfortune.
                  Most people saw the Iraq war as either a crime or a tragedy.
                  Mitchell saw it as an interesting opportunity.
                  Horrible.

              • One Anonymous Bloke

                I have great respect for hostage negotiators, and there’s a big difference between a hostage negotiator and a quasi-military communications officer, whose job it is to smooth the path for his paymasters.

  6. Whateva next? 6

    Right from the start it was clear this man is not an organised terrorist, and spying on people has not stopped his actions either, nor will spying on people resolve this divide that is creating further disenfranchisement of lonely lost individuals.
    Rhetoric from Key will increase threat from other lonely lost people who would rather go down in a blaze of glory than be utterly irrelevant

    • Paul 6.1

      We’ve discovered the lengths the Americans went to get to go to war in Iraq in 2003. Sadly, Key seems determined for NZ to be going in 2014.

  7. stargazer 7

    also, we can see the 2-track approach working again. mr key tries to be the reasonable moderate, while kiwiblog & whaleoil spew out the hatred so that the PM doesn’t have to sound like john howard or tony abbott (although the latter has managed to be reasonably restrained in the last couple of days).

    i’m so glad ms vance has at least called mr key out for his nonsense. there is not a single measure in the countering terrorist fighters act that would have prevented this situation.

    • Paul 7.1

      Two track also occurring with surplus.
      It’s a blow to Bill English.
      ‘But Finance Minister Bill English was this morning still clinging to the hope Treasury is wrong ..’

      While Key gets mentioned in the following way when he quoted.
      “”For one thing inflation is running at a much lower level than was anticipated. That affects the Crown’s revenue. That’s actually a good news story for New Zealanders because it means their dollars are going further and their pay rises are more meaningful but it does have an impact on our income.”

      English is the incompetent one.
      Key cares about ordinary Kiwis.

      And our compliant corporate media allows his spin merchants to frame their stories in this way.

    • Paul 7.2

      Two track also occurring with surplus.
      It’s a blow to Bill English.
      ‘But Finance Minister Bill English was this morning still clinging to the hope Treasury is wrong ..’

      While Key gets mentioned in the following way when he quoted.
      “”For one thing inflation is running at a much lower level than was anticipated. That affects the Crown’s revenue. That’s actually a good news story for New Zealanders because it means their dollars are going further and their pay rises are more meaningful but it does have an impact on our income.”

      English is the incompetent one.
      Key cares about ordinary Kiwis.

      And our compliant corporate media allows his spin merchants to frame their stories in this way.

    • Tracey 7.3

      Plus one

  8. Clean_power 8

    I disagree: it is a badly written piece with more than enough clichĂŠs.
    [deleted]

    [lprent: I’m really not interested in having insinuation trolling reappear on this site. That appears to be the speciality of the sewer. Go back there. Banned for 3 months. ]

    • Tracey 8.1

      I guess you missed the bit where the Australian police say they are not convinced he was a terrorist. But what would they know compared to john “brain fade” key.

      • One Anonymous Bloke 8.1.1

        Dear Leader is 100% correct at all times, especially when he corrects his statements.

    • One Anonymous Bloke 8.2

      So, nothing substantive, and then a personal attack.

      Are you trying to embody the least charitable caricature of what it means to be right wing?

      • Clean_power 8.2.1

        [deleted]

        [lprent: see above. ]

        • Paul 8.2.1.1

          Seems totally irrelevant to the content of her article., which you have it addressed at all, apart from a critique of her writing style.
          Could you actually debate the issue, not attack the messenger?

        • Once wasTim 8.2.1.2

          “……….it is only an indication of her bias and pro-Labour stance.”
          Christ Almighty @ Clean Power. Next you’ll be telling us the lady dressed in couch upholstery business suits is biased towards ‘the Left’.

          Actually, I’m surprised no one has seen that little connection when Labour was leaking like a sieve (amongst the glitterati and well connected legends-in-their-own-minds).

          • Paul 8.2.1.2.1

            Clean power has done the necessary stirring.
            Will be back getting next orders as we speak.

