X-KEYSCORE

Written By: - Date published: 9:51 am, September 16th, 2014 - 52 comments
Categories: Spying - Tags: ,

X-KEYSCORE

52 comments on “X-KEYSCORE ”

  1. TheContrarian 1

    Did he say it exists in NZ and that GCSB use it or just that it exists and the GCSB know how to use but don’t currently use it?

    Can anyone who has listened to the interview clarify?

      • TheContrarian 1.1.1

        I would listen to it if I could but not currently in a position to right now which is why I was asking if anyone who had listened could clarify

        • One Anonymous Bloke 1.1.1.1

          Ferguson refers to systems (not by name) that do the things Xkeyscore does, and says that in his time they could only access them (or their equivalent) with a warrant.

          To have a warrant to look at metadata you have to have collected it in the first place.

          • TheContrarian 1.1.1.1.1

            I have had the pleasure of meeting Ferguson a few times – he always seemed like a straight shooter

            • One Anonymous Bloke 1.1.1.1.1.1

              I wonder if he said too much; once he got talking about hypothetical situations he was very revealing.

            • Anne 1.1.1.1.1.2

              I knew him slightly and formed the same opinion TheContrarian. But his labelling of Edward Snowden as ” a traitor” on Morning Report is causing me to revise my opinion of him.

              • Chooky

                +100 Anne

              • Jilly Bee

                He said the same on Campbell Live last evening, actually he called him a criminal as well as a traitor which stopped me in my tracks after mentioning to my husband that I thought Bruce Ferguson was an honourable man. My bad. In fact most of the participants in the Town Hall meeting last evening got that description.

            • Inky 1.1.1.1.1.3

              A lot of people fell for John Key’s smarmy ‘good bloke’ mask, too. Trust Ferguson if you want but making themselves seem trustworthy is just part of how these guys play the game. They seldom break ranks even when they’ve left those ranks and he’s not going to admit too many home truths if he can help it, at least not intentionally. The very fact that he calls Snowden a traitor proves he doesn’t believe the masses have a right to know their own government is spying on them. That makes him a sad deadbeat in my book.

          • lprent 1.1.1.1.2

            To have a warrant to look at metadata you have to have collected it in the first place.

            And that is really what I find objectionable.

            • Tom Gould 1.1.1.1.2.1

              Key wants to know just what do you mean by “objectionable” and can you prove you find it objectionable?

              • McFlock

                obviously it means that a metadata is an object, and ekshully as an object it possible to discern its its locate, and we need a prettier flag…

            • Tracey 1.1.1.1.2.2

              and who can issue the warrant? Why the reliable and oh so truthful Mr key, of course

            • Tom 1.1.1.1.2.3

              “..you have to have collected it…”
              Or someone else collected it for you -NSA?

    • john smith 1.2

      He said he is not able to be specific because of being under oath but that they train in many systems so they are able to use them.

      • Tracey 1.2.1

        is that the oath that enabled his office to release and declassify documents to Slater and do the same for Key yesterday, is that the oath you mean?

  2. The short of it is that John Key basically acted like: “You Want To Spy? You Make The “Business” Plan, I’ll Change The Law!”

    In Holland we have a saying: U vraagt, wij draaien. It essentially stands for: you tell me what you want me to do and I’ll jump. The question is who asked and who did John Key jump for?

    • Draco T Bastard 2.1

      The US oligarchs of course.

    • cogito 2.2

      Seems to me that the NSA are/have been doing in NZ the things that the GCSB are not allowed to do. Easy solution to get around the law and provide cover for Key’s statements…. especially when systems are shared and the US and NZ are both part of the 5 Eyes.

  3. karol 3

    Ryan talks as though CORTEX is the same as SPEARGUN.

    Ferguson does not seem to a very good grasp on contemporary digital technologies.

    • karol 3.1

      And he talks a lot about “protection” being needed for businesses and research and development. Ferguson calls the “protection” being an advance “Norton anti-virus”.

      • Rich 3.1.1

        Yes but in that sort of world they’re talking about the only protection is for the biggest. Small guys won’t get the same access to the data, and small guys might be big fish in a small pond. So totally apart from the outrageous privacy issues for individuals, NZ business and corporate tail waggers might find themselves without a dog.

    • weka 3.2

      What is CORTEX? Somehow I’ve completely missed that.

      • karol 3.2.1

        CORTEX is the system/capability that is refereed to in the cabinet minutes Key released yesterday -explained in Keith Ng’s post.

      • Tracey 3.2.2

        It is supposedly the programme that is key’s evidence we are not all being spied on. It isn’t evidence of that at all, but Key and the media never let pesky things like accuracy get in the way of a good re-election

  4. keith ross 4

    When I watched him (Ferguson) being interviewed by John Campbell, he very much sounded like the old boys club coming to the rescue, except his lack of believability was highly evident to me . I thought that he come across as a very uncomfortable with what he was saying . I find his credibility very low for a “sir”. What did he get the “Sir” for, deceiving and spying on New Zealander’s ? and we are supposed to trust him?
    Not believable.

  5. tricledrown 5

    Ferguson is a spy defending spies with Lies or obfuscation!
    5 eyes is manipulating Democracies they don’t even need to have spying devices on on the pacific cabal leaving New Zealand Australia and the US where the cabal ends up can spy on all Meta data coming and going from their end !
    So Snowden is right Bruce Ferguson might be right as well but given John Key used the GSCB to get info on Dotcom that proves Key is lying through his teeth!
    The Squirm on Keys face as he is asked questions gives it away !
    Keys body language gives it away !

  6. vto 6

    Once a person becomes a spy the genie is out of the bottle and that person can never ever be trusted again.

    Ferguson can never ever be trusted again.

    • TheContrarian 6.1

      Are you suggesting that everyone involved with a spy agency can’t ever be trusted?

      • vto 6.1.1

        everyone who is a spy

        by definition

      • One Anonymous Bloke 6.1.2

        Contrarian, there’s a fundamental paradox at the heart of “intelligence gathering” – it is by definition a military activity – cf. Sun Tzu – yet it is carried out in peacetime, and in its highest form has the expressed purpose of achieving strategic aims whilst avoiding and minimising bloodshed.

        None should be more liberally rewarded. In no other business should greater secrecy be preserved.

        My emphasis.

        Secrecy often requires deception. Too often for the words “trust” and spy” to be happy bedfellows.

      • One Anonymous Bloke 6.1.3

        There’s another paradox at work too: spies are entrusted with secrets and therefore must be very trustworthy and loyal to their employers.

  7. Gruntie 7

    As Snowden said last night – 5 Eyes is not so much an alliance of countries but an alliance of spy agencies – they operate outside the law, with the tacit approval of the PM or President – it is an “old boy network” – and totally predictable that Ferguson will defend and deny any wrong doing – they believe in their mission completely – the good guys v the bad guys.

    • Chooky 7.1

      +100 Gruntie …..”not so much an alliance of countries but an alliance of spy agencies”

      …this is what alarms me…they are not under our democratic control…therefore they are vulnerable to take over by black ops forces and/or a fascist State which is not in New Zealand’s or New Zealanders’ interests

      when you have ethical people like Snowden and others from the inside sounding the warning, we as New Zealanders must listen, vote accordingly and urge our parliament to take action to take back our democratic control

  8. politikiwi 8

    What alarmed me was Ferguson’s definition of “surveillance.” By that definition, it would only be “mass surveillance of New Zealanders” if someone was reading every email and every text message. And that’s clearly an absurd proposition – we know humans aren’t reading our every email, etc, but we know they could if they wanted to. And that’s bad enough.

    Someone needs to ask John Key whether collecting and storing the international communications of New Zealanders qualifies as “mass surveillance” even if they are not accessed. His denials hinge on the interpretation of that term, and if there’s no ambiguity (as he claims) he should be fine with clearing all of that up for us.

    • Tracey 8.1

      Surely once they have “everything” they can use computer filters on specific words or phrases so in that sense they can read everything?

      • McFlock 8.1.1

        the real benefit comes from building a complete and long term archive.

        We already have a pm who declassifies documents to save himself embarrassment, and a national blogger who knows all classified SIS memos concerning opposition members.

        There is a scary possibility that the GCSB simply becomes the National Party’s own rawshark, only instead of one attack they have every email every political opponent sent (or was sent from every political opponent’s machine), not to mention social media etc.

        It’s not the snapshot or one-off analyst query that’s the problem, it’s the full collection.

      • politikiwi 8.1.2

        From a technical perspective it’s likely to be difficult to get only the things you want: In order to identify whether you want to store a particular piece of information, you have to first read the information. That’s a fact. And unlike plain old telephone networks, fibre optic cables are one stream of data so you cannot tap a single line and get only the calls going across that line. You see everything, even if you don’t want to.