            • Once wasTim 8.2.1.2.1.1

              Yep …. no doubt. Even the handle “Clean Power” looks to me like a pathetic and naive attempt at appealing to a “Left”. A classic CT instruction.
              A bit like that Jamie Lee after morning prayers, and just before he’s due to appear on Firstline – of course after Jacinda has shaved his back and made sure that pesky body hair doesn’t appear above the starched collar line. (Because she’s just such a nice regular gal and she’s succumbed to that ‘family’ known as parly arment – it pays the bills)

              I’ve no right to question, however (as a casual interloper on this site) it does amuse me at times the tolerance of the obvious txxxxs, as does the duplicate posters. I’m sure the Xprents are aware as well. So far though, their expertise in separating such things of where and how they post eludes anything technical that can be applied.

              But @ Paul …. it’s the era of the risk society – in which ‘the bleeding obvious’ is dead. (That is, right up until the time it bites them in the bum)

              • Paul

                The era of the risk society.
                Please expand…don’t really get what you mean.

                • Once wasTim

                  @ Paul.
                  I’ve now lost my train of thought (having had to depart our conversation for a while) but at the time I was thinking along the lines of how all risk has to be managed such that it becomes a spin merchant’s paradise: when there is the risk of emperor’s being perceived to have no clothes – the spin merchants and dirty politics kick in, and where basic honesty and being up front gets left behind.
                  The risk managers (such as the Clean Powers, The Blubbers and the Jamie Lees are at the ready to try and counter anything unfavourable. Ahhhh, but its all ok eh? – because “both sides do it”

        • One Anonymous Bloke 8.2.1.3

          Wow, you are trying to embody the least charitable caricature of what it means to be right wing: the querulous tone, more concerned by my skewering your shite ethics than you are in articulating the substance of your own ‘argument’.

          Not that you’ve even managed to get to Vance’s arguments yet.

          Think of me as base camp, gimp.

    • Paul 8.3

      You would think that.
      Members of cults lose the ability to think critically.
      However, cheer up. People have managed to escape the Moonies.
      You can leave the cult of Key too and return to sanity.

    • BM 8.4

      According to David Garrett [deleted].

      You can’t really take Vance seriously.

      [r0b: You’re a filthy piece of work BM. Banned until the new year.]

      [lprent: I do take Vance seriously. She has a pretty good record as a journalist – even when I disagree with her.

      On the other hand, David Garrett has about as much credibility as any other lawyer who has admitted that he deliberately lied to a court, been censured by the law society, and is an active participant in the sewer. He is, in my opinion, just another dishonourable misogynist prick who routinely shades the truth. For instance in his speeches on the effects of 3 strikes legislation.

      It wouldn’t surprise me if he is just lying. He really is that kind of disgusting arsehole. (And for the charming slimeball Garrett, lprent == Lynn Prentice, and I’ve never been “anonymous”. Nor is anyone else on this site).

      Banned for a further 6 months for using him as a source on our site. ]

  9. Grantoc 9

    Andrea’s opinions are very likely to be influenced by her own experience of the spying agencies when she was exposed exchanging emails with Peter Dunne.

    This means in my opinion that she is more critical than most commentators of the spy agencies and their masters. This leads to her to be an incisive analyst on these matters, but I also wonder if she allows a degree of bitterness to cloud this insight and her judgement.

    She is too strident and critical at times which I suspect alienates a large proportion of the population (if they bothered to read her). For instance I thought that Key’s comments on the Australian situation were pretty mild overall.

    However she has a point of view and she is entitled to express it of course.

    But I reckon that hers will be a minority view on this specific incident in Sydney.

    • framu 9.1

      ” For instance I thought that Key’s comments on the Australian situation were pretty mild overall.”

      so using the deaths of innocent people at the hands of a lone gunman, who was known to authorities, and who wouldnt have been affected by any kind of new anti terror law (as he wasnt operating in secret) to ramp up fear of a terrorist attack, a totally separate type of incident, in nz in order to justify your anti democratic spying laws is mild to you?

      jesus wept – key is using the deaths of australians in a hostage situation to stoke the fires of fear and justify his actions – thats some sick shit

      • Grantoc 9.1.1

        To the extent that they were stoked, ‘the fires of fear’ were stoked by the incident itself.

        I doubt that Key’s comments had much influence at all. For one thing they were pretty much drowned out by the constant news feeds on the incident. Key’s opinions on the matter were marginalised.

        It probably suits your agenda to ‘stoke’ Key’s comments for your own ‘political’ gain. ‘Thats some sick shit’.

        • framu 9.1.1.1

          grow up grantoc and stop being a dick

          im discussing what key did in response to the event – it was sick, immature and ignorant. He WAS attempting to put more fuel on the fire to justify his actions on utterly unrelated laws

          And on what idiot planet to we judge the severity of someones comments by the general tone already at play?