        What you *do not* need to do is store the information for any significant period of time. And the word “significant” is important in that context: in order to read the data you first have to store it, but you don’t need to store it for days or weeks – you need only store it for fractions of a second before discarding it.

        It’s very technical, and because it’s true to say “we have to look at everything to get what we need” I think non-technical people are easily fooled into thinking that what’s happening is necessary and proportionate. What Snowden described last night is neither.

        It seems to me that what we need is extremely specific, very detailed legislation to enable the creation of a system which reads everything and discards anything which is not on a list of approved “selectors” (to use their term). The addition of a selector would have to be subject to a warrant, and the addition of approved selectors would be provided to a body independent of the body who manages the collection equipment (maybe the courts). The selectors would be reviewed every days and removed if a case could not be made for keeping them.

        It wouldn’t be hard, would it?

  9. Tracey 9

    wikipedia has this to say about it

    “Data sources

    XKeyscore consists of over 700 servers at approximately 150 sites where the NSA collects data, like “US and allied military and other facilities as well as US embassies and consulates” in many countries around the world.[13][14][15] Among the facilities involved in the program are four bases in Australia and one in New Zealand.[14]

    According to an NSA presentation from 2008, these XKeyscore servers are fed with data from the following collection systems:[16]

    F6 (Special Collection Service) – joint operation of the CIA and NSA that carries out clandestine operations including espionage on foreign diplomats and leaders
    FORNSAT – which stands for “foreign satellite collection”, and refers to intercepts from satellites
    SSO (Special Source Operations) – a division of the NSA that cooperates with telecommunication providers

    In a single, undated slide published by Swedish media in December 2013, the following additional data sources for XKeyscore are mentioned:[17]

    Overhead – intelligence derived from American spy planes, drones and satellites
    Tailored Access Operations – a division of the NSA that deals with hacking and cyberwarfare
    FISA – all types of surveillance approved by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
    Third party – foreign partners of the NSA such as the (signals) intelligence agencies of Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, etc.

    From these sources, XKeyscore stores “full-take data”, which are indexed by plug-ins that extract certain types of metadata (like phone numbers, e-mail addresses, log-ins, and user activity) and index them in metadata tables, which can be queried by analysts. XKeyscore has been integrated with MARINA, which is NSA’s database for internet metadata.[11]

    However, the system continuously gets so much Internet data that it can be stored only for short periods of time. Content data remain on the system for only three to five days, while metadata is stored for up to 30 days.[18] A detailed commentary on an NSA presentation published in The Guardian in July 2013 cites a document published in 2008 declaring that “At some sites, the amount of data we receive per day (20+ terabytes) can only be stored for as little as 24 hours.”[19]|

    the NZ facility named is Waihopai

    footnote 14
    The New Zealand Government Security Communications Bureau facility at Waihopai near Blenheim also contributes to the program.

    Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/snowden-reveals-australias-links-to-us-spy-web-20130708-2plyg.html#ixzz3DQmhrjvb

    “Mr Snowden said that the other partners in the “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance of the US, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand “sometimes go even further than the [National Security Agency] people themselves.”

    He highlighted the British Government Communications Headquarters “Tempora” program as an example:

    “Tempora is the first ‘I save everything’ approach (‘full take’) in the intelligence world. It sucks in all data, no matter what it is, and which rights are violated by it. … Right now, the system is capable of saving three days’ worth of traffic, but that will be optimised. Three days may perhaps not sound like a lot, but it’s not just about connection metadata. ‘Full take’ means that the system saves everything. If you send a data packet and if makes its way through the UK, we will get it. If you download anything, and the server is in the UK, then we get it.”

    Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/snowden-reveals-australias-links-to-us-spy-web-20130708-2plyg.html#ixzz3DQn1hl5k

  10. Craig Glen Eden 10

    Ferguson has said not one thing that has discredited by proof anything that was laid out in the last 24 hours or last nights meeting. He covers any specifics with I cant answer that or with that didnt happen in my time. He scoffed that NSA has 2 bases in NZ but he has no idea anymore does he, because he suddenly left.
    Key’s lot has literally done everything Snowden said they would.
    Its amazing how Ferguson has been so willing to talk to the media for a x spy.

  11. Steve 11

    It’s a bit odd rolling out Sir Bruce to answer these questions. It’s a bit like asking the fox if the hens will be OK. In addition he wasn’t at the GCSB during the period in question

    Having said that he does seem to be revealing more than intended re: XKeyScore. Also take a look at this interview on Campbell Live last night at about 10min 20s in. Here he basically admits that the agency has to undertake mass surveillance in order to catch the “nasty bastards”.

    To show his absolute even handedness at the beginning of the interview he collectively name-calls the people that spoke at the meeting last night “criminals”.

  12. Iron Sky 12

    BASE = situate at a specified place as the centre of operations

    +

    Commander = a person in authority, especially over a body of troops or a military operation.

    So if you have a base run by an American?

    I am making the horrible presumption that American staff kick absolute arse over our kiwi buddies.

  13. Dont worry. Be happy 13

    And the man Key appointed Governor General is the ex head of the SIS (GCSB?) Talk about covering all of your bases Oh Smiling Assassin. Snig an old friend into the top job at GCSB, ram through a law legalising the very thing you swear would never happen or you would resign, kiss a baby, text an All Black, make a quick grovel to anyone Royal/rich, selfie, selfie, selfie….busy little bounder, you.

  14. Inky 14

    Key talks about two major cyber attacks on NZ businesses. Do we know if they even happened? If they did, it wouldn’t surprise me if it was the work of Tailored Access Operations, the NSA’s own group of elite hackers. They could have done so to give Key an excuse to want to change the law to give our spy guys freer rein here. Spying’s a dirty, convoluted business.

    • Tracey 14.1

      If democracy looked liked getting int he way of the NSA’s operation Spearhead why wouldn’t they?

  15. Sable 15

    Oops did someone let a cat out of a bag? I’m sure Keys will be quick to call it a dog…

  16. CC 16

    The latest Keyism: To the best of his knowledge there are no NSA bases in NZ but he is not going to ask the US about it. A bit more plausible deniability?

  17. Black Lemming 17

    To have a warrant to look at metadata , you have had to collect it first .

    In order to create a metadata data base to look at (with the x-keyscore software ) you will need a daily program of recording unintentional , non targeted data —, daily mass surveillance .

    You cant look at something that isn’t there,

    so whether the gcsb collects the data in NZ or the NSA collects the data from NZ and put it in the US data base its still —- daily mass surveillance .

    Imagine getting a warrant before you can secretly observe someone , it would take months or even years of old school spook work to assemble evidence , build a case ,and would be very expensive .

    But new technology means if you have a software tool to trawl vast amounts of historical data in seconds this becomes a much faster , easier and more cost effective way of gathering and condensing evidence .New School is more productive .And the data base is the core of this.

    Maybe the gcsb does need a warrant to snoop on individuals , but that has nothing to do with the increasing high likelyhood that we are all under mass surveillance every minute of every day .

    1. If it looks like a dog , smells like a dog , woofs like a dog then I’m sure John keys would call it thus . “so…… not exactly a dog , granted a lot of dog like characteristics ,at face value ,but Iv’e been accurately advised it could best be described as a ‘biologically active canine derivative’, but definitely absolutely not a dog in the normal sense of the word dog.” Thanks for clearing that up John, that’s really clear now.

    2. John Keys mate Roger steals some pies from the dairy and gives a pie for lunch to John who eats it up . John knows its a stolen pie but he eats it up anyway . Later in the afternoon a cop shows up and says there been a some pies stolen from the dairy and asks him directly ,”did you steal the pies ?.” John answers forcefully and truthfully “, I can absolutely , 100% say I did not steal the pies .” and the cop continues with his investigation letting him off the hook .But its still aiding and abetting a crime because he knew they were stolen property .Truthful but not honest .He did not confess the whole story .

    John Keys ,hand on heart ,claims he hasn’t instigated any mass surveillance of NZ citizens. He doesn’t need to because there is a very high probablity that the other 5 eyes partners are doing it for him and our sis/gcsb can look at that data base any time they obtain a warrant .

    A half truth is a whole lie . The teflon weasel words of deception are becoming a daily insult to anyone with a shred of critical intelligence .

    He lied yesterday , he lied today , and he will lie tomorrow .

  18. philj 18

    xox
    Sir Bruce on Cambell Live, came across as a vindictive, shifty, spy master, who behaved like a pyronaniac firechief.

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    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
    3 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
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 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
    6 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
    8 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
    9 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. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • Minister’s Ramadan message
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