          Where does that happen?

          If a bunch of people are talking about killing someone and the PM goes “yeah me too” do we then just say that because others said it its hunky dory?

  10. Clemgeopin 10

    Prime Minister Tony Abbott says;

    The Sydney siege gunman was not on any government terror watch lists despite having a long criminal history, mental instability and an “infatuation with extremism”

    Speaking in Sydney on Tuesday after laying flowers at a spontaneous memorial for the victims at Martin Place, Abbott said Monis was well known to federal and NSW police and ASIO, but “I don’t believe that he was on a terror watch list”.

    “If I can be candid with you, that is the question that we were asking ourselves around the national security committee of the cabinet today,” Abbott said.

    This begs the question:

    What is the point in all of us losing our freedom and privacy for warrant-less surveillance when these sort of attacks can not be stopped any way!

  11. Iron Sky 11

    KNOW YOUR RISK: DEATH BY MURDER, not tooo much terrorism… just poor people, killing poor people perchance because of shit economic policy:

    http://www.aic.gov.au/statistics/homicide.html

    Homicide statistics
    Over the past 18 years (1 July 1989 to 30 June 2007), the rate* of homicide incidents decreased from 1.9 in 1990-91 and 1992-93 to the second-lowest recorded rate, of 1.3, in 2006-07. *rate per 100,000 population.

    Murder is the predominant charge and has been throughout the 18-year data-collection period. In 2006-07, there were 230 murder charges, 28 manslaughter charges, one infanticide charge, and one unknown. The type of charge against an offender may change once the incident proceeds through the judicial process.

    In 2006-07, there were 260 homicide instances, involving 266 victims and 296 offenders.

    Note: The majority of homicide data presented below is derived from two main sources with different data collection cycles. The charts and tables derived from the Institute’s National Homicide Monitoring Program data set is collected on a financial year cycle. The other charts and tables are based on ABS data which is collected on a calendar year cycle.

  12. A Voter 12

    Our latest industry confirmed “The terrorist industry ” will take precedence over all other financial commitments of the govt
    WHAT are we fighting for dont give a damn next stop Iraq land
    Put down your books pickup a gun we goin to have a whole fun
    WE know how that turned out last time
    Maybe a national protest for NEUTRALITY would be the sanest thought for the next 3 yrs

  13. D'Esterre 13

    @ Grantoc: “This leads to her to be an incisive analyst on these matters, but I also wonder if she allows a degree of bitterness to cloud this insight and her judgement.”

    Bitterness: scarcely surprising, were that the case, given what happened to her at that time. Seems to me that her reporting on matters to do with the PM beforehand was, like most of the MSM, largely uncritical. That certainly isn’t so now.

    “But I reckon that hers will be a minority view on this specific incident in Sydney.”

    Ha! Seen or heard the commentary today? Famous last words, as the saying goes….

  14. saveNZ 14

    Monis was wanted in Iran and was asked to be extradited by the Iranian government 15 years ago.

    http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-30502094

    So he was wanted in Iran, out on bail for being implicated in murdering his wife and had apparently 50 charges against him for sexual violence?

    I think Key is talking porkies yet again.

    Far from being some Iranian terrorist – he was wanted in Iran for Fraud but the Australian government refused to hand him over.

    Yep maybe they share the same flawed intelligence as the GCSB and SIS and NSA.

    Someone which is (normally the government) needs to hold these spy agencies accountable. Far from protecting people they seem to be making poor judgements again and again.

    • Tracey 14.1

      In fairness some people from Iran wanted for crimes allegedly committed in that country are genuine refugees and in need of protection from extradition back.

  15. Sable 15

    Oh Keys wont be on his own. Old phony Tony will be getting as much mileage out of this as he can too.

    The reality is the whole terrorist policy that has been crafted around the Middle East as started by the UK and continued by Washington is one of racism and war engineered to justify pretty blatant resource theft.

    The result of course is radicalism on the part of anyone who feels affronted by this. The tragedy in Sydney is one expression of this on the part of a man who sounds like he had considerable issues but it is by no means isolated; the bombings in the US/UK/Spain.

    Sadly there will no doubt be more to follow from unbalanced individuals and possibly groups of radicals if governments around the world insist on towing the official US line.

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

  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    8 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 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
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    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. ...
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  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
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